British star Carla Delevingne had bid goodbye to modelling to make a career in films, but has returned to it to become the face of Chanel’s eyewear. On her decision to to return to modeling, Carla says, “Over time, I came to realise that work and getting others’ approval isn't the most important thing”.
Insight
Life is a constant struggle between wanting to fit in, approval-seeking behaviour and wanting to do one's own thing. The last requires conviction and courage.
“I do use cookbooks myself. It's a myth that chefs don't. I own about 3500. Can I learn anything from all these books? Of course I can. You can use a book for ideas, but you can't learn to cook from books. That's impossible. There has be some natural flair”. - Gordon Ramsay in Humble Pie.
Insight
The process of learning new things and exploring & experimenting with ideas is lifelong. But it's only when you start executing on the ideas, that the process is complete.
Action
Is it time you considered putting the ideas in your mind into action?
It is time you contacted Coach Uday the Thinking Coach.
Xiaomi cofounder Bin Lin knows how to lead by example. On a day the company launched it's latest phone, packages were to go within hours of orders coming in. With thousands of deliveries in the pipeline, the pressure was on the assembly line, which was falling short of hands. Lin, apparently, jumped in and personally packed several of the phones to ensure timely shipments. The first phone was delivered to a buyer within a record time of two hours from the flash sale closing.
Insight
Wisdom in leadership lies in not only choosing when to be a hands-on leader, but also when to be hands-off.
The Vijay Mallya debt saga has become the subject of case study at B-schools. The IIM-B study is focused on corporate governance. It discusses the need of organisations to balance the interests of 5 stakeholders - customers, owners, employees, suppliers & society - for consistent high performance. Learning lies in how excessive focus on ‘pampering’ customers, or the obsession in companies to meet the interest of ’owners’ can lead to disaster.
Insight
Charismatic leadership is a double-edged sword. It brings results, but proves disastrous when the leader starts feeling s/he knows best.
"In our culture deck, which I like to show to a new team member coming in...one of the main things we talk about is not celebrating," says Siminoff (founder of startup Ring). "I see these startups celebrating every new funding round, and the reality is that there are always bad things that are going to happen to your business. I think it's really important to keep the team realistic." - Anna Hensel in Inc.
Insight
Not celebrating is overdoing things. Both failure as well as success need to be viewed realistically, so why not celebrate ‘learning’ in failure and a ‘job well done’ in success?
Popular productivity myths busted:
+ Long to-do lists change unconsciously to “what we haven't done lists,” creating stress and anxiety. Switch to a positive ‘done list’. Makes you feel good about yourself
+ Focus on failure rather than success so that you can identify threats to your success in time.
+ When you have a problem, talk to a rubber duck. Stating the problem loud, organises and simplifies information & engages more parts of your brain. Besides, the duck won't interrupt, yawn or say he's too busy.
- in.askmen.com
Insight
Bust the myths, face reality!
The ban on Maggi noodles resulted in Nestlé’s first loss in 17 years. But MD Suresh Narayanan believes a crisis is a blessing in disguise, and the best opportunity to recalibrate, redefine, reenergise and refocus yourselves.
Insight
Good times or crisis, sorrow or happiness, rich or poor are all states of mind and how we deal with the times separates the men from the boys (and girls from women too!).
Picture: applied neuroscience blog
In July ‘15, Bill McDermott CEO, SAP, met with an accident and lost the vision in one of his eyes. He is now back at the helm and says, “I am living proof that vision is not what you just see but it's what you feel and how you make other people feel.”
Insight
To the leader's mind’s eye, the promised land he wants to take his flock to, is clearly visible. But it is only when he FEELS the promise of the destination he is leading them to, that he can carry his people with him.
Suresh Narayanan, MD Nestlé India has a simple mantra:
1. Be Fast - Be empowered & take a few risks
2. Get Focused- Know what you do well & not ape what others are doing
3. Be Flexible - In terms of market outcome, future MS & evolution
He believes by unleashing these three behaviors into the business, it can be run better & can come up with newer, more compelling business models for the future.
Insight
Behaviours are useful tools for cultural transformation in an organisation as they are observable and measurable. Being aligned to the organizational vision, they also help to institute a mindset change.
Do we have original innovation in India? Snapdeal’s Kunal Behl, when asked this question, says innovations in India are unique to the country's challenges. To prove his point, he cites the instance of innovations made around digital payments, supply chain and platforms to cater to the multilingual nature of our country.
Insight
Innovation has many dimensions. An innovative product or service does not necessarily have to be globally unique or globally applicable. More important, focus on innovation should be around making social and environmental context specific systems and processes more efficient.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey runs two companies and has an 18-hour workday. He says, a consistent schedule and work structure helps him achieve this. Most of his work is focused on:
1. Reviewing the product team
2. Recruiting
3. Follow-up meetings to check on their weekly progress
Insight
Time cannot be managed, more correctly, you manage yourself. Long hours don't translate into more productivity - a consistent schedule and structure does. This makes life easier for both for the leader, as well as those who execute his vision.
“If your profession doesn't give you a chance to evolve as a human being, then it is a burden or a curse for life. It should be able engage you intellectually. I think if your work doesn't help you grow as a person, it is slavery.“ - Irrfan Khan, Actor
Insight
When your work stops becoming engaging and emotionally satisfying, it is time to have a rethink about your future. Time to break free, to have a fresh purpose in life.
“The important things in my life are my relationships and well-being, where I am going as a human being in my development mentally, emotionally and physically” - Cameron Diaz, Actress
Insight
The ebb and flow of our relationships and fortunes have an effect on our emotional and physical well-being and can either grow, or hinder our mental development. Are the changes transient, or are they permanent? Are they controllable, or are they uncontrollable?
Taking time-off for a periodic stocktaking can prove useful.
Are work and life two separate compartments? Do we need to maintain separate personal life-professional life lists? TCS chief N Chandrasekaran doesn't think so. He believes you have to keep a very simple priority list and keep it short. This, he says, makes life easier. His list comprises building a strong team and long-distance running, music and photography his interests.
Insight
Life's priorities can be sliced in many ways - there is no one best way to it. Just do what you feel comfortable doing.
Design life with Coach Uday.
Connect uday@arurbizcoach.com
“.... a third measure of success that goes beyond the two metrics of money and power, and consists of four pillars: well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving."
Together, those factors help you to take care of your psychological life and truly be successful….” - Arianna Huffington, Author and Columnist
Insight
This realisation dawned on Huffington after collapsing from overwork chasing money and power. Clarity on life's priorities usually comes after undergoing a life threatening experience. And that is something we understand only intellectually but fail to act on in time.
“You have to try different things & you define time frames within which you get to a certain milestone. And if you don't, it's OK to drop them and move to the next one.” Rishad Premji, Chief Strategy Officer WIPRO
Insight
Launching, and then withdrawing a project/product/service, is a difficult decision for leaders - it's a public sign of failure & their ego is on the line. Defining time frames & milestones, & withdrawing if the goals are not met, displays leadership maturity. E.g. Ola is to shut down its struggling grocery division barely a year into its launch as it failed to meet expectations.
A leader needs many tools to be successful in our volatile world at the same time - a telescope, a microscope and a stethoscope. A telescope to view disruptive forces, a microscope to see the near term shocks and opportunities and a stethoscope to maintain their organisational health. - Noshir Kaka, MD McKinsey India
Insight
Each of us is a leader managing three dimensions of leadership:
1. Leading Oneself
2. Leading People and
3. Leading the organisation
Each instrument has to be used discriminately & in the right context. Each plays out differently & with different levels of dominance at every level of the organisation.
Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of Airasia says he makes it a point to be accessible to his staff. He recounts how a flight staff came up to him at Bengaluru and said,”Hey look,I have some issues. Can you look at it?’
Insight
In 2011, Airasia's employee force was 5000+, it may be more now. If every employee looks up to the CEO, and not his immediate superior for sorting issues, not only does he get overburdened with operational matters, but more critically, senior managers become less accountable, they also lose their morale because the dignity and sanctity of the hierarchy have not been respected.
The symbol of infinity (a horizontal number 8) represents the loci of two energies, spiritual and physical, that meet in the middle at the point, the point around which energy flows. - V. N. Mittal in the Speaking Tree
Insight
The first of the two energies - the spiritual, represents the energy born of inner knowing and awareness, the second, the physical, is the energy born of the resultant behavior and actions. The two in right balance, provide the strength to realise our individual abilities.
“Jack (Welch) was a great CEO, but he really controlled his world. Those days are over. I’m in the risk-management business. You’re not in the control business today, you’re in the risk-reward business.” - Jeff Immelt, CEO GE
Insight
The accelerating impact of technology on the natural forces of market competition are taking the world by storm & the unconventional business model adopted by Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp of: get users, get them to use more of your product/service & then make money is difficult for traditional businesses to understand, says Uday Kotak. “As a banker, when I sleep at night, I worry about whether I’ll have a bank next morning, or will there be an Ali Bank or a Flipkart bank or some other bank doing what we do.” he says.
Jeff Immelt & Kishore Biyani's no risk, no reward attitude of reinventing yourself is the way forward.
Flash back It was several years ago that I met him on a Bombay Walk - the ones where they take you around to see and learn about the colonia...
