Thought Leadership

If I tell you about the Machines If we create something we expect it to do work better than us. If not then why would be create such things in the first place itself  The purpose to machines was to do some specialised jobs better than the humans  Specialisation is what Machines are expected to do. From the first moment itself the machines knows nothing about anything except its specialised roles  Machines are routine, repetitive, confined & monotonous. They are insipid, soulless, unoriginal & seems lifeless  It is Colourless World  Howsoever beautiful & fantastic the machines look initially but if we keep on observing it regularly it loses all its charms. it has nothing to offer except what it has been specialised to do so When anything becomes precisely predictive it behaves like the machines & is colourless in interactions  Do not let your children become machines  This is precisely what specialisation in education in young childr...

You feel you are done & out  You can't take one step further. You cannot carry a load one pound more. You are gasping for the breath. You are done, out & gone You feel you have reached the limit of your capacity. There is nothing you can do more You simply want to quit & go home The 40% Rule  But what if someone tells you that you are only 40 % done of what you can do. The rest 60 % of your capacity, skill, talent etc is still left untouched, unseen & unused I bet you would frown & make your mind unbelieve those uncomforting words This is precisely what I read about the “40 % Rule” for the Navy Seals The job of trainers at the Navy Seals is to get the untapped 60 % out of you. It is already there in you. The trainers just tell you the way to get it out from you The Leadership & You  Literally this is what smart leadership does with you. They guide, motivate & inspire to get the latent 60 % out of you One of the best qualities of any winning lea...

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

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 w...

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...

What wisdom tells us  A visionary shared his thoughts on leadership. He said that there are two things that are crucial to Leadership success. First is Will Power & the second is the Means& Resources Most of the time leaders fail because they have the Means &Resources but do not have the requisite Will Power. They lack that urge, passion and drive to utilize the available resources. This is the Standard Failure Model Why some are successful  The successful leaders are those who have the Will Power first and then they connect the Means & Resources to strategies. It is seen through experiences that leaders having will power necessarily create means & resources even if the organisation lacks it initially. But it is equally true that failed leadership waste away the resources due to lack of will power If we take any failed leadership we will find this Will Power Vs Means & Resources constant struggle. We never find both of them in harmony under failed leade...

The coffin texts  The ancient Egyptian civilization (4000- 2000 B.C) had an interesting custom. The kings, nobles, wise men etc of those times, after their death, were buried with texts written over their coffins. These texts were philosophical messages left by the dead for the future generations. This came to be known as the Coffin Texts King Intef & the message  This particular message from the coffin Text of King Intef philosophizes that nothing is permanent in the world. Change is the only truth. Celebrate each day without attaching much to the material things. Happiness is everything "Those who built their tomb-temples, Their place is no more Their walls are dismantled As if they had never been Celebrate the glad day Be not weary therein Lo, no man taketh his goods with him Yea, none returneth again that is gone thither " Leadership & coffin text Each one of us is writing our own coffin texts every day. Our speech, actions,thoughts, ideas etc are our actual coffi...

Romancing the Destitution   The French called it the “ La Sensibilita ” which meant being very near to the emotions. Nowadays we may call it as Romanticism in intellectual thoughts. This trend started in the early 18th century among philosophers in France. It became famous after Rousseau, the philosopher, used it in his writings. Too much Romanticization is diversion  Some believe that Romanticization is akin to diversion of the problem. It is a euphemism for tokenism. The problems rather than being solved is actually loved and regarded as a virtue. This in turn becomes a vicious cycle and it circulates through ages. Poverty is an apt example Leadership is not Tokenism of emotion  Showing too much of emotions to any problems such that solutions itself becomes elusive is what Romanticization process is all about. We as humans must find solutions to problems rather than fantasize, glorify and romanticize distress. To satiate the hunger of our emotional senses we indulg...

Let's teach philosophy to children We teach history and literature in school. But one thing is missing. we do not teach philosophy in school. Why ? Some argue it is difficult for children to understand. But so is mathematics & science. Some say it is too abstract for children to grasp. But there are many concepts in science & mathematics which are deeply abstract Simplify it  we are simplifying others subjects to make it easy for the children to understand. Similarly we must simplify philosophy to make it understandable for the children In this age even school children are sharing quotes which are of philosophical nature. They enjoy doing it without even knowing that it is philosophy The children is the collective shared future  Our children are our future. We want them to question & speculate everything. They must be fearless to speak their mind. Our future leadership must be compassionate. They must understand that it is the diverse concepts of ideas, i...

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗣𝗢𝗘𝗧 𝗦𝗔𝗔𝗗𝗜 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗔𝗭𝗜 Saadi was a traveler and a poet. He learnt life through his journey and that is reflected in his poetry. He proclaims the unity of mankind through his poetry. His poems have been translated into almost all languages of the world. The great Goethe, the German genius, was among the first to translate Saadi's poetry. The Europeans came to know about the genius of Saadi through Goethe's translation. The unity of mankind  This famous poem is Posted in the entrance to the Hall of Nations of the UN building, New York " Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot retain " Saadi's poetry are mystical and spiritual in nature and asserts the unity of mankind in all contexts.

Understand the Phenomena as they are  Let’s see things as they really are & experience the phenomena as it would have actually occurred without attaching any of our own bias & prejudices Let’s not derive conclusions simply by way of Induction & Deduction Method as in Natural science Try to experience & understand the phenomena as a first person The Concept of Phenomenology  We must try to find out the " Intentionality" behind that phenomena This is what philosophy of phenomenology is all about German philosopher Edmund Husserl propagated it which was further carried forward by Heidegger, Sartre etc Leadership & the Art of Phenomenology  Ordinary Leadership style is more focused on the Natural science method of Observation & Analysis but less on the actual experience & Phenomena Leadership is a function of complex human behavior, expectations, roles, Power etc which operates in layers of multiple human interactions Successful Leadership understa...

Iliad & Odyssey - The rise of Western Civilization  Iliad and the Odyssey are the two books which are considered the foundation of western literature. These books have shaped the cultural, moral & aesthetic sense of the western civilisation (WC) since ages Homer is generally regarded as the author of the above books. But the scholarly consensus believes that both Odyssey & Iliad to be the works of several authors through centuries. Homer is only the representative name for the above works Some even believe that Homer did not exist The Point is not About Homer  The point here is not about Homer but about the two books. It is not Homer who shaped the literary & intellectual thought process of WC but the two books did it Homer maybe a myth. But Iliad & odyssey is reality Leadership is collection of Principles & Ideologies  Similarly when we talk about great leadership we are actually understanding the collection of ideas, ideologies, actions, POVs etc...

Greatness is not Alone  Great civilizations have given birth to great cities & towns. Great concepts give rise to many big concepts The concept of Astronomy, Gravity, Relativity, Quantum Physics etc gave many other big concepts. The field of Calculus matured out of the concept Astronomy The idea is to impress that out of one single great entity emerges many big & important entities. This is the sign of Greatness of that entity The Law of Greatness  Similarly out of one great man’s influence, you will always see many exceptional talents emerging. Philosophy, History & Literature (PHL) is testimony to this “Law of Greatness (LOG)” From Socrates emerged Plato & from him the great Aristotle Great Leadership are like the Fountains  The same LOG also applies in the field of Leadership A Great Leader is the one who nurtures & influences many other big leaders. This leadership allows others to grow. That leader is like the fountain from which streams of water...

Hannibal, the Great General  Hannibal, the Carthaginian, is regarded as one of the greatest military General of history. The Carthaginians had a running generational feud with the Romans Hannibal's father was defeated by the Romans in the war. Hannibal vowed never to be the friend of the Romans. He kept his promise till his last The Great March of Hannibal  The march of Hannibal (218 BC) from today's Spain via France by crossing the Alps to reach nearby Rome is unprecedented in military history. He marched with elephants & huge troops which is unbelievable even today. This march is still taught in military tactics Never has any General marched so long to honor his father's promise. He waited for Roman army to come out & fight the open battle (2nd Punic War). But the Romans never did it They fought small skirmishes. Hannibal returned by defeating the Romans but without capturing Rome The Leadership Lesson  Sometimes the work, the vision & the journey of a leade...

The Leader in us  Once in a while think aloof bereft of the yonder days under the shade of silence amidst the innumerable ways Once in a while walk alone having the footprints and stones with measured destination and goals let your vision pave the course Once in a while detest your avarice let glitters turn to the dusty low sprinkle your existence with real glow for nothing shines like your real soul Once in a while identify some false pride of which many are jewels and crowns If you may cast some of it away the journey of essence can thrive long Once in a while stride the change If possible dare the comfort range to climb to the slippery uphill nest where you and the Eagle can rest Not Once in a while but always say aloud what is right and what is not for some day the voice may trigger the inaudible to hear it clear and loud Once in a while look behind to see the remains of the days vast but as you tread along the path remember every step is a past -Shahnawaz Qasim

The Exclusion Principle of Our Self Discovery  In the endless desire to know everything & everybody, we are discovering less about ourselves To really discover oneself we need to ask as to what we don't want in life This may be the “ Exclusion Principle (EP) ” of our self discovery How to Do it  The caveat is that it has to be self checked, updated & balanced regularly The EP is more fruitful in the long run than the Inclusive one.  Take a little time away from the everyday noisy life and ask what we should not avarice for This EP list can be very productive, meaningful & persisting if prepared after a thorough debate with our own inner self After EP, whatever remains may be the Real You But it is not a one time process. The activity of balancing and re balancing of desires goes on The clearing of clutter from our own self is an ongoing affair It Will Create Great Leadership Abilities in You This is what is the first Evolutionary Process in leadership. You kno...