WOW! Cloud in the Book

A Koan to crack:

 Cloud in the book!

 

Question: What does that mean?

 

IOU - Hard Work

Buddha and his disciples begged for their food.

One day a rich man was very rough with Buddha and told him off by saying, "Aren't you ashamed that you beg? You don't believe in hard work like I do. You are lazy and depend on others for food. Tell me why I must give you something?"

Buddha replied, "I do a lot of hard work much harder than others do."

The rich man said, 'But I don't see that."

Buddha, "I work very hard to train my mind to remain empty but fully attentive. It is very hard work. Try to do it for a minute and you would realize how hard it is. I do it for 24 hours a day. Since my work involves the mind you don't see it.'

"How does that help?" the rich man asked.

Buddha reassuringly replied, "Well, when you change your inside your outside world changes. You become the master of all that you do and you can put an end to your sufferings. It is worth more than all the riches of the world that you may collect. But hard work is needed"

The rich man realized the truth and immebecame Buddha's disciple.

 

Great Indian Stories - retold

 

CL - Act Local: Feel Global!

Times have significantly changed.

A time has come when 'All thinking worthy of the name must now be ecological." -- Lewis Mumford.

We are now clear that the ecological balance of our planet is at peril and our modern way of living is no longer sustainable.

What might we do then?

a) Do something on the political front. Any positive result is very unlikely.

b) Do something to lift financially poor nations and societies out of poverty. Again positive results are very unlikely.

c) Stop wars. Not a likely thing to happen in near future.

d) Bring Nations under environmental agreement. Looks gloomy at its best!

e) Stop manufacturing plants coming up in China and India. Downright foolish idea

f) Use renewable energy. Not viable till date. As of now the cost is prohibitive.

g) Use public transport and cut down on car production. Good idea but can't be implemented. But this might hurt public and social vanity. And it might hurt companies too.

h) Change currency into something intangible. This idea is doing its rounds for quite sometime. But can envision how this is possible.

i) Reduce or check population growth. Not possible unless poverty is eradicated like small pox.

j) Do something at an individual or family level -- use less water to flush and bathe, recycle garbage, buy cars with better mileage, etc... Good idea to initiate some movement in this direction.

k) Campaign against anything obnoxious -- cutting of trees, toxic wastes in agricultural fields, killing of animals, growing crops not native to a particular place. Good idea again. But it needs a lot of leadership skills for people to voluntarily participate. Most of such campaigns have fizzled out unless backed by strong politicians (usually fighting for their personal causes) or backed by large and big corporations having vested interests who are sometimes economically more powerful than many nations. Hence unlikely! Or a Vinoba Bhave type of campaign that happens once in a century. Not very useful either. Or keep blaming others. That is a waste of time and effort since none would listen.

l) Feel what each of us can contribute from our own specific role in society constantly reminding ourselves of the question, "Within the given situation what may I do better to address the ecological issues of our times?"

This to me appears plausible under the given circumstances. It is simple indeed to ask, 'What can I do to promote both ecological balance and live in a better way as a businessman, architect, teacher, professor, engineer, worker, taxi-driver, bus-driver, designer, doctor, nurse, lawyer, prostitute, musician, student, husband, housewife, traffic policeman, employee, manager, politician or a farmer or an economist?

As soon as we ask this question or remind ourselves of it a whole new world opens up with zillion possibilities. That for me is creative leadership.

Let us take an example to examine how this might work.

I love this DIY site: Dornob. Let's see how they are answering the great question.

1. They use container pallets to design their furniture. It is basically a waste product after materials arrive at users' doors. Idea - recycling materials!

2. The pallets are then configured in various ways to create different types of furniture (modular in concept). That is you can take them off and choose to build something else or simply stack them away for some future use. Reusable!

3. The end products are not the most minimalist or fashionable works, but they show the marks of their origins and are certainly eye-catching in a raw and honest way. A good design approach without using additional materials!

4. The tables, chairs and lamps themselves are both playful and pragmatic. They use existing colors as accents rather than relying on additional paints or stains. Some use blocks while other employ slats, depending on the need. Straight lines and right angles make them look minimalist at a glance, but really just functional and easy to build on closer inspection.

5. The best part, though, is that you cannot buy their designs – these are not for sale. What is for sale, instead, are a series of instruction manuals, photo books and other related merchandise. This is not only a clever way to tap into a market of do-it-yourself customers who would rather be giving plans than a finished product, but also more sustainable (and perhaps less ironic) than simply boxing and shipping reconstituted containers that you could just as easily get locally. I love this idea!! It benefits ecology. It benefits business. It benefits local factories & warehouses. It benefits users who gets more for less.

What can I do to promote both ecological balance and live in a better way? This is the lead question one might embrace to restore  ecological balance in someway thereby prolong our existence on planet Earth and also live in a better way.

What a powerful story that would prove to be? Feel from the heart to reach and connect 6.4 millon hearts!

It is time for this Creative Leadership to take shape and form starting with every individual as a leader operating in his/her own sphere of activity/work --  Act Local. Feel Global -- What might I do to ... ?

 

CL stands for Creative Leadership.

WOW! What separates the Two

Here is another famous Zen Koan to crack:

"Knock - Knock"

Question: What separates the two?

Hint: If needed, strike a table with your knuckles to produce the 'knock-knock' effect.

IOU - Understanding the Whole

This is a famous and well known story but I don't mind repeating it with a question at the end.

Four blind men went to the zoo and visited the elephant. One blind man touched its side and said, ‘The elephant is like a wall.’ The next blind man touched its trunk and said, ‘The elephant is like a snake.’ The next blind man touched its leg and said, ‘The elephant is like a column.’ The last blind man touched its tail and said, ‘The elephant is like a broom.’ Then the four blind men started to fight, each one believing that his opinion was the right one. Each only understood the part he had touched; none of them understood the whole.

Question: How can one understand the whole?

CL - SWOT analysis of a System as a Whole

Once upon a time, there lived a stag in a dense forest. One day he went to the nearby water hole to quench his thirst. There he saw his reflection in the water and thought to himself, “I have got beautiful antlers but my legs are ugly. I can’t understand why God has given me such thin legs.”

Just then he heard a lion roaring at a short distance. The stag knew that if he stayed there, the lion would kill him. So he started running. The lion too started chasing the stag, The stag ran faster and faster and soon outdistanced the lion. But alas! All of a sudden the antlers of the stag got entangled with the overhanging branches of a tree. The stag struggled hard, but could not get his antlers free from the branches. He thought to himself, “My thin legs helped me to get away from the danger, but my antlers proved dangerous for me”. By that time the lion had reached there. He pounced upon the stag and killed him.  

 

MORAL:  SWOT Analysis must be done objectively keeping in mind the dynamics of a system that would change with time. It is the balance that we seek not the features of any part of a system in particular. The purpose of a system is what it does. It is the whole that is important. So there is a need to take a holistic view of anything.

 

Strengths:  Strength is a resource, a skill to be in tune to meet the market demands and stand firm with competitors. Systems are designed with certain intentions to produce a desired output.

 Weaknesses:  It is a limitation or deficiency of resources, skills, capabilities, potentialities, that affect effective performance. Or we can think of them as imperfections in the system that produces 'mess' during operation. These need to be identified early enough to avoid disasters.

Opportunities: One needs to grab the opportunities analyzing the positive and negative sides of the coin. A quick shift in viewpoint or perspective is needed. Multiple perspectives are welcome.

 Threat: They are like ticking time bombs which are to be diffused before they blast. These are unintended consequences that urges us to actively search them out.

 

Notes:

Indian story from Panchantrantra retold.

CL stands for Creative Leadership

WOW! -- The Cup is Full

Nan-in, a Japanese Zen master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Obviously wanting to impress the master on his knowledge on zen he kept on lecturing for an hour. The master listened intently.

The master then invited the professor to tea. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

 

What did the master mean?

 

 

IOU - The Man Who Knew Too Much!

Vivek Sharma, a young and upright officer, working for one of the premier central police organization (CPO), stood in attention as he listened to his boss --- the Inspector General of police.  Vivek was the Deputy Superintendent of police and lived with his wife and six year old son in Rohini area of Delhi.

Vivek was mediocre in studies but was very good in sports. He always wanted to join the armed forces. Unfortunately he could not make it but got a lateral entry in a CPO. He had high ideals which he had imbibed from his father and grand parents.

“I have firm belief that only you can carry out this operation, though you have to stay away from your family till the mission gets over”. The IG looked to see the reaction of Vivek. He was in cloud nine as he could not believe that he has been included in such a secret mission. Yes, I have the ability and I can do better than others, he thought. Vivek was given the choice to choose his team members.

Vivek’s first stop was at Anupgarh in Sriganganagar district (Rajasthan). He stayed there for a couple of months and as decided his next destination was Bikaner in Rajasthan.  Vivek was given the task of finding out the nexus of government officials with the narcotics cartel operating along the Indo-Pak border. Vivek was not allowed to phone back home nor was he allowed to disclose his destination. He was strictly forbidden to use his official identity and stay at government buildings.  Vivek had also a cover name “Rajiv Dubey” which he often forgot.

In the last phase of his mission at Bhakasar (bordering town of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Pakistan Sindh province) Vivek was very happy. A sense of fulfillment and achievement had been accomplished. He did his work to perfection and had collected scores of evidence. He was startled by the fact that many of his own colleagues, famous politicians both at the state and union level were hand in glove with the narcotics smugglers. Vivek was depressed.

Back in Headquarters Vivek Sharma submitted the report to his boss. It was appreciated. The zeal in Vivek’s work went missing. A constant question kept hammering inside him. Am I working for these corrupt people who are not clean in their hearts?

The next day’s morning newspaper headlines read--- “DSP, Vivek Sharma shot dead while returning from office”.

 

Sitendu De is the author of this story.

Disclaimer: All characters in this story are fictitious and their resemblence to any actual character might be a strange case of co-incidence only.

CL -- Autonomous Management?

Mahaveer Colony, Barmer, Rajasthan. Seven traditional Rajasthani carpenters toiling day and night try to match the delivery date of a sofa set. The wood has been exclusively carved matching a miniature Rajasthani painting, complete with all the floral designs. It’s ethnic and appealing though difficult to maintain but the dark tan finish adds the grandeur. This is what describes Kashida design of furniture.   

These Rajasthani carpenters have a unique work culture. If there are ten of them in a group, anyone of the ten may go to procure the order. After that all the members of the group will sit together for discussion. They will decide how the work is to be done and who will do which particular job. One of them will design, another would purchase raw materials, and then another would varnish and so on. For the next order they do not take up the same roles necessarily instead they take turns.

These artisans and workers are egalitarian in their management; they are quality conscious; they help their juniors in developing themselves by empowering;’ they work as well knit team with excellent team spirit.

Question: What possibly makes it work the way it works? What may we learn from it?

 

Note:

1. CL stands for Creative Leadership

2. This piece is contributed by Sitendu De

WOW! - Question on Enlightened Nature

Buddha said that all beings have Buddha-nature (enlightenment nature).

But Zen Master Joju said that a dog has no Buddha-nature.

Which one is right? Which one is wrong?

If you find that, you find the true way.

IOU - Aesthetics

Here is a different take on 'aesthetics'.

The more I am delving into Gregory Bateson's life and work I increasing find how his ideas were shaped in many ways by the Eastern concepts and processes. One of the symbols he used and wrote about was that of Shiva.

Shiva embodies the angle to the nature of aesthetics - It is summed up by the slogan -- Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram -- meaning -- Truth --> Shivam --> Aesthetics. The word Shivam is a bit special. It means the proper alignment of the male energy (expression) and female energy (containment) and turning on the mind (internally) that the Hindus and the Buddhists believe produces beauty (Sundaram).

Now for some fun -- the word Shiva has two parts --> 'Shi' and 'Va'. When you pronounce 'Shi' loudly you would invariably notice that the left side of your body vibrates (the female side -- connected to the right side of the brain). And then when you pronounce 'Va' loudly you would notice the vibration of the right side of the body -- connected to the left side of the brain). Well you probably get the hang of it.

Bateson's understanding of Shiva is great. As inside so outside symbolized by the famous Cosmic Dance in the form of Nataraj.

So the beauty a designer creates or the beauty of a decison any leader takes comes from the inner beauty of a designer's or a leader's mind that is the ability of achieving the 'no mind' state just before thinking. Leave it at that for the time being.

CL - Design Kata in Action!

CL - Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning through observation by linking actions to their consequences is simple and probably a natural way to learn anything. We do it all the time.

Conceptually, the idea is simple to understand. A child puts his finger into a candle flame and immediately singes his finger and feels the heat. He learns never to put his finger into an open flame. He learns this because his action and the feedback (unintended consequence of the action -- burning sensation) are very close by - almost instantaneous. However, with age he would also learn how to handle fire for useful purposes too.

If that is so, why people in industries and organizations have hard time learning? The reason appears to be obvious. Actions and feedback of consequences of the actions are separated by time and space challenging cognitive ability of a human being. Since the consequence of a person's actions might appear after a long time and may appear at a different place it then becomes unlikely for a person to connect 'actions' to their 'consequences' to make meaning and learn from his/her actions in a holistic manner.

Can't this simple yet effective method of Observation Based Experiential Learning experiences be designed & applied in industries and organizations?

Surely! The design would involve simulation of the job environment or engage people on an actual job where a skilled facilitator then links the consequences (either unintended or helpful) to the array of actions a learner is free to choose or employ. By linking the two (action and the consequences) learning takes place.

I would call this 'talent development'. Undoubtedly, such talent development within an organization not only helps the person but also helps organizations improve the 3 fundamental Ps -- Productivity, Performance and Profitability.

The video provides a demonstration of a successful Observation Based Experimental Learning experiment we designed for shop floor workers, which we found rather challenging.  The feedback of the consequences was given in their mother tongue (Bengali).

Needless to say that the learners were happy with the experience and so were their top bosses who initiated the program.

However, there seems to be three tricky issues in the design and implementation of such observation based experiential learning.

These are

1. The designer and the facilitator must be comfortable and attentive to handle the uncertainty that comes up in this process of self discovery.

2. The designer and the facilitator must have strong grounding in 'Design Thinking' and 'Systems Thinking'.

3. The facilitator must be well aware of the consequences of each action especially the unintended ones. That is a facilitator must be well versed with the possible 'failure modes' of a system under study and must also know how to provide the proper feedback in a manner understood by learners.

 

CL stands for Creative Leadership

 

 

WOW! -- Pablo Neruda

This is a poem by the Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda.

Poetry

Poetry arrived to look for me.

I don’t know,

I don’t know where it came from, from winter or river,

I don’t know how or when.

No, there weren’t voices, there weren’t words, or silence.

By Pablo Neruda

Questions: What were these? How did they come? From where did they come from?