Pile On Motivation

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Category: Motivational

  • The Art of Storytelling – The Carmine Gallo Way

    The Storyteller’s Secret is the third book of Carmine Gallo that I have read after Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, Talk like TED.Like the first two, I have found this equally fascinating.

    This book is a must read for those who are looking to overcome stage fright , public speaking as well as those who are into selling.

    As is evident from this as well as his previous books, storytelling has always been an art not science and needs the storyteller to understanding the working of the human brain with precision.

    The stories of great presentations , the preparation before the presentations , the effort made by the presenter in trying to influence the human brain goes a long way in conveying the message that for passing on a simple message in an easily understandable way needs lot of complex planning and preparation.

    The following are the concepts related to engaging presentations, storytelling that deeply appealed to my senses. All these it must be said have deep rooted relationship with neuroscience and ability to understand the working of the human brain. Thus storytelling is still an art using scientific techniques leaving nothing to chance.

    ü  Neural coupling —– This is what happens when a message from a storyteller is able to engage the listener and his brain (emotional side of it) is tightly coupled with the idea presented by the storyteller. It is similar to resonance that happens when the natural frequency matches. Once a listener is neutrally coupled the job of the storyteller in conveying his message becomes a lot easier. As a result of neural coupling an emotionally charged event gets triggered in the brain that gives rise to excitement in the mind of a listener driving away boredom.

    ü  Heart sing —- This is a concept coined by Steve Jobs wherein the presenter or storyteller has to connect with the audience in such a way that would make the heart of the audience sing with the message conveyed by the presenter.

    ü  Mood contagion happens when the mood or magic created by the storyteller spreads like a disease amongst the audience and becomes contagious wherein the audience remains engaged with all eyes and ears enjoying the presentation.

    ü  Amygdala “Post It” notes – Amygdala is the region of the brain that releases dopamine, the chemical that gives us happiness. The message of the presenter when conveyed in a desirable manner  gets registered as a “Post It” note in the brain region named Amygdala and causes the release of dopamine which makes the listener not only relate better but carry the message with him/her after the presentation.

  • 5 Leadership Lessons, a masterclass – The Simon Sinek Way

    The following link has a recent video of Simon Sinek that I came across recently. The practicality of the 5 principles conveyed via this video fascinated me and enticed me to share this with a broader audience group to spread the word around.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CZx4DTglHJc

    Here are the 5 leadership principles, which if practiced as well as preached would not only help groom and create leaders but would also make workplaces a better and safer place for employees

    1) Go after things that you want to achieve in life without coming in the way of others – Human beings are very creative, when given a destination we are so obsessed that we devise ways to reach the destination through different means. This thus means that different people can have different ways to reach a destination but while doing so we should not cross our paths or come in between others paths. This would enable creation of a blue ocean strategy so very important for modern day leaders.

    2) Take full accountability for your actions – This is also known as internal locus of control wherein we as leaders should not only take credit for any good done but also take responsibility for any wrongdoing without trying to find scapegoats. Easier said than done since this is where most modern day leaders are lacking, they want to take the easier route of escaping when the chips are down leaving their subordinates to the mercy of others. This is where we need to correlate parenting with leadership wherein just like we cannot desert our trouble children we need to make our subordinates/employees feel safe.

    3) Help the ones to the left and right of you – A competent leader who leads by example is obsessed with helping the ones to the left and right of him/her who need help and support. A leader can inspire and get people who believe in what they believe only when a leader practices selflessness and helps people to secure their trust. In such a scenario the subordinates would give their blood, sweat and tear for such an inspirational leader. In the modern day, the leader is so obsessed with I that WE seldom captures his imagination.

    4) Practice being the last to speak – This is an amazingly difficult quality that most inspirational leaders have.Aside from being great listeners , an inspirational leader by virtue of being a subject matter expert knows when to step in and when to give others a chance to speak and express their opinions to feel empowered.The example of Nelson Mandela given by Simon in his video stands out as a great case study for aspiring leaders.

    5) Leadership by position is temporary – A leader is given all benefits , perks , allowances when in power , but this is not something that would be eternal.A manipulative leader may enjoy the best of benefits , perks , power , position but the day the power is taken away he/she would be grounded to reality and would cease to have the support of followers.This is why it makes all the more sense to inspire and lead and make followers rather than be manipulative and force people to follow.An inspirational leader does not need power or position to earn respect of sub-ordinates they become their followers for life.

    Hope these lessons would be able to encourage the leaders of the modern era to make the world a much better to live and work for subordinates/team members/employees seeking inspiration and motivation to make it big!!

    Pile on motivation!!

  • Comparison v/s Advancement , what do we prefer?

    I have been following Simon Sinek’s lessons about leadership and the simplicity with which he conveys his leadership related messages is a real treat.

    Some of the best takeaways from his numerous videos on youtube, his famous books are like:

    1) Serving those who serve others would give us fulfillment and would enable oxytocin to flow through our veins which will make us intrinsically happy

    2) Finite games v/s infinite games of game theory extended to business – Be a player of infinite games wherein you try to make yourself a better version of yourself every single day without comparing yourself with others…Going for comparisons and short term games gives birth to depression , jealously and can prevent us from giving our best

    Those who are engaged in infinite games go for advancement as opposed to comparison by those who are engaged in finite games.

    3) Nervousness v/s excitement – Deliberate practice and hard work can help transform nervousness to excitement where both have the same visible effects e.g. sweating of palms , increase of heart beat whereas the way we make use of excitement has a much more profound effect than nervousness.

    4) The symbols that we send to others in terms of the way to talk , engage will help us meet and be with people who believe in what we believe.In case we find such people they would give their blood , sweat and tear and trust would naturally flow.The basis of this is that we as human beings crave for social bonds being social animals and historically the way culture and country have been formed the same applies to formation of companies and teams as well.

    Pile on motivation..

  • Extending Parenting to Leadership

    The following two videos of Simon teach all of us wonderful lessons related to leadership. My key leadership related takeaways have been summarized below.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=INjECrw7YYs

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wKcRB8CEUd0

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KbYzF6Zy5tY

    Parenting and leadership are similar and require empathy and understanding. Just like a parent cannot do away with a child who is going through a tough time and cannot ask others to adopt him/her, a leader cannot just like that chuck an underperforming employee without showing empathy and understanding the root cause of underperformance. Empathy and understanding are core qualities of a motivational leader. Most Ladies possess care, empathy, and understanding as innate qualities and hence ladies as leaders can do a great job in being motivational leaders to make work places better place to work in

    As part of leadership qualities, find those who believe in what you believe since trust will automatically emerge when such a team is found. All this means is that we are guided by symbols when we try to find similar kinds of people, the only problem is that this way of forming a group is not scalable and needs insight and acumen. At the essence of this logic is the fact that as human beings we are still social animals and have an inherent need to socialize.

    When we build a team we should remember that the definition of a community, country when extended to a company or team have the commonality in that all of these are a set of people with common values and beliefs, hence people will always want to work in a place where leaders believe in what they believe for a better fitment.

    Leadership also needs understanding as to whether we are engaging in finite games or infinite games. Leadership strategies are going to be different based on the games that we are playing. An inspirational leader in a space where finite games are being played is a misfit since such an environment needs micromanagers who would cater to short term targets. Inspirational managers when engage in infinite games would be able to get the best out of their team by spreading motivation since such an environment needs creativity.

    Leadership because of power gives necessary advantages and facilities but that is only because of position. The facilities that are associated with a leader comes at a cost to protect all under you like a parent take risks to handhold their kids. A motivational leader is one who is not carried away by position hence even after surrendering their position people look up to them with loads of respect.

    Pile on motivation!!!!

  • Why analyzing data patterns has always been an art

    Super Freakonomics is an amazing book. This book is driven by scientific facts and goes a long way to show as to why studying patterns in data is the most full proof way of coming to conclusions especially when situations go beyond control and need to be quarantined.

    The examples of seemingly trivial solutions being able to cure grave vagaries like puerperal fever, seat belts being able to reduce deaths due to car accidents goes to show that there are times when we can think out of the box and extend solutions from other fields into new unexplored areas. Since our limbic brain understands only signals, at times we fail to comprehend how effective trivial solutions can be to cure seemingly behemoth problems.

    The role of media has been highlighted as well , Kitty Genovese incident, wherein to sell the news facts are twisted and this goes on to have deep impact on humanity down the line. News presented for many decades which sells as hot news, we really need to delve deep and find the true authenticity of the same since facts can be twisted to make the news sell

    Data analysis and data science has always played a major role and numbers/patterns have never lied. What we are seeing in the modern era, the demand for data scientists was always the case over the years now the effect seems more profound due to the high presence of social media.

    Look at data analysis done by Semmelweis for puerperal fever root cause eradication, Robert McNamara for seat belts in cars, Horsley’s data pattern analysis to track down terrorists, proof that good doctors may not have the best reviews, proof that heart ailments can be prevented by taking low cost medicines, the basis for all is data science being able to carve out a pattern from it.The baseball team selection example , with kids who have a full 10 to 11 months more maturity resonates with the message of Gladwell in Outliers on the Canadian ice hockey team selection. This too has been carved out by studying data pattern over the years.

    The best one is towards the end of the book wherein Al Gore’s honest efforts towards reducing global warming by changing human behavior has been compared with injecting Sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere to reduce global warming. Such kind of insights are really illuminating and the very fact that organizations like IV are thinking along these lines gives a lot of hope and belief that the world is in charge of innovative individuals who can think their heart out to save humanity from dreaded problems like global warming.

    Pile on motivation!!!!

  • The golden principles that emanate from the “WHY”

    The following video of Simon is truly a must watch.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=90ct4RVOQ4U

    The following guiding principles that emanate from WHY would help us lead our lives in a much better and proficient manner

    • Serve those who serve others to achieve fulfillment – From the video the examples given by Simon to demonstrate this fact is simply mind blowing. This is true in our daily lives as well wherein if we practice this in our personal and professional lives would release the selfless chemical oxytocin to achieve fulfillment. Selfless love stems from serving those who serves others out of pure respect for the individual.
      • In our personal lives the selfless love can be for spouse, kids, parents.
      • In professional lives this can be for colleagues or even the visionary leader who can make us feel safe.
    • Form tribes with people who believe in what we believe. There will be cynical people who would not believe in what we believe but in the end either they will either isolate themselves or join the tribe.
      • Leaders with a vision believe in forming a team of people who believe in what they believe to create the required synergy.
      • The synergy would enable followers to give their blood, sweat and tear for achievement of the bigger objective.
    • Deliberate practice is the term used to associate expertise in a certain field associated with a select few individuals. We have seen evidence of the same in “Outliers” from Malcolm Gladwell as well. By practice we can overcome our nervousness and convert it into a feeling of excitement when the need arises to up the ante during trying situations or circumstances. The evidence of excitement as against nervousness of London Olympics athletes is an amazing illustration of this principle.
      • In whichever field we are , when we love the work that we do , we are fulfilled by the work we do , we would feel excited as against being nervous when faced with trying circumstances.

    Pile on motivation!!!!

  • When social media becomes a menace

    The following two videos of Simon are truly inspiring to the core.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RyTQ5-SQYTo#

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BOTX0YwLWUA

    Social media and dopamine

    On social media and its harmful influence on millennials the following were my key takeaways:

    Any kind of addiction e.g. drinking, smoking or even gambling releases the selfish chemical known as dopamine which gives us a sense of short term happiness. All of these addictions have an age restriction associated with them violation of which is considered as an offence.

    Very little do we realize that social media in its various avatars like FB , Snapchat , Instagram with the kind of profound influence it is having in our society is nothing less than addiction in its most severe form without any age restriction.

    Social media addiction releases dopamine just like any other addiction e.g. alcohol, gambling etc.

    Social media is an amazing platform to connect with an audience when the purpose is noble enough but unfortunately when used in an uncensored fashion can cause havoc in society especially to juveniles.

    By means of a virtual platform, with absolutely no human touch, social media entices individuals to enhance expectations of getting results really quick without having to go through toil to arrive at a destination. Parameters like “number of likes”, “number of connections” are misleading since they do not involve any face to face human involvement. When we get results without much of a toil, the expectations increase and along with that impatience.

    Impatience leads to signs of depression, anger, agitation and this is a very common sign in millennials when results don’t seem to be easily gettable.

    In this age of smartphones, tabs, mobile apps and all possible social media platform, I think the time has come to take a call as to how to go back to the good old days when human touch used to the central theme of all interactions without using means of connecting through any virtual platform.

    Even though we live in an age of digital disruption we should all remember that we humans are all social animals who need a society to thrive in.The bottom line is that we all love to be loved by people who believe in us and who care for us. This sense of belonging and togetherness is not possible to achieve through virtual platforms and can only happen when we are able to connect with others at a personal level.

    Sense of fulfillment releases a chemical known as oxytocin and comes out of creation of true bonds as against false virtual friendship and connections that social media promises.

    Though virtual platforms and social media have brought in revolution in this modern era, the degree to which we need to make use of them needs to be judiciously decided by us without which this can create havoc in our society.

    Pile on motivation!!!!

  • Can work and play co-exist?

    The following two videos of Simon are truly inspiring to the core.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=llKvV8_T95M

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ITwLbl4MKQ

    My take on how to choose where to work and invest our valuable effort and energy

    The correlation of game theory with business is something that fascinated me about the video.

    Game theory has a concept of finite & infinite games.

    Finite games have rules that are designed to generate finite results whereas infinite games are not designed to generate finite results.

    Creative, innovative workplaces focus on the journey rather than short term results. This is the reason in these workplaces not many get a chance to work in.Those who get a chance get a sense of fulfillment because these are places wherein the work culture lacks micro management and gives a sense of accountability to the employees.

    Sense of fulfillment that comes from serving others without expecting anything in return is something very commonly seen in these kind of workplaces resulting in a number of role models for others to follow. For that to happen comparison should be done with oneself without thinking about short term gains. Such workplaces create such a conducive environment wherein social animals adapt and learn to engage in the bigger scheme of things.

    Companies engaged in infinite games like Apple, SWA, HD do not believe in short terms gains and do not believing in competing with anyone other than themselves that is why they are able to create the unimaginable and unthinkable since for them excellence is a journey. Any work culture like that of Four Seasons Las Vegas, inspire creativity by giving the requisite freedom and respect to encourage and motivate employees to be part of the family and give off their best.

    On the other hand workplaces wherein just about any tom , dick or harry are welcomed , are ones who for caring about short term goals and results are filled with micro management and become a pain in the neck after sometime. These are work places wherein people are not able to trust each other and lack a spirit of togetherness.

    When such is the case it is but natural to say that work is done only in run mode (for earning a daily living) without any sense of fulfillment.

    All those who are indulged in finite games are mired in environments wherein you find a lot of micromanagement blame games since that is the only way to survive is in finding a scape goat. These are work places who focus on ME rather than US and can never make realize the joy of giving in order to get a sense of fulfillment.

    So choice of workplace can help us enjoy work while at the same time giving a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.

    Pile on motivation!!!!

  • Vision v/s Goal – Sense of Fulfillment

    The following two videos of Simon are truly inspiring to the core.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=llKvV8_T95M

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ITwLbl4MKQ

    All of the messages that come out of the videos relate to the concept of WHY which has by now become an iconic concept.

    These are my take on the interpretation of the messages and relate to the concept of WHY.

    Serving those who serve others gives a sense of fulfillment the feeling of which is insanely different. If you have read FISH one of the fish philosophy relates to something known as “Make it Their Day”.

    We are so engrossed at meeting our personal targets at work that the short term goals compel us to behave differently at work and home.

    In our day to day lives, as part of the rat race we are so engrossed in our own personal gains that we fail to realize that we could have made a huge difference in the lives of others who may be needing our help. In this fast paced life, being of help to others who serve others would for sure give a sense of fulfillment the feeling of which would be insanely different.

    This can happen in profession as well as personal life of any individual. The more we preach and practice this inside out, the more our professional and personal lives would be uniform and we need not have to behave differently at work and with our family members.

    Success is a feeling of having taken the next step towards realization of your vision.

    Vision and goal both have a finish line, for goal this finish line is crystal clear but for vision this finish line is hazy.

    All those who have a vision hardly ever realize when they hit the finish line since achieving your vision is a journey which cannot be compared with experiences of others.

    There are loads of Type A personalities who are goal oriented and can sense a flow of dopamine on realization of each and every goal, but unfortunately never ever realize that do not have a vision to serve others and hence never ever can achieve fulfillment in life.

    Realization of your WHY in life day to day is like take a next step towards the finishing line of your vision. Completion of each logical step would give a sense of fulfillment that we would fail to realize in case we are short term goal oriented.

    Pile on motivation!!!!

  • Taming your Adaptive Unconscious to unleash your true power

    Blink by Malcolm Gladwell like all his other books is again another gem.

    The myriad concepts backed by scientific truths and data points would surely be an eye opener for the readers.

    The power of thin slicing to gauge and come to conclusions real fast needs connecting of dots and hence cannot be done in thin air. It needs having prior experiences and being passionate about a topic to thin slice else conclusions can lead to devastating results.

    Without having had prior experiences and without having prior subject matter knowledge concluding can lead to disastrous consequences.

    Unlocking the power of adaptive conscious by unlocking the door takes several years of practice, subject matter knowledge to connect the dots and thin slice. This unique power not only saves a lot of time but becomes very handy when it becomes a habit.

    Power of thin slicing to quick understand the nature of a person can go a long way in helping win business deals, motivate people or take pre-emptive action.

    This is why people who can connect dots and are known as industry specialists can analyze situations and see patterns with the bare minimum of data rather than trying to dump them with needless content and going into granular details.

    This is more to do with psychology as well since once we achieve success in thin slicing after realizing a pattern it somehow becomes a habit that is hard to let go.

    Concepts like fusiform gyrus, temporal gyrus and the use of them in terms of thin slicing come out like magic.

    On the other hand trying to take quick decisions on the basis of faulty thin slicing can spell doomsday especially in terms of recruiting the right fit for a company, teams and can cause detrimental consequences.

    For those who are already aware of Johari window, thin slicing by means of usage of adaptive unconscious would add more meat to the usage of this framework for solving practical problems.

    Pile on motivation….