Being in a Dream

The patch of time when you are transitioning from a dream to harsh reality is harsher than the reality itself. You are better off being in the state of blissful unawareness.

A random musing on 'Leadership'

I have come to an unexplainable conclusion that one cant really pen what true leadership is, or learn from literature or countless workshops. One's pursuit of what leadership is all about is, in my opinion, as arduous as an expedition to discover the human soul.

When you come across a true leader, you will know, and you will learn leadership without being taught. A few weeks, days or just minutes of being in the influence of one would condense reams of literature collected over centuries to a small speck of insight, and wonder that sits in the forefront of your mind.

You will realize then, that you are blessed.

The Joy of Driving

Even as a child, being behind the steering wheel gave me a lot of unexplainable joy –be it my dad’s green Ambassador, or my own toy peddle car. When I started to drive, I ceased to believe it was just about transportation. My first car, a used Maruti, was more than just a car to me. While behind the wheel, I wanted to think I was not just driving, but becoming – becoming the car itself. Every time, I hit a pothole hard, I cursed myself. I tried hard to hear to the hum of the engine to understand how the car was feeling. My car’s health seemed no less important than my own.

I am in the US now, and my stay here has been joyful, attributed to the time I have spent behind the wheel. I am really happy to be in New England. You can see some of the best scenic byways here. The sheer joy of driving through winding roads, through mountains and valleys is second to none. Twisty hill climbs are followed by descents to open valleys. The wind plays music, the foliage play to the tune and the brook glitters in the tender sun. Your eyes fail to completely comprehend the resplendent scenery painted in front of it.

But then, there is a problem. My heart goes into a conflict of sorts. Should I tune into the heartbeat of the engine, or should I feel the wind in my hair? The thought of being perfectly between the road markers fights with the feeling of flying through the valley with lofty spirits. I am not sure if I need to play music in the car, or tune into the piston station. Perhaps, this conflict makes the drive more desirable. Perhaps.

Byways, is where I saw the real passion for the road - groups of riders in their thunderous cruisers, with no care of what was happening in the world beyond the road’s shoulders. I could relate their joy to the what Pirsig described in his profound masterpiece. I would be there, someday.

Well, my passion for driving still doesn’t make me a good driver. I am human, after all. So, this is where the flow experience comes to play - striking the right balance between the rules of the road, and roar of the engine. More miles, is what I need.

Displacement

Spring was coming to a close in New England; summer was knocking on the door. I was in my apartment looking outside the window. There were white fluffs, each as large as a palm of a hand, flying in the brisk wind. Seeds they were, in their millions. So dense was the air, that it appeared like a heavy snowfall.

For many plants and trees, dispersion of the seeds by means such has the wind is critical. Without this displacement from the parent, sprouting, and hence the continuation of life wouldn’t be possible.

“Displacement” was the thought that stuck on to my mind, that instant. As I thought, I realized that I was displaced myself - from the comforts of my hometown, my folks, my friends and my home. As much as it is painful to leave these behind, it is important to do so. It is displacement that makes you better, both in your career and your life. The further you put yourself away from the comfort zone, the better you would learn to adapt, and thrive.

Displacement was what I needed. Now that I have it, life beckons, again.

The First Center of Excellence

If you ask any young kid in my country what she wants to be when she grew up, you wouldn’t be surprised if the kid mentioned the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Kalpana Chawla, Dr. Kalaam and so on. And why not be, these individuals are role models in their respective fields. They are looked upon as gods who exhibit certain qualities that captivate a young mind. They set the benchmarks for achievement, for excellence.

As much as this is a good thing that kids can differentiate the best from the rest, I sometimes feel saddened that the chosen role model is not from within your own family. When was the last time you heard a kid saying "I want to be a great engineer like Papa when I grow up", or "I want to be a great Doctor like Mama". This could be attributed to the parent deliberately belittling their jobs in the eyes of their kid, so that the kid aspires to be something which the parent thinks is more superior. Well, if that is the case, then the parent is inadvertently infusing discrimination in the mind of the kid - a lack of dignity of labor. This is not a small problem.

The other, seemingly subtle reason could be that the parent is not exhibiting those qualities which the child looks upon as exemplary. To the parent, it's like a performance appraisal gone too badly. This is perhaps a grim reminder that the parent might not after all, be doing justice to her job, her responsibilities.

I believe one of the biggest achievements you can have in your life is to be a role model for your own kid. To get there, one would need to reach a level of sustained performance and peerless excellence in the eyes of your own kin. The first center of excellence you would need to be a part of is your own home.

Frugality

It is a point of time when birthdays and anniversaries can be remembered by checking which major bank or financial institution collapsed on that day. The newspapers don’t seem to have enough of pay cuts and layoffs. To top it all, the communication from the corporate houses are sober, at best.

People who have seen it all have many a quote to share - "It's too good a crisis to waste", "Wherever there are adversities, there are tremendous opportunities" and so on. What does this all mean to each one of us? Is it just for the senior management and leadership teams to think what to make of this situation? I guess not - it starts with every individual.

I believe it starts with frugality. The best analogy is the survival of wildlife in African plains in the thick of summer, after months of lush green abundance in the rainy season. As summer moves in, food gets scarce, water scarcer. The wildlife has evolved to deal with it - animals slowly switch to frugal mode. They expend lesser energy, conserve water content in the body and they survive, and survive well.

Professionals in this harsh economic climate would need to evolve traits which helps them survive well. For us, being frugal doesn’t just entail reducing spending. It is not just about saving fuel, water, electricity or paper. It is also about avoiding the wastage of one of most important resources - time. A conscious effort to achieve more with lesser time goes a long way in making one deal with adversity. It means being in a state of constant hurriedness to deliver. Time, at this hour, is more than money.

I always think about the recession as the "Deluge", and it takes great amount of preparedness and differentiability from a professional to get on to the "Ark", not just to survive, but to survive and excel.