Dependencies

There are occasions in life when one wants things done ASAP (As soon as possible). Impatience is certainly not a virtue of the great but is definitely a trait of the common man. (Coming to think of it, great men aren't really divine. I have touched a couple of them and so I know, they are only flesh and blood with a few bones thrown in!). To be successful one needs to be ultra-cool and unfazed by all that can go wrong when you don't want it to. Its always easier to do things when they are small. A trivial task does not warrant your attention and talents for long. You just do it fast. But things no longer remain simple when you want something big. A big task means that it has a lot of intricacies and angles. And unfortunately, it no longer remains a one man/woman job. That brings along with it what could be one's biggest nightmare - Dependencies. Your completion of the task depends on many stars. (conditions apply). Certain events must happen for you to be through with it. My biggest problem happens when there are other people involved.

1. The first biggest problem is to communicate whats in your head to theirs. Now thats easier said than done. (Now I know why bosses get frustrated when you do exactly opposite of what they wanted!). Documenting exactly what you want goes a long way. I feel if everything is written there are less chances of your deviating from what is wanted. That is true not only for others but yourself too. This is because the plan in your brain is a soft copy, no doubt but it is not a digital copy - liable to change. Hence, one must plan in writing what needs to be done. Believe me, it really makes you organized.
2. The second problem is whom to share the task with? Its usually good if you know whom to give it to. If you don't its probably a good idea if you find someone, you should mentor him/her for the task. Initially you can be with him/her but slowly you should move away. As a good manager its important that you let your colleagues make their own decision. Nobody depends on a good manager. They simply do the job for them.
3. Monitoring the work is another grey area. Again, document and plan it. Don't unnecessarily poke into your colleagues noses. Be helpful without being too intrusive. Ofcourse, there are some lazy bones whom you should be always after! You must always keep appreciating good work anyone does. Talk about them not you. It goes a long way in having a good team spirit around.
4. Don't try to do everything is a golden rule to be followed.
   
5. Resource crunch can be a trouble. Please plan ahead what all you'll be needing. Keep it ready and you won't be stuck later.

Last thing is time. A golden rule is not to leave anything for the last minute. (Not many including me follow it though).
Be nice to your people, don't over expect but ensure things are on track and all shall be fine. Dependencies can be managed!

The pursuit of happiness

Sometimes I wonder what is this life, just a chase trying to go after something not yet in your hands, yet a part of the myriad possibilities that life seems to offer us all the time. This surely gives me a sense of bewilderment off and on increasing the mystery of this great thing we call life. In our pursuit for things out of reach we go through a rollercoaster of experiences, some wonderful while some seem to sap out all you seem to have. But voila, then you discover, things are not over, friend. Its a new phase. A clean slate on which you are free to write whatever you want. You can make whatever you want of yourself. There is a slight problem occasionally though. Some call it inertia. I prefer to call it a sense of wanting to be stationary. I know many people don't like change in life. Like many things in life, change is a double edged sword. It can go both ways. It is this wanting no change which has led to delays in the arrival of many achievements of mankind. But then I guess everything has its time. If only we would let go, ready to experiment with what we have we could really make our life so much more exciting. We should realise we have only this finite time on earth which we should utilise to the maximum and leave an imprint in the sands of time. When I go to the golden gates, I want to be remembered for what I am and not who I was. (I am yet to do something worthwhile to be remembered but hope I will. Mark twain once said, to be great one must either write something great or be written about. Both are yet to happen!). The reason why I feel we are not happy are manifold. On a number of occasions we aim for the moon. Now that is good and bad. Good, because if we do that we can reach more than if we aimed for something lower. The bad part you may get demotivated. But don't let that stop you. We should be optimistic and concentrate on the good parts of life. (Life is too short to concentrate on the bad things). Of course, beware my friend. Don't spit on the moon. It'll all fall on you! On other occasions I find that I don't get things because I was doing the wrong things at the right time. My priorities are sometimes misplaced leading to wastage of precious time. I should learn to prioritise and manage things efficiently. I can't just do away with my responsibility to myself and society by taking things lightly when I shouldn't. Sometimes we leave too much to fate and that doesn't pay off well. We should really be doing our best and leaving the rest. There are multiple reasons like this which may lead to non-attainment of goals. But the key is tomorrow is another day. And more importantly, its the first day of the rest of your life. We must make most of it. And while we are doing that, we should never forget that each moment is a gift from god to be enjoyed to the maximum. Be happy in the moment cause it won't return. Also one needs to be happy for whatever comes your way. When things are not going where you want them to, one should never forget the things we have. Many people don't even have a proper meal a day even today. So we should thank god everyday for everything he gives us. All expectations from oneself should be realistic and one shouldn't have any expectations from others if one wants to avoid trouble. Once you do that everything you get is a bonus and life is wonderful. So go ahead, try to do things the best you can and then relax.That shall extract the true Joie De Vivre!