culture

The Second Story: Seeing Beyond Failures and Success

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In December 2017, Charlene Murphey, a 75-year-old patient, was admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee after suffering a brain bleed. Within two days, her condition had improved. Doctors ordered a PET scan before she was discharged, and prescribed Versed, a mild sedative, to help calm her nerves.

Nurse RaDonda Vaught was assigned to administer the medication. She went to the automated medication cabinet, typed in the drug name—but it didn’t show up. This was a familiar glitch. Staff had grown used to bypassing it. So Vaught used the override function, a routine workaround in the hospital.

But something went terribly wrong. Instead of Versed, she pulled out vecuronium—a powerful paralytic. She administered the drug and left. Murphey stopped breathing and never woke up.

The First Story and Its Limits

The hospital fired Vaught. Her license was revoked. She was convicted of criminally negligent homicide.

To many, the case seemed open and shut. A nurse made a fatal error. Justice was served.

But that’s only the surface story—the one that provides a name, a mistake, a punishment. Sidney Dekker, Professor in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science at Griffith University in Brisbane invites us to look deeper: Why did this make sense to the nurse at the time?

That’s where the Second Story begins.

A System Set to Fail

Vaught was not careless. She worked in a system that had quietly normalised risk. Medication cabinets were glitchy. Overrides were expected. Nurses weren’t trained on the risks of the override function. No one flagged it, because everyone used it.

This wasn’t just human error. It was a system error.

Organisational thinker Chris Argyris called the surface-level response Single-Loop Learning—fixing the behaviour without questioning the system. The real opportunity lies in Double-Loop Learning: changing the underlying rules and culture that made the behaviour possible.

Culture in Action—And Why It Matters

Every organisation has two cultures: the one printed in posters and handbooks, and the one people actually live.

One says, “We value safety.” The other says, “Don’t slow down.” When those messages clash, people choose the one that protects their job or helps them survive the day. It’s that simple.

Over time, shortcuts become habits. Risks become invisible. And when something breaks, the system often blames the person it failed to support.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. In Japanese train stations—some of the safest and most efficient in the world—staff follow a practice called “pointing and calling.” I saw them point to signals, say them aloud, and actively confirm their actions. It looked dramatic, but I learnt that it significantly reduces errors. There, safety isn’t a statement. It’s a system. It’s culture by design—not by hope.

That’s why the Second Story in organisations matters so much for managers, leaders and of course, consultants. The First Story gives you a neat diagnosis and a fast fix. The Second Story in organisations requires deeper listening and more courage—but it reveals where change is truly needed. It shows the disconnect between values and behaviour. It helps leaders shift from blame to learning and therefore, to change.

Questions To Ask

Crucially, the Second Story isn’t only for understanding failure—it helps explain success too. When an athlete wins gold, it’s not just about training hard. It’s about the coach, the physiotherapist, the diet plan, the mental support, the facilities, DNA—everything behind the scenes that made excellence possible.

In organisations, too, when a team thrives, don’t just clap. Ask: What made this work? What conditions allowed people to do their best work? When we see the system behind the success, we can repeat it. When we ignore it, we leave future outcomes to luck.

Final Thought

The Second Story is always there. It’s not about blame—it’s about learning. It helps us see not just what went wrong or right, but why it made sense, and what needs to change.

Charlene Murphey didn’t just deserve a trial; she deserved a transformation. A system that looked at what failed her—not just who did. And perhaps the Nurse RaDonda Vaught, too, didn’t just need punishment; she needed a system that supported her, trained her, and designed work that made safety easier, not harder.

Because the best way to honour a tragedy is to make sure the system learns from it—and becomes less likely to repeat it.

If you’re willing to look deeper, you’ll see more. And in that, lies the path to better systems, better culture, and better outcomes.

The Art and Attitude of Humble Inquiry: A Conversation with Peter Schein

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Edgar Schein’s work has been a personal north star for me. His thoughts on leadership, culture, and learning have shaped my work in profound ways. When he passed away in 2023, it felt like a personal void. So, it was particularly special to speak with Peter Schein, who is carrying forward his father’s legacy with clarity and depth.

This obituary described Ed not just as a founding father of organisational development but as a loving father who found renewal through co-authoring books with Peter. On his last outing, Edgar had said, “We have a new style, new topics, new interests to write about, and so it is a whole new way of being, again…” This Dad-Son collaboration is refreshing and good.

In the run-up to this event, we had a chat with Peter. Beyond Humble Inquiry, we touched upon other works, including Career Anchors, which has had a refresh and additions. I have made a mental note to refresh my understanding of this. Much has changed, but the core ideas remain powerful. These conversations reminded me why Schein’s work continues to be so relevant in today’s shifting world of leadership and learning.

What also stood out was Peter’s own journey. Unlike his father, who was a social psychologist, Peter took a different path—studying anthropology at Stanford. He was drawn to understanding how groups function, how cultures evolve, and how behaviour shifts over time. It was an epiphany for him that his father’s work had also been about groups and culture, though approached from a different lens. And yet, despite this contrast, father and son found a way to collaborate seamlessly.

Even Edgar’s own intellectual journey was shaped by another discipline—his father was a physicist. This meant Edgar grew up acutely aware of the divide between the physical and social sciences. He knew that leadership, culture, and change couldn’t be measured with the same precision as the laws of physics. Perhaps that’s what made him so committed to inquiry—asking, not telling. Understanding, not prescribing.

This wasn’t just a learning moment—it was a reinforcement of ideas I have long believed in. And I wasn’t alone in the dialogue. Ramesh Srinivasan played a key role in setting up the conversation and posed thoughtful questions, while Sushma Banthia ensured seamless tech support and community engagement. Together, we created a space for deep exploration.

Key Reinforcements from the Conversation with Peter Schein

  1. Humble Inquiry is an Attitude, Not Just a SkillHumble Inquiry is about embracing what you don’t know. It’s not just a leadership technique—it’s a way of being. Real influence doesn’t come from authority but from drawing out the collective intelligence of a group.
  2. From Transactions to RelationshipsWork is no longer neatly separated from life. The idea of personizing—bringing one’s whole self into interactions—creates deeper trust. Organisations that innovate foster strong relationships, not just functional exchanges.
  3. Unlearning the Habit of TellingMany leaders struggle with the instinct to tell rather than ask. The ‘learning trios’ method—where one person asks, another responds, and a third observes—helps leaders practice listening and creating discovery rather than defaulting to pre-packaged answers.

Expanding on Three Key Ideas

1. Leadership Through Inquiry

Leadership today isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about knowing how to ask. True leadership is about enabling collective wisdom to surface. Leaders who practice inquiry build teams that are more engaged, self-sufficient, and innovative. Asking thoughtful questions—rather than giving quick answers—creates a culture where people take ownership of problem-solving rather than waiting for directives.

Peter reinforced that inquiry also makes decision-making stronger. When leaders create an open space for dialogue, they expose blind spots and identify nuances they wouldn’t have considered on their own. The most effective leaders are those who foster a culture of shared curiosity rather than just direction-setting.

2. The Digital Shift—Can Inquiry Survive?

Virtual workspaces present a challenge to humble inquiry. Emails and Slack messages strip away nonverbal cues, making it harder to sense curiosity, intent, or hesitation. Video calls are helpful, but they need to be designed for meaningful conversations, not just efficiency. Peter highlighted that sometimes, removing visual distractions—like during a phone call or a ‘walk and talk’—can actually enhance listening.

Another key challenge is the tendency to over-rely on efficiency tools at the cost of deep engagement. Organisations must be deliberate in creating time for structured dialogue. Inquiry can survive in digital spaces, but it requires conscious effort—leaders must model it, encourage it, and create safe spaces for open-ended discussions.

3. Silence as a Leadership Tool

One of the most underrated aspects of inquiry is knowing when to stay silent. Peter shared a story about a leader at an organisation he worked with, who wielded power not through commands, but through silence. Instead of rushing to offer solutions, he created space for people to think, reflect, and contribute. His presence alone shifted the room.

Silence is uncomfortable for many, but it can be a game-changer. Leaders who hold back and allow moments of quiet give others permission to step up. Silence also helps in difficult conversations—rather than filling the void with explanations or justifications, staying quiet can allow new perspectives to emerge.

Great facilitators and leaders use silence strategically, allowing the weight of a question to sink in before rushing to the next point. Inquiry is as much about listening as it is about asking the right questions.1. Leadership Through Inquiry

Inquiry and My Own Reflections

This conversation also led me to revisit some of my own writings on the subject. Over the years, I’ve explored the themes of inquiry, facilitation, and conversations through different lenses. In The Lost Art of Fine Conversations, I reflected on the power of dialogue and the unseen impact of simple exchanges. In  Building an ‘an attitude of interes’- Humble Inquiry, I examined how Edgar Schein’s principles resonated with my experiences. And in Characteristics of Awesome Facilitators, I delved into what makes facilitation truly transformative. These themes continue to shape my thinking and reinforce the idea that learning is a lifelong journey.

Essential Truth

This conversation reaffirmed an essential truth: Humble Inquiry doesn’t make leaders passive. It makes them effective. The real test of leadership isn’t in confidence, but in knowing when to listen.

In an age of loud voices, true leadership may just be about asking better questions. Edgar Schein understood this deeply. And thanks to Peter, that legacy continues. And it’s a much needed legacy in the brusque times that we live in.

It was a fun evening with the members of the International Association of Facilitators and Peter. Thoughtful questions, engaged participation, and a shared curiosity made it memorable. If anything, it reinforced why inquiry—not assertion—is the foundation of real leadership.

Hyderabad: More Than Just a City

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Hyderabad doesn’t try too hard. Old and new exist without fuss. Charminar and Cyber Towers. Bazaars and glass buildings.

People are warm, witty, and fluent in many worlds. A chai can spark an hour-long debate—about the past, the present, the US, or Tirupati.

The food? Yes, the biryani is legendary. But also kebabs, the softest osmania biscuits, and some delightfully spicy vegetarian preparations.

The city stays clean. Surprises with green spaces. KBR Park for morning walks. Durgam Cheruvu for sunsets.

There is history in its bones and tech in its DNA.

Hyderabad is where opposites don’t just coexist—they complete each other. It doesn’t force harmony. It just moves, breathes, and thrives. A quiet example for the rest. Not just as a city to live in, but as a way to live.

Horlicks Whirled Wide

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Mind Your Language, the old British sitcom, was a personal favourite. Actually, it continues to be. In one scene, the teacher, Mr Brown, asks Juan Cervantes, the Spanish bartender, “What’s unique to Britain?”

Juan fires back with a quick, savage reply: “Speak English!” It’s funny and true.

English is a British export, but different parts of the world have made it their own. In some cases, the meanings change so much that it’s funny — until it’s not.

Then I read this piece in The Guardian, which made me smile — until I realised I’d been using words and phrases that meant something completely different to a group from the other side of the Atlantic. The British and American divide, in full swing!

Reading it made me realise how often I use words that mean something else depending on where you are in the world.

Take “run up,” for example. In the US, it means to prepare for something, like the run-up to an event. In the UK, it can mean racking up expenses, like running up a credit card bill. Both meanings seem familiar, probably because I’m talking to both sides of the Atlantic quite often. You might say that’s clever — but be careful, in the US, that might not be a compliment at all!

Then there’s “gutted.” In Britain, if you’re gutted, you’re absolutely devastated. In the US, it sounds more like someone’s preparing fish for dinner. Or take the word “cheeky.” In Britain, it describes someone who’s playful and bold. Tell that to an American, and they might think the person is being rude.

Even simple phrases like “in the future” and “in future” mean different things. Going forward, let’s make a note of that! 🙂

Two moments recently made me smile. First, in a meeting with Australian colleagues, I used the phrase “the cat’s whiskers.” I said something like, “They think they’re the cat’s whiskers, but they’re not quite there.” I got some amused and confused looks.

Then, in a meeting with British colleagues, a gentleman said, “He made a Horlicks of the proposal.” This time it was my turn to perk up. Growing up, I had to drink Horlicks to “grow strong”. It was also the go-to drink you bought when visiting someone in hospital. Just now, I learned that “to make a Horlicks” means to completely mess something up. (I quite liked this line. “There’s also a theory that the slang refers to the beverage’s fickle nature. A little too much powder, or an insufficient amount of stirring, and a glass of Horlicks can become a gritty, chunk-filled disaster.” For it triggered memories!)

English has shifted and changed — and keeps doing so. One of the joys of working with people from different cultures is encountering these quirks! Even when they leave me confused for a moment.

As for me, after learning what it means to “make a Horlicks” of something, I’m ready to see if I can get a Boost from moments like these!

Distraction

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It was evening. The still waters of Charlotte Lake were didn’t seem to care much about the Sun who was running away behind the hovering mountains.

Languid tourists with cameras, Kanda Bhajjis and sugar cane juice walked about trying to catch the sun for Instagram.

I walked away. After getting somewhere, I walked further to a place where I could be left alone with Charlotte lake. Almost as a reflex action, my hand cradled the phone and clicked a picture. It was when I examined what I had clicked, that I first saw him. In the frame. Sitting there and soaking up Charlotte Lake and its silence.

He sat there alone.

He did nothing. Just sat there. Motionless.

I put my phone away and watched him and Charlotte lake. He didn’t seem to care. I am not sure, if he even noticed. He sat still.

In a world filled with distraction, just sitting without doing anything is a rare sight. Here was someone who seemed to just do it! I put my phone away and immersed myself in watching him watch the still lake.

I don’t know how long we both did what we did. Suddenly, the mountains and fading light announced that the night was in. He didn’t seem to be bothered. But I had to get back. It was a bit of a trudge.

And as I walked back, I thought of him and his ability to just focus only to realise, I had done the same as well. I had put everything away, to focus on him.

A Culture Of Distraction

A couple of days ago, I chanced upon, Ted Gioia’s “The State of Culture, 2024”. There is some fascinating stuff there.

“The fastest growing sector of the culture economy is distraction. Or call it scrolling or swiping or wasting time or whatever you want. But it’s not art or entertainment, just ceaseless activity.”

“I see those sad-eyed junkies, hooked to their devices, wherever I go. And even their facial expressions convey that haggard strungout look.”

“And it’s a bigger issue than just struggling artists or floundering media companies. The dopamine cartel is now aggravating our worst social problems—in education, in workplaces, and in private life.”

“If you thought the drug cartels were rich, wait till you see how much money the dopamine cartel is making.”

“Also, do yourself a favor. Unplug yourself from time to time, and start noticing the trees or your goofy pets. They actually look better in real life than in the headset.”

As I read and made some notes and quiet resolutions, my thoughts raced back to the man in Charlotte lake. He showed me that I too can sit and gaze without the need to aimlessly move my finger over a glass screen.

In the age of constant connectivity and endless stimuli, mastering the art of focus is more crucial than ever. “You can’t go distraction free, overnight”, I hear me tell myself. Embracing routines and reflecting on them is the route.

Dopamine addiction is for real. To free oneself from it requires friction. Blank spaces and routines can well be the friction I am in search of. The man at Charlotte lake taught me that.

Coffee and Conversations: Wisdom in Every Sip

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My dad always said, “Coffee drinkers are better thinkers.” He was a wise man. I’ve never had a reason to doubt him.

These days, “Coffee?” is the answer to everything.

Questions, answers, problems—it doesn’t matter. Coffee solves it all. Especially in Mumbai. The city hums with its energy, fuelled by endless cups.

Maybe it’s the caffeine. Or maybe coffee is just a great excuse to pause, talk, and think.

Either way, I’m not arguing. Coffee?

Margins To The Middle #SHRMTech18

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It was around 6.30 AM at Hyderabad’s HITECH City. Tall buildings with glass facades dot the scant skyline. Just across the road, even as young people streamed in and out with nonchalance, she sat. She sold to the young people short eats, cigarettes, hot tea and the like. Each of her categories on sale was stacked in a sack. Each sack sitting on the road, just as she was. Sitting pretty in one of the stacks was a credit card Point of Sale, swipe machine. Another held a QR code for cashless transactions. That I was spotting this after hearing a day full of praise for technology at SHRMTech’18 ( SHRM India’s annual Tech conference) was not lost on me. The knocks on traditional boundaries accentuated by education and access were loud. This was technology moving from the margins to the middle!

More about that later.

For now, SHRM Tech 18. The conference has grown from where it started four years ago. This time too, it ticked all the right boxes. It had HR leaders and tech folks hold court, talk neat and walk tall. It had a dazzling array of exhibitors. From a Tata Car to plain old (or was it new) tea, to tech solutions to every conceivable HR Challenge. It had its share of arc lights, awards, survey results, music, debate and the like. Perhaps to accentuate the accent on tech, it even had a robot, inviting a speaker on stage. All in all, it was pretty neat.

If you missed it this time, please do look up #SHRMTech18 on twitter and you will get most of what happened on the stage. You are pretty much sorted if you seek to pick up that kind of action.
I go to such conferences for another reason. And that is to catch the moments in-between the stage shows and indulge in conversation. To listen in and hear more. To absorb the questions that are being asked and the live experiences that are shared. Away from the arc lights naked truth often makes a shy appearance. Often in the form of a sigh or a silence. Sometimes in a steady argument and expert deflection of an uncomfortable question. At other times, providing facts, data, stories, and interpretation of how things are working.

All of these are fascinating for several reasons. They reveal what’s on the horizon. What’s dying. What’s real and what is being dealt with. What opportunities are surfacing in the future and the dilemmas that are alive. They also bring alive, what’s being missed. Whilst a lot of what I have taken home stays with my notes and requires conversation and processing there were moments that held my attention. Here are my top three from a longer list.

Vineet Nayar kicked off the conference talking about the need to put the human being at the centre of the employee experience. That made a heap of sense. Even as technology is ‘Moving from the margins to the Middle’, replacing the human experience with technology needs to guarded against. Technology for technology’s sake is going to lead us up a garden path with no garden in tow. In a world replete with tech solutions, discovering our ‘human’ element is getting to be a taller ask. Not because of limitations with technology! To me, that message had the potency of setting a kitten amongst several pigeons.

Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary, Information Technology (IT); Government of Telangana, made a strong and persuasive pitch for Telangana. He courted the right audience with necessary facts and presented them in easy consumable chunks. Stories of state governments getting competitive and seeking investments are the new norm. That norm was taken a few notches higher by the articulate IAS officer.

On a different panel on Women in Tech. Dr.Ritu Anand from TCS spoke from personal experience about what it takes to lead (& that had nothing to do with gender) and that was lovely. Lost amongst the discussion was the fact that much of what was discussed alluded to programmes aimed at (& done ‘to’ ) women employees. It is both a familiar and a line of thought that falls woefully inadequate. The debate needs to continue.

Of course, there was Sunita Bhuyan and her music in full flow. Her piece titled ‘Conversations’ was more than mere music to the ear. On the sidelines, the catch up with a number of friends and colleagues was well worth the effort to get there. Some of them are doing some stellar stuff and am so looking forward to seeing it all come alive.

The new middle:

Back to the lady who sold me two full plastic cups of tea for Rs.15. Sitting on the pavement with the Credit Card machine carelessly tossed on a stack of goodies. She to me exemplifies someone who has kept her ear close to the ground. The changing tone of currency in her customer’s wallet has necessitated her adopting new ways of seeking a share. An innate understanding of ground realities of business helps choose, design and work with technology.

Technology is an enabler. Technology is not the reason for us to get to work. Whilst discussing technology we have to bear in mind that work needs reshaping. Slapping layers of cutting edge technology on fossilised ways of thinking is not going to get anyone anywhere. Unless you are talking about taking a few steps back!

Of these, we need to have more conversations on. The changing societal contexts. The need for finding meaning in work. Changing work in itself. What needs rewiring and rewriting are not the wires that connect our computers or the codes that run in them, as much as our own minds. It was Sherry Turkle who said something about our tools.

Even as we continue to ride on our high horses of tech progress with pounding hoofs and half breaths, we must pause to examine what it’s doing to the fabric of our workplaces. Change is multi-dimensional. HR leaders must pause, converse, examine, reflect on all the nodes each tech change is touching off.
One more thing. Change is tough. Change in the tech space is not linear but occurs in seismic shifts.

That necessitates change being held together with care. It is those that experiment with these changes that will get somewhere. Experiments, by definition, don’t have assured successes. We need to keep working with our head as close to the ground as possible. And that is not easy. But it is possible. And change happens in the moment with bold leaps and application of mind. We have never been limited by technology as much as we have been by our imagination.

Moving from the margin to the middle is often facilitated by leaps of faith and experiments. Experiments that seek both courage and investments. The lady who sold me two cups of tea and three different ways of concluding the deal taught me a thing or two about courage. The courage to move beyond algorithmic responses and robotic monotony in decision making is much needed. We could all learn a thing or two from her.

Disclosure: SHRM facilitated my participation in the conference as a member of the ‘blog squad’

Travel: More Than Just Seeing

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Travel does more than take you places—it puts you face to face with your biases. It forces you to notice what you usually ignore. And suddenly, new possibilities appear.

It’s not about ‘just seeing.’ It’s about feeling, learning, and understanding. When you travel with intent, the world becomes richer. You notice details, connect with people, and see life from another angle.

That’s when travel truly keeps you alive—by opening your mind and reshaping the way you see the world.

Features Dont Sell

Features Dont Sell

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It was in an animated conversation with a dear friend a quote came up. He said, quoting the Marathi playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar, as he spoke of writing, “the experience is always bigger than the writing”. His words have stayed with me ever since. Especially so, when I sit down to write and wanted to describe an experience. Last week, in the middle of a conversation on Digital change, I was so reminded of this again. As a fine bunch of tech colleagues focused much on the technology that they were getting deployed. I call it ‘Feature Focus’. And features don’t sell!

Helping organisations navigate digital change processes brings me front and centre of how much ‘feature focus’ dominates conversations. The top three conversation dominators in my experience have been like the following

  1. This product can do ‘X’ and then it can do ‘y’.
  2. If users face a problem then they can click button Q and hit enter and they will get a view of the help centre and raise a ticket..
  3. It runs on ‘XYZ platform with ABC technology that has been adopted by 85% of Fortune 500 firms.

You get the drift.

Products rarely succeed (or fail) solely by virtue of the features within. What a product can do, in this case, a technology, is also dependent on the context of the environment in question.  To have passionate conversations without the end user’s context in the room often proves to be the digital change efforts undoing. Falling in love with our areas of expertise ( geeks falling in love with technology, facilitators obsessed with their ‘performance’ etc). So much so that focus remains trained on the features within, forgetting that the technology is just a means to a larger business goal.

Reflections on my experience and conversations with fellow change practitioners lead me to three thought trails. To many, am restating the obvious. But I have been through serial surprises over the last few weeks on how blinding the obvious is, that it is completely missed.

1. Features are contextual

Features are not absolutes. They are always a function of the context in which they are deployed in. A 5G phone may be fantastic by itself. In a geography where technology is limited to 3G phones, 5G has no relevance! While this may occur to you as a rather inane example, it illustrates the point. Imagine sitting in meetings where the virtues of such ‘5G technology’ are extolled.

Business rhythms, organisational cycles, tendencies for change and the need for change all matter much. When these are drowned in the noise of features, the change effort goes nowhere. It, in fact, is a giveaway for how the change effort will unravel!

2. Tech adoption is not a function of features

Features are important. So is context. Yes. There are more elements that determine adoption. To me, a key aspect is demystifying the technology element and weaving it into daily work.  The time lag between the start of the change effort and when change hits every individual is a big factor too. The essence, however, is to focus on ‘work’ and how work shifts for every employee. Features and glory of the technology in itself have to be experienced on the ground, more because of the shift in work. There is no glory in them being on Powerpoint slides.

3. Communication is not the fancy poster in the hallway

There is a communication 101 lesson that I recall. Communication is always a function of how it is received. Numerous change efforts have fancy posters, screensavers, games, and contests. To my mind, communication is a ‘moment of truth’ thing. It happens at places closest where work gets done. It often happens between people on the ground. At least the communication that determines the sustenance and success of the change happens there. That’s why keeping the ear to the ground trumps hanging from the nail in a hallway in the ivory tower.

Designing effective change requires courage. It seeks a huge degree of going beyond the immediate and seeing the larger picture. It requires a raw courage to thrive in the ambiguous gray of change.  Above all, it mandates going beyond a feature focus. That often means going past a stated requirement and find a new plane.  For a change practitioner, that requires comfort in crowing heroes of change and staying in the shadows. Borrowing from my friend’s quote of Mahesh Elkunchwar, the change that is sought is more important than the skills it takes to orchestrate it!

 

An Open Window, A World of Calm

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An open window behind, a simple bench beckoning you to sit, a loyal plant keeping you company, and soft grass beneath your feet. There’s even a shade nearby, waiting for you to decide if you need it. Above you, the open sky stretches endlessly—a perfect invitation to pause and just be.

Now, imagine tossing in a book, a bottle of water, and a steaming cup of hot coffee. Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? There’s just one catch: throw away the watch. This is not a moment for time to meddle.

This little setup isn’t just about comfort; it’s a rebellion. A rebellion against hurried calendars, buzzing phones, and endless to-do lists. It’s a reminder that life isn’t a race; it’s more like an unscripted performance under a limitless sky.

What happens when you sink into that bench? You’ll notice things—the subtle rustle of leaves, the changing hues of the sky, or the way sunlight dances on your coffee cup. Perhaps the book you brought along finally gets the attention it deserves, its pages flipping lazily in the breeze.

And if you’re lucky, you’ll discover the joy of doing absolutely nothing. Yes, nothing! It’s underrated, often mistaken for laziness, but oh, the freedom it holds. No notifications, no deadlines—just you, your thoughts, and maybe that sneaky plant that’s somehow photobombing your serene moment.

The best part? This isn’t a luxury reserved for sprawling gardens or countryside retreats. It could be your balcony, your backyard, or even a park bench nearby. What matters isn’t the setting but the mindset.

So, take the plunge. Open that window, grab your coffee, and let the sky remind you how vast your world really is—if only you’d stop to notice.