Sports is fun isn’t? How interesting would the game be if one already knew the results of the game even before it started? The thrill is because of the uncertainty which is there in the game.

The same applies to life. Life is a game, play it! The game of life is all about dealing with uncertainty to translate into certain terms. All successful people have enjoyed this process.
 
The curtain is going to rise soon over the Olympic Games to bring together the world’s athletes in a spirit of excellence, respect, and friendship. We stand inspired by the epochal motto of Olympics - “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (Faster, Stronger, Higher). These three words sum up man’s eternal aspiration for excellence. This excellence can be obtained if we dive deep into the spirit of these words to understand their significance in our lives:

…expect more than others think is possible (Faster)
…risk more than others think is safe (Stronger)
…dream more than others think is practical (Higher)

Let’s appreciate the discipline that produces winners - the courage that overcomes difficult odds; the character that creates champions in us and the conviction which helps us achieve.

You have got only one match to play in the game of life; play it well and be a winner.

Real successful are those who can Dream and also Do. Dreamers and Doers are like two sides of the same coin, they are inseparable twins making individuals successful.

How many times have you come across or you yourself said “he is lucky” or “its magic” when someone you knew became very successful?

If you think making a dream a reality is a dream, co-founder Mr.S.A.Chandran of Essae Chandran Institute through their Monthly Reflection series shares it could be a science.

The Magic of Three: Concept, Systems, Tools

Seeing a banyan tree in the seed is not only an imagination or dream but a vision.  Begin (seed) with the end (tree) in mind.  The seed has got the potential to become a banyan tree.    Dreams have the power to spark off this inner potential.

Dreaming big is great.  Men of achievement have begun by dreaming big.  Helen Keller said, “The most pathetic person in the world is someone, who has sight, but no vision”.  Daring to dream big is excellent and is a good starting point but is insufficient in itself.  Be it in personal, family or professional life, a dream can be translated into reality only if it is followed by systems and tools.  What starts as a concept must get its flesh and blood through systems and application of tools.  No one plans to fail but many fail to plan.  Translating the dream to reality needs a systematic approach.  Only when we make a road map will we know whether we are on track to reach the destination and if need to make any course correction.

Concept:  Most of us have got excellent concepts.  It is something like building a castle in the air.  One has to go through a pragmatic way of transforming this concept into reality.  Dreaming big is good.  Implementing the dream is better.  Realizing the dream is best.  Failure to realize the dream happens in not systemizing and not systemizing and not using right tools.  Thomas Alva Edison is known for his perseverance.  He never used to accept any experiment as a failure.  He used to learn from the failures with persistence and perseverance.  He declared:  “I have not failed.  I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”.  Having a concept is like having a seed:  it is essential but insufficient.

Systems:  Concept cannot walk.  It is like a sign post.  It will show us the directions but it will not take us to the destination.  The systems give us a mechanism to convert concept into reality.  It will also help us with milestone to measure and monitor progress.  If the seed is a concept and the goal is to have a banyan tree, then one must sow the seed in fertile soil, water it and fence it to protect it from animals and also expose to sufficient sunlight.

Tools:  Just as we need tools to nurture the planted seed, our dream needs tools to facilitate implementation.

The visionaries are those who can see the banyan tree in the seed.  Concept, systems and tools are equally important without which the concept will only be thought in the mind of its creator.  The greatest thrill in human existence is to have an idea and give life to the idea by blood (system) and bones (Tools).  A concept without systems and tools is merely a passing thought.

“Dream is a Dream if you don’t Do anything about it” – Naveen Lakkur

We all look for different angles to a situation. And usually miss the most important one. The ‘Try-Angle‘.

This angle made Edison one of the greatest innovators of our times. He tried a 1000 times before he created the successful incandescent electric light bulb.

So let’s not be afraid of trying. Those who really tried this angle have even reached the moon.

This angle is the source for innovation. Ideas have become realities only because someone dared to try and persisted till it succeeded.

While I say we need to try to innovate, its very important the fundamentals are taken care, else your try could even kill you (I mean, you will be a looser even if you win).

Here is an illustration shared by my friend Nasir Ali on a try which can kill…

“When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount and get a different horse.”

However some people employ more advanced strategies often, such as:

1. Buying a stronger whip
2. Changing riders
3. Appointing a committee to study the horse
4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses
5. Lowering the standards so that the dead horse can be included
6. Reclassifying the dead horse as ‘living impaired’
7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse
8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed
9. Providing additional funding and / or training to increase dead horse’s performance
10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse’s performance
11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overheads and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses
12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses
And, of course,

13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position!

In today’s world you need to innovate even to survive, but if the purpose of innovation is not well understood, it is suicidal!

A Diamond is forever and is supposedly a girl’s best friend. One of the recent survey said many of the girls/ladies expected Diamond as their Valentine Day gift. While doing so they would have considered the four factors famously known as 4 C’s that contribute most to the value and look of a diamond. I couldn’t help but relate this aspect of valuing a diamond to an individual. The 4C’s are Cut; Clarity; Carat; Color

1. CUT refers to the proportions, symmetry and finish of a polished diamond. The diamond that surrenders itself to the artist and allows itself to be cut becomes better in trapping the light to create the sparkle. Many a times we fail to see the reason why something is happening to us and learn from it.

2. Color - A Diamond’s color ranges from a faint yellow to a very rare blue, pink etc. But the most valuable is one which is completely colorless as it allows light to pass through it with ease - dispersing it again as rainbows of color. No wonder a person with a clear & simple heart is a perpetual joy to know. An attitude that is not tainted by colors of egoism.

3. Clarity - A majority of the raw diamonds are born with blemishes. These blemishes obstruct the light to pass through the diamond, minimizing its brilliance and thereby subtracting its beauty. A diamond which is free of any surface blemishes is very rare and therefore very precious. A person with clarity of thoughts and purpose makes all the difference.

4. Carat - Diamonds are valued in terms of its carat value. A diamond or gemstone’s “Carat” designation is a measurement of both the size and weight of the stone. A sterling character is carat value of an individual.
Character is to the intrinsic worth of a man as carbon is to steel.

Each of us is born brilliant. But then many a times this brilliance is buried by circumstances, experiences and largely due to our indifference to life. Eventually, we forget that we ever had genius and special talents, and our brilliance gets concealed by layers of dust.

So we settle for who we are, instead of striving for who we were meant to be. Its then that life comes and gives a ‘rub’. Difficult though as it may seem, it’s the nature’s way of stepping in to cut and polish the gem that is us - to reawaken our genius, reignite our internal light, and release our potential.

Let’s welcome these ‘rubs’ and March ahead in all splendor and shine.
After all a diamond is just a piece of coal that did well under pressure.

Everyone in this World requires help. Take any aspect of life; it operates on the principles of Help - Give and Get.

Did you know that, when you REALLY need help, you will SURELY get it! That’s the law of nature. But the usual thought process that accompanies each one of us is that – in our moments of need we always turn towards people whom we had lent a helping hand in the recent past. This fallacy clouds our judgment. They may not at all be the right people who can help us for that particular task, but we aren’t able to look beyond them. They may not be at all equipped to help us in the manner that we want and therefore no help comes from their quarters. In such a scenario we even risk losing the personal relationship built over a period of time as it’s a set of wrong expectations.

You need to have faith and work with open mind to sense the help which might be your way from a source you least expected…

If you are wondering how true this could be…Let me HELP you with the HELP of this famous poem ‘I Had a Dream’

One night I had a dream
I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets
of footprints in the sand,
one belonging to me
and the other to my Lord.
When the last scene of my life shot before me
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
There was only on set of footprints.
I realized that this was at the lowest
and saddest times in my life.
This always bothered me
and I questioned the Lord
about my dilemma.
“Lord, you told me when I decided to follow You,
You would walk and talk with me all the way.
But I’m aware that during the most troublesome
times of my life there is only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You most,
you leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious, precious child,
I love you and will never leave you
never, ever during your times of trial and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints
It was then that I carried you.”

- Margaret Fishback Powers

Like the above powerful analogy, we will receive help even without knowing, we are doing so. All we have to do is to keep our heart open.

Keep GIVING when others need it. You will GET it when you really need it – Naveen Lakkur

This quote is a famous one and suite well for a leader or want-to-be a leader. So, the question is how a leader commands respect.

One needs to cover all the four directions to command respect.

# Walk the Talk – Signifies East (indicates ‘Forward Movement’) The Thoughts, Speech and Action are all aligned.
# Lead with Passion – Signifies North (indicates ‘Growth’) Passion takes you Places. The leader’s temperament is very contagious on the team.
# Love the Team – Signifies West (indicates ‘Past Investments’) The best investment a leader can make is LOVE. The more the investment, the better is the follow through.
# Be Selfless – Signifies South (indicates ‘Giving’) Think of a mother, the best leader because she is all about giving.

The way ahead is the way to success…To Lead the Way, you need to first cover the ground in all the directions.

Two blonde girls were working for the city public works department. One would dig a hole and the other would follow behind her and fill the hole in. They worked up one side of the street, then down the other, then moved on to the next street, working furiously all day without rest, one girl digging a hole, the other girl filling it in again.

An onlooker was amazed at their hard work, but couldn’t understand what they were doing. So he asked the hole digger, “I’m impressed by the effort you two are putting in to your work, but I don’t get it — why do you dig a hole, only to have your partner follow behind and fill it up again?”

The hole digger wiped her brow and sighed, “Well, I suppose it probably looks odd because we’re normally a three-person team. But today the girl who plants the trees called in sick.”

Is this story funny?? It might be… but my interest is in the vacuum that got created between digging and filling a hole. The vacuum is conveying valuable message:
• Constitution of TEAM is such an important aspect for accomplishment.
• It’s just not the TEAM that matters; the CONFIGURATION of the TEAM is what matters.
• People working with the Right Skills @ the Right Time translates to TEAM Work – Together Everyone Achieves More

Leaders bring right people together to create history…

Bob was a very special teacher in the school. Kids loved him because he specialized in teaching the very complex matter in a simple and practical way.

One day he brought a cocoon to the class to show the kids the process of metamorphosis. All the kids in the class were watching the cocoon. As the kids watched it anxiously, it started cracking slowly. Just then Bob received a note from the principal of the school calling him for a meeting with ‘urgent matter’ marked on it. Bob’s heart was with the kids, to teach them metamorphosis but mind said attend the urgent meeting. There was no choice. Bob instructed the kids just to watch the cocoon transforming into a colorful butterfly and not to touch it at any cost and stay silent until he returned from the meeting. All the kids acknowledged.

Bob returns to a very silent class only to see the butterfly dead on the table. Angry Bob asked what the kids did. Kids said they only helped the butterfly to come out of the shell easily as it was struggling to break the shell open.

Bob told the kids that by being sympathetic they became the reason for the butterfly’s death. He said, the struggle is what helps strengthen wings of the new born and thus setting it to fly later.

By narrating this story, Ms.Sadana (a founder teacher of Buoyancee, an institute teaching leadership for kids) effectively communicated to the parents that if the kids are struggling to perform, that only means they are growing stronger.

How different is it from entrepreneurship?

If you are building an organization and experiencing struggle; it could only mean you are growing stronger. The way ahead, is the way to success!

A leader is a leader only when there are followers. We choose our leaders and follow a leader based on their leadership qualities. The power of the leader could be measured by the strength of their following.

A few months back a member in my team Senthil Vel shared a book ‘Listen Up, Leader!’ by David Cottrell. I enjoyed reading this because it helped me empathize with the followers. The message was loud and clear in the book - ‘we want to follow you leader but you need to understand that we have some expectations from you’.

The strength of the leader can be strengthened if they understand the followers expectation. Then, the very first question arising is

What are the qualities that make a Quality Leader?

It’s important to look at this from the followers’ perspective and understand their expectations.

Let me answer this question with the help of a public poll results announced in a recent article published in Times of India news paper. It lists a dozen qualities for a leader in the order of priority (On a 5-point scale)
01. Honesty (4.71)
02. Efficiency (4.51)
03. Ability to inspire (4.50)
04. Education (4.49)
05. Ability to judge people (4.46)
06. Can carry people along (4.41)
07. Courage of conviction (4.40)
08. Willingness to learn (4.39)
09. Vision (4.35)
10. Fairness (4.24)
11. Charisma (3.92)
12. Ability to delegate (3.50)

Dear Leaders, rate yourself on the qualities of leadership to determine your quality of leadership. This could act as your personal Leadership Checks and Balance Chart. Just to remind you, Honesty is on top of the list…

There are different kinds of assets an organization speaks about. Assets such as Cash, Gold, Stocks/Shares, etc., are the Movable Assets and assets such as Land, Building, etc., are the Immovable Asset. There are some assets meant for long term and some are highly convertible.

There is one kind of asset which does not show up in the balance sheet of an organization, that the living asset - The Human Asset. The human asset is what ultimately builds the movable assets, immovable assets, tangible assets, intangible assets, intellectual properties, etc. So, the Human Asset is the Super Asset, lets focus on that…

The human assets are constituted by The Head, The Legs and The Belly.

1. The Head - Employees who contribute to the top line of the organization. They relate to the brand image, brand equity, order bookings, etc.,
2. The Legs – Employees who contribute to the bottom line of the organization. They help in keeping the organization moving or running the show such as the profits, the productivity, etc.,
3. The Belly – Employees who do not either contribute to the top line or the bottom line. Some times they act as the negative force and slow down the momentum of the growth of the organization.

Unlike other assets, the living assets have a very different management process. Organizations should be careful in the cycles of Attaining, Training and Retaining these assets.

“Is your pot belly growing?” A question to be asked by every organization and definitely the startups cannot afford fat being accumulated.

Attain right people; continuously train to burn the fat and retain good people…

In the right sense the amalgamation of Heart (analogous to Emotion) and Brain (analogous to Intelligence) gives birth to a leader. The real intensification and the growth of the leader are measured by the effectiveness.

The question arising is, how to intensify leadership. The answer is ‘Spirituality’.

For many of us Spirituality is a complex subject. But it’s not; especially if you understand the ABCD (fundamentals) of Spirituality as I learnt recently from Mr.Narashima Murthy’s talk. The ABCD of Spirituality is:

A: Awareness of inner joy
B: Balance of mind and heart
C: Ceiling on desire / Control of senses
D: Dedication to the welfare of the World

Is it not simple to understand. Go ahead add the catalyst called Spirituality to your leadership and intensify its effectiveness…

“Understanding of Spirituality is not complex; but the practice is!” – Naveen Lakkur

A famous Australian Coach John Buchanan says, “A good leader is one who takes the team from where they are to where they have not been”.

If you are wearing the hat of a leader, one of your major responsibilities would be to take your team to places that they have never been – scaling them to the heights that they have never reached earlier. A good team is known by its leader, they say “as the leader so the team”.

What does a leader expect from the team in order to Go Places?

* Skills
* Enthusiasm and Higher motivation levels
* Team spirit-The feeling of belongingness to the team
* A sense of sacrifice-Personal goals for team goals
* The burning desire to be the best

Combination of A Great Leader and A Great Team are like two faces of the same coin, this is what makes A Winning Team.

Want to Go Places? Be a Winner…

Ben was a slacker who hated work and was always lazing around. He never worked but he still wanted money. His father Joseph was very worried about his son’s careless attitude. Joseph summoned Ben one day and told him that everyday he should bring home some money. If he failed to get money for a day, he would not get the meal and will not be allowed inside the house. Ben had no other option but to obey his father.

Day 1: Ben begged his mother for money and the mother gave him some money. Happy Ben meandered around and returned home in the evening. He showed the money to his father. His father asked him to drop them in the well that was in the backyard. Ben just obeyed and dropped the coins in the well. Ben got his meal, happily had it and went to sleep.

Day 2: Ben begged his mother for money again but was not successful this time. Not knowing what to do, finally succeed in borrowing money from his friends. Ben’s day was busy arranging for money. Bushed Ben returns home in the evening and shows the money to his father. His father again asked him to drop them in the well. Ben just did the same; he got his meal but also did not understand why his father asked him to drop the money in the well.

Day 3: Ben begged and tried to borrow some money but all his efforts did not materialize. Not sure what to do being in a desperate situation, finally arranged money by stealing it. Ben showed the money to his father that evening. His father again asked him to drop them in the well. Ben dropped it; had his meal and went to sleep.

Many days went by; he managed to bring home the money everyday. And each day his father would tell him to drop them in the well. The money reached the bottom of the well everyday without any questions from Ben.

One day while walking in the town, Ben saw an old woman struggling to lift some luggage. Overcome by sympathy, he helped her transport all her luggage. The old woman was delighted and gave Ben 2 nickel coins as a token of her gratitude. As usual Ben returned home and his father told him to put that money in the well. This time Ben was hesitant and asked his father “is the money not being wasted”, and said he will not throw away the money this time. Father was very happy that his son finally p