Thought Leadership

The characteristics of a leaders having a production oriented leadership style The definition of leadership itself gives certain hints about the basic characteristics of any type of leadership . The basic aim of any leadership is to achieve a predetermined goal by way of methods and procedures unique to that leadership style. The path of leadership may vary according to styles but generally the end result somewhat remains the same  The Task Oriented Leadership The Production Oriented Leadership Style (POLS) is basically the task oriented leadership which accords more value to end results. This type of leadership style is rule based, formal, structured and heavily oriented towards the bureaucratic method. If we look closely inside the philosophy of the Production Oriented Leadership Style (POLS), then we find ample traces of the scientific school of management of the famous thinker Taylor.  The Production Oriented Leadership Style (POLS) believes in close supervision of the employees a

 The changing material world around us  The world is a material reality and so are the humans. The relations between the two will be continuous & material when both interact The Changing Material World (CMW) is the ceaseless re-modelling entity where permanence is a glamorous illusion The problem arises when the rate of change in CMW is faster & larger than the acceptance capacity of the individual Most of the time the change in CMW is absolutely ignored, unaccepted or becomes unfathomable to the individual The CMW acts irrespective of whether it is understood, accepted or denied. This is the most unique & challenging aspect about it Why Decline Happens  Over the period of time the process of interaction between CMW & the individual becomes so minimalist that regression starts The journey of degeneration starts here. It is equally true for group entities like societies, organisations etc Those entities which accepted, understood & interacted with CMW and then create

Obsessing over the order of the mind  Man's desire to regulate itself into order is exceptional. The sub-actions of religion, culture, traditions, rules, laws etc are ways of regulating humans into an orderly & regulated entity For humans the concept of freedom has always been the directed, ordered & monitored freedom This is the cardinal difference between the human & the animal world Even our Aesop's fable stories fantasize about the managed & controlled animal world Controlling societies & Leadership  In the earliest recorded history we find ample traces of regulations. It was more managed than what we have today. But still the theme remains the same though essence may have changed Those societies which regulated less the mind has prospered more. Those who obsessed over absolute control lost progress on the way Mind is a Nomad  Mind by its basic characteristic is a nomad. It is created to wander & lose itself in the process Those who never got lost in

Greek Philosophy Summarized If we summarize the whole Greek Philosophy into simple dictum, we get the following messages 1. The unexamined life is not worth living 2. The search for wisdom leads to Truth is the key to human progress 3. Virtue is a type of a knowledge & it must be learnt & followed 4. Humanity must aspire for the “Good Life“ & not the “Mere Life” Leadership Qualities & its  Attributes  When examined closely the Greek Philosophy and its dictum reveals all the desirable qualities of leadership Every leadership must be an examiner of their own lives so that they lead a goal directed conscious life which is worthy of emulation & admiration The leadership without wisdom is like the sky which never rains & the water that never quenches the thirst. In such leadership Truth is the first casualty Leadership virtue is not genetic & theoretical but acquired through knowledge & actions. It is verifiable, measurable & transferable like any asset t

The Kardashev Scale  The Scientist Kardashev categorized human civilization into 3 Types based on their capacity to use & harness energy According to Kardashev Scale we are in Type 0 where we have not utilized fully the energy resources of earth The Type I is when humans use star energy. Type II is when they use total galaxy energy. We are almost entering Type I The Alternative Idea  But the moot question is at what stage of civilisation are we in terms of human dignity, Rights, Privileges, wealth distribution, disease control, employability, peace & security etc etc Are we at the same stage as in   Kardashev Scale   or less than that or beyond that ? From history we know that the rate of increase in human equity & prosperity never corresponds to the rate in increase in wealth generation capacity of any civilization The  Kardashev Scale   talks about energy use which means economic activities which means wealth generation Can we say with certainty that as we increase in  Ka

The Thought Leadership & the Quantum Jump  Human civilization progresses by their abilities to think forward & backward & to correlate it with their present. But there is a limit to which these backward & forward extensions in thinking can be conceived There is always a veil of ignorance beyond which everything seems dark If humans have to jump from one stage to another stage of civilization progress then our ability to think both backward & forward has to also take a quantum jump This simply means that we have to create Thought Leadership(TL) . Such civilization jumps occur only when TL creates Quantum Jumps in ideas & actions We jumped from Wheel stage to Engine stage by creating leadership of the minds The Leadership of the Minds & the Great Jump  The challenge is to create such minds & leaderships. Though Scientific & Technological (S&T) minds will be in abundance but the Social & Cultural (S&C) minds would lag in the “GREAT JUMP” The

The great debate in Quantum Physics During the first part of the 20th century there was a huge debate surrounding the field of Quantum Physics QP. The most influential group was led by Neils Bohr & his students. Their interpretation of QP was called the “ Copenhagen Interpretations” CI Einstein & his group never accepted the Copenhagen Interpretations. He never agreed with the explanations provided by Bohr & Heisenberg. Einstein was so frustrated that he called their QP as “ epistemology-soaked orgy”  Leadership of the mind  The battle for the leadership of the mind was going on. But there was one man who proved mathematically that Bohr”s model of QP was correct. He was Von Neumann, the greatest Mathematician alive at that time. His reputation was such that his mere name settled issues in Mathematics  Once in a conference Neils Bohr spoke about his QP model. After he left almost every scientist opposed his idea and said it was unacceptable. Seeing the chaos one of the orga

Newtonian or Quantum Leaders  Some physicists say that there are two worlds. The World of Big Objects (WBO) & the World of Small Objects (WSO) The WBO is the Newtonian world. The WSO is the Quantum world. The WSO does not follow Newtonian laws The WBO is visible, observable & measurable The WSO is not Yet Both of them exists & are the real worlds But for many only WBO is the real world Mostly both the world do not follow each other’s laws, trajectory, motions, styles etc The Leadership Styles Similar is the case of the two distinct worlds of leadership One has a big aura, personality, is eloquent, has presence, always visible & seen in the action The other is quiet, recluse, non domineering, believes mostly in delegation & is non glamorous The first may be casually referred to as the "Leaders of the Newtonian world" The other are the "Leaders of the Quantum world" Both of them provide leadership to organisations they lead But just because WSO is

The talk on You tube  A talk on " How to reinvent yourself in the post pandemic world" The topic of the current times A thought process of what we need to do A perspective on what we can do Ideas to deliberate upon

The Genius who could have taken over leadership in science  He was a Mathematician during the Renaissance. Some credits him with invention of Probability Theory. Many cite his works on imaginary numbers. He is the first few to lay the foundations of Quantum Physics.  He was also a certified Doctor.  He could have provided effective leadership in science  He wrote a book “Consolation” lamenting the death of his son. Some even say that Shakespeare copied from his book for his Hamlet “To be or not to be” speech He was a genius whom the world has forgotten You may be wondering who he is ? The weakness of leadership  He is Jerome Cardano, the Italian Genius who displeased the authorities of his time by his free contrarian views & rebellious character He was a great gambler who discovered probability theory to win card games. His medical license was revoked due to his maverick actions He had all the intellectual capacity to become the household name. Some part due to his own weakness of

Perspective is everything  When we talk about the Greek Civilization, we are generally talking about the Athenians. We are seeing history from the POV of the Athenians. We are not witnessing history from the perspective of the Corinthians, Spartans,Thebans or anyone else The celebrated intellectual E. H. Carr says that we must find the missing POVs of everybody to understand the real history behind any history Everybody's perspective is essential in understanding the completeness of any issue. Those who seemingly matter less actually matters more in the real facts The complete perspective  This is equally true for leadership. The completeness of the perspective is essential to the success of the leader. A leader must have eyes & ears to find & listen to all the unheard voices in the organisation Unrepresented, unheard & silenced voices are graveyards of leadership Those who represent more, shout more & have more access to leadership necessarily does not mean more fa

He needs no introduction  Einstein needs no introduction. We expect everything new & fascinating from him. We hardly doubt him on his theories. In fact his every theory is regarded as "scientific gospel" Such is his reputation of imminence But he made the biggest mistake of his life  But he made the biggest mistake in astrophysics by telling the world that the universe is constant. He even introduced his now infamous “Cosmological Constant” into his equation in 1917 But when in 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is not static but expanding, the Astrophysics world was stunned The Brilliant Blunder  Einstein accepted his mistake & in 1931 disowned his own Cosmological Constant. A full 14 years after its creation Einstein himself is said to have observed that this was his Biggest Blunder. Some called it the “Brilliant Blunder” Ethical leadership  Here it shows the highest attribute of any leadership. That is to accept their mistakes & not the ego Making m

The Oldest Recorded Civilization Known To Man is The Sumerian Civilization The oldest recorded civilization known to man is the Sumerian civilization which existed in the present day area of Iraq starting from 4500 B.C. The Sumerians were the first to invent the Cuneiform Writing which later became the modern day Alphabet System. They were the first to advocate Individual Freedom and that’s why they started the first codification of laws to set the limits of the state. They were the first to ever record the concept of Democratic Assembly as mentioned in one of their poems. The concept of state started with the Sumerian. We are a civilization today because the basic foundations of it were laid in the Sumerian civilization. How We Are Still Following The Sumerian Schooling System There are many contributions and interesting facts about the Sumerians. In this article we will concentrate on one of its most interesting aspects- Education & Schooling System. The facts concerning Educatio

The couplet  "Bas-ki dushvar hai har kaam ka aasan hona //  Aadmi ko bhi mayassar nahi insaan hona" It is difficult that every goal be easily complete // Even for Human it is not easy to be humane Ghalib  The above couplet of the great urdu poet Ghalib indicates that certain qualities are to be fulfilled before biological human becomes truly a human. There are four basic qualities which every human must possess to be called human. 1. A man must believe in the equality of all men 2. A man must be kind, compassionate and full of empathy in his behaviors 3. A man must be willing to repent on his mistakes 4. A man must be just, impartial and do justice What do you say ? 

Albert Camus & the plague period  One of the few good books to read during this period is " The Plague " written by Albert Camus. Albert Camus is one of the few brilliant philosophical minds of the 20th century.  The Plague  In the book " The Plague" , he philosophizes that the human's collective fight for existence against the common threat is an ongoing process. The book philosophizes about human destiny and freedom of choice. Through the book Albert Camus is also trying to refer to all forms of organised injustices via the metaphor of the plague.  The sample passage  Sample below a passage from the book.. Thus week by week the prisoners of plague put up what fight they could. Some, like Rambert, even contrived to fancy they were still behaving as free men and had the power of choice. But actually it would have been truer to say that by this time, mid-August, the plague had swallowed up everything and everyone. No longer were there individual destinies; on

The earliest book on plague  One of the finest books to read on Pandemics or Epidemics is “ A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe”. This book is basically a journal which details about the bubonic plague which devastated London in the 17th century.  It is same today  Some of the incidents and social circumstances described in this book are no different from what is happening today in corona crisis worldwide. Sample one paragraph from the book. The sample Reading  “This was a very terrible and melancholy thing to see, and as it was a sight which I could not but look on from morning to night, for indeed there was nothing else of moment to be seen, it filled me with very serious thoughts of the misery that was coming upon the city, and the unhappy condition of those that would be left in it. This hurry of the people was such for some weeks that there was no getting at the Lord Mayor’s door without exceeding difficulty ; there template was such pressing and crowding there to get pas

Father of History Nobody can claim to know history without knowing 𝓗𝓔𝓡𝓞𝓓𝓞𝓣𝓤𝓢. Herodotus is regarded as the father of history. The 9 volumes  He wrote his 9 volumes of books called Histories. This book deals extensively on the history of the Greco-Persian wars fought in the 5th century BC. Herodotus is believed to have written his voluminous book around 440 BC. Though the book is not what we know as academic history today. But definitely it is the first and most successful endeavor to write history comprehensively. Most of our knowledge about the Persian Empire of that time comes from this book.  The Greek POV The book is not impartial in its observations as it is written from the point of view POV of the Greeks. Nevertheless the Style, Geography, Events, Descriptions of war etc dealt in the books are matters worth going through. If you love history you will love Herodotus. The sample below is the history from his book. "My history hence proceeds to inquire who Cyrus was t

Leadership & Society  I𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗻, 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆, 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 . COVID 19 & the society  With the grave threat of COVID19 , all societies have seen reduction in their social and economic powers. There is scarcity of capital, infrastructure, equipment, medicines, doctors, leadership etc. This is the loss of power of any society. Now is the time to see and observe which society shows unity, resilience, compassion and farsightedness in the fight against the pandemic.  The compassionate societies  Only those societies which have qualities bereft of hubris hubris in abundance would be able to cope with the aftermath. Those who lack those qualities would carry the scars much longer and may collapse one day. It is not only about material things that keeps any society away from the decline. It is t

Truth too needs symbols  Truth, even though it is truth, still requires symbolism to highlight itself. One of the most iconic examples that can be cited is of Socrates, the Great Greek philosopher. Bertrand Russell writes " Oracle of Delphi was once asked if there were any man wiser than Socrates, and the oracle replied that there was not". Socrates the philosopher  Socrates was put to trial and condemned to death by the Athenian establishment. The charge against Socrates was that he was corrupting the minds of the people specially the young generations. Most of what we know about Socrates comes from the writing of his two pupils Plato and Xenophon. Plato, himself a great philosopher, was present in the court during the trial of Socrates and he wrote the entire dialogues of Socrates in the form of the book called “𝗔𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆" The Apology  At the end of the trial Socrates addresses the unjust court and remarks “ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶

Rumi Jalaluddin Mohammad Rumi, popularly known as Rumi, is one of the greatest and most widely read mystic poet. He lived around the region of present day Turkey in the 13th century AD.  Shams Tabrez  He wrote mostly in Persian.. Shams –i- Tabrizi was the wandering Sufi who ignited the fire of mysticism and love in Rumi. It is said that Shams –i- Tabrizi shaped the entire intellectual consciousness of Rumi. Rumi says about him 𝙁𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚: 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙖𝙬, 𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙩 Maqalat –e- shams-i-Tabrizi Shams and Rumi had intellectual discussions and these were noted by Rumi’s students. The notes were compiled by an Iranian scholar into a book “Maqalat –e- shams-i-Tabrizi, The Discourses of Shams –i- Tabrizi. This book gives us the best insight into the mystic genius of both the great souls. Rumi’s Mathnawai is regarded as the one of greatest poetry book ever written. After translation into English,

Xenophanes  ‘If horses could draw, they would draw their Gods like horses’ Thus spoke Xenophanes, earliest Greek philosophers of 6 th century B.C. This statement of Xenophanes is actually against the dominant and aggressive Homerian culture of that time. Homerian view  He says that Homerian view their Gods and culture in human form and look down upon the other ways of life and culture. But if Horses could speak and draw they would view their Gods and culture in horses form and not in human form.  Cultural Relativism This was the beginning of the concept of Cultural Relativism(CR ) and Xenophanes is the first to talk about it. Due to his liberalism, free thinking and intellectualism Xenophanes was exiled by the authorities. “Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture” · Every culture & way of life is relative and unique · No culture is good or bad per se · No culture is superior or in

Ibn Khaldun-Father of sociology  𝐈𝐛𝐧 𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐮𝐧 was a towering intellectual figure of the 14th century AD and one of the few great minds of the world. A Historian cum philosopher who founded a new science in Humanities called "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲(𝘈𝘭 𝘐𝘫𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢 𝘈𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘯).This branch of historical studies is also called 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙎𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙊𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 which ultimately became what we call as "Sociology" today. That is the reason many regard Ibn Khaldun as the Father of Sociology. Historical Materialism  Scholars agree that his study of history through scientific methods was the first attempt at "𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦. Before him history was a mere narrative and fiction exercise. He changed History writing forever. 𝐌𝐮𝐪𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐚"(𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐧) His most celebrated book is 𝐌𝐮𝐪𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐚"(𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐧). In this book he lists out reasons wh

The father of philosophy  Many consider Thales, who lived around 6th century B.C in Miletus city, to be the father of philosophy. Philosopher & business  An interesting story about his business acumen is mentioned by Aristotle in his book the Politics. Thales knew astronomy. He studied the stars and predicted that there would be a great harvest of olives next year. He had little money. He gave deposits to all the oil pressing units in the town and booked it in advance for the next year. He got those bookings at a very low price because no one knew about the knowledge he had about the harvest. As predicted the coming year had great olive harvest. Everyone wanted the oil pressing units. But it was all booked by Thales. Thales earned a fortune out of it by lending it out at good prices. But Thales never considered business as his profession. For him Philosophy  was what excited him more. Knowledge is Success. Read Books to Succeed. Comments are welcome 

Leaders must read philosophy  Successful Leaders read Philosophy. They use it to set higher purposes for their organisation. It gives meanings to their life. What is EP ?  What is Existentialist Philosophy (EP)? · It is up to the individual to choose the life they think best and give purpose to it · EP believes that Existence precedes Essence · This means that man first exists without any purpose in this world · Then slowly he interacts with the world and gains experiences of the world · Afterward as a reaction to worldly experiences man defines the meaning of his life and of his existence A successful leader will provide that missing worldly experience to his organisation to create purpose in life. Jean Paul Sartre  Jean Paul Sartre is almost synonymous with Existentialism Philosophy. Sartre made EP world famous through his book “Being and Nothingness”. EP & Leadership  An Accomplished leadership with the help of EP motivates the men in his organisation towards bigger goals. A fai

Cicero Cicero was a Roman Statesman, lawyer and one of its greatest orators. Cicero lived in Rome around First century B.C. Sulla, the most feared military general of that time, ordered the property of an ordinary citizen to be auctioned in contravention of the existing laws. That property was purchased in auction by one of Sulla’s men at a very low price. Roscius, the legal heir to the property, complained in court against the injustice of Sulla. The fear of military General Sulla was such that no lawyer took up the case of Roscius in court. The brave lawyer  It was Cicero who took up Roscius case in spite of knowing the grave danger. Through his brilliant analysis and oratory he won the case for Roscius against the military general Sulla. Cicero, just 27,had to flee his town to escape the wrath of Sulla. True Leadership has Ethical Courage  Great leaders have moral & Ethical courage. They take a public stand, speak and act against injustice, wrongdoings and tyranny. They do it ev