‘Political Correctness’ screws up life.

 

'Political Correctness' specifies what is considered as the appropriate way for members of society to dress, speak, and behave both in private and in public.

Power within every society or organisation is always concentrated in the hands of a small minority. This is why Political Correctness, has remained the most powerful weapon used by political and religious leaders and their forces to control the majority of the members of society.

A culture can be defined by its Political Correctness. Generally the greater the demand for correctness, the greater is the control of political and religious forces on the lives of members of society.

The best way for political and religious leaders to retain control over members of society is to impose as many restrictions as is possible on the people, particularly women. Why the great emphasis on control of women? This is because when one controls the man, one tends to control an individual, but when one controls a woman one can usually control an entire family.

One should view with great suspicion people and self proclaimed leaders who demand political correctness, for with these demands they have begun to impose dictatorial control over our lives.

Political Correctness has always been around, and imposed through followers of organised religion. It it has become prominent only recently with the increase in production, and distribution of news, information and entertainment through various media channels. It has also become a very powerful tool in conditioning of youngsters within educational institutions. 

Political correctness appears as a reasonable restriction or demand on behaviour and the use of particular language, but in reality it is an attempt to muzzle thought.

One of the greatest victims of political correctness is humour and comedy. Laughter and happiness are defining features of human existence irrespective of culture. A society that cannot laugh freely is a dead or dying society. Only a free and living society can laugh with abandon, and only an evolved human being can laugh at himself or herself.

"Against the onslaught of humour, no force can withstand" ~ Mark Twain.

Have you laughed or been able to speak what you think and believe yesterday?

If not, then you may have already been politically corrected.

Fake news - Real eyes, Realise, Real lies.

Conflict is a natural condition.* 

Partners, husbands and wives, children and parents, teachers and students, employers and employees, citizens and governments, etc. are often in conflict with one another and many other beings. 

Between and within nations, society, organisations even families there is constant conflict. A clash of ideas, strategy, tactics, power, influence, wealth, resources, partners, etc., conflict is always occurring. 

In fact put two creatures together and there is found to be conflict, until some outcome is arrived at between the parties involved. 

Conflicting parties usually try to marshal their resources so as to triumph over the other.

In this effort they try to win over others to their side, ideology or philosophy. They know if they can win the hearts and minds of people, they will secure their support. 

The raw material for the mind is information, and it is the factor most used. 

Information is a key element for success in winning a conflict. The commercial output of information is called news. 

Unfortunately anything that has use will also be misused.

Information always comes with its twin, 'misinformation', which is now known as 'Fake News'. Fake news has been around for centuries and this cartoon published in 1894  by Frederick Burr Opper clearly indicates that this is an age old problem.  

Not only is there an advantage and profit for people to provide news and information there is often a great reward and benefit for withholding news.

There is also the immensely influential and profitable but unethical practice of misinforming,  that is manufacture and distribution of fake news.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, that fake news is natural. Fake news was and remains omnipresent in every human society. Then why has the public's eye on fake news moved from the sidelines to centre-stage?

Unfortunately for peddlers of fake news, consumers of news now have alternative sources to receive and verify news.

The good news is thanks to technology, communications and access the common woman or man can quickly efficiently and cheaply tap directly into a seemingly infinite number of sources to obtain facts, news and commentaries. 

In a sense information has become more democratic and democracies as always are noisy, messy systems.  This has made it difficult if not impossible for providers of information to dish out fake news without getting challenged or caught.

The bad news is that creators of fake news have become very sophisticated, they also use technology to create 'echo chambers' that is the creation hundreds of thousands if not millions of fake voices so as to mislead the consumer that the news and support is widespread and commonly accepted. 

The worst news is that, now we are being bombarded by so much data and information that we are getting overwhelmed sifting the useful and necessary form the garbage. 

Our need for news and entertainment is so extreme that the problem is not so much with the manufacturers and distributors of trivial and fake news, it is us the consumer of news.

In any open society, democracy or free market, supply will always emerge to meet demand.  We demand and accept only what pleases or suits us, or that which matches our own narratives, prejudices  and that which benefits us.

We ourselves are driving demand for fake news, we have become  'fake news'. 

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* Note:

Though conflict is a natural condition, we humans possess the capacity to consciously to  minimise conflict and cooperate with on another. That is why in every civilisation there is a stable social hierarchy, 'A place for everyone, and everyone in his place'.

This will have to be the subject for another article. 

Useful Links:

'Truthification' - Why they convert a lie into a truth? - Guru Wonder

I want to be a politician

My friend Jaiprakash Singh, runs the 'Sujata School' in Hyderabad and Moinabad. 

During my visit to the school he requested me to speak to and motivate the young students in class 10, who were shortly due to leave school for college. The easiest thing to do in the world is, to lecture others especially the young and dole out unsolicited advice. Rather than lecture I prefer to have a dialogue with the young, for they never fail to surprise me with amazing new perspectives and their boundless enthusiasm and energy.


We spoke about several things and then a quick poll of the students revealed a great surprise. Several boys and girls said their career choice was to become politicians.

Wow! I never saw that coming.
I later realised that, we often ask what, but rarely why?
I have no definitive answers but yes a theory. 

Most people dream of being powerful, rich or famous. In India all these three things are possible in one profession represented by the Indian politicians of today. Politicians are a force that is not dependent on any other group in society. They are just one step below God in social standing.
All they need is a fig leaf of concern and service. 

Politics is the only profession in which no pre-qualification, formal training, skill acquisition or training is mandated or required. Politics is open for admission to all, and it seems to require no study or hard work.

Traditional Indian society had four classes. 
1. The warrior class who held the muscle power. 
2. The priestly class who were custodians of society's knowledge and wisdom. 
3. The traders who had most of  the money and controlled commerce. 
4. The working class, who had the skills to provide products and services and also those who tilled the land, the farmers.  

This arrangement ensured that no one group controlled more than one lever of power. This provided balance in society because each group was interdependent on the others. The is why India was an economic success and social stability, and there was no social unrest or revolution for over 5000 years.

Now in post independent India there has been a convergence. The people with muscle power now also have financial and administrative power. They are the politicians. Sadly they have made irrelevant religion and education by subjugating and corrupting them.

Though there are exceptions, it is generally believed that politicians exist only to serve themselves. 

During their team as elected officials, they are magically transformed into business and property tycoons. Their wealth grows by leaps and bounds sometimes a thousand fold in 5 years.They usually live in palatial homes and estates, and are surrounded by incredible luxury.  If you smell an incredible amount of money, you can be pretty sure a politician is nearby. 


Politicians are extraconstitutional authorities. Yes I know about that humbug, that everyone is equal under the law and as per the constitution. Politicians are not under the law, they are above it. The entire government administrative machinery is at their disposal. Their power comes by controlling criminal elements, the law and order machinery, the keys to the vault etc. Politicians withhold funds from opponents and those who do not pay, while granting favours and projects usually to cronies, themselves, their kith and kin through front men or to others for a fee. They usually misdirect tax and regulatory authorities to harass and destroy any voice that speaks or even contemplates speaking against them. They are powerful and they have no qualms about demonstrating it, and flexing their muscles often.

Famous, they are. Other than film stars and cricketeers media reports primarily on politicians. They cover almost every action, and expression. They hang on to every word politicians utter, as if it were holy gospel. This encourages more useless and often harmful verbal diarrhea. The media uses this 'info-tainment' to often fake concern for the people and affairs of the nation to make money while irresponsibility abounds

Kids are impressionable and they learn quickly, particularly fast the things that are not good. Is it any any wonder that politics is the preferred profession for many youngsters?

Isn't it wonderful that India is the worlds's largest democracy?

Power of play

You can learn more about a person in one hour of play than one year of conversation

- Plato

We were pleasantly surprised to learn last week that  Hotfut Sports a company promoted by our son Pavit and his partner NIkhil were awarded The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) prestigious award for the best sports startup in India for the year 2015.

Is it not strange that we only start appreciating our spouse or child after the world bestows honour on them? Probably being in such close proximity to our loved ones, we see the blemishes more clearly than the glow, the thorn more than the flower.

As the applause grows so does my curiousity. 
I analysed the courageous, and daring journey of these two remarkable young men who are just a tad over the age of 30. Looking at the passion, the professional, courteous and dignified approach to life, reinforces my hope that the future of the world is an optimistic one. 
Given an opportunity it is amazing what youth can achieve.

Four years ago, these two football lovers and their friends, could not find any suitable place to play. 

One evening a frustrated Pavit said, "Dad, its so sad that NIkhil and I, who come from well off families, can not find places to play, what then must be the fate of the average Indian child?" 

"So what do you want do about it?" I asked.
"I don't know what, but we will do something about it", replied Pavit.

Four months later he came back to me and said, "Nikki and I are going to set up and operating world class Futsal, venues to provide affordable play spaces and sports education for children and young adults."
"What exactly is it you are trying to do?" I asked
"Dad, in a nutshell, we want to do good."

Soon thereafter they set up Hotfut with their first venue on a piece of uncultivated farmland almost right in the middle of the city. Since then has never stopped having fun and setting up multiple venues across several cities.

I always looked at sport as something to be with friends and to remain healthy. Never looked at it as a means of education. But when prestigious soccer schools from across the world started approaching Hotfut for setting up soccer academies, it was an eye opener.

Soccer and other sports education is not merely about play and health but also a very powerful way of building character and confidence in people.

Sports education consists of four elements

• Technical
• Physical
• Social 
• Psychological

In India we have focussed only on the technical aspects of sport, but rarely on the other three aspects. As a result India rarely produces accomplished sportspersons.

Sport is much about building intellectual, spiritual and physical strength as it is for technique and style. 

This is why Hotfut's tie-up with the prestigious UK based Arsenal School of soccer is a key to in-school programs to catch and develop young people.

With sport, children often evolve into productive, responsible, happy adults. I look back at my school mates and realised that all those who were active in sport, seem to be healthier, happier and generally more successful in their professional and personal lives. 

It is a proven fact that no matter what career a person pursues, sports people generally perform better. But where are we going with sport in India? Hardly anywhere, because, there is a dearth of facilities, access to available facilities, and manner of managing the field of sport.

An awesome aspect is the work that Hotfut Foundation, the non profit NGO of Hotfut does in bringing play spaces and high quality sports education to the underprivileged child.

With several venues launched, each with a footfall of approximately 10,000 footfalls, Hotfut has spawned a vibrant and loyal community. Hotfut is where friends and competitors gather, play football and cricket, to blow off steam and generally have fun. 

As Neeraj succinctly put it, Hotfut is a place people come to discover themselves.

Power, money, friends and good manners

Every moment and every interaction can be a learning. Even an election to head a sports club.
I recently observed, participated and analyzed such an election.

There were two candidates Mr. Rich and Mr. Simple.

Mr. Rich was a very wealthy man whom several members seemed to be in awe of. He rarely came to the club or interacted with the members until canvassing for elections began. A relative stranger to the club and having little in common, only a few members socialised with the wealthy Mr.Rich. It appeared many people hung around Mr. Rich in the hope of gaining some benefit financial, political or social leverage.

Mr. Rich flaunted his money and his powerful connections. Many members deferred to Mr. Rich though many members privately confided that his presence and push was way over the top. Mr. Rich spent an enormous amount of money wining and dining members, making slick presentations and distributing brochures. Mr. Rich focussed on status and on his personal achievements of which he had many. However he had done nothing notable at and for the club or it's members till date. 


The other candidate Mr. Simple was a down to earth builder. Mr. Simple had served for many years on various committees, projects and activities of the club. He was at the club regularly and had many friends and even more well wishers who appreciated his visible contribution. 

Mr. Simple was approachable and tried his sincere best to resolve issues and address the concerns of members politely and respectfully. He had many shortcomings, but he was lovable.

Unlike Mr. Rich,  Mr. Simple in contrast wrote a simple mail to all members outlining his contribution, and the values he stood for. He stated that he did not believe in expensive dinners and parties but his track record of his contribution and his conduct to let members choose who was to be elected.

When the results were declared Mr. Simple had won by a margin which was the largest in the club's history. It appears that money and power alone or even together can rarely win hearts particularly of the well informed. My belief was reinforced that; 

"Friends and good manners will take you where money and power will never be able to take you"
 

Obnoxious People.

Abraham Lincoln that great man, who had risen from humble background to become the President of America once said, "All men respond well under adversity, if you want to test a man's character  give him power"

No wonder people who come to possess some power over resources or people tend to become obnoxious. Bosses, class teachers, principals, politicians, government officials and of course office bearers are more prone to being obnoxious, because they feel, 'You need me, I don't need you.'

Power, it has often be said, corrupts. But this is not true. Power amplifies our personality. Therefore, power makes good people great, and bad people worse..

Life is beautiful and People are inherently good But there are always aberrations in nature like obnoxious people and they tend to be both toxic and ugly.

It is normal for people to sometimes disagree, but obnoxious people are disagreeable.

Over the past year residents of our housing society have had the misfortune of having to deal with an obnoxious man. He was an office bearer and an obstructionist in our daily lives, He could not be avoided, he was like a millstone hanging around our neck. His intelligence only made him vicious and insufferable. Most residents in the housing society, detested the man.


All attempts by residents to engage with the man were futile. Decency and polite behaviour were misconstrued as weakness and timidity. Residents were at their wits end, until they got the following message from a wise man.

All attempts by residents to engage with the man were futile. Decency and polite behaviour were misconstrued as weakness and timidity. Residents were at their wits end, until realisation dawned that, "Dealing with obnoxious people is like wrestling with a pig in the mud. After some time you realize that you are getting physically and mentally exhausted, but the pig is actually enjoying it."

When we interact with people we create a relationship, and in turn the relationship defines us. We absorb the energy and traits of the people we associate with. If we do not want to become horrid and disgusting we should give negative people a wide berth and ignore them completely. If interaction is unavoidable then try not to let them drag you down to their level, respond rather than react to them.

It is said, 'Beware the fury of patient people'. In a rare show of consensus many residents agreed on one point. In a noisy meeting, residents insisted that the obnoxious man would not be allowed to continue in office a moment longer.  He was booed and summarily thrown out.

Those  who  act too wise, inevitably land up otherwise.

Ineptocracy

Power hungry people always find a way to get to the top of the pyramid of power or die trying. They know how to use and discard people and manipulate levers of power effectively. Power is so intoxicating that people who acquire it become insatiable and typically want more and more until they themselves are consumed by power itself.

Democracy as it was born gave relief to the masses and a good shot at changing their means of survival and progress. It however requires that the people exercise wisdom in the choices they make. Democracy is unfortunately under siege. Instead of providing a better world and India, it has in fact mutated into something toxic called an 'ineptocracy'.

People are made to believe that democracy provides a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Nothing can be further from the truth. Leaving aside the rhetoric, the press briefings and speeches, it is now 'a government of the evil, by the cunning and power hungry for the benefit of a select few.'

History clearly shows that across the world across nearly all time that a group of people representing a marginal percentage of  the population are the 'haves' and the vast majority are the 'have nots'. The politician needs the money and resources of the haves and the voting numbers of the 'have nots', while promising to protect each group from the other.

Our current model of government evolved a long time ago and the result is INEPTOCRACY, which can be defined as; 

A system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

When a state reaches a position where approximately 50% of it's citizens rely on the largess of the state for their continued sustenance, the form of government becomes one of ineptocracy.

The least capable to lead are not fools, they are extremely intelligent and cunning with questionable morals. They just know how to game the system and devote their whole lives in manipulating the system. The only consolation for Indians is that this disease is not restricted to our country but even to most of the developed countries.

People making choices on careers and electing their leaders should do a bit of homework and then make informed choices on how to proceed. I for one, am not going to vote for people that will push us further towards an ineptocracy. 

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What are the management lessons I can share with you?

An outcome of my many years of teaching and consulting with organisations and families, it is observed that there are 3 possible types of leaders, based on rewards and punishments. 

The first is the briber. This person is normally an incompetent person and has no other choice but to keep bribing the people to support him or her. This is not difficult to implement because one can always be gracious with someone else's money and resources. This is why the government of India under the UPA leadership has been compelled to spend Rs 11 trillion in past decade in programs of highly questionable value. The follower or employee gladly takes the bribes but often feels offended and alienated. When the sops dry up the followers leave and seek other alternatives.  A problem for bribers is that the followers or dependents become addicted to sops and soon grow dissatisfied and they need even larger doses of bribes. Such leaders are initially lauded but soon despised, and they are almost always never respected. 

The second type are the slave drivers or 'intimidators', the primary tool they use is fear. They so intimidate the followers that they do not dare disobey. They work towards crushing the individuality and collective identity of people. Once implemented this approach delivers very fast results and impact of change can be rapid. This is possibly what is happening in China. Unfortunately gains tend to reverse as soon as the fear factor diminishes. The performance of followers is also just above bare minimum so that they escape punishment. Many school teachers and administrations also use this approach. Such leaders are often hated. They demand respect but almost never get it. 

The third type are the true leaders, they use a blend of positive reinforcement while wielding a big stick.  They normally have a well thought out strategy which is communicated and excites their followers. The leader's dream becomes the dream and vision of the followers. This is based on educating, facilitating, supporting and encouraging followers. Performers are suitably rewarded after evaluation by a transparent system, and non performers are encouraged to perform better after due dialogue and analysis. The laggards are often cast aside and supported to survive but fall behind the main group.  This approach is the foundation and builds a meritocracy. Typically leaders adopting this style of leadership are hated and loved at the same time, but always command respect.

Beware! The genie has been released.

Every child learns about the all powerful genie trapped inside a bottle or lamp. This genie needs a master to release it from the bottle. The master gets his or her one or three wishes and then what?

The genie does not want to return to the bottle and the master cannot force it to return. The genie MUST have purpose or else it becomes a nuisance to itself and to everyone.

We humans are not much different from the genie in the bottle. Most of us have some form of genius within us, but we have to discover it. All great achievements have been the result of the combined effort of unleashing the human intellect and spirit.

Historically this human spirit has been shackled by rulers, governments, family, teachers, priests, society at large. Exploitation mainly by employers has soared greatly since the start of the industrial era. The so called cure of violent trade unionism and misguided political legislation has only made the exploitation worse.  Even so called modern knowledge based work such as teaching and service sectors also generally witness a command and control exploitive approach, often leading to poor outcomes.

The danger with exploitive relationships is that they are not much fun, can be extremely stressful because they are one sided. A seasoned exploiter also develops powerful and often terrible means to perpetuate their exploitive rule. 

Nowadays there is intense competition for everything and resources are increasingly scarce. Centuries of exploitation has lulled people into a stupor and trapped them like the genie in the bottle. Frustrated leaders want people to change to adapt to the new paradigm and deliver more. They blame their people. Entire treasuries have been emptied to get people to perform and yet the results are dismal.

Just like a good harvest can take place only in favourable conditions, humans also need a positive approach to deliver the best of their intellect and spirit.

Most people come to believe that their exploitation is a fact of life and accept it as such, not realizing that each one of us has phenomenal potential once we are unshackled.

I am often asked to assist in motivating people in organisations, families and individuals. I am often successful and in that lies my failure. The people who sought my assistance often cannot manage the energy that is released and eventually everyone is frustrated, unhappy and often very very angry. I have learnt that the human spirit is like a passive volcano which looks harmless and even serene. 

Once motivated and awoken, the volcano begins to erupt, spewing out enormous amounts of lava like energy. If untapped the intense energy of the eruption can cause immense damage.  It requires leaders of skill, wisdom, and purpose to tap this energy towards a worthwhile purpose. 

I am extremely lucky to also work with genuine people. Those who have great and noble aims. These are the people who normally do not try to control the fantastic power of the human spirit but rather seek to channelize it. 

Sadly the problem in a majority of cases is that the master tries to control the genie in an exploitive manner. The genie is now free and very powerful and has to be treated with respect and intelligence. 

If you want change then you must be the first to change. If not then it is best to leave the genie be and continue with your little exploitive games because once released the genie will never return to the bottle.

The problem is that most masters while capable of change refuse to do so, and are often consumed by the spewing lava. Partner with the genie and tap the enormous volcano like energy and you can achieve whatever you sincerely desire.