Written on Monday, November 22, 2010 by Siddharth PV
A LEADER'S PRAYER
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* Adapted from "An Administrator's Prayer", Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb, 1957 Grant me the self-awareness to know honestly what I am, what I can do, and what I cannot;
Grant me the judgement to channel my energies into those avenues which best utilize my abilities and do not require talents which I do not possess;
Grant me the wisdom to admit error cheerfully and learn from my experience, that I may grow and develop and avoid repetition of mistakes;
Grant me humility to learn from others, even though they be younger, less experienced, or of humbler station than I;
Grant me courage to make decisions whenever they are necessary and to void rashness when they are not;
Grant me the sensitivity to judge the reactions of others that I may modify my actions to meet the needs of those affected;
Grant me the consideration to recognize the worth of each individual, and to respect all those with whom I have contact, neither stifling their development nor exalting myself at their expense;
Grant me the perspicacity to acknowledge that I can be no more effective than my subordinates enable me to be, and to deal with them so that they can help me by helping themselves;
Grant me the tolerance to recognize mistakes as a cost of true learning and to stand behind my subordinates, accepting my responsibility for their actions;
Grant me the insight to develop a personal philosophy, that my life may have more meaning and satisfaction and that I may avoid capricious action under the pressures of expediency;
Grant me the patience to live realistically with my circumstances, striving always for the better, but recognizing the perils of too rapid or too drastic change;
Grant me all these things, dear Lord, that I may live a more useful life, through serving my fellow men, and, through them serve you.
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Written on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 by Siddharth PV
From the 'Speaking Tree' Column in the Times of India on Saturday Nov 6, 2010
A Beginner's Mind - Marguerite Theophil
http://tinyurl.com/2vpojrd
Some Excerpts:
* Shoshin, a concept in Zen Buddhism meaning beginner's mind, refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when learning, even when studying at an advanced level.
* People get impatient with their slowness in figuring out something different; or they cannot bear to display their own early incompetence, that is so necessary before one can get better.
* 'I know' attitude - A friend humorously yet perceptively called it "the point of know return".
* Shunryu Suzuki's explanation, captures it best: "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few."
* "Don't-know is the warrior's wisdom." At crucial moments, it can help you take a step back and allow you to respond to the situation as it truly is. Beginner's mind can keep you open to new possibilities and break old habits of responding, taking you closer to what you truly want.
The idea behind this approach is that you take all of the things you know – your expertise, opinions, reason and logic, even your cherished beliefs – and you put them all away.
Notice: you don't throw it all away; you just 'empty your pockets' of them for a while. Later you can put them all back in. The thing to understand is that there is as important a place in our lives for "I don't know", as there is for "I know".
Most of the time what we 'know' are our assumptions of what might possibly happen, or experience and judgements about similar situations, or conclusions we came to on previous occasions.
But real learning takes hold in the here-and-now.
It happens in the moments of fumbling, in the flashes of success, in the natural plateaus we mistake for 'nothing happening', and in progression of skill and competence as we plod on. Focus on either the past, as in "Oh but i learnt this or that so much faster", or the future, even surprisingly in the much-valued goal setting process, as in "I need to get really good at this by this date", often can and does create mental obstacles for us.
To cultivate beginner's mind, some things we are invited to do are – let go of old stories; set aside expertise and status; take one step at a time; immerse yourself fully in the moment; focus more on questions than answers; fall down seven times, get up eight.
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Written on Monday, October 18, 2010 by Siddharth PV
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.\
Explore.
Dream.
Discover.
- Mark Twain
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Written on Saturday, October 16, 2010 by Siddharth PV
An interesting post from Seth Godin
Mentors provide bespoke guidance. They take a personal interest in you. It's customized, rare and expensive.
Heroes live their lives in public, broadcasting their model to anyone who cares to look.
The internet has created a long tail of heroes. There are tens of thousands of musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, social leaders, politicians (okay, maybe not thousands of these), coders and colleagues to find and emulate. WWHD. What would my hero do?
I find heroes everywhere I look. I find people who speak to me over my shoulder, virtual muses, who encourage me to solve a problem or deal with a situation the way they would. This is thrilling news, because there are so many heroes, so freely available, whenever we need them.
For all the people out there using the fact that Jeff Bezos (or Jacqueline Novogratz or Husain Abdullah or Chris Anderson or Anne Jackson) won't be their mentor as an excuse for inaction, there are a dozen who realize that their example is enough.
Like a custom made suit, a mentor is a fine thing to have if you can find or afford it. But for the rest of us, heroes will have to do.
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Written on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 by Siddharth PV
1. Life is a marathon..
You have to realise that whatever choices you make today, they will affect your long term in some way.
So you always need to have a long term perspective.
2. Its not about how many projects you executed..
What matters is the number of projects you executed well.
So, you might pick up a single project at a time - but make sure you execute it well.
No point in picking up multiple projects at once.
3. Think Macro and also execute micro..
Have the ability to think at a macro level - look at the bigger picture and take decisions that will lead to long term gains.
But at the same time, have the ability to execute at the micro level.
Develop the ability to do both simultaneously.
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Written on Sunday, September 12, 2010 by Siddharth PV
Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities.
~ Norman Vincent Peale
Great minds discuss ideas
Average minds discuss events
Small minds discuss people
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
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Written on Friday, July 16, 2010 by Siddharth PV
WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
- Rabindranath Tagore
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Written on Sunday, July 04, 2010 by Siddharth PV
So how does one go about networking? Of course - by getting to know people.
And what is the best way to get to know people?
I am told that 'talking to people' is a good way. But on second thoguhts, are conversations/discussions compltely reliable?
Cant conversations be 'engineered' to suit the need?
Haven't we all been exposed to the ease with which one can 'lead' a discussion to achieve pre-determined outcomes (a desired 'image', a perceived 'persona', etc)?
Of course - this is not to say that conversations are futile - just that they may not be the best solution..
Instead, how about sharing common experiences?
What if you find yourself in the same situation as someone else? Wont the other person's response tell you a lot about his nature/perspectives vis-a-vis your nature?
Working with someone on solving a common problem could tell you a lot about the person's attitudes, approaches, strengths and weaknesses.
Most importantly, if you are put into a unforseen situation with someone, aren't the chances higher that evryone will react in their most natural ways possible?
This will effectively highlight people's inherent natures as they wont have the opportunity to 'cook up' the 'right' responses.. Most likely - people will end up just 'being themselves' and this will help in really understanding them better.. In fact, such experiences could end up completely changing people's pre-decided / pre-determined 'images'...
And this would help one chose his networks better!
So, having understood this, one could go about facilitating his 'networking' in 2 ways:
1. Pray and hope that he gets a chance to share many interesting 'experiences' with all the folks in the MBA program..
2. One could actually 'design' a way to bring about such experiences.
So here's to looking forward to successfully organising/planning many interesting 'experiences' in the times to come..
I am sure they will help me build better networks in the long term
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Written on Saturday, June 12, 2010 by Siddharth PV
"Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible."
T.E. Lawrence
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of hi...gh achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt
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Written on Wednesday, June 02, 2010 by Siddharth PV
I just saw the first 15-20 minutes of Wake UP Sid - the movie and something which struck me instantly about Sid's character was the simplicity in his decision making. He seemed like someone who has kept life really uncomplicated for himself. No wonder then that he was able to take decisions so easily. And at some level, I did feel very very envious of him. I look at myself in the past few weeks and I see that my thinking has been becoming more and more muddled - my decision making more and more convoluted - and it wasn't this way at all times. Surely something needs to be put back in order.
Frankly, I do not want to get into the nitty-gritty of whether Sid's attitude towards life was correct – to each his own, I say. What I want to focus on is what made it possible for Sid to take the decisions so easily? And how can I go (back) to such a state?
The reason that Sid could take those decisions so fluently was probably that he had his motivations absolutely clear. He knew himself and what he wanted very well. As a result, he could act in accordance with his heart rather easily. And acting in accordance with one's heart / one's basic motivations is one of the most liberating experiences. If you are truly acting in accordance with your heart, you act without the overhanging sword of any doubt. You give it your all because the motivation for the action comes from one's basic nature and motivations – it is not driven by any false pretenses, external influences, etc.
Now, when I look back at my recent actions/decisions and single out the decisions / actions which I was not completely satisfied with – I realize that those decisions/actions were very highly influenced by my environment. That is probably the reason that I have not been feeling too happy about those decisions/actions.
It's time to set this right. After all, if I don't clear up this surrounding clutter (environmental influences) right away, I will probably lose touch with my basic motivations (typical case of the signal getting lost in too much noise).
--
Of course – I am not saying that one should not listen to others' inputs (opinions / views / reviews). That would be a folly. But one must be on guard and avoid these inputs from becoming unconditional influences (sometimes its ends up being that way out of sheer repetitiveness).
In fact, I believe it is important to seek feedback. But one must take it objectively and not let it become an overarching dictat.
Posted in
decisions,
feedback,
influences,
keep it simple,
to be yourself,
wake up sid
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