Lessons from 'Men in Blue' - A Rise of Team India

Well here is my bit of learning’s from Champion Team India. It’s a Rise from a dream to a reality.

We are in the modern age of entertainment where sports itself is an industry and has a bigger story to tell not only to sportsmen but also to the likes of vivid mango people, a politicians, a businessman, corporate, students, etc. After all, star like Sachin Tendulkar, Michael Jordon much more than an average, mid sized company and now adding to the list MS Dhoni. Star like Sachin, Dhoni are itself industries in their own right.

These sports goliaths operate in a ruthless environment where success and failure are defined with the end of day results. You can either win or lose, no amount of creative campaign, notorious politics, bold Bollywood can conceal the truth of that terrible moments – the final whistle. And here are the notes of learning throughout of the ‘Men in Blue’ journey called as Cup that Counts…….

Lesson 1:  Have a Dream, Vision, Bigger picture in place

Indian team had a vision, mission or dream to win a world cup not for themselves but for Sachin, for country, for team. And team started preparing towards that more than year back. And if you look at the recent records of India before world cup, they have been gradually raising the bar of performance.

No doubt, Indian team did face some setbacks during the journey, they lost to SA, they became complacent and managed a tie with England, they had no easy game but when time demands they fought back really well to pull it back. And in the process they themselves got believed that they can turn around from any situation, they are battle hardened and team had a bigger vision, they could let these things to and regroup to accomplish bigger task. And peak when it is required.

Lesson 2: Leadership

Any truly successful team, organization or country requires strong and committed leadership. And team can have only one leader. Team India lead by MS Dhoni and he leads by example. He always gives the team a 100% of his effort and his energy. He never loses his temper. He is a great strategist. He has got fantastic ideas on the field. And he canvasses opinions and then he makes his own assessments.

Couple of decisions he took during knock out stage of the world cup were a great example of how convince he was on his thoughts. Even many cricket pundits have been surprised by the moves but he didn’t alter his plan and that’s what inspire team to justify and take responsibility to deliver the things on behalf of leader.

Whenever team faulted on occasion, Dhoni accepted responsibility for the team performance. Dhoni’s confidence and self-belief remained rock solid. He took the criticism in a positive stride and worked hard with his team to meet the challenge and win the world cup.

Lesson 3: Winning is about teamwork

The important thing to build a team is, to build relationships, to build trust. And probably the most significant thing that happened to team India has been the relationship that they have built. And it takes time. Through these relationship they have built trust within the team and once you have trust what happen is people take responsibility. People will believe in each other and support them. Its to provide a structure to people. It’s to tell people that they are moving towards something other than their individual glory.

Dhoni will be seldom heard saying, “I,” he is a big advocate of a joint effort and always mentions it to be a team effort rather than his alone. He often uses, “us,” and he is very blunt and honest. He will praise the players where they deserve it and also point out mistakes. He always exudes the oneness in the team.

Lesson 4: Focus on Core Strength

'Jack of all trades and master of none' - this maxim is very true as far as management is concerned. Focus on core strength is necessary for the immediate health of the brand as a whole.

Although India constantly strived to improve the bowling and fielding quality of team India but it did not lose its focus on the core strength, i.e., batting. A successful run chase in knock out matches is an example of this.

Lesson 5: Flexibility

Ability to adapt and respond to the changing environment and to constructively create opportunities for change through active participation is a must for any business. Indian team realized this fact and adapted it to the changing environment. Be it playing in foreign land or acclimatizing to new improved version of cricket. Men in blue have been successful everywhere. They beat Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka all three different teams with different strengths.

Lesson 6: Strategy Formation

The formulation of a sound strategy facilitates a number of actions and desired results that would be difficult otherwise. A strategic plan, when communicated to all members of an organization, provides employees with a clear vision of what the purposes and objectives of the firm are.

That is what Indian team precisely did. As batting has always been the core strength of Indian cricket team, the new strategy of team was to improve bowling and fielding department on occasion. Result of which is reflected in the performance of Indian team. It was surprised fielding efforts against Australia did the trick for India and surprised bowling efforts did the trick against Pakistan.

Lesson 7: Award Responsibility to the Players

One last thing which Indian team implemented is that players are awarded with responsibility. They are encouraged to think for team and themselves both and take charge of their own destiny. A rise of Yuvraj Singh, Confidence of Raina, Belief of Zaheer are only because of sense of responsibility they felt for every game. The greatest learning from Team India I can think of is that how to get best out of the people.

It might appear that since India won world cup all of a sudden all looks very positive. But again, this is what corporate life is all about, keep wining….

Accepting No Limit              Alternative Thinking            Driving Positive Changes               

Continue…..

Harsha Bhogle's note after Ind-SA match

Remember when you failed an examination. How many people recall that, your class, friends, relatives? You failed to make it to the IITs or IIMs. Who remembers. How many times have you had the feeling of being the best in your class, school , university, state….., you failed to get a visa stamped this quarter…, you missed a promotion this year…, how did it feel when you dad told you in your early twenties that you are good for nothing…..and now your boss tell you the same....

You keep introspecting and go into a shell when people most of whom don’t matter a dime in your life criticize you, back bite you, make fun of you. You are left sad and shattered and you cry when your own kin scoffs at you. You say I am feeling low today. It takes a lot from us to come out of these everyday situations and move on. A lot??? really?

Now here’s a man standing on the third man boundary in the last over of a world cup match. The bowler just has to bowl sensibly to win this game. What the man at the boundary sees is 4 rank bad bowls bowled without any sense of focus, planning or regret. India loses, yet again in those circumstances when he has done just about everything right.

He does not cry. Does not show any emotion. Just keeps his head down and leaves the field. He has seen these failures for 22 years now. And not just his class, relatives, friends but the whole world has seen these failures. We are too immature to even imagine what goes on in that mind and heart of his. That’s why I would never want to be Sachin.

True, he has single handedly lifted to moods of this entire nation umpteen number of times. He has been an inspiration to rise above our mediocrity. Nobody who has ever lifted the willow even comes close to this man’s genius. His dedication and metal strength is unparallel. This is specially for those people who would have made fun of him again last night when India lost. They are people who are mediocre in their own lives. Who just scoff at others to create cheap fun. Who have lived in a small hole throughout their lives and thought they have seen the oceans.

Think about the man himself. He is 37 years of age. He has been playing almost non stop for 22 years. The way he was running and diving around the field last night would have put 22 year olds to shame. The way he played the best opening quickies in the world was breathtaking. He just keeps getting better which is by the way humanly impossible. Its not for nothing that people call him GOD.

But still I don’t want to be in those shoes. We struggle in keeping our monotonous lives straight, lives which affect a limited number of people. Imagine what would be the magnitude of the inner struggle for him, pain both mental and physical, tears that have frozen with time, knees and ankles and every other joint in the body that is either bandaged or needs to be attended to every night, eyes that don’t sleep before a big game, bats that have scored 99 international tons and still see expectations from a billion people.

And he just converts those expectations into reality. We watch in awe, feel privileged.Well I think its time that his team realizes that enough is enough. They have an obligation, not towards their country alone but towards sachin. They need to win this one for him. Stay assured that he himself will still deliver and leave no stone unturned to make sure India wins this cup.

This is not just a game, and he is not just a sportsman. Its much more than this. Words fail here.....

Love kya hai ??

Labo per laa de jo muskurahat

sahi mayeno me wo Love hai

Halki si kare jo shararat

sahi mayeno me wo Love hai

Hasi hasi me jo gam bhula de

sahi mayeno me wo Love hai

Bina kuch kahe sab kuch kahe

sahi mayeno me wo Love hai

Jo teri meri samajh me aaye

Sahi mayeno me bas wahi Love hai..

Only For you - SHANK

More I know you....More I love you

Yesterday we had a discussion where you ended it with this line “Most important for me is you else apart everything”. Well do you know how much effect this statement have on me? Isn’t it enough that it forced me to write again something for you.

Wondering with the line when we say “I’ll always be there for you”. Don’t you feel that we feel secured when we heard this from each other. And even if the rain is pouring hard and thunder storm shattering earth but we will never leave each other so we won’t feel alone. Even if the friends and people around us left, but we would stay each others side, just not to feel alone.

You will have me who will be willing to listen you, understand you in your every frustration, in your every depressing moments, every down moments, every self worthless realization moments, I will be there, not because you want me to be with you, but because I want to be with you. I want this world around us feel agony of our bonding not just to show how much we love but to tell them how much we understand and how much happiness we can share in every aspect of the life.

I will be always appreciating you for your every little effort, every little thing you will do, if not in public then don’t get disappointed because in heart. Even a smile of your would mean a lot to me, just because you own that smile, and that even if no words are expressed as long as the eyes understand, you’d be able to communicate, just like now, hug me.

You remember I told you that I love you for who you are. I may not have an answer when you ask me why, but really I don’t have to have any reasons for loving you.

I am grateful to have you. We It may just be coincidence or fate but whatever the reason is, I have to be thankful in having you the same way you are thankful for having me.

I know how difficult these days for you. And when you feel that you are on verge of giving up the things you’ve worked hard for, I know you wont give up but still in those moments look at me, I wont just help you to carry that weight but I will carry it on my own because I’d also be in pain when you are in pain. And then you'll realize, trials would all be worth it as long as you have me, not because I would do things for you, but because you gather all the strength you need, in me and my love.

One compliant you are having that I am not expressing explicitly my feelings for you but believe me when we’re apart, and days seem to be long. I miss you. We fight over that feelings because we are looking forward to seeing each other, and that’s something to be happy about. Isn’t it?

I care and I care enough to think of you and what you will be someday. But of course, I also want you to be part of my thoughts. You to be part of my journey. You to be my crorepatni.

You know, you can be who you really are with me. No pretend, no lies, no hypocrisy, because I accept you for who you are. You can be funny, you can be embarrassed, you can be fat or mad but it won’t matter now coz it doesn’t matter to me. Trust and faith in each other keeps us alive. And it will always do.

There will be days, moments that because of distraction, you may not hear my inner voice, my love for you but as long as you feel it, my efforts will paid off. And when you will feel the same way as I do…. I would feel as if I’m the luckiest person alive. I know for sure, you will feel absolutely same way.

Being Master of the Market? Nope

Wondering with the stint I had have with the market or I say bazaar, share bazaar J. Market itself is the universe where you learn a lot with in yourself. Believe me markets makes you learn so much that you wont ever find out anywhere.

Whatever you are trader, investor, hedger or speculator every one wants their bets (oopss did I used right word) should go right. Everyone wants to be master of market. But you can not be a good trader, investor, hedger or speculator till you really want that you should mastered/ will master the market.

A simple question pop up in my mind “can you ever become GOD?” Nope. You can only become one with him and that happens only when one surrenders the ego. Yes “ego”.  Why we all are so fond of god? Because we know that we can not be god ever. Same way have you ever wondered why do markets have this crazy attraction? I myself getting crazy towards it. Why do people become so addicted to them? The first reason may be the elusive and illusive nature of the market. Whatever we can’t master becomes attractive to us; be it God, market or a beautiful lady!

We want to KNOW the market, something that we can’t do. All the efforts to master the market are driven by our egotism. But one must remember: Market is a place where you become the master through a complete surrender. There is no place for ego here. You accept all the commandments of the market. If you had thought that it would go up and it goes down; accept the fact wholeheartedly without feeling any injury to your ego. Don’t say: how can the market contradict ME! If you don’t accept the markets as they are, you will be left an emotional wreck.

Make one thing sure that you are not controlling the market, Market is controlling you. Up, down, bull, bear whatever be the market your emotions gets controlled by the market. One universal rule I want to mention here is that “Money can not be created in market, it just transferred from one person to other” so for every happiness you have in market, there has to be sadness to rebalance.

Trading in the markets is a journey in self-discovery. You venture out to discover the secret of the market and end up discovering yourself. You discover your impatience, your inner fears, your greed etc. In sum, you are forced to reassess yourself. After all these aspects of your personality are discovered, it is up to you whether you have the guts to come to terms with all the universal human emotions. I don’t say that you will eradicate these from your system. Here also only an acceptance of these will lead to a position when you do not resign to these temptations. The key is to gain objectivity. Courage is not the absence of fear but its conquest. When you are able to withstand your own frailties and become successful as a trader, you will realize that all through your own self was the biggest obstacle and the markets never stopped you from being successful. You yourself were the impediment. Even after this success, you realize that you have still have not mastered the market but conquered your own self. You can even find God through surrender of the self. 

Remember: Market like God is not mastered/its realized.

Know then thyself.