We all have built-in surge suppressor.

We all have a built-in surge protector.

This is the best thing for us. That is why most of us aren’t having complete meltdowns and we’re still able to function.

We’re not performing at the same level as we used to, but we’re still getting out of bed, showering and eating, changing our clothes and going to work, even if that’s just to the next room in the present situation.

This is how a surge protector works.

Our brain works as a surge suppressor, gives an automatic response when it sees too much crisis at once.

It absorbs the shock. It shrinks and compresses our world down, and helps us to focus on small things.

Re-start after lockdown

Re-start after lockdown, everyone is talking about, everyone is anxious to know what is after 14^th April?

The question is being discussed at all levels, right from Prime Minister to a common man. Lots of speculations and theories are being discussed. The majority are in favor of lockdown being extended while some are arguing on the economy and country’s financial health.

In fact,common man like us, would perhaps argue you will have the chance to revive the economy if we all remained alive.

Lockdown or release lockdown is being discussed on CMs level and cabinet ministry levels and they would assess every aspect and make a decision. It’s a tough decision either way.

If our country press the RE-START button after 21 days lockdown period, will it be a one-shot restart or staggered restart? If it all, understandably staggered if, will it be geographical wise or sector wise restart?

Behind every fear, anxiety, and worries, Re-start is expected by everyone, not for business, not for the probable job loss, not for daily essentials alone but we have never been put into such a situation before, it is that restlessness mixed with anxiety wants relief from the lockdown.

How are you as an Entrepreneur, as a business owner, as a leader, going to lead your team through this situation?

This post is to kindle the thought process and it’s not any kind of narrative in any way. It’s to provoke your leadership thought process.

The process is complex, it can’t be handled as a whole because it has multi dimensions and multiple impacts.

Let us view and inspect each aspect individually

·       What if lockdown gets extended by 7, 14 or 21 days after 14^th April?  How are we prepared for each of these possibilities?

·       How do we handle the cash crunch?  Probably soon after lockdown, we will have fast payables to purchase, while the receivables are at a slow pace since the last 2 quarters. How do we manage?

·       How do we handle our Inventories? Some of our supply lines are running overfull while others are running empty.

·       How are we going to ensure 6 feet distance at work Spots, Canteen and in Commuting to and fro for work?

·       We all freely promote digitization and it is the way forward. How digitized are our current operations would become? What more needs to be done to digitized and how much time it will take.

·       Work From Home is the keyword we all learned recently and it is going to stay. The question is in manufacturing industries what all should we shift to WFH, immediately? What more can we shift in the near future?

·       How would these three things - Medical, Economic and Human play a role after we resume? What is the time frame we are expecting to run without any further interruption? Are we prepared for that?

·       What are the fears and worries in the team’s minds?  And what do we do about them?

·       When will the market and demand revive? And when it does, will it be quantitatively and qualitatively the same or different? Are we prepared if it drops further than last year?

·       How are my business partners would behave like; what will be the organizational health of my Suppliers, Customers, and my bankers? Who can we count on? Who is counting on us? Need to give a thought.

·       What will be Industry scenario for the next year or little more than a year? Who is likely to buy up whom? And, what will be the resultant churn?

·       Will the way I see profits in my business change? How are my competitors likely to change their business models?

Hold your nerves, time will come for a loud cheer!

Information on Covid-19 is flowing in nonstop in all possible mediums, right from mobile notifications to newsroom headlines on TV.

Each information has its own level of anxiety, fear, worry to lead us to a state of hopelessness.

The things do not end there, the topics like lower GDP, loss of jobs scenario, Sensex taking a nosedive, economy getting paralyzed, etc., will add to our anxieties, worries and stress levels.

This surely makes us frail, lost and weak - mentally as well as physically.

In order to divert my attention, I try to read books, listen to TED talks, take some online courses to learn something new to transform myself into a better version of mine.

As I mentioned about reading books, I wonder if there ever be an appropriate time than now to live by practice the brilliant Quote by Stephen Covey - ‘Focus on things you can influence, rather than the ones you cannot.’ 

My take on this – I have no control over what is happening outside, but I can control what s happening inside me.

Why not focus on the small world I have within me?

That is where my powers reside, that is where I can influence.

I have control over every decision I make, every action I take.

I have control over what I read, what I hear and how I feel.

Every word I utter, every thought I provoke has an Impact.

I am able to feel the effect of the impact I allow to create.

I am able to bring smiles to the people around me.

I am able to entertain them with a silly joke.

I am able to lend a helping hand in the kitchen and daily house chores.

I am enjoying watching the movie eating popcorn.

I play a role of Butler and serve food to my family and earn praise.

It's a long time I haven’t played cards and cheat to turn my kids crazy.

I am not able to recall when last I hummed a few lines of my favorite songs in the shower.

I am able to stretch my legs in attitude on the couch and could revive a few nostalgic memories of the past.

I want to try doing everything which I had planned for many weekends, somehow couldn’t make it.

I am highly inspired and inspire others, to pick up this attitude.

Read, write, paint, sing, cook or just be with yourself, entertain yourself.

Friends, here is a chance to do things we love to do, things which we are dying to do.

We need to wait for the right time, we will tide over this tough times.

Hold your nerves, a time will come for a loud cheer !

When do you think you can go out in public once again?

Last week, during an online session of Executive Coaches, to encourage each other to cope up with the present situation without anxiety and stress, where one of the Coach asked a very powerful question: When do you think you will be able to go out in public without fear?


He was asking for a time period. Like, what is the timeframe after which we can go out in public as we used to do before this crisis?


Some said - 6 months, some said 1 year and some were not able to guess after what time period.


There was no right or wrong answer to it. 


May be all were right. Even, who kept quiet were also right.


It was a straightforward question- full of anxiety, deep worry and with a bit of frustration too.


A straight forward question having no straight forward answer.


Certainly, a thought-provoking one I truly could not think of any answer.


Going out in a public is like a suppressed wish, a locked desire.


It’s symbolic of going out in public- something like going to shopping malls or Movies or a Pub or restaurants or it can be just roaming freely.


I could not find an answer for him but in turn, I questioned myself when will I feel safe going out in public? 


This question has multiple dimensions and you can answer from any angle and still, no one can tell you are wrong.


1) As per official guidelines from the Government – as and when government across the world decide to ease the lockdown based on situational assessment. Especially, my state government eases out lockdown in our state and our city. This is my First angle.


2) Your own perceptions of the situation, based on what you see/hear and read in media. This is my Second angle.


3) Your appetite to take risks and ready to face the consequence, to portray your sense of boldness. This is the third angle.


4) Your occupational needs. How badly you are wanted at your workplace and the amount of notional loss your absence would incur to your employer. This is the Fourth angle.


5) Your physical and mental wellbeing. In spite of all okay outside, your physical and mental conditions do not permit you to step out. You want to wait till your guts say ‘GO’. This is the Fifth angle.


I can still go on for sixth, seventh angle.


The basic point you see - it's not an easy one. You can’t explain or convince the opposite guy ‘why I can’t’ and at the same time, the opposite guy can also not in a position to tell if not today, maybe tomorrow or next week or week after that.


Ask yourself, before this lockdown release- ‘When do you think you will be able to go out in public in a crowded place again?’ You will understand how difficult it is to tell yourself.

What will you be proud of?

What will you be proud of?

If you take a pause and look back, maybe past 12 months or little beyond that there are quite a few things that would have happened for which you are proud.

It might not be a big achievement, but you are still satisfied with your achievements.

You can still recall and feel happy about that.

I am sure that’s not your best, the best is yet to come.

If your Best is not yet arrived and it is yet to come then what is that for which you will be proud of?

If we are talking about your goals then what goals are you setting that, if achieved, will make a positive impact in your life?

What are you doing behind the scene that no-one else knows about it, but you will be glad in the future that you did it?

What is your upgrade plan for yourself to become the best version of yourself?

What are you investing in your kids, your marriage, your family, your finances, your interests, your career and your health that will pay a handsome dividend to you in years to come?

What will you build?

What masterpiece you will create?

How far you will stretch your imagination?

What would you love to develop and nurture to become established in life?

What actions are you taking today that will enable you to look back with great satisfaction, one fine day?

What you need to change to make this happen?

Think over it, plan it, work on it.

Act today, act now!

Hey, who are you going to encourage?

It’s a universal law, whatever you do on the public platform, you receive two types of responses. One is the cynical kind who believes that your act is of your self-interest and the other one is of encouraging kind who wants to cheer all your efforts and wish that you keep doing the same.

One of your most prestigious and impressive presentations, you feel 98% of the audience is fully engaged with you and they are on the same page with you. On the other hand, the remaining 2% of the audience would be with very defensive posture and disagreement in their nods, you will find very hard to please them.

We noticed their dis-agreement and we immediately change our focus from that 98 % to 2% audience. We start thinking about them. We start asking them questions and try to search for answers which convince them. Our approach changes unfortunately, we tend to cater to their needs, neglecting the remaining masses who have actually applauded your efforts and work.

We must understand that there are always cynics who will not easily appreciate and don’t want to get engaged with your work. That is the reality, we must accept.

Any attempts to please them would be a waste of time and effort. It’s more productive and rewarding if we focus on those who acknowledge and appreciate your perspectives and want to get engaged with you.

What do you think a music composer would think about while composing the next music album?  Is he going to think about his critics or his fans?

Who do you think a famous movie maker is thinking about when he launches another great movie on the floor?  Is he worried about his critics or he is excited about his fans?

What do you think a famous painter is thinking about when he is about to begin his next portrait on the canvas? Is he thinking about critics or he is thinking about those who appreciate his art?

Instead of trying to suit your presentation for that 2 % with their arms crossed and lips twisted, why not make an effort to please that 98 % who are eager to hear from you.

It’s a fact that we can’t easily ignore the cynics but it happens that we ignore those who are engaged with us and supporting us.

When in dilemma, always try to choose those who appreciate your efforts.

Make a habit to accept both. The critics will criticize and the fans will cheer.

Think, you’ve done a great job.

Now is a perfect time to learn.

There are three roads you can take to learn new things.
1. The road of excitement
2. The road of necessity
3. The road of Curiosity.

There is no 'correct' path.

You can’t control what will happen to the world around you, but you can make yourself a better person, more equipped for the road ahead.

Investing in learning something deeply is more valuable now than ever.

Now is a perfect time to learn.

Do we dissolve into panic and keep worrying about things happening around, or do we rise up and do something constructive?