I want empowerment....Err... Do I?

Is Empowerment for everybody – When I ask this I don't only refer to people who want/could be empowered… I also refer to those who're letting go of control to empower… – it depends on how much value you place on people’s individuality, their opinion and their ability to solve problems.

So why can’t everybody be empowered… this is what I think…
I hope my view isn’t too myopic… but empowerment brings with it primarily problem solving abilities…To solve a problem you need to take on responsibility… to take on responsibility you got to be able to believe in yourself… to to be able to believe in yourself you got to at least know lots of parts of yourself if not yourself completely.
For some reason people fear responsibility… either it means you’d have to work a little too much, or its your neck on the line… or you’re just plain scared you won’t deliver… Are we so scared that we won't figure out who we are and therefore won't know what we're good at or how to deliver and hence are okay with getting straight-jacketed?

Of course there are people who thrive on challenges… I guess for those who are unempowered coz they’re scared… ‘chunking’ (breaking the task down to its tiniest activity and starting from there) should help them overcome this fear… NLP says… chunking allows just about anybody to learn just about anything...

Empowerment, i guess can happen, only with your own permission... only you can empower yourself actually...

So why has it suddenly become the buzzword... maybe a critical mass of the human race isn't content with fitting into a structure ... more and more people are looking to figure out what makes them them... and not necessarily out of some cosmic phenomenon that has awakened their philosophical gene... but because discovering yourself lets you sell yourself better or do something better and thus makes you that less transient..

Digressing a bit… I read the 12 laws of NLP and these I can call empowering … they infuse you with confidence and since at the end of it all the story of your life is the story of your mind… I THINK therefore I AM and therefore I SHOULD be empowered…
So when you think you can achieve… the probability of your actually achieving it would be pretty high… maybe I should conduct a survey when I’m relatively free to corroborate this.

Life at 4:00 A.M.

So... i was forewarned that life at AIM is tough... but nothing could've prepared me to face and more importantly cope with the actual rigour...

Even in these trying times everybody has managed to find what sets them free altho' only for a while... but still free!

I love going for a walk at (guess what) ... yea... you guessed it... 4:00 A.M. It usually involves a trip to McDonald's which is open 24/7 except on a day like today...(maybe the whole world can change) ... well.. every sunday actually...

That lovely step you take which takes you over the AIM treshold into the outside world is awesome and it continues being awesome everytime!(Irony please don't intervene and take this pleasure away from me). A short, brisk walk on an empty road is just what you (okay maybe not every you who reads this) need to free your clogged mind...

Walk around the block, enter through the ACCM (that's the hotel run by AIM) entrance and actually come back re-charged to finish off the case or reading or both!

Good morning Manila!

Sportal development

Not enough justice is done to sports. Miracles arn't going to put Sporting India on the world map. They can help but not subsitute the impetus which needs to be given..

Everybody should mandatorily participate in sports. I think there are a few schools which do this... And its time many more did too. Nobody will disagree with me when I say sports is THE best activity for all-round development... So why do a lot of people stop once they 'grow up'? It's not that grown-ups don't need more all round development. Maybe it comes about as a natural effect of society making us pick between higher education and sports.

India is capable of producing world class athletes. It's not that we lack talent or the necessary mind-set as is touted. India as a country, and I'm sure every other country can say the same about its citizens, is filled with talented individuals... you see them in all walks of life... for instance...I went to Kedarnath (pilgrimage spot in the Himalayas and one of the Jyotir-lings of Shiva). Getting to the temple involves a steep 14 km climb, 3600 meters above seal level, which can get your lungs in a tizzy if you try the climb. Obviously we go on horseback. Interestingly, for those who arn't comfortable with the idea of riding a horse on a narrow, steep, cobbled pathway with lots of other tired horses, there is a 'pitthu' (guys who take you piggyback) or a 'doli' (palanquin) service available. Everytime I visit Kedarnath or any similar place, I can't help but wonder how it would be if these doli guys who trek 14 kms up and 14 kms down, sometimes twice a day, loaded with bags or heavy set human beings, were trained in a sport at a professional level. They obviously have amazing strength, stamina and focus. All that's needed is to teach them the sport and we could probably have a winner.

I know its not that simple... the few encouraged sports have a crazy level of competition...but the spectrum needs to widen...more volume needs to be built up... a larger talent pool spread across more sports will be great. I do acknowledge our sportstars who've done us proud...but besides cricket no other sport yet has the power to help a common man realize his sporting dream and it is time the the scope increases.

Irony or Karma

I watched 'Libertine' last night. Basically it tells of John Wilmot, a friend of King Charles II, a 'libertine' and the 2nd Earl of Rochester. A libertine, as the dictionary defines it is someone who lacks restraint. But from the 17th to the 19th century it gained popularity as a way of life as has been depicted in a lot of movies including the one I'm talking about. So this guy is a complete cynic who isn't moved by anything. His passions, funnily enough, are theatre, writing and wine. What I don't understand is how people can write without being moved... for me... I find it very difficult to write unless I'm moved! But obviously he did and really well... literary greats (I'll confess I haven't read any of them but I hear they're called literary giants) like Voltaire, Goethe and even Tennyson called him a genuis (source good ol' wikipedia). A particular scence in the movie struck me... it beautifully captured just about how unmoved he could get...he's with a woman and in the middle of it, looks at the ceiling and emotionlessly coins a few awesome sounding verses which tell of how he lay there, unmoved, like a lump!

But this same John Wilmot could move people!!! The king kept asking him to petition on his behalf to solicit funds since he felt Wilmot was influential and could move the masses!
Later on while watching a first-time actress on stage he falls in love with her! She on the other hand wants to carve a name for herself in the world of theatre and leave behind a legacy and in being true to herself and her art doesn't veer from her goal. Of course she was his lover but had no qualms about being his wife.

What struck me about life in general were two things and they overwhelmed me for a while:

1. How people who're unmoved themselves have the ability to move people... maybe lack of emotion gives them heightened objectivity that allows them to persuade people and also the fact that they probably don't care enough to persuade people... the same 'play hard to get syndrome' at work here?
2. Irony or is it karma that John Wilmot who had all the women swooning with his mere touch falls in love and is spurned?
This happens so often in life... you're scared of something and keep avoiding it until you finally overcome your fear.... do it... and guess what IT happens!!! maybe the reason you have a fear of it is coz that fears been put there as an aid to survival!

Just a passing thought... I'm pretty sure I'll have a contra view on this tomorrow!!! :)

The benefits of last minute studying

I’m sure I’m wading into controversial waters here, but I seriously feel that studying at the last minute is much better than regular studying… why?
For starters, somehow the pressure built up automatically increases your concentration, grasping and retention abilities. Secondly, when you’ve already done something well enough before, and have to read it again … it is supremely boring. Thirdly, there’s always a chance of overlooking something important which would not have happened if you had studied at the last minute… what tends to happen is… you see a topic and quickly skim through thinking… “I know this damn thing”… and therein lies your folly… coz sure enough something buried in all those simple words appears in the exam to befuddle you…
Lastly… you don’t learn anything new… if you had to study at the last minute… you can be assured of the fact that no matter what, you will walk away from that night more learned !!!

Corporate culture

Corporate culture - I didn't have to pay attention to that! I love learning new things, being exposed to new ideas. It gives me a fantastic high. Also, I feel really silly when I know of things but haven't given them enough thought or credit and find out just how potentially big they can be. Fortunately the high quotient outweighs the silly quotient and after my class on corporate culture I was fueled enough to start attempting to sensitize myself to corporate culture.

I feel trying to understand corporate culture seems to be more of a pro-active approach to better understand your target organization. This lets you decide where you'd like to be (to avoid a timshel situation - i.e. a maybe, maybe not kind of situation) and not have situations decide for you.
(As a rider to this, I do believe that once you make your choice, no matter how big it is, you will find a way to provided you're engaged enough)

What I also realized was that culture first crosses my mind if I were to think of a society or a country or a tribe. Today, there was a broadening of my ‘culture understanding’ horizon to apply the culture context to an organization. And the potential benefits I see are immense. Sure it may be difficult at first and maybe I’d be completely off but once I’m able to figure things out, identifying corporate culture seems beneficial. For example, if I wanted to switch jobs and know my set of values, I’d obviously see where I’d fit in best. Don’t you think recruiting people would also become simpler? And if I were to have my own set-up, won’t knowing my values would be critical in shaping the set-up culture? (at least till such a time that it works!)

That’s the idealistic scenario. It still remains to be seen whether with this understanding I will be able to better get an idea of a company closest to the truth. What I would like to be able to identify in the shortest time possible is to figure out the corporate culture without having to be a part of the organization. Is there another way to do that besides surveying those in the organization? And how much time will I spend in understanding cultures? When I know either ways, I’ll have a sequel post.

Dignity of labour

How many of us have been victims of 'Oh my job is so boring'? Inspite of prevalant practices to boost employee morale and 'engage' them, things tend to get monotonous 'coz most humans like change (although change comes with letting go and sometimes trusting - two things we don't really like).
Ever wondered what keeps 'chottu' working at the road-side tea stall or the canteen guy at the office engaged?
When we talk of engagement, until my first class of Human Behaviour in Organizations, taking the E word to all the employees involved the management cadre. Looking at engaging the non management section didn't even cross my mind! An instance was pointed out in which a coffee serving guy, inspite of doing the same thing (i.e. serve coffee - in case my previous sentence was too long-winded) at meetings all the time, does his bit cheerfully. That actually got me thinking about how we take those guys for granted.
On more than one occassion, while talking to friends who've switched jobs, the quickest and fondest memory of an old job involves the non-management class'. For instance an ex-colleague remembers this of her old workplace (a global bank) Hectic work schedules didn't leave her with time to eat and invariably at 4 P.M. the canteen guy would make sure there was hot 'vada pav' (a Mumbai burger, served hot and spicy with sauteed green chillies if you so liked) and 'cutting chai' (a typical measure of piping hot roadside tea) at her desk!
Wonder what keeps people like him going most if not all of the time? Makes me wonder if the unengaged are missing something simple yet essential?Makes me appreciate these guys more and re-enforces that everybody has his own place in this Universe. Makes me realize that the concept of 'dignity of labour' should be explicitly stated... maybe therein lies the key to engagement?