Leaving a legacy

Tulsi Tanti's Suzlon, was in deep in debt due to unfavourable local policy changes and impact of the global slowdown. Hamstrung by a lack of funds, Tanti had to sell off his prize, profit-making acquisitions to fund the revival. Talking of the challenges of bringing the company back from the precipice, Tanti says being a mechanical engineer, he had always focused on technology and growth and did not have the core competency to do liability management. In difficult times, he had to go meet bankers and give stakeholders the confidence that there was light at the end of the tunnel. So the last five years, he says, were a completely alien aspect to his management.

Work and Life Lessons
So what could have given Tanti the strength to move away from his comfort zone of focusing on technology and growth, and persevere with what he wasn't happy doing? The answer may lie in his purpose - to build a company not for the next 10 years, but for the next 100 years.

Each of us wants to leave a legacy, a contribution to his or her community or society. Once articulated, the nature of the legacy leads us to do things which will outlast us.

What's yours?

Living our values

A 22 year old heir to a large infrastructure company believes luxury lies in work and relationships, not materialism. "Unity of family, companionship of friends, and faith in God..."  are the luxuries, he believes one should truly strive for. "More than anything," he continues, "I like to meet new people and learn about their viewpoints. That's like a luxury to me."

The three luxuries the young man talks of, reflect his personal core values. Values are the practices we use (or should be using) every day in everything we do.

They form the foundation on which we perform work and conduct ourselves. In an ever-changing world, core values are constant.  Core values are not descriptions of the work we do or the strategies we employ to accomplish our life purpose, our Dharma.  They  underlie our work, how interact with each other, and which strategies we employ to fulfill it.

Reference: ET Panache

Picture source: everyoneagreeswithtom.com

Making life changes

'Amazing transformation' of Rahul Gandhi, says Omar Abdullah,  referring to the change in Rahul after his 56 day sabbatical. He doesn't know where Rahul went, what he did, or what this transformation is down to.  But, says Omar, he would try to learn, because there were lessons to be learnt for himself as well.
He also hopes that it doesn't mean he has  to disappear for 56 days.

Life Lesson
The first step in our learning,  development and growth is to know what it is we want to learn. Though the last of Omar's comment may have been half in jest, it is a useful pointer to an understanding that in our desire to learn and grow, we may not necessarily follow the exact steps and process our inspiration may have followed. 

A useful process for change is to develop a foundational theme around which we want to grow our competence.  The foundational theme serves as a core around which we can weave our everyday experiences of listening, understanding, talking, writing and reading. The themes make learning holistic, and help to tailor the lessons to suit our needs and personality.

Some of the themes  could be;

Courage/Fear
When you have unrealized dreams, but hesitate to go after them in the fear of disrupting what you already have.

Habits
This one can be used when you are disorganized and seriously wishesto put your life in order and want to get rid of dis-empowering habits.

Personal Excellence
This one helps when you wish to improve the overall quality of your life and not just in a few specific areas.

What do you think Omar Abdullah foundational theme could be?

What's yours?

The true climber

"For the true climber, the story and the experience, exemplified by the way you go up the mountain, is more important than getting to the summit,” says 

Conrad Anker, an American mountaineer who has climbed Everest. “For commercial expeditions, it’s more about getting to the summit.”

And therein also lies the difference between aspiration and ambition, happiness and unhappiness, peace of mind and a life of stress.

What kind of a doer are you?

When it comes to doing, people are of three types; 
The Con doers: They think and analyse till paralysis come. Their actions remain in that state and they con themselves into thinking they are busy. 


The Can doers: These approach their tasks with enthusiasm and are focused more on the story, the experience and the process of doing. 


And finally, there are the
Do errs; They too approach their tasks with enthusiasm, but sweat the small stuff. They worry about whether they did the right things the right way. Once the task is over, they worry whether their actions will produce the right outcomes.

Where do you see the possibility?