Multi Currency Exchange

 We have created a world where we recognise only one currency - money.

But in the course of my work with Esha and now The Children's Post, I have become acutely aware that just as the Sun is not the only star in the world, money is not the only currency of human exchange.

Here are two others, but they are two among many.

Social Capital: "I owe you one." - Very familiar, and very pertinent. We have all experienced this. We do things for other people, and if we are in the right social construct and if they remember, we exchange in this social currency.

Strokes/Love: This is, according to my experience, the second most universal currency in the world. This is why people volunteer. This is why we make time to meet friends. This is why we smile at strangers. This is why children at home miss school and adults miss office.

If you observe your interactions more closely, you will find that beneath the surface, there are many currencies being exchanged in human interactions. Each of them is important.

But we have created a single currency narrative. The direct result of that is that we have started to measure our own progress in life on that single axis - the location of the house, the size of the car.

What are some currencies that you have observed in human interactions?

The power of words

As a child, I noticed that my grandfather always addressed my grandmother as "Bhaagwaane" (O Lucky one). My grandmother, when she was angry, would scold us with "Tera Beda Tare" (May your boat find its destination).

One day, I asked my aunt why grandma scolds like that. She said, "Even in anger, we must not wish ill for another person. So instead of saying Beda Gark (May your boat capsize), she says Beda Tare."

Many years later, on a particularly tough project, I found myself getting frustrated often. One day, out of the blue, I suddenly decided, "Next time there is a moment of frustration, I will say, 'God Bless You'."

That's it. Just a change in the words we use.

Within a week, the moments of frustration were fewer, and within a month, we also managed to bring the project back on track.

We never know when our childhood will come and inspire our future. Can you think of one such time in your life?

Brevity is the soul of wit, not of wisdom.

Context:

I am currently reading 2 books: One has just the Suktis (moral at the end of the story) from Panchatantra, and the other has the stories, followed by the Sukti.

Reading the Suktis book leaves one perplexed and wondering if Vishnu Gupta was very focused on the acquisition and management of wealth.

For instance:
The employer who remembers that his primary goal is to keep his employees provided for, and one who gives their salary on time, will find that they are largely tolerant of his whims. But the employer who forgets to pay his employees will find that they are very disagreeable indeed.

Read as a sukti, it left one puzzled. But in the book of stories, one read about a lion who befriends a bull and is convinced that vegetarianism is the way of the future. This leads to starvation of the jackals who depend on the lion for their food.

After this context, the lesson made perfect sense.

Has this ever happened to you, that brevity points, but context explains?

Contrarian Decisions and their results

 #1

When Topgain was started, Sanjiv Menezes and I decided that we will not do what traditional strategic advisory does. There is a huge trust deficit in Advisory and we will try to plug that. We will treat our client organisations as our own and do whatever it takes, with ownership. There won't be a sales team and a delivery team. The person who meets you across the table and says, "Let's do this" , will be the one who works on doing it.

Why was this a contrarian decision?
This is not how Advisory works. There always is a sales team and delivery team. This model strongly limits our ability to scale because every single Advisor working with us will need to reorient their mental model too.

What was the outcome?
Three years and counting, our client relationships are strong, long-lasting, and above all else, when we sit down at the end of the day, we feel a sense of professional satisfaction.

On respecting our employment

 If you have noticed, before opening the store, a shopkeeper bends down and touches the floor of the shop. A performer touches the last step of the stage before getting on the stage. An auto driver starts the day by doing a small agarbatti or pooja in the auto.

Ever wondered why that is?
The shopkeeper, performer, and auto driver get their livelihood (rozi-roti) from the shop, stage, and auto respectively. Every morning, before they start work, they are thanking the means of their livelihood for providing for their families, and praying to it to bless them with a good performance.

There are some things that don't take a lot of time and effort, but cause a massive shift in our consciousness. The practice of thanking our livelihood before starting our work day is, I think, one such.

#lessonslearnt #BusinessPracticesFromIndia

Creating a startup orgn

 Creating a startup organisation is like building a house - the costs are going to escalate and it is going to take longer than you thought. #startup #lessonslearnt #mondaymorning

On Requirement Gathering

 If you are a system design consultant, this piece is for you.

There is a children's poem that explains how the battle was lost for want of a horse shoe nail.

Take a printout of the poem and tape it just above your screen.
Remember that poem when you are doing requirement gathering. It is ALWAYS the small things.
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When do you do the transaction - how long after you have done it in the real world? Why do you think that is the optimal time?

What do you look for when deciding your sales pitch? What are the elements you need at once place, together?

When do you think its ok to share your password with a colleague? For which apps will you never do it?

What will you do if your orgn KRA requires you to fill daily updates, but you are in a field area with no signal?
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After 15 years, I have found that the level, industry, or technology does not matter. When a project is delayed or faces user resistance, very often, it is because we did not ask the human questions.

We did not understand the fine print of their lives.