Tread Softly on Earth

I read an article recently about how one can create a rural haven right smack in the middle of a modern city. The writer expounded the idea that humans need to be kinder and gentler to the environment and as an extension to our very mother planet herself. As I was reading it, one particular phrase caught my eyes …..“ tread softly on earth”.

It is an amazing phrase. Beautiful, powerful, soul-piercing; and it hit me like a tonne of bricks. ‘Tread softly on earth’? This got me thinking and reflecting for the rest of the afternoon on that day. It sounds like an oxymoron to say 'tread softly' and 'earth' in the same breath. Its such an antithesis to my life on this planet. Maybe yours too.

Do I ‘tread softly’ on earth or do I stomp, tramp and crush my path through this life? Am I one of those humans, as one of the talking-tree characters say in the Lord of The Rings “cutting, slashing , burning…”? Do I leave more than footprints and take away more than memories from this life giving planet?

I think I don’t tread softly. I am a brute who thinks of only my pleasure and comfort and only my time on earth. Damn what happens after that. Not my problem!. I leave a trail of destruction on my path and by the time my sojourn on this planet ends, I would have left behind a place far more worst than when I came into it. I would have left behind nothing but hurt, pain, devastation. That would be my legacy. Is this anyway to live? Is there any other way?

As I was contemplating this unsavory thought about me and my life on this planet, I instinctively remembered a gentle soul who once graced my world many years ago. My late grandmother. She was probably one who left this world a better place or at the least not one that was worst off. I remember her as a little sweet old lady who glides effortlessly from one chore to another. Constantly on the move; doing something or other. Her small frame and her frail demeanor can be misleading as she was a woman of great energy and strength. Yet, she was quite, soft and moved about her life in a gentle whisper. The only ‘noise’ that she would make is when she sits on the veranda every evening, with her legs resting flat on the cool floor while she pounds her beetle nut in a wooden bowl made by my late grandfather. She will do this until I return home after my game of football or a round of wild running and shouting in a nearby playing field. Most times, I will return home with cuts and bruises. She will look up slowly at me, and without saying a word she will get up and prepare some hot water for my bath. During these times, I knew that the more silent she was when I came home dirty and bleeding the more ‘punishment’ is awaiting me. True enough, once I have had my dinner and is just about getting ready to laze the evening away she will ask this one all powerful question : “ Aren’t you going to study now?” Regardless of my answer, she will begin a slow, deep and almost inaudible narration of my family ‘history’ and how my mother is sacrificing so much for my education. Over the years, I memorized her entire narration. Soon after talking about my mother, she will begin saying things about how much my aunt is helping to educate me. After that it will be about what kind of example am I setting for my younger sister. She will end this narration by her all powerful self-questioning : “Will I die knowing that you have turned out to be a good for nothing boy?”. With that final whisper from her, my evening would be totally and absolutely destroyed and I would drag my feet to my room. She was devastatingly effective in getting her message across. Gently. Ever so softly.

She had never shouted at me or at anybody else for that matter. She is not one who curses others but I distinctly remember her cursing quietly at those who drag their feet while walking as she considers that act as “ burdening mother earth”. My sister and I were not allowed to stomp around even in jest. She never steps onto the little plot of land in front of our house with her slippers on. That is not ‘polite to mother earth’ she would say. When she died, she was happy, comfortable, witnessed me going to the university ; one of her silent goals in life…quite amazing for a illiterate woman from a little village just out of Madras of the old days. I would like to think that she entered the world screaming and shouting but exited it quietly and softly and disappeared into the great realm of nothingness of what life essentially is. She treaded ever so softly on earth. At least that's what I witnessed until my early 20s when she passed on.

I am on the contrary, a terminator. Through out my days, I terminate what is beautiful and nice. From the moment I wake up till I crash on my bed late into the night, I destroy the beauty of this world. The things that I consume, use, throw, deplete are all designed to do one thing and one thing only : reduce the splendor of this world. I am a virus that spreads and multiplies and destroys this planet in every imaginable way. I chip away at nature slowly, steadily and with a quite vengeance and efficiency. When the day comes for me to say goodbye, I will have done more damage to this world than anything else that could have ever done. I am a master of destruction. I don’t add. I reduce. I eat away at the transcendent purity of this earth. I pollute the very essence of this planet. My greed and my insatiable desire for comfort have always won over the need to preserve and protect. I do not ‘tread softly’.

But, I compensate. I try not to justify.

I tread softly on the hearts of those who cross my path...I try. I attempt to connect with others on the fertile soil of kindness, honesty and fairness. I hope that at least will redeem my soul. My ancestors were farmers who respected and worshiped the earth that they treaded on. They put back much into life than what they took for themselves. I will never redeem my self in their eyes but at least I hope people will remember :

“Here lies a man who destroyed. Here lies a man who treaded softly on his kind”.

That, is the least I can ask for as I don't tread softly on earth like my sweet and gentle grandmother did.

Strategies for Organisational Effectiveness

Note : An interview with BFM (with my colleague). The processes discussed here are my firm's IP.



Q : Ok, first of all, why does a company need a strategy?

A : A very fundamental but an extremely critical question really. Well, a company needs a strategy because it does not operate in a vacuum. It operates in a business environment. This environment has two sides to it; one that is predictable and one that is unpredictable. To manage these, especially the unpredictable ones, a company needs a strategy. So fundamentally, a strategy is your collective efforts of both soft and hard actions to navigate these two sides to take the company where it wants to go. If the ocean is your business environment, and the ship is your company; then strategy is your navigation plot.


Q : ‘Strategy’ is possibly the most used word in the world of business. But in essence what is ‘Strategy’?

A : Well, bear with me for a second here as I define ‘strategy’ from the abstract to the concrete. Strategy is first and foremost a set of organizational paradigms that will ensure that the company will take the needed actions to achieve operational effectiveness(profit). So what it means is that a strategy is something that is supposed to guide your actions in a way that helps you achieve your objectives. Say for example, a low cost carrier. Its strategy is to go for volume at minimal cost not high yield like full service carriers. With that strategy it will take actions like tapping into hitherto untapped markets, providing hard to refuse offers, going paperless, having fewer cabin crew, extensive use of the world wide web, landing at secondary airports and so on. So, in essence your strategy will help you get to where you want to go…be it cost efficiency, market leadership or whatever.

Now, lets say a promising manager in this low cost carrier suggests that the company now offer at least one cup of fresh juice free for each passenger. A cup of fresh juice is no big deal but this action will be decided on only one criteria .ie. will it jive with the strategy and what is the strategy : High volume, minimal cost. That's it! Will adding a cup of free orange juice for each passenger achieve that? The answer to that will determine whether that particular action is go or no go.


Q : So, strategy should not be equated with actions?

A : No and that is a huge problem because it is so very easy to confuse both. Often we find ourselves busy taking actions, even seemingly creative and proactive ones, thinking that this is the strategy. They are not. Actions by themselves are of no use until and unless they help you to realize your strategies. You can only have that many strategies but you can take an infinite number actions to fulfill that strategy. And, sometimes a company makes it known to the market of its strategy and yet it takes actions that are contrary to that strategy - at least in the perception of the market. I am not saying strategy can’t change. They can but whatever it is your actions must help you achieve your strategies.


Q : Can you provide an example to illustrate that?

A : Lets say you run a coffee shop and your strategy is to position your little quaint shop as a place for middle aged businessmen and executives have their cuppa while getting their work done in a place that will bring back sweet memories of the little coffee shops of the old days. You promote your shop as such and yet when your targeted customers enters your shop, he or she is greeted by a worker who can’t speak a word of any of the Malaysian languages. Your menu is more western. Your wifi has moods every now and then. Will you close shop? Probably not but in the long run, you don’t have anything to create loyalty. Worst still when a competitor learns how to execute that strategy better than you.


Q : What exactly goes into a strategy or in other words what ingredients make a good or effective strategy?

A : Well, let me first put a caveat here. By it self all strategies are good strategies. They may be imperfect but good nevertheless as they are intended for improvements of some kind whether increase in profit, market share, customer satisfaction, and so on. What makes it effective or otherwise is in the implementation or execution.

Anyway, a more pertinent question is what should a strategy address? A good strategy should address 3 things : 1. Structure, Roles & Capabilities; 2. Leadership; 3. People, Systems & Processes. When your business strategy addresses these 3 areas, you then have high Employee Engagement, which in turn produces Customer Satisfaction and which in turn gives you optimum Organisational Performance i.e profit.


Q : Sounds logical and seemingly easy. Yet so many business strategy fail. Why is that?

A : It is logical but many organizations have this illogical believe that they can focus on one or maybe 2 of the 3 areas I mentioned earlier and that should be enough to take them across. No. You can’t be world class in your Leadership development strategies and hope for your People, Systems and Processes to sort it self out. No. You need to plan and execute all three effectively. Your strategies are dependent on all 3 areas and together they will give you your competitive advantage. In that sense, some of our GLCs are doing well now because they have realized that they can’t focus only on customer satisfaction without having a robust people systems or that they can’t achieve profit by merely focusing on cost and not employee engagement.

Then also, sometimes a strategy may not be well formulated with its end results not precisely determined. What is your strategy intended to do? In other words, where do you want to go with your strategy – Profit, retention, share price, efficiency, cost reduction, quality, market share, culture change? You also can’t bite off more than you can chew. You can only be good in one or two things. Have strategies to make you the best in these one or two things.

Let share some data on this. In 2005, the Wharton School Publishing reported that companies only achieved 63% of the expected results from their strategic plans. In 2007, MIT Sloan Management Review shows that fewer than 45% of board of directors believe that their company is capturing strategic objectives. Interestingly in 1999, Fortune magazine estimated that 70% of CEOs fail not because of bad strategy but because of poor execution. In 2005, the Harvard Business Review said that 2/3 of the HR functions are not aligned to the business strategy and 95% of the employees don’t understand what the strategy is all about. So, is it a wonder that according to a Towers Perrin global study in 2007 only 21% of employees are fully engaged with their companies and their jobs?



Q : Having a good strategy is one thing, but executing it is another! What can leaders do to ensure their strategies are executed effectively.

A : Well, they have to ask 3 critical questions : 1. What are the most important levers of strategy execution for me currently? 2. How can we improve our ability to deliver on our strategic commitments? 3. In what way we can leverage our current talents to achieve our strategic objectives?



Q : I have always wondered how consulting companies like yourself can help a business develop its strategy. I mean, its their business, not yours right?

A : That's an insightful question. We at Right Management of course will take pains to understand your business through our research and our interactions and discussions with you. That's gives us an understanding of who you are and where you want to head. But more importantly, what we can do for you is to ensure that you go through a systematic thinking and planning process in developing your strategy. We will also ensure that you are considering all the factors that you need to consider and sometimes we may also help you find the answers you need or identify the gaps you need to know about as you plan your strategy.


Q : Typically, what would be the recommended process for an effective strategy development?

A : 1. Discovery, 2. Executive Alignment, 3. Strategy Design & Planning, 4. Strategy Implementation, 5. Measure & Review


Q : Any last words on how to achieve organizational effectiveness through effective strategies?

A : Well, as we have been discussing in the last 4 sessions with you, all businesses have been impacted by the financial and economic crisis. To manage this, we have had to down size and restructure our business. So, while we begin to motivate and realign our existing talent and resources, we may be in a position to re-visit our business strategy moving forward. Take this opportunity to do the right things for your business. You owe that much to your people and your shareholders.

Especially for SMEs, our message is that pay attention to all facets of your strategy. I reckon that the business environment for SMEs will get tougher in the coming years. They need to strategize and the need to be nimble enough to adapt. A good and actionable strategic framework should help them do that.

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

Deepak Chopra has been branded many things. New age guru. Hodge-podge philosopher. The celebrity guru. Very recently he came to be known as Michael Jackson’s spiritual adviser. It matters not that MJ never proclaimed him as such. For me, coming from the Indian-Hindu tradition, he is a philosopher more than any thing else. He is no doubt an extremely savvy marketer and purveyor of Hollywood chic. Hey… lets get real. So was most of the greatest philosophers of the modern world. Somebody once told me of how he is inspired by Bob Dylan’s philosophical lyrics. If Bob is a philosopher, Deepak is definitely one. And please, don’t equate him with St.Augustine, Sankracharya or Khalil Gibran or Lao Tzu. He is not but he makes sense. Anybody who can help dense souls like yours truly make sense of quantum physics deserves some respect.

One of his books, usually The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success which I bought on Christmas day in 1998 is always on my bedside. I have read it a dozen times and I am still reading it.

To be honest, you need to understand a little of Indian philosophy and cosmology before you can truly grasp the messages that Deepak tries to convey OR you need to have a totally open mind and heart to allow the messages to be absorbed. OR, you must have been exposed to this world view in some manner to appreciate it. Otherwise, I doubt you will have the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by your bedside! If you do, and if I am being presumptuous… my apologies.

One of the things that I find fascinating about Deepak’s approach is his belief that the universe works instantaneously and effortlessly. There is no pressure or compulsion involved. The universe just works its magic. The energy in all flows effortlessly. Butterflies just fly. Flowers bloom. The sun rises and sets. Water flows. Babies smile. They don’t try. They just do it. He terms it as the Law of Least Effort. We have within us the ability to move mountains without missing a heart beat. Didn’t somebody once say – be silent, and the universe will dance at your feet? As I am writing this, Morgan Freeman comes to my mind. If you watch his movies, you will think that he happened to walk by the shooting set and decided to pop in and have some fun. He doesn't act….he just IS. Now, I am also thinking for Zinadine Zidane, Lois Armstrong, Mario Puzo, Stephen Hawking,Tagore, Fateh Khan. They never showed that they strived to achieve their ‘stardom’. Their lesser competitors amply illustrated that they were ‘working hard’. Yet they never achieved the level of success as enjoyed by their idols.

So, the saying that ‘what’s worthwhile, is worth fighting for’ may not always hold true. The human race has developed a paradigm that struggle is to be respected. Strive and toil is honorable. In fact the ancient Chinese used to scorn traders as they were seen as enjoying the fruits of ‘no-labour’ ( in other words – least effort) while the farmers were held in high esteem as they ‘worked hard’ for their living. They were honest while the traders were not; so it was said. Is this true or does it makes sense at all? At least for me, all those things that I fought hard for are no longer with me. They even seem so irrelevant now. What I have now and what seem to have lasted are things that happened to me instantaneously and effortlessly. My love and my life - my beautiful and gentle girlfriend Alcie, my twin daughters Vana & Vila, the peace I enjoy, the serenity I experience, my new extended family that I am getting to know. All these happened to me effortlessly. Sometimes, I am embarrassed about it as I often feel I don’t deserve them as they just happened. Without much effort from me. Am I not supposed to ‘work hard’ for them?

Even some of the people I have met and still meeting in my life. They bring new and profound meanings. It makes me stop in my track as these individuals are adding so much value into my life and they are painting it with such beautiful colours that I sometimes wonder how did I attract them into my little universe in the first place.It takes my breath away. They are just popping up, literally, everywhere and we are connecting instantaneously and effortlessly. Even my relationship with my mother which was strained for many years have undergone a total transformation – again without any particularly strenuous effort from me; for once.

These things began to happen as I slowly learned to ‘let go and let God’ (as a dear young friend told me recently). In my case, I let the universe take care of the details. This probably came about as I began to realize that in the end, we don’t really control anything. It’s an illusion to think that we are in control. We only have choices not control. We can take actions but we can’t determine the results.

Even in the world of business, I think there is a place for ‘letting go and letting God’. As leaders and managers, there is a need for us to be able to make things happen instantaneously and effortlessly. If we are constantly fighting raging fires, running all over the place, being busy all the time, constantly on edge, harassed; something is wrong with our leadership and management style. Calmness in a business leader is an underrated thing. Great achievements are a result of being ‘in the flow’ and it is a state where we ‘create’ unprecedented successes almost by magic. Usain Bolt ran 100 metres in 9.58 seconds a few days ago and he looked pretty relaxed at the finishing line. The number two, and three were huffing and puffing. If you ask him how he did it, he will probably say “I just did”. Anyway, coming back to leading and managing, we need to accept the humbling reality that we can’t control everything. We need to ‘let go and let trust’ work. We need to trust that our people will do what is expected of them and that they will do the best they can. Sometimes they may not repay that trust in full but that's a price we have to pay so that we can let go of the trivial and get on the real stuff. Stuff that really makes a difference for the organization. We need to be conscious of the choices we make and the actions we take but not the end results as they are determined by factors beyond our control. Maybe this is what Krishna was saying to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Maybe that's what Jesus was saying to his followers. Maybe this what the Sufi mystics have been saying in their lyrics and hymns. Make the choice and don’t be burdened by the results. Float. Be light. Be free. Let go of the control.

Float like a butterfly…soar like an eagle (sorry Ali!).

Oh, by the way…did anybody wonder why Silvio Berlusconi still manages to be in power? He doesn’t try very hard. He just IS with all his faults and strengths and the Italians love him for that. The rest of the pretentious politicians ‘work very hard’ to be other than what they really are.

Effective Redeployment for Better Results

NOTE : The following is the Q&A for last week's interview on BFM. Hope it gives you guys something to ponder on.

Last week we shared with you the analogy of a platoon leader in war who finds himself with a bunch of soldiers who have survived enemy assault but have lost hope and drive to move forward with you. And that analogy was to illustrate what many managers are going through now after the recent spade of restructuring and downsizing. Today, using a similar analogy, we would like to ask this question ‘ Imagine that somehow you did manage to motivate and push the survivors in your platoon to move forward with you towards new war targets and that the whole platoon (or whatever left of it) is now totally committed to you. Now, imagine that you suddenly realize that you are short handed. You gunner is lost and so is your communication man. Your medic is alive but is in no shape to help others. You look around and quickly appoint those whose eyes you caught into these positions. As good soldiers, they follow your orders but they are now worried sick in the stomach as they are not familiar with these new roles. The new gunner is trained in terrain mapping while the new communication man is an artillery engineer. The new communication man is your former cook! They are ready to serve BUT they need your help to get used to the new roles. Then, you find that you need a new advance scout but not sure who among your men can fill that role. Or, do you have to call HQ for a new guy who is going to have trouble fitting in with your platoon.

Feels familiar? I bet it does because that is what many companies are facing now.
Well, its time for you to take a look at your redeployment options and strategies. After all you now have to move forward with the ‘survivors’.


Q : Why are we talking about redeployment now? Is this important for companies coming out of their downsizing and restructuring?
A : The simple answer is yes, it is important for companies that have restructured recently to pay some attention to redeployment as a strategy. The reason why this is important now is because this is the time for companies to realign and reassess their workforce and talent management strategies. As roles and positions were eliminated or reduced, new roles and work relationships had to be established. Also most companies that downsized in some areas of their business had also, at the same time, hired for other areas of their business. In fact there is a conundrum here : On one side companies need to manage costs and downsize while on the other they have to hold on to their key talents and prepare for the upswing. So, this is where redeployment comes in.

As we discussed last week, the first thing you do as a manager is to get your team back to speed and productivity by taking some simple yet powerful measures. One of the more critical ones is actually to be able to redeploy your people effectively. It is important enough to warrant special attention from all managers.

Q : So, redeployment can be defined as a sort of re-cycling of a companies existing talent?
A : Yes. It is a deliberate and highly structured movement of talents from one part of the company to another part where those talents are needed and can return better value. Not only that, this movement is also important as sometimes this is the only thing standing between your key talents staying or leaving.



Q : Typically, what are some of the circumstances why a company may have to look at a redeployment strategy?
A : Well, in our experience, redeployment strategy will be needed when a company is either doing one or a combination of the following : preparing an internal mobility program, restructuring, transferring a section of the business to an external provider (outsourced) or even when implementing creative work cultures such as flexible working hours. All these may involve some form of role change, role reduction or increase AND the need to acquire new skills.

Q : What are the benefits for a company that redeploys its talent or workforce?
A : Well, as I mentioned earlier, the most obvious one is that its key talents are not lost to competitors. Secondly, these talents will be cheaper to maintain through redeployment than to be rehired when the business picks up which it will (in some cases it already has). Thirdly, what redeployment essentially means is that the company is creating a new or slightly different career path for the individual instead of just laying off the person. With this comes more and continued investment from the company to train and develop the individual. This is an amazingly powerful engagement driver. The company is demonstrating in concrete terms that it values it talents and that career development and job security is not a linear affair. I don't take you in during the good times, extract everything from you and take you out at the first sign of trouble.

Q : Are there many companies out there that employ redeployment as one of their workforce strategy?
A : In a survey conducted by Right Management from April-May 2009 among 268 senior business and HR leaders, it was found that 51% of the companies always or sometimes offer redeployment before layoffs. So, in our experience quite a sizable number of our clients look at redeployment as a workforce management strategy. But in truth, I believe there is a bigger percentage that in one way or another redeploy in other circumstances as I shared earlier. We must understand that redeployment is not necessarily during a downsizing only.

Q : We have established that redeployment is a good strategic move to make but can you share some best practices on how a company can effectively redeploy?
A : First and foremost, I must emphasize that the company’s executive leadership team must recognize the importance of redeployment and they must set the right example before the managers and employees are convinced. For example, in a redeployment scenario, a manager may have to develop new manager-subordinate relationships and this is made more complicated because the new subordinate may not have the required skills yet to hit the ground running (which is what all managers expect!). What’s more, due to the redeployment exercise he may actually have lost some key talents him self as that person may have moved somewhere else in the company! On the employee side, redeployment means they have to leave the known and familiar for the unknown and not so familiar. This requires them to re-tool and re-skill and sometimes even relocate. All so uncomfortable right? Yes. That's why the commitment and buy-in from the top leadership is essential to make this a success.

Secondly, for the employees, the company should have a detailed and accurate communication on its redeployment policy. Issues like compensation, relocation benefits, local legal requirements, etc should be clarified. Employees should also be given the right assistance and tools to evaluate their skills and abilities accurately to gain the best out redeployment. And oh yes….please….give time for this to work. Both the company and the employee need to give each other enough time to settle down and produce results.

Thirdly, appoint internal redeployment champions who will become the point-person for those considering redeployment. A dedicated web portal will also be good for communication purposes and for advertising available positions (internally and
externally).

Finally, I would like to recommend that companies integrate their outplacement offering with the redeployment option. What this means is that, employees will have enough input and expert advise before they make an informed decision. For example, Right Management helped a telco company to provide both outplacement and redeployment. Those employees who went through redeployment activities emerged more prepared not only for redeployment but also for external positions. Many of them, in fact landed external positions long before outplacement services were required!

Q : What are the steps that a company should take if it chooses to employ redeployment as a workforce management strategy?
A : We at Right Management have developed a 6 module – 3 phase solution to assist companies with their redeployment initiative. Phase 1 involves employees going through a Change and Self Awareness module. They will have a detailed analysis of their skills & abilities and the gaps if any. This is where we also provide (with the client’s input) information on where the company is heading, what is happening now and what roles they can play.

In Phase 2, they will go through 3 modules : Internal Resumes & Applications, Internal Self-marketing and Internal Interviews.

Finally in Phase 3, they deal with the actual redeployment it self through 2 modules : Evaluating Internal Opportunities and Success in Your New Role.

So, you can see that these 3 phases covers the 3 most critical needs of the individual : How to ascertain my potential, how to market my self internally and how to realign with my ‘new’ career.

With these systematic program and the relevant modules, the company can be assured that its redeployment is going on a correct trajectory and those who choose to be redeployed are fully equipped and prepared to take on their new roles. With this, their new manager’s responsibility to re-train them becomes much easier and pleasant for both sides.


Q : Can you share an example of a success story in terms of an effective redeployment strategy?
A : I can share with you the example of a global financial services provider who engaged Right Management to add a redeployment component to their large scale off-shoring initiative. This client was well aware and wary of the negative impact on staff morale, customer and public perception and overall productivity as a result of such a large scale off-shoring approach. With our intervention, the redeployment take-up increased from 10% to 70% and the whole off-shoring went on smoothly.

Q : Ok, the million dollar question : can redeployment save money for companies?
A : Yes…and I will give you a million dollar answer. To be precise $2.4 million dollars. One of our clients had an internal job fair as part of their redeployment initiative whereby there were more about 400 interviews with 59 offers extended and 51 offers being accepted. Total savings for client was $2.4 million!

BFM 89.9 :: The Business Station

BFM 89.9 :: The Business Station

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Unity in Diversity

There are as many colours as there are words to describe them
There are as many stars as the numbers can count them
There are as many truths as the hearts that believe them
There are as many Gods as Man can worship them
There as many rhythms as the sounds that make them.

This is a world
nay
a universe of differences
of every imaginable kind.
The colour of your skin.
The language of your ancestors.
The choice of your tastes.
The pleasure of your love.
The height of your intellect.
The 'truth' of your convenience.
The God of your birth.

But
when compressed
all of these is as big as a green pea.

Thats how big we are.
A green pea!

Don't kill for that
Don't hurt for that.

Atoms, protons and bosons maketh us
The God particle forms us
But its us....just us
maketh hate!

We are separate
but we are one

I will wait for you
my brothers and sisters
at the gates of heaven
and I will welcome you
into my home as if we were born of the same womb

But, indeed we are.

The Value of Privacy and Personal Space

I am almost always asked to connect with somebody on Facebook, MySpace or any one of the multitude of similar networking tools that are available today. I am on Linkedin which I activated recently so that I am not classified as anti-technology! And of course I have been blogging at Blogger for some time now and I am quite adept at using email to stay connected

I have nothing against Facebook or MySpace. In fact I may end up being on them too. I think they are nice. I am sure they are cool stuff to play with and they are the product of our generation’s quantum leap in IT and connectivity. We also, it seems to me, have developed a taste for 24/7 culture. We want to be constantly updated on what’s happening around us. 24 hour news channel was a boon for many until they realized that not only do they want to know what is happening in other parts of the world, they also want to know what their closest friends and family members are doing at any given point of time. All at finger-tip speed of course. It is not enough to know the latest breaking news in Nicaragua but also what our dear friend Nigel is doing with his date at the fancy Italian restaurant that they are at. So, we have Twitter and such that are able to keep us in the loop about the most trivial adventures, private thoughts and goings on in other people’s lives. Only recently I read a British Archbishop lamenting how this technology has enabled us to have a multitude of ‘intimate’ friends without the quality often associated with what is termed as ‘friendship’. I guess, that's ok. After all what is wrong to have many friends and having as many ‘network’ as you can.

However, the reason why I am not too eager with Facebook and Myspace and the like is because I am enjoying what will one day become a scarce and precious commodity – my privacy and personal space. Isn’t it strange that, with technology our lives have become everybody’s lives. We want to (and able to) know every minute detail of one’s life style and way of thinking. Harmless? Maybe, maybe not.

Maybe it’s just my personality quirk that I treasure my personal space. It allows me to reflect and it gives me a buffer against the relentless attack on me by forces that are constantly trying to mould my thinking, influence me, decide for me, prying open my life telling me what I should wear, eat and believe. When I list my favorite books on my blog, I do it very consciously knowing that such a ‘simple’ act is actually not that simple after all. The books that I read give you an opportunity to peak into who I am. The places I go to for my vacation gives you a glimpse of me. What I talk about on these sites and how I respond to your comments will tell something of me to you. I leave digital footprints that leads you into me and I may have done that unwittingly. When I update you (say for example through my Linkedin) on my latest projects, I am allowing you to know about me just a little bit more. I have 24 hours in a day which used to be divided into public time (work, family, interest, etc) and personal time. But today, our entire 24 hour is a public life. As we are sleeping, somebody from some where in the world is reading about us or leaving a message commenting on how beautiful the pictures we posted are or how much he or she empathizes with our recent break-up. So, like a 24/7 news channel, our lives are being broadcasted and narrowcasted all the time!

But more sinister (at least to me) is the fact that we end up with 2 lives. One of the physical reality and another of the virtual reality. We mesh these two and we have a 24/7 life. This is not my cup of tea. There are different rules for these realities and it is so easy to confuse one with another. I personally feel that I am not equipped to manage these two realities with equal efficiency. The virtual world will always be a mere tool for me. Nothing more.


My feeling is that we should not allow ourselves to become like the mass produced consumer products that are being churned out in the factories of the world. We should not become as was said, a meaningless generality but rather a meaningful specific. To do that we have to be able to Reflect and we must have a reasonable amount of Personal Space to do so. This personal space could either be literally in the physical world or at least in our mind and thinking. We need to have the skills, abilities and time to integrate the vast amounts of information and data we receive in a day. I read somewhere that a single morning’s newspaper today has more information than our grandparents have acquired in their entire lifetime! I wouldn’t go so far to take this literally but I get the point. A few days ago, as I was interacting with a speaker from the US, he mentioned something interesting in a different context but is related to what I am trying to say here. He said that ‘feedback is data and data is information that you can use to make improvements’. Interesting. As far as I know feedback does not turn into data and data does not metamorphosis into information automatically. That is as far fetched as saying that the mere act of reading a book makes one knowledgeable. Something needs to happen in the interim and that is the process of Reflection and Integration of ideas and thoughts and insights. For me that can’t happen without my personal space and time.

I will hold on to this little space of privacy and personal time that I have. I am not sure for how long but I am going to enjoy it as long as it lasts.