Learning

Action, Camera, Lights…

~ Rishi ~ 1 Comment

Another year went by. A new one has started.

Many of us have plans for the next twelve months. Or at least we think we do.

But do we pause and think if the order of things makes sense? And is that enough for us to achieve what we aim for?

Or are we rushing through the process, forgetting what comes first – lights or action?

Some of these thoughts crossed my mind as I spent the last week introspecting how the last year went by and what I should aim for in this new year.

I did a lot last year. Both on the professional and the personal front. A few things tick marked. There were a few misses but overall it was a good year.

A lot of learning happened. But one of the things that stayed with me was the process adopted and the results achieved.

There were times when I took a shortcut, either to get frustrated later on or through results that weren’t satisfactory or sustainable.

And then, there were cases when I adopted the right approach, and got to satisfactory and sustainable outcomes.

This happened in both my personal and professional life.

And as I saw where I was led to in either case, it became clearer that if I intend to achieve long-term success, I must do the right things at the right time. Rolling the camera without the lights won’t make much sense.

So, as 2026 begins, my one single resolve is to stick to a plan and make it work in the right manner. If I do that enough no. of times and for long enough, I should see some success…

Lights. Camera. Action.

Assumed assumptions!

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

We like assuming. In fact, we love to assume and move forward.

A lot of times those assumptions are just those. Assumptions. Without any rhyme or reason.

But because we like to keep things simple and probably see them through our own eyes only, those assumptions are valid and reasonable.

But what if that isn’t true? What if we could do much better not assuming those assumptions?

Over the last few weeks, as these thoughts ran in my mind, I started observing. How I was reacting and deciding. And how others around me did the same.

There were times when I found my assumptions to be convenient for me. Because I didn’t want to go through the hard work of finding the right details.

Often times when I was assuming something, it was so just because I had not been able to consider the viewpoint of someone else. Looking only through my own eyes.

Sometimes I also found that I assumed just because I had some precedence or experience of dealing with that same person or thing in a different setting.

As I started questioning my assumptions and if I had made the correct ones, I started uncovering my own blind sides.

As I started thinking about others, my horizon expanded and I could look at the problem with a fresh pair of eyes.

There’s still a long way to go. After all, the mind has been conditioned to perform in a certain way. But what I do realise is that there’s power in not assuming just because we can or we should.

Sometimes it helps to check ourselves again…

Experience counts.

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

How often do we disregard experience and consider that it is not really important? Or take it for granted in a lot of things?

This week, as I was working to get some brand-new IKEA furniture assembled, I realised the power of experience.

As it so happened, we had bought a new table that I wanted to fix. Given that a carpenter was working on some other furniture in our house, I asked him for help.

He was a thorough hand with a lot of experience under his belt. I, on the other hand, being an inexperienced fellow in that field, wanted to exactly go by the book.

So, I opened the IKEA manual and started referring to detailed notes to identify how I should assemble the table. This guy was rather eager to get it done quickly.

Initially I took his eagerness for getting the job done as fast as he could and head back home, since it was already evening. As there were a few other things to take care of, I told him that we can do it the next day and we left it as is.

The next day, I was at work. Once he came in, he just referred to the manual once and understood how to actually put the table together. When I got back, he had done some of it already.

More importantly, he knew how the pieces would fit together and could visualise the joints perfectly. Observing him at his craft, I was amazed.

Then, I realised my folly. I had underestimated someone who lives and breathes this work day and night!

That evening, as we finished assembling the table together, I could sense a satisfaction within his voice. Of having been able to do it without extensively referring to the manual. And of having taught me a lesson.

The next time, when I call someone to get odd jobs done, I ought to remember that they are experts in their field and would know better.

While it’s always good to question and discuss things, it pays to respect experience…

Let Go…

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

Ansh was excited. He had just got a bigger bicycle on his fifth birthday and was graduating to the next level.

Most of his friends had the bigger bike, so it was as much a matter of proving himself and belonging to the group, as it was to feel older in his mind and heart.

The next day he took his bike down along with his dad, Bijoy. He wanted to get some practice in. However, the bigger bike wasn’t a natural promotion, when it came to riding it. He had to now learn how to ride one without side supporters. Which meant he had to learn to balance, learn to coordinate his actions, and learn to always be alert.

Ansh felt overwhelmed by the thought and asked his dad if it was indeed a good idea to practice then or come back later the next day. His dad understood. After all, he had gone through similar anxiety when he was younger. Bijoy told Ansh that he need not worry and with his support he will be able to learn soon.

The first couple of times, Ansh was very cautious. He continued to turn back to check if his dad was holding the bike or not. Only after the second run did he stop doing that every minute.

By the time he had gotten to his fourth run, he was pedalling well, braking well, and Bijoy could sense that he was ready. So after giving him an initial push, he left the bike. Only to see Ansh go for a few feet and then turn back, stare at him in horror, and topple over.

Bijoy rushed to the spot. He looked over Ansh to check if he had got any injury and if he was ok. Ansh was crying, feeling as if he had been cheated. It took him a lot of consoling to regain his composure. But without the confidence of riding the bike again. So, they both went back home.

Bijoy asked him to come along again the next day and while Ansh was hesitant, he promised Ansh that he had only left him because he thought Ansh could now ride on his own. While that was a little comforting, it wasn’t entirely convincing. Ansh however went along.

After a couple of runs, Bijoy could observe that Ansh was getting into the groove. However, knowing that Bijoy may do a repeat of the previous day, he was checking again and again if he was being held. After the fourth time, Ansh asked to stop. He had had enough practice for the day.

The same pattern repeated for the next two days. While Bijoy thought Ansh was ready to be left alone, he couldn’t muster the last push and let go. He had continued to hold the bike all along for those few practice runs.

Eventually, he realized that by not letting Ansh go on his own, he was becoming an impediment in his learning. That day, after the first two runs, as Bijoy noticed Ansh was getting comfortable, he decided to leave Ansh on the third one. Ansh went a slightly longer distance before he looked back and realizing Bijoy wasn’t there, panicked. However, by now he had learnt how to control the bike well, so he didn’t fell down. He just continued riding and then got back the full circle, stopping the bike in front of Bijoy.

Bijoy was elated. So was Ansh. He took Ansh into his arms and hugged him.

While Ansh had learnt how to ride a bike, Bijoy had learnt how to let go…

“Technified”

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All of us have different mechanisms to cope with things we find difficult. While they may seem amusing to those who are at ease in those situations, there is an ingenuity involved in figuring out how to get by things that are not natural to you.

One such thing that most people have had to adapt to is using mobile phones. While for most of us born in the last fifty years it comes somewhat naturally, for many of the older folks as well as for not-so-regular users of tech, they have had to adapt to this now inseparable extension of self.

Over the last few years, I have seen people use their own mechanisms to effectively use mobile phones. Some have learnt the basics and take their own time to do other things, some others have used it as little as needed.

I have seen many people use their native language to make it easy to navigate the system. Others use dictation instead of typing long sentences while communicating. Many use it only as a phone.

I, having been a natural with tech, find some of those patterns amusing.

Like using google to help with basic tasks. Strangely, folks who can play all kinds of games on the touchscreen but aren’t as well versed with the other functions of the device.

Or like dictating instead of typing. For me, writing comes naturally. So even when I am conversing in long sentences, I prefer typing them. But for many folks around me, I am increasingly observing the use of dictation.

Then I saw some pretty slick users adapting to these new patterns as well. My wife using dictation to send long messages. One of my friends using google as it would have been faster than finding something buried in settings.

As I saw those same patterns repeated with relatively sophisticated users, I realised that they love these shortcuts or tricks because it works for them. That’s the bottom line.

We technologists may think of features and usage patterns in an absolutely purist sense, not realising that the world has all kinds of people and they have different kinds of needs.

Maybe that’s why most technology products fail. They only serve the selected few. Or are built for specific use cases.

Some of them do become runway hits. But only the ones who adapt to what the users want, stick around and become ubiquitous.

Perhaps, that is the lesson we need to consider when we think of how to solve problems. Would the solution be applicable for all kinds of users? Or is it only solving for a niche or edge case?

Worth pondering how technified we are and how technified are those who we are catering to…

Yes sir!

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

Mornings always were a time for self reflection for Krishna. It was his ‘me time’.

Today, he was flabbergasted. He had just remembered the most amusing introduction he had received from one of his team members in front of a client.

It had been more than a month but those words had remained with him. He went back to that day to replay the situation, for the umpteenth time.

However, as he was running through it, he realized that the mannerisms of his team member seemed forced. It was as if he was trying to get Krishna’s attention through those words and then agreeing with him during the entire conversation.

Krishna jumped out of his chair. He started pacing the room, trying to recall his recent interactions with this person. The pattern was quite clear.

He then recalled his interactions with other team members and found the same patterns repeating. Most of his team members were just agreeing with him all the time! And It had been going on for a while!

Krishna was an experienced senior VP and had been in the industry for a long time. He had moved to his current company and role about three years back and was clearly the person with the most amount of knowledge about his domain.

Naturally, in a new setup with a lot of youngsters, this had translated into everyone around him looking up to him. They knew that they could learn a lot from Krishna.

Coming from a traditional setup, Krishna was accustomed to hierarchy and respect. However, it was more due to the merit of the person than anything else.

Unknowingly though, in his current team, he had also fostered a sense within them where they defaulted to agreeing with him, rather than question him at times.

This had meant he was able to move faster with his decisions than usual. He had attributed it to his experience then but now he knew it was happening only because everyone thought he knew the best. And they had stopped applying their minds in front of him…

He had built a team of people who liked saying “yes sir”, than think critically on their own. It was a setup doomed for failure sooner than later.

Krishna knew he had to change this. It couldn’t go on any longer. Even if it meant he stepping back on some occasions and asking more of his team than what he thought they were capable of.

Thankfully, he had come to this realization soon enough, and on his own…

Native connection

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I am a big proponent of using our native languages in regular settings. It’s a big part of our culture. And identity.

There have been quite a few discussions at the workplace and at home, where I have taken the side of the native language.

I feel it is incumbent upon each one of us, as an inheritor of our rich culture(s) and traditions, to embed them into our daily lives. So that we carry on with the torch before passing it to the next generation.

Naturally, we have enrolled our daughter to learn Hindi as the additional language of choice at the school. It’s one way to provide her a structured environment to grasp the details.

This week, when we visited her school for a parents-teachers meet, I expected her Hindi teacher to talk to us about how we should encourage her to do more in Hindi. She did that but she also talked about another important aspect that stuck with me.

She talked about how through our native language children connect with their roots and how it shapes their association with the family, especially as they grow through teenage into adulthood.

While I was quite impressed by what she said and how she did so, what stuck me more was that our mother tongue forms a core part of our identity.

As I looked back at my own childhood and teenage, I realised that my tryst with Hindi, the times spent listening to stories from my grandmother, reading Hindi comic books, the countless fun conversations we had around the house in our mother tongue, all of them helped shape me.

More importantly, they connected me to my roots. To my family. And that has stayed with me all my life.

I don’t feel the same level of connectedness when I talk in English today. Not that I consider English to be a second grade citizen, but it doesn’t have the same effect. It feels neutral.

I know it’s not easy. The environment today around us in Indian cities is geared towards English. Our kids have multi-cultural influences and friends, and therefore English becomes the common ground to connect.

But if I don’t make the effort, at least at home, to use our mother tongue, the native connection that I built with my roots may not happen with my daughter.

So while I do want her to be fluent in English and be ready for the future, I also want her to be connected to her roots, natively…

Life’s a race…

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Life’s a race. That’s what most of us have been taught or are made to understand during our early adulthood years.

But what if it wasn’t? What if it was meant to be lived on our own terms, without any race to prove ourselves to anyone?

What if it was just us living life on our own terms? And taking things as they come?

I think there is merit in this thought.

I have been on both sides of the fence and when I have done things on my own terms, the results have always elated me. On the other hand, when I have run someone else’s race or in a direction I wasn’t sure of, I have mostly faltered.

Another thing I have noticed is when I have taken my time and space to do things, I have done a much better job at it than when I was out on a deadline or trying to impress someone.

Does that mean we live life in a dull manner? Or don’t ever hustle? I don’t think so and definitely don’t mean so.

What I believe is that we should be the decision maker of our own destiny. If that means walking slow at times, so be it. If that means doing things contrary to popular perception or wisdom, so be it.

And if that in turn results in a tougher life, so be it. After all, that’s the challenge we chose to accept…

Connecting the dots.

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

Steve Jobs famously mentioned these words during his address to a graduating class at Stanford.

Watching him orate his experiences and how they helped him in his life have been an inspiration for me.

Primarily because it spoke of how nothing in life is ever wasted. Even a small experience can at some point in time light a spark to take things forward!

As time has passed, I have also come to appreciate that all of us are wired differently and connect dots differently. So even though we may have shared experiences with others, the way we perceive and recall them are different.

This weekend, as I took a couple of days off and spent time reflecting on a few things, I realised this point again.

I was thinking of the various things I have done in my life till this point. And which of those have given me joy, made me learn, and pushed me forward.

Sifting through those memories, I could see some of them connected with each other in ways I had not thought of before.

Maybe, my perspective has matured. Or changed. Or perhaps, it’s just that those dots weren’t connected before in my mind, but now are.

Anyways, I am happy to have connected those dots. For they spoke of paths I am uniquely privileged to have been on.

As I reflected back on this time spent in solitude, I couldn’t have chosen a better time. I had not done this over the past couple of years and needed this reconnection with self.

Not to mention, the calm around me also helped heal the general overload from always ‘doing’ something…

No Hangups

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

It is so easy to say this. But so difficult to process and practice!

We adults struggle with this most of our life. There’s always something that bothers us so much that we get hung up about it.

Children, on the other hand, are amazing! They somehow have this gift of letting go. And not holding onto feelings for long.

They teach us so much…

This last week, there were a couple of instances which literally opened my eyes.

My nephew has been around our place for a month. Just six years old, the boy has had to contend with me, the disciplinarian. And while that’s not been easy, he has displayed good character being away from his parents.

One of the days, he got a good scolding from me. His natural reaction was to cry, and even after consoling him, he didn’t feel like talking to me. Eventually, he slept off without a chat.

I was feeling quite bad about it. I could have gone soft that one time. Or I could have tried harder to normalise the situation. Because he slept off without talking, I couldn’t sleep well.

The next morning, I woke up and he came over. I thought he would still be sad about the previous night. But he was absolutely normal!

I couldn’t believe it. But for him, it was as if nothing had happened. Or it was something he had taken in his stride and moved on.

I could not have…

In another instance, I saw my daughter getting distraught at him for something. She was pretty miffed and it seemed they wouldn’t play together that day. But after an hour, things had normalised and they were back to their usual selves.

As I reflected on this behavior, I realized that kids just live in the moment. Neither do they harbour any ill feelings, nor do they think too much about the past. It is we who teach them to do so.

Only to regret later that they should have remained the same all their life…