Being PASSABLE to being VALUABLE : HNY 2020

2019 ! Oh, What an year….

It certainly taught me a thing or two at work while leaving its irreversible mark with lot of learnings in personal life.

But, while I was in midst of all these whirlwind inwardly changes, the dynamics or changes in the external environment were equally deterministic & impactful.

This year, there were ton of changes in the external environment to get inspired from, to draw one’s strengths and more importantly to validate one’s beliefs & hypothesis.

One such favorite topic is about “Challenging the Status Quo ….” I will give it you, if anyone is hearing for the first time. But, for most Junta, this phrase is no stranger to ears – certainly, most used or abused phrase in recent times.

And perhaps, most favorite one for the Managers – specially at these year-end appraisal times or Political Leaders at election campaigns ??

In my personal opinion (Look fellas, I have NOT used the more Indian “In My Honest Opinion” phrase here!), none who preach this phrase to you might be kind enough to tell you the most important “HOW” part of this question… “How” exactly do you Challenge the Status Quo ..?”

Well ! Lets look around for answer(s) from the happenings this very year …..

The year’s inspirational moments started with Patriots winning super bowl . No big deal for they made it a habit of winning Super Bowls !

The man to talk about here was Tom Brady – perhaps the hall-of-fame QB of all time - who tirelessly worked his way up and brought glory to Patriots & Himself.

Now, they compare Tom Brady to the legendary Joe Montana – never seen Joe Montana playing but had a fortune of watching another legendary QB, Dan Marino (Miami Dolphins), who never won a super bowl in his career. All these legends stood against odds and showed relentless intent to succeed.

The other popular and noteworthy moment was Jagan Mohan Reddy’s land slide win and taking oath as a Chief Minister of neighboring state – Andhra Pradesh.

Nope. This is not to make a point or talk about my political inclinations here. But, it’s all about the introspection, grit & determination of one man, who challenged the status quo to run after a dream of making it big.

While the world is talking about D&I initiatives, this same year, ‘Pele in Skirts’ Marta (Brazil) becomes that highest goal scorer in the women’s soccer world cup, erasing the records & challenging the gender limitations. Not an easy achievement for a this lady ! The intensity with which she played soccer has to be seen – year after year - despite her personal situation or physical challenges.

This very year, lunar mission of China landed on the other side of Moon bringing the age-old imagination to reality.

India’s Chandrayaan was another inspiring moment, where the art of science and dignity in failure were visible to all of us – underlining where to improve.

The now-famous “I am not supposed to tell you this” Abhinandan incident was another noteworthy episode this year – a goose bumps moment to most when Abhinandan walked past the Indo-Pak border gate with his head held high and all smiles. A big salute to the man and his integrity.

All these examples show the intent to draw a larger circle if one is cornered or marginalized in a smaller circle. The winners here were not satisfied with Status Quo or Passable fare, but wished to become more Valuable.

In the hindsight of all these, the recipe to 'Challenge the Status Quo' seems to be evident. Like them, we just need to follow the Golden 8-I rule – Introspect the environment, Imagine the beyond, Implement per plan, Improve upon the learnings, carry positive Intent , keep up the Intensity and never comprise your Integrity – till you succeed.

If anyone is wondering that this sentence had only seven ‘I’s, your arithmetic skills are just awesome, dear ! Yes. That sentence just has seven ‘I’s in it.

The Eighth ‘I’ is the First person – the real ‘I’ or the DO-ER.

In plain & counseling language, Status Quo can be challenged if one (the person in context or real ‘I’) practices certain behaviors (Intent, Intensity and Integrity) and takes-up certain actions (Introspect, Imagine, Implement & Improve), till he/she succeeds.

More importantly, challenging the status quo must start from within own SELF (not questioning the system or higher-ups) and follow the other seven ‘I’s – as shown by these people.

Then, my friend, you move from being Passable to being Valuable – You become the ‘Art of Possible’ !

Let the new dawn and new year 2020, give you strength to step up from being PASSABLE to being VALUABLE :

Moving from just a PASSABLE Worker to a VALUABLE Employee;

Moving from just a PASSABLE Manager to a VALUABLE Mentor;

Moving from just a PASSABLE Acquaintance to a VALUABLE Friend;

Moving from just a PASSABLE Also-ran to a VALUABLE Achiever;

Moving from just a PASSABLE Existence to a VALUABLE Living;

Here is Wishing you & your family a very Happy and Prosperous New Year – 2020.

God Bless.