Benjamin Zander’s book “The Art of Possibility” starts with this story: A shoe factory sends two marketing scouts to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business. One sends back a telegram saying, SITUATION HOPELESS. STOP. NO ONE WEARS SHOES. The other writes back triumphantly, GLORIOUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY. STOP. THEY HAVE NO […]
I was invited to write a series of articles on the topic “Indispensable Traits of a Collaborative Leader” for the blog of All India Management Association (AIMA). Since 1957, All India Management Association (AIMA) is functioning as an apex body of management with over 30,000 individual members, 3000 institutional members and 62 Local Management Association […]
A blind man, wandering lost in a jungle, tripped and fell over a cripple. The blind man said, “I have been wandering since long in this jungle and cannot find my way out!” The cripple replied, “I have been lying here since long and cannot get up to walk.” Suddenly, the cripple cried out, “I’ve […]
In a competitive world obsessed with goals, people recommend that we should periodically review our performance. Performance appraisals in organizations are almost a necessary evil. The problem with focusing excessively on our ‘performance’ is that performance is always judged by others, by some external entity. When you constantly try to align yourself to external expectations, […]
Excessive use of positional power: I was interacting with a leadership expert recently when he said, “If you have to use your position to exert your power, you are not powerful.” Being at a certain position within organization means that you have a higher visibility which needs to be extended to others. Your position is […]
How often do we, as professionals and managers, get sucked into the whirlwind of status reports, new-initiatives-everyday, number crunching, endless meetings and presentations? Sometimes, the best management is to do simple and obvious things more effectively. In this context, I enjoyed reading an insightful post titled “Finding more time for real management” at Business Strategy […]
When you take up a new passion, it is so amazing to see how things unfold. Since last few years, I have turned into a photography enthusiast, an avid learner of the art. No, I am not taking any formal photography classes but am learning it by doing in my spare time. You can view […]
“Nobody rises to low expectations.” ~ Calvin Lloyd One of the most important qualities of a leader is to believe that they can do better. People respond to expectations and the only way to grow people is to consistently raise the bar of expectations. If a team is not doing great, it is either because […]
Here’s how eagles learn to fly. When the baby eagle (eaglet) has fully developed wings, the mother hovers above the nest with a piece of food in her claws. She nurtures the curiosity and shows the eaglet that wings are for flying. Piece of food inspires the eaglet to try. If this doesn’t work, eagle […]