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Wednesday, November 15, 2017

LEADER - Simplified


In my quest to keep things simple, I wanted to understand what or who is a LEADER? What are some of the key traits/attributes that possibly makes one a better than the other. We all have our own ways of defining this incredibly overused word - LEADER.

L - Listening - We all love to express ourselves - verbally or through our actions. Listening ("Actively") is the biggest trait of a leader. "Listening to Respond" is completely different than being engaged and actively listening. When you listen ("Actively"), you understand the point of view and appreciate any situation better. A must have for all successful leaders.

E - Empathy - An empathetic person creates a positive vibe and environment around any workplace. One needs to be empathetic and not sympathetic. A leader needs have "that" personal connect and understanding while being real.

A - Attitude - It is all about ATTITUDE ("Loads of Positive Ones"). Situations will be tough and challenging, however positive attitude of a person distinguishing him/her from the rest. Attitude drives the way one handles a situation making you a "LEAD BY EXAMPLE" kind of a leader.

D - Decision Making - Leaving issues or problems under the rug/carpet turns to be painful and can catch fire. This happens primarily because of poor decision making or being in-decisive. The team looks up to a leader and is expecting to make a decision based on all weighted out facts and risks. Taking a decision and standing with it is key.

E - Enthusiasm - This is infectious. We all have met or seen individuals who become the life to any party. A person who is enthusiastic and positive, invigorates the workplace and acts as a positive catalyst. Stressful workplace kills productivity and one's own health at the least.

R - Reach - Always making the time for subordinates or colleagues who reach out, is a hallmark of a great leader. This only happens when a person is humble and empathetic to others. If no one can reach you, how can you convey any message? how can you possibly know the ground reality? how can anyone know who you really are?

There are no golden rules to be a great successful leader, but we all can inculcate some good traits in us to become a better person tomorrow.

Would like to get your thoughts and see what you all feel :) - My 2 Cents

Friday, November 3, 2017

LEARNING - Simplified


We learn from the day we are born and this process continues until our brain keeps ticking. The amount of learning does varies from one to another, however certain traits can help increase this. Based on my experience, I feel the following attributes/traits help us to evolve into our better selves.


L - Love yourself - Loving yourself is the first step in building self-confidence and a kick start to learn and improve ourselves. Without this, we manage to shut all our doors to a better or improved tomorrow.

E - Eager -  Being eager or curious is the next key trait that keeps us constantly seeking for something new and uncovers new found knowledge. It is key for one to be curious in order to accept and seek things we don't know.


A - Attitude - Attitude is everything. This drives us to visualize and respond to a given situation. This is applicable to learning something new and keep us going. Here I would say "POSITIVE" attitude is important.


R - Read  - Reading is not just going through books, journal or articles, but this could be reading your surroundings. Reading our surroundings (people and situations) also teaches us important life lessons.

N - Nurture - Learning grows when you nurture your mind and soul. This can be easily achieved by sharing your experience and knowledge selflessly with others. Many fear that is may diminish their competitive edge, but this truly helps you to solidify your learning and go beyond.

I - Inspire - Being an inspiration to another person is the greatest possible feeling of satisfaction. When you inspire someone, you actually internally realize that your learning, knowledge, personality and contribution is in the positive direction and you have made a difference in someone's life.

N - Notice - When one is vigilant to changes around them and start noticing what is working or not, it often propels the mind to become more curious and learn. This becomes cyclic with time and you start rolling.

G - Gratitude - Be thankful for everything you have. Gratitude is wonderful antidote that keeps you level headed and stimulates the mind to learn better. This helps creating a better you with time.

Finally, LEARNING is a variable and is dependent on all these traits / attributes. To maximize the value, one needs to improve on the attributes.



Monday, September 25, 2017

Practice what you Preach - Change starts with me


We find it very convenient to point our finger at  someone else, be it the government, local civic body, administrators, society, neighbors and anyone under the sun for any problem that surfaces.
Off late many of us would have been disgusted with the world around us, be it a barbaric act of violence, gender equality, child abuse and many more. We question everyone and every possible process. Do we ever ask ourselves as to what I do in my day to day life? Have I done something different?

I wanted to share my views and observations on some of these areas and would like to see what you all think?

1.  Gender Equality and Respect for Women -

We start reacting when we hear a news about gender bias, atrocities against women or a girl. Have I every looked into my own home, my workplace, my neighborhood, introspecting to see how I treat a lady, a girl, a co-worker, a subordinate, my house help or even the vegetable vendor down the street?

Do I tell my son to have respect for his sister(s) and imbibe in him the sense of equality and that I am not partial to anyone? Do I love and respect a women/girl the same way I regard the divine power as in Goddess Durga or Lakshmi? Do I treat and talk to any lady/girl with respect and dignity? If not, then what am I teaching my next generation or even creating an example around me. Can I blame others? How can I be the change agent?

Has the "Educated City Dweller" stopped going to gender determination clinic and prevented a female foeticide? Can I practically have government and police looking over everyone? After all they are the same people made of flesh and blood.

2. Provoked Violence and Respecting Humans -

How often do I acknowledge a human as a human and not from how he/she looks , what is his/her social stature is, what religion/caste does he/she belong to? Don't I create a prejudice before even I try to know who this person actually is?
There are off course free radicals (fanatics) everywhere and there are people who want to instigate violence for their own benefit or seeking political goals. But as a matured individual (assuming I am impartial), treat everyone fairly, with respect and dignity.

Dignity of Labor is so critical in the modern era. Every work is important and every person doing it with respect and sincerity deserves to be treated well. The day I start to treat my sub-ordinates, security guard, vendor, driver etc. with respect and dignity, the place around me will be much nicer.

3. Child Abuse -

How often do you see young kids being employed / pushed to work at a tender age. To add on to that they are very often verbally and physically abused. Many face harassment and exploitation. What does this earn? A little money for the parents?
Have I ever thought that if I cannot take care of a child, should I really bring it to this world? Do I make sure I am not employing a child for my benefit and exploiting the poor soul?

Every change needs a driver and some of these pressing issues needs you to first drive the change and provide others a path to follow.

It is easy to blame other and everyone around you. But this only works, when I have made sure I have done the right thing and ensure that I never break the norm. Finally we forget - "When we point our finger at someone/anyone, there are three which point towards us" 

Saturday, June 24, 2017

What is education? Something to think about


Everyday we hear or come across words like "Educated", "Education", "Educate" etc. How often do we really dwell upon and try to understand what does this really mean?


I am not talking about what Merriam-Webster defines, which is the one below


"

Definition of education

  1. 1a :  the action or process of educating or of being educatedalso :  a stage of such a processb :  the knowledge and development resulting from an educational processa person of little education
  2. 2:  the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools
  3. "
  4. Towards the early part of the last century, focus was on sending young kids to schools, colleges and universities based on available resources with parents. Some even stretched out to go the extra mile.
  5. Everyone wanted to be "Educated" and earn degrees. This certainly was a great move. People innovated new technologies, paved the road for a more connect world and we continuously strive to becoming a 100% educated and literate society.
However, I want to point out to a few fundamental growing challenges that today's world faces. I would like to question, if this is what we have learnt in the process of being "Educated"?

1. Gender ratio gap seems to be increasing in urban societies across the globe, mainly in South Asia. Thanks to technology which now can tell you whether it is a boy or a girl and suggest next steps thereafter before the creation is actually born. Is it still the belief that boys are superior? Have we not been able to change the way society thinks?

2. We have been able to successfully divide ourselves based on religious beliefs, how we look, where we come from (country, state, region), language we speak etc. BTW this is universal, be it the developed or developing country. Did we learn this better now that we are "Educated"? I am sure this helped the radical and leftist mindsets to create the much needed wide gorge. 

3. Empathy, respect for each other, kindness, love and affection, philanthropy now have new home called "The Dictionary" or visit a lecture session. Have we put in the effort in teaching the new generation and kids to imbibe these human values and traits? Our ancestors possible had more of these values without possibly stepping into a college.

4. Trust and honesty are now aliens and reside in planet X. It seems uncool to have these sitting next to you. I am sure this is not taught in biology or chemistry. Hence why are these friends being alienated?


We can complain that everyone/society is wrong and why me, but can we all do our bit to think through some of these challenges. Can we take steps and see if we can make a difference? Can we make a new start and set an example?

I am sure many of us echo with this, but we don't believe in doing the right thing. It starts at home and with I, ME and MYSELF......

Sunday, April 23, 2017

The deadly 3 letter word


Have you ever wondered why human relationships are becoming weaker by the day? be it between husband and wife, siblings, friends, colleagues, etc. It seems that respect and genuine love, caring for each other seems to diminishing and fading with time. I was wondering as to what could be changing? 

We are more literate than our great grand parents, earning possibly more than our parents, better exposed to the world than our ancestors and possibly possess more gadgets/materialistic comforts than what people had a decade or two back.

Are these advances or materialistic pleasures some where influencing the way we act, behave or think? Interacting with people at various stature of the society and observing many more, I think it is the deadly three big letter word "EGO" that has built bridges, generated grudges, amplified animosity and enhanced envy in us.

Education (E) - Getting various degrees, certifications, publications can increase our knowledge, get us our dream job, get us high paying salaries etc.  Should that cultivate EGO? Shouldn't being educated make us humble and more matured? Can we not say sorry when we are wrong or even we are right but we value the relationship more than being right?

Global Reach (G) - Emerging technology, fast modes of transportation, better communication is making the world smaller by the day. Shouldn't that mean we learn from our culture, respect it and understand our traditions? Can we just blindly say everything that existed before today is a fad and outdated?

Opportunities (O) - We are blessed to have better and possible more opportunities that our parents. Lot of mundane challenges are things of the past. Shouldn't this mean we should harness them to the maximum and create better ones for the future generations? Is the philanthropic and selfless characteristics of Homo Sapiens extinct? 

When the deadly EGO sets in, we suffer from

1. Over confidence and superiority complex

2. We lose the sense of being right and wrong

3. We push ourselves to a shell as no one seems to be as good as me, myself and I

4. We lose our identity as a social animal and often suffer from depression

5. Life become a comparative analysis instead of a beautiful journey

6. We constantly try to find happiness and forget that it is within us

7. We distance ourselves from our family, friends and people who love us unconditionally

Let the "E" from "EGO" go and I am sure our hearts will lead us in the right direction.

Share what you think? Perspectives are always nice.



Monday, February 27, 2017

Can Intelligence replace Attitude?


21st century modern society is becoming more knowledgeable and information flows at the speed of light. We are more savvy at using technology than ever before and at the same time becoming highly dependent on it.


Our efficiency and productivity is also at its all time high. Do we attribute this to our intelligence or technology has made things simpler?


Hardwork, dedication and a quest to achieve more has always been some of the essential qualities/attributes for bringing ideas to existence. Is intelligence needed to innovate and create? Yes you need it. Is that the only thing needed? No, there are other more important things too.

Unfortunately today we measure people's abilities based on their degrees, which school they went, which company they worked for, who are they connected to, etc. These should not be the measuring criteria or barometer to gauge a person's ability of what he/she can do for an organization.


Over the last 15 plus years,  having traveled across the world and worked for some name brands, I see the following are more important qualities of an individual that is going to make a difference to an organization.


1. Attitude, Attitude and Attitude - This is key for any person to move from point A to B, get things done and provide a positive radiance around him/her. Without this intelligence is just another attribute.


2. Aptitude - Certain tacit abilities and capabilities differentiates a performer from a rock star. Aptitude is a great plus. This concoction of positive attitude and aptitude can be lethal. 

3. Pleasant Persona - You could be the best, could have every skill that is needed, but can you still be a team player? can you be a leader? can you attract and motivate others? Your personal connect and compassion can bring in that.


Intelligence cannot be the only attribute and the first choice of considering someone better over others. Organization are made by humans and their cohesive work towards a greater goal creates the brand. Intelligence is important, but just cannot be the only thing. Attitude plays the driver's role.