Tip of the day – Size does matter.

A right sized ego, a big heart and a small step in the right direction is all it takes to be on your way to success.

Tip of the day – Short-term fence-sitting is fine…

There’s a saying that the grass is always greener on the other side. The connotation of the saying is that this is an illusion. Meaning, the other side appears green when you look at it from where you are but if you were to get there, perhaps, looking at where you now are might be greener.

So what’s new? Everyone obviously knows this already!

The catch is - if everyone, now and in the history of humankind, had taken this saying to heart and at face value, the world would have stayed still. It is the weakness of the resolve to stay put and the strength of the mind to experiment and discover the new and unknown that has fuelled progress. However, there have been many instances of experimentation that has resulted in a step backward or progress with negative consequences.

This, finally, brings me to fence-sitting.

Imagine sitting on a high fence, not the barbed wire kind, with an aerial and panoramic view of both sides of the picture to be able to make a considered decision. If you stick around there forever, procrastinating the making of a decision in search of a sign from up above, well, that is long-term fence-sitting. That is the worst course you could take and the last thing I recommend. However, if you spend just enough time on the fence to get a view and understand the nuances of both sides of an equation, you are likely to be making the right decision. That is short-term fence-sitting and that is highly recommended!

Tip of the day – You cannot make a wrong decision!

We have all mulled over the wrong decisions we have made at some point in the past or the other. Especially when things have not panned out the way we had planned or desired. Haven’t we?

Well. There is nothing called a wrong decision. If there were something like a wrong decision, no one would make it, see? When we find that a decision was wrong, the symptom is the obvious – not attaining the outcome. The diagnosis, however, is that of a wrong decision. And that is incorrect. To see why, we need to understand the anatomy of a decision.

Decisions are based on facts and a hypothesis of what would work towards realization of the desired outcome. Lack of availability of all facts and the lack of soundness of the hypothesis are the only ingredients that contribute to the failure of any decision. However, it is often not practical in life to wait till we have all the facts and hypothesis straightened out before making decision. Hence we take chances on the pieces of the puzzle that are missing by making assumptions on what they could be. If these assumptions are all right, the decision is vindicated. Else, not!

When, at a later point in time, we do have all the facts and have a proven hypothesis to a desired outcome, we end up sitting in judgment over decisions made in the past. And hence the notion of a wrong decision!

Every decision is right at the point in time when it is made. It is also true that not all decisions stand the test of time.

Tidbits – Who am I?

Ever wondered what you refer to as ‘I’?

What you see in the mirror is your image. It is your body, your heart, your brain, your mind, your thoughts, your vision, your soul, your beliefs, your senses…

 If all of these ‘are yours’, then what is ‘I’?

It is in the state of being that ‘I’ can be found, it is the ‘I am’ that defines the ‘I'...

Tip of the day – If you are serious, do not swim across the tide.

You may have it sailing smooth or you could be roughing it out. You may experience accelerated progress because of the elements being with and behind you, or you could be overcoming numerous obstacles on the way. Either way, if you are in serious pursuit of a goal, you ought to be swimming with the tide or against the tide, and you would get there eventually. Swimming across the tide is like pursuing a moving target. Do so and you would meander through life. You would get somewhere for sure because you still have the ability to swim, but you are unlikely to reach the goal you started out with.

Tidbits - THE IMPORTANCE OF GREY

The first and most important step towards building consensus in a multi-party scenario is to establish the presence of grey. If the view remains binary till a decision is to be made, the only way to decide would be to have the majority prevail if the process is to be kept democratic. That is, often, the worst outcome in a multi-party discussion or negotiation since all parties in the minority have been provided infinitely more time to prove the decision wrong, and that too at the time of carrying out the action following the decision!

Tip of the day – What makes an idea tick?

It is often, not the novelty of an idea that determines the success of its implementation, but the perseverance to stay the course with the simple and obvious ones, that do.

Also often, most people let go of the simple ideas believing that if it is so obvious, obviously hundreds of folks would have put it into action anyway or there must be a catch somewhere, whereas it is the toil and rigor needed to implement it that the light-hearted had passed it up for.

Tidbits - Point of view and Ownership 

A point of view sans ownership will at best, only be heard. Adoption would be the prerogative of the receiver or audience. A point of view with ownership can drive decision-making and accelerate adoption.

Tidbits - Reflection.

Not for no reason does reflection have its two meanings – image, and contemplation or thoughtful consideration. The image you have, of everything from yourself to the people, society, nature, environment that you live in, changes with contemplation and thoughtful consideration.

Tip of the day - When time tells...

Time will tell. No doubt it will. Don’t wait till it does because when time tells, it really is telling.

Tip of the day - You become who you live with

Surround yourself with smart folks and that is what you become; surround yourself with fools and that is what you become; if you live amidst mediocrity, you become mediocre.

Where you can choose, make the right choices; where you can’t, present the choices to the folks around you and persuade them to make the right choices. The world would be a better place! 

Tip of the day - Preach before you practice

I am not recommending that you always preach before you practice. By all means, if you can, always practice before you preach. But if you are fairly sure about what you are preaching but do not practice it for various reasons, do not hesitate to share your thoughts and beliefs. Whether the receiver puts the message into practice or otherwise, has a factor of acceptance, experience, wisdom, observation, experimentation, inference etc at play before the decision to put words into practice.

So why hold back, go right ahead and preach, as long as you believe in what you preach, whether you practice or not!