The source of light matters!

I had a presentation today. It was about pfizer pharma and its annual report analysis. Ours was the last presentation as we were not ready with the presentation. Our prof allowed us to give it at last. There came our chance. There were not more than 4 members in audience and our faculty member. We were at the podium waiting for the prof to finish his call. The projector was displaying our names on the screen with its sharp light rays. I put my hand in front of my name and the name disappeared from the screen and started appearing on my hand. I tried to hold those letters. I know that was the foolishest thing a 25 year old can do. But I did that and it was fun.

Some times the foolishest things in world teach you lessons for the life time. The names and images were flaunting their sharpness on the screen. But as sson as I kept my hand in between, the screen lost its beauty. It was as dull as before in its milky white color turned grey in shadow. The beauty disappeared as it was depended on some other source of light. Had it been a TV or LCD, no hand on earth could have taken its live colors. This is because the source of light is within the object. This is what happens with all those who shine. Gold doesn't glitter untill it is given external source. Its the radium that glows in the dark. We need to understand these properties. We tend to get impressed by the external sources. We get impressed on things which flaunt the light taken on credit from some other source. We don't understand that the shine is not their own. And thats why we are attracted towards gold. On the other hand, radium, that has its own energy within, glows from inside. Though the glow is not as attractive as gold's glitter, but it definitely proves that radium can stand on itself. It is not dependent on external light. It is powerful from inside - immensely powerful. Such is the internal strenght, that even if we hold that small piece of radium in our hands tightly, it would glow and try to spread light in the small vicinity of your hands.

The power actually lies within. We need to cultivate that power to come out and shine. And just as radium is not oberved untill its dark, the internal power is not discovered untill we are in the state of darkness- where we don't see anything. We are helpless, confused and dull. And then we see that small spot glowing as a ray of hope. Once that internal power is nurtured and cultivated to a full fledged power house, no hand can stop you from spreading the beauty and happiness around. Try to find your powers inside you. Trust yourself. Somewhere when you are in dark, you would find source. Nurture and cultivate it. And the world is yours. Good luck!

Types of power

1. ‘Charismatic‘ power. Some individuals have tremendous charisma and are able to build up personality cults.

2. Legitimate power is based on people having positions within a structured framework.

3. Expert power is based on the specialized knowledge possessed by certain individuals.

4. Political power stems from being supported by a group.

Leadership involves striking the right balance between these four sources of power, and using them when appropriate.

Leadership

Jason Jennings, in 'Hit the Ground Running' talks about the secrets of winning CEOs. The book has 10 'rules' for successful leaders, a few of which are listed:

•Practice the golden rule in everything you do - you will reap exactly what you sow

•Gain the belief of everyone around you instead of demanding of expecting respect.

•Ask everyone around for help; don’t pretend to have all the answers or the plan.

•Cultivate a fierce sense of urgency in everyone because either things aren’t going well and you need to fix them fast or things are going well but the world (and your circumstances) are going to change and you need to be ready.

The last point is for me. I need to develop this. Change is the only constant thing in world. And lack of sense of urgency in changing or completing things leaves you behind the rest of world. Think!

Example is not main thing in influencing others – it is the only thing

Exams

Internal evaluations of the mba course are going on... n in no mood to study...

why do exams have to be in this form? why can't exams be interesting? how can they be made loving and funfilled? Kapils sibbal may like to answer this!

Learnings from The Last Lecture

In last three days, I have come across 2 books in last 3 days and let me confess, I am in a buzzing state. Buzzing as in the thoughts are buzzing in my mind. Like the electric current in any circuit. First book was 'I too had a love story' by Ravinder Singh. It is a tragic love story. and a true love story. A love story where they never met. Amazzing! I am not talking about the language, its about the emotions. Its about love. Its about death - a sudden death. In hindi I would say it as - Hila k rakh diya! Second book I read is 'The Last Lecture' by Dr. Randy Pausch. Dr Pausch was a professor in Carnigie Mellon University and worked on Virtual Reality. He was diagonized by pancreatic cancer(This cancer has mortality rate of 96 %). He knew that he had few months of healthy life. In the CM univ, there is a tradition of giving Last dlecture before retirement and he planned to give his last lecture before he is no more. Here I am attempting to pen down some of the learnings from this book.

This is what Randy's parents said and I believe that it should be followed by every family to cultivate curiosity among oneself and more to that drenching that thirst. It says - If you have a question then find the answer. Don't sit like slobs and wonder arround. Open the encyclopedia, open the dictionary, open your minds. This I think would be the best way to cultivate your mind, rather open it.

Here are some more points which Randy's father believed.

Stories should be told for a reason.

Never take the decision untill you have to.

Play fair. Even if it is at your own cost.

Randy had some dreams since childhood. One of them was to experience zero gravity. He had that chance with Nasa. But unfortunately, as he was a faculty member, he was not allowed to participate. Then he some how managed to get in by pretending himself as a journalist. But he promised that their experiment would get enough coverage. It was here where he learnt that - Have something to bring to table; that would make you more welcome.

This incident is about his football dream. He wanted to play for NFL(National football league). On the first day of his coaching, his coach came without getting any football. Students asked for the reason. He said that there are 22 players on the field and just one of them is touching the football. We would first learn what the rest 21 do on the field. Lesson - Get the fundamentals right. Or else the fancy stuff on its top would not work.

There are a lot such learnings he has learnt. I would list them out here.

When you are screwing up something and no body says you anything, means they have given up on you.

Develop a feedback loop for your life.

There is no 'no-win' scenario. There has to be a way out. There has to be a solution.

The brick walls (hurdles/setbacks/hicups) are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. They are there to give us a chance to show the world that how badly we want something. This is an inspiring lesson. It says that you need to prove that you are worth of getting that before you get it.

Once he goes to disney land and as a child asks the gate keeper 'will this park get closed at 8 pm?' Gate keeper says - The park is open till 8 pm! - think on the difference.

A dutch uncle is aphrase for the one who gives honest feedback. For him it was his professor Andy van dam. This is related to the required feedback system for life.

People are more important than cars.

Not everything needs to be fixed.

This one is the most impressive - We cannot change the cards we are dealt. It is just how we play the hand.

Time is all you have. And one day you find that you have less than what you thought you had.. Who would know it better than a dieing man.

Some lessons on time:

Time must be explicitly managed. Like money.

You can always change your plan. For that you atleast need to have plans. So plan it.

Ask yourself - Am I spending it(time) on the right thing?

Develop a good filing system. That saves a lot of time.

Re think the telephone. Don't waste time on that.

Delegate things and trust people.

More things other than time:

Luck ois where preparation meets opportunity

Head Fake! - Read the book to know more.

Give yourself permission to dream- dream big.

Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite energy and time. Stop whinning and spend 1/10th of that time on improving things arround. You would see the difference.

Treat the core diesase instead of the symptoms. This one needs more explanation. There was his co-worker. She was into some debt. And she used to be tensed about it. She started going to yoga classes on tuesdays for stress bursting. He suggested that if you skip yoga for a couple of months and do some part time job, you can repay your debt. why dont you try this. She agreed and in some 4 months, she was out of debt. So hence he says - treat the disease instead of symptoms.

He empasizes on team culture. Some learnings on it:

Meet people properly.

Find things you have in common.

Try for optimal meeting condutions. Every one should be comfortable.

Let every one talk.

Check egos at the door.

Praise each other.

What is experience. Experience is what you get when you dont get what you wanted. Deep sentence - give a thought.

Write hand written notes to express gratitude.

Send thin mints to get work done.

Apologize properly from deep inside the heart. Say the following to them:

What I did was wrong.

I feeel badly that I hurt you.

How do I make this better.

There are more than one ways to measure profit and loss.

The last but not the least - The head fakes work!

These are all heavy thoughts. To get into it deeply, read the book!

Thats all for now.

Thanks,

SD

MBA

Finally, am into it. I had been trying to get to an MBA course since long. and now m in it. I like it. I like the college. I like the campus. and the gym too. its again been a long since I have written anything here. I left writing. well, did I start writing? anyways. Now onwards, I would be using this blog for writing my learnings for the lifetime from the class.

Let me first write down what I have learned in last 3 months of my course.

1. Never think on how it is said. Think on what is said. Try to improve. It would definitely help.
2. Control your words, they are mirror of your character. Use them precisely.
3. Hit hard if you wanna hit. That too at the core. There is no point in regretting later.
4. Ability comes to rescue at the initial levels. Its your attitude that counts later. See Sachin and Kambli.
5. Keep an eye on watch. Speak less but effective.
6. Time is the most important resource in universe. Even money can be gained back, Time cannot be.
7. Be on Time.
8. Keep your words.

By the way, I've come to know what I want to do ahead. Thanks to SIIB's CCM. I want to become a good communicator/speaker/marketeer/ watever you call it.

Later.

SD