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.
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?
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.
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 6th and 4th 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.
