It was an overcast summer day and the Matheran air announced HORSE POOP with nonchalance. The Toy train had just chugged to a stop and as I shuffled my feet on the red stone below and walked along, there were old uninhabited and derelict buildings. One of them had a marking out in red as well: ‘Abandoned’. It seemed like a shout out to the world. In clear bold red letters.
I paused for a minute to imagine the fanfare with which this structure must have sprung to life. Perhaps there was a ribbon to cut and cakes to distribute. Surely a plan and purpose? Of course, there must have been government approval. Taxes must have been paid. Papers must have moved from desk to desk.
Maybe there were meetings here. Decisions taken. New babies or old hands mourned. Gossip. Sniffles. Smiles. Life in all its ordinary elements, perhaps.
And yet, that building stands barren and broken today. With cobwebs keeping company to the peeling paint. I wonder which corner the dreams and purpose hid themselves in. Perhaps it didnt transfer from one generation to another. Lost in translation.
Or maybe it just ran out of steam in the maker’s mind. The idea had died but the building remained as proof that there lived this idea once upon a time.
For some good reason, somebody gave it that public certificate too and painted “ABANDONED” on it. Just in case, someone mistook it for a space that awaits its owner who has gone to Nerul to fetch some water. Bright red letters painted with care. It is not a random street sprawl. Someone took care to write that.
As I stood there, two horses, one named Tom and another, Jerry, passed me by along swishing their tails and dumping some poop. Those swishing tails knocked on the doors of my memory.
For some reason, many aspects that I started off with much hope and purpose before losing steam, streamed by.
Projects. Hobbies. Books. People. Resolves. Habits. Work projects. And much else. Many of them stood there without closure. Perhaps I should declare ones that I want to shut down and write them away like Google does. Abandoned and declared so.
And for other ones, that I still have some hope, perhaps I should dust the cobwebs, clear up the undergrowth and restart.
Restart.
One more time. Reading. Laughing. Friendships. Writing..
Ah! writing! I begin.
It was an overcast day and the Matheran air announced HORSE POOP with nonchalance. The Toy train had just chugged to a stop and as I shuffled my feet on the red stone below and walked along, there were old uninhabited and derelict buildings.
We are five weeks into the new financial year. The year is still young and plans are afoot to make this year count. Here are some field notes from numerous interactions with people on the ground. It appears simple, but it is where I find people trip. I call this one Success Musings for I have made a success formula of sorts from Murakami‘s words. It is rather simple. But it works!
Success = Talent X Focus X Endurance.
Most of us falter and miss reaching the heights excellence in our chosen domains not for want of talent. The hurdle that trips us is ‘focus’. Or the lack of it. The modern day world tempts us with so many options. We pick up the phone more often than we realise. Often, for no legitimate reason at all. We have so many inviting options and distractions that can take us farther away from what we have to focus on and do. You can read Nicholas Carr‘s The Shallows and Cal Newport‘s Deep Work.
Less is more! The lesser we have on our plates, the more we are able to pay attention to what’s on them. Keeping everything that distracts from the core subject, out of the frame, adds so much more to what’s in the frame. That lesson from photography 101, is much treasured.
The second aspect of endurance requires us to stay with it for long periods of time. That involves toiling away when no one is looking with nothing possibly to show for all the toil. That is a lot of boring work with the mind screaming for easier options that beckon. Those who run long distances are familiar with these statements that pop up in the mind: “Why? Why am I doing this? I would rather be relaxing on a Sunday morning than sweating it out like this”! Well, success lies beyond such thoughts and after we wade through these. Endurance often is a mind game.
In every interview, I’m asked what’s the most important quality a novelist has to have. It’s pretty obvious: talent. No matter how much enthusiasm and effort you put into writing if you totally lack literary talent you can forget about being a novelist. This is more of a prerequisite than a necessary quality. If you don’t have any fuel, even the best car won’t run. The problem with talent, though, is that in most cases the person involved can’t control its amount or quality. You might find the amount isn’t enough and you want to increase it, or you might try to be frugal and make it last longer, but in neither case do things work out that easily. Talent has a mind of its own and wells up when it wants to, and once it dries up, that’s it. Of course, certain poets and rock singers whose genius went out in a blaze of glory—people like Schubert and Mozart, whose dramatic early deaths turned them into legends—have a certain appeal, but for the vast majority of us, this isn’t the model we follow.
If I’m asked what the next most important quality is for a novelist, that’s easy too: focus—the ability to concentrate all your limited talents on whatever’s critical at the moment. Without that, you can’t accomplish anything of value, while, if you can focus effectively, you’ll be able to compensate for an erratic talent or even a shortage of it. I generally concentrate on work for three or four hours every morning. I sit at my desk and focus totally on what I’m writing. I don’t see anything else, I don’t think about anything else. Even a novelist who has a lot of talent and a mind full of great new ideas probably can’t write a thing if, for instance, he’s suffering a lot of pain from a cavity. The pain blocks concentration. That what I mean when I say that without focus you cant accomplish anything.
…
After focus, the next most important thing for a novelist is, hands down, endurance. If you concentrate on writing three or four hours a day and feel tired after a week of this, you’re not going to be able to write a long work. What’s needed for a writer of fiction—at least one who hopes to write a novel—is the energy to focus every day for half a year, or a year, two years.
…
Fortunately, these two disciplines—focus and endurance—are different from talent, since they can be acquired and sharpened through training. You’ll naturally learn both concentration and endurance when you sit down every day at your desk and train yourself to focus on one point. This is a lot like the training of muscles I wrote of a moment ago. You have to continually transmit the object of your focus to your entire body, and make sure it thoroughly assimilates the information necessary for you to write every single day and concentrate on the work at hand. And gradually you’ll expand the limits of what you’re able to do. Almost imperceptibly you’ll make the bar rise. This involves the same process as jogging every day to strengthen your muscles and develop a runner’s physique. Add a stimulus and keep it up. And repeat. Patience is a must in this process, but I guarantee the results will come.
In private correspondence the great mystery writer Raymond Chandler once confessed that even if he didn’t write anything, he made sure he sat down at his desk every single day and concentrated. I understand the purpose behind his doing this. This is the way Chandler gave himself the physical stamina a professional writer needs, quietly strengthening his willpower. This sort of daily training was indispensable to him.
…
Most of what I know about writing I’ve learned through running every day. These are practical, physical lessons. How much can I push myself? How much rest is appropriate—and how much is too much? How far can I take something and still keep it decent and consistent? When does it become narrow-minded and inflexible? How much should I be aware of the world outside, and how much should I focus on my inner world? To what extent should I be confident in my abilities, and when should I start doubting myself? I know that if I hadn’t become a long-distance runner when I became a novelist, my work would have been vastly different. How different? Hard to say. But something would definitely have been different
.…
Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you’re going to while away the years, it’s far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and I believe running helps you do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that’s the essence of running and a metaphor for life and for me, for writing as well.
Murakami has been a personal favourite. I have poured over these lines and couldn’t resist sharing them here. Running as a metaphor for life has held strong for me. Before we go forward, may I turn around and ask you, what’s your metaphor for life? That’s one place where your own success formula can emerge!
So, where do we start?
The two circles
For starters, writing down goals helps. Broad long term goals are good to write down. They serve as a reference point to what you want to do. A year is a good timeline to have. Arriving at what these could be tricky. It is best done in conversation with someone we trust. A good friend who refrains from advice but helps evolve a choice set, options and leave the deciding to us is great to have. An executive coach helps with just that.
“In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.”
Robert A. Heinlein
Once the “what” is sorted, going about getting it is where focus and determination help. Every time we stretch a muscle, it hurts. But it is in the stretch, pain and challenge that learning and growth happens. It is about faltering, picking oneself up and continuing to work on.
There are people who falter on the ‘What’. That is, people who miss out on evolving choices about what they should be working on. They find themselves bored at work and devoid of purpose.
And there are people who falter at the ‘How’. These are people who have evolved a few things for themselves. But then, it is in focus and endurance that the faultlines show. That requires a different working altogether.
So where do you start?
Getting the ‘what’ out of the way is always a good start. “What all do I want to really do?”, is a tough question to answer! A good conversation that will help clarify options and choices sets it up nicely.
Pro tip: Please make a point to write it down. It helps! Just having it written down somewhere is a start that can give you momentum action. That is a good start to evolving your own success formula!
A couple of years ago, I stood in Kathmandu’s famous Swayambunath temple. I stood transfixed, besotted by all it offered. Of particular interest was a stellar set of prayer wheels. They were exquisite and seemed to offer something deeper and more joyful than what was apparent.
I watched in quiet awe as people came by to spin the wheel, reciting something quick and muted. The older folk turned it with gentle ease and with a ready rhythm backed by an effortless flow. I stood there for a long time. Taken by the magic of it all.
There is a reason why I think of that now.
A few days ago, I was in Kolkata interacting with some bloggers there. Friends at Blogadda were hosting a meeting and I was passing by and happening to have to time at hand. It was delectable. Both the conversation and the consequent thoughts that it has sparked off. I shared some of my views there and the kind folks there were kind enough to stay put and listen. Some of them reached out to stay connected after the event! Which left me smiling.
Ever since, ‘blogging’ has been on my mind, wondering if I could have been more pointed and coherent.
For, to me blogs are special. They offer the scale and opportunity to thoughts and expressions. Blogging has had a profound impact on my life. So much so, that I could go out on a limb and proclaim that it aided in changing the course of my life.
Here are some reflections on my journey of blogging. Five points. Not much I think. Top five, if you will.
1. Blogging is a craft. People excel in a craft because they love a craft. Awesome bloggers that I know, publish content because they love doing so. While their voice and points of view get heard, it is a relentless discipline at getting better at it, that rests beneath. They treat blogging with respect and intensity. A certain sense of joy and deep value that passionate practitioners of any craft can relate to.
2. Getting the basics right is such an important facet of any picking up a craft. The basics of blogging, in my opinion, revolve around creating good content and finding a way of reaching it to people. Now, ‘good content’ in itself lends itself well to a long conversation. But the idea is this: Content is key. Statistics on the number of hits, where the hits come from, at what time they come etc are incidental. Focusing on getting better at putting the message across makes a substantial difference. You become a great batsman by watching the ball and spending time at the nets. Not by staring at the scoreboard.
3. Participating and building community conversations matter. Making friends via blogs is a natural consequence. The bounty of friends that I have made just because my blogs have been around for a while is a true bounty. Perhaps bounty with a capital B! Blogging is about people and conversation.
I have enjoyed growing with a set of bloggers. Going far beyond knowing them through their blogs and being present when they turned a new page. Grooved by passion and polished by time, this intimacy has evolved beyond the URL. A blessing that is so rich, that it stays outside my limited capabilities of describing it.
4. Responses to posts and ideas over all these years have varied. Swinging from idolatry to the downright dismissive, teaching me a thing or two in the process. The famous lines from Kipling’s ‘If’ has much mindshare now:
“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same…”
To be equanimous to comments and responses after I hit ‘Publish’ has been one huge piece of learning. Blogging lends itself well to comments and staying calm help.
People who read a blog in the initial years happen to be friends and relatives. People who are generally of the kind kind. A heap of good comments can show up every time you published. I learnt it the hard way, that it’s so easy to get swayed by it. I have one piece of advice: Don’t! Keep working on the craft. If you are into writing, do read this book by Stephen King.
5. After you have put down Stephen King, do make it a point to read other people’s blogs. The better ones. The getting better ones. The ones that you disagree with. The ones with a point of view. The ones with a flourish in language. Whatever. Do read.
For reading helps in finding inspiration and establishing a connection. These connections and inspirations span generations and geography. But present an interweave that goes beyond the obvious. And in a good way, will lead you to stay curious. In the present day templatised world, staying curious can sometimes make all the difference!
So there, those are my top five reflections on blogging.
Now, back to the prayer wheel.
The prayer wheel is profound at many levels, as I discovered. The prayer wheel is spun with a meditative stance. You stay focused and get better at it. There are several beliefs and practices that surround Prayer Wheels. There is one that hugs my mind, though. The Tibetan tradition has a practice ‘of dedicating any accumulated merits that one may have gathered during practice to the benefits of all sentient beings‘.
That to me is at the centre of it all.
To share a point of view, with love and a degree of compassion is an opportunity that is available to everyone with a blog. The choices, of course, are ours to make.
When this image first landed on my phone via a Whatsapp group, as a sarcastic take on the state on the lives of a few people, it evoked a chuckle as some smart images do. After all, aren’t these triumvirate narratives dominating connected lives?!
Do you have Wifi connectivity?
How good is bandwidth?
How strong is your battery?
These questions hold answers that determine how good a connected experience is going to be! So much so, these have become hygiene.
But in minutes, something else happened. A metaphor jumped out from the image. Arent these very good pointers to determine life success in itself, in the new connected world and beyond? These were perhaps relevant even when technology didnt become a mainstay in our lives.
Many years ago, I recall reading Stephen Covey’s “Clock & Compass” metaphor. The Compass gives direction and the clock helps us stay the course on time. It is a powerful metaphor. That metaphor continue to be timeless and relevant.
Perhaps a new age kid will see more meaning in Wifi, Bandwidth and Battery than in the Clock and the Compass! Perhaps. That brings me to the questions that we perhaps need to ask ourselves in the connected world and beyond.
a. Wifi is magical, isnt it? It helps you stay mobile, yet stay connected to the whole world. A gateway to the far seas and near lands. A better connection means a far better experience.
A network of people being more powerful than individual nodes has emerged as not only an oft repeated narrative, it is simply too powerful a narrative to miss. Staying connected to this network, cultivating relationships through conversations and exchange is so key. Perhaps it is time to take a pause and ask the Question #1: “What am I doing to build connections? Perhaps the question has a different ring to it if worded “Why must the people that I seek to connect to, at all care about connecting with me?”
b. Bandwidth is a factor that determines the quality of most online experiences. The internet bandwidth and also the capabilities of the device to process all the bandwidth. Amongst the many downsides of the connected world, the surfeit of data and stimuli that come our way, ranks amongst the highest. Am I connected to the right folks across boundaries? People who live at the intersection of generosity, expertise and learning.
Increasingly, the inner bandwidth to process these has become so key. Cutting through all the noise outside and inside and being able to recognize patters and living fully in the moment is so key! Self awareness and the ability to dig deep beyond easy surface level awareness distinguishes the outstanding leader from the average one. Question #2:So, when was the last time I invested in increasing network and processing bandwidth? What did I do?
c. The third aspect is the sheer energy to go on and on! The world is a small place and it never stops. To engage in this kind of a world requires energy levels of the highest order. A healthy diet, physical exercise, and sufficient rest are all important components to keep our batteries charged over sustained periods of time. A poor battery life can bring to naught any and all advantage that may come from strong connectivity and good bandwidth! Question #3: What am I doing to keep my energy levels up?
Someone said, if you don’t practice good habits consciously, the bad ones creep in unconsciously. If our lives don’t have significant plans for each of the three questions, we may not miss the opportunity of thriving in the new networked era, we perhaps are setting ourselves up for disaster.
The next time, these symbols show up on your device, remember to ask yourself how you, the person holding the device is faring on these!
There are a zillion things that you do, that could serve as an inspiration to someone to get start and it would be lovely if you could share. Would love to hear.
That title could be misleading. Let me hurry and add, almost a month ago I was in Berlin. At thisSocial Business Conference . While we got to share our story, it was interesting to get a perspective of how organisations in Europe and America seemed to be faring on Social Media. It appears that most of us are on the same boat! 🙂 More on that later.
I have had numerous conversations on Enterprise Collaboration with hordes of people over the last few years on this topic. Every conversation has left me thirsty for more. This conference was no different. It gave a key-hole into whats happening in different organisations in different continents but more importantly triggered a few thoughts on what we perhaps could do. I have always held conferences that did precisely in great stead. All the sharing that takes place is extremely contextual but to craft an action plan to suit my context is a fun-filled challenge.
As I sit with all my notes from the conference and think here are some ‘thoughts’ (random ones) that stand out.
1. Most organisations that are in the same sea, as far as Social Collaboration is concerned. Some are ahead, some behind. The seas are rough and there is no sight of land. Yet, everybody is in this passionate mode of search and discovery! Ok. So much for metaphors.
2. A majority of people who came in for the conference were either from Internal communication, IT or Social Media / collaboration. Folks from HR / change management seemed a pronounced minority. Introduction of such technology is about change management and OD as well. The absence of ‘Change’ people by itself tells a story! ( I was reading this , ‘change management’ or rather a lack of it, stood out as a hypotheses)
3. One of the answers that I have been searching for, out of my own curiosity, is this: Who is asking for these social tools in an enterprise? In this conference, the answers were mixed but there also was a preponderance towards “our IT team has found an interest in this”. (The more I think of social tools, in particular, the more I realise the need for stoking this conversation and seeding the idea in different groups outside of IT as well. Collaboration starts before the cradle!
4. Conversations around Social and Social Tools have a tendency to meander around the features, the plausible benefits the tool could bring and the good that would arise out of using that tool / technology. The other conversation that occasionally pops up, but usually a very intense conversation, is one that focuses on the culture and context. Organisations like MAN, Ikea, Novozymes and others had me go wide eyed when they shared stories of culture and community being the central themes on which Social Collaboration rides on.
5. If there is one fundamental shift that I have learnt to embrace in my mind at the end of this conference it is this : Images score over letters. Video score over paragraphs! The importance of video and the dominance that it has ( and consequently, the hold it would have on the future ) was something that I have read about and heard different people speak. But after this conference, I am a convert.
6. Players in the Social arena including Jive, Tibbr, Zyncro, Yammer and others were all there. Each has a niche and features that can dazzle a keen eye. Some are better than the others and am not going any further on that. For now. AND, the struggle to build adoption and make this a way of life seems to be universal. Ultimately, it is not the tool. It is in how and what we want to use it in.
7. At the core of making it work in various organisations, seemed to be weaving it into mainstream ways of work ( and not as an ‘optional extra’). Easier said than done but all it takes is some imagination. And that is something that was a common thread across all the ‘success’ stories. The use of ‘badges’ to incentivise the use of such systems were also showcased by a few other peers. I have had misgivings of that approach, but it seems to have worked for a few organisations.
8. The other learning that sits pretty in my head now is that Enterprise Collaboration System have a long gestation period before pay offs. Assuming that people will take to it because of the pervasiveness of ‘Facebook’ and ‘twitter’ etc outside the firewall is disproportionately erroneous. There needs to be several concerted coordinated ways of weaving this into work and helping people embrace a new way of working. Yes, it’s a new way of working. Not another initiative. And no, there is no such thing as ‘over communication’!
9. It was super fun to anchor a session as well. And oh yes, I loved the conference format. I have attended several conferences, but the opportunities to learn through and from interactions with each other was woven into the format seamlessly here! It was good fun. Many congratulations to the WE-Connect team!
10. Meeting all the wonderful people including Philipp Rosenthal (pictured in action above) , Frank Hatzack, Nathan Bricklin, John Stepper, Bonnie Cheuk, Paivi Raity, Wolfgang Jastrowski,Edward Krebs, Cecilia Scolaro, Bryan Barringer and all others were all superlative in sharing their thoughts either from the stage or at their world café break out areas or at the breaks for tea! I am making a grave mistake here by mentioning a few here and not mentioning many. Its been a month and I am not getting any younger. My ageing memory plays effortless truant. There were several others and most of them are here in this Twitter List! I cant thank them enough for the sharing.
Now there remains a horde of things to be done! Armed with the new friendships and ideas, there is adjusting of the sails and more work to be done. As always, am in the market for conversation and ideas! 🙂
It was perhaps one of the fastest of weeks with so much of work ( & misery).At work, well, the uncertainty & pulls and pressures of corporate life suddenly hastened to take its complete hold and toll.It isn’t easy spending 14 + hours on a daily basis for as many days as the week has.Shrug !Shrug !
Missed some bill payments.Paid some fines because of the misses.I still haven’t figured, why I keep things for the last day, knowing fully well, that I am prone to miss deadlines.So upset and cross with myself.By the way, on a different note, paid some real heavy taxes to the government.Wondering why it isnt any value at all. That money would probably be spent on a government minister’s fancy car or his sons underwear. Or whatever.
Havent accomplished half of what I had planned to do.Sometimes, when the lousy weeks come in at you, they come in so much of a series that it bowls you over.
Saturday, I had a bike crash.
Well, another bike crashed into me. Well, it was my mistake as I failed to signal that I was taking a turn. Well, actually, I was in two minds if I were to take the turn or take the next one. Well, actually, I did not know my way.
Net result, a young man crashed into me. The abuses started flowing.For a moment, for a fleeting moment, there was a thought to switch on the indicator and claim that I was not at fault.Something inside said NO.Parked my bike and, profusely and (sincerely) apologized. The rider picked himself from the ground, and came charging “What bloody sorry?”
“Sorry”.“Are you alright. Do we need to see a doctor”
A couple of minutes of speaking and stating that I was ready to help out in whatever manner, he smiled and said, “Its ok, I’ll manage”.
Me: “Am sorry.Is there some damage to the bike?” He didn’t even look at the bike. He: Am ok.Don’t worry carry on. You should have indicated…I couldn’t stop suddenly” Me: I should have.Am really sorry.I am kind of new to this part of town He:(Smiles & waves )
As I drove from there, a bit shaken, at the first bike crash in so many years of riding, my mind raced back to the fleeting thought of switching on the indicator and after the guy was down.I felt my stomach churn.Was it me ?
Thankfully, that thought was only as fleeting as it could get. Thankfully, I hadn’t stayed on to that thought. Thankfully, I said “Sorry”. I could atleast get to see the guy smile, when we left that scene. It was a sad event though, for many an onlooker who had expected a scuffle of sorts. A friend later said, “Thankfully, that guy was on a bike. Imagine if he was on a four wheel drive”.
The positives.Met a friend and her entire family after years.Felt good.Caught up with a former colleague.Watched a SPBconcert on TV.Planned something for Gandhi Jayanti (will write about it tomorrow).And paid to attend a training program for the next week !
The last three lines, wiped out all the sweat and the sorrow of all previous lines in this post.
In more ways than one, the week that was significant !
Uncertainty at work, killed possibilities of productive growth and pathforward.I hope the guys up there have some understanding of this and ensure that things are set up properly, and the stage is set for big battles.Sabre rattling can cause the rank and file to be unnerved and unenthused !Somebody said, the corner room needs a campaign manager.Well ! Huh !
Some firm resolutions & actions from the personal side, made this week suddenly ‘productive’ !I fixed some tax issues.Insurance issues.Bank visits and related rig morale.Two public sector banks. One visit went like this.
Me:I have an account with you for a year and half, and am yet to get the promised ATM card.
Customer ‘SERVICE’ Rep” :Without looking up. Am busy today. Come on a week day, at 2.30 PM.
Me:I work far away from here and I cant travel all the way to get an ATM card. (I didn’t want to talk to him about my problems at work !)
CSR:That’s ok. You have to come on a week day
Me:Mister. That’s NOT ok.
CSR: (Looks up. Points to the managers cabin).Please go inside and speak to him.
Me:Huh !
The other public bank, was far lousier.So will not write about it. The health check ups were done.Some sundry payments were made (Its onlyt the payments !!) .Library memberships were done.
Surrendering a Reliance phone took 45 minutes.I had to explain why I had to surrender the phone to three different people, each of whom had the same set of questions.( I took me 20 minutes to get the connection).And it is still not done !The process took so much time that I felt like walking up some remote Himalayan jungle.
Wife landed a job, and that is posing requirements of significant changes in our lifestyle. And we have to reinvent ourselves all over again. A challenge worth its time i guess ! I met a long lost friend over lunch. His perspectives were clear. As usual. Sunil is a treat to be with. And in his own way, is so very inspiring.
Another interesting part was to be with students of the National Association for the Blind at a send off for senior blind students. It was both touching and wonderful to see people with such resolve, overcoming obstacles that were thrown at them. When I think of them and what they achieve and how they continue to face life, Customer Service Reps in Public sector banks, and the Reliance phone executives appear as mere specks in a long road ! I intend working closely with these blind kids.
When i look back at the week that went by, there is a quiet satisfaction at what was done. It was good, but could have been better ! Perhaps we’ll be turning the corner for good, quickly. Well, thats the hope. As i write this, i am reminded of the credo from Gita, “Do your duty. Dont worry about the results”.
Am positive the results will come !The new week will bring with it its problems.But I am girding my loins.
