Winners Vs. Losers

Who is a winner? To me a person, who decides to do something and then does it, is a winner. At the same time someone who decides not to do something and doesn’t do it, is equally a winner. A loser on the other hand decides to do something and doesn’t do it or decides not to do something but goes ahead and does it under external pressure or persuasion. What do you think of these definitions? Do you agree with me?
If you notice carefully, the entire matter of being a winner or loser rests on your capability to take a decision and follow it through. Decision making is a major leadership trait. All successful leaders (I am not using the word ‘manager’, as I find ‘leader’ a far better suited word for the aspiring new generation) are quick decision makers. By quick I don’t mean, in the heat of the moment; or by not thinking it through. It means to assess a situation in all its hues quickly and to take a decision based on that assessment. It is good to make quick decisions, but the most important thing is to follow these decisions through. A loser falls well short of following his decisions and seeing them to their ultimate completion.
Winners view the world as a benevolent place. To Albert Einstein’s famous thought provoking question, ‘Is this a friendly Universe?’ the winners always answer in affirmative. They feel that the world is full of great opportunities and wonderful people. Winners see the world as mainly good with some bad bits. The losers view the world as mainly malevolent with some good bits. How do you view the world? Your answer to this question speaks volumes about you and your station in life.
Winners have the habit of visualizing their future in bright technicolour details. They approve of themselves and know that they are worth much more than what they have at present. Life is an exciting adventure for them. They live it to the fullest. Losers view life as a chore. If someone casually asks them, ‘How is it going?’ they will open their box of woes. ‘Just getting along.’, ‘Life goes on.’ are standard responses. What do you think life will dole out to them? Like Aladdin’s genie, life would say, ‘Your wish is my command.’
Winners are dreamers. They dream big, because they know that today’s dreams are tomorrow’s reality. They work backwards from a future dream to the present day and make their plans to achieve their goals. Losers too dream, but they don’t back up these dreams with systematic action plan. What are such dreams called? These dreams are no more than ethereal hot air.
Winners possess another great quality- Discipline. Their discipline keeps them going during temporary setbacks. Thus they convert their ‘yearning power’ into their ‘earning power’. What do you think the losers do? When going gets tough, they hang their boots. They proclaim that the luck is not in their favour. They give up too easily.
Winners value time. They guard against procrastination, the thief of their precious commodity, their time. Losers discuss amongst themselves that they will start working one day real soon, but that day doesn’t dawn. They are unaware of the thrill of victory after a job well done. They are not willing to pay the life’s cost of admission to the big league. They do not know the enjoyment of work, their pleasures lie elsewhere. They do not put their best efforts into anything. Who would want to keep company with them?
Winners take care of their physical fitness. They know that neither their body nor their mind will work at an optimal level without it. Therefore they give attention to their habits, diet and exercise regimen.
Winners have pleasing personalities. They acquire the art of making themselves agreeable to others. They learn to negotiate with others without creating friction of any sort. They are flexible and adaptable. They harmonise with any given environment and possess necessary magnetism to attract others. Who wouldn’t want to be around such a person?
Winners understand the value of initiative. They never have to be told what to do and how to do it. They create plans and translate them into actions through their initiative. They do not need to be supervised all the time.
Motivational speaker Shiv Khera’s famous quote, ‘Winners don’t do different things, they do things differently’, is indeed very apt.
To be a winner for life, identify what your ideal life will look like. Create a compelling vision for your future. Formulate exacting goals for its achievement. Never give up on your hopes and dreams of a bright future. Overcome temporary setbacks. Look at them as great learning experiences.
Earl Nightingale, one of the earlier personal development teachers, and co-founder of the publishing house ‘Nightingale-Conant’, defined success as ‘The progressive realization of a worthy ideal.’ As long as you are ‘progressing’ towards an ideal that you think is worthy of achievement, you are succeeding. Enjoying the journey makes it all the more worthwhile. You will do well to remember that the word ‘worthwhile’ means that your goal is worth your time and energy. Think about that. Are your goals worthy of your life?
If you consider the fact that the price for your achievements is your time, which is all that you have of any real value, you will soon see the importance of having a goal that is worthy of your most prized possession. So go back over your goals and see if they meet the criteria for being worthy of you, not the other way around. If not, then maybe you need to stretch yourself and go for something of more importance to you. You will be a real winner then.
Practically speaking, your actions and your behaviour determine how your destiny will unfold. Knowing that your fate is in your hands, what are you going to do about it? Are you ready to be a winner? Remember in order to get something you’ve got to give something. So give up dependence, procrastination, laziness, need for approval, self criticism, and the loser attitude.
If a window of correcting the course of your life exists, why not open it and let in some fresh air? The basic question, however, remains to be answered. Answer it now. The question is, ‘Are you willing?’
The choice is yours. The window is open. And you can begin now.
Co-create your life and expect success.

Advanc'edge MBA, February 2008, Chitra Jha

‎

Read more!

No Mistake Syndrome

Most organizations suffer from this malady called the ‘No Mistake Syndrome’. I believe that the person who makes the least number of errors happens to also be the person who does the least amount of work. Do you agree? Why are we so afraid of making mistakes? Our fear originates in the environment of our organizations. If all goes well with a new idea, there are many takers for the credit, but the moment something goes wrong every one wants to wash his/her hands off that idea. And the hunt for a scapegoat begins! Who would want to come up with creative ideas in such an environment?

Why is it that managers show little capacity for tolerating mistakes? The fact is that today’s managers are in too much of a hurry to climb the corporate ladder. They do not have any time for mistakes. They want immediate results to show to the world that they make things happen. Their main concern is their own growth strategy. On the other hand managers, who have a stake in their company’s growth, realize that mistakes, problems, and errors (whatever you may call them), always come with a hidden potential for a greater good. History is replete with such examples.

A pharmacist was trying to produce a ‘general’ tonic, when his assistant ‘by mistake’ dropped carbonated water into the brew. Thus Coca Cola was born. Charles Goodyear ‘by mistake’ dropped a piece of rubber that had sulphur and white lead in it on a hot stove. That was the first ‘vulcanization’ of rubber. Alexander Graham Bell was trying to make a hearing aid for his hearing-impaired wife. He failed in that endeavour, but in the bargain presented the world with long distance telephony. Dr. Spencer Silver was trying to make a permanent adhesive, his failure to do so eventually gave the world a most useful temporary adhesive, which made ‘Post-it’ possible. Without these mistakes the world would have been a poorer place.

If an organization wants to experience vibrant delights of innovative ideas, it needs to learn tolerance for errors. It needs to understand that there is a great learning inherent in a mistake. The challenge for the managers is to unearth that learning and share it with the concerned employees. Let these mistakes inspire them to strive harder, for better results. Leaders who support their employees in such times earn respect by bushels.

How about facing these challenges with the joy, abandon, and playfulness of children? Learning gets enhanced in such an environment. No wonder children’s learning curve is much sharper than that of adults!

Tuning in to the inner guidance also helps in overcoming problems. But fear, worry, and resultant stress separate us from our inner guidance. We find ourselves in a vicious cycle of being unable to cope. That is when we wish problems and mistakes away. But our wishing does not help, because errors are an integral part of the learning process. There can be no real learning, if no mistakes are ever made. In stead of looking at mistakes as things to be feared, we should look at them as challenges to be looked forward to.

One reason for fearing mistakes is that we are inwardly afraid. We are under confident of ourselves and our abilities. Mistakes make us feel vulnerable. We forget that a fear based response is always counterproductive. How can we let go of this fear? When we are confident of our own worth, we are ready to take charge of our mistakes. Taking charge requires taking action. Action through thought, action through word, and action through deed! A person who is willing to take charge has no time to complain and blame other people. When we take charge, we announce to the world our determination to do a task to the best of our ability. If in doing that some mistakes are committed, so be it. That doesn’t lessen our commitment. We carry on regardless, and eventually achieve success.

At the same time we must be ready to ‘analyze’ the task at hand. Understand our mistake and make a dispassionate decision whether we need to put more energy into it or let it go. Learning to let go is an integral part of learning from our mistakes. It means that we have taken the decision to let go of a person, situation, or an outcome. Great leaders know when to hang on and when to let go.

Any mistake must finally lead to a positive change of behaviour that paves the path for achieving organizational growth. Just showing intolerance for mistakes is not going to empower the employees, nor will it help us achieve organizational outcomes. The solution lies in taking the problem by its horns: and making the employee say; ‘Now it makes sense.’ ‘I understand it now.’ The only way to insure that mistakes don’t happen all the time is to know your employees’ strengths and to delegate tasks accordingly. You need to also understand the gaps between real capabilities and projected capabilities, or perceived capabilities. Even after that if mistakes happen, own them and learn from them!

The Times of India, Ascent, 12/12/07, Chitra Jha

‎

Read more!