Living on the Edge - Aerosmith

Dear Friends and Professional Network:

A sincere thanks and gratitude for being out there in supporting each other in a very “Pivotal Year” of our lifetime. Perhaps we have seen the worse of our lifetime and there is every reason to cheer and be optimistic of the better times ahead. I remember sometime in 2010 “Vision 2020” was a very popular Management Activity. Management Consultants and Intellectual burned countless hours to define a future that next existed. BCP, DRP were performed again and again until everyone had mastered it. All this happened within a defined parameter of human imagination of what can go wrong. "Things are only impossible until they're not." -- Captain Jean-Luc Picard Star Trek. Now we know what that means.

So how do I explain what happened in 2020 from my perspective and what did I do to ride it strongly. Here are 7 + 1 key Reinforcement / Learnings during 2020 that made me stronger:

1.      “Living on the Edge Aerosmith” .. Yes as much as I do not like to admit we all lived on an edge through the year. Our instincts of getting in control of everything around us did not work. I, like lot many of you realized we were “Vulnerable”. In a contrarian view I think we were preparing ourselves for something like this over the years by working in very diverse set of experiences. Different environment, teams, challenges, cultures, available information set to achieve certain outcomes taught me to deal with the situation and work on a plan until things get normal. This was both on professional (teams and peer) and personal (family and friends) fronts.

 2.      “Don’t Give Up – Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush” I have seen the Asian Financial crisis, Post Dot Com Bubble Economy as I graduated from ISB, Lehman Crisis and Impact on Global Investment when I was in China, Long troughs in the Indian Economy. All these business cycles help shape up your ability to make judgement even in the toughest of the times without taking too much stress. Your colleagues look up on such occasion to leaders like you and it is your responsibility to provide direction in such uncertain times. Lead them and engage more than ever before.. you have the power.

 3.       “We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.” — Whoopi Goldberg . Communicate with your mentors and let them know what you are thinking. I cannot be more thankful to my mentors, who have helped me over the years in toughest of the times. Invest in your relationship with Mentors and times like these help you realize the value and importance of their counsel. Return this Gratitude by being Mentors to people who need you .. and help these professionals in believing in themselves. I reinforced the same as I worked with 5 mentees and colleagues during the year.

 4.      "Compassion: that's the one things no machine ever had. Maybe it's the one thing that keeps men ahead of them." -- Dr. McCoy. Will all the AI + Deep Tech, Machine learning we still needed to hit ground zero to help the migrants who found themselves out of jobs and helpless as Lockdown started in late March 2020. Getting together with people who were selflessly setting up community kitchen helped me find a big purpose during the early days of lockdown. The big learning is when you have the power to help others.. do it selflessly through charity and community service.

 5.      “When the flower opens, the bees will come. —Kabir” Find your calling and you will find surrounded by people who support the cause. I stepped up on my running during the year. It is both liberating and meditative for me. Last year's (2019) injury was behind me as I clocked the highest ever mileage during the year with 7 half marathon and 1full marathon under the belt. A PB in Full in marathon (NYC Marathon) was completed. I am sure with my preparation I will get my Half and 10k PB in the next few weeks. This required certain degree of planning and my group was so supportive with the plan & preparation. I delivered on Execution.

 6.      “Leaders in an execution culture design strategies that are more road maps than rigid paths Ram Charan “ Nothing is more important than doing thing rights and sticking to the road map. It is an important learning we learn everyday when we do practise run. The Road map is 10 km run.. there are many paths that help you cross the distance. It was a major reset for me professionally in 2020 (will write about it the other day). 4 weeks into a new role and lockdown happened. It did not get give me a chance to get deep and understand business well. But first think I did was to meet all key leaders in person who were critical for success and get to know them better. Road Map meant I will be interacting with same set of people many time over the next few months.

 7.      Its my Life – Bon Jovi “It’s my life / It’s now or never / I ain’t gonna live forever / I just want to live while I’m alive”.. Truly I want to live while I am alive.. Enjoy it every moment you have. This means taking care of your team … they look up to you, Your family… you are the pillar, your friends.. just be around. This year has taught us a lot.. how to value what we have.. this is priceless

8. UPDATED: Take time off.. you and your family needs it.. It is important to rejuvenate. Your body and mind is like a well. It needs a good monsoon to fill up and continue to be that eternal provider of life. Give yourself that monsoon where you leave behind the past and think afresh about the future. It is time for you to break down the monotony of your daily routine and look things differently. 

Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey – When You Believe - “There can be miracles / When you believe / Though hope is frail / Its hard to kill”