Willing & Able

In times and environments where competition is intense, perhaps at its highest in recent history, willingness and ability to act is essential. The better we understand the dynamic of action, not only will we be able to evaluate and improve ourselves, but we will be able to refine our intelligence to chart the paths of those around us, including our competitors. There is a spectrum of effective action ranging from optimal, to detrimental. What makes this domain of action even more interesting, is that it is not only us acting, we often delegate our actions to others, for which, we experience the consequences because they are acting on our behalf. This is why the phrase, you can never delegate responsibility, was coined. How can we determine who should act on our behalf? To determine this, we need to know how able they are, and how willing they are to act.

Ability

It was a hot summer day as I was on my promenade walk. I was studying the various activities of people along Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade. There was quite a range; from people walking backwards, to Tai Chi, listening and dancing to Filipinio pop music, and fishing. Of all of them, the fishermen would be there by far the longest. One man was there when I came in the morning, and there again the same evening. By the end of the evening, he seemed to have caught 2 or 3 fish. For now, let’s just analyse his success rate as opposed to how much he enjoyed the experience. A whale can swallow a small bus full of krill by opening its mouth just once. Usain Bolt has ran the fastest 100 meters by a human being to date at 9.58 seconds. According to research, a brown hare would run 100 meters in 5.58 seconds. In the area of weight lifting, red ants lift 50 times their body weight compared to 2 times for the top Olympic weightlifter in history. In terms of jumping, red squirrels can jump six meters, the equivalent of a 56-metre jump for man. Fleas cover two feet in an average jump, the equivalent of a human being leaping a quarter of a mile. These animals are more able than the humans in their respective fields. One of my old bosses, had a very distinct style. He would not speak much in meetings. He would only make 3-4 interjections in a meeting even though he was the most senior person. His interjections would usually be done through subtle facial expressions, and hand gestures alone, and these would be enough to direct, or re-direct the meeting, and we could all see he is listening to what is being said – without words. It was fascinating, he had such a skill where he could command people’s attention without even speaking, and it seemed he had really learned the art of doing so. He had the tenacity and sharpness to make just the right contributions, and thereby actually preserve his energy and also clarity in thought in doing so. So we get an idea of what is meant by ability with these examples, however, there is something more about Usain Bolt’s running the 100m, performing his archer style celebration compared with the hares who probably run the 100m much faster on a more regular basis. What is this, and how can we use this knowledge to make us more effective?

Willingness

Drive, determination, motivation, enthusiasm, interest – whatever you may call it, there is a certain sense of ‘willingness’ that some people seem to have to do something, to become something, to achieve, to prove themselves, and so on. A very inspiring leadership coach, Edward Anobah, explained to me a concept from the Vedic teachings in this connection; the process for action begins with thinking or contemplation. We think about a certain field, sphere, person, etc. Once we think about them enough, based on our previous conditioning, we may develop a willingness for something in the sphere; this is desire. That desire, once sufficiently accumulated, will become an impetus for action. We often see this when little children watch something on television that really invokes an interest; such as football. They watch it, they think about it, they want it, then they do it. The Financial Times has a supplementary magazine called “How to spend it.” In this magazine, it covers a range of top end luxury products and services including yatches, watches, and holidays that one can spend their money on. The magazine is designed to get people thinking, desiring, and ultimately spending. There is a universal process of thinking, feeling and willing, which leads to action, which operates in the micro and macro context in the corporate world also. In a micro context, it is the trigger for people raising issues they may be thinking about, cultivating strong feelings about, then speaking about. In a macro context, it is the process behind ‘ambition’, which is such a powerful thing that it can lead to the creation of empires. Willingness is needed to overcome difficulties. If there isn’t a deep rooted desire, then difficulties may overcome one in anything from micro tasks, through to achieving their 3-5 year goals. Being conscious and sensitive to the levels of willingness of those that work for us, and around us, is essential, but is not enough. We must understand the dynamics between willingness, and ability in order to really be successful in delegating and also presenting ourselves to our seniors based what their ability and willingness tells us about what’s important to them.

Willingness & Ability

Mike Tyson was at one stage the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles at 20 years. son won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, 12 of them in the first round. He holds title of being the heaviest hitter in heavyweight boxing. Toward the end of his reign, Mike Tyson was beaten by Lennox Lewis, and Evander Holyfield twice. He was then defeated by Briton Danny Williams, and Irishman Kevin McBride, neither of who held world titles, nor made it nearly as high as Mike Tyson in the world rankings. However, Mike Tyson was defeated by them in the 6^th and 4^th rounds respectively by knock out and technical knock outs. It wasn’t the first, nor last time that a great boxer has come out of retirement, to try again, and failed. Mike Tyson had been a perfectly capable boxer; ability had not been an issue for him. However, at the time he fought McBride, McBride was younger, quicker, and stronger; he was more able on the night. Who had more at stake? Kevin McBride, or the former WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight champion? Tyson clearly had enough impetus, desire to win the fight, and the pre-fight talk said a lot about that also. The legendary Elvis Preseley’s words that a little less conversation, and a little more action are very relevant here. I would be inclined to speculate that Elvis used the word 'conversation' in this context to refer to the broader area of the demonstration of willingness to do something, to achieve something etc, and to get on with action. So, whilst willingness is a crucial factor in enduring through challenges, we must ensure that it is appropriately back with qualification, competence, track-record, and ability to act. This is just as important in assessing interview candidates, as it is when assigning tasks to people and teams, and also most importantly in being the example we want to set for others.

Remembrance: the Source of Success

 The Fortnight

I had a very intense two week period planning for an event we held last week, and the week proceeding it was a spent with some of the senior leadership visits from the UK, Asia and the US. Many aspects of my routine suffered as a result from diet, to sleep, to training. My diet was more based on eating out albeit at top end restaurants, my sleep was cut to almost half of what I normally have and need, and my training frequency was limited to the weekends and at best once in the week. The two periods of “busy-ness” were however very different. For the large event we held, it required my complete absorption, at all times, and was quite intense and full of unexpected events happening. The set of senior leadership visits were less intense, more entertaining, and all very much planned. Though the negative impact on my training routine, sleep, and diet were similar in both weeks, my ability and performance during the Muay Thai sessions was markedly better after the second period than the first. Analysing why, led to some quite profound realisations around remembrance that have implications in whatever fields we work in, or even operate in.
 

Different impacts

During the first week, due to the absorption, I certainly couldn’t take care of the “gross” things like diet, sleep, or training, and also on a “subtle” level, mentally I was 100% focused on the event and securing its success, at all costs. During the leadership visit, whilst at a gross level I had to commit, on a subtle level I was thinking of my training, I was visualizing the moves. Anything I’d see at head height I would visualize certain moves at that height. When I would walk, I would remember the forward step motion, and when I would sit down I would remember the lower postures. Whilst physically engaged and active, I would have plenty of opportunity to remember. When I went to the Muay Thai session, I was so eager to perform the moves on the pads, with the gloves, with my trainers; because I had been remembering it. After the first week however, when I returned to the Centre, it was a terrible struggle. It almost felt like starting over; because I was not remembering.
 

A spirit of remembrance

When we have a reporting chain in the workplace, unless we remember what we need to deliver, and the way it needs to be delivered also, there is every chance we will just go with the flow, and forget those things. This will lead to a number of mark downs by our seniors. It is not a leadership quality to forget collective aspirations and let scope and time of our activities to creep up in a way that we’re not conscious of; we must continually remember, and address the things we agree with our seniors in order to be successful. Unless of course there are opportunities to innovate which achieve those same goals and more in a way that is acceptable and bonafide, and done with integrity. If we are entrepreneurs, it can be a struggle to operate in the kinds of economic circumstances we see today all over the world. If we do not continually remind ourselves the reasons we’re doing what we’re doing, the levels of motivation will inevitably drop and negativity may also creep in.
 

The magic of remembrance

Remembrance is most powerful, it is born of thought, which is born of consciousness. The more we train our consciousness to be focused, the more we will find noble, realistic and ambitious thoughts arising. In the Vedic scriptures it says that the single most important thing is to remember the Supreme Person, and never forget Him. Of hundred of thousands of lines of deep scripture, this is the fountainhead of all teachings; Always remember God, and never forget Him. Ones success at school and in the early stages of their education also comes down to remembrance in exams of all those things that have been taught. Muhammad Ali said, the fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. Remembrance is a choice, and choice depends on our desire. So, how much do we want to be successful?

The Ingredients of Success

When the Cat is away…

I had the privilege to go for dinner this week with some of the leaders of our European business, and they had some real gems of experience to share. The Managing Partner said, the first stage is to know your weakness, and yes, we all have them. The second stage is to hire people around you who are strong in your weak areas. Then you have a chance of succeeding. This is not a new principle, it has been followed to success for many millennia. I was also fortunate to once meet a monk called Govinda Prabhu. He explained that in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, the virtuous brothers, the Pandavas, also exhibited this dynamic, albeit in a relative sense. They were all virtuous and had an abundance of good qualities, but some were particularly strong in certain areas. Yuddhistira Maharaj, the elder of the brothers was extremely righteous. For him, righteousness was dearer to him than his life. On numerous occasions, his brothers would complain and say that they had more than sufficient grounds and reasons to wage war, and he would always decline and speak of the benefits of the way of peace, and need for tolerance. Now, in explaining some of these principles, Govinda Prabhu explains how both these elements are critical to success. He said that without the cause of righteousness, it is pointless to act, because you are simply setting yourself up to fail. At the same time, righteousness, cannot be upheld if there is weakness. The strength and to some extent aggression that the younger brothers, particularly Arjuna and Bhima bought, were necessary to uphold the righteousness and direction that Yuddhistira Maharaj bought. Sometimes we see this in corporations. At the top, the leadership is often very nice, with excellent principles, and sometimes at the middle management levels we see a style that may seem at conflict with these values. However, sometimes, in order to ‘get things done,’ a more aggressive mood may be necessary. Certainly in an environment where when the cat is away, the mice are at play so to speak.

 

Borrowing from the Future

Youthfulness, dynamism, freshness, ambitiousness. These are the qualities people like to see in leaders. But are they a physical attribute? Not necessarily. The greatest leaders often become great because they imbibe these. Nothing can stop the hands of time, but at the same time, those with these qualities, who are conscious of their benefits, continually learn and deepen their experience with them, and therefore constantly being conscious of them, they don’t forget them. They stay youthful and fresh at heart, although of course, externally they may be getting older. When I was a graduate, the global CTO of a company sponsored one of my projects. He used to always be so excited to hear of my developments and ideas. The more experiences I have, and the more people I meet, I realise more and more how great he was. He had these qualities, which had stayed with him over time. He clearly had experience with these concepts and applied them very enthusiastically. The CEO of our company addressed our Partners at a conference where they were being congratulated on achieving Partnership, saying that he would recommend a particular mindset on their achieving Partnership. He said they should not think of themselves as having “done it” and now  being the King’s of the Castle so to speak. Rather that they should think of the experience as borrowing time from the leaders of the future. In this way, one can be very forward looking, always leave lasting legacies, and find life actually quite light, and free flowing as they free themselves of the heavy weights of viewing themselves as part of a constitution if you like. This lightness is what paves way for achieving big.

 

The Ingredients of Success

The concepts cited above, you don’t see everyone around you think this way. It’s not quite normal. Why isn’t everyone thinking like this? Because only very few people become successful. It is not normal to be very successful. That’s why not everyone embodies such principles. But not all successful people think like this, I hear you say. We do not have the lense to analyse what bought someone success as there may be some things we cannot see with the naked eye. There may be a host of things a person may have done that bought them success, which we were not there to witness or see. Some of this may be planning, and training the mindset, which normally takes place not in the workplace. We don’t see this. There are numerous other reasons one may be successful, but we should look for the universal causes of success, and try to follow those. What the ancient Indian scriptures have to say about success, or opulence, or power as it would be called in corporate terms, is that it is born of austerity, or sacrifice. They also say it is based on virtuous behaviour. So we can understand that success must involve hard work, and virtue. One without the other, will not be successful in the corporate environment.

Riding the Wave: Using Momentum

The rebound

As I walked down the harbour one sunny morning this week, as usual I looked at the glistening water, which is always very uniform looking as there is very little harbour traffic at that time and therefore less movement in the water. I stopped to absorb the sight for some time. I saw about midway between where I was standing and Hong Kong Island, there was a relatively large wave in the middle; perhaps a foot or two high. As I was facing the Sun, I first thought it is unlikely to be a wave, especially when the waters were so still. So I looked harder. It was definitely a wave, and was moving at a very steady pace, and not reducing in size at all. I watched it continue to come towards where I was standing. Underneath me was a very heavy duty barrier, like a wall. I was anticipating what would happen when it came to the barrier. The barrier was at a 90 degree angle to the wave, it was not like rocks, where the waves would smash onto the rocks and that would be it. This would be a head on collision if you like. As the wave approached the wall, it was as though it completely rebounded off the barrier, which was like a wall. It hit the barrier at a diagonal angle, and rebounded in the opposite diagonal direction. The barrier had not broken the wave, merely redirected it in the opposite direction, towards Hong Kong Island. The wave then continued to the Island, and was then dissipated by the wooden posts that were at the ferry pier.

 

Red tape

Working in Hong Kong has been a fascinating experience. There are certainly some aspects that are behind due to the lack of scale here, and it is sometimes painful starting things up as there aren’t mature processes in place to help. However, sometimes this lack of maturity works in your favour. With maturity often times comes complacence. The longer a process is in place, the more people become ‘sticky’, less efficient, more prone to politics, and guarding their territory often comes into play. This is often referred to as the organisational ‘Red tape’ which can hinder progress, and can be quite simply irrational. At times here, I’ve found it many times easier to get things done, and at these times I’ve often been in shock thinking, Really? Can it be that easy? Indeed it can be, and it is believable when you’re in the right place, at the right time, with the right people. When you relieve yourself and those around you of politics and red-tape, and have an environment that is progressive, you can build some real momentum. This is the whole principle of ‘growth markets,’ their momentum is not checked by the conventional barriers that hinder growth in a mature market. If handled in the right way, the momentum can be kept up. And how do we handle it in the right way, so that it is sustainable? Through strong values, through enforcing integrity, that the team is greater than any individual, and that we work for a collective good. Through these values, the momentum can be sustained. The values are like the strong barrier, that simply handles the force of the wave, and retains all its momentum to move forward again. If we lack values, we cripple the wave of momentum. All our effort will be smashed into tiny pieces, like the wave smashing into the rocks, leaving nothing to go back, but just to disperse tamely.

 

The result of discipline

So we have a choice; how do we respond to situations where we have favourable circumstances around us? Do we continue to work hard, to build on the momentum, or do we become lazy and complacent, and take it for granted. The more we work hard, the better placed we will be for when times get tough. They may not get tough, but chances are they will at some stage. At that stage, all of the discipline we have been cultivating, will come into use, and we will be able to use this to build our next base in the continual cycles that ensue in our journeys to success.

Timing the Peak: Timley Action

Whilst away this week in the island of Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, it really hit upon me that principles are universal; if you see something with an eternal principle in play, you will be able to see it anywhere you go, in anything you see. Many people today are all about making an impact, making ones presence known, etc. However, it is often the case that people who have such mentality, with very little substance underneath, will quickly fade. Their legacies will not really touch people, they may have a great temporary effect on people, and cause somewhat of a craze, but if we analyse the factors are play here, around acting at the right time, we will see that our i) ability to act and ii) the need for action are two different factors that need to be continually monitored and aligned with more and more consciousness.

The Phi Phi Waves

The beaches of Koh Phi Phi, which includes many of those used in shooting the film The Beach, are very serene, and those areas that are secluded, like corridors almost, have very calm waves. One morning, however, after a electric storm with thunder and lightning, the waves were a lot stronger. After looking at the way the waves wash up the shells, and stones on the sand, it was interesting to see how far each of the waves come. I then began to try to predict which waves would come furthest into the shore. It was very interesting; those waves which seemed to have most power, go up very high, and with a lot of force from afar, would very often simply blend into the rest of the water before coming anywhere near the shore. Whereas often, the waves that would go furthest, would peak just about 10 meters before the shore, and then go a further distance. Immediately the parallel could be drawn. There are those people who are all about making their presence known to everyone, particularly the seniors, and who actually have much less to show for when it comes to the delivery of results. Whereas, often the quieter individuals, are doing what they need to in the background, speaking to the right people, at the right times, for the right things, and not necessarily expecting an immediate return or increase in profile, who rise to a more lasting prominence; they peak at the right time. It is absolutely not that we need to be very calculated, or have some ulterior motive to talk to senior people, but actually the opposite; to be gracious, and to value their time. Cultures across the world and across people are different, and to really apply this principle intelligently, sensitivity to this is critical. I once asked a monk what it means to use ones intelligence. He replied, it means to be sensitive. So this is also applicable in this context; we must learn to not be the noisy vessel, and use our intelligence to interact with people in a very noble, and yet focused way.

Conditioning the Shins

I was speaking with a member of my Muay Thai Centre who was training for quite a big fight in Bangkok. He said that he was working on conditioning his shins; or making them more resilient to high impact contact. When I asked more about the timing around such conditioning, he said it really was an art, and the timing and nature of such conditioning was critical to its success. He said if you begin conditioning too early then it will be too much to sustain, and if of course you start too late, it may not be enough to handle or make the impact needed. It was all a question of timing and extent. Similar to the waves, if the energy is invested early, it will fizzle. There was a clear parallel between all these lessons. In the corporate world we need to be very conscious that it is more often than not, a marathon not a sprint, and therefore we should really try to use our intelligence to map out and chart the two things i) our ability to act, and ii) the need to act. These two are often different, but often times, because of whatever reason, if we are able to act, we act. This is acting on impulse, and we often then peak early. If we however try to align our actions with the need to act, this will be far more effective, and allow a lot more preservation for the marathon that lies ahead.

Discipline: Too Hard, or too Soft?

How we react as leaders and managers, to the behaviour of those who work for us in the corporate world has a large parallel with how discipline is enforced in a country. The balance between being too strict, and being too light is very important in ensuring a healthy productivity and attainment of results, and morale. There are some enlightening conclusions coming from looking at human behaviour, historical trends, and what ancient wisdom has to offer in this field. When these things are all consciously meditated on, deeply internalized, and lived, they will give rise to conscious action towards others, which will in tern give rise to more effective management of the people who work for you as a leader.

One Extreme: Zero-tolerance

In the early formation of the Mongolian Empire, there were three tribes who joined forces. They were only in the hundreds by number, however within a very short period, conquered thousands. There was a trio of warlords from each of these three tribes who formed a close group who collectively made decisions regarding the next place they would attack, how they would govern, set rules, award punishment etc. They set a number of clear rules i.e. how the rank and file operate and whose orders must be followed. This system clearly worked and there wasn’t an issue with it, until something unexpected was encountered. At this time, a decision needed to be taken on how to manage that kind of newly encountered behaviour. The tribes had conquered a new territory, and in their barbaric celebrations, one of the warriors raped a woman of the conquered party. This news came out to the masses, and there were mixed opinions amongst the public. Some said anything should go as they were conquered, however others morally disagreed and thought a punishment should be meted out. This matter was then escalated to the trio of warlords, and they too had a mixed opinion. They debated. One said that if they set a hard punishment, they would need to be fair and identify such cases very diligently, which would create a burden and reduce their power. Another said that it should be punished to some extent in some appropriate manner. However, the strongest of the trio took the final decision in his own hands, and beheaded the person in front of all of the public. That was to be the rule; zero tolerance, and it sent a very robust message to all those who may have considered such an act. In corporate organisations we also see that making an example out of an incident does sometimes act as a strong factor to dissuade people from misbehaving. In countries like Dubai and Singapore, the crime rates are extremely low, and the punishments for crime are very severe. This is clearly one extreme, of setting a very high standard, and enforcing it rigidly as possible.

The Other Extreme: Over-tolerance

In Britain, the riots of 2012 some argue could have been contained better if powerful measures were enforced early. Britain was said by some to have been overly-tolerant of bad behaviour. A country which previously ruled most of the World, which has some of the most economic and political power at the world level, was bought to a state of nation-wide trauma, by a few groups of youths with a some home-made weapons; quite simply unacceptable. Some argue that making an example out of the first few cases would have been enough of a deterrent for some of the latter cases that ensued. The decision of making clear the consequences of bad behaviour was not taken, and as a result global reputational damage, what to speak of innocent people suffering, was what came to pass. The crime rate in the 1970’s through to the 1990’s in New York City was amongst the highest in inner cities in the world. Mayor Gulianni stepped in and enfored a zero tolerance policy in New York, which resulted in New York becoming a safer place by ten times, compared to the past. The book Freakonimics later argued that the reduction of crime was actually attributed to a reduction in the number of single parent families in New York; which has always had a very strong correlation with rates of crime independent of which country in the world, and especially in the US. So, was it Gulianni’s zero tolerance policy, or the reduction in single parents? Or both? If we look at the crime rates in some of the African countries, they are far higher than in the Western countries, however their police forces are given complete sanction to shoot on site, and in that sense, can be regarded more similar to the US police albeit with different types of internal governance, which may have a role to play also. The Mexican police force make heavy use of weapons and shoot on site, and yet the homicide rate in Mexico is continually extremely high. So it isn’t necessary that simply by imposing a severe punishment, discipline and good behaviour will be automatically attained. It depends on many factors. What is the nature of people being governed? What is the nature of the people who are governing? These are some of the considerations. In the corporate context, simply by setting hard deadlines, and imposing strict sanctions on under-performance, will not necessarily incentivize all people to really be creative and create value. It is more complex than that, and there is something missing from all the above systems.

The Missing Factor: Understanding

Discipline must be there; how it is attained is delicate, complex, and must be given attention. What is missing in all of the above systems and why have none of the rulers found a perfect balance? The great sage Bhishmadeva, concluded on this aspect of leadership very simple point, which if understood, and applied, can give a huge benefit to us. He said, “A leader must understand their subjects as a mother understands her child.” If we do not understand the people that work for us, what drives them, what motivates them, what can be used to discipline them, as individuals, then we will not be able to manage them; it is quite simple. However, modern management styles are fortunately moving towards this paradigm, with the emphasis on Emotional Quotient as opposed to purely Intelligence Quotient for example. Even then, this teaching of Bhishmadeva is extremely profound and takes the concept of management to the next level. There is surely work most of us need to do in this regard. Being sensitive of the environment we are in, if we begin to take the appropriate measures to apply this teaching, things will be very progressive, because we are all individuals, and it is refreshing to i) understand others, and ii) be understood. Bhishmadeva is coming from the perspective of a highly personalistic leadership style, which is closer to modern management than many of the styles we have seen in the decades that have gone by of command and control, and therefore we will certainly see great results if we try to apply this.

Value Maximised Interaction: Red pill or Blue pill?

Our lives are certainly busy, with many competing demands and different aspects of our livelihood that we have to ensure are being taken care of. Work life balance as many refer to it, is emphasised increasingly in the competitive environments we work in, and as this competition increases in the contracting financial markets we are seeing, this area is one that we should perhaps view from a few different perspectives as there are measures we can all take to ensure we have a better balance. If we address the right areas, with the right amount of attention, we will find the challenge of balance will significantly ease.

Art of 8 Limbs

Muay Thai is referred to as the “Art of 8 Limbs” as it uses the fists, elbows, knees, and feet to strike. The Thais created the art as Thailand was under heavy pressure from foreign armies, and needed a domestic method of defence as well as military forms. Using these 8 limbs were the most effective way according to the Thai’s of replacing the use of weapons. One piece of research concluded that the knee of a expert Muay Thai fighter has the same force as a 30 mph car hitting you. The elbows can move far quicker than the knees, and can strike the face, having the potential to cause great damage. Muay Thai has taken great influence from the Ramayana, and there are at least half a dozen advanced, and highly impactful moves named after Hanuman, the empowered monkey servant of Lord Rama. The moves are based on particular stories of Hanumanji and representations of the story. It’s hardly a surprise that Hanuman in many illustrations has a knee high up. Hanuman was extremely composed and mentally grounded. In Muay Thai, the training involves being extremely loose, preserving all one’s energies, and using them only at the critical points of contact. If in using the elbow for example, one uses all their “force” in the swing, the impact will be much reduced. The more exertion, the less effective. It would seem a contradiction. To exert surely means more impact. But here we’re saying the less exertion the more impact. The logic is very clear. If you imagine you have a finite amount of energy, and use it up in the swing, then you have less left for the impact, whereas if you minimise the energy loss in the swing, and concentrate it just on the point of contact, it will hit with more impact, and more likely with more precision as one can be agile as to where it lands when there is less exertion in the swing also. If one doesn’t know this, they will end up very tired, and ineffective. This is the condition of most people in the corporate world; they are fatigued, and actually ineffective; hence only a small number of people occupy leadership positions and most fail to enter that tier.

Focussing our Time & Energies

We must be able to evaluate our interactions. What does that mean? Evaluate contains the word value. What value are we getting from our interactions? In one day last week, I met the CEO of the bank, CFO, and CRO, and within a few hours left a positive impression on them through a few presentations and updates I’d prepared for. This was a high value interaction. On another day, I spent a very long day trying to make up for some miscommunications in delegation in the neighbouring regions due to cultural and language differences etc. The only outcome this achieved, was simply to not be told off for getting it very wrong! Whilst a critical outcome, it wasn’t as progressive as the first interaction. How “value yielding” are the interactions you are having? How much of your energy are your interactions consuming? These two simple questions will give you the answer to how successful you are and will be, and also how much of a work-life balance you have. Interactions are linked to people. Certain people will be like the swing, and certain people will be like the point of contact; if we use all our energy focussing on people who will not give value, and therefore have less energy left when it comes to the point of contact; this will lead to a gap between what you do achieve, and what you could have achieved. So choosing to focus our energy on sources that may drain us is akin to choosing the wrong pill. Of course, we should be respectful to all people and never forget that they are emotional beings as this in one sense is far more important than all our possible success, it is a core value which should not be compromised, but at a different level we should ensure we are gaining value from our interactions and being focussed in them, in the right way. If we simply do not evaluate where we’re spending our time, focussing our energies, there is little chance that we will be efficient with our time in working towards our end goals. However, if we get this right, we may be very surprised how quickly success comes.

Hearing: The Key to Improving

Improvement, and being happy with where we currently are, don’t go well together. An attitude of continually striving to maintain and increase our standard is what is needed to succeed. Improvement often comes as a result of an event, called feedback, which more often than not, will not be like music to our ears. How we evaluate, internalise, and act on feedback will, in part, determine whether we go on to succeed, or fail.

Slow!

A couple of months ago, in my first Muay Thai class, one of the instructors was putting my hand wrap on for me. He saw the rakhi, a string, on my right hand. English not being their first language, rather Thai, he gestured and asked what it was. I said it was for protection from my sister. I saw he had a white thread on his hand also. I asked him what it was. He folded his palms and said, “Buddha” and “Temple”. I said thank you after he put the wraps on and continued with the session. He was very warm and a gentleman. Being the first session, another trainer told me I was kicking wrong. He gestured, don’t whip, push, put your hip and back into it. Time and time again, he would repeat the same instructions, and I’d continue to struggle for at least 45 minutes. Toward the end it got marginally better, but then the session ended. In the next session, it was as difficult, he told me I was kicking wrong. I found this experience extremely frustrating. I had previously done karate; and my kicks were the most powerful part of my technique, by far. I didn’t need any special mentoring in kicking during karate, it was just natural, and here I was for at least a couple of sessions, making very little progress in this very area. For some reason, I didn’t like hearing him saying the kicks were wrong. In the next session, the instructor said, “Slow!!!” to try to get me to use less power and focus on technique. My muscles eventually began to become reconditioned to the new technique, which had more push, more of a lean back, more force, and less snap, less whip – which was the karate way that I’d become conditioned to from before. I removed power almost totally, and focussed on technique. The power could always be re-introduced once the technique was right. One day I came in a little early just to watch the other group training. I studied their technique more. After a few sessions, I was with the same instructor, and he was much happier. After training with a number of instructors, and getting various bits of feedback, which were all so useful, I felt better rounded. In a consequent session, whilst one trainer was on the pads, the trainer who tied my wraps in my first lesson was just watching, attentively. After a few minutes, the two trainers spoke to each other for a while, demonstrating techniques and focussing on specifics. They then told me to change a few things. I trusted them completely by now, and listened very carefully. I could also see how doing what they said to do would lead to improvement even before I did it. It was excellent – the more I listened, internalised, and applied, the more effective I was, and visibly so. We started doing some more spontaneous moves a few moments later whilst maintaining the technique, and they signalled very loudly “Good!” The agility in the legs, waist, and back was a lot better in a couple of weeks, and I began to put in 80% of power to good effect. Upper body and legs began to synchronise well, and I expressed my thanks to the instructors. I later came to know that the instructor who tied the wraps for me in my first session, was formerly a champion in his weight in Korea, and had fought in more than 260 fights, almost all of them being victories.

Listening and adapting

There were two instances of feedback in the above example; the first being in the first few weeks regarding how the kicks were wrong, and the latter being after some sessions from the two trainers. The attitude during the first was one of cloudedness and previous baggage, which creates layers between what is coming in, and you, who should be listening and applying. These layers are the talk of the mind, and can be severely detrimental in us picking up these gems of feedback and really improving. The layers are usually down to a sense of ego saying, I am right in what am doing, don’t try to tell me what to do, or how to do it. In the second instance of feedback however, there was acceptance of the trainers, trust in the trainers, a real desire to improve, and ultimately an openness to change the way I was doing things recognising that it was not right. The mind was clear, and there was very little between the words coming out of their mouth, and me incorporating these. The mind is the medium which can either position us to improve, or to continue and be ignorant to good advice. In the Bhagawad Gita, the ancient Indian scripture recited by Lord Krishna to Arjuna, essentially to prepare him for war, Lord Krishna says that the mind can be one’s worst enemy, or best of friends. How clear it is that this was the case for the Muay Thai technique, and it doesn’t take much to translate this example into the corporate context, or indeed the personal life context either. We need to be open to feedback about us, to accept that we may need to change. However, we must be careful what feedback we take on. The source of feedback must be authoritative, or well positioned at a minimum. It is ever so important to be able to trust the source of feedback, especially in an environment where others may be rewarded at your expense. So we must be bold, open to change, and yet careful when trying to learn how we can improve in our paths to success.

Action & Destiny

The question is often asked whether we determine our fate, or whether pre-determined by destiny. The word 'crises' is often used when factors beyond our control come into play, and factors accelerate beyond expectation or control. On the contrary, we do seem to have an ability to maneuver, to act, to decide etc, which does influence and shape our future. There is often times a tug of war in ones mind over what is within ones hands, and what is beyond our control. How a leader views this dynamic will determine how responsible the leader is, and how well a leader learns.

Quicker through the Traffic

I was recently walking through Hung Hom station, which connects mainland China with Hong Kong. Next to Hung Hom station is the Hong Kong Coliseum, which is often the venue of many concerts and public exhibitions. Being the busiest land connection between China and Hong Kong, there is almost always a lot of traffic and large movement of crowds walking through this station and its nearby vicinity. Cutting through these crowds very regularly, it is interesting observing the dynamics. Sometimes there is a situation where there is a small gap to go through, of approximately an equal distance between you and an 'on-coming party.' You have one of a few options; Option 1 – you can courteously slow down, and wait for the person to go through first. Option 2- you can continue at your own pace, and arrive at a decision point where both parties have to decide who will go first, or Option 3- you can speed up and make it through the gap before them and avoid waiting for the other party and also having a decision point. When I first saw the sea of people at Hung Hom station, I thought, it will take me far longer than it does when it is empty; that is a certainty. However, by the time I got by to the other side, I had reached there quicker than when the path was all clear. How was this? At each instance when there was this situation of a narrowing of a gap, and there were many such instances, I took Option 2, of moving through the gap quicker than the oncoming party. Of course, if you keep doing that, and going faster than you otherwise would if it were empty, you will cut down the headline time. It is clear, when we are in situations that demand a response, which stretch us, and we have to choose; Do we slow down? Do we fail to react? Or do we speed up and live up to what the circumstance require of us? Swift progress, and personal growth lie in choosing the last of these options. We often do not have control of our circumstances, but we certainly have a choice over how we react to them. The extent to which we are conscious, will determine the extent to which we can make a beneficial choice.

Half Empty v Half Full?

There are two extremes; on the one hand, a very audacious person, perhaps overly self-confident would argue that there is no such thing as destiny; you are free to act as you want, achieve what you want, at your own will. On the other hand, there is the person with no motivation to act, a sense of lethargy, unwillingness to take responsibility, who would argue that ‘everything is out of your hands,’ we cannot control the outcome of our action; as it is pre-destined, and what will be, will be. The pragmatic person understands that there is clearly a balance between action and reaction; they have some ability to plan, to do the best they can, and the outcome is then something that is then, out of our control. Bhishmadeva, the great sage, said that “A leader is a man of action.” This leaves very little ambiguity on what is to be done by a leader. What does it mean to act as a leader. There are various types of action needed at different times. If we are really grounded, thinking at a higher level, being connected to the higher energies, and through these higher energies, to all those around us and everything around us, we will know what action is appropriate as a leader. Such ascertaining of what is right in terms of how to act, should also always be done through consultation and confirmation with the right people where appropriate. The Vedic teachings are extremely dynamic in many senses; and whilst there may be much guidance in terms of morals and principles, often they do not dictate the precise specifics of a situation; rather they understand that those are determined according to time, place and circumstance. They have even gone so far as to state that when a leader is so absorbed in acting under the higher energies, that whatever that leader does, that defines dharma - one interpretation of dharma, is appropriate or fitting behaviour.  For example, Hanumanji, the great servant of Lord Rama, his mentality and his actions, due to his consciousness, in his particular context 'defined' dharma.

 

Humility: an all-important value in action

Many contemporary leadership teaching will speak of the above principles of growth in adversity, however, not many will teach the value of humility through all of this. The Vedic teachings, along with many other ancient teachings, emphasise the absolute need for humility in achieving real success. In the epic Ramayana, Hanumanji had reached Sri Lanka in his quest to find Sita Devi, the consort of Lord Rama, who had been kidnapped to this City full of demons.  Hanumanji passed the house of Vibhishana, the younger brother of Ravana, the King who had kidnapped Sita Devi. Vibhishana was actually a very saintly person, a stark contrast to his brothers. Hanumanji, recognising this and wanting to speak with Vibhishana, concealed his original monkey form, and took the form of a saint. He began chanting the names of Lord Rama. Vibhishana asked this person, who are you? Are you a great demigod who has assumed the form of a saint? Are you my Lord, who has assumed this form? Please reveal to me who you are. Hanumanji replied, I am absolutely none of those things, I am simply a lowly person, born of a species, whose name if you mention, it is regarded as inauspicious. Hanumanji had genuine humility, he did not at all think about, let alone dwell on his achievements, qualifications, or anything else. Rather he very naturally thought of those things that would keep him very grounded.

Being ready, willing, and able to act is the duty of any leader. Whether things are down to own action vs destiny is irrelevant when executing in the mindset of a leader; the leader gives it their best effort and takes responsibility. Such an attitude should be balanced with continual checkpoints or reviews of the values we are cultivating, how much our leadership is a demonstration of integrity, how much it is encouraging others to live by values, and very importantly, how much it is helping our own internal state of balance in being humble, grounded, but powerful leaders.

Trust: The Foundation

Usually, these entries are written in Hong Kong, however, this particular peice was written in Vrindavana, India, a place of great historic and spiritual significance. Being there has helped to reflect more on the principles of purity of mind and heart. The purity of our mind and heart has a direct effect on how others feel when they interact with us. Given that much of our progress in the corporate world is dependent on the quality of our relationships, the topic of the purity of heart and mind is certainly worth reflection.

Real Sincerity is Unmotivated

In the workplace, we look for so many things in the people around us. From our seniors, we want to know they will be fair in our promotions and rewards, that they will give us work that enriches our personal portfolios, that they will treat us with respect and dignity, and help in our career development in the long term. In our peers, we would like them to share experiences and learnings with us, to be there for us when we need support, to help air a collective voice in sharing or escalating concerns to our seniors. From our juniors, we look for commitment, a good attitude, hard working ethic, and technical ability supplemented with a desire to learn. Let us take for granted that the people who enter the increasingly competitive corporate environment are competent; a high standard of educational requirements and high calibre background is a minimum. Moreover, as one progresses in this environment, if they do not have substance they will more often than not be shown up due to the reluctance of profit-making business to sustain such a liability. So aside of technical competence, all of the key attributes we look for in those around us, come down to one key question; how much can we trust the other person? Many in the corporate world are let down by trust issues. If we’re trustworthy, we will certainly stand out; it is a much sought after attribute. In order to be trustworthy, we must be sincere. Sincerity and trustworthiness are inseparable. A sincere person, however, is not sincere because it will differentiate them; this would be a contradiction; sincerity is unmotivated.

Loyalty to Values Strengthens Us

In Hong Kong, there are many billboards with advertisements of the jewelers Chow Tai Fook, with the slogan of “Sincerity and Eternity. A Partner in our business whose behaviour I view as quite exemplary, once said “Always do the right thing, even if others don’t behave that way; the value will show through in the long run.” If we are sincere, that value will last. Even though experiences where sincerity is not reciprocated with may cut us and chop us, and we may duly need to reduce our exposure to such a lack of reciprocation where possible, we should not give up these values; because it is the right thing to do and its effects are too important to give up. Eventually, the values will prevail, and they will be stronger than ever after each experience we go through. When we know we are doing the right thing, when we have consulted with those people with experience and wisdom, we should feel all the more confident in what we’re doing inspite of all the challenges.

Lord Shiva: Epitome of Sincerity

There is a plethora of lessons to be learned from the one story of Lord Shiva and his wife Sati Devi leaving her body in the presence of her Father. To recap, Sati Devi had attended a function at her Fathers residence inspite of him being enimical towards her husband. After she could not tolerate insult towards her beloved husband, she left her body. On hearing this news, Lord Shiva became furious, and created a demon, called Virabadra, who was the embodiment of the anger of the Supreme Lord. Virabadra went to the residence of Daksha, to the sacrificial arena, and beheaded him. He destroyed the entire sacrifice that was taking place. In fear, the demigods scattered, and requested the counsel of Lord Brahma, the personality governing the creation of the Universe. Lord Brahma, knew of the nature of Lord Shiva, and how he is a perfected being. So he suggested they approach Lord Shiva and beg his forgiveness for their partaking in the events that led to his dear wife leaving her body. So the demigods along with Lord Brahma journeyed to Kailash, the beautiful abode of Lord Shiva, seeing many beautiful lakes, trees, and wildlife on the way. They saw Lord Shiva sitting under a very tall tree in a peaceful meditational posture with his many associates, being free of all anger. He was forgiving and gracious. One of the names of Lord Shiva is Asutosha. Asu means "very soon," and tosa means "to become satisfied." The sincerity and purity of Lord Shiva is beyond compare, and such a reaction is only fitting. Anything he does is driven by his sincerity. His anger, which was driven by his love for his wife, and his refute of a punishable act combined, was not just some act of irrational madness in perusal of his own selfish purpose; it was also driven by his sincerity. As always, the magnitude and context is entirely different in the corporate setting, however, when sincerity and purity in purpose is there, our desire to correct the wrong situations, in the appropriate way, following the cultural and workplace etiquette, will be a natural symptom in our care for others.

In essence, trust between individuals is the underlying basis for any environment that is to operate with higher values. Trust and a benevolent attitude towards others are the opposites of exploitation. If as leaders we cultivate this atmosphere, we will be surprised how much more fulfilled people are around us from seniors through to juniors. Since sincerity is the driver for trust, the change begins with introspection of our own motivations. To be sincere can happen in a moment; we only have to do one thing; be conscious.

Leadership has Laws: Seeking the Essence

Ocean View Court

We had a meeting this weekend to discuss a project we’re working on with a number of other corporate organisations in Hong Kong. One team member was just a few minutes late, and in her usual polite way, she explained she had got the wrong address. It was just one number wrong in the address, and she had ended up about 25 minutes away. She explained how this mistake was quite easily made. She went on to conclude that, “It’s amazing how just one number can make so much difference.” After some reflection, I recalled the time I was once in New York, London and Tokyo within a week, working in a number of different buildings, with different dialing codes, and protocols for internal vs external numbers also. It was quite simple; if you missed a digit, you wouldn’t get through. Often times, we would be there for minutes trying to get the right numbers. One digit made all the difference. If you imagine for a second that you did not know your best friends mobile phone number, and you had to guess it, what are the chances of getting it right? It is practically impossible. The ‘syntax’ or format of a mobile phone number follows a certain order, and your guess must be in that order to stand a chance of being correct. One digit, makes all the difference. If we do not know the rules, the addresses, of the numbers, our chances of success fall, dramatically.

Leadership has Laws

If one decides to drive around any developed City without knowing or paying heed to the road laws and protocols, they are very likely to find themselves with at best a lot of post in a few weeks, or at worst to cause some very serious to others and themselves. Now, there is a chance that a person can stumble into following rules and understanding them by following what others are doing, but it is a low likelihood they will pick up straight away. This is why education is important. This is why they have driving tests both theoretical and practical in place to train one to deal with the roads. Systematic understanding that promotes a very conscious understanding of how things work and what is to be done in certain situations is a common way of preparing one to be successful. Whilst there is much education for many topics, where does one learn the universal rules of leadership? In the contemporary world, it is often only through experience and stumbling across them. This is exactly why you see countless books on leadership by great leaders; which often contains what they stumbled across in their paths to success. This is no doubt valuable, however there are universal laws of leadership, which have been passed down and tried and tested across many generations; and have passed the test of time. They specify what is needed for success, and also on the contrary, what kinds of attitude and actions attract failure. Whilst we won’t be covering them here, the first stage is to acknowledge that there are universal rules of successful leadership; it is just like finding a building, or dialing the right number; we will have far greater chance of success if we try to understand these rules from the great, and apply them to our situations.

Essence vs Detail

There are usually two types of person; one who is more focused on the detail, and one who is more concerned with the essence. A person of essence has the end in mind, whereas as person of detail has the means in mind. Keeping the end in mind makes one almost agnostic to how one gets there, whereas keeping the detail at the forefront can sometimes make one careless to the end goal; to the extent one who is interested in detail may even sacrifice the end goal for upholding the detail. David Beckham used to practice free kicks relentlessly in his youth. He explained how he would be practicing the same kick for hours on end every day. How much patience, perseverance and determination this would have taken. Ultimately, he became one of the best free-kick takers in the game. David Beckham also happened to develop a very robust physique. In order to be a 1^st class footballer, he had to stick to a strict diet, train in many ways, and regulate his lifestyle so that he could be the 1^st class footballer he wanted to be. The details of diet, training, lifestyle, supported the essence of being a 1^st class footballer. He certainly didn’t play football so that he would be able to eat less sweet foods, practice taking free-kicks for hours etc. The detail supported the essence, and this is what built excellence. We should be very conscious what is at the essence of what we’re trying to do how the detail is a means to it. This will give us great encouragement even in the face of difficulty. We must learn to separate the two when necessary; and to connect the two when necessary. For example, when experiencing difficult in the detail, we can use the end goal to place the detail into context and therefore not be overwhelmed and discouraged by details. On the contrary, we must remind ourselves that the detail is only a means to the end.

Agile Leadership: Dropping the Baggage

Seeing Things for What They Are

There was very heavy rain as I waited in the apartment minibus in central Hong Kong. The summer season in Hong Kong has matured and nearing an end, and so such tropical downpours are quite regular. Each time the minibus windscreen wipers would move, they would throw off so much water. People were waiting in the doors of the shops for the rain to stop. There was a boy, perhaps 10 years old or so standing in a t-shirt looking at the raindrops, which were quite big. With his eyes, he was trying to follow one raindrop at a time clearly being captivated by the size of the drops. Then he decided he would use his hand to hit the raindrop back up; almost imagining the raindrop to be a ball, which you could hit, and it would bounce in the opposite direction. He kept on trying this over and over for some minutes, getting increasingly frustrated each time. Eventually he sat down. In the workplace, we sometimes want things to be like a tennis ball, which we can hit and it will bounce away; but often times, things come in a different form to which we expect. Changes in our environment need to be understood with an independent and objective mindset, with a fresh and unbiased outlook in order to act to achieve a most beneficial outcome. We need to have a flexible mindset to see things as they are; not as we think they should be; nor what they have been before; but as they are. Once we understand things as they are, we can then act appropriately. If we have a lot on our minds, we may not even pause to make such analysis; reacting rashly. There is a rule here; every moment spent thinking about, and preparing for what will ensue will save many times more the equivalent time in the future.  

There Will be Critics

Usain Bolt at the beginning of the London Olympics did not get off to the kind of starts in training and the heats that were expected of him by many. Irrespective of expectations and commentary, the world record books now note him as the first athlete to win consecutive gold in 100m and 200m sprints in history. Ahead of the 100m race, Maurice Greene, former Olympic champion, said he did not expect Bolt to retain the 100m gold medal, and favoured Bolts Jamaican companion Yohan Blake to be the victor. Greene said, “Usain has trouble in close races. If you think about the close races he's had, he's lost." After the race, Bolt was asked what he thought of Greenes’ comments ahead of the race. Bolt replied, “It is a habit of people to doubt great men.” According to the Vedic scriptures, when Lord Krishna descended, there was a demon called Kamsa. Lord Krishna was prophesised to kill Kamsa by many great authorities, and Kamsa knew this well. Irrespective, he played down Lord Krishna’s ability. He played down all of His strengths, ignored them, trivialised them. And he played up what he mistook as Lord Krishna's weaknesses, and played up his own trackrecord. Although of a completely different magnitude and context to the Bolt scenario, a similar tendency; that to criticise. Critisicm is a simple and cheap way for someone who cannot be as successful, to respond to someone who is; and it may come in the many forms cited above and more. In the corporate world, how we handle success, and how we handle criticism are areas we should give conscious thought to.

Making Dynamism Easier

The corporate world is more globally connected now than ever, and we need to be agile and dynamic in order to succeed. Being agile and dynamic is a mindset; it is not linked to geography in the first instance. It begins with a mindset that is broad and flexible. If our minds are flexible and open to things, we can move faster. To move faster, we need to be light; and to be light, we need to drop our baggage. Thunder comes after lightning. Lightening is focussed, it hits specifically one place, and gets there quicker. Sound takes time as it is more dispersed, broader. If our goal is clearly engrained in our minds, and is focussed, we will find it easier to handle things and move like lightening even in an environment where the dynamics are rapidly changing and things are thrown at us from various places both expected and unexpected.