4 Cs that will catapult your career..!

I am back and am having a great run professionally and personally! As usual, I like to synthesize what I really think will enable a person with attitude and ambition to excel in his or her career or any endeavor he chooses to invest his life on.

Character:  Many people call this attribute with various names such as honesty, integrity, respect etc - but in my mind this is nothing but living in present and doing what is right in your conscience - ALWAYS! For instance, if you always speak truth - you never have to worry or remember what you have informed to what stakeholder at what time! There are absolutely no justifications for fabricating truth in any manner whatsoever. This 'C' is the foundation on which the other 3 Cs need to be built on.

Competence:  Value in this world is rightly perceived by how your living can better other's life - whether it is your client, or your friend, or your colleague, or even you child. What you bring to the table is what defines your competence. You need to be always asking on how good you are in your field and in your role and embark on a life long learning journey. Enjoy the fruits of hard work and toil for excellence. Be better every day or else there is no reason for others to indulge you in their lives - professional or personal.

Confidence: The 2 Cs - Competence and Confidence need to be in balance.  Competence without confidence is useless and confidence without competence is dangerous - we need to watch out for both. Training in soft skills, understanding your deep-lurking fears, self-awareness and improved emotional IQ will enable you build right amount of confidence to tackle the world head on. In my mind, there is nothing like over-confidence if we are aligned with these 4 Cs.

Communication: Unless you want to live like a hermit in forest, you can't go far with just the above 3 Cs and with out the 4th C - Communication, which completes the loop and helps you get introduced to the world. Communication doesn't just mean talking fluently - it comprises of many disciplines, but the key ones are: Clarity, Conciseness/brevity & Listening. The one and only one goal for communication is to ensure other person understands what you've in your mind.

Excel in these 4 Cs and you will be on your way to become another 'C' - CHIEF X O!


Cheers,
Satish

New Phase

I will be starting a new way to present my ideas and thoughts socially...more details in March 2013; I will keep this blog alive but most of my future content will not be here but will be referenced from here...!

Expanding your horizons, yet mastering your world!

Silo-focussed vs broad-based approach; closed vs open; globalized vs localized; multi-tasking vs uno-tasking; chaos vs structure; innovation vs efficiency; eastern vs western; my world vs larger world

There is a pattern that flows through all these dichotomies – you can’t do justice to one aspect without experiencing the other.

For instance, a professional working on his own stuff without knowing or appreciating what others contribute to a larger goal of project success or strategy implementation isn’t doing justice to himself or to his firm. Likewise, a company or a nation working on its own priorities with a blind eye towards what other firms in their own industry are up to or what other nations are working towards is committing the same blunder. The world is more connected now than ever and ignoring the world that is not your own is not a good idea.

There is also a philosophy that each one of us, irrespective of the boundaries we created for our selves such as nations, religions, cultures, personalities etc, is part of a big web that is spread across the universe. That doesn’t mean dissipation or distraction of individual resources is the answer – focus is still the primary attribute for excellence, but with an appreciation of how your excellence contributes to larger good.

How do we go about developing this openness while retaining the closedness, if you will? Start befriending folks who doesn’t belong to your boundaries (same thinking, same industry, same country etc), expand your social circle – and may be leveraging your existing relationships could be a starting point in appreciating such diversity. Good luck!

Power of Rituals

How many times have we loathed people who had strange religious rituals which we think are weird? Rituals (including those you don’t connect to) are only the means to a greater end. Every one uses tools and resources to evolve as a perfect human at his own pace - establishing rituals is one such powerful approach. Ritual simply means doing an act regularly in a certain way at a certain time – without exceptions.
Will power and self-discipline aren’t found in abundance – every one has those to an extent. We should use those optimally and for rest of the key activities “rituals” should come in handy. Design rituals based on your goals and get out of the way. Results are ensured once rituals are imbibed. For instance, if having healthy life is your goal – going for a walk or running at 6 AM should be your ritual. You do this in an auto-pilot mode. Forming rituals is toughest in the initial phases as I am experiencing now!
Daily pressures and other seemingly important tasks come in the way. I am not sure yet how we solve this conundrum – but I believe we need to exercise our will-power initially to get this going. We must not give up despite initial set backs and even when it appears that we are chasing wild goose – because the results entail less exertion. But, when do you know that a ritual has been set?
It takes 21 days to form a habit – but I believe 40 contiguous days is an acceptance criterion for a ritual formation. By no means, I am suggesting blind obedience to superstitions or to those acts that violate moral conduct – serial killing is a serious ritual! Use your head and be true to your conscience when forming rituals – because they stick.

Better late than never....

It’s been almost 2 years since I wrote a blog entry – the longest hibernation I ever had. Life has been pacing through many crests, troughs, and plane paths at various speed; Busyness has become the bad spelling for my Business in these 2 years.

Nevertheless, I am resolving to write again and this time more frequently. Through this blog I will continue to reflect and share my thoughts, ideas, inspirations, and perspectives. This time it is about "relationships". I am definitely not an expert on this – neither a ideal theorist nor an effective practitioner – but a humble learner. And, here is what I learnt:

Relationships to me simply means sharing and caring - they are truest treasures one can ever cherish. Activities such as the following don’t have a substitute: Playing mediocre street cricket with old pals, recollecting bad old jokes with good friends, recounting heart-filled memories with close cousins; drinking, eating, laughing, crying out loud with the souls you most cherish; Making new friendships and relishing old ones are the true joys you can pass on to generations even in this facebook era! Reflecting your memories (both good and bad) and speaking your mind act like a tonic to your spirit.

Many people come and go in your life – but for some reason some people stick and leave an impression in your lives. Some are given (parents, siblings, relatives etc) and some are chosen – but all are worth sharing your life stories with and providing caring support. It is important to empathize and step in those people’s shoes to learn their perspectives – but, never be a phony to impress. Even at the risk of alienating certain folks – be always yourself by upholding your conscience in this glocalized world.

People who mind don’t matter and people who matter don’t mind. The latter are the folks who you wanna share your life’s journey with.

Au revoir,

Satish

P.S: On the other note, watch out for the new blog on “CIO Musings” that will be unveiled shortly; I like to share what I am learning and gleaning at work through this new blog.(even planning to write few papers that are under construction - only facts, metrics, and data around business-tech world that you wouldn’t find anywhere.)

New Blog: B+T!

I will soon be starting a new blog, focusing mainly on business & technology - not on their marriage or divorce, but on how tightly they are coupled in this digital world and how important it is for the 21st century leaders to understand this stuff...

I am a novice myself in this field - but I shall share what i know and let's learn together in this fascinating sphere!

However, I will continue to write this current blog with the same objective of sharing on what i am learning from life - sort of diary & perspective sharing!

tata...Satish

P.S: Any suggestions to name the new blog???

'Pappa'hood

hmm...on a funny note, when people can derive tollywood, bollywood from hollywood - I didn't think it was strange to draw 'pappa hood' from fatherhood..!

What better way to exert myself from hibernation than writing about fatherhood? I know it is an unusual topic considering what I've been writing all along, but if a man of Obama's stature is writing and talking about it - then it must deserve its proper due! Also, it gives me a chance to share something I've never experienced before.

Life changes completely when you've a kid - it's more about him & less about you; Are the diapers changed regularly - is he crying too loud - is the baby getting enough sleep & care - these and many more zillion questions incessantly spin in your mind. You'll hardly feel if you are hungry, you aren't passionate enough to go to a ball game, no time for movies nor for any outside activities - 24 hrs a day were never enough, but more so now; Suddenly, all that what you've been valuing take a back seat - and all you care now is to see the teeth-less smile of your boy!

While it is important to cherish your precious lil' one, you shouldn't ignore how you are shaping up. Any one can give birth, but it takes a lot more to become a good father. I am not an expert at it but i know fatherhood is an enormous & enriching responsibility. Nature takes its course and you, as a father, is responsible for both his nature and nurture. You are literally on a 24 hour stage show for the boy - every thing you do, every thought you think - every behavioral aspect will be picked up by your boy. Do you want to be a hero or something else? Your choice! Nothing comes from corn, but corn. So never ignore your own self-development because you must be what you want your boy to be!

One thing I can never understand is this feeling that "You'll do "ANYTHING" for your boy" - when i say "anything", I mean "ANYTHING".

tata..Satish