We have Qualifications, Are we Educated?

Education is the act of imparting knowledge to an individual, which results in better behavior and actions that contribute to improve society. 

Nowadays people spend a lot of money on Education of their children. I see kids going to tuition and classes to learn various skills outside of their curriculum - tremendous amount of learning and exposure. Truly, we have come a long way with our Education System.

Interestingly, In India, the Literacy rates have increased from around 5% in 1911 to 65% in 2001 and then to around 75% in 2011.

The question is, are we really Educated?

If Yes, then...

• Why can't we tolerate a slower vehicle ahead of us?
• Why do people waiting at the Traffic Signal honk when the signal turns Green?
• Why is it that, an error in the software program we just wrote is "just a bug", but a wrong calculation on the Bank Account Statement is something we would sue the bank for?
• Why is it that we expect our customers to understand why the project is delayed, but we yell at the Pizza Delivery Boy for being 10 mins late?
• Why is it that we get upset when the boss admonishes us for delay in the project, but we cannot tolerate a delay in the paycheck?
• Why is it that we expect appreciation for the "good" work we do, but expect the Management to "understand" we make mistakes and feel bad when management asks us to show cause?
• Why is it that the Policeman always stands at the end of the One Way Street to issue a Ticket to people who have broken the law and not stand the beginning of the street trying to prevent people from breaking the law?
• Why do children at school compare their father's cars and discuss religion?
• Why should a child try to get more marks just because the neighbor's child has obtained better marks in the test at school?
• Why do we need facebook to stay in touch?
• Why do friends compare their salaries, cars, work and designations when they get together?
• Why does a family of 3 want a 5 bedroom apartment?
• Why is grass greener on the other side? Why is my friend's company always better than the one I work for?

Think about it...

What I learnt from my Mother: Responsibility

When I was a kid, I used to feel important when my parents would assign some tasks to me, like watering the plants everyday or bringing the newspaper and milk bottles from our door-step every morning. I remember very clearly, that I would perform each of my tasks for a few days and then either lose interest or get lazy and then forgot all about it only to find out many weeks later, that my mother had "assumed the responsibilities" of my tasks....

There was not a single day, when my mother would forget to make breakfast on a Sunday or chose to skip doing the laundry because it was a National Holiday!

My mother would ask me, my brother and my dad, what we would like to eat the next day and carefully plan every night how she is going to fulfill our wishes for "tomorrow". There is not a single day that I remember of, when my mother did not fulfill a "reasonable" demand!

Another interesting fact that I remember about my mother is that, I don't recall my mother falling sick or being too sick to cook, there was always something to eat when I was hungry.

What I learnt from my mother was RESPONSIBILITY and that

• Responsibility is ABSOLUTE! - there are no ifs and buts, no National Holidays, no breaks and no vacations. 
• Responsibility is not a 9 to 6 job! - it is a 24x7 job. 
• When one takes up a Responsibility, it better get done, because someone is depending on you to do it. 
• Responsibility does not need "Comfortable Working Conditions" or "Encouraging and Supportive Customers", only an iron will to do a great job at all costs.
• Responsibility is a Thankless Job! - don't expect a pat in the back for each successful attempt, get on to the next task as soon as possible.
• There are no Shortcuts when one takes up a Responsibility! - the involvement and commitment required is 100% - no one likes a half cooked meal.
• Anything that prevents one from executing the Responsibility is just an Excuse! and not a Reason.
• Most important thing about Responsibility is that one feels for the task or the group of people. The "Brain" follows the "Heart" when a responsibility is involved.

An amazing lesson, valid at home and at work at all time. 

How I wish, we all implement these lessons at work, there will be no loss making companies and no dis-satisfied employees...

Opportunity - Are you Ready for Success?

A few months ago, I read this wonderful book from Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers. Malcolm Gladwell is, in my opinion, an exceptional author and each of his theories are well supported by data that is an outcome of thorough research. In a world of great thinkers, who have attempted to solve complex problems, Malcolm Gladwell, takes our attention to simple occurrences, conducts research, derives data and draws simple conclusions that change one's thought process.

In this blog, I draw the reader's attention to a section in the book Outliers, called the 10,000 hour rule.

This section articulates Malcolm Gladwell's research on successful musicians, entrepreneurs and sports persons. He says, each successful person he interviewed had put in at least 10,000 hours at honing and perfecting their skill.

In the book, Malcolm Gladwell also describes the criteria for being Rich or Successful - he says, you have to be born between certain years.

The key point is that --- Opportunity does not leave a Visiting Card at the door and leave a message that says it will return in a few days. Opportunity comes when you least expect it to come.

The Person who cashes in on the Opportunity is the person who was the most "Prepared" to do so, meaning the person has already put in the 10,000 hours in the skill.

When you don't know when the opportunity is going to come, you cannot predict when the opportunity is going to come, so why not get the 10,000 hours as soon as possible and be ready when the opportunity comes?

To get to the 10,000 hours mark, a person...

• working at 8 hours a day, requires 1,250 days which equals 5 years (@ 250 work days a year)
• working 10 hours a day, requires 1,000 days, which equals 4 years
• working 12 hours a day, requires 834 days, which equals 3.33 years
• working 16 hours a day, requires 625 days, which equals 2.5 years

So, working harder, gets you prepared sooner, enhancing your chances to cash in on the opportunity when it comes!

Now look at it in another way, working 12 hours a day, gets you 5 years worth of experience in just 3.33 years!

Everyone likes a hardworking team member. So, when the Boss is looking for a person who has the best chance of solving a very critical problem or to handle a very important project, I would recommend the most hardworking individual in my team. This is because the hard working individual has the highest chance of success!, and I don't want to look like a fool by betting on someone who is less hardworking. As time goes by, this hardworking individual, gets more opportunities than others in the team and eventually becomes more successful. 

Others become obsolete and complain, that the company does not care for them, they do not provide the right environment for people to succeed and blame everything in sight.... in reality, this individual has never tried and they are in this position because of their own actions....

When I say working hard, I mean, working hard in the right direction!, For example: I live in Bangalore, if I set a goal of climbing Mount Everest, I need to start my journey in the North of Bangalore. Well, I can even start traveling south and still reach Mount Everest, but, I would have circumvented the Earth and reached at the base of Mount Everest from the Tibet.