Saturday, April 14, 2018

Perform ... Don't Patronise


I believe in performance. I believe in delivering results. I believe in overpromising and then... over delivering. I believe in rolling up my sleeves and getting to work right after the commitment is made,,, and keeping the clock going until the expectation is delivered.

You can tell a performer from a patronizer. They both give the promise of delivery, but only one delivers.

A performer is seen at work, a patronizer is heard at work. You can hear a patronizer talking a lot about the work he will do, but don't see him doing much. A performer, on the other hand, has no time for small talks and he is hard to reach because he is neck deep into work.

A performer brainstorms and strategizes. He invites ideas. He looks for suggestions. He is always fishing for faster ways of delivery and alternate solutions. He listens.
A patronizer is heard in heavy discussions about the vision and the goal, but seldom about what he will do to get there. A patronizer is good at impressing people with his articulation of the dream, but then sleeps on it when it comes to action.

And when the deadline kicks in, the patronizer is the first to cut communication lines, is the easy target of all viral infections to fall sick, and basically will have something horrific happen to him fictitious or real, to get out of the firing line on non-completion of his target. He will not win your praise but he will do everything to win your sympathy for having failed in his commitment.

A performer will stay in touch. He will ask for help if needed for he knows that he is close to his target and non-achievement would only mark a waste of his efforts and his sacrifice. He will work with you to make things happen. He will not disappear on you. He will come to work even if he is sick because he is so invested. He will do everything to not let you down because his sweat and his heart lie at the core of his work.

You can tell a performer from a patronizer. And you choose your outcome when you choose one of them.

P.S. I have chosen many patronizers mistaking them to be highly motivated people. And I have learned to choose well the hard way.
P.P.S. When a patronizer finds his way into your team, you lose, and everyone involved loses because a patronizer will take you to the clouds with his talks and then rain down on you a series of losses, in terms of lost time and resources.
P.P.P.S. I know the difference between both, and I choose to BE a performer !!!

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Making a Come Back to Blogging



It's been a few years now... blogging has taken a back seat. But something tugs at my heart tonight, to write... away from my daily journal... into a daily blog. It's a queer expression of extroversion, where I feel the urge not just to think aloud, but to think along... with you.

I sit in my hotel room in Indore... writing.
I just arrived this afternoon, and at 1.12am it seems I have been here for days. Have you ever spent a day in such high randomity, where you met with so many people and went such a great distance in that connection, that it distorted time. I think that is the power only human connection can bring. This kind of metaphysics occurs when people connect at a soul level, at a common frequency, of love.

I landed this afternoon. I spoke to a crowd of over a 1000 students in Daly College and then to a group of 150 Top CEO's in the evening. And guess what, this feels like home. They weren't strangers. These were people I had an instant connection with... the feeling that I had known them a long time. And it remained a constant all through my day.

Is my profession an accident, or am I moving to a higher place of connection?
Is my presence in their presence a coincidence, or am I moving to a deeper place of love?
Is my purpose leading me or am I being lead to my purpose?

The answer isn't as important as the feeling that I feel... that all is right... and that is how it should be.