C for Commitment

I had a boss that used to say "No statement of intentions, only commitments" whenever he was going around asking for completion dates for tasks. All of us come to work with only good intentions - to do well, to contribute, to help. Sometimes it doesn't happen for whatever reasons, but since we came with good intention, we'd find it difficult to accept that the work was not "completely done". This is also a point of contention with the manager because when people miss out seemingly small things like completing only 90% of unit testings, not "fully" documenting the code, cutting corner with the processes, showing up "just 5 minutes late" or my favourite "not bothering to use NI's standard power-point template". Commitment, like Excellence and Attention to Detail etc., is also a personal choice and difficult to teach (this is why I argue that we should be looking more than skills while hiring). 

Next time when you are asking or giving commitment make sure it is not just a statement of intent.

Happy to quote Seth Godin (again) - "Commitment is the only thing that gets you through the chasm. Commitment takes you from "that's a fine idea" to "its done." Commitment is risky, because if you fail, it's on you. On the other hand without commitment, you will fail, because art unshipped isn't art".

What RamP's Reading: Mar'16

Building the Bridge As You Walk On It - A Guide For Leading Change: Building the Bridge As You Walk On It tells the personal stories of people who have embraced deep change and inspired author Robert Quinn to take his concept one step further and develop a new model of leadership—“the fundamental state of leadership.” The exploration of this transformative state is at the very heart of the book. Quinn shows how anyone can enter the fundamental state of leadership by engaging in the eight practices that center on the theme of ever-increasing integrity—reflective action, authentic engagement, appreciative inquiry, grounded vision, adaptive confidence, detached interdependence, responsible freedom, and tough love. After each chapter, Quinn challenges you to assess yourself with respect to each practice and to formulate a strategy for personal growth.

The Way We're Working Isn't Working - The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance: The Way We're Working Isn't Working offers a groundbreaking approach to reenergizing our lives so we’re both more satisfied and more productive—on the job and off. By integrating multidisciplinary findings from the science of high performance, Tony Schwartz, coauthor of the #1 bestselling The Power of Full Engagement, makes a persuasive case that we’re neglecting the four core needs that energize great performance: sustainability (physical); security (emotional); self-expression (mental); and significance (spiritual). Rather than running like computers at high speeds for long periods, we’re at our best when we pulse rhythmically between expending and regularly renewing energy across each of our four needs. 

Vital Friends: The People You Can't Afford to Live Without: #1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Rath delivers a fascinating read that will change the way you look at your family, friends, coworkers, and significant other. What’s the quickest way to ruin a friendship? Can bosses actually learn something from marriages? Are very close friendships in the workplace such a bad thing? Drawing on research and case studies from topics as diverse as marriage, management, and architecture, Vital Friends reveals what’s common to all truly essential friendships: a regular focus on what each person is contributing to the friendship — rather than the all-too-common approach of expecting one person to be everything.