Maximise Potential

By Shyam Ramanathan

Maximise Potential is the result of my years in the software industry and it contains everything I have learned on leadership, management, creativity, innovation, success, personal development and some book reviews.This is a collection of all the articles I have written for the past six years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329649996

Book preview

Maximise Potential

Get the most out of yourself

Shyam Ramanathan

Copyright © 2016 by Shyam Ramanathan

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal. The views expressed in this book are my own and do not represent any organization.

First Printing: 2015

Second Printing: 2016

ISBN  978-1-329-64999-6

Acknowledgements

I want to thank my parents for having always believed in me and providing me the complete freedom to pursue my dreams. I want to thank my dad for imparting his love of learning to me which has helped me immensely. I want to thank all my college friends who stood by me in my tough times even when I didn’t have belief in my potential. I want to thank my wife who has always supported me at home and without her support a lot of my work could not have been done. Finally to my two wonderful kids who bring joy and happiness to me making life memorable.

Introduction

My mission is to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs. This book is the result of my 15 years of experience in the IT industry and over the past 5 years I have devoted to learning all I can about success, leadership, management and living a better life while staying happy, energized and enthusiastic. This book is the result of that learning and I thought I will consolidate all the learning in one place so that it can help others.

Yes I have listened to the Steve jobs commencement address more than 10 times but I still don’t want to die (of course I am going to but that’s not the point). My point is to live your life to the fullest. See your life as a gift as it is indeed. Look at all the trouble all around the world, look at all the problems around us with violence and terrorism, what has happened to the world. Do we want a world where only a few are happy and only a few are joyous.

Did anyone tell you money is not important? Well I am here to say money is very important. Most of the people who say money is not important probably have too much. We need money to enjoy life, care for others, and provide us peace of mind. It is only love of money that kills.

I am here to say that you have to look at your life differently. Answer these questions to get started

Are you happy when you get up in the morning?

Do you feel you have been given a gift of life?

Are you grateful to have good health, good family, and happy children?

Do you feel you are going to make a difference today?

Do you want to live your life or let it pass?

These are the five questions I ask myself daily because if we are not happy with the person we are then how can we make a mark in the world. I firmly believe that the first step towards happiness is to get excited about our lives. Your life is a gift and you can make a difference. You just don’t need a billion dollars to make it happen.

When was the last time any of us took time to really feel good about being alive and appreciate all the wonderful things we have in our lives? If we want our children to fly then I think we owe it to ourselves to fly and we can’t be mute spectators. There are countless critics out there but the following passage from Theodore Roosevelt should inspire us every day

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

So be in the game, don’t ever leave the game of life, as you are in it for the long haul. Take some chances, feel alive again, whether we believe in reincarnations or not we can safely say that none of us know if we will ever get a second chance so make this life count. There are many people who are waiting for us to show our talents. No one will ever know our talents unless we exhibit it.

There has been a lot of movement against self-esteem. I think this is not true as arrogance is the problem not self-esteem. Having a high healthy self-esteem is a requirement for a wonderful life. Unless you feel good about yourself how can others feel good about you? Take an inventory of all your good qualities, take time to assess your unique strengths (don’t expect others to do this for you), maintain a log of every accomplishment in your life (read it daily this works), and never compare yourself with others. You are only competing against the person you once were. As the wise proverb says There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.

Remember you are unique in this world and all of us will have worries (As a wise person said The only people who don’t have worries are the dead.) The starting point of riches is to be thankful for the life we have been bestowed with and then make a decision to create an impact. There are more tools than ever for everyone to show their talents. All you need is to find your vehicle and once you get onboard go full blast living your life to the fullest. Good luck.

The coming chapters have information on everything I have learnt about success, happiness, time management, management, leadership, personal lessons and book reviews. I hope you enjoy this book and find use in what is presented. Let us begin.

Chapter 1 – Define your Success

We all have reservoirs of potential to be unleashed and to recognize our unlimited potential is the first step towards getting the best out of ourselves. Talent is a strange word that we use to describe only the uber successful like multimillionaires, sports superstars and other public figures but we all have talent that can be unleashed.

Talent is not something most of us are born with, it is something we develop through thorough soul searching, self-analysis, practice and deep learning. It is a cinch but worth repeating find out what ignites your passion. Passion ignites reservoirs of talent that is hidden within our vast reservoirs. The main obstacles in our path are our self-doubt and lack of patience.

Let’s face it once we embark on a journey we get a little overwhelmed with the effort that is required to get to our summit. There are no guarantees in life and the journey is going to be hard but we have to realize it is worth the effort. We have to really deeply think what we are in it for. Yes money is a reason, fame is a reason, a sense of accomplishment is a reason but once we get deep within ourselves and realize that there is something more important our juices start flowing.

Finding our purpose/meaning/mission in life is our great task. Once we find what we are here for our lives become more exciting, engaging, and we are full of energy, enthusiasm, passion and have an unlimited zest for our lives. Just writing about this makes me feel more excited. Today is a great day to live the life we have always imagined. It has been well established that once we act like the person we want to become we will eventually become the type of person we always wanted to be deep inside.

There is no right way to live a life. As long as we live within the laws we are free to choose what we do with our lives in the finite time we have. What might mean success for one person may not be the same for another. We are quick to jump to conclusions and claim some people are successful while others are not. I believe only the particular individual can decide if they are successful according to their definition or not.

It is not for us to decide if someone is successful or not. The only choice we have is to determine if we are successful against the standards and definition we set for ourselves. If we attain success against the definition we set for ourselves then we are a success period. We owe it to ourselves to define what success will be for us.

There is abundance in this world and we have enormous choices. As we exercise choices that enhance our lives we eventually go forward and we will reach our Everest. Continuously pursuing our summits is the true joy in life and the journey is more exciting than the reward itself!!

Chapter 2 – Never ending journey of success and goals

The first step to understand about success is that it is not a destination but a wonderful journey that never ends. The best definition of success I have come across is by Earl Nightingale Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal/goal. It is the process that’s actually exciting. Most of the times once we reach goals like getting the promotion or losing the weight we can’t keep the momentum going though it is the process that actually keeps us energized. Once we achieve our goals we feel good for that moment but in order to keep that feeling ongoing we need to keep setting new goals. The important thing to remember is that goal setting is a lifelong activity and it does energize our lives. People talk a lot about dreams but there has to be a distinction between outrageous dreams and dreams that ignite. I can have a dream to be the greatest tennis player that ever lived but that dream is surely not going to be realized and it is very much outrageous. I think when we speak about dreams the first step we should clarify is whether it is aligned with our abilities and has a timeline associated with it. Running a marathon could be a worthwhile dream for me and something within my capability though it would require tons of training and will be a BIG stretch for me. 

Jim Collins coined the term BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) in his blockbuster book Built to Last 20 years back and he said a lot of the visionary companies set BHAG’s that energized the organization. I think goals for personal life can do the same for us energizing our lives and increase passion. The starting point of the success journey is to craft a personal mission statement and back that up with a powerful vision supported by purposeful action.  The best example of a BHAG is the audacious vision set by John F.Kennedy when he said this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. He made that statement on May 25th 1961 and it was still a valid BHAG even after his untimely death. It is over 50 years old but the beauty lies in its simplicity and clarity. BHAG’s cannot be vague. This just goes to show the power of a BHAG. It doesn’t matter what the BHAG is but that you have a BHAG.

There is also a lot of merit in having a personal mission statement. My personal mission statement is to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs. The action I take towards this mission is to read continuously on leadership, management, business and then share insights on what I have learned. This gets me excited to read books that are tough and that I may not read normally. Another thing that is important to set is have a core set of values that you can live by. Values could be dedication, integrity, honesty, passion. Again writing down a personal mission statement and clarifying our values will surely add purpose to our lives.

It is important to remember that goals are not resolutions. Once a new year starts most people start setting resolutions like Iam going to stop eating sugar, Iam going to lose weight, etc. Personally I don’t set resolutions as I feel having goals with a burning desire is more effective. Research has proven that most people break their resolutions within a month of setting it. This is because we keep mentioning the things we won’t do rather than the benefits it would provide. A better resolution could be I want to be super fit so that I can be at my best all day long and feel energized throughout ultimately leading to a longer life full of energy, contribution and happiness. As you can see this is a much more energizing message and probably can help us be on track more than resolutions. Finally with respect to maintaining our proper weight it is useful to remember that there is no quick fix. It is only daily action performed consistently over a long period of time that will produce desirable results. We have to be in it for the long haul.

Finally goals have to be in writing. As it is mentioned often Goals not written down are merely wishes. A wish is a goal without any energy. As Harvey Mackay says A goal is a dream with a deadline. Setting short term goals in bursts of 90 days really sets our life on track. Backing that up with long term goals like 5 years from now and 10 years from now will set us on the path towards the journey of success with the purpose and vision required to keep us spirited throughout. I have read that all top achievers write their goals down, read/review their goals on a daily/weekly basis so that it is always in the front and center of their lives. There are two theories on sharing goals. One says that keep your goals confidential and another says sharing them will put the necessary pressure to complete them. I think financial goals, personal goals related to family should be confidential but if you have goals like I want to exercise 5 times a week it may be best to make that public in which case it puts more onus on you to follow through. The example of Thomas Edison is often sighted where he would call a press conference to talk about his new invention/innovative breakthroughs long before it was ready and then go to work to make that a reality. This puts pressure on him to deliver and he did deliver BIG TIME indeed.

We can feel satisfied once we reach our goals but the only way we can truly stay happy/excited is to keep setting more goals that stretch us and the process of setting goals and proceeding on the journey of success provides the real meaning to life. Finally we will encounter problems along the way on our journey. The way to overcome that is to go back to our mission, vision and values. Another trick I came across recently is to ask the 10/10/10 question which was mentioned in the book Decisive by Dan Heath and Chip Heath. Will this matter 10 minutes from now, Will this matter 10 months from now, Will this matter 10 years from now? This really clarifies what is truly important to us. Think BIG, Burn your boats, Set BHAG’S, take action and go forward confidently in the direction of your dreams. I wish you a fun filled, happy, exciting goal oriented success journey that never ends.

Chapter 3 – 24 Hours

I wanted to name this chapter Time Management but felt 24 hours is a more apt description. The way we use our daily 24 hours over a long period of time ultimately determines where we finish. Time Management is an oxymoron and I am surely not an expert on it. I see myself more as a student and have gathered some ideas that can help in managing ourselves better.

I firmly believe that Time Management is not reserved for only the work we do but it plays a very important part in our personal lives as well. When we manage ourselves better it reduces stress and increases our experience of joy. Everyone's philosophy of Time Management is different so finding what works for each person is the key. For some people it may mean spending more time with the family, while for others it maybe to reach the apex of corporate success. Here are some suggestions that can help us on our journey to optimum personal effectiveness.

Focus on the wildly important – This is the essence of Time Management. There will never be enough time to do everything but always enough time to do the important things. It is absolutely important to focus on the top 20% of your items which will result in 80% of your results. This is the Pareto Principle in action. Learn to say no to the things which are not aligned to your priorities. As Stephen Covey says you can say no to a lot of unimportant things if you have a more important burning yes. Multitasking is a productivity killer. According to experts "If you are trying to accomplish many things at the same time you will get more done by focusing on one task at a time, not by switching constantly from one task to another." I recently read an article in Inc. magazine which said "In one survey, people confessed to spending 40 percent of their time on things that are unimportant or downright irrelevant." The key is to reverse this and focus on the most important things to be done. The key is to schedule your priorities and not prioritize your schedule.

Written lists – Write down a list of all the activities and tasks on your plate including personal and official. This is the common advice from all management gurus and Time Management experts. Despite all the tools available I find the best way to maintain clarity is to write things down which increases clarity and you get more things done. A good practice is to maintain a master list which contains all the tasks/activities to be done including simple things like calling the doctor's office to schedule an annual checkup. The key is to free up our brain for more creative pursuits by writing the mundane things down. I like the reminders app in the iPhone where I can record all my items that need to get done and the Notes app is great to record ideas. Make a point to celebrate when important tasks get done. Most of the time we don't acknowledge ourselves when we complete something for example getting our 5 workouts for the week but if we write down what we have accomplished even the small things every week we will improve our productivity and keep us motivated. Measuring our progress against our lists keep us motivated and engaged.

Failing to plan is planning to fail – Most experts have come to the conclusion that planning your day in advance is a critical step in gaining control over your life. Stephen Covey advises to plan for a week as it is a more recognizable unit of time and more work can get done in a week than a day. As Peter Drucker says We grossly overestimate what can be done in a year and underestimate what can be done in 5 years. Plan your weeks, days, months and years as it surely brings more energy and clarity your days. Once we have things on paper we are much more productive and eager to get to work. Block out specific times to do activities that interest you for example you can block a Sunday for only family activities or recreation. Block out times for personal hobbies as well since this would give more joy and again reduce overall stress. General George S. Patton observed Successful generals make plans to fit circumstances, but do not try to create circumstances to fit plans.

Balance in life – All work and no play can make life boring and tedious. Yes working hard is critical to long term success but working hard and not playing only leads to poor performance in the long run. The key is to manage your priorities every day and schedule periods of recreation by engaging in worthwhile hobbies. Exercise or playing a sport or engaging in a personal pursuit is a great stress buster. Sleep is one of the most neglected aspects. On an average 7-8 hours of sleep is absolutely necessary to keep us energetic throughout the day. Yes at times burning the midnight oil is necessary but eventually we have to ensure that it is not short term gain for long term pain. I just read the following about President Obama in the book The Best Place to Work. The author says Six days a week his first order of business to exercise forty five minutes alternating between weight training and cardio. He makes time to fit basketball and golf to his weekly schedule. He reads history and non-fiction. During his first four years in office Barack Obama took 131 vacation days averaging more than a month off per year. Another example sighted is Full Contact a Denver based Software Company that in 2012 implemented a program that actually pays employees 7500 to take their family to vacation. To receive the bonus the employees have to agree on three things 1. You have to go on vacation, 2. You must disconnect, and 3.You can’t work while on vacation. My purpose in sharing these examples is that everyone needs to recharge and the busier we get, the higher we rise the more important recharging our batteries become and we can’t leave it to chance.

Turn off Facebook, Email notifications – When we constantly keep looking at Facebook or other social media channels it does distract us and we can easily forget what we were working on initially. We can schedule daily time to check them maybe mid-day or even a day without social media could be renewing. Technology is a great servant but poor master. I have Email, WhatsApp on my phone but I have turned off notifications and only when I open the mailbox or the particular application I can see the notifications. Turning off notifications works well for me and gives a sense of control.

Reduce Stress - There are many technological distractions and there is too much stress from over stimulation. This stress mainly comes from a perceived lack of time. While this may be the case we have to understand that all of us have the same 24 hours. The reason for this frustration could be due to accepting more responsibilities than we can handle which leads to frustration, stress and lack of control. It is important to constantly reevaluate and weigh the costs of accepting more than we can chew both in our work and personal lives. Ultimately peace of mind is more important than over committing resulting in stress. Mickey Mantle reportedly said If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.

Reflection- Writing in a journal is a powerful way to reflect and improve our overall effectiveness. I have written down everything that has happened over the last 4-5 years in my life and have 4 journals to show for it :). As someone once said your life is worth recording. I also try to write every week what went well, what can be done better, where I can improve. This keeps me honest and allows for learning to sink in. It is surely a great way to get to know ourselves and as Peter Drucker said Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From that quiet reflection will come even more effective action.

Chapter 4 – The Path to Success and Mastery

As I mentioned earlier the best definition of success I have come across is "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal or goal." In other words everyone can define their success according to their predefined goals/outcome and each individual's road map will be different. I believe strongly that personal growth ties in strongly with an individual's success and that's what I am expanding on below.

I have also heard a lot of people say Do what you love but I have a slight variation on that. I might love playing guitar but if Iam not any good at it then it doesn't matter how much I love it. I think it is better to live by the motto "Love what you do and keep getting better at it." Not all of us can do what we love but we have the choice to love what we do for a living.

What is the requirement for success and mastery? I believe it is the ability to keep getting better and better at what we do for a living. When we really think about it that’s all it boils down to. I like the Nike ad campaign which says "There is no finish line." They launched this ad campaign in 1977 and one statement included Beating the competition is relatively easy but beating yourself is a never ending commitment. This can be a metaphor for us in our learning journey as there is no end.

Carol Dweck's excellent book Mindset also suggests that mastery is a mindset. There are people who believe that intelligence can’t be increased (fixed mindset). Others believe that with hard work, learning, training and effort intelligence can be increased. The latter group has what Dweck calls growth mindset. Those individuals with a growth mindset don't mind failure because they believe performance can be improved as learning comes from failure. She also says people have two types of goals one is learning goals and other is performance goals. Getting an A in French is a performance goal whereas mastering a language is a learning goal. People with learning goals on the long term reach mastery.

One of the tools I have found useful is the three part hedgehog concept articulated by Jim Collins in his block buster book Good to Great. The three questions to ponder are

What you can be the best in the world at?

What is your economic denominator?

What are you deeply passionate about?

It is amazing the amount of information that is available to all of us in our fields. Time was when only a select few could reach mastery in their fields as information was hoarded and not shared or available for everyone. The great thing about the time in which we are living now is the amount of abundance available. I don’t mean only the economic aspect, I actually believe the amount of information that is available to each of us is mind numbing and we can’t possibly learn everything in more than one lifetime .Just look at the following statistic Over 90% of all the data in the world was created in the past 2 years.

The questions to address in our learning journey are

How to get better at what we do?

Are we willing to use the enormous information available to our advantage and attain the mastery that is possible for each of us?

Here are the simple steps that I believe can get us better and better at what we do

    1. Find the experts in our field of expertise

2. Read their blogs

3. Listen to their podcasts

4. Write down what we have learned

5. Share what we have learned as it has been well documented that we only learn when we teach

6. Set goals for our learning

7. Read broadly for example if we are in management we can read all the management books out there

8. Take certifications in our area of expertise

9. Learn something new every day and remember we are never through learning

10. Apply what we have learned to our work or