Focusing on Possibilities & Opportunities Date:   Wednesday , November 03, 2010 When you watch highly successful managers, you will notice a distinct characteristic. They are very focused on the possibilities and opportunities, more than obsessed or bogged down with the past. They stand testimony to the old adage: “Understand the past; and then let it go!” While it is important to remember the lessons from the past, future is going to be very different and therefore possibilities and opportunities need maximum attention. American philosopher William James said that you could change your life by changing your experience. For example, you do not sing because you are happy; you are happy because you sing! Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Steven Spielberg and such other creative people we all can relate to, unlocked their power by remaining open to possibilities and opportunities. While rear view mirror serves an important purpose while driving on a freeway, you do not make great strides by looking into it all the time. An occasional glance is not only helpful but is often necessary. But an obsession with the rear view mirror can come in the way of pressing ahead. Baggage of the past: Too much of living in the past is no road map to succeeding in the future. It can actually drain a lot of energy and block our making the best of the future. Here is a nice story I came across that captures the spirit of the emotional baggage that many of us tend to carry from the past instead of channeling our energies into the future. The Monks and the Young Woman: Two monks were strolling by a stream on their way back to their monastery. They were startled by the sound of a young woman in a bridal gown, crying softly. She needs to cross to get to her wedding but was worried that crossing the stream might ruin her beautiful handmade gown. In their particular sect, monks were prohibited from touching women. But one monk was filled with compassion for the bride and went ahead with helping the woman cross by hoisting her on his shoulders. She smiled and bowed with gratitude even as the monk splashed his way back to rejoin his companion. The second monk was livid and started to scold all the way back. The offending monk did not react, but simply listened to the singing birds. After returning to the monastery, he fell asleep for a few hours. Suddenly, he was jostled and awakened in the middle of the night by his fellow monk. “How could you carry that woman?” cried out the agitated monk and continued his harsh language. “What woman?” the sleepy monk enquired. “Don’t you remember? That women you carried across the stream?” his colleague snapped. “Oh, her,” laughed the sleepy monk. “I only carried her across the stream. You seem to have carried her all the way back to the monastery.” The key question to reflect on is: are we unduly obsessed with our past? – and this includes our successes and failures in the past. Past has both its lessons and limitations. Future holds possibilities and opportunities. Future, no doubt, is uncertain and can be very intimidating. However, for the prepared it can also be very rewarding. What behaviors differentiate the future-focused managers? How can we become one and craft a future of our choice? I will share some perspectives in the following paragraphs. Entrepreneurial Mindset: Those managers with an entrepreneurial mindset make the best use of the current possibilities and future opportunities. Given the increasing complexities in the business landscape, those with this mindset use the uncertainty to their benefit and leverage it for growth rather than lament it. This mindset is marked by speed and confidence. Those with this mindset also are passionate in seeking new opportunities and recognize them even as they appear in the horizon. Contrary to popular belief, those with an entrepreneurial mindset are actually very highly disciplined. They often maintain an inventory of unexploited opportunities and revisit this inventory of ideas from time to time. Their discipline also shows in that they pursue only the very best opportunities and do not go after anything and everything. And such a mindset also makes them very good at what is known as ‘adaptive execution.’ Both the words are important. They execute with a missionary zeal and are also adaptive – able to change direction as the real opportunity evolves. Finally, those with an entrepreneurial mindset engage the energies of everyone in their chosen area of pursuit. They engage people both inside and outside. They build and nurture a network of relationships rather than going it alone, making the most of intellectual and other resources people have to offer. They are very vigilant all the time: Those who make the best of opportunities show a heightened state of awareness, characterized by great curiosity, alertness and willingness to “satisfice”- a term coined by the Nobel Prize winning economist Dr Herbert Simon to refer to the decision making strategy involving incomplete information. Succeeding in a “Butterfly” environment where strategic inflection points occur all the time in the business environment, being vigilant becomes a key success factor for grabbing the possibilities and opportunities. Some of the characteristics of vigilant leaders are: (a) focus externally and stay open to diverse perspectives; (b) apply strategic foresight and probe deeply for second-order effects; and (c) encourage others to explore widely by creating a culture of discovery. GE’s Jack Welch describes in his best-selling book, “Winning”, the following as the traits of growth leaders: (1) creates focus that defines success in the market; (2) Clear thinker who can simplify strategy into specific actions; (3) has the imagination and courage to take risks on both people and ideas; (4) can energize teams through inclusiveness and connection with people; and (5) develop expertise in a function or domain. They are very optimistic: Making the best of possibilities and opportunities demands a high dose of realistic optimism even in the face of seemingly difficult business climate. Dr Martin Seligman, the proponent of positive psychology makes a case that success in life and career demands more of OQ (Optimism Quotient) than IQ (Intelligence quotient). Author of best -selling book, “Outliers”, Malcom Gladwell again makes a powerful case that IQ beyond a threshold of say 115 or so is not a great differentiator. Dr. Warren Bennis who dedicated all his life for researching and reporting on the field of leadership coined a term “Wallenda Factor” to describe the impact of one’s perception of the outcome of an event or effort. When the perception is positive, the outcome tends to be positive. Optimism plays a vital role in this. In his study, all the successful leaders demonstrated a high optimism and never once used the term ‘fail’ or ‘failure’ in their conversation with him. Everyone can make it: Making the best of possibilities and opportunities requires all the three characteristics described above. And these attributes are not something we must be born with. These can be cultivated as a mindset and behaviours and overtime, they become our habits. As William James, the American Philosopher quoted at the beginning said: “You can change your life by changing your experience!” The author is Executive Vice President & Chief People Officer, Symphony Services. He can be reached at mahalingam.c@symphonysv.com