Hewlett Packard (HP), the largest IT company on planet Earth, clocked US$ 100 billion in turnover this Year. It is the first time HP crosses this landmark. Mark Hurd, the Chairman & CEO of HP, commented during the celebrations, “this is as much the channels Victory as it is HP’s”. By this, he had very clearly acknowledged the role played by HP channel partners worldwide in the landmark achievement of the company. After taking charge of HP from Carly Fiorina, Mr. Hurd had steadfastly brought in the channel focus in HP. He had resisted many temptations and had gone against many advices in continuing to bet his stakes on the channel. It is said that he gave unreasonable targets to his sales team with the clear knowledge that without channel to assist, his team wouldn’t meet these targets. All his actions in HP had a channel base and today HP and its channel partners across the world are rejoicing on the HP achievement.
There is another top IT Products company; Dell Inc; whose success in the past was solely based on its unique selling strategy of going direct to the customer. Till this year, Dell never looked at the channel as a means of its go to market strategy. Dell’s direct strategy was the topic of discussion for the last one decade in Business schools, Consultants and other Management podiums. Everyone had praised the role played by its most efficient supply chain in going direct. Dell had been able to make available its products to the customers at the lowest price points, which its competition could never imagine. Going direct, in such a competitive market was deemed as mostly beneficial to customers and hence, customers too encouraged the model, notwithstanding the fact that they were not getting some of the comforts from Dell, when it came to implementation, customization and to some extend, the post sale support.
It would suffice to say that Dell became what it is today because f its unique direct selling strategy. Otherwise, this startup company would never have survived the competition from Compaq, IBM, HP and other senior global IT players. Going Direct was the best idea that happened to Dell. Things are different now. The company is now reeling under the overheads of its own direct selling strategy. Added to that is the depletion in sales margins. Dell is now serious about building up a channel of its own. The current plan is to make the new channel augment its direct sales revenue, but by a later date, it may have to adopt the HP strategy of total Channel dependence.
The question now is, which good, direct or indirect? The answer is, both are good. It all depends on the timeframe and the market dynamics prevailing to decide whether companies go direct or indirect. However, what needs to be understood by global giants is that, over a period, such big organizations will have the impact of its overheads and therefore, it is always better to nurture a channel whose cost of selling is much lesser than its principals.
All strategies are time centered. That is why the adage “an idea whose time has come” is still in vogue.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
THE UNIQUE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR CALLED SPITE
I found a recent newspaper article about 4 basic forms of social behaviour very interesting and thought provoking. As per the article, the behaviour forms are: Mutualism, Selfishness, Altruism and Spite.
It is understood that human beings act to maximize their own benefit. This is called selfishness but there are also plenty of examples where fairness (mutualism) and altruism abound.
Let us look at a case study to understand these basic behaviour forms.
Say, you have a partner in your company and your company received a surplus of Rs.100/-. Mutualism is when you split this amount 50-50 between you and your partner. Selfishness is when you take 70 (say a larger share) with you and part with 30 (smaller share) to your partner. You practice altruism when you keep a smaller share for you and handover the larger share to your partner.
But Spite is very interesting.
Spite indeed is sensitive trait. And researchers say that it is found only in Homo sapiens. How does spite work? In the above example, spite is when you make an unfair offer to your partner and your partner refuses to accept it and due to the dynamics thereafter, both do not get anything!
Keith Jensen and colleges at max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany conducted several experiments of Spite on Animals and concluded that animals do not practice it.
This set me thinking. Yes, indeed it is there in human blood. It is a situation where neither you nor your partner (your society / stakeholder) benefit. It is a kind of lose-lose situation. Individuals and communities practice this aplenty. This could be a proverbial situation of ‘you don’t mind your brother dying but you definitely want to see the sister in law, a widow’.
Having worked at many parts of India and seen the communal and societal bondages at these places, I feel Keralites practice spite a lot. ‘I don’t mind losing but I don’t want him to gain’ attitude is a derivate of spite behaviour. While spite is initiated by selfishness on one side, it is jealousy, egoism and intolerance on the other side that nurtures in the beahaviour of spite to spread. Like a human bomb that we hear, indeed spite is destructive in nature.
I think spite is the major reason why developments and progress never happen in Kerala.
Political parties, whether they are part of a group or at opposition, definitely indulge in spiteful behaviour. When one party comes to power, it will not try to sustain the developmental activities that was begun by the previous regime, but kills it, so that the credit does not go to the first one. Who suffers, the state, of course? But for the politicians and their parties, it really does not matter. Look around and you will see why development in Kerala is stunted!
Blame it on spite, if you like.
It is understood that human beings act to maximize their own benefit. This is called selfishness but there are also plenty of examples where fairness (mutualism) and altruism abound.
Let us look at a case study to understand these basic behaviour forms.
Say, you have a partner in your company and your company received a surplus of Rs.100/-. Mutualism is when you split this amount 50-50 between you and your partner. Selfishness is when you take 70 (say a larger share) with you and part with 30 (smaller share) to your partner. You practice altruism when you keep a smaller share for you and handover the larger share to your partner.
But Spite is very interesting.
Spite indeed is sensitive trait. And researchers say that it is found only in Homo sapiens. How does spite work? In the above example, spite is when you make an unfair offer to your partner and your partner refuses to accept it and due to the dynamics thereafter, both do not get anything!
Keith Jensen and colleges at max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany conducted several experiments of Spite on Animals and concluded that animals do not practice it.
This set me thinking. Yes, indeed it is there in human blood. It is a situation where neither you nor your partner (your society / stakeholder) benefit. It is a kind of lose-lose situation. Individuals and communities practice this aplenty. This could be a proverbial situation of ‘you don’t mind your brother dying but you definitely want to see the sister in law, a widow’.
Having worked at many parts of India and seen the communal and societal bondages at these places, I feel Keralites practice spite a lot. ‘I don’t mind losing but I don’t want him to gain’ attitude is a derivate of spite behaviour. While spite is initiated by selfishness on one side, it is jealousy, egoism and intolerance on the other side that nurtures in the beahaviour of spite to spread. Like a human bomb that we hear, indeed spite is destructive in nature.
I think spite is the major reason why developments and progress never happen in Kerala.
Political parties, whether they are part of a group or at opposition, definitely indulge in spiteful behaviour. When one party comes to power, it will not try to sustain the developmental activities that was begun by the previous regime, but kills it, so that the credit does not go to the first one. Who suffers, the state, of course? But for the politicians and their parties, it really does not matter. Look around and you will see why development in Kerala is stunted!
Blame it on spite, if you like.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
WHAT AILS THE INDIAN EDUCATION SECTOR
When India is projected as a potential information and knowledge super power at the imminent future, it looks contradictory to discuss about the ailments of India Education System, because it is the same education system that is creating the said achievement. May be our education system lack many advancements and it continues to be traditional, but it cannot be termed as a failure. Neither would be correct to say that our education system hasn't delivered. Practically all of the successful Indians that we see inside and outside India have gone through the Indian education system only. It is only at postgraduate level or at specialization level that these people had undergone study elsewhere such as US, England, Australia etc. So this article moves forward from the thought that we have a good or at least, OK education system within our country. Learning centers such as IIMs, IITs etc have been the pride of India and they continue to deliver world-class, high quality education. All these show that we do know, how to impart best education. But in majority of cases, there are flaws and there exists several lacunae in the system. Addressing and resolving it could help us move forward, to reach the position as one of the best learning systems of the world.
A recent comparison made by Sabeer Bhatia, the founder of Hotmail and the Chief Promoter of Arzoo, between Indian and US education system is worth mentioning here. He mentioned that while Indian education system is knowledge centric, the American system is enquiry centric. Whereas the Indian system accumulates knowledge, the American system centers on the application of knowledge. It shows that the Indian system is theory centric where as the US system is practical oriented. A very distinct difference and we need to dwell on it a little.
Theory Vs. Practical
We follow the traditional method of the 'guru' imparting education and the ‘shishya’ (pupil) absorbing it. The profile of the guru is truly that of a theoretical academician. In our education system, be it primary, secondary or higher studies, there isn't any great stress on the practical application of a theory learnt. We go with the fatalistic assumption that the theory, if put to practice, will work. Mostly we do not try it or test it. I think this is an attitude that we need to change. World over, testing a hypothesis holds high excitement and by doing so, one could acquire a practical sense of doing things right at the first time, every time.
Quality
Teaching was the noblest of profession and the guru is held at the most revered position in our country. With the current economic growth and the possibility of jobs in high-tech areas bringing in very high levels of remuneration, the job of a teacher got a dent. Teaching may be noble but it is not very paying! This led to real dearth of quality teachers in the country. With most of the states in the country opening up the higher education segment, the situation had become very acute indeed. Shortage of qualified, trained, and experienced teachers is leading to a state of affair of low quality students coming out of these new generation institutions. Teaching requires knowledge, communication skills and patience and the current core of teachers lack one or all of these qualities. One goes to teaching when he is not able to get a high paid corporate job and thus teaching had come to being the last resort sort of a career. In these teachers, the students are not able to find role models. Indeed it is an alarming situation.
Research
Other than existing knowledge being repeated time and again, one does not see any new knowledge coming through research. The research activity associated with higher education sector is indeed very shoddy. These ‘researches’ lack originality and many often, authenticity. The writer had gone though the extract of a thesis presented by a professor of a university, as a part of acquiring his doctorate, on the subject of 'Women entrepreneurship’ and was aghast at the poor quality of the research, analysis and conclusion arrived at in the research paper, that too prepared for obtaining a doctorate, after a supposedly longitudinal study. It looked very mundane. At the end of research, no great conclusions or invention are made. It looked that often, the stakeholders do not expect such a thing too. What a pity, lack of research-oriented mindset is a concern area in our education system. At the student level, the questioning and research orientation is not cultivated or encouraged in our institutions. And that culture continues throughout the studies.
Technology Application
Times have indeed changed. The methodologies, tools and systems that were used to teach had undergone radical changes. The advent of technology and its application in learning process had revolutionized the education system world over. When knowledge is made available through all forms of media (audio, text, video, graphics, animation and images) and when it is acquired by the seeker using the panchentriyas, then the knowledge/information become very comprehensive and its retention, absolute. In our primary and secondary education systems (and any often in higher education), technology is seldom applied. It looks like technology based education stays in the hands of few selected institutes and people. Broad basing technology based education is absolutely the need of the hour for India.
The Industry – Academia interaction
The interaction between the industry and educational institutions in India continues at the minimum level whereas the developed nations have thrown open its universities and research facilities to the Industry and vice versa. In India, these are two parallel systems and the twin never meet. Even in professional higher education, the industry interaction of the student is restricted to do small duration Project studies and the too in a peripheral manner. The Industry never tries or tests the acclaimed theories brought out by the academia and neither the institutions bother about it. The institutions never worry about the industry needs when it comes to curriculum preparation and many often continue with the archaic syllabi. The writer had many interactions with of Post Graduate students of Business schools, who are following the syllabi set by respective universities. They still study MBO and haven’t still heard of management methodologies such as Balanced Score Card (BSC), Economic Value add (EVA), Activity Based Costing (ABC) etc. Indeed it is a shame, because all these theories and methodologies actually emanated from academia only. Our educationalists and leaders need to strengthen the industry – institution interaction and make it mutually value adding and a win – win one.
The politics of development
The opportunity of opening up of higher education sector is immediately lapped up by corrupt politician and businessmen. The education as an ‘industry’ is in the formative stages now! The promoters set plenty of these institutions up without any great educational or developmental vision. Most of them feel that getting an ISO certification meets the quality requirements of education. The only vision is making more and more money in less time through means such as capitation fees, donations etc. And these revenues are never spent for acquiring world-class teachers/resources, nor in developing appropriate teaching infrastructures such as labs, research programs, technology application, sophisticated equipments etc. We had already exceeded the time to develop the vision for these institutions to bring about students of all round, world-class standards.
Conclusion
In all, one would like to point out that there isn't any excitement in our education sector. Like any back office operation of companies, our education system loiters in the background and not coming into the forefront. When India is developing and surging forward as an Information technology and knowledge super power, it is time that Indian universities and institutions beckoned students from all over the world or at least, from South Asian and Fast East Asian nations. This calls for introspection, soul searching, brains storming and strategizing with respect to time by educationalists, leaders and authorities at high places. There is very good opportunity to clean up Indian Education Sector, add more value to it and make it at par with world standards.
A recent comparison made by Sabeer Bhatia, the founder of Hotmail and the Chief Promoter of Arzoo, between Indian and US education system is worth mentioning here. He mentioned that while Indian education system is knowledge centric, the American system is enquiry centric. Whereas the Indian system accumulates knowledge, the American system centers on the application of knowledge. It shows that the Indian system is theory centric where as the US system is practical oriented. A very distinct difference and we need to dwell on it a little.
Theory Vs. Practical
We follow the traditional method of the 'guru' imparting education and the ‘shishya’ (pupil) absorbing it. The profile of the guru is truly that of a theoretical academician. In our education system, be it primary, secondary or higher studies, there isn't any great stress on the practical application of a theory learnt. We go with the fatalistic assumption that the theory, if put to practice, will work. Mostly we do not try it or test it. I think this is an attitude that we need to change. World over, testing a hypothesis holds high excitement and by doing so, one could acquire a practical sense of doing things right at the first time, every time.
Quality
Teaching was the noblest of profession and the guru is held at the most revered position in our country. With the current economic growth and the possibility of jobs in high-tech areas bringing in very high levels of remuneration, the job of a teacher got a dent. Teaching may be noble but it is not very paying! This led to real dearth of quality teachers in the country. With most of the states in the country opening up the higher education segment, the situation had become very acute indeed. Shortage of qualified, trained, and experienced teachers is leading to a state of affair of low quality students coming out of these new generation institutions. Teaching requires knowledge, communication skills and patience and the current core of teachers lack one or all of these qualities. One goes to teaching when he is not able to get a high paid corporate job and thus teaching had come to being the last resort sort of a career. In these teachers, the students are not able to find role models. Indeed it is an alarming situation.
Research
Other than existing knowledge being repeated time and again, one does not see any new knowledge coming through research. The research activity associated with higher education sector is indeed very shoddy. These ‘researches’ lack originality and many often, authenticity. The writer had gone though the extract of a thesis presented by a professor of a university, as a part of acquiring his doctorate, on the subject of 'Women entrepreneurship’ and was aghast at the poor quality of the research, analysis and conclusion arrived at in the research paper, that too prepared for obtaining a doctorate, after a supposedly longitudinal study. It looked very mundane. At the end of research, no great conclusions or invention are made. It looked that often, the stakeholders do not expect such a thing too. What a pity, lack of research-oriented mindset is a concern area in our education system. At the student level, the questioning and research orientation is not cultivated or encouraged in our institutions. And that culture continues throughout the studies.
Technology Application
Times have indeed changed. The methodologies, tools and systems that were used to teach had undergone radical changes. The advent of technology and its application in learning process had revolutionized the education system world over. When knowledge is made available through all forms of media (audio, text, video, graphics, animation and images) and when it is acquired by the seeker using the panchentriyas, then the knowledge/information become very comprehensive and its retention, absolute. In our primary and secondary education systems (and any often in higher education), technology is seldom applied. It looks like technology based education stays in the hands of few selected institutes and people. Broad basing technology based education is absolutely the need of the hour for India.
The Industry – Academia interaction
The interaction between the industry and educational institutions in India continues at the minimum level whereas the developed nations have thrown open its universities and research facilities to the Industry and vice versa. In India, these are two parallel systems and the twin never meet. Even in professional higher education, the industry interaction of the student is restricted to do small duration Project studies and the too in a peripheral manner. The Industry never tries or tests the acclaimed theories brought out by the academia and neither the institutions bother about it. The institutions never worry about the industry needs when it comes to curriculum preparation and many often continue with the archaic syllabi. The writer had many interactions with of Post Graduate students of Business schools, who are following the syllabi set by respective universities. They still study MBO and haven’t still heard of management methodologies such as Balanced Score Card (BSC), Economic Value add (EVA), Activity Based Costing (ABC) etc. Indeed it is a shame, because all these theories and methodologies actually emanated from academia only. Our educationalists and leaders need to strengthen the industry – institution interaction and make it mutually value adding and a win – win one.
The politics of development
The opportunity of opening up of higher education sector is immediately lapped up by corrupt politician and businessmen. The education as an ‘industry’ is in the formative stages now! The promoters set plenty of these institutions up without any great educational or developmental vision. Most of them feel that getting an ISO certification meets the quality requirements of education. The only vision is making more and more money in less time through means such as capitation fees, donations etc. And these revenues are never spent for acquiring world-class teachers/resources, nor in developing appropriate teaching infrastructures such as labs, research programs, technology application, sophisticated equipments etc. We had already exceeded the time to develop the vision for these institutions to bring about students of all round, world-class standards.
Conclusion
In all, one would like to point out that there isn't any excitement in our education sector. Like any back office operation of companies, our education system loiters in the background and not coming into the forefront. When India is developing and surging forward as an Information technology and knowledge super power, it is time that Indian universities and institutions beckoned students from all over the world or at least, from South Asian and Fast East Asian nations. This calls for introspection, soul searching, brains storming and strategizing with respect to time by educationalists, leaders and authorities at high places. There is very good opportunity to clean up Indian Education Sector, add more value to it and make it at par with world standards.
Monday, December 24, 2007
EMPOWERING ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP
Among the progressive strides India had taken after gaining independence sixty years ago, two major developments that took place in the last one and half decade stand out significantly, viz: sustained economic growth and emergence of entrepreneurship. On both, India is now being counted at the top of the nations.
Barring certain communities that always had its key focus on business, in the early years, Indians in general and the middle class in particular had its career choice very clear, either to be working in MNC and corporates or in Government and public sector. Security in career was top priority than creating and distributing wealth. Business as a vocation, therefore, was the last resort. Closed economy and License raj that was prevailing in the country at that time, discouraged those with entrepreneurial ambitions.
Lately things had changed, rapidly at some places, though slow in states such as Kerala, west Bengal and North Eastern States. Whether it is slow or not, the positive outcome is that the people have started looking at the entrepreneurial route. Youngsters and students, taking global and national examples before them, have started embracing entrepreneurship. These youngsters are considering the lone soldiers of yester years; the Dhirubhai Ambani and the Narayana Murthy as their role models. These individuals dared, at a time when India had nothing going for her globally. They desired, dreamt, took it to heart, acted with clear focus and achieved greatness, which is now giving the courage and confidence to anyone who is willing to look at an entrepreneurial career.
A consistently growing economy, a huge internal market that is bigger than the whole of Europe, a flattening world, an internet based global knowledge economy, availability of money and mentors in the form of angel investors and venture capitalists, are all acting as catalysts for the Indian entrepreneur to evolve and grow. To put it bluntly, entrepreneurs never had it so good before.
A little on Kerala. A state beset with self inflicted financial crisis year after year, a state where socialistic thinking got deep rooted from the 40s, a state whose denizens still look at Government for employment and wealth creation, a state whose legislature, executive and citizenship find entrepreneurship as anti people and the act of profiting as criminal, got stuck for decades and rotted. Whereas people and countries, even the underdeveloped ones such as Bangladesh and Srilanka started realizing entrepreneurship as the solid foundation of a growing economy, thereby encouraging entrepreneurs to set up and get going, Kerala which found the change management very difficult, has been growing backwards in the matters of enterprise building and wealth generation.
It is time we realize the folly and come out of the unrealistic hopes of the state providing everything for its citizen. For the state to come out of the economic maladies that are affecting the forward movement, Malayali has to be competitive and entrepreneurial. With so many business & economy encouraging factors happening within the state (Technopark. Infopark, Kinfra Parks, Smart City, Vallarpadom Container Terminal, LNG Terminal, CIAL Expansion, Kannur Airport, Special Economic Zones at Cochin, Kannur and other places, Higher Education Sector opening up etc), the need of the hour is developing an entrepreneurial attitude on the people of Kerala.
On this hope, I rest.
Barring certain communities that always had its key focus on business, in the early years, Indians in general and the middle class in particular had its career choice very clear, either to be working in MNC and corporates or in Government and public sector. Security in career was top priority than creating and distributing wealth. Business as a vocation, therefore, was the last resort. Closed economy and License raj that was prevailing in the country at that time, discouraged those with entrepreneurial ambitions.
Lately things had changed, rapidly at some places, though slow in states such as Kerala, west Bengal and North Eastern States. Whether it is slow or not, the positive outcome is that the people have started looking at the entrepreneurial route. Youngsters and students, taking global and national examples before them, have started embracing entrepreneurship. These youngsters are considering the lone soldiers of yester years; the Dhirubhai Ambani and the Narayana Murthy as their role models. These individuals dared, at a time when India had nothing going for her globally. They desired, dreamt, took it to heart, acted with clear focus and achieved greatness, which is now giving the courage and confidence to anyone who is willing to look at an entrepreneurial career.
A consistently growing economy, a huge internal market that is bigger than the whole of Europe, a flattening world, an internet based global knowledge economy, availability of money and mentors in the form of angel investors and venture capitalists, are all acting as catalysts for the Indian entrepreneur to evolve and grow. To put it bluntly, entrepreneurs never had it so good before.
A little on Kerala. A state beset with self inflicted financial crisis year after year, a state where socialistic thinking got deep rooted from the 40s, a state whose denizens still look at Government for employment and wealth creation, a state whose legislature, executive and citizenship find entrepreneurship as anti people and the act of profiting as criminal, got stuck for decades and rotted. Whereas people and countries, even the underdeveloped ones such as Bangladesh and Srilanka started realizing entrepreneurship as the solid foundation of a growing economy, thereby encouraging entrepreneurs to set up and get going, Kerala which found the change management very difficult, has been growing backwards in the matters of enterprise building and wealth generation.
It is time we realize the folly and come out of the unrealistic hopes of the state providing everything for its citizen. For the state to come out of the economic maladies that are affecting the forward movement, Malayali has to be competitive and entrepreneurial. With so many business & economy encouraging factors happening within the state (Technopark. Infopark, Kinfra Parks, Smart City, Vallarpadom Container Terminal, LNG Terminal, CIAL Expansion, Kannur Airport, Special Economic Zones at Cochin, Kannur and other places, Higher Education Sector opening up etc), the need of the hour is developing an entrepreneurial attitude on the people of Kerala.
On this hope, I rest.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
BE THE CHANGE THAT YOU WANT TO SEE
Most of us must have started our learning process in the lower classes by hearing the story of the tortoise and the hare. It is all about the slow and steady winning the race. Decades had gone by since we heard the story but it is still very vivid in the memory. The story has a special place in our knowledge repository in spite of the fact that the world had evolved a lot thereafter.
Today, we see and feel that everything around us moving so fast. We are dwelling truly at the beginning of a new century that is seemingly based on nanoseconds. To most of us, activities go at high pace. Many of us are in multitasking mode. With so much happening, still we end up every day, worrying that lots of activities are still pending. And that makes us restless as we realize that it is not the way to end a day.
It is here that we need to understand the fundamentals.
From its genesis, the earth is spinning on its own axis. Also, at a specific velocity, it is circumventing the sun. If everything around us had acquired higher speed, are we then, not allowed to think that the self-spinning speed of earth as well as the circulating speed around sun also have increased. Don’t worry, nothing of that sort had ever happened. And, that is not expected to happen either.
What does that point out? It shows that most of the speed that we experience is in our mind. That perceived speed disturbs us. The feeling is more prominent with people on their right side of life. Actually they were not expecting some of the changes to happen. And when it happened, they were caught unawares. Yes, computers, satellites, Internet, palmtops and mobile phones had indeed boosted up the speed of activities, which an ageing man was not prepared to face.
I was talking to my sixth standard son the other day. I asked him, with so much of gadgets around us, whether he genuinely feels any increase in the pace of activities. He thought for a second and replied that may be, but it has not affected him. That set me thinking, why did he say so? When these gadgets had made me feel restless with so much of activities happening around me, my son is feeling cool about it. Then I realized that it is my ‘conditioned mind’ that is the culprit. For him, it is an open mind with capacity of acquiring and analyzing much more input. It is not that my mind is not capable of doing as much as he can, if not more. But it is a closed up mind. Therefore, it abhors the speed at which things are happening now. And that made me restless and disturbed.
Human mind is capable of acquisition, processing, retention and retrieval of information and knowledge. With old age, may be there could be a dent in the capabilities. But, is not as bad as we feel. We need to be aware of our mental capabilities. We need to train and manage our mind. We need to make our mind open and un-conditional.
Necessarily, the speed that we feel makes us restless is a part of the change that is happening around us. So, more than speed, it is the change that upsets us and makes us restless. Fundamentally, the capability of change management is that we ought to acquire and practice.
Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘be the change that you want to see in the world’. It is very clear without oneself changing, he cannot experience the changes around.
‘Change alone is eternal, perpetual and immortal’, said Arthur Schopenhauer, famous German philosopher. How true it is. Look at the world, the Universe, the Galaxy, the Milky way, everything is spinning and moving. Yes, every thing is changing. We have to accept the fact that change is the only constant. The earlier we understand it, the better it is for all of us. If we do not change, we do not grow. If we do not grow, we are not living. And when we are not living, we are dead and decaying.
When changes are happening around us, we need to figure out how these changes will affect us. If you feel that it is not going to affect you, you could work your way around it or even ignore it. But if the change that you observe is going to affect you, then you have to prepare yourself to face it, make yourself comfortable with it and learn to live with it.
It is often said that change that is mostly unknown, makes us afraid. And that makes us unhappy. Ask this question yourself, do you want to be unhappy? No, everyone wants to be happy. If it is happiness that we seek, then we should learn to set aside the fear of the unknown. From unknown, we should move it into the known and when it is known, we would have many ways to deal with it and therefore we could live with it. The fear will no longer be there. Positive feelings such as hope, happiness etc should prevail and from there, progress would ensue.
We need to realize that to achieve progress, we need to change. It is important to understand the change and thereafter, we need to include it as part of us. Manage the change in such a way as to make a successful living.
Today, we see and feel that everything around us moving so fast. We are dwelling truly at the beginning of a new century that is seemingly based on nanoseconds. To most of us, activities go at high pace. Many of us are in multitasking mode. With so much happening, still we end up every day, worrying that lots of activities are still pending. And that makes us restless as we realize that it is not the way to end a day.
It is here that we need to understand the fundamentals.
From its genesis, the earth is spinning on its own axis. Also, at a specific velocity, it is circumventing the sun. If everything around us had acquired higher speed, are we then, not allowed to think that the self-spinning speed of earth as well as the circulating speed around sun also have increased. Don’t worry, nothing of that sort had ever happened. And, that is not expected to happen either.
What does that point out? It shows that most of the speed that we experience is in our mind. That perceived speed disturbs us. The feeling is more prominent with people on their right side of life. Actually they were not expecting some of the changes to happen. And when it happened, they were caught unawares. Yes, computers, satellites, Internet, palmtops and mobile phones had indeed boosted up the speed of activities, which an ageing man was not prepared to face.
I was talking to my sixth standard son the other day. I asked him, with so much of gadgets around us, whether he genuinely feels any increase in the pace of activities. He thought for a second and replied that may be, but it has not affected him. That set me thinking, why did he say so? When these gadgets had made me feel restless with so much of activities happening around me, my son is feeling cool about it. Then I realized that it is my ‘conditioned mind’ that is the culprit. For him, it is an open mind with capacity of acquiring and analyzing much more input. It is not that my mind is not capable of doing as much as he can, if not more. But it is a closed up mind. Therefore, it abhors the speed at which things are happening now. And that made me restless and disturbed.
Human mind is capable of acquisition, processing, retention and retrieval of information and knowledge. With old age, may be there could be a dent in the capabilities. But, is not as bad as we feel. We need to be aware of our mental capabilities. We need to train and manage our mind. We need to make our mind open and un-conditional.
Necessarily, the speed that we feel makes us restless is a part of the change that is happening around us. So, more than speed, it is the change that upsets us and makes us restless. Fundamentally, the capability of change management is that we ought to acquire and practice.
Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘be the change that you want to see in the world’. It is very clear without oneself changing, he cannot experience the changes around.
‘Change alone is eternal, perpetual and immortal’, said Arthur Schopenhauer, famous German philosopher. How true it is. Look at the world, the Universe, the Galaxy, the Milky way, everything is spinning and moving. Yes, every thing is changing. We have to accept the fact that change is the only constant. The earlier we understand it, the better it is for all of us. If we do not change, we do not grow. If we do not grow, we are not living. And when we are not living, we are dead and decaying.
When changes are happening around us, we need to figure out how these changes will affect us. If you feel that it is not going to affect you, you could work your way around it or even ignore it. But if the change that you observe is going to affect you, then you have to prepare yourself to face it, make yourself comfortable with it and learn to live with it.
It is often said that change that is mostly unknown, makes us afraid. And that makes us unhappy. Ask this question yourself, do you want to be unhappy? No, everyone wants to be happy. If it is happiness that we seek, then we should learn to set aside the fear of the unknown. From unknown, we should move it into the known and when it is known, we would have many ways to deal with it and therefore we could live with it. The fear will no longer be there. Positive feelings such as hope, happiness etc should prevail and from there, progress would ensue.
We need to realize that to achieve progress, we need to change. It is important to understand the change and thereafter, we need to include it as part of us. Manage the change in such a way as to make a successful living.
Monday, December 10, 2007
POOR NATIONS & SOFTWARE PIRACY
BSA Software Piracy report of May 2007 reveals that out of US $100 Billion software installed last year (2006), only US$65 Billion is paid for and the balance is pirated. The rate of software piracy worldwide is estimated to be 35%. As per the report, Countries which indulge in high piracy are Armenia, Moldova, Pakistan, Vietnam Venezuela, Indonesia, Algeria etc (Almost to the tune of (90%) whereas the least of software piracy is observed in US, New Zeeland, Japan, Denmark Austria &a Switzerland. The report had highlighted the efforts by China and Russia to reduce software piracy. In china over the last 3 years, the piracy had come down by 10% and in Russia, by 7% in the same period. The finding also states that in spite of high growth of PC shipment in Asian, African and Latin American & Eastern European countries which amounts one third of total shipment, the software spending in these nations amounts to only 10% of the total software sold worldwide and the report perceives it as a major loss. India which is rated moderate and above in software piracy has brought down the piracy by 1% last year. A combination of awareness creation and rule of the law is applied in India to keep the piracy under check.
This is only one side of the story. There is also another side to it, the user side. All these software companies are pricing their products atrociously. Look at the price of a single user MS Office, it is around Rs.14,000/-. That of Pagemaker is Rs.30,000/-, Autocad, Rs.90,000/- and Photoshop, Rs.60,000/-, Corel Draw, Rs. 23000/-. None of these pricing is done based on cost of development or market competition. These are typically value based, monopolistic pricing. For, there is hardly any competition for MS office, Autocad, Photoshop, Pagemaker or Corel Draw etc making the respective developers charge the customers a very high price for each of these. Even multi-user license hardly brings down the prices. True, it is a sellers market out there. No wonder all these software giants have billions of dollars as cash surplus in hand.
How would users in poor countries react to such pricing? They simply indulge in piracy. Copy the software rampantly and use it without paying. Monopolistic pricing and piracy, both are bad. There must be some balance. I very earnestly believe that utility software prices must come down drastically, by more than 300 to 400 %. Sure, such pricing will not eradicate software piracy altogether but will reduce it considerably.
Another way is to encourage the free software movement, which is already in existence. We see some effects there. Software such as Linux, Star office, Netscape are available freely (mostly) or at extremely low prices. Users all over the world should take conscious decision to support this cause. But unfortunately, it does not happen that way. All these software giants indulge in aggressive marketing strategies, advertisement campaigns and massive loyalty programs, enticing the users in to them, thereby defeating any genuine movement such as above. They also use muscle power, such as denying opportunities to defiant hardware companies and consultants to use their software. Recent indictment by European Union Court on Microsoft Corpn is a proof of that.
Money power and muscle power. Many good causes get crushed because of it. And therein lies the agony.
This is only one side of the story. There is also another side to it, the user side. All these software companies are pricing their products atrociously. Look at the price of a single user MS Office, it is around Rs.14,000/-. That of Pagemaker is Rs.30,000/-, Autocad, Rs.90,000/- and Photoshop, Rs.60,000/-, Corel Draw, Rs. 23000/-. None of these pricing is done based on cost of development or market competition. These are typically value based, monopolistic pricing. For, there is hardly any competition for MS office, Autocad, Photoshop, Pagemaker or Corel Draw etc making the respective developers charge the customers a very high price for each of these. Even multi-user license hardly brings down the prices. True, it is a sellers market out there. No wonder all these software giants have billions of dollars as cash surplus in hand.
How would users in poor countries react to such pricing? They simply indulge in piracy. Copy the software rampantly and use it without paying. Monopolistic pricing and piracy, both are bad. There must be some balance. I very earnestly believe that utility software prices must come down drastically, by more than 300 to 400 %. Sure, such pricing will not eradicate software piracy altogether but will reduce it considerably.
Another way is to encourage the free software movement, which is already in existence. We see some effects there. Software such as Linux, Star office, Netscape are available freely (mostly) or at extremely low prices. Users all over the world should take conscious decision to support this cause. But unfortunately, it does not happen that way. All these software giants indulge in aggressive marketing strategies, advertisement campaigns and massive loyalty programs, enticing the users in to them, thereby defeating any genuine movement such as above. They also use muscle power, such as denying opportunities to defiant hardware companies and consultants to use their software. Recent indictment by European Union Court on Microsoft Corpn is a proof of that.
Money power and muscle power. Many good causes get crushed because of it. And therein lies the agony.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Prof. C K PRAHALAD, THE TOP MOST GURU'S GURU OF THE WORLD
A recent news related to Prof. C K Prahalad had prompted me to write this post. The news says, “Indian-born management guru C. K. Prahalad, has been named the top Management Guru of the world by ‘Thinkers 50’. C.K. Prahalad beat Bill Gates (ranked 2nd) and Allen Greenspan (ranked 3rd). Prof. Prahalad is currently the Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished Professor of Corporate Strategy at the University of Michigan”
The news goes on “ Not many management thinkers actually follow up important early ideas with genuinely groundbreaking future ideas. This is what C K Prahalad has managed to do. His work with Gary Hamel set the strategic agenda of the 1990s. Now, with ‘The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid’ he has established the social, entrepreneurial and economic agenda of our times
As the president of TiE:Kerala Chapter, I had the fortune of presiding over a major function attended by TiE:Global Trustees and Prof. C K Prahalad, at Cochin, India in the year end of 2003. Prof. Prahalad did the keynote address that day. I produce below some of my takeaways from his erudite keynote address.
He said “China and India have the potential to go to top of countries having global firms catering to a very large market. China will reach there in 5 years. China had already a large market with local firms in the 90s. India is in that position now. China is moving right with global firms. Will reach there in 2010. India can reach there by 2015. That is the potential of India.”
What can we aim for 2015 and beyond? He stated the following:
Largest pool of manpower of which majority will be college graduates and a very large pool skilled work force.
- World Leaders in Industry and Commerce with about 30 Fortune 100 firms from India
- India accounting for 10% of World Trade with broad scope for products and services
- A source of global innovation with new businesses and new forms of organizations such as the co-operatives like AMUL India, and lots of companies based on new technology
- Focus on the bottom of the pyramid as a source of innovation for the world. Be leaders in health, education, energy, transportation and sustainable Development
- A country of flowering of Art and Literature
- New Moral Voice for people all over the world. India as the most bench-marked country for capability to benefit from diversity
To reach there, Prof. Prahalad said that we have to demonstrate:
* Shared Commitment to Goals
* Creative and Innovative action Plan
* Focus on Entrepreneurship
* Focus on the Individual (of course not based on caste and creed); and
* Less Corruption and good governance.
On the last point, he re-iterated that human development is not about more resources, but of less corruption in the deployment of resources. Good governance and less corruption lead to high levels of GDP and not vice versa. In Human Development Index (HDI), India is 127 out of 175 countries, and in Corruption Perception Index (CPI), we are 2.7 on a scale of 10. (10 means no corruption), clubbed with Nigeria and Pakistan.
He predicted that if we reach 7.0 (moderately corrupt) on CPI, and 20/175 in HDI, our per capita income would go up from $2500 to $25,000.
It was such a wonderful occasion to learn from the world’s top Guru whose concern for people at the bottom of the pyramid is genuine and empathetic. If our planners, thinkers and politicians heed his voice and work out based the suggestions that he had given above, no doubt, India would reach the top, much before the predicted time frame.
What an occasion to rejoice would that be!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES
World is going through fast evolution in the area of leadership. May be it is true that everyone cannot become a leader, but people are not willing to accept old fashioned, autocratic leaders. They look for values, knowledge and talent in their leaders, not brute force, money or capital. People also seek leaders who emanate positive energy and unending enthusiasm.
Instead of authoritative leadership, people now look for leaders who duly acknowledge the followers. Personal growth of individuals have come to attain certain standards now that people want leaders to respect their individuality and recognize their potential. The leader - follower relationship had indeed undergone a paradigm shift.
This century of knowledge economy, online business and high technology had begun well and it had spawned collaborations and concurrent activities that are essentially team centric. The individual who used to win the war with brain or brawn is a thing of the past. Whichever arena, be it political, corporate or societal, most of the situations demand collective, inclusive efforts. With global competition in the market place and with technology becoming a pervasive force, time had come to reckon that only teamwork could handle these challenges. Thus, today’s leader is not an extraordinary personality, but a collective conscience keeper.
In most of the transformation that is taking place around us, we see that people are the real force behind the transformation. A super computer can do nothing, if there is no one to program it and run it in the first place? To achieve success we depend on people and people depend on leaders. Only those leaders who can collaborate to re-invent, can get most out of the people whom he leads.
There is constant improvement in quality in all walks of life and profession. The workers, who are constantly up against newer technologies and intense international competition, feel that they need to be on their toes always, as more and more efforts are required to be put from their side. This also calls for change in working habits though that is something they dread to undergo. It is often seen and felt that creativity and the resulting innovation plays a major role in the management of the changing paradigms. Followers expect their leader to have the creativity, knowledge and attitude to take them through the ever changing changes.
Leadership is all about influencing people, In times of transformation, the leader is expected to lead from the front by undergoing the change himself. Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘be the change that you want to see in the world’. It is very clear, without oneself changing, he cannot expect changes in the followers.
Let's look at leadership requirements. A necessary requirement for a leader is to gain confidence from the people he works with, otherwise there will be no followers, and to gain confidence in a leader, the followers must be convinced that the leader has integrity, he speaks the truth and he has the authority.
There are different types of authority. And they are Authority granted by position, Authority of personality and Authority of knowledge Whereas in the first one what matters is the title, position and the power bestowed on the position, the second one is having influential qualities such as behavior and conduct anf the third one is the authority is based on the competency & expertise, apart from other forms of knowledge that are essential in certain areas.
In the past, authoritarian leadership prevailed and there was a tendency for leaders to be supported by the position that they held in the organization/community. Nowadays the tendency has shifted to the other types of power, where personality and knowledge had become key attributes.
There are very many ways by which leadership is defined, but one thing that everyone agrees on, is that a leader must have character and personality. These are the moral qualities by which a person is judged, apart from other values such as intelligence, competence and special talents.
There are instances of leadership emerging from certain situations. These may be known as situational leaders. Let us assume that an apartment complex catches fire. Under normal condition, the president of the apartment would have been the leader, holding the power of decision. When calamity strikes, everything will depend on the situation. Once the fire catches on, the person who coordinates the fire fighting will be the leader. If there are many wounded or burnt and a doctor is present, he will become the leader. After all the people are attended, leadership will then pass automatically to anyone who has the knowledge of salvaging the building complex. This shows the importance of know-how in relation to the situation, and many times without anyone noticing, leadership flows from one place to the other. Great leaders know how to get people to share their knowledge.
We must remember that to become a leader, one needs to have leadership abilities, the power of decision and the ability to effectively to communicate with people. A person must be flexible and have the good sense to handover over the decisions, when the matter gets out of his own knowledge sphere.
The true leader must be adaptable to changing situations, and one who never stops learning. He is always interacting with people, and getting everyone to work together for a common objective, so as to get excellent results. People will follow him without even knowing that they have become a follower. And that makes the leader different from the others.
Instead of authoritative leadership, people now look for leaders who duly acknowledge the followers. Personal growth of individuals have come to attain certain standards now that people want leaders to respect their individuality and recognize their potential. The leader - follower relationship had indeed undergone a paradigm shift.
This century of knowledge economy, online business and high technology had begun well and it had spawned collaborations and concurrent activities that are essentially team centric. The individual who used to win the war with brain or brawn is a thing of the past. Whichever arena, be it political, corporate or societal, most of the situations demand collective, inclusive efforts. With global competition in the market place and with technology becoming a pervasive force, time had come to reckon that only teamwork could handle these challenges. Thus, today’s leader is not an extraordinary personality, but a collective conscience keeper.
In most of the transformation that is taking place around us, we see that people are the real force behind the transformation. A super computer can do nothing, if there is no one to program it and run it in the first place? To achieve success we depend on people and people depend on leaders. Only those leaders who can collaborate to re-invent, can get most out of the people whom he leads.
There is constant improvement in quality in all walks of life and profession. The workers, who are constantly up against newer technologies and intense international competition, feel that they need to be on their toes always, as more and more efforts are required to be put from their side. This also calls for change in working habits though that is something they dread to undergo. It is often seen and felt that creativity and the resulting innovation plays a major role in the management of the changing paradigms. Followers expect their leader to have the creativity, knowledge and attitude to take them through the ever changing changes.
Leadership is all about influencing people, In times of transformation, the leader is expected to lead from the front by undergoing the change himself. Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘be the change that you want to see in the world’. It is very clear, without oneself changing, he cannot expect changes in the followers.
Let's look at leadership requirements. A necessary requirement for a leader is to gain confidence from the people he works with, otherwise there will be no followers, and to gain confidence in a leader, the followers must be convinced that the leader has integrity, he speaks the truth and he has the authority.
There are different types of authority. And they are Authority granted by position, Authority of personality and Authority of knowledge Whereas in the first one what matters is the title, position and the power bestowed on the position, the second one is having influential qualities such as behavior and conduct anf the third one is the authority is based on the competency & expertise, apart from other forms of knowledge that are essential in certain areas.
In the past, authoritarian leadership prevailed and there was a tendency for leaders to be supported by the position that they held in the organization/community. Nowadays the tendency has shifted to the other types of power, where personality and knowledge had become key attributes.
There are very many ways by which leadership is defined, but one thing that everyone agrees on, is that a leader must have character and personality. These are the moral qualities by which a person is judged, apart from other values such as intelligence, competence and special talents.
There are instances of leadership emerging from certain situations. These may be known as situational leaders. Let us assume that an apartment complex catches fire. Under normal condition, the president of the apartment would have been the leader, holding the power of decision. When calamity strikes, everything will depend on the situation. Once the fire catches on, the person who coordinates the fire fighting will be the leader. If there are many wounded or burnt and a doctor is present, he will become the leader. After all the people are attended, leadership will then pass automatically to anyone who has the knowledge of salvaging the building complex. This shows the importance of know-how in relation to the situation, and many times without anyone noticing, leadership flows from one place to the other. Great leaders know how to get people to share their knowledge.
We must remember that to become a leader, one needs to have leadership abilities, the power of decision and the ability to effectively to communicate with people. A person must be flexible and have the good sense to handover over the decisions, when the matter gets out of his own knowledge sphere.
The true leader must be adaptable to changing situations, and one who never stops learning. He is always interacting with people, and getting everyone to work together for a common objective, so as to get excellent results. People will follow him without even knowing that they have become a follower. And that makes the leader different from the others.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
THE "FEEL GOOD" FACTOR
How do I live a long life filled with happiness? This is the question that all of us continue to ask ourselves. But what we see predominantly around us is a world full of people undergoing suffering and handicaps, worries and frustration and losses and tragedies. Such is the intensity of some people’s misery that makes us shudder and pray that even our enemies should not get it. The world in its forward movement is creating increasing number of people living with worries. It is now seldom that we come across happiness. Even if we meet it, it is very short lived. It is becoming a myth that there exist people who live happily ever.
What create the miseries, sufferings and disappointments? Firstly, it is due to the pace at which things happen. We live at a point of the world movement where things happen in nanoseconds. Everyone and everything is on an overdrive mode. There is no time for oneself, leave alone for others. We are on the run as if the deluge is near. Add to this ever-changing flux, other major issues such as selfishness and ungratefulness. The kind world is turning into a cruel world. With no time for anything, everybody is heavily stressed. And the stress manifests into diseases, both physical and mental. For solace, man runs into doctors, quacks, astrologers and self proclaimed Godmen. He is very tense and anxious. The only question that he asks them is when will good time come for him? And he is willing to do anything for that to happen.
Stop for a moment, dear friends. With all these, what kind of a world are we creating for us? With so much of flux around, is it a world worth living? And at this rate, where are we going?
Have we bothered to check what we can do to create a peaceful, happy world? And where do we find peace & tranquility? Are they for real or maya?
I am of the opinion that if we seek peace and happiness, it would come to us. For peace and happiness to come to us, we must create the feeling of positivity around us. We must genuinely feel good always, that is.
What would take us to feel good? When we allow optimism, empathy and love to stay put permanently in our heart, the feel good factor stays in our mind. May be it is not always possible to feel positive. The dark clouds of worry can enter any time. Many an experience that we undergo do have this ‘worry’ component as an integral part of it. We need to dispel those negative feelings we encounter. How do we do this?
Please understand that negative thoughts are created mostly by unreasonable assumptions that we think of. We need to critique those assumptions behind the negative thoughts. Harp at it and question the thoughts without mercy. Use the sword of rationality against it. When you do that, slowly you will observe the negative thoughts vacating your mind. Practice this whenever you feel negative. Let that practice lead to form a habit in you. Then the bliss will stay and you will realize that as nothing but the feel good factor.
Remember to condition your mind with this feeling that bad things will not last long. Take a positive look at those things that are not affected by the bad things. For example, you underwent an accident and had suffered wounds. Yes, you can start worrying that times are not good and you would soon anticipate many similar events to happen. Instead, can you not think that you are only wounded but you are still alive and God willed that you must be alive?. There is a positivity when we think that way. And that will take away the negativity. Another thing to remember is not to indulge in ‘I blame myself’ games. When depression and worries arise, think stronger thoughts that are positive and have the confidence that all negativities are going to pass. It will pass, I promise. Sooner than you think it will.
Remember to create the energy level in you to fight back every setback that you come across. When the mind is strong and positive, setback cannot impact you much. Remember the adage “When the going get tough, it is the tough who get going”
There is one more suggestion that I would want to give. As much as possible, dwell in the company of positive minded people. Shun the negative minded and the ‘nay’ sayers. Never be with them. I remember a story told to me of Pullela Gopichand, the second Indian to have won the All England Open Badminton tournament. It is said that he found his team members were always of the opinion that the Chinese are unbeatable in Shuttle badminton and they often repeated the same during team meetings. It is then that Gopichand made a decision to move away from the company of such players and continued to practice the game with the confidence that he can beat anyone, even if he is Chinese. The result: he beat the reigning World champion who is a Chinese to win the British Open!
The bottom line is very clear. Maintain the positivity, always feel good and have faith in you. You will see that nothing is impossible to achieve. And peace, harmony and happiness will stay with you, forever.
What create the miseries, sufferings and disappointments? Firstly, it is due to the pace at which things happen. We live at a point of the world movement where things happen in nanoseconds. Everyone and everything is on an overdrive mode. There is no time for oneself, leave alone for others. We are on the run as if the deluge is near. Add to this ever-changing flux, other major issues such as selfishness and ungratefulness. The kind world is turning into a cruel world. With no time for anything, everybody is heavily stressed. And the stress manifests into diseases, both physical and mental. For solace, man runs into doctors, quacks, astrologers and self proclaimed Godmen. He is very tense and anxious. The only question that he asks them is when will good time come for him? And he is willing to do anything for that to happen.
Stop for a moment, dear friends. With all these, what kind of a world are we creating for us? With so much of flux around, is it a world worth living? And at this rate, where are we going?
Have we bothered to check what we can do to create a peaceful, happy world? And where do we find peace & tranquility? Are they for real or maya?
I am of the opinion that if we seek peace and happiness, it would come to us. For peace and happiness to come to us, we must create the feeling of positivity around us. We must genuinely feel good always, that is.
What would take us to feel good? When we allow optimism, empathy and love to stay put permanently in our heart, the feel good factor stays in our mind. May be it is not always possible to feel positive. The dark clouds of worry can enter any time. Many an experience that we undergo do have this ‘worry’ component as an integral part of it. We need to dispel those negative feelings we encounter. How do we do this?
Please understand that negative thoughts are created mostly by unreasonable assumptions that we think of. We need to critique those assumptions behind the negative thoughts. Harp at it and question the thoughts without mercy. Use the sword of rationality against it. When you do that, slowly you will observe the negative thoughts vacating your mind. Practice this whenever you feel negative. Let that practice lead to form a habit in you. Then the bliss will stay and you will realize that as nothing but the feel good factor.
Remember to condition your mind with this feeling that bad things will not last long. Take a positive look at those things that are not affected by the bad things. For example, you underwent an accident and had suffered wounds. Yes, you can start worrying that times are not good and you would soon anticipate many similar events to happen. Instead, can you not think that you are only wounded but you are still alive and God willed that you must be alive?. There is a positivity when we think that way. And that will take away the negativity. Another thing to remember is not to indulge in ‘I blame myself’ games. When depression and worries arise, think stronger thoughts that are positive and have the confidence that all negativities are going to pass. It will pass, I promise. Sooner than you think it will.
Remember to create the energy level in you to fight back every setback that you come across. When the mind is strong and positive, setback cannot impact you much. Remember the adage “When the going get tough, it is the tough who get going”
There is one more suggestion that I would want to give. As much as possible, dwell in the company of positive minded people. Shun the negative minded and the ‘nay’ sayers. Never be with them. I remember a story told to me of Pullela Gopichand, the second Indian to have won the All England Open Badminton tournament. It is said that he found his team members were always of the opinion that the Chinese are unbeatable in Shuttle badminton and they often repeated the same during team meetings. It is then that Gopichand made a decision to move away from the company of such players and continued to practice the game with the confidence that he can beat anyone, even if he is Chinese. The result: he beat the reigning World champion who is a Chinese to win the British Open!
The bottom line is very clear. Maintain the positivity, always feel good and have faith in you. You will see that nothing is impossible to achieve. And peace, harmony and happiness will stay with you, forever.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
THE POWER OF SUBCONSCIOUS MIND
As an entrepreneur, I had witnessed many ups and downs in my life. Life of an entrepreneur is indeed very tumultuous, particularly when he is a first generation person in business and that too, in a competitive business like IT System Integration. As I tell others in a lighter vein, an entrepreneur dies a thousand deaths. Some of the downturns in business can be so heavy that it would be very difficult for one to come back to normal. The feelings at those times can be very frustrating. However, at all such times I had never felt like quitting and in spite of the odds, I persisted, but with more vigor. I had come to realize that this is the life I always wanted, however good or bad it may be!
How does one come to such a strong committed feeling despite the many ups and downs? This is something that I want to write about. To explain this, let me go back a little to some of my earlier experiences.
Being from a village and from a middleclass background, I grew up in an atmosphere of limited opportunities. I was never exposed to many bigger/higher things in life and therefore I did not know of the options available. However, two thoughts were embedded in my mind. One was that progress in life is possible only through education. This understanding was drilled into me by my mother. The other was the habit of reading. In those days I would read anything that I could lay my hands on. Books really opened life up in front of me. While reading, it was indeed blissful to imagine that I was one of the characters in the story. My thoughts would wander and those were the moments I truly enjoyed in life.
Even during my childhood, I knew I would be doing plenty of traveling. I also knew that I would not be tied down to mundane office jobs in government departments, while everybody in my village was scouting for a government job. How did I know that I am going to travel a lot, even as a child? That was my strong subconscious mind working. And how did the subconscious mind know? Yes, it was fed by my dreams, encouraging thoughts and inspiring feelings.
Having lived more than four and a half decade, I am now fully convinced that it is your dreams and inspiring thoughts that make you what you are. How true is the adage; ‘I think, therefore I am.’ You think positive and you become good. If it is negativity that you court as a companion, then you will find life to be very difficult.
Here I would like to cite some instances of positive life responses. After completing my studies, I had joined a company based in North India for a sales job, which required me to extensively travel the length and breadth of the country. My travels would take me not only to cities, but also deep into the villages across the country. Very often, these travels were accomplished without any prior planning. Predominantly, I was traveling for situations such as tender openings, negotiations, payment collections, etc. A single trip would normally take minimum two weeks. I would travel during the night and work during the day. Most of the traveling used to be by train. In the early eighties, with limited trains and no automation, getting reservations at short notices were almost impossible. So, on many occasions I would be standing on a railway platforms with an unreserved ticket in hand, to board the train for an overnight journey. In most of the instances that I remember, I could travel in reserved compartments, sleeping on the berth. How did it all happen? Then, I used to think of it as luck. Now I am fully convinced that it was the result of the action of a strong positive subconscious mind, which evoked positive life response.
In the later part of my life, there have been some incidents that go to prove the strong impact of the subconscious mind. In 1998, I was hospitalized with Steven Johnson Syndrome, which was caused by the reaction of a medicine that I had taken (of course, based on the doctor’s prescription). With more than 20 per cent chances of mortality, I saw my skin, particularly on the abdomen side that included private parts, getting automatically cut and going dead, as the reaction was taking place. It required two major lengthy surgeries and more than 45 days of hospitalization to bring me back to normal. However, during that time, never did I suspect even once that I would die, even when blood was gushing out of my body as the result of skin rupturing. How could I confidently survive? I believe it was purely the result of the positivity of my thoughts.
More recently, while traveling with three of my friends, our car met with a major accident at Salem, Tamil Nadu, right in the middle of the night. Due to our driver dozing off, our car veered to the right, hit a culvert, overturned and fell into a marshy pond, some 25 feet deep. On waking up, we found that the car was completely upside down, deep in the slush with water gushing in! The first thought was that of impending death. But soon, somehow, I knew that I had to get out and I was sure that I would escape. That feeling got entrenched in my mind. It was indeed a miracle that four of us were able to come out of an overturned submerged car without a single bone getting broken! The next day, after seeing the mauled up car in the pond, everyone was asking, how many died? The very first feeling on meeting with the accident was fear. The fear of death! If it had stayed, I am sure I would have been dead! I solely attribute my escaping the accident to the feeling of confidence that came into me. The rest was pure technicality.
Coming back to entrepreneurship, I was able to face the difficulties as well as the frustrations with the same perspective that I had while facing the above events. Yes, we encounter difficulties and they are a part and parcel of life but that should not make you lead a meaningless life. I have always been very confident of my life and future.
With all kinds of experiences, Life still goes on. I do live a decent, eventful and joyous life. I am part of not only an entrepreneurial body, but also professional associations and social organizations. I have come to be known to many, and am able to chip in a thing or two for the needy. Some of my friends, who know my past, look at me and say, “God has been kind to you.” Yes indeed. God had been very kind to me. But it also is due to my positive, confident and powerful subconscious mind.
How does one come to such a strong committed feeling despite the many ups and downs? This is something that I want to write about. To explain this, let me go back a little to some of my earlier experiences.
Being from a village and from a middleclass background, I grew up in an atmosphere of limited opportunities. I was never exposed to many bigger/higher things in life and therefore I did not know of the options available. However, two thoughts were embedded in my mind. One was that progress in life is possible only through education. This understanding was drilled into me by my mother. The other was the habit of reading. In those days I would read anything that I could lay my hands on. Books really opened life up in front of me. While reading, it was indeed blissful to imagine that I was one of the characters in the story. My thoughts would wander and those were the moments I truly enjoyed in life.
Even during my childhood, I knew I would be doing plenty of traveling. I also knew that I would not be tied down to mundane office jobs in government departments, while everybody in my village was scouting for a government job. How did I know that I am going to travel a lot, even as a child? That was my strong subconscious mind working. And how did the subconscious mind know? Yes, it was fed by my dreams, encouraging thoughts and inspiring feelings.
Having lived more than four and a half decade, I am now fully convinced that it is your dreams and inspiring thoughts that make you what you are. How true is the adage; ‘I think, therefore I am.’ You think positive and you become good. If it is negativity that you court as a companion, then you will find life to be very difficult.
Here I would like to cite some instances of positive life responses. After completing my studies, I had joined a company based in North India for a sales job, which required me to extensively travel the length and breadth of the country. My travels would take me not only to cities, but also deep into the villages across the country. Very often, these travels were accomplished without any prior planning. Predominantly, I was traveling for situations such as tender openings, negotiations, payment collections, etc. A single trip would normally take minimum two weeks. I would travel during the night and work during the day. Most of the traveling used to be by train. In the early eighties, with limited trains and no automation, getting reservations at short notices were almost impossible. So, on many occasions I would be standing on a railway platforms with an unreserved ticket in hand, to board the train for an overnight journey. In most of the instances that I remember, I could travel in reserved compartments, sleeping on the berth. How did it all happen? Then, I used to think of it as luck. Now I am fully convinced that it was the result of the action of a strong positive subconscious mind, which evoked positive life response.
In the later part of my life, there have been some incidents that go to prove the strong impact of the subconscious mind. In 1998, I was hospitalized with Steven Johnson Syndrome, which was caused by the reaction of a medicine that I had taken (of course, based on the doctor’s prescription). With more than 20 per cent chances of mortality, I saw my skin, particularly on the abdomen side that included private parts, getting automatically cut and going dead, as the reaction was taking place. It required two major lengthy surgeries and more than 45 days of hospitalization to bring me back to normal. However, during that time, never did I suspect even once that I would die, even when blood was gushing out of my body as the result of skin rupturing. How could I confidently survive? I believe it was purely the result of the positivity of my thoughts.
More recently, while traveling with three of my friends, our car met with a major accident at Salem, Tamil Nadu, right in the middle of the night. Due to our driver dozing off, our car veered to the right, hit a culvert, overturned and fell into a marshy pond, some 25 feet deep. On waking up, we found that the car was completely upside down, deep in the slush with water gushing in! The first thought was that of impending death. But soon, somehow, I knew that I had to get out and I was sure that I would escape. That feeling got entrenched in my mind. It was indeed a miracle that four of us were able to come out of an overturned submerged car without a single bone getting broken! The next day, after seeing the mauled up car in the pond, everyone was asking, how many died? The very first feeling on meeting with the accident was fear. The fear of death! If it had stayed, I am sure I would have been dead! I solely attribute my escaping the accident to the feeling of confidence that came into me. The rest was pure technicality.
Coming back to entrepreneurship, I was able to face the difficulties as well as the frustrations with the same perspective that I had while facing the above events. Yes, we encounter difficulties and they are a part and parcel of life but that should not make you lead a meaningless life. I have always been very confident of my life and future.
With all kinds of experiences, Life still goes on. I do live a decent, eventful and joyous life. I am part of not only an entrepreneurial body, but also professional associations and social organizations. I have come to be known to many, and am able to chip in a thing or two for the needy. Some of my friends, who know my past, look at me and say, “God has been kind to you.” Yes indeed. God had been very kind to me. But it also is due to my positive, confident and powerful subconscious mind.
Monday, December 3, 2007
WHAT DOES SPIRITUALITY MEAN TO ME?
To me, spirituality is all about discovering oneself. In the process, one comes to realize the self-actualization that is taking place. The resulting bliss leads to seeing the God within.
Life to me had been an enduring experience. A middle class background with a clear focus created by the mother on the importance of education as the only means of survival, generated the fire in the belly to seek, to see, to learn and not to yield. Education led to career in technology marketing at the highest competitive level. Ever changing technology and the aggression that was required to conduct one’s profession for the achievement of targets on time, only increased the tumultuousness further.
Almost two and half decades of vocation, that of employment and entrepreneurship, created plenty of sediments of tension, stress and weariness in the body and mind which required careful cleansing. During the while, there had been many instances of one earning for peace, warmth and love. This had led to many books and preachings. Yogis, Seers and Counselors also came the way. Sometimes it helped and sometimes it didn’t. Often, confusion was the end product.
Marriage and children gave a sense of purpose and contentment. However, responsibility to the near family and to the secondary one of parents, siblings and kith, only increased the running further and one had to change the gear to overdrive mode often. Life continued. Many times, one felt the theory of Karma unfolding in front.
My reading habit began very early in life. Initially it was short stories and novels, later to poems and essays and thereafter to management and spirituality. Knowledge accumulation, career growth and practical wisdom resulted in the involvement in professional and social bodies and taking up the leadership in many of them. Gratification achieved therein balanced out with the stress created but one found oneself at some pedestal.
Focused reading of the simple interpretations of the philosophy of Advaita, the Upanishads and the Scriptures of various religions and traditions, though initially compounded the confusion, slowly began to result in clarity of understanding. And the self-discovery started, slowly, very slowly. Peace is slowly descending on me now. And the bliss is emerging.
Today I consecrate all my activities and decisions to the Devine. My focus and my prayers, I am sure, will lead me to find the Devine within.
Life to me had been an enduring experience. A middle class background with a clear focus created by the mother on the importance of education as the only means of survival, generated the fire in the belly to seek, to see, to learn and not to yield. Education led to career in technology marketing at the highest competitive level. Ever changing technology and the aggression that was required to conduct one’s profession for the achievement of targets on time, only increased the tumultuousness further.
Almost two and half decades of vocation, that of employment and entrepreneurship, created plenty of sediments of tension, stress and weariness in the body and mind which required careful cleansing. During the while, there had been many instances of one earning for peace, warmth and love. This had led to many books and preachings. Yogis, Seers and Counselors also came the way. Sometimes it helped and sometimes it didn’t. Often, confusion was the end product.
Marriage and children gave a sense of purpose and contentment. However, responsibility to the near family and to the secondary one of parents, siblings and kith, only increased the running further and one had to change the gear to overdrive mode often. Life continued. Many times, one felt the theory of Karma unfolding in front.
My reading habit began very early in life. Initially it was short stories and novels, later to poems and essays and thereafter to management and spirituality. Knowledge accumulation, career growth and practical wisdom resulted in the involvement in professional and social bodies and taking up the leadership in many of them. Gratification achieved therein balanced out with the stress created but one found oneself at some pedestal.
Focused reading of the simple interpretations of the philosophy of Advaita, the Upanishads and the Scriptures of various religions and traditions, though initially compounded the confusion, slowly began to result in clarity of understanding. And the self-discovery started, slowly, very slowly. Peace is slowly descending on me now. And the bliss is emerging.
Today I consecrate all my activities and decisions to the Devine. My focus and my prayers, I am sure, will lead me to find the Devine within.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
THE OTHER SIDE OF INNOVATION
My this blog is about the other side of innovation with particular reference to Information Technology. No doubt, in a globalized open economy, innovation plays a major role for companies to surge forward. The slogan today is “innovate or perish”. Research shows that the word ‘innovation’ is the highest used one by corporates in their reports and business communications.
For the IT industry, innovation is a continuous affair. The specifications of software, hardware and services keep changing. By the time an IT device is bought and installed, it becomes obsolete. If it were 2 GHz today, it would be 2.8 GHz tomorrow. If it were version 8 today, it would be version 9 tomorrow. To keep up with the constant innovation, people go for upgrades, and that continuously create hole in the pocket. Using the technological obsolescence alibi, technology companies arm-twist the users, and that hurts. Before taking the yield out a technology investment, a new one appears, creating incompatibility between the new and existing hardware, software and applications. The customers and the users have no option but to invest again, either to upgrade or to go for the new one. These hi-tech companies also play with each other in tandem, as complimentors. For e.g. when Intel Coprp launches a processor with a new technology, Microsoft company announces the incompatibility of the existing OS with the new one. So it is a new OS that the customer pays for and brings in. When the new OS comes, the existing application software needs to be upgraded so as to work with that. He invests again for the new version of the application software. Before he takes a breath, Intel is back again, with another GHz revolution. Innovation goes on. Investment too. The hole in the pocket becomes larger and larger
I am glad that the debate had begun. The stakeholders, management and the academics are asking questions now. The lead question is, where is the return on technology investment (ROTI)? Often companies realize that continuous investment in technology is not bringing in major tangible benefit in topline or bottomline, that is commensurate with the investment. Yes, it increases convenience and comfort and reduces form factor and size but does not impact much in the profit earning capability of the companies. Generally, the improvement in convenience and comfort make man only lazy and his dependence on technology is increased. Of course, technology moves things faster but so does it increase the stress factor.
We cannot stop the innovation from happening. But we should take a guarantee that the products, solutions and services that we buy must serve us steady for a considerable duration of time, without frequent major upgradations that require further investment on it. Organizations must get the full yield of the technology before it start to re-invest.
This really calls for the technology to mature so that it can serve long-term . The mute question is, will it ever happen in our time?
For the IT industry, innovation is a continuous affair. The specifications of software, hardware and services keep changing. By the time an IT device is bought and installed, it becomes obsolete. If it were 2 GHz today, it would be 2.8 GHz tomorrow. If it were version 8 today, it would be version 9 tomorrow. To keep up with the constant innovation, people go for upgrades, and that continuously create hole in the pocket. Using the technological obsolescence alibi, technology companies arm-twist the users, and that hurts. Before taking the yield out a technology investment, a new one appears, creating incompatibility between the new and existing hardware, software and applications. The customers and the users have no option but to invest again, either to upgrade or to go for the new one. These hi-tech companies also play with each other in tandem, as complimentors. For e.g. when Intel Coprp launches a processor with a new technology, Microsoft company announces the incompatibility of the existing OS with the new one. So it is a new OS that the customer pays for and brings in. When the new OS comes, the existing application software needs to be upgraded so as to work with that. He invests again for the new version of the application software. Before he takes a breath, Intel is back again, with another GHz revolution. Innovation goes on. Investment too. The hole in the pocket becomes larger and larger
I am glad that the debate had begun. The stakeholders, management and the academics are asking questions now. The lead question is, where is the return on technology investment (ROTI)? Often companies realize that continuous investment in technology is not bringing in major tangible benefit in topline or bottomline, that is commensurate with the investment. Yes, it increases convenience and comfort and reduces form factor and size but does not impact much in the profit earning capability of the companies. Generally, the improvement in convenience and comfort make man only lazy and his dependence on technology is increased. Of course, technology moves things faster but so does it increase the stress factor.
We cannot stop the innovation from happening. But we should take a guarantee that the products, solutions and services that we buy must serve us steady for a considerable duration of time, without frequent major upgradations that require further investment on it. Organizations must get the full yield of the technology before it start to re-invest.
This really calls for the technology to mature so that it can serve long-term . The mute question is, will it ever happen in our time?
Monday, November 19, 2007
KERALA AT THE END OF ANOTHER YEAR
As the year is slowly coming to a close, all around, I have been observing high level of complacence. In entrepreneurs and businessmen of the state, barring a few who are in sunrise industries such as real estate and retail, I do not see much enthusiasm. In the business front, there are many difficulties. In all, the situation is not very bright.
In Kerala, there is no ‘feel good’ factor there currently. And this is amidst a thriving economy, controlled inflation and a good monsoon at all India level. There is no comparison between the scenarios of India and Kerala. Why should this happen?
Frankly, I see is no governance happening here. The current Government that promised so much stability and growth, had failed miserably. The inner party rivalry, the corruption, the loose morale of political leaders etc makes matters worse. The bureaucracy, totally de-motivated, is inefficient. All these have led to a standstill situation in Kerala.
Industrialization of the state had suffered a lot. All through, the present incumbents in government had shown an attitude that was anti business. Even before projects are conceived, the message spreads around that it is going to be a failure. Such is our people's mentality. The Smart city project has taken 4 years to get signed. The Vallarpadom Super Container Terminal project inaugurated by our Prime Minister is yet to take off. FACT rejuvenation plans are lying at ‘as is where is’ level. Increasing power production and rapid creation of industrial parks are hanging. There is a clear-cut lack of leadership and vision in our state.
I have been in business in Kerala for the past 11 years. While I am not a gloom merchant, I must admit that I have not seen anything big and positive in the state’s industrial and economic front during the while. It is either rhetoric or gross inactivity.
I believe the State must take immediate steps to encourage entrepreneurship and privatization. We really need a ‘messiah’ now, around whom the state and its people can rally around. We need a proactive leadership.
Another year is going by without making any mark on Kerala. How long will we watch time go by like this?
In Kerala, there is no ‘feel good’ factor there currently. And this is amidst a thriving economy, controlled inflation and a good monsoon at all India level. There is no comparison between the scenarios of India and Kerala. Why should this happen?
Frankly, I see is no governance happening here. The current Government that promised so much stability and growth, had failed miserably. The inner party rivalry, the corruption, the loose morale of political leaders etc makes matters worse. The bureaucracy, totally de-motivated, is inefficient. All these have led to a standstill situation in Kerala.
Industrialization of the state had suffered a lot. All through, the present incumbents in government had shown an attitude that was anti business. Even before projects are conceived, the message spreads around that it is going to be a failure. Such is our people's mentality. The Smart city project has taken 4 years to get signed. The Vallarpadom Super Container Terminal project inaugurated by our Prime Minister is yet to take off. FACT rejuvenation plans are lying at ‘as is where is’ level. Increasing power production and rapid creation of industrial parks are hanging. There is a clear-cut lack of leadership and vision in our state.
I have been in business in Kerala for the past 11 years. While I am not a gloom merchant, I must admit that I have not seen anything big and positive in the state’s industrial and economic front during the while. It is either rhetoric or gross inactivity.
I believe the State must take immediate steps to encourage entrepreneurship and privatization. We really need a ‘messiah’ now, around whom the state and its people can rally around. We need a proactive leadership.
Another year is going by without making any mark on Kerala. How long will we watch time go by like this?
ENJOY THE JOURNEY
Rajagopal worked for the State Government for about thirty-four years. It was a career he started at the age of twenty-one as a lower division clerk (that was soon after he completed his graduation). Being from a lower middle class family, Rajagopal knew very well that other than his job, there is nothing for him to fall back on. The small promotions at long intervals that happened on his job had made him a Section Officer at the time of his retirement. He led a frugal life full of austerity. Prassanna, his wife and a homemaker, also adjusted herself to such a life. His children, a girl and a boy, were the apples of his eyes. Rajagopal worked hard and saved hard for the children. For their studies and clothes and books and health and all. Renjini was in the final semester in Govt. Engineering College and so was Ajay, in 4th semester. Rajagopal could not mop up sufficient funds to buy land and build a house, so they continued to live in a modest rented accommodation. He used to tell his wife often, “Do not worry Prassanna, our time will come. Renjini will become a Software Engineer and once she gets the job, we will find a very good match for her from a well to do family. And, then our Ajay too will become an Engineer. Once he gets the job, our sufferings would be over. We will definitely have our good time. We will travel to see the temples that you always wanted to visit”.
For Renjini’s marriage, he knew he could use the money that is accrued from his Provident Fund. Renjini got a job through campus selection and she was to start her job at the company headquarters at Bangalore. The day before Renjini was to proceed for Bangalore, Rajagopal developed severe chest pain. He was rushed to hospital but before reaching the hospital, he passed away of a massive heart attack.
Rajagopal died without realizing his dreams, though he was coming closer to it. He never had an opportunity to live lavishly and he only dreamt of the same. He always thought that after reaching the destination, he would start enjoying life. The ‘after’ never happened. His wife and children were crestfallen. They buried the noble soul full of unrealized aspirations. “What a pity!” everyone thought.
We see many Rajagopals amidst us. Poor souls, who haven’t got an opportunity to enjoy in life. Who would be waiting for the responsibilities to be fulfilled before they start enjoying life? People who forgot to live the life. Too bad!
What is your learning from Rajagopal’s story?
Yes, we must enjoy the journey of life, not only the destination. While destination is momentous, it is the journey that is very important. In fact, the journey is more important than the destination.
Take the case of Tensing and Hillary. After conquering Everest, which was their biggest dream in life, they did not and could not stay at the peak long enough to celebrate their achievement, for it was absolutely an unfriendly climate around. Yes, they had conquered Everest but really could not stay put to enjoy the conquest. This is what happens to most of the travelers. But, for Tensing & Hilary, the way to Everest had its own charm. One, it contained the tremendous feeling of being onto some big accomplishment. Second, the view of the mountain was fascinating. The view of the mighty Himalayas could transcend one’s mind and give him a feeling of fullness within. Though danger was hiding in every step, putting the foot forward was a joy, for it had a purpose and therefore it gave tremendous feelings!
The Indian philosophy advises one to do the Karma and not to worry for the results. In a way, it matches with the philosophy of enjoying the journey. Karma is paramount and the result would come. Similarly, journey is paramount and the destination would happen but it is not very significant. So, enjoy the journey!
How do we enjoy the journey? Journey has its hurry-burry nature, it is unsettling, and it is all about being on the move. It is tiring and it saps the energy and resources. Therefore most of us view it negatively. All right then, how does one enjoy a negative deed? It definitely needs an attitude. So, let us create a positive attitude towards journey that we do. Think of it as a big learning process. And also journey is forward seeking, activity centric and interactive (either with the fellow beings or with the nature) and lo, you will find the journey to be fun and positive!
There are many instances of us not reaching the destination that we intend to reach. And some times, we reach a different destination altogether. In both instances, there will not be much disappointment if you had enjoyed the journey. Not reaching the destination or a different destination do not matter much, if the journey is enjoyed well, that is.
See friends, it all depends on how we look at life. Are we viewing it with an eye of things happening sequentially and the end mattering more, or are we seeing with an outlook of all encompassing process, and enjoying the means? The former will make life look boring whereas the latter makes life enjoyable and transcending.
Friends, it is a choice that you make on life. It is all yours.
For Renjini’s marriage, he knew he could use the money that is accrued from his Provident Fund. Renjini got a job through campus selection and she was to start her job at the company headquarters at Bangalore. The day before Renjini was to proceed for Bangalore, Rajagopal developed severe chest pain. He was rushed to hospital but before reaching the hospital, he passed away of a massive heart attack.
Rajagopal died without realizing his dreams, though he was coming closer to it. He never had an opportunity to live lavishly and he only dreamt of the same. He always thought that after reaching the destination, he would start enjoying life. The ‘after’ never happened. His wife and children were crestfallen. They buried the noble soul full of unrealized aspirations. “What a pity!” everyone thought.
We see many Rajagopals amidst us. Poor souls, who haven’t got an opportunity to enjoy in life. Who would be waiting for the responsibilities to be fulfilled before they start enjoying life? People who forgot to live the life. Too bad!
What is your learning from Rajagopal’s story?
Yes, we must enjoy the journey of life, not only the destination. While destination is momentous, it is the journey that is very important. In fact, the journey is more important than the destination.
Take the case of Tensing and Hillary. After conquering Everest, which was their biggest dream in life, they did not and could not stay at the peak long enough to celebrate their achievement, for it was absolutely an unfriendly climate around. Yes, they had conquered Everest but really could not stay put to enjoy the conquest. This is what happens to most of the travelers. But, for Tensing & Hilary, the way to Everest had its own charm. One, it contained the tremendous feeling of being onto some big accomplishment. Second, the view of the mountain was fascinating. The view of the mighty Himalayas could transcend one’s mind and give him a feeling of fullness within. Though danger was hiding in every step, putting the foot forward was a joy, for it had a purpose and therefore it gave tremendous feelings!
The Indian philosophy advises one to do the Karma and not to worry for the results. In a way, it matches with the philosophy of enjoying the journey. Karma is paramount and the result would come. Similarly, journey is paramount and the destination would happen but it is not very significant. So, enjoy the journey!
How do we enjoy the journey? Journey has its hurry-burry nature, it is unsettling, and it is all about being on the move. It is tiring and it saps the energy and resources. Therefore most of us view it negatively. All right then, how does one enjoy a negative deed? It definitely needs an attitude. So, let us create a positive attitude towards journey that we do. Think of it as a big learning process. And also journey is forward seeking, activity centric and interactive (either with the fellow beings or with the nature) and lo, you will find the journey to be fun and positive!
There are many instances of us not reaching the destination that we intend to reach. And some times, we reach a different destination altogether. In both instances, there will not be much disappointment if you had enjoyed the journey. Not reaching the destination or a different destination do not matter much, if the journey is enjoyed well, that is.
See friends, it all depends on how we look at life. Are we viewing it with an eye of things happening sequentially and the end mattering more, or are we seeing with an outlook of all encompassing process, and enjoying the means? The former will make life look boring whereas the latter makes life enjoyable and transcending.
Friends, it is a choice that you make on life. It is all yours.
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