Reflections of a mystic

How would life be if....

...You actually have all that which you wanted.
...You decided to live life on your own terms
...You suddenly become aware that you have everything it takes to create life the way you want.
And how would life be if i were to tell you that everything written above is possible for you.

Values...Source code of all our actions

Contrary to popular belief, i had discovered that we ( Corporate Execs, Managers, People, Junkies), have a big misunderstanding about values.

The belief in corporate world  is " Values are nothing else but good meaning (good looking as well) words and statements, typed and showcased in expensive golden frames on the office corridor walls".

As a Vision Exercise facilitator, i always enjoy watching people do some funny stuff while they are going through "Value Articulation" session. Most of them, barring few are engaged in finding some beautiful words and statements. And when am about to lose my cool, someone sometimes asks a very fundamental question. "Hey lets stop. Lets first find out, what is a value??"

And then i get up, most of the time, with a wicked smile and say this "I was desparately waiting for someone to actually ask this question? And now that you have asked let me give you a simple answer"

Values are action triggers. Whatever you value you will do that. It will reflect in your action naturally. You cant adopt a value. Value is already something thats running you.

For eg. If you have a urgent meeting at office and your friend calls for help as he is not well and hospitalized?  What will you do? Just pause and ask this question to yourself.

If you value your friendship you might reschedule meeting, if you value work you might go to your friend after sometime.

However there is one more thing about values. It will force you to choose in critical moments. And hence what reflects in the critical moments in your jobs, careers and business are your values. And they are reflected not by what you say, but by what you do....

Seems like a long post...but i feel it was worth it...Let me know what you feel??

4 fundamental questions for building your dream job / career / life

When i was working at GE, couple of years back, i found this amazing book that helped me take some right decisions. This book "Repacking your bags" by Richard J Leider and David A Shapiro contains 4 fundamental questions. When i asked those questions to myself it created at first an hazy vision of the life that i am living now.

Thought when those questions helped me, am sure they might help some of you too...

Am not dishing out the questions here, but the answers that i found. I found the answer and its written below. If you are curious about the questions, just read the answer and figure out for yourself. And when you figure out the questions, please find the answer that might lead to your dream job, career or your dream life.

My answer that satisfies me each day...
"I am in the company of my near and dear once, living in the city i call home, doing what i feel passionate about, and being rewarded for my effort generously."

Ps. please pay attention to the order of the answer as well...Do let me know what you found for yourself...

5 Things you must know about office promotions

Lately, i have been conducting programs for a lot of IT Project Managers. Often the conversation that does come up is about assessment and appraisals. Here are few patterns that i have observed about Managers. The knowledge of these patterns you must have if you wish to positively influence your boss before your next appraisals...
1. Am gonna do it now...
Always know that your boss or manager is not really assessing you through out the year, but he/she will do it as the appraisal time comes near. You need to be careful about your communication, your office time, your conflicts with others etc. just a month before the appraisal.
You never know in which meeting near the appraisal time, your boss is gonna say "Am gonna appraise this chicken now".

2. Mr. & Miss Popular, Please take the first seat
Whether you like it or not, your popularity and likeability quotient matters. Finally we all are victims of perceptual reality. If your boss perceives you as a Mr. or Ms. popular, she does not want to displease you.

3. "What do you think of Dumbo from my team?"
Sad but true. Sometimes the people who can influence your promotion decision are not from your team. They could be your bosses friends in organization, his peers, his boss, and if you have visited or met up with your boss's spouse or children, then even them.
You never know when your boss might pop this question to any of the above.

4. I know he is good, but...
Most of the times, your boss is also victim of organizational policies and grid structure for assessments. In this case, he really is helpless if he is ruling you out. Kindly know, he gets filled with guilt upto the brim. So much so that some of the symptoms could be avoiding eye contact with you,  leaving the meeting room when you enter, replying in  words and not sentences.

5. Am i doing the right thing?
This is most important, no matter what you believe about your boss. She is always thinking whether she is doing the right thing by getting you promoted. Especially, when the assessment time is around the corner. You might not want to do anything that might upset her judgment about you.

Will reveal more in my upcoming posts on career development