Stardust Memories - Movie Review

Shot entirely in black and white, it is the story of a successful filmmaker who is constantly hounded by his fans who give him unnecessary advise and feedback such as 'I like you early films, they were so funny'. The director, played by Woody Allen, is a lot like Woody perhaps, and the film shows him trying to make sense of his life, his changing tastes and preferences and his former and current loves.

The way fans barge into his private space is hilarious and in the same breath not-so-funny because you get a taste of a celebrity's life. Stuck with the image of his funny films he is frustrated that the fans do not take his other work seriously. It is apparently a parody of Fellini's 8 1/2 and addresses the angst of a creative person seeking to expand himself and his work and the way his environment acts on him.

I did my best to make sense of it all and what Woody was trying to get across but I missed it all. Will I go back and try to understand it? No. I'll give this one a miss and look for his funny movies.

Anjali - Heads I Win, Tails You Lose

Tried this age old trick on Anjali when we had to toss on some issue we were not agreeing with each other on. I tried it with all the confidence of an experienced four and a half decade old hustler conning a six year old.

'Ok, we'll toss,' I decreed.
'Ok,' she said, delighted at this new fun game.
I got the coin out. Then the devil got into me.

'Heads I win,' I hustled, showing her the heads. 'Tails you lose.'
She listened and nodded, all trust and innocence.
I paused for a moment.

'Shall I toss?

There was a bit of confusion on her face. Clearly she was thinking beyond 'father' and 'trust'. She did not give the go-ahead. After a moment she spoke.

'I am comfused,' she said (as she says confused these days), her brows furrowed deeply as she tried to get her mind around the one thing that was bothering her.
Something was not right.

Then it hit home and her eyes opened wide.
'Then, how will I win?'

Ah, was I glad I got caught out.

But seriously, you could con me with that trick even now if you had someone in authority play it convincingly on me. Glad Anjali paid heed to her instinct, stopped to think instead of agreeing right away, and figured the con out. Good for you Anjali.

Thought for the Day - How To Know If You're Giving Your 100%

What is 100% in any effort? How do I recognize it? (100% in this context is 100% involvement in what one is doing.)

I think I got a clue today while walking this morning.

One way to find 100% is by cranking up the involvement in the work that you are doing to such a level that all other thoughts vanish. At 100% your mind will be fully occupied by thoughts of the present work and nothing else. So, at 10% your mind will be full of thoughts, at 100% you will be full of the act.

Even if it is thinking, 100% must be that way. Full focus on the job at hand to the extent that no distracting thought enters.

For example, a new driver will be fully alert and fully alive or at 100%. He  or she cannot afford to be distracted by other thoughts. An experienced driver also achieves the same amount of involvement by challenging himself on several parameters and seeking perfection in those.

While walking today, I decided to crank up my regular speed (slow, full of thoughts) and challenge myself against one of the faster walkers. lo presto, as  my speed increased I could see my thoughts zeroing down from all unnecessary thoughts and merge into the act. At the peak speed, I was not in a position to think at all and was totally in the act.

Total concentration. Full focus. Fully in the act.

100%.

Go try.

Nelson Mandela - Last Of A Rare Kind

With the demise of Nelson Mandela the world we know has lost the last of its truly great leaders. As with so many of his peers or the other greats of his times, Mandela was the product of circumstances, discrimination and rose against all odds and achieved the impossible. His life inspired all the marginalised, the oppressed, and the disadvantaged and if anything, all those who feel that way, must continue to take inspiration and walk the path he did. As he said famously - if you have to judge me, judge me by the number of times I got up after I fell down.

What made leaders like him what they were is perhaps exemplified in the colors of the India national flag - saffron symbolising sacrifice, white symbolising nobility (and green which I think is the result of the above two, symbolising prosperity). Greatness is always measured in the amount of sacrifice one makes for a cause, for others, at risk to oneself. This concern for others, irrespective of who they are, is what brings shows the noble part in them. When one burns ones soul in the fire of sacrifice, noble emotions come by naturally through the sheer experience of having undergone it.

It is this sacrifice, this nobility that marked these leaders, the leaders of the world, half a decade ago. Now we are ruled by pygmies who neither understand sacrifice nor nobility, who solely exist to survive and plunder. They accumulate, they hoard, bargain and negotiate and pimp for power, for wealth. How can one expect the amount of forgiveness, love, kindness, lack of resentment, courage an conviction as shown by leaders gone by, the ones whose soul coursed through Nelson Mandela himself, from these current leaders. None of today's leaders has yet shown glimpses of greatness, of vision, of conviction, of humility that Madiba lived his life through. There is no sacrifice, no noble intention, no thought for the common people whom they represent - only a rapacious, predator-like, dishonest, shameless intent to cling on somehow. But it is not about them.

What do we do? We can pay our tribute to Mandela and his ilk by changing our lives in the context we live in. We can adopt some of those ideals (shown in some of his quotes below) and transfer them to those in our sphere of influence. And when the time comes, we can stand up and display the same courage, integrity and love.

To suffer racial discrimination of the worst kind, to yearn for freedom of living freely in their native land, to face atrocities because one dared ask for those rights and to endure 27 years of incarceration of one's prime life is enough to turn people into resentful wrecks. But Mandela chose to integrate, to trust and believe, to love and share the lessons of love. The complete lack of resentment is what makes him join the greats gone by. It saddens, even frightens, to think that leaders of such high calibre people do not exist on this world anymore. One can only hope that some of the current lot rise above, draw inspiration from the likes of Mandela and choose the noble path.

I read somewhere how Mandela wished to be remembered - as a man who has performed his duties well And that he did. Few of us can claim that  - but we can aspire to.

Some quotes that exemplify his life, his spirit. Quotes that can be guiding principles for all of us.

1) "Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end."

2) "It always seems impossible until it's done."

3) "If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man."

4) "I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles."

5) "Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people."

6) "A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of."

7) "Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do."

8) "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

9) "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

10) "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."

11) "Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies."

12) "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

13) "I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days."

14) "A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."


15) "It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when celebrating victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership"

16) "Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished."

17) “It is never my custom to use words lightly. If twenty-seven years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die.” 

18) “When people are determined they can overcome anything.”

19) “Social equality is the only basis of human happiness.” 

20) "Great anger and violence can never build a nation. We are striving to proceed in a manner and towards a result, which will ensure that all our people, both black and white, emerge as victors.”

21) “We are fighting for a society where people will cease thinking in terms of colour.”

22)  “When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace.”

23) "I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended."

24) "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."

25) "If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."

Thought for the Day - There's No Luck, Only Preparation

I do believe this now. There is no luck, only preparation. When you are fully prepared you start creating those opportunities. You have the consciousness to accept such opportunities. The ground is fertile so to speak, for things to grow.

Now there is much confusion on this preparation. How prepared should I be? How does it show?

Mostly it shows up through improved performances. Performances that make a difference and are noticed. You will receive compliments, praise for the improved effort.  When you are prepared, the opportunities, the lucky breaks start showing.

Preparation must be on all three counts - skill, physical and the mental. The mental takes up 70-80% of the preparation process. It deals with the what, how, why, where, when and whom. One part of the mental preparation deals with expertise. Another part of the mental preparation is to do with self-worth - your concept of your worth - which guides your capacity to receive.

Let me take the example of growing a crop on mother earth. You can look at your patch of land and wait for it to give you the crop. Or you can till it, clear it, fertilise it, make the soil fertile, plant the crop in an orgainised fashion, in the right manner, in the right season, with the right intention and you are certain to get a better yield. You cannot call this luck.

But what if the crops are destroyed, one may ask. Good. You travel this far in terms of expertise. The key for prosperity is preparation on self-worth. If your self-worth is low, then you may find more obstacles than most. But if it is high, you may find less. It happens more slowly for some, but it will yield as all others, to constant effort, to persistence and a happy and enthusiastic state of mind.

When the ground is fertile, when all aspects has been explored, experienced, practiced and understood, when basics are strong, process right, somewhere at that stage we find luck happening more often in our favor. By now we are not bothered about luck anymore - we are bothered about the learning.

Luck comes in at that stage. Until then, its all preparation, consciously or unconsciously.

Leadership Module 3 - Ace Dezines

Continuing where we left off, we did a quick recap of all that we did especially the process-driven leadership. I asked the team leads to make a 2-page plan based on the process - goal clarity, role clarity, target setting, empowerment with tools, communication and appraisal. Once they were done, we spent time discussing the importance of goal clarity, of numbers, of names, of allocating work, of monitoring, of understanding  the real reason behind non-performance.

Inspirational Leadership - High performance

The guiding mantra for leadership of this type is - everyone wants to excel. How do you as the leader get them to excel is the question? How does the leader create that atmosphere?

In such scenarios, leaders believe in their team's high potential irrespective of past record. These leaders provide a worthy goal, correct inputs and push the team’s limits with high standards. They believe that the team can handle the responsibility.

The critical thing about inspirational leadership is the transfer of ownership of the team’s goals to the members themselves so they take it upon themselves to achieve it (instead of being pushed to achieve it).

 Transfer of ownership of achieving the goal

To transfer ownership the leader needs to be secure, trusting, supportive, patient and sympathetic with no ego. He has the ability to trust his team to achieve things much bigger than what they can conceive. He must not insist on micro managing, on giving them processes all the time but rather, show them high targets, guide them and support them in achieving them.

The team will find the way once he shows them the big goal and the direction. As they go on the path, he/she must trust them even when they fail, and help them through their anxieties until they succeed. At times he may have to step in under pressure and set things right. He should feel no loss of ego as they fly higher than he has, as they become independent and free.He must be hard on their work ethic, and be sympathetic to their individual goals and dreams.

 In short, he must be genuinely interested in their growth.
(Just as he is genuinely interested in the team performance. Only if the team does well will the individuals prosper. Only if the individuals do well will the team do well.) 
 

Transfer of ownership could include the following - setting a worthy goal for the team, explaining to them the benefits of setting such a worthy goal, show them the process when they get stuck, guide them, and help them prepare for next level and keep track of the performance.

Performance must never be sacrificed - with all this it must be enhanced.

Factors that help in this style of leadership:

1)      Being secure as a leader. Accept yourself as you are. Do not feel challenged by their independent thought and act. You are still the boss.

2)      Be supportive of team’s effort even when they fail initially. Give them time. Tell them what to do - not how to do. They will learn to fall and get up on their own.

3)      Guiding and mentoring them when they are going astray. Coach instead of commanding.

4)      Believe and trust the team. Hold your belief. If you believe in them, they will deliver. If you do not believe, they will not deliver.

5)      To raise the performance, raise the bar. By expecting the best, you foster a team that will reach higher. Make them stretch, flow into greater space. Lead by example where necessary.

6)      Empower everyone. No favorites. Empower the weaker players.

To be an inspirational leader one must know himself well. It boils down to the leader’s clarity about himself. The clearer you are about yourself, what you want and why, the how etc, the more secure you are as a leader. The more secure you are as a leader, the more compassion and understanding you can bring to the workplace.

Leadership tenets

Be aware that 

-          The leader is wholly responsible for the team’s performance.
-          No one starts with best resources. It is what the leader does with the resources that is important.
-          The team reflects the leader. If members are shirking responsibility, are being dishonest, are doubting, not performing – they are reflecting the leader somewhere. The leaders own doubts, fears, lack of clarity, lack of security shows up in these incidents. The core team reflects the leader and his beliefs

-          Leaders bring vision, greater common good, greater individual good, a vibrant future, human empowerment and development, clarity and conviction.

-          They leave the team as a better unit, as better individuals with greater belief in themselves. Everyone has growth to show.

-          They use resources efficiently -they don’t do everything themselves.

-          The leader takes the pressure when the heat is on. Can do it himself.
 

It was heartwarming to see the changes that this young team leads at Ace Dezines have already brought into their culture in a short span of 4 weeks. They have got goal clarity, shared with their teams, got their buy-in already, have sharper role clarity and have already resolved certain personnel issues. They has all imbibed the attitude of the leader and were all in place 10 minutes before time (something their team members are following), planning their days ahead, making notes on using resources better. One of them has already got greater commitment from his time and is amazed at the way the team members are working at goals they have set themselves - sitting late and yet, coming on time. Overall they have reported improvement all around in their own lives and in their team members. I was particularly pleased with this workshop. We proposed to have a follow-up session after a month to check if they were on track. Thanks Shiva for the opportunity and wishing you guys good luck - Ravi, Santosh, Sreenivas, Shravan and Shankar.

The Paradoxes of Our Lives - To Lead Best, Don't

The best leaders don't lead. They let the people feel that they are in control and let them take charge. The best leaders only step in with marginal corrections, when things go wrong and when things need a direction.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. – Lao Tzu

So, to lead, don't. It is in many ways, showing the direction, getting out the way and supporting the people when they go wrong. It leads to a clean desk, a happy and healthy life and wonderful results.