Author name: Vijayshree S Menon

Creative constraints | Failing to lead | Real experience

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Creative constraints Constraints need not stifle our progress. Sometimes, they help us shape our uniqueness and ingenuity. Few people know how to leverage constraints to their favor. Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy (Dr. V), founder of Aravind Eye Hospital is someone who demonstrated ingenuity, innovation, and vision by having self-imposed constraints. The Not-for-profit organization aimed to keep …

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Negative reinforcement | Negotiating salaries | False expertise

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Negative reinforcement Recently, while trying to understand incentives, I came across negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment. The focus of negative reinforcement is the removal of something unpleasant in our experience that aims to reinforce the desired behavior. I realized negative reinforcement on many occasions unconsciously influenced my actions. For instance, …

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Power of pausing | Working with a bar raiser | Connecting with people

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Power of pausing Last week, a small incident made me realize that I have been unconsciously responding in certain situations. I was using the same response repeatedly for certain incidents, without giving it much thought. It had eventually become my default response. However, when I paused this time, I was able to become aware of …

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To grin and bear it | The map is not the territory | I have nothing to add

Mindset, Uncategorized / By

To grin and bear it The marathon event held during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics proved to be quite challenging for the runners. They had to endure unfavorable conditions, such as suboptimal temperature and humidity, as well as overcrowded drink stations. Despite these hurdles, Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge successfully won the Gold medal in the men’s …

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Delegating decision making | Making progress visible | Lesson from marathon

Decision Making / By

Delegating decision making Shane Parrish, in his recent book, Clear Thinking, highlighted the dilemma of delegating decision-making for leaders. One of the challenges for leaders is to enable their teams to make critical decisions in their absence. Leaders don’t articulate to the team the most important criteria they use when they make the decision. While …

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Tradeoffs | Offering help | Gaining confidence from failure

Success and Failure, Uncategorized / By

Tradeoffs Our choices of who we want to be would mean we make choices of who we don’t want to be. This is applicable both in business and life. Successful businesses choose to serve specific customers and their needs which means they say no to others. e.g. Walmart stores do not serve people in Manhattan …

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Create space for growth | Allow to compound what we value | Focus on what has gone right

Mindset / By

Create space for growth When I tried to disentangle a growing mango plant from a the grips of a tiny climber, I was amazed at how the fragile climber could bind the leaves and stunt the plant’s growth. Our self-limiting beliefs can stunt our growth just like these weeds. Some catch us when we are …

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Making use of new beginnings | Listening to disagree | Being in the direction of the wind

Listening / By

Making use of new beginnings Are you still wondering what is the point of making new resolutions and not keeping up? Don’t give up so easily. Choose a resolution that you have never tried at all. You can always try to use the new year to begin a fresh start. Behavioral scientists call it the …

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