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 costs very low while continuing to deliver high-quality patient care through innovation. One example is Aurolab, their in-house intraocular lens production facility, where they produce high-quality lenses at 1/30th the cost of imported lenses. They embraced their constraints which enabled them to go beyond obvious options.
“Constraints can best be visualized as a series of overlapping criteria for successful ideas: feasibility (what is functionally possible within the foreseeable future); viability (what is likely to become part of a sustainable business model); and desirability (what makes sense to people and for people).” – Tim Brown, Executive Chair, IDEO
Failing to lead
Eye in the Skye movie was quite insightful about real war room decision-making. It is the story of a military decision to be made which has life and death, moral and legal consequences. It showed some leaders turning cold feet because they cared more for personal consequences (impact on career, reputation, media, etc.) which delayed decision-making. Failure in leadership is not about making wrong decisions but failing to act on a problem.
“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” – Colin Powell, Former United States Secretary of State
Real experience
A week ago, I met people whom I had not met for years. Beyond the feel-good factor of in-person meetings, I realized there is so much you learn when you meet someone in reality. There are other dimensions that you do not get to experience in any other form of interaction. We are living in a world where everything we want to know can be known with a click away. However, we are also slowly moving away from the real as everything becomes abstract knowledge without experience. Knowledge feeds the mind and experience nourishes the soul. We could be gluttonizing the mind, at the risk of starving the soul.
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for a newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, Former U.S. First Lady, Diplomat, Human Rights Activist