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** Working smartly starts with planning and thinking ahead. A career for many people is something that happens almost by default. This is because the motivations, objectives and therefore the plan for their career are not very clear as also keep changing a lot. Although flexibility is required given the constantly changing environment and context, some basic goal posts cannot shift all the time. One of the most effective inputs I have ever received about career planning is to look at it in a modular manner.
** The shop owner grabbed the phone and told the receptionist a simple and eternal truth which is hardly ever taught in any institute. He said: “Call the manager. If we don’t stand in the heat and dust to sell your products, you will not be able to conduct any meeting at all in the air conditioned rooms”. Needless to say, the sales manager was called and the matter resolved.
** Critical thinking: This is the skill to be able to think about any situation or context in an objective and independent manner without being influenced by how it is being presented, who presents it, etc. Again, it’s an important skill to become great leaders as anyone would not like to follow someone who is easily influenced by others.
** At this juncture it is natural for you to wonder about talent and what is the correlation between talent and expertise. Talent is an innate orientation and aptitude to any particular thing. When talent is applied to practise, especially conscious and repeated practise it becomes expertise. Else, the talent becomes wasted.
** Most leaders are unique. They have their own style and way of doing things. This is in fact a part of the charisma that any leader develops. Nowadays, because of the explosion of information these traits and styles are written about and in many cases touted as a guaranteed way to succeed. No doubt that some of these behavioural patterns are worth emulating and will help anyone become effective and efficient. But will reading about other successful people and blindly copying them guarantee success? Definitely not.
** This is because successful people have a formula, but there is nothing called as a universal success formula.
** The most common thing for people is to confuse an urgent thing as being important and rush to get it done. This might not be the case and therefore that person is investing time, effort and maybe even money in the wrong thing.
** I often use the phrase “How is it relevant?” and some of my friends even tease me that my pseudonym is “How is it relevant”. I use this phrase very often not because it is a mannerism but to help focus my mind with regard to the situation and the emotional and subconscious response that invariably is ready to burst forth. This perspective of looking at the relevance of any situation helps redefine the situation and put it in the proper context.
** Slowly the focus is on managing the unknown future, usually through a monetary cushion. This is the crux of the issue. We fear the unknown! In fact that’s the single biggest reason why death inspires so much of discomfort and fear. One does not know for sure what lies on the other side.
** Next is the importance of perseverance. Nothing happens overnight. Take for example the wheel of life. Just because you do that exercise does not mean that everything will become balanced immediately. It will take time and repeated efforts to start seeing significant changes and results. So, the question is how will one remain motivated enough to persevere? Either they can be motivated by their personal goal or they can look for motivations in small wins.
"Out of Syllabus" is available online at
- Paperback version - Flipkart
- Kindle eBook version - Amazon
- iTunes download - iTunes - Books
Click here to join the "Out of Syllabus" group on Facebook
** Working smartly starts with planning and thinking ahead. A career for many people is something that happens almost by default. This is because the motivations, objectives and therefore the plan for their career are not very clear as also keep changing a lot. Although flexibility is required given the constantly changing environment and context, some basic goal posts cannot shift all the time. One of the most effective inputs I have ever received about career planning is to look at it in a modular manner.
** The shop owner grabbed the phone and told the receptionist a simple and eternal truth which is hardly ever taught in any institute. He said: “Call the manager. If we don’t stand in the heat and dust to sell your products, you will not be able to conduct any meeting at all in the air conditioned rooms”. Needless to say, the sales manager was called and the matter resolved.
** Critical thinking: This is the skill to be able to think about any situation or context in an objective and independent manner without being influenced by how it is being presented, who presents it, etc. Again, it’s an important skill to become great leaders as anyone would not like to follow someone who is easily influenced by others.
** At this juncture it is natural for you to wonder about talent and what is the correlation between talent and expertise. Talent is an innate orientation and aptitude to any particular thing. When talent is applied to practise, especially conscious and repeated practise it becomes expertise. Else, the talent becomes wasted.
** Most leaders are unique. They have their own style and way of doing things. This is in fact a part of the charisma that any leader develops. Nowadays, because of the explosion of information these traits and styles are written about and in many cases touted as a guaranteed way to succeed. No doubt that some of these behavioural patterns are worth emulating and will help anyone become effective and efficient. But will reading about other successful people and blindly copying them guarantee success? Definitely not.
** This is because successful people have a formula, but there is nothing called as a universal success formula.
** The most common thing for people is to confuse an urgent thing as being important and rush to get it done. This might not be the case and therefore that person is investing time, effort and maybe even money in the wrong thing.
** I often use the phrase “How is it relevant?” and some of my friends even tease me that my pseudonym is “How is it relevant”. I use this phrase very often not because it is a mannerism but to help focus my mind with regard to the situation and the emotional and subconscious response that invariably is ready to burst forth. This perspective of looking at the relevance of any situation helps redefine the situation and put it in the proper context.
** Slowly the focus is on managing the unknown future, usually through a monetary cushion. This is the crux of the issue. We fear the unknown! In fact that’s the single biggest reason why death inspires so much of discomfort and fear. One does not know for sure what lies on the other side.
** Next is the importance of perseverance. Nothing happens overnight. Take for example the wheel of life. Just because you do that exercise does not mean that everything will become balanced immediately. It will take time and repeated efforts to start seeing significant changes and results. So, the question is how will one remain motivated enough to persevere? Either they can be motivated by their personal goal or they can look for motivations in small wins.
"Out of Syllabus" is available online at
- Paperback version - Flipkart
- Kindle eBook version - Amazon
- iTunes download - iTunes - Books
Click here to join the "Out of Syllabus" group on Facebook