Suggestions for the facilitator

 Become familiar with what discourages creativity and speculation and what encourages it.  Listen to team members. Encourage, nurture and paint any picture they wish in their own words. Avoid making judgments, tuning out, listening to your own thoughts or not really understanding the speaker. Work on improving listening skills, especially the non-verbal ones.  Be vigilant, and deal with members who try to dominate with immediate and endless details. While they are brilliant, they can ruin a meeting so try to steer them away without alienation. Avoid the compulsive speaker’s eye during the discussion.  Keep the energy level high. Use your alertness, intensity and enthusiasm to improve the field. Your attitude is contagious. Your body language can stimulate the group to greater enthusiasm.  Use visuals, excursions and dynamic movement to avoid slothfulness. Changing the location renews the group especially when people are tired. It is often like an actual vacation from the problem and people return with fresh ideas.  Keep the pace fast, but not hurried.  Use humour, laughter breaks and laughter exercises.  Surprise the group. Have a plan to shake things up for post lunch sessions, or low energy times.  Make sure the problem owner is getting what he wants.  Let everyone learn the demanding role of the facilitator.  Keep an eye on the climate. Be gentle but firm. Be in charge of process. The facilitator is like the conductor of an orchestra. Minute to minute he is responsible for getting the best out of team members in a meeting.

Facilitator and Participants

The facilitator is responsible for managing the group process so that the problem owner gets what they need. The facilitator keeps this in mind and protects group mates while ensuring discipline. • Concerned with process only, never involved in the content • Sets positive climate by: i) accepting all ideas ii) writes down headlines of ideas, and solutions iii) gives everyone a chance to contribute • Elicits the ideas hidden behind a question • Manages the time and pace of the meeting • Ensures the owner’s best current thinking is shared with the group • Ensures that everybody takes notes of what is in their mind Participants are the heart of any meeting. All the skills of the facilitator and the constructive responses of the client are designed to help each participant make his unique contribution. To emphasize the true relationships in a meeting the leader is viewed as one who serves the group. The group is, of course, servant to the problem. The problem owner is the problem’s representative and except in matters of behaviour his opinions are honoured. Differences with him are welcome too. They are aired, written down and the decision of how to use them is left to the client.

Action Teams

The problem owner should identify the team members. This could be done by choosing those keenly interested and involved in solving the problem. It may be a good idea for all members to go on a retreat to understand the problem in detail and to get know each other better. The best teams are small commando teams, where everyone is critically important. Set up ‘3S’ teams – Swift, Small and Strategic.. Here there are no ‘outsiders’, no passengers. Everyone becomes engaged in a small team and becomes completely involved. Each becomes a participant, there are no spectators. ‘How to create a small company mind, in a big company body?’ asked Jack Welch, on the eve of his revolutionary project to make GE, swift and profitable. The best teams are commando teams with 5 – 7 people.’ Within a positive field, genuine team work and collaboration is possible. In commando innovation teams, each one cares about the other, as in a close knit family. They give credit to others who contributed. If Devarajan receives a compliment, he says ‘Thank you. Shivakumar gave me this idea.’ Someone is not available, but when an outsider calls, the person answering says ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ Everyone has a helpful attitude, whether the problem is official or personal. There should be a constant flow of positive communications among team members. A great team shares many characteristics with the human circulatory system. All feelings of exhilaration, celebration and satisfaction are shared. When the mission is in trouble, ideas are shared and joint action mobilized. A genuine absence of rank in solving problems is required where every member of the team does not hesitate to cross over lines of responsibility and correct what is wrong. All are on the same journey.

Owning a Problem

Call for problem owners. It is essential for every problem to have a problem owner (PO). It is this problem owner who will choose the solution that suits his resources map (6Ms and time). The PO is critical because otherwise the teams will have not have the necessary momentum to reach the finish line and side step hurdles. A problem without an owner is a baby without a mother. The Problem Owner Owner • owns the issue • describes it • directs the content of the meeting by: contributing wishes and ideas, selecting the avenues to explore, paraphrasing ideas to check understanding before evaluating • evaluates constructively • decides when a solution has been reached • commits to next action The team is working with and for this person. The problem owner is responsible to get as much as possible from the team. How the problem owner interacts with team members and their ideas will have a profound impact on the productivity of the group, so it is important that interaction with the team members is designed to increase their involvement.

Health is wealth and critical to happiness

Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing, not merely an absence of disease or infirmity. Really speaking, health is not a state but a continuous adjustment to the changing demands of life and the environment.Positive health implies perfect functioning of body and mind in a given society. Ayurveda defines health as ‘svasthya’—to be one’s highest spiritual self. It is the state of equilibrium of the three doshas or mind-body energies that govern our external and internal environment―vata (wind); pitta (bile); and kapha (phlegm), along with a contented state of the senses, mind and soul. All the ancients believed that no attempt should be made to cure the body without treating the mind and soul. To be healthy is to have the ability, despite an occasional bout of illness, to live with full use of your faculties and to be vigorous, alert and having a joie de vivre, even in old age. This concept of operational health has been termed ‘wellness’. It is a sense of all-round wellbeing.

Affirmations for Personal Wellbeing

You are a powerhouse of potential. The great Michelangelo was once asked how he created great statues. Old and half blind, Michelangelo stood before a block of marble, scarred and muddy from the quarries of Carrara. He said quietly, ‘I have never created a statue. I just stand before a block of marble and study it with reverence. For I know that within every block of marble, there lies a statue, waiting to be liberated by the touch of the Master’s hand.’ Within each of us lies hidden a masterpiece waiting to be liberated by the magic touch of attention. Only you can do it. Be your own ‘expert’. Do not build negative ideas about yourself through the comments of others. Your self-talk should be calm, happy and elevating. Choose to see and hear what is beautiful and encouraging. When you are wounded, learn to soothe yourself by using these affirmations. (Sit with eyes closed and silently affirm) By nature I am kind, gentle and loving. Any mistake committed is unintentional and I forgive myself and others for it. God’s grace has created a magic circle of love, a safe haven for me and my loved ones. I am capable of achieving my goals with hard work and dedication. I look around me for help and knowledge to reach my goals. I seek companions who encourage and help me.

Body and Stress

Any of the big five emotions—kama, kroda, madha, lobha, matsarya (lust, anger, arrogance, greed, jealousy, respectively) can flood the body with the chemicals of stress. Stress is destructive. Stress is ageing. Stress is a killer. Let us consider the most common emotion of this century— anger. What happens when you are angry? Thirty-six chemicals pour into the blood—lethal chemicals like adrenaline and histamine. Blood rushes through the heart, blood pressure and pulse rates shoot up. The rate of breathing increases. The body gets ready to fight or flee. Digestion is switched off. All parts of the brain, except the primitive ‘lizard brain’, are switched off. The force of blood-flow in an enraged person causes minute tears in the tender fabric of the arteries. Fatty deposits find a convenient place to park themselves to repair the tears, and cholesterol, the plaster of paris of the body, slowly builds up to occlude the artery. Soon the tender flexible artery becomes stiff and hard, preparing the stage for a heart attack.

Body and Stress

Any of the big five emotions—kama, kroda, madha, lobha, matsarya (lust, anger, arrogance, greed, jealousy, respectively) can flood the body with the chemicals of stress. Stress is destructive. Stress is ageing. Stress is a killer. Let us consider the most common emotion of this century— anger. What happens when you are angry? Thirty-six chemicals pour into the blood—lethal chemicals like adrenaline and histamine. Blood rushes through the heart, blood pressure and pulse rates shoot up. The rate of breathing increases. The body gets ready to fight or flee. Digestion is switched off. All parts of the brain, except the primitive ‘lizard brain’, are switched off. The force of blood-flow in an enraged person causes minute tears in the tender fabric of the arteries. Fatty deposits find a convenient place to park themselves to repair the tears, and cholesterol, the plaster of paris of the body, slowly builds up to occlude the artery. Soon the tender flexible artery becomes stiff and hard, preparing the stage for a heart attack.

Water in its place……….

The Greeks believed that the Mediterranean Sea and the river just beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, was the whole world. The ‘river’ was of course the Atlantic Ocean. Just like the frog in the well. Today we know there are five oceans – the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Antarctic. During the last ten days, since Diwali the festival of lights, Chennai and most of Tamil Nadu has been battered by rain. Streets and homes have been flooded. I always thought of water as a cleansing agent. But when books are rescued from water, when wood or cloth is submerged, it really stinks. Water is lovely only in its own place. But human beings have made it difficult for water to remain in places meant for water – lakes, ponds, rivers and most importantly marshes and wet lands. Wet lands and marshes in Chennai have been destroyed by rapid urbanization. More than half the wetlands have been converted into living areas. The City had 150 water bodies. Now there are only 27. From 1997 onwards 99% of the green cover has been replaced by buildings, drastically reducing the city’s water holding capacity. The rivers have been reduced to sewers while originally they carried surplus water from 450 tanks. The Pallikaranai marshland has been reduced to 1/10 its size by ‘reclamation’ by real estate barons. So what are these encroachments, into the space needed for the flood water to flow? Rotary was once involved with cleaning a Temple tank which was being surreptitiously filled with garbage and masonry by rapacious builders. Rotary could stop it. But such encroachments keep happening below the radar of the law. The Delhi High court while ordering the return of such encroached water bodies to the Public Works Department observed “Water bodies, lakes and water tanks are not only a community asset, but also help in preserving and improving environment.” In a single report from Ghaziabad, we hear that 1036 ponds, one wetland in Hasanpur and one lake in Arthala have all been fully or partially usurped! There is also a case of a UP State industrial development corporation usurping 14 water bodies in the City, while private parties have encroached on 98! Altogether 24,037 hectares which belong to water bodies, have been usurped. Water needs its own space. When greed results in land being wrested away from water, we have disaster. Forty Four people died in the recent flood in Chennai. Millions are homeless. Diseases are spreading and property has been destroyed. The greed of the few has harmed so many. Shouldn’t we ask questions when our birthright to a peaceful life is being pillaged?

Celebrations

The poorest among mankind celebrate the gift of life and the bounty of Nature. In early January, the whole village celebrates Pongal in Tamil Nadu, South India and similar festivals all over the world depending on the harvest time. It stretches over four days, which become an island of joy, even if life is a stormy business. All old things are burnt in a huge bonfire. New clothes are worn. Overflowing joy and good fortune are celebrated by the Pongal pot of plenty which boils over with the rice and jaggery that will be eaten at the celebration. The house is newly painted and decorated. There is a whole day devoted to cows. Their horns are painted and bodies decorated, and they enjoy a rest and good food. The last day is devoted to going out and seeing friends and relatives, watching movies and generally celebrating life. The saying is that when Thai (following the mid January Harvest festival) is born, a way will be found to solve all problems. These celebrations lift you out of the trough of despondency. They fill you with the energy to make a new beginning with the help of God and the family.

Affirmations for Personal Wellbeing

You are a powerhouse of potential. The great Michelangelo was once asked how he created great statues. Old and half blind, Michelangelo stood before a block of marble, scarred and muddy from the quarries of Carrara. He said quietly, ‘I have never created a statue. I just stand before a block of marble and study it with reverence. For I know that within every block of marble, there lies a statue, waiting to be liberated by the touch of the Master’s hand.’ Within each of us lies hidden a masterpiece waiting to be liberated by the magic touch of attention. Only you can do it. Be your own ‘expert’. Do not build negative ideas about yourself through the comments of others. Your self-talk should be calm, happy and elevating. Choose to see and hear what is beautiful and encouraging. When you are wounded, learn to soothe yourself by using these affirmations. (Sit with eyes closed and silently affirm) By nature I am kind, gentle and loving. Any mistake committed is unintentional and I forgive myself and others for it. God’s grace has created a magic circle of love, a safe haven for me and my loved ones. I am capable of achieving my goals with hard work and dedication. I look around me for help and knowledge to reach my goals. I seek companions who encourage and help me.

Energy and Enthusiasm

It is energy that causes all beings to act in this world. The higher the level of positive energy, the greater the accomplishments. When we are tired, our energy level plummets and we do not feel like doing anything. When the field around is negative with hurt, anger, possessiveness, greed, jealously, fear and abhorrence, we are less able to act with speed, effectiveness and efficiency. These emotions suck the energy and life force out of us. All beings have within them, the all-pervading life force, the same force or energy that creates and sustains life in the universe and nourishes it. It is the universal nature of energy that binds and connects all creatures in a single, networked web. That is why it is difficult to be completely happy while hurting others. The universal life energy acts and lives in all created matter. It is necessary at all times to make sure that the creation of a negative field is carefully avoided.

How to Develop Work-Life Balance

Love yourself enough to outsource Take short relaxation breaks, at least thrice a day. Eat fresh, energy-giving foods. Take a walk outdoors during lunch break. Spend time reading and improving your mind. Involve your spouse and children in your work. Bring them to the office during lunch break or on a Saturday. Get involved in activities that will benefit others. Develop an absorbing hobby or skill—driving, dancing, gardening, carpentry, painting, amateur radio… Keep in touch with your close friends and extended family, use the power of the internet. Meditate. Take care of yourself.