Power Series: Experimentation as a differentiator

The world, organizations, societies, and we as human beings are still adjusting to the new normal. The situation around is evolving at a rapid rate and is challenging all our basic and standard processes. Given where things are, survival, staying safe, and healthy is our utmost priority.

There are a lot of conversations in when would things go back to normal. However, what the new normal would be is going to be highly unpredictable. So let us paint a near promising future. The world has found a vaccine that can be administered through the air, and in two days, the world as a whole cured. The sick revive, and things start opening up slowly. So here are the key questions:

• Would we go back to work in public transit services?

• Would we go to large social gatherings?

• Would we have an urge or need to go to restaurants?

• Would we be comfortable sending our children to schools?

• Would we travel more?

• Would we???

The list of maybe's and would be's can be long? The answers to the above questions have multiple options. The scenarios can have various options and various outcomes, which can further have a trailing impact and paint different scenario's. The best tool available in such situations is experimentation. Experimentation plays many roles and is important in such scenarios. One of its essential characters is to test theories and to provide the basis for current and future knowledge. It can also call for a new theory, either by showing that an accepted theory is incorrect or by exhibiting a new phenomenon that needs explanation. To manage the current scenario, no one can deem themselves as experts. Hence managing the future requires an individual to master the art of experimentation. 

My recommendation for organizations (large or small) is to either set up a SWAT team or individuals whose sole responsibility is to think and build scenarios and experiment with different outcomes. Experimentation is the key to learning in organizations. Only through careful experimentation can causal inferences be drawn about the success or failure of new ideas. It is almost planning and playing for a game of chess. The world or the organization is on one side of the board, and the other side is the entire socio-economic factors that would react to how the situation/the game unfolds. 

I would highly recommend one of my favorite books - Experimentation Works: The Surprising Power of Business Experiments by Stefan H Thomke.  You can get the Kindle version from the following links:

I hope to see all of us get in the mindset of experimentation and love to hear the experiments you undertake. Chao..

Power Series: Agility

Today, we are all confined to our homes and locality without much movement. What sounded reasonable to all of us:

1. Going to work/gym/other public places

2. Taking public transports

3. Eating out in restaurants

4. Participating in events or other larger gatherings

Feels a distant dream and confinement to place or home was a scary moment or if we did if we had to take rest for a day. However, most of us are confined to our homes for weeks at a stretch now. The world has come to a standstill, actually humans and machines, yet, nature is blooming, and other living beings are thriving. The Pandemic of COVID-19 has challenged all of our thinking and movement in the so-called technology and thriving 20th century. 

The current times are challenging and world political leaders, large-medium-small organizations are relooking at their business models, and human beings at large are adjusting to a new normal at the same time contributing to fight out the pandemic. The novel Coronavirus doesn't have precedence Individuals, organizations, and countries would only thrive if they can quickly adapt to changing and evolving scenarios. The scenarios are rapidly evolving, and what seemed to be the benchmark yesterday has been disrupted today completely. Countries, organizations, and communities which have shown agility, swiftness, and accepting change have been able to arrest and control to an extent the situation.  

Agility is a mindset than a process that is either born out of a will or a necessity. Organizations that have been slow to adopt an agile mindset or methods are today, finding it difficult to survive or manage the current situation. What I fear is that, once hopefully, the pandemic is over, and either the circumstances take an upswing turn or goes in another direction, organizations again would not be prepared to manage it. The systems, checks, and controls would all go out of the window, and larger cracks would start forming within an organization.  

More so, industry experts deem that great leaders have to balance agility with consistency in the current state, and once we all come out of it, to adjust consistency would be the biggest challenge for many leaders. The past, present, and future all would have different benchmarks and standards that define consistency would be the biggest challenge. The only way to manage consistency would be to embrace empathy, listening, and to stay true to oneself, brand, and the country at large. Consumers and the nations would evolve at a rapid pace, and there would be new benchmarks set every day. The future would require a great sense of agility and the ability to balance the other moving pieces around oneself, organization, and the nation as a whole.

It is still not that late to develop an agile mindset, but those who don't would perish. Chao..

Power Series: Humility

When I started writing the article, I had a different perspective of being humble; however, the current situation which the world is facing due to COVID-19 has taught me and changed my view of what humility is all about. 

Today's scenario is challenging all the norms and processes which we have set in our personal and professional life. There is no benchmark or blueprints available in the world which can either prepare, prescribe, or allow us to take action, which we don't know the outcomes or measures. The world is in an experimentation mode, everyday new methods, information, and aspects are enhancing or changing our experimentation methods. Humans have survived, and we would all survive this phase of the world. 

The phase of the world also demands we, as human beings, take a step back, evaluate and appreciate what is around us. Today there is rage, fear, and a sense of hoarding which is brewing amongst us. We need to calm ourselves down and also evaluate how we manage the situations which are evolving every day and every hour. What is being requested of us is to demonstrate humility across the walk of life. Humility is a quality of being humble and a form of self-control that is neither having pride (or arrogance) nor indulging in self-deprecation.

Having a sense of humility in the business context allows individuals to build sustained relationships. In the age of digital, building relationships would test all the previous myths (in-person, handshake, body language, personal appearance, and many more). Displaying humility and being considerate of others' needs before yours would allow businesses to scale through the current and global scenario of the world. Functions in an organization like sales, marketing, finance, and even the board members sooner than later would need to adopt humility as a leadership style to weather the storm and also sustain the business in the short and mid-term. 

Recent research suggests that humility is a quality of certain types of leaders. For example, Jim Collins and his colleagues found that a particular kind of leader, whom they term "level 5", possesses humility and fierce resolve. Humility is being studied as a trait that can enhance leadership effectiveness. The research suggests that humility is multi-dimensional and includes self-understanding and awareness, openness, and perspective-taking.

I am no expert in humility but have been consciously and unconsciously practicing it since the last decade. If you have perspectives on it further, please do leave your comments below. Chao. 

Power Series: Kobe Bryant The Great

Black Mamba, Kob-Me, Employee #8, Mr 81, Kobe Wan Kenobi, KB8, KB-24, Neo, Ocho, The Dagger, and many more

26th January 2020, a dark day in the history of sports, the world lost one of the greatest athletes of all time, Kobe Bean Bryant. KB8 though, was gifted; if you know about his strong ethics, he has worked hard to be and achieve greatness through hard work and perseverance. His death caused mass hysteria across the world and his fans were deeply saddened. He left a great impact, apart from being a great athlete, he was a great human being too.

However, he didn’t reach his greatness easily and worked hard over the years to achieve what he did in his lifetime.

1. Focus your destination: Per Kobe Wan Kenobi, everything he did either on the court or off the court was with a single objective that he wanted to be the greatest at his art. If you have that only goal, the universe aligns and shares the only target with you to drive everything around you to make it happen

2.  His work ethics: He didn't compromise a single day to divert from his goals. He focussed on his strengths and weakness and worked upon them to ensure he can work towards his goal

3. Understand your limitations: The Dagger understood his weakness like his vertical jump was not compared to some of the greatest, his palm was not that big, and he wasn't the fastest on the court. So he had to understand the game, study the game in detail, get more skilled combined with the basics of basketball to define his success. 

4. Getting into the zone: Neo mentions across his interviews and in his book that whenever he entered the court, there was a mental switch that allowed him to get focussed on the game. It was almost like a 'Switch' once turned on; it made him feel like a live wire. 

5. Emotional strength: We are very self-conscious and the worst critics of ourselves. Kob-Me recommends we all get over ourselves, and it is not just about us. 

6. Consult the best in the game: Nothing to be shy to consult who are celebrated in their field. Ask on how did that, and what made them succeed in the game they played and what are the key learnings from their careers. He referred to the great as "Goat Mountains."

7. Relationship with near and dear ones: KB8 understood to achieve greatness; he had to give up or lose something on the way. For him, his goal was to be the best in what he endeavors in the game. He didn't take breaks to take time off with his family or near and dear ones. The reason for that, when he retires, he doesn't need to repent that could have put more time into what he could have achieved greatness. The people around him understood his path and let him be what he wanted to be. Great learning, communicate, and discuss your passion and ensure the individuals around you know 'why' and 'what' you are doing. 

8. Your Customers are essential: For Black Mamba, his fans who have paid money to come and watch him. They expected him to be in his best shape and also not get intimated with any of the opponents even if he is not fit. Come what may, he always put his 'A' game for the fans.

9. A coach: Once KB8 retired, he started working with folks, to enable and get the best out of them. He is creating a platform for the folks to understand and deliver their best

10. Parenting advice: During the game against the Golden State Warriors, where they had a close game, the Black Mamba is called to take a shot. Just before the shot, the Achilles happened. He stood up, made the free throws, and walked back to get the surgery done. In the locker room, his kids waited for him, and his message to them was, 'I would be all right'. His word to all of us that we shouldn't get defined by this one incident. I am going to be in control and ensure that I come out of it. 

Wow, just wow, and his passing was a big set back to the entire world. I haven't watched him play much, but the more now I understand his past, the biggest fan I have become. To 'Black Mamba'...

If you want to read more about his life, I would personally recommend the book:

The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

Power Series: Product Management + #FOMO

The most critical role within an organization that makes or breaks the future of the organization is Product Management. The Podcast: Masters of Scale, in discussion with Marissa Mayer she covers how at Google she had led the organization to create the role of APM (Associate Product Manager) and onboard people to induct within the function. Today the industry is facing a big challenge to get products to its maturity because of a lack of great Product Managers. A product manager is almost like a General in an army who has to hold strategy, define the plan, understand customer needs, a futurist, and get individuals rally around a path in maybe a decentralized and chaotic future.

Product management can be daunting for many individuals, and the critical role per me is to define the roadmap. Defining the roadmap is based on the broad vision and mission the product is trying to focus on. The key here is "FOCUS," and I have personally seen products failing is due to misalignment in focus. In the early and mid-stages, the misalignment happens when customers or your internal teams would like to shape the product or the features unique to their needs. Ideally, a product in today's age has to have 80% out of box features and 20% customizable features. If the percentages are imbalanced: less than 80% out of box features, then it is not a product; if less than 20% or in single-digit customized features, then it is not a successful product. The focus also requires to be more targeted to an industry or a specific consumer group. This focus should be aligned not in the initial stages but a must in the mid-stages of the products. It is critical to find the niche and scale rapidly as you would face competition if you are entering a crowded space or product is gaining attention.

The focus also shifts if the executives or other stakeholders apply undue pressure and focus on the revenue or some other KPIs, then the "Fear Of Missing Out" (FOMO) automatically creeps in. This #FOMO mindset destroys the future of the product and wastes many precious resources along the way. The critical avoidance of such a phenomenon must be driven by the Product Managers to ensure and reiterate/remind the goals and path of the products. The Product Manager is the torchbearer to see the success of the product.

Avoiding a #FOMO mindset doesn't mean that you neglect the evolving needs of the customers or internal stakeholder feedback. The key here is to chart on the path which is defined, recognize the feedback or deviations, evaluate them to see if it makes sense to step up, and or park them for future considerations.

If you are a Product Manager and have experienced #FOMO then I would like to hear from you. Chao..

Power Series: Bruce Lee Wisdoms. Application in our life.

Bruce Lee has been one of the greatest athletes in the field of action sports. As I was growing up, he has been a role model for most of us growing up in the '70s to '90s along with other greats like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan. Specifically, the movies of Bruce Lee, such as "Enter the Dragon" and "Fist of Fury," my personal classics and I would personally sit and watch any time. 

Bruce Lee's story is definitely enriching, and if you are interested in learning more about him, you can visit - www.brucelee.com, which has a detailed story about his life. The famous quote: "Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend." has a lot of expressions and deep thinking on his part and teaches us a lot about how to live life. He personally overcame a lot of challenges and has defined paths to achieve his dreams. The same expression can be applied in our day to day work, personal relationships, world travel, and many other scenarios. 

The one which got my attention and definitely has become my mantra of looking at things in life:

"Research your own experience.

Absorb what is useful.

Reject what is useless.

Add what is specifically your own."

If you decode this particular statement and think about it. The thought is just profound and can be the key to success for many of us in our work and personal life. I always recommend to individuals that we need to carve our own paths and not try to copy or replicate what others do. From my other blog post, "Observational Learning," one should assimilate the knowledge from the world, learn and retain the understanding of what is important to you. In technology age and information overload, there is contradicting information to the thesis or specific area which you are trying to conduct your research or gain knowledge on. The quote can be applied in the approach, each one of us should control and imbibe on paths which are own, but informed and evaluated based on our thought on risks, gains, and outcomes at the end of it. 

Whether it is fitness, health, career, relationship goals, faith, or any other areas which impact your life directly, the approach from the quote can be applied literally on each of the facets of our life. There is a Podcast on Bruce Lee which you can listen on:

Maybe you can call me a big fan of Bruce Lee, apart from being great at what he did, he was also stalwart having great wisdom for life. As I finish up writing this blog, I would like to leave you with few more quotes from the great.

Do not pray for an easy life; pray for the strengths to endure a difficult one

I am a martial artist by choice, an actor by profession, and I am actualizing myself daily to be an Artist of Life.

Each man binds himself – the fetters are ignorance, laziness, preoccupation with self and fear. You must liberate yourself.

Using no way as way; having no limitation as limitation.

Power Series: Why gift yourself each year on your birthday?

We are born on this planet Earth with a purpose and make an impact in our own ways. - Anees Merchant

Every one of us is important and born on this planet ‘Earth’ to drive something important and move each day by a second, minute, and hour. There are various emotions we go through the year and continue to focus on aspects to improve our lives and individuals around us. While we navigate the multiple facets of life (ups and downs), we often forget to appreciate the most important person, that is, ‘Us.’ The proposition applies to individuals who are in a capacity to earn or in a position to gift themselves.

So why gift yourself every year? The idea is not being selfish or think that you are alone in the world. We often are focussed on making individuals around us feel special and an essential part of our life. Out of love, we tend to express our gratitude and love either through gifts or objects which represent our love, compassion, or affection for the other person without an intention that the other person would reciprocate your expression. Often than not, we do get reciprocated by our near and dear ones. However, it is not necessary to expect the same gesture in return from everyone you care or show your compassion.

I often recommend to individuals that we need to learn to love ourselves first before we appreciate others around us. Many life coaches often suggest that we get ourselves goals that are SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realist, and Timebound) for a year ahead. These goals should include personal and professional aspirations and need not be declared open to everyone. So what happens, once you achieve your goals, you quietly feel proud or have a sense of accomplishment. At this moment, if you truly have completed your goals and have overachieved them, then it is important you declare them and appreciate the milestones you have achieved.

The way of appreciation is giving yourself a gift (the most expensive in your benchmark) to self appreciate yourself. The self-appreciation is a self-gratifying process that gives you a personal high and provides a sense of contentment and calmness. You can pick a date in a year where you would mark such a moment. The best one, as per me, would be your birthday or other important dates which are monumental in life. I would also recommend that you do it once only, as that would hold the special meaning in life for you and would also set a personal goal each year.

If you follow such a practice then I would like to hear from you. Chao..

Power Series: How to manage stress on things which you are passion for?

The corporate life continues to get complicated, variety and has a more significant impact on us as individuals by introducing stress. A study by the American Psychological Association in 2017, work is about 61% source of stress. The higher than that is Money at 62%, which is related to work. Depending on the type of stress, it can have a severe impact on our well being in the short and long term.

I often see my colleagues and team members either expressing verbally or through their actions that they are stressed. The stress is often self-induced, or the environment, culture, or just work adds to it. Stressful situations in corporate life can be managed if you are passionate about the work or focus area. Passion brings in a positive mental attitude that balances the state of your body. However, passion, if not managed effectively, can lead to additional stress, which would deteriorate your further. Over the years, my work hours have increased, and individuals around me often ask how do I manage all this and still be happy with a contagious drive around me.

At the heart of driving a balance within my life, there are four critical elements that one should think of balancing daily and not weekly. 

© Anees Merchant - Circle of Influence and Balance Circle to manage Stress

1. Passion: passion can be your work, either as an employee, freelancer, or entrepreneurship. One should enjoy what they are doing else it is futile to continue working in the stream. I strongly recommend to folks around me that whatever career path you choose to ensure that it is fun, you are motivated and are enjoying every day. Every type of work would have its qualms, but that shouldn't be the maximum part of the job else; it is not fun, and you would not be passionate about it. Motivation is an overrated word in corporate life, frankly speaking, I firmly believe no one can motivate anyone. Motivation comes from within and is self-driven. 

2. Health: this has three dimensions that need to be balanced further and should be equally given importance. Food, Physical, and Mental health. Food and diet have gained significant influence over the last decade and would continue in the years to come. One's food habit greatly influences the mental and physical health state. Physical health is not about attaining a body athlete, but to be physically fit to ensure you are not tired and have adequate energy levels across the day for personal and professional chores. Mental health is all about keeping all state of emotions at bay and not suppressing any of them. For eg., it is ok to cry. It would help if you partook laughing or invoking happiness emotion daily. 

3. Entertainment: Entertainment is the most underrated balance principle to manage stress. My recommendation is that there is no harm to indulging in entertainment (physical or virtual) based on your preference. In fact, it needs to be practiced daily to ensure you can do something which doesn't need your brain to work. Many times, entertainment allows me to relax and not think about anything related to work. 

4. Social Circle: Your social circle really influences your stress, passion, and work. The first inner social circle is your immediate family, and spending quality time with them enhances your mental state. The second outer circle is our extended family and friends who are closer to you. Lastly, the outermost circle is the acquaintances and your broader friends. Frequent connections with your second and third circle of influences enable you to build relationships and enhances your social wellbeing. 

The objective here is to create a balanced circle which incorporates all the four aspects in your daily life. Do practice and let me know how does this approach help you.

PS: I am not a medical practitioner, and all statements are based on my personal experience. 

Power Series: The leaders of 2020...

The last decade has been the most exciting decade, which has redefined, challenged, and also made the world think about Technology, Leadership, and Environment needs. What made it compelling is the growth of a new breed of leaders, which has made us think about how we need to think about leadership going forward.

The three companies which I admire and follow: Microsoft, Google, and Adobe have not only seen a new breed of leaders, but these leaders have transformed and led the companies to become category leaders. All three of them - Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai, and Shantanu Narayen, have challenged the status quo and transformed the companies to set examples of business models that new and old companies are seeking to adopt. Stepping into a Chief Executive role, have debunked the myths that successful and potential career paths should be either in Sales or Marketing. The background and the career have common traits that I have done my best to enlist for all of us to recognize and take cognizant. 

1. Education: All three of them have completed their graduation, and also got a master's degree. The focus puts back on an excellent education that debunks the earlier decade myth that education is not necessary to succeed. Each of them has studied engineering and then went to get an MBA.  

2. Product Management: Career choices and paths are an essential factor for you to be successful. More importantly, I would highly recommend gaining knowledge on how to focus on product management and build skills around that. The last decade saw a significant shortage of individuals with excellent Product Management skills, and this shortage would continue. Being a successful Product Management professional requires to have multiple skills and perspectives to manage successful product management lifecycle. 

3. Humility and Bold: I firmly believe that being humble in your day to day personal and professional is a crucial trait. Even though being a CEO of such large and global giants, all three of them have more than often not have come across being humble. Humbleness doesn't mean that you shouldn't challenge the norm. All three of them have tested the standard in their companies and helped transform the company to become category leaders. Boldness requires one to relook at things, the ability to take risks, appreciate diversity, analyze culture nuances in a corporate setup and lastly, accept failure as well. 

4. Build industry partnerships: Partnerships can be daunting or detrimental, and if it is with an entity that can be considered as competition in the near or long term is perceived as a bad strategy in the corporate world. However, each of them has done the reverse where they have embraced competition successfully and announced partnerships that have challenged the norm. It has not only positioned them and but also their companies as inclusive. The approach has allowed their respective customers to appreciate their move as many customers do not want to get tied into an ecosystem and would like to have the sense of decision making in their own hands. 

5. Global and Growth Markets: The world has now transformed and compelling businesses to go global and consider local nuances. More so, there are significant and emerging markets that are shifting focus from west to east and south and requires leaders to think about how the economies function, thrive, and consider their decisions. Each of them since had an upbringing in India and appreciated the diversity, inclusion and innately understand what moves the largest democracy in the world can apply similar principles in the other growing economies. 

I hope this article inspires each one of you, and I look forward to seeing your career excel in 2020 and the decade to come. 

I would also recommend reading Satya Nadella's book 'Hit Refresh.' The book gives insights into his life, work, and his approach to things in life. 

Power Series: Podcasts for Personal and Professional Development.

In my previous posts of “How I continue to Simplify my life,” I had recommended listening to Podcasts as an excellent medium for Personal and Professional development. I got introduced to Podcasts by my good friend and colleague - David McBride, and thanks to him, I love the Podcasts experience. Podcasts are long-form content, and my personal opinion is that you cannot just listen to it, probably like the music. However, you can put it on during long commute or other opportunities where you have less distraction, and you can focus on what the hosts or individuals who are speaking to gain knowledge.

The list of Podcasts that I am recommending is not exhaustive but are a few of the favorite ones which I have subscribed too and look forward to the content and gain inspiration.

Masters of Scale

A mini MBA personally for me. I have gained a lot of knowledge from this series.

PODCAST

The Disruptive Entrepreneur

Highly recommend Grant Cordone interviews.

Podcast

Digital Analytics Power Hour

Recommended for individuals who are building their career in Digital Analytics

Podcast

Happy Market Research

Highly recommended for individuals who are within the Market Research industry.

Podcast

Though I would keep adding to the list, I would recommend each of these Podcasts series do not have good episodes. Like any song or movie, you would need to read what the content or topic is going to be about or who the interviewee is all about. Once you do the research then go ahead and stand committed to the Podcasts.

Do let me know your thoughts on these and if you have more such recommendations then do post it on the comments box. Chao..

Power Series: Observation (a key learning principle in 2020 and beyond)

I am a father of two great boys. Being with them and see them grow has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me. Over the last decade seeing my elder one grow and adopt skills has made me go back to a fundamental question - how do kids learn things which we didn’t intend them to learn or have taught them? I am sure you are aware of what I am talking about and surprises or laughs or moments we all have experienced as parents. Observing them and listening to them has taught me a lot, and I have embraced this concept further in the last five years of my personal and professional experience.

I have shared earlier that my work takes me to places and often to areas and situations which I haven’t experienced before. This brings in areas of learning which I have been imbibing on by merely observing. Observational learning has been an age-old practice where a lot of scholars have researched and written about it. Today I see it fading or not getting much attention apart from science experiments or sports in the age of AI. We are relying on technology to do the observation and then learn from it rather than imbibing it wholly in our day-to-day. The world is evolving at a rapid speed, and just reading or listening would not teach us enough to be successful in the present and prepare for the future.

There are four primary stages of observational learning: a) Attention, b) Retention/Memory, c) Motor/Practice, and finally d) Motivation.

Just observing doesn’t help, actual replication or practice would improve the learning to be more profound. Since I land up in new places, you mustn’t get alienated or be looked upon as out of place. My practice on observational learning is focussed on the following areas

1. Communication structures: Whether it is a new city, country, restaurant, or professional setup, you can learn about the cultural nuances and communication structures just by observing people, the things kept, or what drives or motivates or make individuals happy. More so within a professional setup, whether in a meeting, conference calls, or the broader organization on how the office setup is, or calls/meetings get conducted, who sits where, how does the communication flow define the organization culture. In my current role, it is critical to understand the organization, so observational learning helps me to work with my customers and the broader organization better.

2. Organization Structures: Leading a substantial sales and consultancy organization requires one to coach and lead the team to analyze and understand how to do the budget, decisions, and information flows within an organization. It can be achieved by just observing the organization structures, how does the email communication flow, and, more importantly, asking the critical questions enable to decipher the culture of the organization.

3. Technology Knowledge: Technology is evolving at a rapid rate, and there are increased technology proliferation and quite a bit of similar feature sets across different products. Observational learning plays a more significant role today in the age of Technology as it allows me personally to grasp what need does the platform addresses and similar or dissimilar functions between the two sets of technologies belonging to the same category.

No one can call themselves an observational learning expert. It is more of experiential learning as well, and the more you get exposed to that area of interest and observe with practice over a while would help you to be a more natural observational learner.

If you practice this type in areas that I haven’t mentioned, then I would love to hear about it. Chao..

Power Series: 'T' Shaped

How to have a fulfilling career?

Learning shouldn’t stop, focus on growth and strengths….

I have now been working for the last 22 years, and my career has been rewarding. If someone asks me today if I had a chance to redo it again, what would change? I would say that probably it would not take me 22 years to get where I am, and probably would have done it in less than a decade. I am not saying experience is not important, experience provides one scenario and opportunities to learn. However, If I had to shape my career and work on a path, I would do it differently.

This is the same question I get asked by many individuals within my teams or I come across. They want to know how can they also get to where I am or similar to my position within the corporate ecosystem. Well, there are a few things which I have worked on and found to be successful and at the same time have observed in others. I would talk about the topic of ‘Observation’ in the other Power Series.

There are some critical steps or evaluations I recommend to individuals which is a leaf from my own growth book:

1. The big goal: I always recommend to folks to take a step back and dream. What is your ultimate level within the corporate ecosystem you would like to achieve? Often than not, the rat race makes each one of us focus on the next level, which we end up spending our time and energy on. Once we achieve that, we are left again dissatisfied as you want to prepare for the next immediate level. My advice has always been aiming higher and look for an aspirational role. Everything in between your current and the future state would automatically come as you are preparing for a larger role.

2. Know your strengths and harness them (your ‘I’): Everyone is unique and we are not built equal. Each one of us needs to identify our strengths and more importantly what we are passionate about, also what makes us happy? The self-learning and identification process enables an individual to map the strengths. Once identified, my recommendation is to get so good at it that you would like to see yourself as the best and if you perform on the stage for that skill/strength, you would win it.

3. The goal maps and completes your T (the ‘—’ line for ‘T’): Once you have identified your big goal, and map the path, it is important to understand and research the various skills you would require to be successful in that big goal role. You don’t need to be great or expert in each of those skills, but awareness and how do those come together for the jobs to be done.

This awareness and building of ‘T’ have enabled me, my industry peers, as well as people whom I admire. More importantly the ‘T’ needs to evolve and cannot be static or set in stone as due to the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) nature of the world we live in, it is critical to constantly evaluate (preferably every year) to map and understand what makes sense to be part of the ‘T’ and what needs to add/drop.

If you have counter thoughts or have recommendations for the readers would like to hear your feedback or suggestions. Chao..