Enigma Solution

 "I have a problem", that is how many people often approach colleagues and bosses. We humans are fascinated by the problems of others because our basic instincts to both protect ourselves and see if we can benefit from 'the problem'. So we inevitably ask 'What is the problem?' Socially and politically asking more about the problem may not be a bad thing, but for a boss or colleague it can be very bad. Let me explain. 'What is the problem?' is an open ended question. As a result the pace, content, length and duration of the conversation is decided by the complainer, i.e. the person with the perceived 'problem'. If unchecked the complainer will rarely be brief. He or she will come to the point only after a lot of moaning and groaning, consuming a rather significant amount of the listeners patience, energy and time.  This is exactly what the complainer seeks to achieve by their droning on. To get us to accept, that there is a problem and since we ...

We humans are constantly chasing something or the other, endeavouring to achieve goals. It is just our nature. Yet many, fail most of the time, in the bargain paying a huge price in resources, time and well being. Success is achieving what one set out to achieve, and therein lies the problem. We are in such a hurry to achieve success that most of us are unclear about what exactly we are pursuing. While our self confidence may be high, our goals are usually fuzzy. To achieve success one has to consider the endeavour as a journey. And like all journeys, we need to know the starting point and the destination. We need to know how we will make that journey, the route to achieving the objectives. Finally we need to know what we will need in terms of equipment, resources, skills, knowledge, networks etc. and how we will get them. Too eager for action, supremely confident of ourselves most individuals and organisations not only fail to plan they rarely address the fundamental questions. Where...

 Experience and knowledge which usually comes with age and tells us what has happened. So we form strong opinions on what works and what does not, what is good or what is bad. We become fixed in our mind and we rigidly assume what happened in the past will happen in the future.  In a sense we believe we have arrived at that intellectual destination where we smugly feel that we need little or no new learning. Almost impossible for adults to imagine a future much different from the past and the present. This is the exact opposite of the inherent childlike trait we all possess. A child is intensely curious, full of ideas,  fantasies and dreams.  The wise say 'Imagination is more powerful than knowledge'. While our knowledge is limited, our imagination can be infinite.  The young imagine more and thus have dreams so fantastic that the old cannot even begin to comprehend.  Where the mind goes so the body easily follows provided there is passion and sincerity. ...

  It is in the human nature for us to seek success, happiness and love. In this endeavour we live, work and play, constantly interacting with our fellow beings and our environment.  Every interaction, triggers within us, some physical, intellectual and emotional reaction. This we commonly term as experience. If we merely register and do not learn, transform or evolve, from the interactions and the reactions, then we can only call them incidents, not experiences. Our reactions represent the lowest level of human intelligence, whereas our responses indicate the level of our intelligence. What then is the difference?  A reaction is immediate and originates from our animal instincts of fight or flight. Whereas a response comes from the measured and timely application of the mind with awareness. This is why the first prayer of a seeker is to develop an awakened mind. Materially speaking if we do not do anything, then there is nothing to be aware of. So the most experienced peo...

There is so much beauty, and wonder in the universe, but it seems, we spend most of our lives, wondering, 'What is wrong with the world?' Nothing and yet everything. Nothing is wrong with Nature and Creation, its exquisite and unfathomable. So what we do not understand, we condemn. Humankind, now that is a completely different matter, for here, everything seems to be wrong. Which leads us to the question, 'What is the root cause of all that is wrong?' The 'will to power', the desperate and insatiable desire to dominate all that we humans set our eyes on or even conceive, is the root cause of human suffering. With time the methods and approach to acquiring power and dominating has changed and  grown more sophisticated. However two fundamental approaches remain unchanged, wealth and force. Both are transient, and temporary, but that has never stopped the human animal from relying on them. Unfortunately other great human qualities of friendship, compa...

"The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success." ~  Adolf Hitler Hitler managed to use democracy to gain absolute control of Germany and its people. in the name of 'German Workers Socialist party.' abbreviated to 'NAZI' in German. Starting with a Nazi party membership of just just 6% of the population,  Hitler was able to brainwash and convert majority of Germany to his ideology and cause. Learning from Colonialists and Hitler, the great masters of brainwashing are, the ideologically driven Socialists and Communists . They manipulate fanatical religious groups, and get financed by power seeking legitimate and illegitimate business groups. They infiltrate and take c...

Work never ends, especially if you are looking for it. There is always something new to be planned, and executed, or something that needs to be attended to. Such people who are obsessed with work are known as workaholics. If one is focussed, result oriented and fortunate, success is bound to come. The danger is workaholics become magnets for more work and challenges, especially if one commands  necessary resources and authority. The danger for workaholics is that they grown distant from family, friends, and even they themselves. When one is young, one possesses boundless energy and enthusiasm and one can cope with this pleasing burden. However with passage, of time one can easily get overwhelmed, as I was. To cope, workaholics recruit more people into the team. Instead of productivity and output improving, it actually decreases. This is because new recruits learn quickly that 'upward delegation' can free them from much work and responsibility. This is not on...

Failing to plan, is planning to fail. This article is a sequel to an earlier article  Sir, we might have a problem As owner and head of my own manufacturing organisation, initially I had to face numerous embarrassments because of failed commitments to customers. Commitments made by me or members of my team. We all face this problem. Colleagues, subordinates or even we ourselves fail to deliver on commitments. Monday comes and goes and then another Monday passes by as we fail to deliver. We land up with muck on our face and our reputations. We lose both our money and our sanity along with our reputation. Failure often occurs due to bad or no planning. Here is an approach that I adopted and it worked very well. It seems that one of the most difficult thing for most people is to sit down, think, focus and plan out things in detail. Thinking, analysing, planning are the bane of most humans because, it is intellectually demanding and can be exhausting. Rarel...

Those who do not think outside the box are easily contained - Nicolas Manetta Image by Ben Heine Those who are in power always seek to maintain the status quo. They resent surprises and therefore frown upon change. The stronger they are, the greater the focus to keep organisations and systems rigid. Society, organisations and departments are akin to boxes. The people who are in power  or lead want things within their boxes stable and therefore rigid. Leave alone action,  even a new thought or idea is usually frowned upon. However in a rapidly changing, constantly evolving world, failure to innovate and improve can be harmful if not fatal. Thought always precedes action, so, it has become fashionable to tell people to think outside the box.  While improvements and innovation can be great, if not evaluated and managed properly, will result in chaos and resulting change may actually take the organisation backwards. Unstable systems or organi...

Henry Ford the American legend, was obsessed with being the only shareholder and manager of his company.  Ford carefully analysed the work and its flow and broke up the tasks into the smallest possible elements so that tasks could be performed without application of mind or spirit repeatedly by faceless and nameless workers. Henry Ford designed his operations so that workers were completely dispensable and easily replaceable by any other able bodied worker. This approach inhumane as it may appear, gave the brilliant Henry Ford, tremendous improvements in productivity and savings in cost, helping Ford to leave his competitors a long way behind. Initial success was phenomenal. In early 1920’s Ford motor company’s share of American automotive market was an eye popping 75%. This approach soon thereafter became a norm in all industries. (This is why majority of trade union activities focussed more on work conditions than only on increase in wages.) Henry Ford was obsessed with be...

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...