People Teams and Organizations

Strategos is a Greek word meaning “the thinking and action of a general.” What it means to be strategic is epitomized by the greatest of Greek generals, Alexander. He conducted his first independent military operation in northern Macedonia at age 16. He became the rule of Macedonia after his father, Philip, was assassinated in 336 BCE. Two years later, he embarked on an invasion of Persia and conquest of the known world. In the Battle of Arbela, he decisively defeated Darius III, king of kings of the Persian Empire, despite being outnumbered five to one (2,50,000 Persians against Alexander and fewer than 50,000 Greeks). Alexander’s military conquests are legendary. What is less known and little appreciated is that his battlefield victories depended on in-depth knowledge of military leaders in the opposing armies. He included in his military intelligence information about the beliefs, worldviews, motivations, and patterns of behavior of those he faced. Moreover, his conquests an...

And the children said unto Halcolm, “We want to understand the world. Tell us, O Sage, what must we do to know the world?” “Have you read the works of our great thinkers?” “Yes, Master, every one of them as we were instructed.” “And have you practiced diligently your meditations so as to become One with the infinity of the universe?” “We have, Master, with devotion and discipline.” “Have you studied the experiments, the survey, and the mathematical models of the Sciences?” “Beyond even the examinations, Master, we have studied in the innermost chambers where the experiments and surveys are analyzed, and where the mathematical models are developed and tested.” “Still you are not satisfied? You would know more?” “Yes, Master. We want to understand the world.” “Then, my children, you must go out into the world. Live among the peoples of the world as they live. Learn their language. Participate in their rituals and routines. Taste the world. Smell it. Watch and liste...

“60% of new managers underperform during the first 2 years of their tenure.” The following are some of the reasons: 1.        When they take up the managerial role, they do the ‘activities’ of a manager, while consciously or unconsciously retaining the mindset of an individual contributor. 2.        They fail to redefine their tasks as conducting meetings, listening to people, organizing resources, etc., In fact, most consider these tasks as waste of time, rather than being effective at doing them. 3.        Experience a significant loss of control, recognition, and authority and are usually unprepared for such a situation.   Paradoxically, as an individual contributor they would have dreamt of getting more control, recognition and authority being a manager. Just too bad! 4.        While they experienced a formal education system, onboarding pro...