Creative Ramblings

I would like to present some of my random musings and thus find below the inaugural set of those creative ramblings :

Inspiration
The twists and turns of life
An excellent source of poetic inspiration
More the twist more the food for inspiration
Or is it a period of calm and quietude
That leads to flow of poetic thoughts and expressions …

Freedom

What is freedom
The right to choose and dwell
On the chosen paths
To tackle the smooth run and difficult turns
With courage and determination
To earn the right to that choice
Is the struggle
After that it is a matter of multiple choices
And ownership of the process..

Quiet stirrings
The quiet stirrings of an active mind
Gone unnoticed by the passage of time
But it is upto the mind to decipher the stirrings
And create something out
Of the various patterns and waves

White cloud
The white cloud of realization
That hangs over us
Waiting to be explored and seen
But the specter of the dark clouds of rush and daily hurry
Is so overwhelming that we fail
To catch a glimpse of that white cloud most of the times

Peer Learning

I was just thinking about the importance of peer learning in my life and career . I realized that the quality of peer learning is definitely superior and the benefits far more greater than any other form of learning . We start studying in groups since the early stages of our life .Later on the focus moves to be more individualistic and then with higher education - depending on the type of education could vary from being individualistic to a more team based approach . However once formal education is over the importance of peer learning cannot be underemphasized . That is so because there is a limit to an individual's span of interest and depth of understanding . Sharing of views and ideas enables us to get different perspectives and comprehend even different sources of knowledge . On the actual work front it will help you arrive at alternative solutions to tackle a situation. It can offer you even plain old information required to execute a task well. Also peers working in a different setting ,a different industry or country can offer multiple view points on a particular situation . They would also help you to broaden your horizons and make you move out of your comfort zone . It goes without saying that one needs a set of like minded peers to make this possible . But we can find coworkers , old friends , even family members who can contribute to the shared learning process.

Then there is peer learning that happens through formal routes like seminars and conferences . These forums are as much a source of networking as much as they are a platform for learning and sharing .In times of change especially peer learning can help us hone our skills and acquire practical knowledge . In fact Generation Y or millenials as many call then are supposed to be a highly networked and collaborative generation . We might find it difficult to measure the tangible benefits of peer learning in our lives and in organizations- but it happens all the while . It is the individual prerogative to imbibe the influences and implement the learnings.

On starting a new blog ...

We have finally started the HR blog- that is a coblog written by my friend and me . It is called hrdialogues. The aim is to present our thoughts and views about the HR profession on a regular basis . HR is a vast domain and at the same time it is an emerging field . One of the chief concerns related to the field is that the body of knowledge is not codified and hence there are too many reference points .
But it is indeed a very good idea to chronicle our thoughts . This is so because even good ideas and thoughts which might have practical value have a huge potential to get lost in the day to day routine and rush .If one reads the book - God of Small Things one cannot but think of the day to day chronicling of events and habits that has gone in the making of the book. It is the individual interpretation and insight of the author that lends any book its characteristic USP , but at the same time there is a great amount of detailing that has gone into the making of a book , chronicle , or piece of art .
Let us see how our HR blog evolves . I am very excited by the idea and hope that we are able to maintain consistency in our writing .

Teachers

There was a program on a business channel on the importance of teachers in our life(on NDTV PROFIT) . The program concluded by saying that senior teachers get paid even less than an administrative assistant in an MNC . I started thinking about the importance of teachers in my life at school, graduation and post graduation level . One of the most significant contributors in my life who would have helped shape my world view was our English Literature professor J C Coelho. He was termed as a ‘walking talking encyclopedia’ by most of the students .His dedication and commitment to the profession was a unthought-of . I do not think he considered teaching as his profession. It was a passion and hence teaching English Literature ceased to be a job for him ,it was a way of life . I remember once when we had a discussion ( many moons back !)related to the last dialogue of Socrates before his death . There Socrates tell one of his disciples , Crito before dying that – I owe a cock to Asclepius . We incidentally had the same reference in one of our lessons in school . JCC at once asked us what it means . I was able to answer it because of the obvious reason that again in school we had a very dedicated teacher who had explained to us the context of the dialogue . I told him promptly that it means that Socrates wanted his disciple to give an offering to the Greek God of healing/medicine as he has healed him of life by giving him death . JCC at once said that your teacher in school might be a very simple and dedicated person and undoubtedly she was(incidentally he had asked the same question to many batches and only one student many years back was able to answer it !!) – I think her name was Ms Jennifer . Like that there are quite few teachers who have shown me the way , moulded my thinking and even lifestyle . But where are the dedicated teachers these days ?

I read an article the other day that every year in India we produce at least half a million MBAs but about 20000 might be employable out of the entire pool. This is an indicator that the quality of education might be far from satisfactory . But how can you expect a sector to flourish when it offers one of the lowest emoluments and extremely uncertain future prospects . The education sector in its current status in India might not attract the best minds (of course this statement is open to debate and discussion ), but ironically this sector is supposed to mould and create the thought leaders for tomorrow . It is a huge question as to how do we create a generation that is employable with the right skills to tackle the competitive forces that will be unleashed on a growing market like India , say 20 years hence…..

On Perspective

A perspective is important in the quest for personal and professional development . Whenever I think about perspective I am reminded of these lines by T S Eliot :
In our life we never cease from exploration
And at the end of our exploring
We will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time

A perspective allows us to do that -allows us to see the oft seen and repeated things in a new light altogether .We begin with any new venture , any new topic with the basic information . There are levels of information i.e. starting from a preliminary introduction of the topic to getting more and more deeper information related to it . Later on when there is enough and more information with which we can form generalizations for that particular topic we are stepping in the realm of forming our own personal perspective . It is exactly like the theory of relativity moving from the specific to the general from absolute knowledge of one topic to linking it or relating it to other thought processes and bodies of knowledge .The process of perspective formation is moving from the domain of pure information to the field of insight . It is this insight that will help us gain a deeper and intense understanding of the topic and gain mastery over it . Over a period of time in our professional lives – by virtue of repeating the tasks, by virtue of living and breathing the same set of activities and thought processes we are able to form insights , generalizations about the field naturally . It is at this juncture that peers and superiors can play an important role in acting as good sounding boards. That is so because a perspective is always personal , discussions help it gain an objective nuance and the pros and cons of that insight can be examined many times even in a clinical manner .Also it this insight and perspective that will help differentiate after a particular level a high potential employee from the rest of the peer group . It is the responsibility of the organization to provide avenues and opportunities to the people to present their perspectives . Of course it depends on the resourcefulness of the employee to present his/ her viewpoint too at the right forum .So much for perspectives and career development !

Bhimashankar – The Joyride on 14th April

The Western Ghats in Maharshtra offer a unique view to the unsuspecting traveler . You can see the verdant ghats and later on as you come towards Mumbai even the coastline . I happened to visit Bhimashankar temple and wildlife sanctuary over the weekend . The drive was really full of surprises . We began very early in the morning from Mumbai . Later the drive was mixed with smooth roads and bumpy turns .We went via the Pune Mumbai highway and then took a diversion that took us to Manchar . We stopped briefly for breakfast at the food court near Lonavala . The court offers mouth watering Maharashtrian delicacies even early in the morning . And my friend who really wanted a break from the standard North Indian fare found the stuff like kothimbir vadi , bhajias a good way to start her day !!

This drive through the winding ways / roads in the Ghats was exactly like going on a joy ride. After almost 5 and half hours we reached Bhimashankar in the afternoon . The place is really in a small village and despite the fact that it is extremely popular with tourists it really lacks basic amenities eg a washroom , water etc . There used to be an MTDC(Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation ) resort in the past but that has been closed .

The Shiva temple is about a ten fifteen minute walk from the parking area . One has to descend through a flight of stairs to reach the temple . On the way there are stalls selling all wares like flowers, toys and other memorabilia like stickers, statues , key chains etc . The place is famous for pedhas( an Indian sweet made out of milk and sugar ) . The temple is really ancient . It was not crowded when we entered and hence for a change there were no long queues. There is an ancient feeling in the temple, almost like visiting an old house . There is a huge bell there donated by Chimaji Appa which he won in a battle against the Portuguese at Vasai Fort .

For more details visit http://www.bhimashankar.blessingsonthenet.com/ or http://www.aroundpune.com/bhimashankar.htm. There is a small pond or kund as it is called in local parlance within the temple premises from where the River Bhima originates . There is a wildlife sanctuary nearby which has a smattering of animals like the flying squirrel, tigers, deer etc .The temple has a lot of significance and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas ie 12 most important and holy shrines of Lord Shiva in India .


While coming back we came through the Malshej ghat route . This was a slightly longer route and went through real circuitous roads . But nevertheless it was again a very pleasant drive . After a brief stopover at a roadside resort near Kalyan we were on our way back to Mumbai . For food on both the routes you will find the road dotted with hotels and resorts. You can take a call based on the look and feel of the resort/ hotel & the hygiene levels and decide which one suits your requirement the best ….

Big Five !

The Big Five is a very important personality theory

http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/results/?o=93.00&c=97.00&e=93.00&a=94.00&n=2.00&o-raw=4.80&c-raw=4.89&e-raw=4.63&a-raw=4.78&n-raw=1.38 is the url which explains my scores on the Big 5 personality test . The Big Five personality test is the result of a lot of research and hence has been the base for the development of other significant personality assessment tests like Hogan Inventory test


The Big Five was originally derived in the 1970's by two independent research teams -- Paul Costa and Robert McCrae (at the National Institutes of Health), and Warren Norman (at the University of Michigan)/Lewis Goldberg (at the University of Oregon) -- who took slightly different routes at arriving at the same results: most human personality traits can be boiled down to five broad dimensions of personality, regardless of language or culture. These five dimensions were derived by asking thousands of people hundreds of questions and then analyzing the data with a statistical procedure known as factor analysis. It is important to realize that the researchers did not set out to find five dimensions, but that five dimensions emerged from their analyses of the data. These five dimensions are :
Openness to Experience - appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, and curiosity. Conscientiousness - a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; planned rather than spontaneous behaviour. Extraversion - energy, positive emotions, surgency, and the tendency to seek stimulation and the company of others. Agreeableness - a tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others. Neuroticism - a tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability; sometimes called emotional instability.

Source: http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/info/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits


You can gauge your Big Five score through http://www.outofservice.com/ . The site has links to other interesting personality tests as well .

Temple visit ...

I visited the Siddhivinayak Temple on Sunday . It was very crowded. A friend of mine asked one day - Why do you visit a temple ? Many of us are so conditioned to visiting temples naturally that the critiquing part behind every activity is lost behind the humdrum of daily chores. Well thinking of why I visit a temple ... Well it is an instantaneous way of connecting with God . There is a thought behind idol worship that the human mind is so vastly distracted that an idol, picture etc provides a source for concentration . When you stand in front of the deity there is sense of self surrender , there is even a stronger sense of connection . Well you can say that why not meditate . That too is a good way of collecting your thoughts or rather allowing them to flow freely and arrive at a sense of calm .Then why struggle in the sun and dust and visit a temple ?That is your personal faith- if the sense of bonding and connectedness could be the strongest is some places and Siddhivinayak happens to be one such place . You might experience the same feeling in a church , dargah- so all in all it is personal faith and a strong sense of connection , a sense of belonging that one feels for the deity and the sacred place . Sometimes this feeling could be unplanned and you might discover new places as you visit newer locations and experience new feelings .

About the HR blog we are discussing the name and I think we should be able to launch it shortly .It is the same one for which the idea came up last week . Mehtinks we will maintain a log to ensure that it is launched on time etc and that there is no delay

Tea

Tea gets me going . I really cannot think of life without tea. Tea Centre at Churchgate -Mumbai is a good palce to get a variety of teas -some of them rather exotic . The place has a quaint look and I think rather regular patrons .
I think the tropical climate in India is just conducive to having cups and cups of tea. Of course after a while you have to think about the sugar and subsequent calorie intake and curb it somewhere. But more on this, Tea Centre and tea history later ...

Hi ! The State of the Art Blog Starts

I just got introduced to blogging . I like to write and a friend suggested yesterday that I should start my blog . I thought why not give it a try and hence this blog . The blog is called state of the art . I look at life as art - ever evolving with new dimensions and refreshing nuances - I thought the blog could be a chronicle of that state of the art.....I pursue multiple interests at a time and many a times it does happen that I leave something incomplete as other things would take the mindshare , time etc . I sincerely want to be regular with the blog - at least once a week and share my thoughts and ideas on a regular basis . My friend has come with another suggestion that we start a co-blog on specific HR issues since both of us read quite a bit and share those things , insights with each other . We are really serious about it and let us see when we are able to design it and come out of stealth as they say in VC language .I read a lot of stuff related to state of art HR practices, Strategy , Growing businesses etc . The aim is to keep the insight and information levels as dated as possible . I hope that I am able to write further ( on the blog ) and hone this craft ie writing to finesse ......That is all for now - need to get back to work and get my morning cup of tea... I like tea a lot and next time I will write about that ie TEA.....