Stop being a mediocre - Learning from "Miracle"

I watched the movie: "Miracle". "Fabulous" - that's how I would categorize this movie as. Anytime I watch such a movie, it leaves a profound effect on my thought process at least for a day or two. What is that so special about this movie? Why does it affect my adrenaline so much?

Just to give a background, this movie is based on a real event. In 1980 USA won the Gold Medal for "Ice Hockey" in Winter Olympic. "NO BIG DEAL", after all it's USA. But actually this one was special. During that time there was cold war going on between USA and Soviet Union. Soviet Union was a champion in Ice Hockey. When it came to Winter Olympic, professional ice hockey players of USA denied to play in the Olympic. Then the "coach" of ice hockey team, Herb(Kurt Russel) decided to take a bunch of college graduates from different universities to create the national team. It's a tough job considering the experience level of those college graduates. But he was determined to build the best team out of this bunch of amateurs. He decided on the team, not based on the name and fame, rather based on the attitude of those players. Amateurs at one end, gold medal on the other end: it's more or less similar to India thinking of a Gold medal in Football. But he knew of one fact that attitude and hard work are the only things which matter. That's why his team selection was very crucial. And to surprise of all, he finally did it. USA won the gold medal that year. They beat Soviet Union in semis. Isn't that marvelous. It's just too inspiring a movie.

When most of us think of achieving something great, we just ignore it thinking that "It's just too difficult". Well as the coach said, if you want to be famous, you can't be just another common man. You gotta be an Uncommon man with an uncommon positive attitude and with an uncommon determination to work hard. Mind you! You will have to work harder than the best in that field. Success never comes easy though. This philosophy holds good for both Professional as well as Personal life. It is difficult to be successful on both ends. But I would say every happiness should be hard earned. Then only you really realize it’s worth.

Why do we always settle for mediocre achievements in life? Why people don't enjoy their work after sometime? Why some of the marriages fail? I believe there is just one answer to all these. Probably we don't try harder for success. When I failed in the interview of one of the prestigious company, I thought I was not intelligent enough. When I tried the same questions at home, I could do them with some effort. Then why I was mediocre in my approach in the interview. When I see people cribbing about marriage lives, I just have one question: Is it something they intend in life to happen, or they just don't try to succeed.

The key point to drive home is: When things don't work, just push yourself to the limit. Unless you push yourself, how would you get to know your capabilities? If those amateurs can win gold medal, then why can't we succeed in our life? Nobody is destined to fail. Just that we don't try to be successful.

I know I am talking common sense, but most of us still are far away to realize the obvious!!!

Passion - The most loosely used word

Ask a person: "What is your passion?" People who actually understand its meaning would struggle to answer such a question. However, the ones who have vague or no idea about the term will definitely come up with something.

Passion is doing something from heart. There is no string attached to whatever you do with passion. You do it because you enjoy doing it. You do it because it reduces the stress in you. You do it because it brings the best in you.

When we come to work place, we often listen to people telling about their passion and boast of saying that they love whatever they do. However, I strongly differ with those guys since they don't really prove what they say. My point is that when you have a passion, you don't feel stressed in doing that. eg, My passion is playing tennis. While playing I may get tired, I may seek some rest, but never really feel like stressed. Stress is something which comes when you don't really have deep interest in doing that. I never feel that playing tennis is a painful experience for me. I try to improve my game, concentrate as if there is no other thing in this world at that point. That's what called passion. Now coming to work place how many people (including me) really talk of concentrating like hell. Most of the time it is something forced on us. Hence, think twice when you say that you are passionate about your work.

I can’t imagine a person being successful in life without having a passion in life. If it is not there, then search for it. I strongly disagree with proponents who tell that “Passion can’t be generated”. I believe it can be, but requires lot of hard work and a “Passion to search for Passion" in your workplace.

Impossible is Nothing

If you believe you can't do this because of whatever reason it may be, then you have not met my brother. How could I say you that he has now become a source of inspiration to me. Now you must be wondering that what did he do which attracted my attention!!!

Let me give you a little background about him. A shy guy by nature, soft spoken, born and brought of in the heart of Orissa(Bhubaneswar). It's never a rosy career in his life. Always struggling and keep doing something to get to next level. His patience and self-confidence is probably worth praising. He was able to cross the hurdles of interviews in this competitive world with sheer hard work and perseverance. He deserves a pat on his back.

Perseverance and Self confidence can bring you ANY success in life. Don't think much. Just do it!!!

Entrepreneurship

All throughout the morning I kept thinking about "entrepreneurship". I got stuck at the very definition of it. I am not sure whom actually we call as entrepreneur. Can I term a Grocery shopper as an entrepreneur? If not, why? Well I asked somebody about it and was really happy to get a very satisfying answer form him. It goes like this!

If somebody has done something remarkable for the society & economy, then he is an entrepreneur in true sense! That's absolutely correct. As per him, Captain Gopinath is an entrepreneur who belongs to highest category. He brought the concept of low frill carrier to India. This has changed the way the Indian Middle class perceives the air travel. Really, that’s something remarkable. How about Naresh Goyal! Well I don’t consider him doing something as remarkable as Gopinath. He is an entrepreneur , no doubt about it. But probably he doesn’t belong to captain Gopinath’s category for sure. I would say captain Gopinath is an entrepreneur of “Gazzles” category.

Now coming back to a grocery shopper, he is again an entrepreneur. But point is where does he go from here? Does he have any motivation or plan to serve the society in a bigger way? Probably not. In that case he belongs to the lowest possible category of entrepreneurship which in other words can be termed as “job substitution”.

Secondly, I believe, Entrepreneurship is just another mindset. If I am happy with my grocery shop, then I mayn't think of doing something else. But If I have a burning passion for doing something great for the society, then my thought pattern may change. I think that's what happens with the entrepreneurs.

Argentina showed the way

I believe every event in life provides ample of opportunities to learn. Football is no different for me. I enjoy the game provided the players show exceptional skills (the way Argentina showed against Serbia & Montenegro). Though I am not an ardent follower of the game, yet I get inspired whenever I see such a skillful game.

About the facts of the match, Argentina won the league match against Serbia-Montenegro by 6-0. More than the facts, it was important to observe the discipline showed by every team member. They make you realize the essence of a team game. As a team you can do better. If you look at the second goal, it was a mere reflection of team effort. Have you ever seen a goal being scored through 24 continuous passes? It looks stupendous, isn’t it? It also conveyed the message that they have trust on other team mates. They know that anybody and everybody in team are capable. It’s not just me who can take ball all alone and score!!!

Learning: Apart from self discipline and fun at work, you also need to have a great deal of trust on other team members to win a battle.

Proceed if you think RISK is worth taking

Mumbai, the financial capital of India doesn’t seem to take rest at any point of the day. I think CITIBANK has taken inspiration from Mumbai and follow a tag line “The Citi Never Sleeps”.

Ask yourself this question!!! How many times do you think before going to MG Road? You may be thinking about Traffic, Parking etc etc. Same thing if asked to a Mumbaite, he will just jump into it and get ready to go. Can you see the difference? It is about the attitude of people and risk taking ability. “Proceed if you think risk is worth taking”. Now let us analyse it.

A Mumbaite believes that if risk is worth taking, then let me go ahead. In the above case, he believes that by going to MG Road, he can enjoy his evening. So no matter what the traffic situation may be, he will give a try.

Remember, your Personal life is no different from your Professional life as far as attitude is concerned. Now you can understand why CEOs often play golf with each other.

In one sense every new venture starts in the same way. You must have heard about the way Microsoft, Infosys started. If you think through, then you will find a very common element in all these entrepreneurs who start the ventures. They are NEVER Risk Averse in life. I am sure Bill Gates and Narayan Murty must be of “Mumbaite” type. They must have taken enormous risks without thinking about the road blocks. That's what makes them different.

When you take risk, either you prosper or perish. The point is how do you approach. The risk takers often think "If I succeed in my venture, then...". A Risk Averse person would think "If I fail in my venture, then....". This makes the whole difference. You can’t succeed unless you feel itin your heart. I think the same attitude prevails in Mumbaites and that’s what makes Mumbai as a city so different from others.

Poseidon: Review

The movie is awesome, spanning just over 90 minutes. You would keep biting your nail all through out!!! I liked the movie because of many reasons.

The movie is an excellent show piece of one saying: "Strong Self belief always leads to success". That's how the movie started with Poseidon sinking and Josh Lucas thought he still had a chance to survive. He along with other members tried all possible ways to escape and finally did. The most important thing to see here is that they never seemed accept defeat, whatever the case may be!!! It was quite inspiring for me though.

The movie is mostly based on application of common sense. It also shows some real things than unimaginable “typical filmi fundas”. At least 3 scenes are worth describing. First one is when they thought of filling up the container so that the valve will open due to pressure and they can escape. In another scene, Kurt Russell went down (150 meters) to stop the propeller switch. Obviously nobody will come alive after going so deep down water(unlike typical movie scene where the person would survive at the end) . Third and the best was the way they broke the Propeller to escape.

Just awesome.!!!

India - Hot Bed of Innovation?

Oracle's Chairman, Mr Jeff Henley has expressed his views on India as next Silicon valley. Read his comments at http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr192006/business1945492006418.asp

The following few lines drove me to write this blog.

>>>>

Silicon Valley is in danger of losing its crown as home of the technology start-up as India is on course to become the new hotbed of innovation, according to the Chairman of Oracle, the world’s second largest software group.
>>>>

Though my views are pessimistic, yet worth contemplating.

Look at the level of innovation done at universities in India. You can't compare IISC with MIT. Neither can you compare IIMs with Harvard or Stanford. The differentiation lies with the quality of teaching, infrastructure, research activities, etc etc. Nevertheless there is some level of innovation done in IISC. But IIMs, forget it!!! It's all a salary machine. If US has reached top, it's because of the level of education and innovation done at these universities. Bill Gates might be a drop out, but not Steve Ballmer. To become a niche market in Technology innovation, India either import people from these universities or start its own universities which are competitive. Mere outsourcing/offshoring(as done by Oracle) may not improve the level of Technology Innovation to that extent.

India's revenue has grown because of burgeoning services sector. The contribution of products market is very less (though I don't have the figures right away to support my views). Here is a very crucial thought! How much innovation really happens or required in Services sphere? Talk to biggies in Services companies, you will get to realize it. Though there may be some level of process innovation, but definitely very less Technology innovation.

So then where is the question of India becoming the "HOT BED" of Technology Innovation?

Thanks
Bijaya

My idea of a good Leader!!!!

Not all leaders are made in heaven. Some of them are "born-leaders" and others are "carved-leaders". A good leader always brings the best in a person no matter how bad the other person be.

I am trying to jot down some of the important traits(that I think) of a good leader.

"A good driver doesn't complain about the bumpy road":
A leader must play well under pressure. Dravid and Ponting have set good examples in recent times. They lead from front whenever situation demands.

"I would love to play Back-hand like Federer, I would love to Bat like Sachin ":
A leader must set an example in the team. Followers learn from the leaders. Every act of him must reflect his personality.

"Bill Gates called me up to ask how am I doing. I feel so great":
A leader must possess the ability to motivate people under any circumstances.Motivations do wonder for many people.

"My wife complains about my working hours"
A leader must provoke productivity in people.He must make people understand that working long hours, working on week ends don't necessarily mean that they are great workers.

"I think Out-Of-The-Box....":
A leader must bring creativity in a team. You don't deserve to go up unless you bring innovative solutions to problems.

"I work for fun...":
A leader must encourage professionalism. Professionalism may be a very hyped word across the industries. But that's what matters the most. It's all about having a good attitude towards work. When you love something/somebody you do things proactively. You tend to think beyond your immediate responsibilities and do other things which you think may be a value add. That's what called professionalism. People need to understand that they themselves are responsible for their future. Unless they show prfessionalism, they will be left behind.

"I am a studd guy..I do everything..."
A leader must promote dynamism in the team.He must encourage peole to do different things in life(not necessarily related to work). That helps people to become more creative.

"We found a solution during lunch time..."
A leader must build a team which believe in problem solving through discussion. Ask yourself a question: How many times your problems are solved over a cup of coffee or in a board meeing. Discussions are very crucial in a corporate life. The more you discuss, the better. It actually brings different prospectives to a problem. You tend to get multiple views on the same problem. That's why you end up taking a "wise" decision. More importantly it makes the participants think more on a topic and that's we need at end of a day,"thinking workers" .

By no means this list is comprehensive. Please add your valuable points.

-Bijay

Evening with Underprivileged Kids

"Excuse me", “I am sorry”!!! Of course I would never expect to hear these words from under-privileged children. I was under the impression that these people need to be helped in anything and everything they do. But that stupid thought of mine changed when I visited one of the schools for blind children. They showed high degree of discipline, be it prayer or dinner or anything you can think of. I saw one guy coming in, keeping his chappals outside and then entering into the dining hall. Everything was perfected to the extent one can think of. Another guy was punished for "eating during prayer". This is what we all were very used to when we were children. They are treated as normal human beings, they are taught to lead a normal life without complaining about their physical deficiencies. We need to learn this mental mastery from these small kids. We come across so many difficulties in life and simply accept defeat sometime. We must learn to "fight-enjoy-win" the challenges under any circumsatnces.

Though God has not provided them the opportunity to see the world around, yet they are determined to fight the obvious difficulties in life. They do work on computers, workshops, etc. I heard one of their senior guys' is now a Program Director in one of the companies earning 20k per month. They were so proud to say that. As human beings, we need to derive pride and happiness in whatever we do. Simultaneously we must derive satisfaction from other's achievements. This definitely reduces lot of our day-to-day worries and help us leading a happy life.

-Bijay

Bangladesh beating Australia???

In the current test match, if Bangladesh wins/looses, then what does it mean?

As I said in one of my blogs, you need to aim for the impossible. If BAN thinks that beating AUS is impossible and that's what their target is; then they may achieve that or they may fall short as well. To win, then need to aim for something which is more impossible than beating AUS, eg, thinking and internalising the determination to win the series by 3-0. This way, even if they win 1 match, they will still remain focussed and hungry for more. But from the Cricket fan's point of view, it will become a great victory.

-Bijay

Goal ~ Learnings from Cricket

There is a saying in the corporate world: "Set a goal which you feel is difficult to achieve". How correct is this? Does this mean that I should set a goal which I think I can never achieve? Shall I set a goal like: "I will be the President of this country someday" or "I will be a CEO 20 years down the line" or "I will be a world champion Tennis player in next 5 years". Well all of these sound so good and great, yet how many of us actually think of setting such bigger goals?

All achievements start with a dream and finally you realise it. You set your goal such that everytime you go one step ahead, you feel there is more pain and therefore more gain ahead! Is it good or bad? Well my point of view : You must be happy wherever you are, but there should always be a thirst for "more" ("ye dil mange more"). And always keep in mind! You must enjoy the journey, no matter what the end result is!!! The longer the journey, the higher the satisfaction!!!

Now let us try to analyse some of the cases in Cricket! Richard Hardley set a record of 431 wickets in history of cricket and that remained untouched for quite sometime. It became a milestone for somany players like Kapil Dev. Kapil finally ended up achieving that. Now had Richard Hardley not set such a goal, Kapil might have ended up taking less wickets, probably 350+. The learning to drive home: When you feel the goal is impossible and away from you, you drag yourself with belief that you will reach there someday.Finally you reach there due to sheer will power, self-belief and sincerity. The harder n tougher the goal, the better it is!!!

Now let us analyse from a different angle. What happened when people saw that Kapil achieved that target too? They thought it is "easy". Kumble, Warne, Walsh and Murli thought, they can surpass that record easily and they did it. It is a fact that they turned that record looks very ordinary. What does it mean? It says: No matter how big your goal is, there always remains a goal higher and bigger than that. So never get complacent when you reach there. Keep going!!! That's what Murli and Warne doing.

Now come to Sachin! My best ever player! Now he looks satisfied with his achievements. He probably thinks that he has done enough, broke all records. But my dear!!! it's not yet over. It looks like he had set a record to reach 34 Test hundreds and there he is! satisfied, contended and proud. Well! If I were to teach him, I would say: Reaching the expectation and target is always challenging, but maintaining them is much more challenging. That's what expected from Greeat Guns!

Thanks
Bijaya

Cricket and Corporate

--> Copied my opinions from debaprasanna.blogspot.com--->

I always try to draw parallel between Cricket and Corporate. Here are my opinions.


What is "Form" in cricket? It's completely notional, having no physical relevance in real life. It's just a psychological pressure that a cricketer forces himself into just out of peer experience. It comes when you know "somebody else" can take care of the game even if your individual performance is bad. Mind you! it doesn't have any significance in an Individual game(like Tennis) where you pay every time you make a mistake. Players like Fedrer, Sampras play over long period of time and they don't seem to complain about their "Form". They know they are out of the game once their game goes down.

In Corporate, why don't we ever talk about "Form". On a lighter side: "I don't have form today, so I can't code/design now" Sounds ridiculous, right??? In Corporate, the law is so simple: fetch or fire. Fetch me some work or get fired!!!

Both Corporate and Cricket constitute of team and their performance is heavily driven by every individual in the team. Yet, Cricketers like Tendulkar manage to have some luxury and the reason being their "past performance". It's just mockery of such team events.

The Cricket biggies should undersatnd that this is a game which is no different from Soccer where players are adored when play well and thrown to the gutter when they don't.

Learning: At the end of the day Individual Contribution matters a lot for the team. My favourite player, Sachin better understand that and start acting on it.

Indian Cricket - a Middle Class Family Approach

On Indian Cricket context, The feeling of complacency hardly happens. It could be true for Australians, but definitely not for the Indians.Overconfidence without confidence is an oxymoron.

I bet Indians never show any sign of confidence on final matches be it with Australia or Bangladesh. Indians take a typical "middle-class family" approach( Well my intention is not to dis-respect the middle-class-family approach).The approach speaks something like :" Take minimal risk irrespective of the magnitude of achievements at the end of the day". Winning a match like final, requires a lot of positive attitude, risk taking ability and self-belief. Indians don't have that self-belief. They know they can't chase something as big as 434. So they prefer to settle for a "respectable" score(a middle class family approach where you are happy though you don't win).

What Robin Sharma says in "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari", if you want to achieve something big, then you must dream big. Big is boundless, well it could be something like chasing 434 or getting a salary of 1 crore or being the CEO of a company etc etc. You define the bound for yourself. Unles you dream, you can never ever think of acting. Action is bound to follow because of the passion you generate through your dream.

-Bijay