UNDERSTANDING THE ART & DISCIPLINE OF ACTION PROPENSITY

My voracious reading pursuits over the years have often fueled me with a rich variety of inspiring quotes, especially those pertaining to the subject of "developing action-mindedness".

Here are a selected few I like to share with readers:

"The critical ingredient is getting off your rear end and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But TODAY!"

~ Nolan Brushnell, American engineer and entrepreneur, who founded both Atari Inc., and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters chain:

"We have to understand that the world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is more important than the eye... The hand is the cutting edge of the mind."

~ Jacob Bronowski (1908-1974), Polish-born British mathematician and man of letters who eloquently presented the case for the humanistic aspects of science; was also the presenter of the BBC documentary series, 'The Ascent of Mind', which inspired Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' series.)

"It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result."

~ Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), preeminent Indian leader;

Here's an interesting excerpt from an earlier blogpost I have written in my 'Optimum Performance Technologies' weblog, entitled 'TALK DOESN'T COOK RICE', drawing inspiration from a very interesting article, 'Move from Intent to Action', by Leo Babauta in the 'Third Age' weblog.

My quick takeaways:

1. Don’t overthink, just do;

2. Forget perfection. Get going;

3. Don’t mistake motion for action. Slow down. Focus;

4. Focus on the important. When you’re done with that, repeat the process;

5. Move slowly, consciously. Be deliberate;

6. Take small steps. And each step is a victory, that will compel you to further victories;

7. Negative thinking gets you nowhere. Positive thinking really works;

8. Meetings aren’t action;

9. Talking (usually) isn’t action. Communication is necessary, but don’t mistake it for actual action;

10. Planning isn’t action. Get to work!

12. Sometimes, inaction is better... if you find yourself spinning your wheels, or you find you’re doing more harm than good...

Now, I can get to work on DEVELOPING THE S.M.A.R.T. GAMEPLAN

As I have mentioned before, getting an idea or ideas is actually a piece of cake. All of us can do it pretty well.

On the other hand, putting them to work or converting them into reality - my good friend, Dilip Mukerjea, likes to use the term: moving ideas to ca$h - takes a lot of hardwork.

It requires deliberate and diligent efforts on our part, in addition to decision making as well as action planning.

Not only planning and scheduling the pertinent tasks to put the ideas into action, but also planning for possible consequences, as actions have dire consequences.

Maybe, that's why very few people like to engage in it.

I reckon another way to look at the whole endeavour is understanding that ideas alone don't create success.

Breakthrough or good ideas in the head may give you the euphoria for a short while. That's about it.

I certainly recall my hectic days in the corporate world.

My former bosses in the corporate world (from 1967 to 1991) - Swiss, German, Chinese, Swedish, Indonesian - were not at all interested in - of course, they probably listened to (or maybe, they just pretended to listen to) - my fancy "theories to work", whenever I did my presentations to them or to the board.

All they were actually interested - or should I say obsessed with - were the performance results... the bottom line, to be more precise.

Ultimately, actions spoke louder than words.

I also recall a very simple but valuable quote during my years as a general manager - actually, more of a lesson - that goes back to the 80's from Sim Kee Boon (1929-2007), at one time Head of the Singapore Civil Service (1979-1984) and best known for his pivotal role in building the Changi International Airport - making it the best in the world - and also turning around the loss-making Keppel Shipyard:

"The secret to success... is getting things done!"

So, how does one get things done?

How to develop action-mindedness, so to speak?

I like to share some ideas from my own experiences.

I reckon the first thing is to deal with fear, be it real or imagined, as it has substantial bearing on our willpower to execute.

The fear of the lack of ability. The fear of making mistakes or failure. The fear of looking stupid or ridiculous in front of our peers when our ideas don't work. The fear of snide remarks behind our back. The fear of the unknown, because actions require a change in our status quo.

Worst still, we want to wait for the perfect conditions. We want more information for decision making.

The harsh reality is that, in today's turbulent world, where changes are often exponential, how can we wait for perfect conditions or more information? We just got to trust our own gut instincts.

We have to "grok", to paraphrase a science fiction author, whose name I have long forgotten.

Moving out of our comfort zone is always uncomfortable. I had gone through that journey myself.

As a result, for many of us, we prefer to stay put.

The resultant problem with this choice is that often a host of other problems start to ensue, like procrastination, inertia, anxiety, worry, etc., which aggravate the situation.

Interestingly, most peak performance experts - so do I - believe that action actually conquers fear.

All it takes is essentially the first step. Baby step, as they say. Once we take that first step, all fears dissipate. This fact drives home the point:

Fear = False evidence appearing real!

In fact, I like the way Michael Jordan, probably the greatest basketball player of all time, puts it:

"Any fear is an illusion. You think something is standing in your way, but nothing is really there."

I reckon another good way to deal with fear is to consider the pleasure/pain equation, as postulated by celebrity peak performance coach, Anthony Robbins.

What gives you pleasure? What excites you? What gives you pain? What bugs you?

Focus on the pleasure or excitement side. It will automatically takes good care of the pain or bug side.

So, to go with NIKE's most enduring marketing message over the years:

JUST DO IT!

I would suggest, as a first step, sit down and write out a simple plan of action, with a number of important objectives you wish to achieve.

[Naturally, I am assuming that you have already narrowed down to one viable idea, or "the mother of all ideas", so to speak, after having considered various major issues like market attractiveness, competition intensity, and strategic fit.]

I often use the acronym, S.M.A.R.T, to think about my gameplan:

S = specific objectives with the attendant tasks to achieve each objective: list out all the objectives, according to the various dimensions of your life [e.g. physical health; work/career; financial; mental/educational; family relationships; social/networking; artefacts and possessions; vacations; hobbies; spiritual pursuits;], then, all the attendant tasks you need to execute in order to attain each and every objective, with priority, from beginning to end;

M = metrics: define how you would like to measure the tasks to be executed, so that you know immediately when you have completed them; in a way, it's your feedback mechanism;

A = accountability: sometimes, your tasks may involve the participation of other people, e.g. your spouse, your boss, your colleagues, your subordinates, your suppliers or facilitators, etc.; so, you also need to apportion or allocate accordingly for better control and effective monitoring;

R = resources: you need to identify all the contributing stuff, like manpower, money, materials, machines, methods, management aids, etc., you would need to get all the assigned as well as shared tasks done;

T = time for completion of each specific task: by next week; next 30 days; next 90 days; short-term, medium-term, long-term;

Once you have the final gameplan in place, all you have to do is just to follow-up and follow-through.

In a nut shell, I would like to add that action-mindedness boils down to revving up our ingenuity engine. Luckily, each and every one of us is born with one.

To understand the engine metaphor further, it's our delivered horse-power - i.e. power delivered to the wheels, where rubber meets the tarmac - that measures how powerful we are.

Here's a fascinating advisory, at least from my personal viewpoint, taken out of a corporate advertisement of the credit card giant VISA in the Singapore 'Straits Times' newspaper many years ago.

"Go.

It's one tiny, two-letter word that makes amazing things happen.

Go is action.

It's the spark that starts the flame that sets everything in motion.

Go gets us to try things we've always wanted to try.

Go keeps us going no matter what life throws our way.

Go reminds us it's a big, beautiful world out there, and it's time to make the most of it . . . to get out there and play.

To get out there and do.

To get out there and experience all the incredible things life has to offer."

The advisory certainly reminds me of the importance of a bias for action or action-propensity.

To sum up, ACTION IS EVERYTHING!

DEVELOPING THE PROPENSITY TO SEE, TO MOVE AND TO FINISH

Just sharing one of my random musings. I must say upfront, it's an extended piece. So bear with me.

I reckon most readers are already familiar with the concept that everything we do, especially the more elaborate endeavours, always happens three times.

First, in our mind as a mental construct. A thought. An idea.

Second, as a conceived plan of action, often written down on paper, as we organise our thoughts to formulate our intended strategy ~ to put it to work in some way.

Third and finally, as a physical reality, when we execute our final plan in the real world, business or otherwise.

From my decades of exploring personal as well as professional creativity, I have come to the conclusion that all three parts are critical components in the entire strategy formulation and execution process.

The first part involves the ability to see the whole thing in one's mind's eye, so to speak. Not only that, catching a soft glimpse of it in the first place counts too.

Therefore, suffice to say, if we don't see it, we don't get it.

To my chagrin, I have come across folks out there who don't get it at all, despite the fact that we have done our best to paint the scenarios for them.

Oftentimes, they like to ask for more "information", thinking that more "information" will help in decision making. They don't realise that, as long as they don't know how to use the given "information", i.e. how to draw pertinent insights or "connect the dots", so to speak, the given "information" is just "data".

As a result, they end up unwittingly in data-smog.

At this juncture, I like to make some distinctions:

- "data" is raw and neutral to everyone;

- "information" is what you have made sense of the given "data";

- interpreting "data" requires imagination as well as ingenuity, because you need to see the "form" first, which is a root in "in-form-ation".

Seeing can seemingly be a tough problem for many people, especially those who have low default setting.

My good buddy based in Mumbai, India, Dilip Mukerjea, likes to use the analogy of the thermostat.

With low thermostatic settings, they can only see ahead all within the scope of their own self-imposed limits.

"Closed minds" is another category of people in similar fashion. "A frog in the well" comes to mind too.

Worst still, there is another category - those with "truncated perspectives".

Creativity guru Dr Edward de Bono has spent his entire professional life talking about this critical issue, which he calls "the perceptual phase of thinking".

Other experts have taken a different and creative spin to the phenomenon, and they include: Mark Brown, Joel Arthur Barker, Wayne Burkan, Jay Abraham, John Hagel, John Seely Brown, and Erich Joachimsthaler, just to name a few.

To me, seeing the world out there clearly is always driven - and fueled - by our curiosity or inquisitiveness ~ our sense of wonder and sense of discovery. Our passion, as a whole.

That's why most experts have maintained that we should continue to be child-like as we move into our adulthood, but remember, don't be childish.

You can pose yourself a couple of self-check questions to help you see better:

- what do I choose to see?

- where do I direct my attention?

I am confident by doing this regular self-check on your own, you can get out of what I call the 'Tetris Effect'.

The second part involves clarity of thought.

To me, clarity comes from seeing - and understanding - the big picture, as well as figuring out all the specific tasks, big and small, that are needed to be done in order to attain the results we want.

That is, seeing the forest and the trees.

To use an interesting analogy from the late Singapore's senior statesman and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, we must have the "analytical ability", "helicopter ability", "imagination" as well as "realism" ~ having a good feel of the pulse on the ground.

Without sounding too arrogant, some people are just too muddle-headed when it comes down to planning. Sad to say, they like to go in all directions.

"Multi-tasking", they say in defence of what they are doing. As a result, nothing works.

Worst still, unintended delays always come to play.

To me, this is primarily a problem of attentional focus on priorities. What matters most, so to speak.

Productivity guru Stephen R Covey had done a lot of elegant work here. Go and digest his potent stuff, especially understanding his 'Four Quadrants'.

Once we can stay focused on our priorities and objectives, it is very easy for us to be flexible in our approach with problems or challenges that pop up along the way. More importantly, to deal with the major issues at hand.

I reckon the following self-check questions can help in developing the power of clarity:

- what do I really want?

- what do I believe?

The third and final part involves action-mindedness. Move it, as the four characters in the popular Madagascar movies love to sing along, to be more precise.

Some people often get stuck with too much logical thinking, and often find themselves hard to move their butts. So, they stay put, and create unnecessary inconvenience to others who happen to be their collaborators.

Do these people - I like to call them, bench warmers or fence sitters - fear the unknown? Maybe so, or more likely, they just love to stay in the comfort zone.

Others are too focused on the "negatives", and as a result of which, they can't seem to see the "positives" and/or "interesting aspects" at all, resulting in inaction on their part.

One particular sage advice I have always followed all these years is that "Action has Consequences".

The consequences can go either way, good or bad. What we can learn from the consequences of completed actions are:

- what works?

- what doesn't work? Why?

- what can we do now to make it work better next time?

Without action, nothing moves. I believe Einstein once said that too.

It is pertinent for me to highlight that moving - or getting things done - is just one thing, finishing what we have started in the first place is significant too.

In other words, successful endeavours depend on the initial move, as well as the next one, and all subsequent moves.

More explicitly, success in any endeavours is always a function of correction. It is natural to stay off course, even for a rocket that goes to the moon. Hence, making corrections and adjustments along the way is part and parcel of the long haul.

There is another interesting perspective to this phenomenon.

To draw an analogy: we are either at 211 or 212.

For the uninitiated: water is hot at 211 degrees, but boils at 212 degrees. And with boiling water, comes steam... steam can power a locomotive. The one extra degree makes the difference.

I reckon Sam Parker and Mac Anderson, who initiated this concept of 212: The Extra Degree, said it best:

"212° is not only a message of action - it's a message of persistent and additional action - the continual application of heat (effort) to whatever task or activity you undertake in order to achieve not only the primary objective you seek, but to reap the exponential rewards that are possible by applying one extra degree of effort."

In other words, staying on course with persistence and perseverance really counts at the end of the day.

It is pertinent for me to highlight that, sometimes, we need to channel our concerted efforts on the small, manageable tasks first, prior to gaining sustainable leverage to gradually conquer the larger ones.

Peak performance experts call this the 'Zorro's Circle'.

Have you watched the entertaining swashbuckling movie, 'The Mask of Zorro'?

In the movie, Anthony Hopkins, who played Don Diego de la Vega, aka "Zorro Senior", took under his personal tutelage a drunken convict, Alejandro, played by Antonio Banderas, who had once saved his life.

Both had a common agenda: revenge against the Spanish governor & his henchmen, but the older "Zorro Senior" wanted to train Alejandro as his replacement, "Zorro Junior", so that both could achieve their aims together.

Unfortunately, Alejandro was obsessed by personal vengeance and was really out of control.

That's when "Zorro Senior" taught "Zorro Junior" the reality of "what is the point of power when there is no control". In the movie, he called it the Training Circle... the Master's Wheel.

I recommend readers to go and watch - or rewatch - the movie.

Unfortunately, there are also some people out there who like to stick to the old way of doing things, despite knowing the fact that the novel approach produces more benefits.

They choose to hold the dogged view that the past = the future.

So, they like to go out there to do what they have done before, and yet expect to get new results.

Einstein once illustrated this as "temporary insanity".

Professor Don Sull of the London Business School calls it "active inertia".

I trust readers can draw some useful lessons from my foregoing seemingly rambling musing about our propensity to see, to move and to finish.

DEVELOPING THE S.M.A.R.T. GAMEPLAN

[continued from the Last Post]

My voracious reading pursuits over the years have often fueled me with a rich variety of inspiring quotes, especially those pertaining to the subject of "developing action-mindedness".

Here are a selected few I like to share with readers:

"The critical ingredient is getting off your rear end & doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But TODAY!"

~ Nolan Brushnell, 69, American engineer and entrepreneur, who founded both Atari Inc., and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters chain:

"We have to understand that the world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is more important than the eye... The hand is the cutting edge of the mind."

~ Jacob Bronowski (1908-1974), Polish-born British mathematician and man of letters who eloquently presented the case for the humanistic aspects of science; was also the presenter of the BBC documentary series, 'The Ascent of Mind', which inspired Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' series.)

"It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result."

~ Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), preeminent Indian leader;

Here's an interesting excerpt from an earlier blogpost I have written in my 'Optimum Performance Technologies' weblog, entitled 'TALK DOESN'T COOK RICE', drawing inspiration from  a very interesting article, 'Move from Intent to Action', by Leo Babauta in the 'Third Age' weblog. Here's the link .

My quick takeaways:

1. Don’t overthink, just do;

2. Forget perfection. Get going;

3. Don’t mistake motion for action. Slow down. Focus;

4. Focus on the important. When you’re done with that, repeat the process;

5. Move slowly, consciously. Be deliberate;

6. Take small steps. And each step is a victory, that will compel you to further victories;

7. Negative thinking gets you nowhere. Positive thinking really works;

8. Meetings aren’t action;

9. Talking (usually) isn’t action. Communication is necessary, but don’t mistake it for actual action;

10. Planning isn’t action. Get to work!

12. Sometimes, inaction is better... if you find yourself spinning your wheels, or you find you’re doing more harm than good...

Now, I can get to work on DEVELOPING THE S.M.A.R.T. GAMEPLAN

As I have mentioned before, getting an idea or ideas is actually a piece of cake. All of us can do it pretty well.

On the other hand, putting them to work or converting them into reality - my good friend, Dilip Mukerjea, likes to use the term: moving ideas to ca$h - takes a lot of hardwork.

It requires deliberate and diligent efforts on our part, in addition to decision making as well as action planning.

Not only planning and scheduling the pertinent tasks to put the ideas into action, but also planning for possible consequences, as actions have dire consequences.

Maybe, that's why very few people like to engage in it.

I reckon another way to look at the whole endeavour is understanding that ideas alone don't create success. Breakthrough or good ideas in the head may give you the euphoria for a short while. That's about it.

I certainly recall my hectic days in the corporate world.

My former bosses in the corporate world (from 1967 to 1991) - Swiss, German, Chinese, Swedish, Indonesian - were not at all interested in - of course, they probably listened to (or maybe, they just pretended to listen to) - my fancy "theories to work", whenever I did my presentations to them or to the board.

All they were actually interested - or should I say obsessed with - were the performance results... the bottom line, to be more precise. Ultimately, actions spoke louder than words.

I also recall a very simple but valuable quote during my years as a general manager - actually, more of a lesson - that goes back to the 80's from Sim Kee Boon (1929-2007), at one time Head of the Singapore Civil Service (1979-1984) and best known for his pivotal role in building the Changi International Airport - making it the best in the world - and also turning around the loss-making Keppel Shipyard:

"The secret to success... is getting things done!"

So, how does one get things done?

How to develop action-mindedness, so to speak?

I like to share some ideas from my own experiences.

I reckon the first thing is to deal with fear, be it real or imagined, as it has substantial bearing on our willpower to execute.

The fear of the lack of ability. The fear of making mistakes or failure. The fear of looking stupid or ridiculous in front of our peers when our ideas don't work. The fear of snide remarks behind our back. The fear of the unknown, because actions require a change in our status quo.

Worst still, we want to wait for the perfect conditions. We want more information for decision making.

The harsh reality is that, in today's turbulent world, where changes are often exponential, how can we wait for perfect conditions or more information? We just got to trust our own gut instincts.

We have to "grok", to paraphrase a science fiction author, whose name I have long forgotten.

Moving out of our comfort zone is always uncomfortable. I had gone through that journey myself. As a result, for many of us, we prefer to stay put.

The resultant problem with this choice is that often a host of other problems start to ensue, like procrastination, inertia, anxiety, worry, etc., which aggravate the situation.

Interestingly, most peak performance experts - so do I - believe that action actually conquers fear.

All it takes is essentially the first step. Baby step, as they say. Once we take that first step, all fears dissipate. This fact drives home the point:

Fear = False evidence appearing real!

In fact, I like the way Michael Jordan, probably the greatest basketball player of all time, puts it:

"Any fear is an illusion. You think something is standing in your way, but nothing is really there."

I reckon another good way to deal with fear is to consider the pleasure/pain equation, as postulated by celebrity peak performance coach, Anthony Robbins.

What gives you pleasure? What excites you? What gives you pain? What bugs you?

Focus on the pleasure or excitement side. It will automatically takes good care of the pain or bug side.

So, to go with NIKE's most enduring marketing message over the years: JUST DO IT!

I would suggest, as a first step, sit down and write out a simple plan of action, with a number of important objectives you wish to achieve.

[Naturally, I am assuming that you have already narrowed down to one viable idea, or "the mother of all ideas", so to speak, after having considered various major issues like market attractiveness, competition intensity, and strategic fit.]

I often use the acronym, S.M.A.R.T, to think about my gameplan:

S = specific objectives with the attendant tasks to achieve each objective: list out all the objectives, according to the various dimensions of your life [e.g. physical health; work/career; financial; mental/educational; family relationships; social/networking; artefacts and possessions; vacations; hobbies; spiritual pursuits;], then, all the attendant tasks you need to execute in order to attain each and every objective, with priority, from beginning to end;

M = metrics: define how you would like to measure the tasks to be executed, so that you know immediately when you have completed them; in a way, it's your feedback mechanism;

A = accountability: sometimes, your tasks may involve the participation of other people, e.g. your spouse, your boss, your colleagues, your subordinates, your suppliers or facilitators, etc.; so, you also need to apportion or allocate accordingly for better control and effective monitoring;

R = resources: you need to identify all the contributing stuff, like manpower, money, materials, machines, methods, management aids, etc., you would need to get all the assigned as well as shared tasks  done;

T = time for completion of each specific task: by next week; next 30 days; next 90 days; short-term, medium-term, long-term;

Once you have the final gameplan in place, all you have to do is just to follow-up and follow-through.

In a nut shell, I would like to add that action-mindedness boils down to revving up our ingenuity engine. Luckily, each and every one of us is born with one.

To understand the engine metaphor further, it's our delivered horse-power - i.e. power delivered to the wheels, where rubber meets the tarmac - that measures how powerful we are.

Here's a fascinating advisory, at least from my personal viewpoint, taken out of  a corporate advertisement of the credit card giant VISA in the Singapore 'Straits Times' newspaper many years ago.

"Go.
It's one tiny, two-letter word that makes amazing things happen.
Go is action.
It's the spark that starts the flame that sets everything in motion.
Go gets us to try things we've always wanted to try.
Go keeps us going no matter what life throws our way.
Go reminds us it's a big, beautiful world out there, and it's time to make the most of it . . . to get out there and play.
To get out there and do.
To get out there and experience all the incredible things life has to offer."

The advisory certainly reminds me of the importance of a bias for action or action-mindedness.

DEVELOPING THE PROPENSITY TO SEE, TO MOVE & TO FINISH: A PERSONAL MUSING

I reckon most readers are already familiar with the concept that everything we do, especially the more elaborate endeavours, always happens three times. First, in our mind as a mental construct. A thought. An idea. Second, as a written plan on paper, as we organise our thoughts to formulate our strategy ~ to put it to work in some way. Third & finally, as a physical reality, when we are executing our plan in the real world, business or otherwise. From my personal as well as professional experiences (as a task commander & trouble shooter in the corporate world), all three parts are critical components in the entire strategy formulation & execution process. I am sure Dilip concurs with me. The first part involves the ability to see the whole thing in one's mind's eye, so to speak. Not only that, catching a soft glimpse of it in the first place counts too. Therefore, suffice to say, if we don't see it, we don't get it. Dilip & I have come to the conclusion from our many recent encounters that there are actually people out there - supposedly intellectual ones, holding MBA's - who don't get it at all, despite the fact that we have done our best to paint the scenarios for them. Oftentimes, they like to ask for more "information", thinking that more "information" will help in decision making. They don't realise that, as long as they don't know how to use the given "information", i.e. how to draw pertinent insights or "connect the dots", so to speak, the given "information" is just "data". As a result, they end up unwittingly in data-smog. At this juncture, I like to make a distinction: - "data" is raw & neutral to everyone; - "information" is what you have made sense of the given "data"; - interpreting "data" requires imagination as well as ingenuity, because you need to see the "form" first, which is a root in "in-form-ation". Seeing can seemingly be a tough problem for many people, especially those who have low default setting. Dilip likes to use the analogy of the thermostat. With low settings, they can only see ahead all within the scope of their own self-imposed limits. "Closed minds" is another category of people in similar fashion. "A frog in the well" comes to mind too. Worst still, there is another category - those with "truncated perspectives". Creativity guru Edward de bono has spent his entire professional life talking about this critical issue, which he calls "the perceptual phase of thinking". Other experts have taken a different & creative spin to the phenomenon. They include: Mark Brown, Joel Arthur Barker, Wayne Burkan, Jay Abraham, John Hagel, John Seely Brown, & Erich Joachimsthaler, just to name a few. I have in fact written at length on their observations in this weblog as well as in the 'Optimum Performance Technologies' weblog. To me, seeing clearly is always driven - & fueled - by our curiosity or inquisitiveness ~ our sense of wonder & sense of discovery. Our passion as a whole. That's why most experts maintain that we should continue to be child-like as we move into our adulthood, but remember, don't be childish. You can pose yourself a couple of self-check questions to help you see better: - what do I choose to see? - where do I direct my attention? I am confident by doing this regular self-check on your own, you can get out of what I call the 'Tetris Effect'. The second part involves clarity of thought. To me, clarity comes from seeing - & understanding - the big picture, as well as figuring out all the specific tasks, big & small, that are needed to be done in order to attain the results we want. That is, seeing the forest & the trees. To use an interesting analogy from Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, we must have the "analytical ability", "helicopter ability", "imagination" as well as "realism" ~ having a good feel of the pulse on the ground. Without sounding too arrogant, some people are just too muddle-headed when it comes down to planning. Sad to say, they like to go in all directions. "Multi-tasking", they say in defence of what they are doing. As a result, nothing works. Worst still, unintended delays always come to play. To me, this is primarily a problem of attentional focus on priorities. What matters most, so to speak. Productivity guru Stephen Covey has done a lot of work here. Go & digest his potent stuff, especially understanding his 'Four Quadrants'. Once we can stay focused on our priorities & objectives, it is very easy for us to be flexible in our approach with problems or challenges that pop up along the way. More importantly, to deal with the major issue at hand. I reckon the following self-check questions can help in developing your power of clarity: - what do I really want? - what do I believe? The third & final part involves action-mindedness. Move it, as the four characters in the Magadascar movies love to sing along, to be more precise. Some people often get stuck with too much logical thinking, & often find themselves hard to move their butts. So, they stay put, & create unnecessary inconvenience to others who happen to be their collaborators. Do these people - I like to call them, bench warmers & fence sitters - fear the unknown? Maybe so, or more likely, they just love to stay in the comfort zone. Others are too focused on the "negatives", & as a result of which, they can't seem to see the "positives" &/or "interesting aspects" at all, resulting in inaction on their part. One particular sage advice I have always followed all these years is that "Action has Consequences". The consequences can go either way, good or bad. What we can learn from the consequences of completed actions are: - what works? - what doesn't work? Why? - what can we do now to make it work better next time? Without action, nothing moves. I believe Einstein once said that too. It is pertinent for me to highlight that moving - or getting things done - is just one thing, finishing what we have started in the first place is significant too. In other words, successful endeavours depend on the initial move, as well as the next one, & all subsequent moves. More explicitly, success in any endeavours is always a function of correction. It is natural to stay off course, even for a rocket that goes to the moon. Hence, making corrections & adjustments along the way is part & parcel of the long haul. There is another interesting perspective to this phenomenon. To draw an analogy: you are either at 211 or 212. For the uninitiated: water is hot at 211 degrees, but boils at 212 degrees. And with boiling water, comes steam... steam can power a locomotive. The one extra degree makes the difference. I reckon Sam Parker & Mac Anderson, who initiated this concept of 212: The Extra Degree, said it best: "212° is not only a message of action - it's a message of persistent and additional action - the continual application of heat (effort) to whatever task or activity you undertake in order to achieve not only the primary objective you seek, but to reap the exponential rewards that are possible by applying one extra degree of effort." In other words, staying on course with persistence & perseverance really counts at the end of the day. It is pertinent for me to highlight that, sometimes, we need to channel our concerted efforts on the small, manageable tasks first, prior to gaining sustainable leverage to gradually conquer the larger ones. Peak performance experts call this the 'Zorro's Circle'. Have you watched the entertaining swashbuckling movie, 'The Mask of Zorro'? In the movie, Anthony Hopkins, who played Don Diego de la Vega, aka "Zorro Senior", took under his personal tutelage a drunken convict, Alejandro, played by Antonio Banderas, who had once saved his life. Both had a common agenda: revenge against the Spanish governor & his henchmen, but the older "Zorro Senior" wanted to train Alejandro as his replacement, "Zorro Junior", so that both could achieve their aims together. Unfortunately, Alejandro was obsessed by personal vengeance & was really out of control. That's when "Zorro Senior" taught "Zorro Junior" the reality of "what is the point of power when there is no control". In the movie, he called it the Training Circle... the Master's Wheel. I recommend readers to go & watch - or rewatch - the movie. Unfortunately, there are also some people out there who like to stick to the old way of doing things, despite knowing the fact that the novel approach produces more benefits. They choose to hold the dogged view that the past = the future. So, they like to go out there to do what they have done before, & yet expect to get new results. Einstein once illustrated this as "temporary insanity". Professor Don Sull of the London Business School calls it "active inertia". I trust readers can draw some useful lessons from my foregoing rambling musing about our propensity to see, to move & to finish.

KNOWLEDGE IS NOT POWER... IT'S ONLY POTENTIAL

Dilip certainly has a very valid point as shown in the foregoing poster done by him. Knowledge is not measured by what is stored in your head - that's only potential, as Dilip has rightly asserted. It's your productivity - what you do & what you don't - in the world out there that ultimately determines whether your knowledge is power. Business strategists like to call it "execution premium". For plain folks like us, it's simply puting all our ideas to work, in our business or in our life. The key to it is bascially developing actionmindedness. Please read my earlier blogpost entitled 'Developing Action-mindedness' in the 'Optimum Performance Technologies' weblog. [All images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]

THE WORLD CAN ONLY BE GRASPED BY ACTION

The minute you make up your mind that what you do makes a difference, it will make a difference in what you do. Knowing about is not enough; to know, one must do! Take action. But do not mistake activity for action. Take a stand and make a choice, so that your life has meaning. You can choose to act by: - doing for - doing to - doing with or - doing nothing The first three options are clear enough, whether they apply to others or to you. But in the fourth option, beware and be aware that 'doing nothing' is not the same as 'not doing anything'. You, your brain, your heart, no part of you, can build a reputation on what you intend to do. Don't just sit like a monument; that is no way to preserve your integrity. Go out and give the world your heart and brain, your blessings and benedictions, your gift of genius. "Once you've done the mental work, there comes a point you have to throw yourself into the action and put your heart on the line." ~ Phil Jackson; [Excerpted from the book, 'Unleasing Genius with the World's Most Powerful Learning Systems', by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.] Say Keng's personal comments: At the concluding portion of each of his books, Dilip Mukerjea always provides the reader with a laundry list of action points, drawing upon the many areas he has addressed in each book, specifically for the reader to develop his or her genius. In the foregoing book, which is no exception, there are several action points for the reader to march ahead. They are meant to sustain the reader, & to help him or her to become who he or she is meant to be. Only by putting them to work, & sustaining them with disciplined execution, can the reader produces results in his or her own life. British mathematician Jacob Bronowski (1908-1974), who often sought to show how the pursuits of both the arts & the sciences were characteristic of the identity of the human species, had aptly advocated: "We have to understand that the world can only grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is more important than the eye. The hand is the cutting edge of the mind." from whose quote I have deliberately extracted the foregoing title for my blog post.