Time to shift paradigm

I wish to provide some perspective from the education community with regards to my experience I have encountered recently. I see a lot of people in education, family and in community complaining a lot about the young generation and their approach. When I experienced the below situation it was astonishing to realize on much I need to work on myself rather than complaining. I hope that this article will shed light and change perspective.

Perspective

I was in the city’s busiest internet and gaming center in Hubli. I had been there earlier and I was surprised with the kind of young people spend their time. I used to see these folks and think that they have no better job, no college, no school, they just come here and waste their time, they are not serious about their life, wondering what they will do in their life (funny how I myself I am not sure about my own life was taking shape and I was thinking about others)

Last week again I had to go there, this time there was lot of buzz around the gamers they were all connected via LAN connection, they were screaming and suggesting what to do in the game strategy. This was the moment of a realization that they are learning while they are playing. The word which came to my mind was “indwelling” they are completely immersed in what they are doing, what a lovely scene, how many of us can be actually be like that? Vey handful I believe, my whole perspective got changed, I stood still smiling and looking at young gamers the way they were sharing, and my thoughts were interrupt as the cashier said “sir?”

I nodded and asked him how long do they play continually? He said 4-7hrs that number is significant as that is the time they are mentally working and building their community of likeminded people and most importantly they are enjoying their quality time while they are playing. I think we should follow this structure that “our students should enjoy when they are doing projects or in fact as a matter of attending classes this is the way forward for our education system to create the fluid environment which is result of shared interest and opportunity, and yes that is where they will flourish.

When I said to my uncle about my thought he said rubbish and asked me what are they learning? I said co-ordination, look at the team work and their dedication to achieve one common goal is to win the mission together not individually they all have to sync and come together to win.

The whole new emergence of thoughts changed from seeing the students as time wasting and good for nothing to a well knitted team work as ONE to accomplish one common goal. I think once we change the way we look everything changes. Today I personally feel education is all about exploring, questioning and playing with the tools we have.

What comes to mind at the end is C.S Lewis quote “the task of modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate desert”

 

Who Knows whats behind the open door?

What’s behind the open door, is it happiness or pain?
Who can I trust and will I make the same mistakes again?
For those of us paralyzed by fear, what does the future hold?
We could hide behind our fortress walls and watch ourselves grow old
Or take the chance on happiness, knowing we could fall
Will we fall in love or fall apart, for whom would we risk it all?

The sage advice I offer you, “To thine own self be true”
Accept that you are loveable, most importantly by you
Courage and a leap of faith, is all it takes to start
For when the right one comes along, you’ll know deep in your heart
There are no guarantees in life, we have no crystal ball
You may end up as you are now or you may just have it all

Tell that someone how you feel, don’t let him/her slip away
You’re worthy of love and happiness, today and every day. 

IQ and EQ

Life and business is all about people. As and when we decide to work with new organisation, it’s a challenge to adapt to new environment. Soft skills refer to personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism in relation to other people. I guess we can also call it as emotional quotient or EQ in a person. They say IQ gets you hired but EQ gets you promoted.

I have seen folks getting promoted coz the way they carry and behave themselves accordingly to the situation also folks who have got fired because the way they behave. It’s unfortunate that educational institutes don’t emphasise to have soft skills, in their curriculum to develop our students. That is not the question or the picture we need to look at

The bigger question to ask is: what is the best way to build one’s soft skills? Soft skills have to be put in two broad buckets:

Interpersonal skills. These are skills that help us work with others. Some of these, like global etiquette, business dinner etiquette can be taught in a classroom. Others, like negotiation or conflict resolution, can be learned by watching others. But some skills, like motivating others, are difficult to teach in a classroom. These can, however, be learnt by reflecting on one’s experiences, and honed through practice and feedback.

Many interpersonal skills can be learnt at least partly in the classroom. But to really sharpen them, it is important to be coached by experts. Designing “immersion experiences” for students to work on social entrepreneurship projects can build soft skills faster than any classroom course can.

Intrapersonal skills. Our response to stress, the energy level we display, our ability to trust others are some examples of intrapersonal skills. These are developed from early childhood experiences and are much more difficult to change. These take self-awareness and consistent effort over time to change. Beyond this, it depends on the perseverance and resilience of the individual. By the way, perseverance and resilience are also part of the list of intrapersonal skills — hard to develop.

Taking a class on leadership skills does not make someone a leader. Neither does reading a book on dieting make someone thin. People hone their soft skills over a lifetime of practice and coaching. Some B-schools provide the theoretical base through subjects like organisational behaviour. Some invite industry experts to coach students. Working in groups leads to team building. But is there a way by which the students will come in as “finished products” that need no soft skills training? I do not think so. That is why organisations need to hold classes to develop soft skills of all their employees, and not just of fresh hires from B-schools.

Views expressed are personal

Rewind

My dairy has been the closest thing for me to record my daily activities and appointments, in spite the fact that we have millions of applications on smartphone to do the same. I still prefer my pen and dairy. When flipping my calendar of 2013, I largely focused on gratefulness. I am thankful for stunning experiences that filled my heart and that which thrilled my life. Above all the work we do in Cultural and Relation’s is so stunning that we gracefully touch other’s lives (including ours)

I hope to continue this year with the same attitude which I have shifted in the last two months – that is  to experience new avenues and I am completely ok to make mistakes.

I feel the prerequisite is courage. Because you require courage to experiment. In the process of my experiment I made mistakes, now that i have committed mistakes i know which path to take. I am happy that I am making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing myself, changing myself has lead me to change the world around within me.

This makes life more glorious. Just a tip for people who want to try – Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love.

Please go ahead and do it. It’s beautiful. You will know you are awesome.

Storytelling

“Once upon a time…”

Well I couldn’t find more apt and immortal words to begin my blog.

The love for hearing a story is universal. Stories transport us back to our carefree childhood days, at this juncture it reminds me of classic tale what my grandfather told me “The goose that laid the golden eggs”  the moral which stayed back with me was ‘don’t be too greedy or impatient’  it held inexplicable magic.

According to me telling stories is unique human experience. Whereas animals can too but to very limited degree, they communicate their own personal experience to each other, on the other hand we human beings have developed the skill of ‘abstraction’ that is we are capable of communicating not just our own but others experiences too. The purpose is to provide access to a greater and more cumulative wisdom of our ancestors.

Storytelling has become a tool in organisation development, it has become more credible, acceptable and one might even say fashionable means for supporting learning and development and facilitating change. Advocating stories, metaphors and myths not just in L&D but also in leadership, selling, recruitment and marketing. Story telling is naturally occurring and powerful resource for communicating vital information and for delivering a memorable and inspiring message. I have used it personally while presenting organisations “PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE”. It stimulates and enhances the learning process and also possible more creative way to start discussion. So far by god’s grace I have got positive feedback on my presentations.

In today’s context there is more emphasis on ‘learning’ when compared to ‘training’, from my experience there has been gradual move away from the situation were training was perceived as an isolated function taking place behind the closed doors of training room, to where it is integrated into the day-to-day activities of an organisation. There has been move from the instructor led, content-based methods, towards a more a more self-directed, work-based, integrated approach. When discussed with fellow training folks most of them agree that there is an acceptance towards blended learning approach, rather than ‘one style fits all’ learning policy.

Lastly in this wise old art of storytelling “a happy ending” is holy, it cleanses old sorrow and rewards all trail and tribulation. ‘And they lived happily ever after’ is equivalent of triumphant finale. I hope this blog will illustrate that using storytelling to facilitate and make learning more pleasurable and effective.

Instill learning

For the last 15 months which I spent in organisation development, I would like to share few learning and reflection on the same. We live in volatile environment, things are all interlinked with each other, and if one element takes a shift the rest preceding will also follow the shift.

An organisation ability to unlearn and learn will be the key differentiator and competitive advantage in terms of ability to retain talent of internal customer (employee)

Last decade organisations across globe were finding it hard to retain employees, for employees it is all about (show me the money honey attitude) to manage the employee aspiration, the human resource team in org initiated IDP (Individual development plan) and IJP (Internal job posting). This helped the organisation till the management was transparent about and really keen to retain valuable employee. Then over the last few years the leadership team realized that they need to learn and build the culture as they grow because the world suddenly started spinning at faster rate once IT sector elevated. Then there was the vertical of learning and development bought into picture. The team’s leads/Managers are held accountable to make sure their team members attend at least one L&D session per quarter. These way employees also got the chance to learn few things whether they were job related skills or life’s value based learning. Currently the context of employee welfare is absolutely changed over the period of time, it’s about nurturing the mind of an individual- that is the job of Empowering team or L&D within organisation. This made quite Learning not in terms of massing knowledge but in terms of unlearning and learning, now organisation are looking for specific role and designation C.L.O (Chief learning officer) who has the ability to harbor in the organisation.

Through the experience what I have had in facilitation is the collective power of individual in the organisation, If we have empowered an individual employee this will impact his mind-set which will in turn impact the way he interacts and the effect is unprecedented. Today we live in the knowledge economy contest and knowledge is hardest currency across globe, it will be challenging for the organisation if they don’t empower their teams as they need to interact across various demography

The organisation has to aspire for more and more on value and knowledge the organisation needs to look at the function and role something larger then skilling and training individuals on knowledge creation.

When knowledge economy grows-this will lead to cross sectorial teams begin to operate –value of organisation climbs up. The success of empowering and L&D enhances, folks around the org would love to attend more sessions when they see themselves growing, and I think that’s the biggest feeling when you know you are growing, the joy is incomparable to monetary benefits what they give. For me it is interesting to see how Indian organisation will fare on this and how much weight do they give to the whole process in the coming next 4-7 years from now.

Instill learning has to be irregular process

The information shared above is purely from my individual perspective.

Thanks,

what a S#!t

There is only 1 way out

This particular scene is growing on me . Its been more then three weeks that i watched “slumdog millionaire”. It is of little Jamal (the hero of the story) passing excreta in a pit toilet, which happened to be his elder brother’s source of income. Customers per use of the toilet paid Salim, his elder brother. As Jamal was easing himself on this occasion, a client who was very hard-pressed came. Unfortunately, it was at this time that Jamal decided that he needed the solitude of the toilet and therefore he refused to be hurried out of it. The client left angrily and Salim lost the money he would have been paid. Little Jamal gets to know that India’s biggest superstar Amitab Bachan is coming down. He gets all set and tries to open the door, but to his bad luck “THE DOOR IS CLOSED”. The only way out in this trapped situation was to take dive into pit. He does it with so much of meticulously with grace making sure the photo is clean, the joy in which he runs to get what he wants is so beautiful. Its stuck in my mind.

Why am i telling this story? Three lessons learnt

First,

Sometimes you have to be desperate enough to throw caution to the wind if you want to achieve success. You may have to leave a job to become financially free.  You may have to abandon your prestigious medical career and become a schoolteacher to find fulfillment.

Second,

If life has given you a big bowl of sh** (or better still, if you are completely immersed in one) and it seems there is no way out, if everyone is running away from you because you stink (of poverty, failure, a bad job…), just remember that the road is also being cleared for you to get to your goal. You can choose to get discouraged and quit or you can make it your motivation and stepping-stone. Let the path be clear for you.

Third,

Jamal got to Amitabh because he wasn’t really conscious of the people around him. He didn’t notice that they were turning their noses and moving away from him. Perhaps if he had, he would have gone to hide. In the first case, he could jump into the pit because there was just one thing on his mind- Amitabh! In other words, he had a goal and he was focused on his goal. The best way to motivate yourself is to know where you are going and keep that picture in front of you. See yourself getting there. Replay that picture you see in your mind every single day. You can endure any hardship; face any circumstances as long as you know where you are going.

Your feedback is appreciated.

Thanks,

Tejaswi

13 seconds

55seconds and the countdown is on, right in front of me i have red signal which means i got stop. It was 11.00 in night, I thought to respect the rules and wait for few more seconds till its green, a few more cars and bikes stood there, there was this biker who came just beside me. We exchanged smiles and just stood still waiting for green to appear, I was hooked up to my earphone’s listening to my favorite tunes tapping my foot to the ground and shaking my head.  It was a beautiful drive i should say, and yup above all it was drizzling, Thinking i am in heaven a perfect breeze, a little drizzle, “life couldn’t be more beautiful”

20 seconds to go and engines start to roar, everyone gears up themselves and bikers starts accelerating. It feels like we are on race track 🙂 Vrooooooommmmm

13 seconds to go and the person who was just beside me zapped with bolt and he is gone. Tats the last thing I remember of him.

Have you ever seen man in air?

Spell bound few us stopped to see what happened the biker zapped and he had collided with loaded truck. As we all rushed to see what had just happened,  most of the bikes and cars were halted on service road. It was too late for anyone to save him as he had not worn the helmet. The only thing which comes to mind is 13 seconds. The road was spilled with red colour. The moment I saw the scene I was in utter shock  there is nothing much to be done.

I just sat on pedestrian for few minutes thinking of what happened few minutes ago.  It’s just the matter of 13 seconds, are we are so impatient towards time?  He had waited a long time from 55 seconds to 13 seconds. Then what went wrong why not wait for another few seconds till its green indication? Where was his patience?

What strikes my mind while I am typing these words is quote by Lao Tzu: ‘Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles, and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?’ We might think of “waiting” as taking time, but it’s actually less about clock time and more about inner space. Of course, there are moments when our immediate gut-level response to a situation is a flash of intuition that can be trusted, moments when it’s crystal clear what needs to be done. But at other times, an experience stirs up some of that inner mud, and at those times, patience engages us in the process of becoming still.  Wisdom, after all, develops at the edges of our understanding.” A deep reflection on why patience pays off.

We all want things to happen immediately, especially the generation which I am in. Everything is instantaneous. I like the quote above mentioned by Lao Tzu as it reminds me that with time and experience (a.k.a. wisdom), I am learning to let things unfold at their pace. It’s never easy as you try to keep things running at a certain speed but I have learned a great deal with several experiences under my belt for 5 years that time is your friend and you need to learn to use it to your advantage. Patience comes as you learn that you can’t control everything and your success will come with your ability to adapt to other’s timeline.

Just a little patience

Thank you

To my students,

Last evening in office we celebrated my birthday and completion of one year. I received a trophy from my boss on my completion. Was deeply moved by the words which were shared by all.

I won’t lie and say that teaching students all has been easy.  The class has not been easy to handle. It’s far from a walk in the park. But i want to thank you all, for giving me a continued sense of fulfilment, a purpose, and for furthering my passion for my advocacy of education.

So many people are walking the Earth, directionless and irrelevant because they serve no higher intention. But for me, you are the reason why I strive to be a better educator, why I wake up in the mornings, or when i am preparing late night for tomorrow’s class. If you ask me what is on my mind. I will say this “will they be able to comprehend it or is there a way we can simplify it?”

I am here, hopefully, I have done my bit in your success and aid in your preparation in facing the world. I am honored that you have entrusted these hopes of yours to me and I work hard so as not to fail you.

Your class is my inspiration and the reason I am a teacher.

Yours truly,

Tejaswi

…………..Moonlight Walk

After having good dinner in Canara engineering collage canteen last week (Bantwal, Mangalore, Karnataka, India). I decided to take a stroll as i stepped out of guest house to take a  walk, I was wondering if either moon is crescent or full, i looked at the sky. woow she was out there 🙂 could not help to bring smile on my face. I looked at shiny object above my head, she was crescent, and the beam of moonlight was kissing every object in nature. It was a beautiful phenomenon of nature when you look into the sky. Now when its so beautiful let me embrace i thought.. so i decided to take a long walk, make acquaintance with other side of nature; I soon discovered i was also making acquaintance with its complexion. As the collage students were hanging in campus talking about the classes, their day, i went on to make my own space. Leaving behind my thought & my stress. I had walked around 2km was in the middle of “NO MANS LAND” it was just me and MYSELF, after a long time i had this feeling of being with myself.

Taking a stroll in moonlight was a delightful experience. Every step i was making on road was reliving my stress it was elevating my spirit, cheered my soul and it was refreshing my mind. I look at her in calmness and quietness. It was a mixed feeling of being thrilled and relived. It was feeling a sense of joy on every step i took; i was experiencing freedom of my mind, thoughts and ideas. The tranquil surrounding the landscape presents a lovely sight. Every object was appearing to be cheerful. The flowers emitting sweet fragrance, petals dancing to the tune of soothing and cool wind and the trees whispering in the breeze really render a fascinating spectacle.

Next day i called up dearest friends and shared my experience how i wish they were there. I remember my childhood – we used to cut jokes and chat up all-night it used to be an alluring pleasure. This was a rich experience nostalgic one i guess.

She looks splendor in starry heavens. It was a walk to remember with myself.

Take time out for yourself and enjoy the other side with nature.

Cheers!!