Story of "Aung San Suu Kyi"

                                                                A Lesson for all women  

 Love the people:

People represent the society and society is never perfect. It has its own set of bad habits, shortcomings and faults. The leader has to love the people. People will respect the leader only when you show them your love. To lead is to love. She always thought it important to get involved with the people. Comparing it with any organization, a manager / team leader has to show the love and affection they have for their team members. Until and unless they make the employees comfortable, the team will also not be comfortable and may not be clear with the issues in a project.

Give back to people:

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”
                                                                                     -    Winston Churchill

At times, when we feel helpless about any issues be it in our personal or professional careers, helping others rejuvenates us. Sometimes in a team while working, it is important to understand other team member’s problems also and come up for a solution. It should never be taken as “Not my problem” attitude. Concern should be there for all modules in a project and from all members until a project is completed.

Freedom from fear:

In any situation of life, fear is the real prison and freedom from fear is the real freedom. People in power are not corrupted, but people fearing to lose the power become corrupted. Comparing it with our professional life’s also, when in any project work , it is sometimes wise and beneficial to take a risk and deploy it. Until we are ready for taking risks , there would always be fear in the minds of employees. It is necessary to curb out this fear and give the team members a sense of ownership.

Do the right thing:

This is one of the hardest things to do in life. When we are not doing right , we are not feeling good . Somehow something seems to be missing. Doing the right thing can raise self esteem and feel desirable for success. In our life’s, there are instances when we tend to choose between the hard way and the easy way. The easy way is not always the right and although it may fulfill requirements now, may land us in a bigger maze later on. So choosing the easy way is not the secret, choosing the right way is.

Work in Unity:

We have a lot of things always going on in our minds. We have a lot of other people also having the same goals and same paths. With a common goal all humanity should work together that can build up a planet a much better place to live in harmony and peace. This is so much evident in any group work we do, you got to be a team player. We got to work in team – There is no substitute for this. It is very necessary to join hands to get our work done.
 
Change it if you want:

People want change because that is the only thing that is constant in today’s world. People have also started realizing that, to bring about change it is necessary to go about it themselves. With changing people, the situation surrounding them also changes. Things which need to be changed for our better should be done fast. In any organization also, reorganization is equally important with time. This helps the organization grow and breaks its monotonous status.

Deal with your own problem:

Take charge of your life. When you take charge of your life, you are responsible for it and for all the situations associated with it and for the change in it. It is necessary to develop new approaches and new routines in life. It is necessary to reduce tension in our life’s ourselves and bring more joy into it. Talking about this in management terms, it is very easy to blame others for any problems but it’s equally important to take charge of responsibilities.

Become the role model of all women:

The greatest learning that can be taken from the life of Aung San Suu Kyi is that “You don’t need to be fierce to be strong”. Women are always responsible for the tolerant, caring, just and peaceful life that is expected by all. Being a woman, in a team also, it is important to show the same nature and make the work a success always.

Be more active in your life:

When we are dull and depressed, we are not anxious about things going on around us. We do not tend to do things that make us happy. It is important to be active in life because it involves us in many other areas of life that can be enjoyable. We should constantly be willing to change and should commit ourselves to be active. At times, when we are not involved directly under a project also in our organization, it is important to be involved in some activity or the other. This will help us in continually improving ourselves and learning continues to grow on a regular basis.

"Sandy Hurricane"

Project Management Lessons from Sandy Hurricane

Risk mitigation:

Immediately after the Hurricane Sandy, the airlines industry rebounded back. The airports were cleaned up, and restored normal operations. No major facility damage was reported, power interruption was not reported and the aircraft started flying again gaining back connectivity to the world. Early forecasts and warnings in advance of the storm helped them. Risk mitigation is very important to reduce the gravity of negative impact. In a project, it is always advisable to listen to the experts, take their advice and use the best of strategies to keep the risk to a minimum. There has to be a plan in mind and not much delay should be there in implementing it.

 Validate assumptions:

Sandy came one week ahead of the Election Day. As a necessity for the election, residents were ensured of accessible polling sites. A typical election site consisted of tents, voting machines and all other equipment necessary for the day. A generator had also been brought in to provide the power as the area had not yet been put back in power after Sandy Hurricane. When the site operators attempted to start the generator, it disappointed them to fund the fuel tank empty. Although the voting proceeded as per schedule with great difficult, this was a learning not to make an assumption. Similarly for a project also, it is important to understand the assumptions and to validate them.

  Action speaks louder than words / don’t promise, ACT:

During Hurricane, to implement the mandatory evaluations of areas under high risk, the officials shut down public transport and all bridges, tunnels, roadways to those areas were shut down. Same thing applies in any organization also when there are certain expectations from its employees. The organization has to find out ways to mandatory enforce those ideas by taking constructive feedback from the employees. These ideas should be applied to not only the employees but the managers also

  Tolerance for risk tolerance:

Each person’s risk tolerance is as unique as one finger prints. During the Hurricane crisis also, people tolerated other people’s perspectives and emotions when it came to managing risk it order to live and work together. Managers in organizations need to understand this. When dealing with different department heads, all will speak of the risks involved in their respective department, here the managers need to understand and be calculative of the risk involved. Only when the other person feels listened to and values, will he/she open up and be open to new ideas thus increasing the risk tolerance. The changes of any organization will be felt for a long time the same way as the impact of  

Be rooted:

One very important lesson can be learnt from the Sandy Hurricane. We as humans demand a lot from our daily lives, we always are greedy for something more, whether be it in job location, salary, health, assets and many more. On the day the hurricane strike also, people left their homes worrying about satisfying relationships , achievement , recognition  or maybe what they really wanted to be when they grew up. The very next day, the same people were devastated by the storm and now had their main worry as some of the basic needs of life as food, shelter, water, sleep, physical and financial security. This understanding is the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Applying the same thing to the organizational level, managers need to understand that when employees worry about if their basic needs are going to be met in terms of salary, health insurance cannot actually focus on how to make a difference, work creatively or collaboratively or how to take the organization to a next level. When improvement in an employee’s seems to get stuck, it is necessary to investigate if the basic needs are going unmet.

    Right Communication, Right Time:

It is important to be in control but also equally important to be human and humane. The type of communication provided by the governor informing about Hurricane crisis was equally appreciated. They information came in a formula which is: briefly review what happened, briefly describe what is happening right now, and then justify the plan going forward. There was an effort made to reach out to customers in every possible way. Applying this to the organizational level also, any news should be following the same logical order – share the immediate past, the present and the future .It is important to be very clear and concise during this news. During the delivery of any news like disaster it is important to consider the mood of the people also; people can be frustrated, angry, scared or lost. So the communication should be expressed with gravity, calmness and a sense of confidence.

 Put aside enmity:

During the time of Hurricane crisis, the republicans and democrats put their political differences aside and focussed solely on the issue. This is very demandable during a disaster. Coordination between politicians, technocrats, fire brigade, ambulance and health services worked like a jig saw puzzle. It is very important to work together during such a crisis. The government is actually doing a very nice job in responding well to the crisis. Even the organizations should understand this and be collaborative for crisis on an industry.

Be there and get your hands dirty

By touring some of the hardest hit areas personally, the president and governor were able to witness the state of calamity and the amount of disaster occurred. Delegation is an important thing but in a situation of crisis, ground knowledge and in person leadership is irreplaceable. In any organization also, In case of an issue at the employee level, it is sometimes helpful for the managers to get involved and solve the problem. This make the manager and employee relationship healthier. The employee embodies a sense of confidence and opens up to his manager in terms of urgency.

Lead and empower your team:

The president directed all federal employees to return all calls within 15 minutes. He also ordered them to tell a “yes” instead of a “no” for all requests for aid. In teams, it is necessary to empower the team as a manager. It is necessary to demonstrate that you trust them. This increases their confidence also. This helps the managers also to recognize specific leaders and appreciate their work.

   Being prepared

As the Hurricane Sandy roared towards the mid – Atlantic, as people were stuck by the mess created all over. The thought that first commonly in all peoples mind was – Be prepared. The devastation brought about by the storm will always have an everlasting impact. Fortunately, the human toll stands low. Agreeable that any loss on human life is a tragedy, the loss would have been a lot more if the emergency services and elected officials wouldn’t have stretched to greater lengths to prepare residents for the storm. In an organization also, it is important to be prepared for any crisis that comes on the way.

"Oppa Gangnam style"

Gangnam is all around. The catchy tune, the quirky moves not forgetting the still on 630 million views.

Some facts about this video:

Ø  Singer: South Korean pop artist Park Jae Sang popularly known as PSY

Ø  PSY name comes from his first album “The Psycho World” (2001)

Ø  Release date: 15^th July 2012

Ø  Meaning: “Gangnam style” refers to the lifestyle associated with the Gangnam district of Seoul where people are trendy and exude a certain “class”

Ø  Recognised by “Guinness book of world records as the most “liked” video in YouTube history

a) There is no one like you – Show your unique value

We imitate, knowingly or unknowingly. From childhood, we imitate parents, friends, loved ones, personalities. We eat, play, and grow imitating something from someone. This song teaches us originality in the form of style and in the form of thoughts. This song lets the style emerge and the mantra is “Dress classy and dance cheesy”. The uniqueness is to follow one's own style and philosophy.

Be unique and maintain an individual identity.

b) Have Fun..Be Bold

The amount of sense of humour in the lyrics of this song is immense. It explains how a common man fantasizes about life in the lane symbolized by ritzy area in Seoul known as Gangnam. This song teaches us to have a sense of humour .Everything about the song, dance, looks, and the music video is far from being high class which is what is being poked about in the song.

Take things sincerely, not seriously.

c) Emotional denominator 

The video being intended for his native country only, still gained popularity all across the globe. The reasons were because it was fun filled and positive attitude. Although the video was initially intended only for his native country, the song has gained immense popularity in spite of language and looks of a global pop idol barrier. This video has an emotional quotient in it as it is associated with the lands of Seoul.

Emotional attachment attracts a much larger base.

d) Crowd sourcing

Use of crowd sourcing to choreograph the famous “invisible horse dance”. Suggestions were invited and complied from all over to develop the quirky moves of the song. Learning the moves from a knowledgeable base actually allowed increased creativity. Unrestricted crowd sourcing is dangerous and may at times lead to outrageous results.

Be open to learning from various sources
 
e) Own your product
 
The song is such that people feel it easy to adopt, restyle it and spread it.Every company should find elements specific to it that can be owned. People feel attached to the product and once people become attached they only come up with innovative ways to celebrate the success of the brand. 

Own yourself, Own your individuality

f) Being viral

Gangnam style became a viral phenomenon because it had amazement, acceptance, celebration. All this lead the video to be viral and spread across.

Be it a product, a brand, make it spread like a viral.

:A lot more on Gangnam will be discovered over the week.Keep visiting this space: