Monday Musings 278 - Free Will - is it that free?

Monday Musings 278 - Free Will - is it that free?

A conversation with close friends have strange ways of opening up unknown nuances of a hackaneyed topic. The conversation lingers on even after it has ended - like the 'Zayka' of the 'paan' lingers on even after it is gone. Recently i had one such on the subject of 'choice' - whether We have the freedom of choice, which soon let to the question of if true free choice even exists. The notion of free will exists and its that notion is quite sexy, to borrow a rather inappropriate phrase - i am sure you get the drift. 

The concept of free will has haunted thinkers for long - the notion that we are the architects of our lives and can determine the course of it, if not in a limited sense then certainly in a the larger sense. The Other end of the spectrum is Determinism which claims "that all behavior is caused by preceding factors and is thus predictable" Contrast this with Free will, which is the idea that we are able to have some choice in how we act and assumes that we are free to choose our behavior, in other words we are self determined. 

What is the nature of the world - Deterministic or Self Deterministic is frankly a philosophical debate that still is unresolved. The debate in the Indian subcontinent might be even more complicated because of general tendency to be fatalistic, particularly governed by the 'karmic' notion of things. Let me illustrate it - Just imagine fretting over the current agony of our lives (whatever that is) and wanting to improve it (in whichever way it is possible); On hand believing that if appropriate actions are taken then all problems can be solved - and yet on the other hand listening to the karmic theory that the current problems are/may be result of some old bad karma, in this life or last. If the problem doesn't kill the person, i am sure the dilemma would!! 

I think the notion of free will is very liberating - so whether it is true or not is frankly not the issue. We would like to believe that it is true. The idea that we indeed are the architects of our lives is quite empowering. It makes the pain of the present a little more tolerable. If somehow we come to know that we are not in control of what will happen to our lives, the enormity of the helplessness can be very depressing, if not more. Think about this situation to understand the point. If our current problem is because of a choice which we think we did not really make (say it was dumped on us by well meaning parents or a partner) then we inadvertantly become proponents of free choice; what if we were equally unhappy with the same choice even if we had made it ourselves. Would we be still pro choice with as much vigor? Another way to say this is as follows- is our opinion based on our personal experience or on a certain principle which we hold dear? 

So where are we on this? What do we really believe in? Not the opinions over drinks and coffee table but in the starkness of our own private thoughts - what do we tell ourselves when we are the nadir of our emotional fragility? What is the self talk when it seems that the dark clouds wont ever go, and there is no conceivable way our of the abyss that we are in, when we recognise that the life that we thought we shall have is in no way possible; when the definitions of happiness have to be rebooted, redrafted and we are afraid that if we indeed have to reboot our notion of happiness that we have held dear for so long, we will not be the same person ever again and if that is even worth it? In those moments what is the premise that we base our next moment on - Deterministic or Free Will?

Guru

Monday Musings 276: Year later...

 Monday Musings 276: Year Later..

The good thing about the end of a year is that it happens every year – and that is also the bad thing about it. One gets the annual chance to make it different and meaningful. Many take that chance and many do not.  

 

Last year I had decided to take a tongue in cheek look at this boisterous exercise with a rather short shelf life – called resolutions. I thought I shall revisit all ten of them again and see what happened to them – did they survive the test of the real world or did they perish prematurely, as is their wont! Needless to say, just as they were tongue in cheek a year earlier, the tongue continues to be resolutely and firmly lodged in the cheek. Enjoy!

 

Here they go. 

 

1. I will not suffer fools easily – this has turned out to be trickier than I had thought. I suffered them quite benevolently for I realised that for every one person whom I thought to be a fool and quite unworthy of my indulgences, there were at least two who thought I was a fool too. Since they suffered me in silence, I decided to pass on the favour.

 

2. I will not say yes when I want to say no – This is work in progress, however miles to go. The greater tragedy is those moments when it is assumed to I shall say yes, instead of at least going through the motions of giving me a choice.

 

3. I will not attend get- together’s and parties – I think I did remarkable well on this one given that I was not invited to many.

 

4. I will not eat out – I should have articulated this resolution a little differently; I should have also barred myself from eating out during official lunch/dinners. The whole point was to adopt culinary simplicity and not just on my own account.

 

5. I will not watch TV – I must give myself a pat on my back on this one. I think I can claim with reasonable degree of accuracy that I must not have watched TV (minus of movies) for more than 5 hours in the entire year. I am also happy to report that I have not missed much and feel pretty much on top of my craft and trade.

 

6. I will not advise or try to motivate people – I wish I had known how difficult this will turn out to be. The urge to add ‘value’ is so deep rooted that I am its first unsuspecting victim. I am trying very hard is all I can say. 

 

7. I will not haggle or bargain with the rickshawwallah, vegetable vendor and other people who make a living on the street. – Absolute success. The fact that I stuck to this even during the demonetisation phase must be its absolute litmus test.

 

8. I will stay away from technology – as much as I can. I have been miserable failure on this. The virus has only entrenched itself more.

 

9. I will not fall for brands – refer to the answer in the next point.

10. I will not shop. – I am the most proud of this one. With the notable and very explainable exception of buying a running shoe, I am happy that I did not shop at all – I mean at all!! Not a thread of clothing, electronics, accessory, or any other item of consumption – branded or otherwise. This has been by far the best detox/rehab I have every put myself through. The closets are cleaner and the unused items significantly reduced. There was a moment when I wanted to extend this moratorium on shopping for another year. Thankfully that moment passed.

 

Happy New Year.

 

PS: I learnt a new word yesterday and that to my mind shall be defining word for the purpose of bidding the old year a grateful goodbye while I beging to welcome a brand new one.

 

Misoniesm - hatred, fear, or intolerance of innovation or change. (Do we suffer from it or pretend that we do not suffer from it? I have a full year ahead to answer it.)

 

Guru 

 

Monday Musings 275: Of books and the Characters!

Monday Musings 275: Of books and the Characters!

As I see it, there are only two kinds of problems around reading – one is around whether we like reading or not in the first place; and those who are able to overcome this problem are faced with another herculean one – what to read? There are yet others who remain untouched and unfazed with these two pseudo existential questions – they are clearly the happier lot.

There are all kinds of readers. Let me share a few types that I have bumped into.

1   1. The Imposter: they always carry a book and that is the only thing one can be sure of; that they are carrying a book. Usually the book that they will carry will also be the one which has featured in page3’s recently so that also serves the very purpose of carrying the book. Reading, for this lot is more a status symbol, an act of wannabe intellectual – the same reason why they would not wear just a suit but only an Armani or carry not just a bag but only a Louis Vitton! When you meet them they would play with the book in front of you so that you make it a conversation starter after which they will pontificate on the ‘Half Girlfriend’ (written by you know who!!), which according to them is a great book by a great writer, as if they are outlining the later Pulitzer winner. PS – take your revenge, just ignore the book and refuse to have a conversation around it. It will frustrate them to no end.

2    2. The worm: Irrespective of the title they are reading, which might range from ‘The tapeworms in your bowels’ to the ‘Climate change in Mars’ – they are immersed in it as if they are praying. The book is either close to their faces, in which case they want you to see the book and not their faces or they might be hunched on it, in which case they are the most likely candidates for cervical spondilysis – either ways they clearly are in meditative stupor. The book is larger than their persona. They are also saying the following – ‘Don’t even try to begin a conversation’ and ‘buzz off’. Chances are they have relationship issues with human beings – but that can be highly controversial, isn’t it? 

3   3. The flirt: The name says it all. They flirt with books but as is the wont of all flirts, they suffer from commitment phobias. No book can hold their attention for more than a few pages. All books, according to them, have a problem. Some are too boring, some too long, some have font problems, some have weight problems, and for some that it has no pictures (I love the last one!!).

4    4. The Show off: The show off actually reads the book, less to immerse and enjoy but to let you know that he has actually read the book. All conversation will be veered towards that book irrespective of the moment or the occasion. You will have to politely tolerate the absolute irrelevance of book to the mood. The revenge with the show off is to talk about an even more irrelevant book that you had read 10 years back! 

5   5. The Rebel: The rebel cannot understand how a normal human being can spend so many precious hours of human life so frustratingly tied up with something as inanimate and boring such as a book. The rebel believes that all the books that were supposed to be read have already been read from the KG to the 10^th – everything else is an imperialist hegemony that must be rebelled against. The rebel believes real education happens on the streets and not on the couch. As one writer friend of mine says ‘I don’t read books because they interfere with my imagination’. I have not asked him so far whether his books will interfere in the imagination of others – remember he is a friend after all.

6    6. The Occasional: The occasional reads roughly one book a year and for precisely the same reason why the diehard non vegetarians keeps the navratra fast. Some call it penance; I call it a licence to go non veg for yet another year.

Guru

PS: Some people are genuinely connoisseurs of books – in the truest sense of the word. They are few and far in between. But there is no story in that.

Monday Musings 274: James...but not a Bond!

Monday Musings 274: James...but not a Bond!

I got talking to my Uber driver named James on an early morning drive. My usual conversation starter with Uber/Ola drivers is ‘How long have you been driving and what did you do before joining  the Uber/Ola bandwagon’. Each time there is a different story but this one turned out to be the most enjoyable and inspiring.

The difference between him and others whom I had met so far was clear right from the answer to my first question that came from him – ‘I have four cabs; this one I drive and the other three have been rented to other drivers’. When I let out the cry of surprise, he switched to conversing in English, as if he had sensed that i had made the error of stereotyping him with the classical archetype of Uber drivers. Thereafter it was a fascinating ride, great conversation with a liberal dose of anecdotes.

‘’I am from lucknow and I have done my MBA and have worked in a few banks as frontline seller of banking products growing up to become a territory manager’ he shared with me. I knew I was not with someone ordinary, either in terms of the richness of journey or of grit. ‘Soon I had a house and a flourishing business of solar panels’ he continued.

‘However a business deal gone sour caused the collapse of the business with huge bank overruns. Something radical had to be done to pay off the bank. So with a heavy heart sold the house and paid the banks completely – I did not want my CIBIL ratings to suffer at any cost’.  Here was someone who in his darkest hour was more worried about his credit credibility. I could imagine the surge of confidence that lurked within the man who was down but not out.

‘So we decided to send the son back to lucknow so that both I and my wife could focus on rebuilding our lives. I did not leave my home to be a loser – something must be done to keep moving forward’ (this was said in Hindi and sounded more lyrical and inspiring).

So what are your plans in the future, I ask him. I was frankly not prepared for the answer I got. ‘’I plan to repay the banks the loan on all my taxi and become debt free. Then I want to open an NGO. Do you know that many NGOs are working to clean the Ganga in Kanpur? I want to do something around education. You see, when I worked for myself things did not work quite well, let me now try doing something for others – who knows what the outcome will be’’ (apne liye kaam kiya to nuksaan hua, doosron ke kar ke dekhte hain – the hindi rendition was clearly heartwarming!)

Any regrets, in ask him. ‘Nothing actually. Even when I sold the house I told myself, perhaps that is why the house was built – to bail us out during this crisis. The only thing that pains me is that I had to send my son away from me to tide over this. I miss him’.

‘Give me your card’ he says as we bid each other good bye. ‘I will call you when I open my NGO’. I shoot my parting sentence ‘Can I write about you James?’ He smiled but said nothing as if he did not really cared about being written. He had better and larger things to do.

James was a better Bond than all those in had seen so far.

Guru

Monday Musings 273: Alignment – An alternative narrative

Alignment – An alternative narrative

Softer aspects of leadership have always attracted multiple narratives – most of those narratives have been based on the western world view and have originated from those cradles of thought. I am sure there is great value in any narrative but when we start reposing our faith in only one of them, almost ignoring and hence rejecting the possibility of the relevance of alternative narratives, is when we allow our pursuit of inquiry to become singular and hence incomplete.

Thankfully things are changing – and my book, ‘Kabeer in Korporates’ on which this write up is based, is an addition to the growing tradition of alternative narratives to mainstream subjects.

Leadership alignment is actually a part of the larger issue of alignment in not only all constituents of the organisation but also at all levels of the organisation. The reason I use these two frames separately is because the task of creating aligned workforce is distinct in its nature and prescriptions at the top and at the bottom- and between the top and the bottom of organisations. The dysfunctionalities causing disarray at the top emerge from insecurities and ego, while the dysfunctionalities between the top and the bottom emerge from loss of credibility of the top.

The chaos at the top leading to lack of alignment has many hues – it begins with the struggle for primacy between the functional heads; so the CFO makes the financial goals as the primary goal, or the Sales head making the sales goals as the primary goal or the HR head making Peoples goal as the primary goal. The fissures that get created when these goals vie for primacy soon become fault lines – that get formed at the top but soon trickle down the slope. The task of holding all these goals together into the crucible of a broad spectrum performance mindset is a rather tall ask. The exact opposite risk to this is ‘too much friendship’ at the top – a state where no one challenges each other’s comfort and status quo. Kabeer writes at one instance about all of us being passengers on a boat – a metaphor that the top of organisations must take inspiration from if they would prefer to have alignment in its truest sense amongst themselves.

Kabeer hamara koi naahi, hum kahoo ke nahi,

Paar pahunche naav jyon, milke bichure jahi.

(No one is ours and we are no one to others;

Like passengers on a boat, we shall go our own ways (if we reach our destination)

Everyone shall reach the destination if the boat reaches the destination – no one reaches anywhere if the boat does not reach ashore. The alignment at the top must heed to this wisdom. A fractured top is not only deeply damaging but also hopelessly visible to the rank and file.

The second kind of disarray is between the top and the bottom – irrespective of the function. This usually happens after a prolonged corrosion of credibility. Over a period of time the patterns of leadership behaviour like partiality, inconsistency, self preservation, blame fixing, credit mongering, oscillating and sometimes downright incompetence so on and so forth leads to the bottom of the pyramid completely disillusioned. This lack of alignment is perhaps not even visible to the leadership who remain baffled why all strategic initiatives remain non starters. This is like the wheels of the chariot start questioning the intent of the horses who they are supposed to follow – only in this case the wheels have a mind of their own.

Finally great alignment emerges from authenticity. In organisations we must always remind ourselves of the difference between ‘Enrolment’ and ‘Conscription’ – the former is voluntary while the latter is by force. True alignment is voluntary while we only resist conscription of any kind. There is a greater probability of widespread enrolment if the person espousing the cause is perceived as being genuine an authentic. Unfortunately it is difficult to learn authenticity. The popular narrative of management literature dumbs down all attributes of leadership by presenting it as a ‘ten step guide’ – and consumers of leadership literature start to believe that it can be ‘read and implemented’ in the manner of other capabilities. It is the surest way of killing authenticity in the leader. The rank and file ‘feels like following a leader’ when they know that are getting what they are seeing. The followership and the alignment to the cause is then intuitive and deeply felt. The greatest alignment emerges when there is no difference between the leader and the led. They become one voice. As Kabeer says of the state of complete alignment –

Mai Laaga us ek so, ek bhaya sab mahi

Sab mera main saban ka, tahan doosra nahi

(As I become one with the larger purpose, I become the whole and the whole becomes me)

 

Guru

(First published in the November Issue of 'Peoples Matter' )

 

Monday Musings 272 – Pick a hobby; Win the Nobel

Monday Musings 272  – Pick a hobby; Win the Nobel

A study by the University of Michigan as quoted in the book called ‘Originals’ by Adam Grant found out something so utterly bizarre, counter intuitive – and perhaps heresy to most middle class Indian parents; that your chances of winning a Nobel prize as a scientist become increasingly more if apart from the field of study you also dabble on the side with an artistic hobby. The odds become 2X greater if its music, its 7X greater if its Arts, 12X greater if its writing and a whooping 22X greater if it is Performing arts like an amateur actor or a magician.  Now who could have thought that!!

What should we pursue – the lifelong pursuit of only one craft or vocation and the desire of becoming a virtuoso or picking up alongside the core pursuit of our lives and dabble in a sundry interest here and there? The classical view on this one appears to be in the favor of the former; the latter are reviled tastefully under the burden of aphorisms like ‘a rolling stone gathers no moss’ – as if the whole point of being a stone is to gather moss! So should be pursue depth or breadth?

The debate on depth or breadth is akin to the coffee-toffee debate of yesteryears around the candy ‘melody’ – and most would stand for the stance which is closest to their own experience rather than a serious study of the subject; and would offer the jingle of the TVC as the answer to this depth vs. breadth conundrum – ‘’melody khao; khud jaan jao’.

There is also something called ‘Prison of prototypes’ – we process new information within the framework of what we already know. Hence the more width we have, even if it is not deep mastery, the more are the chances that we can process the new information and new perspectives. The question I am holding is whether our adult lives is spent heeding to the import of this nuance or do we perpetuate the dogma of ‘one life – one pursuit’? The emphasis is to carve out time for a deliberate expansion of experience to newer fields, however unrelated and however amateurish they might be in the beginning, not necessarily to gain anything material out of it, but just for the childlike joy of doing something new. The point to be made is that one never knows when and in what ways does this come to play a pivotal part in your current pursuit – and if this Michigan study is to be believed that more often than not it does increases your odds at succeeding in your core pursuit.  It is now a folklore for the Apple fans to quote Steve Jobs own admission that his passion for breathtaking product design was greatly influenced by a course in calligraphy that he had undertaken just on the side.

I am sure there is more to this that what is postulated – and we shall approach this basis our own intuitions and biases. Irrespective of our current stance – we must think about it and while we take some time to arrive at a definitive view, pick a small hobby on the side – to play an instrument or sing or write or perform. It just increases our bets to win a Nobel you see!!

Guru

Monday Musings 271 – The Orwellian dystopia

Monday Musings – The Orwellian dystopia

Good writing does not only inform and educate – it also indicates what do the winds augur. In a very uncanny way great literature is like crystal gazing – only far more complex. Sci fi writers also do the same thing but they occupy a different realm – of how science and technology will dramatically alter the processes of life and living. Rarely, if at all, do they talk about how will these inventions and advancements fundamentally alter the behaviour of people, the quality of relationships of individuals and groups, both within and across, and finally how will the polity at large change.  

Hence the other literature that tries to describe the ‘what can happen’ if the present fault lines continue to be under duress, becomes priceless and only too rare. Anyone who has an eye and stomach for such a literature must read the masterpiece ‘1984’ by George Orwell.

1984 was published in the late 1940’s and describes a polity which is excessively centralised, diabolically power hungry, and as it poignantly describes, power uncorrupted by the burden of having a higher purpose, but for power sake. Most critically it also describes the ones who want to exercise control over its people by controlling two fundamental things – ‘thoughts’ and ‘the past’.

One cannot help but notice how prescient the book was more than half a century ago – suffice it to say that one could have changed the title to ‘2016’ and it would be an accurate description of our times. I am sharing hereafter two critical themes from the book and leave it for you to admire the parallels – and should it tempt you to pick it up, do not resist it.  

The first is - He who controls the past controls the future. So an attempt is made by the powers to be, to obliterate all evidences of the past, particularly the alternative narrative. The past is continuously edited; newer versions of history is discovered and pedalled – which serves not only as a rationale for the current actions but also a source of its moral basis.  

The second is the concept of ‘thought-police’ – a system which keeps a tab on not only what you are doing but more importantly on what you are thinking. Even a mere thought which is independent of the popular/official narrative (or the narrative that the powers to be want you to believe) is treason. Thinking is no longer an independent act but a wayward force that must be controlled and an attempt to do so considered as defiance.

1984 is a frightening book as we read it today – I suspect if the world would have welcomed this great work as only a fantastic literature of its times or really a warning of the times we might inherit one day.

As a reader generally – and after reading this Orwellian masterpiece particularly, I have grown wary of all ‘history’ – whether of faiths, communities or nations. I am no longer sure if the ‘version’ I know is really how it was – or is just another version of truth. As Meryl Streep's character in the fantastic movie ‘Doubt, where she plays a nun in the church – a place where the currency of faith overrules all thought, says to the Bishop with anguish only a person of faith shaken to her core can experience – ‘Father, I have  Doubt’. 

I only have doubts now – or so it seems.  What makes my position so precarious is everyone around me is so absolutely sure.