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!
No comments:
Post a Comment