Self-Reliance

Adapted from a 30 minutes Webinar Organized by Thane Management Forum

These are the main points from a speech I delivered on Self-Reliance at a Webinar organized by the Thane Management Forum on June 12, 2020.

Self Reliance is the title and subject of a famous essay by American philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, written in 1841. Emerson, along with Henry David Thoreau, was a part of the Transcendentalism Movement in North America, which was said to be much influenced by ancient Vedic thought, especially the beliefs in the fundamental goodness and potential divinity of humankind.

Self-Reliance, or rather, its Hindi synonym Atmanirbharta, became a buzz-word in India when Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi brought it into focus in his recent motivational speech to the entire country through a television broadcast. In the wake of the lock-down declared across the country to safeguard citizens from the Covid-19 pandemic, there is also the need to rebuild the local economy which has taken a major hit and hence the relevance of the motivation to be self-reliant.

He urged citizens to be self-reliant and to be 'Vocal' (proud of using and focused on promoting) about 'Local' (indigenous products and services) so that we can make our 'Local' go 'Global'.

To add to that thought, what I say is that we must be 'Focal' (focused) on (developing mindsets of excellence in) our 'Local' (goods and services) and then be 'Vocal' ( build a brand) about 'Local' to make it go 'Global'.

So, what then should be our focal areas for us to locally develop our global competitive capabilities?

Professor Rooshikumar Pandya, my mentor for 30 years, used to say that to be self-reliant is one of the keys to personal happiness. Also, while a sign of maturity is to move from dependence to independence, it is said that further progress happens when we realize that we are all interdependent.

Can we retain our independence in the face of this reality that we are interdependent? The answer, I believe, is a resounding yes. The focus of this article, then, is to propose a way for us to develop self-reliance as an inclusive quality.

I dedicate this article to Ralph Waldo Emerson, Narendra Damodar Modi and Rooshi Kumar Pandya, as I focus on the application or the "how" of developing self-reliance in an individual, especially, but not restricted to, a business owner, since it is adapted from a talk that addressed a management forum.

I summarize below the mindsets to develop self-reliance with the acronym R.E.L.I.A.N.C.E. where 

R is for Responsibility

E is for Express yourself

L is for Learning and growth

I is for Integrity

A is for Action

N is for Non-conformism

C is for Confidence

E is for Exploration, Experimentation and Experience.

Let's briefly examine each of these 8 points:

1. Responsibility:

a) Take responsibility for yourself and your results.

One must stop blame. Do not blame the environment, nor the political leadership, not the economy, nor the history, not luck & not God. If you change the way you see things, the things you see will change. If you want to change anything in your outer world you must first change something in your inner world. For your world to change, you must change.

b) Take responsibility for your environment.

One must be a leader.... a leader not only by position, but by decision. A leader is one who is capable of positively influencing his or her environment, whether it is a community, family, business, or team. As a leader, you must take responsibility not only for yourself but for your environment and the people in your environment. You must remind yourself that we are all in the same boat and the actions of one will affect the lives of others, so we must all be responsible. There will be weaker sections of society, both economically and physically, and it is our responsibility, as leaders, not just to want to be in-charge, but to take care of those in our charge.

c. Response-ability is also about having the ability to respond appropriately in changing times.

One must respond with positivity and courage and not react with weakness and negative emotions. Do not be a courier or transmitter of bad news and negativity to the people around you. In fact, if you receive news, sieve through it to see the validity of it and the positivity in it. Think of the effect it will have on others before passing it on. In fact, avoid excessive negativity and fear-mongering. Prepare and safeguard but don't be consumed by and spread fear and paranoia. Also, control your reactions and pause when there is a triggering stimulus so that you don't unthinkingly react but appropriately respond to situations that may be new even for you. Limit your intake of negative news and be a beacon of hope for your teams, families and community. Remember, this too shall pass.

2. Express yourself:

a) Be authentic.

These days it may be necessary at times to wear a mask to protect against the virus, but don't mask your words and your thoughts with fear and doubt. Say what you truly believe without fear of being called wrong or being ridiculed by others.

Innovation can only happen in a society if you dare to fearlessly express what is truly in your heart. The situation that the world is facing is completely unprecedented and the old ways will not work. New, original, creative and authentic thoughts are needed. 

b) Don't be a people-pleaser.

Don't try to be well-adjusted to everyone around you because you want to avoid conflict or criticism from anyone. J. Krishnamurthy is known to have said, " It is no measure of an individual's mental well-being to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society". If you find something that is wrong, you must stand up against it and voice your own opinion. In fact if you have the courage to say what you believe you will find some people who agree with you but were just keeping silent. Having the courage to express yourself despite what others say is the way of even encouraging new ideas. In every work of genius, said Emerson, we recognize our own rejected thoughts.

c) Don't try to prove yourself, work to improve yourself 

Express, don't try to impress. if you truly have some of your own thoughts and feelings, say so... without the worry of making a mistake because every mistake is an opportunity to improve your own thoughts to make them better. And discuss ideas for their merit without worrying about where they come from... be open to good ideas from anywhere and be open to discard them, if they don't work, even if they are your own. Don't be attached to ideas that don't work.

3. Learning and growth:

a) The universe is a university.

The most vital skill to be developed is how to learn, unlearn and re-learn with speed. If one has the attitude and mentality of learning like a sponge, then one can learn from anything and anyone. Every experience, every conversation and every observation can be an opportunity to learn something new. 

b) Every leader needs a mentor.

We don't know what we don't know. To think we know something when we don't know it, is the beginning of the downfall. Einstein is believed to have said that one cannot solve a problem from the same level at which he or she is experiencing it, because at some level, one is usually partly responsible for manifesting the problem in the first place. We all, regardless of age and seniority, need someone with objectivity, integrity and wisdom to show us the light and the mirror. And we must do the same for others who need it.

c) Collaborate, don't compete at small levels.

Acknowledge with gratitude your source of learning and help when you needed it. Help others when needed. H.E.L.P. is High Energy Level Participation. it can come from anywhere. Don't keep score. Don't compete with your mentors and those who have helped you grow. Believe in yourself enough that you know you can collaborate with others for creative synergistic win-win exponential growth rather than have a petty competitive spirit at lower levels. Think big. 

Leave ego out of learning and growth. Use ego as a protective device or for marketing purposes but know that it becomes a limiting factor when it comes to self-growth.

4. Integrity :

a) Do what you say.

Just this habit will build reliability and trustworthiness and is a mark of basic professionalism. It seems so simple but just doing this will catapult you into the top one percent of performers. When the going is tough, we need differentiators for our clients and integrity is unfortunately a rare and powerful differentiator. Remember, if integrity is about keeping promises, you can get better at it in 3 ways: by thinking deeper before making a promise; by knowing more about the possible pitfalls and how to avoid them before making a promise; and also by developing greater capabilities to honor your promises.

b) Live by principles.

If you live by principles which are aligned to reality or the truth ( Dharma) of how things actually work, then you develop a force of character which is powerful and you yourself become a force to reckon with. The principles aligned with reality are laws... just as there is the law of gravity which can be good ( because it keeps us all from flying away) and can be bad ( if one wants to take a walk off the 10th floor of a building).... there are several impartial laws of business, of relationships, of human behavior and of life. If we understand these universal principles and values and if we live by them then our KARMA ( actions) will be aligned with our DHARMA ( principles) and we become more reliable in everyone's eyes. We become, as Simon Sinek calls it, long-term players of the infinite game... not short-term players of greed and convenience.

c) Add value.

Of all the various ways in which a leader can influence others, the most powerful way is to add value. People remember you most for what you do for them. This is aligned with Level 4 and 5 of John Maxwell's five levels of leadership which are about contribution to people and developing leaders. Your products and services must add more value than anyone else's. It's important here again to let go of ego and go for excellence. You must objectively benchmark your offering with the world's best and work towards constant improvement and innovation to add value to all stakeholders every day. Add value every day in relationships, in business and in life. Ask yourself, what did I do today to increase the value I gave?

5. Action :

a) Be consistent.

A brand takes a long time of consistent visibility and consistent presence and consistent excellence to become entrenched in the mind-space of a consumer. There is no quality that has the power of consistency to build unshakable trust. Persistence, perseverance, practice, dedication, discipline, devotion, focus... all of these have at their core the quality of being consistent in one's effort to gain mastery and gain trust. When one has found one's purpose aligned with potential, passion, and possibilities to manifest it... then comes the action with consistency of direction which is the only way to achieve any kind of success.

b) Take massive action.

Discussions and ideation do not create results without appropriate action. And in today's VUCA ( Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic, Ambiguous) world, when we do not know which action will result in the desired goals being achieved, it is more important to take massive action, sometimes simultaneously, and also different types of action... but all in the same direction.. towards the same goal. We do not know which action will give us the result we want. We do not know what are all the roadblocks we will confront tomorrow. So some will work, some won't, so what? ( SW, SW, SW formula!). Take massive action towards your goals. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Have back-up plans. But keep moving. 

c) Speed is a key element

Generally, it is not enough to be on the right track, one must also keep moving, with speed... more speed than the others on the same track in order to deliver more value. Agility is important also in changing tracks if required... and speed is also needed in shortening the learning curve... from learning to implementation. However one must judge the risk factors too.

If new small mistakes are made faster, the recovery can be faster, and the learning and subsequent right moves can be faster.

A caveat though, if you absolutely know where you are going, slow down. Until you do. There is no wisdom in reaching failure faster.

6. Non-conformism

a) Only dead fish go with the flow.

Mark Twain, who was Emerson's contemporary, is know to have said,

"Anytime I find myself on the side of the majority, I pause and reflect". All successful people in their journey to success have encountered and ignored negative people who believed it cannot be done because it was not done before. Nay-sayers exist and must be encountered as challenges on the road to success. Mahatma Gandhi is known to have said, " First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." Don't do something just because others are doing it. Pause, reflect, and decide to march to your own drummer's beat.

b) Look with fresh eyes.

Emerson said, " Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds". The key word here is " foolish". This means that one must not stick to old ways which do not work just because it has always been done before. This is also called Zero-based Thinking which is a decision-making tool that requires you to analyze your own decisions made in the past with fresh eyes.. with the knowledge you now have..and ask yourself if you would still have made the same decision if you had the knowledge you do today. If not, then have the courage to change your decisions. Be bold, be rational, be objective.

c) Old ways will not give new results.

If you continue to do what you have always done, you will continue to get what you have always got. One definition of insanity, attributed to Einstein is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Be open to learn new ways and try new ways to deal with new situations. Don't throw good money after bad just to keep a tradition going which yields no results. Harvard Business School teaches this as "Sunk-cost Effect". If something is not working the way you want, let go of it or change it instead of sticking to it because you have already invested so much in it. 

7. Confidence:

a) Trust yourself.

It is very important that you have self-belief. Emerson said, " Have a Herculean, God-like trust in yourself!" . When you trust yourself, and act according to your principles, even if you don't know the exact way or path to your goals, you will inspire trust in others. When you trust yourself, you exude an enthusiasm which is contagious! The word enthusiasm etymologically comes from two Greek roots 'en', which means 'within', and 'theos', which means 'God'... the energy of the God within! Emerson said that you must speak with conviction what you believe today and with equal conviction what you believe tomorrow, even if what you say tomorrow contradicts what you said today... it shows that you are learning and growing... and I add to Emerson's words...let this new conviction be with a higher awareness and with the humility of a learner. At every moment, trust yourself.

b) Be competent.

True confidence comes from competence. Capability enhancement is the best way to reduce stress , feel confident, build trust and deliver results. Things are difficult if you don't have the capability to handle those things. Once you develop the competence and then take this competence to the level of mastery, then those very challenges become easy to overcome! Stress is inversely proportional to capability. Also competence is the only security in a dynamic world market. Increased competence will help to improve the quality of the products and services which will increase the value to the end customer and build a loyal repeat-clientele tribe. Confidence with competence also helps to develop clarity which helps to make better decisions both in personal and professional spheres of life.

c) Believe that the best will happen.

When you know, you have clarity and you can make choices. What do you do when you don't know? How can you develop confidence without clarity? The best way to do that is to decide to believe that all will be well. This is called positive expectancy. Several studies have been conducted, including double blind experiments, where it is has been proven that just as people strive to fulfill and live up to the expectations of their parents and their role models ( which is why we must always expect nothing but the best from our spouse, children, colleagues and team members), it has also been proven that we ourselves subconsciously strive to fulfill our own expectations of ourselves ( based on our own beliefs about outcomes as reflected in our self-talk). So do your best, expect the best to happen, and leave the rest. When you don't know the future, work to make it positive and expect only positive to happen. This will create a positive environment and energy for you and everyone around you, which will increase the likelihood of achieving positive results. 

8. Explore , Experiment, Experience

a) Be open-minded

The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open. To be open allows us to see possibilities, to have more choices, and to be objective.

The importance of objectivity cannot be over-emphasized. Objectivity requires what is called in the Vedas as having "Drishtabhaav" or "Saakshibhaav" as it is called in Sanskrit, translated as having the quality of " being a witness". Having a third person perspective, a child-like curiosity, a non-judgmental wonder and appreciation of self, others and of every life experience... makes you look at things from multiple perspectives, a quality so essential for both inclusiveness and creativity. A leader has to understand the paradoxical nature of life and align these paradoxes from a higher awareness and wisdom. The starting point of this wisdom is to have an open mind.. to observe what is, as it is...to be able to distinguish fact from opinion. It is not easy. But then, nothing worthwhile is easy.

b) Adapt.

Change or you will be changed. In this dynamic fast-changing world, everything is in a state of flux. We are exposed to a Niagara of information, we have everyone competing for our attention, our attention and retention are both being limited by this deluge of interests and changes. We have to live in the moment, see what works and adapt to reality. Too much change causes stress. Especially if we resist and don't adapt. The good news is dinosaurs became extinct , but human beings survived...because we have the potential to adapt. We must do it more and faster. And as a leader, to be able to adapt better and faster, remember the advice given in the Bhagwad Gita....you must become non-attached to the results of your efforts (so that there is no success or failure because both don't last long under the changing environment) and yet you must be fully involved in the process of executing your role with excellence.

c) Take risk

As a leader you must develop a healthy appetite for risk. A ship looks beautiful when it is moored to the docks but that's not what it was built for. It was created to move out boldly into the seas, to face and overcome the storms and other challenges and to emerge victorious. The only people without any stress are in the morgue, and even that we are not sure of. You must use your resourcefulness to compensate for your limited resources and take reasonable risks with a resolve to succeed, with resilience to bounce back, with some reserves to fall back on and with the ability to rejoice through the adventure and reap the desired results as your reward!

I strongly believe that if leaders ( anyone with a decision and capability to influence anyone) adopt the above 8 mindsets and also teach this to others giving their own or other inspirational examples of "application" of these mindsets.... it can inspire individuals and even nations to be more Self-Reliant. 

Please note that is article is an adaptation of the speech highlighting the main messages I gave, and is not a transcription of the speech. So I'm sure you can enjoy and take-away some usable points from both the video and this article, each medium is Self-Reliant in its goal of conveying the main points I had in mind.

Many thanks to the committee members of the Thane Management Forum and to the audience who attended the webinar.

Best wishes!

Avinash Ananda