The Art of Doing Nothing

Our PM Mr. Narendra Modi is workaholic. He never took vacation during his tenure as CM of Gujarat. He is driving all crazy in Delhi by his super aggressive working style. 

He is getting praised from all over the world. 

This action begets praise culture is making us action oriented 24 X 7.

When we are not doing anything we are considered lazy.  We always want to do something so much so that many of my friends tells me they get bore on Sunday. 

I think in school we all wanted that extra holiday and now when we have grown up we don't know what to do with our holidays and free time.

I think workaholic means running away from the self.  When we always want to engage with doing external things we are infact do not know how to live with the self. 

People don't like their holidays, vacation or free time is infact a problem with our society. Today there is an article in Mint about Great Rajni Kothari a political economist. Author says he believed that no one should pay price for the progress. This is referred as environment ,villages & villagers need not pay price for the progress. I would add even no generation should pay price for the progress.

We should no over work and in the process kill ourselves in the name of progress and development. I think we are doing for future generation is just a myth ; be it economic development or be it independence freedom fight. Every generation do and act for their own benefit. Benefit to next generation is just a by product.  

Point is we all need to PAUSE and reflect the kind of fast life we all are living under the pretext of working for next generation or for an employer or nation building.

Work with commitment YES but don't fool your self by justifying over work. Have  equal enthusiasm for free time activities. Enjoy your free time and doing nothing time. Doing doesn't mean doing for earning only. Inculcate personal hobby and spend time with self and family. Take vacation and expand your perspective.  

We all spend our prime time in working for earning but 2/3rd of all employees are unhappy. Even entrepreneurs become slave to their business and miss expected happiness and perceived freedom.

Bottom line is LOVE your free time, LEARN the art of doing nothing , LIVE with the self. Our first duty is towards the self and at the cost of our happiness we even cant fulfill our SO CALLED duty towards others.   

Next time when you get free time ,  feel privileged and not just KILL free time CHERISH this time because this is time you are actually LIVING for self. Art of doing noting is the real ART. 

Is your company board lopsided? Lacks diversity?

Last week I was discussing CFO of one of the listed companies about their board vacancy and new members on the board. He informed me that they have inducted two chartered accountants (CA). One CA was already there on their board. I wondered how many CAs a company needs on their board? Company board indicates diversity and inattentiveness of the company.  

In most Indian companies we will find CA and lawyers as independent directors. I fail to understand compliance is the only role of the board? Do executive directors not want views from professionals from various fields? 

Marketing, HR, Economists, Architects, and why not writers ad artists, for out of the box views , social media expert, IT professionals , film directors , media & communication professionals, international and local domain experts I mean there are many diverse professionals available who can add perhaps more value that legal and finance professionals. 

But most companies do not want to think differently. Independent directors should play active role in growth and strategy of the company which is much more than compliance and tax planning or linear thinking. there is noting wrong with CA and lawyers on board but excessive of them wont work. 

In light of above today's interview of SBI Chairperson Mrs Bhattacharya is welcome that PSU boards have surfeit of CAs. I think this should be a thinking point for all boards to review critically excessive of anything. Company board need diversity in times we live in. Markets outside is dynamic and need lateral thinking. When war is of talent , limited and lopsided boards will make companies struggle to survive.

(Anti-Disclaimer:  I myself is a CA)   

Essence , very profound ...

Reflect on this, we don't need long essays or papers to realise this : 

“Do you have any idea how many lives we must have gone through before we even got the first idea that there is more to life than eating, or fighting, or power in the Flock? A thousand lives, Jon, ten thousand!” 

― Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

(This may be lazy blog post but let it be...)

Pause & Reflect.... Before ..... its too late.

Development ... Growth .. Produce More......Sale More....... More awareness , More Advertisement More Sales Push and More Sales Target for companies to survive and succeed......Stressed Employees.... 

Too Many Producers ..... Less Margin..... Stressed Top Management to achieve more ROIs.... 

More Buy.... Over Buy.... Stuffocated Customers ....  Advance Buy with Loan or Cut in Savings .... High Debt and Low Saving....More Stress at Home to Maintain Standard and Manage Debt ... 

Kind of development we are pursuing in this capitalist society is leading us to overall STRESSED society for all. 

This is not we need. We need happiness and what we are pursuing with this route is assumed and temporary happiness but at the end mere stress and stress.  

We need radical thinker & ideas in this mad rush for so called development and developed economy goal. 

PAUSE....Reflect ... What we are upto and what we are achieving with this mad rush. !!! This herd mentality rush all around us wont even allow us to PAUSE and Reflect but we have only one life and now is the time.

Build Trust before .... Convenience

Mega Malls & Stores have MEGA display of goods they are selling : 
- Customer always invariably over buys , many tempted buys 
(Convenience of credit card's payment terms is the culprit)

Online Sales : 
- Very convenient and people over buys 
(Convenience of home/office is the culprit)

Convenience will mostly enable/instigate additional and unwanted buys .... but convenience will always enable buys....

If an enterprise wants to enhance sales , remove all hindrances from customers buy road map. Make it extremely easy and convenient. 

( Remember; TRUST is a pre-requisite , without building TRUST with best ethical sales marketing and adverting , sales, after sales and return policy convenience will not fly. )

First focus on TRUST and stay away by offering all conveniences for customers to act. 

I CAN is Ignorance

I CAN is Ignorance ,  I CAN'T is knowledge !!

Don't agree ? 

Think of your wishes/dreams/actions till now since birth and find out % of wishes/dreams/results fulfilled ?

Think , this is a profound truth !!! Again think !! 

(More on this in my forthcoming book...The Biggest Confusion)

The Shortest Journey - The Book

Last week released my first fiction book "The Shortest Journey" in Gujarati.....

It's available on Amazon at Buy Now !!

English version now on amazon. The Highest Ignorance.

What to WRITE when you don't know what to WRITE ?

In the journey of this blog there were occasions when I wanted to write but couldn't !!!

Not because of lack of time but because of lack of ideas !!

Therefore scare commodity is not time but ideas and ideas matter the most. 

If we have ideas we will find time , if we have ideas we will execute it. Without ideas , time and execution capabilities wont help....

Ideas are seed , everything else follows... Ideas can come anytime ..... keep a note pad (or mobile phone application Keep can be handy) near you as ideas will come and go in friction of seconds.. keep writing them and develop idea bank. it can be for any area... area you are working or want to work...... 

The moment we decide to do something or seeking solution to any problem our mind starts working and soon will start throwing ideas....!!

Keep an idea bank and you will be amazed with the kind of ideas your bank will have sooner. 

Your idea bank will help when you don't know what to write and you want to write !!!! 

What we study in school needs critical Reimagination ....

Fitness & Cleanliness both are not after or before office and weekend activities. We have considered both these priorities as non priorities and results are in front of us:

1) Lifestyle diseases have become epidemic. 

2) Obesity , heart ailment, blood pressure, diabetes , back related diseases are killing our population like never before.

3) PM has to ignite the spirit of nation for cleanliness kind of basic hygiene matters.

4) Filth all around our public places including temples.

We teach History as full scale subject but Civics as part time subject in schools.  

We teach Biology as full scale subject but Physical Fitness as part time & irrelevant subject.

We have no time for Gym and exercise in our 24 X 7 corporate (killer) culture. Financial targets have become so critical that body working to achieve the same has become less relevant. 

We talk about sustainability of environment and we just care less about sustainability of human being.   In a mission to achieve financial fitness for share holders physical fitness of people working to achieve the same has become irrelevant. 

People should work more than 8 hours of duty time as a gesture of loyalty and commitment but no time is given for physical fitness.   

Some elite corporate companies have become aware about health issues of employees but this is just a drop in the ocean.

Fitness & Cleanliness is a state of mind. It can be cultivated if we study it school as a major subject and not as a part time good to have subjects. 

We need to critically review what we teach in our schools considering the new realities around us.

Daily Brand Killers

HDFC Bank and Reliance Insurance  are very big brands. They have invested huge money in their brands.

Unfortunately call center people they engage with are just killing their brands.

I got call during last two days from these two brands' call centers.

One was shameless and does not know how to talk when listeners says NO. He gave me his personal mobile number in his arrogance to complain wherever I wish to.

One was literally begging to me to listen to him when I said NO.

These companies think quality matters only in product and services (there also most fails). They are giving outsourcing contracts to such companies who employ these kinds of people to represent their brands.

In my earlier blog   I had written about out bound call centers as means of mass irritation. However when it becomes means of mass irritation it also becomes means of daily brand killers.