Blog
Words. Wisdom. Winners.
This is the worst form of Bureaucracy
We all hate it, don’t we
This is how the rules are
I am just following the system
I can’t help you. The right person is sitting there in that corner
We are like this only
Sorry ma’am. I understand but I can’t help
No you don’t understand
And yes you can help
But it’s not your fault. You have been trained to follow a system. A rule book. An instruction manual. One that offers an annual promotion and a stable career.
Here is the deal about Bureaucracy
It’s most prevalent not in institutions, rather individuals
I am like this only
This is who I am and don’t expect me to change
I have done this the same way all along
Don’t try to change me. Accept me the way I am.
If we hate the first form of it – how come we are all so comfortable dealing with it in our selves?
10 years back, I was the most stuck up guy I have even known.
An image of myself that I imposed on myself everyday
A misplaced sense of self righteousness
An unnecessary definition of right and wrong. Of dos and don’ts.
And the (now unbelievable) urge to resist changing my own self
Only once I let go, did I begin to discover who I was.
And who I could be.
And I began to like the idea of a better me. At least the path towards it.
Kill the bureaucracy within. The most dangerous people are those that sit and do not wish to change.
Thanks ISRO for showing me the middle finger
As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a space scientist. An astrophysicist to be precise.
My immediate and extended world knew of my dreams. That of doing my PhD from the US and working at NASA.
And in 2002 I left for the US. To pursue my PhD. From Michigan State University – whose program was a top one in the country. They had a cyclotron (a real one, yes!) and we’re to commission a radio telescope later that year. I was given a 100% tuition fee waiver and an extremely generous stipend to cover my expenses.
A year into the program I was on top of my class. Was working with one of the smartest and driven professors in the team. My peers were fun, intelligent, accommodating.
Life was good.
Just that, it wasn’t.
I was good at what I was doing. But I wasn’t happy.
I figured that a PhD in astrophysics would mean staying in the US for the rest of my life.
Coming back to India would not be an option.
Because India would never have meaningful work for an ambitious, hardworking, diligent Ankur Warikoo.
Back in 2003, I predicted that for the REST OF MY LIFE, India would not have anything meaningful for me.
And I came back (undoubtedly the best decision of my life – but that’s another story)
In the past few years, I have been (secretly) tracking the work that ISRO is doing.
Last week they sent 104 mini satellites into orbit in a single launch – a world record.
Two years back they accomplished the Mangalyaan.
And I love how each time they do awesome work, and I read about it in the press, all I can see is this
This is what life teaches you
Don’t ever say that the world is not ready for what you wish to do.
That the world needs to change
Because The one that needs to change is the man in the mirror.
Thank you ISRO for showing me how wrong I was, through the best manner possible – your success.
Note to self: The world doesn’t need our stamp of approval. It needs our participation.
Play your own game
Our parents grew up in a very different world.
India back then was a different land
That of limited opportunities
That of rationing
That of settling for stable than a shot at the moon
And for no fault of theirs (and ours), they raised us accordingly.
It doesn’t matter how good you are. You will win only if someone else loses.
There are enough smart people out there. The way to get through JEE is to hope that most of them don’t perform on the day. The way to get through medical is to see someone else fumble.
People are abundant. Options are limited. And your caliber only ensures eligibility. Not success.
India today has changed. But the way we have been raised hasn’t.
So what do we do?
We still measure ourselves against others.
We still track competition more than we should.
We still play to defend, not to win.
We are constantly fighting someone else. Not ourselves.
It’s time we realized that times have changed.
You can only do those things that are determined by your own rules
The minute you are fighting someone else, playing someone else’s game, you will fail.
Because someone else is good at it already.
The founder’s role
I spent almost the entire past weekend trying to resolve a conflict at work. I knew I had to intervene to solve it. I had to take charge. Fix it. Make sure the problem was solved and not just the situation.
It seems the conflict did get resolved.
It seems I had some role to play in it.
All that I did was listened.
Listened for more than 9 hours – both sides – independently.
Nodding my head, because I agreed with most of what was being said.
Shaking my head within, shocked at how similar the views were, how similar the objectives were and yet the two sides felt they were at the opposite end of the diameter.
I didn’t offer any advice
I didn’t share my opinion
I simply listened
Finally got them into a room, share my inference of the situation in 5 mins and allowed them to talk.
This time around they were clearer in their communication, focused on the end goal, empathetic towards the other side. Wiser from the experience, it seems.
They felt heard, understood, I would like to believe.
This weekend, I played the role of a founder.
When I listened. And helped sides see each other.
All other days, I am just another guy. Looking for someone similar. Someone who would listen.
Being heard and understood is the most understated feeling in the world.
Being the one who listens and understands is the hardest role in the world.
And as a founder, you will experience both. No choice.
The one word that will annoy people and make you smarter
People stand in line for hours when an iPhone launches, to be one of the first to buy
Women tend to express their emotions better than men
Research suggests that high EQ is a better indicator of success
Squatting is one of the fastest cardio ways to burn fat
Driving a car in the first gear leads to higher fuel consumption
All completely unrelated statements.
All statements that we know of or perhaps have read about somewhere
Maybe Facebook (fuck!)
How many of us stopped to say the golden word?
Why?
Why do people stand in line? Why do women operate that way? Why is EQ important? Why does squatting help? Why does the first gear even exist then?
Why is the world the way it is
If you are not a fervent truth seeker, you are simply accepting the world’s definition as yours.
Don’t stop at the why until the why can’t be broken down further.
Because the quality of your life is determined by the quality of your questions
That first feeling? Drop it
Imagine an angry mail written to you
Imagine a conversational fight you are in the middle of
Imagine an individual being mean to you
Imagine a situation that requires you to react
At that moment, your instant feeling and thus your instant reaction – is conclusively the wrong one.
It’s the hardwiring of evolution that tells us to attack back when attacked. That’s how mankind has survived.
And while the threats have been less threatening, the damage has become less damaging, the nature of the attack is mostly not even personal, we still react as if to win the war.
Whenever you are reacting towards a situation where you have been attacked, do yourself a favor and DONT react the way you instantly feel like react.
Pick any other reaction except the first one.
The first reaction is our basic instinct taking over.
Drop the first reaction. You will always emerge first because of that.
It doesn’t matter what you know
IQ was what got the previous generation to succeed. Mostly.
Not anymore.
In today’s world of distraction, instant gratification, unlimited access and boundless opportunities – your ability to focus is what will make you stand out.
Focus is the new IQ
Here is the deal about focus
It’s spelled as “consistency”
The irony of today’s world is that everything is instantaneous and yet the time that it will take and the discipline it will require to be sucessful, hasn’t shortened one bit. Infact might have increased.
If one is not consistent – in their thoughts, in their actions, in their conduct and their drive to learn – focus will only be limited to a 5-letter word.
What you know doesn’t mean shit. What is it that you do consistently?
The one word that defines success
NO!
Smart people and nice people think their smartness and niceness diminishes each time they say no to someone.
They believe they are saying no to their own capability of helping.
To their own ability to solve.
What we rarely realize is that the art of saying no is the highest level of respect you can bestow onto yourself.
Each time we say no, we chose what’s important as against what’s urgent (or worst still what’s pleasing others)
Each time we say no, we make ourselves vulnerable to the world’s narrative of ourselves. And we accept it
Each time we say no, we say yes to things that matter. That move us forward.
I get asked for help more than I deserve, on a daily basis.
For funding, mentoring, ISB help, speaking sessions.
And I have a polite template for saying no to most of them.
Not because I don’t want to help.
Because I can’t.
Because there are other things that take precedence. That I have signed up for. That I am already on.
It shocks me how so many people show an absolute disregard to their time and allow others to step on it at will.
They will pick up stuff and crib about it. Projecting they were somehow forced or tricked into it.
But it’s always our choice.
Always.
True success is not how much time you spend doing what you love.
It’s how little time you spend doing what you hate.
It’s about you. Mostly you.
I have a “problem”
I have been trained to think that everything is a consequence of me. I am the source of the current situation. My thoughts, my actions led to what we are witnessing, especially if it’s bad.
I may not admit it all the time, but within I am already cursing myself. Scrutinizing myself. Killing myself.
It is hard being this way. But I don’t know any better. This approach keeps me honest and keeps me up. All the time.
Here is the deal with being honest with one’s own self.
Most of us don’t do it.
It’s so easy to blame others.
It’s so easy to blame external circumstances.
It’s so easy to think that something else led to this. Something we didn’t control. We did the best we could.
Because this approach makes us think we are still good enough
And good enough helps us sleep well at night
The next time something bad happens, start by assuming you are responsible. This is different from blaming yourself, where you will play the victim and console yourself.
Make yourself responsible. What is it that you did that led you to this. Did it make sense? Was it right after all? Could there have been an alternate approach?
Could you be the one that needs to change, and not the world?
If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole.
If you ran into assholes all day, you are the asshole
What’s the first slide of your pitch deck?
Yesterday at lunch with two super smart startup founders, we got talking about their pitch deck.
Pitch decks are super fun. I look at the nearbuy pitch deck every other week – trying to make it clearer, sharper, more succinct. And surprisingly find obvious ways of doing so, that weren’t so obvious before.
I told them – your first slide should be declaring who you are.
And you should be ok with it. Ok with what you you have written. Ok with who you have projected yourself to be. Ok with who you are.
That set me thinking. If you had pitch decks, what would your first slide say?
Would the world get it?
Would they see the same image when they meet you in person?
Would they agree with it?
Would you be comfortable with it?
The first slide of our pitch deck should be what we wish to tell the world. Not what the world wishes to hear.
Subscribe to warikoo wanderings