Middle Class-a driver to Global economy

The booming middle class of China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Russia contribute in their own way for driving the future economies. There are some very strong similarities in the middle class across the world in general and more so in developing economies.
There will be differences if we microscopically look at the daily lives as the culture and outlook are different depending on history. For example a youth taking to drinking alcohol or smoking in Russia at an early age can be normal as irrespective of class this is normal. But same will not be the case in India for example.
To look at differences and elaborating it is probably a way to defend why we should think complex but to look at similarities is a way to look at world as one.
Being the middle is always a challenge. Those born with Silver spoons don't bother too much as there is everything even without asking for it. Those born in poverty struggle with getting basic necessities of life as they cannot think beyond next time meals. Those born in the middle class have to prove to their parents that they can achieve and be disciplined to get something they wish to have. This sets a performance/reward culture in them. Since the surplus is not too much they realize the difficulties of the poor much better. This makes them more sensitive to the society they live in. There is an opportunity for the kids to spend time with their grand parents who usually have moved up the society with their hard work and know the value of education. They get to know the basic values of life from them. This is different from the rich parents who neither have time/is not a priority or the poor parents who cannot afford to spend quality time with their kids.
This setting is quite ideal for the children of middle class as they aspire to grow with their hard work and learning. The fact that Obama mentions several times that the skill set of Indians/Chinese students is much higher is that a developing economies are in the middle-not like US a developed economy and accompanying ego state or not like some African countries an under developed country where survival is an achievement.
Therefore to say that Middle Class will sit in a driver seat to shape the future Global economies is an understatement. They will be the brain, energy and fuel (as they will also be consumers to the products/services) and aspiration to the future. There is no doubt that the moderate middle class will also slowly force more aggressive and repressive regimes to change. This makes me feel more comfortable that the future is in safe hands. Let us hope that the middle class in their aspiration to grow don't get the success in their heads and spoil the next generation. To sustain a few more generation of middle class power with middle class mind set is key to a bright future of the world. I also hope there is some more cross collaboration among the middle class of different economies to ensure we move to a quicker learning and adoption across the world including Green Initiatives.

The Philosophy of Silver Bullet

If you believe in Werewolves, Vampires and all those demonish creatures you know what a Silver Bullet is. The surprising thing is that this belief is of 20th Century origin-now the term Silver Bullet is used to indicate a quick solution to a difficult problem.
As human's we always want a panacea for all problems. I remember when I was young watching a fake herbal marketer shouting to a crowd with his mesmeric voice that the Fox Horn(do foxes have horns?) powder he has can cure almost every malady. I was amused when some very educated looking (!)men buying the stuff. Maybe for some it can appear to work as it is Pshycological.
Silver bullet works on the premise that there is one fixed way to attack the problem which is monstrous to imagine. There is no other known solution and no harm to give it a try. This is different from Alchemy which is driven by greed to make gold from some other metal. A person trying to do Alchemy is probably searching a short cut to become rich and famous. The positive aspect of this is that they probably end up learning something in ssearch of this skill. On the way they find something else and settle for it which is better than what they had been. It is like aiming for Moon and landing in on a hilltop. But still they landed somewhere higher than where they originally are. This is positive about trying to become an Alchemist.
However Seeking a Silver Bullet is slightly different. For example if US stuck in Afganisthan is hoping that the Taliban will melt with time or make a peace deal with them by legalizing them to be part of Government-then they are looking a silver bullet solution. The problem is demonic with different dimensions and solution cannot be simple.
Several times I hear this when the negotiations are getting tough-look for a face saving formula. I smile at presentations which try to show the best of a worst situations (how service has dramatically improved when reality is market is down and inventories are sky high) as this is also a face saving formula. Face savers are not silver bullets..they are self deceptions. Politicians will want it but not others. Power is not lost with such efforts of people and soon it starts to eat the core of character.
Silver bullet is by scale much larger-promise and belief of an impossible thing to fix a problem. Devil is in details and Silver bullet is the exact opposite of details as it is a hypothesis. Six sigma thinking and Emotional Intelligence are two antidotes for Silver bullets. For example it is common to hear people saying a state of art ERP system will solve all their problems. So be it says the management and then the demons change shape. Now it is a different Silver bullet we want as today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
Therefore wanting a Silver Bullet is not quite unreasonable but to find one is usually an unreasonable expectation. Managers keep their jobs as Silver Bullets evolve as werewolves arrive in different forms. Hope remains to find solutions for all problems including Global warming which is driven by human greed..this is the philosophy of Silver Bullet.

Where defensiveness dares...

Inspiring stories, life experiences and poems of people always gives a ray of hope in all humans. For example when one reads" Lead Kindly Light" of Tagore surely there is something inside our minds which gets a ray of hope. Similar is the case with the perseverance of people who not only survived but also took it as a responsibility to motivate others survive in the concentration camps in World War II. Hope is clearly a remedy for pessimism which is probably a natural defensive action mind resorts to during adversities. Being defensive is not a bad behavior but once it becomes a habit it starts to suck away the real reasons of failures. On the other end of spectrum being over confident has a similar effect when it becomes a habit. When defensiveness becomes a habit we fight for status quo or start to be perceived as a bottle neck in a change situation. Leaders of change may start to avoid getting opinions from the person with such behaviors though there can be some fence sitters motivating to continue to dare. Such people end up in being forced to look for new jobs and they probably never recognize that the reason for their malady is within them.
Over confidence that there can be nothing which can go wrong has other effects. Such people are cultivated by Leaders to be a catalyst of change in some situations only to realize that after sometime their effectiveness wanes. The reason is people around who look for logical reasons of why this will succeed find that it is more words and feelings than logic that drives the individual. As a corollary there can also be an instant belief in an hope giving enthusiastic leader if the earlier leader was a pessimistic, image drainer for a group/country. Classic example is Obama. As it can be seen very soon the belief drains when people start to realize that life is more than just giving hope and speaking the right vocabulary.
There are some general rules to test if we have the sickness of defensiveness:
1) If we shoot down new ideas even without taking it for discussions
2) If we are trying to project all the showcase items (good news) and cover up dissent
3) If we are wanting to manage/alter the KPI's for short term reasons of bonus or justifying headcounts etc
4) If we generally exhibit all the passive aggression characteristics
5) If our humor is hurting a change manager who is sincerely trying to make a change
6) If our informal communication is exactly opposite of formal communication
7) If we explain the problem is not here but elsewhere and we can't do much
8) If we say dotted line reporting can achieve only so much
9) If we say we have tried it earlier and it will fail as we are not ready
10)If we smile when something which we say will fail actually failed.
The list can be longer but when defensiveness dares there cannot be much progress is a fact individuals and organizations should recognize. The more healthy a person is (both physical and emotional) the less insecure he/she is. The less insecure a person is the less defensive he/she is. For example last year I tried to introduce diversity in an alumni e-group which was a male only. Most of them were uncomfortable but some were so defensive that they felt that even if a women is classmate she should not be added for it takes away the joy of men talk/humor.
There were some who said by virtue of being a classmate they have a right but were pushed through with humor and peer pressure. I had the responsibility to go back and inform the bad news but I chose a new way. I asked the most resistant person to draft a nice communication which can be shared. After one week I got a reply that he did not find a good reason and realized that maybe we should make it an inclusive group. I appreciated him for the introspection made the defensiveness vanish. We went ahead but I informed the concerns some had to the women. To our surprise she said" Nothing new" and went on to add energy to our group. The group is more active than ever. In a recent communication I got a person saying that adding her was one of the best decisions made. Progress is made only when we get our masks and start accepting realities. We cannot live in our silos and believe that if we get out we step on fire. Dare to recognize this and be a leader...