Hindsight

Dedicated to the Guru- the Dispeller of all Darkness, and Distinctions too!

The interviewer enquired, “Which subject would you like to specialize in?”“Well, I don't believe much in pre-meditation. I would like to study for a year and know what each subject is like and how is it going to help me out in the long run. I am sure you won't appreciate me taking a position now, and then changing the same, just one year down the line.”, I replied. Not that I was really unsure about picking one, but I wanted to get a first-hand experience of all the subjects. Another reason obviously being my attempt at pre-empting the quinquagenarian! Six months down the line and a couple of subjects are already on the cards.

My mind had been pre-occupied with skepticism until the time I took the first lesson in IDIO.  But a couple of minutes in to the classroom and I was left with much to reconsider. “Unlearn. Learn”, you advised. These terse words still ring as vividly in my ears as the first time ever. Ma’am, you must be wondering why such a long introduction. Honestly I don’t know. May be it’s because you have left us undeniably at least a tad better managers human beings than when we walked in to DoMS for the very first time. And above all, we as your fans stand smitten. (No flattery intended).

Work has undergone tectonic transformations. Monday Blues, Nine to Five, are old, druid stories. It’s more about the quality then the quantity now, as trend-set by Boston Consulting Group. Work is no longer restricted to the cubicle of the office or just taking the task to a logical conclusion. Technological developments, gamification, fun-at-work, sustainability, co-creation, ethisphere, fish-philosophy, bring-your-device-to-office etc. are the buzzwords in the town. The lecture beautifully depicted the need of the moment and the way we are heading towards. As a to-be-manager, I realized excitement and entertainment in work and at workplace is imperative to the success of an organization. Only when the employees are happy and content, can they deliver happiness to the customers.

The RBS exercise was instrumental in my self-discovery. I recognized my strengths which I had otherwise long forgotten. The inferences that emerged out to the exercise made me feel confident and beckoned me to hone what I was good at and unaware of unless, until pointed out. While elucidating the importance of playing to one’s strength, you quoted the example of Suresh Raina’s discomfort with short-balls. I could readily relate Sourav Ganguly’s advice to him asking Raina to work on his foot-work rather than trying to master the short-ball. He said, “No one can score a century by merely hooking and pulling the ball”. On a personal note, I would rate this lecture as one of the top three lectures I have attended in this course. When you narrated your mediocrity in analytics, I could so, so relate to that. I always kept on pondering why I was losing out on some subjects despite working hard. I realized my strength lay somewhere else and hence I started devoting that extra bit of time to where my strengths lay and the efforts started yielding in rich dividends. 

The ‘Bucket Filling’ and the ‘Johari Window’ left me with much to introspect. I never believed in wearing a façade and camouflaging my inner self, and the clip from “Pursuit of Happiness” bolstered my belief.

The lessons in perception taught me not to jump to conclusions, or be occupied with pre-conceived notions. Generalization and stereotyping is an epidemic which no person can claim to be immune to. (I hope I am not trying to generalize as well.) “The Eye of the Beholder” beautifully orchestrated the effect of selective attention and perception priorities which may block recognition of new perspectives. While discussing the “Maya” story, inadvertently biases crept in, merely because we already had a particular picture in mind with namesakes. This incident reminded me of Keith Barry who in one episode of 'The Mentalist' used the same concept to hijack the minds of the masses. Thus it reinforced the same learning from the very first lecture, “Unlearn. Learn.”

Thank God, we were spared the Fundamental Attribution Error that we realized we never snoozed post-lunch when you took center stage.

But I am not that lucky when it comes to Self-serving Bias for I always thanked the invigilator whenever I screwed my results up. The moment you enlightened us with “Halo and Horns Effect” in perceptual distortion, I could instantly relate it to a Mahindra car ad wherein a grumpy-looking man deboard his car only to clear-up a jam in traffic. I was however subjected to some ignominy by friends when you associated Bongs with “marginal honesty and minimum generosity” to explain the concept of prejudice and stereotyping. It was a lesson well-learnt as we discussed the common stereotypes we had in mind and suggested means towards overcoming them.

Shiva, if I haven’t mistaken his name, rightly pointed out the seven steps for realizing a creative self viz. belief, analyzing a problem, garnering information, generating idea, choosing idea, stating idea and implementing idea. I was a bit let down as I was looking forward to learning the tools of creativity. But who knows me might have not taught us that for a greater good. Nonetheless, I have given myself a pat or two on the back for anything creative I have done since then. And honestly, it’s inspiring. In your own words, “Cheers to a non-judgemental, bias-free, appreciative life”!

Well, next comes another favorite of mine; the lecture on Self-fulfilling Prochecy/ Pygmalion Effect. The power of expectations, albeit sounds abstract is so true a phenomenon. You rightly pointed out Suresh Raina’s enhanced performance playing for CSK which can be credit to the great expectations Chennai-ites pin on him and which in turn beckon him to perform better and better. The same goes for Yuvraj Singh’s triumph against cancer and taking to the twenty-two-yards yet again.

While discussing the dynamics of personality, you pinpointed the aspects of ‘Swabhava’ and ‘Prabhava’ in determining one’s personality. And rightly so! My mother always speaks about ‘Abhava’ marring a person’s ‘Swabhava’. She always advises me to be contented from within and not let unfavorable incidences influence my real self. The MBTI test pointed out my personality traits correctly. An INFP, I now know how the personality-attributes impact my thought-and-work process. I unearthed the fact that being high on Feeling I too took many non-personal, critical remarks personally, like you said you did. I am working sincerely to improve on that ground. MBTI also helped me realize why I fail to capitalize on the good start I manage to have, but come up with a better performance, whenever pushed to the wall. I realized how each person in an organization is different and thus it happens to be the manager’s onus as well to help maintain “unity in diversity”. I found the job recommendations for an INFP amiss in the slides and hence wish to have a one-to-one discussion with you on this line. 

“How people treat you is their Karma, how you react is yours”, thus sayeth Lord Buddha. Lectures on righteousness and the desi version- Dharma, were the ones I was eagerly waiting to attend. But unavoidable circumstances washed my hopes down the spout. I was however fortunate enough to learn from friends. I wonder what he must have gone through when his father instructed Parashuram to kill his mother. To be torn between the gulf of love that a mother brings her children up with and the divinity of the father’s order would perhaps be the greatest Dharmasankat that one can ever undergo. India- the land of the Harishchandras and the Mahatmas, in ancient times was well-known for its spirituality. But our values and virtues now seem vanquished as mundanity prevails all over. In the midst of the rampant wrong-doings in the country, I sometimes stand perplexed if that subject called ‘Moral Science’ is still a part of the curricula in school. I was always taught by my father to uphold integrity, no matter what. My father died of Cancer. When I went to fetch his Death Certificate at the Primary Health Centre, the person concerned asked for a bribe trying to justify the delay otherwise. Had I bribed him that would have probably been the greatest disrespect to the deceased and his teachings. I simply couldn’t afford to do so. I was made to run from pillar to post for more than a couple of months, but it didn’t bog my spirit down. No denial, even I have been at times tempted to try hanky-pankies (I am sure everyone is), but the feeling of winning a match with a sportsman’s spirit is second-to-none. Perhaps that’s why even Jim Corbett realized “it’s not cricket” to shoot a tiger from hind quarters. And for the same reason perhaps people don’t look up to Ricky Ponting and his invincible Australian team the way they do to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. Thus, to go the extra mile, it’s of paramount importance for a person/ organization to be ethical. Dharma bridges the brook, on the other side of which lies a greener pasture of concord and harmony. This lesson would go down my memoir as the last favourite, not the least of course.

The battle between brains, brawns and beauty often leave very little room for anything in between, and that’s where emotion comes in. But it’s not a lost cause altogether. Knowingly or otherwise, it’s that subtle yet significant aspect of emotions that propel a human being to the pinnacle of prosperity. Is a man minus emotions, man at all? Nay! Emotional Quotient is the art of knowing and managing emotions of oneself and others and channelizing the same for constructive purposes. And those who perform the art well, strike the concordant chord with the world. And empathy towards fellow beings is imperative to make things happen.

Hanging the boots up was imminent, but for someone who had served the game for more than two decades it was more about the fervor that he harboured for the game and the country he played for. Emotions can be infectious, so can they be inspiring. How Team India maneuvered their emotions towards gifting Sachin the WC that had eluded him for so long, was for everyone to see. That’s the might of emotions!

If living is an art, living a happy life is artistry. Being happy is a matter of choice that the wise make. It’s all about leading a contended and compassionate life where the expedition itself is more important than the destination.

The concept of 'Positive and Negative Reinforcement' is like old wine, that hasn't lost out a bit on goodness in spite of all the ravages that come complimentary with time. And kudos to the way you packaged the old wine in a new bottle!

Well, to me it sounded like yet another gory incident of hijacking, but this was even gorier. It wasn’t any of those whimsical hijacking purportedly by alien-UFOs. If it were one, Amygdala Hijacking would be the confiscation of the neocortex of our brains by our very own emotions. The adroitness of self-cool and mindfulness is all it takes to book the crook. And I take your mantra to tackle such emotions, without a grain of salt.

Known to be as-cool-as-a-cucumber, MS Dhoni once said, “Tension is omnipresent. It is tough at the international level. I don’t think it is possible to play international cricket without pressure. A captain has to stay calm on the pitch, particularly to relieve the bowlers. If a bowler finds his captain in tension, then it will have a negative impact on him.”

“A kid, who used to roll thrown-away tires on narrow byroads; who used to fly kites along the riverside; who used to walk to school every sunup with a sack under his arm and a trunk full of books in one hand, and whose only worry was how early could he go fishing in the marshes, or watching cockfight at the marketplace.

A journey from a trouble-torn village in the North-East, downtown a bustling Metro in the South- A journey which otherwise seems so surreally scripted. It’s the attitude in the end that matters the most.”

Hail, the non-renewable resource! Hail, Human Resource!

Footnote: And yeah, thank you for the industry-insights on 'Individual Dynamics in Organizations' that came our way by virtue of the panel-discussion. I promise to never ever share my password again!