1. Think before you leap

Identify and forecast the various consequences of an action. You could identify the impact of building a holiday resort in a forest. This could be Improving the bottom line of the company Damaging the environment Harming the health of the employees The impact could also be studied in various time periods: the next month, 6 months, 1 year and 5 years. Sometimes the immediate impact on the company, may be great, resulting in short term profits. However, the long term impact could be disastrous, creating many dissatisfied customers.

Compassion

Compassion, or karuna, is also at the transcendental and experiential heart of the Buddha’s teachings. ‘Compassion is that which makes the heart of the good move at the pain of others. It crushes and destroys the pain of others; thus, it is called compassion. It is called compassion because it shelters and embraces the distressed,’ said the Buddha. Scouts have to do a ‘good turn, every day’; perhaps this is an axiom that we can schedule into our busy lives.

Understand the Environment of Creativity

The value system of a company can provide the environment for creativity. People can do their best if their work is: ‘Good for the country, employees, customers.’ Or as the Honda mission statement puts it ‘Joy to the employee, joy to the customer and joy to the country’. The typical corporate atmosphere is competitive and ruthless. People rush to satisfy their selfish desires for glory and the limelight. Anyone standing in the way is viewed with anger and hatred. In such an environment, the individual uses 50% of energy protecting his ego and his turf. So much energy is wasted on one-upmanship and putting others down. The ability of the group to function is therefore severely compromised. How much better to work in the nurturing environment? Here a person does not feel the separation between himself and others. He wants others to do as well as himself. He competes only with himself in the search for excellence. He acknowledges the champion in everybody. The person does not develop a single-minded infatuation with his own ideas but accepts the reality that others also can have great ideas. It is important to understand that we can have a win-win environment. In such an environment everyone will be willing to take risks and go through the process of failures. He knows that in an experiment, there are no failures - only feedback.

Transform spectators into participants

Companies begin to fade when a majority of their people become spectators with a 'chalta hai' or 'let it be' attitude. When a company is a start-up, everyone is an enthusiastic participant. As the company begins to age, its life cycle makes it slow, ponderous and bureaucratic. How to break this cycle? Simple: Open the floodgates of people's minds. Involve everybody. The best ideas come from the grassroots from people who are actually doing the work. Often it is said that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. This is because only 20% of the people are treated as the 'Core' group, the rest are treated as peripheral. The select 'insiders' create a barrier against the participation of the outsiders. If everyone's work can become critical to the company, no one will be a spectator, everyone will be a committed participant.

Empowerment is the result of wholehearted participation

If the teams learn the secret of positive fields or mind space, they can improve their your Happiness Quotient. They can also get the best out of others. Making members of your team wholehearted participants rather than indifferent spectators, is the key to organizational success. Whole heartedness is a state of full presence. This state involves complete enjoyment of a task. Participation, with full commitment of body and mind, is irresistible. I become wholehearted when I give all of myself to an interaction or task. These interactions create a field, which allows me to be present in the moment, without defensiveness. The most fundamental characteristics of a positive field are, that it quells anxiety and produces feelings of acceptance and a feeling of being affirmed. It is like walking into a room full of people who love and accept you, unconditionally. It is a feeling of being meaningful and safe – this frees up energy for connecting. An important constituent of the positive field, according to George Prince of Synectics, is affirmations. An affirmation is a verbal, tonal or non-verbal act of appreciation. A compliment can be a verbal hug. A verbal hug can replace a thousand words. The field is most affected by positive, soul level motives or ’Sankalpa’. If the gut level motives are positive, the mere lack of skill in verbal, tonal and non-verbal transmissions can be overcome.

Set and Share Your Goals

Work life is so pervasive that often all other aspects of the individual whither away. A key challenge, when companies are tracking stretch goals is maintaining work life balance. Top management would also benefit from attending this presentation. Let each person set their personal goals for the year and share it with a buddy who will work with them for the next 90 days. Let them become familiar with the 4 quadrants of their lives. Here are some key suggestions. 1. Can Saturday be a day when child friendly facilities are provided? A facilitator creates a Kid power day at ICICI. 2. How can families be involved to support organizational goals? 3. Can social life be improved by corporate social responsibility activities? Try getting everyone to participate in a tree planting day. 4. Can the team be taught Yoga and Meditation? 5. Is a corporate gym or membership to one, like yearlong matches (cricket or Kho Kho) be a possibility. 6. Can a counsellor be on call or can volunteer staff members be trained as counsellors? 7. How can the company enable individual talents to flower. How about a monthly ‘Talent Evening’?

Building Co-operation within the company

Encourage top management to observe signs of conflict and co-operation. You can understand whether a company is doing well by :  The look in the people’s eyes.  The way they walk  The quality of the interaction.  You can see the effect of the positive field by how people help each other and share information. Constraint, Control and Compliance, reduces the positive field. Top down – constraints – cuts out the joy Bosses should exist to help people win. Explore co-operation within the organization. Identify conflicts and ask for suggestions to defuse them. Walk around the departments to identify potential problem areas. Encourage small group discussion and bonding.