'Mindscaping' for career building 15

'You can't stop the future
You can't rewind the past
The only way to learn the secret
...is to press play.' 
Jay Asher

Do you remember the 'Sony Walkman' which was very popular in 1970s and 80s? People thought it was the ultimate in the mobile music system! The next 'in thing' in mobile music system was the iPod of Apple. The 5 GB iPod was launched in 2001 which could store around 1000 songs. The founder of Apple Steve Jobs called this as a 'breakthrough digital device. It was also called the 'entire music library of most people'!

But what happened to the Walkman and iPod? Who killed them? It is said that at one point of time nearly one third of  Apple's revenue came from the iPod and about 350 million iPods were sold since its launch.

iPod killed the Walkman. But then who killed the iPod? Obviously the smart phones which has as much storage as an iPod. A smart phone with a micro SD card makes it easy for a music lover to take music wherever he goes.

But the point I want to say is this: when the products become obsolete, so does the technology and hence also the technology-holder. There was a time when a product was build around a technology. But now technology builds the product.

Do you know which build the technology? Of course, its the human mind!

NC Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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Acquisition, maintenance and development are different!

Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own?
Bruce Lee
Last week I happened to visit an old farm house of my friend which he acquired some five years ago. I remembered the keen interest he showed when he acquired. Now I noticed that the property has become very old with bush with full of cobwebs.

We acquire many things in our life. We acquire knowledge, skill, experience, property etc. but, acquisition is just one part. What is even more important is constantly reviewing the relevancy of what we acquired.
We should have the ability not only to acquire, but also to discard and undo and redo something we have done. This is part of the self development portfolio.
Take a look at the following check list:
•    What new skill you acquired in the past five years?
•    What knowledge you acquired in the last five years?
•    What experience you have acquired over the years?
•    Are these relevant anymore?
•    If you have to completely re-profile yourself, what should you discard?
Remaining current and relevant is very important. Any company which does not re-invent itself in every ten years will not exist.
The same applies to us also!
N C Sridharan
www.thetimefoundation.com
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Check and re-validate your assumptions!

Telling the future by looking at the past assumes that conditions remain constant. This is like driving a car by looking at the rear-view mirror!
Herb Brody
  

We live in era of change and change is the only thing which is permanent! Everything we believed to be true some years ago are wrong.  
Some of our classic assumptions proved to be wrong are:
• That the world is flat
• That human beings cannot fly 
• That an article made of iron cannot float on water
• That no human beings can run a mile in less than 4 minutes
• That ‘Made in Japan’ means poor quality and cheap products
• That it is not possible to speak through wire
In the era of change and perfect competition, we should re-validate and check some of our important assumptions which will decide the quality of our life.
In India, until the 1990’s everyone assumed that their jobs are permanent since their appointment order said so! Based on this assumption most employees had planned the standard of their life. But with the onset of world class competition, many lost their jobs due to cost cutting measures by organisations. 
Over this weekend, write down three assumptions regarding your job and career based on which you have planned your life style and check what will happen if your assumptions go wrong.  

N C Sridharan
www.thetimefoundation.com
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Are you squeezing the right tube?

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

The other day I had a very disturbed sleep. Got up half asleep, entered the bathroom and wanted to have a quick shave. I took my shaving cream and was squeezing and was surprised to get tooth paste! Then I realized that I was actually squeezing the tooth paste tube instead of the shaving cream!

This reminded me about a question that was asked by one participant in my time management seminar. She said that she wanted to triple her income in her present business. When I discussed with her I understood that her business has very limited scope for the type of profit she was aspiring. She was continuing in her present business because it was easy to continue what she has been doing for years! 

I advised her to choose the right business to get what she wants. 

We should be very clear what we want and where to get it and what resources we need! 

If we continue to do what we have been doing, we will continue to get what we have been getting! To get something drastically different, we should be willing to take the risk and do something drastically different!  

Think: Are you in the right place? 

N C Sridharan
www.thetimefoundation.com
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An expert racer knows when to replace the tyres!

In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks
Warren Buffet

Growth and decay are natural and so is change. There is no such thing as one time meal. Similarly there is no such thing as permanent knowledge and skill. You need to verify if what you have now is relevant to time and if it will stand the test of time.
A racer who wins the Formula 1 race should ensure that his vehicle is fit for the race he is going to participate. His car might have won him trophies. But he should know when to replace the tyres, and if necessary, even the car itself! 

We need to ask ourselves these questions periodically:
•    Am I in the right business NOW?
•    Are my knowledge, skill and experience relevant NOW?
•    Should I change my entire line of business NOW?
May be your current business and skill set gave you all your present comfort, wealth and money. But, that is not a sufficient reason to stick on to them when it comes to competing in world which is constantly changing and highly demanding.
Like a successful company continuously re-engineers and launches completely new products to remain in business, you have to redesign your deliverable continuously.
So, change, transform and get ready for a new innings!
N C Sridharan
www.thetimefoundation.com
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Keep moving to grow!

If you continue to dig the same hole in the same place in your life, eventually you will be standing in a grave!
Shannon L. Alder

If you want to be growing, keep moving.

Whichever stops moving will start decaying. Visit an automobile repair shop and see an automobile parked for a long time. You will see the rusted vehicles with flat tyres. It is a junk!

When water stagnates for a long time it stinks. Fishes will die and bacteria will grow. Of course the water will not be fit for human consumption.

If a patient is allowed to be in the same position for a long time without any movement, it will result in bedsore, otherwise called pressure ulcer. The best treatment to cure bedsore is to turn the patient every two hours.

This principle is relevant to our career also. If we remain in the same career for too long, we will start becoming outdated. We have to keep moving to enrich our bio-data. If an organisation does not remove old products, it will lose its place in the market. If the manufacturing process does not change with new technology, it will become uncompetitive.

Ask yourself: how long am I am in my current job without any change? What will happen if I don’t change my skill set?

Keep changing, and remain relevant!

NC Sridharan
www.thetimefoundation.com
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