THE HAPPINESS QUOTIENT

The king of Bhutan coined the term: Gross National Happiness in 1972. He believed that the wellbeing of a country does not depend on the figures of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Thailand publishes monthly GNP figures. Australia, Canada and China are on the same path. France and most recently David Cameron of England has commissioned studies on national well being. Surprisingly more education, youth or income, does not translate into happiness. Happiness is a gift, not a commodity. Even the poor have the ability to cultivate and share happiness. There is joy to be found in the small things we take for granted—a smile, a helping hand, a kiss, a wave, a pat on the back, a glass of cool water, a promise kept. Each new day holds out a chance to create a whole new beginning, a sparkling new field of possibilities. At dawn, sweep out the toxic waste of hatred, anger and petty disappointments from your life. Sprinkle the pure waters of prayer on your soul and prepare a fresh for a brand-new day. Go peacefully amidst the noise and the haste. Enjoy the sweetness of everyday things. Practice swayambhu―a word that describes happiness welling out of you, like an underground stream in the mountains.

Meditation

Enlightened Masters have also shown that meditation produces beneficial effects such as reduction of tension, lowering of blood pressure, relaxation of muscles, increased concentration and work efficiency, and increase of immunological resistance to diseases. As a result, some form of meditation has become an essential part of most holistic health programmes. Service to others, music, prayer—all are forms of meditation—make the blood flow with serotonins—the happiness chemical. Hindu scriptures enjoin five types of service known as pancha-mahayajna—service to gods; service to sages; service to ancestors; service to humans, guests and the poor; and service to animals. A traditional Indian home, at dawn, feeds ants with the rice-flour rangoli drawn near the threshold, and crows and cows with leftover food. Eating should be regarded as a sacred act. In an orthodox Hindu home, food is offered to the family deity first and is then consumed as prasad or offering with the diety’s blessing. There is a basic similarity between the rituals involved in offering food to the deity and those involved in eating oneself. In both cases, food is offered as oblations to the five pranas regarded as five fires. Even if one does not follow this ritualistic concept, one should make eating a fully conscious and peaceful act. Hurry, worry, anger, distractions and chattering should be avoided while eating.

Hobbies

Cultivate hobbies for happiness, next year. A hobby is a regular activity enjoyed during one’s leisure as recreation. It is an activity that provides fun and relaxation. It is an ancient activity of humans: Caesar Augustus was an avid coin collector. It is said the Persians, Greeks and Romans used scale models of forts and coast defence lines to plan battles. Kids played with toys like train sets. They grew up to engage in more adult hobbies like these war games. The term ‘hobby’ comes from the 16th century word ‘hobyn’ which means small horse or pony. The original object, a ‘Tourney horse’’ was made of a wooden basketwork frame with an artificial head and tail, so that a child could experience riding a real horse. George Orwell observed about the English, “the addiction to hobbies and spare time occupations... We are a nation of flower lovers, but also a nation of stamp collectors, pigeon fanciers, amateur carpenters, coupon snipers, darts players, crossword puzzle fans…” Hobbies often involve meeting an interesting community of others involved in the same activity. Events are often organized around these activities, as are magazines and websites. As a result, a hobby creates an enjoyable network of friends and associates. A hobby usually results in a feeling of achievement. The pleasure of a hobby lies in making something of value or achieving something of value. These activities involve five broad categories: collecting, making and tinkering (embroidery, can restoration), activity participation (fishing and singing), sports (gulf, running) and liberal art hobbies (languages, cuisine literature). However a number of hobbies remain solitary. The intellectual and physical stimulation a hobby provides is a clear attraction. Research proves that hobbies impact healthy aging. Hobbies provide adults with play. An absorbing hobby can greatly improve your life satisfaction levels. The unconditional and gentle relationships, you could build through hobbies can fill your life with happiness breaks. So find and pursue an absorbing hobby in the year ahead.

Creating A Life Changing Network

A healing and caring network of relationships is the most important factor in a healthy, long life. High EQ or emotional quotient can ensure that while increasing your circle of friends, you can build better bonds with those you have, while reaching out to new friends. The whole process will become more enjoyable. Emotional intelligence can make friendships more satisfying and rewarding. What are the key skills one enjoys in a friend? Empathy: the ability to feel my happiness and my pain in your heart. Empathy enables you to share and to comfort. Doubling your joys and halving your sorrows. On the contrary, those who are moody, depressed, pessimistic and uncaring are toxic enough to make people run for their lives – if they can. Caring about others means understanding and spending time on what others are interested in... Conversations should certainly include these subjects. Avoid criticising others – you are not the world’s police man. Involve everyone in the conversation: remember a bore is a fellow who wants to talk about himself, when you want to talk about yourself. Let there be humour, laughter, joy! Ask for advice. Give advice, if anyone asks for it. Share stories, sports and hobbies. Do enjoyable things together. Support others during tough times. Decide how close you want to be to someone. Don’t get too emotional with strangers, just like you cannot be aloof with friends. Watch out for those whose live seems to involve a series of making and breaking relationships. There are skills you can learn only by observing and participating in the University of Life. So here are a few tips that you can adopt. • Love and appreciate yourself • Use mobile technology responsibly • Understand others and develop empathy and trust • Give time, talent, thoughts and treasure to others. • Celebrate differences So reach out and create a life changing, supportive web of friendships in the year ahead.

Proactive Change

The results of transformative change are all around us this summer. Sunflower plants busting out from seeds where they have slept tightly curled, butterflies leaving behind their worn out cocoons, flowers dressing up the bare limbs of trees. This time as the financial year begins it is the time for the 3Rs rest, relaxation and rejuvenation of proactive change. Change is the only certainty in an uncertain world. This year you will change merely because everything around you will change. What you can decide is whether you will lead the change or become a victim of it. Think about proactively changing things in the following areas of your life. 1. Personal 2. Family 3. Professional 4. Social Personal: Create goals that will improve your skills and build on your strengths. Tap into the passion that you have kept tightly leashed because you had no time. Did you always want to learn to play the guitar? Sign up now. Was Bollywood dancing what lights your fire? Do it. Sign up for a distance learning programme. Family: Ask your family members to suggest change each of them would like. Try to see if it can be done. Don’t be a casualty of the corporate rat race. Professional: Have a chat with your team mates. Volunteer for a tough blue sky job. Create a daily ‘huddle’ in your workplace so that everyone can meet and talk for a few minutes every morning. Make sure everyone participates. Work on making it a fun place. Social: Create a face book page for your family and friends. Keep in touch, share pictures, keep them informed and interested and involved in an interesting activity: a get-together for all your friends, an annual family reunion, a pot luck meet and eat for all your neighbours. Things will change anyway. Make sure they change in the way you want. And remember a butterfly is not an improved caterpillar. Just as a sunflower is not an improved seed.

Analogies

The use of analogies and metaphors can be a valuable tool in stimulating creativity, both in problem definition and problem solving. Einstein often used these techniques as a way to visualize and solve problems. The development of the analogies/metaphors creativity technique is generally credited to de Bono (1970). However, Aristotle spoke of the value of metaphor almost 2,200 years ago: ‘Now strange words simply puzzle us; ordinary words convey only what we know already; it is from metaphor that we can best find something fresh.’ An analogy is a similarity between two things and the strange familiar.’ By the use of analogies, an individual or group can often find a new insight and approach to the nature of a problem and thus its resolution.

Execute, communicate and train

Implement like an Innovation Star. This is the day to make a final presentation to all the teams in the presence of top management. Get feedback from all stakeholders and respond to concerns. It is a good idea to leave the plan to be studied by all participants. Each can peacefully reflect on it, internalize it. This is the time to get the resource budget cleared. All participants and stakeholders must now receive a clear communication on what to expect. Here it is important to note the process-- communication has to be long term, continuous and consistent. Human resources professionals and problem owners must ensure that the necessary training modules are implemented and their efficacy measured. Management systems implementation should now kick in. The management information system to ensure clear measurement of action should be available to all players. The website and other internet support systems should be properly administered by a webmaster to ensure the seamless flow of information where possible. A regularly produced e-bulletin would help. Knowledge, information and wisdom are important. ‘Know How’ is essential, but ‘do how’ is just as important. Teams by now have dived into the messy business of how to implement what they have chosen as solutions. They have created plans and strategies and worked co-operatively and negotiated the best route to take. Action now becomes the priority.

Emergence – Growth –Decline – Death

The first phase is often entrepreneurial and innovative with a sudden burst of energy capturing a new space in the market. This creative phase is terminated in a leadership crisis. It was Schumpeter who said, ‘It is rare for anyone always to remain an entrepreneur throughout the decades of his active life.’ This cycle then progresses from entrepreneurship to an organization that becomes slow and complacent. By focusing on innovation, you may rescue an organization in the declining phase of the organizational life cycle. Re-innovation or renovation becomes important when an old, traditional company goes into decline. It provides the inflection necessary to leap frog over the down hill phase. Every organization has to prepare for the abandonment of everything it does - Peter Drucker

Consistent Innovation

Be sure that you have put in place a sustainable model for consistent Innovation. Once the returns from innovation start to pour in, the organization should focus on maximizing the returns through routine implementation. Harvesting is a mechanical and essential process. Use an Innovation Center to provide the foundation for a long-term initiative. Large, tradition bound, successful organizations, tend to prefer the stability that formalized procedures provide. Even though most companies accept the idea of innovation being important for success, most are not committed enough to practice it on a long-term basis. This book provides the underlying processes required to make it work on a sustainable consistent basis and demystifies the process for use across the organization. Management is bottom-line driven. Usually extremely result oriented in the short term and often losing faith in concepts very quickly. Innovation is a concept that requires a long-term buy-in and takes time to be fully ingrained in the organizational culture. Consistent, long-term commitment and long-term implementation is key to making the climate of innovation a way of life. The benefits of an innovation intervention in very early phases are intangible. Long term top management participation and commitment is key to success. A critical mass of participants in a company practicing Innovation Tools (IT) is essential to demonstrate financial and process quality impact. Innovation practices, besides leading to continuous improvement, also result in quantum shifts in the business, leading to unprecedented profits. But patience and the Bhagavad-Gita principle of ‘Do your work without expecting results,’ are required. Organizational variables like quality of work life, teamwork, tolerance for new and disruptive ideas and unimpeded communication are required to make innovation initiatives work. Deploying the time, budgets and people required to make these initiatives work, requires management buy-in. Innovation champions are critical to carry through long-term initiatives.

Innovation Mela

Innovation Melas celebrate the spirit of innovation. The most innovative new ideas are studied and applauded. In short it is a day to enjoy, inspire and celebrate corporate innovation and honour the imagination. It is a great way to provide a holistic view of events, while celebrating innovation publicly. Inviting a customer to provide his point of view could create a special wave of excitement. It is a banquet for the imagination: well loved, proven ideas rub shoulders with exotic new imports. Half completed projects call for volunteers. Implemented ideas are paraded and honoured. Case studies in the market are presented, competitions and quizzes stimulate participation. Problem owners call for consultants to tame their problem projects. Everyone rolls up their sleeves to tame wild ideas. Top management provides recognition rewards and support. The most interesting wild new idea, which does not, at the moment, seem implementable, is chosen for taming. This is a mega event which involves the whole company. It is a chance to showcase the best ideas, while reviewing and revisiting all the thinking tools. The innovation Oscars and the Innovation Hall of Fame can flow out of this event. Let your people look at this note and reflect on the ideas presented.

Feedback Systems

Make sure that a log book is maintained by every innovation spiral. Weekly meeting minutes can ensure a smooth flow of information. Regular reports from each spiral ensure that the activities planned are moving smoothly. Monthly reviews can help in providing valuable feedback and opportunities for expanding participation. They also ensure top managements’ attention to projects. Formal feedback should be provided to problem owners, who bear the brunt of implementation in unfamiliar territory. Rewards should be an integral part of the system. Innovation should be part of the individual’s measurable job description, not just something he does if he feels like it. * Have a talk on innovation by a Company CEO who has practiced it.

Execute, communicate and train

Implement like an Innovation Star. This is the day to make a final presentation to all the teams in the presence of top management. Get feedback from all stakeholders and respond to concerns. It is a good idea to leave the plan to be studied by all participants. Each can peacefully reflect on it, internalize it. This is the time to get the resource budget cleared. All participants and stakeholders must now receive a clear communication on what to expect. Here it is important to note the process-- communication has to be long term, continuous and consistent. Human resources professionals and problem owners must ensure that the necessary training modules are implemented and their efficacy measured. Management systems implementation should now kick in. The management information system to ensure clear measurement of action should be available to all players. The website and other internet support systems should be properly administered by a webmaster to ensure the seamless flow of information where possible. A regularly produced e-bulletin would help. Knowledge, information and wisdom are important. ‘Know How’ is essential, but ‘do how’ is just as important. Teams by now have dived into the messy business of how to implement what they have chosen as solutions. They have created plans and strategies and worked co-operatively and negotiated the best route to take. Action now becomes the priority.

Review the outcome

During implementation review the outcome. Be aware of the end before you take the first step. Unify your teams by hitching them to the ultimate goal. Top management should inspire and empower the teams to action. A team bonding exercise getting everyone to see a bird’s eye view of the exercise is critical. Review the Resource for every team. Consolidate the reviews if the resources being used are adequate. Study the impact on the expected outcome. Ensure that the process is moving towards the final outcome: reducing costs, increasing revenues, improving customer satisfaction and ensuring greater employee participation.