Perspectives: No Right or Wrong?

Everybody has their own perspective. People express themselves through what they wear. They post their opinions and feelings on Facebook and Twitter, etc. They debate views in conversations with each other. The newspapers even have sections called ‘Opinion’. So much of life is about interactions based on opinions and perspectives. How often do people really get their head around how to deal with opinions and perspectives especially as the social networking age really sets in? We’ve all heard that listening is important, but ultimately we need to decide, and act, not just debate opinions. This is the fundamental basis of political systems also. In the workplace, this plays an interesting role, and it can empower us if we are aware of the role of opinions, and perspectives of different people.

 

As I opened my eyes from a dozy, half-baked sleep as the plane took off, I found the air hostess had given a packet of peanuts and a drink, which happened to be a bottle of water if you weren’t awake to choose what you preferred. With my eyes barely opening, I took the packet of peanuts, and with the little energy I had in that dozy state, went to tear it open. It was a little stubborn and wouldn’t tear easily. So I look at the packet closer, saw the dotted line, and the small tear that had been made by the manufacturers, and with ease I tore it open. I had tried from various positions, from the other side to tear, to grab both sides and open from the middle, but with little effect. I recalled as a child opening boxes which had been bound with a kind of plastic tape that was industrial and extremely hard wearing. This tape is taken around the box, and then glued to create the link/seal. I would sometimes spend long trying to open it, and the meshed tape would simply not be torn. Once discovering the method, which was to find the part it was glued, and pull it apart in opposite directions so as to separate from the main bond, it was really very simple. In either case, so many experiments, speculation on what might work what won’t work, were ultimately useless until a proper method, of which there may be more than one i.e. using scissors or finding the correct opening. Often in Asia I’ve found myself lost in a range of circumstances from not being able to find a building to not knowing how to get a piece of thought leadership put into the right marketing format at work, to finding out how to use the scanner. Not surprisingly, the most effective method was to ask someone who had done it before.

 At all levels, such identification of the proper and effective method, works. It is not that every perspective is valid. The modern day concept that there’s no right or wrong answer, is wrong.  Tearing the industrial tape with your bare hands by brute force, is simply ineffective because it is designed to bare many kilos of force without ripping, and therefore there is a proper method for breaking it. Therefore it’s important to be able to identify what is effective and what isn’t. Listening to perspectives and opinions from all spheres, is however  important on many levels; one builds an understanding of peoples thought processes, their experiences, and their lives, one may be able to learn something from them whatever it may be, it could be something indirect, and listening also conveys a sense of respect and appreciation for others. But we should know that there is a hierarchy of how effective particular perspectives and opinions are; this is called judgement and we use it in all our decisions including which queue to go for in the supermarket; some things are known, some things are unknown, but we endeavour to make an effective choice or judgment call.  The less unknowns there are, the better. If you want to be successful in a business where you’re working for someone, you stand far more chance if you inquire, find out the strategy, and build on it, or help work towards it. If you’re an entrepreneur, you need to inquire and understand the demand first hand, not through speculation, but through objective observance and inquiry of habits, trends, tendencies, etc. When one is simple minded, then they can humbly and openly ask how something works, with a clean slate and really absorb what’s being taught. If the mind is clouded with many competing demands, then we may hear what has been said, but we may not have listened, or absorbed it. In conclusion, the miracles really start to happen when we sincerely try to find the right way of doing something, with an open approach that is respectful to others, and at the same time willing to go out of our way to go down the right route. This attitude will naturally give us more confidence in what we do, and the reason for that is that we are all wired up with consciences, and whether we know it or not, those consciences thrive on doing the right things rather than the wrong things.

Importance of the Next Generation

Importance of the Next Generation

When Lord Rama was sent to gurukul, his teacher was Vasishta Muni, a renowned and very wise sage, said to his students, please do not take on my bad qualities, and please accept any good qualities I may have. This was his humility, and that too, fitting for a great sage, and in the context of great students. Srila Prabhupada, a great teacher of the essence of the ancient Vedic principles particularly in the West, had a disciple who was a particularly talented artist. One day he was speaking to this disciple, and he said, “I can write, but you cannot write. You can paint, but I cannot paint. Let’s work together in Krishna’s service.” Whilst these examples are fundamentally spiritual in their objectives, when principles are extracted from such perfect scenarios, when even a small effort is made to apply them in the situations and contexts we are in today, the results can be astounding. As part of arranging a nicer situation, one should take stock of where they lack; even if it may not be ability, but simply time, and engage others according to their inclinations. This requires introspection, awareness, and an interest in others. Only then can one successful expand something.  The Vedic system has always placed emphasis on the training of the future generations. We see in both the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the great King’s, Queen’s, families, would take keen interest in the next generations upbringing. This is very important. A few weeks back, we held an event, and rather than inviting another senior speaker to say some words, we decided to have the youth speak. With some training, they were able to engage their energy positively to great effect. The result was simple; inspiration for the current generation, and promise for the next.
 

Unless we aim high, values may not be necessary

If someone sets low targets, then they don’t need discipline; they don’t need to abstain from certain things, they can be lax, and still come through. If we are striving for high goals, in whatever field; then we will need discipline; we will need regulation; we will need continual inspiration and encouragement from those better than us. When people strive high, and do things in the right way, they will need certain values. As one of the students pointed out to me today, the only place you can find success before work, is in the dictionary. In order to work, we need to be regulated. In order to repeat success many times, if we want to deeply understand the principle, we will need humility. UFC legend, and welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre is a great example of humility and success. He openly posted a video of him trying to do a one-armed pull up. He said, I cannot do this, I do not have the power, but if someone can, then please show me and with your help, maybe I can learn. Earlier this weekend, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Rugby Union to discuss a few things. In addition to that role, he is one of the head coaches for the Hong Kong Youth Team, and often has the likes of Martin Johnson alongside to train with them to impart his knowledge and experience. He shared that, we try to make them better people through rugby, and that he firmly believes they do become better people. He said when they lose, they should learn to lose with humility, and congratulate the winning team humbly. When they win, they should be humble and tone down any celebrations, and console the other team. His words were those of deep experience, not only of the greatness of such values, but also of the dangers of not having such values. In extreme scenarios and situations, with positive advice, comes implicit warning in not heeding the advise. So goals should be set high; even if we may not achieve them, the transformation that will happen to us in the process, will yield values that we would never imagine could be cultivated if we had set the bar lower.

Digestability: Keys to the Future

The Smoothie

The temperature begun to go up this weekend in Hong Kong, and the shorts and t-shirts were back out again. I walked back with two bags full of fruits; mangoes, papayas, grapes, red plums, blueberries, and a pineapple. I took a twenty minute walk back in the Sun, and carrying the bags I was sweating before even a third of the way home. I got back and used a big portion of the fruits to make a smoothie. I was quite thirsty and consumed about six plums, two large bunches of grapes, and two small portions of blueberries in one drink; perhaps around two glasses worth. It went down so well, I felt like another. So I had two mangoes and a small papaya in the next round. Before I knew it, there wasn’t much fruit left; I’d consumed everything except the pineapple within thirty minutes at most! I recalled how much it all seemed in the bags, however within a few moments, I had consumed them. This time last year, when I wasn’t so accustomed to making smoothies, I recalled how I’d chop up large plates of fruits, and perhaps eat half of what I’d made, and be quite full up. It made perfect sense though; drinking smoothies makes the digestion process extremely efficient. You do all the peeling and chopping at one, all the chewing is done at one go by the machine, and all you do is drink it. That do, whilst the machine “smoothes” the fruit; it becomes perfectly compressed into less space than before and also removes the wastage; two big bags simply become a few glasses of fluid. What I’d certainly struggle to digest in a conventional way by eating the fruits; was made into a very invigourating and thirst quenching experience through changing the way the same substance was taken; the grapes are the same grapes, but just crushed.

 

When I was a boy…

When I was a boy, we used to work with floppy discs, which would each store 1.4MB of data. Such a concept would seem incomprehensible today, what to imagine in future. It previously took travellers thirty years to go from one side of America to the other; now it takes just a few hours. As time goes on, much of what a generation has to pass to the next may become incomprehensible; not only in terms of technological developments, but also in terms of ways of living. How countries are ruled, how families are structured, how wars are conducted; all of these have changed drastically. The way business is done different to the way it was done before. We must always be conscious of how things are changing, continually, and how the next generation has it’s ways. There are many ways we can give to the next generation and empower them; and there are also many ways we can keep from them and try to hold on to so called authority and legitimacy and not equipping them with what we may have. We can give them the raw fruits, which will take time to digest; using our own terms our own ways of working, etc; or we can be fluid, like the smoothie. We can genuinely try our best to give them as much substance as possible. To do this can be extremely dangerous; we must do it in a way that we never compromise our values. We must assess the moral and ethical maturity of the individuals we seek to empower otherwise, there will be a very quick spiral downwards for where there is power and a lack of responsibility; there will certainly be quick destruction.

 

Hey PJ, check this out!

Learning requires an open mind that is not limited by self-imposed limits. As part of the Muay Thai training, skipping is one of the traditional warm up exercises. I had tried to skip when I was in junior school, but once I realised I wasn’t so good, I decided to leave it to the girls who were expert at it. But now, it was different, I really wanted to learn to skip, so slowly I began, and gradually got faster, and the technique got better, and then set time limits, or count limits. It took time. One day, I was in the pool and a few kids were playing around in the water splashing each other etc. They stopped by and said Hi etc. I made friends with one of the kids, whose name happened to be PJ; my initials. We spoke for some time, and then went on our ways. A few days ago, I saw him as I was walking into the gym down the stairs, and from the bottom of the stairs in an excited tone, he said “Hey PJ! Check this out!” He had what’s called a ‘diabolo,’ a toy consisting of two bars, with strings attached to each other, and a spindle, which he would throw into the air, and then catch again with the strings. It would have to land specifically on the strings in order to get into groove and start spinning side to side again. He managed to throw it a good eight meters high and catch it. I was quite impressed, congratulated him and asked, where did you learn to do that? He said, oh at school. I asked when, and he replied on Monday. It was Wednesday. In three days he had learnt it so well. I then thought; a child like him, they don’t place barriers on what is possible. There is a gulf of difference between someone who is striving in the corporate field, having the responsibility of their family on their shoulders; job security to worry about, and so many other constraints; compared to the mindset of PJ when he was tossing the spindle into the air 8 meters high and catching it again. A truly open minded person does not see barriers; they are not phased by differences in culture, norms, technologies; they only have one thing in mind; the need to progress, and facilitate others to progress.

Simplicity

Keep It Simple, Stupid

Keep it Simple, Stupid. My A Level Computer Science teacher would say this repeatedly when we were learning how to write program code. Writing code in small chunks, writing up explanation of what the code did as each chunk was written, and ensuring that each independent component was functional before combining multiple functions was the bread and butter of this coding. From writing small routines, to a couple of connected ones, to more, which would interface to modules written by others, would lead to functionality we wouldn’t have imagined was possible on our own. But what happened when things went wrong? It was almost as though there was an exponential relationship between not ‘keeping it simple,’ and bug resolution time. You realize that not keeping it simple, really was stupid when you’re up all night trying to fix something that could have easily been avoided. The more senior people I meet, the more I hear things along the lines of “I’m a simple kinda guy.” They avoid getting too complicated in discussions, and usually try to follow logic in their thinking. Sometimes I feel that the more senior you look, the simpler the people’s mindsets need to be. Henry Ford was once taken to court for an issue with his company. The judges asked him about various aspects of his business. Each time they'd ask a question regarding a particular field, he would simply refer them to the head of that area. They asked him about their marketing, he would say, speak to my marketing director, etc. Henry Ford believed in not necessarily knowing everything himself, it is simply not possible. But he believed in being methodical, simple, and recruiting people he trusted. He was a simple kinda guy. What does simplicity mean in our corporate context? How do we be simple people?
 

100k…kilometers, not $’s

A senior Partner recently ran 100 kilometers in a challenge in Hong Kong. As you can imagine, he is extremely athletic, and regularly keeping fit. Another Partner did the Iron Man challenge in Australia, China and various other APAC locations, which is an extremely demanding task in terms of endurance and personal resilience he was explaining. We once went on a social outing with these Partners and others on a boat. There was something distinct about them that made them in a sense very simple. They were just peacefully watching the scenery, and just looking at them one perhaps wouldn’t associate their corporate lifestyle with them. They seemed to be aligned; their minds and bodies were harmoniously aligned. They had clarity of thought. They had confidence and they were comfortable being where they were; the outdoors was something they loved. There were also other senior people on the boat, who perhaps weren’t as much into fitness routines etc, and they looked like they were escaping. Their psychology seemed different. If we break it down, there are two lives we live; one at work, and one outside work. When we are overwhelmed in a variety of ways by work, naturally we want to escape. There is a phenomenon of ‘over-ordering’ food. I’ve often done this. You feel so hungry that you begin to order many things. Once about half way through, you begin to wonder whether you can complete it all. As you approach the three-quarter mark, you think you don’t want to have this again for a long time, and barely able to finish it. So when we don’t have enough of the outdoors, we are so hungry for it. When we get it, we are almost bewildered, we can’t get enough of it. And naturally, when it comes to returning to our work lives, we don’t want to return. If you a small does, then return to the work place, then take another small dose, and then return again, in good balance, there will not be this great degree of sentiment involved in returning back. Indeed, the mindset will become more balanced, unified, centered. These Partners whose minds and bodies are in tune, typically benefit from a greater degree of objectivity, unaffectedness from the turbulences of the work place and life, and are ultimately also less stressed individuals also.

Working to Live, or Living to Work?

The ancient Indian scriptures explain some very relevant topics in this regard. According to these scriptures, people have different natural, or inherent tendencies. Indeed tendencies can be changes, refined, or forsaken through lack of cultivation, but there is a natural sense of preference towards certain mindsets and activities that is inherent. This is also the driver of ‘personalities’ to a large extent. Certain people are outspoken, others quieter. Certain people prefer interacting with many others, some people prefer less. Certain people are very attached to ‘things’ and certain people are perhaps less so.  In a recent mixed martial arts documentary, one trainer was explaining that certain commercial fighters have a lot of luxuries now, and he mentioned, sometimes they do not feel like leaving these luxuries in order to get up to train very hard, who would want to do that? he asked. In the scriptures it explains how there was one class of people called the Ksatriyas, or the warrior class, who would be administrators and enforcers of law and order in the kingdom. It explains how such individuals would be under the guidance of the wise and knowledgeable people who did not have any vested interests, or involvement with politics. Under their guidance, the Ksatriyas would live a noble life enforcing order. In order to do this, the Kings and Ksatriyas had quite extensive facilities such as very vast ‘thinking chambers.’ They would be served with the finest foods, and have lavish facilities. We may be beginning to picture what this was like for such a Warrior. However, their mentality, was one centered around duty, and doing what was right. The facilities they had, were all their to facilitate them to feel satisfied, and to perform their duty; and wasn’t supposed to be for more than that. At the end of the Mahabharata, the ancient Indian epic, Vidura requests Dhristrastra to leave the Palace as his reign is finished and the heirs were ready. However he was reluctant to. He wanted to continue to use the facilities, even though they weren’t needed to serve him to do his duty. Today, the mentality is the other way around, people tend to do what they believe is their duty in working, so that they can enjoy lavish facilities. When one has a focus on working in order to enjoy, of course the mind will be filled with anxiety if this self-gain is not achieved. Physical exercise, the outdoors, such a regular routine involving these things, can help one remove themselves from a mentality of work for self-enjoyment, and instill a deeper sense of duty, discipline, and ultimately sacrifice for others. Once these mindsets kick in, our ‘awareness’ will increase of the dynamics at play all around us because we will become far-less subjected or victimized by these dynamics through this increased awareness of them. Many of the universal ingredients to success including confidence in doing the right thing, clarity of thought, and a positive outlook will then become possible for us.

Time Management?

Why Bother?

I was once in Geneva, sitting by the lake, watching the famous fountain in what any passerby would assume was a very relaxed situation. However, in my mind were a thousand and one tasks I had to get through, for which there was a clear and hard consequence for not completing. These tasks had one by one accumulated, and the number had become what I felt was insurmountable to the extent that my mind made a simple mathematical calculation and said, it will not be possible to complete all of these in the time I have, therefore you cannot succeed. At that point, when success was not possible, why should I bother continuing? So I just sat by the lake quite peacefully looking at the ducks and the water, and feeling quite honestly, helpless. When the Sun began to set, reality hit home even more; I would now need to face the consequences when I speak to all those people I am accountable to. I thought about what had gone wrong. I was not managing my time properly. I was not focussed enough, not getting through tasks diligently or aggressively enough, and was facing the resultant situation. Gathering my belongings to get to the airport, I was still not focussed on the specific tasks, I was focussed on the root problem; my time management. It needed to improve, and fast. I would explain to my bosses and apologise, but the deeper issue needed to b e addressed nevertheless, otherwise it would keep cropping up. I went to the airport book shop, and purchased a book on time management, the Harvard Business School best-seller; a compilation of numerous leadership gurus tips on managing time. It was quite practical, explaining how to prioritise e-mails, and a number of other tips, and to be honest, it resulted in some more focus, and I was able to address the issue with some degree of success. However, over the years, my understanding of time management, became a little more rounded and continues to do so. There are some fundamentals that we should know regarding the inherent nature of time, which will help us not to manage time, but to respect it, and manage ourselves more consciously.

 

A Misunderstood Concept

The phrase “Time Management” was coined long ago, and is a completely accepted term by most people. It is also consistently understood. However, if we pick at the topic a little more, the branding doesn’t hold so strongly. Time is defined as “the indefinite continued progress of existence.” Management is defined as the “process of dealing with controlling things or people.” If not understood properly, the term can easily be interpreted to mean “controlling the continued progress of existence.” About a year ago I had a stint of work that led me to be in Japan, the US, and the UK all in one week. It was somewhat overwhelming, and I asked a very elevated spiritual practitioner how one should go about managing time. He smiled and replied, “Well, there are 24 hours in the day.” Whilst he spoke only those few words, they had immense implications.  Krishna says in the Bhagavat Gita, which comprise the Supreme Lord’s direct instructions to His friend and disciple Arjuna, who stands before a huge battle, that He is Time. The Supreme Lord says that He is Time! He also says that He is beyond the control of any material factors. So by this definition, it is impossible to control time. From a spiritual perspective, the term Time Management in a material sense, is in itself an oxymoron, or a contradiction. If we understand this well, we will become more pragmatic in the field of managing our activities, and will always remind ourselves of what we really can control, and what we cannot. This will lead to a far more mature dealing with time, a respect for time, and above everything, a more conscious and grounded experience with time.

 

Behind the Scenes

Once we understand that the “time” part of the time “time management” equation is fixed, beyond our control, we should understand that the “management” aspect should be regarded as management of the self, or our actions. In one sense, we could argue that we do not have so much direct control over these as sometimes factors beyond our control dictate what we do i.e. some urgent client prompted meetings, time out for certain appointments, personal factors, and so on. So even our actions, whilst majority of the time they should be under our control if we are disciplined and circumstances permit, they aren’t necessarily under our direct control. Whilst external factors can dictate our actions, external factors will seldom dictate or mandate our thoughts. For example, we daydream. We may be daydreaming in a meeting. Your boss cannot get into your mind and force you to stop daydreaming. He or she may be able to mandate you to be in the office, but they certainly cannot check and mandate your thoughts. They cannot mandate our desires. Thoughts or contemplation lead to desires, and desires lead to action. The timeframe for this isn’t necessarily immediate, and may vary drastically, but on the whole we will find it is true. We may remember a person very deeply. This may make us want to talk to them. We will then find a way to talk to them, and then we will be in touch with them. So thoughts and desires, we can control if we are disciplined. If we are disciplined in our thoughts, the corresponding desires will be encouraged, and eventually the right actions will emerge. Time continues to go by, but because our thinking is conscious, considerate of wider factors, considerate and with a willingness to serve others, our actions will follow this in a way that becomes more independent of circumstance because it becomes to do with the consciousness, the mentality, and then there is satisfaction. Determination, attentiveness, diligence can also be desired. To desire to be efficient and diligent in meeting deadlines can also be cultivated and meditated upon at the right times, and if we imbibe this into our minds, we will be far more likely to have this attitude manifest in our work-life realities in the all-powerful and pervasive domain of time.

Selfless Leadership

Bird or Plane?

In the busy Hong Kong rush hour, walking in the crowds of business people in Central, you often see tourists who have chosen the wrong time and are struggling to take photos. I saw lots of tourists trying to cram themselves into a certain spot from where they could get a good view and angle. They were eagerly hustling with each other to get into the spot. If one didn't know better, one would have assumed the Starship Enterprise was going to be visible from that spot! I was facing toward these tourists, so I could not see what they were trying to take a photo of, and so I turned around to see. It was the ICBC Tower, one of the most well known buildings in the Hong Kong skyline, and an icon of the City’s financial prowess and link with China. Because I see it every day on the way to work, on weekends when commuting to most places, and also from my living room window, it doesn’t have the same appeal to me as it did to these tourists, who were desperately trying to get a good shot of it. The same kind of effect we experience when we travel Business class on an airline. When we have never been on First or Business class before, it appears to be a huge novelty and we have a degree of reverence. But over time, this novelty factor wears off and we take it for granted. When we take things for granted, it changes our mentality and it is the same dynamic that makes us less effective when applied in the corporate context. Being in Hong Kong, there are incredible opportunities to work with some of the most intelligent, sharp, and dynamic business people. As the rest of the worlds economies, and to a lesser extent the Asian economy continues to slide, more of the worlds finest are working more closely with Asia. I have the privilege of co-developing thoughts, industry leadership with such people, who are so open and accessible. However, if I treat them like I treat the ICBC, I will simply not appreciate and want to get as much as possible from the experiences. Therefore, over-familiarity, a lack of appreciation for what we have access to in the corporate place, can lead to a decline in our desire to maximise the value it brings to us and others also.

Grateful or complacent?

After spending so long away from Hong Kong, and during a time of year when physical training doesn’t make the top of the list, it was return to the gym on a more frequent basis here. There were certainly some notable realisations coming from this regarding whether I am focussed and grateful, or whether I become complacent as time goes on. In the UK, I had the privilege of training at one of the UK’s better Muay Thai schools, and experiencing how they do things after having trained in equivalents in Thailand and Hong Kong. Although they didn’t have Thai trainers, who in my opinion are the most natural in their abilities, physiques, and techniques, they made use of some excellent routines. There was a longer, albeit less diversified warm up, and there was less equipment, so we had to figure different ways of doing more with less. I observed a boxing session in my gym, and learned some of their techniques also. When I got back to Hong Kong, the fitness level had been sustained to some extent, and I had developed more gratitude towards the Kru’s (teachers), and the elaborate facilities. This cultivated a desire to do more, and combined with some of the techniques picked up in the UK, it made for a fantastic first session. There was mutual respect with the teachers, and we progressed the complexity and speed of moves, blocks, and taking hits to condition the body. Walking out of the gym and seeing the newcomers, I could see that I had progressed somewhat. I had a choice of continuing to think about my progress and me, or to think about them and how they feel. I did the latter and it again made for some very nice exchanges. In the corporate environment, we see extremely senior people put others first, be so inquisitive and interested in others. If they do it, it is likely to be a winning attitude, and it is clear we should try to follow in their footsteps to success.

The Choice is Ours

On returning to Hong Kong, the temperature was in the mid-twenties, and the sun was blazing. I was trying to read a message on my Blackberry. For some moments I could only see my reflection due to the Sun, a similar affect when someone is wearing very shiny sunglasses and it is hard to see their eyes, but not impossible. When I focussed, I could read the message, and saw beyond the shine. The position of the phone was exactly the same. But the focus of my eyes had changed. I was quite fascinated. When my brain wanted to read the message, the eyes would respond by changing focus to the message. When I wanted to pay more attention to the reflection, my eyes automatically adjusted. It was a penetrating lesson in so many ways. If we want to see ourselves first in any situation, we can easily do this. In fact, that was the default viewing I began with after being overwhealmed by the influence of the sun all around.  By default, the world will encourage this approach of putting ourselves in the centre. How does this dynamic affect our progress in the corporate world? I recalled a time when I was a Graduate. A senior person who didn’t have a very good way with people, and I had just come off of a below par interaction with him. Immediately after that, I had another meeting. I had very little time in between; literally only the time needed to walk from one meeting to the other. He had impacted my mood, outlook, everything. Having not had so much experience dealing with tough people, I needed more time to gather myself. I thought, I can either carry the energy from the previous meeting into the next one, or start afresh. Did the people in the next meeting deserve me being in a more sour mood? Probably not. So why carry the baggage? I decided to completely let it go, and it was hard because we often have the tendency to think about ourselves. When we are aware of the dynamic of whether we are putting ourselves at the centre, or whether objective and have the wider goals and longer terms goals in the centre, we will find it easier to at least theoretically move forwards mentally, and over time this theory will become practise. Of course, we will address what needs to be addressed because we should be concerned with ensuring the principle of integrity and fairness is enforced, however if we think in this way, we will not let our personal ambition get in the way of acheiving truly big things.  

Attitude: Importance of Groundedness

Whilst resolutions and aims that are tangible, measured, and time-bound are absolutely necessary, often it is our ‘attitude’ that leads to the achievement of these, and possibly much more than what we specify. So this article is about attitude, and hopefully it is relevant for all, but more relevant for those who are succeeding at present. Even though the need to avoid personal complacence is so evidently essential in attaining lasting success, whilst it is spoken about by people sometimes, it is seldom taught in training, reading, and other forms of management learning. An easy way of avoiding complacence is by comparing ourselves not with our peers, or those who aren’t advanced as us, but to those who are superior. I was fortunate to hear from spiritual teacher, Bhakti Rasamrita Swami recently who provided three useful tools we can use in this regard by giving examples of three addresses of God, which when compared with ourselves, should help us keep our feet on the ground at all times.
 

Cause of all Causes

I led the execution of a project that went well a few months back, and when people heard of the project, they immediately look to who was responsible for organizing it. Eventually you become associated with it, and it's success. A few months later, a similar project was to be executed again, and this time I was not in town to oversee it all. It was as successful, and in fact achieved some additional things that the first project didn’t. I wasn’t even there for the execution. In business, no matter how much one thinks that they are successful and the factor that holds things up, the environment is such that there will almost always be people likely to step up and make up. So we should never come under the illusion that we are irreplaceable, and are responsible for the success that comes. There are a number of benefits of this kind of awareness; an attitude where the leaders know they are not the all in all cause, will cultivate more respect for those contributing in every way they do. If we are aware we are not the all-in-all, we will likely be more giving with our knowledge to others, to ensure things can indeed continue at least as successfully, if not even more successfully when we are not there. One senior business leader in Hong Kong said to me recently that senior executives living in places where there is enormous avenue for personal recreational enjoyment, are reluctant to relocate back to their home countries as they don’t want to give up these luxuries. This leads to them ‘guarding’ their roles, and not developing an environment where succession is planned very well. An attitude of being aware that we are not the cause of all causes, that it is about others helping in success, will lead to a very mature way of leadership that will lead to far greater scale results in the long term. In this connection, Bhakti Rasamrita Swami explains how one of the names of God is ‘Akhil Karanaya’ or the ‘Cause of all Causes’. Any action or event has a number of causes that lead up to it. Perhaps the end action or event we may take the credit for, but we certainly cannot take credit for all actions and events leading to it. Such an approach that needs to be managed carefully, and not necessarily externally demonstrated, but should always be known inside to keep ourselves grounded at all times.
 

Without any Cause

Robin van Persie, recent recruit at Manchester United, after scoring a record number of goals by any high profile signing who has moved from one big club to another said, he feels like he is in a team of champions. Clearly his own effort and ability are big, but he credits so much to the others around him to help him achieve the success he has so far. Books on achieving greatness always talk about learning from those who have been successful. People have idols, or others who provide inspiration to continue. This principle of learning from others and gaining inspiration from others is universal and clearly applies in world of arts, sport, and business. Therefore, is it just humility alone that leads to crediting these others when success is achieved? Not really. It is just honesty on the situation. The fact is that more often than not, our path and success has more causes external than us than just us on our own. We can certainly achieve more if we learn from others. If it seems our success is purely based on our hard work, we should question whether we are really accessing others as much as we could be to achieve more. Bhakti Rasamrita Swami in this connection says that God is the only Person with no cause, or ‘Nish Karanaya’, and that everything and everyone else has so many causes both immediately, and ‘behind the scenes.’ The result of this is awareness in the corporate and also personal context is that we acknowledge that our success has many causes, and that when this is attributed to these other sources, we become grounded, and also cultivate a mood of further learning.

Most Wonderful Cause

We also often see that very successful people do not boast about their qualities and achievements. Rather, they sometimes look to their shortcomings. What better way to cultivate a mood of improvement, which is so important for success. There is a spiritual story where a personality called Dhruva Maharaj entailed in thousands of years of meditation in the previous ages on the Supreme Person, in order to attain rulership of opulent kingdoms upon pleasing the Supreme Person. After this many years of meditation, his attitude and his goals changed. He became self-realised, and did not have such a strong desire for these things, but ended up meditating on the Supreme Person with a pure motive, not for kingdoms etc. When the Supreme Person appeared before him, Dhruva Maharaj recalled his motive so many thousands of years ago, and said how unfortunate he was to have cultivated such a desire although having given up such an attitude thousands of years ago. In our own lives, Bhakti Rasamrita Swami cites that we may even be the cause of so many things, but not all of those things are wonderful, however God is the most wonderful cause – Adbhuta Karanaya. We will have done certain things that did not have wonderful outcomes, where there is learning to be taken away, and we should be aware of this as we succeed also. This has a number of benefits; if we note our shortcomings, we will tend to be more consultative in our style, and therefore attract more collaboration, joint wins rather than individual efforts. The above points are all concerned with attitude, and should be considered and implemented with great caution and awareness of the particular dynamics and individuals we work with.

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.