Thoughts of a lovely dream...!!

I wonder often….

To what I belong….

This beautiful Earth …or the ubiquitous sky….

Am I an extension of the world I live in…?

Or is the world protraction of my perception….

What constitutes “ME”…?

The web of human relationships….

The dreams that float in my eyes…

The passion that drives me….

Or, are all these just manifestations of my illusion….

Is it...

That I belong to no place or to nobody….???

Questions…….which have answers??

Or they are answers…hiding in a veil of questions…

Human Story...conflict!!

The anthropological history is marked by the story of the wars, struggle........ which are the manifestations of the CONFLICT. Conflict is defined as the “expressed struggle”

between the independent parties who perceive incompatibility goals, scarce resources &

interference as impediment to achievement of their goals. Conflict always involves perceptions. The two sides may perceive their goals, resources & interference incompatible to the other. Its just not that Conflict exists only at the individual level but it is also present at the level of the nations-states.

The important part emphasized in the definition of CONFLICT is “expressed struggle”, i.e. where the parties come out in open regarding their differences of opinion & perceptions. Thus, the disturbing element in any conflict is the way the three options of way out are exercised i.e. Flight, Fight & Unite. Sometimes the conflicting sides may simply avoid the conflict i.e. may skirt the very issue of the conflict & go on denying the fact that they have difference in the perceptions. Sometimes the two sides enter into the blaming game where instead of working out the conflicting strands they start blaming each other……thus, curtailing the road ahead. From the fourth quadrant existence, the win-win position, people digress to the lower quadrants through adoption of the win-lose mindset.  

Conflict is inducted in the defensive laboratory which is characterized by the presence of 

the environment constituted by evaluative mode i.e. where people are constantly judging

& criticizing other group members. It is when people start imposing their will over the others, when they start using hidden agendas, demonstrate indifference & lack of commitment or express dominance that the CONFLICT starts brewing up……

The omnipresence of CONFLICT over time & ages has given us the legacy of the bloodiest chapters…..described by the lives lost. The story doesn’t change much when the battleground becomes the boardrooms of the organizations. The conflict within the organization can really hit it hard on the very foundations on which it is founded. The great management guru, Peter F Drucker, defined “organization” as the instrument of human ingenuity which is marked by the presence of people working together for a commonly defined vision & mission. In the conflicting environment this becomes impossible to foster…… this can very easily nail down the organization in this ever changing & competitive business environs.     

So, as Arjuna says to lord Krishna in GITA…..

“Mind is very restless, forceful & strong, o Krishna, it is more difficult to control mind then to control to control the wind”,

Organizations  too need to evolve from their present cocoon stage and spread their wings in the supportive horizons. Only when they evolve into a culture of spontaneity, empathy, equality & provisionalism, that they can survive & continue to spread the prosperity around…….      

Troubled Sea

A deep Silence.  The mighty roar & crash of sea on the rocks which flung droplets on my face as well as created a tide of emotions in my conscience broke the silence. Before I could reminisce on my feelings; another cavernous silence & space gripped me by its arms.

As I sat beside the sea, a smudged thought rattled me. Was this the mighty sea which filled my eyes endlessly breaking a silence or a potent tide of emotions & thoughts inside me, interjected by stillness of passivity? Is constraint really a badge of power or is it just debility as it is generally perceived?

What will happen to lives on terra firma if sea rebuffs the humble retreat that it has promised; each time it crashes on the hard rocks on the shore? 

Quite often, we all experience the devastation ourselves when human restraint severs into brooks of tears.  A shattered fortitude & miscellany of a being that is left after a bout of insurgence by the ceaseless glum; has been witnessed by all of us.

Life celebrates the moments of awe-inspiring human efforts to trounce victory over the omnipotent moroseness. The ripples of my thoughts bedazzle me through the incongruity between the construct of the world we have built for ourselves & the design of planet that sustains us?  Why have the beautiful intricacies of simple designs of nature construed into complexity of simplistic sketches of human societies & institutions? Who is happy & content (or do they mean the same thing) in present notion of human society?

Did we have any authority in guiding the evolution of our society or we have just been mute spectators to ticking of clock (although there would be many who would like to believe that it has been through former)?              

Commemorating Relativity of thoughts

Histories of humankind have often been marred with vicious clashes between interpretations of “TRUTH” as experienced by different people in different geographies in different times of evolution. Each war has been an attempt to wreak its own school of thought over the larger anthropological community. 

Though no victory has ensured an incessant vigor to any version held by any erstwhile or contemporary society, history still seems to be punctuated by the wars & clashes which in quieter times are remembered through glorious tales of its martyrs & heroes rather than gory memoirs of devastation & misery. Does this mean that the present blueprint of our own history itself sows the seed of future design of a world crafted by bicker & intolerance of plurality?

A vista of bygone eras & its encrypted glorious tales reveals that they have not only captured the greatest truths but also the lies. But what disturbs me as a novice in subject matter is the fact that most of these tales have not been written by the heroes themselves who fought the war. Rather, our history has either been documented by a passive viewer or is a result of passionate pursuit of someone who wants to relive the era gone by through his own perceptual prism. 

.....

A human family has for long been venerated by all divine religions & schools of thought as an institution which leads to procreation of human beings & subsequent molding of their personalities. While the cradle of responsibilities falls equally on man & woman; the anthropological evolution entrusts a pivotal role to woman. Although quite often when a woman opts for this role, she is deemed unfit or incompetent for any other concomitant role.

Societies across geographies & times have been marred in an unremitting deliberation of carving out the precincts of woman’s role beyond families. A few months back there was a big tumult in France when a female minister had to take maternity leave. Media raised the national debate on whether such high positions of imperativeness be given to women who might choose their family responsibilities over a “JOB”. The debate died sadly without any conclusions.

But what astounds me is the fact that women have faced questions on their abilities, whenever they have chosen to tread the path of a “role which has been carved out for them in human societies since the concept of family came into being”, without facts in the history corroborating the same. Examples in history are galore elucidating the female commitment to the responsibilities she has assumed either as part of an empress (having larger responsibilities of taking care of her kingdom) or as an ordinary woman who toils in the hot sun in order to secure a good future for her child & family. If Rani of Jhansi could rewrite the tales of bravery on a battlefield with her child on her back (infact she was then the leader of first war of Indian independence in year 1857), then there are ladies who fight the battle of survival (not only in physical terms but also in terms of their dreams of brighter future) on the rice fields or construction sites everyday. Many poets’ libretto have described the beauty of  female care & compassion through this picturesque portrayal of motherhood, where the towel not only shields the child from the threats but also at the same time teaches him/her the important lessons of life through mother’s journey each day.           

So, where & why does this question emanate? Is the answer in the long human history of treating women as citizens of second order? Or, is it just a chauvinist attitude of patriarchic design of human society which has still not come to terms with looking beyond the defined confines of a woman’s role in the institution of family?

Although I don’t have an answer to these questions (which I don’t feel are important enough to answer at this juncture), my thoughts are focused on whether a woman can be questioned on her abilities to carve out a successful career after break from work even without an answer to these questions.

Even as human societies have evolved into designs of greater erudition; a woman’s role whether in the formative years of her child or as a “homemaker” has not got diluted. Today too, she plays a crucial role of weaving the individual aspirations into “one” making “a family or a home” & moulds her child in his/her formative years into the kind of person he/she becomes in future.    

I think most of the doubt on a female’s abilities rests on a premise that two equally important roles cannot be handled concurrently. But, I feel the above premise stands nullified in wake of what the examples from human history (across times & geographies) edifies us.                         

 This brings me to an interesting facet which thus far has remained unquestioned & not deliberated. Does the organization in its present design have the support system to hold female aspirations of balancing her career as well as her family? We, as an organization, now need to take a deeper look into the support systems that have been built (or not built) to bear the load of female ambitions especially when she assumes the role of a “family bearer” instead of raising questions on her abilities to do the same.      

A CANDLE IN THE WIND

It was a beautiful night,

Twinkling stars formed a beautiful sight….

The stillness of night hovered around,

The challenge for its darkness was nowhere to be found…..

Just then, I saw a terrific battle,

Such was the impact that everything seemed to rattle;

But it wasn’t a battle waged by the king,

It was only a tiny candle fighting for its own being…….

The candle burned itself,

& the rays challenged the darkness far & wide;

In spite of the fact that

the candle was lonely & there was none by its side…..

The beautiful rays of illumination,

are great messages of inspiration…..

Howsoever, is frightful darkness’s sight,

Victory always comes with a zealful fight.

There are still many lessons of life to be learned,

The candle taught me as it burned;

The drops that burned & melt,

Have victory written under their belt.

The night has been conquered, the candle thought,

That was big mistake, as in a gush of wind, it was caught….

It struggled to its utmost strength, to keep itself alive,

but it knew that battle was over & end was in its sight;

The candle blew out & fell on the ground,

Smoke filled the air & darkness engulfed everything all around.

But the fragrance of the battle still is in the air,

& the memories continue to sparkle in my eye…

The battle remains as a song on my lips,

as the wind blows with burden of loss and a huge sigh!!

Good to great (Book) - Recommendation

Raphael paints wisdom, Handel sings it, Phidias carves it, Shakespeare writes it, Wren builds it, Columbus sails it, Luther preaches it, Washington arms it, Watt mechanizes it…….Ralph Emerson

Yes, the story of greatness is written time and again..and it is one amongst us..made up of bones and flesh who writes an immortal story. It takes a good man to stand for the goodness which he is made up of to become great… just as it takes the strength to survive the harshness of nature for metamorphosis of a pupa into butterfly with wings.

Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great” integrates these stories which thus far remained diffused in the gleaming autobiographies of the celebrated CEOs of the corporate history. He says, unlike what is perceived, the story of transcendation of a firm from the orbit of good to great doesn’t require a magical formula and something which only works only under “ceteris paribus”.  

Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the core of the rare and truly great companies is a corporate culture that rigorously finds and promotes disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. If the foundations of the companies are laid as such then it just takes the firm, time to continue treading on the same path that it has carved out for itself. But as mediocrity in the human world prevails in abundance, people stop and are satisfied with being good. The pages of glorified self and a few moments under the sun – this is how success is seen by all the mediocre minds

An unsung elegy of a dream….

Quite often in the stillness of night when only the darkness filled my sleepless eyes, I have witnessed the beautiful similitude of my aspirations drawn on the white canvas of my room’s ceiling. But with every dawn as the colors get filled in the sky, the similitude melts & diffuses into the mundanity of day to day life.

Every dawn asks me the same question: why do we see dreams from our own eyes & live life through the eyes of others? Why does night encourage us to be a “Dreamer” while the day desires us to be a “Conformist”?

The first thought on this dissension could be a justification of conflict that is inherent in between a thought & an action (but that purely rests on premise that every thought can’t be translated into action). 

The most disheartening facet of this has been the evidence of existent dichotomy everywhere: we, the great organizations that have been built by us to the concept of independent nations.  We, as humans, have witnessed glorious tales of sacrifices made by heroes & their armies. But every freedom has given rise to nations which have come into existence through different (or probably the same) interpretations of the existent rules & have renamed “Slaves” of the erstwhile societies as “Citizens” of the new nation. Not without saying, I do appreciate the difference of human existence without rights & with some rights. But what disturbs me is the fact I am being ruled over by constitution of a sovereign nation (which was vision & interpretation of a society that existed six decades back) which in turn challenges the sovereignty of me as an individual. So, do we create institutions which bring only notional change into lives of people who not only are part of “US” but also constitute “US”?

As the dream melts with the dawn, a question too bamboozles me. Why do we construct an institution where a herd of mediocrity is supposed to be led by excellence of one person? Why is the world conceptualized by a dreamer & built by conformists? And what do we want our institutions to be – a herd of conformists or a group of dreamers? Why can’t institutions imbibe more brilliance than aspirations of one man, one rule or one identity?

With advent of globalization which was founded on philosophy of bringing homogeneity across human societies spread in different geographies, the concept of nations has slightly faded. But it has seen a growth of colossal organization whose spread has been guided by the size of economies rather than of human societies.

Organization as a concept is intriguing in the way it defines its “Citizens” or “Employees”, as they are commonly referred to. As the business evolved from satisfying the needs (which are basic to sustaining a human existence in this biosphere) to creating needs; the silhouette of corporate citizen has also developed from a vague concept into a discrete one.

Although organizations function in a dynamic business environment, they instill uniformity not only in their process & products; but also in their employee behavior.  

While uniformity in processes & products enhances quality & reduces cost (thereby increasing the end user satisfaction), inculcating consistent employee behavior destroys the diversity which is mandated to cater to the unique & different demands of consumers.

But may be in the present design of globalised world where people are not segregated on the basis of nationality rather on basis of their disposable incomes & demands, organizations have placed themselves astutely.  Each organization tries to identify homogeneous pockets existent within the piebald human population. And thus, the success of an organization becomes directly correlated to the precision in identification of homogenous pocket by it. Nevertheless, does this strategy warrant demanding a consistent employee behavior too?

Behavior is a function of personal values, attributes, experiences, observations, knowledge etc. but employee behavior is seen as a function of organizational values & culture (which is again a function of well defined variables). Employee behavior steers the DNA of workforce that is built in the organization over a period of time (as people who can’t match the set of defined criteria leave or else get chunked by the organization). But isn’t consistent employee behavior a specious aspiration given the fact that human behavior is inconsistent by nature (infact the behavior of an individual too varies). Why then organizations aim for unswerving behavior in their leaders who lead in different times, societies, cultures & geographies?

Human brain thinks through recognition of pattern & the world built by is subsequence of it which is why there is no space for disruptiveness & chaos of a dream; only order & pragmatism of conformist is accommodated & accepted. Infact, right from birth humans are conditioned to be a conformist; live by the set rules of family, religion, education etc. Observing trends has been the way of handling ambiguity of future. Quite often the order in the chaos is felt due to the basic premise of human thinking that there is an order in every dynamism too, which means that if the premise itself is abandoned the chaos can be felt & recognized in its true sense.

The years gone by are a testimony to the fact that none of institutions built by humans, right from tyranny of  kingdoms to sovereignty of nations, have been able to empower the uniqueness of human societies. Will the organizations too fade into history as a failed attempt to recognize patterns which doesn’t exist?

A human brainchild called genetic science is making the world believe that all of us are unique in our construct (physically, mentally as well as emotionally). But will this undercurrent sustain & revolutionize the anthropological evolution in coming years or will it die under the might of institutions which have conquered the humans today? Is the current fad of “Consumer is the king” an attempt of the organizations to just define their homogeneous pocket with greater precision (which would ensure success through tailor made products & consequently workforce) or is it translation of the realization of the existent truth of human plurality?  

I wait for another sunset…when empty eyes would be filled with another dream of mayhem & give another perspective of my truth, truth of my world. But, why has the quest of order (which emanates of human limitations of thought) made us forget the exquisiteness of truth of our universe & its inherent design?