Credit

A frog asked two geese to take him south with them. At first they resisted as they could not see how it could be done. The amphibian suggested that the two geese hold a stick in their beaks and that he would hold on to it with his mouth.

So the threesome took off, flying south over the countryside. It was quite a sight. Crowds looked up and expressed great admiration at this demonstration of innovative and effective teamwork.

 Someone shouted, ‘It's wonderful! Who was so clever to discover such a fine way to travel?’ Immediately, the frog opened his mouth and said, ‘It was I,’ and plummeted down to his death.

 So often, we find people clamouring for claiming credit in a team performance. There is no place for ‘I’ in a team. While the idea-creator is important, ideas that are not implemented are of no relevance.

 In team, there are different roles: someone suggests a plan, someone takes it forward and makes it a plan of action, there others who take actions to implement the plan and there yet others who support in lesser or greater ways.

 When ‘I’ takes sole credit, it is unfair to all others who contributed to the successful performance. True leaders share credit with the team. They acknowledge every effort in a fair manner. They use the word ‘We’ instead of ‘I’.

 Share credit, don’t seek sole claim

‘We’ is spot-on, ‘I’ is illusory fame!

 - Pravin K. Sabnis

Listening

Upon her return from her play school, Pedro’s daughter had wonderful things to tell. One day, he was reading a book when she arrived home and began to chatter away. Though reading, Pedro was listening as well.

 But the child stopped speaking and started to make grumpy noises. Pedro looked up from his book to ask her, ‘what upset you?’ She promptly replied, ‘you are not listening to me!’

 Pedro immediately denied her charge and began to repeat what he had heard. But she was unrelenting. She asserted, in the way only a young child can, ‘You were not looking at me! How can you listen if you are not looking at me?’

 Listening is often confused with hearing. It requires us to move beyond hearing and proactively participate in the interpersonal skill! The speaker must believe that the other is listening. Paying obvious attention through right body language responses is crucial. It requires responsive feedback through apt questions, nodding, etc.

 When we look at the listener, we receive communication beyond hearing. We notice expressed emotions and understand beyond the sound of words. More importantly, the one speaking is convinced that we are indeed listening and this encouragement ensures continuity in the communication.

 Look, respond, participate… to aid listening

Let’s wilfully move beyond lifeless hearing!

       

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Sportsmanship

 When African-American athlete Jesse Owens arrived at 1936 Olympic Games, the atmosphere was tough and intimidating. The Games were part of Adolf Hiltler’s grand plan to prove Aryan superiority and African-American’s were not high on his priority list.

 He was called racial epithets and subjected to mistreatment but it was nothing worse than what he was already subjected to back home in America. He went on to script history, finishing with 4 Olympic gold medals in 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump respectively – a record that stood for 48 years.

 While Owens’ feat was unique, he might have lost a gold medals had it not been for the advice from an unlikely ally – German long jumper Luz Long.

 Owens was flustered to learn that what he had thought was a practice jump had been counted as his first attempt. Unsettled, he foot-faulted the second attempt. Before his last jump, Long suggested that he place a towel in front of the take-off board. Leaping from that point, he qualified for finals, beating Long for the gold.

 The German was the first to congratulate Owens and later walked around the stadium, arm-in-arm and posing for pictures together. It was a classy act of sportsmanship that stayed with Owens for the rest of his life.

 ‘It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me. You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the 24-karat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment,’ he said.

 Sportsmanship is an understanding of and commitment to fair play, ethical behavior and integrity, and general goodwill toward an opponent. Simply put, sportsmanship is a choice. In a cut-throat competitive world, it is an evidence of humane character.

 In every significant and competitive race

Sportsmanship certifies humane grace!

 - Pravin K. Sabnis

RUDIMENTS

A king went on an extensive trip across his kingdom! When he returned back to the luxuries of his palace, he complained that his feet were aching. The road that he walked on was uneven. Yet, as he had enjoyed the travel, he wished to travel again.

The learned court consultant suggested that every road in the kingdom be covered with leather. All the courtiers complimented and applauded the plan.

The king noticed his court jester smirking. Upon being ordered to speak his mind, the jester said, ‘just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet… spend the money instead on making shoes for everybody who travels on the rough roads!’

Situations are transformed by empowering persons to tackle circumstances. The larger lesson is that for planning to be better, it must focus on the traveller rather than the road, on the driver rather than the vehicle, on the farmer rather than the food industry, on existent sustainability rather than vague magnificence.

The story also underlines a valuable lesson of life… of starting with the rudimentary. It is about transforming our own efforts and actions to achieve the desired results. Let us remember that instead of investing too much effort in altering the larger predicament, let’s be better at making rudimentary transformations.

The feet come first, the road comes later…

Start with rudiments, they do truly matter!

- Pravin K. Sabnis