Survival of the fittest!

From the time Darwin proposed his theory of evolution the most favorite phrase of Managers is "Survival of the fittest"-the law of jungle is now the implicit law which drives career paths of business leaders.
While the Jungle law gives a perpective of ruthlessness one should have to succeed, it fails to recognize the more subtle but important element of evolution.
Single simple cells were the life which was originally formed...how did these simple cells become complex, integrated living things. If you review it you will know it is because they decided to co-operate. At the cost of some cells becoming redundant colloboration was established allowing life to evolve. When fish developed lungs that can breathe in land, legs that can walk etc-the cells agreed to give up something and take up something more by partnering with some other specialist cells which can perform the jobs demanded. To ignore this part of evolution is to champion destruction as colloboration and co-operation has been the core to evolution-not competition.
If we apply this to business situation-we have operating units, business units, countries,divisions, group etc. If all of them compete to show their existence is the most important and rest are incidental then you can be sure the extinction is near. Sure to be agile, adapative etc are key to survival but the most key to connect knowledge and drive the organization's collective wisdom is colloboration and not competition. It is not about who has the kingdoms and how they are bigger or better than others but it is about how kingdoms are run collectively. A lot of frustration of young achievers is due to the fact their achievements are narrowly focussed sub-optimizing something else(inventory reduction at cost of service for example). If we need to truly realize sustainable growth we need to embrace colloboration and not Survival of the fittest as what is true in green jungles is not necessarily true in the concrete jungles as we have lost a lot of intuitive instincts with our forced sixth sense.

Getting Lucky!

There are a lot who believe that luck has a crucial part in one's success. There are reasons to believe indeed it is. After a lot of hard work if the results are not achieved or we don't get what we desired then what else can be at fault than luck. The aspect of luck is said to fostered by some of the older religions/cultures in the forms of astrology, numerology, pleasing demi-gods etc. The huge following in China for Feng-shui (the Indian equivalent of Vastu) is a good example of how one can increase chances of being lucky.
I recently watched the movie called "Kungfu Panda" as it is the kids movies that interest me even after spending 40 years in this earth.
The movie has a core message given by the Great Master (who is a Turtle-the slowest creature is the master of Kungfu which is the fastest reflexive sport) "There are no accidents". Basically the message is "To believe in Fate/Luck is a good short term escape but everything has a purpose is the core philosophy". Why is it different from normal approach to believing in luck or not being lucky...the approach is to take life as it unfolds. Don't judge at every stage and be happy or unhappy. Let success not go into your heads and failures into your hearts. Very simple and effective way to avoid stresses of success and failures. Nirvana is a state when you reach an ego position where nothing bothers you-the position you are, the position your friend or enemy is in or what you should possess or not possess etc...nothing bothers you. It is easier said than done. But the more one starts to consciously move away from seeking material possessions or get away from thinking that in every meeting I will talk something and it should be heard and appreciated etc the more closer he/she gets to Nirvana.
The self ego drives our beliefs and actions..blaming luck is one form of defense which this ego has designed to protect that is nothing is wrong with self. A more effective form of defense is no defense. Don't carry negative thoughts as they stink like a dead fish. This is in the way of positive thinking. But don't carry too much positive thoughts of self as these are as poisonous as the negative thoughts as they create a artificial sense of superiority. Just take the day as it comes. Look at positive aspects of everyone and it is surely luck that you have them around as the experience you are getting is unique and cannot be experienced by someone else. But don't take an approach to blame luck when it is a failure as perceived by you or others as you are also equally lucky to experience this failure to share your learning with some one who has not. Therefore success in life is driven by 75% attitude, 24% hardwork and 1% reflection. Luck is in your attitude but it is completely under your control, so you cannot blame it.

Art of Crisp communication!!

Communication is always an under and over rated animal. We always hear in meetings on why a change project failed to take off-the animal to blame is Communication. There are also circumstances where relationships/projects fail due to over communication but most of the times this animal escapes from criticism. Therefore it is clear that communication by design is critical and a fine balance is required to manage this animal.
To say that make only 5 slide presentations, limit each slide to 5 sentences etc are good guidelines but not necessarily fit all remedy. The fact when to communicate and when to shut up is very situational makes communication an art than a science. Great leaders who were able to transfer hope and faith through their commitment and communication have mastered this art while we commoners always struggle with this.
Some time non verbal cues are more effective communication tools than verbal. Seasoned leaders and Managers are able to effectively mask this non verbal cues making it more difficult for others to read them. Having said this the positive energies remain with great communicators...as said in Thirukural " The Speech Artist is never tired and afraid, to defeat him is next to impossible". In Ramayan Hanuman (the Monkey God) is portrayed as this Speech Artist by Kambar.
When he finds Sita and comes back to inform this to Ram, knowing the anxiety and depressed state Ram is in-he breaks the grammar rules-starts a sentence with a verb. Seen the epitome of Chastity, with my eyes is what he says. Why with eyes? By saying this he forces Ram to look into his eyes which is gleaming with confidence. This part is called Sundara Kandam as this is when Sundaran(means a beautiful person-refering to Hanuman-beautiful with his communication)brings back confidence to Ram to wage the war over Ravan.
Is there crisper communication to do this? Maybe. But with such a topic I have already exceeded the limit of Crisp communication I think.