Intent to Action

Our family needed some medicines at about 10.30 pm, and since we had just finished a hearty meal, my son Rakshan and I decided to walk to the nearby medical hall, than use the car. Half way into our errand, Rakshan noticed a poorly dressed man sleeping in a dark corner of the footpath and said, “Dad, maybe we should put a 100 Rupee note in his hand.” After some thought on whether this was prudent, he decided against it, but as we walked on, he kept wondering what we could do to help the man. I suggested that we could buy some biscuits for him at the medicine shop, but once there, we got busy with the purchase of the medicines and forgot all about the biscuits.

As we walked back, we came to the spot the man was sleeping in the darkness, and suddenly remembered the biscuits. My son looked around for a shop to buy the forgotten item, but an idea struck him when he noticed a restaurant a few yards away. He took me there, ordered an Aloo Paratha (Spiced mashed potatoes in flat bread), took the packet to the man, knelt down and said, “Brother please get up and eat”. The man with a nod of his  head and a  grateful look acknowledged the  offering.  Rakshan got up to his feet and continued walking towards home as if nothing had happened... it came so naturally to him. Having witnessed this, I realized how little it does it  take for us to walk the talk.

Achieving Excellence – Completing the Last Mile

In a long journey, the last mile becomes critical in actually reaching your destination and achieving your goals. Long journeys can be arduous and boring, when short supply of resources like time, food and water can cloud our judgement... even the best are bound to make errors. This can also happen when you are executing mission critical projects or assignments, where all deadlines are being met and yet, at the last 5% of the project, there could be issues which impede you from achieving your goals. This actually  prevents  you  achieving  excellence in your chosen field.

Interestingly, there is a narrative in the Bible of three wise men who made an error of judgement in the last mile of their journey. The wise men of that time, similar to the Subject Matter Expert ( SME) of today, did their research and deep study on their field of expertise. They understood that a King was born, by reading the literature of that time and matching it with the symbols and events. Their study revealed that the prophecy was being fulfilled through a bright star being seen in the East, so they decided to follow this bright star to lead them to their destination. Their purpose was to worship the King who was born at that time.

They had a journey of about 1300 kilometres from Babylon to Bethlehem, had they taken the main trade route. In those days the average speed was 32 kilometres per day by a camel caravan. Therefore the journey would have taken at least about 40 days. They would have taken a small entourage to provide for their needs and the needs of the camels. In essence, there was planning, detailing and providing for resources. They were clear on what was needed and they followed the star in their journey. 

As they came close to their destination, perhaps about the last 10 kilometres, they let their instinct decide, instead of following the star. In their judgement they assumed that the king had to be in a palace. They took their sight away from their source of guidance and instead, relied on their assumption. 

They meet the ruling king at that time and ask him, "Where is he who was born king of the Jews?", which sent alarm bells ringing in the kings mind. An alarm in the kings mind was panic in the hearts of his subjects. This falter turned fatal for scores of children who were below two years, as the king did not want any rival to his throne. I am not sure if these wise men ever learnt of the consequences of their falter.

There are a few learnings for Project Leaders and Business Heads from this little episode. Most professionals  believe they are on the path to excellence.  Having clarity of purpose is not enough, it is important to set the right goal and stay focussed on it.  A review of the goal is important as we reach important milestones. Overconfidence, common assumptions, hearsay could make you falter and deviate from reaching your goal.  Completing the last mile is important to achieve excellence  in your  chosen field. 

It is important to also remember that when one deviates from the goal, there is a price to pay. Unfortunately in this incident a few scores of innocents paid for this falter. Therefore Leadership is a responsibility and as Leaders, we are called to lead wisely. 

Wisdom and Innocence

Several years ago when I first read the verse   " Be ye wise as Serpents and innocent as doves" ( Mathew 10:16)  I was intrigued.
These are the words of Jesus and why is there a reference to the Serpents as being wise.  With time and experience it dawned on me  that  

Wisdom is a state of mind while Innocence is a consequence of action.

There fore while we may possess the knowledge and wisdom on the various disciplines of our vocation  we need to ensure that our  actions should  never make us  feel guilty or be called  guilty.

Wisdom is Togetherness!

Locusts have no king; they move together, they are wise. It is difficult for us to comprehend how ordinary locusts can be wise. What is the wisdom of these locusts, let’s understand a few graphic images again from the Bible. 

4, 5 If you refuse, tomorrow I will cover the entire nation with a thick layer of locusts so that you won't even be able to see the ground, and they will finish destroying everything that escaped the hail.

6 They will fill your palace, and the homes of your officials, and all the houses of Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt has there been a plague like this will be!' ".

 Ex 10:4-6 (Living)

 4 After the cutter-locusts finish eating your crops, the swarmer-locusts will take what's left! After them will come the hopper-locusts! And then the stripper-locusts too!   Joel 1:4 (Living)

If you ask a farmer here he will dread the locusts.

If he sees a single locust it is inconsequential but many locusts together are indomitable.

They are wise because they are united. They bring about destruction. So the learning for us is also to be united.

Can we be united?

These wise creatures destroy.  If we are united we can also destroy like the locusts. We can destroy what is evil. The beauty of diversity is best seen in collectivity; individually none of us can experience what we experience as a group.

Unity means a couple of small things, which are not so easy yet not impossible. What are they?

Common purpose- having one goal,

Understanding and communication with one another

Supporting and encouraging each other and finally, taking the responsibility for the work.

We need to come together for common causes more than ever today. We  need to look more at the cause than our own agenda.    

What can we destroy by being united? Yes we can destroy all that is evil and all the ideas which promote hate. This is a partnership effort. While taking the unity of the locusts we can go a step further to build love and compassion in our community.

We get strength from being together and it therefore important that we remain united and overcome evil with good.

Locusts are wise because of the partnership they share.