Seeds...

Your work is your only means to immortality.

My greatest learning at work so far....

Well it's been more than six months that I've been working. It still comes as a surprise to people who know me closely coz of my legendary laze. But trust me the experience has been an extremely enthralling one. There have been times when you feel like utterly underutilized and bored. But everyone said that enjoy your honeymoon, your time will come. And guess what, it has arrived with a bang.

I'm kinda flooded with projects that consume me both physically & mentally. And that's the best part of a good job, that it challenges your mental faculties with unforeseen problems & issues. So in order to get a grip on things that were driving me crazy, I came up with my simple rules of engagement at work. I just wanted to pen them down, more so to keep reminding me of my tactics to tackle complexity.

Firstly, the most important attribute you should have at the back of your mind is that its not the knowledge that counts, its your ability to learn & apply what you've learnt that counts. Learnability is more important than what you know.

Secondly, always challenge existing ways of work. Don't just work if anything is assigned to you. Understand it, dig the technology, get the perspective and streamline the process. Remember there are no sacred cows. Be very candid with your observation & always never hesitate to "ask". Stay hungry, stay foolish.

Thirdly, work is a verb. Let it be a verb. Its good to strategize, but at the end of the day execution is the best strategy. Action is Salvation. Wow that has some Zen like aesthetics to it too.

Lastly always think whether your deliverables are directly usable & applicable to the senior management. Be it your manager or clients, just ask yourself, "Is my work gonna be useful to them? Will it help them to simplify their work? Can they reuse it with minimal changes?" Results matter, but the presentation & simplicity of your work is paramount too. Reusablity is the basis of effective delegation.

So that's my first dip into the management theory for mere mortals. Do drop in your comments so that you could see more of Drucker & Omhae synthesized for you. Have a challenging day...

What makes a great society?

Today I would like to write about my perceptions on Science, Business & Art. To me, they form the three most important pillars of the cultural acropolis. I’ve always had this belief that science & business are the vanguards of mankind. They take the entire mankind a step ahead every single day. Art, on the other hand, provides pleasure necessary to keep our senses stimulated for any form of significant accomplishment. After all being human entails a heightened emotional existence.

Science envisions & unravels the future through technology, which I regard as its applied arm. By exploring the uncharted realms, it not only adds significant value to our existing way of life but also nurtures our understanding of our very existence. I really have a very strong belief that humans carve the very landscape of this planet, and science has been our toolbox. Science continuously defies the basic tenet of economics that “resources are scarce” by coming with innovative ideas to generate more wealth & prosperity.

Business on the other hand is the true wealth (value) creation mechanism and harnesses available resources in imaginative ways make a prosperous world. And this wealth in turn fosters further research & scientific pursuits. Throughout history, men of nerve and vision have revolutionized our lives and them simpler and better. Some people challenge this perception, but just peek into history and ask, “When did we have an ear of such welfare when we could earn our livelihood through mere mental work?”

Art is mere concretization of one’s beliefs, value systems and perceptions on a canvas. Art directly provides respite, pleasure & stimulation to our senses by pampering to our emotional state. And so I feel it symbolizes the depth of any culture or a society.

Together they form the three critical triads of the society. And any society which ignores any one of these cannot expect an eternal or holistic development. That’s one of the reasons you’ll witness maximum scientific enquiries & works of art during times of great prosperity. Prosperity alleviates man of his basic needs to indulge into the luxuries of his desires.

Oooph… That was deep. Who has time for all this crap? But I just wanted to write about it all. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Do add anything you feel I've missed in my simplistic picture. Have a good day.

What do I live for?

Let’s start with some of the simplest questions that keep haunting us, perhaps only me, days and nights. Indeed it’s these simple questions which are toughest to answer.

What gives me eternal happiness? What keeps me going? Why do I work where I work? What do I want to become? What’s my greatest passion? What’s my most cherished dream … What do I live for?

Sometimes in our quest for our dreams, we lose sense of what we started this chase for, in the first place. We get entangled in the daily chores of our lives so much that we lose sense of our very existence. We start missing the whole picture, trying to figure out our role in this mosaic of life. The other day I too was facing all these dilemmas. And I just scribbled these lines to challenge my deepest desires. I admit that sometimes I take myself too seriously. But in the course of my small life I’ve learnt one of my biggest lessons, "One shouldn't take oneself too seriously, sometimes." Trust me, it helps.

So here are a few replies from my conscience to the questions I posed. I don’t claim to have a panacea here for all the world’s troubles. These are neither complete nor exhaustive. After all, I’m still a work in progress. So I welcome all of you to add to the "Thought Garden" with your seeds too. But don’t forget to keep it simple.

Mann’s simple rules for a happy life:

- to have someone to love you back with the same intensity that you do & to see her happy
- to see your children admire & love you and regard you as your first heroes in life
- to see your parents contented in your growth and taking pride in you
- to see your siblings loving you without any bias & caring for you
- to see your friends trusting you & confiding in you
- to see your partners & colleagues believing in you & challenging you regularly

I hope these words touched a chord. Now its your turn to seed some thoughts back to the garden. Stay beautiful. Auvoir…