LeaderShift

Praise for LeaderShift I liked the narrative style, the imaginative interrogation of ideas, and the simple language used to discuss complex subjects representing a creative synthesis of the latest perspectives in best business practice drawn from theology, psychology, sociology and neuro linguistic programming. Typically Bert. Typically brilliant! ~Dave Andrews, Author 'Plan Be' and 'Building a Better World' A must read for entrepreneurs especially those seeking VC funding.

Leader Shift brings across knowledge about the trials and travails of a startup enterprise in a lucid story telling format. Business strategy, organisation strategy and people management skills are brought across in an easy to understand conversational style. There is a wealth of information here to trigger off further readings and things to do. ~ Jacob Mathew, Co-founder, Idiom Design and Consulting Ltd.

Powerful ideas - the value of trust and an open culture, the blind spot of leaders, the importance of focus in an era of multi-tasking all play out in a logical continuum. Bert has proved that an interesting management book need not be an oxymoron. ~O P Bhatt, Chairman, State Bank of India

LeaderShift focuses on creating leaders who can operate in an uncertain environment, create a vision for a powerful future and deliver results through personal integrity. I loved the section on Anchors and Clearing the past of Knives. ~Shankar Annaswamy, RGM, IBM India/ South Asia When anything is possible, then nothing is impossible says Bert Cherian as he shows how to steer a de-motivated team from breakdown to breakthrough. ~Joseph Mathew, Director, Global Design Center, CH2M Hill LeaderShift takes you through an interesting journey – to become ‘outrageously, insanely great!’ This is not a “How to..” book. But Bert in his usual ‘easy to read’ style, has put together yet another excellent story about leadership in uncertain times and turning around the business along with people ~Abhay Gupte, CEO, Logica India

Unputdownable. A fascinatingly simple, vivid, personal style that beguiles the serious issues addressed. At the end, you suddenly discover that one reading is woefully inadequate to assimilate Bert's 'distilled wisdom'. To really profit, another careful reading is a must. A mandatory reference book, a daily guide to corporate living. ~ Jayakar Jerome, Indian Ambassador

Unique content - quite unlike cookie-cutter leadership material. My team was energized by the compelling simplicity of these ideas. ~Pradeep Nair, GM, IBM Software Group LeaderShift is a brilliantly written story , with a strong message for CEOs and aspiring CEOs of companies. In fact every working professional will identify with the typical issues of a people dependent organization. I believe that more than just a good read, it is a handbook which should be implemented by organizations and teams wanting to reinvent themselves and grow. ~Shoaib Ahmed, CEO, Tally Solutions

I found LeaderShift very refreshing. It makes you stop and think hard about your professional and personal life and how they relate to each other. A great approach to be able to 'turn yourself on' as and when you need to get on a fast track. ~ Chetan A Yardi, Country Manager, Lotus Software The book spoke to me with an unexpected power….apart from being brilliantly written in the author’s characteristic ‘story telling’ style, it simplifies some of the most complex human dynamics that subtly and silently impedes the growth of an organization. ~Sanjay Mitra, VP, Sungard Technology Solutions

LeaderShift offers great insights to team building and growth of an organisation. Using an onion as an allegory to describe the inward journey of a team is an interesting twist. The book draws a realistic picture of the many challenges any start-up organisation faces.

While the challenges feel similar, this book gets leaders to think differently about the challenges and possible responses. ~V. Ravichandar, Chairman, Feedback Consulting Ltd

If LevelNext helped you realize the importance of a good coach, LeaderShift helps you get into your own head to find inspiration to change your frame of reference to perform at a higher level. Good read at any level! ~Radhika Singh, VP, Learning & Leadership Development

My felicitations on the easy style of explaining leadership concepts in a non-technical manner. This is the strength of the book. ~Lt. Gen (Retd) Arjun Ray

Bert’s book is “leadership challenge simplified”! Though the story centers around a start up, the approach suits all. Makes you look at things logically in a seemingly chaotic situation – all these bring out an interesting recipe. Making you want more! ~N.Chandrasekaran, Special Director- IT, Ashok Leyland

leader

SHIFT Level Next for Teams Building Outrageously, Insanely Great Teams

Bert Cherian with Akshay Cherian

Want to get in touch?

Write to:

bert@metaresults.com

ISBN 81-904296-3-9 Š Copyright 2010 by Bert Cherian & Akshay Cherian All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Print History First Edition 2010 Second Edition 2010 Dialog Publishing Bangalore 560034 India Printed in India at National Printing Press, 560 K R Gardens, Koramangala Bangalore 560095 Indi

Dedicated to

Sheila It’s been over three decades since I first met you, and it still feels like yesterday.

Well do I remember noticing you in that slum in Delhi.

I had called you to come and help with the women in the basti.

You had demurred saying you didn’t know much Hindi and therefore what value could you possibly add?

Yet you came.

From the far side of the slum I watched in awe as you laughed and loved your way into their hearts.

In a few months you wove your magic and were able to help the women help themselves.

Your language of love for people has always been bright.

It’s still shining.

Thank you.

“The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology, but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human.� ~ John Naisbitt

Preface You can’t do it alone!

The key to successfully bringing ideas to life lies through the hands and hearts of teams. Many good things have been written about team building. So why this book?

My take on this important subject is simple. It’s the application of the field of Business Design, Innovation, Ontology, NLP and the exciting breakthroughs in Epigenetics to create amazing teams who in turn go out and make magic.

It’s the study of how we perceive reality and our way of being.

For those who read my earlier book – levelNEXT – will recognize the application to teams beyond the individual. The inside journey is always more important than the one outside.

My ideas are presented in an inspirational novel format.

I think you’ll enjoy this book, even if I say so myself!

Go build the best team on the planet.

Bert Cherian Bangalore, 2010

LAX Karin was running late. She dashed through the vast never ending halls of LAX. Hustling her way on the escalators she fired off ‘’Cuse me, ‘cuse me' in a rapid staccato. Her bag would have to travel with her on the flight. Hopefully, the air hostesses wouldn't create a fuss.

It was always a packed flight. It looked like the whole world and some were travelling to India. It was like the discovery of the century. Columbus all over again... Not that much of the century had rolled in, but the indications pointed to a new destination where wealth would be created.

Her taxi had got snarled in slow moving traffic on I-405 before they reached the Century Boulevard exit leading to the airport. Now she was running late and worried. She raced through Tom Bradley International terminal to the Singapore Airlines check-in counter.

Although the airport was old in comparison to the new glitzy ones rising all over Asia, it had an energy that was unmistakable.

The fancy ones in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur were built with

gigantic glass and steel alright... However, they felt cold and clinical.

Lacks soul. She considered as she made her way.

She glanced at the Departing Flights board.

‘Where's SQ11?' she muttered, searching frantically.

The numbers started to change, and she saw that her flight now showed up as DELAYED. ‘Am I happy to have not missed the flight or just feeling mad that it is late?' she said out loud.

‘Probably both!' said a deep male voice beside her.

Karin turned to find a lightly tanned man smiling at her.

40ish. Tall. Vaguely Indian. Rich.

‘Yeah… I assumed I was running late… now this window opens up.'

She smiled while she brushed her shining black hair from her face.

‘Same here. I'm taking the SQ flight to Narita in Tokyo.'

‘I'm on the same one. Only I'm going onwards.'

‘Where to?'

‘From Singapore it's on to Hyderabad in South India.'

‘Interesting. Isn't that the up coming biotech centre in Asia?'

‘Sort of. After Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore. How come you're interested in biotech?'

‘Investments.'

As if one word would say it all. His accessories certainly said something about him. Ferragamo shoes, a finely styled Brioni suit, and the unmistakable scent of money.

Karin hesitated for just a second, before she stuck out her hand.

‘Hi, I'm Karin. I'm into biotech myself. Just working through my new venture.'

‘Hi, I'm Raj. I’ve been an entrepreneur myself, though my field was IT.'

It was evident that they were both sizing up each other.

Is this person worthy of my time and attention? Should I pursue this?

Karin decided that it would be another hour before things started moving again.

Why not? Street smart... that's me. I might learn a couple of things about what's going on.

‘Listen, why don't I complete my check-in and then maybe we can talk biotech?'

‘Sure. Sounds good. Give me a minute.' Raj replied.

He strode away to the first class counter, while she got in line at economy.

‘Lucky guy!' she murmured as she made her way in.

Purpose

The line snaked along. In front was an Indian family. The man had tan loafers on, and a T-Shirt that proclaimed his trade. ‘ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI!’ Softie. His slogan might be lost to a non-techie, but that’s what inside jokes were about. Another software engineer heading home after a stint in the US.

She smiled. Getting back to Hyderabad was always good. Caught somewhere between a small town mentality and a large bustling metro, it was a city in transition like many other such places in Asia.

Steeped in history, it was an amazing mix of culture and crass, ambition and corruption, fatality and can-do gumption.

The tirade against outsourcing had only speeded things up. There was a reverse brain drain happening with hundreds of bright Indians and Chinese heading back after packing some solid experience and knowledge. Back in the internet boom, a stereotypical formula had

been established. Get a white American CEO, a Jewish CFO and an Indian CTO. You’re set!

Protectionism didn’t help and the xenophobia had hastened the trend. Now with the CTOs leaving, who would fill the gap? Did America have the discipline and rigor to take on hard sciences?

Excessive leisure and the maniacal focus on the good life always takes its toll. Whatever happened to deferred gratification?

Karin’s mind wandered down a familiar terrain. She thought of Roy. They had met at a Venture Capital meet put together by the TIE chapter in Hyderabad. TIE had its origins in the fertile Bay Area soil that had been very rewarding for so many Indian and Pakistani start-ups. A small group has gotten together for lunch and then started working together, hence the name – The Indus Entrepreneurs.

The meet itself was fun. She had found the conversations with other entrepreneurs stimulating with a sense of shared problems and opportunities. And Roy certainly caught her attention. At six feet plus, he was tall and towered over the rest. An easy smile and a curly mop made him the life of the party. One thing led to the next and before they knew it a whirlwind romance ended up in marriage.

However, a few months down the road, things had got rocky between them… She bit her lip. It was a bittersweet connection to

TIE and watching her marriage unravel. She sighed. The US was unraveling as well…

‘Next!’ The security guard called out.

Her reverie was interrupted and she realized that it was her turn.

Minutes later she had the familiar green and gold boarding pass.

Looking around she found Raj sitting comfortably and reading a magazine.

‘I’m done.’ Karin announced.

‘Great.’ He put down a thick magazine titled Red Herring. The byline read, ‘The business of technology’.

As they made their way to Starbucks, Karin mulled over it. How much do I read? Invest into myself? Am I feeding the world, but going hungry myself? One from her ‘need to do’ list.

Surveying the surging busy crowds from the tranquility of the restaurant, Karin began: ‘This country is going nuts…’

‘Why do you say that?’ Raj asked.

‘Didn’t Toynbee have a line on civilization?’ Karin began.

‘As in?’

‘Something about ‘Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.’

‘If you’re talking about the US - yes. America is in trouble, even deep trouble, but it will spring back despite the cynics.’ Raj responded forcefully.

‘What makes you think that?’

‘It’s always been an innovative nation. It will find a way.

Somethings may die, but others will rise.’ Raj said.

‘Give me an example.’

‘Look at the amazing work on nanotech or alternate power. Or biotech. I get to see some great ideas everyday, so maybe my view is not as jaundiced as others.’

‘Biotech… that’s what I’m after.’ Karin declared.

‘You mentioned you were running a venture.’ Raj commented.

‘Yes. Top secret.’ She smiled back half seriously.

‘So you won’t share your idea until we sign an NDA!’ ‘Well, I’ve heard that venture capitalists steal ideas and sell it to others. That’s why the non-disclosure agreement. In your case, maybe we’ll give it a pass.’ Karin said frankly with an engaging smile.

‘Doubtless some rare unethical ones might do that. Every industry has its ugly underbelly. But the bulk of us got to become VCs because we came up the hard way.’

‘Which was?’ Karin asked curiously.

‘Going from start-up to IPO to exit.’

‘You’re a VC?’ ‘You could say that.’ Raj said.

‘That’s fascinating... what’s your story? How did you get here?’

‘Well, it’s not that special. Thinking back, it was a join-the-dots kind of game. I was running a software company in Bangalore as an outsource arm for a US company. We did a management buyout with help from a European private equity fund. After the MBO, the next stop was straight forward – we listed on the London Stock Exchange and cashed out in three years.’

Karin let that sink for a minute, as they placed their orders.

‘These European PE funds – how did you find them?’

‘It’s surprising but the famous six degrees of separation came into play, and before you know it you’re pitching your deal in the circuit.

You get a whole pile of turn-downs, some nibbles and a couple of serious players.’

‘Did you become a VC after that?’ Karin enquired.

‘No, not really. I took a sabbatical. Spent a year putting my feet up, drinking coffee and thinking how I want to spend the next twenty years of my life. I figured that the popular wishful notion of retiring early is way over-rated. I mean what do you actually do? During this time, I read an old copy of the Time magazine. It was Bill and Melinda Gates with U2 musician Bono on the cover as the “Persons of the Year”. It was an epiphany…a wake-up call if you will.’

‘Because they were so odd together?’ Karin asked curiously.

‘Hmmm… No, it came home to me that here was the richest man in the world and a rock star collaborating to create a better world.

They’re attacking some serious problems. AIDS, malaria, world hunger, global debt…’

‘What did that do for you?’

‘Purpose. It got me thinking about my special purpose in the world.

Helen Keller once said, ‘True happiness is not attained through selfgratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.’ The human race seems born with the quest to find meaning, worth and significance.’ Raj said.

‘Deep stuff... It’s been a long while since I thought about this.’

‘Yet it rings true, doesn’t it?’

Karin nodded slowly and Raj continued.

‘Ask yourself, ‘what’s my purpose’ and see what comes back.’

‘Survival. That’s what comes back.’ Karin said laughing.

‘Not surprising. Considering it’s the only song playing on every airwave, you’d think this must be the thing to do.’

‘Isn’t it?’

‘Isn’t it strange that we live our life running so hard for the best decades of our lives, only to fall dead in the grave? Think about it.

Most people work 10-14 hours a day. For what purpose specifically?

Is this what the whole circus is about?’ Raj responded forcefully.

‘I hope not… but my reality is that I have to make ends meet. Make some money. Well, okay change that. Hey, I’m talking to a VC!

Make lots of money!

Insanely Great

The Starbucks ‘experience’ at airports was less than you might get at a corner store, but the mocha was tops.

‘What makes this place tick? Why do people willingly pay top dollar for a cup of coffee?’ Raj asked as they collected their mugs and made their way to a table.

‘Good coffee?’ Karin responded when they settled down.

‘Lots of places make good coffee. Why does this place stand out?’

‘Its got an air about it… like they really want you to have a good time and enjoy the coffee.‘ ‘So it’s the people plus the coffee?’ Karin asked.

‘The question behind the question is: How do we become insanely great? Not just good. Not just better. Outrageously, insanely great.

That’s the question that all great companies are always trying to answer.’

Karin digested that comment. Right now the stars in her eyes and the excitement of doing a startup company were fading. Her company

Biovaxx was just two years old, and on the surface things did look promising. The technology was somewhat in place, and they had been able to bring lab practices to commercial life. The molecules they were working on had potential.

But the team? There were serious tensions that were just not getting resolved. And it was showing up in the bottom line. Biovaxx wasn’t going anywhere. With so many competitors in the rear view…

In one of the turbulent conversations she had with Roy, he’d categorically told her to get out of the business. Outwardly she had bristled at the suggestion, but later at night she wondered if he was not right after all. Was she really leading a great team? Did she know how to create it? What was the magic? After so many failed tries she felt like a stage conjurer who had run out of tricks.

‘I’m not sure how to build a place like that…’ Karin offered tentatively as she took a sip from her steaming drink.

‘How’re you going about finding that out? Raj asked.

Karin looked at him, and in an inspired moment said with a big smile, ‘You’re going to tell me!’

Raj laughed heartily at her piquant statement.

‘By default every leader is a teacher. A student shows up and the teacher comes alive!’ he said.

‘You know, you are a teacher. I have this feeling that I may be getting an education of a lifetime…’ Karin mused.

‘I’d be happy to give you a couple of clues while we wait.’ Raj answered warmly.

‘So do you get involved beyond funding companies?’

‘All good VCs do. Some give connections. Some give guidance.

Some open key markets.’

‘And you?’ Karin asked.

‘The way I get involved in my companies is beyond cash. I help them occupy a powerful space called ‘level next’ by choosing the practices of an extraordinary team.’

‘You’re a coach, then?’

‘It’s the love and passion of my life now – to unlock the potential of leaders and their teams. I learnt about coaching because I had the good fortune of having a great coach while I was running my company. Think about it – the higher you go, there are fewer people you can talk to.’

Karin took that in as she sipped her mocha.

I need to sign him up as Coach!

Flight

Going to be a long flight, Karin thought.

That conversation with Raj had been stimulating. She had scribbled down some notes as they had talked, and now she was putting the pieces together. Some of it wasn’t making sense. Fortunately, she had got a promise that she could call in every now and then and pick his brains. After all, as a VC he also played the role of a business coach, and she desperately needed one.

What am I going after?

In truth it should have been a simple question, but right now she found it hard to crack. She had gotten lost in the specifics of her project. And why not? It was a fascinating area and the possibilities were mind-boggling.

She recalled her exchange with Raj. ‘So what is your project about?’

‘It’s about creating vaccines using gene splicing in plants.’

‘Pretty cutting edge, and that’s not a joke about splicing! Even so, there are several dozen companies pursuing that line. What makes yours different?’ Raj asked.

‘Um-m. Well we are working on getting some molecules out to base the vaccines on… we’ve invested a fair bit already.’

‘You’re telling me that you’re in this space because you have already invested into it?’ Raj pushed.

‘Well, you can’t just pull the plug on it can you?’

‘Sometimes we must ask, ‘What question am I afraid to ask?’ Seems like you lack conviction about it.’

‘I have conviction.’ Karin said, somewhat spiritedly.

‘Had?’

Karin sat quietly. She nodded her head slowly. This was the first time she was staring at reality. Her project had been going down, and she had resolutely not looked in that direction. And her team wasn’t doing too well either.

Her straight black hair fell in front of her face. It wasn’t pretty in the conventional sense, but there was strength and character about it.

She pulled out a pink scrunchy from her bag and tied her hair in a ponytail. Her light brown skin melded with high cheek bones offsetting large brown doe eyes.

Not Chinese. Not Indian. Mixed?

Raj had noticed her brush a tear back from her brimming eye.

‘But it’s my baby!’

‘You’ve invested in it.’

‘Yeah…I’ve put many days and nights into it. I’ve done my PhD on the subject. If I abandon it, I would be… giving up on so much!’

‘Hard… But it may be time to consider a question.’ Raj posed.

‘Which is…?’

‘Why did you start the project in the first place? What was the purpose? What was the end you were trying to get to?’ Raj pressed.

‘To produce some outstanding vaccines at a price point that would make it affordable by literally any patient in the world.’

‘Voila!’

The air hostess broke her daydream.

‘Would you like some orange juice?’

‘Huh… ? Yes.’ Karin looked around. Her co-passenger was asleep, which was fine by her. She pulled out her laptop and stared at it.

Clarity of direction… do I have it?

Air Pocket

The big Boeing 747-300 flew smoothly on. The chatter slowly died down after dinner was served. Her good intentions to stick to her diet and not dig in were firmly put away. The food was good and Karin tucked in.

The cavernous insides of the plane seemed massive. Row upon neat row of passengers sat quietly. The mandatory cry of the baby was quickly hushed by a harassed parent. The air hostesses moved through the plane unobtrusively, handling out extra bottles of water and blankets.

Karin settled down to watch a movie. An action movie from Hollywood? A kung-fu flick from Hong Kong? A romantic dance drama from Bollywood? With so many channels to choose from, little stood out as remarkable.

Did film makers think that people would settle for anything? After

all, who goes out saying, ‘Lets go and watch an average film tonight!’

Commodity market, she muttered.

Could something exotic and rare like biotech become commodity?

Does nothing stand still? Everything moves in a blur from thought to end result.

Her conversation with Raj had shaken her more than she would have liked. He was based out of Denver but traveled often to India. She had extracted the promise of connecting every once in a while. She shuddered. She would need this more than she had dreamt of.

Just then the pilot broke with an announcement. The urgency in his voice was unmistakable.

‘We are experiencing some turbulent weather. Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belt.’

As a long haul aircraft it was state-of-the-art, crammed with electronics and safety features, wasn’t it?

Even as he finished saying it, they hit an air pocket. Suddenly it felt that they were free falling hundreds of feet. Panic broke out.

Someone shouted. Others screamed. Yet others gripped the arm rest tightly and stared ahead. Prayers in a dozen languages arose in a hubbub. How quickly a peaceful, serene flight had turned! Karin grabbed an air sickness bag and closed her eyes, feeling queasy.

The flight turned bumpy – going up and down rapidly in sudden jerks. Karin heard someone throw up. Soon the sickly smell of vomit arose. She screwed up her nose in disgust. She looked anxiously through the window. It was raining and the lightning flashes lit up the night.

Does lightning strike planes?

The storm seemed to last an eternity, though in reality it was but a few minutes.

Feels like my company. I feel sick and raw inside.

Signing Up What was it Raj had said?

‘Only one in fifty ideas comes to life. Of those one in twenty gets to an IPO. The rest fade away.’

‘So going public is not a good idea?’

‘What’s the bigger point in going public?’ Raj countered.

‘To establish value. Get some cash out…’

‘The big idea is ‘Exit’. Most businesses have no exit plan.’

‘Huh…? ‘ Karin sounded perplexed and gave a weak smile. ‘I was vaguely thinking that I would hand over the company to my kids…’

‘Oh the gilded dreams of entrepreneurs!’ Raj rolled his eyes in mock disbelief. ‘Get real Karin. All companies exit. In the rarest of cases maybe an IPO could be on the cards. If they are lucky, they’ll be bought out. Your remaining options are to crash and burn or… just fade away - which is the greatest likelihood.’

‘Hadn’t thought of an exit plan….’

‘Don’t blame yourself. Most people don't have a plan for their life – let alone exit. So it's no surprise that most businesses have no exit plan. Almost none have a written exit plan.’

‘I don’t have one. Now what?’ Karin asked anxiously.

‘Start with the exit in mind. Give yourself a max of three years.’

‘Three years! Is that realistic?’

‘Absolutely.’

Karin fell silent as she mulled over what Raj has said. This was new.

‘Raj, if infant mortality of companies is such a huge issue, what’s the solution? Surely someone would have worked out a better way?’

‘There is an answer. But people don’t want to listen.’

'And why wouldn't an entrepreneur want to listen?' Karin asked.

'Because by definition an entrepreneur believes he can do it on his own. His very ability stops him from asking. His strength becomes his shadow.'

‘Hmmm. I can see how I can get in my own way. So the answer is?’

‘Ongoing feedback and coaching.’ Raj responded.

‘That sounds so simple! Why don’t people adopt this?’

‘Let me ask you a personal question – do you have someone coaching you?’

‘Now that you ask, no - I don’t.’ Karin replied a little defensively.

‘And why not?’

‘But I didn’t know any better! Well, I mean I sort of did…'’

‘Have you seen street cricket?’ Raj asked, abruptly changing lanes.

‘Sure...played it when I was a kid. Every street had a tournament!’

‘Yes they did. Just some kids getting together and making it up as they went along. Fun alright. But when you want to be world class you need a coach.’

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Karin asked a fateful question. ‘Will you be my business coach?’

‘Given my current involvements, my bandwidth is tight. But we’re exiting one company soon, so I could do it for a while, if you’d like that.’ Raj responded.

‘I would. Oh yes, I would. Thank you. You don’t know it yet, but I think you’ve probably saved my life!’ Karin said gratefully.

Raj smiled. ‘Easy now... You still have to do the heavy lifting.'

'What do you mean?' Karin questioned.

'It’s your company, your team, your challenge. I will stand with you, but turning it around is your responsibility. You've got to own your life.'

Karin nodded slowly, realizing that having a coach did not make it easy-peasy. She wasn't about to outsource her problems.

'There are a few other things as well.' Raj continued.

Oh, oh...here comes the fine print. Karin thought.

'Time and value.'

'So lets go over time.' Karin said.

'Lets keep this engagement for a specific period. A year is what I'd suggest, because that's what you would need.'

Karin nodded in agreement.

'Next let's establish value.' Raj said. 'What's predictable? What's the likely trajectory of Biovaxx in the next twelve months?'

'Its pretty likely that I would lose the company. That's the writing on the wall.' Karin sighed.

'From what you've told me, I think you're probably right. So if we turned around your company what would it be worth to you?'

Karin laughed wryly. 'We did a valuation three months ago... it was nine million dollars in the near term. Besides I would salvage my career... and pride.'

'Two possibilities here... one Biovaxx survives. Two it closes down.

So assume we turn the company around.'

Karin thought about it. She was on the verge of writing off Biovaxx.

Here she had the faint possibility of getting it back. Of course it was worth it. But... what if we shut shop?

'I suppose so. However there is still the other possibility of closing down...' Karin said tentatively.

'True. Like right now. If at the end of the engagement we still shut shop, it costs you nothing.'

'So I get to walk?'

'Sure. No strings.' Raj said smiling.

'You're pretty certain we could turn this thing around, aren't you?'

'I'm confident that my methods work provided you play full out. And I'm okay to take the risk with you.' Raj said.

'And if we succeed and make it through?' Karin asked.

'You'll give me 5% of the company.' Raj said.

She hesitated for a second. That's it? Five percent of zero value?

Small price for something that could easily be worthless pretty soon.

She smiled.

'Okay...We have a deal!'

Really Listening

They had sat quietly for a couple minutes, watching the crowd hurry by as they sipped their mocha.

'I want to go back to what you said about entrepreneurs not wanting to listen...' Karin asked anxiously.

‘Well, a leader’s sense of being right drowns out other viewpoints.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, leaders are usually intelligent. That means if they don’t think deeply they’ll pick a position and then use their intelligence to defend a viewpoint.. even if it was not so smart. They stop listening.’

‘So my listening skill could be a problem?’ Karin questioned.

‘Most people don’t even know what listening is. And they don’t know that they don’t know. It’s the dark side of the moon - a classic blind spot. There are two important questions when you examine your listening.’

‘Which are?’

‘Why do I speak? And when I speak, who am I being?’

Karin thought about that for a minute.

‘The first one is easy. I speak to be heard and influence others.

Though I must confess I also speak to prove I am right.’ Karin said disarmingly.

‘What of the second question?’ Raj asked.

‘Who am I being when I speak? Karin repeated with her brow furrowed deeply. ‘I suppose quite often a critic and a devil’s advocate.’

‘That’s funny how so many people want to help the devil out by being his advocate on why something won’t work out!’ Raj laughed.

Karin stared in wonder. Did she need dark thoughts in the guise of being realistic?

‘Consider instead that you are listening for who they could be, not what they are right now. Put a ten on their head. See the speaker as worthy of all your attention.’ Raj said emphatically.

Karin nodded silently.

‘What would that do?’ She asked.

‘When we listen fully without prejudice or judgment, we open up a new creative space. We call people into who they can be. We transform others when we transform our listening.’ Raj said.

‘I’m all ears!’ Karin said laughing at her feeble joke. ‘But before you go further, where does this understanding come from?’

‘Here’s a quick history of listening. It was only in the 20th century that thinkers rediscovered that listening and speaking is more than a passive act. The German thinker Heidegger began to delve into the business of ‘being’ and understanding what ‘reality’ is. It's part of a field called Ontology.’

‘Ontology?’ Karin questioned.

‘The word ‘Onto’ means ‘being’ - and Ontology deals with the study of our way of being and the structure of reality.’

‘Never heard of it.’ Karin said perplexed.

‘You’d have heard of its more famous cousin, ‘ Logic.’

‘Sure. That’s what the world runs on and all computers.’

‘Strangely both are part of philosophy. Bet you didn’t think that philosophy could be that useful!’ Raj kidded her.

‘True. Considering logic is mighty useful, so I’m sure Ontology would be too.’ Karin responded thoughtfully.

‘It is remarkable.’ Said Raj. ‘Let’s move on. Ludwig Wittgenstein also a German philosopher - said that ‘words are deeds’ and language is an instrument of getting things done. That’s why in ontology, we refer to language as a technology because it allows us to get things done.’

‘Is this new?’ Karin replied thoughtfully.

‘This was not really new at all. Many ancient traditions from around the world have observed this. Take the creation account in the Bible,

irrespective of your personal views on it. It starts magnificently with, ‘And God said let there be… and there was.’

Perhaps people like Wittgenstein and Heidegger could help people to see from a secular perspective what was evident from a holistic one. Then along came J. L. Austin, who wrote a book with the curious title, ‘How to Do Things with Words’. John Searle, his student, built further on this work and laid out a set of Speech Acts.

These were the fundamental ways in which we get things done – like making requests, promises, assertions and declarations.’

‘So this is not new, huh?’ Karin asked.

‘No, not at all.’ Raj said as he continued. ‘It was in the 70’s that Fernando Flores added to this and gave us a solid understanding on listening and speaking in a powerful way.’

‘Who’s Flores?’

‘He’s Chilean. Was the youngest finance minister in President Allende Salvatore’s ministry before he was overthrown in a bloody palace coup. A long story short – he was in prison for years before Amnesty won his freedom. Flores went into exile in US where he developed his key ideas outlined in his book ‘Computers and Cognition.’

‘Fascinating. There's a lot of history and thinking backing these ideas. Now, let’s get back to listening.’ Karin said, impatient with

the history digression of her own making.‘How could I change my listening?’

‘Recognize that we all live in language. It’s all around us and in us as well. We are talking and listening to ourselves in our head. If an eavesdropper heard our ‘in-head’ conversations, he would know our preferences, assumptions, hopes, aims, and fears and concerns…’

‘That’s true. The chatter in my head never stops. Therefore what could we do?’ Karin wondered aloud as she looked at the ceiling.

‘Talk less. Stand outside of yourself and listen to the chatter. Ask 'is this useful? Is it true? Is it good?'

'And if it isn't I choose a better thought.... I get it.' Karin said thoughtfully wrestling with the idea. 'But is it that easy?'

'Surprisingly yes. We need not be victims of our thoughts. We can choose a better thought any time. But let's take this one level deeper to where do thoughts rise from.'

'Which is?'

'We listen from our concerns and commitments.’

‘So what?’ Karin questioned. ‘And what do you mean by concerns?’

‘We are our concerns. We are a walking set of concerns. Our work.

Our life. Our things. Our stuff.’

‘So our thoughts and actions stem from what we are concerned about.’ Karin said, ‘Like my concern is making my company survive.’

‘Right. All your thoughts and actions are centered around our concerns. But notice that we think we have concerns. In truth, our concerns have us.’

'What would that have to do with my thoughts then?'

'If we shift our concerns to better higher goals, our thoughts follow. It becomes effortless because the foundation has changed.' Raj said.

‘Woh… deep one!... But I’m getting it.’ Karin replied. ‘What should I do then?’

‘Listen deeply. Listen fully. Truly engage with people.’

A Life that Works and Counts Her train of thought was broken by the pilot’s announcement.

‘We will be raising our altitude to fly above the cloud cover and avoid turbulence. However, till this is completed, we will continue to experience bad weather. Please remain seated and secure your seat belt.’

Sighs and muted talk arose around her.

Karin found a raging conversation in her head. She had nicknamed her alter ego as ‘Nira’ – which was ‘Karin’ spelt backwards – sort of. She had contemplated Karin 2, famously named after film sequels. But she dropped the idea since what the other Karin said was so diametrically opposite.

Could this be an opportunity to put the listening lesson into action?

‘How am I listening to this announcement? All this talk about bad weather makes me uneasy.’ Karin asked herself.

‘Your rapid heartbeat says ‘danger’. Nira answered.

‘I’m listening to the fears of other passengers around me. And it’s amplifying my own. I’m.. scared to death!’ Karin responded.

‘Remember your Japanese studies in college? Weren’t Samurai soldiers required to contemplate their own death and accept it before they went into battle?’

‘And what would that do?’ Karin questioned petulantly.

‘Make them fearless in battle. Having embraced their own deaths, they were free to live.’

Karin felt silent and contemplated her own life. Was she free to live?

She thought of Roy. Somehow he was never far from her thoughts despite the emotional distance. The magic had gone out of their marriage, and they had moved into separate rooms in the same house. Then he got a job transfer to Mumbai. There had been an almighty argument that ended just as abruptly. Roy had left by the early morning flight without saying a word. It was now over six months since they had spoken.

Could she ever have a fulfilling marriage?

‘Right now my challenge is to survive… pay the bills and keep my company alive.’ Karin responded after a while.

‘True. For sure bills need paying.’

‘Isn’t earning money the big deal? I need a house. A nice car.’

‘So you get a beemer. Even say, a 7-series BMW. What would that give you?' ’ Nira challenged her.

‘People will know that someone special is driving by...'

'Will they even see you through the tinted windows? And these are people who you don't even know or like!'

'Uh-huh...'

'Think Karin! You're a puppet to what some strangers think of you!

Is it worth the hassle?'

'Okay, so its about how we keep score. Big car, big success.'

'Big car. Big EMI!' Nira chuckled back.

'Hey, don’t knock it. I need a beemer, okay?’

‘Granted. A life that works. So you need it. But is that all?’

Karin bit her nails glumly. ‘Maybe I should contemplate my death.

That is the end of everyone isn’t it?’

‘Yes, everyone has to go.’

‘It would make me think and live from what’s important.’

‘So what’s important? I mean really important for your life?’

Karin thought hard.

‘Being connected, having meaningful relationships and investing into others. Creating insanely great products that would significantly serve the world. What I really want is to not having to trade off….’

‘A life that works. And a life that counts.'

Changi

Karin pulled out her mobile phone and called her contacts in the biotech industry, but got no encouragement from that quarter. She settled down at the extravagant Changi airport. It was huge, but appeared to still have a personal touch to it. The bright colors and well lit décor made it more human.

Which would be just a façade considering this was Singapore, she thought. There was an underlying strictness that said it all, and even the t-shirts agreed. One proclaimed – “Singapore. It’s a fine city.” referring to the numerous fines for all manner of infractions. She was astounded that even plants and creepers at the airport were forced to grow in neat patterns.

She walked through the large Terminal 2. It certainly seemed like an altar to the age of consumerism. She recalled that the architects for this building were Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, who made many of the initial glass and steel buildings in the fifties, and had become

iconic of the age. The race to build taller had continued unabated.

Every year some country decided to build still higher. The Petronas towers in KL were history now as they had been outstripped by the Taipei 101. If that wasn’t enough, the Arabs were hard at work with at least half a dozen mammoth buildings designed to shut up the whole world in one go. The Burj Khalifa was the current king of the heap, rising over seven hundred meters into the air. Karin shook her head. Building a small company was enough of a challenge!

It would be seven hours before she could board her evening flight to Hyderabad. After freshening up and getting a cup of coffee, she decided to take a quick swim right at the airport.

'Ah, luxury. Life doesn’t get better than this' she murmured as the soothing warm water washed over her in the Balinese style pool.

When she finished, she noticed three missed calls on her cell phone.

One was from her mother calling from San Diego. The other two were from her contacts in Singapore.

Her call home went singing through the phone line. Mother and daughter shared a strange relationship. Karin thought of herself as carefree, open and fiercely independent. Her mother was careful, implicit and tribal in the extreme.

‘Just landed in Singapore. Flight was a bit bumpy, but I’m rested and ready to go into town.’ Karin reported.

‘You doing okay?’ her mother questioned.

‘Well…’

‘What are you thinking now?’

‘I’m stressed out about the company. I can’t believe I blew through those millions of dollars, and now it's crunch time.’

Her mother commiserated. It was one of those calls...

Her second call was to Dr. Andy Andrews at the Singapore Biotech Park. He had caught the imagination of the biotech world for his brilliant work in stem cell technology during his stint in the UK. Wasn’t that where they had specialized in the production of transgenic livestock that produced human therapeutic proteins? The details were foggy in her head, but she remembered that this work led to Dolly, the world’s first sheep cloned from an adult somatic cell in 1996.

Karin smiled at the names that followed. Polly and Molly were the first cloned transgenic livestock in 1997. Then there were Diana and Cupid, the first livestock with targeted genetic changes in 2000.

Millie, the first cloned pig showed up in 2000. Those were the good old days...

Singapore was pouring in big bucks to keep the biotech engine humming and attracting the brightest around the world.

Karin reminded herself that the city was pumping in billions to offset the drop in revenues from shipping and electronics – maybe she should keep her eye on what was happening here.

She dialed Dr. Andrews. Karin was a bit apprehensive. Would the big man remember a former PhD student from LA? They had met briefly at the AAPS Biotech conference in San Diego earlier in the year, and she had mailed him occasionally to update him on her plans.

‘Dr. Andrews? This is Karin.’

‘Karin, good to hear from you. Are you in town?’

‘I am. And I want to be bold enough to ask if you would be free to have coffee with me today. I know its short notice, but I thought I would take a chance. My flight leaves in five hours, so if you’re up to it, we could meet.’

As happenstance would have it, Dr Andrews was coming to the airport to pick up a client and promised to get together with her in less than an hour.

Karin brushed her shining black hair and prepared her questions.

Getting time like this is pure serendipity. This meeting could give her some clues for the road ahead. She grabbed her PDA and rapidly put down some key thoughts and ideas.

Opportunity follows a bold request.

Clones When she saw Dr. Andrews striding through the entrance, she noticed he was his usual urbane and dapper self. He wore an expensive white cotton shirt, jeans and sandals. So appropriate for Singapore…

One of his skills was the ability to gather high quality people around his cause and inspire them. Much to learn from others... she murmured to herself. A thought struck her. ‘What’s the opposite of inspire? Expire? My team in Hyderabad is pretty much expired by that count’

He shook hands with her and they made their way to the nearby coffee shop near the customs exit. The usual crowd milled around.

There were parents waiting for their children, lovers waiting for their partners and business people striding around importantly.

‘So how have you been?’ Dr. Andrews asked.

Karin shook her head.

‘I wish I had better news to share. The truth is that we are going downhill in a sunrise industry! How could this be?’

‘Tough, huh?’

‘Feels that way. I’m heading back to Hyderabad now. Cash is tight. I have just six months runway left with my current burn rate.’

‘And after that?’ Dr. Andrews enquired.

‘PP’ ‘What’s that!’

‘Pull the Plug.’ Karin grimaced.

‘Hey, hey… so this is sounding bad... What are you going to do about it?’ Dr. Andrews asked sympathetically.

‘Fire the lot. They’re a bunch of losers!’ She was angry and it showed on her face.

‘And what would that make you?’

‘Not a winner for sure..’

Dr. Andrews sat quietly, stirring his cappuccino and thinking about the situation.

‘Karin, the industry hasn’t been able to live up to the promise so far.

Billions have been sunk in search of the magic wand in medicine, environment, energy… and the significant breakthroughs have been few and far between.’

‘So you’re saying this biotech thing is just a bubble, right?’

‘No. It’s just taking time to get there. Remember that the breakthrough in the simpler sciences got over years ago. From here on things get complicated. Nanotech, cleantech, biotech... all need billions to make a dent. Yet I think it’s going to reach a tipping point pretty soon, so don’t be so hard on yourself.’

‘Whatever soon means!’ Karin laughed bitterly.

They knocked ideas around for a while, catching up on the industry buzz. Soon it was time to go.

Dr. Andrews’ final words rang in her ears as he strode away.

‘If you were standing in tomorrow, what would you do today?’

Conversation

The landing at the new airport in Hyderabad was flawless.

This nation is changing before my eyes, Karin murmured. And it sure was. Massive airports, highways and hosting competitive games is often a sign of nations asserting that they have arrived. This one was no different.

The ride into the city was smooth, ensured in part by the elevated road that bypassed all the junctions.

Her cell phone rang. It was Dilip, her accountant from the office. He was from a small town and had a deep deference to authority.

‘Madam, welcome back to Hyderabad.’

‘Hi Dilip. What’s the update?’

She pronounced it ‘The-Lip’ and would say to herself, ‘because he talks a lot! And most of it is negative. Fortunately his accountancy is good though there were rumors that he was going to quit.

'We are running out of money. Just five months of funds left.’

‘Already?’ She sighed. Not that she wanted an answer.

She had an idea at that moment.

‘Dilip, change your conversation.’

‘Huh?’ ‘Change your conversation!’

‘What are you saying Madam? I don’t understand.’

‘What did you just tell me?’

‘We are out of money.’

‘Are we?’

‘No. Not yet, that is.’

‘So it’s not a fact?’

‘No, it’s not a fact – as yet. It will become a fact soon!’

‘Will become?'

‘You are teasing me!’

Karin laughed aloud.

‘No, Dilip. I am not. I remembered a key lesson that an old master taught me. He said we create our world with our words, not the other way around.’

Dilip fell silent. He thought deeply. What am I creating with my words? My wife is unhappy with me. I am not able to provide for her in the way she wants.

‘Madam, do you think I would willfully create unhappiness and lack with my words?’

‘Well what do you have in your life?’

‘Lack… and unhappiness.’

‘So what does that tell you about what’s coming out of your mouth?’

‘You’re blaming me – that I am the source of my problems! ’

‘Who else is responsible?’

‘Everyone... the company… my community… the Biotech industry… the government… the whole world!’

‘When you blame, are you in a place of power and freedom?’

‘When you put it like that… I suppose…”

Dilip bit his lip at the question, as his voice trailed off . Biovaxx was falling apart. Should he hang around for the crash? If I'm really taking control of my life, shouldn’t I leave the company?

Karin sensed his hesitation. Was this the Indian way of giving feedback? Certainly the silence spoke volumes. It appeared that he didn’t think much of her leadership, but wouldn’t say anything.

Anyway, why was she talking about responsibility to him? What about her? A random thought entered her mind.

‘Responsibility is the price of greatness’

Talent Raid It was a cool October morning. Karin had picked up Dr. Nath, a prominent biotech scientist on the way to work. It was an opportunity to connect and showcase their pioneering work at Biovaxx. She had found that good people are always in demand, and a little advance wooing may just come in handy at an opportune moment.

Dr. Nath was an intense man who spoke in short staccato sentences.

‘So what’s the top challenge?’ he asked.

‘I guess it’s figuring out how to speed up our research work without cutting corners.’

‘Hurry is not of the devil. It is the devil.’ Dr. Nath responded.

‘Ha ha..’ Karin said dourly. If she had meant sarcasm, Nath did not seem to get it. ‘In fact, speeding up is an area I wanted your advice on.' she added.

Nath said nothing as she turned into the company gates, Karin waved her access card to the security guards. She had instructed their security chief that no one was exempt from showing their

cards, and she too would show her card as an example. In any case clients insisted on high security in the contract. Paranoia is common when so much is at stake.

It was then she noticed the large vinyl banner a hundred yards down the road. It read: ‘Stuck? Get unstuck with lucrative Jobs in Biotech.

Mail your resume to cv@bigbio.com.’ The visual was one of a blonde research scientist working on a spectrometer, obviously lifted off the internet.

For a whole minute Karin stood still and read the sign. Blood rushed to her head as anger flooded her.

‘That’s pretty brazen putting up the banner so close to our office… who’s doing this?’ Karin spoke out aloud.

‘Big Bio huh? That’s Vinod Gupta’s outfit.’ Nath said.

‘You know him? Who’s he?’ Karin asked.

‘He had come over to the Institute.’ Nath offered. 'Wanted to hire me. Said money was no obstacle.'

The ‘Institute’ was the prestigious Central Biotechnology Research Institute and the exalted status it held was reflected in the short form that Dr. Nath used.

'What's his game?' Karin asked.

'He's doing a reverse merger with a listed shell company on the Bombay Stock Exchange.'

'Reverse merger?' Karin asked.

'Saves you the headache of doing a road show for an IPO, and cuts out at least a year. Do a reverse merger and, shazam, your company is listed.'

'Why would he do that?'

'He has no interest in biotech per se. Just riding a hot trend and talk the stock up to higher prices.' Dr. Nath responded.

'Isn’t that illegal?' Karin asked naively.

'No, it isn't illegal, just astute. He will exit when the stock is trading ten times or more of the face value.'

Karin digested that news and sighed.

'Well, lets go in and I'll show you some of our exciting work.'

It was an eventful morning and she showed Dr. Nath the progress they had made. He had been non-committal and asked more questions than offer advice.

After coffee, Dr. Nath got up to leave. Karin walked him to the car, and as they made small talk, she noticed the offending banner down the road.

'So what did you tell Gupta about his job offer?' She asked.

'Oh that. Well, I'm taking it up next month.' Dr. Nath responded as he waved goodbye.

It was a slow motion sucker punch.

What's Missing?

Karin walked back in a daze to the office.

'There you are!' Anita, her secretary rushed up to her. 'Have some bad news for you. You have four resignation letters in your in-box. ' Karin looked at her. She felt numb. Is this what happens? You train people, pour your life into them, and then they just quit? And that Dr. Nath has the nerve to come here!

She did not say anything, but disappeared into her cubicle.

'You're really losing this one...' Karin scolded herself. 'Are you really leading these people? Why are they leaving? Could someone just poach them so easily? I could strangle that Gupta!'

She decided to call Raj. Hopefully he’s awake at this time.

‘What is my problem Raj?’ She asked him after they had dispensed with the small talk.

‘Karin, the first thing to do is to stop treating yourself as a sick patient! There is no problem!'

‘Then…there’s nothing wrong with me?’

‘No. And I am your coach, not a psychologist. I work with people who are excited about working on their life. The tough work of therapy is done by psychologists at the other end of the spectrum where people do not want change, or are stuck with addictions like alcoholism or personality disorders. Does it surprise you that psychologists call their clients ‘patients’ and treat them for years? So the idea was born and embraced that change is painful, hard and takes a long time.’ Raj said thoughtfully.

‘It doesn’t?’ Karin asked perplexed.

‘See? You also believe that paradigm. Instead of asking what’s wrong, a better question would be what’s missing?

‘So what’s missing?’

‘Take the example of Dilip. From what you told me about your conversation, it looks like your view of reality is not empowering and you aren’t getting some solid feed forward.’

‘Feed forward?’ Karin asked.

‘I don't like the word feedback. It’s too past-oriented and postmortems are about dead bodies! Raj laughed.

‘Interesting… I don’t think I’ve had proper feed forward for the last two years.’ Karin responded.

‘Now there is a cute method called the sandwich model. You know, say something nice, then slip in the real input, and then close it with something nice.’

‘Hmmm. You didn’t seem to approve of this.’

‘Well, it’s okay for juniors who have thin skins and fragile egos.’

‘So what do you recommend?’ Karin asked.

‘For leaders, straight talk is required. You don’t need illusions, and papering over the real issues. What we need is waking up to the truth and then taking action fast. To do this we use a tool in language called assessments.’

‘So what does that look like?’ Karin asked curiously and with some apprehension.

‘Ah, first we work on trust, before we work on truth.’

Stand for Something ‘Why do you say trust must come before truth?’ Karin questioned.

‘See the context from the team’s viewpoint. Everyone must know that they stand for each other’s success. Unless everyone is committed to the others to help them grow and become successful, assessments can become a game of one-upmanship and jockeying to put others down while looking good.’

‘This is getting difficult!’ Karin exclaimed. ‘And how do I build trust?’

‘How do you eat an elephant?’

‘Very funny Raj. So how do you eat elephants? Besides it’s not my preferred cuisine anyway.’ Karin said oozing sarcasm.

Raj let it pass and then said sagely, ‘Bit by bit.’

‘But I don’t have time!’

‘Okay. Then get on the accelerated pathway to trust.’

‘Is there something like that? I’m all ears.’

‘You do it with words and backed by commitment.’

‘Maybe I don’t understand commitment…’ Karin said tentatively.

‘Not surprising. Few understand the power and beauty of commitment. In the absence of knowledge people dread it, fearing it to be a prison when it is the open road to freedom.’

‘Now my brains are really scrambled! Commitment gives freedom?’

‘Yes.’ Raj replied simply.

‘Commitment is what makes your word worth anything. If there is no power in your word, then your world will amount to very little as well.’

Karin went really quiet. There it was. Her marriage with Roy did not amount to very much. She had not been taking a stand for this relationship. It had drifted down like a kite without a string. Should she be surprised about where she found it?

‘Does commitment make a difference in relationships?’ Karin asked aloud to herself.

‘Is something missing in your relationships?’ Raj asked gently.

‘Yes..’ Karin said hesitantly. ‘It’s a personal relationship. And since you’re my business coach, let’s… skip it.’

She heard Raj take a deep breath at the other end of the line.

‘Life is one whole. You don’t leave some part of you behind. If you’re a jerk at home, you’ll be a jerk at work! You don’t check your feelings at the door when you swipe your access card at your workplace. I’d like to invite you to see that these compartments are

really not there. I’m okay to hear about your relationship, if you’re okay with it.’ Raj said.

Karin was quiet. What was there to lose? Her relationship was going nowhere and maybe she should get some help rather than let it drift to death.

‘It’s my husband Roy. We aren’t doing well.’ Karin said sadly.

‘Based on what you know, what could you do if you wanted to?’

‘I’d take a stand… I realized that I haven’t taken one so far. I guess I loved him because he was lovable.’

‘Fair enough. Now recall your vows you made. What did you say?’

‘That was a while ago… I mean all I wanted to do was get married!’

Karin exclaimed, recalling her wedding.

‘Well, give it a shot.’ Raj encouraged her.

‘I said… no, vowed… that ‘for better or for worse, I will love and cherish Roy, in sickness or in health, in riches or in poverty, till death do us part…. Whew!’ Karin said, surprised at the simplicity and beauty of the vow.

‘So does your vow depend on you or him?’

Karin stared for a long minute and then mumbled, ‘Me.’

‘Let’s get clear on what a vow is. In today’s parlance, it's a stand.

Can you give me an example from your own life when you’ve taken a stand for something?’ Raj asked.

‘Um…I’m really reaching back now… okay, I got one. This was when I started on my PhD. I took a stand that I will finish it and I wouldn’t back down.’

‘Excellent. What did that feel like?’ Raj asked.

‘I stood taller. I had decided. There was no turning back.’

‘And what were the results?’

‘I just pushed through rain and shine. I didn’t let anyone and anything stop me. I did it.’

‘Now, I want to invite you to see that extraordinary things happen when you take a stand. When you get overly analytical, you’ll find a hundred reasons why something can’t be done. People think they are being reasonable when they think like this. In reality they’re just hunting for reasons to not take action.’

'And why would they do that?'

'No guts. Lack of courage. We work hard on what to do, when the real issue is to work on who's doing it.'

‘So is analysis bad?’ Karin asked.

‘Only if analysis leads to paralysis. The purpose of thinking is to discover the next action. Observe that you’ve taken a stand before and produced great results. You know how to do it. However notice too, that the occasions have been few and far between. Could it be

different? What could you produce if you made ‘taking a stand’ as the way you lived your life?’ Raj asked.

‘That is extraordinary.’ Karin said slowly.

Raj took a sharp turn in the conversation.

‘So to honor your vow to Roy, what does it depend on?’

‘I guess our marriage should stand on my word - on my promise that I made.’

‘As a first step what would you do?’ Raj asked.

‘Take a stand.'

'I suggest you be a stand, versus take a stand.'

'More rooted, huh?' Karin asked.

'Yes, power comes from being first. Doing comes later.'

'Got it... And then clean up.' Karin said.

‘When would you like to do that?’

‘Uh… I guess I'll find the time...’

‘So go for it. Call me back when you’re done. Just to ensure that we don’t have a gap between insight and action.’ Raj said.

‘Be a stand. Else you’ll fall for anything.’

Feelers It's come out of the blue.

Some weeks had passed, when Karin got an unexpected phone call.

It was Dr. Nath asking for a meeting.

'What's this about Nath?' Karin asked, not exactly amused by him.

That he had taken advantage of her still irritated. As a signal, she dispensed with the title 'Dr.' 'I have an interesting proposal for you to consider that would be of value to you. I can't share it on the phone though.' Dr. Nath said. 'If you are okay I can be there in an hour's time.'

She had agreed to meet him. Waiting and fretting, a hundred thoughts flew by.

Maybe he's figured out that BigBio is not his cup of tea...

Maybe he wants to feel if there are any openings with us...

Maybe he's going to play another trick on me...

When Dr. Nath walked in, Karin watched his body language.

Seems confident. Not deferential by any stretch. What's up?

Karin was bristling and tried hard to hide it. After a few minutes of small talk, they got down to business.

'So you're with BigBio now... I was more than a little irritated when you came over to see our facility and then joined Gupta. What do you have to say for that?'

Dr. Nath smiled. 'Maybe that was a good thing. You see, I have an interesting proposal for you to consider. BigBio is doing well, and we are going for an IPO next year. Biovaxx on the other hand has several possibilities, but no verifiable results. My suggestion is that we join hands together and merge. This will enable us to join forces and succeed.'

'I'm not sure I like this idea. Why would I do a merger with BigBio?' Karin shot back.

'Because it's in your interest. You can remain a small player, or you can merge and get strong. As CEO, it is your responsibility to build the company and reward your shareholders. Not let your ego get in the way...'

'I'm not saying I'm interested. But if I were, what are your terms?'

'Step one - we do a valuation of Biovaxx. Step two - BigBio pays you in stock. Step three – we join forces for the IPO. Step four – we exit.' Dr. Nath outlined.

'That's not a merger! That's a buy out!' Karin exploded. 'Besides we're in this to create immense value for the world. I'm not running for the exit. You can tell your boss that I'm not interested.'

'Karin, don't be hasty. Vinod Gupta is a fair man and you'll get a good price.'

'I suggest you leave.' Karin said coldly.

'Think again. We are well funded and can easily take you down if we wanted to.' Dr Nath said softly.

'Are you threatening me?' Karin said.

'Listen, in an IP business your people are your biggest assets right?

But they walk out of the door every evening. They aren't tied to you.

Give them a little hike and they'll jump ship. Gupta will do it through a placement agency so it will be all nice and legal. Ha, ha... that's why they're called headhunters!'

'That's a foolish idea. What would you do with the extra hands?'

'Not much actually. Maybe put them on the bench. But it will gum up your works. And a few months later, we'll let go of the surplus staff.' Dr. Nath said flatly.

'So people are just consumables for you.' Karin said angrily.

'It's a big country. They will always find something else. But that's not the point. It is in your interest – and your employees - to join us peacefully. Or fight us.'

Karin bit her lip. This was not good.

'You may not know it, but your own investors want this. We've had some initial talks with your venture capital firm and they can see the sense in it. One strong company is better than two weaker ones.

Scale matters in an IPO.' Could Tallyho, her VC firm jump ship? After the last round of equity dilution, they owned 30% of the company.

'By the way, here's some trivia for you. Tallyho is an old English term used in fox hunting. The riders shout it when they see the fox and use it to excite their dogs.' Dr. Nath taunted her.

'That's a despicable comparison... Our VC has always stood by Biovaxx.' Karin said, her voice sounding a little uncertain.

'Not for ever. Remember your VC, or any VC for that matter, has to produce a big result. That's what they are primarily committed to.

You are only the means. Please see that you have an open door in front of you. Join with BigBio and you could win a big payday.'

'There's nothing you can do if I don't agree!' Karin said slowly, her anger barely contained.

'I know you're a first generation entrepreneur. But don't be na誰ve. We could have you in knots if we file a dozen cases against you.'

'About what?' Karin fired back.

'Oh, a range of things. Lawyers can be creative you know.'

Karin slumped in her chair. We're vulnerable. Down on our funds.

This is a nightmare... But I really dislike BigBio and their ways .

And yet, what Dr. Nath said made sense. One big company is better than two small ones...

Straightening herself, she said with a smile, 'This is a bit too sudden and I appreciate your input. Give me some time to think it over.'

Time for an evasive step... and maybe a left hook.

An Inside Job

Karin needed advice and a sounding board. She called Raj. 'BigBio just threatened me. Sell or else is what they said. What do you think?'

'Congratulations!' Raj responded.

'What do you mean?' Karin sounded confused.

'If you're on someone's radar, chances are you're doing something right! BigBio just paid you a left handed compliment.'

'You mean this is good?' Karin said incredulously.

'This is the moment that an entrepreneur waits for. This is where you know that the tipping point could well happen.'

'So what next?' Karin asked.

'Dress up for the party.'

'Huh?' 'Get your company ready. Get your books in shape. Get your ops manuals done. Your policies on paper and in place. Your systems tight. Too many entrepreneurs wait for the last moment. If you work with the exit in mind, then you get this done from the start.'

'I get this. But I don't want to work with BigBio! I find them creepy...'

'Oh, that's okay. You play along with them.'

'And then...?'

'You'll buy six months at least. But remember they are not the only fish in the pond.'

'What do you mean?' Karin asked.

'It’s time to dance. While you keep working furiously on your molecules, find alternate partners who you would want to work with.

Many of the biotech companies in Europe and the US are looking at establishing a base in India for doing biosimilars. It’s a hot area, and this could give you many options.'

'Ah, I get it.' Karin said thoughtfully. 'But the idea to sell out is... distasteful. How do I just walk away from this?'

'Exit one. Enter another. The picture of a walk is a good one, because it’s a journey. Who you become in the process is far more important. See yourself as a serial entrepreneur. Once this is over, the next one is waiting for you.'

‘Well, I certainly have some work to do then!’ Karin laughed. ‘But you know Raj, I want to go back to our earlier conversation. We seem to be going backwards!’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You started with assessments, then moved back to truth, then moved back to trust, now it’s further back to commitment. Is there anything more? My head is spinning!’

‘First let’s get the direction straight. It’s not backwards. It’s inward.’

‘Inward?’ Karin questioned.

‘The journey of a team is always first inwards before they can manifest value outwards. You can only produce what is inside you.’

‘So there’s an inside job that must be done before you can…’ Karin trailed off, putting two and two together.

Raj stayed silent for a few moments, letting her process the thought without interruption.

‘Welcome to the Onion. The layers here taste different though, and yes, there is one more. Commitment stands on your integrity and integrity stands on your word. It will always be so: in the beginning was the Word.’

‘That’s quite a structure.’ Karin responded thoughtfully.

She doodled on a pad, drawing out the layers of the onion.

“Would you come and take my team through this?’ Karin said excitedly.

‘Actually, I’m scheduled to visit Bangalore next week for a board meeting – so it may just work out. Coming back - yes, if we want to master our circumstances then this is the structure to enter and live in the world of possibilities.’

‘World of possibilities? Right now it looks like the world of impossibilities. My team is falling apart. No one is clear what they are doing and what their contribution is. Attrition is high. Sales are down. Costs are going up.’

‘When anything is possible, then nothing is impossible!’ Raj chuckled.

Offsite

Karin decided that it was time to get away with the team.

Dilip frowned when she announced this decision.

‘And funds? Which project do you want me to cut so that we can go on this offsite?’ he asked. He had put in his papers and was serving his notice period. By month-end he’d be gone.

She did not answer. What was there to say?

They picked a resort outside the city. It would give them time and space to think fresh thoughts. Karin had told them that it would be a strategy meet and they would have a seasoned business coach facilitate the session.

Raj was good with his word. He had decided to visit Bangalore for an IT investment he had made there in the embedded design space.

Karin was able to prevail with him to invest two days with her team in Hyderabad.

'Could be make or break...' she thought.

The team had decided to arrive there on Thursday evening and leave on Saturday evening. This way they would get two full days - and have some bonding time as well.

Already groups of people were deep in conversation walking along the winding pathways reserved for precisely such an activity.

Bright red gulmohur and mauve jacaranda flowers bloomed by the sides and the green grass made it a restful sight for the eyes.

Karin sat by the poolside with Raj. ‘So what’s the plan?’ she asked him.

‘Depends on where you want to go.’

‘Well, I’ve been thinking of the attrition we’re having. People are leaving for a mere five percent hike in salary. I suspect that there might be something more to this.’

‘Might? You can bet your last rupee on it.’ Raj said with certainty.

‘So what should we do?’

‘We’ll get into that. First we need to create a space.’

‘Space?’

‘Watch!’ Raj grinned. +++ It was dinner time and the team was out at a 24-hour café. Karin was reading through the Economic Times.

‘The beep has hit the fan...could the effects of the recession be here to stay?’ She said.

‘After the crazy rise and extreme fall in the stock market, things are beginning to look a little hairy now.’ Suresh replied.

‘Hard to imagine that bad housing loans to risky customers in the US impact us here in India.’ Sharon added.

‘Everything is global and there’s no place to hide.’ Karin said gloomily.

‘So how does anyone handle recession? Or business setbacks? This is macro stuff.’ Suresh asked.

‘When you throw in fear and greed, pride and prejudice…. the mix gets volatile.’ Rao concurred. 'Many companies will take knee jerk reactions.’

‘Like what?’ Anita asked anxiously.

There was a chorus.

‘Job cuts and pink-slip their way out of trouble.’

‘Or slash training and travel.’

‘Or beat down ad spend.’

‘Don’t knock it. Maybe some of it is valid. But we need a plan beyond cuts.' Suresh said.

'This too shall pass. Sunny days will come again and we will happily forget the current lessons. Only to be rudely reminded in the next cycle.' Rao added.

‘But what about now? What could we do?’ Dilip mused.

‘In an atmosphere of despair, what’s needed?'

Bad News is Good News

Their session started ten minutes late. Raj was bothered by this scant respect for time. Surely it mattered to be on time?

Raj wrote on the flip chart – BS. Turning to the team he said, ‘What do you think ‘BS’ stands for?’

‘Bullshit?’ Mala from Sales questioned a trifle tentatively.

The group laughed and Raj joined in.

‘It’s Bad Stuff - 'what’s not working yet versus what’s working’ ‘How will we do that?’ Sharon, a petite Anglo-Indian said.

‘We will begin by working on your complaints about how we're doing in Biovaxx. You can crib all you want! This is complaint time, so go for it!’ Raj boomed cheerfully.

Silence greeted his challenge.

‘No complaints?’ Raj questioned, his head cocked to the side.

‘It won’t be politically correct – Karin is here!’ Suresh from Sales spoke up, half in jest and half seriously. He was a bright young man from ISB – International School of Business in Hyderabad. The

school had started just a few years ago, but had established a stellar reputation thanks in part to its world-class tie-ups, swank facilities and some pumped-up marketing.

‘Let me introduce you to the Goldmine of Complaints. It has a rich mother lode of gold that will yield amazing riches. If you dig in...’

Raj replied.

‘That’s a peculiar thing to say.’ Rita from Systems responded.

‘Rita, you’re from IT aren’t you?’ Raj asked. ‘As the Systems head what does the word ‘bugs’ mean to you?’

‘Apart from bugging me, it means we’ve discovered a problem in the program.’

‘And which if you could solve…?’ Raj questioned.

‘Could change things for the better.’ Rita responded. She was nerdy in a pretty sort of way. Her glasses were fashionable and one curl hung in front of her forehead, which she blew at every once in a while.

‘So your route to improving things is a something that's not working yet.’ Raj commented.

‘I see.’ Rita responded slowly. ‘That’s why complaints are good. It shows me things that could become better.’

‘Therefore what kind of problems should we look for?’

‘Bigger the better!’ Suresh from Sales responded.

‘Hairier and scarier!' Rao added. 'It’s no point solving small problems. The truth is that no one would notice mickey mouse size problems.'

'True. The size of the leader is the size of the problem he's dealing with. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m all for kaizen and getting that daily increment of value – after we’ve picked a juicy area to work on. Take an area that people run away from. That’s why when customers complain, it’s a great time to clean out the wax from our ears and listen well.’ Raj said.

‘Let’s look outside the company first. Rao, can you capture that on the white board? The first one to offer a half-decent complaint gets a chocolate!’ Raj waved a handful of chocolate bars.

Suddenly there was a light-hearted hubbub, and everyone was talking together.

‘So many macro issues!’ Rita said.

‘Sale prices are falling.’ Suresh called out.

‘Costs are rising.’ Sharon said.

‘We’re getting caught in the jaws of economics.’ Karin added.

‘What else?’ Raj asked.

‘Competitors are getting aggressive. Prices are being slashed at the drop of the hat.’ Dilip proposed.

Rao hastily wrote out the list of complaints in a spider scrawl that was barely legible.

‘Now let’s look inside. Lets the complaints begin!’

‘Rising expectations. Everyone wants a 20% hike in salary year on year. Me included.’ Karin said with a laugh.

‘What else?’

‘Research is too slow. Our new molecules are taking forever to come on stream.’ Anita from the front desk said. Everyone turned to hear that comment coming from her.

Maybe she’s brighter than I’ve given her credit for. Or maybe I just haven’t noticed. Karin mused.

‘That’s not true. We’re doing our level best.’ Rao retorted.

‘Oh, of course. I mean…I…’ Anita stammered.

‘You don’t have the education to comment on my area of specialization. Better stick to your knitting.’ Rao cut through her.

Just for a moment there was silence from everyone. Anita was nearly in tears. Raj walked up slowly to her, and with an exaggerated flourish handed over a chocolate.

‘You get the first one!’

The tension broke and the team applauded her. It was okay to speak your mind... especially when it was uncomfortable.

‘Our sales pipeline is slow.’ Dilip said.

‘Do you have any idea how tough it is to handle this market?’ Suresh glowered at him.

‘Dilip, you get a chocolate as well. What else?’ Raj was relentless.

‘Aren’t you tired of asking ‘what else’?’ Karin asked in jest.

There was another silence. No one said anything else.

‘I notice that we’re not being open. For us to get value, you will need to give me the right to speak to you and into the situation.'

‘But what was your point in telling us this?’ Karin asked.

‘It’s about choosing to give me - your coach - the right to speak into your life, however difficult it may be, because you believe that I stand for your growth.’ Raj said calmly.

‘Truth be told, Raj, I don’t know much about you. But I do get a clear sense of your standing for me and for this team, to help us get to the next level.’ Karin said quietly.

‘I can recognize that too.’ Suresh added.

‘So what do you want to do?’ Raj asked.

‘To think of it, I haven’t given the right to anyone to really speak into my life!’ Anita laughed.

‘And what are the steps that led you to this place?’

‘Life has taught me to be careful of people. That they are greedy, selfish, deceitful and conceited.’ Anita said forcefully.

‘That’s quite a summary of the human race!’ Rao quipped.

‘Did everyone treat you badly?’ Karin countered him.

‘No. But I suppose I accepted this view… and it became an unconscious thing.’

‘So what do you want to do?’ Raj repeated. ‘Will you give me the right to speak into your life?’

This time round, there was no hesitation and everyone said,

‘Right on Coach!’

Working on Trust There was a visible shift in the room. Having given permission to the Coach – there was a sense of anticipation that they would experience growth.

‘It’s a strange but delicious feeling.’ Anita said to no one in particular.

‘I know… I feel a sense of anticipation. Expecting something new to happen. What’s more I’m ready for it!’ Suresh said.

‘Bring… it…. on!’ Rao said.

Raj sat on the table in front of the room. He was relaxed in an alert sort of way, for it was evident that he was sensitive to what was going on in the room. He looked around, ‘reading’ the room. He noted that most people had made a mental shift. Their body language said it all. They were ready to move on. Except Karin.

He wrote on the white board – ‘Trust’.

‘So tell me, what is this thing?’ Raj asked.

There was just a moment of hesitation before a half a dozen hands shot up, eager to participate in their own lives. Several were calling out their answers and the cacophony was quite loud.

‘Let’s get some ground rules in place here.’ Raj said smiling. ‘To speak out of turn is disrespectful of others. I will call out who can contribute. Is that okay?’

They agreed and Raj continued.

‘There are a few more ground rules. Things are going to happen in this room that is confidential. Can we agree that whatever people share stays in this room?’

‘Why is that important?’ Rao asked.

‘What’s your opinion?’ Raj countered.

‘I just asked a question.’ Rao responded.

‘You must have a point of view. I expect you to ask questions of me and each other. But you must give your point of view!’ Raj said.

‘I suppose, because it could be sensitive, and we need to honor that between us.’ Karin said.

‘Good enough! Let’s move on. Emerson once said, ‘Our distrust is very expensive.’ What do you make of that?’

‘I think it’s trust that is expensive. You trust someone and they rip you off!’ Sharon said.

‘Maybe so. But Emerson said ‘distrust is very expensive.’’

‘In the context of our team, what could that mean?’ Karin mused aloud.

‘When you don’t trust your team members, you’re always watching your back. You spend an enormous amount of time figuring out what

may happen. These what-if games are exhausting after a while.’

Suresh said.

‘Can I suggest that when you make a comment, use the word ‘I’?

Own your mind!’

‘As in?’

‘Let me reword the last comment: When I don’t trust my team members, I’m always watching my back. I spend an enormous amount of time… get the drift.?’

‘It’s less painful when I use ‘you’!’ Rao quipped.

The group let it sink in as they mulled over ‘trust’.

‘I can see how trust is broken. When I don’t keep my word and don’t do what I said I would do, it’s an invitation for distrust.’ Karin added.

‘So it all comes down to the practice of integrity.’ Raj said.

‘And integrity is…?’ Sharon asked.

‘It comes from the Latin word ‘integritas’ from which we get the word ‘integer’ – a whole number. So the sense is being undivided and complete with an inherent soundness.’ Raj commented.

‘So that’s why integrity feels so good!’ Anita commented.

‘Integrity has two sides – both critical. One, which we are familiar with – it’s about doing the right thing. The other is equally important and perhaps we are not well acquainted with. This is having no gap

between what I say and what I do. It is seamless. The classic definition is ‘Doing what I said I would, by the time I said it would be done.’ Raj said, filling out the concept.

‘Is that why you were… a little bugged when we started late?’ Rao asked.

‘The foundation of power is in your tongue. When you say you will start at a particular time, then to not do so, is to lack integrity.’

‘Indian Stretchable Time knows no such thing!’ said Rao, ever the joker in the pack.

‘Actually it’s not so much about this session starting on time. Or about being Indians who can’t seem to handle time well. I’m not upset because my time has been wasted.’ Raj responded.

‘Then what’s the point?’ Anita asked.

‘The point is, if you can’t deliver on something minor like getting here on time, how will you have the power to deliver on the truly big stuff? Could it be that Biovaxx is in this dire situation because we lack integrity?’ Raj challenged.

‘It’s true that our team doesn’t work well. At least as well as it should or could. I wonder if integrity has a role in this…’ Karin responded.

‘You can bet your last VC dollar on that.’ Raj said grimly.

‘Your problems are rooted in your little pink tongue!’

Knives After a break, they reconvened again.

‘Back to our topic.’ Raj said. ‘How do we create an atmosphere of trust? To do this I will show you an illustration. Could I get two volunteers to come up in front?’

Anita and Rao jumped up, eager to participate. In any case this was more fun than attending meetings in the office, or conference calls or checking endless emails.

‘Let's suppose Anita and Rao are good colleagues at work. For this exercise I need one of you to play the bad colleague. Is that okay?’

‘Me! I know how to do this!’ Rao said jocularly.

A voice from the back called out, ‘And you don’t even have to act!’

Nervous laughter filled the room.

‘Okay, so we have Rao who’ll play the role of the trust-breaker and Anita plays the role of the one who’s trust is broken.’

Raj dug into his bag and pulled out a long rope which he displayed for all to see. Curious necks craned from their seats to see what would happen next.

‘Now Rao, for reasons best known to him, decides to indulge in gossip about Anita. Something juicy…. However the nature of gossip is that it runs ahead. A Chinese proverb says ‘What is told in the ear of a man is often heard a hundred miles away.’ But that’s not all. It also grows and mutates in the telling and retelling.’ Raj said.

Some laughed uncomfortably at the picture.

‘But there's more! Gossip spins back to the person who wasn’t supposed to hear it.’ Raj added. ‘What’s more it lands smack bang, right on target.’

At that point he pulled out the rope and revealed that it had a rubber knife attached to the end of it.

‘This knife now stabs Anita! There is blood everywhere. She’s in pain, is she not?’

Anita tucked the knife under her arm and played along, groaning in pain.

‘Why is Anita in pain?’ Raj asked the group.

‘Betrayal!’

‘Gossip!’

‘Let down by a colleague!’

‘But this rope is a strange rope.’ Raj continued. ‘It has another knife at the other end of the rope!’

He theatrically stabbed Rao and slipped the knife under his arm.

‘Now tell me, why is there a knife at the other end? Why is Rao in pain?’

‘Guilt. We all know what's right and wrong because we know how we would like to be treated. He knows he should not have gossiped about Anita.’ Suresh said thoughtfully.

‘Correct. And now these two people are connected with this rope and knives of unforgiveness. Wherever they go, the rope goes with them.’ Raj responded, moving the two participants around the room.

‘What can Anita do about this situation?’

‘Just forget about it.’ Sharon said.

‘Suffer quietly.’ Karin said.

‘Revenge!’ Suresh said loudly and the room laughed uneasily.

‘But do any of these options work?’ Raj questioned.

‘You really can’t forget.’ Anita said.

‘Suffering quietly would lead to a growing cancer of distrust.’

‘Revenge would feel good!’ Rao said.

‘Temporarily just maybe… But in truth, when I take revenge another rope appears with two more knives. Soon the room is choked with ropes and knives!’

‘Well, she could forgive Rao.’ Sharon said thoughtfully.

‘Good one. Let’s see what happens when Anita says, ‘Rao, I choose to forgive you for what you did to me.’ Her knife clatters to the ground and she goes free.’

‘So forgiving people is a smart thing – we get the knives out of our own systems.’ Sharon said.

‘Very good.’ Raj said. ‘So what happens to the other person? Anita is free. But Rao will carry his knife and continue to bleed. Real life leaks out. Energy, passion, time, resources, joy – all is lost when we hang on to our knife.’ Raj said quietly.

‘So what could Rao do?’ Suresh asked.

‘What do you think?’ Raj responded.

‘He could go to Anita and apologize for what he did.’ Suresh said.

‘What could stop him?’

‘Pride, shame and a massive ego!’

‘Correct. It will be Rao’s choice what he does. He can hang on to his pride and bleed. Or he can humble himself and clean this up.’

Raj thanked Anita and Rao as they made their way back.

‘What I showed you was an illustration. But this is how it really happens. Organizations are full of people who have been bleeding for a long while. The knives are all over the place. Is it any surprise that they aren’t engaged and lack real passion for their work and their team?’

He let that sink in and continued.

‘Is it true that there are knives in this room?’

Several people nodded. Others stared back. Still others were lost in thought.

‘So what should we do about the knives?’ Raj persisted.

There was a deep silence. No one moved.

‘It's imperative to get the knives out…’ Anita said.

‘I can see that this is real.’ Rao said soberly.

‘But I just joined… I don’t have knives with anyone…’ Vidya said, a trifle virtuous. She had been recently recruited as a biotech scientist in the lab.

‘So?’ Raj questioned.

‘She hasn’t had enough time to stick in some knives!’ Rao chuckled.

‘Maybe she’s left enough back in her last company!’ A voice from the back called out. ‘Walk away... if only that would be a good way to deal with the past!’

‘Vidya, maybe you don’t have knives with anyone here. My request is that you engage in the practice and call someone with whom you have a knife. The idea is to start learning to clean up. With practice we can hardwire it into our neurology.’ Raj counseled.

Vidya nodded soberly.

‘Remember, you can lose your false pride and win back your life and the other person; or you can keep your pride and keep bleeding.’

Raj added, painting a bleak picture.

It was obvious the team was pondering over their lives. After a few moments, Raj built on the thought.

‘We will now do an assignment for the next hour. Your job is to go to everyone in the room and check if there are any knives between you. Connect with each other and clean up.’

The discomfort was deep and some of them exchanged meaningful glances across the room. The question uppermost in everyone’s mind was, ‘Are you serious?’

‘Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. And now it’s time for action - everyone on your feet! Ready?’

Soon the team was talking animatedly. Laughter, hushed voices, and tension all combined to form a heady cocktail of feelings. Some left the room, while others gravitated to the corners. Intense conversations started up. There was a small sample of surprised faces that seemed to say, ‘Really? I didn’t know we had an issue between us.’ That there were issues to sort out was evident, and for the most part, people engaged with each other.

The minutes ticked away. After the allotted time, the team came back.

‘Forgiveness is a strange thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.’ Raj said. ‘Were you able to swallow your pride and get closure on your issues with others here?’

Some of the people nodded.

‘Rao and I have had this running feud for the past year and we’ve cleaned it up. It’s good to have closure.’ Suresh said.

‘That’s bold of you Suresh. But remember, you did yourself a favor by pulling those knives out.’

‘I want to share.’ Sharon said. ‘I called up my father. We haven’t been talking for the past two years. It was over a trivial thing. But I called up and apologized. He was surprised…. and overwhelmed. It was beautiful. I... got my dad back.’

‘What is that worth?’ Raj asked rhetorically. ‘A million bucks? The world has lived in an eye-for-an-eye paradigm for way too long.

Time we learnt to forgive.’

Anita spoke up. ‘I have to clean up with… someone. But I was unable to do it. What’s stopping me?’

‘What do you think?’

‘I’m scared. What if they don’t respond well?’

‘What they do with their knives is their responsibility. There’s only one question here: What are you going to do with your knives?’

Anita shuddered. “I’m thinking of the price I’m already paying and will continue to pay till I take action. I’ll have to find the courage to forgive. But if I forgive, will the trauma end?’

‘Sometimes forgiveness is like an onion. It comes off in layers. But the day does arrive when it’s all over. There’s nothing more. Only a deep quietness within and feeling clean and whole.’ Raj said.

‘So you’re saying it’s okay to forgive – even if it is more than once?’

Anita asked.

‘Truth be told, you’ll find room for plenty of practice. In fact others will find plenty of practice for forgiveness because we are in their lives!’ Raj laughed and continued. ‘There is a fresh past happening every day. Stuff happens. It’s your business to clean up quickly, and bring closure. The speed at which you deal with this will determine the quality of life you live.’

‘Now having brought closure to the past – at least some of it - what do you have?’ Raj asked.

‘Well, to the extent we clean up, we have an environment for trust.’

Karin said. She had purposely kept a low profile. But now it was time to speak up.

‘And having trust, what’s possible?’

Sharon spoke up, her face still glowing from her call with her father.

‘Freedom to act. Power to do!’

The Fish Rots from the Head It was after dinner.

Raj was walking outside inhaling the cool breeze in the garden. The place was pretty in a manicured sort of way. After the mayhem of the streets of Hyderabad he found himself quite appreciative of the order.

He became aware of someone walking a bit behind him. Turning around he found Karin. He stopped, allowing her to catch up.

‘What’s up?’ Raj asked.

‘About what?’ Karin replied, a little defensively.

‘Did I notice that you weren’t playing fully today?’

Silence.

‘Playing fully?’ Karin countered.

Raj sighed. That was four questions back on back.

‘Playing fully is being fully engaged in what’s happening right now.

I noticed you were holding back during the session. Or was I wrong?’

‘Holding back? No, no. I was, uh, giving space to others to get their act together.’ She replied.

‘Oh. So they are the problem is it?’ Raj asked.

‘Yes, I wish they would wake up! It’s this middle management team.

We have so much to do and so little time.’ Karin replied quite oblivious of his sarcasm.

‘Karin, I came across a phrase. Please listen to it and tell me what you think it means. Here goes: ‘The fish rots from the head.’

Karin thought and then flushed a bright red.

‘So you mean I am the problem?’

‘Families, companies, nations – all rise or fall according to the level of leadership. If your company is falling, where should you look?’

Karin was silent.

Raj continued.

‘I have a friend who buys sick companies and turns them around.

The first thing he does is fire the CEO. Every single time. I asked him why he does that, and his response was simple. This company wouldn’t be sick if the leadership was any good. Ask yourself, if you were a board member on your company, would you fire Karin?’

‘Well, when you put it like that… I guess I’d fire Karin now.’ She replied quietly.

‘Excellent!’ Raj exclaimed, as if he was a teacher quite pleased with his clever student. ‘So, let’s fire you!’

Karin stopped mid step and looked at him incredulously.

‘Fire me?’

‘Sure. That would take a weight off wouldn’t it?’ Raj asked jocularly.

‘Yes, it would.’ Karin sighed deeply and shaking her head.

‘Okay, so let’s do it now. You stand right here, while I, representing the board of Biovaxx, will fire you.’ Raj continued in deadly seriousness.

‘What?’ Karin stopped, her eyes wide.

‘That’s right. Ms. CEO Karin, as the representative of the Board, I fire you from your post.’ Raj said, pronouncing the words as a judgment.

Karin didn’t know what to do, as she stared back at him.

‘Stay in the moment!’ Raj urged her. ‘Now if you were to hire a CEO of the company what would you want him or her to do?’

‘This is really hard… I mean, you just fired me!’ Karin said playing along.

‘Sure I fired you. But try.’

‘I don’t know what you mean Raj!’ Karin protested.

‘Just do it.’ Raj ordered.

‘Well, the new CEO should be focused on the big picture, think strategically to create value, and not micro-manage. She should embody the future and lead from the front.’ Karin said in a rush.

‘That’s a start!’ Raj responded warmly. ‘Karin, you were looking at reinventing the company when what was required of you was to reinvent yourself. The old Karin does not cut it.’

She stopped and looked at him. ‘

What exactly does Karin Version 2.0 look like?’

Karin 2.0 Raj applauded her.

‘The start of reinventing the future of your company starts with reinventing yourself. To lean on past successes is dangerous. What was good for then isn’t good enough for now. You need to be essentially different.’ He said.

‘So how do I get to be who I need to be?’ Karin asked a trifle petulantly at this huge task.

‘I will give you the answer but you may dismiss it too easily.’ Raj teased her.

‘No, no. I promise I’ll listen well.’ Karin said emphatically.

‘Okay here goes.’ Raj said and then added softly. ‘You simply take on the space.’

‘Take on the space?’ Karin responded perplexed.

‘Yes, you step into the new Karin. You hardwire it into your brain.

You visualize it. You breathe it in. You possess the space. You become.’

She laughed. ‘You know it’s a trifle mysterious!’

‘Perhaps at first sight… If you are okay, I could do an exercise with you. At the end of it, you will be Karin 2.0.’

‘I don’t know what else to say but ‘wow’. Are you sure?’ Karin asked tentatively.

‘That’s right. Karin 2.0. On tap. Whenever you want.’ Raj said.

‘That’s extraordinary!’ Karin exclaimed. ‘On tap! That’s huge!’

‘I know. But before that I must show you how your brain works.’

He pulled out his ever present scribble pad from his back pocket and drew a picture.

‘See this’ Raj said. ‘This is a brain cell, a neuron. You have a hundred billion of them. Looks a bit like a flower. And here’s another.’

‘Sure, I know that. I’m a biotechnologist you know.’ Karin responded mildly.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound patronizing. Of course you know all about the cell structure. My invitation to you is to see with new eyes what options are available to you. What I’m going to show you is how you can use our understanding of the brain to create transformation now. Would you like that?’

‘For Karin 2.0 I’d do anything!’

‘Here is the gut of it. Your brain has elasticity, an ability to change and morph so to say. It’s not fixed. Just a few decades ago, we

thought it was set in granite. That view has been summarily dismissed.’ Raj said.

‘That’s a bit radical isn’t it? But tell me more. I’m all ears.’

‘When you think a thought, any thought, there is a minor electrical storm in your brain cell and it throws out a chemical rope to another neuron. It’s an actual rope that functions as a pathway in your brain.

You’ve actually changed physiologically. When you think the thought the second time, another rope appears. Do this a dozen times and the rope thickens… till you have a new neural pathway.’ Raj explained.

‘The idea that my brain has elasticity is intriguing.’ Karin responded, quite captured by the picture scribbled in front of her.

‘Yes it is. Literally all we know of the brain we learnt in the last twenty years. Till now it’s been a mysterious black box or at least a grey jelly in the cranium.’ Raj said, his eyes shining at the wonder of it all.

‘The scientist in me is wide awake now! But I’m having some trouble here. As a biotechnologist I splice-n-dice DNA bits to get what I want. This view is interventionist, you know a bit Lego-like.’

‘Ah yes. I read about how the fluorescent gene from the fish was introduced into a cat embryo, and now the feline glows green!’ Raj laughed.

‘Poor cat! Though that kind of splicing is a bit Frankenstein-ish. My point is that doesn’t your ‘exercise’ do something like that?’ Karin questioned.

‘Call it interventionist. You use DNA bits. I’ll do something similar.

We can construct ourselves.’

‘What this means is that we can shift…’ Karin said slowly.

‘Right on. Now research tells us that the average person has 600 to 700 talents. And we tap just a few! Now what’s possible? Anything.’

Raj said.

‘And to think I’ve lived under the illusion that I have just three talents.. eat, sleep and biotech!’

‘You came with the stuff wired in and the Maker’s warranty to boot.’ Raj laughed. ‘You can be whatever you want… I am in awe of how amazingly I’ve been made. Yet when I think that I am made in the image of God, it would be quite logical and right, wouldn't it?’

Concentrating deeply on the implications she said slowly, ‘So what you’re saying is that Karin 1.0 has some neural pathways, and for me to be Karin 2.0 what I need is to make some new pathways.’

‘Correct!’ Raj said, pleased with his student. ‘It’s a bit like how a path in a field is created. When you walk on the grass the first time, it only gets crushed. Walk on it a few more times, and a path appears. Walk still more and you could well have a highway!’

'That's exciting. But I thought who I am is written in my genes, isn't it?' Karin said.

'That's what we thought. The old picture was that we had these set of genes and that's who you were. But no more.'

'I'm a biotechnologist and I cant believe I'm hearing this!' Karin exclaimed.

'In the last few decades there's been the search for a gene to back up every kind of behavioral pattern and addiction. There's one for alcoholism for example called GABRG3. Because if we can find it, then we are just a helpless victim of our genes.'

'So we aren't? Is that what you're saying?' Karin asked.

'Let me frame this clearly. Recall the Human Genome project?' Raj said. 'The premise was that we would find a gene for every protein in our body. You know the drill – DNA --> RNA --> Protein. Since we have a hundred thousand proteins and another twenty thousand regulatory proteins in our body, we should find 120,000 genes.

Correct?'

'This is getting very curious!' Karin responded. 'So what's your line?'

'Ta-da! But we found only 30,181 genes in the mapping. What happened to the rest?' Raj asked. 'The mind blowing discovery is this – we are flexible and elastic. The signalling process is not one way between DNA to Protein but two way. That genes get switched on or off.'

'And the switching mechanism is...?' Karin asked.

'Our thoughts, choices and beliefs.'

'This is really stretching me... give me another angle.' Karin asked.

'Take the Placebo effect.' Raj said.

'Sure I know about it. That's the sugar pill given in clinical trials to the control group to see the real impact of the drug.'

'What's less well known is that in many cases the sugar pill has almost the same impact as the drug. Because the person taking the sugar pill believes she's getting the real thing, she gets well. Her body produces the required proteins for healing.'

'I've heard stories like this before... ' Karin trailed off.

'Here's another piece to consider. Now take surgery. The Placebo effect shouldn't happen here, right?'

'For sure.' Karin responded.

'Dr. Bruce Moseley, a surgeon at the Baylor School of Medicine took three groups of patients with severe knee pain. Two groups got 'standard' knee surgery process, while the third got a 'fake' one. He even made incisions which he stitched up. Then he got them to do the standard physiotherapy. Results? All three groups improved!'

'I don't mean to be picky... but is this documented?'

'In none other than the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002. In fact Dr. Moseley notes in the article, 'My skill as a surgeon had no benefit on those patients. The entire benefit of surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee was the placebo effect.'

Karin sat quietly for a while before she spoke. 'What's the implication of this for Karin 2.0?'

'That your beliefs about yourself is what will recreate you. And now we know that thought and choices is how gene switches get activated. You are not a victim of your genes. You are over it.'

‘Okay I’m ready. Take me to Karin 2.0.’

Structure of Experience ‘Every experience has a structure. Think of how we record events in our memories. They are stored in those fine hairs sticking out of the neuron. The hard disk of memory so to say.’ Raj started.

‘If my memory serves me right - no pun intended - they're called dendrites, correct?’

'Right. If we refresh our memory a few times, those dendrites are firmly in place. Don't revise it, and they 'fall off'. Which is how we forget.'

‘Hmmm. But you said every experience has a structure. I’m not sure I'm getting the picture.’ Karin said.

‘Ah, your statement is a good example. We ‘get’ pictures, not words.

Ours is a visual brain and words get represented as pictures.'

‘So you’re saying we think in pictures?’ Karin questioned.

‘In a significant way. We receive all information through our senses.

Of the five senses, what we see, hear and feel is probably the most common.’

‘So that’s the structure of experience?’ Karin queried.

‘We represent things in our minds. Our representation then drives us.’ Raj added.

‘What about taste and smell?’

‘That too, though it's not very common. For example certain smells transport you to a specific time and space, instantly.’

‘My mother cooks with soy sauce and whenever I eat in a Chinese restaurant, many loving memories come flooding back. Or the smell of the ocean brings back memories of being a boat person and a refugee.’ Karin said thoughtfully.

‘The point here is that it got burnt into your memory. In an instant it brings back memories and how you felt decades ago.’ Raj said.

‘Interesting. But what’s this got to do with Karin 2.0?’

‘Everything.’ Raj said.

He stared into the inky sky and enjoyed the sight of the stars twinkling. For a long moment he was quiet.

Karin joined him in companionable silence and looked into the sky.

A small grey owl hooted and flew down, sitting on the path in front of them, doubtless searching for some delectable morsel. They held their breath as the owl regarded them curiously, looking at them with bright yellow eyes.

Karin smiled. ‘So where does all this come from? I mean is all this part of some science or school of thought?’ Karin asked. Her orderly mind sought answers.

‘From a field called NLP. Neuro Linguistic Programming. It was developed by two bright people – Bandler and Grinder. One was a linguist and the other was a computer scientist. So NLP is quite straight forward. Neuro equals brain, Linguistic comes from language and Programming… well from programming!’

‘Tell me more about programming.’ Karin requested.

‘It’s like this. You have many programs running in your brain. Some of them are not helpful or useful. But because they are ‘installed’ in our brain, we run them with predictable results.’

‘I have a feeling some of my programs are infected with virus!’

Karin grinned.

‘Doubtless. We all do. Garbage in, garbage out! We programmed it in, so we can program it out.’

‘I programmed it?’ Karin asked puzzled.

‘Take responsibility for your life. You didn’t necessarily pick what happened to you, your successes and your failures. But we pick and give meaning to events. We dwell on things that did not work for us.

We pondered for days and weeks over minor slights and major setbacks. We played the video. Again and again and again. What do you think would happen then?’

‘Created a neural pathway?’ Karin offered.

‘Highway more likely. Depending on what we think, we become.’

Karin digested that statement.

It was scary and thrilling at the same time. She was not a victim of some malignant force out there. Yet she was face to face with her worst enemy and it was her.

‘So, I’m getting in my own way. No wonder my life is not turning out the way it should.’ Karin muttered darkly to herself.

‘Be gentle on yourself. However I do want you to examine the expectation of ‘life turning out the way it should.’

‘What about it? I have the right to have life turn out the way it should!’ Karin said almost militantly.

‘Get this – it won’t.’

‘No?’ ‘No.’ Raj said flatly.

He let the moment linger, as Karin struggled with it. He was in no rush. Karin’s eyes welled up, as she thought of missed opportunities, roads not taken, love lost, profit eluded, accidents faced.

‘That’s too bad… I mean, it’s terrible!’ Karin blurted out.

‘There are too many variables out there. Stuff happens. The point is you can choose who you are going to be whatever the situation.’

‘That sounds too trite. I mean, is it that simple?’

‘Simple yes. Easy no.’

‘I hate you!’

‘Excellent!’ Raj responded. ‘Now, can we move on?’

It was a long moment.

At last Karin said, ‘I guess I have some virus in my programs… how I want life to turn out is just one of them.’

‘Waking up is the first step.’ Raj said.

‘So if waking up is the first step, what’s the next?’

‘We’re in one big rush aren’t we?’ Raj smiled. ‘Well, here it is.

Embrace the challenge.’

‘Okay, I get it. I have to wake up and then manage what’s happening.’ Karin grumbled.

Raj shook his head. Then he said, ‘Stop. Turn around.’

She stopped and looked at him.

Raj commanded. ‘Now give me a hug!’

‘Uh… okay, if that gives you bliss.’ Karin laughed. There was something clean and good about what he said.

She gave him a hug and then looked at him curiously.

Raj smiled and said, ‘Thank you for the hug.’

‘Uh-huh’ Karin responded.

‘I didn’t say ‘manage’. I said ‘embrace’. Is there a difference?’

She nodded slowly. Nothing was superficial when you work with a coach.

They had been walking along the pathway that circled the resort and before they knew it, they were at the grand entrance.

‘So when are we going to use NLP? I think I’m ready to handle my challenges.’ Karin asked. Her face was open and warm. The distance that characterized her earlier today was gone.

‘Tomorrow at sunrise.’

Mountain Talk It was early morning and the team had climbed up a rocky hill not too far from the resort to watch the sunrise. Out in the distance the first flecks of pink were lighting up the sky. It was misty and an eddying wind was making them cold.

The dynamics of the previous day were playing out and new groups were being formed. The earlier cliques seemed to have dissolved and reformed in new and interesting ways. Dilip from Accounts was talking to Suresh in Sales, his hands gesticulating in wide circles. On the other side, Rita from systems was engaging Anita the receptionist. Raj smiled hopefully as he heard the animated conversations around him. When closure to the past happens, people talk. Now what could be possible?

Having found a flat outcropping, they sat cradling hot cups of coffee which the resort had thoughtfully provided them with in thermos flasks.

‘Alright team!’ Raj called out. ‘Everyone settle down. We’re going to start our next session right here.’

He then called on Karin to teach the team on the structure of experience, which she did in a neat and succinct way. They had talked about it the previous night. Karin had been hesitant, but Raj was adamant. After a few rounds of practice and coaching she had become confident.

It had been an interesting conversation.

He had encouraged her. ‘A leader is a teacher by default. I’ll be off tomorrow. So my question to you is: Doesn't the team have the right to be led well? This is a good practice round. Besides I’ll be right here with you to smooth any rough edges.’

She had resisted with some minor questions.

That’s when Raj said, ‘It’s challenge by choice. It really is your call.

If I were to bamboozle you into doing something then it wouldn’t be your choice.’

‘I get it. I would hate that, even if I ‘agreed’ to do it. Choice is that central huh?’Karin said.

‘Recall the story of the forbidden tree in the garden of Eden?

There’s a lesson there.’ Raj said.

‘Oh, that apple thing! What could I learn from that?’ Karin said.

‘The tree was in the middle of the garden of Eden. It was not tucked away in some obscure corner. Adam made the choice daily to not go down that road and instead make other choices. To be human is to make choices. Anything that takes away your right to make choices

is not a good thing. What’s more, it is not enough to choose – we must repeatedly choose.’

‘Repeatedly?’ Karin asked.

‘Sure. It is in our daily choices we are recreated. A father must choose to be a father – no, make that a great father. As he takes on that space, to love his children at an extraordinary level is now possible. We do from who we are.’ +++ Karin had done a good job of explaining about the structure of experience. Now Raj took the reins. On the horizon the slight orb of the sun could be seen. Clearly after their cup of coffee the team was ready for more.

‘Becoming good at anything is a matter of building stronger neural pathways.’ Raj said.

‘Practice makes perfect, right?’ Dilip asked.

Karin smiled. He seems so deep in this conversation. As if he had forgotten he was in his notice period to leave the company!

‘Practice was thought to be the only answer. What’s new is that there are accelerated ways to learn using the structure of experience.’

‘I’m not sure what you mean.’ Anita questioned.

‘Accelerated learning comes from creating better neural pathways.

And that comes from our thinking. Since we know that thoughts do

just that, we can speed that up by visualizing repeatedly what you see, hear and feel.’ Raj had said.

‘Sounds…. Uh, a little simple.’ Rao protested.

‘Try it.’ Raj offered.

‘Is this what Olympic champions do? I mean they practice real hard.’

‘Practice hard they do. That’s building muscle memory. Yet to get to world beating standards, it’s a mental game. You have to leverage your mind.’

‘Give me an example.’ Karin asked.

‘There was this famous experiment of three basketball teams who were studied in the University of Chicago. One practiced on court, the second did nothing, and the third only did mental practice by visualizing how they were shooting. The first improved their game by 24%, while the second group stayed right where they were. The amazing part was the third group. They got their game up by a whopping 23% by just visualizing.’

‘That’s impressive. So what could happen when we combine practice and visualizing?’ Karin said.

Raj did not respond and let the silence grow. Sometimes it good to let the lesson sink in and get out of the way.

‘What about mastery?’ Rita asked.

‘While a level of competence is achieved earlier, research shows that in fact mastery takes ten thousand hours. Check out the stories by

Malcolm Gladwell in his book ‘Outliers’. By mastery I mean being tops at the world level. Break that down and it works out to about 3 hours a day over ten years. That’s why children who start early in music or sport do well.’ Raj said.

‘So if I put in the work, ten years is all it takes? That’s good news for anyone!’ Rita exclaimed.

‘10,000 hours. Here I come!’

Circle of Energy

‘Who’s heard of NLP?’ Raj asked.

A couple of hands went up, while there were some questions on other faces.

‘For the benefit of others who may not have learnt about NLP, let me ask Karin to share her understanding.’ Raj said.

Karin got up and over the next few minutes shared about 'installing' the wiring in the brain and how they could use it.

When she had finished, Raj commended her. ‘That’s a crisp explanation. Thank you, Karin. Your state decides the results you produce. Want great results? Switch on a powerful state. Think of sports people. Have you noticed them doing some rituals or signs?’

Raj asked.

‘Yes, I've seen them punch the air…’ Rita said.

‘Or hit their fist into their palm.’ Suresh added.

‘And they shout!’ Anita said.

‘They are all 'switches'. Flick the switch, and that memory comes rushing back.' Raj said.

‘Do we have switches?' Anita asked.

'Sure. Think of your favorite sweet. What's yours?'

The team rattled off their list.

'Notice that when you eat it, you feel good. Why do you feel good?'

Raj questioned the group.

'Because it's my favorite, right?' Suresh offered tentatively.

'Bundled in the sweet are memories – like the memory of your mother hugging and congratulating you for doing well in your exams. So we don't just eat the sweet. We eat memories.’

'And that's why the chocolate feels so good!' Anita laughed.

'Anyone has a chocolate bar? I need a switch now!' Rao quipped.

'In NLP terms, we call a 'switch' an 'anchor.' Raj informed.

'So what's the application? How do we use it?' Suresh asked.

‘By using our imagination. The brain makes no distinction between what you experience and what you imagine. For the brain it’s the same thing. If you were to do an MRI scan of your brain and even check for which neurotransmitters are released into your blood stream there would be no difference.’ Raj shared. ‘That’s what makes visualizing so powerful.’

There was a bustle as the team thought and tried out the anchors they were comfortable with. They agreed that snapping both their fingers would be a good anchor.

‘Shortly we will do the exercise. You will see, hear, and feel a great experience you've had. When the experience peaks, fire your anchor.’ Raj explained.

The team nodded eagerly. This was exciting.

‘Pick a peak experience you have had – a time in your life when you were amazing, fantastic, brilliant. It could have happened yesterday or ten years ago. And share it with a buddy.’ Raj instructed the team.

Quickly the team buzzed with conversations, faces animated as they retold of times when they were outstanding.

When they finished, Raj said, 'Did you notice the shift in your colleague’s faces? How they glowed and their eyes were shining?'

'Yes, it felt like yesterday. We were there – living those moments again.' Anita said.

He gave them a minute to get into the new state.

‘Wonderful! Now, you will run your victory tape ten times while firing your anchor when you reach the most intense level.'

‘Why ten times?’ Suresh asked.

‘Neural pathways!’ the team called back.

Raj smiled. They were 'getting' it. He continued. 'At the end of each cycle, I will create a break in your state by asking you a simple question. This allows for discrete experiences to pile one on top of another, making your anchor or switch powerful. Is everyone okay with this?' Raj checked with the team.

The team nodded.

‘Right, let’s get into action! Everyone stand up and close your eyes.

No peeking!’ Raj instructed. ‘Visualize a circle in front of you. What color is it?’

‘Red…’ ‘Blue!’

‘Golden.’

‘Great, now infuse it with energy. See it crackle and shine!’

Raj pressed the button on a portable boom box and music filled the air. It was energetic, fast and full of life.

‘Allow the music to wash over you. Soak it in!’

The fresh morning air carrying myriad scents wafted around them. It was a magical moment.

‘Keep your eyes closed. At the count of three, I want you to take on being that amazing person you were, living your story – powerfully, with energy and focus – and now, fire your anchors!'

In less than twenty minutes they were done.

Over the horizon the sun rose, mirroring the new dawn inside.

Breakthrough-on-Tap The team settled down on the grassy knoll near the rock. Cucumber sandwiches were passed out along with steaming coffee in paper cups.

‘How many would like to have a breakthrough on tap?’ Raj began.

A dozen hands shot up. ‘Me!’ was the common call.

‘So I’m going to let you into the secret of creating breakthroughs.

Anytime you want, you can have it.’

‘That’s amazing!’ Anita responded, her face shining.

Suresh interjected with a very visible question mark on his face.

‘I don’t believe it… You’re having me on! I know by now you’re good, but this good?’

‘Are you saying you’re skeptical or are you cynical?’ Raj asked.

‘What’s the difference?’

‘Skeptical means you are not sure how breakthroughs happen, and cynical means there’s no chance. Which do you choose?’

‘I’ll go with being skeptic. Cynical would mean the show is over and I may as well go home.’ Suresh said thoughtfully.

‘To get to breakthrough, you must first acknowledge you’re standing in a breakdown. What is the feeling that comes to mind when I say the word ‘breakdown?’ Raj said.

There was a chorus of opinions.

‘Feeling scared.’

‘Who can I blame!

‘Who’s responsible!’

‘How could this happen to me…’

‘It’s all his fault…!’

‘Got it. It’s being in a space of anger, upset, blame and defeat. And when you are in that space you essentially stop the game and no progress happens.’ Raj replied.

The team nodded. After all, who hadn’t been there?

'That's why we must first distinguish between failure and breakdown. Right now the meaning of both words are collapsed together and we must see that they are essentially different.'

'It isn't?' Anita sounded confused.

'Failure happens when things go wrong and we get into a negative state stopping the game. Breakdown on the other hand is just acknowledging that things did not work out with this try, and you're ready to move on.'

‘One way a breakdown happens is when things are going smooth and then suddenly something happens that disrupts life.’ Raj said.

Karin recalled her flight back. ‘When I was flying back to India, our plane hit this air pocket. And whoosh! We were plunging down what felt like hundreds of feet. There was food flying everywhere, people screaming – a beautiful fight had turned into a nightmare.’

‘That’s a good example of being in a breakdown. Now I want you to step away from these feelings and start holding a breakdown in a new way.’

‘And what way is that?’ Anita asked. ‘I’d like to scream if my plane’s going down!’

The team laughed heartily, but with an edge of I'd scream too.

‘Frame the breakdown not as an upset, blame, anger or defeat. A breakdown is a breakdown. Just acknowledge it. Nothing more.’ Raj said definitively.

‘Easier said than done…’ Suresh muttered. His pushed his glasses on his nose a little higher and focused hard on what was being said.

‘Things will go wrong. But so what? The longer we stay in the place of upset and blame, we won’t move. As soon as I can accept and acknowledge that my situation is in a breakdown, I can now move on to creating a breakthrough. Till that time I can scream, jump up and down and get mad!’ Raj said.

The team looked around sheepishly. They were each recalling times when they had stayed for a long time in that place of upset.

‘But now, I want to teach you to create a breakthrough whenever you want it! And how do we do that? We create it by deliberately creating a breakdown!’

‘That’s crazy! Why would I want to create a breakdown?’ Sharon asked.

‘Because it is the route to my breakthrough. Let’s say I have always done things at a certain level. Maybe Suresh in sales has always done 100 units. A good number normally would be say, a 10% increase, so that would make it 110 units.’

‘Sure! I read somewhere that no one questions 10%’ Suresh joked.

‘Now if we were to say let’s take this up to 200 instead, what happens?’ Raj said framing the situation.

‘I'd get a headache!’ Suresh responded.

‘Correct. Also referred to as experiencing a breakdown.’ Raj responded without missing a beat.

‘Let’s say that instead of whining and complaining, Suresh declares the breakdown and chooses to go for it. He says ‘I am determined.

I’m taking a solid stand for 200. I will make this happen. I don’t know how to do it as yet. But I’ll figure it out.’

‘But what sense is there in doing something like this?' Suresh asks.

Raj responded warmly to the question. 'We fool ourselves into thinking that we can't handle the challenge. In truth, what is missing is stand. And stand is everything in creating breakthroughs. Let me share an example. When Ratan Tata declared in 2003 he would build a decent car for a mere one lakh rupees, the whole world laughed.

Did he know how he would do this? No. They said ‘If automobile giants like Toyota and GM can’t do it how can you?’ But he and his team keeps moving, taking one step after the next. On the way they file for 34 patents for the gear train alone. In 2008, he unveils the car.’

‘So the magic was?’ Karin asked.

‘Everything that is created happens because we speak it out. And having spoken it out, you immediately realize that you are in a breakdown mode. You accept it, acknowledge it, and revel in it.

You’re excited and move on, taking the first step you can. If that doesn’t work you agree that its breakdown again, and take another step. Till you reach your destination.’

‘Sounds like very hard work!’ Rao said.

‘Ah yes, but breakthroughs aren’t complex.'

‘And what’s that?’ Karin asked.

‘Give your word. Then give your life.’

Aligning to Win When they got back to the resort they were hungry.

‘I could eat a small horse..’ Dilip said.

‘Why small?’ Anita asked.

‘Because I don’t have the time for a large one!’ Dilip grinned goofily at his own PJ. '30 minutes to finish breakfast, freshen up and get into the session.’

Anita looked wide eyed at him with admiration and surprise. Was this frumpy grumpy Dilip? Wasn’t he about to leave? What’s going on with everyone!

The team settled down, waiting for the next session to begin. There was a sense of anticipation. Suddenly it was a collective feeling, a buzz that said that anything is possible now.

Raj was not smiling as he conferred closely with Karin.

‘I’m going to shift gears a bit,’ he said in a matter of fact way.

Karin nodded, unsure what that meant, but trusting his judgment.

‘I’ll need your help as we move forward. The team now believes that anything is possible. That’s good. But they need to learn one major thing.’ Raj continued.

‘What’s that?’ Karin asked curiously.

‘The daily practice of alignment.’

‘I’m ready Coach! I’ve never seen so much energy in the team, and I want to do whatever it takes for us to sustain it.’ Karin responded.

‘Ok. Let’s start.’ Raj said.

‘Alignment is not mysterious. But without it you lose rhythm and the momentum slows down. Pretty soon the works are gummed up, and it looks like no one else is co-operating. Now consider: If everything is created by speaking, we choose to create one day at a time as well.

You have to talk – in a disciplined way. Research shows that high performing teams do a 10X in communication. They talk and connect every single day and in multiple ways.’

‘What does that look like?’ Karin asked. She was experiencing a tremendous shift and it showed on her face.

‘Let me put up this chart on alignment. We’ll go through it step by step in this session.’

WIN PEOPLE

MEETING Daily

MEMBERS Team

MEASURES Day Creation

Standup

Members

Accomplishments

Meeting

Breakdown / Breakthroughs

CHAMPION Team Lead

‘That’s at the team level, right?’ Karin asked.

‘Right. The point is to win every single day. It’s so simple that you could easily miss the power of daily alignment. If you have a remote team working in other locations, it is still a must.’ Raj added.

‘But won't communication costs be high?’ Anita asked.

‘Try the cost of low or no communication!’ Raj responded drily.

‘Let’s get started. Each member begins the day – alone - with what I call the HOP – the Hour of Power. This is where your Day Creation starts. You review and analyze what happened the day before, and plan out what you will achieve today in the light of your goal and the team goal.’

‘A whole hour?’ Anita asked.

‘It’s less about the time. You can start with ten to fifteen minutes of thinking in silence. It’s your quiet time. When you still yourself, you can hear. Soon you’ll be looking forward to the practice.’ Raj said.

‘And what will I hear?’ Suresh asked curiously.

‘You’ll hear good as well as thought provoking things. For example a question might bubble up on why you were not thoughtful to your team member. Or why you did not take a stand for a client to succeed. Or enjoy the satisfaction of having been outstanding for your team. The point is that it gives you a chance to reflect, enjoy,

clean up and move on. After your analysis, you then think of the top one and only one thing you want to work on.’ Raj said.

‘Just one?’

‘We all have some business-as-usual stuff we have to do. So put aside some time to do that. But the best part of the day, when your energy is at a peak, should be on your one and only one goal.’

‘But this is the age of multi-tasking, right?’ Karin replied.

‘Just because computers do it, is no reason for humans to follow suit!’ Raj laughed.

‘But how would we get it all done?’ Karin pressed in.

‘One at a time!’ Raj laughed. ‘According to several studies efficiency drops when we multitask. One found a 23% to 47% drop in efficiency when multitasking. In fact there’s more damage. A 2005 study from the Institute of Psychiatry in London reported that those distracted by incoming email and phone calls saw a 10-point fall in their IQ - more than twice that found in studies of the impact of smoking marijuana!’

‘Now we’re potheads!’ Rao cracked.

They all laughed wryly.

‘So figure what your one and only one outcome for the day is.’ Raj said, bringing the discussion back on track.

‘What then?’ Rao asked.

‘Share it with your team. In fact sharing is the heart of great teams.

No more than a couple minutes each to share your top outcomes for the day. That completes Day Creation.’ Raj responded.

‘So you’re holding yourself accountable to the team…’ Rao said.

‘And the others do the same.’ Anita added.

‘So everyone knows what you are shooting for, and you know what you want to deliver for the day as well.’ Karin said, connecting the dots.

‘And no emails and fancy excel reports going back and forth!’

Suresh added.

‘And what do you think happens the next day?’ Raj asked.

‘When the team gets together, we either declare that the job got done or if it is in breakdown.’ Karin said.

‘Correct. We declare, celebrate and acknowledge each other’s accomplishments.’ Raj said.

‘Why is this so important?’ Anita asked.

‘Most people go through life never experiencing being acknowledged. And when they are acknowledged, it is done weakly with a wimpy clap that has no heart in it. Think of how we clap for others. How do they respond back to us in turn?’

There was a thoughtful silence and some nodded slowly. This resonated deeply.

‘So having been acknowledged... what does that do?’ Karin asked.

‘One of our greatest needs is to belong. Since we spend a significant chunk of our time at work, wouldn’t it be pathetic if we didn’t care for those we work with?' Raj said.

Strong teams belong.

Declaring Breakdowns ‘Time to get into breakdowns for teams. The point is to say it, and not mess around being evasive and ‘hoping’ that you’ll fix it without anyone knowing.’ Raj started.

Everyone laughed. They had all been there.

‘You all are very bright people. However your very brightness could make you, ah… a little stupid. Having an open, honest relationship with the team allows us to ask for help quickly which creates rapid growth for the entire team.’ Raj added.

‘That’s a lot of pressure…. I mean if I didn’t do what I set out to do, then I’d be uncomfortable to tell the team.’ Suresh said.

‘Only if we hold on to the old way of doing things; of handling setbacks as a shameful upset that you should keep silent about and hide.’

‘So if I didn’t do something, I’ll have to say what did not get done?’

‘Correct. Leaders speak in terms of breakdowns and breakthroughs.

There is a simple format. You say it like this.' Raj said.

I am in breakdown with …………………..

What was missing was ……………… …...

What will be different is…………………..

‘Hmmm. Can I try what that would feel like?’ Suresh questioned.

‘Sure. You’re in sales aren’t you? Take a shot.’

‘Yes. Here goes!’ Suresh said, a little sheepish and excited in equal parts.

‘I am in breakdown with completing my sales calls yesterday. What was missing was that I did not keep a buffer time between calls and arrived late for a crucial client meet. What will be different is that I will plan my day better.’ Suresh said in breathless rush.

‘Bravo!’ Raj said, applauding him.

‘That was great!’ Anita cheered joining the clapping with others.

Suresh looked around pleased. It was evident there was no blame, anger, upset. Instead they had collectively walked through what could have been a problem hidden away.

‘Here’s a law in ontology that Carl Jung states: What you resist, persists.’ Raj said.

‘What does that mean?’ Karin asked.

‘If I resist becoming aware of my problem and taking ownership, it will continue and become stronger.’

‘But when we bring it out in the open and communicate… a way forward is created.’ Karin said thoughtfully.

‘So if I had not declared that I was in breakdown with my sales call, I would have muddled my way without fixing the root cause. In fact I would have blamed the traffic, the weather and the client himself for my breakdown. My real issue…. The lack of planning and consequent lack of results would have persisted.’

‘Perfecto!’ Raj declared, beaming from ear to ear.

Pink Elephant Right then the marker in Raj’s hand rolled out and fell to the ground.

As he bent to pick it up, there was a loud rip. His trousers had torn at the seam!

There was a collective gasp and instantly the thought raced through the room wordlessly. Raj has ripped his trousers! It was an omigosh moment and the team held their breath. Now what?

Raj realized what had happened. The thought raced through his mind. This was not good!

Ten long seconds later, he looked up and smiled.

‘There’s a pink elephant in the room, and I’m going to name it.’ He paused and then laid it out straight. ‘I just tore my trousers.’

‘Uh-huh!’ the team responded with a collective sigh of relief, grinning slyly at each other.

‘Give me a minute and I’ll go and change. Karin why don’t you come up here and facilitate the discussion on our personal breakdowns and how we respond to them. I’ll be back soon.’ Raj continued, as if ripping trousers in public was just a walk in the park.

When he got back, the team spontaneously gave him a warm, welcoming round of applause.

Raj smiled. ‘I didn’t plan this! But let’s leverage the event. What do you think happened just now?’

‘You ripped your trousers. Which is pretty embarrassing!’ Suresh hooted from one side of the room.

‘Yeah… big time breakdown!’ Anita said.

‘What were my options?’ Raj persisted.

‘Well, you could have continued and pretended that it didn’t happen.’ Suresh said. 'However by resisting the situation, the torn trousers would have persisted!'

‘But that wouldn’t have worked. Because we knew exactly what happened.’ Rita chuckled.

‘Or hold that newspaper to your backside!’ Dilip said.

Raj laughed. ‘Of course. Hold a newspaper and walk around as if nothing had happened. Only we’d not get anything done! The real question I want to invite you to examine is: How often have we walked around with a newspaper hoping to hide the problem?

'Name the pink elephant. Now we can move on from breakdown to breakthrough.’

Baton Change The days had slipped by. Fortunately many of the lessons were in place. People were connecting on a regular basis and having clearing sessions. That alone was worth a great deal. There was a fresh sense of openness and growth.

After those eventful days, Raj had gone back to the US. On the drive to the airport, he had a long chat with Karin.

'From here on, I will coach only you, not the team.'

'Why not?'

'Because you must do the job. Not me. You connect with me on a regular basis, but that is invisible to the team. The team needs you to lead them. I'll walk with you through the issues, but you come up with the ideas. You own this Karin. And you must take responsibility for your company.'

'Raj, you've been spectacular – for me and the team. I do have a glimmer of hope. If I'll get through this, you'll get the Nobel prize.'

'Not if Karin, its when.' Raj responded.

They set up time to talk regularly so she would have a clear head.

In the team meets that followed, she was able to use the grid that Raj had provided. +++ ‘If we do the People alignment every day, what about Ops?’ Rao asked at the next team meet.

‘Ops have to be aligned every week at the team lead level and every month at the manager level. But it’s really more than just aligning.

It’s about winning often and winning weekly’ Karin said emphatically.

There were a few raised eyebrows while others nodded vigorously.

‘Win weekly? Can that even happen?’ Rao questioned.

‘Are we allowed to enjoy our work so much?’ Anita mused.

‘Yes, somewhere I’d picked up the idea that we’ll live our real life in the weekend, while we tolerate and put up with our work…. And each other!’ Suresh said as the light bulbs came on.

‘Also referred to as the Postponed Life. You know, preparing and waiting to live… instead of being fully alive today.’ Karin said grimly, shaking her head in wonder at the strange ways of modern civilization.

There was a pause in the room. It was as if the team had drifted off with the question.

Were they living the postponed life?

‘Take a look at this chart.’ Karin pointed to the flip chart.

WIN Operation

MEETING

MEMBERS

Weekly

Team Members

Monthly

Team leads & Managers

MEASURES Agenda Sharing Critical Number Complete/Create the week Accomplishments Values in action Agenda Sharing Critical Number Top 5 big rocks Accomplishments New possibilities

CHAMPION Team leader (1-2 Hrs)

Manager (½ day)

‘I didn't get some things on this chart. What’s Critical Number?’

Anita asked, a little perplexed.

‘Good one. Any takers for that question?’ Karin asked.

‘That would be the key numbers – metrics – we should be looking at, right?’ Rita from Systems offered.

‘The point is to find the top metrics. Maybe a max of three. We have been measuring way too many things. From now on, we'll keep it simple.’

Karin said.

‘No wonder, the rank and file of our teams had no clue what was happening. We were looking at too many things...' Rita trailed off.

‘Ah, too many things means nothing is important. No wonder we don’t know where we are going!’ Dilip added thoughtfully shooting a look at Karin.

‘Got it. But what should that number be for us?’ Karin acknowledged, shaking off any offense.

‘Depends on what you want to achieve. The discipline of having just one top metric keeps the scoreboard clear for everyone, doesn't it?’

Dilip commented.

‘So it’s a bit like a cricket game!’ Suresh chuckled.

‘I’m glad you came to this. In fact, that’s exactly the right metaphor – business as a game. Everyone can see the scoreboard and know how the team is doing. You know your run rate and what you need to win.’ Karin said.

‘Oh for a sixer!’ Suresh moaned.

‘You need both - singles and sixers. When you do your weekly plans, you’ll be answering the questions – what are our singles this week and what are our sixers? That makes it easy for everyone to know what they need for a win.’ Karin responded.

‘I’d like to go back to the Ops Aligning chart. What does ‘completing the week’ mean?’ Rao asked.

‘It’s having a collective understanding that what we set out to do last week was done – breakdowns and breakthroughs. To be ‘complete’

is to say, I’m done with it. There are no upsets or unsaid things that can come back as ghosts later. It brings the record to closure, and there are no open loops left.’ Karin said.

‘But what about all the breakdowns? That doesn’t go away does it?’

Rita asked.

‘Good one. We don’t just talk about the breakdowns. After we acknowledge it, we renegotiate what happens from here on. It leaves no bitter after taste of things not said, no angst. We are at… peace.’

Karin said simply.

Peace in the workplace? Was it possible? The question floated tantalizingly around the room. It was an interesting possibility.

‘So you actually declare the week complete? I mean say it? Suresh asked, a little tweaked by the process.

‘Yes, you do. And having done that, the team moves on to creating the new week.’

‘What’s the difference between the weekly and monthly meet?

Doesn’t it look the same?’ Rao asked Karin.

‘Superficially yes. But it’s about all the teams aligning together. The spirit behind the monthly meet is ‘All for one and one for all.’ That may sound like a cliché, but it’s a profound experience to have others take a stand for your success even as you stand for their success.’

‘But I’m in Accounts. What does Sales have to do with me?’ Dilip asked agitatedly.

‘Everything. If they don’t sell, you have nothing to count!’ Karin said with a smile. ‘Only when everyone wins do we move forward powerfully.’

‘But… I don’t have any expertise to offer sales!’ Dilip persisted. ‘I mean, Suresh’s world and mine are wide apart. What possibly could I add to his answer?’

‘I hear you loud and clear. That’s why silos show up in organizations. Everyone does their own thing. But what could you add? Your stand. Your way of being which says - I’m here with and for you. If there is anything I can do I will. Together we’ll lick this thing. Count on me. ’ ‘Can we be specific? I mean this is….’ Dilip trailed off.

‘Going over your head? Needs grounding?’ Karin smiled.

‘Ah, yes…’

‘When a stand is taken, things happen. In fact very few great things happen until a stand is taken. Will you take it for Suresh… now?’

Karin asked.

‘Now?’ Dilip asked a little flustered.

‘Yes, right now. Remember it’s a choice, not a feeling.’ Karin said, with no pressure in her voice. During her coaching call with Raj, he had warned her to let people make choices freely.

‘Ok. I’ll do it.’ Dilip said, standing erect and turning to Suresh. ‘I’m standing for your success. Is there anything I can do for you?’

Suresh regarded Dilip and stood up slowly.

‘I thought I’d never hear that from you! As a matter of fact there is. I need help to clean up my prospect spreadsheet. You’re good with numbers. Could you teach me?’ Suresh said.

Dilip looked stunned. The high and mighty sales folks were asking for help? Weren’t support staff the children of a Lesser God?

He stammered. ‘I’d be delighted to help you with it! In fact, I’ll show you how to do pivot tables in Excel. It makes reporting a snap, and you get a great view of what’s going on!’

Everyone clapped while Anita belted out a loud whistle as well and said:

‘Work has never been more fun!’

Finding Direction ‘What about our direction?’ Suresh asked.

‘That’s a good question. In fact we haven't done enough work on strategy.' Karin said.

'Strategy... that's a big word isn't it?' Anita said.

'So lets make it simple. Its where do we play, and how do we win.'

'I know why we don't work on strategy! Things change all the time!'

Rao snorted.

'Got that Rao. General Clausewitz, the Prussian military genius used to say, ‘No battle plan survives the fog of war.’ In the old days when war would start, all neatly laid plans would become meaningless because the sheer smoke would make it difficult to figure out who was a friend and who was an enemy.’

‘So our pretty neat plan that looks good on powerpoint is really a joke!’ Rao said.

‘Not that bad! When we get into action, it’s a real world out there that responds back. Therefore strategy must be reviewed quarterly, and shifts made as the situation unfolds. We'll treat it like a living document, not a static one time activity’ Karin said.

'What's the key question we must answer?' Suresh asked.

‘What is our 10X project.’ Karin answered.

'And that would be?' Anita asked.

‘It’s the project that will deliver massive value. If a line of business is producing, say, ‘X’ value, we ask the question: ‘How do we do a 10X on our current results?’

‘That question would, well, freak me out!’ Anita exclaimed.

‘Precisely. To do a 10X, you’ll need to get out of your comfort zone, and look at the situation from a fundamentally different perspective.

Something totally different will need to be done.’

‘So 10X is a metaphor, not a literal goal?’ Suresh asked anxiously.

‘Spoken like a good sales person! But yes, it could be a literal goal.

The point is to ask a provocative question.’ Karin said.

‘So far so good. But how do we apply this?’ Suresh pressed in.

‘Let’s do a mini-strategy session right now.’ Karin responded.

‘Doesn’t strategy get figured out by some management guru? Rita asked.

‘That’s the legacy of old-world thinking - that strategy gets crafted by some ivory tower folks with long degrees to their name.

The word ‘strategy’ is drawn from the Latin word ‘strategos’ which means ‘to lead in war.’ Much of what we know about strategy comes from the army. However in the 21st century world, strategy is co-created as a team sport.’ Karin said.

She was glad she took notes during her regular calls with Raj. Besides he had been pushing her to learn a lot more by reading and studying. Now it was coming in handy.

‘So we strategize together. But this thing still has someone as head, right?’ Dilip said, integrating what was being said.

‘Correct. Accountability doesn’t go away. The leader’s job – in this case me – is to ensure that the big picture is held up clearly. Let’s start with this chart.’ Karin said as she sketched out the picture on the whiteboard. ‘What do you think?’

What’s Working/ Inspiring?

What’s not Working YET?

What’s Missing?

What’s Next?

'Focus your attention on the first quadrant. What’s Working/ Inspiring. What do you notice?' Karin asked.

'That there's very little here!' Rao quipped.

'Also we don't linger here and acknowledge what's inspiring about us. We're too focused on what's not working.' Suresh added.

'Correct. In times past, we've done a brutal 'root cause analysis' when we lost an account or things did not work out. Funnily we don't do it when we have a big win.' Karin added.

'And what would that do?' Suresh asked.

'Create a space for doing a 10X on what's working. Imagine what that would look like!' Karin said.

‘I like the ‘yet’ in the ‘What’s not working yet?’. Makes it hopeful and positive.’ Anita commented.

The others looked at Anita with respect. It was obvious that she was genuinely contributing and playing the game.

‘What’s missing?’ resonates with me.’ Suresh said. ‘It keeps us away from blame games, and puts us in a detective mode.’

‘Good input. Now pick an area and fill this out all except the ‘What’s Next’ sheet. We’ll do that once we have clarity.’

‘Let’s do Sales!’

‘Let’s do R&D!’ ‘What about Admin?’

‘No, no – let’s go for Production!’

After a few minutes, Karin spoke up. ‘Okay everyone. We’ve had a lot of suggestions. Right now we are learning a new methodology. It doesn’t matter which area we pick. We can always do the others later. It’s not like white boards are going out of style! I suggest we do R&D. Getting new products out is critical in our business.’

There were some grumbles, but the team quickly came around.

‘So you’ve got some ideas to work on. Now here’s how we connect the dots. We go to the market, because the market teaches you a lot.’

Karin said.

‘What do we do?’ Rita asked.

‘Insighting’ Karin replied. ‘Talk to our clients – prospective and current. Really get into their skin and feel their need and pain.’

‘Why did you use the word insight?’ Rita asked.

‘What’s the difference between sight and insight?’ Karin posed.

‘I suppose ‘sight’ is obvious, and ‘insight’ is drawing out the hidden truths.’ Rita replied.

‘Touché’ Karin said smiling. 'Insight is seeing what's missing for whatever is next. No insight. No breakthrough. No exception.'

‘So what would we ask them?'

‘Let’s keep this simple – and profound. Our goal is to find out what is impossible and compelling to our clients. Let’s ask them a few questions and compile the answers.’ Karin said. ‘And you’ve got one hour to do this.’

‘One hour! How can we do that?’ Rita asked.

‘How long does a call take?’ Karin asked.

‘Well, a few minutes I suppose….’ Suresh trailed off.

‘So in one hour this team of ten people could make how many calls?’

‘200 calls!’

‘We have no time to waste. Take action. It’s all about speed of execution. Just call!’. Karin said, challenging them on.

‘You mean the Sales guys will do this?’ Suresh asked.

‘No. Let’s get a collaborative team working on this. Admin, R&D, Sales, Systems. Diversity of thought is essential if we are to get insights.’ Karin responded.

‘So now we need a data base…’ Suresh trailed off.

‘Contacts don’t lie in some random data base. It lies inside someone’s cell phone. What are the contacts you have? Who could give you insights?’ Karin challenged.

'Now that's insight. It’s right inside our phones! Suresh said.

Insighting Karin looked over the room. Everyone had pulled out their cell phones and were making calls. There was an animated buzz in the room, as conversations merged like a bee hive in action. Many were furiously scribbling down responses on yellow Post-its as they got inputs from those they called.

As she had predicted, the exercise was over in one hour.

‘We’ll come to the results in a minute. First, I’d like to ask a question. What showed up personally when you did this exercise?

Just call out your responses.’ Karin asked.

‘This was fun!’

‘We got a lot done quickly.’

‘When there is focus, the energy follows.’

‘Most things don’t take a million years! This one took just an hour!’

‘I’m surprised at what we got done as a team.’

‘Good. Notice that when we are aligned, the fun and results increase dramatically. Now take all you found and bunch up the notes to the

appropriate flip chart.’ Kain instructed. 'Insighting is the raw material for new maps. Our exercise is to create a challenge list.' She smiled to herself. Raj's tutoring on the phone on these simple tools was just perfect.

After another hour of debate and raucous discussion, the board was filled out. There were lots of ideas to consider.

What’s Working/ Inspiring?

Good team.

Head start in technology

Not working YET? No proven production process Low/ No collaboration

Promising molecules

What’s Missing?

Cash running low

What’s Next?

Senior scientist Advanced Test equipment Anchor client

The team stood around looking at the charts.

‘What’s Next?’ Karin asked, pointing to the last chart.

The answers came thick and fast.

‘Prioritize the molecules. Park the rest.’

‘Sell a molecule. Raise cash.’

‘Tie up with a test lab for advanced equipment.’

‘Be intentional about collaborating. Get a joint venture going.’

There were at least a dozen ideas that came up, and the team picked on three top actions.

'Right. Now we ask ourselves the question – who has faced a similar challenge and solved it exceptionally well?' Karin said.

'Can you give an example?' Anita asked.

'Sure. Think of Aravind Eye Hospital. They're the largest eye care hospital in the world having done millions of surgeries. How did they do it? They borrowed their assembly line model from McDonald's!'

It was obvious that really working together gave the biggest value.

The focus was tight and the energy palpable.

‘Can you see that we invented our course of action? That we did it together?' Karin asked.

The team beamed back.

The confidence was contagious.

Execution In the months that followed, there were some major flip-flops.

Getting the 'secrets' was one major part of helping the team move along. But that wasn't the whole story.

It never is. Karin mused to herself. It's getting the job done and delivering on your word.

She discovered that not only did she need coaching, the team needed it just as much. The tide of affairs ensured that someone on the team was on a 'down' cycle. The feed forward and coaching sessions made sure that the ball was always moving in the right direction.

What was that Raj had said in their last call?

'The mission is not up for discussion. Ever. So you're in a breakdown. Big deal. Find a way forward.'

'But Raj, you don't understand. We need dollops of cash and we don't have it.' she had protested.

'Cash... people... products.... clients... so you're out of some resource at any given time. Just remember that your resourcefulness is the ultimate resource. Be resourceful. Have resource.'

The new pattern that they had moved to was even more interesting.

She had taught the team how to coach and be coachable.

Having built up system-wide capability made a lot of difference.

Everyone was teamed up with a buddy. At the end of every two hours they did a huddle for ten minutes – to celebrate, refresh, and renew focus.

On the home front, things had taken a turn for the better. She found the lessons Raj shared to be applicable for her marriage as well. Roy had continued working out of Mumbai, but he travelled down for the weekends. And she could see that the magic was returning.

They were talking again. She murmured to herself. Because everything is created in conversation.

And BigBio? It wasn't the problem or even a threat anymore. With a work culture like this, they were simply unbeatable. Their success wasn't in a molecule. It was in them. They’d be alright from here on.

No, it would be better than that. They’d succeed while having a great time.

The shift in her was significant. As she became more open, focused, and resourceful – her world responded in turn. And here she was.

One more time she rallied her team. 'What if our plan doesn’t work?

What are we going to do?’ Karin asked.

‘Name the Pink Elephant in the room!’

‘Declare a breakdown and move to our next action!’

‘And stay in action till we get it!’

Ah, the joy of creating a powerful team.

References

1. Unleasing Innovation by Nancy Tennant Synder and Deborah L Duarte 2008. Published by Jossey-Bass 2. The Momentum Effect by JC Larreche 2008. Published by Pearson Publishing 3. Who switched off my brain? by Dr. Caroline Leaf. 2009 Published by Inprov, Ltd. 4. Blue Ocean Strategy by W.Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne 2005.

Published by Harvard Business School Press.

5. Get out of your own way by Robert K Cooper. 2006. Published

by Crown Business 6. Your Money and Your Brain by Jason Zweig. 2007. Published by Simon & Schuster 7. Wired to Care by Dev Patnaik. 2010. Published by Dorling Kindersley India 8. Be Unreasonable by Paul Lemberg. 2007. Published by Tata McGraw Hill 9. The Biology of Belief by Bruce H Lipton. 2005. Published by Hay House.

10.Coaching to the Human Soul by Alan Sieler 2005. Published by Newfield Australia 11.The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack. 1992. Published by Doubleday