Team

The Balancing Force

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

This is one of the most intriguing questions , I think. How do you balance one side with the other.

And when it comes to relationships, it becomes all the more necessary. How do you achieve parity, love, and trust if you aren’t balancing each other?

Last week, I was having a deep conversation with a friend about this subject. We were talking about how the two people in a relationship must balance each other.

As we recounted our own experiences and shared them, I got a reaffirmation that this isn’t an easy thing to do…

Of course we hear about how some couples maintain their chemistry even after a long time and how for some, it dwindles away after a while. But then, chemistry is not just about balance.

We also hear of how one partner sacrifices for the other at times and that helps the two grow. Again, sacrifice must never be only about finding a balance.

And then there are anecdotes of how people accommodate to ensure longevity of the relationship. Again, it does help in getting to a balanced state but cannot be the only reason or outcome of the accommodation.

So, what is it then? As I thought more about this in subsequent days, I realised that the balancing force is not just about yin and yang. It’s as much about how the two come together to harness it.

The two individuals may be the best suited as a couple but if they cannot come together in moments of joy and sadness, in times that are difficult and easy, in places that are known and unknown, then they won’t be able to balance.

The two must not only come together but then join hands to harness the situation to their advantage. If and when they do, the forces balance each other and the outcome is one single, determined action. If and when they cannot or don’t, there is a fallout.

I am lucky to have found my counter-balancing force in my wife. She teaches me, supports me, and has my back. I believe, so do I. And that’s why it’s a strong relationship.

Hopefully, we can all find our balancing force, and if we have found one, stick around to see the magic happen!

Teaming up with Analogies

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

We use analogies when it’s difficult to explain something directly.

But we also use them when it’s fun or appealing to discuss the same concept but in two different walks of life.

The last few days, as I went through the motion of work and life, while also catching up with some colleagues turned friends, one word kept jumping at me.

“Team”.

And as it kept coming up, in my mind I started to draw parallels across other walks of life.

The thing that stuck with me was basketball. I don’t know why. Haven’t played it much. But it did.

A rookie in basketball first learns how to hold the ball before he can start to pass. Then he learns dribbling it with his hands, then shooting, and finally getting to a place that he can score consistently.

Teams are similar. We start as novices. Even if everyone has experience under their belt. As a unit, it’s always from zero.

Then, slowly the team starts to understand their own remits and how they interplay with each other.

After a while, if done right, the players on the team move to working with each other seamlessly, helping one another and standing in for a mate.

Only a few teams reach the highest level, where each player knows when to dribble, pass, or shoot. And keeping in mind who’s good at it, so that they play to win.

As a leader, I have experienced varied degrees of team building and operational success. Although the endeavour is always to build something high performing, it’s not always that I have reached that level.

The good thing though is, once you build a solid team, or are a part of it, that bond stays. And that carries you through for years.

Something I have been a proud beneficiary of more than once.

Just like scaling a summit gives you not just a momentary high but memories and learnings for life.

Well, here’s another analogy!

The Team Spirit.

~ Rishi ~ 1 Comment

Three years to date, I called up my partner at my previous firm. I had decided to take up a new role.

I had been looking for a new challenge for sometime. And when I got something that made sense for me to pursue, I dialled up my manager’s no.

It was a direct conversation. He as well as the senior partner offered me some food for thought but I was clear about the move and it was both personally and professionally making sense for me. So, eventually we agreed amicably about the separation.

However, what I had not thought about was my team and how they would feel. And how I would feel about the fact that I was moving out, after having hired quite a few of them myself and having managed them for a while.

After running with this conflict in my head for a couple of days, I decided to be upfront about it. I called up each person on the team, breaking the news to them and talking about why I was moving on from what we had signed up for together.

Most folks accepted and wished me well. Some were surprised and told me that they would have wanted to continue working together for longer. I am sure, some thanked their stars for good riddance as well!

My heart wasn’t still contented. I had this guilty feeling about leaving those team members in the middle of an unfinished journey. With some of them, I had spent just shy of five years. It troubled me for a few days.

Then, I remembered those times when someone in the team, who I absolutely wanted in, had decided to move on. It was always difficult to let go but I was never one to hold back anyone. It had pinched me but work never stopped.

And I realised that while I was going out of the equation, work that my team was doing won’t stop. That they will continue to excel. I need not be guilty but should go out with the confidence of having done good by them.

With my worries put to rest, I enjoyed those last few days with my colleagues and friends and moved on to a new path. We remain in touch and with quite a few of them, I have maintained a great bonhomie.

Recalling those days and what came of all that time spent together is something I still cherish today and will continue to in the future. We may have moved in different directions but that team spirit lingers on somewhere…

The Core.

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

I was in the second term at the IMA. For all us Gentlemen Cadets (that’s what we were called), the most important thing was to focus on passing the myriad tests. I had failed one of them that day. And it was worrisome…

It was the famed toe-touches I had failed at. You hang on a bar, like you would to do pull-ups. Only, instead of pulling the body up, you bring your legs closely up to your chest and bend your head backwards to let the toes touch the bar. Without swinging to and fro. And with control.

And I sucked at it. I knew it beforehand that I would fail. While, I had passed the other tests, knowing that I couldn’t even do one toe-touch after spending almost 8 months in the Academy was worrisome. Also, because unless one clears the tests, you cannot pass out.

When we look at the forces, we always associate them with strength, courage, and discipline. However, when you are in the training, going through the daily rigamarole, you wonder what more can you do. How can you surpass yourself. And go beyond your own limits. Limits that you attained inch by inch. And that’s where the mind comes to play.

As I went back to my room that day and sat down to reflect on my performance (or rather the lack of it), I realised I had not focused on my core. Literally. I had gained on my running technique and speed and become better at free-hand exercises. But I hadn’t worked too much on my core, it wasn’t strong enough for me to do toe-touches. And unless it was, I couldn’t rest.

So, back to the drawing board, I enlisted help of a couple of friends. The next test was about a month or so away and I had to focus every single day. Thus began my most gruelling physical training period in the Academy, when on a daily basis I focused on what I did to strengthen my core and measured myself rigorously, while eating extremely consciously.

Cutting the long story short, I worked upon myself and pushed things to the limit, to finally master the technique and have the strength in my core to clear the test the next time round. But this taught me two important things – to focus on the core and to do whatever it takes.

The core – it’s critical to master it and focus on maintaining it. Whether in physical standards, or in business matters.

Some of the successful businesses built in recent years have understood their core very well and trained for it to become strong. For example, how a bunch of 50+ aged founders have succeeded in building a successful e-commerce business (BigBasket – https://the-ken.com/story/interview-hari-menon-bigbasket/). I am sure there are similar stories behind other successful companies also. And same is the case with any team for that matter – if the core is strong, challenges are fun to solve for and invariably get surpassed.

Watching a fellow apartment dweller the other day working out in the gym, as I saw him giving his +100% to some of the core-building exercises, I realised the discipline he had set for himself to reach that level. His core was strong. And while mine isn’t as strong in terms of physical standards, I remember the above instance at IMA and try to ensure that I focus on the core and do whatever it takes to maintain it in order. Physically and at work with my team. Hopefully.