Killing Bin Laden

When you work in a big organization, things will- more often than not- go horribly wrong. If you work in a huge organization- more often than not- not only will things go horribly wrong but when they do everyone will begin hunting for that one person that took that final call before everything caught fire.

When American Navy SEALs went in to eliminate Osama, multiple things went wrong. One of their helicopters crashed. None of them landed where or how they were supposed to land (one helicopter crashed; the other one had to disembark its passengers outside the compound instead of inside). There were walls and metal gates where there weren't supposed to be any.

So your helicopter has crashed; none of you are where you were supposed to be.

You can scream and  bitch and mope and point fingers.

Or you can go ahead and kill Bin Laden.

The next time your copter crashes just think of it this way. Everything might have gone terribly wrong but there's still Bin Laden to be killed.

Tuesday morning randomness

It is amazing how sometimes words are more potent than images. 

Reading Rutherford's Mughal series right now, among other things. Mesmerized and learning a thing or two as a writer.

The magic of words

There is this game I like to play with people who have read the novel. I ask them what does a certain character in the book look like?

It is amazing how almost everyone I asked this question described Bastard as tall, possibly dark, muscular/ rugged/ huge. Hari has been described as average looking, medium height, possibly with slight paunch. I am summing up here and there- for example, some people would have only said average/ okay looking for Hari while others would have said "not too tall not too short"- and I am adding up the comments.

The amazing thing is if you read the book carefully, I have described only and only one character's (Scooby's) physique (as tall and paper thin).

That, my friends, is how words conjure a character image.

That is the magic of words. :)

The survival of the mediocrest

In politics as in the corporate world, only the mediocre thrive. 

The sharpest people will move out disgruntled by the slow pace, the convoluted arm twisting required to push something down for the greater good, the backroom politics behind every puny little decision. The worst will, of course (most likely), be weeded out. 

But from the ashes shall rise the mediocre... the ones too afraid to take a call, the guys who play safe and yes-sir their bosses, who in every project will build a backdoor exit for themselves should it backfire. In places clogged with egos, testosterone and penis envies between the high & mighty, it is the mediocre who shall rise like creeps and vines clinging on to each and every word of their power drunk bosses, following without questioning- completely devoid of original ideas.

However mediocre people are good in the sense that they will do very little harm to the cause of your organization should you have a reasonably intelligent leadership (which you might not). The fact that they will do very little good is a sidenote of course.

And your company or your country is in serious peril if you do not have an intrinsic process to weed out/ rehabilitate the worst which in most cases doesn't exist.

Waiting for the rupee to touch Rs 60 to the dollar as our government- a veritable jungle of mediocrity- fusses and fumbles!