26 ways to success - A to Z series - " A to Z, the series concludes! " article published in The Hans India on 5th August 2016

A to Z, the series concludes!

Given below are all the attributes that were discussed in the last 26 weeks.

Attitude is a settled way of thinking or feeling about something. Attitude, especially positive attitude is that intangible asset that needs to be brought to the table. When the things get tough, the tough need to get going.

Behaviour is the way one acts or conducts oneself, especially towards others. Man is a social entity and he can’t survive by himself. He needs the society and society needs him. It is a symbiotic relationship. We are known by our dress and address. Dress is what we wear and how we wear it. Address is what we say and how we say it. It is not as much what we say that matters rather it is the way we say that makes a difference.

Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas to create something different or being inventive. It is not doing different things, it is doing things differently.

Determination is the firmness of purpose. The firmness of purpose and the single minded pursuit of that goal have to become an all-consuming passion. So much so that one should become impervious to pursuit of other mundane activities. 

Enjoying is to take delight or pleasure in an activity or occasion.  If a person’s hobby becomes his job that person is destined to excel.

Feeling is an emotional state or a reaction like a feeling of Joy. It is the emotional side of someone’s character; emotional responses or tendencies to respond. Feelings are everything in life. We need to express ourselves and express without inhibitions. Feelings are what separate us from robots.

Generosity is showing a readiness to give more of something, than what is strictly necessary or expected.  A quality that we all think that we have but don’t have in abundance is generosity. That generosity is important and valued is not surprising. Generosity is a “nice-to-have” quality. If a person is generous, he/she probably is well liked.

Honesty is a facet of moral character that indicates positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness and straightforwardness of conduct. Honesty also means the absence of lying, cheating, theft etc. Honesty would make a person trustworthy, loyal, fair and sincere. It is something that should be ingrained in us and is the DNA by which we are judged.

Innovation is a new idea, or a more effective device or a new process. Innovation can be viewed as the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, unarticulated or existing market needs. This can be accomplished through more effective products, processes, services or technologies.

Being Jovial but not being a joker. Man is the only species that can smile. It is the gift that is bestowed to make him popular and get his work done smoothly. It takes 21 muscles to smile and 72 to frown. So why waste energy frowning? Smile and the world smiles with you and cry and you cry alone.

Knowledge is the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association. It could be the knowing or understanding of a science, art, or technique. Being knowledgeable should be a life time obsession. 

Leadership is the art of leading others to deliberately create a result that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. The focus is on leading others and to make them do things voluntarily. Leaders are catalysts and change makers. They tend to challenge status quo and often act aggressively to make new things happen. Management is the art of doing things right and leadership is the art of doing the right things.

Motivation explains people’s behaviour. It represents the reasons for their actions, desires and needs. Motivation is one's direction to a behavior or what causes a person to repeat the same behavior. A motive is what prompts the person to act in a certain way, or at least develop an inclination for a specific behavior.

Nativity or Jugaad.  Jugaad is the Indian way of managing things with the least of the resources. It is the Indian way of thumping the world. In India everything is a challenge and Indians have mastered the game of doing things with minimum fuss and maximum result. Where else in the world would one find “Indian Chinese food, Bread Bajji, Bread Upma”. Old rice is not thrown away it becomes vadiyum. Or even better it is made into tasty curd rice that is greatly relished.

Openness is a personal trait that lays emphasis on transparency and free, unrestricted access to knowledge and information as well as collaborative or cooperative management and decision-making rather than a centralized authority. Openness is the opposite of secrecy.

Personality. People with pleasing personalities make others feel good. We would like to be around people with pleasing personality. They keep a positive point of view and demonstrate flexibility and patience. They treat people fairly and with respect. These people also tend to be good listeners and conversationalists. They handle situations well and share their opinion in an agreeable manner. People with pleasing personalities are people-oriented and are interactive.

Questioning. Divergent Thinkers are the need of the hour. Divergent Thinkers are those who can start at a point and progress in any direction. They end up questioning the question itself. The purpose of divergent thinking is not to come out with clever and apt answers. Rather it is to develop the ability that most of us have lost - the ability to question things. Anything can be questioned, the status quo, the holy cows, and the standard procedures.

Relating to a cause. What do a tree hugger, a bird watcher, a big industrialist, a dancer, a painter, a cartoonist and a movie maker have in common? Passion and the cause they espoused. So much so they made the cause their life mission. They became the cause. What is a cause? It is an issue or an event or a happening that is relevant and is of social importance. All the issues discussed mentioned are socially relevant.

Smart work is doing things that bring about the desired end result. Smart work is result oriented. And that end result that is faster, easier, more productive and efficient. At the same time the person doing Smart work does not feel overtly tired or worn out. It is not the number of hours that a person works on an assignment that is important, rather it is the output that is expected and achieved that matters.

Teamwork. Individual talent gets magnified many times over through the collective lenses of effective team work. Teamwork is the process of working together with a group of people in order to achieve a common goal. Teamwork is often the most crucial differentiating factor in a business, as it is often necessary and imperative for colleagues to work well together, trying their best in any circumstance in a given project or work. 

Uniqueness is someone or something is unlike anything else in comparison. When used in relation to people it is often in relation to a person's personality or some specific characteristics of it. Uniqueness is that trait that makes people remember us and distinguishes us from all the other people.

Valuable. Each one of us wants to be indispensible. Everywhere.  At home, in the college, at work and in our friends’ hearts. We want to be labeled - valuable. It is now very common to have the most valuable player contest in any sport competition. The most valuable employee is an organization is one who is most indispensible and who make that company throb with excitement.

Waiting is a strange word. No-one wants to wait. Everyone is on the speed trip and living life in the fast lane. In the earlier days we had to wait, go to the shop to buy things. John Milton had very famously said “They also serve those who stand and wait”.  Milton has rightly said each one of us has a purpose in this world and it is up to ourselves to live up to our true potential. Success comes to some in a jiffy and many others will have to wait for it to come after many attempts and failures.

eXciting. What is that unique trait in your most popular friend that makes him/her tick. If you were to do a detailed analysis a startling truth would emerge. That individual is the most popular as he/she is the most exciting person to be around. An exciting person is able to arouse or bring out our innate feelings and is able to stimulate us. That arousal or stimulation is often something that we all miss.

Yielding or giving up is viewed negatively. It is a matured way of looking at things and issues. When involved a fierce argument, yield or give up. Yielding to someone’s argument does not mean that we have accepted the other person’s viewpoint. We win the argument by listening to the other person’s view point. We have listened, that’s all.

Zeal stands for the great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. Vikram Batra was an officer of the Indian army, posthumously awarded with the Param Vir Chakra, for his actions during the 1999 Kargil war in Kashmir. Captain Vikram Batra waged a battle and his pursuit was based on the belief that the cause was right. He was supremely confident of the cause and smilingly gave up his life.