Bamboo In The Wind

The presence is real, touchy-feely and believable. The positive presence emanates from a sincere, caring,  and engaging participation contributes to it;  in real-time. But then, often we feel vibe of care even when no such active engagement is underway. It reminds us of someone or something special. We feel the aura of someone's attitude, approach, demeanour, behaviour, deeds, and way of thinking. Such soft attributes have a tremendous power of positive and negative vibes both. One is capable of leaving behind a trail of positive vibes through their careful investment in work, acts, and relationships.   And it is their work and care for us that generates  the breeze of air that makes us feel safe, secure or relaxed. That pumps up inside. Raises our self-belief. We get a strong signal that someone is watching over us. It is then, we are witnessing a lingering presence!

You are constantly hunting for dream work. Despite slogging it out, elevations are elusive. Others judge you for how you are doing at work. Often your version of how you are doing and that of others responsible for you tends to be different. The reason is conflicting goals driven by factors beyond your decision circle. Broad goals are defined at the top of the hierarchy. In the absence of adequate simplicity, the expectations at different levels begin to dilute. Goals are collective organizational responsibility. When they flow top-down, organizations do a poor job of breaking those down into smaller actionable tasks. Emphasis on turning those into simple organizational priorities for everyone striving to achieve those is critical. Organizations are layered with growing experience and expertise going bottom up. Taking the maturity of such a structure into account is paramount when articulating goals. In the absence of an understanding of goals at an emotional level, the belief in the o...

Willpower is the will to control the outcome. It expresses the desire that something is done as willed. Willpower makes one behave in a desired manner most of the time. There are good days when you are compliant with the desired behaviour, but there are also bad days when you are flexible about the undesired behaviour. Willpower depends on the effects of circumstances on emotions to decide how to cater to the willed behaviour. What that means is you can negotiate with your will. Rules, on the other hand, are automatic behaviours. You do not negotiate with circumstances and associated emotional responses every time you need to make a decision. You default to rules and stick to the behavioural patterns defined by them. In the long run, rule-based actions position you for a better future than willpower-based actions.

Boundaries protect and separate both. There is an internal and external part inherent to them. It tells who is included and who is excluded. It defines closer and farther ones. It erects an inner circle and an outer circle. You have interactions all the time. Have you seen yourself drawing an illusionary fence? You place yourself on the side of the conversation - for or against - guided mainly by your biases.  You are either on the side of warm, broad-minded, and accommodating, or you are on the side of harmed, neglected, or excluded. The sides reflect alignment boundaries or non-alignment. Untimely, ill-drawn fences can create a distance, constrain, and trigger hostility. Well-laid fences, on the other hand, are liberating.  They act as some sort of encircling safety net. A trust perimeter where you know you can operate without fear of hurting. Toppling fear gives rise to accommodation. Draw fences to include unique constituents that enhance accommodation. When you do, you wi...

Procrastination arrests any sort of action. Commotion prevents clear thinking. Confusion makes it hard to choose the right path. An optical illusion makes us believe what is unreal. A rigid stance misses the point of listening. Stubbornness misses the point of collaboration. Upheaval is at all levels. Internal and external. Often external ones manifest when we find ourselves unable to deal with internal chaos. But how does one overcome internal chaos? We are alone in this fight. Others are not bothered. The commotion grows with an increasing feeling of how we are left to our miseries. The feeling of hopelessness drives us crazy. Fear that we are nearing the end. Imaginary. You need to walk through all this madness. You usually have someone to take you on a ride of comfort and confidence. It's reassuring. But that won't always happen. There are times when we might be encouraged to walk alone. It might appear rude and careless. But who knows! It might fill you with fear and uncer...

It boils down to what you weave, who weaves it and how. It defines the characteristics of the fabric that is produced. Tolerance for others and solidarity with togetherness stand out as characteristics of the fabric. They are the foundations of any kind of fabric.  Systems and mechanisms can tell how to weave something into a fabric. But usually, that is not enough. You need someone to manage the symphony that goes on in fabric building. Emotions that are at play. The combination that might work better. Someone needs to give it the care and nuture. You need an orchestrator. Someone with soul. Such an orchestrator is a vital constituent. They are often invisible influencers whose role is underestimated. They make sure the components of the fabric cohabit in harmony. They smooth out the rough edges. And nurture the sharpness of colour, shape or elasticity as it evolves.  When the fabric carries attractive attributes, it has an automatic acceptance. Why would it not? After all, i...

Avoidance of mistakes is a common phenomenon. You want to do things that will succeed. Can you guarantee success right at the outset? You never can. Yet every time you are ready to start, your resistance insists on finding signs of success. It would be nice if you could assure success. Yet, failures are the only way to march in the direction of success. There is no way to avoid mistakes and impending failures. Right decisions always follow the wrong ones. For example: Take a test unprepared. You fail and learn what it takes to pass the test. Go for selection unprepared. You get rejected and learn the regimen to be part of the team. Flunk interviews and then know what discipline takes to clear the interviews. Hire bad people for the job, and learn from the poor experience how to find the good hires. There are numerous examples of what experience teaches you. They open the doors to success. Be prepared for slip-ups because that's the best way to know what works and doesn't.  They...

Some circumstances warrant protecting your time and effort. Saying no to everything and ruthlessly keeping space becomes your priority. Space that can hold the opportunity to take something that excites you. There are distractions thrown your way. Carrots are dangling in front of you, making you believe that a brighter future lies in following a defined path. They are others' views of the opportunities, not yours. When you are picky about what you want to do - the right way to go is to say no until you can say whole body yes to something that ignites you. Eventually, what you do may work or not. But you made your choice. Some other circumstances warrant a mechanism for creating opportunities. You ought to find ways to use your time and effort to do something worthwhile. Say yes to what comes your way, and keeping up with exploration provides experience. Experience in what among many options to pick from. By knowing what those options involve. When you are open about what you want t...

The first win lands unexpectedly. You are still grappling with your thing. Usually unsure if that will work, you are having exploratory conversations. You don't expect anyone to pay attention to what you have. But your effort is honest. Your conviction of the utility of what you have somehow comes out. And that's the vital part of doing something. Your own confidence can back your effort like nothing else. Conviction is a sign of belief about having landed something of value. You know somewhere that it is what you would want as much as many others if they knew what you have exists. When such a feeling arises, you know your effort must continue to grow, and others must begin to know about it. You start approaching your interactions with stories grounded in your work. How you came about with the idea, what hurdles you faced, how you made the discovery and how your background helped you overcome the ups and downs. All of it captivates the listener. That is what they usually are lo...

An effort of any kind will stop without a top-up mechanism. The cooking range doesn't work without gas. When petrol runs out, vehicles don't work. In the absence of solar panels, green energy is just a dream. Such issues apply to us humans too. Our ability to work hampers seriously if we don't have an energy replenishment plan. We think we enjoy the most when we do work involving our passions. We think tirelessly doing the same activity will keep our enthusiasm. Like writer's block, there comes a day when our ideas don't work. Monotony dries up the fun. What used to be the reason to be at work feels like the most dreaded place. When we encounter such a situation, it's time to check if our energy tank is emptying out fast enough that we need to land to refuel. Top up is a vital periodic part that recharges us. Different activities, places or people might refuel us with new energy and ideas. But first, be open to knowing you will run out of fuel. Sooner or later, ...

The role of getting everyone together at the table is vital. The person who gets everyone in the same room and puts the heads together on something of substance is mighty influential. The Shepherding required to root out differences to achieve constructive outcomes is a seemingly essential yet uncommonly demonstrated trait. Dealing with uncertainty is daunting. It takes unprecedented mental energy and lining up thoughts in inexplicable order that fire-up actions to defend yourself from the onslaught uncertainty can bring. Someone must show vigilance, alertness, anticipation, pre-emption, concession, accommodation, urgency or mediate. That counts for a lot of commitment. Taking charge on behalf of a large group takes the initiative and courage. The consolidator often steps up and makes it all look nice and tidy.

Defining a good purpose, setting a target goal and getting people working on them is usually not enough! There are too many aspects involved in getting the results we want. For example, there is an aspect of painting the big picture, working on motivation management, productivity tracking, building experimentation labs, and erecting resilient systems that systematize the workflows. Just putting bodies to work and defining milestones rarely achieves the right results. The other aspects that help march towards the milestones in an orderly manner, they are equally important. At the very least, they make objectives widely understandable and results more attainable. The job of a thought leader is to enable progress and enable recovery. Therefore, it is never enough to have just ideas. Those with ideas also have the responsibility to assemble the work environment in such a way as to create situations containing the energy disperses. Energy dispersal from lack of clarity, loss of motivation, ...

There are instances where everything looks in order. Structures are rightly in place. Right roles are defined. Responsibilities are distributed. Bi-directional open communication is expected to take place. And with that, collective work is expected to turn out productive. Yet, when the action begins, everything breaks apart. Productivity dwindles, cooperation is missing, and ad-hoc interactions are common-place That creates chaos. No one appears in charge even though there is someone responsible. It clearly is a sign of broken communication channels. A well-orchestrated workplace focuses on methods to communicate grounds-up and top-down. It encourages patient listening, internalizing and responding rather than reacting. All effective open communication channels are a result of making such communication possible. Often, the structures are set such that you centralize communication of every bit of your activity to someone in the hierarchy. Over time it turns into a permission-based inter...

Those blink moments we witness every now and then. The background thought opens a path to march forward. Blink moments are instinctive. Subconsciously all that we know is already put in perspective. So they provide the right indicators for how to make decisions. Even then, we procrastinate. We fear we are working off feeble evidence. Evidence that justifies the indicators are indeed correct.  The reason is simple. We want more skin in the game. Play it safe. Be sure. Have more people become part of the decision we want to take. While for important life-threatening scenarios, matters that affect people it makes perfect sense to validate whether on the feet decisions benefit.  Yet, there are urgent situations when there is merit in taking split-second decisions based on a blink moment. Instinctive decision making is something to be tried and tested for where they work and where don't.  It adds the speed, responsiveness, and can avoid pain at a later time.

Have you ever imagined how forced we feel to take a break? Breaks are daunting because of the flood of activities they bring to you. You get addicted to clearing inboxes or finishing meetings, only to see fill them up in no time. Taking breaks only create longer queues to clear! Or so you think. Until you find a slightly longer break to take. Some presumptuous steps that lead to this situation are mainly commonsense oversights. You impeccably place yourselves at the centre of all the action. You think only you are the best person to make decisions. Taking breaks challenges this hypothesis. It can show you if you have built an environment ripe for distributed decision-making. Finally, you see who shows initiative in times of absence. Management by absence is an excellent way to test if you have created an empowered, collaborative, and scalable environment for anything you involve yourself in. Heroics, as history shows, go only so far!

That first step. Seeing something stalled and getting it in motion. There is so much initiative involved in kicking the ball. It seems so easy. Yet it requires overcoming the resistance of having to act on what is not progressing. The ability to find such stalled aspects is a great asset. Showing initiative to improve those is courageous. Initially, you appear to focus on something narrow and insignificant.  Over time, it steadily exposes you to adjacent areas allowing you to see a broader aspect of what you are solving.  When you identify something that needs improvement and work to improve it yourself, you build original insights that give you an edge. And working to improve the solutions develops depth, skills and expertise that offer value. Not everyone has to believe in your insight. A small set that sees merit in your professional argument is perfectly acceptable.  That small group wishes to associate with you for what you do, is a reflection of the fact that you ga...

We constantly model ourselves after dominant hierarchies.  We want to be part of a great graduate school,  get a job in the best company that others choose, follow popular political ideologies, careers that pay well, impulsively buy things preferred by celebrities, eat at star restaurants, get in line for accolades from inconsequential institutions,  or publish on popular paid market research platforms. The desire to subscribe to dominant hierarchies is the primary reason for this; to indulge in actions commonly adopted by those around us. It is thrilling to be among the recognized classes. Yet, the dominant hierarchies are fast becoming hiding places. We are buried under the processes, rules, measurements, and expectations about micro contributions.  Cost? Loss of freedom to do what you want on your own terms. Risk? Failure; slow progress. An upside? Flexibility to create, explore, and the opportunity to build a real connection with someone who needs you.  Bonu...

Virat Kohli, the legendary Indian cricket player, is out of his batting form .   Virat is expected to break all batting records by the time he retires. And yet, he is struggling at the moment! Virat has an impeccable record as an India captain in home and away games. After years of playing in T20, one-dayer and five-dayer formats while maintaining a very high standard of fitness and consistently topping the worldwide run charts, he has finally run into a lean patch. He is not among the runs for the last couple of years. So much so that his place on the team is wobbly. Unbelievable for someone of his stature! We repeatedly see such examples in high-performing professions where the prime-time performance dwindles over time. It's never the case that the hunger for performing well is any less. While popularity and attention from success can affect your urge to perform well, overexposure to the monotony of activities can affect your technique. Just a little. You don't even notice th...

In 2020, a few Michelin Star chefs  opted  out of Michelin listing despite being listed at 3 stars or higher. They grew incredibly uncomfortable with the ranking process and found it hard to handle the pressure.  One of the chefs was added back to the list by Michelin on their own. He did not care because he chose to return the status and not be part of the race he did not want to be in. The reasons for their decisions were simple. - Their need for freedom to be creative in the kitchen was not up to them - They were looking for a stress-free environment because the Michelin process was way too stringent - They also felt that young chefs from graduate schools needed to see better role models for work-life balance by being on their own. If nothing changed, they saw the risk of young-chefs burning out and leaving their professions. While the problem may not be widespread, we see similar situations prevail in other industries. After the pandemic job dissatisfaction rate is hi...

It looks so simple. We should see what it is as it is.  How is it that often what we see is not what it is? We either try to find what it is not and project what it should be on it to believe what is projected. The key is that "should be" plays a role in altercating reality. Our preconceived notions weigh in on us to see things the way we know them and fire up the "should be" to turn things the way we want to see them. A side effect is that we leave no room for accommodating how others see the very thing. The mismatch between the Actual and the Ideal is the main contributor to conflicts. What differentiates excellent performances from ordinary ones is that these performances are the result of efforts to align the Ideal with the Actual. There is enough room and space provided for bringing alignment.  What happens in such spaces often develops the culture.

There are situations where we do not feel like making a move. Sometimes we don't feel good about our accomplishments, and at other times we prohibit ourselves from taking action. There is circumstantial evidence to prove that our decisions will be beneficial over time. Yet it doesn't look to us that way.  We are unable to explain the rationale for why we feel that way and what could make us deal with such feelings. There are a couple of scenarios that contribute to this state. Those that take away the joy of the process of making decisions or feeling of happiness from any outcomes as a result. The first scenario triggers the anxiety about how long we will experience the happiness of accomplishments and with what intensity.  We change jobs, get higher salaries, get promotions, buy new homes, and buy new cars. We tend to feel good about accomplishments only until we get there. It might feel that way for some time shortly after. But then it starts to feel like it does not attract...

You try hard every day. You want to be in the zone. Accomplish your desires. And there come obstacles.  You blame the extrinsic. But the real cause is intrinsic.  The way you come out with a response to an unexpected determines the next course.  The unexpected erodes your confidence. Dashes your commitment. Noise rings in your head, asking you to give up and move on. Sure, that is an option. There is a better one. Desires are your internal expectations. Unless you can describe your expectations with words, they are just a haze.  Once you describe them in words, you have a chance to understand the desires. You can then work to realize them by building supporting habits. Know that habits take time to build up. But they are best enforced and cemented with small daily rituals. Rituals can be disputed. However, they are unsaid rules that make you own your part of the ritual. Visiting places of worship on certain days. Bedtime routines, morning time quiet for meditation, n...

Everywhere there is a talk about investments and how compounding takes place with patience and over time.  Compounding is said to deliver an exponential increase provided you have staying power! Fair enough. Why is there an emphasis that one must stay invested? Virtually in anything? Despite that, why is patience so elusive that we must be reminded of its importance? Time and again, we fall prey to acting in haste when all pieces of evidence in history point to the benefits of staying put. Turns out, we are trained to focus on the near term.  One-off exam scores, one-off selections in the team, impulsive buy decisions based on discounts, profiteering from the rising stock market.  We tend to be happy with winning in the present. Wins justify us having made the right calls. In fact, we get addicted to  instant gratification that kicks in because of being right.  It appears that the desire for short-term gains out-does the possibility of a long-term outlook. ...

The first step is usually the important one. You are clueless about where it positions you. Hesitation weights on your mind. Is it an upward step or a downward one? What matters is that it's a step forward. Have you noticed something, however? The first physical step you take is the aftermath of the step of taking a decision. The decision requires many more steps before the physical one shows up. The decision is a follow-on of traversal to determine the upsides on benefits and downsides of missteps. It is a process to decide which actions can improve your odds of benefitting and then let you define a chain of such actions to realize those odds. Of course, this process depends on assumption and thus has exposure to the unexpected and uncertainty. A curious, creative, fearless mindset helps in initiating the traversal. A humility and readiness to continuously learn are the best traits that act as guard rails supporting the traversal. Once the traversals determine that the benefits ou...

The first good start is to know what you need. From whom? Then go looking for places where you might find it. I f you find that effortlessly, understand you probably encountered secondary and tertiary locations. You will get what you need but be prepared for a lot of noise.  If you are patient and look further, you will spot a chain that takes you deeper. Tracing the chain is attractive though you might face uncertainty along it. The fear will grip you. You might face a dilemma. Is it worth looking for something on an endless, futile journey for something that is just around the corner? Fair to think like that. The source of what you need might be invisible at first. However, it always exists, provided you persist. Getting to it is hard work. Often, you need to bind pieces of evidence together to search for it.  Interactions, communication, interpretations, and conclusions all play vital roles.   When you do a decent job of piecing pieces of evidence together, you will ga...

Laser sharp focus is the ability to integrate your will, preparation, and application of skills - all at once. That is intensity. Intensity stems from honest feedback about the state of affairs. Honest feedback comes with sensitivity and care.  Awareness and acceptance of the state of preparation provide composure to overcome the fear of the unknown.  Then, you are totally zooming in on your goalpost. Your balance is perfect, you have no distracting thoughts, and your poise is confident. Past wins and losses don't matter.  External impetus is immaterial.  When you strive hard to propel intensity, you can achieve almost anything.

There are days when everything feels breeze! Things seem to magically fall in place. Obstacles are few and far between. Drawing from the game of cricket, every player appears in the zone. Stylish textbook strokes are being played. The cricket ball is visible like a football! The target is within reach! On such a day, you are on a streak! Outcomes appear effortless. A clear map of what is to be done; Deployment of the right help; Upfront buy-ins; a plan to handle the hurdles; coordinated watchful execution. Everything is perfectly organized with care and attention to detail. You know it isn't easy. There is a commitment to organizing periodic focus and a sense of urgency in doing what is needed at increasing periodicity! Streaks are hard to achieve. They are never accidental! They are a result of what you choose to do.

Often, you are tempted to focus on building an image. You change your actions, habits, routines, and interests. The goal is to appear, look, and be different.  Why though? Simply put, you tend to have a picture in your mind of who you are. It is a desperate attempt to have people see you in that light.  Image building is also about controlling others with an aura of who you are. And using that to control the actions of others. This perceived image dictates actions to match it. Then it has the power to influence positively or negatively. Thus,  you are quick to portray an image that would net you the desired outcomes from those around you. Images, however, have the quality of a candle. They efface and evaporate as they are put to use. Often, you run the risk of opening up to your own weaknesses while you play pretend.  While your image is self-serving, You are the real deal. Unlayered, honest, transparent, caring, believable, and trustworthy. Choose between yourself a...

Trails are defined by their undefinedness. Unexplored, unchartered, raw, risky, unknown, unstructured, dangerous, tiring, scenic, breathtaking. Trails are the best places to discover your character. Right when you are on the trails. No need to do much beyond embarking on these wondrous paths. Rest will be taken care of during the journey. If you hit the trails, you will be surprised by the journey. Experiences are rejuvenating and will turn into treasures of life. In well-established places, the fun of fulfilling unknown and unstructured exploration is vanishing. Where ever you go, you are in the known zone.  Off it, you enter the adventurous trails.  They are always around you. All you need to believe is that the trails start if we care to show patience and courage to zip past the known. It's usually uncomfortable to get there. On trails, you are pulled in for the good or the bad. I t is unlike where you came from! Expect to return richer!

There is a real story that goes something like this. There was a coding hackathon at a technology company. Two groups of participants were on two distinct objectives. The first group had the task of building one finished product that was well designed for end users. The other group had the task of producing as many conceptual prototypes as possible within the stipulated time. For them, quality was not a requirement. The hackathon ran for 48 hours straight. The first group was to produce a finished product but struggled to define what the finished version meant and spent precious time getting their team to agree on it. They ended up with a half-baked code at the showcase. The other team, however, delivered spectacular results. Not only did they have several working prototypes but also end purposes were defined clearly for each. They also worked to improve the quality as the event progressed! The learning from this story is that the boundaries we set define the reality of performance. Th...

The recipe is at the crux of a good meal! While you know there is a need to cater to, the method of making the end combination and the method to serve delivers the experience. There are numerous examples of services that provided delight right after they were served on a platter. Take, for example, Whatsapp. The app is simple, intuitive, and lets you fulfill your hunger for group and private communications rather effortlessly. Users adore the app. They don't hesitate to share the most important happening of their life via it. The app turns into a preferred method to connect and share. Over time, it goes viral globally. Or take another example of a natural vegetable juice maker by the street side in a city. In the wee hours of the morning, she delivers combinations of healthy mixes. In the process, she develops incredible connections beyond her product transactions. It's because the buyers get fulfillment from the story behind her product. No matter the season or the weather. Sh...