Tag: human attributes

What to expect as people emerge from the lock-down!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

As we emerge out of the demonic shadows of the pandemic, you will find that the world has changed a big time, for good or bad- well this will largely depend on how your lock-down period was and what were the contents of  your isolation! Irrespective of whatever it was- you will be a changed person for a lifetime and may that be for the good and greater well being of yourself and everyone around you! This piece is a quick one trying to share what are the emerging shades and colors of human behaviour you will get to see around as the world begins to gets ready for business as usual in a few weeks from now!

You will probably encounter what I call is the “Butterfly syndrome” well not everyone, but the usual “social and ultra extroverted types” will be the ones’ who will display this. These will be the ones’ who will go from desk to desk and check if all is well and so on and so forth! Well, folks, I am not going to tell you if this is a wise thing to do or not, I leave that to your own figment of imagination! (as a Coach I am largely indifferent to how people behave- much of my focus is to see if their behaviors are aligned to the outcomes that they aim for!). But in a way these people with the “Butterfly syndrome” are the ones’ who have walked into the event and walked out of it with relatively the same levels of IQ and for them coming back to the routine is akin to waking up to reality (they forget all the torture, stress and challenges that the lock-down would have presented). This is good in a way but the problem is that they also forget the vital learnings that are needed to have a meaningful life ahead as they go on to embrace the world- full speed ahead with their selective amnesia!

The next broad display will be from people whom I like to call the “Reversed Polarity syndrome” As the name suggests these people will display completely opposite behaviors then what they were before the break off from the routine– you will come across cases wherein a person who has been a known introvert- suddenly is getting colorful and is too much into everyone’s face at times and borders on actually ending up irritating others (this irritation would normally have more to with lack of content for the right contexts as the person tries to overdo the extrovert’s role- not knowing when to shut up and when enough is actually enough!). On the other extreme other end of the band you would have an otherwise vibrant and chirpy individual suddenly transformed and metamorphosed into a deadly silence, displaying a matured behaviour which would generally be not congruent to their age! Now whether this will be good or bad- depends on multiplicity of factors like who they are what they do and the kind of job that they do etc. etc.; The best part of all this, is the fact that people who will display these traits- with time, will elastically come back to their natural zone; even before they realise it, they will be once again their authentic self! Even they will find it hard to believe that they did behave the way they did in the initial days after coming back (which will fun for some and embarrassment for few others)!

Then you would have that pristine balanced lot- right there in the middle- as if nothing happened- will go on as usual as if they are just back from a vacation and their conversations will all loop to things- like- during the work-from-home I had sent you that mail on Saturday at 5 pm and that other mail earlier on Friday at 3:30 pm) and people are left dumbfounded- “Wow, this person is God in disguise-even as the earth and society seems to be falling apart- you have this smart person- rattling off the data, numbers and also sending out plan of action for days ahead! Cool!

Apart from these superficial aspects- there will be however, a lot of serious stuff playing around the minds of the people all the time for a good long time- this could be as long as few weeks for a few of them it can be a lifelong challenge depending on how an individual would have soaked the episode in! These things and episodes will be played out in the deep confines of peoples’ mind all across the world- these will be what I call as “Automated Response mechanisms” which will evaluate every act and every action in light of how vital or trivial it seems to be in the larger scheme of things- read ones’ life and what one wants from it! Of course not everyone and all people will be able to have this space of their mind ticking around this- But this will be reflected and shown by people who actually have used this space of isolation to seek and find their real urge and have got their priorities of life right during this time in isolation, for some it will mean reinforcing their beliefs and values in what they have been doing so far and for few others it would be throwing away and walking away form all that they were doing and head to pursue something totally new with a refreshed approach and work towards what their new priorities are now! Whichever you look at it, it certainly assures a positive outlook for the individual, but that may not always work for a similar experience for the  organisation that an individual works for unless the supporting ecosystem within the organisation echoes the same!

These and many such evolving patterns of acquired behaviors will play out across offices and work places at all levels and these interplay will lead to new synergies trust behaviors and in few odd cases will lead to fall outs and complete rejigs of value systems and individual alignments vis-a-vis- the work place mandates! Importantly after spending an excessive time through the work-from-home scenarios- there also will be realignments and re-calibration of inputs and efforts that are provided by individuals at their homes with an aim to calibrate these inputs against outputs that are being perceived and experienced! You will see instances of where people want to spend more time at home, you will come across instances where people start to work late more often, you will see people wanting to travel more often or less often- all this will be in a nutshell reflective of how the excess time at the home front went by. There will be multiple reasons and again a hue of colors and shades of different personalities working with or against each other as well- and honestly that is befitting for  another article altogether!

Whatever it is, folks, trust me the period coming up, certainly promises to be rich, colorful and entertaining, which will offer a window into the human mind and behavior like never before! I am also quite sure none of us want another global crisis just for studying changing behavioral patterns- certainly not me! But then, this is perhaps among the  few positive fallout of a crisis, next only to that of saving lives from the clutches of certain death!

I leave you here for now and will be back soon with another refreshing article. Do keep writing in and do let me know what is that you want me to write next about and yes; stay calm, wise and safe always! If dumbness and stupidity gets you dusted- well nothing can be paradoxically as painful as that would be! Ciao for now and will catch up soon!

 

The aftermath of a pandemic- The way global communities will change!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Whether you in self imposed isolation or into an isolation because someone unwittingly gifted you the virus- whatever the case is- the fact remains this is perhaps the biggest opportunity in your life- where you have your employers paying you to think further and beyond for your own life! (unless you are working for yourself or you have got those gifted employers who are tracking you by those sinister cameras on your laptop- to check if you are indeed working!). This article is not about checking what could have been done or not and what is being done- it is about trying to unravel the scenarios that will come to play when all this dust settles in the next month or two and the new world order will have reset priorities – for almost everything- how businesses are conducted with whom, how people travel and how they stay connected, where the opportunities are and who will eventually benefit from all this mayhem until the next big episode which will dawn upon us! – Which certainly will- but of course – no predictions here on the timelines for the moment! So here we go!

To begin with, take a moment to reflect how the world was just before this pandemic started to become one. In terms of the health of the world economy- Majority of the top economies across the world were in dire straits for one or the other reasons with each nation slipping away into ever-increasing fiscal deficit (this is one way of simply telling you that each nation has been living beyond it’s capacity to create and spend wealth- either through internal or external borrowings!). Next, what are the major events that happened as this was breaking out- withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan- Trade deal with China and Brexit. Now with global economies under pressure and still scratching their heads individually as nations and as collective groups of the G7, G20, ASEAN, You pick a block and you will see a trend that there have been meeting of each large trading or business block during the period preceding this pandemic. Well I am certainly not trying to suggest anything here, but these are facts and these meetings did happen and they did happen before this “pandemic”went live! Now hold your thoughts on this right here and let’s move into another space for the same timeline- just before the pandemic!

Travel and tourism- This sector too had been struggling for long for some or the other reason- whether it was the plane manufacturers, hotel chains or the average traveler- who again have been shifting and changing their travel patterns for the last two years because of economic indicators (which in turn have been equally shifting and dodgy on an ongoing basis). This complete lock down and a clamp down of sorts again has come as a blessing in disguise (whether by accident or by design- perhaps we will never know). To this add a slew of other sectors which have suddenly announced to produce chemical compounds, instruments, equipment’s- all aimed to fight this “pandemic”(some of these companies have never had their core competency in the longest time in history- for what they propose to manufacture and offer!). Now all these business will use their respective laws of their land to rejuvenate, re-boot (read- government write off’s on loans, waivers and job losses). Now hold this thought and try to think and see what your intelligence is saying to you! (I may be wrong- well the whole point is to make you think!)

More importantly, this is going to alter the hardwired approach that people have always had towards dealing with each other as societies! Ironically densely populated societies will emerge as more isolated and even more disconnected after this all ends and will end up being more self-centered (read selfish and self-serving) then before. However, the communities and societies across the developed world will find a new reason to practice heightened care for other members of their societies and emerge as more connected and and more empathetic then before! This will partly be because the way communication around the “pandemic” has been propagated and dished out! Human brain too, being what it is, will trick people form one segment of societies (which have high densities) to follow the norm that distance is good and will factor this into everything going ahead (anyways much of the human societal interaction and engagement has been shallow and self-serving for the longest times of history). When it comes to societies with lesser population density- the human mind  will play the other way around- it will reach out on the note of empathy and care (as few number to a sparse society) will trigger the part of the brain where duty of care, respect and mutual affection (with now available access to medication) will ensure that health and wellness emerge as the top most priorities of those societies and will go on to reflect in every choice that they make- whether be food, travel, fashion or whatever element you want to choose!

Well, since there is a limitation to a blog, I can’t go on picking every space and zone of human lives and possibly discuss how I think those will be altered- but wherever you are and whichever society class you are a part of – you will see all this playing out right in front of you! In the times ahead- based on which society you are specific aspects will become costlier- say you belong to societies with high population density- travel, medical costs will go up and since this societies will get hard wired to social distancing and start becoming withdrawn even data costs will start to rise! Before anyone realizes access to transport, travel, data and healthcare will end up being costlier at least by 40% then what it is today- by 2022. This will further make the society withdrawn and fragmented within- and based on what type of a government you have- it will just help the people in power to gain complete control, which  will finally rest with few people who will have a greater advantage to influence and navigate a fragmented society to a point  that they want to! As far as societies that have fewer number of people- well they will be more resilient and will give away a lot of baggage and make the governments feel lighter- once these people start to take more care of their individual health- recurring health costs will start to come down and as these societies already have ongoing capped prices for utilities and services- there will be a flattening of the service costs to societies and people in these societies will be in a more advantageous position then the ones’ those have higher densities!

Eventually, in the smoke of the settling dust, from this episode; billions and billions of dollars worth of money and resources will change hands and ownership, simply to ensure that the world order remains sane (the way “they” want it) and to disallow “anarchy” (as “they” see it). This is just a step away and anarchy sets in  once world leaders start to believe that they will not talk to each other! (which thankfully doesn’t seem to be happening at least for now!). If you are wondering who these “they” are- Well I leave it to your wisdom- possibly you are working for one of them in one way or the other at this very moment- as have generation before you and possibly after you will!

I leave you here, and hope you use this time to reflect on how you are changing and what are the changes that you will allow and not allow so that when the freeze is over, you emerge as a better version of yourself- that is the only hope that the world has for now- that each one of us emerges as a stronger and better human being from this ongoing war!

Ciao for now and have your coffee- if nothing else- it will keep you warm and alert! I will be back soon with another piece and that will be on discussing the probable mental health challenges that we face in times ahead!

 

 

The unavoidable outcome of a Pandemic-WFH to AAH!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Hello there, yes we are at war- with something that we can’t even see with our naked eyes! Well call it rule of nature or whatever you may like to- The fact always has been that wars and enemies emerge from unseen blind quarters within or outside! Today, I want you to think around what is developing behind the smoke screen of the pandemic- sure enough- the pandemic is real people have risked themselves and have become history- but there is more in store and for what is in store- not everyone needs to die necessarily- but the changes over the horizon will be no less then having a rebirth! This piece is about what the unseen and unavoidable fall out of this chaos will be for the next 12 months at least- beyond that- well let your wisdom guide you!

So wherever you are on the world map right now- If you have been one of those lucky one’s to get a reprieve from travelling to work and are soaking in the windfall time with your family or pursuing your hobby or plain speak- something that you like to do (rarely that is possible when you are at work!); be wise and stay cautious! If you have not got that call from your boss, that client of your’s and if you did not get a chance to wear that mask and do a quick trip to your office like a super-hero to save the day- well you know what chances are your Work From Home (WFH) will eventually plateau out to a Always At Home (AAH) scenario pretty earlier then you would have thought! Yes! you read it right- you don’t trust me- well, no problem- drop me a mail around September 2020, then we will have a chat! Now don’t get scared- here’s what you need to understand and take charge of to ensure you stay relevant through your absence!

People tend to forget the age old maxim- “Your absence must be just enough so that your value (if any at all) must be realized- but your absence must be not so long that people learn to live without you and move ahead!” This is the space where the risky WFH is treading on- We live in times where interpersonal skills among people in work environments are already substantially screwed and messed up- if there is anything important that we talk with co-workers even as we work- it is about the third person- whether that third person in the context and content is a team member, your client or the classical corporate bitching session that has no end! I read somewhere- what people have started to realize is how shallow the entire corporate experience has been- once everyone has been packed to their homes-for their WFH- the realization has dawned that- the only thing that always mattered was the responses to the mails, the quick chats of under 3 minutes with clients and action planning and getting work done for that day! Everything else suddenly has started to seem to unwise- dumb and completely useless! Well, realization of all this is good for you as a worker- the problem here is even your employers now have started to realise- how dumb they have been to get sold to your personal charisma- your high value degrees and much hyped and eternally eroding experience(of course- there are a few exceptions- and this is not about them!)

Yes, folks, even as you think you have been smart to convince your employer for a WFH waiver and you are possibly working as you binge on a some movies and web series even as you work! Employers world wide right now are unleashing the complete available power of AI (Artificial Intelligence) – something that you, would have contributed to- knowingly and unknowingly (knowingly if you have bee a software and systems developer and unknowingly- if you have left a great digital imprint of your existence on the planet to provide ample data points to study behavioral and capability patterns)- and this is what can possibly make you technically redundant!

Well, there is nothing wrong and right about this – It is about knowing what we have done to ourselves as human beings!– First, we built capabilities through enveloping our intelligence- next we misuse and abuse them to sub-serve ourselves and for those who we work for – whether employers or society and finally we play dumb and under the garb of automation end up making ourselves redundant! What is happening to the service sector today- is what had happened to the manufacturing sector thirty years ago with the advent of robotics and CNC (Computer and  Numerically Controlled) programmable machinery, and as humans guess what- We failed to remember what we should have learnt from that instance- We should have could have set a limit to our levels of procrastination and laziness which have in a way led to the need and urge to seek more and more automation! Automation from an innovator’s point was always designed to make things easier for difficult situations- now that has been extended to manage dumb and repetitive tasks (that’s what I asked in a previous article- Does your designation define your incompetence!)

So what next, well as humans we can do only one thing what we are best suited to do- turn the circumstances to our advantage- understand and differentiate from what is meaningful and what is meaningless!– I will tell you what- here’s simple test- If what you can do- can be done by anyone else- Well then you are in trouble and you need to course correct your life and skill sets now- to stay relevant and stay alive! another step you can think around this is – Can anyone do what I do the Way I do It- here if you have answered NO- Well, then Congratulations- No matter how much automated the world becomes- You are and will always remain to be one of those human beings who have been and continue to be “Human” in the essence of the word by simply being “Who You Are” and that is how it is supposed to be and this is what each one of us should aspire for ourselves to be! Always remember, every time that stepped back and gave away the control to technology- technology has come back seeking more and more and there will be really no end to it- The only way to subvert this, is to ensure we are smart enough to limit and know what we should, can and need to automate and to what extent!

I leave you at this point- Take a pause and reflect- What is the essence of being an human mean to You and more importantly Being You – whats is that helps and harms you! Importantly also Know what is the relationship that you share with automation- Who is the Master and who is the Slave and what are you going to do about it- so that in times to come that equilibrium stays the way You want it to be and that’s how it should be!

Stay wise, have an awakened weekend ahead and stay who You are and stay Relevant!

 

The art of disrupting a disruption!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Hello there! I am sure not many people would be in a mood to seek introspection and dive deep within even as the world around “seems” to be caving in. The word here is “seems” and this quick piece is further to my last one- a step ahead if you like- to possibly fog out whatever ambiguity is remaining within our minds and stay glued towards the sensible way of making sense around the nonsense!

So, at this moment, possibly you too are among the many humans worldwide who have been disrupted, from what used to be an otherwise “structured routine”( irrespective of how fulfilling that was or how dumb your daily routine was), the simple fact that you have been thrown off guard and forced to comply with another routine makes that rebel in you to wake up- even as you remain unclear about what you are actually rebelling about and why! But once you have overcome this initial shock of being sent into a space of your discomfort! (if people think- work from home- is all joy and glory- well wait and watch as news starts to hit headlines across the world- how homes have found new challenges in dealing with never seen faces, attributes and behaviors of family members!), what follows is a wide space where you are equally lost as even your fellow mates are lost by seeing the sudden freedom and trust ushered in on you by the companies that you work for! Your brain is right now somewhere in this zone – “Why was I cribbing about my job for such a long time- see no supervisors- no meetings- no politics- plain freedom and what I say is being believed upon- even if I am binge watching the web series and having a house party!” Sooner or later once reality sets in, over the next two – three days or following weeks (depending on where you are right now on the world map)- you will for sure start getting those pesky mails- saying- “If I can reach and work- why can’t you”, “that strong mail from a client who wants to jump back and have the first advantage to be back in the saddle” or even more gloomier news that surely will follow-  people quitting, few  being asked to leave- and few others will simply vanish! (read incomprehensibility of the mind over the surroundings!). This stage then will be quickly replaced by a strobe light effect which will hold  anxiety at one end of the blip and boredom at the other! Now all of these or any of these will happen only  if you resign yourself to the fate of your disruption and allow it to dictate your future! The good news is there is a way to beat around this seemingly sluggish and clawing up menace and that is to disrupt what is disrupting you within the disruption!

What governments and organisations, fail to notice is that although, one public notice and one official email is all that it takes to change the way people are going about, the fact remains that we are reaching out to Individual human beings (who are a world unto themselves and micro ecosystems of responsibilities, planning and tact even at that micro level)!Well, at the macro level an organisation or a government may do it’s job by sending out that communication- but when you try to deep dive and see how the construct of every individual is the stories will be many and different with no common thread to fall back on except that dictate from the organisation! For few (if not all) being confined to their place of stay could be far more worse then being at office (reasons could be multiple- family elders being disrupted- health issues of family members- genuine paucity of space- ambiance – privacy- their accommodation are many grades down then their office premises- an issue of affordability, fear psychosis of being dis-connected- read dis-connected from office grapevine and  the ongoing maneuvers that have got left half cooked which can come back biting!) So how does an individual navigate this space and emerge with sanity intact more then anything else! well read on!

Among the many things, that one can do, limiting to the length of the blog, I will share with you a few simple aspects that I can think of and will emphatically urge you to find your heaven because, remember, no two of us are alike- each one of us- each of the 7.5 billion of us are different when it comes to our psychological frameworks and orientations! One way of disrupting a disruption is to analyse what is the element within the disruption is nagging you! The moment you seek that and address it- trust me half of your battle is already over! This can be known by knowing what keeps you ticking you and what ticks you off and the only person who can find this out- is U!– no one can do this for you! Next, once you have found out – what is helping and what is not helping you – keep focusing on what’s working for you as much as you can, so that you are able to nudge out the “not working elements” of disruption completely from your line of sight and top of mind thought placards! Consider this if you always wanted to finish reading that favorite book (which you long wanted to and did not have time to finish it), seize this opportunity and go for it, and every now and then as those thought placards start to pop  up(which reflect your anxiety, concern, worry about being isolated, or when your mind tries to drag into playing futuristic role plays of what happens next); use this book reading time more and more so that your mind knows that “this reading of the book” is the “new assigned task” and this will automatically stop the diversionary tricks that draw your mind into the endless chaos of ambiguity! Well, this was just a plain example and each one of us can find our own safe haven and island of calm- even as others tend to struggle around the chaos with clouds of ambiguity and smoking high on their own unfound fears! 

Once you begin to take charge and effect change for yourself – for who you are- through a directed and sustained effort; irrespective of the times- whether they are disrupted or not- things will never remained fogged out for your vision!

I leave you with these thoughts- Embrace disruptions and use them to Your advantage! Will be back soon with another piece, until then take care and stay safe!

The isolation advantage!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Well, in the context of what’s happening around the world, for now, “isolation”, may be the only word that is so respected  and feared at the same time! So even as nations battle it out there using all the tricks that they have in their book- one common thread on all this happens to be “keeping distance” and “isolation” as much as possible- well certainly that’s the way and perhaps the only way to fight contagious diseases from spreading (we learnt this as students of grade four, I guess), until we have the vaccines in place. But still what’s important to observe and study is how the human mind is coping up with or loosing it, as social interactions are restricted and at times when Isolation becomes the norm! This is about knowing how amazingly we the see the best and hope even in the darkest and most trying times! So here we go!

We all know about humans being “social animals” and have learned this at school (and even if we have not been to any), through the mere fact that we are related and would have a dozen of first cousins and over two dozens of second level relations, merely reflects how human society has evolved through the last three centuries! As the promise of resources (read food, water, shelter and safety) grew over the last three centuries, humans have resigned themselves to the comfort of community support for all situations good and bad– whether it is a community fun fare, marriages in the little town tucked away far from the city, political representation (unless you are yet being ruled by kings/ autocrats) or it is about saving lives in face of natural calamities and being there for one another when disaster strikes! This is more or less how we have always been and this is how it is supposed to be – irrespective of all the differences of ideologies and pressures acquired by a society by virtue of the urge to control and dictate- this fundamental thread of being able to look out for one another for good and bad and expecting nothing in return ( and you always thought only animals are wired like this!).It has always been so and it is again, we humans who have from time to time either ignored this or played even this to our advantages!

Looping back to the times that we are experiencing right now, the induced isolation, through self-quarantines and medical quarantine worldwide to protect ourselves and the ones around is throwing up some strange strategies to cope with this new dictate of the ruling governments! There are some communities which even under lock-down situations have managed to connect through human voice and music (even as they stay isolated), there are yet who have possibly sought refuge to engage and interact online, so that they feel and stay connected, yet others roam about as if nothing happened ( and these are the gifted ones’ who have always remained in self- imposed quarantine either because of their lengthened intelligence or completely extinguished cognitive ability- either ways it’s helping the world for now! More strange have been those instances where few- really handful few- who have mustered the courage to escape and run away form quarantined zones! So what are all these behavioral attributes saying about us and the human mind! What are we now evolving into as we face and overcome this global menace which is requiring us to manage social distance and be unto ourselves- how will this help or harm the future of our societies?

Human brain seeks companionship and that’s how it is hard-wired – you may be the most eclectic of yogi’s or saint’s seeking divine bliss- but even for you to tell the world that you have attained it- you will still need someone to speak to about it! So when you put people in completely unnatural situations- the first involuntary reaction is of disbelief- “No this can’t be happening- not to me- the medical guys have made a mistake- they are idiots- It can’t be”, this is followed by a quick realization of the next point- “well what if they are right and I am not taken care of – I may not exist and I may be well on my way out of the planet and the end up being a statistical number!- This powerful thought then overcomes the initial disbelief and shock making co-operation possible and then resigning oneself to the orders from perfect strangers who call themselves whoever they are-doctors, paramedics, you name it – The simple promise that you will be fine and safe by doing what we say- is such a powerful statement that almost 99% people will comply and pay heed to what these strangers are saying(In different context of history though- read dictators- it is exactly a similar response that has ended up having more people killed then cured!).The remaining 1%, well yes they do exit and these are the one’s who will end up doing eccentric stuff- running away, not following rules, not taking medicines, playing dumb- intentionally and unintentionally- they do this not because they want to – but simply the situation has become so overwhelming to their minds that they no longer can cope with it and hence neither have a trusting bias or a doubting bias (if you have one of these biases you can be managed and cured by developing an alternative narrative- but when you keep switching fast between the narratives- you end up becoming a living nightmare for the world – far worse then the battles against a virus! So what’s the way ahead and how do we make most of a situation which gets labelled as “Isolation”

One way, is to change the narrative from the word itself-instead of calling it Isolation- Call it “Time for personal investment”- a time to invest into yourself – to develop your personal strengths, learn to do away with your fears (demons in your head) and your weaknesses, a time to pursue something your daily routine and rush of life kept you away from (as long as it can be pursued within the confines of being isolated- I am not suggesting someone to pick up a guitar and arrange for live concert- rather pick it up and upload a video online!). This “Me time” can be used to assess your priorities in light of the new vulnerabilities that the world is bring to you- maybe you need to move to a new place- maybe you need to reassess the job you do – maybe you need to learn how to be strong and focused by yourself to keep you safe and maybe its time for you to realize that “Life cant and should not be taken for granted”! Once we flip our view of isolation and start to fill it with the books we needed to read, the films that we wanted to watch, the chats that we wanted to have with our friends, the peace that we would have wanted to hold within or as simple as the afternoon nap that you wanted to have in so many years- just seek what was amiss from your busy life and let this curse of isolation be turned into a blessing in disguise and use it to your advantage so that we the crisis is finally over and you emerge- you emerge as a person changed for good – who now values each moment of life in a more meaningful and mindful way- and possibly by then you know what wise issues you should engage with and when you should walk way from what doesn’t make you feel enriched and a better person!

I leave you with these thoughts on a Monday, wherever you are reading this, no matter how isolated you are, now you know how to make isolation work for you! Remember it is not the Isolation that hurts, it is the fear of missed opportunities and lack of connect that troubles us- because we tend to have a fear of missing out the social beacons (which we normally  use as our glide path as we navigate around society!). Once you have reached deep within yourself and re-assessed your priorities- thanks to the available time through isolation- you will no longer be in search of beacons and will most probably end up being a light house for others in the society to follow!

Ciao for now, grab that drink and stay wise! Run wild  with your thoughts and imagination and pursue your dreams- for this is the time to build upon your strengths, dreams and ideas and these will come alive eventually as you sustain and their time arrives!

 

The demons in our head.

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Well, what should I say, else! Going by the headlines of any newspaper or any news channel at this moment, across the world, for the first time in many years, we are all connected in the name of humanity, concern or is it that we are connected because of the fear that we have within– Fear,not because of what’s happening around, but rather because of the demons that we tend to keep feeding on, on an ongoing basis day in and day out! So what’s really that we are afraid of and what is that we fear? Is it the fear itself which blinds our wisdom or is it the demons within that cause it to bloom within! Well, let’s have a look and then as always you decide what it is!

Well, writing from India, has in itself a set of advantages, well it’s always been and will always remain to be a colorful nation (which I am immensely proud of- before you start to think how patriotic I am!), but the past few months have been proved to be a bit too much- so much that even the odd challenges that seem to come up with failing markets, economy, law and order, political alignments and misalignment all of this together has gone beyond a point of protest and fast turning into a hot bed for viral jokes, memes and what not! Well, someone did say- very aptly though, that “Humor is the best medicine”!It is in times of utmost despair and hopelessness that great works of art and creativity have flourished and hope someone right now is punching away letters that will create a Nobel Award winning book or an Oscar winning film in the years ahead!

Well coming back to our topic, the recent episode around the poor Coronovirus (who now has to be labelled as the bad entity!) led me to think about quite a few things- again by observing how people behave funnily! We have these odd stares from perfect strangers, just because you sneezed, or cleared your throat! That fast and short brisk walk in the Sun and that sweat on your forehead- which now grabs attention like never before- and people who would otherwise never care for you asking, “If you are ok?” That never ending mad rush for tissue rolls and sanitisers as if they were the proverbial elixir of eternal life! All said and done, trust me on one thing, I may not be a doctor, but let me tell you, Viruses really don’t care for all this melodrama that humanity is playing out for now! When you are a Virus – it’s plain simple- with no brains and no cognition to target prey and with no conceptual mind of grief and joy (as a Virus) it does only one thing that it is capable of thriving in favorable conditions (read death to the host) and self-destructing itself when conditions turn adverse (read human victory!) So what is tat drives so much of fear within us – fearing a huge person with a gun pointed at you makes perfect sense, but what is going around here, when humanity seems to turn paranoid against something that cant even be seen and when it’s cousins (the normal influenza virus) keeps visiting us every now and then! What is the secret behind this fear psychosis?

Well, the answer is simple, We fear that the most on which we have the least control or fear that which is the least understood by us! Note down this plain simple fact and to that add the marvel of human brain, it’s intrinsic ingenuity to keep on throwing you on the edge every time you hear a throat being cleared or someone sneezing (now that your brain has been fed with an input which tells your brain, sneeze or cough = death by Coronovairus); well even if you never had a passport and don’t even know where China is and have never met anyone beyond your by lane of the home where you stay- you still will be petrified!

This hardwired mechanism of our brain, surely helped human beings survive bigger and more fatal episodes of epidemics (before the advent of modern medicine) and certainly helped our species survive and emerge ahead, but when we start paying heed to every false alarm that we end up creating because of the stupid messages that social media keeps on throwing up by the dozen, what we are ending up doing is – throwing away the sensitivity of our brain haywire and the consequences of which in the future will be certainly fatal! For now if we keep on blaring out false alarms- the next time, if there is a more severe form of a viral attack; an already tired brain will simply ask you to politely f**k off and say; well mate you made it last time, I don’t listen to you now! and well this disregard then runs a real risk to give you an early one way ticket to the angel of your choice! So how do we move around this?

Well, the answer is simple, stay wise and stay rational. Let your brain do what it is supposed to do, that is be alert and vigilant; but not allowing it to turn you into a visible paranoid, lest you start displaying symptoms of OCD (obsessive Compulsive Disorder)! Feedback mechanism to your brain is equally important and that needs to be developed and encouraged by performing actions or memory frame which helps reinforce the belief system within your brain that, “What you are doing, wherever you are, you are safe, irrespective of the danger and risk around!” Remember this if you start to feed the demons in your mind, you will eventually turn to be their food, on the contrary might as well start feeding the angels of wisdom and you will do a big favor not only unto yourself but to those around you as well!

Well, this is something that I wanted to share with you, quick and shirt for today, I should be back with another piece pretty soon, until then stay wise, don’t get killed by virtue of your dumbness and yes, keep talking to and feed your angels and shun away the demons in your head!

Ciao for now, have that coffee and keep your throat warm! Trust me Viruses don’t like it warm! Bye for now and folks take care!

Learnings from a virus attack!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Even as the world responds and grapples to deal with an onslaught by a visibly invisible enemy- no matter how odd it may look- this episode again gets us back to the same fundamental question (like with any disaster)- “The WHY of it?”

To begin with, this is not the first time that humanity has been hit by nature through a viral route- things have happened in the past too and organisations/ agencies worldwide have provided swift response and made it possible to wage a war to ensure that the crisis ends with minimal fatalities. Each of these battles against the onward march of these seemingly super-bugs has provided ample amounts of learning and takeaways-but for some strange reason- as humans we simply don’t seem to believe what science tells us and we end up at points in history like the one where we are now!

This is not an article that gives us a solution to tackle the Corona Virus (boy- I would be rich real rich!) but this attempts to see what we possibly miss through the rush of our busy lives and why instances like these may continue to strike with predictable timelines and severity as we keep advancing and moving ahead!

What we certainly know is that this tiny virus too jumped from animals onto humans– so the holy question- “What the f**k was anyone doing – in an unhygienic setting around a dead animal?”. What is even more dumb is the fact that – what are the kind of animals do we want to consider having on our plates- and whatever happened to basic personal hygiene- Isn’t that something that we all learnt at playgroup or kindergarten?” Why does the UN (through WHO) need to tell the world “To wash their hands and maintain Hygiene! What does all this speak about ourselves – as individuals and societies – the way we have evolved as Humans- are we becoming more smart by the day or are we setting up ourselves for even more dangers by playing plain stupid and dumb! What’s actually happening here?

Being who we are; arrogant, ignorant, stupid, overconfident- all or any of these- humans tend to put them in harm’s way every now and then- whether it is that casual jay walking across a busy street, riding a bike without a helmet, exceeding speed limits on your sports car, or simple dumb things like- speaking while your mouth is full of food, refusing to brush your teeth at night, binge eating, drinking for no reason- you name it and you will find an instance around you and at times each one of us have been more or less guilty of this! Indulgence- is to blame- that insatiable appetite to wanting more and more and more of everything and anything around you, just because you have the resources to acquire and enjoy- this senseless indulgence is the underlying reason for the mess that we have landed humanity from time to time! You may ask me around this time- well what has this to do with the corona virus- well it has everything to do with it! If reports are to be believed this virus broke through some wet food market and one of the reasons that appeared were possibly an aspect of inadequate handling of meat/food products that were possibly infected and add to that the senseless rush that food markets nominally see ( because we get everything at a lesser price and this small incremental greed of saving that one dollar more by going to a larger market and being ready to buy/sell food products in not so hygienic conditions- what eventually has unfolded is for the whole world to see and understand! It is a classic case of a gross disregard of few people who have put at risk global communities and contributed to early exit of a few lives!- in some cases possibly these poor souls would not have even heard of such a place and any of these unfolding events at a place thousands of miles away from their residence!

In the times of fast city lives, social compulsions and wanting to be conforming with everything what others do- It is but certain that when the wrong role models and wrong practices are picked up and followed- when shit hits those and what you follow; it will hit you too! This again is not limited to only a virus outbreak- this is applicable to almost everything and anything that we do! What this episode us teaches is that – Our Individual value system and common-sense; that internal gyroscope of our mind; (which keeps on telling us always and all the time, “Hey, don’t do this, let’s move out of this place, let’s not buy this, let’s do this over that) whenever it is disregarded; chaos unleashes– it is similar to trying to shut off an ILS landing in heavy rain and trying to land the plane through a visual approach in the blinding rain- the chances are you will land with a bang- and will be lucky to survive! So what’s the answer to all this chaos and is this the last time we are witnessing something like this?

The first part of the answer, a generous helping of common-sense(having nothing to do whether you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate) value systems and inner belief will keep you alive and away from harms way for good- without you having to do anything more then using your brain and applying it for yourself in the right way! The second part, sadly the world will not learn- not that there aren’t any wise people around- in this context the problem is of too many wise people speaking to each other with no one wanting to listen to anyone! As long as this circus continues- you may have billions of dollars and thousands of people as a resource to serve and overcome problems- the fact will remain – that humanity will keep walking away from problem into another! (which would be largely created because of the mishandling of the previous one)- well incompetency – will keep on popping up here and there- as it always happens across large organisations and this in turn ensures that humanity always pays a heavy price – a heavy price for incompetent leadership and lack of common-sense of few people!

I will leave you with these thoughts for now, for you to reflect and really think for yourself- What is that you think you will do from this moment on- not to save the world- but to save yourself and your family to ensure that you do not come in harms way because of the incompetency and stupidity of someone you may have never known!

Keep thinking, stay wise and stay safe! Of course, remember, Personal hygiene is not doing a favor on the world- it is a simple act of ensuring that you don’t end up buying an early ticket for your exit from the theater of the world! If someone said, common-sense is like salt to food, then well makes sense to ensure you use it sparingly and always when you decide to cook up a new dish within your brain! Ciao for now will be back with another piece soon!

Keep writing to us with your inputs on what next you would like to read and to learn more about our structured interventions and consulting solutions for organisations and individuals through our consulting and coaching services! You can reach me at parimal.aluri@simplifylives.com!

A drug called curiosity.

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Well; I read this sometime somewhere, “Curiosity never killed the cat”, and then there were friends around who also had read, quite the contrary; “Curiosity killed the cat”! Well this piece is a quick sneak peak into the intrinsic element that we all have within in some measure- called, “Curiosity” and to know whether that’s actually helping us live or getting us killed! So here we go!

Every, life-form that has a brain with an ability to exercise cognition- will be curious in some or the other way- depending on the type of organism, it’s immediate environment and the kind of dangers and threats that it needs to ward off! Curiosity has evolved, being a reflection of how dominant a species has been through the evolutionary ecosystem! One thing that you will always find even in nature is that the most dominant of the species in an area of study will demonstrate heightened levels of curiosity which are reflective of the higher value that the organism carries in the value chain and these are enhanced in equal measure for both prey and predators and this I believe is nature’s masterstroke, among many others, to ensure that the natural world and the selection of the species and survival all of these aspects keep moving ahead through a fine balance!

Coming back to our world- a world of evolved- sapiens- the final frontier of biological evolution (as of now at least), we can flip the pages and take pride in the the kind of achievements that we have been able to register- as Individuals and societies across the world at different times- under different co-existing challenges! An element of common thread that runs beneath all the success and failure that humankind has experienced and shared through the ages is also reflective of the amount of curiosity demonstrated/ exercised and avoided!- We have stood to benefit and struggle at different times through history depending on whether we decided to act proactively or ignored our wanderlust mind and tried to remain passive to our own peril!

Every person who has read history, geography or geology has read about Mt. Vesuvius (the eruption that happened around AD 79) which famously wiped out the entire human habitat at Pompeii in a matter of minutes! What could have happened here , when we think about “Curiosity”- Weren’t the residents of a progressive society, living under the shadow of a tall mountain- which may also have sent out smoke plumes and occasional rumblers, ever wonder and think what was going around that Mountain? Well, certainly they would not have had the advantage of modern day science apparatus and gadgets, but during that time, knowing well, that Roman societies were highly evolved with arts, sciences (like Philosophy, Literature etc.) the question simply remains- why were their “curious minds” so oblivious of a danger sitting right over them? Think around this and hold your thoughts- as we explore another arena from recent history…

Fast forward to 1700s (the dawn of modern history)- say we arrive in a period post 1700s- what we witness here is a rapid development in technological areas and machine science coming of age- methodical and unprecedented documentation of history through volumes over volumes of books, research papers, scientific journals, all of them collaborating and contributing to help us reach where we are today! So what is the common thread running through human history in this period of time- Well, you guessed it right! “Enhanced Curiosity” and a sustained effort towards experimentation! The result, well we owe each and every bit of our modern day luxury to the pioneers and scientist of this bygone era- whether it is the CT scan machine that you are using, that X Ray door frame at the airport terminal, that electron microscope that ensures that airplanes are safe or the simple science applied to food chemistry that has ensured we live longer (living healthy is a choice as yet left unto us!)

So what actually was different between the Roman example and the the advent of modern societies post rapid industrialization- well the difference was in a simple aspect- the aspect of knowing when to be curious and in what measure. Of course, stable societies that guarantee safety and offer incentive for risk taking and enterprise always enhance “curiosity”. Societies that shun risk appetite (for one or the other reason) eventually end up being under the proverbial Volcano that will certainly erupt! (it always is just a matter of time- it’s then about When and not about If!) These proverbial Volcanic eruptions are not necessarily volcanic ash in pour face and lava lakes flowing through our cities- it is something far worse then that- when societies shun – individual enterprise by penalizing curiosity and enterprising approach by tying it up with penalties; these curious minds seek environments that offer better intellectual spaces and (which are the least penal and far more intellectually stimulating- read Brain Drain!)

Well, so whats the point here- well simple as always- The intrinsic fabric of our mind holds Curiosity- don’t believe me – fine- try interacting with those 2-5 year old’s and then let’s have a chat! The essence of human mind and the bio-chemical gift that it is also underlines this basic hardwired trait to be always seeking, searching and finding answers and developing our abilities of reliability through cognition and experimentation to make our today and tomorrow safer for us and the following generations! Like every other attribute- too much or too little of it surely can spell a disaster– example by setting off false levels and layers of urgency or complacency- which we often see in our workplaces! (because as long as we are not ending up killing anyone – everything seems fine in the corporate world- no matter what new levels of dumbness we achieve). Most of the times these errors are not fatal , but complacency when coupled with a fatigued mind- has almost always led to disasters and the only attribute that could have helped avoid them would have been a sustaining and an inquiring mind- which always asks- “Why is this – what I see- the way it is- is there a better way- for this to exist or work or provide that next level of benefit which is out of reach as yet!”

Before I leave you at the mercy of your curious mind- Always remember- All greatness that Humankind has ever achieved has been a function of an underlying curious mind and a curious-mind led thought leadership! As species it is our curious minds that help us navigate situations which are out of any written script whether we are dealing with animal instincts hidden among humans around us or we encounter real animals at their wildest best- when we are on our next hike!

I leave you here, grab your drink and let your curious mind wander a bit- a good question- well- try and figure out – “Who are you”! Ciao for now!

Disconnect and stay connected!

~ PA ~ 1 Comment

Not that I am turning out to be an old monument or a war memorial in the making- but the other day when the idea of this topic was shared by a friend, couldn’t resist writing a few lines! This topic has been playing on my mind for a while now- this piece is about really understanding how we get drawn and pulled into the senseless and at times the idiotic world of being Online for kind of forever and ever- and the greatest irony- well to know How being online (in a trance mode) is harming you, you need to come online to learn how to stay away from it!

Before the young audiences start assuming and logging off- well there was a time not so long ago- when letters were written ( not only as part of school letter writing assignments), fixed line phone calls were made only when the message was of grave importance (more often then not it would communicate about somebody’s death or someone getting married or someone coming anew into the human race!). This was a time (which I also referred to in an earlier article) where a two hour train journey could help you find friends for life- who in turn would mean more then your family- there was a time when you had groups and groups of acquaintances and friends (real people- not those spooky virtual ones!) who were available on a call and yet there was space- so much space for yourself to know really Who U are and what is that U have set to achieve! So what changed- How did we come to this point – A point where, we believe everything that is said online over the digital world and we doubt real people and then regret for it!

Well, the answer simply lies within us, because we are humans and this is the way we are wired! Get back to the good old times of Kingdoms, clans, tribes and simple one level societal structures- what do you see happening here- well the only way to get popular support was either through brute strength – physical or demonstration of brilliant thinking by being a thought leader among the people who could impact a positive and visible change on the lives of people (read- building of civilizations and large empires). All this was possible because of the intrinsic people connect– even in those times undertaking journeys of thousand miles or more just to propagate an idea (in-person) and garner acceptance and approval!

With the advent of modern times, still all was not lost- greatest of inventions, scientific discoveries, breakthroughs in modern human lives all of them have occurred only by collaboration and people-to-people connect. Whether it is the first manned mission to the moon, fighting wars, creating path breaking medicines, setting up great marvels of engineering through factories and machines- you think of it and you will see that at the foundation of all great things that humanity has ever achieved – it always has the underlying essence of Human-to-human personal connect- in flesh and blood!

In the last 20 odd years or so, with the menace of the digital age (thanks to the collaborative research done by people talking and working with each other!) as a society, we have developed a false sense of acceptance, social presence- through real life isolation and created space for being in pseudo-control- of everything around us by being online! All these are ramifications of the online-digital menace that coerces you too like that post, share content (which rarely makes sense) and post those tons and tons of personal snaps and videos which do nothing but add up to the pile of E-Garbage and different laws make it mandatory to have more and more servers added up just to store this pile of electronic data and garbage – so that it stays available!– I mean who really cares when you have loaded that snap- people who know you “know you” and those who don’t, really don’t care what happiness or grief you ate going through at the time when you do what you do! Even as your neighbor does not know who you really are! and at times even shocking your own family members on the go! things have just seemed to go from one stage of unmanageable mess to another!

As opportunities to lead real humans- through participating in society groups diminishes for one or the other reasons, people tend to explore the more convenient space of this digital arena to create pseudo follower-ship which gives a real life high by tracking virtual developments!– No wonder this has also lead to manifestation of new age – digital linked medical and mental health conditions! Can you even remotely recall any King who went into a depression because the audience did not clap hard enough after his speech? but I am sure you would have heard about that person who went into a depression because the posts did not gather enough likes! This is what running after hallucinations and mirage does to your mind and health- so what if the mirage is created in an online space!

More importantly, this is something not only makes us poor at real social connections, but also sabotages the quality of relationships that we have within our own house, family and friends; often you will see four friends on a table each one into their own screens, families at a dinner table- each one updating their own online status! Well, when you should be really looking into the eyes and mind of the person next to you and contributing to their life’s betterment and sharing stories that make sense- all that we end up doing is taking some stupid snaps and uploading them where it really matters to none!

So what’s next from here now- Well not that I am advocating for you to do something- you are wise enough to decode what has been shared here! The secret lies in striking a balance– the answer lies in the fact that we use every speck of technology in the way it is meant to be used (not abused) and meant to make it more empowering so that it creates impacts at all levels which are benefiting and uplifting human mind to pursue and create something collectively more wonderful and meaningful! Any piece of technology that isolates or alienates humans is nothing but a piece of epic shit which should be junked away immediately! Next time you want to dance- hit the dance floor, not an app, next time you want to say something to an audience- walk onto a stage- not a vlog, next time you want to share a great picture- be sure it uplifts, motivates or inspires someone- if it does- then upload it! These are the simple nuances that will go a long way in building your well being mentally and as a society will see more of amicable discussions and real life connections!

It’s not that, being online or the digital arena is the demon; the demon lies in the way we abuse it rather then use it to our advantage and make technology our slave rather then allowing it to be the other way around!

I leave you here with these thoughts for now, have a great day ahead and yes, Disconnect and stay Connected- with fellow humans and wise people around you- it’s time for you to start discussing the next big idea that will make human societies a shade brighter and better!

Ciao for now! Will be back soon with another piece!

Hidden in plain sight!

~ PA ~ 3 Comments

Hello people! Hope you are having a great time trying to make sense of the world as you rush into your week ahead! Depending on where you are on the planet, you are either completely consumed by the outbreak of the Coronovirus, some kind of political upheaval, facing a financial crisis or dealing with a flash flood or an environmental challenge! and If none of these things have impacted you; then you are probably thanking your stars and are wondering what is in store for you! “What is hidden in plain sight” that is heading for you! This crisp piece is a sneak peak into how “We miss-what We see”!

As we go about rushing through our daily lives, what we end up doing inadvertently is missing the bigger picture and the contextual settings of what we see, furthermore add to this fleeting inference the extrapolation that your brain would do (on it’s own- tricking you in a way- based on your past experiences and stored reference points) which will do nothing more then taking you away far away from what the reality is and set you up in a completely manufactured setting which tends to create a narrative that confirms with your liking and comfort! This is the demon that we deal with, the good part- this demon is created by us- the bad part- we hardly know how to control it and when to unleash it!

Having spent close to two decades in areas of Sales, Marketing and HR, lot of my time has gone into dealing with people- yes- “dealing” with them in the every essence of the word! Surely enough- I may not have been that “Best Sales”, or “Best HR” or adhered to any of the society led conformity standards, but (what is important) what I learnt through my experiences being with fellow humans- has been that each one of them- has a story which in-turn has a fascinating contextual setting- which none of us can ever imagine-you would have heard that line, “Facts being stranger then Fiction” and boy, when you get to listen to people how they have moved around and through these contextual settings and the kind of extraordinary things that they would have done to survive and overcome situations- it’s a different universe unto itself!

Consider this setting; a sales person who was performing quarter on quarter suddenly seems adrift- seems to have lost the sheen completely and the magic seems to have worn off and with no time to spare(not to blame the organisation here) pretty soon by the end of the ongoing quarter- this person gets ejected from the system altogether! Here’s one such case about one such individual- what had transpired then was rather interesting- so this person- was going steady- in no time- incentives began pouring in and with that started the problem! Being young- lesser responsibilities and an approach that simply refused to prepare for a worst case scenario-the excess cash-at-hand soon became a curse- slowly indulgence turned into full blown addiction and in no time- addiction led to inattention at work- which translated into missing targets and eventually getting ejected! This is what appeared to be – but well- as I have been saying- this is what was seen but what actually happened was this- In plain sight what was hidden- The fact that the addiction had developed on the job while working! The person’s team leads then used to fun at the expense of this person (instead of censuring and discouraging this kind of contra behaviour which violated almost everything- from policy to genuine human value of care!) this was one thing that further reinforced the notion of being addicted and being high at work was fine! and when the fun was over and when the number game began to get hit- no time was wasted by the same team leads (who used to have parties around this person’s addiction) in preparing a case against him for being addicted on the job, missing business objectives and showed the policy clause number 1,2,3 and there went his future with his ejection!

So what had happened here? Well things were hidden in plain sight- Even the HR teams possibly failed to see what they should have ideally picked up (the root cause analysis) and instead believed to buy the story that was sold by the business team leads! Now, why did HR do that- well simple- No organisation, in today’s age has the time, money or resource strength to value individual’s as “Individuals” and the second problem of assuming “anyone can do anyone’s work” (which at times works and most of the times does not!) holds ground. What happened next- well with this person gone – sure enough some good clients left and when the rut continued eventually the team lead had also to go!- A complete collapse of a team in a span of 8 months! Coming to think of it all this shit happened for what?- “Extracting fun at a cost of an individual when it was not warranted and when it could have been managed and at it’s best effort stopped!

Another story- An organisation had hired a supposedly smart person for a client facing role. At the beginning everything seemed fine, and in about two months (as client work began and things started to build up)- this person started working from one mistake unto the next- sure enough competency issues were flagged off (which the HR already had flagged off during hiring- but went ahead because the business said, they will manage it!). This all seemed normal until this point, but this where the fun began (at times literally spooking the people around!). This person started a tell-tale predictable absenteeism which was always accompanied by complete communication black out and radio silence! Subsequently every time that this person rejoined duty- it was an all OK and normal one week then again the same story- shocking still were the reasons that this person started to come up with! (when confronted and asked about complete communication black outs and radio silence while being absent!). the reasons ranged from serial stalking to house breaks to SOS from family to threats for ransom- you name it and everything was on the table! Well, I don’t want to make it more dramatic right now! Eventually things were called off and this person decided to move out of the organisation (for everyone’s happiness!) A detailed calm and probing discussion (on the way out-read exit interview) finally gave away a major clue! This person was having an underlying psychological problem- which translated into getting into hallucinations and escapism every time stress or pressure was increased (read normal work pressure) and this was an ailment for which this person had already undergone a comprehensive therapy few years back and this new place had just compounded and brought that back!

Guess what, it is not only Individuals, but also companies and organisations that start collapsing when we fail to read what is hidden in plain sight– as I write this article a successful private bank in India has triggered off a major stock market crash- the bank just collapsed on account of giving bad loans for last few years (bad loans given to supposedly successful business tycoons and their businesses!) well this is an altogether different subject(though similar) and can by itself be a subject for another article!

Well, to end it here, I leave you with thoughts to reflect inwards and see for yourself what is that you are missing in your plain sight – based on what is around you and in front of you- this very moment! For always remember- What we miss in plain sight- comes back to haunt us – now or later- but surely it does- it may be a blunder as simple as a penny or may be measured in terms of millions of dollars- but our oversight eventually ends up costing us and we having to pay the price!– Whether you end up working extra (because your colleague got fired or your investments get messed up- because that finance company holding your savings just went bust!). The point to remember here is- Always seek What seems to be hidden in Plain sight and keep unwanted-uncomfortable surprises at bay!

Ciao form now, have an attentive week ahead, will be back with another piece soon!

Minding your mind!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

We all live in times where distractions, interruptions and chaos play around us all the time and it is in these daunting spaces we are supposed to carry out our daily lives- well when it’s you private time, you can still choose what to do and where to be and how much shit of the world you ate wanting to accommodate; but the irony of life as it happens to be is that a lot of this unsolicited shit and clutter hits us when we are majorly trying to navigate through our professional spaces- irrespective whether you are a corporate chained performer or a self-driven (motivated or unmotivated) survivor, this is a reality that we all face- day in and day out! This piece of trying to make some sense of the nonsense around us!

What does your normal day look like? hectic, fast paced, slow, relaxing, chaotic, in-control…well you can go on with tons of adjectives to define how you feel, how your energy levels are and what your rhythm for the day is or will be- all in all it boils down to this- “Feeling – Thinking” axis within your brain and that’s where all the glory and misery of the world resides!

The human brain, by far the most complex piece of bio-engineering with a cocktail of chemicals that are all interlinked smartly just to ensure one thing- That you survive and don’t end up killing yourself doing stupid things! Our evolution has been gradual and so have our organs evolved to deal with ever increasing incremental complexities every few thousand odd years!. The magic word here is “incremental“. Consider a case in point, if you had a magic switch and took your tales iPhone and visited your ancestor say 4000 years ago or even say- 300 years ago- what do you think would happen?- well of course “nothing” because there would be no available reference cognition of what that weird thing is and what should be done with it! As you decide to return back to our present time, your old ancestor hands you a piece of bone which has rough edges and has a fine needle tip – so what do you make of it? Is it a needle or a knife? or is it an old chopstick? Well this is where your mind will be blanked out- because no matter how hard you try to understand- since you have not used the object- you too do not have a ready reference to utility and can just go on doing some second guessing unless your ancestor demonstrates! So what’s the point here? Well, very simple- Your brain will perform optimally only when it has clarity of context- and this clarity of context in whatever we choose to do is the essence of being mindful and learning how to deal with and reduce unwanted clutter that keeps on distracting you every now or then for good!

It is important to note that worthy distractions are not all that bad- your brain is a hardwired sensory organ that has one goal to keep you safe and kicking- sensing distractions by its natural way- the brain helps you avoid accidents and saves you from a lot of shit!- Each one of us has that memory when we slammed the brakes to save that idiot who just came in between! (and more often then not we are too surprised with our own speed to react to the emergency!). It is the stuff made up on unworthy and non-urgent distractions that leads to the fatigue and unwanted blurring of our abilities and these are more often to do with the settings of our workplace and our approach to that work and an intriguing interplay wherein others also contribute- either helping or harming us even more with each interaction!

The times of distraction that we live in about- that email- that whatsapp ping, that sms, that unwarranted call, all of these take away valuable seconds and play a focus dodge ball with your mind- result – you end up tiring it up more quickly and rapidly- as a result your brain starts to play its tricks- first it will ensure you slow down- make you crave for food (read sweets or carbs) make you eat more then what you should (fool you into this), once you have hogged- digestion takes precedence over thinking and your brain is more focused internally and your razor sharp focus is blunted rapidly- until a point either you goof up big time or are smart to pull up that coffee cup and dowse your brain tricks with a quick shot of caffeine right to where it hurts! This is pay-back time to trick your brain and trying to tell it- “Shut up dude- have this caffeine and let’s get the job done!”

People do not realise how damaging distractions can be and the kind of havoc they can create- consider few examples- crossing the road, driving while dabbling with you cell phone- result- fatal and dangerous, getting distracted by a call as you type a mail and send it without a re-check to your client! Just as you are typing away something really important- that odd ping from a social handle and there goes your focus for a long holiday- So how do we manage this? is this manageable in the first place?

Well the simple answer is yes and no! Yes, indeed this menace can be managed and the challenge well, you need to make a directed effort towards it! If you were to observe people who have excelled at sports of some type of artistic expression (dancing, painting, theater) , one common aspect that becomes really evident is their ability to drift between sessions of razor sharp focus and relaxing away or dreaming on! The trick is to strike a balance and ensure that the brain is utilized and relaxed in an optimum cycle to ensure that fatigue doesn’t set in, nor is the focus compromised! We need to adopt a similar stance while dealing with distractions at work- whether they are those pesky emails, calls, or unwarranted meetings- we need to strike a razor sharp focus when we have the “me time” at work and ensure that we are relaxed yet attentive as we create work through collaborations- This apparently is one reason that new age organisations always talk about relaxed rule books and casual settings (but do remember that never implies they are not serious about their numbers or profits) all they are saying is “our thinking gets rewarded by the setting- it tricks the brain into relaxation thereby ensuring the focus can be sustained and productivity enhanced even more!”

So, here you go, learn to balance your mind like a ballerina, being swift and still in the same stance! Learn to know when to pick that call, check that phone or that email and know when to shut down your gadgets and allow yourself to escape into the fictional wilderness created by your amazing brain!

I leave you here, with possibly a cup of your favorite drink, to plan how you want to create focus and space at the same time so that you can Mind your mind and a minded mind helps you mind the world eventually! Bye for now!

Deciphering the Hate rhetoric!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Whether we agree or not, we see an ever increasing instance of hate and negative emotions at play around us;more then ever before and ironically these are “allowed to be ok”! When we genuinely come across “normal good behavior” (which by itself is a rarity!) we start to doubt intentions of people! This piece is about trying to see what causes this anomaly and how can we deal with it- should we join the bandwagon of hate or should we be doubting every person around us!

Human brain is simply brilliant- ask any psychiatrist, psychologist and have a chat with that young neurosurgeon who just got a chance to open up and see one! All of them(irrespective of their approach of study) will agree to one thing- this is one machine that evolution has been absolutely brilliant at- so much so that even decades after the first time the brain was surgically opened up- it still keeps throwing surprises – when it heals and when it ends up having a mind of it’s own!

The human brain, like any machine provides an output proportional to the input. You feed it with garbage- garbage will flow out; feed it with stimulating and complex challenges, it will throw out ingenious solutions and provide answers (almost always) either by itself or by collaborating with other working brains (read progressive and purpose driven team work!). Now the million dollar question- If the brain is so evolved and able to take wise decisions- what in the world is wrong with it- when you actually see people, leaders alike using negative emotions and “hate” in particular as a rhetoric to address and reach out to masses or communities! What’s going wrong here? The answer lies in the hard wiring of our brains!

Through evolution, the brain has developed ensuring that as species we survive- the onslaught of nature, wild animals and eventually are able to ensure individual succession through battling and protecting oneself from other tribes and clans- it was and is the master control- to ensure the survival of the fittest all through evolutionary history of human species- and evolution never stops- its an ongoing phenomenon- which is on even now as I type this and you read this and will go on long after you and I do not exist! The earlier battles were simple and more of an survival instinct- with time as societies evolved, safety and security was more or less settled, the brain started to navigate the nuances of living with more and more number of people like never before and that’s where societal structures and rules began to came into play- this order was necessary to ensure channeling of human resources happened optimally through division of labor or other structures that a society would have had. At this point of inflection- as human greed began to take seed more then ever before- the brain started to learn the traits that today display all the negative elements and more importantly of societal level and community level hate mongering!

This hate and despise rhetoric when carefully deciphered originates form nothing else but “insecurity”. That feeling of being inferior to someone or something- ideologically, financially (which limits the access to perceived comforts) and a touch of attention seeking disorder – a blend of all this leads to that vitriolic “hate” rhetoric. Insecurities- at individual level and society or community level can further originate from a number of socio-economic or political reasons- it could be neglect of a section of a society for a long time- depriving them of certain societal benefits because of who they are or what they are; there can be a hundred reasons why certain actions would have been taken towards specific segments of society/communities across the world- not all of them would be right and neither all of them would be wrong! It is in this grey space that all unfulfilled and half-served promises stay on like eternal ghosts and demons which go on to infect the most vulnerable sections of the modern days societies at both individual and community level!

At times, when long deprived sections of societies seem to develop and contribute in an increasing manner and seem to have better control and better solutions for the larger good, vested interests tend to come out to play and distort the trajectory under the garb that the majority and puritanical fabric of a said society is under threat (sounds familiar- well it should- no matter where you are on the world map now- this is exactly what is being played out and irrespective which side you are and who’s right and whos’ wrong (this is a mind-game that tricks individual brains into believing one thing and later as a collective society ends up doing exactly the opposite!) I will share a case in point here- Individually every brain (unless you are a clinically certified psychopath) knows that arson, abuse, violence (physical and otherwise) is unbecoming of being human being (keep aside all other values systems and belief systems for a moment- they are not even needed at this stage)- next you add another half a dozen brains- add a layer of a value system or belief that “because of “x”, “y” is not available and to achieve “y” we must enact “z”- That’s about it- it is this small aorta of collective hallucination and distortion in the thinking cycle that is needed to lead to a full blown crisis of captivated and manipulated thinking process that will undermine every ounce of common-sense, ethics and individualistic values systems of mutual care for ages to come- just one figment of collective distorted thinking- all that is needed to let all hell break loose- now with a population of over 7.5 Billion, coupled with an ever increasing insecurity at play- internationally, within nations, within regions of a nation and within cities and societies within a region- Now you know why “hate and despise” is so easy! and readily available for serving hot and cold all the time!

Science has ample evidence that the right to uphold value systems and beliefs which service the larger and greater good and difficult to come up with and even more difficult to sustain in an ever changing dynamic world wherein even friendships between nations seem to flirtatious at their best! Alongside this , you have the quick service restaurants that serve hate and vitriolic rhetoric by the dozen and on order, 24 hours a day! No wonder that when genuinely good humans walk by- we either end up awarding them after they are dead or award them the highest peace time awards and technically make them redundant so that they are as ineffective as the awards been given to them!

More importantly for the average person on the street, the world over the dilemma to trust, invest and hold the hands of a stranger seems to just become more complicated because of these varied and paradoxical hues that modern days societies preset themselves as! The ensuing result- No commitment for any relationship- within the family or elsewhere- modern day societies are turning into more and more individualistic silos hidden away within a fragile shell – add a little pressure of insecurity and each element within the shell will crack and stand up for himself/herself- there is no more “WE” and the “I” although looks good;, seldom stands a chance of defending or defeating anything worthwhile! So how do we manage this? Can we?

Well to be very honest, societies where hate/despise is served by so-called leaders of the society- God alone can help! The only other way to turn around such deeply flawed societies is a comprehensive revolution and well – history knows, revolutions are filled with sweat and blood- apparent or real! The cost of a revolution is evaluated by the benefit that will ensue once the dust settles- if there is no great incentive- then societies stagnate and implode within; too weak and too starved to even voice out anything- forget about addressing the world! But there is hope and the hope comes from the ingenuity of the brain itself- as like minded brains connect and interact and as they grow in number through education and progress of the said society-the more accommodating and human thinking gets ground- fewer will be the oddities that relish on hate and hence eventually they will get weeded out by Thought- The power of Human Thought- seeded by right education that embraces the over arching principle of being human and fostering care and affection for fellow humans is the only answer that societies can give to the underlying demons of hate despise which at times are apparent and other times lie in the wait to capture the weak links and bring havoc to our otherwise serene thinking!

I leave you with these thought, grab your coffee and seek the sane part of you and see how trusting you are and how others feel around you- that my friend is the first step to ensure and spread the warmth in the society which will dispel the ghosts of hate and despise- One enlightened mind and One warm soul at a time is all that it takes! Until next time ciao!

Why organisations fail!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Before you start wondering and jumping to conclusions; no the title is not a problem statement neither this is an answer to all the stupid and dumb situations that organisations get into these days- intentionally and accidentally either-ways! This is more about learning a simple fact that people are at the foundation and core of what you do (literally whatever you choose to do- whether that’s a hi-tech company that you plan to build or just serve tea around the corner!)

Economic slowdown- well when countries hit the brake (especially when the sabotage is complimented by faulty government policies, needless to say all hell breaks loose!). The next thing that manifests in uncertain business environment is ..well..you have read the script- loss of jobs- closing of companies and lock-outs.When you have a closer look into the space how businesses react- they start with doing away with what is good-to-have (nothing wrong with this) and what gets impacted is majorly are the costs associated with the cost centers (read marketing, internal services like HR, Admin and Finance). The problems get compounded further from this stage as the good-to-have basket is determined through prejudice and nepotistic values rather then rational thinking! This is why when eventually they are out of the storm and the worst is over- often organisations realise there is no leadership that is required to steer the ship full steam ahead! Keeping people in the good-to-have basket is a blunder which organisations commit on an ongoing basis and consequences are always felt in an ongoing manner- no matter what metric you want to evaluate the organisation!

What then starts is a cycle which thrives on incompetence and the ensuing success and failure of an organisation is determined by the level of incompetence displayed by it’s leaders rather then anything else! As long as organisations tend to tie people as commodities rather then individuals who have something to offer through way of unique thinking- these ups and downs will continue and tend to get amplified as they resonate with failing economic policies of the government of the land!

A large network group in the space of marketing communication- The group thrived on mergers and acquisitions on an ongoing basis (to it’s perceived advantage and unintended disadvantage,decisions taken overlooked and gave a damn to the people who are being impacted with the ongoing decisions!) So much so that people whom the decisions usually would impact would be informed about it at the very last hour, something like this, “Hey! from tomorrow you are re-designated as “Chief Entertainment Officer” instead of the “Chief Business Officer” and your new clients are “xyz” and your target is “dollar 123″ and you have three months to get that money else find a place!”

In some cases other short discussions have been like, “You know how its is, the times are tough, we have to take calls, suddenly we have five CEO’s we need only two, so we want to know how you want to plan ahead and want us to communicate about your moving on!” Well in either scenario- the critical aspect that was missing- The rational approach that the HR team could have provided the management with– but as the case was to be- the HR team was totally clueless as this was a “numbers call” wherein the trade off is something like this, “because revenue is “x” we need “y” people and we are now “y+20″, so decide which 20 go!”

As a coach, we never wear a hat that goes on to suggest or indicate one option over the other; the fallacy of our times (which seems to go on increasing) is that incompetent leaders go on to make equally incompetent decisions, using tools that have been chosen (again by incompetent teams) which results into these fast failing scenarios over and over again. The damaging costs to organisation in terms of brand re-building, re-hiring and re-training simply outweigh all spelled out benefits shown by these (incompetent) experts and this cycle keeps on repeating every few years- for some industries and sectors this happens every three years and for a few others it happens once every five years- but this does happen! When these things unfold and resonate with an ongoing national or global slowdown the impacts are unquestionably more damaging and equally difficult to repair with long-term consequences!

By now you are probably saying- ok- so stop all this nagging – do you have a solution! Well the answer is yes and no- yes- there is a solution- simple effective and no- because you will not go ahead and implement- because for implementation of simple and effective solutions, you do not need a blue blood MBA rather you need guts and commonsense to face adversity and stand firmly no matter what to speak and do what is right- to master this bit takes at times- a learning of a lifetime!

Frankly speaking about the simple and effective solution- organisations that thrive on value of an individual and demonstrate rational decision making when it comes to setting up teams, qualifying businesses by planing for tomorrow along with their today a lot of misery can be avoided and is avoided- unfortunately in a corporate era wherein ship captains don’t see a tenure of more then two-three years planing anything fundamentally strong and substantive is a foregone conclusion and unless this bit is corrected from the top- I guess the chaos will continue- the only saving grace will be a few good men and women from the HR teams who are able to pre-empt, avoid and manage chaos as it unfolds giving a human touch and not resigning to the “numbers game”!

I will leave you with your thoughts here and will be back soon with a new piece with a refreshing take on something new! Enjoy your coffee and start learning to tame chaos today!

Welcome to your level of incompetence!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Yes, i can feel the grin on your face, right away, after the last blog that seemed a bit heavy and serious; what else could have been on my mind, but to make the misery of your life a little less, by ensuring all of us (me included) to look into the mirror and welcome ourselves and those around us to our respective level of incompetence!

Well, at the very face of it, this seems to be a cute problem , but trust me this is a baby faced killer! and this has harmed organisations not only at local levels but also has resulted into global meltdowns– well case in point- does anyone remember the downfall of the wall street- sub prime crisis- take some time off to dig into those not so helpful discouraging episodes, the fact remains- there were all smart men and women who were screwing up things at the grandest scale while the world was still looking at their coveted degrees in Law and those ever elusive MBAs- you know from where!

People often forget that we are a bio-chemical machine and can fail and fall like any mechanical machine- if you nourish it well- results are amazing- path breaking and scintillating, abuse it and throw garbage into mind and body and well, yes that’s what exactly will come back to oneself and also gift everyone around- the same age old principle of “garbage in and garbage out”!

People have always asked me, why I have been so passionate about aviation ( to such an extent that I choose my window based on the equipment and start doing the pre-flight checks on the android app, to give the crew company from the comfort of my seat)! Well the answer is very simple, it is possibly the only commercially viable profession where you simply can’t screw up and if you still managed to- you will certainly be global headlines- right after the breaking story from The White House- in case you don’t make it with your material body (which is quite likely) your soul will be drenched in outpouring grief from world over- even by people who have nothing to do with you, the passengers or the aircraft manufacturer- this singular overwhelming nuisance has played on the back of the mind of aerospace companies and I believe has managed to keep checks and balances with the odd screw ups every few years!

This overwhelming public shaming and nuisance ensures that commercial aviation works with precision, accuracy and with absolute zero tolerance to manageable and predictable challenges and issues with equipment and people alike! Go a little deep into this fantastic industry and you will uncover the ceaseless, selfless attention to detail, pro-activeness and ownership that each and every person associated with every single take off and landing each time (irrespective whether they are at ground control, the ATC or in the air) its a beautiful ballet that’s rehearsed, improved on an ongoing basis- day in and day out- with only one purpose- Not to screw up!

This unfailing, thrust has made aviation an industry to envy and continues to provide case studies in human mental conditioning and studying aspects of human brain- from simple aspects like body fatigue to complicated behavioral studies- all to ensure- all is well and nothing ends up in the well!

So if, competence is so priced, why is there so much dearth of it all around- well, the fact remains as long as no one gets killed, no one will really bother!

A garment manufacturer will not bother with that odd thread swinging in the air, nor will the call center angel that you spoke last evening will care a damn about what you said, as long as your conversation fits into some customized narration box for her to update and get moving with you sick, overdue card account!

Another fascinating reason why incompetence thrives is- people get promoted to their level of incompetence! and then magic- they have no where to go -within the organisation or outside- because they just manage to make themselves unhireable!– for reasons varying from sheer technical incompetence, to updation of knowledge to sheer laziness and the evil joy of screwing up others even as they mess up the organisation- one department at a time- one level at a time- till all of them become indistinguishable and then there is this great clean up act carried out by some poor investor how finally wakes up to smell the coffee and have the pests weeded out! But by then most of the damage has been done and more often then not at this juncture organisations get into the chameleon mode (new name, new logo, new business vertical, mergers and acquisitions and if nothing works well shut shop)!

So what next, are we all doomed to suffer at the hands of few incompetent souls, well actually the way societies and way of living gets constructed, we still do have a choice- to limit our exposure to external incompetence and dumbness- but for that we need to up our level of competence to be able to distinguish between the innocent point of ignorance and devilish incompetence hiding in plain sight under our nose!

An easy way around this menace, is to be self reflecting- sans carrying the baggage of being judgmental, prejudiced,patronizing and living with a head full of planet saving ideas and believing that you are the modern age Noah with answers to all the miseries! The moment you do this- life will in a wink- become a little more sensible and you should start to see beyond the fog of camouflaged incompetencies around you and genuinely start begetting real leaders who create, add and sustain value for themselves and everyone around- for that is the real hallmark of competence!

I will sign off at this point, time to take a break and try smelling competence among the conflicting odors of incompetence and stupidity around the coffee shop from where I am punching this article!

Until next time, happy reading and raise yourself to your next level of competence and do yourself and the world around you a big f**king favor! God Bless!