Unleashing Aces

Gap.

2009-11-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

I have not been feeling like writing on my blog after losing my Mother on 16th August. I am visiting the blog for the first time after so many months. I guess, this falls under the emotion state of sadness. In our attitude session, we talk about human beings getting all their feelings from 4 emotion states - Glad, Mad, Sad & Scared.

Boredom.

2009-08-03T01:56:00.000-07:00

We are now doing a weekly session of around 2 hours at an institution. The subject is "The Hidden Factor (Attitude!). The audience changes every week as a new batch arrives from all over the country. After a few sessions, the faculty called us and said: Change the subject. It is getting boring ! The sessions are going great and the audience is enjoying them and giving us good feedback, but, as organizers, we feel bored to attend the same every week !

Amazing, is it not ? Change for the sake of variety !!!

Women Power.

2009-07-21T22:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, during a talk on "Attitude" at a leading IT Company, I was very pleased to see...the first 2 rows were filled with women. The men preferred to sit back. When it came to participation, it was the women all the way and at the end during questions, I found almost all the women had a question and only one man had asked a question. Surely, a sign of things to come in the future.
The world has totally changed and the ratio of women at the top to men will be different soon. Even God, might like to be called "She" in the coming years.

Attitude.

2009-07-06T00:52:00.000-07:00

During a presentation to faculty members, the definition of attitude came up. All the participants had their own understanding of 'Attitude.'

Is this not amazing ? It implies, we will have as many definitions of attitude as people. Hence, the biggest barrier to moving forward together, is the disconnect amongst everyone due to the different definitions of attitude carried by each one of us.

What is the solution ? One definitely, cannot have an "universal" definition communicated and understood by everyone. Instead of trying to teach everyone to carry or interpret the definition of attitude...it would be more prudent...to highlight the importance of attitude in life.

As William James said: The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.

Focus needs to move from defining attitude to highlighting the impact of attitude in one's life.

4 Minutes Video !!!

2009-06-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

During a recent presentation to senior faculty members, a powerful video of 'great quotes' was shown. It had a tremendous impact and everyone commented on feeling extremely inspired. Soon after, the same members said: The effect of the video would not last and life would be normal again. I was taken aback !
I could only say: How can you expect a 4 minutes video to change your life of 40+ years ? All your conditioning, circumstances and choices over the years cannot be turned around by a miracle cure.
Let us face it: To reverse the negativity in our life of "X" years, one need NOT spend the same amount of time...in my opinion, just one-tenth of time spent consciously can turn around any life. It is easier and faster to clean up our mind. But, polluting the mind is more difficult, longer and slower process.
Any 4 minute incident, article or video can be your trigger....the rest is in your hands !!!

Type Of Problems.

2009-06-21T06:05:00.001-07:00

Last week, I was asked by a senior manager over dinner on an employee, who was an expert in bringing problems to his table. I asked him:
1. Are the problems of the same type everytime ?
2. Are the problems of different types everytime ?
If it is the former, clearly, the employee has an attitude problem and is testing his boss. Maybe, a wrong selection...could be taken thru' attitudinal training and check for progress or exited.
If it is the latter, clearly, the employee has a competence problem and needs to go thru' training about the job and check for progress or exited.
To be a successful and effective manager, it is imperative to understand, the type of problems coming to our table and then take actions chronically and not to tackle symptoms.

Thinking.

2009-05-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

Whenever a recession comes, the first attempt by the Management is to reduce 'Manpower.' This makes the situation worse as the remaining workforce gets de-motivated and stops making any productive contribution at the workplace. Further, when the boom comes around, the Management makes a dash to recruit new hands and spend tons of money to train them.

Would it not be better to not axe people when the going get tough but keep them on no-increment basis, redeploying in cost cutting areas ? This will enable the workforce to appreciate their Mgt and give their best in the recession and finally, when the boom comes, we have an already trained workforce getting more engaged at work as they never lost their jobs.

Character vs Reputation.

2009-05-19T01:57:00.000-07:00

Most people are bothered about their reputation. What others think about them ! It should really be the other way round as "Character" is what you think of yourself and "Reputation" is what others think of you. In other words, Character is what you are in the "dark" and Reputation is what you are in the "light."

Think about it, what is MORE important.

How do you live your life ?

2009-04-28T00:34:00.000-07:00

Talent is God-given - be humble.
Fame is man-given - be thankful.
Conceit is self-given - be careful.
- Source Unknown

Direction Over Speed.

2009-04-27T07:20:00.001-07:00

In today's world, all the emphasis has turned to speed. No direction but full speed. As a result, everyone runs out of steam and soon find themselves living a life of dissatisfaction. As a result, Epitaphs can be written such as:
Born: 1975 Died: 2009 Buried: 2040
Hence, it is important to give emphasis to the direction one wants to travel. If the direction is clear, speed becomes secondary. In such cases, the speed becomes irrelevant also as the journey in the direction of one's choice becomes so heartening. To decide the direction, one needs to be very clear what one needs.

Appreciation & Treatment

2009-04-20T23:37:00.000-07:00

It is so easy to appreciate and treat people well but nobody wants to do it. Why ?
1. You do not get appreciated or treated well...so, why bother and treat or appreciate someone else ?
2. You feel, treating somebody well will spoil them !
3. You do not know the value of this principle.
Appreciation and Treatment can change your relationship with anyone....you just need to practise it.

Attitude

2009-04-20T01:28:00.000-07:00

It has been said: You change your attitude and you can change your life. Nice and easy words but in practice, a lot more difficult. It all depends on the individual. If he / she makes up his mind, then, one can change the attitude from negative to positive, it will be possible to change your life forever. What is changing the "mind?" Changing the mind to accept 'attitude' as the mother of all qualities is the first step to take responsibility for one's life.

Leaders.

2009-04-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

There is a major mistaken belief with Managers everywhere. Everyone thinks, he or she is a Leader. Also, another misconception in the corporate world, the higher your position, the better the leader you are. Neither your title nor your position makes you a Leader.

Soft Skills Specialization

2009-04-17T01:23:00.000-07:00

There has never been more need to learn Soft Skills than today. Hard Skills might get you the job but eventually Soft Skills will get you promoted.
Similarly, you can only create a good company with employees who are good at hard skills but a great company is created when your employees are good at soft skills.