Tag: Responsibility

Life doesn’t come with an ‘ Instruction Manual ‘

 

Nor does the human brain. Or kids. Or how to deal with success. Or cope with failure. Nothing off the shelf here. You will not find an instruction manual on ‘How To Cope With A Debilitating Worldwide Pandemic ” on any book store shelf or on Amazon.

 

Any system with all the leverage at its command, cannot lead itself. So, no point in being a silent follower.

 

Yes, there are things that come with instruction manuals. For eg., a screenplay is really an instruction manual, and it can be interpreted in any number of ways. The casting, the choice of location, the costumes and make-up, the actors’ reading of a line or emphasis of a word, the choice of lens and the pace of the cutting, the background score, the advertising and promotion – these are all part of the translation.

 

That being said, the paradox is baffling. The machines and gadgets that have made our lives so much brighter, quicker, longer and healthier is that they cannot teach us how to make the best use of them; the information revolution came without an instruction manual .

 

So, what are we getting at here? Certainly not jumping out of a plane and then trying to assemble the parachute(if you have one) on the way down.

 

A worldwide calamity is not marginalising anyone or focusing more on someone. It’s even stevens for all stakeholders. How we respond and react is completely up to us, all of us, any of us, without any distinction. We can see that crisis as a possibility to take responsibility, to lead, be proactive, be generous, to help, to heal, to understand and look ahead towards a better tomorrow.

Why should it be the remit of only the frontline workers or doctors or nurses to be in the firing line? Some of us are better than the one of us.  And all of us are certainly much much much better than the some of us.

 

The Power of Now as Eckhart Tolle puts it is a great catalyst. Whether it is the climate war that all of us have to wage starting the day before yesterday or a looming food security crisis that we need to anticipate and prepare to blunt, it has to be all hands on deck. There are no instruction manuals on taking responsibility, being proactive, offering generosity and creating a culture of doing good.

 

In a ‘ business as unusual ‘ zeitgeist, pretending that it is business as usual will be a selfish pursuit. When situations like the one we talked about above are evenly distributed without any discrimination, collective survival and flourishing weighs far above the tyranny of individual profit.

 

It is a wonderful opportunity for all us. To lead, to care, to make the change.

 

Life is an equal opportunity employer. Time to take charge.

 

ENDS

React or Respond? Thermometer or Thermostat?

 

Thermometer: an instrument for measuring and indicating temperature, typically one consisting of a narrow, hermetically sealed glass tube marked with graduations and having at one end a bulb containing mercury or alcohol which extends along the tube as it expands.

 

Thermostat: a device that automatically regulates temperature, or that activates a device when the temperature reaches a certain point.

 

No, we are not here to debate the functions and benefits of these devices. Rather, we want to look at the inference we can draw from both.

 

A thermometer is limited by the fact that it has only one function- that it reacts to the environment. We have used it many a times when someone in the family is sick and it is the go to device for measuring the temperature. The learning here is that a lot of us are like the thermometer, conditioned and restricted by beliefs, people, situation, leading limited lives in the bargain. Reacting in a constrained way to the environment.

 

On the other hand, let’s look at the thermostat. What it does is it gauges the environment and conditions the environment to react to it. If a thermostat notices that a room is too cold or too hot, it changes the environment to fit the ideal for which it is set. We do encounter internal and external attempts at putting constraints on us, which is when we can respond like the thermostat to reject those limiting beliefs and create an environment that aligns with your most ambitious goals.

 

Our attitude precedes the outcomes we desire. Have a reason before you expect a result.

 

All of us know about the oft used adage ” With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility “. Now turn that on its head and make it ” With Great Responsibility Comes Great Power “.

 

To quote Jim Kwik ” If you fight for your limitations you get to keep them. Drop excuses. You can’t get upset by the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do. Accept responsibility for your thoughts & actions.

 

The worst place to be, more terrible than Auschwitz, Nazi Germany’s largest concentration camp and extermination camp, is to be a prisoner in our own mind.

 

ENDS

 

 

Making up for the folks who don’t!

 

All around us we experience this on a daily basis.

 

If you are a member of a team or community, and given certain goals and responsibilities, you would feel dejected because you feel that others are not bringing their fair share to the table.

 

It could be a splitting a bill at a restaurant or delivering on their promised part of the bargain or doing something to change the culture or create community impact. It could be taking initiative or appropriate responsibility at work. The reasons could be many- one could be that they are selfish but that being said , it is also likely that there is a distinct lack of skill or resources or a feeling of inadequacy that they have.

 

So, the arithmetic is simple- many people do far less than what they should. As long as we are calibrated for that, and prepared to bring more than our fair share to the table, your goal of making things better stands a good chance. Because, we MUST make up for all those don’t.

 

ENDS

How about a New School Of Taught?

 

The education industrial complex pays little or no heed to Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence. The theory claims that human beings have different ways in which they process data, each being independent. Gardner’s theory argues that students will be better served by a broader vision of education, wherein teachers use different methodologies, exercises and activities to reach all students, not just those who excel at linguistic and logical intelligence.

 

Because humans excel in different areas, Gardner’s multiple intelligences’ theory can provide students with a better understanding of how they learn. When students are able to identify which type of multiple intelligence they use to learn material, they can adapt the information to their learning (Bilash, 2009).

 

“What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning.” —Chuck Grassley.

 

10 is the new 20; 20 is the new 40. Age is an obsolete default.

 

The predominant rote method of learning | teaching is actually a signal that you could do just enough work to persuade an overwhelmed teacher that you were compliant.

The opportunity going forward remains the same: Bringing insight and guts to interesting problems.

 

There is a high possibility that you get ahead in life for years and years because you got dealt good cards. But, very soon you realise that in the real world, attitude and effort, taking initiative and responsibility, showing up and shipping out consistently are what lands you a senior VP role, or a Broadway part or a Nobel Prize. Because these are the people who have put in the hard yards, showed up, understood, cared, and remained open to new experiences.

 

We live in a culture, unfortunately, that is highly biased towards connections and charisma.

 

What if we wear a different hat? Start celebrating the students who work the hardest, help others the most, lead by example, explore possibilities? Sending out clear signals to those on the sidelines that if you are willing to do all of that, you will be celebrated as well. Grades, marks, shiny trophies can wait!

 

If education is life itself, then we be better prepared. Or, we prepare better!

 

As I conclude I lead you to an article from BrandKnew on This high school that is designed for the jobs of the future.

 

ENDS

The Status Quo trap!

There is no place more comforting than the domicile called ‘ status quo ‘. As is, where is, comforted by impasse, numbed by inaction, distanced from initiative and delinked from responsibility.

 

Status quo is very powerful, way more than we can imagine. And left to our own devices, many of us would fail to go where we hope to.

 

The one place that defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status is ‘ bureaucracy ‘.

 

But, the riskiest thing we can do is just maintain the status quo. Ronald Reagan once quoted ” Status quo, you know, is Latin for ‘the mess we’re in ”.

 

 

Change doesn’t always mean progress, but the status quo isn’t always the best result either. It is merely the most convenient. And in the modern, scalable industrial complex, convenience is the quilt that blankets logical reasoning, initiative and taking that leap of faith.

 

Faith can be made a willing accomplice. And self belief a reassuring ally. Progress and forward motion happens when individuals and organizations decide to adopt a posture of possibility. When they take the leap.

 

Are we enabling not just ourselves but others too to embrace possibility?

 

It may be useful to give this blog post on ISD Global the once over!

 

ENDS

Is Advertising is really bad at being kind?

Walking a tightrope. On delicate ice.

Purposeful provocation is the idea. A warm cozy hug or a splash of cold water on your face. A salve or a wake up call. Both are responsibilities.

Responsibility in advertising requires that all stakeholders honor their obligations to one another. Advertising over the years has evolved beyond just focusing on grabbing consumer’s attention by catchy jingles, videos and packaging to a more refined medium with a certain sort of narrative. And while it’s still criticized for a lot of the ills that comprise the more negative aspects of modern consumerism, there is little doubt about its ability to deliver complex, far-reaching messages and forming an instant connect with the psyche.

An interesting look at advertising and the humanistic approach can be had from this article in BrandKnew

 

The Privilege of Working With Your Mind..

As they say ” The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven“.

 

Back in the day and throughout history, most people have had to do backbreaking labour, just to sustain themselves, with no hope of thriving. The perennial, relentless quest to move from day to day, meal to meal, to survive.

 

Today( and we are fortunate), we get to exercise our creative gifts, solve problems, and create value that none of our ancestors would have imagined(let alone a large percentage of the world’s population today).

 

As adults, we spend a lot of time talking about all the things we have to do:

 

You have to wake up early for work.

 

You have to make that sales call.

 

You have to prepare dinner for the family.

 

You have to go to your daughter’s dance show.

 

You have to work out today.

 

You have to write an article.

 

Now, imagine changing just one word in all of the sentences above.

 

You get to wake up early for work.

 

You get to make that sales call.

 

You get to prepare dinner for the family.

 

You get to go to your daughter’s dance show.

 

You get to work out today.

 

You get to write an article.

 

It’s important to remind oneself that the things we get to do each day are not burdens, but opportunities.

 

So often, the things we actually view as work are actually the reward.

 

Mind you, if you are reading this, you are among the top miniscule percent of a percent of people who have ever lived in terms of opportunity and wealth.

 

So, what are you getting to do? Game | Mind(set) | Match!!

 

ENDS

 

 

A Sorry Tale!

Sorry comes in two variants. Choice architecture anyone?

 

And often times, we ‘ miss the wood for the trees ‘.

 

” I am sorry your dog died ” does not mean that you killed the dog. Not at all.

 

” I am sorry I tripped you ” does mean that you tripped some one.

 

In creating connection and trying to make amends, we often get confused by the two kinds of sorry, and hence don’t apologize because we think that the problem wasn’t our fault.

 

” The homepage of our relationship cannot be currently displayed because of a server error. Can we please click on the refresh button and start all over again? I am sorry “.

 

Sorry doesn’t take things back, but it pushes things forward. It bridges the gap. Sorry is a sacrament. It’s an offering. A gift.

 

One of the hardest things you may ever have to do in life is to deliver an apology. A true and sincere apology offers real regret and remorse for our actions, and carries a promise that we won’t do it again. It means acknowledging our faults, taking responsibility for the things we have done wrong, and opens a dialogue between two people. An apology, when correctly given and sincerely meant, can create deeper and more trusting relationships.

 

An apology is a good way to have the last word. And the first to move things forward. And make a relationship last.

 

The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway–Henry Boye

 

ENDS

Responsibility bias

Every right has its responsibilities. 
People who do things without being told draw the most wages. Yes!
 
Responsibility is proportional to opportunity.
 
“I’ve got this,” is a phrase that some people will go out of their way to avoid saying. 
 
At work, where it’s incredibly valuable, or in personal relationships, where it creates deep connection.
 
What is your responsibility preference?
 
When things go wrong, is your instinct to hide in a corner and hope you won’t get noticed – or to lean into the situation and make it clear that this one is on you?
 
Like our control preference, responsibility is a learned skill. 
 
You might be born with an instinct for it, but mostly it’s something we’re taught or choose to learn.
 
There is work to be done. Responsibilities to be met.
 
A bias toward taking responsibility is one of the most important things to look for when hiring an employee, finding a doctor, appointing a CEO, building a team or making that next dent in the universe.
Humanity needs the ability of every woman and man.
We are not put here on earth to play around. Out of responsibility comes possibility.
And we can all be possibilitarians!