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This eBook is the consolidation of
everything I have learnt over the last 15
years. Over the last 5 years I have defined
my mission statement as “I want to
maximise my potential and help others
maximise others”
Maximise
Potential Get the Most out of yourself
Shyam Ramanathan
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Contents
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 3
Chapter 1 – Define your Success ............................................................................................................. 3
Chapter 2 – Never ending journey of success and goals ........................................................................... 4
Chapter 3 – 24 Hours ............................................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 4 – The Path to Success and Mastery .......................................................................................... 9
Chapter 5 – 10 traits of highly successful people .................................................................................... 11
Chapter 6 – Failure is Never Final ......................................................................................................... 15
Chapter 7 – Leadership Qualities and Styles .......................................................................................... 18
Chapter 8 - Management Tips ................................................................................................................ 22
Chapter 9 – Team Building .................................................................................................................... 24
Chapter 10 – Sports Teams and Winning Teams .................................................................................... 26
Chapter 11 – Employee Engagement ..................................................................................................... 27
Chapter 12- Lessons from Steve Jobs ..................................................................................................... 29
Chapter 13– 10 Tips for Resilience ........................................................................................................ 32
Chapter 14 – Tips for Effective communication ..................................................................................... 34
Chapter 15- Get Excited every day ........................................................................................................ 35
Chapter 16- Deliberate Practice ............................................................................................................. 38
Chapter 17- The Champion Mindset ...................................................................................................... 40
Chapter 18- My lessons for Graduates ................................................................................................... 43
Chapter 19– Self Confidence ................................................................................................................. 44
Chapter 20 - The 34 quotes that have moved and inspired me. ............................................................... 46
Chapter 21- Keys to Happiness .............................................................................................................. 48
Chapter 22 – Get the most out of life and live it to the fullest ................................................................. 51
Chapter 23– Characteristics and Qualities of Great Leaders ................................................................... 52
Chapter 34– Only the Paranoid Survive ................................................................................................. 56
Chapter 24– 30 Books that have influenced me ...................................................................................... 57
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 64
About the Author ................................................................................................................................... 64
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Acknowledgements
I want to thank my parents for having always believed in me and providing me the complete
freedom to pursue my dreams. I want to thank my dad for imparting his love of learning to me
which has helped me immensely. I want to thank all my college friends who stood by me in my
tough times even when I didn’t have belief in my potential. I want to thank my wife who has
always supported me at home and without her support a lot of my work could not have been
done. Finally to my two wonderful kids who bring joy and happiness to me making life
memorable.
Introduction
My mission is to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs. This eBook is the
result of my 15 years of experience in the IT industry and over the past 5 years I have devoted to
learning all I can about success, leadership, management and living a better life while staying
happy, energized and enthusiastic. This eBook is the result of that learning and I thought I will
consolidate all the learning in one place so that it can help others.
I hope you enjoy this short eBook and find use in what is presented. Let us begin
Chapter 1 – Define your Success
We all have reservoirs of potential to be unleashed and to recognize our unlimited potential is the
first step towards getting the best out of ourselves. Talent is a strange word that we use to
describe only the uber successful like multimillionaires, sports superstars and other public
figures but we all have talent that can be unleashed.
Talent is not something most of us are born with, it is something we develop through thorough
soul searching, self-analysis, practice and deep learning. It is a cinch but worth repeating find out
what ignites your passion. Passion ignites reservoirs of talent that is hidden within our vast
reservoirs. The main obstacles in our path are our self-doubt and lack of patience.
Let’s face it once we embark on a journey we get a little overwhelmed with the effort that is
required to get to our summit. There are no guarantees in life and the journey is going to be hard
but we have to realize it is worth the effort. We have to really deeply think what we are in it for.
Yes money is a reason, fame is a reason, a sense of accomplishment is a reason but once we get
deep within ourselves and realize that there is something more important our juices start flowing.
Finding our purpose/meaning/mission in life is our great task. Once we find what we are here for
our lives become more exciting, engaging, and we are full of energy, enthusiasm, passion and
have an unlimited zest for our lives. Just writing about this makes me feel more excited. Today is
a great day to live the life we have always imagined. It has been well established that once we act
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like the person we want to become we will eventually become the type of person we always
wanted to be deep inside.
There is no right way to live a life. As long as we live within the laws we are free to choose what
we do with our lives in the finite time we have. What might mean success for one person may
not be the same for another. We are quick to jump to conclusions and claim some people are
successful while others are not. I believe only the particular individual can decide if they are
successful according to their definition or not.
It is not for us to decide if someone is successful or not. The only choice we have is to determine
if we are successful against the standards and definition we set for ourselves. If we attain success
against the definition we set for ourselves then we are a success period. We owe it to ourselves to
define what success will be for us.
There is abundance in this world and we have enormous choices. As we exercise choices that
enhance our lives we eventually go forward and we will reach our Everest. Continuously
pursuing our summits is the true joy in life and the journey is more exciting than the reward
itself!!
Chapter 2 – Never ending journey of success and goals
The first step to understand about success is that it is not a destination but a wonderful journey
that never ends. The best definition of success I have come across is by Earl Nightingale
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal/goal”. It is the process that’s actually
exciting. Most of the times once we reach goals like getting the promotion or losing the weight
we can’t keep up momentum but it is the process that actually keeps us energized. Once we
achieve our goals we feel good for that moment but in order to keep that feeling ongoing we
need to keep setting new goals. The important thing to remember is that goal setting is a lifelong
activity and it does energize our lives. People talk a lot about dreams but there has to be a
distinction between outrageous dreams and dreams that ignite. I can have a dream to be the
greatest tennis player that ever lived but that dream is surely not going to be realized and it is
very much outrageous. I think when we speak about dreams the first step we should clarify is
whether it is aligned with our abilities and has a timeline associated with it. Running a marathon
could be a worthwhile dream for me and something within my capability though it would require
tons of training and will be a BIG stretch for me.
Jim Collins coined the term BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) in his blockbuster book “Built
to Last” 20 years back and he said a lot of the visionary companies set BHAG’s that energized
the organization. I think goals for personal life can do the same for us energizing our lives and
increase passion. The starting point of the success journey is to craft a personal mission
statement and back that up with a powerful vision supported by purposeful action. The best
example of a BHAG is “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade
is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth” by John F Kennedy.
He made that statement on May 25th
1961 and it was still a valid BHAG even after his untimely
death. It is over 50 years old but the beauty lies in its simplicity and clarity. BHAG’s cannot be
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vague. This just goes to show the power of a BHAG. It doesn’t matter what the BHAG is but that
you have a BHAG. There is also a lot of merit in having a personal mission statement. My
personal mission statement is to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs. The
action I take towards this mission is to read continuously on leadership, management, business
and then share insights on what I have learned through blogs. This gets me excited to read books
that are tough and that I may not read normally. Another thing that is important to set is have a
core set of values that you can live by. Values could be dedication, integrity, honesty, passion.
Again writing down a personal mission statement and clarifying our values will surely add
purpose to our lives.
It is important to remember that goals are not resolutions. Once a new year starts most people
start setting resolutions like Iam going to stop eating sugar, Iam going to lose weight, etc.
Personally I don’t set resolutions as I feel having goals with a burning desire is more effective.
Research has proven that most people break their resolutions within a month of setting it. This is
because we keep mentioning the things we won’t do rather than the benefits it would provide. A
better resolution could be “I want to be super fit so that I can be at my best all day long and feel
energized throughout ultimately leading to a longer life full of energy, contribution and
happiness” As you can see this is a much more energizing message and probably can help us be
on track more than resolutions. Finally with respect to maintaining our proper weight it is useful
to remember that there is no quick fix. It is only daily action performed consistently over a long
period of time that will produce desirable results. We have to be in it for the long haul.
Finally goals have to be in writing. As it is mentioned often “Goals not written down are merely
wishes. A wish is a goal without any energy”. As Harvey Mackay says “A goal is a dream with
a deadline”. Setting short term goals in bursts of 90 days really sets our life on track. Backing
that up with long term goals like 5 years from now and 10 years from now will set us on the path
towards the journey of success with the purpose and vision required to keep us spirited
throughout. I have read that all top achievers write their goals down, read/review their goals on a
daily/weekly basis so that it is always in the front and center of their lives. There are two theories
on sharing goals. One says that keep your goals confidential and another says sharing them will
put the necessary pressure to complete them. I think financial goals, personal goals related to
family should be confidential but if you have goals like “I want to exercise 5 times a week” it
may be best to make that public in which case it puts more onus on you to follow through. The
example of Thomas Edison is often sighted where he would call a press conference to talk about
his new invention/innovative breakthroughs long before it was ready and then go to work to
make that a reality. This puts pressure on him to deliver and he did deliver BIG TIME indeed.
We can feel satisfied once we reach our goals but the only way we can truly stay happy/excited
is to keep setting more goals that stretch us and the process of setting goals and proceeding on
the journey of success provides the real meaning to life. Finally we will encounter problems
along the way on our journey. The way to overcome that is to go back to our mission, vision and
values. Another trick I came across recently is to ask the 10/10/10 question. Will this matter 10
minutes from now, Will this matter 10 months from now, Will this matter 10 years from now?
This really clarifies what is truly important to us. Think BIG, Burn your boats, Set BHAG’S,
take action and go forward confidently in the direction of your dreams. I wish you a fun filled,
happy, exciting goal oriented success journey that never ends.
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Chapter 3 – 24 Hours
I wanted to name this chapter Time Management but felt 24 hours is a more apt description. The
way we use our daily 24 hours over a long period of time ultimately determines where we finish.
Time Management is an oxymoron and I am surely not an expert on it. I see myself more as a
student and have gathered some ideas that can help in managing ourselves better.
I firmly believe that Time Management is not reserved for only the work we do but it plays a
very important part in our personal lives as well. When we manage ourselves better it reduces
stress and increases our experience of joy. Everyone's philosophy of Time Management is
different so finding what works for each person is the key. For some people it may mean
spending more time with the family, while for others it maybe to reach the apex of corporate
success. Here are some suggestions that can help us on our journey to optimum personal
effectiveness.
1. Focus on the wildly important – This is the essence of Time Management. There will
never be enough time to do everything but always enough time to do the important things.
It is absolutely important to focus on the top 20% of your items which will result in 80%
of your results. This is the Pareto Principle in action. Learn to say no to the things which
are not aligned to your priorities. As Stephen Covey says you can say no to a lot of
unimportant things if you have a more important burning yes. Multitasking is a
productivity killer. According to experts "If you are trying to accomplish many things at
the same time you will get more done by focusing on one task at a time, not by switching
constantly from one task to another." I recently read an article in Inc. magazine which
said "In one survey, people confessed to spending 40 percent of their time on things that
are unimportant or downright irrelevant." The key is to reverse this and focus on the
most important things to be done. The key is to schedule your priorities and not prioritize
your schedule.
2. Written lists – Write down a list of all the activities and tasks on your plate including
personal and official. This is the common advice from all management gurus and Time
Management experts. Despite all the tools available I find the best way to maintain clarity
is to write things down which increases clarity and you get more things done. A good
practice is to maintain a master list which contains all the tasks/activities to be done
including simple things like calling the doctor's office to schedule an annual checkup. The
key is to free up our brain for more creative pursuits by writing the mundane things down.
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I like the reminders app in the iPhone where I can record all my items that need to get
done and the Notes app is great to record ideas. Make a point to celebrate when important
tasks get done. Most of the time we don't acknowledge ourselves when we complete
something for example getting our 5 workouts for the week but if we write down what we
have accomplished even the small things every week we will improve our productivity and
keep us motivated. Measuring our progress against our lists keep us motivated and
engaged.
3. Failing to plan is planning to fail – Most experts have come to the conclusion that
planning your day in advance is a critical step in gaining control over your life. Stephen
Covey advises to plan for a week as it is a more recognizable unit of time and more work
can get done in a week than a day. As Peter Drucker says “We grossly overestimate what
can be done in a year and underestimate what can be done in 5 years”. Plan your weeks,
days, months and years as it will surely bring more energy and clarity to the days. Once we
have things on paper we are much more productive and eager to get to work. Block out
specific times to do activities that interest you for example you can block a Sunday for
only family activities or recreation. Block out times for personal hobbies as well since this
would give more joy and again reduce overall stress. General George S. Patton
observed "Successful generals make plans to fit circumstances, but do not try to create
circumstances to fit plans."
4. Balance in life – All work and no play can make life boring and tedious. Yes working
hard is critical to long term success but working hard and not playing only leads to poor
performance in the long run. The key is to manage yourself and schedule periods of
recreation by engaging in worthwhile hobbies. Exercise or playing a sport or engaging in a
personal pursuit is a great stress buster. Sleep is one of the most neglected aspects. On an
average 7-8 hours of sleep is absolutely necessary to keep us energetic throughout the day.
Yes at times burning the midnight oil is necessary but eventually we have to ensure that it
is not short term gain for long term pain. I just read the following about President Obama
in the book "The Best Place to Work”. “Six days a week his first order of business to
exercise forty five minutes alternating between weight training and cardio. He makes
time to fit basketball and golf to his weekly schedule. He reads history and non-fiction.
During his first four years in office Barack Obama took 131 vacation days averaging
more than a month off per year." Another example sighted is Full Contact a Denver
based Software Company that in 2012 implemented a program that actually pays
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employees 7500 to take their family to vacation. To receive the bonus the employees have
to agree on three things 1. You have to go on vacation, 2. You must disconnect, and 3.You
can’t work while on vacation. My purpose in sharing these examples is that everyone
needs to recharge and the busier we get, the higher we rise the more important
recharging our batteries become and we can’t leave it to chance.
5. Turn off Facebook, Email notifications – When we constantly keep looking at Facebook
or other social media channels it does distract us and we can easily forget what we were
working on initially. We can schedule daily time to check them maybe mid-day or even a
day without social media could be renewing. Technology is a great servant but poor
master. I have Email, WhatsApp on my phone but I have turned off notifications and only
when I open the mailbox or the particular application I can see the notifications. Turning
off notifications works well for me and gives a sense of control.
6. Reduce Stress - There are many technological distractions and there is too much stress
from over stimulation. This stress mainly comes from a perceived lack of time. While this
may be the case we have to understand that all of us have the same 24 hours. The reason
for this frustration could be due to accepting more responsibilities than we can handle
which leads to frustration, stress and lack of control. It is important to constantly
reevaluate and weigh the costs of accepting more than we can chew both in our work and
personal lives. Ultimately peace of mind is more important than over committing resulting
in stress. Mickey Mantle reportedly said "If I had known I was going to live this long, I
would have taken better care of myself."
7. Reflection- Writing in a journal is a powerful way to reflect and improve our overall
effectiveness. I have written down everything that has happened over the last 4-5 years in
my life and have 4 journals to show for it :). As someone once said your life is worth
recording. I also try to write every week what went well, what can be done better, where I
can improve. This keeps me honest and allows for learning to sink in. It is surely a great
way to get to know ourselves and as Peter Drucker said "Follow effective action with
quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action."
8. This is a very instructive quote from former President Woodrow Wilson "We live in an
age disturbed, confused, bewildered, afraid of its own forces, in search not merely of its
road but even of its direction. There are many voices of counsel, but few voices of vision;
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there is much excitement and feverish activity, but little concert of thoughtful purpose.
We are distressed by our own ungoverned, undirected energies and do many things, but
nothing long. It is our duty to find ourselves." He said this back in 1919 well before our
technological revolution but is as applicable today as it was then.
Chapter 4 – The Path to Success and Mastery
The best definition of success I have come across is "Success is the progressive realization of a
worthy ideal or goal." In other words everyone can define their success according to their
predefined goals/outcome and each individual's road map will be different. I believe strongly that
personal growth ties in strongly with an individual's success and that's what I am expanding on
below.
I have also heard a lot of people say "Do what you love" but I have a slight variation on that. I
might love playing guitar but if Iam not any good at it then it doesn't matter how much I love it. I
think it is better to live by the motto "Love what you do and keep getting better at it." Not all of
us can do what we love but we have the choice to love what we do for a living.
What is the requirement for success and mastery? I believe it is the ability to keep getting better
and better at what we do for a living. When we really think about it that’s all it boils down to. I
like the Nike ad campaign which says "There is no finish line." They launched this ad campaign
in 1977 and one statement included “Beating the competition is relatively easy but beating
yourself is a never ending commitment.” This can be a metaphor for us in our learning journey
as there is no end.
Carol Dweck's excellent book Mindset also suggests that mastery is a mindset. There are people
who believe that intelligence just exists and can’t be increased (fixed mindset). Others believe
that with hard work, learning, training and effort intelligence can be increased. The latter group
has what Dweck calls growth mindset. Those individuals with a growth mindset don't mind
failure because they believe performance can be improved as learning comes from failure. She
also says people have two types of goals one is learning goals and other is performance goals.
Getting an A in French is a performance goal whereas mastering a language is a learning goal.
People with learning goals on the long term reach mastery.
One of the tools I have found useful is the three part hedgehog concept articulated by Jim Collins
in his block buster book “Good to Great”. The three questions to ponder are
1. What you can be the best in the world at
2. What is your economic denominator
3. What are you deeply passionate about
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It is amazing the amount of information that is available to all of us in our fields. Time was when
only a select few could reach mastery in their fields as information was hoarded and not shared
or available for everyone. The great thing about the time in which we are living now is the
amount of abundance available. I don’t mean only the economic aspect, I actually believe the
amount of information that is available to each of us is mind numbing and we can’t possibly
learn everything in more than one lifetime .Just look at the following statistic Over 90% of all
the data in the world was created in the past 2 years.
The questions to address in our learning journey are
1. How to get better at what we do?
2. Are we willing to use the enormous information available to our advantage and attain the
mastery that is possible for each of us?
Here are the simple steps that I believe can get us better and better at what we do
1. Find the experts in our field of expertise
2. Read their blogs
3. Listen to their podcasts
4. Write down what we have learned
5. Share what we have learned as it has been well documented that we only learn when we
teach
6. Set goals for our learning
7. Read broadly for example if we are in management we can read all the management books
out there
8. Take certifications in our area of expertise
9. Learn something new every day and remember we are never through learning
10. Apply what we have learned to our work or personal life
11. We should try to get into what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls the state of flow wherever
everything seems to fall in place, we are fully energized and feel a complete state of joy in
our activities
12. Listen to audio books or read during commute time
13. Develop the quality of grit which according to Angela Lee Duckworth of the University of
Pennsylvania is the single most important determinant of success
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14. Finally the magic word “Practice, Practice, Practice” or to use the words the experts say
“Deliberate Practice”. Deliberate Practice for 10000 hours or 10 years on our areas of
expertise and we will reach Mastery.
The steps are simple but following it is the key. If we follow this consistently over a long period
of time I believe mastery is very much in our grasp though we never reach it completely as it is a
never ending journey. The real joy is in the pursuit of mastery and commitment to lifelong
learning is the key. There is no quick fix or shortcut. We have to be in it for the long haul. One
example of perseverance is Tenzing Norgay who reached the summit of Everest along with
Edmund Hillary on his seventh attempt.
I want to finish with this quote from Elbert Hubbard which is very relevant and important on the
path to Success and Mastery. “Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should
do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.”
Chapter 5 – 10 traits of highly successful people
Following are the 10 common traits exhibited by successful people that I have observed across
various fields including sports, business, and arts. Not every successful person can be a master of
all these but awareness of them can help in increasing these qualities in ourselves.
1. Self-Discipline
I put this at the top of the list simply because without self-discipline nothing is possible. Elbert
Hubbard said “Self-discipline is the ability to do what you should do, when you should do it
whether you like it or not”. Self-discipline is a quality that can be developed by having a clear
idea on what we want and then ensuring the desire to succeed is greater than the consequences of
not doing it. If we want to exercise 5 times a week we can imagine the enormous benefits of
exercise and visualize that while trying to keep the end goal in mind. If we want to achieve all
the things we want then self-discipline is the best place to start and we have 100% control on
this. Napoleon Hill said “Self-discipline is the Master Key to Riches”.Nido Qubein said “The
price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret."
2. Resilience
Angela Lee Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania says that grit is the single quality that
guarantees success, based on her ground breaking studies. As Napoleon Hill famously observed
“Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit.” For example a sickness might
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seem horrible but maybe that time away may have helped you redefine what is important and
given the time needed to make a change. There are going to be setbacks like we may not get the
promotion we wanted but having patience and perseverance never goes out of fashion. Talent
will not take the place of persistence and resilience. Steve Jobs is a great example of this. He was
fired from the company he started but in his wilderness he started another company NeXT and
bought Pixar. Then he patiently waited for his second coming to Apple and as they say the rest is
History. You can be down but never out. As the Japanese proverb says “Fall down seven times,
Get up eight times.”
3. Passion and Practice
Passion is the fuel behind the success engine. We can look no further than Roger Federer or
Tiger Woods to understand the value of passion. To sight one example at the top of his career
Tiger Woods who had already reached the apex of sporting achievement actually changed his
style of swing because he wanted to get the extra edge. Passion can ignite reservoirs of resilience
that may lay latent. Tiger Woods didn’t play golf for the money though that helped, he played it
for the love. Passion can happen when we do something we love but as a beginning we should
start loving what we do and giving our very best every single day. Research has confirmed that
all prodigies including Mozart, Woods, Bill Gates, The Beatles had practiced for 10000 hours
before they were crowned for their achievement. Mozart didn’t produce his first master piece till
he was 21 by which time he had put in more than 10000 hours of effort. My simple formula is
Passion+Deliberate Practice+Time+Consistency= Success. “The more you sweat in
practice/training, the less you bleed in battle.”
4. Curiosity
One of the best kept secrets of the highly successful is the ability to keep learning something new
every day in their field or related fields. The hallmark of learning is curiosity. Peter Drucker the
father of modern management is an excellent example of someone who kept learning till the end
of his life. He was always learning something new. When we learn something every day it keeps
our mind sharp and it also gives a sense of accomplishment as we are using our time wisely.
There is no end to this journey of continuous learning. The only thing that will not be obsolete is
learning new skills. "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
Mahatma Gandhi
5. Risk Taking
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All successful people have taken calculated risks to reach where they are. Risks need not be
things like bungee jumping or sky diving; In fact it need not even be physical in nature. It goes
with your intuition. It may require taking up an assignment which everyone has refused. This
then helps you stand apart and has potential to propel your career. There is no guarantee in life so
before taking a risk analyze the risk and see if you are already prepared for it to fail, then it is
worth taking that risk. While taking risks it is important to remember that we don’t put our
families into distress. “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one
can go.” ― T.S. Eliot.
6. Prioritization
Everyone has a list of tasks to be completed. Sometimes we don’t have enough time to get
through everything. The way to overcome that is the key to success. We need to prioritize the
relevant from the irrelevant. From a list of items pick the item which has the biggest impact from
your stakeholder, business sponsor and your immediate boss. Work on the worst first and get it
out of the way. Handle the big rocks first and the pebbles can be taken care later. Make peace
with the fact that there will be always things left undone and it is also imperative to learn to say
no to time wasters and activities which are not aligned with your goals. We should also learn to
say no when needed so that we are not over committed and this gives better control over our
time. One example is Jack Welch who decided that GE will only participate in businesses where
they can be Number one or Number two in that market. This vision led to closure of many other
business units and worked big time for GE. “One of the very worst uses of time is to do
something very well that need not be done at all.”
7. Communication
Most of our waking time is spent communicating both written and verbal. We need to be clear on
what to communicate and we should learn what the best mode of communication is. One of the
ways to improve communication is to become a better listener and understand the other person’s
point of view. As Stephen Covey said “Seek first to understand then be understood”. Keep
reading, writing continuously to improve communication skills. Ronald Reagan was known as
the great communicator. Irrespective of which side of the political isle you sit we have to admire
his simple communication strategy. His answer to everything was simple “smaller government”.
Clarity is the key to communicating effectively. “The most important thing in communication
is hearing what isn’t said.” Peter Drucker
8. Personal Care
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I have noticed that a lot of successful people take care of themselves better. They ensure that
there is proper rest and balance in life. If you want to achieve all you want out of your life you
need to ensure that you are at your best most of the time. Energy is required to go forward
towards your closely cherished dreams. Exercise, yoga, meditation are all helpful in the
enhancement of health. One often neglected part of health is adequate sleep. I don't think lack of
sleep is something to wear a badge and brag about. In fact you can be at your best only with 7-8
hours of sleep. Taking some time off from work actually improves your creativity and research
has proven that people get their most innovative ideas not at work but during a vacation or when
they are in a relaxed state of mind. “Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to
replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an
empty vessel.” Eleanor Brownn
9. Positive Mental Attitude
It is impossible to imagine a really well rounded successful person who is negative and
complaining all the time. All successful people generally have a positive attitude. They don’t
complain when things don’t go their way as they know that in the long run most of the things
take care of themselves. We should look at the sunny side of life. Being grateful for what we
have while striving for more is actually a great way to stay positive. When you are positive about
the day you just get on with the accomplishment of your tasks with even more vigor. Finally a
positive mental attitude eventually helps performance at work and home. Nothing is important
than your inner peace and overall happiness. “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every
opportunity, the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Sir Winston Churchill
10. Self Esteem
Self-esteem is the cornerstone of a healthy personality. It is important to be comfortable in your
own skin. Self-esteem is defined as your reputation with yourself. You are unique and have
talents that can help you succeed. The key to self-esteem is to write down the qualities you
admire in yourself. Maybe you have passion or discipline, in which case acknowledging your
positive traits enhances your self-esteem. When setbacks occur while you may feel bad it doesn't
reduce your self-esteem. Write down all your successes till now and keep track of your
accomplishments. This surely enhances self-esteem. When you have high self-esteem you
generally feel more positive about life and do better at work. “Believe in yourself! Have faith in
your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be
successful or happy.” Norman Vincent Peale
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Chapter 6 – Failure is Never Final
M. Scott Peck begins his best-selling book "The Road Less Traveled" with the words "Life is
Difficult." We have all experienced difficulties and failure but the key question is how we can
use failure to improve our success. In fact it might even be better not labeling anything a failure.
One example of a team that continuously falls short in big moments (world cups) is the South
African cricket team which has always failed at knock out games with one exception. They were
highly fancied during the world cup this year in Australia/New Zealand and still lost in the
semifinal. It is likely that they are not able to bury the ghosts of past failures which is a necessary
prerequisite if they ever want to win and go all the way. Here are some answers I have expanded
with each letter of the word Failure.
F – Fail forward
John Maxwell begins his book Failing Forward with the thesis that "All successful people have
one characteristic which is different from others and that is how they respond to failure". The
famous quote from IBM founder Thomas J. Watson comes to mind. He said "If you want to
increase your success rate, double your failure rate." Everyone is going to fail no matter what
so all that matters is dust it off and move forward learning what you need to from the failure.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. Failure is merely another way to intelligently begin
again. Never give up on your overall vision and remember obstacles come not to obstruct but to
instruct. We can even call failures as challenges that are meant to be overcome. Success is not
avoiding failure but accepting it and moving forward towards something bigger. In the Jim
Collins book “Great by Choice” he says all the great leaders whom he calls 10Xers had three
qualities which are fanatic discipline, empirical creativity and productive paranoia. To overcome
failure we need to have fanatical discipline to keep our commitments/vision/goals front and
center of our lives. When the going gets tough the tough really get going. In fact welcoming
failure and overcoming it can become a game which you keep winning always. The one thing
that is certain in our lives is uncertainty so we do need to equip ourselves to deal with it.
A – Accept Reality
As Max De Pree observed "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality." While this
may seem to contradict the vision part it is not. While having a vision can propel you forward,
you have to match that with the reality of the current situation. In Good to Great Jim Collins
talks about the Stockdale Paradox about the prisoner of war (James Stockdale) in Vietnam. He
was one of the most decorated officers in the history of the U.S. Navy and how he dealt with the
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unimaginable period of 8 years as a prisoner of war was termed by Jim Collins as the Stockdale
Paradox. He said you should accept reality but have unwavering commitment that you will thrive
in the end by confronting the brutal facts. He said it was the optimists who didn't make it because
they were always thinking they will be out by Christmas but Christmas came and they were not
out. Then they believed they will be out by Easter and Easter came but they were still not out.
This went on for years before they gave up. So never confuse unwavering commitment with the
definition of reality. Confront the brutal facts while maintaining an unwavering commitment that
you will succeed in the end. You can’t have a brand new start but you can create a brand new
ending. His own words “I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted not only that
I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the
defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.”
I – Improve
I like this quote “If you are not getting better you are getting worse.” Your greatest threat to
your future success is your current complacency or as some put it nothing fails like success. At
the height of your success reexamine your life, set higher standards, believe in more and always
have a beginner’s mindset. The greatest enemy of tomorrows success is today’s success. Never
be complacent. I read in Fast Company that Laurene Powell Jobs calls Steve Jobs a "learning
machine." He learned from his many failures and relentlessly applied those lessons. I read that
Bill Gates always thought about the possibility of failure and he hangs a poster of Henry Ford to
remind that everyone including the best entrepreneurs can be surpassed as Ford was by GM in
the early days of the auto industry. He uses it to channel him rather than sabotage his plans. He is
always on the edge continuously thinking of next best thing so that he doesn't get knocked out.
This is a great attitude to have. Constantly seeking to improve ourselves helps in overcoming any
failures and we can see failures as merely detours in a long journey towards mastery. Some
tactics to be on the path for continuous improvement are reading widely in your field and other
topics, listening to educational audio books, listening to inspirational videos on you tube, reading
magazines on business, taking classes/certifications in your field of expertise.
L – Long Haul
Life is not a sprint it is a marathon. If we want enduring success we cannot be impatient. Rome
was not built in a day, we can’t lose weight in a week, and we can’t become world-class in a
year. As researchers have confirmed for anyone to attain mastery in their chosen craft it requires
10000 hours or roughly 10 years of deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is not easy, it involves
sacrifices a key word to remember when considering the long haul. You have to keep practicing
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a skill for a number of years before you get public acclaim. Tony Robbins says people get
praised in public for what they practice for years in private. We should remember the Nike
Slogan “Just Do It” and get on with our lives. Life doesn't stop and as Napoleon Hill famously
quoted “Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit”. You can use setbacks
as a spring board to further your aspirations and life is indeed what we make of it. Long term
thinking and an exciting bold vision masks short term failures keeping you motivated for a larger
cause. Keep the mental picture of your final victory in your mind as you go through the trials and
tribulations of day to day life. As the opera singer Beverly Sills observed “There is no shortcut
to any place worth going” so remember it is going to take time for success to show up but it will
be worth the wait.
U – Understanding
Understanding the purpose of one’s life gives meaning. We can either choose to live a great life
or succumb to our own inhibitions of what success truly is. Success is personal so I am not going
to equate it with money though it does play a part. Our goals define our destiny. Clare Boothe
Luce the politician, writer and ambassador popularized the concept of having a life sentence
explaining the meaning of your life and this is something you create by deeply examining the
inner most feelings and truly writing what you want to be remembered for long after you are
gone. Having a personal mission statement also helps. We all have goals in our work life whether
we like it or not but similarly if we can articulate goals for our life it would surely enrich our
lives and give deeper meaning. Personal goals need not be what others want for you, it is your
imagination and your own story. We can write our own script and give it the best ending possible
by living as close to what we truly want at the end. Setting goals in all areas of life is important.
Set personal goals, career goals, financial goals, family goals and I am sure this will give great
ideas on what our lives are truly meant to be. This can also be translated to having an intense
burning desire to succeed. In the words of Glen Cunningham who in 1934 set the world record
for the one mile run at 4:06 “Desire is what made a boy with burnt legs set the world record in
the one mile run."
R – Reinvent
When we encounter failure it is good time to reinvent ourselves. Human beings have the
enormous capacity to reinvent our lives even under dire circumstances. As Victor Frankl
mentioned "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human
freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own
way.” We can choose our destiny, we can reinvent our lives, and we can turn our past failure into
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stepping stones for greater things. The only thing that is stopping us is a lack of a bigger vision
for ourselves. As General Douglas McArthur says "There is no security in life only
opportunity." The story of human life is the story of overcoming enormous odds and rejections.
An example is the Chicken Soup for the Soul series; it was rejected by nearly 140 publishers
before it was finally published. As a young cartoonist Walt Disney faced many rejections from
newspaper editors who said he had no talent. Young Beethoven was told that he had no talent for
music but he gave some of the most memorable music of all time. Let’s just remember this
whenever we face one or two rejections. We need to really DIG DEEP and bring our best self to
light. Reinvent and recreate so that you live an extraordinary life full of possibilities. Develop
High self-esteem and don’t allow anyone to put you down or your dreams.
E - Energy
Without internal energy it is impossible to overcome failures and live the life of your dreams.
We need both physical and mental energy for the long haul. Our life will go through seasons of
happiness, despair, failure and success. Through it all the only thing that can sustain us is our
energy. To maintain physical energy we need to take care of our body through regular exercise,
proper diet, adequate sleep, constant recharging of the batteries and regular medical checkups.
To keep our mind sharp and active we need to keep feeding the mind with the right material. We
need to be in constant engagement of the mind with positive, uplifting books, magazines, and
videos. Writing in a journal and keeping track of our victories even small ones can keep us
energized, positive and upbeat about the future. The greater energy we have the easier it is for us
to meet failure and overcome it. Failure is not the end but it is only the beginning of something
much greater.
Chapter 7 – Leadership Qualities and Styles
Leadership defined by John Quincy Adams is “If your actions inspire others to dream more,
learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
Following are the key qualities all leaders must possess to become a true leader in their field as
identified by Jack Welch in his book Winning with my take on each.
Vision
Vision is a key trait identified as a distinguishing factor between great leaders and others. A
leader is a dealer in hope. Leaders have to excite the troops to come out and play for the team.
The best way to do this is to create an exciting vision and then ensure the team buys into the
vision. The most important step in getting this done is to communicate the vision to everyone in
the team through all mediums of communication including email, letters, conferences and
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meetings. In order for the team to buy into the vision they should also be allowed to participate
on the formation of vision and at times help in refining the vision. When the team is involved in
the overall wording of the vision statement it would ensure their commitment to the overall
cause.
Coaching
Coaching is one of the most important jobs of a leader. A leader has to have great knowledge of
his team members and understand what makes them tick. One key tool to improve the
engagement of team members is to provide constant feedback on areas of improvement,
acknowledging what is going well and keep appreciating/rewarding good behavior. Bottom line
is leaders need to ensure they help in maximizing potential of others. If they do this it will
increase the self-confidence of the individuals which in turn improves performance.
Attitude
The overall attitude of the team is reflected by the attitude of the leader. If the leader is full of
energy, enthusiastic, passionate it will rub off on the team and will energize the team. One way a
leader can inspire the team is to have regular weekly meetings where the team is provided
appreciation, recognition for the things that are going well and also communicate where the
overall organization is headed with respect to the vision. A leader who displays optimism leads
by example and this rubs off on others. A leader who maintains a positive upbeat attitude even
when things are not going as planned will surely have a team that is full of energy and optimism.
Trust
Trust is the foundation of leadership. Without it teams and companies can crumble. Whether it is
politics, companies, sports or any other field leadership can successful only when trust is
established. The best way for a leader to establish trust is to be brutally honest. When a leader
tells the truth always and displays candor at all times trust is sown. Leaders who criticize in
private and don’t belittle others in their absence set the stage for a trust worthy culture. Being
transparent means being open and one of the qualities all great leaders share is ability to see
others point of view and being open to criticism. A successful leader shares the credit to the team
when things go well and when things turn awry the leader takes personal responsibility.
Courage
Courage is one of the best qualities for a leader. It is not the absence of fear but the triumph over
it. No leader can go far without courage. Followers always respect a leader with courage.
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Leaders establish courage by having a track record of taking tough decisions. The tough
decisions could be people decisions as the most important ingredient of successful teams is the
selection of the team. The leader has to display courage to select only A players to ensure final
victory. The leader has to make tough calls on which markets to enter for example GE made a
decision under Welch that they will remain only in businesses where they were Number 1 or
Number 2 in that respective market. That is an example of courage in action.
Creativity and Curiosity
Curiosity is the hallmark of creativity. A leader has to be curious and one of the methods to
establish this is through focused questioning. As Woodrow Wilson said “The ear of a leader
should ring with the voices of the people”. A leader spends more time listening than talking. The
only way to listen more is to probe, ask questions and encourage ideas. Brain storming is a great
tool to foster communication and quench the thirst of curiosity. The leader also has to ensure that
they track the ideas and ensure they are converted into actionable items.
Risk taking
“Only those who risk going too far can find out how far one can go”. Taking risks is a part and
parcel of leadership. Taking risks doesn’t necessarily mean unhinged bets or wild gambling. It is
more calculated and has high return on investment. The leader also encourages the team to take
risks and encourages the team even when they meet with failure. As the IBM founder Thomas
Watson said “The way to increase success is to double failure rate” .Innovation by its very nature
involves risks. The only teams and leaders that are truly innovative are the ones who take risks
and have confronted the outcome of failure. In a highly interconnected, globalized market place
innovation is no longer a differentiator but merely an entry ticket to play in the game of business.
The only antidote to continuous change is learning. Leaders need to keep learning and be abreast
of the latest developments in their field. This will encourage the team to follow suit and a
successful leader can help this process by recommending books, certifications, training courses
etc.
Celebrating Victories
Work becomes exciting only when we celebrate victories. All successful leaders have a sense of
humor. Also when the team does well it is important to celebrate. There are many ways to
celebrate it could be a very simple pizza party or it could be a big Town Hall with the entire
organization celebrating a significant milestone. The method of celebration is not the key here
but the fact is to build winning teams celebration is critical. We see it in sports teams where after
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every goal or every set the team or individual celebrates. Using the same analogy for business
whenever a new product is shipped, a customer appreciates or a new market is entered it is time
to celebrate and have everyone savor the victory
Finally here are some leadership styles as mentioned in the book Primal Leadership. I also agree
with authors that emotional quotient (EQ) is as important as IQ. In fact the higher you go up the
organization the more important the EQ.
Leadership Styles
1. Visionary Style – This is the best form of leadership where a vision is built by the leader
who inspires followers with an exciting vision for the future. All leaders have vision.
Where there is no vision people perish. Most importantly employees need to feel excited to
come to work and the only way that can happen is if there is something exciting to look
forward to. This is where the visionary leader steps in and provides clear direction for the
future.
2. Coaching Style – Coaching is a very important style for leader to adapt. Leaders are
dealers in hope. They have to set the right example and show the way. What makes a
superior leader is the ability to show competence in an area of expertise and guide the team
through mentoring, coaching and teaching. Coaching is a necessary attribute of every
successful leader. The team looks up to the leader who can provide guidance on how to
proceed to the desired destination.
3. Affiliative Style – This is the ability of the leader to tune into the feelings of others. As the
saying goes people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
EQ is developed by relating well to people, giving importance to them, recognizing and
rewarding their exploits and providing candid feedback.
4. Democratic Style – This is where a leader listens to the team, helps them make decisions
and reaches consensus on major decisions. This should be used along with visionary style.
Being democratic in all decisions may not work out but it is an excellent people
development style.
There are two other styles which the authors say have negative connotations. They are the pace
setting style where the leader is very demanding and keeps pushing the team to the limit and
while this may work for some time it is not a desirable one especially if the team is overworked
and stressed. The other style which is not desirable is the dictatorial style.
Ultimately leadership is a choice and everyone has the opportunity to showcase leadership in the
way they show up and the attitude with which work is delivered.
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Chapter 8 - Management Tips
I have been in the field of management for the past 12 years and have enjoyed every minute of it.
Management is both an art and science. It has specific actions that need to be taken and the
results will be predictable.
There is a lot of hot air around leadership and I totally agree that leadership is very important.
However management is absolutely imperative to achieve the vision set by the leader. If we have
a leader who can manage and a manager who can lead then we would have an ideal mix of traits
to ensure the success of the organization. Sometimes management is also defined as getting the
work done through others.
Recently I read the book Creativity, Inc.by Ed Catmull (President of PIXAR ANIMATION and
DISNEY ANIMATION) and it is one of my favorite business books. He says "The way I see it,
my job as a manager is to create a fertile environment, keep it healthy, and watch for things
that undermine it. I believe the best managers acknowledge and make room for what they do
not know - not just because humility is a virtue but because until one adopts that mindset, the
most striking breakthroughs cannot occur. I believe that managers must loosen the control,
not tighten them."
Here are the 9 tips to become a great manager
1. Set clear goals and objectives: The starting point of management is to set clear goals and
objectives for everyone reporting to you. Unless there is clarity in defining the clear outcomes,
expected results will not be satisfactory. Ensure the goals are aligned with the overall vision of
the organization. Keep communicating the goals regularly at every chance in every meeting and
organizational sessions.
2. Put people first: If management is getting things done through others then it is absolutely
imperative to ensure the people are taken care. Give respect to every team member in your
organization. Give recognition immediately and celebrate great work. Thank people for every
good deliverable from them. Treat people like they are the most important person as without
people nothing in management can be achieved. So irrespective of whether it is small or large
victories as managers we need to keep praising each member of the team and recognizing their
respective strengths. Rewards can be tangible like cash rewards and intangible like a special
private lunch or offering personal development opportunities.
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3. Give feedback regularly: Don’t wait for the end of the year to give feedback on performance.
This only leads to discontent and confusion. Continuously monitor the work of the team and give
them regular, candid feedback periodically. Give them both recognition and also identify areas of
improvement. Develop an open door policy where the team can share negative as well as positive
feedback. This is easier said than done but striving for this improves the odds and avoids last
minute disappointments.
4. Take responsibility: When the team achieves the goals set give the credit to the team and
when something goes wrong, as a manager you should take responsibility. This ensures that the
team members know you are on their side and they will ensure that failure does not happen
again. A manager/leader can delegate anything except final responsibility. Jim Collins calls this
principle "the window and the mirror". Based on his research, top leaders looked out of the
window to credit others for success and looked in the mirror to apportion responsibility when
things didn't go to plan.
5. Become a great leader: Once you have established yourself as a manager the next step is to
become a great leader. Leadership is doing the right things so take action in setting an exciting
vision which energizes the team. A manager who is also a great leader is more respected and gets
more work done by the team. Develop leadership potential within your team as well through
training resources and other team building sessions. As Stephen Covey says Leadership can’t be
taught but it can be learned.
6. Delegate effectively: Delegation is one of the most important skills of a manager. The reason
you are appointed as a manager is get work done through others. Delegation does not mean
absolving responsibility. Delegation means identifying the areas of strength of the various
individuals and assigning the tasks appropriately but the ultimate responsibility of the end result
is still with the manager. As a manager when you delegate the task completely and enable
ownership it shows the team that you totally trust the employee’s capability in delivering high
quality results. This in turn provides motivation for the individual to bring out their best to the
work they do. In the book "Becoming Steve Jobs" Ron Johnson is quoted as saying "Steve was
the best delegator I ever met. He was so clear about what he wanted that it gave you great
freedom."
7. Become a master communicator: According to the Project Management Institute 90% of a
project manager’s job is communication. It is absolutely important for the manager to develop
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great communication skills both verbal and written. Learning to speak impromptu is another
vital skill for a manager to master. Maintain clear and open communication channels so that the
team bonds together and there is no friction. When you can clearly communicate everything
without fear of retribution it fosters a healthy team dynamic.
8. Enhance employee engagement: Enhancing employee engagement is one of the keys of
effective management. It is your responsibility to provide a sense of ownership to your team,
develop trust within the team and understand each individual. Once trust is established the
person can openly disagree with the boss but if a decision is made they still support to the
decision. Intel’s motto works “Disagree and Commit”. According to Jack Welch "It goes
without saying that no company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized
employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it."
9. Create a compelling scorecard: This is adopted from Stephen Covey's wonderful book The
8th Habit. He encourages organizations to create a scorecard with the following
What is current result meaning where you are? For example 50M revenue
Expected Result – For example 60M Revenue
Create a deadline on when it is to be achieved – by Dec 30th 2015
Communicate this goal throughout all levels of the organization
Translate the goals into action
Finally hold everyone in the team accountable for results
Really simple stuff but it works
Chapter 9 – Team Building
Teams are the most important building block of projects, organizations, sports teams and their
performance ultimately decides overall success. An important goal of a leader is to develop
winning happy teams which contribute desired results. Effective team building is a critical skill
for a leader to develop and the main areas which can contribute to this are
1. Team Selection: The first step of leaders is to select the right team. The skill set needed for
every project is different so it is absolutely imperative that the right team players are on boarded.
Selection of a team is an art and requires some intuition along with logic. We have seen in sports
like cricket, football that selection of the team is crucial for victory. There are some sports teams
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full of superstars and still lose because a team does not require all superstars it is more about
attitude, team bonding and sacrificing for the larger cause.
2. Team Vision: Once the team is selected an exciting vision is crucial for keeping the team
engaged. This is where leadership is crucial. When the team knows what they are working
towards it increases commitment from team members and they feel like contributing to a larger
goal which helps keep the team together when the going gets tough. Vision provides meaning to
project teams and gives them a target/purpose to aim at.
3. Team Bonding: Once the vision is clear the next step is for the team to bond together.
Camaraderie within the team always leads to better results. Team members should know each
other for not only their work related items but personal stories should be shared between the
team for bonding to flourish. Anything that gets the team together on a non-work environment
helps team bonding.
4. Team meetings: It is important to have weekly/monthly meetings where each team member
discusses what they accomplished that week and what they plan for next week. What this
communication does is give awareness on what others are doing and also helps in improving
performance. It also helps understand where everyone is going as a team and can help in
benchmarking performance.
5. Feedback: Continuous feedback is necessary to make the team aware of what is being done
well and what can be done better. Regular candid feedback on a periodic basis is critical to team
performance. Feedback can be positive and also help in identifying areas of improvement.
Feedback should be done both ways i.e. the team leader soliciting input on areas of improvement
from the team as well as providing input to enhance performance for the team. This promotes
trust.
6. Rewards and Recognition: There are a lot of theories that intrinsic motivation does work and
external rewards may not work but I still think that the number one desire for everyone is the
desire to feel important. One of the ways to achieve this is praise in public. Yes sometimes the
rewards need not be told upfront but can be provided after the event. Praise needs to be
immediate so that the individuals/team knows the reason for that praise. Catch teams doing
things right so that the same performance is repeated.
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7. Team Consistency: While changes are always to be welcomed unnecessary chopping and
changing team members on the fly lead to disharmony within the team. However even if
something goes wrong when the team leader keeps faith in the troops it provides others hope to
not be disillusioned by failure. Ensure team chopping is kept at a minimum and the core team is
intact over a long period of time promoting consistency, harmony and eventually better results.
Chapter 10 – Sports Teams and Winning Teams
I wrote this post after Spain beat Italy in Euro 2012 three years back. They were the first team to
win three major international tournaments (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup, and Euro 2012) in a
row. They were also being talked about as one of the best of all time. It is always difficult to
compare teams across eras. It has happened in cricket as well when Steve Waugh's Australian
team was hailed as the greatest ever. What makes these teams click is interesting. Here are the
seven key steps to build a winning team.
Selecting the right players: The first step towards building winning teams is to have the right
players on the playing field. If we analyze a lot of the top sports teams from history we notice
that all of them have a great set of players who complement each other. We should also keep in
mind that it is not always the team full of superstars that wins. The most important point in the
selection of a team is to ensure that they have a diverse skill set which is required for ultimate
victory. Once we have the right players on the field it makes the job of winning a lot easier.
Team Bonding: The second step for building a winning team is team bonding which means
everyone in the team has to feel part of the team. They should all have a common purpose
towards the victory of the team rather than individual glory. This is true of any team not only
sports. Every team member should know the others at an individual level. The true hallmark of a
great leader is that he or she knows the strengths and weakness of each individual in the team.
With that knowledge they then assign specific activities to align with the strengths of each
individual which keeps everyone motivated and happy.
Coordination: The third step is all team members should have excellent coordination and
understanding within themselves. For example the one who scores the goal makes all the
headlines but if it were not for the other players passing and getting him the scoring opportunity
there would be no winners. So sacrificing for the team cause is an important factor. No player
should shoot for individual glory and that’s why team sports like soccer are different from
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individual sports like tennis (Singles). Team sports require every individual to be committed to
the cause and put their personal agenda on the back burner.
Work ethic: The fourth step is all winning teams possess an incredible work ethic and they train
harder than all the other teams. Only when teams practice together they can understand where
they can improve. Designing practice sessions specifically targeting areas of improvement is a
characteristic of all top teams. They also ensure that any dissent within the team is handled
amicably off the cameras whereas teams which are losing tend to take their fights into the open.
Self-belief: The fifth step is all winning teams possess an incredible level of self-belief and have
the capacity to be resilient in the toughest of situations. They don’t sulk in the face of adversity
and always welcome opportunities to show their character. There is a reason why we have
coaches for all sports teams because there is always a need for encouragement even if you are a
top player. Each team should have a coach or mentor who can give positive reinforcement to
each individual in the team and also identify areas of improvement.
Celebration: The sixth step is to have a celebration routine where the team acknowledges each
other after a goal or point is scored. This is an important part of developing team camaraderie
and ensuring immediate recognition is available for the team to celebrate. This also ensures the
same actions are repeated to get even more recognition. Celebration is the icing on the cake for a
team to know that they have done something significant.
Happy and Relaxed: Finally winning teams are happy teams and relaxed. They ensure that they
don’t lose their cool when things don’t go their way. Instead they focus on what is within their
control. There is no team which is going to keep winning always. The only thing teams have in
their control is their ability to give their best and then stay calm irrespective of the outcome.
I think the sporting analogy holds good for software teams as well. All the above points can
apply to all work teams as well.
Chapter 11 – Employee Engagement
According to a Gallup study the bulk of employees worldwide are not engaged and if this is true
then it provides us a great opportunity to understand what factors enable greater employee
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engagement. From time immemorial we have had motivational theories going the rounds from
BF Skinner, Fredrick Herzberg, Sigmund Freud, and Abraham Maslow. I am not going to labor
on all these but they do provide a good idea of how motivation has progressed. Of course the
need for managers to know what motivates their employees is a key determinant for employee
engagement. This is not meant to be a complete list because human emotions are too widespread
to have a cookie cutter approach to motivation. However some common needs of all can be used
as the starting point towards greater engagement which eventually leads to better performance.
Purpose beyond the paycheck – Lot of studies have been done and concluded that pay is not
the most important motivator. Challenging work and responsibility comes higher on the list.
Again this is considering the basic pay needs are met. One of the elements is for the person to
feel they are contributing something more than just for a pay check. Align a person’s tasks to
overall purpose; make them feel their work is important. We have all heard of the story where
one builder says I am laying a brick while another says I am building a cathedral. Here we have
two people and one person understands the larger purpose and hence brings their best to the work
being done.
Lubricating trust – Ensure that members of your team have no need to fear talking openly
about their concerns/problems with you. This is very important to build employee engagement.
When the person knows that their opinions will always be valued even if the boss may disagree it
promotes trust and trust is the lubricant of successful teams. Once trust is established the person
can openly disagree with the boss but if a decision is made they still support to the decision.
Intel’s motto works “Disagree and Commit”.
Praise and Recognition – The number one human need is to feel important for the work they
do. In my opinion praise never goes out of fashion. Yes there a lot of theories that intrinsic
motivation is more important than extrinsic but nothing makes you feel better than getting
recognized by your boss. So irrespective of whether it is small or large victories as managers we
need to keep praising each member of the team and recognizing their respective strengths.
Rewards can be tangible like cash rewards and intangible like a special private lunch or offering
personal development opportunities. Praise can be offered publicly to make it clear to the team
what actions are needed to get the recognition.
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Feedback – To improve performance appraisals there should be consistent feedback during the
year and at the end of the year the team member would already have an idea on where he or she
needs to improve on and why they got a specific rating. So having one on one meetings on a
periodic basis to provide encouragement, identify areas of improvement and aligning the person
to their agreed goals is critical in ensuring there are no surprises at the end. This is easier said
than done but striving for this improves the odds and avoids last minute disappointments.
Ownership – As a manager one way to get the best out of your people is to create a sense of
ownership. This means the team members are accountable for the final outcome. Once they are
given full authority they feel an air of importance and it gives them a sense of responsibility to
deliver world class results. Ownership is one of the keys to empowered employee engagement.
As a manager when you delegate the task completely and enable ownership it shows the team
that you totally trust the employee’s capability in delivering high quality results. This in turn
provides motivation for the individual to bring out their best.
Get to know the person –Finally as a manager it is not only important to know what motivates
the person at work, it is important to know the whole person, taking an active interest in their
personal accomplishments, what makes them tick as this increases their happiness levels and
gives them a feeling of importance. Once employees are happy the performance elevates. The
point of doing all this is that happy employees are generally self-motivated and once the
environment of excellent employee engagement is established there will be a dramatic
improvement in the output produced. Finally results are everything and driving employee
engagement is one of the primary requirements of leaders/managers which will eventually lead
to desired results.
Chapter 12- Lessons from Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs is one of the most versatile and innovative business icons of our times. There is a lot
to learn from him. Here is my take on what to learn from Steve Jobs
S – Sell yourself–Steve Jobs was unafraid of showing off. In fact it could be argued this was his
biggest asset. Unless you show others what you are capable of nobody is going to know. I think
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we should learn to sell ourselves not in an abrupt manner but a classy manner. This requires
practice but this will pay off in spades. He was always in the spotlight, enjoyed it and created the
larger than life personality.
Lesson: Never sell yourself short. Always exhibit your prowess.
T – Talent– If there is anyone who epitomizes the word talent it has to be Steve Jobs. How many
people started a company in the garage, enjoyed massive success, get fired from the company he
founded, founded another company, made successful movies and came back for one of the
biggest turn around in business history. He is one who believed in his talent even when he was at
his depth. Never lose faith in your ability in spite of any setbacks you face.
Lesson: Believe in your Talent and show case your best self at all times.
E – Enthusiasm– Steve Jobs did everything with unwavering enthusiasm. He was unafraid of
the rule book and pushed the limits of innovation. Everyone looks to the customer for ideas on
what they want. Steve went the other way he invented what he believed would make the
customer get wowed. One example is he even wanted the inside of the mother boards to be so
beautiful and when the team asked who would see it Steve replied “I will”. He could turn on his
charm/enthusiasm at will and had the ability to charm one and all. There is no charisma without
enthusiasm. As documented in Inc. Magazine back in the 1981 cover story “When Steve Jobs
speaks it is with “gee-whiz” enthusiasm of someone who sees the future and is making sure it
works”
Lesson: Do everything with your stamp of enthusiasm.
V – Victory –Steve Jobs is one person who believed in victory at all costs. He took a no
prisoners attitude towards life and he was always looking out for the next BIG thing.
Surprisingly he always found the next best thing for the world to be awed. Of course there are
also stories where he would turn down someone’s idea and then say the same idea to a group as
if it were his own. This is obviously something not to learn but his overall genius masks any
downsides he may have had. He wanted to always control the software, hardware and operating
system for all products as that would give complete leverage and gave Apple total
control/responsibility of the user experience. He was obsessed with minimalism to ensure the
customer experience was simple.
Lesson: Begin with the End in Mind and plan for ultimate victory.
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E –Energy –Without high energy he could not have sustained his passion over the years in
wilderness. He could easily have retired into the background after his ouster as he had already
enough money but he had a bigger vision for his life and started another company which showed
his tremendous drive. He had enormous energy and this was very much exhibited in his second
coming to Apple(he was also running Pixar at the same time which took a lot out of him) where
he patiently took the title of Interim CEO and ensured consecutive quarters of profit before
taking the permanent post. He was an unstoppable person with enormous energy and it paid off
in dividends.
Lesson: Keep your energy levels high at all times, determine which times of the day are your
most productive and do your most important work at that time.
J – Journey – His life epitomizes that life is a journey. Even for a person as talented as Steve
Jobs, there will be setbacks/bumps along the journey of life. It is how we bounce back from
seeming setbacks that truly measure our heart for exceptional success. The journey is an
adventure and we all can have a second coming like Steve Jobs if ever we find ourselves in a
precarious position provided we believe in the journey and understand that life is not a
destination. Ups and downs are part of everyday life.
Lesson: Life is a journey not a destination. Enjoy the adventure.
O- Optimism – The key to success lies in optimism. It’s not what happens to us but how we
respond to what happens to us that matters. Steve Jobs believed in his products even when he
was the only one with the vision. He was not even sure if it will be accepted in the market but he
showed undying optimism to see success till the end. Even in his professional nadir he showed
enduring optimism and show what one can achieve with optimism and belief. An example is the
Apple Stores concept. Initially the media had written this off as a non-starter but Jobs believed in
it. He wanted to take retailing and brand image to a new level.
Lesson: Be an eternal optimist. An optimist sees an opportunity in every difficulty.
B- Boldness – Steve Jobs epitomized boldness and took risks even when failure was a
possibility. He believed in being the best in his field and showed what a pioneer does to be called
the best. He not only showcased vision, he also exhibited audacity and he believed that there is
only one thing the customer wants more than anything and that is the BEST. His eye for details
was amazing as he even focused on the staircases of the Apple Stores and wanted it done to
perfection. Simplicity and lack of distraction was the key to the success of the stores. When the
iPhone came out initially it was criticized for being too expensive and it didn’t have a keyboard
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but Steve Jobs had the last laugh. Once again his bold actions left people and his competitors
breathless.
Lesson: Be bold with a touch of audacity and go for the best in everything you do.
S – Story Telling –Steve Jobs had a unique ability to sell to the world his vision of the story.
This was famously called the Reality Distortion field and everyone who knew him has said that
he sold his vision so well that no one could dispute that or take their eyes off his vision. In the
book Second Coming of Steve Jobs the author says he had a seductive personality and people
especially the media were very attracted to him and his personality. He was a unique ICON who
made a huge difference in this world. An example is the Stanford Commencement where he gave
one of the best speeches. He eloquently weaved his life into three simple stories which resonated
with the audience. The three stories about his life were “Dropping out of college”, “How getting
fired from Apple was good for him”, and “Being diagnosed with Cancer and the awareness it
brought”.
Lesson: Be true to yourself, discover what you are best at and ensure others buy into your
beliefs.
Chapter 13– 10 Tips for Resilience
I recently read an interesting article in Time magazine by Mandy Oaklander on resilience which
also listed the top tips from experts on the subject. Here are the 10 tips from experts in the field
for developing resilience with my take on each.
1. Develop a core set of beliefs that nothing can shake: The key to achieve this is to first have
a personal mission statement for your life. Once you have that in place you can then determine
the values around which your life will revolve. Values could be kindness, integrity, honesty,
courage. So even if something goes wrong you can go back to your mission and core set of
values so that you see any setbacks as temporary.
2. Try to find meaning in whatever stressful or traumatic thing: The best quote related to this
is by Napoleon Hill who said “Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit.”
Everything happens for a reason and if we understand that, then we can deal with the inevitable
setbacks much better. The key is to bounce and not break. Every negative event has something to
teach us and once we use it as a learning mechanism to further our lives we can overcome it.
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3. Try to maintain a positive outlook: It is impossible to imagine a successful person who is
negative all the time. Bill Gates is someone who always has a positive outlook. He is fighting for
a larger cause now even eradicating diseases and his foundation is doing excellent work. They
key is his optimism that the world can be better than it already is. Another key to maintain a
positive outlook is to have a high appreciation for life. Count your blessings and write down
everything you are grateful for in your life.
4. Take cues from someone who is emotionally resilient: The people we associate with are
what psychologists call our reference group. We all know people who have overcome
tremendous adversity and we are in awe of them. I think the suggestion is to keep associating
with emotionally resilient people so that you get inspired and the qualities admired in others rub
off on you.
5. Don’t run from things that scare you: As Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Do the thing you fear
and the death of fear is certain.” As lot of experts say pursue the things that scare you and move
into your zone of discomfort. We have all been afraid of some presentations and once it is done it
wasn’t that big of a deal. We have also dealt with everything that life has thrown to us. This
understanding clearly tells us that we can overcome things if we approach them head on and
meet it with our presence. One thing that can help in this is to do the worst thing first. Start with
the most difficult thing on your to do list and the rest of the day will go much easier.
6. Be quick to reach out for support when things go haywire: None of us can do anything
alone. When we face problems we should confide either with our spouse or trusted confidant.
The office environment is not the right place to discuss your personal problems beyond a point.
Also speaking to others enables to sooth our emotional psyche and we can feel better about
ourselves. The key is to develop a master mind alliance with key friends whom you can
communicate without any inhibition.
7. Learn new things as often as you can: I like this line which says if you are feeling listless
make a list. We all have a lot on our plate at work but what about our personal lives. We should
have things we want to learn and we are passionate about. To increase joy in our lives we need to
do the things that make us happy. So keep learning something new every week and this reduces
stress increasing joy.
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8. Find an exercise regimen to stick to: Exercise is a great stress buster. The toughest part in an
exercise regimen is to get started. The problem is with every New Year we set some resolutions
like exercise 6 times a week and lose 30 pounds. The issue here is just because the calendar has
changed it doesn’t mean we are physically ready to take on the challenge. So start small by
setting a goal like going to the gym 3 days a week, losing 5 pounds in two months. The point is
we will stick to an exercise regimen only if feel like we are making progress so we need to set
easy to reach goals to keep us motivated for the long haul. Science has also shown that exercise
increases the three neuro transmitters namely dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine which
increase happiness levels, reduce cravings, improves learning capacity and eliminates stress.
These are all very good reasons to stick to an exercise regimen.
9. Don’t beat yourself up or dwell on the past: It is not the negative event that hurts us but it is
what we say to ourselves when it happens that makes a difference. Martin Seligman who is a
psychologist and part of the positive psychology movement says that successful people talk to
themselves positively. They always see the negative event as temporary and have a future
oriented mindset which is the key to lifelong happiness. So the key is to monitor your self-talk
and ensure it is more positive than negative.
10. Recognize what makes you uniquely strong and own it: Finally we have to realize that
every person has unique strengths that have to be acknowledged. Sometimes we wait for others
at work and at home to acknowledge us but I think we should be the first ones to acknowledge
ourselves. One of things I have done is to write all my happiest moments in my life and I have
come up with 60 things and have been adding to it. Also keep a victory log of everything that
you have accomplished till now in your life. Finally write down and keep track of all your
strengths like self-discipline, promptness, hard work and any unique talents you may have.
If we follow the above guidelines we can overcome any setbacks in our lives and develop rock
solid resilience.
Chapter 14 – Tips for Effective communication
The first step in communication is to make your message short and crisp. Simplify your
message. Clarity is an absolute must.
Be wary of using bombastic words and use simple words instead which relate with the
audience or person. Simplicity connects people.
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Observe your interaction with people, determine how much of your conversation is
centered on yourself and see if you can turn this around. A key to effective
communication is other centered mindset.
Treat everyone with respect. Everyone knows something we don’t.
Treat everyone you meet like a million dollar customer. Give people the best treatment
possible and make them feel like a winner.
Improve your vocabulary by learning new words this way you can improve your
communication as well. The more words you have to play with the better your speech.
While communicating through email get to the point early and avoid lengthy emails. In
other words cut to the chase. Don’t have people scramble for a dictionary. Make your
sentences short and sweet.
Maintain eye contact with the person while in conversation.
Don’t use the cell phone or watch television while communicating with others. Give the
person undivided attention.
Be authentic in your communication. Authenticity is the first step in establishing
credibility with your peers.
Become audience oriented. Ask leading questions to understand your audience.
Show the truth. Credibility precedes great communication. Believe in what you say.
As you communicate please remember that all communication should result in tangible
action.
Inspire and motivate people through your communication. Words are the tools with
which to empower people to live their highest vision.
Pay attention to your focus when you communicate. Think about other’s needs. Meet
people where they are and deliver more than they expect.
Live your message. There should be no gap between what you communicate with who
you are.
Provide a compelling reason for the audience to pay attention to. Once you have the
attention deliver your message with enthusiasm.
Review your communication results on a regular basis and adjust the sails to make your
communication even better in the future.
Prepare before giving any speech/meeting/presentation, rehearsal is the key before
important meetings and if you are thoroughly prepared the communication will be more
effective.
Chapter 15- Get Excited every day
We have all heard the line “Live every day as if it is your last.” While I appreciate the
exuberance of this statement somehow it doesn’t resonate with me. What I have come up with is
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a statement that works for me and it is “Every day is the best day of your life. Give it your best
shot.”
This statement has worked well for me as it tells me that today is going to be my best day and if I
want to have a best day I have to give it my best shot. What this does is it shows me that I have
the opportunity to make my day great. This also tells me that there are no bad days so even if
something goes wrong I can take it in the right way.
Here are the seven keys that I have found are needed to create a wonderful day. However it may
not be easy to do all of them every day and I consider it a success if I can do all of them at least
3-4 times a week.
1. Wake up early: Across all the success books I have read about successful people one
common thread that goes with all of them is they get up early around 5 am or 6 am. This is
because if you get up early you get a nice alone time which is needed to create long lasting
happiness. It also gives you time to exercise, read or meditate. Then when you get into the noise
of the world you are calmer than usual and your day also turns out much better. As Henry Ward
Beecher said “The first hour is the rudder of the day.” The way you start the day determines the
whole day. An example is Disney's CEO Bob Iger who says "I get up at 4:30 in the morning,
seven days a week, no matter where I am in the world. It's a time of day when I can be very
productive without too much interruption."
2. Exercise: Exercise is a great stress buster. The toughest part in an exercise regimen is to get
started. If we do this first thing in the morning it gives us a sense of accomplishment and even if
the rest of the day doesn’t go great we already have a win under our belt. It also kick starts the
metabolism making us more brisk and happy. Neurological studies show that when we exert
ourselves physically, we produce a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) that
promotes growth of neurons, especially in the memory regions of the brain. Science has also
shown that exercise increases the three neuro transmitters namely dopamine, serotonin and
norepinephrine which increase happiness levels, reduce cravings, improves learning capacity and
eliminates stress. These are all very good reasons to stick to an exercise regimen. Again Bob Iger
says "I ride a bike and use aerobic equipment twice a week, and work out with a trainer, lifting
weights. It's a good time to think. I believe that exercise relieves stress and contributes to an
improvement in stamina, which in a job like this you absolutely need."
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3. Have Breakfast: Having a healthy breakfast is a critical step towards creating a wonderful
day. This is often overlooked but science has confirmed that your glucose levels are more
regulated if you start the day with a nice healthy breakfast. If you want to remain calm, tackle
your tasks with vigor then don’t ever skip breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day and
shouldn’t be taken for granted. Also watching out what we eat on a daily basis is more rewarding
rather than concentrating too much on the long term. Small daily actions eventually take care of
the long term.
4. Give your best at work: Work does play a very large part in our lives and the only way we
are going to have long lasting happiness is if we give our best on a daily basis. First decide that
every day before you start that day you are going to give your best at work. Finally that’s all we
have control over anyway. The favorite tip from all time management experts is work on the
most important task first. The first step is to have a list of items to be done and then work on the
most important item on the list. This gives you a sense of accomplishment and control. At the
end of the day ensure that you are clear on what are the tasks that are still incomplete but keep
peace with the fact that you did your best for that day. If you are clear on that then you will feel
happier.
5. Energy: This is where I think the work of Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz help. They wrote a
book called The Power of Full Engagement and it has excellent strategies to renew ourselves.
The main thesis is energy, not time is the fundamental currency of peak performance. It is our
most precious resource. We must learn to live our own lives as a series of sprints- fully engaging
for periods of time mostly 90 minutes, and then taking a break before getting back to work. I
have also recently read that sitting for too long is detrimental to long term health. The advice
from experts is to sit for 45-50 min then take a short stand or walk for 5 minutes and then keep
repeating the process. Another tactic to maintain high positive energy levels to is to think of the
good things you have in life or even maintaining a gratitude log enhances energy levels boosting
happiness.
6. Inject pleasure moments: Pleasure is not something we postpone for a vacation. I think we
should have moments of pleasure every day. So once you come back home from work ensure
you have a nice unwinding session at home with your family. Personally I get pleasure from
reading and writing so I try to a bit of both every day. It just gives a great sense of happiness to
me. If it is watching TV for you that’s fine but the important thing is to do things you like. It has
also been well documented that only when you are in a relaxed state of mind can you really come
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up with great ideas at work. So don’t worry about injecting some pleasure to your life because
you will be glad you did.
7. Get adequate sleep: Yes we are all working in a 24*7 environment these days. There are
absolutely times when we have to burn the midnight oil and ensure that our responsibilities are
taken care. However this should be an exception rather than the rule. There is a reason why we
keep telling kids that they have to sleep early because we know that if they have to concentrate
well in class the next day it is absolutely imperative. The same applies to adults as well. It has
been well established that sleep deprivation has caused major mood swings, depression,
irritability and it has also resulted in major accidents.
An example is The Challenger explosion which happened in January 1986. The space shuttle
exploded just seconds after its January 1986 launch, killing all seven crew members. According
to a report, certain managers involved in the launch had only slept two hours before arriving to
work at 1 am that morning. The Presidential Commission on the accident admitted the danger of
this deprivation in its June 1986 report, writing, "The willingness of NASA employees in
general to work excessive hours, while admirable, raises serious questions when it jeopardizes
job performance, particularly when critical management decisions are at stake."
All this shows that we need to sleep 7-8 hours on a daily basis which is an absolute must to be at
our best. As the wise saying goes “When we are young we will sacrifice our health to get
wealth but once we get older we will sacrifice every bit of wealth to get one day of good
health.” This quote surely hits the message hard but taking care of our health is a sign of
leadership and we all need to do that to support our organizations and families.
If we follow the above keys then we will be creating a series of best days which will eventually
lead to a healthier, more energetic and prosperous life.
Chapter 16- Deliberate Practice
I love the book Talent Is Overrated by Geoff Colvin. It really demystifies talent and articulates
what separates the great performers from others. The book starts with the question where does
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great performance come from. The author successfully argues that innate talent is not the reason
for exceptional performance providing examples of Mozart and Tiger Woods. The key take away
is that every exceptional performer had put in 10000 hours of deliberate practice before being
called a genius. Mozart’s first work regarded as a master piece was his Piano Concerto No.9
composed when he was twenty one. By then Mozart had put in more than eighteen years of
extreme expert training. This does not take away the genius aspect but only goes to prove that
what we think is innate talent is actually the results of years of arduous hard work.
The book goes into depth on what deliberate practice is. It involves selecting a particular activity
and going to lengths to practice on your areas of weakness on a daily basis till you master it. This
is not fun and that’s why only a few people do it. The book also has a chapter on where the
passion comes from because if deliberate practice is so tough then why do the exceptional
performers put themselves through it. I found this to be totally illuminating and instructive.
There are also examples from Business like Bill Gates and Jack Welch. The author argues that
during the time when Bill Gates was working on his craft he was not the only one with
exceptional software expertise. What separated him from the rest was his ability to launch a
business and the different abilities required to manage a large enterprise. Also early life
especially for many folks in the fields of business may not show evidence of what’s to come.
Across all fields all top performers have worked very hard on their crafts to be the champions
they are. An example is Deep Blue which was the computer program which was designed to
analyze 100 million positions in a second and play against the then world champion. Despite its
advantage Deep Blue lost to the then champion Gary Kasparov. The next year it was designed to
analyze 200 million positions in a second and it did beat Kasparov but still lost one game and
three were drawn out of a six game series. The author argues that this is because the human
possessed something the computer didn’t which was the ability to analyze positions that were
performed by past masters of Chess and utilize them to his advantage.
The take away is to first decide what we enjoy doing, then identifying the areas of weakness in
our chosen vocation and then deliberately practicing to overcome areas of weakness. This
requires enormous commitment and dedication from the individual. That others have done this
should give us hope. All exceptional performers do not try to do multiple things at the same time.
They focus on one activity incessantly and do it at world class. This is their key to greatness. For
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example Federer is a recognized genius in tennis though he may not be great at piano. This is a
key distinction for many who try to juggle too many things at the same time and sometimes due
to peer pressure. Instead all exceptional performers focus on mastering one activity in a
particular field of endeavor and keep practicing without losing enthusiasm to the exclusion of
everything else.
The key elements of deliberate practice are
1. It is designed to improve performance: The key is to design your practice to improve
performance by constantly setting ever higher goals and focusing acutely on the one skill
that you can improve.
2. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat: This much is known if we want to succeed in any endeavor then
practice is the key. The key to practice is to repeat every activity defined in the first point
until we reach mastery.
3. Seek constant critical feedback: There is a reason why even top athletes need coaches
because the individuals can’t identify their weakness by themselves. Don’t reject feedback
as that is the only way to improve performance.
4. Focus on where you need help: This closely follows the earlier point. You need to clearly
identify areas of weakness and then seek help to improve on that activity. This is hard
work but absolutely necessary towards the journey of Mastery.
5. Prepare for a mentally physically and demanding activity: You can’t get to world-class
without some pain and that is what deliberate practice is. This is a sobering thought but if
you do it you will have the satisfaction of joining the elite in your profession. The fact is
only the top few do deliberate practice so if you engage in it, there is a deep feeling of
satisfaction.
The keys to mastery are in our grasp but we need to believe in our talent (I still like using that
word) in a particular area and strive to our best abilities.
Chapter 17- The Champion Mindset
Roger Federer lost to compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of the 2015 French open.
That is not the surprising part because we all know that clay is his least favorite surface but it is
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the way he looked forward to the future despite the defeat that intrigued me. He said "I'm
already thinking what I'm going to do over the next few days, because Wimbledon is going to
be a big goal for the season.”
I believe that is the Champion Mindset. Let’s face it all of us will lose or encounter failure but
what separates the champions from the rest is the way they ultimately respond to the negative
event. If like Federer we keep looking to the future with possibilities, then we can overcome any
failure and this is the key to develop the mindset of a champion.
On the topic of mindset it was interesting to read what was written in the Power of Habit (a
wonderful book) by Charles Duhigg. He wrote about Bob Bowman who was the coach of
Michael Phelps. Bob mentioned that he didn't need to control every aspect of Phelps's life and all
he needed to do was to target a few specific habits that had nothing to do with swimming and
everything to do with creating the right mindset.
Bob Bowman designed a series of behaviors that Phelps could use to become calm and focused
before every race, to find those tiny advantages that, in a sport where a victory can come in
milliseconds, would make all the difference. What we need to learn from this is that it is the
mindset that ultimately distinguishes a champion more than the skill-set.
The sport of tennis is so amazingly competitive that when Pete Sampras retired in 2002 most
people thought that his record of 14 Grand Slams would not be broken in his life time. In less
than 10 years Federer had managed to achieve that. Federer won his first Grand Slam title in
2003 and since then he has not looked back.
Most people in the recent years have been saying Federer is on the wane. Well even if he is not
at his best he always reaches the second week of a championship. He has the record of having
reached 36 straight quarterfinals. Sampras even in his prime sometimes has lost in the early
round (Nadal has also lost in the early rounds quite a few times) but Federer is a machine and is a
hallmark for consistency.
The following are the 5 best attributes that I have identified which describe Federer and ones that
I believe can help all of us in our careers.
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1. Passion - His love of the sport is amazing. He has achieved it all but still wants to win
more. He is already considered the greatest player of all time but he still wants to go
further and keep trying. This can be only due to his undying passion for the game and its
wonderful history. When he looks back at his career he will surely realize that staying at
the top for such a long time is his greatest
achievement.
2. Self-Drive - He keeps pushing himself to explore new frontiers which others can only
dream of. Most people get satisfied after reaching a summit. Having already won 7 titles at
Wimbledon he still wants to go further than anyone has gone. He sets his own standards
and pays scant attention to the doomsayers who had written his obituary. The key is to set
standards for yourself and do what other people say you cannot
do.
3. Humility and Grace - Even after his enormous victories he said players cannot be
compared across eras even though many experts are now saying he is the best of all time.
The key to humility is the knowledge that there will always be someone else who might
very well break the record. What separates Federer from the rest is that he makes his
victories look so easy that we might actually think he is gifted and it comes
naturally. However behind this exterior is a story of determination, hard work and
perseverance which has kept him at the top of the tennis world for well over a
decade.
4. Self-Discipline - He has not been injured in his entire career. That is almost unheard of in
professional tennis. This goes to show his self-discipline in maintaining high levels of
fitness throughout his career. Now a lot of people including me have argued that in 2003
when Federer started his success journey his competition was mainly Hewitt and Roddick
both of whom were not in his league. I actually think that it is all the more amazing that
Federer kept on going despite the competition. He just wanted to do well in spite of his
competition. He has also taken care of his body better than anyone else who has played the
game. Self-Discipline is the key to Federer's long term consistent success and he is the
embodiment of relentless practice. He only concentrated on his core genius which is
playing tennis and didn't try to do many things at the same
time.
5. Consistency - This is the true hallmark of Federer and his genius. He had reached 23
consecutive Grand Slam semifinals, 36 straight Grand Slam quarterfinals, and has been
injury free due to which he always makes it to the second week of a championship nearly
every time. He has been Number One longer than any player in History. This is nothing
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short of miraculous. I think it is difficult to fathom that he has reached 25 appearances in a
Grand Slam final. The consistency that he has demonstrated over the course of a decade is
the true hallmark of a genius champion. He is relentless, passionate and does not ever
leave the sight of his summit.
I personally hope he continues to play for some more time and provide more joy to the tennis
fans worldwide. I don’t think it matters if he wins more Grand Slam titles but what matters more
is the example he has set not only for the tennis world but the world at large on what one man
can achieve with the mindset of a champion.
Chapter 18- My lessons for Graduates
If I were 22 now I would have made some changes based on my current knowledge and
experience. First and foremost I would have set clear career goals and read more books at that
time. In my 20’s I didn’t really think too much about continuous improvement on key skills on
the job so I wish I had done that earlier. I would have developed better negotiation skills to get
exactly what I wanted. When I landed my first job there were many aspects within the job
description that was not easily understood by me, however I gave my best every single day and
that helped. I would have also used the internet to my advantage.
We all fear about our first job but we should see it as a challenge or more importantly as an
opportunity to show the world and ourselves what we are made of. If I were looking for my first
job in today’s information age I would feel ecstatic about the many opportunities available, the
internet which provides so much information on every field, ability to easily network and find
masters in my field which would give me more confidence. LinkedIn is a great start for any
professional aspirant.
Looking back from where I started I am extremely satisfied where I have landed now. I feel I
have done my work to the best of my ability and over the last seven years I have been working
on building my skill set by reading a lot of books, taking related certifications and keep
improving on my key result areas. My self-confidence has increased quite a lot from where I
started and I think the true measure of success is directly related to the self-belief which is the
catalyst for achievement. Today’s graduating students are better informed and have a ton of
information that can be used for gaining advantage over previous generations.
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I am quite happy that I wasn’t choosy about the first job. I just wanted to get started somewhere
and move up the ladder. I think that is best approach. What I find too often today is graduates are
expecting to land that elusive dream job in their first try. My advice for the graduates is
1. Take whatever opportunities comes your way first, build your reputation and then greener
pastures will follow.
2. Learn everything you need to know about your prospective employer. With the internet
and Google there is no information that is out of reach.
3. Study your industry and see if there are already podcasts/articles you can get hold of.
4. Get some tips from people who are already successful in your field and try to emulate
them.
5. Don’t be afraid of rejections. There will be some interviews where you won’t be able to
nail it but you can only learn with experience. Don’t take it personally.
6. Have a game plan for growing in the job. Plan to take classes, certifications and read books
in your field.
7. Prepare thoroughly for an interview and read about how to attend an interview. Getting
your first job is not easy but with thorough preparation you can get a head start.
8. Build a strong network of connections. Most jobs come through connections.
9. Be flexible in your demands on the first job. Remember you have to first build your
reputation before demanding for perks.
10. Be teachable and ensure that you still have a beginner’s mindset when you start. Yes you
have graduated but this is just the commencement to the real world and it’s not the same as
school/college.
Dream big, Showcase your best talent and let the work speak for itself.
Chapter 19– Self Confidence
My dad gave an idea to me about this chapter. He said when anyone is just starting on their
career they won’t have the experience to feel self-confident. So what does it take to be self-
confident when you are just starting off on your career journey? Here are my thoughts on this
1. Create a Victory Log. Everyone has had success in life at some point either in school,
extracurricular activities or college. Write down every single achievement you have ever
had right from your start. This can be anything from learning a language, learning a sport,
or academic achievements. This will give you a good start on your journey towards
increasing self-confidence.
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2. Celebrate your strengths. Write down all your strengths you can think of. It could be self-
discipline Honesty, Friendliness, courage etc. This boosts your self-esteem and
confidence. It gives you a track to run on.
3. Set some career goals. Write down what you would like to achieve during your career.
The fact that you have a vision forces you to think positive and create a rush of
endorphins and propels you forward.
4. Study your job description. A well prepared mind gives confidence. Learn everything
about your job and the expectations before stepping onto the playing field and your
confidence will sky rocket.
5. Read books in your area of expertise. Being the most well-read person increases self-
confidence. Now with the internet you can get access to the masters in your field much
easier than at any point in history. Read their blogs, listen to their podcasts. Other books
like Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, How to Win friends and Influence people,
The Magic of Thinking BIG, Linchpin are great starting points in the quest for better
skills and confidence.
6. Associate with confident people. When you seek out people who are confident that would
rub off on you and your confidence will improve.
7. Go the Extra mile. In your first job it is critical to put your best foot forward and keep
showing your colleagues, boss and all other stake holders that hunger you have to
succeed. If you put in the time and effort, results will be inevitable. Your self-confidence
will automatically improve as you are on the extra mile and doing better than others.
8. Believe in yourself when no one else does. When you start off it is unlikely that others
will have confidence in you till the results come. It is in this stretch of life that you should
have immense belief in yourself and never give up. You can be down but never stay
down. There are so many examples of people overcoming adversity study those who have
overcome adversity and revel in your skills/powers.
9. Stay committed to your long term vision. The most important step for self confidence is
commitment. You need to be committed to your life, career and everything that happens
to you. You are the CEO of your life so take bold, audacious decisions and stay focused
on your growth. Your self-confidence will soar and you will see victory at the end.
10. Finally don’t worry about what others think. You can only control your thoughts so don’t
second guess yourself. Put your best foot forward, pick up when you make mistakes, and
act confident. As Henry David Thoreau said “If one advances confidently in the direction
of his dreams and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success
unexpected in common hours”
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Chapter 20 - The 34 quotes that have moved and inspired me.
1. "I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of
your life as a champion.'" -- Muhammad Ali
2. “Success in not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” --
Winston Churchill
3. "The only way to enjoy anything in this life is to earn it first." -- Ginger Rogers
4. "In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." --
Thomas Jefferson
5. “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” -- Isaac
Newton
6. "I want to live my life so that my nights are not full of regrets." -- David Herbert Lawrence
7. "Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness." -- George
Bernard Shaw
8. "We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone." -- Ronald Reagan
9. "Never reach out your hand unless you're willing to extend an arm." -- Pope Paul VI
10. “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want
to go, no one else.” – Les Brown
11. "What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." --
Oscar Wilde
12. “The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment
in which you first find yourself.” -- Mark Caine
13. “I have learned silence from the talkative, tolerance from the intolerant, and kindness from
the unkind. I should not be ungrateful to these teachers.” -- Khalil Gibran
14. "A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have
thrown at him." -- David Brinkley
15. “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” -- Mother
Teresa
16. "If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of
adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." -- Anne Bradstreet
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17. "We come this way but once. We can either tiptoe through life and hope that we get to
death without being too badly bruised or we can live a full, complete life achieving our
goals and realizing our wildest dreams." -Bob Proctor
18. "Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the
successful one is a lot of hard work." -Steven King
19. "Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine
where you start."--Nido Qubein
20. "If you want to conquer fear, don't sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy." --
Dale Carnegie
21. “Confidence on the outside begins by living with integrity on the inside” Brian Tracy
22. “Never let your memories be greater than your dreams.” —Doug Ivester
23. “All successful men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could
be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that
goal or purpose.” —Brian Tracy
24. “All of our dreams can come true —if we have the courage to pursue them.” —Walt
Disney
25. “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares
because of my dreams.” —Dr. Jonas Salk
26. “To realize a dream, you must have a dream to realize.” —Mark Victor Hansen
27. “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” —Franklin
Delano Roosevelt
28. “Live out of your imagination, not your history.” —Stephen Covey
29. “The man who has no imagination has no wings.” —Muhammad Ali
30. “Successful people believe in the validity of their own dreams and goals, even if dreams
are all they have to go on.” —Denis Waitley
31. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the
greatest accomplishment.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
32. “I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his
life by conscious endeavor.” - Henry David Thoreau
33. “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying
to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”-
George Bernard Shaw
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34. “This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a
mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish clod of ailments and
grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of
the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my
privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the
harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no 'brief candle' to
me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have a hold of for the moment, and I want to
make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it over to future generations.” - George
Bernard Shaw
I hope you enjoyed this collection of quotes.
Chapter 21- Keys to Happiness
I think everyone has one goal in life and that is to be happy. It has also been well established that
you can’t really pursue happiness but rather it is the result of concerted action towards your
closely cherished dreams.
What are the keys to happiness? Happiness has been defined as the progressive realization of a
worthy goal which means if you have a predetermined outcome you are working towards then
that journey enhances your happiness.
The other key principle to be happy is to not be attached to the outcome yes we should set
challenging goals but if the outcome is something different we should be detached and practice
acceptance. Another thing I have learnt is not to label things as either bad or good. Everything
happens for a reason and sometimes we don’t understand why it happened. Only when we attain
some distance from the actual event we understand the reason for its occurrence and how it
helped us.
Following are the keys to happiness that I believe can help
Accept yourself
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First and foremost accept everything about you. You are unique in this world, there is no one
else like you and there is no need to compare with others. Once you accept yourself with what
you have, then you start to like yourself and when you like yourself you feel happy. A strong
self-esteem is the cornerstone of a healthy personality. You have a unique contribution to make
in this world and once you accept that happiness will ensue.
Define your purpose
What is it that you want out of your life? Some people call this a mission statement. We know
organizations have a mission statement but individuals also can have a mission statement. I have
defined my mission statement the following way “My mission is to maximize my potential and
help others maximize theirs”. This surely would help in increasing the happiness level since it
gives meaning to life. Our days are finite and only when we are clear on why we are here
happiness can be enjoyed. As Mark Twain said “The two most important days in your life are the
day you are born and the day you find out why.”
Personal activities
There are certain activities which make you happy and the key is to identify those activities.
Once you identify those activities include some of them on a daily or weekly basis. For example
in my case working out in the gym does give me happiness, reading and writing also do the same
thing. These are things that take you out of your normal routines and relieve any stress. I think
having some interesting hobbies in your personal life also increases the happiness level.
Goals
I know there has been a lot of talk recently about living a life without goals. Some people have
said that just enjoying the journey of life is the most important thing. As some people say “Take
life as it comes”. Yes that does hold true but setting goals that trigger passion in your life surely
makes you happy. The key to setting goals is to make it specific, measurable and attainable. The
last word is the key. Obviously setting a goal like climbing Mount Everest may not be the best
thing if you have never climbed before but for example setting a goal like running a 5k would
surely help in energizing you and your life. Some people advised to set BHAG’s (Big Hairy
Audacious Goals) to jumpstart your enthusiasm and keep you energized for achieving that goal.
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Relationships
Ultimately life boils down to the relationships we have at work, home and with our friends. In
times where information travels at the speed of light we need to take time to nurture relationships
to make it meaningful. Yes having 500 friends in Facebook maybe fun but we really have to take
the time to meet people in person and have meaningful conversations to ensure the strength of
relationships. We need to encourage others and make others happy. Having rock solid
relationships in all areas of our lives boosts happiness and also serves as a sounding board when
we encounter the inevitable downturns of life.
Create a positive environment
Reading positive books like Winning, The Seven habits of Highly Effective People, and The
Magic of Thinking Big helps us to think about the good things that are possible for our life and
elevates our level of thinking. It also helps us dream of greater possibilities in our life. Also
listening to positive videos in YouTube, keeping up to date in your field by constantly seeking to
improve yourself makes us self-motivated and results in long lasting happiness. The key is to
surround your environment with the tools which happiness demands.
Stay grateful
This action is guaranteed to trigger happiness. Keep a gratitude journal and record on a periodic
basis the good things in your life. I have been doing this for quite some time and it has surely
helped me appreciate the great things in my life which we sometimes overlook with our busy
schedule. Another action is to be thankful for the life you have been endowed with and the
opportunity to make an impact in this world. Developing a high appreciation for life is the surest
way to the kingdom of happiness.
Summarizing I believe happiness is a choice which each one of us can make on a day to day
basis. It surely takes work but it is possible. We can be truly happy only when we decide that we
will be happy irrespective of outcomes and no matter what life throws at us there is a larger
meaning to our life which is for us to discover.
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Chapter 22 – Get the most out of life and live it to the fullest
Here are a few of my thoughts on how to get the most out of life and enjoy it to the maximum.
1. Burn your boats
2. Be passionate
3. Take time off to recharge regularly
4. Exercise regularly
5. Set goals for your life
6. Have a personal mission statement
7. Be kind and generous
8. Have fun
9. Be humble
10. Love life
11. Treat people with respect
12. Pursue your work with fervor and passion
13. Commit to excellence
14. Keep learning and improving
15. Praise in public and criticize in private
16. Like yourself
17. Build self-discipline through small daily actions. “Discipline is the bridge between
goals and accomplishment”
18. Develop courage and remember it is not absence of fear but triumph over fear
19. Read great books that help you see possibilities
20. Overcome challenges and embrace them
21. The grass is greener on your side so appreciate what you have
22. Think Big
23. Lead by example
24. Do first things first and second things not at all
25. Manage yourself with the available time and time management will be taken care
26. Write your accomplishments and keep revisiting them often
27. Maintain a cheerful disposition
28. Have a bias for action
29. It is now or never
30. Take personal initiative to create the results you want
31. Nothing feels better than doing the things which other people say you cannot
32. Don’t let anyone else decide what your vision should be
33. Strong Self-belief is the catalyst for extraordinary achievement
34. Live life on your terms
35. Say no to the things which don’t align with your priorities
36. Intense burning desire is the fuel that ignites personal success
37. You are not your circumstances you are much more than that
38. The past is great as long as you are visualizing all your past accomplishments. Ignore
your past failures unless you plan to learn from them.
39. Don’t succumb to peer pressure. You might be marching to a different drum beat.
40. Remember the old proverb “Faith can move mountains”
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41. Make the biggest investment of your life in yourself as you are the biggest investment
there is
42. Never be overwhelmed by others success. Enjoy others success and learn from it.
43. Make the best choices today so that you can live the life you have always dreamt of.
44. There will be critics but we can choose to use them as a spring board to further our
aspirations and achievements
45. Think before your speak. Words can hurt but words can also inspire so use language
to inspire yourself and others.
46. Maximize your potential. Strive to reach your maximum.
47. Be self-motivated and enthusiastic
48. Love what you do and if you can do what you love even better
49. Develop the three D’s for success “Discipline, Determination and Dedication”
50. We should have great ambition but not let it destroy your peace of mind or balance in
life.
51. Success is about building momentum through small actions on a consistent basis
which leads to great results.
52. “Encouragement is oxygen to the soul.” We need to encourage ourselves on a regular
basis to stay on game.
53. Develop resilience to overcome setbacks
54. Appreciate others and give people hope
55. Share your life journey with those closest to you
56. Develop a great network of family, associates and friends
57. Spend quality time with those closest to you
58. Commitment is the key to a life of meaning
Chapter 23– Characteristics and Qualities of Great Leaders
The subject of leadership can never be exhausted and that is why there are always books coming
out on it. My favorite definition of leadership is from Stephen Covey who said that “Leadership
is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in
themselves.”
The responsibility of every leader is to keep affirming the worth and potential of every person in
the organization. This will then lead to people performing at their best which gives the
organization greater success.
I have identified the key qualities and characteristics of leaders which I believe can help every
leader get better. Not every leader can have all these but an awareness of them can help us in our
path to become better leaders. Here are the key qualities and characteristics of great leaders.
Vision
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Across all the leadership studies done the most important quality of a leader is setting the vision
of an organization. As it is often said without vision people perish. Creating an exciting picture
about the future is a fundamental requirement of a leader. The best example of a vision is the one
set by John F.Kennedy when he said the following on May 25th 1961 “I believe that this nation
should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the
moon and returning him safely to the earth.” This is the best example of a vision as it is
precise, simple and easy to understand. More importantly it is measurable. The key for a vision is
it has to be simple yet it should be well beyond our comfort zones. The only way to be truly
excited about our lives is to set BHAG’s (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) and excite ourselves and
the people we serve. A nice metaphor is if we have nearsightedness we need lenses or glasses to
get a clear vision. The same holds true for our lives once we get clear on where we want to be
heading our vision becomes clear and we can build a great life. As Abdul Kalam famously said
“Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you sleep.”
Integrity
This is one of the essential qualities required for an effective leader. Integrity is doing the right
thing even when no one is watching. It is the ability to stand by the truth even when it is tough. If
we live with integrity then our fears reduce because we are honest with ourselves. Gandhi said it
beautifully “One man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing
wrong in any other departments. Life is one indivisible whole.” He also said “What I say and
what I do are in total harmony”. Anyone with high integrity has great peace of mind as they
don’t have anything to hide and it also helps in developing resilience.
Passion
Passion makes your days fly. Once a leader breathes and lives passionately it rubs off on others
as well. An example of passion is Roger Federer. As of this writing he is already considered the
greatest tennis player that ever lived but he still takes each tournament as a challenge (he is
already in the semifinal of Wimbledon 2015), and practices with the same enthusiasm. Just
imagine how our lives would improve if we took every workday as a chance to show case our
brilliance in our field of endeavor. Our days would fly and also the line between work and play
would blur and we would see our life as a whole. We always hear leadership gurus saying do
what you love but the fact is you may love singing but you cannot become a singer unless you
have the competence to do it well. So I think love has to be married with your area of
competence and then your days will be filled with passion. "There is no passion to be found
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playing small--in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." -Nelson
Mandela
Discipline
Discipline is the ability to do what you should do when you should do it whether you feel like it
or not. As Jim Rohn said “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or
the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.” We all
know what we need to do to achieve success but we need tons of discipline to follow through on
our commitments. Researchers have confirmed that every expert across various fields including
legends like Bill Gates, Mozart, Tiger Woods have spent 10000 hours of deliberate practice
before they were called a genius. This reminds us on how much effort is required to reach
our Everest. We can’t stop exercising after 10 days because we didn’t lose weight. It takes
discipline to stick to our long term goals but we have to evaluate the reasons for what we want. If
we want to live to be 100 so that we can contribute to the world, take care of our family and see
our grandchildren blossom then we need to take care of our health. In each area of life we need
to find the reasons to keep going and once we find compelling reasons for each one of our goals
discipline is automatic.
Set Goals
I have read a lot of books on leadership, management and success. The main takeaway from all
of them is you need to have goals to succeed. It is such a simple point but not everyone has taken
the time to write out their goals in all areas of our life. Once we have defined our goals we can
wake up with the enthusiasm needed to take our life to the next level. Once we achieve our main
goal it is good to pause and reflect on a job well done but we can truly be happy only when we
set even more challenging goals to keep going further. As Brian Tracy advises take a blank sheet
of paper and write down 10 goals you want to achieve. He then advises that every single day you
should start by writing down your goals without looking back to previous day. This is great
advice as just writing the goals down increases the chances for success. You may not reach all
your goals by writing them down but it gives you a much better chance at achievement. We don’t
lose anything by writing down our goals but we gain everything once we achieve them. Set
financial, personal, health, work goals and your life will go to the next level. “If you have built
castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the
foundations under them.” - Henry David Thoreau
Lead by example
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“The leader sees things through the eyes of his followers. He puts himself in their shoes and
helps them make their dreams come true. The leader does not say, “Get going!” Instead he
says, “Let’s go!” and leads the way. He does not walk behind with a whip; he is out in front
with a banner.” -Wilfred Peterson. You cannot be great without starting. First leadership
principle is to lead yourself before you lead others. There is a story of a woman going to Gandhi
and saying please advise my son to stop eating sugar and Gandhi replied bring him after 3
days. When the woman visited Gandhi after 3 days she asked “why did you ask me to come
after three days” he responded “because 3 days back I was still eating sugar.” It just goes to show
that you can’t advise other people to do something which you are not doing. Yes this is simple
but the only way to get a following is to set an example for others to follow. Set higher standards
for yourself and keep on raising the bar. Never settle for the ordinary. Excellence is a journey so
stay committed to it for a life time. The most important thing you do as a leader is to be a good
role model.
Continuous Learning
This is one of the best kept secrets of all effective leaders. Effective leaders are always looking
for opportunities to learn more, be more and achieve more. With the explosion of technology and
the rapid changes happening in the market place it is imperative for a leader to be ahead of the
curve by constantly seeking to improve and stay current. Find out the experts in your field, read
their blogs, read their books, listen to their podcasts, share what you have learned and keep on
learning. Take industry certifications in your field of expertise. Abraham Lincoln said “All I
have learned, I learned from books" and another great quote from Henry Ford who
said “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps
learning stays young.”
Courage
As Winston Churchill said “Courage is rightly considered the foremost of virtues for upon it all
others depend.” Courage is an important quality of a leader. You have to conquer your fears and
stay courageous in the face of adversity. For example Jack Welch when he took over GE made
the bold declaration “GE will only remain in businesses where they can be Number 1 or Number
2 in that market. “This is indeed a bold declaration and a great example of courage. The only
way we can develop courage is to take calculated risks and keep taking them regularly to
eventually reduce the fears that are holding us back. Jack Welch also said "If you don't have a
competitive advantage, don't compete."
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Love Life
I think if you truly want to inspire others you need to be inspired. You need to love life and once
you do that it translates into a passion for everything life offers. We all have the same 24 hours it
is what we do with it that matters. Once we love our life we actually will manage ourselves
better. I like what Benjamin Franklin said “Don’t squander time as they are the stuff life is
made of.” Yes I am not going to talk about time management separately because if you love life
and want to live it to the fullest you will automatically use your time wisely. Once you love life it
will obviously catch on with the followers and this creates a ripple effect which creates happy
followers who will in turn into great leaders themselves.
I am especially inspired by the optimism of Nelson Mandela even when he was in prison and
didn't even know whether he will ever see the freedom he desired. This is in his words (I came
across this in the book "In His Own Words Nelson Mandela") when he was in prison "I always
knew that one day I would feel once again the grass under my feet and walk in the sunshine as
a free man." This shows his high appreciation for life and his optimistic outlook.
Chapter 34– Only the Paranoid Survive
Andy Grove is credited with saying the phrase “Only the Paranoid Survive”. I happened to read
his book of the same name. It was an interesting read though it is slightly dated but had
interesting insights. The main premise is that every company/industry will experience strategic
inflection points at which they can be knocked off or use that to spur them on to further growth.
Strategic inflection points are what happen to a business when a major change takes place that
could shake up your company. It is when the balance of forces shifts from the old structure, from
the old ways of doing business and the old ways of competing to the new.
An example is what happened to Intel in mid-1980. At that time Intel’s main market was in
memory chips but the Japanese stormed the market with much better quality levels and nearly
swept Intel of its perch. Intel was competing with the Japanese producer's high quality, low
priced, mass produced parts. It is at this time that Andy Grove while with Gordon Moore
famously said he looked out of the window from his office at the Ferris wheel of the Great
America amusement park revolving in the distance and remarked “If we were kicked out and the
board hired a new CEO what would he do? The answer was he would get out of the memory
business.” He then said "Why shouldn't you and I walk out the door, come back and do it
ourselves?"
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It is amazing how a simple piece of intuition like that can change the course of business history.
This decision resulted in Intel focusing all its energies in the business of microprocessors and
they succeeded BIG TIME.
The lessons to learn are
1. Never ignore your intuition
2. Never think that your current source of income is going to last forever
3. Be prepared to change course and abandon your original cash cow
4. Always be on guard for change
5. Study your competition and take action
6. Listen to your middle managers and folks on the ground as they have the best information
7. You have to understand when a strategic inflection point is going to occur and take action
I also liked his advice on managing ones career. You are in charge of your career, so think of
yourself as a company with one employee which is you. You are your own boss and responsible
for everything that happens to your career. I think this is great advice. The only question is
whether we are going to do all we can to bring the best out of ourselves and navigate
successfully through the inevitable Strategic Inflection Points or not. I believe Andy Grove hit
the nail on the head when he said “Only the Paranoid Survive.”
Chapter 24– 30 Books that have influenced me
Some of the best books that I have read and which have had a profound impact on me are given
below.
1. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey
This is a book that covers all the important points of life. What Stephen teaches is very practical,
insightful and more importantly can be followed by anyone from any walk of life. Though I read
this book 10 years back when I again came across it recently it offered a lot more material and is
always fresh. My favorite habit is Begin with the end in mind. All the habits are based on
timeless principles and the book has stood the test of time.
2. Linchpin -Seth Godin
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It is an incredibly powerful book and it communicates that all of us have genius potential. It
really got me thinking out of the box. He also emphasizes that great artists need to ship and not
keep trying for perfection. This is surely an uplifting book. His question is "Are you
indispensable" and his plea is that everyone is an artist and has exceptional potential. The new
world demands artists producing great work. He also says to thrive in the new world order you
have to produce work that makes you indispensable.
3. Be Resilient, Motivated and Successful -No Matter What and Are you ready to Succeed-
Srikumar Rao
Srikumar Rao is a brilliant author and he doesn't just talk about motivation or positive self-talk.
In fact one of his chapters deals with the theory "Why Positive Thinking is bad for you". He
clearly articulates that you don't need anything to be happy and you can be happy right now with
whatever you have as happiness is your innate nature. This book is worth a read and
communicates the need to be resilient in spite of setbacks and not rely on the if then else model
to be happy.
4. Success through Positive Mental Attitude- W.Clement Stone and Napoleon Hill
This is an all-time classic and I found it to be a life changer. This was one of the first books I
read and it immediately got me into goal setting, taking action, bringing the best out of myself
and thinking positive thoughts most of the time. Think and Grow Rich is another book which is a
classic.
5. One Minute Manager - Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
This is a great read and one of the simplest methods for effective management. It has a set of
simple ideas which can be adopted by everyone in the management field across industries. One
of the best ideas "catch people doing things right" and "feedback is the breakfast of champions"
6. Never Eat Alone - Keith Ferrazzi
This is one of the best books on Networking. What Keith offers is practical insights on how to
build a large and effective network. Loaded with practical insights this book is a classic primer
for building effective networks and getting more out of life.
7. Talent is Overrated - Geoff Colvin
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I loved this book and the amazing insights by the author based on thorough research. It
motivated me to believe that great performance is the result of deliberate practice and the divine
spark theory of exceptional performance is not always true. Every great performer has done at
least 10,000 hours of deliberate practice before reaching the genius level. I adored this book for
the possibilities it provided and expanded my thinking horizon.
8. Good to Great - Jim Collins
This is an excellent business book. Good is the enemy of the Great. I liked the hedgehog concept
very much which can be applied to individuals and organizations. The three questions are What
can you be the best at, What are you deeply passionate about and What provides a good
economic denominator.
9. John Maxwell Books
John Maxwell is a recognized leadership expert. I have read a number of his books and some of
them include The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, 21 indispensable qualities of leaders, 25 ways
to win with people and 15 Invaluable laws of growth. His books offer clear practical insights
which can be applied and understood easily.
10. The Success Principles - Jack Canfield
This is an excellent book on every aspect of success. One good thing is this book contains all the
principles ever discovered and put in one format for reference. It has many principles and the
first one is very relevant. It says take 100% responsibility for your life and you are where you are
based on the decisions you have made earlier. You can’t control the events in your life but you
can determine the response and therein lies your power. He also gives practical tips which can be
implemented.
11. A Whole New Mind - Daniel Pink
This is an absolutely original book and the author has done a great job in helping us think out of
the box. He argues that the new world order requires more creativity and right brainers will rule
the future. His main argument is we should be able to do something that cannot be done cheaper
overseas, computers cannot do it faster and that appeals aesthetically. He explains the process
through Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning. I really enjoyed this book with
great stories and made a great impact on me. He also provides resources which are extremely
useful. One of the examples he gives is to maintain a gratitude log so write on every birthday the
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number of things you are grateful for and the number of things you are grateful for should total
the number of your years. Also maintain a daily gratitude log to be thankful daily for things that
are good in your life. Select one day a week to renew, turn off your email, cell phone and just
reenergize yourself. Picture yourself at 90 years old, look from that vantage point on what
accomplishments you have, how you have lived life and what you have contributed to make the
world a better place.
12. Drive - Daniel Pink
This is an amazing book and again Daniel Pink delivers great information with amazing
examples. He says intrinsic motivation is more important than extrinsic rewards. He talks about
carrot and sticks motivation and argues successfully for theory I of motivation. There are 3 key
discussion points on Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. At the end of the book he also provides a
tool kit for persons and organizations. Mastery involves deliberate practice and focus on working
relentlessly on your improvement areas. Also set more learning goals than performance goals.
Learning goals could be learning French while performance goal could be to get 90% in an
exam. One of the other suggestions for parents is to give your kids one day where they are free to
do anything, providing the tools they require but asking them to produce something concrete at
the end of 24 hours. In the Type I for individuals he gives an idea about describing your life in
one sentence. For example for Abraham Lincoln it is “He preserved the union and freed the
slaves”. Give yourself a performance review frequently. Ask yourself where you better off today
than you were yesterday and what you have done to move forward.
13. Built to Last - Jerry I. Porras and James C. Collins
This book is nearly 20 years old and I know there have been some arguments that some of the
visionary companies that have been mentioned in the book are no longer visionary. However I
still think the book merits a read and has some good examples that can be applied. I particularly
like the concept of setting BHAG's (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). Kennedy’s mission to the
moon was a BHAG. It has to be simple, precise and easily understandable. Your BHAG might
be to run a marathon, for organizations it could be to be number 1 or number 2 in a market. The
fact is BHAG’s puts energy into individuals and organizations alike. The main theme of the book
is to preserve the core and stimulate progress. Every visionary company had a purpose beyond
just profits and that is the key.
14. Great by Choice- Morten T. Hansen and James C. Collins
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This is again a thoroughly well researched book on what makes great companies. There are three
qualities which distinguishes what the authors call 10Xers. They are fanatic discipline, empirical
creativity and productive paranoia. I also like the 20 mile march concept which basically says
that irrespective of conditions keep moving 20 miles and successful companies had specific
goals that were just out of reach but not targeting explosive growth in short spans. The authors
share the story of the South Pole expedition by two explorers and how one team survived
because of intensive preparation and another failed because of the lack of it. The authors also
have a chapter on luck and what role it plays. There is also a chapter on SMAC recipe (Specific,
Methodical and Consistent) that all successful companies followed. One of the examples is
Southwest Airlines.
15. Steve Jobs - Walter Isaacson
This is a wonderful book on Steve Jobs. It gives a thorough analysis on the life of one of the
business icons of all time. He talks about the reality distortion field which is Steve Jobs ability to
buy other people on to his views. It also talks about his relationship with Bill Gates and has
interesting anecdotes. There are also some points on the downside of working with Steve Jobs.
Overall it is a wonderful inspiring story that will surely stand the test of time. Steve Jobs
penchant for creating wonderful products and his obsession with controlling the user experience
end to end is well chronicled. This is also a book on what it takes to build innovative companies
and has some ideas for all leaders alike.
16. Outliers - Malcom Gladwell
This is one of the best books on success ever. Gladwell provides compelling stories and
revolutionizes the whole way we view success. The 10000 hour rule became famous through this
book. He argues that there are no self-made success stories and if we dig deep we will
understand that every great person had some opportunities along their journey. I also highly
recommend his other books including The Tipping Point and David and Goliath.
17. Mastery - Robert Greene
This book goes through all the stages of Mastery. It involves short biographies as well of Mozart,
Benjamin Franklin, Da Vinci and many other modern masters as well. The author has thoroughly
researched and produced a master piece. His other books I like are 33 Strategies of War and 50th
Law.
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18. Give and Take - Adam Grant
This is a truly exceptionally revolutionary take on success. Again based on thorough research the
author argues that giving still works in the cut throat business world. With powerful examples he
proves his theory.
19. How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
No list will be complete without this influential book. The main premise is to treat people well
and have an other person mindset. It is a classic and has stood the test of time.
20. Lean In - Sheryl Sandberg
I have read this book quite a few times and it is useful for both men and women. She has advice
for career, family, work life balance and has interesting personal stories which drive home the
message. It is worth a read and pushes our thinking boundaries.
21. Start with Why – Simon Sinek
This is a powerful call to have a strong purpose in life. The best example said is Martin Luther
King gave the I have a dream speech and not I have a plan speech. This has very interesting
examples and it was an inspiring read.
22. Getting Things Done – David Allen
This is probably the best time management book ever written. It is a dry read but worth the
effort. First involves the collection of stuff which is anything you have allowed into your
psychological or physical world. Next is the processing of the stuff, and decide whether to do it,
delegate it or throw it. The next is to decide what the next action is for each of the items. The
methods do lead to stress free productivity.
23. Eat That Frog – Brian Tracy
This is a small book that can be read in 2hours but it is a gem for time management. The basic
thesis is focus and work on your most important task first thing in the morning and your
productivity will soar.
24. How the Best Leaders Lead – Brian Tracy
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This is an excellent primer on leadership. Though it is underrated, however in my opinion it is
one of the solid books on leadership. It has chapters on military strategy, communication and
marketing among others.
25. Creativity Inc. – Ed Catmull
This is an excellent book on management and creativity. Hearing directly from a leading
practitioner of innovation and storytelling is inspiring.
26. Winning – Jack Welch
This is an excellent book on management and leadership. This is plain straight talk from the best
manager of the 20th Century. There is something to learn for everyone at any level of an
organization.
27. Becoming Steve Jobs – Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli
I must admit I was skeptical since I had already read the one by Walter Isaacson. However I was
pleasantly surprised by the content of this book and the inspiration it provided. This book
showed how Steve Jobs became a great manager.
28. The Motivation Manifesto – Brendon Burchard
This was an awesome inspirational book. Every word in the book resonated on a personal front
with me. It was thoroughly motivational.
29. Eat, Move, Sleep – Tom Rath
Tom Rath is one of the best non-fiction writers of our time. This book gives nice strategies to
improve our overall wellbeing by eating right, moving daily and taking adequate sleep on a daily
basis.
30. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – Richard Carlson
Richard’s books of the Don’t sweat the small stuff series have had a profound impact on me.
Though he is no longer with us his teachings resonated with me for its simplicity. The idea is to
stay relaxed while still achieving big things.
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Conclusion
I believe all of us have the potential to become outstanding in whatever we do. If we practice
relentlessly to keep getting better in whatever we do then we have the chance of becoming great
in something we truly desire.
The only thing we need is a bigger vision for our lives. We have to believe in our potential and
do whatever is required in maximising our potential. I wish you all luck in maximising your
potential.
About the Author
Shyam Ramanathan has been working in the Quality Assurance world for over 15years, where
he has developed a breadth of knowledge and experience in Test management, Test execution,
Test Planning, Test Design, establishing global delivery teams across geographies and building
Test Center of Excellence. Experienced Leader in QA/testing services and successfully executed
many large engagements. Shyam has focused on the Insurance industry; his clients include
Fortune 500 companies. His responsibilities range from business development, project
management, program management, QA management, relationship management and partner
strategies to technical oversight and delivering creative solutions. He has also a PMP, Certified
Six Sigma Green Belt, Associate In General Insurance and Associate in Commercial
Underwriting certifications. He has run 5 half marathons and one 25k run. He is an avid blogger
and loves reading business books. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering from University of
Madras in India.
