Enigma Solution

A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow. ~ Ovid . My amiable brother Parvinder and I managed all the technical matters of our large and successful manufacturing business. We were hardworking, innovative and are still pretty good engineers. My aggressive and cocky nature made me believe I was the smartest guy around. This is what success does, it fooled me into believing my own perceived greatness. Like a small child that unashamedly makes it clear that does not want to share his or her toys, I refused to listen to my other brothers and my father on technical matters.  They too were owners and part of the management team and and extremely smart and sharp individuals. They had a right to express views and ideas and rightly felt disturbed by my arrogance and rebuked me often. Eventually things came to a head and we almost broke up as a family.  ...

I advise and assist various individuals and organisations on improving their performance and luckily I frequently achieve good results. I wonder what my students and clients would say if they learnt that some of my theories came from observing animals? We may claim that man is intellectually a more evolved creature, yet deep down we still possess many animalistic tendencies and therefore act as programmed by our survival instincts and social conditioning. Here is an example from my own life. Exceptional circumstances demand exceptional responses. Desperate people drowning in problems will reach out at anything and everything they can grasp to stop them from sinking. Not long ago I experienced a painful separation from my brothers, the loss of my business and all my savings. Getting a job was not for me. I am too independent spirited to be dictated to. Desperately I sought new opportunities and avenues for survival and revival. I pursued almost every opportunity that ca...

R ecession or boom time, employers, organisations and leaders always echo one sentiment, 'We can't get good people these days'. Good, means different things to different people. Unfortunately most leaders and employers rarely know what they themselves want. It is safe to say that employers want subservient employees who will do as told, deliver miraculous results and never give a dissenting opinion. Employers expect employees to never complain, be productive, always deliver high quality with a smile.  Typically bosses and colleagues only demand saying 'Give me, give me, …….  Give me this and give me that'. Everyone wants but no one wants to give. People resent this unilateral approach preferring rather the relationship to be bilateral. They would be delighted to hear from employers and colleagues, 'I want to do this for you and I want to give you this'. * Image by Ben Heine As social creatures most human endeavour requires ...