GROUND ZERO – What Next?

The road not taken in HR corridors

One swift move, one deft manoeuvre, a single calculated risk, a moment of Inspiration – it only takes one of these to get ahead. But staying ahead is an entirely different ballgame; that needs a plan. Let me tell you my plan, it’s short and sweet. It’s to think out of the box, and act on it.

In the momentum at which the world is hurtling ahead, it takes inspiration to keep up with the pace, but it takes genius to outdo it. What has got you to an enviable position today is certainly not enough to get you to where you dream of being. In the eternal scuffle between the journey and the destination, I side with the journey.

They say ‘keep your eyes on the goal’, I say ‘keep them on the road, it will get you to the goal and beyond. They say ‘keep you focus on the pot of gold’, I say ‘take care of the runs and the dollars will take care of you’; the biggest injustice you can do yourself is to let the pressure of the achieving the goal, choke your performance.

Performance is supreme, and this is Ground Zero. This is where innovation and disruptive thinking play out. This is our chance to redefine tomorrow, to reorganise ourselves to make us capable of taking on that tomorrow and steering the course of events that will go on to make history. Think back to the most epic moments in history and mythology – they are the strongest advocates of this ‘ground zero’ thinking. Here are some uncommon lessons from common references of the past.

Immediacy: In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna advised King Arjuna on the
fundamentals of the greatest battle of his life. There are several lessons to draw, but I want to talk about the need to distance yourself from conflicts of the mind, and to understand the supreme need to act now, the evolve the way you have always thought, yet keep ethics and the common good as your guiding principle.

Implementation: Here is a lesser known story about the great mathematician – Pythagoras. While he is attributed with the ‘Pythagoras Theorem’, his works are marginally controversial. That is because he himself left no mathematical writings, and what we attribute to him largely comes to us from the documents of Philolaus. We will never know the truth behind these ancient stories, but we can draw our lessons from this – to act now on our ideas, before someone else thinks of them or they fade into oblivion. An idea is only as good as its implementation.

Confidence: We all have weaknesses. Remember the story of Achilles? His mother Thetis dipped him in a river to make him invulnerable. Sadly she held him by one heel to dip him, making his heel the only spot in his body to be untouched by the holy water. Regardless of what happened to Achilles, remember that confidence comes from understanding how to make the best of your strengths, despite the inevitable weaknesses. Confidence starts with overcoming weaknesses, and then from being comfortable around those superior to you. The most successful leaders are those who surround themselves with people who are better than themselves.

Humility: According to Greek mythology, when Zeus started dominating his siblings on Mount Olympus, they revolted and tied him up with a hundred knots. The clear lesson in this is that humility is imperative to success. Every spoke in the wheel must function to keep it in motion, and excellence exists in concerted performance (actions), and not necessarily in individual results. However, humility should not be confused with submissiveness. Choosing to think out of the box rather than stay safe, often leads to mistakes. But we should learn from our mistakes and move on to challenge more stereotypes.

Innovation: A very long time ago, at the peak of the Roman Empire, a journey through the entire empire would include UK, Belgium, Holland, Germany France, Switzerland, Austria and several other parts of Europe. It even included Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. If we were to cover that today – it would entail a lot of paperwork and multiple currencies! My one thought on this is that open borders also open minds. Innovation thrives when we remove layers and do not restrict thought, movement and talent. Innovation leaves a legacy.

All this talk of history stops here. History is relevant to draw lessons from, but irrelevant for the future. To look back is to take your eyes off the present, and that’s a luxury you can’t afford. Every minute gone by is passé, and every minute to come is your chance to learn, evolve and outperform – or be left behind!

So how can you get started? Get your priorities in place – excellence is not about being level-headed, it’s about desire and drive. It’s about letting go of the past, about shedding all that accumulated arrogance. It’s about realising that excellence is not about talent and ability, but about attitude.

Give up on excuses to give it your 100%. Then you’ll be ready; see you at Ground Zero. 

*The images used in this post are purely for reference purposes.

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Kaustubh Sonalkar is the most unlikely hero you’d expect to find in serious HR corridors. Disruption runs through his veins, and ideas come to him at the speed of light. Keep up with Kaustubh as he shares his thoughts through this un-blog.