Maximise Potential

Stress is one of the leading causes of depression and considering the pace of our modern lives we should pause and reevaluate our lives on a constant basis. As Mahatma Gandhi said  "There is more to life than increasing its speed." Here are some simple strategies to be relaxed, stay happy and enjoy life Focus on others  - It involves taking the focus away from you and show interest in other people’s problems. When you start focusing on others problems you become more relaxed. Have an abundance mentality  – There is plenty of credit to go around. Enjoy others success and avoid the necessity to prove yourself on a constant basis. Take one day at a time  - What I have found useful is to take one day at a time. Just concentrate on what has to be done that day and once that is taken care sleep peacefully. The rest of the days will take care of itself. Become more patient  – One of the reasons we are stressed is because we feel a lack of time. We want g...

Here are my favorite books of 2015.   Humans are underrated by Geoff Colvin -  The world of work is changing. This book talks about the key 21st century skills that machines can’t replace. Empathy, connections, and social sensitivity are the most important skills we need and will not be replaced by machines. What we need more than knowledge workers are relationship workers. It was a great read and gives hope that machines ultimately can't replace everything humans do. There is a detailed account of how the military used after action reviews to improve outcomes. There are chapters on storytelling and innovation as well. You can check out my review here  Humans are Underrated Review   Work Rules by Laszlo bock -  This book contains a wealth of wisdom on how to hire people, keep people inspired and what an organizations mission should be. Coming from a practical practitioner of the art it is more authentic. Some of the ideas which are common sense are gi...

Disrupt yourself is a philosophy based on the classic process outlined in the book the Innovators dilemma by Clayton Christensen. Usually it is the disruptors on the low end of the market who disrupt and push the market leaders out. For example Toyota came in with a new model in the 1950’s and the other automakers did not pay attention. We all know the rest of the story.  This whole model is based on the S Curve where there is a long time initially where nothing seems to happen and then at the inflection point growth is exponential before it again becomes stagnant. The best example is Facebook which from its inception took 4 years to reach 10 percent penetration but then it exploded. Even the iPod took more than 3 years to really take off so we have to be patient in anything and everything we try. I like the book Disrupt yourself by Whitney Johnson. Here are the major principles outlined.  Take the right risks – This principle is based on the outcome driven innovation...

Your ability to market yourself in a competitive job environment and stand out will advance your career far more than anything else. Thankfully in today’s abundant world there are so many ways to stay ahead in your career if you use the tools available to your advantage. Here are the 11 ways to stay ahead in your career and keep getting promoted on a regular basis. Identify your key result areas  – This is the first step in getting ahead in your career. Unless you know with crystal clear clarity what you are hired for there is no way you can get ahead in your career. Have a frank discussion with your boss, get agreement on what key result areas you need to concentrate and have clearly laid out objectives with timelines to showcase progress. Once this is established it is your responsibility to keep your boss updated on the progress you have made. This type of transparency shows clearly how serious you are to get ahead in your career. Be Visible –  You have to visibl...

Elon Musk is one of the greatest business icons of the 21st century. With the passing of Steve Jobs he has rightly taken the pole position in the realm of business leaders who are considered visionaries. I read the book on Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance and it is a wonderful inspiring read. Here are the lessons I gleaned.  Be in it for the long haul – Irrespective of what our aim is unless we have decided to be in it for the long haul it is very difficult for us to scale the heights that we are capable of. Elon Musk in 2008 was in dire straits. Space X and Tesla were both running out of money but the man was in it for the long haul. He didn’t care about short term setbacks. He always looked to the future with hope and was over optimistic in most cases. He set unrealistic deadlines as that’s the way he thinks.  Everything he does is fast and he is always in a hurry. He pays an obsessive attention to detail and for SpaceX he wants to reduce the cost of lau...

Is your work going to be replaced by machines and robots? We are also hearing more and more about driverless cars and does this mean people who drive for a profession are under threat. Robots can now do so much more than before so does that pose a threat to our work lives? What do humans have to do to be relevant in the future? These are some of the questions that Geoff Colvin raises and answers in his wonderfully researched book Humans are Underrated. The future is indeed exciting and understanding the trends can help us prepare for the future in a much better way. The first three chapters of the book talk about how machines like Watson are beating humans (example is Jeopardy here).  Watson is loaded with the entire content of Wikipedia and also past clues of Jeopardy. There is no question that this is one area humans can’t win. I read in an article on  tech crunch  that Dr. John Kelly who leads the Watson team at IBM has said that the purpose of Watson was not to r...

Maximise Potential is my pet project. I believe each one of us has enormous reservoirs of potential waiting to be unleashed. However this potential has to be harnessed before it becomes latent. You don't need to be great to start but you have to start to be great.   Here are some thoughts to get the most out of yourself and make your life stand for something. The author Napoleon Hill said that “Definiteness of Purpose” is the first quality required for success after analyzing the richest men in America. Decide what you want to achieve in your life. Write down your short term and long term goals. Make it specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time bound. I like this line "Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement."  Create a personal mission statement and vision for your future. My mission is simple “I want to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs.”  Never stop learning. If you are through learning you are through life....