| #100: Only One Move |
A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident. The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.
"Sensei," (teacher in Japanese) the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"
"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training. Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament.
Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out.
He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. "No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue." Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"
"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."
The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
Sometimes we feel that we have certain weaknesses and we blame God, the circumstances or ourselves for it but we never know that our weaknesses can become our strengths one day. Each of us is special and important, so never think you have any weakness, never think of pride or pain, just live your life to its fullest and extract the best out of it!
____
I did not understand this powerful concept when I read it as a child in "The Stag and The Lion", one of Aesop's fables. Now I can immediately see it as an example of playing to your strengths. If we spent half the time we spend on trying to become who we are not, in identifying what we are, we would all be happily performing at much higher levels of effectiveness. Our company is much smaller than some giant competitors in the industry, but it is also not exactly a small smart-up. But we have been able to successfully sell this "weakness" as being "the right-sized partner" to customers.
Some additional learnings from the story above:
-The boy and the teacher were both risk-takers
-Both demonstrated two important elements: focus and faith in ability (the boy trusted the sensei's judgement and teaching ability)
-The biggest payoff for the boy is not becoming a champion but knowing the secret of winning. For that he had to be courageous to ask. Asking questions is an underestimated quality that we have discussed in the past, for example, in You are staring at your blindspots and here.
| #99: Work Like the Rain |
Work Like the Rain
by Doug Sundheim
We should work like the rain. The rain just falls one rain drop after another. It doesn't ask: Am I making a nice sound down below? Will the plants be glad to see me? Millions and billions of raindrops, only falling.
-Jakusho Kwong, American Zen Buddhist Monk
Consider This:
Paradoxically, when you're obsessed with results, you're less effective at producing them. This is because your head isn't in the present moment. It's off in the future - worrying about the result. It's like a basketball player trying to win a game by staring at the scoreboard. It doesn't work. Focus on playing the game and the score will take care of itself.
One of my clients uses a creative exercise to get into the present moment when he finds he's obsessing about results. He closes his eyes and visualizes taking an excellent golf shot. He explained it like this, "My best shots always come when I approach the ball slowly and intentionally. I look down the fairway to where I want to hit the ball and I align myself. Then I take my mind away from the target and focus on the swing. And I've found through the years that if I don't take my mind away from the target, my swing suffers. It's the same in my business."
Try This:
1. Think of something you like to do.
2. Close your eyes and imagine yourself doing it at your best.
3. Begin to understand why you are/were so good at it - what were you thinking? Feeling? Doing? Notice how present you were.
4. Reconnect with what it feels like to get lost in that moment (and work like the rain). It's your blueprint for success.
Question: How do you bring yourself back to the present moment?
____
The above can be related to the "Concentrate on the action, the fruits of the action will be taken care of" advice from The Gita. It is also related to the concept of "flow experience" described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
| #98 |
#98-1. We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.
-Anon
#98-2. One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.
-Arnold Glasow
#98-3. Happy moments, praise GOD.
Difficult moments, seek GOD.
Quiet moments, worship GOD.
Painful moments, trust GOD.
Every moment, thank GOD.
-Anon
_____
We all have heard the cliché, "Problem and opportunity are two sides of the same coin," but do we approach a situation looking like a problem in the same way as we approach one looking like an opportunity? Could we train ourselves to do that?
The second one is true. I think two organizational practices act as opposing forces to encourage such behavior: one is the tendency to idolize crisis handlers and the other is that the chances of recognition for someone who prevented a crisis are low when it is not apparent that the preventive step taken on a small-looking problem actually prevented a crisis. Think of how many heroic stories you have heard of someone who worked to turn around on a disastrous project and how many stories you have heard of someone who brilliantly identified a potential problem. A proportion of time spent on recognizing and rewarding crisis managers should be spent on identifying the crisis creators.
For those who do believe in some kind of universal superconsciousness, the first and last are good reminders. The other three occur spontaneously.
| #97: Don't Judge in One Season |
Lesson on Life
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.
The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.
When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.
The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.
The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment. The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.
He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.
Moral: Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time later.
_____
In addition to the optimism lesson, one can also deduce that we tend to form opinions based on a limited experience.
| #96 |
#96-1. Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
#96-2. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
-Anon
#96-3. The man who never tried vodka doesn't know the taste of water.
-Russian saying
_____
Big achievements require us to dare to be different, go against the crowd, swim againt the current. Safety and comfort have to be abandoned if we wish to reach someplace new.
In our blind quest for recognition, we sometimes forget to thank, appreciate and pay attention to those who value us.
Try substituting various pairs in place of vodka/water.
| #95: Identify Your 8% Worriable Items |
The Great Problem-Solving Tool
Successful people are not without problems. They're simply people who've learned to solve their problems.
by Earl Nightingale
All creatures on earth are supplied at birth with everything they need for successful survival. All creatures except one are supplied with a set of instincts that will do the job for them. And because of that, most creatures don't need much of a brain. In the Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Archibald MacLeish's play The Secret of Freedom, a character says, "The only thing about a man that is man is his mind. Everything else you can find in a pig or a horse." That's uncomfortably true.
Take the magnificent bald eagle for example. To see one of them swooping down and pluck a live and sizeable fish from the water on a single pass is astonishing. More astonishing still is the eagle's eyesight. And because of its need to see small rodents moving in the grass from high altitudes or a fish just inches under the surface of the water, its incredible eyes take up just about all the space in its head. For the eagle, its eyes are the most important thing, and everything else works in unison with them. Its brain is tiny and rudimentary. It doesn't think or plan or remember; it simply acts in accordance with stimuli.
And it's the same with most other living creatures. Even the beautiful porpoise, with a much larger brain, and the chimpanzee are easily tamed and taught. Only one takes 20 years to mature and has dominion over all the rest on the earth itself, and has today the power to destroy all life on earth in a couple of hours. Only one is given the godlike power to fashion its own life according to the images it holds in its remarkable mind.
The human mind is the one thing that separates us from the rest of the creatures on earth. Everything that means anything to us comes to us through our minds, our love of our families, our beliefs, all of our talents, knowledge, abilities. Everything is reflected through our minds. Anything that comes to us in the future will almost certainly come to us as a result of the extent to which we use our minds.
And yet, it's the last place on earth the average person will turn to for help. You know why? You know why people don't automatically turn their own vast mental resources on when faced with a problem? It's because they never learned how to think. Most people will go to any length to avoid thinking when they're faced with a problem. They will ask advice from the most illogical people, usually people who don't know any more than they do: next-door neighbors, members of their families, and friends stuck in the same mental traps that they are. Very few of them use the muscles of their mind to solve their problems.
Yet living successfully, getting the things we want from life, is a matter of solving the problems that stand between where we are now and the point we wish to reach. No one is without problems. They're part of living. But let me show you how much time we waste in worrying about the wrong problems. Here's a reliable estimate of the things people worry about: Things that never happen: 40%. Things over and past that can never be changed by all the worry in the world: 30%. Needless worries about our health: 12%. Petty miscellaneous worries: 10%. Real legitimate worries: 8%.
_____
Thinking and common sense are less common than we usually imagine. Even at a spiritual level, our mind and the images it forms are considered as all of reality. Yet we rarely pay as much attention to the quality of inputs, processing ability and attitudes that determine our success and happiness.
| #94 |
#94-1. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas.
-W. Griswold
#94-2. A truth that's told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent.
-William Blake
#94-3. The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.
-Mark Twain
_____
The first one is a mighty useful thing to remember in those meetings and conference calls. It also provokes one to focus on the purpose instead of reacting.
I have validated the third through personal experience. Try it.
| #93: Don't Invite Wealth or Success |
A woman saw 3 old men sitting in her front yard and said, "You look hungry. Please come in and have something to eat."
"We do not go into a house together," they replied. "Why is that?" she wanted to know.
One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, "He is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your family which one of us you want in your home."
The woman went in and told her husband. "How nice," he said. "Let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!"
His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"
Their daughter-in-law, who was listening, jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will be filled with love?" The couple decided to heed their daughter-in-law's advice.
The woman went out and said, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest."
Love got up and started walking towards the house. The other two also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked, "I only invited Love, why are you coming in?"
The old men replied together, "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!"
_____
One of my new hobbies is to extract useful tips from treacly stories (that earlier used to irritate me -- I am not fond of sweets). So what did I see in the above story? In the context of our work life Love could be interpreted as Passion or Excellence. Most of the really wealthy and successful people never really went after wealth or fame as their goal, they were driven by an intense desire to be the best in something. They pushed themselves and others around them with that vision. Wealth and success automatically followed. Eventually. So Patience and Persistence were probably two other old men already inside their house!
| #92 |
#92-1. Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.
-William Feather
#92-2. The best way to judge an individual is by observing how he treats people who can do him absolutely no good.
-Anon
#92-3. Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment.
-Mohandas Gandhi
____
Though the first is about persistence (or determination/going the extra mile) and the second is about handling people (or dignity/magnanimity), I think they are related in one aspect.
In today's result-oriented environment, many look at human relationships also with an RoI (return on investment) perspective. So helping someone who cannot be of "use" is unconventional, different from the crowd.
Similarly, everyone gives up at some point but many who have achieved something remarkable did it by not letting it go, not willing to agree to settle for less.
Somehow both seem to indicate a good kind of stubbornness.
The third quote happens to be from one of the world's best known "good stubborn" persons.
| #91: Use Confusion to Your Advantage |
Use Confusion to Your Advantage
by Doug Sundheim
If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.
-Tom Peters
One of my clients, a successful 40 year veteran in the insurance business, is a master at using confusion to his advantage. 75% of what comes out of his mouth are questions trying to clarify something. It's like watching an episode of Columbo. Recently we chatted about his style and he explained it this way. "I definitely ask a lot questions to get people to open up, but it's more than that. I genuinely don't know the answers to most of the questions I ask. I think too many people pretend they know things that they don't - because they don't want to look foolish. What they often fail to realize is that they're killing opportunites to learn in the process.
Consider this:
Contrary to popular belief, confusion isn't a bad thing. In fact, confusion can be a very good thing. It shows the gaps in your understanding. Don't shy away from it. Get inquisitive. Ask questions. Use it to get smarter. Furthermore, realize that if you're confused, it's likely that others are as well. And sometimes sharing your confusion is an effective way to open powerful and productive conversations.
Try this:
1. The next time you feel perplexed about a situation, share it with someone.
2. Ask for their thoughts (people loved to be asked for their opinion).
3. Listen closely for something you might be missing.
4. Repeat frequently - there's no use doing all the thinking yourself - it takes too long and you only get one opinion.
________
My musing: Feeling overwhelmed with the complexities of today along with the accelerating pace of change, is a pre-requisite to prevent jumping to conclusions based on a limited perspective. The way a question is asked can turn a puzzling problem into a clearly solvable issue. Perspectives can be enlarged by tapping into other minds, especially those that are not well-informed about the situation.
| #90: Don't Follow the Follower |
Don't Follow the Follower
by Earl Nightingale
95 percent of people never succeed because they're following the wrong group.
Processionary caterpillars travel in long, undulating lines, one creature behind the other. Jean Hanri Fabre, the French entomologist, once led a group of these caterpillars onto the rim of a large flowerpot so that the leader of the procession found himself nose to tail with the last caterpillar in the procession, forming a circle without end or beginning.
Through sheer force of habit and, of course, instinct, the ring of caterpillars circled the flowerpot for seven days and seven nights, until they died from exhaustion and starvation. An ample supply of food was close at hand and plainly visible, but it was outside the range of the circle, so the caterpillars continued along the beaten path.
People often behave in a similar way. Habit patterns and ways of thinking become deeply established, and it seems easier and more comforting to follow them than to cope with change, even when that change may represent freedom, achievement, and success.
If someone shouts, "Fire!" it is automatic to blindly follow the crowd, and many thousands have needlessly died because of it. How many stop to ask themselves: Is this really the best way out of here?
So many people "miss the boat" because it's easier and more comforting to follow — to follow without questioning the qualifications of the people just ahead — than to do some independent thinking and checking.
A hard thing for most people to fully understand is that people in such numbers can be so wrong, like the caterpillars going around and around the edge of the flowerpot, with life and food just a short distance away. If most people are living that way, it must be right, they think. But a little checking will reveal that throughout all recorded history the majority of mankind has an unbroken record of being wrong about most things, especially important things. For a time we thought the earth was flat and later we thought the sun, stars, and planets traveled around the Earth. Both ideas are now considered ridiculous, but at the time they were believed and defended by the vast majority of followers. In the hindsight of history we must have looked like those caterpillars blindly following the follower out of habit rather than stepping out of line to look for the truth.
_____
Prudence, common sense and a bit of humility demands that we examine and adhere to what most others do. The message here is to not do it unthinkingly or out of mental laziness. I have experienced that in order to dare to do differently in important matters, I need to practise it by deliberately standing away from the crowd in small matters, once in a while.
| #89 |
#89-1. A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
-Walter Gagehot
#89-2. When you hire people who are smarter than you, you prove you are smarter than they are.
-R H Grant
#89-3. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
____
Seek out nurturers, avoid and ignore the naysayers. Trying ten things boldly and succeeding in two is what successful and happy people always do.
Mediocrity breeds mediocrity. Those unsure of themselves tend to feel comfortable when surrounded by lesser individuals.
It is easy to show good character in pleasant and favourable circumstances but adversity brings out the real character.
| #88: Moment Management vs Time Management |
Moment Management
Can you plan for the critical moments in your life — the "breakthrough idea" or the incredible life-long memory? You can if you learn to manage your "moments" as well as your time.
by Dan Strutzel
The modern philosopher and historian Richard Sennett has written about the necessity for human beings to create "narratives" out of their lives. In other words, in order to give meaning to our existence, we must feel that the culmination of our days on earth string together seemingly chaotic events to form a story — a very personal story that only we can tell. A story that is complex, yet genuine. But, most of all, a story with structure — with a clear plot, filled with layers of meaning that, like a great classic novel, reveal new and hidden meanings with every reading. I’m one of those people who absolutely loves to encourage family, friends, and even acquaintances to tell their stories. True to form, some tell a story of heroic adventure, others tell a tragedy, and still others, a "work in progress."
Yet, one of the patterns I notice, again and again, is the tendency for people to focus on several key "moments" as turning points in the plot of their lives. They tell of the child that finally made the baseball team after years of struggle to "fit in." They tell of the deal that they closed, or the deal that fell through. They tell of the moment that they first realized their partner moved from being a boyfriend or girlfriend, into that exceptional "true love" that comes only once in a lifetime. They tell of the day they heard they had cancer, the day that their first-born emerged from the womb, and the day they buried their mother right next to their father. They speak of relatively "simple" things like cuddling with the kids on the deck as they watch the stars, sipping hot cocoa with their spouse on the top of Pikes Peak, or the first time they walked into their new office after the "big promotion." Such moments are precious, and without them our stories would be incomplete. They form the essence of who we are and will continue to shape who we will become.
In our fast-paced world, there is probably no skill that receives more lip service than time management. Indeed, it is a critical skill to success, without which very few people achieve any substantial goal. Yet, too often, I fear that we have become so focused on the time-management essentials — being efficient, opportunity costs, delegation, prioritization, day planners, and Palm Pilots — that we end up managing the moments right out of our lives. This is the "nuanced" area of time management that few experts consider. We can plan an agenda for a brainstorming session and keep a close eye on the clock, but we can’t "plan" for a breakthrough idea. We can "budget in" an evening to take our child to a ball game, but we can’t "budget in" the moment in which our child will ask that question about life — one that we have never even considered. We can clear out all the e-mails in our "in-box" and respond to them efficiently, but we must be careful not to clear out the e-mail with the huge business opportunity, sandwiched conveniently between two pieces of spam.
_____
Time management tactics are needed for most of us to improve our effectiveness but this article points us to not forget to enjoy the journey.
| #87 |
-Christopher Morley
-Anon
-Anon
What is "my own way" keeps changing so I should not get stuck with a vague image about my ideal life formed many years ago. I should clarify and re-evaluate this ideal once in a while and see if I can do things to broadly move in that direction. If I am constantly doing things different from what I say is my desire, maybe there are other desires I am fulfilling? Being clear about it helps me feel better.
| #86: The Most Beautiful Flower |
The Most Beautiful Flower
by Cheryl L. Costello-Forshey
The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read
Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.
Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,
For the world was intent on dragging me down.
And if that weren't enough to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.
He stood right before me with his head tilted down
And said with great excitement, "Look what I found!"
In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,
With its petals all worn -- not enough rain, or too little light.
Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,
I faked a small smile and then shifted away.
But instead of retreating he sat next to my side
And placed the flower to his nose and declared with overacted surprise,
"It sure smells pretty and it's beautiful, too.
That's why I picked it; here, it's for you."
The weed before me was dying or dead.
Not vibrant of colors, orange, yellow or red.
But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.
So I reached for the flower, and replied, "Just what I need."
But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,
He held it midair without reason or plan.
It was then that I noticed for the very first time
That weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.
I heard my voice quiver, tears shone like the sun
As I thanked him for picking the very best one.
"You're welcome," he smiled, and then ran off to play,
Unaware of the impact he'd had on my day.
I sat there and wondered how he managed to see
A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.
How did he know of my self-indulged plight?
Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true sight.
Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see
The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.
And for all of those times I myself had been blind,
I vowed to see the beauty in life, and appreciate every second that's mine.
And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose
And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose
And smiled as I watched that young boy,
Another weed in his hand,
About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.
____
Sanjoy Banerjee, who has to be thanked for sharing this, says, "A beautiful poem that illustrates how we often see our own problems as the biggest without realizing how fortunate we are."
It also shows how our "absolutely clear" concept (essential qualities of a beautiful flower) can change in a moment as soon as one bit of new information comes in. Yet we persist in arguing arrogantly, dismissing with derision so many points of view without trying to enlarge our knowledge and understanding. Ability to adopt multiple perspectives and shift amongst them must be valued.
Whatever the facts of the situation the lady was in, did not change but within a few minutes her situation changed for her. I think it was because she had the heart to appreciate beauty and joy.
| #85 |
-Robert Hillyer
-Winston Churchill
-Mabel Newcombe
The first quote shows how we can reduce wasting time by focusing on doing our best. We do not really know the best we are capable of, new circumstances might bring out hidden talents and greater capabilities than what we thought we had.
| #84 |
Some of my favourites, all related to learning:
#84-1. It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.
-Mark Twain
#84-2. You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you.
-Barbara Sher
#84-3. The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.
-Niels Bohr
_____
If I am willing to think of myself as a beginner, I do not hesitate to acknowledge that there are things I don't know. Which, in itself, helps learn what is needed. The more mastery or knowledge I gain in a subject, the more I become aware of exceptions and the existence of things I might not be knowing, thus making me a little less arrogant, less rigid, less cocky. And more willing to accommodate other possibilities, more open before jumping to conclusions and judgement.
Profound truths ("deep fundas" as young Indians say) and paradoxes are often found near each other.
| #83: APJ Abdul Kalam - A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure |
Below are excerpts from a short interview of the former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam at http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleID=4276. The site also has the video. The example about how a leader should handle failure and success has been circulating via e-mail in the past few weeks. I find Kalam's views, humility and simplicity inspiring.
APJ Abdul Kalam: A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure
Published: April 03, 2008 in India Knowledge@Wharton
I K@W: Since our publication is called Knowledge@Wharton, could you tell us something about knowledge?
Kalam: I've written a four-line, poem-like thing called "Creativity." It goes like this: "Learning gives creativity. Creativity leads to thinking. Thinking provides knowledge. Knowledge makes you great." I have made at least a million children repeat these lines. I am very happy that Wharton has created Knowledge@Wharton; it's a beautiful idea.
I K@W: After studying aeronautics at the Madras Institute of Technology, you were one of India's top scientists at the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and then at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). You helped launch several successful missiles, which led to your getting the nickname, "Missile Man." What challenges were involved in getting this program going and leading it successfully?
Kalam: I worked for ISRO for about 20 years. My team and I worked to put India's first satellite into space. Then our team took up the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. These were youthful teams that worked with me, and they have gone on to take up much larger projects. These in turn have led to great value addition in areas such as technology, infrastructure and, above all, human resources.
One of the important lessons I learned in the space and missile program was not just how to handle success but how to deal with failure. Wharton is in the management environment. I would like young people to understand how they should manage failure. In any project you take up, you will face problems. These problems should not become the captain of the project chief; the project chief should be the captain of the problems and defeat the problems.
I K@W: Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?
Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India's "Rohini" satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.
By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal. It was a big failure.
That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.
The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite -- and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, "You conduct the press conference today."
I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.
India Knowledge@Wharton: That is a great story; thank you for sharing it.
Kalam: Continuing further with the six traits, the fourth trait is that the leader should have the courage to make decisions. Fifth, the leader should have nobility in management. Every action of the leader should be transparent. And finally, the leader should work with integrity and succeed with integrity.
I K@W: One last question -- you are a gifted poet. Could you please recite some lines of your favorite poem?
Kalam: My favorite poem is "The Vision." I recited it in Parliament, and I will recite it for you.
I climbed and climbed
Where is the peak, my Lord?
I ploughed and ploughed,
Where is the knowledge treasure, my Lord?
I sailed and sailed,
Where is the island of peace, my Lord?
Almighty, bless my nation
With vision and sweat resulting into happiness.
____
Total Comments: 10
#7 What Kalam Taught Me
By: Kalpathy Balan, KNPC
Sent: 12:06 PM Thu May.01.2008 - KW
It was sometime in early 1975. I was a young engineer in ISRO in the Sriharikota projects. I had occasion to meet Mr. Kalam then as he was the project director for SLV. I had gone along with a senior to meet him. It was a short meeting. I was young and brimming with confidence.
At the end of the meeting Mr. Kalam suggested that I read up on some of the technical journals in aeronautics and space research. Many months after the meeting I had the opportunity to update my knowledge by reading the articles he had suggested and I found that my views were changing.
Looking back, I feel that Mr. Kalam could have easily said to my face that I was wrong in my technical analysis and grasp of the problem. But he chose to guide me instead to learn by myself and arrive at the correct approach. This way he did not hurt my ego and taught me a lesson which I treasure. This was the first glimpse of his greatness that I saw.
| #82: 3 Tips to be a Prime Mover |
Are You Indispensable?
by Dan Strutzel
Take these simple steps to make yourself a Prime Mover in your organization — indispensable to your company and customers.
While skills can certainly be replaced — public speaking, negotiating, selling, accounting, etc., there are certain individuals who bring such uniqueness in their performance of these skills, that they simply can't be replaced. In her classic novel Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand described what she called "The Prime Mover" — a heroic individual who contributes vastly more value to society than the average person — whose leadership and ingenuity are essential to keeping the engine of an organization working. In fact, in the conclusion to Atlas Shrugged, all of these Prime Movers go on strike, and, as a result, the society grinds to a halt.
So, whether you're the CEO, a midlevel manager, or an entry-level employee, here are just a few steps you can take to make yourself a Prime Mover — indispensable to your organization and customers.
1. Give it Your Stamp of Authenticity
What qualities do you have that are unique to your personality? These are the qualities that everyone, from family members to co-workers, comment on again and again. It may be an incredibly positive attitude, an attention to detail, a flair of eccentricity, being a great people person, etc. Find a way to infuse that quality into every task you undertake in your organization. Skills can be easily replaced; authentic individuals performing those skills in unique ways cannot.
2. Become Truly Excellent at What You Do
There is no substitute for excellence. You can be authentic and helpful, but if you don't produce results, your time in any organization will be limited. Identify the three key skills that are central to producing bottom-line results for your company. Create your own self-directed university around these three skills, and begin to tackle each skill, one at a time, in three-month increments. Do this by reading books, taking seminars, listening to audio programs, or finding a mentor to coach you. Nine months from now, you should graduate from your self-designed university with an A+ in results, and a bulletproof career.
3. Follow Up Immediately
In a 24-hour economy, where the 200–email and 10–phone mail day is no longer uncommon, people have become more accustomed to long delays in receiving responses to their messages. You can use this to your advantage to help you stand out from the crowd. Develop the reputation of someone who follows up immediately. Use the advice of productivity expert David Allen and use the "two-minute rule" for responding to messages. Ask yourself with every email or phone mail, "Can I respond to this in two minutes or less?" If so, respond to it now, since it will take you longer to file it or reconsider it than respond. Follow this one rule, and it will label you as a lightning-quick responder on nearly 90% of your messages, and you'll form a powerful impression of someone who is committed to and in charge of your work.
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Simple-sounding tips but can transform anyone's career. The recent emphasis on identifying and playing to one's strengths as opposed to fixing weaknesses is also about achieving excellence in those areas where we have a passion and talent.
| #81: Hospital Scenery |
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