
Leadership is a Personal Choice

Because every return needs an investment

Mirza Yawar Baig

"There are forking times in history. Times characterized by uneasy rumblings, turmoil, warfare. Times where the foundations of the structures of society are shaken. A time when for this very reason, a window opens briefly in the landscape of life where the actions of a single man or woman can change the path of destiny.

This is such a time."

Mirza Yawar Baig, September, 2007

"Cowardice asks the question - is it safe? Expediency asks the question - is it politic? Vanity asks the question - is it popular? But conscience asks the question - is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular;

But one must take it because it is right."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dedication

To all those anywhere, who made the choice

To live by what they believe.

Text copyright © Mirza Yawar Baig 2012

Cover photo copyright © Mirza Yawar Baig 2012

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without prior written consent of Mirza Yawar Baig, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser and without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the permission of the copyright owner.

Table of Contents

The Question of Edge

Master or Victim?

O! Teacher, stop teaching

Who is a Standard Bearer?

Your Customers build your brand – not you

Advertising

What makes a Winner?

Reading – A lost habit?

Illiterate by Choice

7 – Keys to Success

Same chairs, Different bottoms

Building a Winning Team

The Entrepreneur's Rules of Success

Football – So what did I learn?

Democracy and the Corporation

Give to Get

Planting Seeds

Excellence

Leadership Essentials

Beating the Rat Race

Giving up too soon

What makes a winner?

Today is our 25th wedding anniversary

How to become an author

Foreword

For a student to write a foreword for a collection of essays written, expounded, internalized and lived, by her teacher is an honour, to say the least. And if that student is someone who has also had the privilege of listening to most of the essays in question, in the words of the teacher himself, nothing can be more satisfying to see that the teacher has, finally, through this book, ensured that students outside his class are also benefited by his thoughts and his words of wisdom. His powerful statements have finally broken the barriers of the closed doors of classrooms and auditoriums and are now to touch the lives of all those who aspire to not just wake up each day to greet yet another day but to actually make that day worth living.

Yawar once told me that I should write my CV every year and if there was no change in my curriculum vitae in 5 years then I had stopped being productively and constructively useful to society. When asked by Yawar to write the foreword for his first book on Leadership, I was deeply honoured. When he asked me to write another one, I was completely devastated. Confident that I would never write a foreword again, I had put my all in the first one and there he was, moving the goal post again.

I place on record my deep gratitude to him for providing me an opportunity to add at least one more point to my list as, writing the second foreword ranks high on my list of I-never-thought-I-would-be doing-this-again achievements.

Mirza Yawar Baig has always served as a role model for me personally and for several of those who have had the good fortune to interact with him. His clarity of thought and expression, his ability to highlight something positive in every experience, his strong sense of principles and values, his respect for all creatures great and small, his passion for a cause and his courage to stand for it, are, but a few of the innumerable qualities that stand out in every word of his book.

"Leadership is a personal choice" is divided into chapters, in which pearls of wisdom have been effortlessly strung onto a thread woven out of years of experience and introspection, creating an awe inspiring necklace to be worn by all those who read his works or have the honour to listen to the author in person. Everyday stories used in the book have been easily converted into parables of learning. (although let me warn you, his everyday stories are not really every person's everyday stories, he once had an anaconda trapped in his fishing net, but for that you will have to read his next book)

His penchant for thinking positive in the most adverse of circumstances and naturally taking the road not taken, make him stand out in a world of complacency and status quo. He exemplifies that courage isn't always a lion's roar. It is actually the silence of an ant working patiently, persistently and never giving up. In his words, courage is not the absence of fear; it is the willingness to continue despite fear. Yawar's ability to choose minimum words to say maximum things never ceases to amaze me as it will do you.

He emphasizes on the power of peace. "Violence requires energy. Energy runs out eventually. Peace needs nothing." Nothing expendable that is.

Peace needs strength of character, patience and perseverance which are all inner qualities which require no cost to sustain but definitely a price to pay. In order to uphold peace one must be willing to pay that price. A leader is a standard bearer to whom all look to for inspiration. He has to have both visibility and credibility to be able to win the trust of his followers who invariably listen with their eyes.

In Yawar's words, "To understand a system you have to be outside it. To change the system you have to be inside it. Because perspective is a function of distance but transformation is always from within." He addresses those who are prone to taking a victim stance and successfully converts them to masters of their own destiny with a simple motto "I will not allow that which is not in my control to prevent me from doing what is in my control".

These are not mere words which have been written, rewritten and then typed for publishing. These are long years of, in effect, practicing what one is preaching, of exercising that personal choice called leadership.

To quote Mirza Yawar Baig, "I am what I am because I do what I do to get what I get. So only if I do I will get and therefore I will be. To do you don't have to be but to be you have to do." And then he smiles genially at the class and says I hope I have confused you completely, but nobody pays attention to the humour, and slowly the purport of what he just said, sinks in. I am responsible for what happens to me, he seems to be telling us and in order to progress, I need to take responsibility for what happens to me, stop blaming others and stop making excuses. "Just because you have a good excuse, it doesn't make a wrong thing right". Wake up people and look inward before you condemn the world. Did I do what I could? is the first question to be asked. Most of Yawar's sessions end with students repeating after him in right earnest, " I will not allow that which is not in my control to stop me from doing what is in my control" – a simple mantra with powerfully positive results.

While I write this foreword, my pen flows easily as if I were writing something I created and not repeating what Yawar had said in his essays. I am reminded here of something that Yawar forwarded to me once and I am reproducing here to illustrate my point. I am now unable to trace the source but it went something like this, the true mark of a leader is when even after he leaves the place after transforming the entire place with his vision, hard work and drive, his subordinates are left with the proud feeling that they did it all themselves. A leader is one who empowers his subordinates with trust, in their capability and their willingness to perform. He guides them, but subtly, so that they finally feel a sense of belonging in the outcome, so that his vision translates into reality even if he is no longer the leader.

Even if you are on the right road, he suggests, you are likely to get run over if you just sit there. Success is the driver of failure, because it can make one complacent and subsequently get one trampled over. He believes that success is where preparation meets opportunity. _"If you always do what you always did you will always get what you always got. If you want to get what you never had, you have to do what you never did."_

While the running theme of the book is to be a leader who takes a position that is neither safe nor popular nor politic but is driven by the conscience and is, therefore, right, the author cautions that this does not mean that you will not face any difficulty doing so. Just because you are vegetarian does not mean that the lion will not eat you if given a chance. He offers the solution as part of the problem with the simple use of the word "yet". The moment we add YET to the problem, we open the doors to the solution.

Leadership is a personal choice, no doubt. But, do we truly understand the definition of leadership? Yawar provides parameters to introspect and conduct a self-evaluation of whether our brand of leadership is actually what we hope it is. Being in a position of leadership, we as leaders, have the power to use or abuse. There are lives that we have the capacity to impact, to make, or even break, with our interventions. Are we responsible leaders? Did we do right in making that personal choice? There is a critical difference, Yawar once said, between being inspirational and being pushy. Being pushy is to try to force people to do what you want them to do. Being inspirational is to set an example where people will want to do what you want them to do. And that is where the difference lies.

Leadership is about seeking responsibility and fulfilling it. The question is not as he says, "about what was happening but what I did about what was happening." Speak up before it is too late, even if it is the only thing you can do. At least it will be said about you that you did what you could."

This in effect is what Yawar has achieved in his personal choice – leadership. His students speak his language like their own and over a period of time those words become them and they, their words. Internalized to the extent that the student feels he owns them and can freely disseminate them to enrol more and more into the school of thinking leaders, those who define their own goals and seek motivation from within, on behalf of his teacher.

Read on and let the power of the words enter every cell of your being. Tomorrow will be a new beginning, I assure you.

I am grateful for this opportunity to salute my teacher and dedicate his work to the world of all those who believe in doing what they think is right even if they happen to be the only ones thinking so.

I could go on, but he wanted me to write a foreword and not a book.

In Yawar's own words, "For the eagle the biggest satisfaction is to see its fledging soar on his own wings, rising on the thermals and staying afloat effortlessly. To know that I taught her how to do that is more satisfying than any medal or material reward that I can get."

I do believe I am one of those fledglings and I hope that this book will make the same out of you.

Read on and allow the experience to transform you.

Renuka Mishra, IPS

The Author - as I know him

I have known Mirza Yawar Baig for the past 16 years from the time he came to the SVP National Police Academy as a part of a team of psychoanalysts from ISABS. He stood apart from the rest of the team and left such an indelible impression on the minds of the probationers he interacted with that when I, one of that batch of probationers, came back to the Academy as a trainer, I could think of no better person than Yawar to initiate the fresh batch of trainees under me to the importance of the right kind of values, attitudes and leadership qualities.

Since then, he has been a regular guest faculty at the National Police Academy, Hyderabad, the premier police training institution in India that trains Indian Police Service Officers and conducts both, basic training for IPS probationers as well as In service courses for senior officers at all levels, apart from other Police training Academies.

His ability to inspire more than teach and his capacity to handle any kind of audience and leave them speechless, not to mention change their way of thinking altogether, has confirmed his expertise and therefore his indispensability as a trainer. His dependability and prompt response to any expectation from him as a trainer, consultant, human being are unsurpassed and set an ideal example for me, as a person and a trainer.

Words fail me when I attempt to describe his personality. Suffice to say that he has always served as a role model for me personally and for several of those who have had the opportunity to interact with him. His clarity of thought and expression, his ability to highlight something positive in every experience, his strong sense of principles and values, his respect for all creatures great and small, his passion for a cause and his courage to stand for it, are but a few of his innumerable qualities.

I wish him the very best and all success in every endeavour as I am confident that his success will benefit every Indian aspiring to be a good human being and a leader, in particular and humanity as a whole.

Renuka Mishra, IPS

"In the final analysis: It all matters... everything that you do or choose not to do, communicate brand value and character."

~Mirza Yawar Baig

Preface

I have consciously chosen over many years now, to take a stance on whatever happens in my environment and which affects me. I refused to be a silent spectator especially to injustice, no matter to whom it was being meted out. I took the initiative to step forward to say and do whatever I could to change the situation. It was never easy but it was always very rewarding. In that context was born in my mind, the concept of 'Master' and 'Victim' which is mentioned in this book. This book is a collection of essays written over several years from 2007-2011 all on the same theme – making the choice to take a leadership stance. I believe that this is in the power of every one of us. We just have to choose.

When I did this, I made two very surprising (for me) discoveries:

It is indeed possible for me to take a stand. People will listen, give me the space and I can come of this alive and well.

People support and appreciate what I do provided I ensure that I am fair and not partisan to one side or the other.

I say that I was surprised because these were my biggest fears. I share this because I suspect these are also the fears of most people and the reason they don't want to 'get involved'. But guess what they don't realise? We are all already involved by virtue of the fact that we exist.

There is only one way to stop injustice. That is to stand up and speak out. That is what differentiates us as humans. This book is for my fellow humans.

Leadership, in my opinion, is not a once-in-a-lifetime event. It is the result of a series of stances and decisions that a person takes through their lifetime. Over time, these stances and decisions give that person a certain standing where others begin to look up to them for guidance. All stances and decisions are choices. And like all choices they have consequences. It is either because people are afraid of consequences or because they tried something in one way once and were hurt and are afraid to try a new way, that far too many people opt out of making leadership choices. That is a great pity as the opportunity to change the tapestry of our social fabric is lost.

As I mentioned above, taking a stance, especially an unpopular stance is not easy. And it gets reactions. People criticize you. Sometimes in ways that are hurting. But whenever that happened I asked myself, "Would you have been happier keeping quiet and not being criticised?" And the answer was always a very clear, "No!"

There is also the other side. There were always people, sometimes in the most unexpected quarters, who expressed support. One of them said, "I see you as a candle in a dark room. The light is not intense. But without it there would be complete darkness".

Another recited an Urdu couplet which means:

'It is true that your gale has blown out my lamps

But on the wind flies a single glow-fly; the Imaam of the light.'

And the scales tip.

In the final analysis however the issue is neither of praise nor criticism. It is of who I am. It is of how I see myself. It is of what I would like to be remembered as and for.

I see myself as a fakir, walking across the country, singing his song. Some listen to it and like the tune. Others consider it a disturbance to their slumber.

I am sure that among those who listen, there is someone, somewhere, who listens to the words and decides to do something about changing his or her world. It is not important whether the fakir even knows about this or not.

What is important is that because of his song, someone made a difference to their world.

As for the fakir, he sings on. Like the bird, he sings not because he has an answer. He sings because he has a song.

Mirza Yawar Baig

# The Question of Edge

In GE, during the time of Jack Welch, there used to be what were called, 'The 4 – Es' of GE Leadership: Energy, Energizer, Edge, Execute. We taught this in Crotonville and focused on them in every GE Leadership Course that we taught anywhere in the world.

The values statement of GE read:

_All of us...always with unyielding integrity... Are passionately focused on driving customer success. Live Six Sigma Quality...ensure that the customer is always its first beneficiary...and use it to accelerate growth. Insist on excellence and are intolerant of bureaucracy. Act in a boundaryless fashion...always search for and apply the best ideas regardless of their source. Prize global intellectual capital and the people that provide it...build diverse teams to maximize it. See change for the growth opportunities it brings...e.g., "e-Business". Create a clear, simple, customer-centered vision...and continually renew and refresh its execution. Create an environment of "stretch," excitement, informality and trust...reward improvements...and celebrate results. Demonstrate...always with infectious enthusiasm for the customer...the "_4-E's _" of GE leadership: the personal Energy to welcome and deal with the speed of change...the ability to create an atmosphere that Energizes others...the Edge to make difficult decisions...and the ability to consistently Execute_

I have highlighted the statement in line 4: because I am a beneficiary of that value as it is lived in GE. This is just to underline one simple fact: GE's success doesn't depend on what the values say (there are plenty of people in the world who talk about the same things); it depends on the fact that in GE, people live these values.

In GE, the values are not something framed to be hung on the wall of the Chairman's office. They are daily topics of conversation, they are commonly used nomenclature, they are things that people practice, hold themselves up to, feel empowered and ennobled by and actively demonstrate.

Take the line that I highlighted. How is this lived? Let me describe my first interaction when I went to GE Corporate University at Crotonville for the first time in 1997. I landed in New York and took my suitcase off the belt only to discover that it had been vandalized. My experience with Delta is another story which I won't go into here – but what do I see as soon as I go outside – a chauffeur with a limousine asking me to hand over my suitcase so that he can carry it to the car. I ask myself, 'Hello! Did you get off at the right stop? This is New York? People don't carry anyone's baggage in New York. So what's this?'

Anyway, I get into the car – Continental – and off we go. As we near Crotonville – a good while later (JFK to White Plains is not exactly next door), the chauffeur calls Crotonville reception on the car phone (no mobile phones in those days) and gives them our location. As the car drives up, I am received by a young lady at the foot of the flight of stairs leading to the reception. I simply sign on the check-in card and 10 seconds later the lady escorts me to my room – a huge luxurious place with a fabulous bathroom – everything in America is king-size to an Indian – shows me around the room and says, 'Mr. Baig, the telephone is a direct line with complementary international access. You are welcome to use it to call anyone in the world.' The fact that I made only one call is another story.

Next day when I go to class, the Course Coordinator, my good friend, Carla Fisher is with me. Takes me to the class. Is there to meet me at the interval to take me to the Crotonville dining hall (refurbished at a cost of $ 2 million in 1996) and then back to the class. I said to her, 'Carla you need not do this. I know my way around and am perfectly happy going to eat and so on, on my own. You need not take the time out to escort me.' She says to me, 'Yawar, it is a pleasure to be with you. But even if it wasn't, I have no choice. This is how we treat people with knowledge. It is a part of our values.'

That sums it up for me: the issue of living by the values that one espouses. Credibility falls through the gap between what is espoused and what is practiced. Until one is prepared to live by one's espoused values, one will never be respected for them. There are far too many people who claim to have many lofty values but you don't see any sign of them in their lives. Values are therefore only as good as practiced. Nothing more. Nothing less.

So why the title of this essay about 'Edge'. It is because of the definition of 'Edge' – the willingness to take hard decisions. To live by one's values is very often a hard decision. It is much easier to succumb, to compromise. But only when one decides to take the difficult path, does one feel the pleasant cool breeze on one's face. To enjoy the coolness of the breeze, it is necessary first to sweat.

I believe that this is the key to success. Be it in business or society or personal life. It is the willingness to take hard decisions that spells the difference between success and doom. Hard decisions about yourself, your career, your family members, your team, your choices about any issue and your focus and strategy. Organizations or people don't go down because of one bad decision. They go down because of insistence on that bad decision which leads to multiple bad decisions – only, that those are now taken by people who have deliberately decided to blind themselves to the consequences of their bad decision making. Ignoring reality only ensures that you perish – because reality doesn't change for those who choose to ignore it.

In my consulting practice in Family Businesses, I have seen the sad results of lack of Edge, over and over, when families fail to take hard decisions when it comes to the entry, exit or behavior of family members – because they are family members. It is amazing how they don't see that if one doesn't stop the one making a hole in the side of the ship, the whole ship will sink. But they don't and it does.

All great enterprises succeed for three reasons: I have added one of my own.

  1. Unyielding integrity in living the values
  2. The Edge to take hard decisions
  3. Demonstrated willingness to invest time, money, energy and resources in the pursuit of a vision that spans generations.

Let me elaborate my understanding of these from the many histories of great enterprise that I have studied and also personally experienced.

  1. Unyielding integrity in living the values

The key word here is 'unyielding'. The ones who succeed are the ones who refuse to yield to any amount of pressure, logical reasoning, emotional blackmail, any kind of persuasion, personal considerations, changed circumstances and so on. They are those who have espoused the values after deep deliberation, serious consideration and soul searching to find complete acceptance. Only then do they consciously espouse the values. They are not those who sign on after listening to a fiery speech or emotional appeal. They are not those who claim to espouse those values, 'Because they are the values of GE or Sony or The Constitution or anything else.' They are those who espouse and commit to those values because they are their own. These are people who give thought to what they are espousing before they espouse them – because they are keenly aware of what espousing means, what they will need to commit to, what it will cost and how it will benefit them. They consciously espouse those values because in their estimation, the benefit far outclasses the cost and is worth all that it will take to live by it.

For some it is money. For others the goal may be social, political or spiritual. The rule is the same: you need to commit to the values and live by them with unyielding integrity. They are your values, you chose to be defined by them, you stand for them, you will be remembered by them and so you are willing to do whatever it takes to demonstrate them to a level of excellence. Interestingly the actual values don't matter to success. It is their practice which decides whether you succeed or not. Those who win are not those with the best values. They are those who best practice their espoused values.

Let me assure you that there will be many who will argue against this. They will call you rigid – unyielding means rigid, see? They will call you unreasonable – all progress depends on being unreasonable, because the reasonable adapt to the situation, while the unreasonable try to change the situation. They will call you crazy – but it is only those who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, who do.

So let them bleat – all sheep do. Leadership means to like your own company. The tiger walks alone. Sheep have plenty of company. So make your choice. Consider it carefully. Then commit.

  1. The Edge to take hard decisions

GE's success story under Jack Welch was rooted in Edge. The Edge to take the decision to be # 1 or # 2 in any business that they were in or sell and get out. Just ask yourself, for most of the world, being # 3 globally in a business is not only okay, it is brilliant, fantastic, something you write home about, something you put on your website and brochure – 'We are # 3 globally in this business.' But not to GE under Welch. For GE under Welch, being # 3 was the death knell – it meant that you were going to be sold. And you were sold. Even if you were his aunt's son in law. That was not because he loved you less but because he loved GE more. Edge in GE meant the famous GE Workout. The decision making tool that Welch taught us all: where the CEO was put on the spot and could only say one of three things:

  1. Yes. 
  2. No – giving reasons. 
  3. Get me more information.

No waiting, no procrastinating, no delaying – no next week, next month, next lifetime. If you wanted to remain the CEO, you had to take a decision. There are a huge number of transformational success stories about the effect of GE Workout and those of us who taught it, did so with full belief in it and commitment to it based on visible results. As I mentioned earlier, I have seen the result of Edge or the lack of it in my consulting practice in the many years since my first Crotonville visit in 1997, across boundaries of nationality, culture and geography. The principle holds true completely.

Edge is to be able to do two things:

  1. Get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus (Collin & Porras's term)
  2. Keep driving

Right and wrong people

Who are the 'right' people and who are the 'wrong' people? The right people are those who believe in the values and practice them with unyielding integrity. They practice them and this is visible in their lives, not because someone is watching. But because the values define them. They do it not because it is good to do but because their values are who they are. The wrong people are those who got onto the bus because they liked the shape or color of the bus. They had no idea where it was going. They just got on because it looked good. So what must you do with them? Stop the bus and ask them to get off. That is Edge.

Great enterprises happen because of players. Not because of passengers. Passengers are deadweight. They are shackles on your ankles, millstones around your neck. They will drag you to the bottom, sap your energy, dampen your enthusiasm and assure you a fate that in the evening of your life, you will gaze back at the road you travelled, with pathetic and futile tears running down your cheeks – at what could have been if only you'd had Edge. You will know then that the reason it didn't happen was not fate or the stars or anything else. The reason was you, yourself. You had no Edge. Not for nothing do I say, 'If only' is the saddest phrase in any language, because only those who have lost it all, are forced to say it. It means that your life is over, even if you remain alive.

Remember that it is kindness to stop the bus and get the wrong people off. It is not kindness to keep them on, leading them to a destination they never wanted to go to in the first place. There is nothing to be hesitant about doing this. No great enterprise happens because of one man or woman. It happens because of those who followed the leader. So it is essential for the leader to ensure that he or she has the right followers. Great leadership is a followership issue.

Keep driving

Once you have the right people on the bus, keep driving. It is an inevitable rule that the right road leads to the right destination. And right people ensure that you remain on the right road. That is the reason to get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off. With the right people there is no confusion. There is no noise in the system to distract you and take the pleasure out of the tune. With the right people you know that no matter who takes the wheel he or she will keep the bus on the right road and will not swerve off into some nice looking deviation. With the right people you know that you don't have to worry about who will get off to change the wheel or fill gas or anything else that the bus needs to keep going. With the right people you know that you don't have to ask anyone to do anything. Right people know what to do and do it unasked.

So ask yourself, 'Do you have the right people on your bus?' And even more importantly, 'Are you the 'Right Person' for the bus you are on? If not, do yourself a favor – get off. Get off right now.

Keep driving because worthwhile destinations have a way of being far away. Satisfaction is directly proportional to difficulty. But with the right people you will enjoy the drive. It is very necessary to enjoy the drive, to take pleasure in the journey and not wait until you arrive at the destination. The pleasure in the journey is a factor of the company you are traveling in. So once you have the right people on the bus enjoy the drive and keep driving. To arrive at the destination is inevitable. Right people ensure that you go to the right destination. Winning is a habit. So is losing. So choose right or choose to lose.

  1. Demonstrated willingness to invest time, money, energy and all resources in the pursuit of a vision that spans generations.

The key word is 'demonstrated'. You can talk till the cows come home – but until you show it, it doesn't count. All great enterprises succeed or fail for one reason only; lack of sufficient investment.

That is the reason to have an unyielding commitment to live the values and to have the right people on your bus. Only then will you be assured of the investment that you need in order to succeed. It is essential that those directly involved in the enterprise – those who are on the bus – invest personally, demonstrably and visibly. That is the proof that they are the right people. If they don't, they should get off the bus. Investment is where the rubber meets the road. Investment is to walk the talk. Investment is what brings other right people on board because people listen with their eyes and are drawn to others who they resonate with; share values with; feel good in the company of.

Investment as I mentioned, is in terms of time, energy, money and in every way that is necessary for the enterprise to succeed. To invest means to put the enterprise and its demands over and above everything else. I mean 'everything' in a very literal sense. There is no 'work-life balance' with those who eventually succeed in great enterprises. For them, their goal is life. For them and all those who are with them – including and most importantly – their families. There is no great enterprise that I know of which was done in anyone's spare time or on weekends. All great enterprises demand full time, 24x7 commitment to the exclusion of everything else. You need to walk, talk, think, sleep and dream the goal. You need to do this and find meaning, rest, entertainment, enjoyment and fulfillment in it. It must be something you do when you are paid for it, something you will gladly do free and something that you will pay to do. It must be your legacy. It must be your contribution to life. It must be the reason you live, the reason you die and the reason you are remembered.

All great enterprises also demand that those involved in their founding personally invest significantly in them. Significantly not in terms of the absolute monetary value but the relative value in terms of the individual's own wealth. So the investment may look small in terms of itself but may represent the individual's total wealth in the world. That is what makes it significant. It represents the investment which the person is making in terms of how important that person considers the investment – that he puts all he has into it. He doesn't need encouragement. He is convinced. So he invests. People engaged in great enterprises don't know the word 'sacrifice'. They know the word 'investment'. They are so convinced of the value of the return that they consider it a great opportunity for reward. Others may think that what they are doing is sacrifice. But they do it because for them there is nothing better to do than that.

Investment, as I mentioned, is not only in terms of money, though that is a very significant part of it. Investment is also in terms of time, energy and thought-share all of which are essential for the enterprise to succeed. Investment is also in inspiring and energizing others. Investment is in transferring your dream into their hearts. In making them dream your dream. People engaged in great enterprise are able to do this not because of amazing oratorical skills but because passion is infectious and sincerity is transparent. Hearts speak to hearts and words are immaterial. Without sincerity and passion, no dream can be transferred into the hearts of others.

Investment is in building teams. In spending the time to train others, to support them, to have patience with them and also when required, to part company with those who simply are not going to succeed. All this investment becomes possible for one reason only – and that is – the goal is worth every minute, moment and measure of it. Only when the achievement of the goal is seen as worthy of the effort that it will take to achieve it, does the effort become possible. It is that shining vision in the distance that enables all the difficulties of the path, to pale into insignificance. It is the glow of the vision that lights the dark lonely road in the depth of the night when hope is at a low ebb and fears raise their heads in the darkness. It is the taste of the sweetness of the vision in the mouth that wipes out the bitterness of hard labor and defeat after defeat. It is the pull of the vision that lifts me up every time I fall – again and again.

It is written in the laws of nature, that they will not be changed for anyone. As long as one fulfills their conditions, they produce the same return time after time without change. The difference between free flight and free fall is in the landing. Not in the speed with which the flyer moves through the air. It is the law of gravity which spells the ending – the same one every time. Success, like gravity, is a law of nature. Those who know how it works, achieve it every time. Like the smooth landing of the one who knows how to fly.

#  Master or Victim?

In the life of every man and woman comes a time and a window opens when they have a unique opportunity to make an impact and influence others. To succeed we need to anticipate, prepare and act with courage when it opens

Living life is about making choices- the choice to be a 'victim' of circumstances or the choice to do something about circumstances and be their 'master'. We are free to make this choice – to be a 'victim' or to be a 'master' – but the choices; each has a different payoff in terms of its consequences. Both stances are subject to the same givens of society, environment, organization etc. But have very different implications in terms of your development and happiness

It is one of the fallacies that people assume: that when we say we have freedom of choice, the choice is free of consequences. This is a myth and like all myths, it is a fantasy and a lie. We have freedom to choose but every choice has a price tag – every choice that we make is the same in this context. Each has a price tag. Foolish people make choices without first ascertaining the price tag and are then surprised, shocked, disappointed and so on, when the time comes to pay for the choice.

To return to our discussion, 'victims' are people who complain about adversity, think of excuses, blame others, lose hope and perish. 'Victims' can be individuals, groups, communities or nations. The 'victim stance' is the same – complain and blame.

'Masters' on the other hand are people who when faced with difficulty and adversity, first look at themselves to see how and why they came to be in that situation, own their responsibility and then they look for solutions to resolve that situation. They have the courage to try new ways and win even if they fail. "Masters' recognize that whatever happens to us is at least in part, if not wholly, a result of the choices that we made, consciously or unconsciously. The result of what we chose to do or chose not to do. Consequently if we recognize that we created the situation, then it follows logically that we can also create its solution. The characteristic of 'Masters' is that even when they may temporarily be in a 'Victim' situation, they quickly ask themselves the key question: 'Okay so what can I do about this situation?' This question is the key to taking a 'Masterful' stance in life.

This is in itself a tremendously empowering mindset which frees a person from the shackles of self-limiting barriers to his or her development. A 'master' never says, 'I can't; she/he says, "I don't know if I can!" – And in that is a world of difference. The difference between the shepherd and his sheep.

The key question to ask therefore is, 'In terms of the challenges that I face today, what do I need to do if I want to be a 'Master' and not a 'Victim'? What is the investment that I need to make in order to succeed?

Free fall and flight feel the same in the beginning. But it is the end which spells the difference between life and death. One lands safely. The other crashes and burns. Ignoring the law of aerodynamics does not change the law or its result.

Similarly in life, in our race to succeed, we may well be tempted to ignore the laws of gain – that gain is directly proportional to contribution. We may be tempted to buy the line that what you can grab is yours to take, no matter the consequences to others. Just as the one in free fall may thumb his nose at the one who is flying, even claiming that he is traveling faster than the flyer – the reality is that his speed is aided by gravity which is rapidly pulling him towards his own destruction. It is not speed therefore which matters. It is the direction of flight and the way it ends.

Compassion, concern for others, a service focus, measuring contribution in the same way that we measure profit, willingness to do what it takes to deliver the best possible quality not because someone is watching but because we consider the quality of our output to be our signature and a reflection of our identity – all these are the real pathways to wealth, influence and prosperity. The critical difference is that prosperity that comes in these ways is sustainable, long lasting and spreads goodness all around.

Prosperity that is sought without regard to those who share the world with us, people, animals, environment; without regard to values, ethics and morals with the sole criterion being the amount of money that can be made is short-lived, has a high cost and spreads misery and suffering, including for the one who was chasing it.

We live in an intensely connected world and the sooner we realize that and start taking care of the connections, the better off we are likely to be. We have seen graphically the results of the alternative – blind pursuit of profit.

Growth for the sake of growth is the philosophy of the cancer cell.

#

#

#  O! Teacher, stop teaching

Our present methods of teaching which are inflicted on by far the vast majority of children the world over are the single biggest cause for killing the imagination that every child is born with and making them into square blocks which fit our own frightened, constrained and slavish worldview. Those who comply we 'pass' and those who challenge it and refuse to succumb, we 'fail'. The occasional among those we 'fail', go on to great fortune. The vast majority disappear, never to be heard from again. Destroyed by the education system they didn't deserve or ask for.

I recall the story of young Tommy; one of the stories that do the rounds on the internet. It is said that Tommy's teacher asked the class to write an essay about their dream. Next day all the children brought their essays to class. The teacher read them all. But when she came to Tommy's essay she was astounded and even angry. She wrote a big **0** at the top of the essay and handed Tommy his book. Naturally poor Tommy's face fell when he looked at the teacher's notation. He took back his book and silently walked back to his seat. The teacher saw the look on the little boy's face and took pity on him. She called him back and said, 'Tommy, your dream is ridiculous. It is fantasy. It is totally unrealistic. That is why I failed you in the test. However I will give you another chance. If you re-write this dream and bring it back tomorrow, I will give you some marks.' Tommy listened in silence, nodded agreement and returned to his seat. The eyes and smirks of all those who had 'passed' were on his face. They were the ones with realistic dreams which the teacher liked.

Next day Tommy handed in his essay to the teacher. The teacher scanned through it and was astonished to see that there was no change. She called Tommy to her desk in an injured tone and said, 'Tommy, didn't you understand what I told you? I said I would give you marks if you changed your dream. You have done nothing here! So I am sorry I can't give you any marks.'

Tommy looked at her and said, 'Teacher, I thought about what you said and decided that I will let you keep your marks and I will keep my dream.'

It seems strange to me that if I were asked to define the biggest challenge of the teacher, I would say, 'It is to teach children how to deal with a world that we know nothing about.' In such a world, imagination is the key resource that they will need. Without imagination they would be floundering trying to find answers in history or 'facts' that they had been taught. But they would never find those answers because they simply aren't there. Yet the thing that most schools do with amazing efficiency is to kill the child's imagination as quickly as possible. And sadly they are very successful in doing so.

Take for example how science is taught. It is taught in a way that is no different from history, for example. It is taught as a 'fact' course. Whereas science is not about fact at all but about constant discovery. Science is about constantly discovering how little we know. Science is not about answers but about learning to ask the right questions, learning to analyze data with a willingness to be proved wrong, learning to design experiments to disprove our most dearly loved models, knowing that only if the experiment failed could we say that our model is actually correct. Not forever, but until we come to the next discovery.

Teaching is not about answering questions but about raising questions – opening doors for them in places that they could not imagine. Teaching is about teaching them the tools of learning which will enable them to pursue learning all their lives. Not answer questions – end all discussion and pass exams. That is the reason why the vast majority of children never open a science book once they finish with school. That is the reason why there is a serious global shortage of scientists. The whole approach to teaching must change – from teaching solutions and answers to teaching tools to pursue lifelong learning. Even when we teach what we know – the answers – we need to teach them how we arrived at those answers and then ask them , 'If you faced this issue, what questions would you ask to find an answer.' We need to focus far more on derivation, problem solving methodology and analytical skills than on actually arriving at some formula or solution.

The same malaise plagues other subjects as well. In history we concentrate on dates and places far more than on lessons learnt and ways of applying them in today's society. When was the last time you heard a history teacher ask questions like: 'What did we learn from the history of the Mughals the reflection of which we can see in today's society? What can we learn from that period of Indian history which we can apply to our lives today? What can we learn from that period which will help us to find solutions to our problems today? Which problem? What is the solution?' Instead history question papers will ask you for the date on which the first Battle of Panipath was fought; who was fighting whom; not why; not what did that indicate about that society and its implications in today's society. So children hate history. We don't relate what we teach to what is happening currently and how learning what happened then can help people in today's world.

Children hate math, algebra even more. But when did we ever hear of a teacher teaching math as a problem solving tool? Or of teaching algebra as a tool to plan a party? Math enhances ability in reasoning, intelligence, decision making and abstract analysis. But we only teach dry numbers. Math enables budgeting, judging and assessment of business enterprises; it is the basis behind computer programming, music, art, graphic design, aeronautics – and a million other highly interesting things. But the way we teach math – the majority of students hate it, never use it to any advantage and trash 12 years of learning it as soon as they complete their final exam. So why should you study math at all. See the answers of some students to this question which their professor asked them:

http://www.math.uakron.edu/~norfolk/why223f03.pdf

Another very interesting article which turned up on Google on math is here:

<http://drkroiss.com/page21.html>

Our education system stinks. It is designed to create mechanics – not learned people. So one can become an engineer without reading any book other than his course books and without any understanding of anything except the little machine that he works on – as if the rest of the universe doesn't matter. All the treasure of human thought, ideas, discoveries, experiments, reflections and imagination are closed to him. He doesn't even know that they exist. He lives a life of stress, doing his best with his very limited understanding of life, trying to reinvent the wheel, to discover solutions which others, far more gifted and learned than he could ever be, have already discovered and written about. But then how would he know about them when he doesn't read?

That is why we have idiotic product design because the designer has no concept of relating his design to the actual user. He is thinking in terms of his narrow area of knowledge, not of the vast area of application. That is why Haleem makers in India use washing machines as kitchen mixers. Saves them a lot of labor stirring the pot when they can have the pot stir itself. Ask the washing machine designer what he was thinking of when he designed the machine except dirty clothes?

But great opportunity does not lie in customer demand. It lies in areas that the customer didn't even know he needed.

The biggest problem with teachers is that they teach. That is the root cause of all ignorance. So I titled this essay, O! Teacher, stop teaching. Start discovering, learning, enjoying. Start appreciating that the child is the best thing that happened to you and every single day try to become the best thing that happens to him or her. Teachers must never teach. They must be like ushers in a vast museum, walking quietly with their students tiptoeing behind them, opening one door after another – letting them take a peek – and then handing them the key to the door so that they can come back in their own time and explore in detail. The teacher then takes them to another door for another peek and another key. See?? Imagine how exciting that is for the child! The teacher's job is to give them the keys.

Teaching is about asking questions – and teaching them to ask questions. The teacher who gives answers has failed. So never do that. Teaching is about keeping the excitement of learning alive all lifelong. Teaching is about taking the hand of a 4 year old and leading the whole group to a tree. Then sit down under the tree and tell them, 'Let me see who can get me a perfect leaf of this tree.' Actually do this and see the fun. When they all come back, brimming with joy at their perfect finds – ask them if all the leaves are the same, even though they came from the same tree? Let them marvel at the fact that they are all leaves from the same tree but each is different. Ask them, 'Why do you think this happens? What is Allah saying to us?'

Then pull out a seed of the tree you are sitting under from your pocket. No it didn't grow there, you prepared for the class, remember? Then show them the seed and let them all (every one of them) hold the seed in his hand and explore it, texture, shape, color and so on. Give them crayons and paper and let them draw the seed. Give them a few more so that everyone has his own seed. When they have drawn the seed, tell them, 'Now look at this tree. Do you realise that this tree was inside this seed? Can you draw the tree inside your seed?' Let them do that. Every drawing must be made much of and draw breaths of amazement from you – and indeed, if you have ever taught in this way, you will realise that being amazed is the default setting. It is only when we kill the imagination of children that they become like us.

Then tell them about genetics – yes to four year olds – and explain how the tree was inside the seed until Allah ordered it to come out. Explain the whole process of germination and growth. Draw lessons from each step and show them the glory of Allah. Of course that will make your own role as teacher much harder but also much more fun. To be on top of the game you have to read and prepare @ 1:4 – one hour of teaching to 4 hours of preparation. The kids will come back with answers to the questions you planted in their minds. You will need patience and tact and wisdom to deal with some of them. But you will have the joy of learning, of having doors opened for you where you didn't know there were doors. Teaching is about learning.

I learned some of the best lessons in my life from someone who was knee high to a jack rabbit (as the Americans put it).

As a dear friend of mine, also a teacher put it: What a teacher must inculcate is a sense of responsibility, self-discipline and a sense of the sacred. These are not easy to teach in a world that speaks/teaches **rights** at the cost of responsibility, **obedience and self-indulgence** instead of self-discipline and **debunking/cynicism** in place of respect for the sacred. These are values that were important, are important and will be important in any age.

Teaching is not a job. Anyone who considers it a job must do one of two things: re-think their vocation or become a cigarette salesman. That is a job. Selling cigarettes to people to hasten their demise. Teaching must be a passion. A teacher is someone who simply can't imagine doing anything else. A teacher is someone who will teach not only for free but also if they had to pay for it. Only then can you light the lamp of the love of learning in the hearts of others. Teaching is to light the lamp of knowledge and dispel the darkness of ignorance. Do you, Mr. Teacher, consider what you are doing in these terms?

I often ask people to think of a role model and then ask for how many of them it is a parent or a teacher. I have never had more than 10% of the population, across nationalities, races and genders, raising their hands. That means that for 90% of people their role model is neither a parent nor a teacher. What a tragedy, seeing that these two roles have the maximum face time with children. Yet they seem to do their roles in such an uninspiring and dull way – if not in a positively harmful way – that most children are glad to be away from them as much as possible.

I ask teachers to consider this. Every morning a strange thing happens at the gate of your school. Parents come and hand over their most precious assets to you without asking for any guarantees for anything; for you to do as you please with them for the next 6 – 8 hours. Are you conscious of this responsibility in quite this way and do you plan for those 6 – 8 to become the best 6 – 8 hours of that child for that day? Do you actively plan this? What would you say if the teacher, who you send your child to, planned to make those hours the best hours of your child's life? Do you believe this is worth doing? If not, what are you doing here?

So when a child asks a question, 'Mr. Great Crocodile, what does this mean?' You say, 'You tell me.' And then let him go away and search - watch what he is doing, give him a hint or two but never make it easy for him. If it looks like he is getting too close to an easy answer, bowl a googly. Ask a question which will lead him to dig deeper.' Then when he comes to you with his answer, listen very carefully and be prepared to be astonished. Don't put any limits or boundaries on what he can or can't say, what he can or can't question.

Then listen very carefully and take notes. That will do wonders for his confidence as well as for your own learning.

And another thing – abolish exams. Or at least have only open book exams. Exams are the worst evil that ever happened to learning. They are the final nail in the coffin which ensures that the child hates learning forever.

May you be the one to illuminate the world by igniting minds.

First of all your own.

#

#

#  Who is a Standard Bearer?

Origin:

The origin of the term Standard Bearer is in the cavalry where one soldier would have the exclusive responsibility of carrying the battle standard (flag) and to keep it flying at all costs. This person would not be armed and would position himself to stand out clearly visible to everyone, his own comrades who would rally to the flag and the enemy for whom he would become the primary target. Naturally the demoralizing effect of the flag falling to the ground is clear and so the Standard Bearer would become the focus of attack of the enemy and would be defended by his own comrades. He would himself not fight but would concentrate in keeping the flag aloft so that it was clearly visible to the troops who would take succor from the sight of their flag flying high.

In my view a Standard Bearer is:

  * One who stands out. Not one who blends in. If a Standard Bearer blended in and became like all the others, then he would cease to have any value. The nature of the flag would overcome its meaning and it would be a colored piece of cloth on a clothes line. Not something you salute.
  * A flag is a colored piece of cloth, but you salute it, not because of what it is but because of what it symbolizes and represents.
  * One who stands for, exemplifies, emulates a standard in which s/he believes with total conviction.
  * One who stands out and differentiates on the basis of the standard s/he exemplifies and is therefore different from the general population.
  * A Standard Bearer is the benchmark which the world measures itself against. For that reason he is of this world but is different from it. 
  * Gandhiji exemplifies this very well. From being a barrister he became an ordinary Indian (A'am Aadmi) but nobody can claim that he was ordinary or like an ordinary man. He stood out and became the measure for others to compare with.

Living by Values

In my view the secret of his leadership was its simplicity. I have depicted above what I consider to be the basis of it.

  1. A clear and simple goal: Quit India
  2. A method which works: Satyagrah: Civil Disobedience
  3. A worthwhile outcome: Independent India

It was Henry David Thoreau who initiated the concept of Civil Disobedience. Gandhiji perfected it as a political strategy, in his Satyagraha. His method had two distinct characteristics:

  1. He used the word Satya or truth as his weapon. True it was his version or understanding of the truth and can be argued as such to say that this 'truth' could have been interpreted in different ways. But the critical difference was that Gandhiji lived his truth very publicly so that everyone could see that he walked his talk. Even those who disagreed with him about his vision of the truth, could not say that he did not practice what he preached. 
  2. He was able to mobilize enough numbers to follow him such that the fact that the entire nation was not behind him ceased to make a difference. The critical mass had been created. And the reaction took place.

The Dandi March is a classic example of the Gandhian Satyagrah strategy at work. The British drew a line and said that anyone who crossed it would be beaten. But they crossed it. They were beaten. Some got hurt and fell to the ground.

Others picked them up and moved them behind the line to be cared for and took their place. However nobody retaliated against the police. The police hit people with their lathis (batons) without any fear that anyone would hit back. Still the Satyagrahis came on. This continued apparently indefinitely.

Now, there is only so much of this kind of violence that any human being can mete out to others. How can you continue to break head after head if there is no end to the heads being presented to you to be broken? At some point your own conscience will not allow you to raise your arm yet again to hit yet another unresisting protestor knowing that behind him there are others all the way to the other end of the world. And that is what happened. That is the key. And the police stopped. In that they disobeyed their own superiors. In that the power of the British Empire was challenged and forced to bow before a tactic they had never encountered before.

The British knew how to fight wars. They were past masters at it. They knew how to suppress violent protests so brutally that the head of the opposition would be crushed forever.

They knew how to retaliate against those who fought them with conventional weapons. They had more than 2 centuries of experience fighting and winning wars. But they had no idea what to do with people who disobeyed but refused to fight. At least refused to fight in conventional ways. Armor was no use against someone who was not throwing anything at you. A gun was not required and actually proved to be embarrassing against someone who would just stand there and be killed if you chose to fire at him. A stick could be used to break his bones or crack his skull, but the result was most dissatisfying. Nothing would happen. Nothing would change.

The man or woman would fall because they were human. But then others would walk up to them and take their place. Not to retaliate but to present you with some new bones and a new skull to crack if you so wished. And this would continue indefinitely, without a stop. It was clearly up to you, Mr. Policeman, to put a stop to this if you wished. And the way to do that was to stop hitting people. This became abundantly clear. If you allowed the Satyagrahis to do what they wanted, there would be no conflict.

If you resisted them with violence, they would resist you with peace. Violence requires energy. Energy runs out eventually. Peace needs nothing.

If however you wished to see the error of your ways and threw down your stick, those whose skulls you had been cracking would embrace you with open arms and include you in their ranks. An amazing strategy that was very economical in terms of the number of people who actually suffered physical damage (in a regular armed conflict far many more would have been killed. In this case not one died, though many were injured) and in the end forced the one who possessed superior force to look at the futility of his own stance.

The key in all this is the numbers. It is not enough to care. Enough people should care enough. If the Satyagrahis had run out of numbers willing to have their skulls cracked before the police put down their sticks, the police would have won. But if the Satyagrahis continue to walk up to the line, then eventually the police would get exhausted and see that their method was not working. The key is to see who lasts out longer.

That is the challenge for those of us today who would like to lead and solve the issues that face this nation. How can you get enough people to care enough, to cross the line.

#  ******Your Customers build your brand – not you**

Much has been written about building a winning brand and about the importance of brand and branding in general. In my view successful branding is the culmination of a 2 – step process which is as follows:

  1. **Ask: What do we want to be remembered for?**
  2. **Act always and consistently to create those memories in people's minds.**

So that every time they think of what you provide, they have only one name that they can recall and that is yours. Like all truly powerful ideas, it is very simple. The key is in execution; passionately, seamlessly and consistently.

In my view, if you are competing against anyone, i.e. if your customers or potential customers are even considering your competitors as potential fulfillers of their need, then you have failed. In the words of Sun Tzu, 'The best general is the one who wins without fighting.' And that is the hallmark of successful branding – that you leverage yourself out of the competition.

So how can you do that?

  1. **Asking: What do we want to be remembered for?**

It is essential to ask this question and the answer lies in another question: What am I most passionate about? We can only be remembered for what we do best and we can only do best what we are most passionate about. So ask, 'What am I most passionate about? What do I truly want from life? What am I willing to do anything to achieve? What do I get the most satisfaction from?' Make up your own questions and answer them and you will arrive at that which you are most passionate about. If you always do what you are passionate about you will become known for it and people will remember you for it. So identify that passion.

  1. **Act always and consistently to create those memories in people's minds.**

If there's one word which is critical in this statement it is the word 'consistently'. It is regularity that creates dependability. People must become used to expecting the same standard of excellence when they come to you for whatever it is that you provide. Consistent Excellence. Flashes in the pan are good to create awareness but if the pan doesn't flash every time, then credibility gets damaged very quickly.

When you do this – produce excellence and do it consistently and regularly then dependability ensues and brand is created. Brand is not built by you but by your clients who tell others and become your ambassadors to the world. One referral by a satisfied client is worth a million bucks of advertising. I am not against advertising and PR but want to emphasize that one must keep it in perspective and not imagine that it is some kind of magic wand that once waved will wipe out all the bad taste of indifferent product and service quality. It won't. On the other hand the PR will come across as an exercise in deception and destroy credibility even more.

Many branding 'experts' talk almost exclusively about 'customer perception' and the 'mind of the customer' as if they can read minds. They talk about how to 'influence the customer' to think this way or that as if the customer is a puppet in your control who can be influenced independently of your actions and what you provide. Their 'campaigns' are almost exclusively about logo design, ad copy, tag lines and color combinations. They don't talk about product quality, delivery efficiency, service excellence or follow up. The result is that 'branding exercises' are all about advertising and PR and not about creating sustainable quality. This is a very big mistake because the damage to the brand which results from the eventual and inevitable disappointment that the customer feels when the PR mask is off, is something that can't be measured and seldom corrected.

So what must one do?

Focus on 'Moments of Truth' and ensure that these are defined, designed to create the impression you want the customer to take away and monitored to ensure that every single time, the customer has the exact same experience.

What is a 'Moment of Truth'?

In the words of Jan Carlson, the CEO of Scandinavian Airlines, who first used the term in this context, 'A Moment of Truth is that moment when a customer or a potential customer, comes into contact with any aspect of your business and has an opportunity to form an opinion.'

I have underlined the key phrases in this definition to highlight their importance. Who is a 'customer or a potential customer'? In my opinion it is anyone in the world. Anyone who meets you, speaks to you on the phone, logs onto your website, reads your brochure, billboard or any of your literature or contacts you in any way at all must go away with the most positive impression possible about who you are and what you do. This must happen even if the person decides that you are not the person he/she needs to fulfill their need at that time. They must still feel that you are the best thing that happened to them.

Moments of Truth are defining moments but are for the most part handled either mechanically (websites, answering machines and so on) or by the least paid, least trained employees (telephone operators, security guards, receptionists) with predictable results. I am not suggesting that the CEO must man the phone or stand at the gate (though having said it, is not a bad idea at all to do once in a while) but must know what anyone who calls his company or comes to meet anyone experiences. Most CEOs and managers when I get them to call their company anonymously are unpleasantly surprised at what happens. Most Moments of Truth in most organizations go unnoticed and uncommented upon except by customers, which is a very dangerous situation to be in.

The key to brand building is to ask, 'What do we want our customers to feel when they think of us?' Then talk to them and ask what they do feel and bridge the gap. This VOC (Voice of Customer) is the most valuable tool for brand building that you can imagine. It is a thermometer to gauge the warmth the customer feels towards your organization – the warmth of love and good feeling or the warmth of irritation and anger. Organizations that listen to customers regularly (by this I mean actually speak face-to-face not run anonymous surveys) have their finger on their pulse and are able to leverage that knowledge. They build relationships that result in customer loyalty and give them an insight into what their customers want. Apple's iPod and iPad were the result of listening to customers and the resultant sale success is an indication of how well they know their market. Singapore Airlines advertising is supported by in-flight service that even other airlines talk about. BMW's advertising is supported by unmatched engineering to produce a benchmark, not merely a car.

Brand building therefore in my view is to listen to the customer, build a close relationship with him/her and deliver a quality of service that leaves them spellbound.

Advertising and PR then is merely to inform them about new products and services.

#

#  Advertising

Advertising is not about selling. It is about influencing; about kindling desire; about fuelling passion. Advertising is about converting 'want' to 'need.' It is about mind steering. Advertising is powerful so it must be used responsibly.

Think of your favorite Ad. What does it seek to do?

Then ask yourself, 'Is it true?'

Is it true that my value as a human being will increase because I wear a certain brand?

Is it true that my possessions are a reflection of my worth?

Or are they a reflection of my character which drives my choices?

Choices that reflect my wisdom with respect to wealth, concern for others, compassion and morals.

What do you call someone who uses expensive products because he thinks they add value to him as a person?

I call him a person who doesn't understand the basic principle in life – that possessions add cost; not value.

Advertising must be responsible. The foundation of responsibility is truth. Advertisements that seek to promote products which harm life, objectify women, promote drugs and addiction, are irresponsible, false and criminal. Alcohol destroys lives, cigarettes are addictive and cause cancer and you don't need a naked woman on a couch to sell ice cream or chocolates or biscuits.

We must condemn such advertising which is neither original, nor artistic, nor attractive. It is harmful, corrupt and promotes evil.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – I call upon you to support responsible, moral advertising and to fight against the irresponsible and the unethical.

Because in the end, it is not about them. It is about us.

Changing the Script

"If you always do what you always did you'll always get what you always got.

If you want to get what you never had, you have to do what you never did."

Many times we find ourselves stuck in a negative cycle, especially with respect to certain people; parents, spouses, parents in law, friends; where with great regularity we find ourselves miserable, angry or otherwise in pain. Every time this happens we tell ourselves, 'Never again. I will never let that happen again.' But lo and behold we find that the next time around, in the same entirely predictable way we are enacting the same script all over again.

I don't know how many of you have seen the play, 'The Mousetrap'; the longest running play in London. It has been running for several decades. Naturally many of the original actors have retired. Some have died. Many new actors have come into the roles. But you know something; very strangely, the ending is always the same. Now isn't that so strange??

'Ha!! Ha!!' you laugh. 'How can you call it strange?' you ask. 'After all the script is the same. So how can the ending be different?'

'Ha!! Ha!! Indeed', I say to you. 'Apply the same logic to your life Sir. Remind yourself that if you want a different ending, changing actors is no use. You have to change the script. See?'

Cut to your real life's negative cycles – many people change actors. They get divorces, marry again, change jobs, change friends, cut off relations with parents (they can't change those can they?) and so on. And a couple of years into the new relationship they find that the same problems have resurfaced. And they are surprised. I always tell them to go and watch 'The Mousetrap'. Not perhaps for the usual reason but to drive home the point that the problem is not with the actors but with the script.

So what can you do?

Well here's my solution.

I call it my 3 – step solution:

  1. Stop dead in your tracks
  2. Take back the control into your own hands
  3. Then do the opposite of what you normally do

  1. **Stop dead in your tracks**

Remember that until you are in the cycle, it will move in the same direction it always did. So get off. Stop in your tracks. Break the cycle. How? Tape your mouth. Say nothing. Leave the room. Pretend you are having a heart attack. Go to the toilet. Knock over the water – do anything but don't say that thing which is on the tip of your tongue. DO NOT REACT.

  1. **Take back the control into your own hands**

DO NOT REACT: Remember that when you are reacting you are merely demonstrating that you are a puppet on a string. You are moving in whichever direction the puppet master pulls the string. So break the string. Let him pull it whichever way he wants to. Since it is not connected to you, it will not affect you. Remind yourself that NOBODY CAN MAKE YOU FEEL ANYTHING. People do whatever they want to. YOU DECIDE HOW TO REACT. So stop reacting. Instead RESPOND. What is the difference?

Responding is what you consciously choose to do. Reacting is what someone else makes you do. So instead of reacting, respond. What does that entail? Well, for one thing, it requires that you stop (refer to step 1 above) and think about what is happening. Then it requires that you think of what is the best way to deal with it. Not what is the 'natural way' or the 'instinctive way' but 'the best way'

Remember that what is instinctive or natural is not always what is best. Emotional maturity is to act deliberately and consciously. To do what may not be natural but is wise, useful and productive. To do that you have to ask yourself another question, 'What is the result that I want from this interaction?' Then do that which will get you that result. Not what you are dying to do to score some cheap point. So stopping in your tracks is essential. Remember, anger is natural. Controlling it is not.

  1. **Then do the opposite of what you normally do**

There is a famous story of President Harry Truman (I think it is about him. Forgive me please if I've got the wrong president) who was locked in an argument with someone. It got to a point that when he was about to say something, the other man said, 'Don't even bother. I know exactly what you will do.' Harry Truman stood up, did a summersault on the carpet of the Oval Office and said, 'I bet you didn't think I'd do that?' That broke the cycle.

So do the opposite. Suddenly hug your mother in law and kiss her. Maybe she will have a heart attack and your problem will be solved. Or even better she will see the error of her ways. Do the opposite of what you normally do. A good way is to be especially nice to those who are nasty to us. Be good to them. Serve them. Be especially thoughtful. And do it sincerely. That is important. Insincerity always shows up and causes more problems. Acting can't be sustained. Be sincere. And be consistent. Don't be nice only once. Be nice always.

The Prophet Muhammad (SAS) said, 'I guarantee a palace in the middle of Paradise to the person who has the right but gives up his right for his brother.' He said that because that is tough to do. So do the opposite. What is the best 'opposite' for you to do? Well, it is your life, see? So think about it for yourself. One rule though – it has to be the best that you can do. Not simply something to score points against the other person.

Because remember the fundamental rule? When life presents a problem for us to solve, if we solve it, we go ahead. If we don't, the same problem will comes back to us again and again until we solve it. Complaining changes nothing. The problem has to be solved to show that we learnt our lesson. After all there is a reason for the problem to come in the first place, see? Nothing is without purpose. So we need to graduate from one class to the next. Until we are in the same class, no matter how many schools we change, it is still the same class, same exams, same books, same lessons; until we pass the exam. Only then will we be permitted to move to a higher class. So the sooner we demonstrate that we learnt our lesson, the sooner will be our graduation.

In conclusion, remember it is not about changing actors but about changing the script. You are the director. It is your play. But you are not the audience. So you have to act.

Customer Service

What it can be and the difference it can make

Whenever I speak of customer service I am reminded of how some people from north India, from the Hindi speaking belt of UP and MP pronounce it. They say, 'Kasht-mar service'. Now 'Kasht' in Hindi means 'difficulty'. And 'Mar' means to die. So the literal translation of 'Kasht-Mar' would be (Kasht-say-mar) meaning 'die slowly with difficulty'. Not a very nice thing to say but that is what some people in the business of providing service seem to be saying to their customers (Kashtmars).

Customer service is about customers, not about the content, technology or industry in which those customers operate. This is a very important thing to understand and accept if one is not to fall into the trap of feeling that somehow our own industry is so unique that the lessons learnt in the airline, hotel, BPO, IT or hospital businesses are not applicable to us. If we deal with people, lessons learnt in any industry that have to do with people, apply to us and we would be very foolish to ignore them. Customers and people and people think holistically. When we experience bad service on board a plane we compare it quite happily (albeit sometimes unconsciously) to the overall service standard that we are used to in our own environment and feel proportionately bad about it. If we come from a country like Singapore where the quality of service is generally very superior we will tend to feel highly dissatisfied with bad service. But someone who comes from another country where service standards are generally pretty low, they may find the same service to be acceptable because their expectations are so low to begin with. When experiencing onboard in-flight service we don't compare it only to our experience on other airlines. Even people who are flying for the first time feel dissatisfied with poor service. So lessons are transferable.

In my view great customer service is a combination of two things: a genuine desire to serve and some key things to do (tools). Let us look at each of them.

**Attitude:** Whenever I think of an attitude of great customer service I remember when I first went to Singapore in 1994. I was there to teach a course in teaming skills at GE Asia. I reached my hotel by about midday and having had lunch and rested, decided to go out in the evening to see the city. I came out of the hotel and stood at the curbside waiting for a cab. One came along in less than 2 minutes and then it happened. The driver pulled up, got out of the car, trotted (he didn't walk, he trotted) around the back to where I was, opened the passenger door at the back and ushered me into the cab with a flourish. I realized that I was in the presence of something special and silently got in.

The interior was spotlessly clean and smelled of some pleasant mild perfume. I sat waiting for the next act of the play. And there it was. He said to me as I was sitting in the cab, 'That is today's newspaper for you Sir and some water if you're thirsty. I hope you are comfortable.' I said that I was and thanked him. He shut the door respectfully, trotted (once again he didn't walk) back to his seat and said, looking at me in the rearview mirror, 'Where can I take you Sir?' I replied, 'I don't want to go anywhere. I want to just sit here so that I can enjoy the experience of being in your car.'

I still remember this incident 16 years later as if it happened yesterday. The point is that he was an ordinary taxi driver who had never gone to a single training class in customer service. He was in a business where customers commonly have the least expectation of service and are only interested in not being deceived to pay more than their due. His customer is with him for probably the shortest time of any service; just the few minutes it takes to drive to the customer's destination. And typically he would probably never see that customer again. Yet here was a man going out of his way to be nice to his customers and to give them an experience to remember. Why?

The only answer I have is, because for him service was about who he was. Not about who the customer was. Neither I nor anyone I know would expect, much less demand a taxi driver to get out and open the door for them, or keep clean drinking water (sealed bottle) and the day's papers in the car or to keep the car in an absolutely pristine state. After all we are used to shabby taxis and as long as it is not horribly dirty we don't give it a second thought.

He did what he did because he saw his service as defining him, not because he thought the customer cared about it or wanted it or demanded it. It was his own pride in his work and his desire to serve.

Let me give you another example. In 1997, I lived in Bangalore and wanted to buy a Maruti 800 car. I called a number which I thought was the number of the agency which financed Maruti purchases. A lady answered and the conversation went like this:

'Good morning, this is Citibank Car Finance. How can I help you?'

'Good morning. I am looking to buy a Maruti 800 car and want to know if you finance it.'

'I am sorry Sir, we finance only Opel Astra (four times the price), but if you hang on a minute I will get you the number of the company which does Marutis.'

Once again I knew I was in the presence of someone with that key attitude – the desire to win customers. So I waited. She came back on line in less than one minute.

'Here's the number Sir. And if you change your mind and decide to buy an Opel Astra, please do give us a call.'

She knew perfectly well that I was not an Opel Astra customer but she still said that so that I would not feel bad about not being able to afford an expensive car.

Once again the power of attitude.

So the first thing I would ask anyone who has to deal with any customer in any kind of business at all is, 'Do you really want to do this job? And if you want to do it, how much do you want to do it?'

  1. Is it an, 'Ah! Here comes another one', kind of thing? 
  2. Or is it a, 'Well, since I am here I may as well get it over with.' 
  3. Or is it, 'Another fantastic day for me to give some customers service they have never seen before. I love the look on their faces as if they can't believe their own eyes and ears.'

Which one applies to you?

It's really as simple as this.

Now how about if you are not the # 3 kind of person?

Well, you have two choices; change your job or change yourself.

Changing your job may neither be feasible nor is it easy to find a job where you don't have to deal with people. There are such jobs, like feeding crocodiles in a zoo, but not so many fall vacant unless the feeder slips into the pool. So like it or not you are going to have to deal with people. So what should you do?

Here is what you should do:

  1. Stand before a mirror and tell yourself, this is the BEST job that I could possibly be doing because I have an opportunity to make a difference in someone's life. Now what is more worthwhile than that? I was in the airport in Hyderabad and wanted to use the washroom. I entered the room and found that the toilets were being cleaned. The man doing the job saw me and said to me, 'Please give me a minute Sir.'

Then he not only cleaned the toilet but he sprayed air freshener and then took some tissue and dried the toilet seat. Did that make a difference in my life? You can bet it did and I ensured that I gave him the biggest tip he would have received in a while. Though going by his attitude and quality of service it would take a shamelessly stingy person to pass him by without emptying their pockets into his hands.

Once again I don't think that man ever saw the inside of a Customer Service Training class. So stand before your mirror and tell yourself, 'I want to make a difference in someone's life today.'

  1. **LEAD** : Listen, Empathize, Accept Responsibility, Do Something

  1. **Listen:** Listen to the customer. Listen to what they are saying and to how they are saying it. Sometimes it is not the words of the customer but his tone of voice or his body language which gives the one who listens well, the real message.

  1. **Empathize:** Put yourself in the customer's shoes. How would you feel if someone did to you what you or someone in your company did to your customer? The reason it was done is immaterial. That he had to suffer is what the customer is conscious of. Let me give you an example. I was in San Francisco at the Marriot, having arrived there by a late night flight at midnight. I had asked for a non-smoking room as I am allergic to cigarette smoke. When I went up to the room almost at 1.00 am I found it reeking of cigarette smoke. I complained but the person at the front desk told me that they did not have any other room. I was furious but there was nothing I could do so I slept as best I could. Next morning I had to leave early for work. When I returned, I was met at the lobby by the hotel manager who took me up to another room, this one smelling sweet and asked if I liked it. I said that I did. She then asked if she could have my luggage moved there. I agreed. Then (only then) did she say to me, 'Sir, I apologize for the problem you had last night. We had booked a non-smoking room for you but unfortunately it seems that the guest had someone else in the room who smoked and so the room smelled of cigarettes. We did not realize this until too late and there was no other non-smoking room available last night. I blocked the first room that fell vacant this morning and here it is. My apologies once again.' The beauty of this response was that she first solved my problem and then (only then) gave me the explanation for what happened. It was clear that they were empathetic about my problem. They did not try to brush it aside or pretend that it was not really a problem nor did they try to justify or explain it. They addressed it and solved it and then explained why it had happened, once the problem had been solved.

  1. **Accept responsibility:** Accept the fact that the problem of the customer is really your problem. This is something that we don't see too quickly and act as if the problem has nothing to do with us. It is our problem because it is causing our customer to be dissatisfied. And a dissatisfied customer is very much our problem. So own your responsibility and don't send the customer to someone else. This is one of the biggest aggravations that customers face; being shunted from person to person and having to repeat their story over and over.

  1. **Do something:** Take action. You take action. Don't tell the customer what to do. You go do it. And then let him know what you are doing and how it is going to solve his problem. Reporting periodically is essential for customer satisfaction. People don't like to be left in the dark. So tell them.

  1. **Pre-empt problems:** It is a known fact that in most cases it is the same things that tend to go wrong again and again. So identify the three or four major things that tend to go wrong most often and have preset responses for them. In order to do this it is essential to document what happens in your customer interactions so that you can correctly identify what goes wrong most often. Preset responses take away the stress from the interactions and ensure the fastest recovery from failure. Research shows that customers who had a problem that was solved well are more satisfied than those who did not have a problem at all.

  1. **Moments of Truth:** Identify and monitor your moments of truth. A 'Moment of Truth' is defined by Jan Carlson, ex-CEO of Scandinavian Airlines, who first used this phrase in the context of customer service as that moment when a customer or a potential customer comes into contact with any aspect of your operation and has an opportunity to form an opinion. If you know what that point of contact is and can control the interaction such that the customer's experience is positive then you have a winning operation. If you either don't know what your moments of truth are or where they occur or have no control over them, then you have a losing operation. It is as simple as that. However knowing moments of truth and controlling them is a matter of rigorous measurement and documentation which most organizations are unwilling or unable to do and so they blunder along and create dissatisfied customers and lose business and in some cases go under.

Conclusion

Great customer service is about concern; being genuinely concerned for the customer. It is about pride in your own operation and your own identity; wanting to be the best. It is about wanting to add value to people's lives; about seeing value in serving. It is about being a shrewd business person; recognizing who pays you and ensuring that he/she is not just happy to do so but simply delighted that you are there to serve them. Great customer service is the only guarantee for survival and growth and the only insurance and hedge against bad times. Customers don't remember what you did. They remember how they felt. That is the key.

Definitions influence Solutions

The first rule in problem solving is that the solution depends on the definition and therefore success in problem solving depends on the way the problem is defined.

The same logic applies if you want to solve any problem in life. Define the problem one way and it appears insolvable. Define it another way and the solution becomes clear immediately. Define your problem as: I want to solve India's problem of illiteracy: and you are likely to give up even before you start as the problem is so humungous. Define it as: Can I teach one child to read and can I motivate ten friends to teach one child each: and you will be well on your way to a solution.

However I believe the issue is a bit more fundamental than defining. Even before we begin to define a problem, we need to ask the question, 'Do I want an excuse or do I want a solution?' Why do I say that? Well think of this; how many times have you had or overheard a conversation that goes like this:

'You know, I am very unhappy because my career is going nowhere.'

'Where do you want your career to go? Have you written down a life goal for yourself? Have you worked out a strategy to reach that goal?'

'Man!! What's the use of doing all that? There's so much discrimination in society. It is only the smooth talkers who get promoted. Sincere people (meaning me of course) are always left behind.'

'In that case are you taking some action to enhance your presentation and public speaking skills? After all what can be better than a sincere fellow who can also present his ideas powerfully?'

'Na!! What's the use of that? I can't be a smooth talker. It's just not me. See?'

'Yes, I do see. But perhaps not what you want me to see. What I see if someone who likes to be miserable and revels in that misery. I see someone who has no intention of solving his problems because they give him so much pleasure. I see someone who is looking for excuses and not solutions. So most welcome to your problems. Please keep them. They are yours. But delete me from your list of people whose shoulders you can cry on. When you are ready to look for solutions, you are welcome. But until then, 'Goodbye.'

I am sure all of us have either had such a conversation with ourselves when we faced a challenge or overheard such a conversation where typically the focus of the individual seems to be on all the ways their problem is insolvable. So every comment or suggestion of yours is likely to be met with, 'Yes but!!' or 'No but!!' These two phrases are the clearest indicators of someone who is not interested in solving problems but is looking for ways to maintain the status quo.

That is why I said that the first question to ask yourself when you are faced with a problem is, 'Do I really want a solution to this?'

Now you may say that I am nit picking because obviously everyone wants to solve problems, so what is the big deal about asking an obvious question. The reality is that many people unconsciously don't want to solve problems because instinctively they realize that the solution will need effort, may be risky and entail some pain. The familiar pain of the problem is better than the unfamiliar and risky pain of the solution. It can be statistically shown for example that many women actually choose to remain in abusive relationships rather than walking out or filing for divorce or even approaching a counselor for help. Similarly people choose to remain in dead-end jobs but will not make the effort to change their company or career. People will talk about having their own business but will do nothing to actually make that happen. And every time you ask them what happened to their idea of starting their company they will tell you all sorts of stories about the difficulty of getting finance and how the current market is not favorable and so on. Fear of the unknown is the biggest fear for many people and they choose to remain with the pain. So we have the 'Yes but!!' and 'No but!!' conversations.

Definitions influence solutions. But solutions don't come to those who want excuses. An 'excuse focus' seeks to legitimize your current state and helps you to keep pretending that you are helpless. It fools nobody but you. A 'solution focus' faces the reality that your life is in your own hands; that you are as powerful as you want to be and that your problem, no matter how big it may be, can be solved.

Sure, it will need grit, energy, focus, creativity, courage, forbearance, consistency, strength, patience, vision, strategic thinking...okay, so I will stop. You are scared once again? Let me ask you, 'How would you like to be described as someone who has grit, energy, focus, creativity, courage, forbearance, consistency, strength, patience, vision, strategic thinking? You'd love it?? Sure?? Then what do you think problem solving does? Whether or not your actual problem is solved, you end up getting all these things anyway. Now how about that? Still interested? But remember, 'You have to be looking for solutions, not excuses.' That is the key.

#

#  Entitlement versus Contribution

One issue that I have always advocated to anyone who wishes to enter a different domain and demands representation is to first prove their value in that domain. For example, workers demand representation in management. Students demand representation in school/college administration. Minorities demand representation in various legislative bodies. Women demand representation in various areas. Young scions of business families demand entry to the Management Board.

Naturally there is resistance because this is a law of nature – to resist anything from outside. Just stand on an Indian railway platform and watch the behavior of people trying to get into the unreserved compartment (bogie, coach) and you will see this law in action every single time. People inside try their best to prevent those on the platform from getting in while those on the platform question their right to do so in the choicest language that takes into detailed account the ancestry of those who are already in the compartment. In the melee as is inevitable some do manage to get in. Naturally you would expect these champions of human rights and opposers of oppression to help all those others who also want to get in and with whom they shared sweat and tears until a few minutes ago. But to your ultimate surprise you will find that instead of doing that, they join the ranks of the oppressors and do their best to prevent others from sharing their new found place. To resist outsiders is natural to humankind.

The solution to this is for the 'outsider' to show how including them would benefit the 'insiders'. When that happens, they are welcomed with open arms. This follows another natural law which is the supremacy of self-interest.

So I advocate that men, women or children who want to enter new domains (councils of theologians, parliaments, advisory councils and so on) for the moment, forget what your 'entitlement' is and look to see what your contribution is. Now before everyone jumps on my head and flattens me to the earth let me assure you that I have nothing against women. I love all women, especially the pretty ones. But the fact remains that until they show what they can contribute today, their entry into all councils will be resisted. And all the strident screaming and posturing will only harden stances.

Let me give you an example from elsewhere to show the power of contribution. Take Rand Corporation and its reports on various issues. Today these reports are consulted, taken very seriously and are serious influencers of global policy. Ask why? Because Rand's reports are deeply researched and beautifully presented. Now, did the decision makers of the world put out a global tender first asking for someone to research and report to them on all sorts of global issues? Did they promise to listen to them? Did they promise to pay them? The answers are obvious.

Do global decision makers promise to do what a Rand report suggests? They certainly don't. But take any issue and trace the history and see what the Rand reports on that issue have suggested and see what decisions were eventually taken and you will see what I mean by the power of contribution. To this day do you see Rand Corporation or its backers clamoring for space? They don't need to because they have earned it. To them 'entitlement' means nothing. Influence means everything. And influence comes from contribution – not clamoring.

Similarly is the case with young scions of business families carping that their fathers or uncles don't let them take decisions and don't allow them to take charge of the business. I say to them, 'Give them a reason why they should that is not genetic. Your surname is not a guarantee of anything except your bloodline. But bloodlines are as good for running businesses as they are for flying planes. You need knowledge and experience for both, not bloodlines. So do something to inspire confidence in your parents and uncles and they will not only give you the business, they will pester you to take it.' But carping is easy while proving your worth takes time, creativity, energy, perseverance and grit. Reality however does not change because we don't want to believe it and so the problem remains, no matter how much anyone wants to carp. Solutions demand action. Not complaining.

Human memory is short, so what counts, is what one does today or did yesterday. The day before yesterday is too late. Talking about the past contribution of people with whom we associate because of our gender, religion, race, nationality and so on is worthless. Just because Muslim scientists 300 years ago gave the basic foundations of the 'scientific method of research' and major inventions in medicine, astronomy, navigation and so on, does not mean that the world today must respect us Muslims because of what those people did. Same logic applies to any other grouping. If we want respect, we have to show what we can do today. And we have to do that unasked, unpaid and unapplauded until it becomes manifestly clear to all concerned, what we have done and how they gained because of that.

Then we will be honored and invited in. Not before.

Final disclaimer (I have not been happily married for 26 years for nothing): emotion has no place in decision making. If you want influence you have to be objective, use your head and do what needs to be done. By all means cry if you wish. But not in public. Do it in the night before Allah. That is the correct place for tears.

Instead of saying in effect, 'Include me first and I will show you what I can do.' Say, 'Here is what I can do. Now ask yourself how can you possibly not include me?'

In the first instance you are asking them to take the risk of including you with no guarantee of any gain. And when you encounter resistance the usual reactions only reinforce all the fears, real and imaginary about the effect of including women into the council.

On the other hand in the method that I have suggested, all you do is to look for issues that are being discussed (this is in the public space) and send in seriously researched papers about your solutions to those issues. Take into account all potential difficulties in implementation and suggest how your idea can be implemented without any risk to those in power. And do all this without demanding that you be thanked, acknowledged or that you make the headlines. Just do it. And then do it again and again until you build a reputation for adding value. Then a day will come – if you do it well, it will come within 12 months – when they will wait for you to speak before they decide. That is the time when the doors will be opened and you will be invited in.

Don't enter. Put conditions. Demand acknowledgement. And it will be given.

Add value first. Entitlement will follow. Entitlement goes with the territory. Contribution defines the territory.

Demanding entitlement when there is no territory to speak of or demanding territory as a matter of right is the best way to ensure that the process is delayed some more.

I hope someone will take heed and work in ways that are not simply different manifestations of other senseless movements in the West which earned nothing but a lot of amusement for spectators. The lot of women is as hard and cruel as it always was.

In defense of 'YET'

As they say, 'By the Law of Aerodynamics the Bumblebee cannot fly. But Bumblebees don't know aerodynamics and so they fly.'

I believe that there is a word in the English language and its equivalent in every other language which is a closely guarded secret. It is my aim to blow the whistle on this secret because I believe that the salvation for us as a people depends on it.

The word is – YET.

Why am I making such a song and dance about this simple word?

Let me demonstrate. Write a sentence describing and situation, a state of being or a problem and then add the word YET to it. For example take the Israeli problem in Palestine and say, 'There is no solution to the Israeli problem in Palestine – YET.' Take the issue of global warming and say, 'There is no solution to global warming – YET.' Or take the problem with your mother in law and say, 'I have not been able to make my mother in law love me – YET.'

Do you see what happens? The whole perspective changes. There is a BY perspective and an AY perspective – Before YET and After YET. The moment we add YET to the problem, we open the doors to the solution. If there is no solution – period – then there is nothing that I can do or be expected to do. There is no solution and that is all that there is to it. We have to lump it, get used to living with the problem for the rest of our lives and so on. All equally hopeless scenarios. But the moment I add the word YET – the situation becomes dramatically different. YET declares that the quest is not over. Far from it. We are looking for a solution. We will undoubtedly find it. We just haven't reached it yet but indeed we will. And we are working on that. Now that is another world. And that is a world which is far better than the hopeless, dead world of 'there is no solution.'

So why don't we have this as our normal approach; our default setting for problem solving? This is because the creators of the 'problems' don't want us to think in this way. They want us to accept conventional wisdom so that the status quo will never be questioned. The status quo helps them because believe you me, there is always a group that benefits from the misery of others. They don't want any change or anyone questioning what is going on. But if we learn to question and if we learn to end our sentences in YET we will open a new world where to question will be a virtue. To question is indeed a virtue. All progress depends on questioning; on not accepting status quo; on not accepting that change is not possible.

#

#  What makes a Winner?

Before I begin on the three fundamental principles that make winners, let me state one thing: In life, only winners are rewarded. So the first requirement of winning is to be passionate about winning. To realize that a real win is one that is gained fairly, with integrity and without harming anyone. Only that is a win.

There are three fundamental drivers of all winners:

  1. Drive for excellence
  2. Compassion
  3. Desire to leave a legacy

**Drive for excellence** emerges from the winner's self-concept. A winner defines himself by his output. Her contribution is her signature. Winners are contribution oriented, not entitlement oriented. They constantly seek to give and to give more and better each time. Naturally this gives them profit, fame, honor and popularity but that is not why they do it. They do it because of who they are. Not because of what others say about them. I recall a carpenter who was making a table and asked me for 7 grades of sandpaper. When I complained about the time it would take, he said to me, 'It is your choice. This is how I work. I want whoever sees your table to ask you, 'Wow! Who made this?' Not, 'Who the hell made this?' He was working for his own satisfaction. That this would result in a satisfied customer was incidental. He would have worked that way even if he had no customer to sell to. The table he made for me was of teak wood, polished to a mirror finish. A delight to see.

**Compassion** comes from a sense of connectedness that winners have. They realize that they are not alone in the world and that they became what they became because of what others did for them, without thinking of a return. Compassion is not merely to be concerned about the difficulties of others but to be concerned enough to put our money and effort where our mouth is. Compassion is what defines us as human beings. Animals don't have compassion. A wildebeest herd stands and watches one of its members being eaten by lions and do nothing to help the one that was taken. It is peculiarly and essentially human to be concerned for the welfare of others. Winners are concerned and they act. Today our major problems that threaten the world are because of a lack of concern, a lack of compassion for others. We are singularly focused on growth at any cost. Growth for the sake of growth is the philosophy of the cancer cell. Predatory growth results in environmental destruction, impoverishment of people for the enrichment of a few and increase in unrest and insecurity.

**Legacy:** Finally winners who have lived all their lives trying to create an impact on their environment don't want to disappear beneath the waves without a trace. They like to leave a legacy of goodness that continues after they are gone. So they build organizations, systems and processes so that their work will continue. They spend time, energy and resources to train others, to teach them what they know, to share their life's hard earned experience so that others don't have to go through the same hardships to learn. Winners leave their mark on the hearts and in the lives of all those they touch. They don't do this to be remembered but they are remembered because of what they did. For the world remembers us not for what we had but for what we did and how that helped them. The legacy of the winner is in the smiles of those who they helped.

#

#

#  Reading – A lost habit?

Quick self-test:

  1. What are the books you have read until now? Please list them with the authors.
  2. What are the books you read in the last 3 months?
  3. How much TV do you watch daily? Can you write down what you learnt from the TV program you watched last night?
  4. How many books do you own? Do you have a library? 
  5. Do you buy books regularly?
  6. What kind of books do you read? What do you learn from them? Can you list what you learnt? (Kind of books you read is critical. Not simply reading to pass the time from which we learn nothing.)
  7. Are you 'allergic' to reading? Do you take 'pride' in the fact that you can't read more than 2 pages?

Numerous surveys have shown that children of parents who own libraries and who are habituated to reading tend to read more. Children who see their parents reading like to read. Initially they imitate the parents, they look at the pictures and later they get interested in reading on their own. They are in a print-rich environment, they hear conversation dealing with authors, thoughts and ideas and this produces a desire to read and acquire knowledge. Parents who want to encourage children to read have libraries of their own and encourage children to acquire books. They present them books, they praise reading, they encourage them to build their own libraries and they take the children out to bookstores and libraries as 'entertainment'. They discuss what they read with their children, they give a book that they have been reading to their child and then talk about what the child understood from it. Such parents have scholars as friends and introduce their children to them and ensure that they spend a significant amount of time in the company of scholars. They encourage systematic learning, structured questioning and debate and focus towards application in real life. All these are tools of dealing with knowledge and understanding how to leverage it to advantage.

TV watching is shown to be detrimental to reading because it is addictive and the pace of presentation is pre-set and is not in control of the viewer. Internet browsing is a little better but unless one is systematically searching for information, one learns very little. The best self-test is to sit with a pad and pen after having watched a TV program and to try to write down what the learning from that program was. Many people say, "I only watch Animal Planet or National Geographic." But try to talk to them about global warming or ecology or environmental pollution or any of the many subjects that are aired on these channels and you will realize that they may as well have watched MTV or some other mindless program for all the good it did them. Simply sitting in front of the TV watching something potentially useful does no good. Most people watch TV for entertainment, no matter which program they watch. Not for learning anything.

And unlike in a book, the program is not there for you to replay and check out what you missed. I am deliberately not speaking about the vast, by far the majority of programs, which are purely made to help one to give up one's irreplaceable life asset (time) free of cost so that others can make some serious bucks. If you don't know what I mean, ask, "What is the definition of 'Prime Time'?" Then check out what prime time TV advertising costs. Why do people agree to pay that kind of money? Because you are sitting there in front of your TV screen with your jaw hanging open, oblivious of the fact that it is your time/life that someone is using to make money for himself. I am also not talking here about the huge potential to corrupt moral and social values and the powerful force of social engineering that is at play in TV programming. All we have to do is to look at ourselves, our families, our cultures of which we used to be so proud and our moral values to see the effect.

Finally I have encountered several people who almost take pride in their ignorance and say, "I am allergic to reading. I can't read more than 2 pages at a time." It is strange for me to see how instead of being ashamed and working to do something to overcome this self-imposed impairment, they talk about it proudly. Ignorance really has no bounds. It is such parents who produce ignorant children who produce more ignorant children and so on.

That is why when we talk about the world today being in the 'Knowledge Age', I have to ask the question, 'So what am I doing to gear myself to live in such a world?' If I lived in a 'Water World' and I did not know how to swim, I would be seriously frightened of drowning. The same analogy applies. If I live in the Knowledge Age and I have no desire to acquire knowledge, no tools to deal with information, no means of understanding what to do with what I am reading or listening to, then I am in serious danger of perishing.

Lastly let me point out that all of the above that I have said about reading is really only the first step. Then comes understanding, conceptualizing, strategizing, planning, executing and measuring before one can actually see any results. But if one is unwilling even to take the first step of reading, then how on earth is anything else supposed to happen?

#  ******Illiterate by Choice**

Literacy is to language what driving is to cars. In my view the single most significant event in human development is the evolution of languages. It was this process that enabled human beings to preserve their thoughts, teach others, learn from history and talk to generations yet unborn. Language is the elixir of eternal life. Or as close to it as we are likely to come. Literacy or to be able to use language, reading and writing, is the key to this world which essentially distinguishes and differentiates us from animals. Literacy is therefore as fundamental to the human condition and as essential as food, clothing and shelter. And in a manner of speaking, even more essential than that.

When adults teach children to read and write, they are transferring their very humanity and empowering their students to access the collective wisdom and learning of the human race. There is no greater service that one human being can do for another than to teach him to read and write. Societies which are unable or unwilling to teach their children to read and write are impoverished and bankrupt in the most essential element of wealth, knowledge. Without literacy the only door that opens into the world of the future remains locked. The child stands before it in mute testimony to the fact that those whose responsibility it was to hand over the keys, failed to do so. There is nothing more tragic than that.

In India today illiteracy is almost bequeathed to the child, thanks to poverty of the parents and an almost non-existent primary & secondary school system in the country. Primary & secondary government schools which do exist are extremely poorly staffed and resourced and the quality of education provided is abysmal. For illiterate adults there is no place where they can go to even to simply learn to read and write. Even a cursory journey through the villages of India will show that there is a very large pool of very bright children available. The tragedy however is that thanks to a complete lack of support, they are simply allowed to go to waste and instead of legitimately aiming for the stars they spend their youth serving tea in wayside restaurants, or as assistants to truck mechanics. We will never know how many potential scientists, philosophers and intellectuals we have already lost only because the rest of us don't care. If there is something worse, far worse than genocide, it is not to care what happens to our fellow citizens. Of this we are all guilty to some extent.

More tragic than the one who can't read is the one who can but won't.

If you were to compare the reading level, vocabulary and comprehension of the children of city dwellers you would not find much difference. This is even though economically many of them are wealthy. If you go a little further and try to assess the children of our Indian middle and upper class on perspective, understanding of their role in life, historical perspective, ability to appreciate prose and poetry, art and culture, knowledge of philosophy, religion and cultures other than their own and current events and what they mean; you may be even more surprised. I wonder if I should take the very bold step of saying that if instead of asking the children you asked the parents, you may well be surprised to know that in many cases, they know even less. So it is hardly surprising that we are propagating ignorance and creating a generation of rather moronic people. Try it and prove me wrong. I will be delighted.

**Quick self-test:** Ask yourself (or your child), "Which books have you read in the past 3 months which you did not HAVE to read?" By this I mean books that were not part of school-work and so on. Then go a step further and ask, "Can you name 5 books and their authors that have had a global impact?" Then ask, "When do I plan to read them?"

And if the answer is, "I have no time," then forgive me for asking you. I am sorry I asked the wrong person. After all it is only those who direct the destinies of others who need perspective. Slaves are like sheep. It is for the shepherd to lead them to the pasture, the shearing shed or the abattoir. It is not the sheep who has any say in the matter. For sheep only follow the sheep who is walking ahead of them.

As always, the choice is ours to make because this life is ours to live.

#  7 – Keys to Success

One of the hallmarks of our times is that thanks to communication technology we have a glut of information. Another is that we have a multitude of communication instruments but we seem to have stopped communicating. Similarly with a surfeit of information we now have a challenge, understanding the reality and even more so, chalking out a path of action that can lead to some positive results.

What I have tried to do is to conceptualize this into 7, steps which are easy to follow and which I use myself to decide on which issues I will tackle and which I will leave alone. That way I am able to conserve my energy so that the things that I focus on get the amount of time and attention they need in order to show results.

The 7 - Steps are:

  1. **Eliminate the noise**
  2. **Focus on what you control directly or can influence**
  3. **Analyze objectively & face the brutal facts**
  4. **Relentlessly measure results – first your own**
  5. **Empower people – the doorman is also 'people'**
  6. **Share knowledge & teach implementation tools**
  7. **Don't worry about who gets the credit**

  1. Eliminate the noise

The first and foremost thing to do is to decide what to 'see' and what not to. We are faced with multiple media outputs all clamoring for attention. If you give more attention to one then it is at the expense of another. My solution is to create filters in the system so that I am assured that I will only hear what is important from my point of view. What I do is as follows:

  1. I don't read newspapers or watch news channels: If it is important enough someone will always tell you about it. Especially because today newspapers are more about propaganda and less about news. They invent language, twist facts and color events to make them seem the way they want us to see them. I can and do make up my own mind without encouragement from anyone else. 
  2. I subscribe to two internet news consolidators: One business, one political. They give me a gist of the important happenings without any propaganda. Then I sit back and ask myself some useful questions. We'll come to them later.
  3. Create filters to ensure you see good information. Analyses of events, situations, trends, circumstances are always useful. That way someone else does some of the work for you. But be aware of the bias of the analyst.
  4. Do unto others what you want them to do unto you: That applies also to what you must not do. And the most important of that is NOT forwarding emails mindlessly. It all comes back and so don't do it. Delete all forwards mercilessly and tell people to take you off their list for mindless forwards. 
  5. Remind yourself that:

  1. Data is not information
  2. Information is not knowledge
  3. Knowledge is not wisdom
  4. Wisdom is not power

  1. The key in value addition means to un-randomize data and make sense of it. The key phrase when faced with information is to ask: So what?

  1. Organized data is information
  2. Leveraged information is knowledge
  3. Conceptualized knowledge is wisdom
  4. Applied wisdom gives power

  1. An ounce of power is better than a ton of sterile wisdom sitting in books and gathering dust in the murky darkness of library shelves.

  1. Focus on what you control directly or can influence

The key is to separate emotion from objective analysis. Emotion is what drives us to action in the first place and so it is very important. But unless we separate emotion from our thinking, planning a clear strategy becomes almost impossible. I use four operative questions for myself:

  1. **What is in my control and what is not?**

We can only influence what we control in one way or the other. So it is essential to clearly identify what factors in a given situation are within our control and which are not. Among those which are not within our direct control may be some which we can indirectly influence to get the desired outcome. We can take those into consideration in our analysis. But factors that are clearly out of our control must be discarded. For example we probably can't influence national policy on education but we can certainly educate one poor child.

  1. **How much do I care about this thing?**

Given that most things need time, effort and money to be done; I ask myself how much of each I am willing and able to devote. In some cases it may not be necessary or even possible to address all aspects of an issue. So we can choose to address the one where we believe we can create the maximum impact or where we believe we are most suited to contribute.

  1. **Whose support do I need?**

Most goals that concern others need the involvement of other people for their accomplishment. The key is to decide who the critical people in this respect are. Not everyone has the same priority. The prioritization must be done strictly on the basis of what the individual can contribute; not who they are. I have seen too many initiatives go nowhere because the implementing body was filled either with big names who had no time or well-meaning people who were ineffective and had neither the ability nor the resources to do what needed to be done.

  1. **Decide what NOT to do**

A very important step in this whole process is to decide what NOT to do. This is a very deliberate step involving consideration of all factors mentioned above and consciously deciding what the things are that we will not do. For example you may decide that you will create a pressure group to work on government to influence policy but you will not indulge in activism on the street.

  1. Analyze objectively and face the brutal facts

Truly it has been said that the only one you can really fool is yourself. Self-deception can be done both individually and collectively by groups and nations. The fact is that reality does not change because we refuse to recognize it.

There are four related steps in this process:

  1. **Have:** Assess your assets and liabilities: What do you have, what can you commit and what are the weaknesses of yourself, your cause or your group?
  2. **Will:** Then decide on what of this you are willing and able to contribute to the cause. Then decide on what the shortfall is, if any and where you are going to fill it from.
  3. **How Much:** Then decide on the metrics to assess your progress. This is often the most difficult as it is the most painful part of the process. There is always a tendency to whitewash the results or to make them look less mean or bleak than they actually are.

There is a tendency to talk about all the 'hard work' that went into the task and then say, "Well you see, after all the results are not in our hands." This enables us to feel good about failure. But it achieves nothing. I remember a lecture on leadership that I attended at the IIT-Madras by the famous tennis player, Vijay Amritraj. One of the several insightful things that he said humorously was, "We Indians lose in sports because the British left their attitude with us along with their language. When an Indian or an Englishman win a match they shake hands with the loser and say, "Well done old chap! Better luck next time." But when you lose to an American he says, "You lost!!!" So we need to be brutally frank with ourselves and assess results without any pretentions.

  1. **What if:** Lastly we need to anticipate the risks and make contingency plans. One good way to do that is to conceptualize scenarios and then look at what is in our control and what is not and prepare for eventualities.

  1. Relentlessly measure results – starting with your own

 What you measure you know

 What you know you can control

 What you control you can influence

 What you can influence gives results

Needless to say this has the additional benefit of keeping you focused on your goal all the time, since all measurement is in relation to the goal.

  1. Empower people

Remember that the doorman is also 'people'. Empowerment is an outcome of respect. Not respect for special people but for everyone. Not a show of respect in terms of rituals or gestures, but genuine respect demonstrated through practice.

 Listening attentively is respect

 Responding thoughtfully is respect

 Disagreeing giving reasons is respect

 Acknowledging contribution is respect

 Being fair, frank, compassionate is respect

 Sharing benefits is respect

  1. Share knowledge and teach implementation tools

There are three main questions to answer in this aspect:

  1. **What do you know?**

Do a knowledge audit to ascertain the extent of what you know. What more do you need to find out? Where will you get this information from? Many times people and organizations are unable to use what they know because they have no idea what they actually know. This is especially true of on-going learning that individuals acquire in the course of their work. This knowledge, even though it is gained at the expense of the employer, remains the personal property of the individual and leaves with him, the employer never being the wiser. This is an avoidable loss provided you are willing to create a knowledge bank. The knowledge audit is the first step for that. Then this knowledge must be made freely accessible to everyone who is interested in it. You will be amazed how many wonderful ideas come from people because they read something that they would not otherwise have had access to.

  1. **How much are you willing to share with others?**

Sharing knowledge is the surest sign of confidence and trust. By all means exercise discretion but do differentiate between reasonable discretion and secretiveness. The latter produces distrust and suspicion.

  1. **Do you have tools to implement what you know?**

  1. Finally what is to be done with what you know? How will this impact all the constituents? How can the maximum benefit be derived from this?

Teach people the tools for implementing your solutions so that they can do things on their own. Being indispensable may seem nice as it gives the individual a feeling of power but it is very dangerous for the cause to be dependent on prima donna individuals for its success. The broader based the competence the safer is the result.

  1. Don't worry about who gets the credit

This is easier said than done of course. We all have the desire to be recognized and appreciated. The key is to re-define what appreciation and recognition mean to us. If appreciation merely means that people must sing our praises then we may well become blocks to the free practice of our ideas. People use best what they consider their own. In that process they may well forget the initiator. But the idea will be genuinely espoused and implemented. If instead of wanting praise, we look to see who is using our ideas and derive satisfaction from that, then we become catalysts for the proliferation of our ideas. For me the biggest satisfaction is to actually see someone use one of my ideas and call it his own. That means that the idea no longer needs me to support it and can exist on its own.

For the eagle the biggest satisfaction is to see its fledging soar on his own wings, rising on the thermals and staying afloat effortlessly. To know that I taught her how to do that is more satisfying than any medal or material reward that I can get.

#  Same chairs, Different bottoms

Once upon a time there was a beautiful land in which clear rivers flowed through lush forests. Birds flocked to the trees which were heavy with fruit until one was almost deafened by the cacophony of their cries. And if one dared to walk under the trees, then one needed an umbrella which quickly changed color and became white with the spirited discharge of processed fruit ensuing forth from enthusiastic birds. Of animals there were plenty in this land but only the non-biting kind. All those that bit had been muzzled and lived on a diet of liquid protein shakes and Red Bull. So it appeared as if all was right with the world and the sun was shining and rain was falling and there was actually a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Never mind that nobody had actually got to it yet. Good thing that, or there would not be a pot at the end of the thing now, would there?

However the Wise Ones tell us never to be deceived by what we see for there can be much under the surface that is not visible to the naked eye. And that is how things were in this land as well. There was much pain and suffering under the surface. The reason for this was very simple. The land was enslaved. People craved to be independent and free but they were enslaved.

There were two kinds of people in this land, the Fatty Bottoms and the Bony Backsides. Fatty Bottoms, hereinafter to be referred as FBs were the rulers. Bony Backsides were the workers who lived only to serve the FBs. In due form we shall refer to them henceforth as BBs. Fatty Bottoms sat on special chairs which were specially shaped to fit their rather large sit-upons. FBs never left their chairs and when they had to go to a party or indeed anywhere they forced the BBs to carry them there, chair and all. This added to the suffering of the BBs because not only were FBs heavy to carry, the movement disturbed the fluid balance in their bellies and they expressed their feelings in an aromatic manner. The aroma unfortunately had no competition except perhaps from Satilla the Skunk and was not appreciated by the BBs who had to carry the FBs to their parties.

Not unnaturally it was the greatest desire of the BBs to become free of the oppressive Fatty Bottom rule. For this they schemed and made many plans but never managed to succeed, because the FBs had a law called Secret Code 420. This law had specially and very cleverly been made to ensure that the FBs always remained in power and the BBs could never become free.

It was a very interesting law because it was only one line.

Secret Code 420:

Whether any action is a crime or not depends on who does it, not on what is done.

So if a BB protested against the oppression, for example, he was called a rebel and jailed. If he took any direct action which the FBs were frightened of, it was labeled 'terrorism' and he was hanged after first being tortured. If something happened and the FB police couldn't find out who did it, they simply grabbed the first BB they could lay their hands on and then beat him into a state where he would willingly admit to anything including what the birds did. Then once he had put it all in writing, he would conveniently encounter a stray bullet while attempting to commit mass murder of FBs and would be out of the race. This saved a lot of time and energy of the entire legal system which was much appreciated by all of FB-dom. What the BBs felt about the sudden abridgement of their friend's lifespan was neither here nor there, because BB's feelings and opinions were of no consequence anyway.

As they lived in this land, the BBs always wondered what it was that gave the FBs so much power. The Wise Ones told them that the secret lay in the shape of their chairs. The chairs of the FBs were carefully shaped with two very large cup-like depressions to fit the two cheeks of the sit-upon with a little ridge in the center to ensure that there was minimal lateral slide. The BBs believed that it was these chairs and their shape that gave the FBs their power to rule. Occasionally when an FB who had been carried around for some time desired to commune with nature, some of his BB chair carriers would try out the FB's chair for size. Naturally this was a capital offence and any BB caught sitting in an FB chair would have his head separated from his body, but forbidden fruit is sweet and so BBs took the risk to sit in the FB chair anyway. But the experience was disappointing. The chair was intensely uncomfortable for a Bony Backside's sit-upon. It poked them from all sides and they could neither fit into one depression or the other. The central ridge was the worst as it played havoc with all the delicate parts of the BB. How such a devilish contraption was so comfortable for an FB, the BB could never understand. Meanwhile here comes the FB master and time to go on the road once again.

One day it came to pass that there arose among the BBs one who was not afraid of the FBs. He carried a stick, wore eye glasses and drank goat's milk. He was called the Great One. The Great One did great things which all the BBs marveled at and which were a source of unending aggravation for the FB establishment. For example, one day he walked to the sea and made salt to prove that those who wanted salt in their food could very well make it themselves and had no need to go to Wal-Mart to get it, thank you very much. He spun thread on a spinning wheel and made cloth and then wore it wrapped around his waist.

He never got around to making any more cloth as it took too long and he had much to do and so never wore a shirt. Great One had several companions among whom was one who always said that he had many miles to go before he slept. His name was Ruby Red. It is not known who he was going to meet at the end of that long road, but it was a good line to say and so he always said it: 'Many miles to go before I sleep'. It is said that the time makes the man. And so it happened in this case.

The BBs with their leader, Great One- the guy with the stick, followed by the guy going for a walk – Ruby Red, managed to raise enough of a revolution to make life difficult for the FBs. Their war cry was, 'FBs go home and take your chairs with you.' BBs were convinced that until the FB chairs were destroyed and removed from the land they would never be free.

'How can you have a one-line law?' someone asked.

'How can an action be judged by who does it?' demanded another.

'Right is right and wrong is wrong and never the twain shall meet,' said the third.

'It is a conspiracy to keep us enslaved forever,' said a fourth.

Such conversations have the power of a typhoon because they open the mind and stir the heart. Gradually the noise built up until it could be heard above the cacophony of the aforementioned birds and then it grew some more and drowned out the birds altogether. 'FBs GO HOME' shouted the BBs. FBs GO HOME.!!

Now wait a minute, you tell me. Did they not used to also say, 'Take your chairs with you?

Hmm!! Clever you!! You are observant. Yes they used to. But they shortened it. Why? Try shouting the whole mouthful as a slogan and you will see why. So the last part about the chairs was taken to be understood. After all once the FBs were gone, the horrible chairs would be demolished and burnt up because they were so uncomfortable for the BBs to sit in anyway and the law would be changed and everyone would live happily ever after. QED.

So it came to pass, that in the middle of one night, the FBs left and the BBs were free. There was much rejoicing and dancing in the streets. Goat's milk flowed like water and people spun spinning wheels like mad. Great One was nowhere to be found as he had apparently gone off now that he had some time, to see where it was that Ruby Red was headed towards. Ruby Red on the other hand took a right about turn and returned just in time to bid the last FB a fond farewell and then since there was nothing more to do, he sat down on the FB's chair to rest.

The next day Ruby Red gathered some of his friends together and called the meeting to order and spoke thus. "My friends," he said. "We have been given freedom at midnight. There is nowhere to sit except these chairs and no law except the Secret Code 420. I suggest that we all rest for a while and think about this before we throw out this law. It is true that we did not like it when we were at the receiving end but notice that today we are not. The law served the FBs very well for 200 years. We have a lot of time to change the law so let us not be in a hurry to change it straight away. Meanwhile let us get used to sitting in these horrible chairs, which believe it or not, since I have been sitting in mine for a while now, is not as uncomfortable as it used to be." All his friends agreed with this plan to put things on hold for a while and get used to the chairs and let the old law continue. Someone even asked where Great One had gotten too, but others were not too interested and so the matter was dropped.

Time passed and those who were watching from the sidelines noticed something strange. The bottoms of Ruby Red and his cronies started to change shape. They became fat and round and took the shape of the depressions in the chairs. Ruby Red and his cronies became very comfortable in their FB chairs; though they were no longer called that. They had a new name; Singhasan.

So much so that they became very resentful if they were asked to move and go anywhere. "Why can't we get someone to carry us?" they demanded. "Why not indeed?" said Ruby Red. "Let it be done!" he thundered and many compliant BBs ran to do his bidding. Up rose his Singhasan on the shoulders of those who had been accustomed to carry it for the FB who sat in it before Ruby Red. And off he went, followed by his whole train of friends, each on his own Singhasan carried on the shoulders of its own bearers.

Some BBs resented this turn of events and shouted at Ruby Red and his friends as they went by, "We did not elect you so that you could behave like the FBs." Another yelled, "What is the difference between you and the FBs?" As this started to grow, Ruby Red and his cronies became worried. They knew the power of the word, for they had themselves used it to great advantage. So they issued orders that anyone shouting against Ruby Red or his cronies was being anti-national and should be arrested. After all what was the difference between Ruby Red and the nation? Had he and his friends not sacrificed so many other BBs in order to get independence from the FBs? So naturally now, loyalty to the Ruby Red Gang was loyalty to the Nation. And opposing the Ruby Red Gang was treason. So the hunt started to ferret out the traitors. If the actual person could not be found anyone else could take his place. After all it was now a free country.

"But shouting against the rulers was what you used to do, isn't it?" his wife asked Ruby Red.

"Ah! But the ruler was different, you see," explained Ruby Red.

"But you used to say that justice is not about the individual but about the act. Just because you do something does not make it right, when the same thing was wrong when the FBs did it. Isn't that how the law was in the time of the FBs? Whether any action is a crime or not depends on who does it, not on what is done? Today we are independent. We are free. Didn't you used to say that the law was unjust and must be changed?" she demanded.

"Ah!" smiled Ruby Red. "You see, that is still the law. We never actually changed it. Really quite convenient if you ask me. Suits us just fine. After all we lived by it for 200 years, so what's so different now?"

"You have changed," said his wife, in a disappointed tone.

"Maybe", said Ruby Red. "But the chair is the same. Miles to go before I sleep, miles to go before I sleep."

"So are we truly independent?" she would not leave him in peace?

"That", said Ruby Red, "depends on who is asking".

#

#  Building a Winning Team

Extract from 'An Entrepreneur's Diary', Mirza Yawar Baig,

Finally a word about people skills; the ability to build and run high performance teams. This is what spells the difference between commercial success and failure. No matter how skilled and talented an entrepreneur may be, no matter whether he has the funding or not, in the end what decides his fate and that of his organization is his ability to take people along with him. Who is inspired by you? Who wants to work for you? Who is ready to take a bullet for you? The members of the US Secret Service, the elite force that guards the President of the United States are trained to put themselves in the line of fire to save the life of the President, if need be.

In 1993 a movie called 'Dave' starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver was released. The storyline of the movie was about the affable owner of an employment agency who had an uncanny resemblance to the U.S. President. He found himself forced to replace the real President in an attempt by the White House staff to avoid a potentially explosive scandal. In the movie there was one scene where Dave, the President's 'double' has the following conversation with Duane the secret service agent.

Dave: You know, I've always wondered about you guys. You know, about how you're trained to take a bullet for the president?

Duane: What about it?

Dave: Is that really true? I mean, would you really let yourself get killed to save his life?

Duane: Certainly.

Dave: So now that means you'd get killed for me too?

Duane did not answer this question immediately, but it was so obvious that he felt its heaviness. Later on towards the end of the movie when Duane discovers the real character of Dave he finally answers the question: "I would have taken a bullet for you."

It is this ability to inspire followership that is critical.

I am very fortunate that there have been people in my life for whom I would have taken the bullet and those who I know would have done the same for me. That to me is the essence of leadership that an entrepreneur must be able to provide. Ask yourself, 'Who will take a bullet for me?

One of the finest teams I ever built was the one I had when I was the Manager of New Ambadi Estates in Kanyakumari, the southern tip of India. I have written in detail about that in my book, 'Hills of the Elephants', but would like to share an extract here about that team.

Reflecting on what went into building that team I can identify 6 factors:

  1. **Mutual Respect ******

We treated each other with respect. That may sound like a small or an obvious thing, but respect is not merely seen in how you address each other, but in whether you trust one another to do what is promised and if you deliver on that promise when it is your turn. We never laughed at one another, we did not talk behind each other's backs and we delivered on promises. A respectful atmosphere makes for comfort and people like to work together with those who respect them. This does not mean we did not have fun. We did. Lots of it. It just means that we took our work seriously. It means that we did not need to watch our backs because we knew that one of the others was doing that for us. So we were free to concentrate on our own task.

  1. **Build a common history **

I love trekking and so did my assistants in Ambadi. So we used to go on treks together. On two occasions we did the big one; Arun, Roshan and I, climbed up from the plains of Kanyakumari to the top of the ridge of the Western Ghats to Manjolai Estate (4000 feet), much to the surprise of our friends who lived there. One day we walked into the Club and discovered that (Ricky) M. C. Muthanna who was the General Manager and a personal friend was visiting. They were all at a lunch party in their club and were amazed when we walked in. When Ricky heard that we had climbed the Ghat all the way from the plains he was very impressed and happy, as he was a very outdoors person himself and everyone there got a lecture on the importance of doing such things. We got a lovely lunch in the bargain.

There are many benefits of these shared experiences which are different from merely having a party. On a trek, you get to see the behavior of each other; who leads, how they lead, do they help, do they simply forge ahead and leave the others behind in order to show their own fitness or strength, do they show concern for others, do they volunteer for responsibility or try to dodge it, do they build and live up to trust, how it feels to be cared for by others and how it feels to take care of others and so on. There is nothing like travel together to test the mettle of a companion and to build bonds. Climbing also underlines the whole message of great effort and the resultant gains, better than anything else that I know. This climb in particular did that with great power.

Kanyakumari is a hot place. So even if you start out very early, which we did, it soon gets very hot and sultry. During the initial stages you are in some shade as you climb through the forested foothills, but very soon you come out onto the mountainside and then it is bare all the way to the top. As you walk there are nettles and grass with sharp leaf edges and thorny bushes that you have to cut through or find a way around. The going is slow and it is up at a sharp angle all the way.

So you are constantly climbing and the sun is looking down on your insane activity with great glee. The result is that very soon you are bathed in sweat and your leg muscles start to ache. But you keep climbing as you have a deadline to meet. You don't take breaks because the more breaks you take, the tougher it becomes. You don't drink water because it gives you a stomach ache. You keep climbing. All talk stops after a while. It just takes too much energy and nothing is that important or urgent that it must be said. You keep climbing.

Then a small breeze blows. The sweat becomes a blessing as it cools you down. The feel of the breeze on your face and the back of your neck is heavenly. As you continue to climb, your arms and legs are scratched (like all good planters we wore shorts) and the sweat dripping in the small cuts and abrasions, stings. Your legs ache. Your back more than your legs. You are seriously questioning your sanity in undertaking the task and then you reach the halfway point. There you stop for a breather, drink some water and look back at the climb that you have done – and what do you see?

The mountain rising out of the forest, far below you with the green blanket of vegetation around its shoulders. The patchwork quilt of rice paddies in multiple shades of green spread at the feet of the mountain like a carpet that it's standing on. Patches of blue water; tanks and lakes that dot the landscape of Kanyakumari. And in the distance, the Indian Ocean. You look up and the mountain still towers over you but it no longer looks so intimidating. You breathe in the cool breeze. The sun is much kinder at this elevation and so it is much cooler than it was when you began. You take a deep breath and start climbing once again with new energy.

  1. **Celebrate Success ******

Very often it is the failures which get the most attention. Nothing wrong with that. One needs to learn from failure. But one needs to and can learn from success as well. We celebrated successes not simply by partying but by also asking some clear questions: What did we do right? How did we take those decisions; were they active choices or lucky accidents? What could we have done differently? What is the best thing about this win? How can we leverage that? We gathered data and insisted that all our conclusions must be backed by clear data. We ensured that we were not simply telling stories to please ourselves and that what we thought of as the reasons we succeeded were actually measurable facts. While we partied we also talked about these things. One part of celebration was also that I ensured that whoever on my team had done something critical to success got the limelight. This built credibility and inspired further effort.

  1. **Be completely candid ******

This is a very critical principle of team building; as much openness, transparency and candid communication as possible. Say it like it is. No beating about the bush. No mincing words. No false pretences at politeness. If something is great, say it. If someone is fooling around, say it equally frankly and clearly, not behind his back but to his face.

I used the same policy of candid communication with the unions in Ambadi, which initially they found disconcerting but later accepted and appreciated. One of them said to me, "We don't always agree with you but we always know where we stand." I have had many people say this to me in different situations and I feel good about that. Teams also like leaders who they don't have to second guess. So tell it like it is. The key thing of course is to be willing to listen to others telling it like it is to you. Now that is more easily said than done, but if you don't shut up and listen and instead start justifying your stance or actions and becoming defensive then you will destroy your own credibility and damage all the good work you did building transparency.

  1. **Allow, even encourage genuine mistakes**

I managed to convince my team of the 'importance of making mistakes'. I remember the looks of puzzled surprise at this term when I first mentioned it. Their experience until then was that mistakes were things you tried to avoid. If ever you did make one you tried to hide it or to blame it on someone else. And eventually if all else failed you resigned yourself to bearing whatever punishment that mistake attracted. But here was Mr. Baig, saying that it was actually important to make mistakes. Obviously this was a trap. So do what all sensible people do: silently wait and watch. For my part, once I had announced the importance of making mistakes I watched for the first person who made a mistake. Naturally everyone being human, it happened sooner or later.

Then I called the person and told him to give me a written statement of what happened, why he believed it happened and what must be done to prevent that particular thing from ever happening again. This statement was then discussed in the next weekly staff meeting and others added their ideas to it. It was treated as a regular case study. Not as something bad that one of them had done. Then once the lessons were clear to all, the matter was closed. Nothing more to be done on the issue, except that I would silently monitor it and the individual for a while to ensure compliance with whatever had been agreed.

No punishment. Not even a verbal reprimand. Actually if the analysis was particularly well done and the solution was a good one, the maker of the mistake would be applauded. Sometimes I would pull his leg and ask him what he had done with all this intelligence at the time of making the mistake. Or I would say something like, "Thanks very much for teaching us this lesson." The person would look a little sheepish but that was all. The lesson would have been learnt and not only by the one who did the action but by everyone. So the learning was actually very cheap as the same mistake need not be done multiple times for others to learn. The only caveat was that you could not repeat a mistake. If that happened then there would be a reprimand, because it meant that you had not learnt from the previous mistake. And that was not acceptable.

As time passed people started seeing for themselves that making a mistake was not necessarily bad, as long as it was a genuine mistake and not a deliberate misdemeanor, and as long as you could demonstrate your learning and create a system where it would not be repeated, there was no pain associated with the learning. People then rapidly became risk takers. I encouraged other good practices like writing down a plan of action before you actually take action so that if something goes wrong you know exactly what happened and are not trying to recall what you had done or intended to do. Prior planning as well as documentation encourages deeper thought and reflection which can only be beneficial. To ensure that we did not get bogged down by too many planners, I made a rule that you had to put a deadline to everything.

So any time anyone submitted a plan we asked for a deadline. We also made the weekly meeting, the place to initiate all these actions. The idea being that before you went and launched off something you brought it before an assembly of peers who helped you to evaluate your plan. This also ensured more rigor in the whole exercise because people knew that if they submitted something that was half-baked it would be pulled apart in the meeting.

My role in all these meetings was mostly to listen and watch and sometimes to ask questions. Once people grew comfortable with speaking before others and asking and answering questions there was no holding them back. Sometimes I had difficulty getting my own point across; there would be so much participation. I was very happy to see all this enthusiasm. When your subordinates start to override your ideas and challenge your conclusions and give you measured responses, you can be sure that leadership is developing.

It is when you get too much agreement that you need to worry. Too much agreement and too little conflict are often signs that people are coasting along and there is a shortfall of commitment. One of the most reliable signs of commitment is conflict. Unfortunately many leaders fear conflict and go to great lengths to suppress it instead of encouraging it and channeling it so that really positive results can ensue. That is why it is important to understand that conflict resolution and conflict management are not the same thing. Conflicts, if managed properly resolve themselves and in the process yield very valuable learnings.

Another process that started happening was that individuals who intended to present something at the staff meeting would do a little pre-show to some of their colleagues who had some specialized knowledge. For example they would run some of the numbers by the accountant to make sure they had done their sums right. I encouraged all this informal communication and collaboration because it is a wonderful team building process. The whole essence of team building is to help people see how they need one another in order to succeed. And so when this started happening I knew we were on the right track.

Having said all of the above let me also say that the most difficult part for a high energy, action oriented person like me, was to sit in silence and see a mistake happen. All because you want to turn it into a learning situation. But there is no alternative to this patience. Naturally one does not need to self-destruct in the process and it is possible to contain the magnitude of the mistakes so that the learning takes place but not at a huge cost. However the crux of the matter is that you need to allow the subordinate to make the mistake and then guide the learning. This anxiety is compensated by the pleasure of seeing fewer and fewer mistakes happen over time as people get more and more proficient in their roles.

The practice of sharing learnings and Best Practices ensures that the learning gets maximum leverage. Also people are not ashamed or afraid of making mistakes as they know that there is no punishment provided they use their heads and can share their learning. Further because of this people generally exercise more care and the number of mistakes decreases.

The biggest benefit is the exposure and appreciation that people get when they share their learnings and best practices and have a platform to talk about their gains. They also get some ribbing and leg pulling which serves to make the point about being more careful in the future and the humor in it softens the pain of learning and builds relationships among team members. Finally this encourages them to share information and creates organizational learning as distinct from individual learning. In my view this one benefit, is worth more than anything else.

  1. **Continuously develop people**

As mentioned earlier entrepreneurs are usually so engrossed in the here & now that they ignore the future until it is either too late or until it becomes a problem. For most, succession is a mystery which is 'solved' by doing nothing and letting biology take its course. Their children enter the business at the level of Directors without having had the benefit of learning the business from the ground up with predictable results. Many treat the business like a candy store whose responsibility is to keep them supplied with candy; their focus on consumption instead of contribution.

They look only at what they can get out of the business instead of what they need to do to grow the business. Predictably this results in the business being broken up to everyone's detriment. All because the founder did nothing to develop his successors. What amazes me is how many times this story is repeated all over the world. We don't seem to learn from experience at all, neither our own nor anyone else's.

Today (2010/11) we are in a situation where it is entrepreneurship especially the establishment and flourishing of small and medium businesses which will signal our recovery from global financial collapse.

It is all the more reason to think seriously about these matters.

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#  The Entrepreneur's Rules of Success

I have formulated 6 rules which I call David's rules. These are for anyone facing the big one – the big apparently insurmountable challenge which the whole world tells you to run away from. But you are among those who are uniquely deaf to the advice of those who are too frightened to think straight. You are among those to whom personal safety is not Goal # 1 in life. You are among those who recognize that everything has a price and that if you want to achieve great things, you have to be prepared to pay the price they demand. It's not that you don't recognize the danger. To recognize danger is a sign of intelligence and you are no fool. It is that you are willing to take the risk for the reward. So you ignore the advice and step forward.

David's Rules

Rule # 1 – Take the first step forward

 Unless you take the first step forward, nothing will happen.

 Once you take the first step, the universe conspires to make you succeed.

 It is safer to stay in the ranks and do nothing but it is only the General who gets to call the shots. And Generals don't stand in the ranks.

 The choice is yours and every choice has a price. You pay, you get.

Rule # 2 – Confound Goliath

  * Goliath does not make the rules so that you can win.
  * If you play by Goliath's rules, Goliath will win every time.
  * Understand the rules – then break them.
  * Make your own rules & play by them.

Rule # 3 – Only effort produces results

 Talent is what you are given; what you are born with.

 Effort is what you make. Effort supports talent. The best talent is nothing without effort.

 In the end it is the effort that brings the results, not the talent if there is no effort.

 So don't ask, "What talent do I have?" Ask, "What effort am I making?

 David made effort using his unique talent. The rest is history.

Rule # 4 – Strength always overcomes weakness

 Play to your strength because you can do that best.

 David was a shepherd so he used a slingshot.

 Don't be overawed by competition, because the winning post is only at the end of the race.

 In the end, it is not the weapon but whether it scored, that counts.

Rule # 5 – Never compromise your legacy

 Stay focused no matter what the distractions.

 Remember, winning is all that counts.....and how you win is a part of that.

 Winning without honor is to lose in the worst way.

 Nobility is a factor of 'How' not of 'What'. Glory is only for the noble.

Rule # 6 – Thank People

 Be thankful to all those who helped you.

 It is true that you owe your success to your own effort but some of it was made standing on the shoulders of others. And even if you forgot that, they won't.

 Thanks builds bridges; for you never know when you will need one to cross.

 Thank people because every ending is a new beginning.

I believe very passionately and firmly in the fact that in the end, it is quality that scores over everything else. I know that every entrepreneur worth the name shares this belief with me. I have met many along the way who cut corners, pretended to be what they were not and compromised quality for short term gain. Most of them no longer exist. Those who do, live with a reputation that constantly sabotages their effort.

I believe that all that we do or choose not to do defines our brand and reflects our character. Therefore all initiatives and effort must be measured against this standard to see if it stands up to the mark. Compromising standards and values for gains is a very expensive bargain and adds no value at all. Indeed the most profitable way to run a business is to work to the highest standards and become the standard bearer in the industry against which others measure themselves.

Then you can claim a premium where your competitors are busy competing on price.

**'Buy from me because I am cheap'** , is a slogan I never liked.

Entrepreneur's Tools for Survival and Sustenance

  1. **Prayer**

I discovered the power of prayer. Of asking the One who has the power for His help. Prayer gave me (and continues to do so) a chance to have a private conversation and to ask my Creator for what I needed. He knew what that was better than I did, but being able to ask and knowing that He listens and helps gave me the strength that I needed. There is an enormous sense of peace in standing in the night in prayer after having done all that is in one's power, asking for those decisions to be sent down without which all one's effort will bear no fruit. I am aware of the same sense of communion that the farmer feels when he has tilled the land, made the furrows, spread the fertilizer, sowed the seeds and then looks towards the heavens and raises his hands asking for rain, without which all his effort will be in vain. Yet when he raises his hands, there is no fear in his heart, only hope. And there is a smile on his face. For he is looking for the clouds to come once again, bearing rain as they have done again and again in his life. So also as I stood, I remembered all the times that I had been guided, gently away from what I wanted, to what was good for me though I had not realized it at that time. I was aware that my Creator knows, He cares and He has the power to do what it takes. I was content in the fact that I had done my part and made all the effort that I could. Now I stood to ask for His help, confident that He would do what was good for me, even if it meant that in a given situation I would not get what I wanted. My life's experience told me that every time that happened I was given something better. Prayer gave me strength in the dark silence of the night which otherwise is the home of fear and confusion.

  1. **Discipline and Routine**

Anxiety creates disorder and disorder enhances fear. A vicious circle that debilitates energy and invites despair. So the first thing to ensure is that you have a routine and to stick to it with dogged discipline. I had (and continue to have) fixed times to wake up, sleep, eat and for all major activities including reading, writing and the gym. A timetable creates order and predictability in a life that is suddenly devoid of the usual office routine. Working from home can create lack of discipline that masquerades as freedom. This is very dangerous. I used to dress for work, even though I was going into the next room to do it. Structure is the most powerful aid to fight anxiety.

  1. **Physical Fitness**

Adrenalin is the best natural energizer. And you get a lot of it on the treadmill provided you sweat enough. The gym became an absolutely fixed part of my day. I would go to the gym at mid-day because I was relatively free then. But on the days when I was teaching, I would go to the gym after work, which sometimes meant at 10 in the night. One thing for sure; I would not go to bed unless I had gone to the gym for my daily adrenaline fix. Exercise is both a physical and psychological booster and I benefited hugely. Another thing, at least in my case, I think better when I am walking. So when I have some complex problem to work on, I go for a walk. By the time I have walked a few miles, I would have worked it out and it becomes clear. Whatever be the physiological reasons for this, I know it works for me. Try it out.

  1. **Financial Discipline**

The best thing about being poor is that you learn to prioritize. Prioritizing is not always painless. Sometimes it is very painful when you have to choose against something you really would have loved to have. But you learn to choose based on what is important and what gives a return. You also learn to be very careful with what you have and to see how you can make your rupee/dollar do the most it can in more than one way. Waste becomes a synonym for death and re-cycling the norm. You learn to depend on other things than the brand of shirt or watch you wear as indicators of your status or worth. You learn to make all your resources count – sometimes several times before they are used up. You learn the importance of planning and information because it helps you to save. The mountain men of the American frontier were crack shots with the long rifle because they were very poor and had to learn how to make every bullet count. They simply could not afford a wasted shot. For us in Bangalore, there were some months in the first year when I did not know if we would have enough money to pay the rent. But the Grace of God ensured that we never defaulted. Tight financial control, prioritizing and planning are all learnings; the benefits of hard times.

  1. **Self Development**

This is a very tough one but in my view it is the single most powerful differentiator – what do you invest in your own professional development? Talking of investing in learning without any guarantee that it will ever yield a return, when there isn't enough money to put food on the table, sounds ridiculous. That is the reason many people subscribe to this thought in principle but do nothing about it in practice. That is a very expensive bargain. I would identify a training course that I wanted to take and then save up for it month by month. Then I would take the time off (which for the entrepreneur has a cost value) to take the course. I set myself a target that I would do at least one course every year, preferably a certification course. After some years, I ran out of certifications that I wanted to take but the annual course routine continues. The benefit of all this was that this strategy gave me a clear edge over my competitors which I never lost. My clients got used to seeing my resume change every year with additional certifications, papers, articles, books. Not that they necessarily gave me business in the new areas but the thought that they were hiring someone who was focused on his own development was a big differentiator in my favor when they were comparing consultants.

Another thing which I did in this line of self-development was to write and publish. Every year on an average I write more than 15 papers, 40-50 articles and every two years I publish a book. Writing is the single most powerful tool to develop thinking ability, which in my line is the soul of business. The ability to think clearly and strategically is always helpful no matter what business you are in, yet it is something that most people only do accidentally. Writing helps to structure thought, it forces you to express it in the clearest way and it helps you to put yourself in your reader's mind. Writing also gives you credibility like nothing else. We have a respect for the written word and those who write and if you can write well (anyone can write well if they try) then you will find that you add value to yourself as well as to your image while clarifying issues in your own mind. Writing also gives you exposure in the best possible way and your name becomes known widely. Writing gives you both visibility and credibility; a big advantage. These are my tools. I hope they will help you as they helped me. If they do, pass them on.

**One final word:** I want to underline the importance of conceptualization. The reality of life is that raw experience teaches us nothing. What we do with it, is what matters. What we don't conceptualize we don't learn. Just being alive is not a condition for the acquisition of wisdom. It is how we live, what we do with what life presents to us, how we change ourselves and how we teach; these are what make us wise. But to do anything at all with raw experience we have to take time out and go off into a quiet place physically and in our minds and reflect on what happened.

We need to do that reflection objectively even mercilessly and ask the question, 'So what did I learn? Sometimes the learning may be painful but it is the only way to avoid further pain. It is the only way to make amends and control any damage that our action or the lack of it may have done. Sometimes in the process of conceptualizing one needs outside help; an objective listener who can give feedback and help to draw the lessons that we need to learn. It is only such learning which is useful and which can be related onwards to others. But for all this we need to allocate time and as I said, develop the ability to go off into the quiet place in our mind.

I have always been very conscious of the need for this and build this 'time-out' into my annual routine. I consider it an investment in myself and benefit from it hugely so I take it very seriously and don't grudge the cost that is often involved.

Now hold on a minute; reflection time does not always have to mean climbing mountains or secluding yourself in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. It can be done very adequately and at no cost on your daily commute, provided of course that you are not enslaved to the car radio or your iPod or whatever. Whatever else you do, you need to eliminate noise and invite silence if you want to achieve anything in this line.

I am one of the most 'connected' people in the world and have always been keenly aware of the edge that connectivity gives you. Yet when I am away on these retreats, I shut down totally except for emergencies. I've worked very hard to be in touch with myself and to listen to my inner voice; to be at peace with myself without the need for some noise or the other constantly intruding into my mind. This 'stillness' is not to be confused with lethargy or boredom.

This is the stillness of the hunting leopard which is crouched in the grass just before the final assault. She appears to be carved in stone. Not a muscle twitches; you can't even see the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes. Her every sinew is taut to its maximum torque, waiting to be released in the explosion of speed that will catapult her onto her prey before it can properly register what's happening. She is totally still, totally focused, totally aware of everything around her and everything inside her. This is the moment of highest awareness that one can get, the moment before the leap. That is stillness.

One of the reasons why many people today can't get past first base when it comes to conceptualizing is because they are unable to focus onto something long enough. It is supposed to be a characteristic of the present generation which in the US is called 'The Millennials'. I say, 'Most welcome', because it will be so easy to compete against people who can only give partial attention to anything. But for the world that is dangerous as it is distracting. Imagine being led into the new world by people who are only partially tuned in. I think people today are afraid to think and reflect and therefore seek refuge in endless activity. Without depth or breath of knowledge how can anything of value emerge, I wonder. Strangely even the protests that we see today have no depth, no ideological underpinnings. They are like adolescents throwing tantrums because someone did not give them their toy. That is why they are easily satisfied with the immediate, even when it is abundantly clear that it is coming at the expense of their own future. Most young people read nothing or very little, other than their course syllabus.

Almost nobody reads the classics. Almost nobody reads or quotes poetry. Conversation is a badly linked chain of monosyllabic grunts, words which say something but are supposed to mean the opposite (very bad means very good, believe it or not) and an endless repetition of non-words to describe every conceivable situation and experience. Words reflect thought and depth of intellect. But for this generation a vocabulary of 50 words seems to do very well, thank you very much. It is as if all the enormous effort of human thought and civilization has been suspended in limbo perhaps to be read by those who come to pick up the pieces and then wonder how people who knew so much could have done this to themselves. Nothing that I know which is worth achieving can be achieved with partial attention. Excellence demands total attention and focus. It is focus that gives ordinary light the cutting power of the laser. Without dedication and focus nothing worthwhile can be achieved especially in a world that constantly raises the bar of success all the time.

It is impossible to think seriously and consider things in a structured framework seeking beneficial conclusions, if you have some noisemaking instrument plugged into your ear all the time. This is the downside of technology today which is the trap that some of us fall into and are unable to control. So our minds are taken over by the disc jockey, talk show host, news reader, propaganda artist or advertiser to be molded at will and steered into channels of their choice, to think the thoughts they want us to think and come to the conclusions they want us to come to, irrespective of whether or not such conclusions benefit or harm us.

I think best in the open, in the middle of nature and when I am engaged in some physical activity, so I go trekking or to a wildlife sanctuary or mountain climbing where I spend part of the day in the activity and the rest in reflecting on my life, sitting beside a free standing, self-powered, self-propagating, shade giving, oxygen generator which we so easily chop down to make still more toilet paper. If you still did not recognize the description, try the word, 'Tree'. In the nights I read books that I take with me after careful consideration. I have always read two or three books simultaneously and enjoy holding their various themes in my head simultaneously. The mind, like the body, improves with exercise and considering different concepts, sometimes divergent ones is an excellent way to challenge yourself. Reading has always been and continues to be a significant and hugely beneficial activity in my life on which I spend substantial time, energy and money.

This reflection is not a random activity leading to sleep. It is a structured pre-planned activity that I do as follows. Before I go off on these retreats, I ask myself some questions:

  1. In the last period (since the last retreat) what were my best & worst experiences?
  2. What are the lessons that I am hoping to learn from them?
  3. What are the most difficult potential blocks to this learning that I can foresee?

Then when I have finished my climb to the top of the hill, I pour myself a hot cup of tea and reflect on each incident/situation and jot down my thoughts as they occur. Once the thoughts have dried up I then read what I wrote and analyze to see what I can learn. All this needs discipline and practice but can be easily learnt and is a huge benefit.

Especially to top it all is the fact that sitting on a hilltop watching the sun setting on the horizon, with a forest and all its sounds at your feet is just about the most enjoyable way that I know of spending an afternoon.

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#  Football – So what did I learn?

I have a habit of asking, 'So what did I learn?' with everything that I do or experience. Can't say that I actually 'followed' the World Cup in South Africa, much to the disgust of most of my friends who are keen on football but I still thought I'd share some thoughts on what I learnt, nevertheless. I have used 'he' for convenience alone. Please read it as he or she.

I learnt four lessons:

  1. **Focus on the goal**

I remember once while I was in school in grade 6, kicking the ball into our own goal and everyone else remembered that ever since. Redundant though this statement may seem (Focus on the goal? So what else is new eh!) it is surprising how many of us work without any clarity about what the end result should be or what we would like it to be. Just ask how many people have a written down life goal. They may well the desire to achieve something but rare it is that a person actually sits down to visualize what that means and writes it down as a goal. That is why though everyone wants to succeed, not everyone manages to do so. Success has a price and one must be clear about what investment his own goal requires. Without that when we come to the checkout and have to pay for the purchase we realize that we don't have the money and we have to put the article back on the shelf. I give this analogy because it illustrates what happens in life, all too often only because we are not clear about what exactly we want to achieve and what it will take to do it.

It is essential before we begin any task to be clear about the end result that we want to achieve; what the consequences of our actions are likely to be including the unintended ones and what options we may have other than the course of action that we may have chosen to adopt. The last one is important also because it is natural to like one's own ideas above others (sometimes to the exclusion of everything else) but this liking can sometimes lead to trouble especially if one ignores contradictory information. Many people are very reluctant to listen to the dissenting opinion and ignore negative data to their own peril. Remember, it is better to listen than to fail.

Focus on the goal is important because it is only scoring the goal that counts. A team can hardly go to the referee and ask to be declared the winners because they tried so hard or because they intended to win or for any other reason. It is the number of goals scored which is the only criterion to decide the winner. All our effort in the end must be judged on the basis of whether or not it helped us to score the goal. If it did, then it was good effort.

If not, it failed. Naturally all these efforts have to be within the framework of the Rules of the Game and so our focus on the goal must take into account the rules. I don't mention the importance of following rules because breaking the rules automatically disqualifies you and throws you out of the game. To follow rules is one of those self-evident truths which need no elaboration.

Means are important because without the right means scoring the goal has no value. A win by dishonest means is a loss far more harmful and shameful than merely losing a match. A medal can be bought in a shop but has no value unless it is won in the field as a result of great and honorable effort. So it is not merely the end but the means by which that end is achieved which are both equally important.

  1. **Develop the skills to win**

The second lesson I learnt is the importance of skill; the right skills to play the game so that we can win. Winning is a matter of skill. The achievement of the vision; the scoring of the goal depends not only on trying hard but on having the necessary skills to win. On working smart more than merely working hard. On having a strategy that is superior to that of the opposing team and on talents honed and sharpened with tools to implement that strategy at a level of excellence which will leave the other team standing.

Developing skills is a matter of hard work and discipline because to acquire skills at an expert level is never easy. Developing skills means the hard work to get up every morning to run the laps of the track no matter how tired one may be. It means the discipline of sleeping early so that one is not tired in the morning. It means developing some key attitudes. Curiosity that leads to reading and research to acquire knowledge. Humility that enables us to listen and accept feedback even if that is sometimes painful. Observation so that we can watch what others do and learn from their experience. Structured thinking so that we can extract concepts from all the information that we have collected. Conceptual ability is absolutely critical to learning. What we can't conceptualize we don't learn even though we may have lived through the pain of the experience. Raw experience is the material from which learning must be extracted. That process is called conceptualization without which there is no learning. That is why wisdom is not a factor of lifespan but of thought. A person does not have to be old to be wise nor are all old people automatically wise. Reflection, introspection and deductive reasoning are all essential to conceptualization so that learning happens. It is only when a person learns that the experience acquires value. That's why they say, 'Experience is not what happens to you but what you do with what happens to you.' That's the differentiator.

  1. **Learn to cooperate with others**

Nobody can score alone. At least not consistently and consistence is the secret of winning. The lesson I learnt from winning teams is that they played as teams; not as groups of skilled individuals each playing his own game. They were a team playing one game, all together. We have abundant evidence from all sorts of games and teams about what happens when there is a team that has not 'gelled'; has not really become a team except in name. On the other hand a team which does not have so many 'stars' but which cooperates and passes the ball to the one positioned the best to score, wins. I am not promoting mediocrity or playing down the importance of great players but merely underlining the fact that without cooperating and playing as one, in the end the team is almost certain to lose the game.

Cooperation is easier said than done, as many of us realize. Cooperation is more a matter of attitude first; in being clear about what each team member can contribute and acknowledging the importance of that contribution and doing everything possible to enable that person to play to his strength. To give a rugby analogy the only result of placing a player who is slim and very fast on his feet, as a center forward is to bring him to a messy ending. A player must be placed and helped to play to his strength so that he can give his best. That sometimes means passing the ball and allowing the other team member to score the goal fully aware of the fact that in the final tally it will be his name and not yours as the one who scored the goal, even though both of you know that he would not have been able to score if you had not passed the ball. What is also true in this scenario is that if you had not passed the ball and tried to score the goal yourself, the team would have lost because you were not in a position to score and would have been stopped by those tracking you. You pass the ball because it is not your win or his, it is the teams' win.

Cooperation means therefore being more concerned about the team's win than about your own personal glory. Therefore my definition of a team is, _'A group of people committed to a common goal who understand how each one is essential for the team to win and where each does all he can to enable the other to play to his strength.'_ At the risk of repetition, understanding how each is important and allowing him to play to his strength – this is the meaning of cooperation.

  1. **Play hard**

When all is said and done it is total commitment to the game in the field, giving it your best shot without holding back anything which decides success. The last lesson I learnt is that in the end it is a passionate commitment to do anything it takes that makes the difference. Because passion rarely fails.

The leopard stalks her prey with great cunning and stealth, trying to get as close to the antelope as she can. She is fully conscious of the fact that an antelope is faster than she is and desperate fear for life will add wings to its feet. That is why when she finally launches her charge she puts her complete heart into it. Every muscle explodes with energy, adrenaline flows into her blood, her heart pumps like an engine and in two or three bounds she is on top of the antelope almost before it can even register that its life is about to be extinguished. The leopard in that final rush sees nothing but the antelope. Her whole being is concentrated on the antelope. She is conscious of nothing else. That is what I mean by passion. A complete and exclusive consciousness of the goal combined with demonstrated commitment to do the best that one can possibly do. And that as I mentioned, rarely fails.

Finally the last learning underlying all of the above – don't forget to have fun. Winning can be consistent only if one is having fun doing it. So enjoy playing, look forward to it, think about it, dream it and play for the joy of it.

Happy winning.

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#  Democracy and the Corporation

"The two greatest obstacles to democracy in the United States are, first, the widespread delusion among the poor that we have a democracy, and second, the chronic terror among the rich, lest we get it." - Edward Dowling

Of late we have been seeing many articles lamenting the role of the Press and Media in today's society and complaining how it is no longer objective and principled but seems to be more a propaganda machine than anything else. I thought it therefore necessary to try to put things in perspective so that we can recognize what is really happening to our world. That way we will either take the trouble to change matters or at least see how entirely expected and appropriate the role of the media and press is, under the circumstances.

The play Mouse Trap is the longest running play in history. It has been going on since 1947. But strangely the ending is always the same. Now isn't that very peculiar? Or is it really quite understandable because though the actors have changed since 1947, the script is the same and so no matter which actor comes, he or she is forced to speak the same lines and so the play begins in the same way and the ending is the same.

I would like you to remember this analogy while I recall a quick history lesson. Once upon a time there was a multi-national company, run from a warehouse in London where its Board sat. It sent out its managers at first to trade with Indian kings. They took permission to build trading posts, then permission to recruit a small force to secure their goods. Gradually these trading posts metamorphosed into forts, the security guards into a private army and the country managers into Governors. The enslavement of India was well on its way, before the Indian leadership such as there was, even woke up to the fact. That India was more a geography than a political reality at the time was no doubt helpful to those who had a more global view. Robert Clive, Country Manager, British East India Company, became the Governor General (notice the title and its implication) of India, annexed independent states and assassinated their legitimate heads and installed his own Agents to administer what had been in effect independent countries in their own right.

It was the so-called 'Mutiny' of 1857, which only the last of the Great Mughals, Bahadur Shah Zafar had the courage to call by its real name, 'The Indian War of Independence', that brought in the British Crown. The slavery of India did not end however; we just changed our owners. Bahadur Shah Zafar was accused of treason and banished from the land of his forefathers. He defended his position and pointed out that it was he, who was the king of the land, not the British East India Company and so he couldn't possibly have committed treason against himself. It was the Company Sahib (note the address of respect, enforced on India) which was the intruder into a land where they came to trade and stayed to rule.

Of course the plea fell on the deaf ears of the British East India Company's judge and Bahadur Shah Zafar was banished from the home of his forefathers forever.

Cut to 2008; a century and a half later and what do we see? The names have changed. The actors have changed but the script is the same and so the play continues. The objectives are the same and so are the methods; grabbing raw material, fuel, land, labor, power and markets in any way possible using any means at one's disposal and treating any attempt by the rightful owners at self-defense as rebellion, to be crushed mercilessly with overwhelming force. The foundation of this method is of course even more ancient. The industrial-military complex and its methodology for global domination is first recorded more than 2000 years ago in the annals of the history of the Roman Empire. The Empire is long gone, but ideology outlasts its proponents and so the lessons have been learned and are being practiced. The centurion replaced by the present day soldier performing the same role; following orders from on high.

The world however has changed in some ways in that public opinion does have a bigger say in things, than used to be the case with the Romans or the British Empire. So thought-steering evolved to a fine art. That and the art of influencing others by means of repeating a lie over and over. Lessons once again learnt from a master, the head of Hitler's Propaganda Ministry, Goebbels. Only, we are not silly enough to actually call it Propaganda Ministry. Instead we call it the Free Press. So the lie becomes the truth. The victim deserves to die and the law is a handmaiden of the tyrant, designed to give his every action the veneer of legitimacy.

The New World Order is well on its way to achieving its aim of global domination, called by yet another harmless, even benevolent sounding name, Globalization.

Just reflect a bit on this: what differentiates a Corporation from a Democracy?

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**** Corporation | Democracy

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  1. Hereditary or nominated head
  2. Absolute authority of leadership
  3. If people don't like the leader, they have to leave
  4. Attempts at asserting equality, freedom or questioning decisions are seen as Opposition = Rebellion = Treason = Punishment = 'Death': Firing
  5. Master plan for everyone. Others must align to it
  6. Freedom is anathema except for the top leadership. Everyone else is free only to follow orders, couched in nice language.
  7. Test of success = alignment to values. Mark of a leader = Can break unions. Mark of a trouble maker = represents the people = Union leader.
  8. Inequality is accepted even expected
  9. Corporations seek to influence consumers
  10. Media/Press = the PR Agency. It sings the official tune, its success lies in its ability to influence minds by interpreting (not reporting) facts, it invents language to ensure that all official actions appear good and all opposition to them appears bad: Freedom fighter = insurgent/terrorist; dead civilians = collateral damage; genocide = ethnic cleansing; murder = encounter. Its job is to ensure that the establishment always appears to be noble, good, pious and kind; no matter what it does. It can never be objective. |   1. Elected head
  2. Participatory authority
  3. If people don't like the leader, the leader has to leave
  4. Collective bargaining & decision making is encouraged. Citizens participate in leadership. Questioning & Opposition: Signs of a healthy democracy
  5. Participatory master planning open to change as necessary
  6. Equality and freedom are sacred; supported and defended by the constitution
  7. Constituents are citizens, equal participants in the future of the collective
  8. Citizens are free, even encouraged to influence the government
  9. Democracies seek to consult citizens
  10. Media/Press is the agent of the people. It gives them a voice, it encourages debate, it provides a space for national debate/dialogue, it encourages divergent ideas and ideologies, it reports facts and it questions authority and official decisions. It is the interface between the government and citizens and by its role it tells the government what the people really want or what they think of one policy or another. It keeps authoritative tendencies in check by its ability to expose them and redresses the wrongs committed by those in power.

Corporations see people as consumers. Democracies have citizens

I can go on but I won't. I will leave you to add to this list as you wish. Those of you who have read Collins & Porras', Built to Last will read with interest the reasons for greatness that they cite for what they call 'Visionary Companies'. Among them; Total Alignment to a Core Ideology and Cult-like Cultures are most critical. The single most critical need for a Cult-like Culture is a profusion of mindless followers, who will do what they are told, without question. That is what alignment is all about. And incidentally that is what the fascist state also needs. The success of the corporation is measured by how it can increase shareholder value. This is a direct result of high profits through good margins or high volumes or both. Everything else is subordinate to that goal.

That is the reason why in British India, the British rulers forced the farmers of North India to grow indigo instead of food and precipitated a famine that resulted more than one million deaths. But the commercial success of the venture justified the cost in human lives. Especially when they were not British lives but those of some nameless poor black people in 'that colony of ours'. Similarly to create a market for the produce of the cloth mills of Yorkshire, the vibrant textile industry of Northern and Central India was deliberately destroyed including the smashing of looms and the amputation of the thumbs of master weavers. Millions of small weavers were reduced to penury overnight. And the cloth from Yorkshire had a free entry into the huge Indian market. After one must wear clothes, no matter their origin. It is not an accident that Gandhiji took Swadeshi as his slogan, burnt his British clothes and donned the dhoti. He used the spinning wheel as his symbol and spun thread and made khadi cotton cloth. Unlike many today, he knew his history very well and was a master at putting his finger on the nerve that hurt the most.

Corporatizing of Democracy: the Totalitarian State

The ideal situation for the corporation is when the state becomes a corporation. Then the head of state is actually proudly called a 'CEO'. Productivity is at a peak, trains run on time, there is no disruption of work, students study, workers work, teachers teach their subject exclusively, parents condition the next generation properly and all government is left to those who walk the corridors of power. Indeed this is as it should be and all is right with the ant colony. It is not accidental that countries like China, Israel and even Pakistan have long had most favored nation status with the US/Europe but India (when we were part of the Non-Aligned Movement: what an appropriate name it was!) did not. Those were the days when the trade union movement was vibrant though for those who worked for corporations this was something of a problem. Then came the criminalization (totalitarian control) of trade unions by political parties who floated their own unions and eventually trade union activity became a memory.

The Corporation is interested in one thing only as I mentioned; maximizing profit. Social, religious or political ideologies are of no interest to it in any way except in terms of how they support its goal. In most recent times, Afghanistan was invaded because the Taliban were too dumb to play ball and insisted on giving the rights to build a gas pipeline to a South American company. Iraq was invaded because Saddam refused to play ball and insisted on selling his oil for Euros and not dollars. Consequently he met a fate the purpose of which was to also put the fear of god into his brothers who are also sitting on oil reserves. Nobody can blame them of being slow on the uptake, so they welcomed the killer of Saddam with open arms, dancing girls, falcon hunts, gifts of jewelry and what-have-you. In return they got promises of arms aid for which they pay first and then wait to see if the arms do come. Arms to do what, you may ask. Take 3 guesses, I will reply.

Of course the PR (Free Press!!) was hard at work talking about the repressive regime of the Taliban and the well hidden Weapons of Mass Destruction of Iraq. The fact that among the 'friends' of the Corporate State are others who are even more repressive than the Taliban is immaterial and naturally goes unreported. That the Weapons of Mass Destruction were so well hidden that they were never found is brushed aside. The saddest part was to see how even the best and most noble prostitute themselves to be in the good books of the Corporate State, when none other than Colin Powell stood before the United Nations and lied through his teeth. Today Iran is in the doghouse because it is threatening to do a Saddam; i.e. deal in Euros for oil instead of dollars. Some people never learn it seems.

Above all the corporation needs order. It calls it by many names; peace, harmony, goodness for all mankind, but what it really needs is order. The fastest and surest way to create order is by the use of overwhelming force. Zero tolerance. All protest, debate, demonstrations, criticism and 'confusion' must be eliminated to get silence and order. Corporations and corporate language finds immediate resonance in the military because many if not most of modern corporate thinking has roots in military command theory. That is the reason why if you read the history of the development of any fascist totalitarian rule, you will find that the first collaborators of fascist rulers are always industrialists, businessmen; in short those who run corporations. For it is they who understand and empathize with the fascist leader the best.

When Hitler took control of Germany it was the industrialists and businessmen who supported him. So also Mussolini was supported in Italy and many others whose names you well know. When Narendra Modi successfully managed the genocide of 2000 of his own electorate in Gujarat he was applauded first and addressed as 'the CEO of Gujarat' and proposed to be the next Prime Minister of India by none other than the Confederation of Indian Industry. When the President of the CII made a critical comment about the genocide he promptly lost his seat and was replaced by a compliant CEO who understood the value of Mr. Modi. A man in the audience who protested Mr. Modi's felicitation was physically thrown out of the hall on the orders of the new President.

Corporations are the most undemocratic structures in the world and stand for the exact opposite of all democratic values. However now we have a problem. And that is, what do we do with public opinion if we express the truth as I have done? The solution is language. Say the same thing but differently.

So the Voice of the Corporation (their Media/Press companies) talks of freedom (they mean freedom to obey), equality (you are exactly equal to the next man on the assembly line), meeting aspirations (provided you keep your head to the corporate grinding wheel for 30 years first), progress (corporate goals are being met) and welfare (good living conditions for the enforcers). Crime and patriotism are both redefined. Any action that seeks to slow down or change the corporate goal is a crime. Any opposition to official ideology is treason. Patriotism is not love of and loyalty to the country but loyalty to the government of the day. Criticism is defined as disloyalty. Curtailing of freedom and human rights are justified in the interest of security.

In order to get people to not just agree to their freedoms being curtailed and human rights being reduced and violated, terror is used by the state or its agencies so that fear crazed people will come running into the open arms of the police asking for protection and gladly ratify the most draconian laws which imprison their minds, tongues and actions.

Security is inversely proportional to functionality. People are taught this valuable lesson so that they tamely accept hours of waiting for flights, strange security guards delving into their most personal belongings and their probing hands and eyes rampaging all over their bodies, ostensibly searching for hidden arms.

People who have learnt these lessons also learn to keep their mouths shut even if they don't actively support legislation legalizing torture, murder, detention without cause and disappearances in the night. And those who don't learn this lesson become examples whose fate enables others to learn.

Freedom of speech is a very well-rehearsed charade. The Corporate State allows you to say whatever you want and to hold demonstrations of as many people as you want. This serves two very important ends: it supports the illusion of freedom of speech and allows people a way of letting off steam so that there isn't enough buildup to bring about fundamental change. This also allows the Corporate State the opportunity to identify potential threats to itself and to take care of them later once the noise has subsided and all the demonstrators have gone back to their TV screens and popcorn. Then the Corporate State does what it intended to do anyway. The Iraq war, the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Tiananmen Square massacre in China are all good examples.

There are many others but I will leave you to think of them. The same is the case of Judicial Enquiries where compliant judges sign on dotted lines and the case is always closed in favor of the Corporate State. Ask, when was the last time that the State was indicted in a Judicial Enquiry and its agents went to jail?

The last thing that a Corporate State needs is a thinking, questioning, middle class that has options. So it seeks to remove them and to change their situation where the people are completely dependent on the state which then becomes the best way of controlling them. Financial meltdowns, whether they are deliberately engineered or the result of excessive greed are a very useful tool to bring the middle class down to earth. It is the middle class which loses the shirt on its collective back and has its homes repossessed and suddenly higher goals like freedom, liberty and human rights have to be subordinated to the immediate goal of putting food on the table or ensuring a roof overhead. After the meltdown the Corporate State steps in with its bail-out plans, all neatly packaged with a veritable spaghetti of strings attached. All sensible people fall in line. Those who protest or worse, seek to show others the reality are struck down, often by their own badly frightened compatriots. If they escape that fate, the Corporate State removes them from circulation for the common good, silently watched by the mute majority.

Ask, in the present meltdown who's suffering the most? Corporate heads who are responsible for the meltdown or the middle class who were their faithful employees? Ask, how is it that heads of corporations which went bankrupt went home with multi-million dollar pay and bonus packages? What are these rewards for?

Ask, who are the direct and immediate beneficiaries of the bailout packages? Ask, how many corporate heads lost their jobs or suffered pay cuts or lost their homes in the financial meltdown? Ask, where were the decisions that created the meltdown taken; in board rooms or on the assembly line? Ask, yet who is the one who lost the shirt on his back and the roof over his head?

The Corporate State is a great supporter of technology. It funds and supports without limit all research that enables it to control the people better and more powerfully. The official line of course is that this is in the interest of the people themselves to better be able to protect them from harm. Anyone thinking of raising his voice against more and more invasive surveillance is silenced by his own people. Some truly amazing technological developments are being mentioned. Bugs with solar powered cameras which will transmit real-time images and audio to a satellite which will beam it back to a central console monitoring the doings of the target group. The term 'fly-on-the-wall' suddenly has a very different and sinister meaning. Satellite maps that pinpoint your home, car and yourself exactly and can track your every move. Cell phones, credit cards, ID cards, retina scans all to identify you positively and to track your every move. Once again I won't go on.

The point is that the vast majority of research and development that is currently going on is not in the areas of health, food production, environmental protection, education or economic development but in the area of what is euphemistically called 'security systems. In fact these are not security systems but surveillance systems, control systems and more sinister systems which all dovetail to focus on the overarching goal of enhancing the hold of the Corporate State on the world.

How can we do?

What the Corporate State can't stand is the light of day on its activities. And so accurate reporting of facts, shining the light of enquiry on shady deals, asking the unasked, speaking the unsaid and raising your voice against injustice right at its inception. Technology today gives us the ability to do all of this without depending on the Corporate Media to give us space. We know they will never do that but we don't need them today. Thanks to the internet, camera mobiles, blackberry and the ability to upload images and text from almost anywhere, it is possible today to ensure that at least those who are interested can see the side of the picture that the likes of CNN, Times, Fox and other mouthpieces of the establishment have been hiding.

Ultimately to act or to sit and watch is the decision of the individual. We can't force anyone to act. What we can and must do however is to ensure that people have access to correct information so that they can make good decisions. What we can and must do is to ensure that critical questions are asked and brought into the debate so that people can demand more and better information from the agencies of the Corporate State.

Whether they get that information or not immediately is not the issue. When they start asking the questions this in itself will generate positive trends where citizens will stop acting like consumers and start to exercise some of their rights. The right to information is one. The right to justice is another. I believe that as citizens of democracies, no matter how flawed, if we can enforce accountability by sharing information and asking questions we will have achieved a great deal in ensuring that men and women can still walk free in the land, long after we are gone.

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#  Give to Get

It's strange how Allah created this world networked so that the only way to get, is to give. Want respect? Give love. Want influence? Give support. Want wealth? Give quality. Want wisdom? Give time. Want clarity? Give thought. Want power? Give service. Want peace? Give justice. What you have in your hand is the harvest. What you plant is the seed. Hang on to what you have and that's all you'll have. You want more? Then plant what you have. Give up what you have so you can get more. That's the only way to get more. So you see this is not utopia. Its hard reality. Even if you want to see it as pure selfishness the rule is still the same.

I learnt this lesson early and practiced it all my life. I've freely shared all that I know. Sure I charged a professional fee but I gave it free to those who couldn't pay. Even to those who paid I ensured I gave more than they paid for. Some people always told me that I'm a fool to give away my intellectual property free. I always ignored them. After all who wants to listen to someone who calls you a fool eh?

I have never considered what I know as my property alone. Nobody owns knowledge and it increases only when you share it.

I believe that all knowledge is from Allah. I know something because others shared their knowledge with me. So I share what I know freely. The theory of planting. One result of this philosophy is that I haven't made a cold call in 10 years. All my business is either repeat business or client referral. I have a highly credible group of friends promoting me. Now what's the value of that eh? More later on my philosophy of Give to Get. If you want a secular name for it try Newton's 3rd Law. I call it Islam. Same principle. Allah made it. Newton discovered it.

GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE

TO GET WHAT YOU NEED

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#  Planting Seeds

Plant seeds for whatever you want to harvest. So ask yourselves what you want to harvest. Then plant those seeds. I believe that the seed that leaves my hand does not leave my life. It goes into my future and multiplies. And unless it leaves my hand it can do nothing. So anything that leaves my hand and gets planted in my life is my seed. Anything that I retain in my hand is my harvest.

We need to be able to give up what we have to get what we have been promised. Nothing leaves the heavens until something leaves the earth. When we give Allah what we can see, He gives us what we can't see.

Only 'Winners' are rewarded in life. So every time we ask for a blessing we get a difficulty. Difficulties don't come to harm us. They come to open the doors of blessings for us. If there was no Goliath, David would have remained a shepherd boy.

Believing that you can get without giving is fantasy. That's how the family got destroyed in America. That's why the present financial crisis in the world. People trying to get for themselves and others be damned. The world does not work that way you see. The formula is, you want to get, then give. You want a bag of grain, then plant the handful that's in your hand. If you don't plant you can't harvest. Simple. But we have been conditioned to believe that life is not simple. So we need to break out of our conditioning and re-think all the stuff that we've been brought up on.

#  Excellence

Excellence in measured in many ways, one of the most important of which is your confidence and ability to stay on your chosen path. You will find when you do that, that other people will often be scared of your high ideals and goals. To remain on the path and not be discouraged by their lack of confidence is a measure of excellence. I have always measured the strength of my goals from the number of people who they scare the daylights out of. Currently the same is true for my dream of the SBA - it scares the daylights out of a lot of people. To me, it means that I am on the right path. You see, the only path that doesn't scare sheep is the path to the pen. I personally have never had a liking to being penned. Especially since every pen has two doors. One towards the pasture and the other towards the abattoir.

Danger is both exciting as well as mostly imaginary. But when we embark on lofty goals which are rooted in integrity, truthfulness and the desire to do something worthwhile, the world - what we know of it as well as what is unseen - conspires to make us succeed. Angels walk with you though you can't see them. Doors open for you where you would not have imagined. People come out of the woodwork to help you not because you asked them to - you didn't even know that they were there - but because they were sent. The resources that you need to accomplish your goal will flow in your direction. Very simple principle of physics - water flows down a slope, not up it. So when you are climbing a hill and rain falls, water will flow in your direction. If you are running away and going downhill, water will flow away from you. Your position on the hill doesn't matter (no matter how far from the peak you are). It is your direction which makes a world of difference and quite simply spells the difference between reaching the peak or not. Many people believe that they can climb a mountain walking backwards. I personally don't know of anyone who managed to do that. If you want to succeed, you have to face your fears and stare into their eyes until they look away. Not turn your back on them. Especially because what is behind your back becomes even more scary. I was never very good at walking backwards myself.

That is not to say that one must ignore honest feedback or not check one's assumptions against emerging data and change them if necessary. That too is a measure of excellence in itself but the final goal must not be watered down and diluted because of fear. One is to change the approach because someone has a better way. That is good to do provided that other way stands the test of rigorous proof-of-concept. The other is to give up the goal itself because you became afraid. That is to betray yourself.

Remember that we all start in the same place - as idealists. But then we allow others (at least most of us do) to dictate what we will do, how we will live, what goals are 'realistic', what goals are 'worth it' and so on. So the leaping flame of idealism that was in our heart takes a beating and gradually gets reduced and dampened.

When you are idealistic people will initially oppose you and push back and try to discourage you, not because they don't like what you are planning to do but because in your eyes they see what they were themselves like one day; until they allowed the rest of the crowd to dampen their idealism. But remember also that the spark of idealism lives as long as we are alive. You can dampen it but you can't kill it. So when they meet you, their spark starts to get some energy and that scares them. Their initial reaction is to try to put it back in its 'place' and dampen it once again because that will justify what they did to themselves all their lives. But if you refuse to internalize their fears and are true to your ideals, you will see that their own sparks will start to grow and will once again become the leaping flames that dispel the fears of darkness and light up the world in ways that neither they nor you thought possible.

The key is to remain true to your ideals no matter what the world tells you. That, to me, is a measure of excellence. That is why I am a shameless idealist and I hope I remain that to the end of my days. For what is a life worth if one is to live it like a sheep?

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#  Leadership Essentials

The 'What' and the 'How'

Preface

In more than 28 years of teaching leadership to people from multiple nationalities, cultures, religions, genders and races on 3 continents, I believe I've learned some important lessons on what constitutes the essence of leadership. I am writing this to share them with you.

I asked myself this question: 'What is essential for leadership?' Not what is nice to have, useful, beneficial and so on, but what is essential.

My definition of 'essential' is, 'something without which it can't be done.'

Naturally as in everything today, first a disclaimer: My opinions are my own. They are presented for dialogue and not as definitive statements or laws. I am a passionate fellow and so may state things strongly but the passion is my own and not intended to impose on anyone. Whew!!! Now with that over, we can begin..............

One last line before I get into the article: All this stuff will seem simple. It is. The trick is in implementing. The rules are the same for everyone. They are:

Rule # 1: Excuses don't change facts

Rule # 2: If in doubt refer to Rule # 1.

There are 7 – essentials for leadership

  1. **Vision**
  2. **Inspire followers**
  3. **Single-mindedness of purpose**
  4. **Strategy**
  5. **Faith**
  6. **Deal with Ambiguity**
  7. **Execution**

Needless to say as you practice them you will and must add to this understanding and share it with others, including myself.

Vision

In the beginning is the Vision.

Naturally, if we want to go somewhere, we need to be clear about two things:

  1. Where is that 'somewhere'?
  2. What is it that is so compelling and attractive about it?

The more clearly we are able to visualize the benefits of achieving the vision, the more staying power we will have to achieve it. The reality of all things worthy of striving for is that a lot of that striving will have to be done, unsung, in the dark of the night when our energy and inspiration is at the lowest ebb. It is at these times when we need the glow of the benefits of achieving the vision, shining uncompromised on the horizon so that we can ignore the pain and discouragement and continue to put one step ahead of the next.

Inspiration to me is not something that comes like a bolt out of the blue and takes the unsuspecting soul unawares. Inspiration is often the result of a great deal of dissatisfaction with the current state that leads to honest questioning about the purpose of life and deep reflection and a sustained inner struggle with the real issues that one faces in one's life. This is sometimes very painful and never easy to do. But when one stays with the questions long enough, the answers start to appear.

These answers again are not in the form of clear cut road maps but more like a hazy sign, on a dark and misty night, seen at the very edge of the limit of your headlights. You can just about make out the direction it is pointing in. All the rest is up to you and your ingenuity. And it does not tell you anything about the difficulties of the path. One common factor that you can rely on is the fact that there will be difficulties. That is something that I believe the potential leader can bet on. The trick is to understand what to do with the difficulty when you are faced with it.

The common tendency is to moan and groan and say, "Why me?" Not so common is to be happy to face the difficulty since you believe it indicates the promise of reward, once you can surmount it.

The truth is that in life rewards have to be earned and that happens by overcoming challenges. So every time you stand up and say, 'I want to gain something', a challenge stands up to face you. Then if you overcome the challenge you gain the reward. Another way to understand this is to think of surfing – the higher you want to go, the bigger the wave that you have to ride. Yes, you can go under, but that is the spice of it. That is what gives it the taste.

We don't choose our 'purpose' in life. We discover it. When we find it, then our life enters a state of grace. It is like the difference between a fish in water and outside it. Out of water, a fish is a clumsy creature, gasping for breath and flopping on the sand. When you throw it into the river, it vanishes in a flash; the epitome of beauty, grace and speed. Same fish; different worlds. It is the same with us. If we are in a role that is not in sync with our purpose, we find it hard going, energy sapping and a drag all around. But when we are doing something that ignites the heart, we have boundless energy, ideas flash like lightning and we energize everyone else around us.

A method that I use is to ask what this difficulty has been sent to teach me. This comes from my belief that nothing happens by accident and that all of life is a prepared plan that is unfolding and that I am the one who has the exciting task of walking the path as it appears before me. So every difficulty comes with a fortune cookie inside that tells you what the lesson is, provided you can get to it. Blaming others for creating the difficulty or carping about it only indicates that you are not ready to become a real leader yet.

When we question the purpose of the difficulty and ask, 'What can I learn from this?' we find that our perspective takes on a whole new meaning. We are no longer grounded in the negativity of blaming and feeling sorry for ourselves but are freed to look for creative and new ways of overcoming the difficulty. The enormity of the task itself becomes the biggest motivator, as one is conscious only of the prospect of great reward. The fact that this is not easy, then becomes easy to accept and understand, and one even says, "If it was easy, I wouldn't want it. It would not make the victory so sweet!'

Interestingly, the route to the state of grace is through great effort. It is a path that is difficult and strewn with the wrecks of those that went before. It is easy to see this in physical examples of martial arts, sports and other physical-skill related things. The reality is that it is the same path in challenges of the mind and of the spirit. And very often, in the latter events the route is even more difficult, for the goal is in the wining of people's hearts and the change is in their minds.

I have reflected very often on why it is more difficult in the non-physical endeavors. My understanding is that it is because of the paradox that in the physical effort it is very often impossible or very difficult to give up once you have gone beyond the halfway point, often called the 'point of no return'. Take mountaineering as an example. Once you have made the effort to reach halfway, it is easier and shorter to go on no matter how difficult it looks, than to turn around and return. What aids this is the fact that the path is not entirely unknown and you know it has an end and you know where that is.

In the journey of the spirit, the path is unknown, the duration of the effort needed is unknown and it is extremely easy to give up. There is no point of no return.

You can give up and get back to your original state in an instant. That carrot is always hanging in front of the nose. And to make matters worse, the pain and suffering of confusion and emotional turmoil, which is often worse than the physical pain, is unseen and uncelebrated by others, who in a physical challenge, often provide the necessary impetus by cheering from the sidelines. And when you give up the spiritual and emotional struggle, there is no fear of shame and ridicule by others, since nobody knew you were in there anyway.

That is the reason why most people shy away from accepting challenges of the mind and spirit, even though they may know in their hearts that those are the true challenges that have the capacity to change their destiny. It requires a strong internal focus, a real desire to make a mark in life, no desire for approval from others, and a willingness to stay with the task irrespective of the time it takes or the apparent lack of 'progress'.

It is a path that challenges all previously held beliefs and that is full of the fear of the unknown. It is a path that tests one with the challenge of living the life that one previously only talked about. It challenges us to not only put our money where our mouth is but to demonstrate commitment by taking the leap of faith into the new way of life with no guarantees of safety nets.

But the good news is that history is full of examples of those that accepted this challenge and succeeded. It is important to remember that the wrecks on the path of leadership are of those who gave up midway. Those that persevered, are the ones that went through and whose leadership often lives on long after they themselves passed on into history.

What seems to be critical in this struggle and something that gives sustenance when one is moving through an arid waste is the enormity of the goal. No heroic effort was ever made for a minor goal. Enormous goals call for enormous effort and have in them the capacity to keep the motivation alive in the face of all odds.

I believe that this is in the very nature of the goal. If you find your dedication flagging midway, look at your goal and ask yourself, "Is this goal worthy of my effort?" Aim for a larger goal and you will find that the wellsprings of your energy once again start to flow.

No vision worth the name is possible to achieve alone. So one needs others. And that is where the catch is. So two skills are necessary to acquire.

  1. **Inspire followers**

How can I make you dream my dream?

My dream is in my heart. How do I transfer it into your heart and that too in such a way that it fires up your imagination as it fires up mine? It is not about 'explaining'.

Have you ever tried to explain some very powerful and sublime lines of poetry, especially in another language? You will realize what I mean.

Many times, explanations kill the spirit of the dream. Yet what choice do we have but to explain? So explain we must – but in a way that retains the spirit.

How?

By total and complete, even irrational, belief in the dream. Why is this total belief and passion required? Because passion drives behavior and behavior drives results. If there is no passion the behavior necessary to achieve the dream will not appear. Passion can be seen and heard in your voice. Passion speaks louder than words. And only passion convinces; not words. The finest words coming out of the mouth of someone who doesn't really believe in them, fall flat. Broken sentences, bad grammar, even a loss of words, goes straight to the heart if what is in the heart can be seen. All sorts of studies on non-verbal communication support this. It is what is in the eyes, what the body says and what the tone of your voice conveys that convinces far more than the words themselves.

That is not to say that one does not need words. But that words only support the message. They don't convey the message. Now that may sound strange to you to hear me say that words don't convey the message. But I am convinced as a result of speaking to literally a couple of hundred thousand people in my life – that hearts speak to hearts. The words are the same. In one case, they penetrate. In another they fall on deaf ears. And that has to do with the speech of the hearts.

So our own belief in our dream and our own conviction about what will be accomplished and how critical, essential, beneficial, enriching, empowering or whatever the benefits of realizing the dream are; that is what will penetrate to the hearts of the listeners.

Inspiring is not only about making speeches but even more about demonstrating commitment.

The only rule to remember is:

People listen with their eyes.

Credibility is the single biggest asset of the leader. If a leader loses credibility he/she is finished; more so because not only is credibility very difficult to regain but in most circumstances it is impossible to regain with the same set of people or in the same place. The thing which reinforces or destroys credibility most is when the leader does not follow his/her own rules. When there is a gap between your talk and your walk, credibility falls through it and disappears. People don't care what you say; they look to see what you do. This is the reason why the courage to lead from the front is critical. A leader who makes an exception for himself loses respect.

The best way to not only demonstrate your own sense of responsibility and courage as well as to reinforce the message that there are no exceptions is to create a clear system of accountability and to follow it. The metrics must then be adhered to scrupulously. I have not used the word, 'enforced' because I believe that with good leadership the need to 'enforce' becomes progressively less.

Not to say that you should not enforce if there is a need to. Indeed you must and make an example of it as well. But if you as the leader are the person who is most adherent to the ethics and values then enforcing these on others will not be necessary. People will develop a culture of self-accountability and will govern themselves. It is then only necessary to watch it happen.

The leader must epitomize the vision. There are no exceptions to this. When followers think of the vision, it is the face of the leader that they must see before them. Leadership is a contact sport. It is about getting out there in the field, fighting where it is thickest, falling down and getting up every time but never giving up. This is not about using a losing strategy over and over. It is about staying true to the vision but changing strategy and tactics as the situation and challenges demand. Flexibility, openness and the willingness to change are huge assets and very critical to success. However the goal, the standard of excellence, the bar must never be compromised.

If you settle for anything but the best, then you have betrayed the vision. And that, is death.

Compassion

Finally but not lastly is the importance of taking care of followers. They used to say, 'An army marches on its belly.' This refers not only to managing supply chains but to the whole philosophy of leadership. Bonding between the leader and follower is a matter of the heart. And that happens when the follower feels taken care of, over and beyond the call of duty. Just as the follower gets a medal for doing more than his due, so also the leader gets an emotional medal translating to faithfulness when he/she demonstrates concern and compassion for their people.

There is the story of the woman, a single parent at the checkout desk in a store on Christmas Eve; very sad because she did not have time to buy a baseball glove for her 5 year old. As the store closes and she is about to leave, the manager walks up and gives her a gift. Guess what it was. The issue is not about what it costs. It is about the thoughtfulness, the understanding, the concern and the compassion for the team member that the action demonstrates. When people feel understood and they have confidence that their leader is in their corner, then they are willing to push the boundaries and do more than merely what is expected.

I call this the 'Critical Moment'. The leader must live with awareness; must be observant and sensitive to people and atmosphere. Critical Moments are incidents that have the potential to create great influence on the minds of many more than those involved in the incident itself. Critical Moments can't be created by the leader but they can be leveraged when they occur provided the leader is aware of them.

I remember an incident – one of many such – that happened to me which illustrates my Critical Moment theory rather well. It happened when I used to work in the tea gardens in South India. One day just before coming home for lunch I went to Iyerpadi Hospital as I had a headache and needed some medicine. When I reached there I found the staff in a frenzy running here and there. I caught hold of one of them and asked her what the matter was. She said, "We have a woman in labor and she is extremely anemic. She needs a blood transfusion immediately or she and the baby will die."

"So why are you all in such a tizzy?" I asked.

"We are looking for her relatives (Dalits) to donate blood", she said. "But they are all in the field and we can't get hold of any of them."

"Take my blood", I said. "I am O+ and have blood that looks like lube oil; it is so rich in hemoglobin. So take what you need."

The nurse looked at me in shock. "You will donate your blood for this woman?" she asked me in surprise. Her surprise was because the woman was a poor Dalit and I am not. So how could I be agreeing to have my blood flowing in her and her child's veins? This was unimaginable for her given the local social system that she was also a product of. She looked at me in astonishment and disbelief, quite prepared if I had done a retake and withdrawn my offer. However I didn't. I told her to get on with it and take my blood. But she still would not move, almost rooted to her place, simply looking at me as if I was speaking a language that she could not understand.

While we were talking, the RMO Dr. John Philip (a wonderful physician and good friend) came along and asked me what was happening. I told him the story and he said to the nurse, "He wants to give his blood. What is your problem? Just take it or the woman will die." That broke the spell and in short order I was laid down and bled. Two bottles of blood were taken and I was then given a cup of coffee and sent home. No idea what happened to my headache. Maybe donating blood is a cure for headache.

I went home, had lunch and my afternoon nap; a very civilized activity that I had to give up when I left the plantations. When I woke up to go to the office, my butler Bastian came to me and said, "Master Golden Mountain (literal translation of the name of the man, which was Thangamalai – Bastian used to do these things sometimes) is here to see you with the whole Works Committee."

At that time there were some rumblings going on about the annual bonus which was to be paid in 2 months and so I immediately thought that perhaps it was some agitation on that account that the Works Committee had come to tell me about. I was a little irritated as well because I didn't encourage the union leaders to meet me at home as I liked to keep official and personal business separate. A very sound policy at all times.

When I went out to the front of the bungalow, I saw the whole Works Committee, all 24 of them lined up behind Thangamalai. They greeted me in the usual way by making namaskaar, "Namaskaaram Dorai," Thangamali said on behalf of all of them. I returned the greeting, "Namaskaaram. What can I do for you?"

Wordlessly, Thangamalai came up to me and touched my feet. And behind him all the others started to do the same, one by one. I stepped back in amazement. "What on earth is this for? Don't do this. You know I don't like people touching my feet and bowing before me."

"Dorai, today you have to let us do this. Don't stop us today", said Thangamalai. "Why are you doing this?" I was still upset with them. "What has happened?"

"Dorai, today you did something that has never been done before in the history of these hills. You gave your blood to one of us."

"So what's the big deal? Wouldn't you have done it for me, if I was in need of blood?"

"Dorai, we have always given our blood and even our lives for the managers of these plantations. But your people never do it for us. You are the first of them who has ever done this for one of us. So we bow to you with love and respect. You are our Kadavul (term of high respect which literally means god in Tamil)."

"I am not anyone's god. I am a human being like you and I did what I consider my duty. How are the mother and child?"

"They are both well Dorai and they owe their lives to you."

The point here is that I could not have made this incident happen even if I had wanted to. But the fact that I was fortunate enough to be in the right place and then had acted according to my principles paid great dividends in enhancing my credibility and was very useful during some very stressful times that were to come later that year. Compassion is essential for the leader to have.

  1. **Single-mindedness of purpose**

Never compromise the standard

I have found that as you embark on your vision, if the vision is difficult, then there is pressure to settle for less. People give you examples of others who are doing more or less similar things and are 'successful'. They will ask you, 'Why do we need all this?' 'Why can't we do it with less?'

The answer is, 'Because of the value of differentiation.'

Differentiation creates Brand

Brand creates Loyalty

Loyalty creates Influence

Without differentiation you are 'a grain of rice in a sack'. It is essential never to lose this focus. Never to allow anyone to compromise the standard. Never to settle for less. For we will be remembered by our legacy. So the legacy must never be compromised.

What will help to keep on track is clarity about the vision and its benefits which make it unique. This is the reason that in my view the 'vision' that many companies articulate about becoming a 'billion dollar business by year so-and-so' is not very energizing. After all how charged up can you get about selling more widgets?

Money is an important consideration in terms of returns but money does not motivate. Increasing turnover is not the reason for which your people will 'want to come to work'. It is not the reason that people will dream to join your organization. It is not the thing that they will speak proudly about to their peers and in their groups nor the reason why they will defend you and your vision or root for your success. Money is what they buy bread with. Not what they will be willing to sacrifice their best for. People must be clear how they are unique. Money is the lowest common denominator for all business. It is not anything unique, no matter how much of it is there. So do give some thought to what makes you unique.

  1. **Strategy**

How will you get to where you want to be?

Having a vision and being able to convey it successfully to the Core Group leads us to the next challenge i.e. What is the way to achieve this vision? This is a very big challenge for many visionaries and many succeed because they have had the good fortune or the foresight to have someone in their Core Group who can do the math, draw the lines and create an actual road map.

The 'visionary' temperament is often very impatient with detail. But as they say, 'God is in the details.' Without the details, the vision will remain a dream, to energize people for a while and then to disappear; perhaps even to be lodged in the back of the mind somewhere in a box labeled, 'IF ONLY' but never to see the light of day. It is strategy that must be built; a good honest simple, robust strategy that will lead to the achievement of the vision. Let us look at the elements of strategy to see what makes it good.

There are three requirements that any strategy must fulfill if it is to be successful.

  1. Simple to understand
  2. Simple to implement
  3. In your control

Simple to Understand

There is a difference between being 'simple' and being

'simplistic'. If you are one of those who likes to devise complicated methods that need your personal intervention to work and this makes you feel indispensable then you are looking at a model which will at best grace some research thesis on all those strategies that did not work.

Gandhiji's strategy of civil disobedience was simple but by no means simplistic. It was easy for anyone to understand, had a clear target, stood on admirable universally accepted principles of truthfulness, honesty, integrity and non-violence. Nobody can argue against any of them. Yet it was these same principles which shook the foundation of the mighty British Empire and eventually gave India its freedom.

Simple to Implement

This is the second most important principle in a good strategy; it must be simple to implement. Not everyone who will work with you will be as educated, intelligent, handsome, sexy or brilliant as you are. So creating complex models on fancy computer programs and making dazzling presentations as part of the implementation process will fail.

The Bombay Dabbawalas are a classic case of a simple to implement strategy creating a business that does not merely conform to global standards but sets a new benchmark for global quality and delivery standards. It is run by, for the most part illiterate, village folk and has no MBAs or computers in sight. Maybe that is a reason for its success. Many times I have seen people taking refuge behind smokescreens of feasibility reports, financial scenarios, and breakeven analyses and in the process, forget to do business; to hit the street and sell. That unfortunately is the only economic activity.

In your control

In my view this is one of the most important touchstones for any strategy to succeed. Is it in your control?

Once upon a time there was a sparrow which had built a nest in a corn field. As the corn grew, so did her chicks until they were now learning to fly. One day when the sparrow returned from work to the nest in the evening, her chicks were very worried and said to her, 'Mom, the farmer and his sons were here and they said that they are going to cut the corn tomorrow. What will happen to us?'

'Tell me exactly what you heard,' said the sparrow.

'Well, the farmer said to his sons, 'Go to the village council tomorrow and tell them that we need help to cut our field so can they please announce this so that our neighbors will come to help us. We can start cutting in the morning.'

'Don't worry,' said the sparrow. 'Nothing will happen. Meanwhile you keep doing your flying lessons.'

Nothing happened for the next few days. Then one day the chicks reported, 'Mom, the farmer came today with his sons and said, 'None of the neighbors have turned up. The field is now ready to be cut. Go to your uncles and tell them to come tomorrow. We will cut the corn.' The sparrow said, 'Don't worry, nothing will happen. Keep flying.'

Two days later, the chicks reported, 'Mom, today the farmer came and said to his sons, 'Your uncles also did not come. Tomorrow morning we will start cutting the corn ourselves.' The sparrow said, 'Okay kiddos, time to go.'

I have seen many excellent strategies which depend on government ordinances, community support, social change and so on in order to succeed. They all fail. On the other hand we have the excellent example of the many women's self-help groups in the field of education, microcredit and so forth which are huge success stories. The golden rule in strategy is, **'If it is not in your control, it is not in your control.'**

In that case you will need to redefine it and take responsibility for it to make it work. One way is to create a pilot project which may gain for you the initial interest to convince others to back it.

Metrics: measuring with merciless accuracy

The difference between a brilliant strategy and one that is merely good is measurement. Metrics don't make a bad strategy good but they make a good one brilliant. Metrics don't necessarily correct faults but they show up faults before they become catastrophes. Metrics catch mistakes early so that they can be corrected.

Metrics catch good ideas early so that even more importantly they can be rewarded. The key in good metrics is not only to measure but to be clear about what to measure. This requires a thorough knowledge of the subject to know what a certain measurement is telling us. Time spent during the planning stage in creating good metrics is time very well spent. Needless to state, no metric is good for all time or even necessary. So metrics must be continually examined, revised and changed to keep them useful.

Metrics measure progress in all sorts of ways; speed, use of resources, waste, or satisfaction. Metrics tell us not only how we are doing but also how that measures up against global standards. Metrics help us to put things in perspective. Metrics are not a way of policing. Metrics are meant to help us to be fair, objective and responsive to the contributor, customer and ourselves. Metrics help us to establish the value and worth of what we are doing. They help us to prove that we are fair and just. They help us to prove that we are better, faster, more economical and more conscious of our social and other responsibility. Metrics take performance out of the foggy realm of personal opinion into the bright light of objective assessment against standards. Metrics are what makes 'Professional', professional.

  1. **Faith**

"When you come to the end of the light of all that you know and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen; there will be something firm to stand on or you will be taught how to fly." ~Barbara Winters

This is my favorite quote that exemplifies for me the meaning of faith in terms of leadership.

It is the willingness to go on when others have stopped. It is the belief, sometimes even 'irrational', that you will succeed. To believe that you will win and to show your commitment to this belief by continuing to go forward despite the lack of support. To go beyond what is 'reasonable' because in the end, it is the 'unreasonable' who win. Life is full of examples of great leaders who held on to their vision even in times of no support, only to be proven right when in the end they won. The South African anti-apartheid movement is a classic example of people fighting racism for decades in the face of tremendous opposition, firm in their belief that one day they would succeed. History is proof that they did. As I write this, there are others who take strength from this and other such examples and continue their struggle through the night of oppression.

This staying power, this psychological strength is essential and without it the best efforts fall by the wayside.

I discovered the power of prayer. Of asking the One who has the power for His help. Prayer gave me (and continues to do so) a chance to have a private conversation and to ask Allah for what I needed. He knew what that was better than I did, but being able to ask and knowing that He listens and helps gave me the strength that I needed. There is an enormous sense of peace in standing in the night in prayer after having done all that is in one's power, asking for those decisions to be sent down without which all one's effort will bear no fruit. I am aware of the same sense of communion that the farmer feels when he has tilled the land, made the furrows, spread the fertilizer, sowed the seeds and then looks towards the heavens and raises his hands asking for rain, without which all his effort will be in vain. Yet when he raises his hands, there is no fear in his heart, only hope. And there is a smile on his face.

For he is looking for the clouds to come once again, bearing rain as they have done again and again in his life. So also as I stood, I remembered all the times that I had been guided, gently away from what I wanted, to what was good for me though I had not realized it at that time. I was aware that Allah knows, He cares and He has the power to do what it takes. I was content in the fact that I had done my part and made all the effort that I could. Now I stood to ask for His help, confident that He would do what was good for me, even if it meant that in a given situation I would not get what I wanted. My life's experience told me that every time that happened I was given something better. Prayer gave me strength in the dark silence of the night which otherwise is the home of fear and confusion.

I feel calmness and tranquility descend on me, my thoughts become clearer and new ideas emerge.

Deal with Ambiguity

Complexity is a source of profit

If there is one factor that is a certainty in all unique entrepreneurial ventures, it is ambiguity. The more path breaking your idea, the greater will be the number of things unknown. In most cases you will be the trend setter, the benchmark for those who come later, the poaching ground from where they will recruit their people.

Ambiguity creates anxiety and stress. I have two tools to deal with this:

  1. **Discipline and Routine**

Anxiety creates disorder and disorder enhances fear. A vicious circle that debilitates energy and invites despair. So the first thing to ensure is that you have a routine and to stick to it with dogged discipline. I had (and continue to have) fixed times to wake up, sleep, eat and for all major activities including reading, writing and the gym. A timetable creates order and predictability in life.

Lack of discipline can masquerade as freedom. This is very dangerous. Structure is the most powerful aid to fight anxiety. Seriousness about work is not detrimental to having fun. The greatest fun is to win. Losing is very tragic.

  1. **Physical Fitness**

Adrenalin is the best natural energizer. And you get a lot of it on the treadmill provided you sweat enough. The gym must become an absolutely fixed part of your day. Exercise is both a physical and psychological booster and a source of great benefit. Another thing, at least in my case, I think better when I am walking. So when I have some complex problem to work on, I go for a walk. By the time I have walked a few miles, I would have worked it out and it becomes clear. Whatever be the physiological reasons for this, I know it works for me. Try it out.

Resolve conflicts

Ambiguity creates multiple options and opinions. Multiple opinions create conflict. However this conflict if managed properly can become a binding force and create much better team cohesion. Also discouraging multiple opinions is a very good way to destroy all creativity and alternative thinking and hugely detrimental to eventual goal achieving.

So the first thing to realize and convince yourself as the leader is that conflict is desirable because it indicates that people are interested, engaged, concerned and see a stake for themselves in the outcome. It means that they see benefit for themselves in the task which is a very good sign.

Conflict resolution requires two things:

  * Be aware of and able to deal with your own feelings and emotions
  * Being able to deal objectively with issues

It is important to remember that you are also human and that in any conflict it is entirely possible that unconsciously you may prefer one side over another. However to show that or to allow that to influence you is detrimental to resolving the conflict. Emotion always gets in the way of resolution of conflict so though to feel emotion is entirely natural it is important to be able to control its expression and operate as objectively, dispassionately and fairly as you can. To be able to do this, structure is a very major tool. So use structure to resolve conflicts. I use the following method:

  1. Define the issue in terms of what is important to you.
  2. Share the definition and identify common areas of agreement.
  3. Agree on a mutually acceptable impartial, external, global standard.
  4. Apply the standard and create a solution.
  5. See if a better solution is possible.
  6. Practice Active Listening (Paraphrasing)

It is very useful to keep the focus on the task and remind people not to become personal. There is a big difference between disagreeing and being disagreeable. Many people confuse a difference of opinion with opposition. This must not be allowed to happen or it will undermine relationships and destroy trust.

  1. **Execution**

In the final analysis, it is the ability to deliver which is the game changer. Nothing else matters. Execution depends on two critical parameters:

  1. Decision making
  2. Edge

Decision Making

This has to do with the basis of decision making as well as the willingness to make decisions. Leadership after all is about the willingness and ability to take charge of other people's work and accept accountability for it. The worst self-indictment of leadership is for the leader to complain about his team. So the leader's ability to take good decisions is a critical factor. Good decisions are the result of applying systems as well as of systematically learning from experience. I want to emphasize the importance of systematic structured learning because not everyone who has a similar experience learns the same lessons. The value of the lesson depends more on how you learn than on what happened. I use the following system:

  1. Record what happened: hard data, recorded as dispassionately as possible.
  2. Reflect on the reasons for it: and on what alternatives existed at the time.
  3. Conceptualize a lesson: what do I learn from this?
  4. Apply the lesson: with awareness.

It is a simple process the efficacy of which lies in the rigor with which it is applied. Many times we don't want to accept our own culpability in the issue; or we don't want to accept that we could have acted differently. So we don't learn anything and make the same mistakes again and again. But if we have the courage to look at our own actions and accept responsibility for them, then in fact we empower ourselves to create solutions. It is a strange paradox that when we accept responsibility for our own role in an incident, we simultaneously empower ourselves to change our future. As they say in Gestalt Psychology:

'What I resist persists. What I accept is transformed.'

Edge

To understand 'edge', imagine the edge of a knife. If you don't sharpen a knife then it needs far more force to cut and then cuts badly with ragged edges. We all know the old adage about sharpening the saw or sharpening the knife. Edge is about sharpening the knife of our decision making – the willingness and ability to take hard, painful decisions.

In my family business consulting practice I have seen case after case of business families refusing or unable to take hard decisions when it comes to succession, to the ultimate detriment, even destruction of the family business. One hard decision with respect to one individual, if not taken in time, leads to suffering and misery for the whole family. The strange thing is that this happens so many times.

An excellent example of the opposite – a hard decision taken at the right time – is the case of Pick 'n Pay Stores in South Africa founded by Raymond Ackerman. Not only did Ackerman plan succession for 25 years, as he says and has a record of every single succession planning meeting for all those years, when the time came for his own retirement, the top job did not go to his son Gareth but to Sean Summers, the CEO of the retail business. Gareth elected to oversee other family business interests. The interest of the business came first, over any aspirations to glory as the chairman of South Africa's premier retail business and the job went to the one who was considered best for it. Interestingly when Sean Summers resigned last week, his successor Nick Badminton was named immediately and smoothly, a proof of the effectiveness of Ackerman's succession planning philosophy. No vacuum, no searching, nobody from outside the organization. Talent identified and ready in waiting.

Edge is critical to success for any leader. Without edge there can be no leadership. Some hard decisions are painful, but this pain is like the pain of cancer surgery – it saves the life. When you come to an edge decision, it is good to remember this example and remind yourself that death is even more painful. One last thing: a hard decision postponed, is harder to take and more painful when it is finally taken, perhaps too late.

Conclusion

In conclusion, leadership is a teachable and learnable skill. Even those who consider themselves 'born leaders' can benefit from following the structure and practicing the skills that I have mentioned here.

I have used every one of the things that I have mentioned here and my own theory of Leadership Essentials developed out of 27 years of practicing these tools. I know this works because I have seen it work. Like any skill however, it is as good as our expertise in it. So correct practice is essential. Remember, practice **does not** make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Correct practice is essential if we want to become perfect. Otherwise we only learn to do the wrong thing very efficiently.

I wish you practitioners out there, all the best in your endeavor.

#  Beating the Rat Race

How to become a Cat?

It all begins in the mind

'In the beginning was the thought.

It then focused on material and created the plan.

The plan manifested itself into a working model.

The model asked, "What happens after me?"

The intellect answered,

"That depends on what you want to happen.

Seek to give and so you will get.

Seek to take and it will be taken from you."

And the rest is history.'

Genesis of the idea

A friend asked me to show him a way to get out of the rat race and on the spur of the moment I said, 'Become a cat.' Then I reflected on the qualities that a cat represents and those which a rat represents and I tried to see how these can help us to create life quality and satisfaction. What differentiates and rat from a cat? And how does that help us? That is what this article is about. One word of caution; like all analogies this also ends at a point. The point being that this is meant for people, not rats or cats. So please don't get too stuck to the zoology and remain with the concept and philosophy of how we can power-up our lives. Happy reading...............

Rat versus Cat

Now what distinguishes the Rat from the Cat? In my view it is the focus that distinguishes the Rat in the Rat Race from the Cat which is watching from his perch.

In the Rat Race, the focus is self-aggrandizement & destructive competition:

There is constant comparison with others. This produces dissatisfaction with one's own situation and so one strives harder to beat the other. Naturally this focus also produces the need to show off, because what is the use of gain if it can't be flaunted? People don't feel good because they have more, but because they have more than others do. So if everyone had the same or similar, if everyone developed, the satisfaction would be less. One feels very satisfied not by being wealthy but by being more wealthy than one's friends, companions, family, and being able to show off that wealth so that they will feel jealous, envious, frustrated. Since material things are easier to accumulate and display, the focus of the Rat Race is very materialistic. People build houses not to create warm and loving homes but to create edifices to their egos. They fill them with artifacts bought in antique stores that came there from the houses of other rats of times gone by, who also filled their houses with artifacts from the homes of rats gone by.

Little do they reflect on the irony of this. Cars for rats, are not transportation but statements of their position in society. Weddings are not about the young people starting a new life but an opportunity for the parents to flaunt their wealth. Victims of the Rat Race beg to be invited to such 'high society weddings' and then gaze with longing eyes at all that they are never likely to have and go home and complain about how wasteful the hosts were and in what bad taste their party was. This is because rat parties are not about meeting friends and feeling good, but about looking to see what others wore and feeling bad. That is why all the good feeling of wearing a nice dress or a good piece of jewelry becomes saw dust in the mouth the moment they see another person wearing a huge rock on a rope.

Aah!! And of course in the Rat Race there is a great deal of rejoicing in the misfortunes of others. Nothing is more satisfying than to talk about the robbery in someone's house in which they lost all their jewelry or the accident in which their Bentley was totaled. All this is of course spoken of in pained tones, but one only has to look at the eyes to see the undisguised glee in them. Rat societies are very uncaring places in which personal gain is the only consideration. Means fair or foul are not a matter of interest to anyone. Results justify the means. As long as I gain, it does not matter how I gained. It matters even less at whose expense I gained. Moral values, codes of behavior, principles, religion are all means to be used in gaining advantage over others. There is no real loyalty to any of these things. They are tools to be used, ruthlessly and without apology and to be cast aside when they are no longer useful. In the end, worship is only of the self and of personal desire.

Since accumulation of material possessions is essential to win in the Rat Race, rats become stingy and hoard resources. They won't share what they have with others because it will reduce their own store. Even when some things they have may be time sensitive and can get spoilt or redundant unless they are used, rats will still hoard them and will not give them to others or allow others to use their resources. Rats will also not share knowledge to ensure that others never have a chance to succeed.

Rat societies are characterized by a lack of education and disparities in learning and capability. Safety becomes the key driver. Risk taking disappears. Fear of losing possessions dominates all thinking and various means are sought to prevent that. Security agencies do good business in rat societies. Rats are unwilling to face the fact that societies in which disparities between people are less or non-existent, crime automatically disappears. Rats don't like to face this fact because in order for disparities to disappear, wealthy rats must share their wealth. But this goes against the very grain of rat-ness especially since the source of all satisfaction is to see that others have less than you. So there is a vested interest in rat societies to ensure that disparities remain.

Interestingly this focus on the other also produces complacency. When you have more than others and when everyone else is staring at you in envy, then there is no need to strive more. So enterprise dies once a certain amount of acquisitions have been accumulated as there is nobody left to impress or there is too much to protect. Real progress, be it in knowledge or power, stops as rats don't like to take risk. Risk is essential to stretch the boundaries of the known and explore ways of dealing with the unknown. Risk is essential to learn how much more one can achieve. But risk has within it, the possibility of failure. Since rats are afraid of failure as this can result in their losing some of their possessions they hate risk and constantly seek safety. So progress stops.

Since satisfaction comes only in comparison with others, rats in power are despotic and tyrannical. It is from seeing others kowtowing to them that they get a sense of wellbeing. Loyalty to the king rat becomes the primary virtue. Questioning of those in power or of whatever they stand for is the cardinal sin. Rat societies become inward looking and lose perspective and have no vision. The boundary between the ruler and the state disappears. The ruler says, "I am the state." Difference of opinion is seen as opposition and disagreement with or disapproval of those in power becomes treason. Rat societies equate the government with the country and disagreement with one is seen as disloyalty to the other. That is why in the Rat Race, even if you win, you are still a rat. Ask yourself: How many rats do you know? And is the one you see in the mirror also a rat?

Now let us look at what it is to be a Cat.

The Cat is focused primarily on himself but unlike the rat the cat focuses on developing its skill as a hunter. Cats don't hoard, so every day is a new opportunity to hunt. To improve skills, to learn from previous mistakes, to take risk and pit one's own strengths and talents against external forces. If cats are not successful in the hunt, they sleep hungry. So that is a great driver. Cats teach their hunting skills to their children and group mates because the survival of the whole pride depends on the skills of everyone. (Lions are also cats, right?).

Cats don't live in a fixed place and cover huge ranges in order to find prey. So they necessarily develop perspective. They learn to create strategies for a successful hunt. Cats know that their own survival depends on the wellbeing of the entire pride and so they care for one another.

For the Cat, the focus is self-development & collaboration

Arising out of this I have identified some key characteristics which I believe if a person develops he will become entrepreneurial in nature and will become a winner in all ways. I have described them in detail below but the way I conceptualize them is as one arising from the other in a glow of goodness. Becoming a cat is a lifelong journey of delight. For cats don't die. They turn into mist that rises from the forest at dawn.

Faith is the foundation of Courage

**Faith:** Small word with big meaning. Means different things to different people. So let me define what I mean by 'Faith'. To me, faith is a dynamic process that is based on the individual's understanding of him/herself in the context of physical, intellectual, psychological and spiritual strength. That is why self-awareness and emotional understanding is very important. Based on this s/he takes risk and has success which reinforces the faith. When there is a failure, if they analyze it and create a new strategy that also reinforces the faith. Otherwise, faith can be shaken sometimes with failures.

Faith is the sure knowledge that one will succeed in one's endeavor. To do all that is required and then to trust that the result will be favorable. This may sound irrational. But it is a very critical element of the combination. It is the final ingredient in the mix that produces success. Without faith you reach the end of your strength and find nothing to sustain you across the leap...the leap of faith. I like to use the words of Barbara Winters to describe faith: " **When you come to the end of the light of all that you know and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen; there will be something firm to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly."**

For me faith is knowing with complete certainty that Allah will do what He promised in the Qur'an: _Sura At-Talaaq: 2-3: "For the one who has consciousness of Allah (and fears His displeasure – has taqwa) Allah will extract him from all his difficulties. And will provide him from sources that he could not imagine. For the one who has faith in Allah, verily He (Allah) will become sufficient for him."_

It is this faith that gives courage. The courage to take the unpopular stance. To speak the truth before the tyrant. To stand up for the oppressed. To do what needs to be done no matter how difficult. To follow your dream. It is this faith that lights the path on the long, dark road in the late reaches of the night when all about you are asleep and you are sitting wondering if the road that you have chosen to walk is really worth it or not. When human awareness and resistance to adversity is at its lowest, faith is the small, clear voice in your heart which tells you that what you are doing is right and gives you the courage to carry on.

Courage enables Risk-taking

When one operates with courage, taking risk becomes possible. Courage is not what you have before you start. It is what comes when you take the first step. When you first stand up, your heart is fluttering, your knees are weak and your throat is dry. But as you stand up and all eyes turn to you, a cool breeze blows and you suddenly find steel inserted into your spine. You stand taller, your senses are enhanced, your eyes are bright and the voice that comes out of your throat is firm and confident. It is as if you are standing to one side listening to yourself speaking words you did not know you had in you. Explaining things that were themselves unclear to you until then. Yet when you start to speak, you find that not only do the concepts become clear but you are able to explain them with examples that take the breath of people away in that moment of "Aha!!" that comes not too often but is remembered for all time, when it does. What you had thought of as risky until then seems so easy and winning inevitable. And all that you are aware of is the excitement of it all.

Risk-taking creates Excitement

Excitement is the adrenalin flow no doubt. But more importantly it is the door that opens onto the vista of new possibilities. Of things unspoken and only dreamt of until then. Of concepts still in the shadows on the far boundary of knowledge. Of what may be, of what can become. Imagine that you have just reached the top of a steep mountain pass. It was a long hard climb, sometimes even dangerous. But you made it. And now you step into the pass towards the gap in the rock that is like a doorway. As you enter the door, you come to the lip of the escarpment that overlooks a valley spread out below, at your feet. Undulating grassland, hints of blue suggesting a stream flowing into a lake in the far distance, clumps of thick shade trees, the distant cacophony of parakeets and other birds flying around from tree to tree eating at will. The mist rising in the early morning from the forest floor. Myriad smells, sights and sounds. A cool breeze comes up to greet you and invite you to step forward taking the first step on the path leading to what new discoveries you don't know yet. I will leave you to imagine the rest. Fill it with the images you want.

Experience the shortness of breath, the sparkling of your eyes the warmth of the early morning sun on your face, the hint of coming rain. Not the rain that spells cold and damp. But the life giving rain that the dray earth prays for and waits every day. This is the excitement that creates energy, commitment and drive, for excitement after all is fear which anticipates a happy ending.

Excitement drives Passion

Passion soars on the wings of excitement. When a person works with passion all the forces of nature collaborate to help him. Much can be done with little. All the numbers add up correctly. Time slows down to let him finish his task. The train comes on time. The taxi man returns to him the things that he forgot in the cab when he got off. Passion invokes passion. Others who come into contact with the person who works with passion get energized. Suddenly they start to see meaning in what they do which until then they had been doing mechanically. People who work with passionate people report an enhanced sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. They look forward to each day, to be with their leader and to do what pleases him.

I believe most firmly that one must identify what one is passionate about and develop expertise in it. Then when one does that work there is no stress for one is doing what one loves. It is but natural that if you love something and learn to do it, you will do it well. There is a clear difference between the work of someone who is merely doing a job and another who is answering a calling. For the one it is earning a living at best. For the other it is fulfillment of his life's purpose. Imagine a life that is led, every day of which is a joy to live. That is what doing what you are passionate about bestows on you.

Passion drives Excellence

It is but natural that someone who is passionate about something will want to do it in the best possible manner. And that is what excellence is all about. To continuously search for a better way, a more profitable, compassionate, beautiful or exciting way to accomplish the goal. It is excellence which makes you do that which the world may consider strange.

Excellence is to care more than others think is wise; to risk more than others think is safe; to dream more than others think is practical; and to expect from oneself more than others think is possible. It is only in the search for excellence that new discoveries are made and better ways are found. It is not competing against others but a race to achieve one's own potential by pushing the boundaries of one's own knowledge, capability, power and influence. Striving for excellence generates respect, attracts followers and enhances ones influence.

Excellence creates Brand

And in the end the result of this virtuous spiral is 'differentiation'.

Why differentiate? Because differentiation creates brand. Brand creates loyalty. Loyalty creates influence and is the foundation of leadership. Brand creates identity. It enables the leader to stand out and not blend in with the crowd. It makes him the standard bearer to whose standard the others rally. It makes him the light in the darkness which those who are lost seek to find the way once again. Positive differentiation creates customers who are loyal and who choose you over your competitors. Producers of products and services strive to differentiate from their competition in ways that are desirable to their customers and which address a particular key need of their clients so that their clients will choose their product or service over that of their competition. The same logic applies in human development. The drive for excellence enables the person to create that positive differentiation which makes him a brand in himself.

The home is where it all starts

In my experience parents spend far too little conscious time on the upbringing of their children especially in inculcating the value of contribution. Of each generation creating its own legacy and not being content to ride on the back of the earlier generation. They don't prepare their children for the responsibility that they will have to shoulder. I've met many parents who struggled very hard initially in their lives and who say to themselves (and to everyone else) with great feeling and tears in their eyes, "I will never allow my children to face the hardship that I had to go through."

When I hear this statement I say to them, "Please change the wording. Say, 'I will never allow my children to build resilience, character and strength. I will never allow them to have the power that I have, to succeed.'

Say this because in effect that is what you are really saying." Many are shocked to hear this statement because they had never thought of it in that light.

They equate expense with quality. They give their children the most expensive education which insulates them from the realities of life and so they never learn to fight the real battles. They give them the most expensive toys which in reality teach them to define human value in terms of material worth (the 'best' kids are those who have the best toys). They insulate them from poverty, deprivation, lack of resources and thereby they 'protect' them from being exposed to the power of drive, ambition, single minded focus on achieving big, ambitious, scary goals. They build walls between their children and the people who they must in the end, deal with.

People who will one day, work with them and decide their fate. People who need to be inspired, led, cared for and supported. And therefore people who must be understood. Not simply in order to do good and be charitable but because their own success depends on these people. The fond parents forget or ignore the fact that one day the time will come for the soft little molly coddled baby to enter the jungle of the real world without any of the tools it needs to survive, much less to lead others. Children must be carefully watched, nurtured and mentored from the earliest age. They must be given tasks of graduated difficulty so that they learn to win on their own. They must be allowed to face their fears and to conquer them.

They must be supported but not protected. They must be advised but not told what to do. They must be allowed to take their own decisions but not without the benefit of the frame of reference of the value of honor, fairness, responsibility, accountability, nurturing and trusteeship. They must be allowed to feel, to cry in the night for the hardships that others undergo, to build friendships and relationships that span the boundaries of color, race, religion, nationality and much more difficult, social order and prejudice. They must learn that to be poor and to be honorable are not mutually exclusive; just as to be rich and to be honorable are not the same thing and don't happen automatically.

They must learn that virtue is a state of mind. A stance, a decision, a position that one takes, not because someone is watching but because of one's own sense of one's identity.

I do because of who I am. And I become, because I do. They must learn that our actions define us. They must learn that people will define them on the basis of both what they owned and what they contributed. But they will honor them only for what they contributed. Because we are remembered, not for what we had but for what we gave. Only when they are taught to focus on contribution from their earliest childhood will they be able to fight the force of consumerism that is focused on consumption. Blind, self-centered consumption that in the end will consume us all, if it is allowed to proliferate unchallenged. Parents must bring up children who will challenge these norms and create a society that is focused on contribution instead of consumption, so that in the end we leave behind a place that is the better for our passing because wealth and power are the result of intelligent effort. Not its objective.

"Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon."

E.M. Forster

The biggest mistake that parents make is not to define boundaries. Parents must parent. Many parents today seem to be too focused on being 'friends' to their children at the expense of parenting. In this endeavor they bend over backward trying to be nice to the children and basically do whatever the children want them to. Boundaries are therefore never firm and clear.

They are always open to being negotiated and children push the boundaries until they get what they want from parents who have confused parenting with being 'friendly' per se. Parents must remember that their children can have many friends but they have only 2 parents. Parents have been assigned the role of parenting. Every other role is optional. The only assigned role is that of parenting and so they need to do that first and foremost.

Children are forever testing boundaries. So these must be clear. For example, that you can disagree with parents on issues provided you do it in the right way by being respectful and not cheeky. That cheekiness is not cute, it is insulting. That joking and insulting are two different things. That assertiveness is to insist on your rights without violating the rights of others.

That aggressiveness is to violate the rights of others. One is commendable, the other is reprehensible. That caring for your environment (read: home, office, bathroom, car, garden, pets etc.) is your job and not the job of parents, or servants. Servants are supposed to clean the home once in a day. Not every time the child makes a mess. It is a common sight in the East, especially in wealthy family homes, to see the mother or a servant picking up after the child who is a moving litter creator. Children must learn that making a mess of the home or your own room is not acceptable. That your room is your own but not to do with or in as you please. That the rules of the home apply even inside your room. Children must be taught that meal times are sacred because the home is not a hotel where one can simply order room service. Meals, especially the one meal at which the whole family eats together, may not be missed or interrupted. Mealtime is for the family and any family guests. It is okay to invite friends to a meal at home but not okay to talk to them on the phone while the rest of the family eats. Children must learn that their guests must also follow the rules of the family home. That exams, games, TV shows, football, cricket or basketball matches and so on are not acceptable excuses for missing the family meal. The meal itself is not only about eating but about bonding, caring for one another, concern for common issues and learning social skills. It is amazing how many children (some in their 20's) who have no idea of the manners of eating. This actually becomes a social barrier for them later in life. But if they were never taught how could they learn? It is the responsibility of parents to teach these things and more.

Naturally it is the parents who have to set the norm. If the father misses the meal without comment, then so will the child. If the father sits in front of the TV because he wants to see what happened to his favorite team and to be able to do that, moves the meal to the living room so that everyone eats mechanically with eyes glued to the screen, then this will become the norm and he will have no moral authority to insist that the children do something different. If parents sit in their favorite chair and shout out to the servant to get this or that, so will the children. If parents litter, children will too. If parents pay children to wash cars, mow lawns, clean attics or garages, instead of personally doing these things taking the children along with them, then children will learn that as long as they can throw money at some poor person to do their work, they need not care for their own environment.

Not only will they not learn to take care of their common spaces but they will also learn to treat some jobs with disrespect and to look down on those who do those jobs.

Each of these things above can be linked to one or more of the evils of our society. A society that is stratified according to economic circumstances, not according to knowledge, moral values or being honorable. A society where people don't care for other people. Where the self is worshipped and indulgence is the supreme goal. Where freedom is defined as the ability to indulge your whims with impunity, even when some of this indulgence may be breaking the laws of God or country. Where the law is applied differently based on who has the money to circumvent it or to get out of trouble by paying their way. Where the ones who create the corruption by paying to get benefits out of turn, then turn around and whine about what a corrupt society we have. Where justice is denied to some because others pay 'speed money' to an 'educated' judge and then they complain about how corrupt the judiciary has become. Where the fact that the effect of one's own activity, speech or conduct may be infringing on the rights of others, is not even part of any discussion.

Children, especially of families who come from high income homes must be taught the value of service. They must endure hardship and learn that for some people air-conditioning, cars, unlimited hot & cold running water, fridges bursting at the seams and clean sheets on a soft bed are not even novelties; because a novelty is something that you do have, even if only occasionally. But those people still live and laugh and play. Children must be taught the value of compassion, courage and service. They must be allowed to experience the joy of sharing. Of giving and then seeing the light of disbelieving delight in the eyes of the receiver. Nothing compares to the joy of giving something to someone who did not even dream of getting it. They must be taught that to give someone what you don't really want is still good but not as appreciable as giving away something that you love because someone else needs it more. This demonstrates genuine care and concern.

For example for a teenager to volunteer to spend time with old people (related or not) is to give away their time, which may not have any monetary value but which is something that is dear to young people. This and other such activities must be encouraged and appreciated. Not by giving money in exchange but by talking to the child and asking what they believe they gained from the action. It is only when they learn to take pleasure in the giving of itself that this giving becomes sustainable.

This is a power that is given in the hands of those who have resources, who actually hold the resources of others in trust, to be delivered on call, when they need it. Those who use these resources for themselves without any concern for others are really violating their trust for which they will be held accountable. Children must be taught that value is not equal to cost.

For example that the cost of learning may be negligible but the value of knowledge is immeasurable. And so the scholar must be respected and honored for his knowledge even if he is poor.

That the muddy handprints of your little daughter may well have ruined your Armani suit when she rushed to give you a hug as you returned from work, but the value of the hug is far more than the value of the suit and so you keep silent and return her hug with a bigger one and add a kiss as a bonus. The suit can be cleaned or replaced. The broken heart of a little girl can't be repaired. Children must be taught that the mud and brick structure that they live in is a house, not a home. And no matter how big yours is, there is always another somewhere else which is bigger, shinier, taller, wider or more beautiful. How expensive or big it is, does not show how happy and contented are those who live in it. And it is this happiness and contentment that make the home, not mud and brick.

Possessions add cost, not value.

Children must be taught that humans have more intrinsic value than anything material which can be bought, sold or junked. That cars, branded clothing, watches, gadgets, material possessions, expensive houses don't add value to the people who use them. Possessions add cost, not value. Anyone sensible will seek to add value to himself, not cost.

People who believe that possessions add value or seek to convince others of this, have no value for themselves. They have low self-esteem and are seeking to lower the value of the human being. Children must be taught that a car, no matter how expensive, is transportation, not a symbol. Except of bad judgment which makes someone put huge amounts of money into a depreciating asset. A shirt is clothing, a watch is meant to tell the time and shoes are meant to walk in. None of these define you, are not statements, nor indicators of what kind of human being you are. It is your character, your actions, what you stand for, your principles and your values, which define you. Not what you possess. What you possess can be stolen or taken away from you. Your character, your values, your principles are the stuff of memories that you leave behind. By these you will be remembered, honorably or otherwise. Live a life such that you will be remembered with honor. Teach children these things by personal example. Because that is the only way to teach them.

Children must be taught the value of money. The value of earning it, of investing it, of making it earn for you. They must learn the difference between spending and investing. They must be trained to be wealth creators, not wealth spenders. They must be taught that spending is to incur an expense for something that can give no return but instead, itself depreciates in value. Investing is to incur an expense for something that gives a return on your investment. Children learn to handle money by actually handling money. So give them an allowance and then ask them to present monthly P&L accounts and an annual Balance Sheet.

See what the headings are, under which they spent their allowance. See if they have found ways to make their allowance earn for them instead of simply spending it on consumables. Show them the alternatives they may have missed. Warren Buffet started trading when he was in his teens. When asked he said that his only regret was that he had not started earlier. Once children see how they will actually gain and have more money by this kind of thinking you have won. See if they spent some money on the welfare of others. Guide them by example. Teach them to be rich. For as I have said earlier, being rich or poor is a function of how you think. Not of what or how much you possess.

As we bring up our children, so we create the society we live in. We have succeeded in creating a society that is rich in resources and poor in the willingness to share. That is why we have hunger and poverty. Our society is rich in material and poor in morals and spirit. That is why we have evil and sin. Our society is rich in information but poor in wisdom. That is why the most 'educated' nations among us are the most barbaric. That is why we have people in some countries starving to death while in 2007-8 more than £ 1 billion worth of food was thrown away in Britain alone. Is this an issue of food production, distribution or simply of lack of concern for others?

We have created a society that has concentrated power and wealth in the hands of a few who have no concern for others. These are people who have the resources to actually create a world without hunger, educated, with proper medical care, where there are none homeless and which is free from crime. But instead they have created a world that has the capability of destroying itself 40 times over. Nobody stops to ask how this will happen the second time, let alone for another 38 times.

The correction has to begin in the home.

And that is the essence of being a Cat. To be the best that you can be, without worrying about what the other is doing. You still do the best that you can do even if nobody is looking. You behave with grace, nobility, compassion, wisdom and honor not because of what others are doing or not doing but because you are YOU. You do it because your behavior defines you and it arises from your beliefs and values. You do, so you get, so you are. And that is what your legacy is.

To live the message that success is to do the best that you can do because only that, is worthy of you.

Giving up too soon

Have you ever seen a traditional weighing scale in a shop in India selling food grains? It is called a 'Balance' and has two pans on either side of a pivot, hanging from a horizontal beam at the top. The weight measure is put in one pan and material being weighed in the other. There is an extremely important life lesson to be learnt in this. The next time you go to buy rice or some other grain, notice what the seller does.

First he puts the weight measure in one pan. Say 20 kilos. Then he uses a scoop and starts to put rice into the other pan. As the pan fills, even when he has put 19 kilos in it, what do you see happening to the pans? Nothing. There is no change in the situation. The pan with the weight remains firmly on the counter top. And the pan with the rice remains in the air. However you notice that the man does not stop putting the rice into the pan because he is not seeing any result to his efforts. He knows the result will come and continues to put the rice in with his scoop until he sees a small movement in the pans and the pan with the rice starts to descend. Once that happens and the pans are almost level, the man changes his method of putting in the grain. Now instead of the scoop, he uses his hand. He takes a handful of rice and very gently he drops a few grains at a time into the pan. And then lo and behold, the pan with the rice descends to the counter top and the pan with the weight rises in the air.

When I saw this, I learnt two essential lessons in life; both equally true:

Lesson # 1: Until 19 kilos, nothing will happen.

Lesson # 2: The last few grains always make the difference

So also in life, even when 19 kilos of effort have gone into the issue and we start to lose hope because 'nothing is happening' it is good to remember that nothing is supposed to happen. One who understands this does not lose hope or energy but smiles in anticipation of reaching the last stage when he knows that the pan will start to descend to the counter-top.

#  What makes a winner?

Before I begin on the three fundamental principles that make winners, let me state one thing: In life, only winners are rewarded. So the first requirement of winning is to be passionate about winning. To realize that a real win is one that is gained fairly, with integrity and without harming anyone. Only that is a win.

There are three fundamental drivers of all winners:

  1. Drive for excellence
  2. Compassion
  3. Desire to leave a legacy

**Drive for excellence** emerges from the winner's self-concept. A winner defines himself by his output. Her contribution is her signature. Winners are contribution oriented, not entitlement oriented. They constantly seek to give and to give more and better each time. Naturally this gives them profit, fame, honor and popularity but that is not why they do it. They do it because of who they are. Not because of what others say about them. I recall a carpenter who was making a table and asked me for 7 grades of sandpaper. When I complained about the time it would take, he said to me, 'It is your choice. This is how I work. I want whoever sees your table to ask you, 'Wow! Who made this?' Not, 'Who the hell made this?' He was working for his own satisfaction. That this would result in a satisfied customer was incidental. He would have worked that way even if he had no customer to sell to. The table he made for me was of teak wood, polished to a mirror finish. A delight to see.

**Compassion** comes from a sense of connectedness that winners have. They realize that they are not alone in the world and that they became what they became because of what others did for them, without thinking of a return. Compassion is not merely to be concerned about the difficulties of others but to be concerned enough to put our money and effort where our mouth is. Compassion is what defines us as human beings. Animals don't have compassion. A wildebeest herd stands and watches one of its members being eaten by lions and do nothing to help the one that was taken. It is peculiarly and essentially human to be concerned for the welfare of others. Winners are concerned and they act. Today our major problems that threaten the world are because of a lack of concern, a lack of compassion for others. We are singularly focused on growth at any cost. Growth for the sake of growth is the philosophy of the cancer cell. Predatory growth results in environmental destruction, impoverishment of people for the enrichment of a few and increase in unrest and insecurity.

**Legacy:** Finally winners who have lived all their lives trying to create an impact on their environment don't want to disappear beneath the waves without a trace. They like to leave a legacy of goodness that continues after they are gone.

So they build organizations, systems and processes so that their work will continue. They spend time, energy and resources to train others, to teach them what they know, to share their life's hard earned experience so that others don't have to go through the same hardships to learn. Winners leave their mark on the hearts and in the lives of all those they touch. They don't do this to be remembered but they are remembered because of what they did.

For the world remembers us not for what we had but for what we did and how that helped them. The legacy of the winner is in the smiles of those who they helped.

# **Today is our 25** th **wedding anniversary**

March 21st, 2010.

March 21st is also the beginning of the Summer Solstice; interestingly a very important day in ancient calendars, where the day in the Northern Hemisphere starts to get longer – not because of our wedding of course.

So what did I learn?

I learnt that a marriage is a game of give and take in which the more you give, the more you take. And that unless you give you can't take.

I learnt that the trick is to collect memories. What kind of memories? Any kind you want. That is up to you. Only, in the end, you will only have what you collected.

I learnt that not only can you collect memories but you also get to make them. Once again, you get to make whatever kind you want. Those that will bring a smile to the face, warmth to the heart and perhaps a tear of happiness. Or the other kind.

I learnt that to be married is to be prepared to be surprised. All kinds of surprises – that the delicate person in lace who smells sweeter than a rose garden has a core of steel. And the day you have to lean on it, you are very happy indeed that it is there.

I learnt that to share meant to give up your ownership – then you get back what you gave up, enhanced and enriched. She said to me once, a few days after we got married, 'If you call everything 'mine' then what do I have to call mine?' To 'give up' ownership is sometimes nothing more than to use the term 'we' instead of 'I, me, mine, my'. I learnt that it is not about the semantics but about the soul of being married.

She is an artist in many ways, one of which was as a painter. She was painting a seascape. Stormy clouds, lashing waves and one boat. Then she started to paint another boat in the scene. She worked on it for many days but the second boat would simply not fit into the scene. It looked out of place. It looked alien. It looked clearly as if it did not belong there. So she rubbed it out. It took me some years to realize that it was not about the number of boats in the scene but the number of people in the boat.

I remember the strange warm glow when I was introduced for the first time as, 'This is my husband.' Never knew that there was so much pleasure in being 'owned.' My husband. Hmm!!

I learnt that it is not always necessary to say, 'I love you,' 'Thank you,' 'I miss you.' But it is always necessary to say, 'I am sorry.' I also learnt that leaving your partner to read your mind opens you to the danger of your partner never having learned how to read minds. I learnt also that in the end even though you say the words, it is what you do, the light in your eyes, the 'charge' in the hug that conveys more than the words ever will.

I learned the joy of opening my mouth to say something only to hear my words coming out of my wife's mouth and then we both laugh. Who said telepathy doesn't work? Maybe it doesn't work all the time. But then neither do the phones.

I learnt the value of being thankful. Thankful to Allah for granting me someone who I neither asked for, nor could have hoped for and to see us through highs and lows such that at the end of 25 years, all I can do is to thank Him. Thankful to my wife for walking with me on the road of life – walking on my road, perhaps at the cost of the road she wanted to walk on (never had the courage to ask her). Thankful to her for being the only person about whose support I never had to wonder or guess. Thankful to her for always being in my corner, even though sometimes that meant giving me some tough feedback (that is part of being in the corner after all).

I learnt that in the end, the only thing that matters is trust. Not beauty, not wealth, not status or grace – although I must say that I was blessed in her with all of these in full measure – but trust. And that I was blessed with even more. I learned also that trust must be built, one day at a time; one incident at a time. I learned that trust is the most valuable of assets and so must be guarded accordingly.

It was 1985. We had just been married and arrived on the estate. The workers knew we were coming and organized a grand welcome. They lined the road from Sholayar Dam all the way to Candura and threw flowers as we drove slowly along. They sang songs of welcome. When we reached Candura they led us to a pavilion made of branches lined with their best sarees, nailed to the wood. They sat us down in decorated chairs, garlanded us, gave us gifts and then served tea and sweets while they all surrounded us, laughing, talking and so joyful to welcome the new bride of their manager. As the tea was served, to my horror I noticed that a desperate fly perhaps in a fit of despair had decided to commit suicide in my wife's tea cup. Before I could even collect my wits, what did I see her do? She calmly picked out the fly very discretely and put it on the saucer and drank the tea with a smile. Nobody noticed. Hospitality after all must be honored.

It was 1987 monsoon in the Anamallais; the tea district in Southern India; perched on the ridge of the Western Ghats. Apart from the elephants after which it was named, the Anamallais was famous for its rainfall. And that year it decided to prove that to the doubtful. So it rained. It rained continuously, thunderously for almost ten days with furious winds. Result? On my estate alone – Lower Sheikalmudi – 1200 trees fell, electric and telephone lines were broken and landslides locked us in. When you have no power, no light, no telephones and no roads to go anywhere for 10 days in a row, what do you do? You sit by a roaring fire and play chess. Or rather you first teach your wife how to play chess and then watch her beat you at it after two days of practice.

Some days after the roads were restored to some semblance of order, one weekend I decided to take my wife out for a ride. I had an ancient Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle which I loved and we both rode along the winding road from Sheikalmudi to Valparai. It is a very beautiful ride with tea along one side of the road and forests in the ravines and a very good chance of seeing or meeting some wildlife as you ride along. A motorcycle ride is a different level of enjoyment that a car can never give you. On a bike you are in the scenery, unprotected. The wind blows in your face (we didn't wear helmets) and through your hair (I still had some in those days for the wind to blow through) carrying the smell of the forest. The Royal Enfield has a typical signature beat which is a delight to listen to as you tool along. We came very well all the way to the bottom of the slope in Valparai Coffee Estate leading up to the Tata Tea Workshop and then Murphy's Law kicked in – you always get a puncture at the bottom of the slope – and we did. What do you do? You learn the meaning of sharing in new ways – start the engine, use the drive to help you push the bike, guide it by alternately walking and running alongside holding the handlebars and have your wife walk up behind you.

I learnt the difference between a house and a home. A house was what I would get and a home was what she would make it. We lived in many beautiful bungalows. To make them even more beautiful and enjoyable was perhaps not so remarkable. But one of them we lived in was not beautiful. It was set in a very beautiful location, in a small forest glade in Carolyn Estate in the Mango Range. But it had been vacant and neglected for many years and when we moved in, what I remember most vividly was a wall that was a shade of light green – the result of fungus growing on a wall damp with a mysterious water leak. We lived in that bungalow for 6 months during which I was in transition between assignments. But the result of her attention to it was that every day when I would return from the factory – I was studying CTC manufacture in Carolyn Factory – I would look forward to coming home. It was in this bungalow that I wrote the 'Guide to Tea Plantation Management.' I learnt that a home was where there was harmony, comfort, peace, grace, beauty and caring. And I also learnt that all this was possible to do with very little money. To give you an idea of how little; one day I went to the bank to update my passbook and returned with delighted surprise to note that I had all of Rs. 500 in my account. No I did not miss a few zeros. It was Rs. 500. So there was very little money to spend on beautifying a house.

I learnt that support sometimes means to be left to face your own fears and to overcome your own terrors – with the knowledge that she would back me no matter what path I chose. But the decision was mine to take. I was debating whether I should risk living my dream of being an entrepreneur. I was in a very nice cushy job at that time, based in Delhi, earning a very comfortable salary. Being on your own meant the freedom to starve if things went wrong. It meant taking all the money we had and investing it in a business – management consulting – which may just as easily fail. I said to her during a long conversation, 'If we move to Bangalore, we won't have a house like this or a car and driver. We may not have a car at all initially.' She said to me, 'I did not marry you for your car or your house.' What she was telling me was, 'If you want to live your dream, I will support you no matter what it takes. But if you want to cop out, then you will have to face that yourself.' Was that hard? No, actually it made the choice much simpler and I never regretted it.

Companionship, a meeting of looks, a smile. Language and words that nobody else can understand. Shared memories over 25 years. Hard times, easy times. Alhamdulillah life goes on, each day a new discovery. A life of thankfulness for what we have been given.

PS: Believe it or not, it is actually possible to fall in love afresh every time I look at her face – and I do. As for your unasked question, 'All this is good. But surely there must have been something negative.' My answer, 'If you had to choose between keeping roses and garbage, which would you choose?' Remember what I said about memories earlier? We get to keep those we want to remember. Having said that, the truth is that at least for me, there are none that are negative. And Allah knows that is true.

# How to become an author

Someone asked Arthur Hailey (I think it was him) what the secret to his prolific writing was. He replied, "I wake up every morning and I write."

I have what I call my 7 – rules of writing which I have found to be very useful. I am sharing this with the hope that they are useful to all the potential authors who are waiting in the wings to be read. For the first requirement for being read is to write.

  1. **Forget inspiration**

The biggest block to writing is to wait for inspiration. That is not to say that you will never be inspired. You will be. There will be times when the words will flow faster than you can type. The right words will come. The sentences will form themselves and you will watch as if from the sidelines what is flowing from your fingers. But if you wait for that to happen you will wait a long, long time. So do what the famous author quoted above said, 'I wake up every morning and I write.' The big secret of writing is to write.

  1. **Good research**

Depending on what you are writing about, research may be a very important aspect. What's worse than making a fool of yourself? Making a fool of yourself in writing. The protection for that is research. Another thing; research and quoting the sources adds credibility to your argument. It shows that you are not the only bright spark in the world and that others before you also thought on the same lines and reached the same conclusions. And of course, research may result in your changing your line of thought or argument altogether depending on what you find out.

What is good research?

  * Search honestly: Look at all sources; not only the friendly ones.
  * Don't read selectively: Actively look for contradictory data. If you don't, others will.
  * Don't use data to 'prove' argument. Build the argument based on what the data reveals.
  * Data is supreme: Be willing to change your whole approach if the data warrants it.

  1. **Create structure**

Create an overall structure for the book. You can change this as you go along but a structure is a huge aid in writing. Structure also gives form to the story line and points you in the direction of information you need. Structure gives you ideas about the kind of research you need to do. Structure helps you to visualize the overall size and form the book will take.

  1. **Allocate time**

Make a time table and allocate time for writing. During this time don't do anything else. No emails, chores, phone calls, browsing or anything else. Just sit there and write. Discipline is the key. If you can make yourself sit at your computer every day and write, you are well on your way to becoming an author. The time of the day is not material. With a little reflection you will realize which your most productive time is. For me it is the early morning and late nights. Midday is not productive for writing and so I go to the gym at noon. Nothing like adrenaline to get the brain working.

  1. **Keep a notebook handy for ideas**

Ideas are funny things. They come when they want and they vanish when you need them. Then you are left with a form of sublime torture; having that idea hovering just at the edge of your consciousness; a hazy memory that you can't access. So don't pretend that you have a photographic memory. Only a camera has it and cameras don't write. So keep a notebook handy. That means next to your pillow at night and in an accessible pocket all day and jot down the ideas that come. I have a way of having my book idea floating around in my head 24x7. Then as ideas occur they automatically fit in or get rejected. What emerges I write down. Writing down ideas is very important.

  1. **Delete is not a 6 – letter curse word**

Never get wedded to what you write. If you think of a better way to say it, do it. 'Rewrite' is the best phrase in the book. Where practical get someone else to read what you have written and take feedback seriously. I am not suggesting that you must necessarily accept all feedback and change what you have written or change the way you have written it. But I am saying that reflecting on feedback is a very good idea and where the situation warrants it, make appropriate changes.

  1. **Writing and publishing are two different things**

Writing in the end is a form of self-expression. It is about you. It is the pouring out of your heart. It is the closest that you will come to becoming immortal. So write. If it gets published that is great. If not, it does not matter. Writing will still give you satisfaction that otherwise you would never have got. Today with the internet and blogging and online publishing there are many alternatives to the standard publishing company. So you need not dread getting the famous editor's letters which is the hallmark of all block busting authors. All of them were summarily rejected by several self-important editors who couldn't see beyond their noses until they found the one who accepted their work and went laughing all the way to the bank. Explore a way to get published by all means but whether you find a way or not, keep writing.

 Mirza Yawar Baig

Founder of Yawar Baig & Associates™. International Speaker, Author, Life Coach, Corporate Consultant, specializing in Leadership Development helping technical specialists transition into Management and Leadership roles. He helps Family Businesses make the critical transition from being 'Person-led to becoming Process-driven' and create robust systems that will enable the business to be handed from generation to generation **.** Yawar's book, **'The Business of Family Business'** shows business families how to grow, yet stay together, by drawing on his extensive consulting experience with both family businesses and multi-national corporations. Yawar is a life coach and mentor for prominent family businesses in India, South Africa & Sri Lanka. His latest book, **'An Entrepreneur's Diary'** traces his own journey as an entrepreneur. Yawar specializes in helping Start-ups make the transition into their growth phase, helping them to look at challenges and take difficult critical decisions. In 27 years of training and consulting Yawar has taught more than 200,000 managers, administrators, teachers, technologists and clergy on 3 continents. He combines Eastern values with Western systems to transcend cultural boundaries. Yawar's style reflects openness, commitment to quality and value-based professionalism. Yawar speaks five languages. He writes blogs, articles and books on topics ranging from leadership to politics to Islam, focusing on applying learning to create models of excellence in local communities. 
