The most powerful way to achieve long-term personal and business success, is to redefine success as something internal rather than external. It has been my experience time and time again that success begins with defining values, and then consciously creating a life where those values play a central role. And this is true as much of people as it is of organizations.Using this 'inside-out' approach, I have discovered in my experience as a Business coach and consultant, gives gratifying results. Success I have realized, begins with defining values, and then consciously creating a life where those values play a central role. So what exactly do we mean by values, and how can we plan a values-driven life?
What are Values?
Roy Posner, on his highly informative website, describes values as “a belief, a mission, or a philosophy that is meaningful.” Whether we are consciously aware of them or not, every one of us has a core set of personal values. Values can range from the commonplace, such as the belief in hard work and punctuality, to the more psychological, such as self-reliance, concern for others, and harmony of purpose.
When we examine the lives of famous people, we often see how personal values guided them, propelling them to the top of their fields. In the book, Leadership@Infosys (Penguin India), the editor Matthew Barney describes the time the company had imported its first computer to the office. A customs official indirectly asked for a bribe. Narayana Murthy pretended he did not understand the request. As pay back, the official refused to recognise the a government certificate that entitled Infosys to a concessionary import duty of Rs. 1 lakh instead of Rs 10 lakh. Murhty did not budge. The company paid the higher duty and went through a long process of six years to reclaim the extra money it had paid.
| It is this personal as well as business commitment to his values that has brought Murthy such glory - personally as well as to Infosys, the company he created. On a personal front, his commitment to his values brought respect to businessmen as a class. Kiran Karnik1, the former NASSCOM chief explains the reason thus,”For the first time, the middle class had an icon who came from an ordinary background and yet made money without doing something underhand and being upright.” On the business front Murthy’s commitment powered by his intellect, and driven by his values has brought Infosys to the forefront of a new India Inc. since 1981. | ||||||
we can “create a life of our own making” and live our life with meaning and peace of mind, rather than “letting our life live us.” An important learning from Murthy's example is that values drives our behavior and also our commitment.
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| Call to Action | ||||||
| To begin the unraveling of YOUR secret to long-term personal business success, begin by of identifying your values from the list on Roy Posner's site. Using your identified values as your decision making paradigm, you can now create a life of your own making and live your life with meaning and peace of mind, rather than letting your life live you. | ||||||
2 comments:
It is so easy to give up values and morals in this crazy rat race that we all seem to be running, yet it is those values and morals that come to our rescue when everything has been told and done.
Yes Vinod, temptations are certainly huge but it is in meeting these challenges that our true test lies.
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