Tag: youth

Mental resilience: The master key.

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

This is not an article promising hope or the grandeur of a positive mindset, especially at a time when the real world around us seems to be pretty screwed up!Trust me, the last few months and weeks have unified humanity like never before albeit for all the wrong reasons and what’s even more surprising that even in these times of turbulence and tribulations, people do manage a way to nudge others, at times, proverbially over the cliff! from where they seldom recover! This article is about knowing how “You” and you alone hold the power to decide what impacts you and to what extent, this is the domain of “mental resilience” So join me as we explore quickly how this attribute can come to our rescue and bail us out- through our times, good and bad- irrespective if you are 18 or 80!

“Live to express, not to impress”- This has to be your first maxim, as you try and build your resilience. Getting likes and rave comments on social media is one thing, but if those likes and comments are aligned to and are generated because of an illusion that you have curated and who you really are not, trust me you will land up in some mental shit pretty fast, at some or the other point! There is nothing wrong in craving for social acceptance, fame, name and all the glory that comes with is; after all as humans we are social animals; So what if we wear clothes, get educated and have a society driven and arranged way of going about our world- we still are social animals! What is important is, the fact that all of your cravings and beacons of “see me”, “hear me”, “talk to me”, have to be aligned and related to who you really are– your true self! So if you hate beaches and keep sharing the endless sunsets by the beach, just to get those likes (which you will certainly get), you will end up clouding your brain dangerously and unnecessarily start living an illusion mapped to your pressures of confirmation bias!

“In today’s settings, being a realist helps”- Perhaps a century ago, complications and challenges were still limited and hence the ability to propound “positive thinking” and “sharing the message of hope” were a key to get people back- who would have set a course to their own destruction! In today’s times, with the endless onslaught of information (much of which is unverified garbage- which sadly gets consumed and is allowed to impact our thinking) and societal compulsions rising with each passing day- Unless you develop frame of mind that is anchored on being authentic and real- you will always seem to falter and struggle even as you go about doing even the most basic of the tasks that you would normally do! Whether it is about that luck color suit you want to carry to the board meeting, or that supposedly amazing foreign vacation (which is now a question of your prestige- since you have already committed to your friends- you will be going and posting pics on social media) or that professional focus to hit your business numbers, irrespective of anything that comes in your way..the list is endless- Certainly there is nothing wrong in being ambitious or driven or as they usually call it- passionate (well do check out the dictionary meaning to the word “passion”- I am sure you will start using it less often!); the goof ups start to manifest and people start to crash and fall once they don’t have enough caliber within to deal with the manifestations that they are pursuing! Let me explain…

Consider this, you are a lovely fine, Boeing 737, calibrated to operate at a maximum altitude of say 40,000 feet and cruise at the max speed of 0.9 Mach. Now you suddenly find alongside of you a F-15 Eagle- Supersonic- speed excess of Mach 2.0 and an altitude ceiling of 55,000-60,00 feet, and you decide to race! Well, if you know the fundamentals of aviation and a dash of common-sense will you that- even this thinking is a recipe to a disaster- the two planes are made different to serve different purposes!This is what my point is, “The earlier you realise in an authentic and real way that each one of us (even twins included) different and is born to serve/ follow a unique path to achieve our calling-the better off you will be!” This understanding will save you form burning unnecessary dollars to buy that car, clothes, that house and ensure you stay focused on things and people that make a difference to your life so that collectively you can further value to the society that you roam about! Each of us, is Unique and there’s a good reason- it is the way it is! so bank on being Real- Authentic- no matter who says what- Life will offer you the highway or you will have to create your way- but since your baggage is lessened you will be able to enjoy the views and the journey too as it becomes a destination unto itself!

“You get to decide who impacts you and to what extent”- I remember, many scholars, management experts and “Gurus” of the world saying this, “You are the Author of your life”- You hold the pen and each day is a blank page wherein you alone have the power to write and create what you wish! Well this looks good, but we all know- real world doesn’t actually go that route. There will be people who will walk over you, tear down your most wonderful pages, scribble on your upcoming pages, write **** to you along the boundaries of your page, at times offer flowers and praises too, so basically your book as an author or for any of us- is never only about us as individuals- it is also about the people- the quality of people- that we are connected around with and how they express what they feel and think about us! This primarily depends on how we project ourselves into the world- What we communicate and how that communication is received/perceived- Even the best of the communication, with the most noble of interests can end up screwing you for life- simply because it was either ahead of it’s time and the receiver did not understand it or the receiver was out rightly dumb and you handed away way too much ink and page to that person to waste multiple pages of your life’s book! You think you know of any such book apart from your own life- well don’t look too far- pick up the religious texts of any religion/faith/practice across the world- irrespective of all the wholesomeness and goodness that has been mentioned in them- but what have we inherited ? A planet which is filled with hate and despise for fellow humans! A classic case of the receiver being dumb!

“No one really cares”- Well, this is the fact and a key ingredient to develop and build a formidable resilience! To begin with do you remember how healthy Galileo Galilei was, what were his hobbies, what was his favorite wine? Well, who cares, all that we care about is, his contribution to astronomy and the foundations that were created by him and others to help us understand our immediate universe! So what are his Great-great-great-great-grandchildren doing now? Any idea- well – at least I don’t know! Perhaps you can help me with that!Let’s zoom back to your own life- Remember the last time your boss walked upto you and asked you to go on a vacation because you have not taken a break in the last 6 months! Do you recall, the last time when the HR came up to you and said you are a great person to have on the team and we would like to offer you a double promotion and increase your salary to help you meet your kids college fees? Well all this seems stupid and way beyond reality isn’t it? Well, it is and why would anyone do any of these, because no one really cares! Each one of us is quite busy figuring out and charting a course to our own individual survival at the best, which is often disguised as meaningless milestones of job titles, income narratives, compulsive purchases and social media likes & comments!

If you are working, as long as you help the metrics meet, your job remains- doesn’t matter what equation and understanding you have with your manager- even if you have any- it’s a matter of time that chain of command will break once there is no value getting created within and you will be exposed- with or without the understanding that you have with your boss! Likewise if you are into business, as long as you offer the products or services at a price that is competitive (as perceived by the buyer) you will float else you will sink, irrespective how hot the model in the commercial of that product was! If you are an artist, scientist, politician or a creative force- as long as you serve the purpose which helps others in a way or other you will be rejoiced- the day your findings and approach don’t serve the majority you will be neglected and forgotten! This paragraph perhaps looks bleak right? But that is the truth- the reality- whether or not you accept it- this is what it is! and It is here to stay and outlast it will even after you are gone! The point that I am making here, is pretty simple- “It really doesn’t matter! No matter who says what, the fact is no one really cares for you (apart from your immediate family) and in the times that we live in, you should count on your blessings if you have one! They are the ones’ who will be impacted because and only because of one thing- that your action/inaction impacts their access to quality of life, that’s about it!- and you had started to think about emotions? I mean really?

“Remain grounded and indifferent to the bouquets and brickbats”– This is perhaps the most important attributes that one must have, to ensure you maintain your sanity at least through your life time! The irony of humanity is that even as we are collectively comfortable to be called as social animals, deep within we also seek solitude and aloofness and these diametrically opposite forces dominate us all through our lives- these tend to impact and shape our thinking and behavioral patterns – which further may play havoc- at times leading individuals to take reckless and harmful decisions- sometime recoverable and yet at times completely unrecoverable! The only way to get around this bit is practicing the art of being grounded and indifferent! Ancient text – especially in Hinduism and also across many other religions of the world have always urged humans to remain humble,simple and grounded irrespective whether the times are good- working for them or times or adverse- working against them! This virtue is what helps people gravitate towards each other to build stronger person-to-person contact which goes on to build a formidable mental resilience so that whenever shit happens and disasters strikes- individuals aren’t left to fend for themselves, rather the entire society/unit rallies behind! We can see this in animal kingdoms, when large predators attempt to take down young ones from the prey herd- there is always a fight, an attempt- may or may not work but that resilience is there to try and fight heavy odds and make peace with whatever the outcome may be! This is the trick that helps you manage yourself through whatever life can come offering you!

Another formidable example of mental strength can be found among the officers in uniform the world over! They operate in conditions and challenges that would make many of us outright uncomfortable- forget fighting the enemy- even standing guard would be a big tasks for many of us- but this is what the Forces of any nation are trained on- Mental agility, Resilience and Fortitude- with a single focus- stop the enemy- It is not any of us- then it has to be no one on the ground ahead! Simple, straight, objective and pragmatic thinking! You may earn your incentives this year, next year, then you may not, you may not get them this year, you may earn twice of what miss the year after that- that is what it is and will always be! Not allowing the circumstantial developments cloud your thinking and judgement is another vital element to develop and build resilience!

“Make peace with what can’t be changed”- Like I explained in my earlier paragraph, once you know whether you are a Boeing 737 or a F-15, you will be able to make peace with all that is around you and this will, believe me take away around 75% of all your unwarranted thinking which keeps on playing the “what if” game with you 24×7! This, is easier said than done, but there is really no other way around it, each one of us is unique and we are the best, the very best at what we are meant to be, problems start when we leave that and start pursing everything else but what we must! Finding out “what that is” well, is a story for another article!

I will leave you here, and urge you to build resilience and ensure you create a formidable,real understanding of who you are and develop a technique wherein you have a clearly defined lighter version of yourself for mass consumption and an authentic real version to carry on with the real work and duties of the real world- always ensuring there is safe distance between the two! Don’t forget- at the end of the day- It’s your story and you are the Author! So grab your pen, protect your pages and watch that ink! No one is really watching your show! No one cares enough! Each person is calibrating their individual survival with flashes of real and curated “I am fine” all the time! Harnessing the power of resilience is the only way to foster clarity and keep ambiguity away!

Ciao for now, will back with another article soon! Time for some coffee!

Bouncing back and racing ahead.

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Through this article, I share with you few basic, common-sense led plain speak approaches which may just help you that bit extra to bounce back and race ahead, whether it is about yourself or about the team that you lead or an organization that you are responsible for, or, in that rare case if you are leading a nation! So let’s see what these simple steps are all about and the kind of impact that they can create, when executed well! Before we move ahead, it will help to always remember that humankind is perhaps the most unpredictable species of all, and at times may end up doing quite the opposite what it’s mind will ask it to do, just to teach someone else a lesson, irrespective of what compounding damage that kind of reckless act may cause, and no where in the animal kingdom, will you ever find any other “social animal” displaying this kind of behavioral disposition, hence, this disclaimer to let you know,there are no easy slides to heaven and why no matter what anyone tells you; rational wisdom suggests that common-sense always holds the foundation to give one an ability to bounce back and keep surging ahead! So here we go…

Through my engagements and shared learnings over the years, there have been few broad and common approaches- which when mapped to individual specificity of a problem tend to provide a more meaningful way through , over or around the problem! Here are a few of them (and yes, these are not the only or holy grail of problems solving!, so keep adding to this what life has taught you and I am sure you will do exceedingly well, at times surprising yourself!)

Measure what matters

Find the “Why” of your discomfort

Be a Realist- Not an Optimist, nor a pessimist

Clarity of Thought and Communication

Plan for others around you as well

Keep milestones close and within view

Cultivate your common-sense

Be grateful and thankful

Keep what you must and discard all that you can

Measure what matters: We live in an era where we are bombarded with information 24×7 across touch points and irrespective whether we are interested or not! In this kind of an environment and the mad rush to stuff information down the throat of people regardless whether they have a discerning mind to understand, evaluate and conclude rationally with that information they are served is perhaps the most paradoxical problem of over indulgence after obesity (which is caused by overindulgence of food- most of the times!). Even in the current crisis that the world is facing, people are bombarded with statistics, number of total cases, deaths, new cases so on and so forth, what point is being missed out is real sensible data, what are the real active cases today? , what is the fatality percentage, what is the percentage of population infected from the total population and importantly what is the severity or potency of the infection! If people had focused on these parameters, over half of the 184 nations would have never gone ahead with the dumb lock down strategies that they initiated in the first place! Hence it matters and always it is only about measuring what matters and is relevant as we deal with problems  in the real essence of it!

Find the “Why” of your discomfort: If you have read “Start with the Why” by Simon Sinek, you probably know what I am suggesting, If you haven’t read that book, do yourself a favour and do read it! One of the most fundamental mistakes that people tend to get into is trying to solve a problem – thinking that “what they are solving is the problem”, truth actually can be far away from that and in few case the people happen to be the biggest problem, because of their limited intelligence and skewed perceptions of the world around them- which is nothing more then defence mechanism to either hang on to their dear job, career or a failing business, simply because they can’t imagine a life without their business cards! Unless you do not come up face to face with the singularity of your problem or challenge that you face and understand that all solutions and remedies begin by altering yourself from within as you try to set things straight, no matter what you say and do, you will end up wasting the valuable seconds of life coming back to the same problem over and over again – albeit with differing intensity but continuing with the broader flavor of distress will tend to remain the same! Once you have found the true “Why” rest assured that will give you enough bearing to keep moving in the direction which will remove you away from the senseless loop and give a sense of forward motion even as you untangle the mess of the problem at hand!

Be a Realist: Not an Optimist, nor a pessimist: As much as thinking negative, being hopeless, constantly nagging, cribbing and sulking is bad, dancing about and fiddling away meaninglessly as if everything is always great and you are experiencing heaven even as the world around you is turning into a hellish nightmare, can be far more damaging to a point where people start to actually doubt your mental construct and frame of mind- whether you are displaying psychopathic behaviors or have a complete hard disk failure!  The whole challenge with the “Stay Positive” movement around the world has been that few of the so called masters have ended up making it a big joke unto itself, I mean you may have an individual being diagnosed with terminal cancer and you want that person to stay positive? or a person in a terrible terrible financial mess and you want that person to believe that  all will be glad stay positive? Shouldn’t it rather be asking these people to first understand what the situation is then help them rationally evaluate what are the meaningful solutions that are available to them so that they can lead the time at  hand in the most productive manner so that their pain is comforted and there is a sense of achievement in the way the simply carry out their day to day chores or start ton re-build their financial credibility one day at a time? Certainly let’s not even bother to talk about the “nothing will be good ever- ultra-pessimistic way of thinking- that is painful even to write here forget about thinking that way! Having a true assessment of the situation in a given context (which comes from deciphering the “Why”) and mapping it to ones’ individual abilities and competencies is the only way to make the best of any situation that comes your way! Nothing more and nothing less! Staying real, pragmatic and exhibiting courage to confront and deal with the granular reality of the moment will alone help one move ahead and simplify ones’ ability to know the real challenge within the fog of ambiguity!

Clarity of Thought and Communication: This is of utmost important, especially when you are dealing with others and others are looking unto you for guidance and leadership in crisis, whether it is a small crack team that you manage for an assault as an officer, or whether you lead a team of 100 professionals which are working to meet team objectives- the sooner you can provide or rather continue to provide clear communication (which can only occur once you have ample  clarity of thought). This clarity has be at all levels, what is expected, what is being asked and what is been provided to have the tasks accomplished- this all can only be manifested when there in intrinsic clarity of thought about how the team is being led and what is the shoreline that has been earmarked to anchor the team – if required. When Leaders provide clarity at this level- the same is resonated down the line and that makes the jobs of the leaders a breeze and that sets up the team and the organisation for a fast recovery to everyone’s surprise! Importantly, the sensible and impactful communication pieces are Realistic and don’t share misplaced optimism and unwarranted pessimism! 

Plan for others around you as well: Very often when crisis hits, the first and natural response is to make oneself safe and have your immediate responsibilities (family) accounted for, likewise when it is a team that you lead, you are the leader for that unit of your’s and it only makes sense that you lead, guide and provide for you teams like you would for your family in the way and manner that is aligned to the organisation culture and ethics! No one is asking you to become a cult leader or go out of the way and pick up fights with senior members for your team, the point here is to be responsible and accountable so that even in worst case scenarios wherein you need to have a few members offloaded, that whole process remains dignified, so that if ever you need them back, they will be happy to oblige and join you back! This approach of being emphatic, sensitive, and accountable to every member of  ones’ team should be intertwined in the soul of the leader and that empowerment of the soul must be used to take calls and decisions which make sense and serve the larger good!

Keep milestones close and within view: Often people- leaders like to share milestones- what will happen in next one year, three years, five years, well good- nothing wrong with it, but real fact of life remains, that even if the leader remains (which by itself is a miracle- because people leave even at leaderships levels around 3-5 years) there will be new people in the team on an ongoing basis- and each time you have new people – if you were to make the same presentation, it will end up being routine for some and “wow” for few others! The only way to beat this type of  meaningful shit is, spell the broader strategy few times through the year, make it a decisive point and revisit that only when you need to and through the course of the journey have meaningful milestones which are more relevant, visible and actionable- perhaps having monthly or quarterly ones’ that keeps everyone updated, everyone feels involved and everyone gets a sense of forward motion! This will un-complicate whatever you try to pursue and keep enough cohesion to make things easier so that even when hurdles are met, the team knows what needs to be done to overcome them!

Cultivate your common-sense: Human mind works well as long as it is sharpened and that sharpness only comes alive and working when we are presented with compelling cornered spaces and challenges which have no routine parallel! This is where, trusting and following your common-sense, gut feeling becomes all the more important! You may have tons and tons of data and metrics to deduce and take scientific decisions, nothing wrong with that as long as you are choosing one robot over the other or one product range over the other, but the moment decision making starts to impact people without bringing in the human element in the framework, disaster can strike! Consider this, currently many firms are laying off, announcing wage cuts (as if doing a favour that you still have a job), but not releasing, where will they get that very talent back which would have been nurtured, trained and developed over a period of time to meet the organisations exacting requirements in coming times?, Sure people are aplenty and so is talent, but the time needed to retain and re-equip which will be dangerous lost opportunity (in the hands of a right competition can spell a disaster for the business) and can cause severe unpleasant business damage! Even more funny is what does the wage cut say? Does it suggest that an individual was paid more then  their real worth or does it say that ones’ worth has gone down or does it say that the hiring strategy was astray to allow that kind of omission to occur and pay someone what they were not worth of in the first place? What is the messaging that is being sent out? The only and only sure way of doing away with all this unwanted nonsense is cultivate common sense so that even rational decisions; when and as they are forced upon can be routed through the test of common sense and than action can be taken once these decisions stand the test of common sense! 

Be grateful and thankful: This simple exercise will work wonders for you as an individual or as leader of a team, be grateful for what you have- as you start the day, your mind, the resources that you have access to so that you can go ahead an weave the magic that you need to, playing your role and discharging your duties so that you keep creating the subtle difference which matters and keep the momentum going in the forward direction! Being thankful helps, it helps you to begin with so that you know what you could have achieved or not and what is that you are able to achieve or not with the people and resources around! Once you have reached this space of being grateful and thankful, and you begin to rub off this simple yet powerful thought within your team, you will see magic happen as the narrative will change from what is not there to what can be done with what is there!

Keep what you must and discard all that you can: If life is a walk, a marathon or a race, depending on how you see it, in any case, it will always make sense to reduce the baggage! De-Cluttering will help you individually and also as a leader! Knowing what to carry along, what helps and letting go off  things and people that harm and obstruct is the key element to ensure that you are able to bounce back fast and in time to make the most of an approaching wave which can propel you further ahead and give you that much needed early mover’s advantage as businesses race to be the first one’s to re-engage with their clients and customers!

I will leave you here, perhaps you want to add a few more elements, remove a few, the choice is your’s; for you alone know what is the contextual reality of your world and these are but beacons which can help you to glide along safely without running into mountain faces and odd weather, so that as you embark to your climb, you have all the power you need from the people on your team and the machine that you have! 

Ciao for now, will be back with another piece soon!

The real story behind the Layoffs.

~ PA ~ 2 Comments

If you happen to be one of those people who have recently been asked to move on with some dignified (according to the employer) monetary compensation and a possible restraining order (that you will not speak negative about the firm for next 12 months), because the world is in a crisis and because your “not so long ago market leading firm” is collapsing and about to perish, this article is here to help you see through what would have happened behind the scenes, so that even you know how much you are really to be accountable (and if you indeed really are) and what does it speak about the modern day “futuristic caring organisations”! So let’s roll!

If you have been used to reading my articles for sometime now, you know it too well, I like to be to the point, simple and clear, no ambiguity, no opinionated bullshit and no creation of unwanted emotional stress, present the picture and leave it for your perception and interpretation based on how kind or unkind life has been to you! There is a good reason why we all as humankind are unique, even twins will be different, one may be absolutely sane while the other one may be a certified psychopath! So from my perspective there are broadly the following reasons that precipitate Layoffs, if you have any more apart form these, feel to add them to these coveted list!

White Elephants and Peacocks

Disconnected Processes

Right Team for all the Wrong Reasons

Incompetent Leadership

Business Led Strategic Opportunism

White Elephants and Peacocks: Well these roam about across businesses and organisations, easy to find, detect and trace! As the name suggests, they exist as long as the senior leadership enjoy their antics and can more importantly afford their salaries at the expense of someone else (that could be public money in case of PSUs or listed companies or money from Investors and parent companies!). Once the senior leadership changes, or has a change of mind (not to be confused with wisdom) they will change the sets of White Elephant and Peacocks with a spooky predictability- that’s why you find that few companies have their white elephants and peacocks getting changed every 2-3 years- it keeps their corporate zoo busy and adds to the meaningless excitement!  These are the ones’ who make most of the routine layoffs on an ongoing basis irrespective whether the economy is up or down, whether we are in midst of war, famine , surplus, whether we are growing at 10% or 1%, irrespective of everything and anything else, these are the ones’ who keep the HR teams busy hiring and firing them on a regular basis, larger the organisation, multiple such instances! You may want to ask me- but why do organisations get these White Elephants and Peacocks in the first place? Well hold this question to the end, once we have completed the other types, you will begin to see a singular thread which possibly will answer all your questions and provide ample enlightenment! So let’s leave this circus here and move ahead…

Disconnected Processes: Processes lead to Layoffs? Well, yes they do, normally you would have read them as “automation led layoffs” sounds familiar now right?, So here the question to ask is, why would an organisation create a pathway of automation without figuring out a smooth transition wherein the number of people are gradually phased out through “normal routine loss of workers”. The answers that you will end up getting based on the type of organisation you are dealing with, will be something like these, “we want to build a futuristic place of work”, “we want to flood the market through spewing out tons and tons of our products-irrespective whether someone wants them or not”, “machines are more reliable then people”, “this SBU doesn’t resonate with the new management’s line of thinking” etc etc. So you may start to wonder, why is it so hard to plan a strategy of 2-4 years duration to embrace automation, re-skill needed labour or workforce and then reuse  excess workforce through re-skilling and re-utilization aligned to the new process? Why do people start coming up with “Job Ads” to hire new people for the new process? Well hold this question, we will answer this towards the end! Let’s move on to the next one!

Right Team for all the Wrong Reasons: Through my experience, one truth that has established again and again is the fact that, Even as people come in all hues and shades of psychological make- whatever one may want to say, People are good.. always good at who they really are!–Everything else remains to be an acquired skill which either develops or fades away depending upon what opportunities are made available or not to an Individual and the Team that one belongs to! Often you will find in some sectors, that when a Head of a Unit leaves, the whole team moves, what does this say? Well if you ask me, it is the classic case of having a right team and asking them to do all the wrong things! Consider, you have  team of excellent communicators and sales professionals and you inform them that they will have to route their sales pitch through scripts and call centre outbound calls and them just keep sending pre-formatted templated emails to prospects- well you know what a true bred salesperson is going to tell you! well yes, he is all likely to ask the senior leadership to “FO” and not teach him how sales is done and managed! Now you may have a valid question, Why do organisations hire right people and ask them to do things which they aren’t supposed to do or make them do things the way it is detrimental to their growth or the process? We will answer this too towards the end…so hold on to this!

Incompetent Leadership: This certainly is the perhaps the most apparent and visible factor as Layoffs happen! Layoffs are almost always seen as Leadership Incompetence and in many cases- most of them that hold good- this is not about the Incompetence of Individuals at the top, that is different, this is about the collective intelligence or lack of it at the top that translates into Incompetent Leadership! One more face about Leadership Incompetence is that the more larger an Organisation, more are the chances of the same getting manifested and more are the pathways of Incompetence manifestation- imagine a debilitating attack on the nervous system from within- that is what Incompetent Leadership does! You may now argue that, how is that when majority of top management comes from famed business colleges/engineering/medical degrees from institutions (which most of us only can aspire to be an alumnus of), how can they be so dumb? or rather incompetent? Well sure enough that’s not how all of them are, most of them would be sane and wise- as long as they are all by themselves- the moment you add them to a team which comprises of similar people and calls for applying collective wisdom- and is trying hard to realize an utopian dream-shit happens and that’s when you start listening, “A” has joined the board, “B” has left the board and so on and so forth! So what, has this got to do with layoffs, well as these leaders struggle with their own collective challenges- they often get lost in a maze of inconsequential things and as this seeps through the organisational structure, the effects start to show and the resulting layoffs happen!

Business Led Strategic Opportunism: This is by far the most often invincible and the real reason behind many layoff stories around the world! This is what leads to creation of compelling PR narratives and creating diversion, distraction and deviation from real issues and this is the one reason which superimposes itself on all the above reasons and plays out choosing one or other type above! Human greed with no end, senseless capitalism and the ability to decide the fate of the majority by a few eclectic minority- when goes wrong- layoffs are perhaps one of the most minor things that manifest, the world has witnessed more murderous and damaging aspects of Business driven greed and Capitalist domination with no end in sight! If you think Conflicts and world wars were fought for territory, well you are right, but partly because each of them weer funded deep and long and that funding didn’t come only from government taxes but also through the invisible hands of the capitalists who favored one side over the other so that when everything settles down they get their pie of the cake to exploit and continue with their never ending hunger for world dominance through wealth creation and managing that!

This strategic led intervention when micro-managing- chooses the timeline for the elephants and peacocks, starts to throw spanners into the operational wheels so that collective wisdom start to falter and even the highly skilled and qualified individuals start to fail collectively! It is this factor that creates imagery of adding SBUs, shrinking units and hiring the best and then without much noise doing away with the best! This is what creates a narrative that wipes off every gain and every note of what Individuals and teams would have achieved in the organisation for the organisation and has the power to play down every achievement in face of some other narrative that is completely opposite to what real facts could be!

You may be a CEO and if you think you drive the business, you are wrong, equally wrong as the last executive who got laid off even as he had given all that the job called for! Layoffs are a narrative which are a dynamic camouflage to a larger purpose which is held close to the heart and mind of the business owner who is in turn dictated by the people who own the ecosystem wherein the business exists! If you think It’s your fault or mistake…think about it all over again! Ask one simple question- If you were really that bad and incompetent- Why would they hire you to begin with! 

As the old saying goes , not all is white and neither all is black- we live in an era that is colorful as it gets and has these specks of grey here and there, at times these grey’s block out everything around and that is the philosophical essence of what layoffs truly are! They are not the measure of the competence or lack of it of an Individual- rather they are a statement of how change is being allowed to come in- Transformation – as they call it- whether that’s a positive experience or not- depends on which side of a table you are sitting and what is the bargaining power that you bring to the table!

I will leave you here, and just to say this- Layoffs are good, like everything else, as long as you know how to make use of this blessing in disguise- be glad that it happened now as it happened for some other time perhaps would have been more painful- As long as you are bound by corporate slavery- Growth is Optional and Layoff is a Certainty!

Ciao for now, I will leave you here with your coffee, to think and reflect and make yourself Layoff proof if you can!  At Simplifylives, we are able to help and guide those who need help during these times with regards to their professional challenges and ambiguity, drop us a mail and we will be glad to assist!

Say no to Corporate Slavery! Embrace Layoffs!

Stretched to the breaking point.

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

As kids we have always played around with elastic materials in whatever form and shape we may have got them and for whatever different school and college projects that we would have needed them for- and certainly a we start to work to tie up loose papers and materials lying around our work desks and places which required to be clutter free! This article is about having a quick sneak peek into what is so fascinating about “the stretch” and when does too much become too much and what does it look like at the point just away from the snap! I am sure we can together learn a lot and apply to ourselves from the humbles elastic materials that lie strewn across our homes and offices- although lifeless, full and complete of life lessons! So let’s roll on…

The humble rubber band- the lifeline of many modern day households has a unique and enviable place in our day to day lives! What makes the rubber band special is not it’s ability to stretch but rather being able to surprise us from time to time by stretching when we think it can’t stretch any further and snapping away when it could have easily done it’s job! Well, what’s actually happening here is related to the quality of elasticity, the quality of the material and the number of times it has been used over and over again. Any physicists will tell you, for that matter even our high school grade physics lesson can explain you on this front- When the material being used is moderately fresh/ new the ability to remain elastic often is fantastic and it is these new/ infrequently used rubber bands that go on to help us with our most difficult tasks of tying up and looping up things, similarly as they get used and used- material fatigue sets in and the rubber/polymer molecules are no longer able to go back to their original state as much as they were going earlier and that further impacts that their ability to flex further and demonstrate strength- which results into those untimely snaps to our utter disappointment! So what’s the parallel here to our lives? Well don’t you see- the words were all over written earlier and yes, you too would have either used them or these were used to describe your attributes! 

Human mind is pretty much like an elastomer- elastic polymer- we can flex our minds as we require and this ability to flex makes us who we are- social beings.The flexing human mind has been the foundation on which societies and social order has got built and developed over the years and through the centuries! However,like the rubber band, our mind too has its own limitations with regards to it’s intrinsic ability to flex and regain shape and construct- read shape as in the  continuing ability to display intelligence and wisdom. Minds which show a formidable dexterity to seemingly keep on flexing irrespective of the age of a person are a true miracle. Normally ability to flex- displaying how much potential one may have to undertake risks and explore the new limits of humanity will diminishing with age – As age progresses the natural systems will ensure that flexing gets controlled and people become naturally risk averse- this is a hardwired switch through our evolution which was meant to keep us safe from formidable dangers of the bygone eras. But there are these isolated and few sparsely strewn human minds which seem to show no sign of stopping or reducing their limit of flexing and the conversely their ability to take risks and keep on pushing the boundaries of human exploration and human intellect further each and every time they encounter a intellectual challenge- These wonder minds are those of the modern day explorers, innovators, writers, specialists from every field of science and technology that you can possibly think of – These are the people who know how to harness this unique ability of the human mind to flex and yet be itself on an ongoing basis by using some basic techniques- albeit- knowingly or unknowingly! So what are these unique techniques which can help your mind also to flex like those of these geniuses- well read on!

Just as the material quality of the rubber band is critical in defining how many times it can flex before it finally snaps- the human mind also depends on multiple physiological, biochemical, physical and emotional inputs to arrive at its levels of comfort and discomfort which further go on to deciding how much risk a particular mind is ready to go ahead with! This is perhaps why, no two people are ever likely to come up with an exactly same approach and solution to a problem that they are presented with a problem- even if they both provide the right solution there will be always a difference in the approach to solving the problem and this is what makes us either among the 80% of the general population or makes us fall in the elite group of the remaining 20%. Once human mind is nourished with the right nutrients, few as basic as food, healthy upbringing and getting access to a value setting which is more compassionate and value driven to offer and to provide rather then accumulate and receive- the human mind is almost ready to demonstrate some amazing ability to flex and flex real good to provide cutting edge solutions to make life easier for the individual and the society as well!

A well nourished mind- through food and upbringing is a formidable instrument-an instrument that allows us to expand our cognitive faculties and race ahead with our imaginations- both of which are absolutely necessary to create a new world and address the ever pressing challenges that the modern day world keeps throwing us at!

In scenarios wherein the mind is failed either through nourishment or through other aspects like upbringing or societal confirmation biases or limited opportunities- it looses a great deal of it’s intrinsic ability to flex and when situations arise (as they most certainly will) this failing ability of the mind to flex in an appropriate manner leads to societal collapse either by virtue of a laid back response system and complete inability to flex or a overzealous response which ends up creating more chaos and ambiguity and puts up the entire frame work of the society at a greater risk with no one from the group knowing when to stop or where to stop what has been started!  One good example here could be of a revolution and anarchy- revolution is a proof of powerful minds thinking alike for a specific outcome and knowing when to halt as the outcome has been achieved- all this being achieved by flexing and contracting at different points through the revolution until the end goal is achieved. This is controlled, planned and efficient which works on collaborative strategies and ensures that individual minds are rested and nourished as the long path is traversed to reach the final destination! When we look at anarchy the loose free for all beyond control flex of collective minds all working (mostly out of sync) and to different objectives which overlap or counteract each others’ ends up defeating and ending the limited flex ability that individual minds have in no time and once it is met with powerful and planned counter narratives these anarchic minds come down crashing like a pack of cards! In this world where minds are pitted against mind to win battles day in and day out- it is the unfailing dexterity, endurance and magic of flexing of a nourished mind which will always hold an upper hand no matter what the battle is about or how big the challenge may seem to be!

The human mind also has this innate ability to signal when it is about to give up- whether it is about the powerful human mind which has been flexing all good for so many years or it is about that mind which is a recluse and averse to flexing and will do so only when there is no alternative left- the human mind will at some point in time or for some aspect fail- certainly it will and these failures are those mistakes which then in proportionality of the mistake determine how bad and how steep the fall is! Like any good machine, the human mind provides alarms- there will signs of fatigue- wherein you will simply find it difficult to come up with solutions ideas, newness and ability to think and collaborate with some fresh approach and outlook for old problems or the seemingly minor new problems assume demonic perceptions in the window frame of your mind! Another indicator would be the increasing tendency of not wanting to take up the challenge and seeing if avoidance is working- surely there will be and there are a few battles that have to be won by not fighting one, bit whether this translates into a total avoidance strategy is something that one must guard about carefully- this in the long run becomes severely counterproductive as it tends to rob away all and any risk taking abilities that a mind may have developed in a flash! Finally after nourishment, lethargy, it is the impact of repetition and societal indifference! Every time a wise mind is made to do mundane and routine things which make some or no impact on the society and the contribution is at the most taken to be granted automatically the human mind looses and start to throw away its creative facets of being ingenious and with that goes away a considerable amount of ability to flex and flex at the right time and for the right reason! As societies tend to become more and more conformists, listening to that one person, one value, one goal and one aim- we end up creating and becoming  low-end unthinking human machines which loose not only the ability to lead and crate or innovate but also end up doing dis service to our own self the very essence of who each one of us as an  Individual is!

The health of your individual mind is something that each one of us can take care of must- mental wellness, mental health is the very foundation on which modern day societies stand! It is not to be confused with intelligence or wisdom- that is the content part of it- unless the storage device is properly wired and functioning no matter what you throw into it- you know well enough if the processor is at fault you will end up getting more garbled and ambiguous data out of it!

A mind in harmony, at peace, content, driven and directed with access to nourishment and a conducive environment is the key to the happiness of societies the world over! many such mind are then able to guide societies and such awakened societies are able to direct nations and the world eventually!  Take a pause today and do think  how good  you have been at flexing back and forth and how has that helped or harmed you- know what to hold on to and know what to throw away- A healthy mind is the one which has no boundaries, has no bondage and has no fear and has courage but no arrogance. It is about achieving a sublime stage of being aware minute to minute about all that’s around you and within you and when you have reached these magical proportions of control and dexterity- you are ready to take upon the world and its challenges!

I leave you here with these thoughts, its a lovely Sunday- An Easter Sunday- Have a Blessed Easter Everyone! and I will be back soon with another article! Until then bye and stay wise, stay safe and don’t get killed! 

Fogging out the re-calibration dilemma.

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

As communities come together in their won way to assess the extent of damage and start to pick up the pieces and look forward to re-build, a very important question which will be playing on almost everyone’s’ mind- right from the governments to the business tycoons to the ordinary person on the street who awaits the opening of a retail store so that the next pay check can be collected is “How do we now know something different about all that we always thought we knew!” and what do we do about it and how do we move things ahead from here! Well this short piece is about skimming through these dimensions and possibly decipher how things may play out as humanity emerges out of the shadows of a global melt down! So here we go!

Hopefully governments across the world by now have learned a valuable lesson that as the old saying in India goes- “Health is the only real Wealth” and unless nations and societies do not  makes a serious effort to invest adequately and proportionally to ensure wellness and health of its citizens, no matter how many nuclear bombs and missiles they have in their arsenal or how many billions of dollars or gold they have to throw to the world- all of this will become meaningless in a wink as it happened now! This time is a great opportunity for nations to reset their priorities towards investment in healthcare and developing societies and communities which are more healthy! The choice is clear; either governments incentivize building healthy living and working habits so that investment in hospitals is reduced or continue with the age old unhealthy habits and then spend billions and billions to build hospitals and pharma reteach and this then goes on endlessly like a never ending game of cat and mouse waiting for the next mistake to happen and then that allows all hell to break loose all over again!

Business and the big bad world of corporate rat race– well, I doubt if this aspect of human society will ever learn anything from what is unfolding- we may end up seeing more dumb start ups that will go on to sell and live at the expense of why continuing social distancing is the way ahead and why remote working is The way of Working and so on and so forth! If this nonsense s is not checked and put in place- The world will end up having more mentally sick people then the number of threatening viruses you can think of coming from the Corona family! It will do the world a lot good, if for one time businesses become a little more humanistic and develop and build ways of working which resonate with general wellness and create more space and value wherein roles and responsibility are tailored and made to benefit not only the business objectives but also live on to enrich the lives of the people involved in creating those activities! The pandemic has taught one major lesson- A global melt down scenario- in whatever form it comes- doesn’t and will never care if you are rich or poor- these events are great levelers- they will reset everything to a point and from there is a great opportunity for all societies and businesses either to build a more inclusive and human society which is more sensible and purpose driven or loop back to old capitalist and greedy way of driving the things- again furthering the proverbial “rat race” and “neck throat competition” philosophies which will end up looking so falsified and hollow even to begin thinking about in today’s; altered world scenario!

Individuals, depending on how the time of lock down was used or abused will emerge as their better or worse version when they hit the deck to work! Likewise their offices would have assessed and gauged their absence and work through the physical absence in terms of effectiveness and critical contribution; needless to say- there will calls taken and adjustments done! So if you have been one of those people who have been binge eating endlessly dipping into the tub of popcorn or chicken fingers and blessed with an endless supply of booze, well you know what- your long party may just come to an abrupt unpleasant end! On the other extreme end of the spectrum, if you have been one of those silent warriors who has been pushing through all the odds and have helped your client, got that payment and ensured you have stayed on top of your game irrespective of the odds of bad signals, bad support and challenges galore- you may have just helped yourself by staying relevant and by ensuring you have indeed been an asset when it mattered the  most! If you are anywhere between these extreme ends of the spectrum- one end of callousness and other end of being prompt and proactive- well depending on what kind of sector you work in and what is the extent of human value and dependence your sector has you will ether sail through or end up drowning!

Businesses that display a more humanistic approach and be more inclusive, giving and caring will have a greater advantage in times ahead, needless to say those who showed their ugly side and used this as garb to seek undue advantage wither by sacking people or reducing their payout will get their karma back in time – sooner then later and they will to realize that! More importantly however the centre of focus will be the Individual- What the lock down and work through isolation has done to people and how they have coped with either to emerge as strong as before or have metamorphosed themselves into something else for good or worse will also play a big role in either ensuring that their role in the larger game of an organisation survives to get more star attention or they simply vanish off the corporate radar for good- owing to their own inability to cope with the altered work environment! 

Individuals who have been wise to use their time to invest in themselves, will no doubt be rewarded more then anyone else, for it is through their detailed introspection and realizing the depths of their own self they will be able to contribute further and add innovatvely to the new changed world order either by being part of the government, business  or simply by being who they are it is these wonderful people who will set the tone for the next decade and beyond– For a change this will have nothing to do with opulence but everything to do with humanity- The ability of being able to sense and respond to the changed realities of the world in a more human way! 

These, I feel are the ways that the reset will play out across the world at time subtly and at other times in a more direct manner- but rest assured the re-calibration will happen and will be clear and vivid based on priorities set by individuals, businesses and governments who decide to move societies and nations in a direction aligned to their national priorities- the only silver lining being for a change people and humanity will be at the core of these strategies – beginning with global access to health and wellness and going further and beyond! 

I will leave you here, at peace with your isolation and hope you emerge stronger, wiser and more ready then ever so that as the dawn ushers in you know exactly what you are going to do next! Ciao for now, will be back soon with another article!

 

Consequences of “It’s not my problem”.

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

We are in the beginning of April and for a change global headlines across the world have definitely changed the predictable formats of politics, business and sports! Although the pandemic- is bad enough- especially if that’s hurt you too close for comfort- It has in a way certainly taught us or made us revise valuable lessons of life!- Costly lessons one must say- but that’s what nature does, when humanity goes on doing what it can with gross disregard! Well, cutting the philosophical side for now, through this piece, I will quickly share with you, what I think are the key learnings from this not-so-welcome episode that we ourselves intentionally/unintentionally ended up inviting to our lives! So let’s roll!

Ignorance is no more bliss: Even as whispers began in late November or December 2019 pertaining to a strange illness developing in mainland China, the world went on their usual business as if that was a problem limited to that specific country, within matter of few weeks- I guess- 6-9 weeks- the picture became quite different indeed- with the world now in a form grip of the pandemic and collectively thinking what can be done! Well, I will not dig deeper more into this topic, I have written quite a few pieces around this, but what it signifies and what the learning here, is that each nation and each society fragment has been over the years so much got used to just keep looking into their own micro-environments that the bigger picture is often lost and that in turn fogs out every essential detail that is needed to run a society or a nation! Not seeing over the horizon and staying locked into your own little window has been the greatest folly of our times! If houses have doors and windows- the residents must be wise enough to use adequate judgement to know when to use what!

How can I benefit from this: As sick as may this sound- this has been the ugly face of the current global crisis- even as nations started to act- react to mitigate and try to make sense of the war against the virus- there were these few elite who have so far being able to profit from everything that has happened around- well, honestly there’s no point begin judgmental about what is right and wrong- simply because that is not how the world really works and moreover one person’s nectar is another’s poison! But we got to see this play out- globally stock markets fell, everyone was selling off what they had at whatever price they could- well this is the story everyone knows- what people don’t know is who bought all of what got sold at such discount value – and how come the people who bought this had enough funds to buy what they bought! Well these are the questions to which may never find answers and  this is certainly the domain of some hardcore investigative journalism!

The “What are they doing syndrome”: This is the most funny and the most dangerous part of the whole pandemic episode-  as nations scampered to make sense of what was unfolding- every nation- big or small- created something called “empowered  groups” or “national co-ordination teams” who were supposed to understand the directions from the supposedly “I know all” WHO and pass it within their own countries- what happened with this was pretty soon before anyone could realise the parent body instead of being a leader to lead, direct and guide the world ended up being a collaborator who simply kind of  aggregates ideas and possibilities- which now has got many nations to a stage to devise what works and what doesn’t work for them through trial and error and unfortunately when it is about illnesses- these trial and errors means and implies loss of lives! This is what is being played out and the only hope now is that we overcome this crisis with as minimal collateral damage as possible. You may call terms this inertia as fear of failure to lead or erring on the side of caution; but always remember indecisive leadership in every aspect and each time will be counter productive, whether you lead a nation or the baseball team in your neighborhood!

You do as I Say: This is no doubt, the ultimate weapon that governments, individuals seem to hand out when they have run out of all options- scientific or unscientific. This is that point where you have globally experienced people being asked to be thankful, asked to do this and that for them and they, asked to offer, asked to allow, asked to agree, asked to follow, you name it and you will see examples played out at all levels across the societal fabric! Well the best part of this, not all of what is being asked really makes sense- and  if you survive all this and look back after a few years- you will end up wondering “what the f**k was I thinking”! I mean if are in gratitude, being thankful, it implies we are” that’s about it- what is the whole show about displaying it?!

It’s not my problem: This proposition, if you carefully see is the cause and the effect both! Even as we allowed a pandemic to develop ignorance over-riding on this facet allowed the situation to reach where it is and even as this ends and nations race to fix all that would have got broken through this ordeal we will finally see these statements eventually raising up; nations will say this to world bodies and federal governments will say this to the state!

This fallacy of  this thinking is not our making during the time of a crisis – rather it reflects how we have ended up becoming as humans- individually and as a society! Offices want to have those ritual Birthday Cake cutting on the floor to check off the employee engagement task for the month, not knowing if the person is diabetic or there is a crisis that the person is dealing with in the personal space, companies have numbers  on their dashboard and when decisions have to be made they are simply made (well nothing wrong with it) but again the rationale and logic is what defeats the purpose of such decisions and ends up bring companies back to the same problem in time ahead- sometimes sooner then later! So what do we do?

Well, each one needs to define ones’ own heaven and be comfortable with the hell that one chooses for oneself! But as long as we take ownership- read “total ownership” and sustain an elevated level of awareness and prudence about everything that is happening around us- we have won half the battle- certainly not one individual can oversee and map everything and everyone and each instance around all the time- well, that’s where the whole idea of a team , group, society, community, nations comes in place- this is what “watching each others’ back is all about and this is the essence of ensuring that “Everyones’ problem becomes your problem- not because you have an answer to those problems but because you want to be ready to face it when it hits you with minimal damages as much as possible, until such a time that solutions which are proven and tested are made accessible! This principle when applied and thought through even for the day to day corporate chores that we need to further- makes a great point about always ensuring that we have what we call as individual clarity and objectivity about what is expected from us individually for the role that we play-  and when each member on the team does this, rest assured successful teams will lead to create successful businesses and successful societies which in turn  build a healthy nation! So next time, think twice before you say” Its, not your problem- because it may not be now- but is will certainly be sometime and then it will be worthwhile if you Know something about the problem that you are facing!

Ciao for now, I leave you here with your cup of coffee/tea as the case may be! Stay wise and stay sane, and always remember, just by your existence you contribute and become a reason for all that is fair and unfair in the world around you and  that you experience! 

 

The dangers of misplaced narratives.

~ PA ~ 4 Comments

If you think or rather want to continue to think that “We’re in this together” and “Together we will prevail”, are great things that seem to inspire each one of us- Well, think again, these statements look great, the only problem that I have with them is, dude, I did not sign up for any of this shit! I would have rather joined a UN coalition force to rain down a barrage of bullets on the bad people or signed up for the olive green uniform for my country but to get drawn into a global narrative that is being literally shoved down my throat and placed in front of my face by trying to tell me that I need to contribute and be a part on this- so called war against a virus! I mean, wait a minute, have we really lost it!? A war against a virus, I mean really?! Take a pause and think about it (since you would be either in a quarantine or a lock down), how come one  gets coerced  to contribute to  alter something about which neither anyone has complete  facts- the How, Why and What of it and neither the solution to it!- neither you are a biologist, chemist or a molecular scientist- so what’s really going on with all these forceful patriotic narratives, the clapping, banging, singing all over the world- what’s really happening! Well this is what is called as the “War of the narratives” and this is something that every nation wages at some or the other time, the only difference being this time, all of them are doing it, at one go for one singular narrative- The Pandemic!

History is replete with examples wherein narratives have been created to drive select agendas of individuals who have been able to harness power, position or both and lead societies, nations to the gates of hell! So why is it that even when people, who are generally well educated, aware and have a thinking mind fall into the trap of these gimmicks and symbolism of false narratives? The answer lies in the qualities that I enlisted! Literacy, Awareness and Mind never help when literacy is not equated and filtered through education, awareness is built on prejudice and pre-preemptive assumptions and people even after having a mind, decide to lock and kept it away!

Misplaced narratives are perhaps the greatest invention of human mind! It is no surprise that most of the times they have been used to push through agendas which normally would have not gone through! So why do have them in the first place? Well, go back to history! Each time global communities- whether they be nations or regions have stalled and the governing agencies (elected governments, dictators and whatever fits into this systems that rules over the masses!) have hit a trim level with regards to any vital metric of the society that they govern, it has almost always ended up giving birth to powerful narratives- which essentially were a distraction created for the masses more then anything else! What these narratives almost always did was to lead people in a directed way of seeing at problems or thinking in a particular manner which reinforces the decisions made by the governing agencies! If we go back to the times when the great world wars were fought- you will notice a singular trend- every action that was taken even from the beginning of each of the wars was to do something with a powerful narrative by an individual or group of individuals who had come up with a clever strategy to communicate what served their purpose- to an extent that millions of people- whether soldiers or otherwise felt it a patriotic obligation to get in harms way (especially when a few of those countries were least impacted directly at a time when limited escalation broke out!) Consider Vietnam- the much famed theater of war from where US had to move back and was also the reason why powerful counter narratives were made in way of movies and films to keep sending the positive messages around the war to the general public! Truth certainly comes out, but if it gets mistimed- it looses its essence! This fact is being used and abused by people who govern and believe in creating false narratives!

In our current case, no government sounded off alarms about the deadly contagion that the virus is in the beginning, but as they realized that mistakes were costly- the narrative changed from the governments accepting accountability and responsibility- to telling citizens what to do and enforce a lock down. The lock down in nations where the virus was more aggressive ensured that those who were sick were more or less written off and had no chance of waging a come back as the system was reduced to choose between people when it comes to who lives and who doesn’t- Inhuman it seems and it certainly is- the worry here though is not that world wide health systems can’t cope with this kind of deluge of  sick people- The fact here remains that governments watched every our and every day as the things began to spiral off and decided to get active only when it started to suit their objectives- again not by- being honest and truthful of the omissions and mistakes, but rather by creating false narratives and putting the onus on people for their own life- The over all feeling across the world based on what governments are telling their citizens is “Well, we have a problem and you can alone ensure you are safe if you do a, b, c and If you don’t do this, well I cant guarantee you anything!”

Misplaced narratives work extremely well to serve political and strategic points for governments but in the long run they ruin and completely break down the communication and trust within the social frameworks and end of the day, more often then not end up reducing citizens to some crazy “Citizen ID no XXX”. That’s about it- eventually this is where we all will be heading to and this is what will remain as the reflection of the nation that we belong to . This one number will define how high and farther we get within the context of the society we live in. So you may want to ask me now, if “misplaced narratives” are so bad and dangerous why are they allowed and how do they get a foothold in the first place?

You will be surprised to learn, that individually each one of us and collectively as a society we ourselves are to blame for the extent of false/misplaced narratives we are ready to buy into and agree to! Yes, this is very similar to herd mentality and the overbearing need to comply with “social conformity bias” to be accepted as part of society and not be seen as an outlier or oddity who can be taken out/ ejected depending on what type of society you are going about in! The reason why these things get a foothold is surprisingly our “intellectual inertia” a behavioral attribute wherein we perhaps know what we are witnessing is against established logic and normal universal principles of humanity, yet we decide to do nothing about it- nor say, nor act and well this inaction serves as acceptance in the scheme of things  and misplaced narratives start to rule! Remember Hitler- one person who made millions believe that killing innocent people from a specific community was their greatest duty of service to their nation” well, yes- this is what it is and this is how it can get played out from a worst case scenario point of view- An Individuals delusional thinking and intellectual hallucination and fixation of an idea- brought the whole world to the edge and resulted in sufferings and deaths of millions and millions to an extent that the effects of those are felt even today when you visit towns and places tucked away on the quiet corners of Europe, Japan or other theaters where all hell had broken loose! A simple act of not using intelligence, cognition and displaying inertia at individual levels when reinforced by societies leads to a deafening silence which fuels the development of “misplaced narratives” which eventually end up harming the society which has surrendered and outsourced its ability to think to the whims and fancies of an individual or a group of individuals! So is there no hope around this? What’s the way ahead, are we kind of really doomed?

Well the fact remains, if there’s a problem, there is a solution always and this applies to the ability to ward off misplaced narratives as well! The first and possibly the only step is to use individual intelligence and wisdom before you agree to disagree to anything that is coming your way- e.g. If I were to tell you clap for five minutes everyday at 12 pm to become a millionaire in one year- well I am sure giving some kind of marketing twist I will be able to tempt you to try that dumb thing! But if you have a mind which starts to weigh my statement against principles of science, philosophy and common-sense , you will know this is rubbish and nonsense and  you will ask me to shut up! When one voice turns against a misplaced narrative- it by itself is powerful and when you amplify that using the power of social media and create a compelling counter narrative which is based on facts and science- which can be verified and explained in plain speak- this powerful counter narratives are what revolutions and pressure groups are made up of! Remember the Jasmine Revolution, – well that and many such were the result of powerful counter narratives when individual members of society came together and decided to stop misplaced narratives by confronting it collectively in unison with facts and more acceptable solutions!

Misplaced narratives are often the first steps before a nation is planing to change their political framework and these are more often then not tests run with tact and strategy and regular intervals to gauge the mood of the citizens so that any dissent can be stifled- using appropriate force as needed to ensure that the governance agenda- whatever that is- can be met! If you happen to be in any nation wherein you are seeing the political class becoming more and more in your face and in your app or in your life- Well, welcome you are now officially part of a society where a powerful misplaced narrative is completely hiding away from you what is really happening behind the scenes! If you think-all world leader woke up to a pandemic late- well think about it! If they have so many resources and time to mitigate and control the things now- why couldn’t they stop that from ever reaching to those levels in the first place!? No, I don’t need you to answer now, but keep thinking, maybe the “Pandemic is a Misplaced Narrative” and there is something bigger unfolding- which is hidden in plain sight!

I will leave you here with a cup of strong, very strong coffee and wake up  your mind, and try to sieve through the narratives that you have been a witness to and allow your intelligence and wisdom to guide you to unravel which one of those are indeed, “Misplaced narratives and who fast are they racing to impact you!

Ciao for now, will be back soon with another piece soon!

Post pandemic-Talent acquisition.

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

As unlikely as it may seem, but this worldwide lock down/ slow down necessitating a  reassessment of priorities at global, national and organisational levels will eventually impact the way we go about our lives in a more permanent way- in many ways, then one can imagine for now! This short piece is trying to see what will possibly change when it comes to organisations as they seek talent to meet the new challenges that seem to gather over the horizon ahead!

Depending on where you are on the world map now, either you have emerged out of a local lock down, or are in one in or will be entering into one! Likewise businesses have either started to count their damages, are trying to mange the situations day-to-day basis and doing the best they can for each instance or they are coming up with a business continuity plan to brace for the lock down coming their way! In all these factors, if there is any common thread that runs through (irrespective of the nature of business), it is – The Talent that the business has – the Intrinsic talent pool that an organisation has or that it is planning to build as soon as the situation becomes normal! This will be critical and vital not only for reclaiming business positions and accelerate growth but also to endure a stronger and much formidable resilience for organisations in times ahead when something like this hits next! So what can we expect- well read on…

Automation will get cautious- As strange as it may seem, but this will be a fact, organisations will be forced to look again at the human element and strike a balance between automation and availability of skilled and talented people to ensure that the show goes on even during tough times! Vocations like medical research, pharma research, doctors, paramedics and all businesses that are centered around people and have people at the core of their strategy would have by now understood one thing clearly- no matter what your balance sheet says- If you don’t have the right people during a crisis the balance sheet will continue with a same story which can eventually ending up writing off the business completely off the business horizon!Businesses and Organisations that have anything and everything to do with people- will have to switch their age hold talent acquisition strategies and ensure they have the right balance of experienced- amateur- bright stars and eccentric people at the right time and at the right places within the organisation! This may be an additional burden on the balance sheet of the organisation- but this is the only thing that will stand between the existence and wipe out of the firm!

Methodology of Talent Acquisition- This factor will also see a change, globally where we have a blend of hiring strategies which range from in-house talent acquisition teams to outsourced agencies which can use online -preset forms and test banks to filter and assess talents- well  you will be and should be surprised as these things will change a big deal and no matter who says what- the good old personal interview will be back to the forefront with the only aim of cross-checking and being sure completely that the hiring is right and this is what is needed-especially with regards to personality attributes! The essence of Human connect will be at the forefront, certainly this will also depend on how technically or even in general the interviewer is skilled to be able to make the best use of this opportunity- but well that’s a different story in itself! This person- to person connect will be to check more on the soft skills and other personality attributes more then the technical ones’ because technical things can always be trained and made good but if you have someone who wilts under pressure- well the the kind of investment needed to make that change- is simply beyond the investment capacity of an average organisation in times like these! Moreover as said earlier,the whole space around talent scouring will be wrapped around hiring personalities and attributes who can display specific behaviors whenever crisis hits next for the organisation so that the business runs as smoothly as possible with minimal or no disruption! Need a proof- well even in these times – just see around and think about two to three professions which are holding the fort for humanity- Law enforcement, healthcare workers  and aviation warriors- now what is common to all of them being selected into the profession that they have chosen- yes you got your answer- tough selection measures and training , training and training for instances like the ones’ that are unfolding right now! Trust me, if you run a big business and are always talking about the next 100 million dollars, it is professional attributes shown by these warriors that you want your team members to have! The whole selection process will move ahead to analyse and seek attributes that show steady resilience, patience, calmness and an ability to perform under pressure, certainly technical skills as demanded by a task will be of importance as well- and one more important thing- workplaces will become quieter- essentially you will be seeking people who are soft spoken, speak less and when they do speak- they wrap it up! Days ahead will be difficult for social butterflies in the office environments! 

The Turbulent talent pool- Two things discussed above become possible when we have the necessary  pool available from the immediate society. This fact brings to the forefront the quality of education and the state of educational facilities in a given society. Societies and nations where the quality of education and infrastructure is ready to rapidly develop and embrace new topics and add that to the skill set of the future professionals will see a better fit into the industry demands and this will provide the much needed edge over other competing markets ad players to emerge as a leader ion a given sector! This will also bring about a much needed change on how campus hiring are done and this will impact on how institutions are selecting aspirants for specialized courses- all in all, it will be certainly a step in the right directions- however, as the onus will  squarely shift to quality over quantity- everything in the value chain from education to campus hiring to final placements – the total cost of talent acquisition will see a rise and yes- this will again translate into a new way that organisations would like to operate in the future..which takes u to the next point!

Lean, Mean and Agile- A certain outcome that we all will witness is that businesses will become leaner- they will use a balance (of course will depend on the business as well). Irrespective whether they are process centric or people centric- they will work towards striking a balance between process automation and number of people (the whole idea will be to ensure every business has just enough and just the right people at the right levels and places)- This will over ride factors like age, gender and will solely rely on talent, skills, competence and experience that is needed and what one gets to the position! Organisations will want to move towards an ongoing arrangement with majority of workers – read variable term contracts and will only have critical and fixed assets as part of full time contracts- this will create a pattern wherein people will have to earn their way into a secured access to income- which will be completely driven upon individual competence and skill requirements of the employer! Finally many businesses will build in business resilience through managing and developing robust BCPs (business continuity plans) which will not only be multi-location but also will be across continents and will depend on the nature of business and importance of its operations!

The dilemma  of the talent!- Even as we discussed the various aspects about what scenarios may emerge- one important aspect and perhaps the most important one- The Talent! The talent- who is part of the societal fabric and during this pandemic- is up to something- either neutral and calm, anxious and nervous- or angry and frustrated- reactions can occur in many hues and colors! What exactly an individual has dealt with will go a long way to reinforce some belief systems that they have, while other may get broken apart and yet in few cases new belief systems may emerge-now which of them are right and wrong- is a very complicated call- and solely depends on the individual in that place- one person’s nectar can always end up being anothers’ poison! As businesses engage and start to interact with the talent available around- more and more interviews will end up leavening the interviewer drained and choked (unless they are skilled and wise enough) to know how to engage and deal with people as they emerge from a 21 day hibernation! The talent walking into the Interview room will be wearing layers and layers of psychological protective gear and unless the interviewer does not use the skills of interviewing which are able to build a connect with the talent across the table (possibly over a cup of coffee)- there will be instances of good talent being lost and incorrect talent getting hired! This would have been happening in the past too- but with the changed dynamics of businesses world over- these mistakes now- will end up doing far more damage then ever before! 

Well, knowing the limitations of a blog, I will leave you here, so that you may be able to reflect upon your own work arena and irrespective whether you hire talent or you are the talent- this is the time where, you must be aligning your future with clarity more then ever before- hopefully the isolation that you have already come out of , or are into or will be getting into one, will help you to do a comprehensive navigation check for your professional and personal life and by the time you are ready to rock again- you should be clear about the music you want to dance to and the discotheque that you want to be at!

Ciao for now, I will leave you here and will be back soon with another interesting piece with a more generic topic! Keep guessing! Like always should you want to suggest a topic, reach out to me and drop me a message! 

The complete circle!-A journey from Lockdown to Meltdown to Rising of the Phoenix.

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Even as I muster enough courage to share with you; as I see the things- as they unfold- by the time I complete this article, there will be more hundreds of positive cases across the world- most of these people will survive and few of them will not be able to make it through it! This senseless loss of lives, coupled with an economic crisis unlike ever before- is in a way preparing humanity for something, that we have never been ready for and in all probability, every few years these instances may come back haunting with different scales and intensities as the world tries to re-adjust to a new order- An economic and geo-political order! This quick piece is to try and imagine how the next few months will unfold and possibly provide an anchor hold so that we know which way to steer the ship of our lives as we begin to move!– So let’s go!

By the time I am writing this article, China from where all this began, is already more or less back to normal- which implies that production lines are buzzing, people are working and it is a normal day in the nation! Well, I don’t have anything personal against them (apart from the tense diplomatic connect that India and China have always had), but being an Indian we need to take care and watch our neighbors! This pandemic is a classic case wherein a neighbor decided to do “pest” control which has gone horribly wrong and who these “pests” are; perhaps only time will tell- or may be the world may never know!  So as the instance moved ahead- the global community saw the initial stages as an internal matter of China and felt relaxed –To an extent that even WHO took time to go through the processes of definition – whether it should be an epidemic or a pandemic and by the time all these great leaders and wise people with all the cutting edge resources at their disposal realized what was unfolding- it was too late and eventually every member state of the UN finally has been hit by this pandemic! 194 nations have confirmed cases on their territories! This scale has never been the case earlier ever in recorded human history! This brings us to the next stage- The Lock Down

The concept of lock down is not new, during wars this is the first step that every nation will initiate so that all available national  resources of a nation are used for the defence or for attacking the other nation as the case may be! Makes sense- but with this pandemic – this decision- kept getting delayed- we may never know why!- and even as people were aware – to a reasonable extent that the virus was very aggressive and contagious with a greater affinity to the older or medically compromised population– nothing was done to flag it off- just imagine- with the first cases coming to light somewhere as early as December- even until March second week- international flights were operating! I mean which world leading organisation in the right frame of mind would not have instructed the IATA and ICAO to ground all airlines worldwide in February 2020 itself? Why drag it to such a point. To add to this- This initial delay also cascaded into allowing communities within nations to roam around their land- with no concern and  it was these two basic acts of neglect and disregard that have brought the world order to the stage where we are today! The lock downs also as matter of scientific validation  are effective only when they are done with some reason- like cases being reported from an area may be a borough, town or a city- in those cases lock down makes sense- but when you have not been able to manage a planned approach- panic sets in (even if you are a government) and you will take irrational steps which translate into nation wide lock downs! These in turn end up doing more damage economically – which far outweigh what the Virus could have done even in a worst case scenario! Especially when the Virus has a mortality rate less then 3%! Stage is set for the next step- The Meltdown!

Even before the pandemic set in the world all across- was jittery with massive trade wars compromising and threatening billions of dollars in the global market, with workers being laid off on an ongoing basis in developing worlds and with this getting more and more unpredictable , it was perhaps time that the world was racing ahead towards an economic re-boot! The whole promise of digital economy, again a core element of the global narrative (don’t forget digital money is no real money- it is just an electronic interface which is showing you a number which is being honored as long as the state is allows it!)and its aggressive push was always looking out for a big and bad excuse and this instance happens to be a perfect alibi! Confused- well, let me keep it simple- right now- if all citizens of any nation were to Q up and decide to withdraw all their money at one go , same time- any and every nation will simply fail as it will never have those many paper bills to provide everyone with what is being withdrawn! It is as simple and complicated as this! So what we can now expect in the days and months ahead? well read on…

The Meltdown stage will see many rapid developments, based on the laws of each nation- one common thread that you will eventually see coming out after this carnage will be that every sector (any sector for that matter) will be left with lesser then 5 or maximum 10 global players for those sectors. These will be the ones’ who will decide how they will shape their products and services from their respective zones and align them to the new ways that already have been planned by respective governments- most of them will wear a cloak of opaque transparency- you will be able to see only if you know what to look for! These business arrangements will then be the foundational step of humankind as a global community starts to play role to the larger conformity bias of the new developed and evolving societal order and those who will be found to be outliers will either be ejected or eliminated and that’s for sure- the people running these systems will want to run the way they have planned it and irrespective of the government’s will have and have always had the power to over-ride and manipulate governments the world over!These large scale behavioral changes brought about in human societies across will tend to shift focus of people from being the careless consumers that we have been for some time now to more mindful and responsible consumers- so as the dip in consumption happens- we will move into a space of rising costs of services and products- to meet custom needs and infrequent purchases! How this gets played out will depend on the type of government that each  nation has-more importantly in the garb of the pandemic- almost all nations have executed their own acts which in turn have given immense powers to the government of the day and power- is a double edged sword! During this stage of Meltdown- Human behavior will see alterations like never before- remember these lockdowns have been closer to 21 days and 21 days is the magic number to alter human habits- people will end up being more anxious- stress prone- resilient- calmer- aggressive- confident- depressed- all of these and many more such hues will emerge depending on how an individual is placed within a start of the society and what is the intrinsic strength that one has to deal with these global showdowns! Towards the end of the meltdown- when the conqueror and the vanquished become clear on the horizon- the remnants of this episode will begin to piece together the path ahead and it will be the proverbial Rising on the Phoenix that will follow next… 

The proverbial rising of the Phoenix will be slow, planned and designed to ensure that only those who qualify to be within the scheme of the things will be held on to- others who have not been able to conform to certain standards will be left out to defend for themselves ( In this will lie the seeds of the  next great global crisis!). In the following months, people will want to naturally break free and travel (because that will be the natural psychological trigger – which will help people again believe that they gain have regained control- there will be surging rush to travel (but all these travels will be majorly restricted to domestic arenas) and even as airlines companies merge and continue to be on borrowed time- as it were- the initial three- six months will see this- the really challenge will start after that as few sectors will be buyout- globally- which will be finance, travel, wellness,  healing, spiritual tourism,tourism and hospitality- leaving these aside practically everything to do around the consumer side- whether it is the FMCG or the FMCD or even the Automobile sectors will all see a downward spiral with an apparent no end to their crisis- A criss which has on a way of their own making!  Workers will have to make a choice to either seek monetary security and give up on aspirational attributes and agree to live life in a prescribed manner or create affluence by being a disruptor and challenge the establishment on an ongoing basis. Apart from this self-employed and  the business class will have toe sure they remain agile and nimble for overcoming all and any challenges that may come up  (which will indeed) with unpredictable speed and timing– this will be vital as businesses will be then necessitated to comply to fall and align with specific groups and sub-groups of the new business order (which will be sold to them as the the concept of “ease of business”) Altered behaviors will create a further rift between the affluent elements and class of the society and the deprived and the so- called middle income group will have to take call to either move upwards or decide to stay low! The whole world will seemingly move to a two class society based on economic affluence! Compound this with growing digitisation through digital currency and digital surveillance (which will be told is necessary because of what has happened) will be the final nail in the coffin of individual liberties world-wide and whether the governments of the day say it or not- Big Brother will always be watching you! I won’t dig deeper into this aspect because it will take us to another topic – which we will discuss some other day or other time!

I will cut my thoughts here for now, but the key takeaways, are somewhere mentioned above and hidden away in plain sight for you to think further and reflect upon; based on who you are what is that you want to alter, how and why and ensure that you will be able to stay relevant for the times ahead! This pandemic was the excuse that the member states were waiting for a re-boot- a re-boot to set new rules of engagements with each other and flex muscles at that level. Needless to say, we will be impacted at the levels where we are and we will need to choose how we flex and make the most of the emerging stations without breaking or exhausting ourselves- intellectually, emotionally and physically!

Given the limitations of a blog; I will leave you here with these thoughts for now, grab a drink and see how you lived through the Lockdown- how the Meltdown is impacting you and How you are preparing for the phase when the Phoenix begins to rise over your horizon and what you will do about it to ensure you ride the right wave and stay afloat for long times to come and prepare yourself for the next crisis- which at this very moment is being developed! More on that some other time!

Ciao for now, Stay at Home, Stay Safe, Always keep Social Distancing and importantly stay wise and don’t get killed by dumbness! Will catch up soon with another piece!

 

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!

 

Staying sane through insane times!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Humanity, never disappoints! The moment you go to bed thinking all is fine with the world- No one is threatening anyone with a war, growth stories are being written around the nations- few true, few fictional ; the next morning, you wake up  to your living nightmare in the form of the news of a pandemic and worldwide economic melt down! Well, this article is more about trying to isolate the real problem from the apparent one (the perceived one) and try to ensure we stay sane and don’t get done by our own dumbness by keeping the reason and behavior blaming the virus aside for some time (unless of course you have tested positive!).

One of the ever perplexing issues with the human mind has been that, it always tries to rush into finding solutions to a challenge that is been put to it!- It simply wants to get that task done and relax! Well, this part is normal; the fun begins it, when it starts to operate the way it has been conditioned to operate by the person who is the owner of this wonder-machine- that is you! Going by the “Who the majority of us actually are!”(Irrespective what our social media handles projects who we want to be or we want to be perceived to be); The way we have programmed ourselves to think; by wanting to be or being at times, fast- quick- rational- irrational- impulsive- brash- well, these and many more decision types come in all colors and hues of the personality that we hold;  which again is another byproduct of the way we have conditioned our thinking! Well- wait- read this sentence again- don’t get confused- but that is a fact! More often then not our actions driven through our thought processes are nothing but an extension of our personality statements which have been conditioned by our brain- based on what we have fed into it as experiences- memories- shades of pleasantness, fear, disgust, avoidance and affection etc. etc! So how do we tame and learn to debug a mind that has the potential to run away with it’s own unfound areas of fear and gross disregard- which can actually make you history in no time!

To begin with, you can try a simple technique- Whenever you are presented with a scenario- try to evaluate and ascertain- what is expected out of you!– Whether you need to do something- if yes, are you supposed to lead someone or follow someone or be doing it all alone, what are options available- which is the one that offers the least harm to you (read risk mitigation) and finally going ahead with the chosen step! The irony here is- this kind of level headed and process oriented thinking needs space, peace and time to arrive at wise decisions- and normally when push comes to shove- normally we end up making bad quality decisions – which are a result of why we tend to be where we are in our lives! Many a times- the best decision is about doing nothing and just letting things be the way are- “There’s never a point trying to fix something that’s not broken!”

Another important thing to remember is to do a PRA (Personal Risk Assessment) whenever you are hit by uncertain situations- whether at home or at work- or in general wherever you are on the map of the world- doing whatever you choose to pursue! This PRA technique has to be simple and operational. This is something that you will have to design for yourself!- As I keep saying each one of us- is fundamentally a different being- we may be similar and aligned to common goals of larger good to humanity in many ways- but the way we can engage and contribute is a value of the Intrinsic ability that we have within us by virtue of many things that go on to make who we are! This ability to come up with a correct, consistent and accurate PRA on an ongoing basis for the small events and large unforeseen events largely determines how we ride the waves and ensure that our ship holds good in stormy weather and calm seas with equal ease! The ability to come up with a refined and good quality PRA, again loops back to how well our cognitive and thinking ability has evolved and what kind of sensible and critical data points we have shared with it to ensure the outputs that we get are actionable sane and safe enough!

Finally, using common-sense along with the supply of intelligence that you may have- is the last line of defence that you have in times of extreme pressure- like the one that we are facing right now!– At a time when the media seems to be in an overdrive- and everything around you seems to be sending out signals of things around failing and falling- It is your generous use of intelligence and common-sense alone which will help you stay away from unnecessary hysteria, melodrama and ensure you do not end up being victim or a contributor to mass hysteria (which more often then not is completely useless, unverified, unproven and unfound!). Make it a practice- to always weigh what you get as an information input- weigh it against the source from where it comes- weigh it for credibility- authority and validity-and finally do check if it really, genuinely makes a difference in your life! Even as we have the virus outbreak across all the nations unfolding- if you happen to be one of those astronauts right now aboard the International Space Station- it will do humanity a lot good if you remained focused on your experiments up there- 440 kms above us- rather then trying to dole out sympathetic verses or worrying about things- on which you have literally no control! The trick then is to control and manage what you can and ignore and leave out, what does not impact you and certainly what remains beyond your effective control!

I leave you with these thoughts for you to think and come up with your own little nuggets of wisdom and value, so that you ensure your safety and sanity and thereby ensure the mental health of others around you!

Ciao for now! Grab your drink, stay sane and stay safe!

 

 

Making sense of the nonsense around you!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Even under normal circumstances, it would be important to have clarity about what we pay attention to and what we ignore! Given the kind of conflicting mayhem that the world is in right now; it’s no wonder that people now are getting  overwhelmed with the noise around- most of which is pure information garbage! This short piece is about trying to decipher the way around too many inputs and stay focused on the outcomes that you want in a given scenario!

So, depending on where you are on the world map- you are either moving about normally, locked in your own abode or moving around wearing the latest designer masks- which- trust me are doing nothing more then making it harder for you to breathe in and out- unless you are a trained yoga student- with some great breath control techniques at your disposal!

It is in times like these, that we can learn valuable lessons and also understand how we individually process information that we receive on an ongoing basis– What is that we do to know what is the right source, what to believe, what not to and how to verify what is being told and how do we go about that verification process to validate the information that we have been provided with! Many a times the information that receive will be crafted in the agenda of the sender of the message for all the right and wrong reasons!The more critical the formation, more are the chances of it carrying along with it an element of what I call as “Information malware”- which will override the essence of the information’s contents – This malware has one objective to have your reaction directed in a particular manner even before your discerning mind tries to make sense of what the context is and evaluate sensible options to address the contents of the information! So what do we do?- well read on…

To begin with, what we can always do and must always do is keep our approach in life (especially when we are at the receiving end) simple! Yes folks, that’s as easy as this, keeping a simplified approach- but the journey to develop a simplified approach given the complex brain that we carry over our shoulders is very often easier said then done!- At times there is a good measure and reason for it (when you are leading a large organisation or a nation) and yet at  other times you may tend to just procrastinate- even when your decision will not even make an impact on your shadow!- forget anyone around you!

When you do receive a piece of information- When it is  for your survival- well in most cases that will be an order and then overriding all else you will have to simply follow- because any argument will ensure you aren’t there for the next get together among your known faces! Of course this works only on the premise that the sender also has the real single point agenda of saving your life! Recall “brace” positions call out by flight crew, when they say “Brace” or a pilot says, “Mayday” well there’s no arguing and overthinking about what will follow next- it’s simply a clear statement of an emergency and asking each one to follow a laid out protocol- no one holds debates around this time and kind of messages and information flow! In times like these; De-clutter and follow what is being told- when the source is verified beyond doubt to be having the same interest like that of your’s- To stay alive!

When  you receive information through a chain of command in the corporate world- as far as possible and whenever possible – if you can’t figure out (which ideally you should be able to most of the times!) why you are performing a task, it’s always good to ask for clarification- for two reasons- one possibly you may not be the best person to do it (since you need clarity!) and secondly your ignorance can actually cause a far greater blunder (in your attempt to try doing something which you aren’t sure about!). You don’t want to be a first-aid responder who faints at the sight of blood! The corporate world is replete with examples wherein  people have been entrusted with tasks and given instructions only to screw up things even more and ensure more pain is given to the person from whom the instruction came! Why does this happen?- Well, simply because the person at the top had assumed that because you are labelled as what your designation says- you must be competent to manage what has been informed to you! More often then not what is importantly missed out– Is the ability to verify precedents wherein such a situation was previously managed or not by you!

On a societal level, we have always ensured that we are constantly bombarded with an ongoing onslaught of information- most of which is absolutely useless and has no bearing whatsoever on our dear lives! Yet, the confirmation biases and the peer pressure to be part of that large social gang and be able to contribute to general gossip is so overpowering that it also silences the internal correction mechanisms – called your Soul! More often then not it takes away the remaining limited level of intelligence that one may have and once the dumb part of us takes over- we just go on adding to the spread of nonsensical information- ending up being the source and the victim both! Here the way- and possibly the only way is to Avoid!- Avoidance is the only first and last step to battle information nonsense floating round the society! Each time before you click that button on a site,  or share your cell number for that offer by an sms,  or subscribe to that channel on a social handle, pick up that gossip magazine, or supplement from a newspaper (I presume you will be left with only a page or two of real news- the times that we live in!), you are just opening up channels for all that information filth to come and hit you in your private space! Don’t do that!

Instead subscribe to any and all information that serves you to be a better person, enhances your knowledge in the area of your work, information that uplifts your soul and helps you learn something new (hobbies, music, crafts), urges you to explore something better (travel) and makes you more wise in terms of choosing what to hold on to and what to let go! This is the real essence and way to manage the onslaught of information nonsense around us! As the old saying goes- You are known by the company you keep, and more importantly, The company you keep is a factor of the Quality of Information that you hold!

I will leave you with these thoughts for now, take your time to subscribe to new channels and information treasure troves and unsubscribe from glorified nonsense today! Take charge, have your drink and stay wise- making sense from the nonsense around!

 

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!

 

What travel type are you?

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

In an era where airplane tickets are as affordable as a buffet at five star property and with more and more people then ever before living by the maxim of “Soaking in Today”, it’s no wonder that after food, travel happens to be the biggest indulgence! This piece is about, trying to understand why people do what they do as they travel and how we can find our zen as travelers!

One primary reason, that the very thought of “travel” uplifts our soul and mind (in most of the cases) will be largely because of the hard wiring that exists within us through evolution of earlier being nomadic wanderers, hunters and food gatherers moving from one region unto the next with a view of surviving- it is these journeys eventually made us reach shores and lands of promise- along river basins, coasts, flat lands where opportunities flourished to provide longer sustenance and dependability so that civilizations can be born and foundations of modern day human societies could be laid!

Sure enough, as the wise people have always said, “Travel makes you wise”- The reason behind this statement was in a very compelling context of bygone times though! Those were the times when long voyages were only possible if they were funded by Kings or if you were a wealthy trader who had a liking to know what existed beyond and wanted to use that first movers advantage to get your hands on some eccentric stuff which could mean a great profit in the courts of the kingdom! Then there were again a few select dedicated travelers through the ages who were seeking the divine truth through pursuing theosophical teachings and soaking in what life means across cultures and belief systems around the yesteryear civilized world! Irrespective of what was the reason of travel then and who you were, the chances were that even if you were a sail boat oarsman in those times, you had an IQ and physical strength of even the most revered scholar or a Harvard MBA of today! This is one reason why you will find that the whole of documented history of the known world is a knowledge repository that has survived the ravages of time and upheavals – courtesy of these great people! You can call them scholars and geniuses who importantly knew-“When to travel,”Where to travel”, and “Why to travel”!

Our modern life has been a blessing and a curse in disguise, blessing because I can be sitting right on my chair, use a few applications that are available in the market and zoom onto my  favorite street  or beach front or a mountain range, literally any place around the world and see the views and soak into the virtual feeling of being there- right from the comfort of my home! Sure enough, nothing beats the actual and real feel and this is where the actual story begins!

When you travel around and observe the modern day travelers,what do you see? Who are they, or at least who do they seem to be? Well, I will make this simple for you, you have possibly seen these focused travelers– these are the people who travel to their relatives to return the compliments and accept every wedding invitation (as if the wedding will not happen if they didn’t make it!), then you have those time bound family vacation travelers who will hit the same airport or rail head, around the same time of the year- complain and compliment about what changed at the terminal and in the cabin or the railways carriage and visit the destination have alive- half dead (because in that one year- gross disregard to health will take its’ toll- with the dragging of all those heavy bags which just keeps on growing in weight every year- for no real sensible reason!). Next you have those corporate hot shots who are always moving around the terminals like they are on a MI6 mission to save the world and always drowned into themselves and struggling with their bags or the laptops that come along with them as extended parts of their physical being! So, now the million dollar thought- think about it- are they really travelling? in the real sense of the word? 

Certainly they are not, sure enough if you are on a office assignment, no one expects you to go shopping or sight-seeing- but how about even getting that 10 minute break to know where you have landed- what’s the culture of the place like- who are these people who reside here?- what is that drives them and what is that they enjoy and need the most? This missing human connect which is the million dollar essence of travel has all but gone away for a toss and whatever little chances are there to understand fellow humans, cultures and places that we visit has been taken away by those senseless and limitless self-indulging and self-obsessed selfies that you see standing out menacingly all over the digital landscape! Of course all hope is not lost, not everyone has lost the old and intellectual charm of traveling and when you get to see these wise souls at airports or at travel exchanges, you will feel uplifted by just seeing them and when you speak with them, the knowledge that flows and the story of the one day adventure that they had during the last hike or beach ride or rock climbing or walk in the old market place or the local dish that they had simply baffles you- because your may have traveled the sector many times; but these wise people travel once and they do it right!

So what’s the point here, well simple, travel in the essence of travel, whether you travel all by yourself or tag along a few friends, or your family along, let that travel be compelling, enriching and something that adds value to the lives and knowledge of those who are along with you and also to the people whom you meet and interact with through the course of your journey and when you make it to the destination and back! Let there be videos and snaps that tell as troy that soak about a narrative, a learning that you picked up rather then that mindless grin which you can anyways see while your brush you teeth everyday morning!

Like mindful living, mindful travel can do wonders, it can help you come up with the next big idea or it could help you overcome a life challenge- well who knows for that’s the real magic of travel when its done in the true essence of it! I normally don’t preach on what people should do or not do (they are the best judge to know what works for them or otherwise!), but one thing that I can share as an experience is that when you travel hands free with as minimal luggage as possible and have a vision and a camera that is always pointed away from you and into the journey and places and people around- you will end up capturing stories that can inspire and motivate and uplift you when you spend time and come back to them when you need them! 

I will leave you here, with your thoughts on travel and something to plan this weekend for a wonderful travel for some other weekend the future! Whatever you choose, a mountain range or a beach, a metro city or a quiet village- let there be a purpose, a plan and a learning that enriches you and everyone that you come across in the future by virtue of the travels that you undertake! Always remember if you have got  the 5 senses, make use of them and there is nothing that compares with travel when it comes to rejuvenating these 5 senses of being human in the true essence of it!

Ciao for now, Travel Safe and Travel wise! remember no pulling of bags and senseless grins on those spooky selfies!  

 

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!

Look East for Sunrise!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

As we head to wind up another week through the month and the year, I thought this would be a good short piece to wind up with for this week! How often have you come across people who are in an endless rut of nagging, complaining, arguing and bitching about everything, something , everyone or at least someone at some or the other time or rarely all the time! Well this piece aims to look into what’s happening around this; so that the next time you come across it- you know exactly what you are dealing with!

As modern lifestyles have evolved-across the world (and it really doesn’t matter whether you are a resident of a remote town in the hinterland of the USA or you are a resident of a buzzing metro in an Asian country or native of a small quaint town tucked away in some serene mountain range or a beach somewhere on this planet- It really doesn’t matter!) and if you have been touched by modern day values systems and the seemingly innocent E-onslaught to information (don’t read information as Knowledge), then welcome to the party! You are either someone who is at the receiving end of the senseless rut and nagging around you or you are one of them who are contributing towards it!

If you have ever got an opportunity to look around you and observe what people talk/ discuss – either when they have planned meetings or those on-the-move meetings through corridors and across aisles or pathways on streets- What is that people are talking to each other about? What is that they are spending more time thinking or rather communicating about? What is the level of relevance of that chatter to who they are, what they do and how much can they really influence the topic what they are busy chatting way to glory without a structure follow-up response and will anyone really care for the response eventually and will anything really change?! So what’s happening here- Why are people throwing away precious seconds of their limited supply of time by participating in things and act that do not merit the kind of value and attention?! Well read on…

People are almost always trapped into what I call is the“Trap of Illusion” these traps are hard to detect, yet once detected easy to avoid and stay away from! Regardless of everything else, people spend away precious moments of their available time deliberating and discussing things in the most non-productive manner and in a way that more then often leads to nothingness in terms of effecting any desired change for which the discussion is started in the first place!

You would have seen how people speak about that “colleague” being not productive enough or what that person should be doing- not doing etc. etc., or how a government is simply ineffective, or how NASA or President Trump should be doing ABC and not doing PQR..so on and so forth- Well the problem here is not about the topics that are being discussed rather it is about Where they are being discussed and with Whom and Why! when none of is it is going to make a difference for the subjects of that discussion as the forum by itself is unwarranted and holds no merit!

The golden rule of life is “Look East for Sunrise!” It is imperative that when we all have a limited supply of time with each one of us in terms of he fleeting seconds that we have- it will be only wise to use them as genuinely and judiciously as possible so that we create an impact and effect lives of people around us in a meaningful manner so that it creates an environment of meaningful impact which alters lives and surroundings in a positive manner that helps endure value for a longer time as much as possible! This simple and original truth when applied across all that we do not only empowers us to transform our lives from within but also the lives of every person that we come across – because then we are always having uplifting and future centric discussions and thoughts that are seeking answers to create and build something better and bigger for the times ahead- which by creating lasting value!

It is but essential that we understand the importance of subtle truths and facts of life- these are what go on to make the foundations for how we project ourselves and in effect how that projection goes on to create something more meaningful and of grater value to everyone around us! If we want to build something, create anything of consequence then we must shun everything else and ensure that we are facing east so that we can soak in the sunrise that’s over the horizon and this alone can be your guiding light for the journey ahead! It’s time we begin to value our sunrises, because even the number of sunrises that you will experience in your lifetime are coded deep within who you are- and it’s your behavior and approach alone that makes this journey last a bit longer by creating value or makes it shorter and swifter which ends even before you realize what hit you!

As you plan to hit the weekend, take a pause and think around all that you have discussing and engaging with in the week that just went by and decide for yourself – If you are indeed facing East or spending time fighting the shadows to no end!

Until next time, have a blessed weekend, stay wise and look East!

SOS(Self Obsessed Societies)!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

OK folks, here’s the thing, like each one of you who read and engage with me here, I too am part of an ecosystem that reaches out to the sensible part of the knowledge and information ecosystem from time to time. partly to keep sharpening my observations and knowing how rapidly we are either correcting some aspects or further damaging ourselves- individually or collectively! This piece is a crisp one that deals with it!

There was a time (yes hard to believe!), but it surely was- when you could actually start a conversation with a perfect stranger without having to try to get the name first- do a lookup on a social account (to gauge likes and dislikes) and then strike a conversation! The conversations themselves could be around a wide array of topics- at times they could be nominal takes on the current socio-politico-economic opportunities or challenges of a region, nation or the world- depending on the cumulative IQ of the participants in the discussion. When levels of intelligence allowed the discussions could easily be around religion, politics, philosophy or even taking on one of the most challenging topics- Does God Exist! Well that is how it was- whether your were with people that you know or don’t information sharing and knowledge gathering always happened subtly and in the most uncertain ways- but the biggest part of this was- It was an ongoing process and it had a pace of its own- it allowed the participants to choose how deep they would want to venture into a subjects and they could leave the moment when they thought- That’s it– beyond this I do not want to go ahead (for whatever the reasons might have been).This mechanism allowed intelligence to flourish and develop in ways which were most suitable and conducive to an individual- because the probing mind- had made its choices of what is that it wants to seek and where it should move ahead next! So you see there was an ongoing latent effort taking an individuals journey in the direction of evolving likes ( you can rename this as passion, interest, vocation, professional aspirations so and so forth!)

The dawn of the e-age brought with it some great opportunities and advantages- absolutely no doubt around that- but like everything else it also has brought with it- the lesser good- which has created more hollow and pseudo portraits of human abilities then what they would have been really able of sans the space provided for going on with Self-obsessed behavior over social sites! In the beginning all this seemed cute and innocent- until the medical world began to wake up and come up with specific disorder names along with a complete medical drill right from defining the symptoms to the diagnosis and the post diagnosis control- as they would have for any routine ailment!

Get on your any of your favorite social sites (whether these are the ones you use to upload your snaps- or engage with professionals (so- called at times) or you want to pen a few lines and share an update about things happening around- as you go through the pile of social information floating around (most of which is unsegregated intellectual garbage), you will come across a common trend- The need and desire to be heard- something that each one of them is trying to tell about themselves (whether it is a snap, an award, a paragraph- most of this and much of the time- this is something that they want to badly speak about and that too, “speak to anyone” (half of the time they don’t even care if this will be relevant to the people who will possibly glance through this!) This is the crux of the matter and this is what is a true reflection of our times- societies (individuals who are part of this societal framework) that are too busy and too overworked seeking confirmation and approval from everyone and anyone around to everything that they do and say! This behavior crawls up further and starts to play mind games which leads to sub-fragmentation of societies- at times this can be seen as multiple trade bodies for a same region, at times these can be seen as multiple trade unions, multiple courses offering the same syllabus- multiple designations for doing the same piece of work- multiple awards saying the same things again and again with equal amount of ambiguity each time!- you name it and you have it out there!

Well, so what’s happening here?– to put it simply people are just lost- lost for not knowing what is to be used for what- which medium is for what purpose- lost because either they have too much on their plate or too little- lost because they are not been heard to and also lost because they have a voice and no one seems to understand that voice! All this further manifests (most of the times in sensible efforts and initiatives that go on to make peace with inner voices and implemented actions) but in some cases these take a dramatic weird turn and often result into nothing but a colossal waste of time considering that we all have limited time at our disposal – irrespective whether we agree to that fact or not! So what’s the way out of this nonsense?

Well, to begin with, take a pause every time you are tempted to put up that award pic, that snap on the social handle- The fact remains- those who know and care for you- always know what you are dealing with and what’s happening with you even at this moment- and for the rest- they anyways don’t give a damn- so why bother?! Be wise to know how much of “I”, “We” and “Our” does your outreach carry rather then “For Us”, “For everyone”, “For society”, “For nation”, “For the world”. Remember this whether you like it or not – social spaces- whether they be print or online are meant to impact and effect change for the larger good of humankind at all levels – some areas it build momentum rapidly over the others- Your private space is not the world’s problem- you have a great life- be tankful and help the less fortunate- your life is screwed up- well see what best you can do with it and leave it at that! Blowing your trumpet and over-glorification and public sulking either ways doesn’t help anyone nor yourself in the least!

The only way to stop this menace of SOS behaviour is to ensure that individually we take actions that are wise and sane, take a pause before your upload your next picture, next video or next write up and think- “Is this for you or for the world to know- does it help the world around you?”- This is the only differentiating criteria to either go ahead with that upload or stop right there!

I leave you here for now and we will catch up soon with another piece! Ciao for now! Stay wise and stay blessed as always!

The simple truth about religion!

~ PA ~ Leave a comment

Among the few eternal questions that humankind has been asking through recorded history; one of the most important one has been “What is religion?” and “Who has given it to whom?” Well before you begin to jump to conclusion- well no, I am certainly not claiming to be an authority- or providing you a definitive answer to all your religion driven pain- this is about sharing a few observations, thoughts – to the limitation of this being a blog (which I am sure many of you would have also experienced) and trying to make sense within the fog of uncertainty and ambiguity!

No matter which belief system you decide to choose and follow, the beginnings are all mysterious- with some answers being found- while others still shrouded in a cloak of the unexplained! Few belief systems have symbolism, while few do not have. Some believe in the practicing to the written down guidelines by the rule- yet others offer relaxation to ensure the that the belief system is amicable to the individual and is something that becomes a natural part of the self.

But the topic is not this, the question is what happens when we have a belief system or a religion? Well one way of looking towards it through human evolution through the eons- Religions or Belief systems- have over a period of time developed and evolved to ensure that the evolving human intellect is harnessed for the larger and greater good of the individual and the community around! As human beings made progress from being hunters, nomads and civilizations came into being (at times with large kingdoms and empires that stretched far and wide), belief systems set rituals, beliefs and practices that brought in a common thread to ensure a common identity of conformity. A conformity towards expected behaviors, values and ideologies!

As long as these laid down belief systems were practiced within the confines of the kingdoms and empires and left untouched virtually for long periods of time they have flourished and become richer in expression in the form of hymns, verses, texts, manuscripts, theological masterpieces and philosophical renderings. These have in many cases added value to the religious belief systems and in few cases- has added to regressive mentions which tried to confine communities into sub-divisions using one or the other aspects of the societal structures of those times!

Everything is fine till this point; however as societies became more permanent in nature and as instances of expansionist greed and hunger for power and control began sometimes through invasion of gypsy warriors and at times by planned expansion (which could have been for some forceful need to migrate from original lands- read fearing persecution) the fabric of faith and the followers of faith began to undergo a metamorphosis and a change that worked for and against each faith and belief system across the world!

The real challenge studying Human beings is that – As humans, we are perhaps the most logic driven yet one of the most irrational beings at the same time! I mean you will never see a wild animal attack it prey if its not hungry! You will never see any animal for that matter attack (unless it feel provoked and threatened or gets confused about Your intentions!) The reason for this logic and irrational paradox within our personalities resides and rides upon our higher evolved emotional attributes – read- pride, ego, jealousy and fear! Ignorance when added to any of these attributes casts a spell that only swells with time and ultimately blinds out all rational thinking and creates a mind which has its own thinking like a runaway carriage and goes on into a self-destruct mode- not ever realizing what it is unleashing in the ensuing journey and at what cost- whatever that is being pursued is being achieved!

Over eons as faiths evolved and belief systems evolved- they have not been handed down from one generation to the next- the way they should have- that is without any flavoring of what the previous generation though and how they adapted it to suit their needs of the bygone times! In certain cases this evolution of faith and belief systems has worked well- because it has simplified understanding and follower-ship in the present times. However in some cases additional layers of ambiguity and thoughts which create animosity and rift have got planted (which at some point in time in history would have been appropriate for safeguarding the follower-ship of a particular faith in a geographical region under prevailing political scenarios then) but as these did not get dropped off – they tend to raise their ugly heads and whip a deadly cocktail of justifying inhuman acts across the present times- which really serves no one- not the faith – neither the followers and certainly not Humanity in general!

So you may ask what is the way ahead? Well, as I said in the beginning I am not an authority, nor do I claim I have the power! but what I can share with you is a few simple and human things that we all can do to ensure we individually contribute to make our immediate neighborhoods better- and once we have done that- we have better communities, societies, nations and a better world!

Always remember as a cardinal principle-

1)Religion, Faith or a Belief system is a Private matter and always allow it to be that!

2)Respect other’s faith or belief systems, so that they respect your faith and leave it at that!

3) If all questions had the answers- they would have been already answered- if there are few questions that are yet unanswered- there must be a reason for that too- leave tings at that!

4) While choosing over the right thing to do or doing a thing the right way- always choose a path which serves the greater good of humanity- if even one human is harmed by any chord that is being touched under the garb of altering or furthering belief systems or faith- that is not the right path!

5) Finally always remember- all the authentic , ancient texts, manuscripts have always preached and cherished the feeling of togetherness through affection, love and fostering humanity as the greatest service to the supreme power that you believe through the Belief system of faith that you choose and there is no second to this principle- Hold this belief and approach ahead- you will find the world is a better place than what some make it to be by telling you what suits them!

It is perhaps the greatest and the most simplest truth of life- that in the metered seconds of life that each one of us has- if we spend bickering and wasting about tings that really don’t matter – What is that we have achieved and What is the story and legacy that we want to leave behind? Think about this when you have your next coffee! Trust me on one thing- If you follow a belief system or a faith- and you do believe in something- it really doesn’t serve your Supreme Lord- when you go about discussing, fighting, bickering about things that really don’t count! If you are indeed spiritual or someone who holds a belief system dearly- all actions must align to take you closer and further towards that celestial journey- This is what all texts and manuscripts across all faiths and belief systems speak about in one voice! The Greatest service to the Supreme Power is serving Humanity!

I leave you with these sublime thoughts for the week ahead, stay clam, stay wise and remember to always act in a way that makes your presence equally celebrated as is your faith- no matter what faith that you have chosen to follow! Stay Blessed!

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!