COVID 19: SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

The Canvas

The world is on COVID fire. Debatable claims and contestable data apart, death lurks around the corner. Expansionists and exclusionists alike, nations have sealed borders. Within borders, states, regions and provinces are erecting boundaries in desperate acts of self-preservation. Planes grounded, ships harboured, rails blocked, roads deserted, factories shut and shops emptied, world economy is covid-struck. While governance is stretched, hoarders, black marketers and speculators play havoc.  Richest to the poorest, mightiest to the meekest, technologically advanced to the technology untouched, humanity is under siege.

Spread of infection, likely causalities and how it will end are mathematical models only time can validate. But for now, the deluge of patients overwhelms even advanced medical care systems forcing doctors and nurses to choose who should live. The pandemic has put every possible element of societal existence to test. People are locked-in amidst growing uncertainties.

Mankind never looked so pummelled ever before.

Exodus

The twenty-one-day Indian lock down, triggered an unprecedented population displacement. Lakhs of migrant labourers, each one a potential corona vector, clinging on to measly accumulations from a life of toil, fill the once-busy highways and toll ways in desperate attempt to get home. The exodus could result in exponential spread of the pandemic across the country, should a few be infected. They could, if not managed, also add dangerous dimensions to the situation.

Fuel to Fire

Social media is abuzz with all sorts of conjectures about the pandemic. Well-intentioned and ill-intentioned, believers and atheists, doctors and quacks, in fact the whole world seems to be there, indulging in the ridiculous smothering the few meaningful and useful.

What Caused the Pandemic?

One could  choose answers, at convenience, from an endless range of options like, Armageddon, angry God, nature’s revenge, biological war, economic war, etc, list limited only by imagination. The truth could be anything but discussions on the likely cause will occupy prime time for a long time.

What About Us?

Having enslaved science and technology, we conferred on ourselves the apex position amongst all known species. But we are still part of the ‘food’ chain. Most species ‘down’ the chain adapt and mutate to survive and propagate. Many naturally outlive us. Unfortunately, the highest in the chain is also directly linked to the lowest, the family of microbes. In fact, microbial colonies reside within us.

Somewhere a corona virus decided to mutate and become lethal. How and why it did so, is stuff for investigations and imaginations. COVID-19, like influenza, will reach each one of us sometime. Most of us won’t even realise it and go about as usual. Some will need help. The sick and old, without intervention, could succumb. Lock-ins attempts to prevent community spread so that numbers simultaneously requiring critical care are restricted. When that fails, mortality would spike.

While we may be traumatised by large scale deaths, nature goes about with business as usual, working on inter species equilibrium.

Behavioural Change?

Many feel that this collective trauma would change human behaviour. The most comforting theory is that mankind would become compassionate and considerate.

Nothing but fallacy, for history speaks differently.

Men, women and children have fallen dead like flies even before. The five pandemics[1], together have killed more than two hundred million people. If natural causes were inadequate, we killed more than twenty million people, during the First World War and another sixty million during the Second. Carnages, continues across the globe even amidst the pandemic. Compassion remains a faraway destination as humans remain discriminatingly inhuman.

Change for Sure

Yet, there will be remarkable changes.

Disruptions have this unique capability of ushering in dramatic changes. League of Nations, United Nations, trade and military alignments, efficacy notwithstanding, have all emerged after disruptions. In the wake of every recession came new class of business and newer ways of conducting it. Despite fudged data and loud denials, economies were already slipping into recession. This pandemic just silenced lies and accelerated the fall.

From this lock-down will sprout, new industries hitherto unheard of. New class of service providers would mushroom, providing more jobs than what would be lost. Office premises will invade homes and acquire different dimensions. High speed data and high definition video would drive business practices and may become universal and free, eliminating requirements of physical meetings. Hospitality industry will have to rig up newer ways to stay afloat. Tourism industry could crumble but recover in new forms. Insurance sector is likely to see major thrust feeding on human fallibility. Logistics and warehousing industry will be reorganised. Mining and manufacturing would see surge in automation. Production lines would become agile, flexible and decentralised. Digital transaction of money could surge sending paper currencies to the vaults. Education industry too could experience dramatic upheavals. Possibilities are phenomenal and the bounce back, imminent. Sadly, income disparities will become even more stark.

Focus Now?

Change will come, at its own pace.

The focus now is to stay alive and see the light of the day beyond COVID.

Human race has periodically been tested. This too, we shall overcome, scathed or unscathed. 

That is how mankind has evolved.

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[1] Plague between 541 - 542 AD continued till 750 AD, is believed to have wiped out, 25 to 100 million. The plague pandemic called ‘Black death’ is believed to have wiped out one third to half of Europe in the four years from 1347 to 1351. The bubonic plague of 1855 is said to have erased 10 million people in India alone. The Spanish flu caused by a strain of influenza tormented the world between 1918 to 1920, infecting about 500 million and killing between 17 to 50 million humans. The Swine flu of 2009, infected more than 700 million people killed just 18,306.

MOTIVATIONAL TALKS : SOUND AND FURY SIGNIFYING NOTHING ?

Setting Stage

A dozen articles in well subscribed newspapers, few in a magazine, an adequately followed blog, the two-star veteran tag, couple of television appearances, about four decades in olive green and benevolent acquaintances get me occasional invites to deliver ‘motivational-talks’ and key note addresses. My seemingly extempore speeches are deliberately audience -specific and well researched. At home on stage, I connect with the audience early into my talk. The post-talk interactive session normally runs longer than my talk. Long Q&A session indicates better audience participation. I feel rewarded.

With Malice Towards None

Ability to fan passions and stir emotions, an art, is essential for effective public speaking. Recreating battle scenes and crisis situations helps audience experience the otherwise un-experienceable. Stories of real-life heroes, commoners overcoming insurmountable personal adversities with sheer grit, narrated well, rain goose bumps. Standing ovations, cash in that envelope, a few more invites and the heady feeling, rewards are instantaneous. Impact of such oratory, unfortunately, is often limited to the confines of the premises. It rarely permeates beyond tympanums. It seldom yields credible results.

With malice towards none, gripping histrionics apart, it is all “sound and fury signifying nothing”[1]. Motivational talks are just ‘feel-good’ occasions, poor investments in time and energy. I am loath to accepting such roles, as I feel much like the sower in the parable[2].

The Story Tellers

There are generally three types of professional motivational speakers. Most amongst them are story-tellers. They regale audience with real life stories or those which sound real. Some of them, could really be interesting. They bill the host depending on their well-crafted reputation and how well they are marketed. Resourceful networks assure them of venues.

Age notwithstanding, who doesn’t like a good story? Our own individual existence find meaning in scripting spectacular stories[3].

Story tellers certainly entertain, rarely motivate.

Domain Experts

The second largest group consists of those who leverage hierarchy. Though a few do spellbind audience with their domain expertise, most of them assume expertise. In it by virtue of their position, they are the least interesting amongst the tribe of ‘professional motivators’. They could be educative. They seldom motivate.

The Heroes

Least in number, yet the most authentic amongst motivational speakers are those who have themselves triumphed over insurmountable adversities that destroy lesser mortals. Unbeatable winners in real-life battles, they may neither rival histrionics of storytellers nor would be domain experts, but walk the red-carpet straight into the audiences’ heart during introduction. They conquer even before a single syllable is uttered. Irrespective of their oratory skills, they are effective speakers. They genuinely inspire, may not necessarily motivate.

The Trend

Sensing how heroes sway audiences, story tellers and experts have started becoming heroes, weaving in stories of personal tragedies and triumphs. It makes great theatre but neither motivates nor inspires a discerning audience.

Motivation and Motivators

Interestingly, root and product of motivation is motive!  Motivation kindles fires within to achieve something or reach somewhere. It is a psychological element that helps propel an individual from an existing state to a desired state. It helps raise orbits of thought and action and forges congruence between the two.

Motivation fuels motives and motives strengthen motivation. To start with, the two coexist in a fragile and delicate relationship. Preserved and persevered, the duo becomes a self-propelling tornado that, blows away gnawing self-doubts, overcomes challenges and adversities and launches individuals to unbelievable destinations.

Unfortunately, when it comes to motivation, food for one could easily be poison for another. The truth is, motivation is uniquely individualistic and has to be sustained by the individual. There can be no better motivator than the individual himself (herself), for the fire must be kindled and fuelled within. Everybody else are facilitators or masquerading as motivators.

Group Therapy[4]

Motivation is possible through tailor-made facilitative associations. While it is best achieved in ‘one-on-one’ sessions, such sessions duly altered can also be administered to groups involved in collaborative efforts. With each individual cocooned in their own aspirations and anxieties, broad brush treatments through motivational talks yield no worthwhile outcome. Simplistically put, treating individuals operating at different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy with broad spectrum motivational nutrient is effectively useless. This is why impact of even the most inspiring of motivational talks remain fleeting. Inspiring speeches can inflame passions and create mass hysteria. But that is not motivation. Motivation can rarely be achieved over public address systems. Yet, many organisations satisfy itelves with motivational talks.

Facilitation

Before charting destinations, it is incumbent for motivators, self or facilitators, to first assess where exactly the individual is and where the intended destination is. It is like planning a journey with well-defined milestones. A truthful assessment of capabilities and resources can help draw up realistic destinations and time plans. Facilitators with skills to hear the unspoken and see the hidden can help, individuals transform themselves, and groups, forge productively.

Motivation and Movements[5] 

Mass political movements and revolutions in history seem to be brought about by people who were ‘collectively motivated’. Natural to arise at this point, is the question, “Aren’t mass movements expressions of motivated groups?”.

The answer rests in the characteristics that differentiates ‘instigation’, ’influence’ and ‘motivation’ from one another. All mass movements have commenced with one or a few intensely motivated individuals driven by ideologies or reason. Intense motivation is a torch that enlightens its surroundings. By virtue of character they influence those around creating a following which eventually becomes a movement. Followers definitely are influenced but may not be motivated.

Resistance is a natural product of peoples’ subhuman existence. Realisation of such an existence is brought about by individuals motivated intensely enough to bear the consequences of spreading realisation and seeding resistance. Rank and file swell under their influence willing to tread any path under influence of the motivated. Indian Freedom Struggle is a classic example.

The motivated autonomously pursue chosen destinations, though they too would be influenced by ideals, ideas, events and people.   

Motivation in Organisational Context

Motivation in the context of organisations is limited to individuals and groups within the organisation. Activities to enhance ambient levels of motivation often get relegated to being exercises in utilising allocations where as it can be engineered to provide credible returns. Well-designed outcome-based activities, though more difficult to organise than motivational talks, promise returns on investments.

Note of Gratitude 

Gratitude is due to

Dr Abraham Kuruvilla, very respected and humane counsellor who spends considerable time in helping people with multifaceted issues.

Ms Anniey, for parting with pearls of wisdom from her deep understanding of human psychology.

Ms Dhanya Susan, the IIT ian for her analytical application.

Mr Manoj Koshy the ever experimenting entrepreneur at San Francisco for shaping my thoughts on life’s purpose.

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[1] "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow… It is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing” (Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5, Shakespeare William)

[2] Parable of the sower. (A biblical story)

[3] Discussions with Mr Manoj Koshy, the compulsive entrepreneur on purpose of human existence.

[4] Long drawn discussions on hues of motivation with Ms Anniey

[5] The long animated discussions with Ms Dhanya Susan

BELIEF IN SELF: FUEL FOR HIGHER ORBITS

The Incident

It was just another day at the Institute where I was attending a training programme. Tea-break of the day provided welcome relief from intricacies associated with designing weapons. A group of young army officers visiting our institution were the guests for tea. As is the custom, few amongst us moved in to talk to the guests.

I stayed put with my thoughts.

I had this strange feeling that someone from that group was looking at me. As I panned the group, I found him and our eyes locked. The way he looked at me, it seemed he knew me well. I too felt, I had met him somewhere, but could not recollect. As the elder, I took the first few steps. He reciprocated, almost running towards me, stopped, gave me a smart salute right from his heart.

“Sir, you didn't recognise me.

I am Captain Vijay[1].

I was a vehicle mechanic in your unit.”

In a flash, everything fell in place.

The warmth of the hug that followed and the sheen of those stars on his shoulders remain one of the most rewarding moments of my life.

Where it all Started

I was barely four years into service. I had moved to the peace location after a high-altitude tenure. Having survived a very rough patch in my career right at the beginning, I had found time in high-altitude loneliness to dig deep into the reserves of self-belief. It helped me find peace within, rediscover and relaunch myself.

The first time I met Vijay was when he was brought to my office after he got into an argument with his senior. Even before he was brought in, I was told everything that others knew about him. Nobody liked him. Though very skilled at his job he was often found at the wrong side of things.

I am convinced that human beings act more from the domain of weakness and insecurity than from position of strength. Every act, spontaneous or contemplated, is intended to negate shortcomings perceived and internalised. It is the negatives in a person, not strength that dictate and establish behavioural patterns. Thus, when I come across someone with symptoms of arrogance, insubordination, inflated ego, or inefficiency, I deal with that person with compassion, unless that person I feel is irredeemable. It helps me understand him and handle situations better. For me it is always an effort to get the best out of that person. It has gifted me very satisfying and rewarding moments in life. I have seen lives saved from the brink, seen individuals triumph and families happy.

It took me a while to convince Vijay to take the chair and some efforts to make him talk. In the first few moments of interaction itself, I realised that I was talking to an intelligent, articulate and ambitious man who by some quirk of fate was stuck in a slot he detested. He was angry with himself for having enrolled as a soldier when he could have become an officer had he been advised correctly. He neither could get out nor was he comfortable in the place he found himself. He seemed angry with himself and the society. He felt caged. All his behavioural issues, I felt were driven by frustration. The long discussion ended with him becoming aware of the opportunities and his pledge to appear for the tests that allow soldiers to become officers. We were just in time and I could move his application.

Over the next few months we struggled with his preparations. He did a lot of mock tests. I also gave him interview practices. At times he would come to me for clarifying doubts. Most of the time he was upbeat, confident and hopeful. But there were times when he was unsure of the outcome and his own capabilities. He would hit lows immersed in self-doubts. I remember telling him that, if success was so impossible, no one would ever attempt to succeed. I would often tell him that even if he wanted, he couldn’t fail. Once he asked me, why I believed so much, in him. My reply to him was “I can see stars on your shoulders”.

While I was still in chair, he qualified the written examination. Shortly after that I moved out on transfer.

He cleared the interview and joined the military academy. Since world wasn’t as linked as it is now, we had lost contact. 

Eight years is neither  long a time, nor short. 

I was standing face to face with a smart young officer, a responsible leader and gentlemen.

There are many capable individuals around us living entrapped in situations necessarily not of their own making. All of us come face to face with odds. But for some, self-doubts make it seem insurmountable. They need just one push. There are many around us looking for that one hand, that one word, to propel them to stardom, to chart their path. 

Most of them need nothing beyond reassurance in their own capabilities to fuel their quest to success. They just want to hear, “Yes; You can”.

It’s all about belief in self. Only when one is fuelled by self-belief, can one be launched into  higher orbits. 
Everyone needs it. 
Few find it on their own. 
Maybe, few amongst us can help others find it.

Post Script

The story is incomplete without mention of Late Colonel A N Deshpande, my mentor, a hard task master. He believed in me and my capabilities much more than I did. The trust and faith he reposed in me will put even the bravest gambler to shame. There were more seniors who trusted me with responsibilities beyond my age and charter. But all of them saw a self assured me. The one who really made me trust myself was Colonel Ashok Narayan Deshpande.

As a superior in chain, I repaid, reposing faith in each of my subordinate. NOT ONE has ever failed me.

As a trainer and facilitator, I help people trust themselves, explore and discover the vast reserves within.

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[1] Name changed