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.

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.

Knowing the Importance

We know focus is the key to success, but what is the cause of focus? What makes focus successful? In order to dissect these important equations, it is important we break down the dependencies and understand them. Keeping things simple usually works well; and it is refreshing how the cause of focus comes down some very simple messages, which can lead to very powerful results, not just immediately, but even more so in the longer run.

Knowing the importance

Action requires and impetus to act. At 16.30 on Tuesday we got a warning message to go home as soon as possible due to a typhoon in the area. People left their work like I had never seen before. Before we knew it, most people had left the floor. Within a couple of hours, I could see debris flying up in front of my apartment window; and I am on the 32^nd floor. This was serious matter. As I stood by the harbour, a tourist from New Zealand came and asked me, Are we going to be ok? Will the buildings be able to stay standing? Over 600 trees had been uprooted, over 100 people were admitted to hospital, as Cyclone Vicente, the worst in Hong Kong for 15 years bought Hong Kong to a halt. What prompted the action to leave work? It was knowing the importance of the event which was to come. We should also note that knowledge of the cyclone helped people realise the importance of the necessary action. On the journey back, I had to wait 9 trains before being able to get onto one. When the doors would open each time, within perhaps 10-15 seconds the train would be packed and would need to leave. There were small arguments, and people were really concentrating on getting on, they were positioning themselves well in advance of the train arriving; they were focused, they were determined. What prompted their determination and focus? They knew and felt the importance of getting home on time very very tangibly, and therefore their minds were fixed, and their actions were in line with their priority. Knowing the importance of what we are doing, is the single most determining factor in cultivating focus.

Choosing the right type of action

I sat down with some of my bosses last week to discuss what the key qualities for a particular role we wanted to bring in are. I specified the technical areas quite quickly, and then asked them about the non-technical factors that were most important. They said, the person needs to be able to flag things according to the “real” priority, and that “not everything should be urgent and important.” This would be the make or break of that persons success. This comes down to prioritisation and consciousness. More importantly, how do we know we’re doing the right things? There are certain tasks we conduct that are strategic, which will not yield immediate results, but results over time, and there are other tasks which are operational and will simply keep you out of trouble, with a plethora in the middle of tactical tasks. If we are not aware of this range of tasks, and cannot identify, or differentiate between them, then we effectively lose control of our success. We can learn what is strategic, what is tactical, and what is operational in a number of ways; we can find out what is strategic is by finding out what the organisations seniors want to do; what direction they want to go in, and align ourselves with this using our discrimination and intelligence sharply; not just blindly. To identify what we need to do tactically, we can often learn this from slightly more experienced peers who can offer such advice, and looking at their example, and to determine what we need to do operationally, we just need to follow the guidebook so to speak. We will notice, most of this relies on receiving knowledge from some source. Once we then break a balance between activities in those three areas, and cultivate focus through knowing their importance, we will be powerfully positioned.

Keep on-guard

If we do not keep our focus when we have more time, we will tend to waste our time, and then we will be forced to focus, which does not make for a good balance. This is very much in line with the teachings of the Vedic scriptures, where the five year old son of the King Hiranyakashipu, Sri Prahalad, was explaining to his friends that it is very important to learn the science of devotional service from a young age, and not when you are very old and dysfunctional. He had exactly that in mind; the benefits of becoming enlightened early, and not waiting until a later age. In a similar way, we can follow this principle in the workplace; not taking advantage of having less pressure and procrastinating, but rather using this time wisely to strategise, to learn from others, and to replenish our intellect in many ways. To keep focused, requires a chain of events; we need knowledge of the categories of activity; strategic, tactical and operation, we then need to prioritise and balance these intelligently, and finally we need to continually be aware of the importance of this in order to be able to maintain focused and be undisturbed by those events that may distract us. If we do this, we will be content in each of the tasks we are doing, because we will know their place in the broader scheme.