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Category: knowledge

Beyond the Comfort Zone

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

In our comfort zones, we tend to feel at ease, almost no anxiety, stress free, and safe.

In the boundaries of our comfort zones, we tend to feel some or a lot of anxiety, stress, and get defensive.

Do we all have comfort zones? If so, do we stay in those zones or go beyond them?

Of course, we all have our comfort zones in different areas of our lives and activities that we do. As humans, we operate from a place where we make decisions from what we know, feel comfortable doing, and go about our personal and professional lives.

However, if those same comfort zones are limiting our own growth or from allowing us to reach our full potential, wouldn’t we want to go beyond them?

Imagine you have been selected as a member of your varsity basketball team. Your basketball coach sees a lot of potential in you and provides regular feedback. There are parts of your game that are already good and you capitalize on them. Then there are other parts of your game that you are not mostly aware of but your coach sees where and how you can improve on them. After each varsity practice, the coach comes up to you and gives you constructive feedback on your improvement areas. You listen to the coach but you are not REALLY LISTENING to your coach. You have a feeling that you are already good in certain areas and that’s the part the coach should praise you on. Yet here you are listening to the coach just talking about where you can be in the future and keeps going on and on the improvement areas, not so much your strength areas. After a few of these feedback sessions, you finally get the urge to just tell the coach that you are doing everything you can and get defensive because you don’t feel appreciated or valued by the coach. You have excuses and don’t take any responsibility or ownership.

Now what can happen next?

As a player, you can reframe the conversation with the coach as a way to see that the feedback is for your own growth and if you have want to reach the next level, you should do the activities the coach recommends you to do. Or you can stay defensive and feel entitled to think that you have already reached your potential and the coach doesn’t see that? Or just quit the varsity basketball team?

Comfort zones are there and will continue to be an integral part of each of us. Yet, if you want to live out your AUTHENTIC GREATNESS, how often will you push yourself out of your comfort?

A recommended read related to this topic “How to Leave Your Comfort Zone and Enter Your ‘Growth Zone“

the “perfect” work

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Seth Godin’s blog today was Unbeatable vs Perfect. In it, he states that Google has killed more than 200 projects over the last few decades. They fail all the time. MORE THAN 200 PROJECTS!!!

Over the years, I knew Google discontinued a few products/services here and there but did not expect more than 200. Often we see a company, professional, or industry expert present an almost “flawless” or “perfect” product/service out in the world. We expect our work to be like theirs or close to it as possible. We forget that we are on our own journey to greatness. There is no need to compare, contrast, or feel deflated. What you can do from the work you see out there is to draw inspiration, motivation and keep going at your pace. There is “never” a perfect version of something and there is “always” room for improvement.

If Google waited for the “perfect” project/product/service to ship, we won’t be talking about them in 2022. They launched in 1998 and are still relevant to us more than ever before!

Also if I waited for the “perfect” blog to post, this post would be in my Drafts and you won’t be reading it at this moment. Thanks for reading my “not-so-perfect” blog.

Handling dissatisfying situations

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

In Albert Hirschman’s book “Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States” he mentions that there are four different options for handling a dissatisfying situation.

Decades of research show that you have a choice between exit, voice, persistence, and neglect. Exit means removing yourself from the situation altogether. Voice involves actively trying to improve the situation. Persistence is gritting your teeth and bearing it. Neglect entails staying in the current situation but reducing your effort.

How do you respond to dissatisfying situations?

Text reference: Originals How non-conformists move the world by Adam Grant

Being an apprentice

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Every human activity, endeavor, or career path involves the mastering of skills. – Robert Greene in “Mastery”

Robert Greene – Mastery

In his book Mastery, Robert Greene elaborates on the Apprenticeship phase involving three essential steps in the apprenticeship, each one overlapping the other. The three steps are: Deep Observation (The Passive Mode), Skills Acquisition (The Practice Mode), and Experimentation (The Active Mode). He states that within Skills Acquisition (The Practice Mode), in acquiring any kind of skill, there exists a natural learning process that coincides with the functioning of our brains known as tacit knowledge – a feeling for what you are doing that is hard to put into words but easy to demonstrate in action. He elaborates on how the apprenticeship system came about in the Middle Ages. “As business expanded in the Middle Ages, Masters of various craft needed more help and also wanted to build up skills in their workers. Thus the apprenticeship system developed in which young people from approximately the ages of twelve to seventeen would enter work in a shop, signing a contract that would commit them for the term of seven years. At the end of seven years, apprentices would have to pass a master test, or produce a master work, to prove their level of skill. Once the apprentices’ pass, they were elevated to the rank of journeymen and could travel wherever there was work, practicing the craft. “

Apprentice comes from the Latin word prehendere, meaning to grasp with the hand. “Apprentices learned the trade by watching Masters and imitating them very closely and learning through a lot of endless repetition and hands-on work with very little verbal instruction. Since resources such as textiles, wood, and metals were expensive and could not be wasted on practice runs, apprentices would spend most of their time working directly on those materials used for the final product. If the time was summed up for which the apprentices ended up working directly on materials in those years, it would amount to more than 10,000 hours, enough to establish exceptional skill level at a craft.”

Text derived from Mastery by Robert Greene.

Image source: Goodreads

Your company’s “Chief Question-Asker”

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

“The most important thing business leaders must do today is to be the “chief question-asker” for their organization” says Dev Patnaik of Jump Associates.

Patnaik says that “the first thing most leaders need to realize is, they’re really bad at asking questions. The business executives rose up through the corporate ranks because “they were good at giving answers. But it means they’ve had little experience at formulating questions.” Without the company leadership setting the tone and culture to the rest of the organization that asking questions are important and critical to the business growth, it’s no surprise that the employees are not asking any or enough questions. If the employees who understand the company’s products/services are not asking any or enough questions to the customers/end users for feedback, or asking questions to explore new products/services in the market, the company will become stagnant and the competition will take over.

Adam Bryant, The New York Times Corner Office Column writer says that “the best leaders understand that asking open, exploratory questions can help them figure out what’s coming and where new opportunities lie, so that they can lead their company in new directions.” Leaders have to show vulnerability and humility to ask questions which is more important than upholding the persona of the leader who must “be all-knowing, decisive, and in possession of infallible gut instincts, all of which leaves little room for questioning.”

Are you the company’s “Chief Question-Asker”?

Quotes are from “A More Beautiful Question” by Warren Berger

What’s your dominant question?

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Jim Kwik, author of Limitless says a dominant question is the thing we keep asking ourselves, over and over throughout our day. It’s what drives our decisions in the moment and focuses our obsessions when we’re alone. He says the dominant question feels permanent but it is not.

“The questions you ask yourself will shape your life.” – Jim Kwik

In Entrepreneur magazine (June 2021), Jim shares his experience working with the actor Will Smith. They realized that Will’s dominant question is “How do I make this moment magical?” Jim recalls “One night, he was with Will Smith and his family on a movie set and it was 2am and everyone was freezing. He starts making hot chocolate for everybody, even though there’s a crew there that does that for them. He starts bringing us blankets. He starts cracking jokes. He starts telling stories. And I realized. He’s living his dominant question.”

2 WAYS TO FIND YOUR DOMINANT QUESTION according to Jim Kwik
  • Review 

Listen. Reflect on your thoughts, listen to your inner talk. Sit in silence. Silence isn’t empty, it will be full of your own questions.

  • Record

Journal every day. Review and record your day, and you’ll start to notice patterns skewing towards the things you find important in your life.

Read more at Discovering Your Dominant Question

Books I read in 2021

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

I enjoyed reading these books in 2021.

Asking questions to understand better

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Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why and other books says that “asking questions doesn’t mean you’re the stupidest person in the room; it usually means you’re the only one brave enough to speak up.”

Some of the reasons why we aren’t asking enough questions even when we don’t understand the topic of discussion are the beliefs/thoughts/internal questions we have going in our head:

By asking this question(s), will it make me look “stupid”?

Would I look like the person who doesn’t understand this topic if I ask this question?

It’s actually not relevant to me at all so why ask this question.

I am the “expert” or “smartest” person in this room. Why ask questions and make myself look like a beginner?

Do I have the “authority” to ask questions in this group or in this context?

the perspective

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

With new adventures, everyday challenges, feedback from others, conversations between employees and managers, and many other moments in our daily experiences, it’s important to keep them in perspective.

Imagine a scenario of a manager giving an employee honest feedback. It’s tempting for the employee to expect all positive feedback from his/her supervisor and vice versa. Yet do we really grow from just positive adulations? If the employee uses the honest feedback to gain awareness of their strengths/improvement areas and then gathers new skills and knowledge, it’s actually much better in the long term for both the employee and the supervisor. On the other hand, if the employee does not have the proper perspective on the manager’s honest feedback, then he/she can feel down, angry, or even hurt by their words or behavior. The same goes when parents are giving honest feedback to their children, coaches talking to their players/teams, teachers talking to their students etc. It’s all about the perspective.

In her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol S. Dweck says it’s tempting to create a world in which we’re perfect and we can choose partners, make friends, hire people who make us feel faultless. But think about it- do you want to never grow? Next time you’re tempted to surround yourself with worshippers, go to church. In the rest of your life, seek constructive criticism.

A better manager

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In the beginning of anyone’s career, the company you choose to work for, your team, and the managers you have can shape your career trajectory. Your manager is a key facilitator to your professional growth. There is a lot of truth to the phrase that employees don’t leave companies, they leave bad managers. On the same note, some employees will stay longer at a company because of their manager, even though they can easily switch jobs, earn more somewhere else, or have a choice to do something else.

A better manager takes time to understand their team better, mentor them, challenge them, and expect the best from their team members. A better manager holds themselves to the highest standards and also expects the team to be at that same level. They appreciate their team members when they get results and coaches them where needed. Companies have managers because of their organizational structure, but becoming a better manager is their choice.

Are you choosing to become a better manager?

Few books I’ve loved reading

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Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight – When I went to college, there was only one company I wanted to work for after graduation and it was Nike. This was one of the reasons why I studied abroad in Amsterdam, The Netherlands which was very close to Hilversum where Nike’s European headquarters was located. At that point, I had planned to either get an internship or a field visit to Nike’s Hilversum office. Neither happened at that point but Nike has always fascinated me with its creative ads, innovative products, and the athletes it endorses. When I heard about this book, I was overjoyed and couldn’t wait to read it. I borrowed this book from a friend and finished reading it in a few days. This book is definitely one of the best memoir’s I’ve read. I loved reading about Phil’s journey of starting Blue Ribbon which later became Nike. There are so many gems inside the book-the high’s/low’s of starting a company, sacrifices made, cross-cultural challenges, among others. I could go on and on about the book but I rather you read it for yourself.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie – In 2007, I had picked up a copy of Business Week and on its last pages was the list of bestsellers. One of them was How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I read the book and it has become one of my favorite books. The book has many stories that explain the simple principles and psychology of human behavior. I would recommend this book to anyone no matter what field or life stage they are in. I believe anyone can read this book, understand the characteristics of human nature, and apply the principles to their daily life.

Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life by Jim Kwik – This was definitely a book I wanted to read soon as it was published. Once I read it, I wished I had found a book like this sooner. The book helped me become aware of our limited mental and cultural beliefs, common learning challenges, and techniques to unlock our limitless mindset. Having attended Jim’s weeklong Limitless Reading Challenge to several of his Instagram live sessions, I’ve always enjoyed hearing his insights, tips and strategies on unlocking our limitless mind.

Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio – A book that is full of management lessons and ideas that Ray followed throughout the course of his life and journey of building his investment firm, Bridgewater Associates. I first learned about Ray Dalio’s book Principles on The Tim Ferriss Show and the title on Tim’s podcast was, Ray Dalio, The Steve Jobs of Investing. I followed up with reading Principles’ reviews on goodreads which made me want to read the book even more. Some readers on goodreads had said that Principles is one of the best books they have ever read. I couldn’t wait to read it myself and see what the book was all about. Once I got this book, I finished reading it in my daily commute to work.

A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas by Warren Berger – In my research on the art and science of questioning, I came across the book “A More Beautiful Question The power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas.” I listened to several talks and podcasts that featured the author and became more interested to read the book. The book has a lot of interesting insights and detailed analysis on questioning from our environments at home, school, and in the workplace. It also makes a strong case of why the skill of asking really good questions is important now more than ever.

Book summary of The Sixth Man: A Memoir

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I had put the book The Sixth Man: A Memoir by Andre Iguodala of the NBA champions Golden State Warriors on my book bucket list last year. I’m thrilled to have just finished reading it.

The Sixth Man is a beautifully written memoir. The book chronicles Andre’s upbringing in Springfield, Illinois, his high school and college basketball careers and eventually his journey in the NBA. Having always been interested in the stories of ball players and the NBA for a long time, the memoir gave me a glimpse into the life of one of the game’s smartest players. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in Andre, NBA, professional black athletes, Golden State Warriors, or just love to read a great story. Enjoy.

“AI for Transforming Business” conference

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The British College is organizing an international conference titled “Artificial Intelligence for Transforming Business” on November 5th at Kathmandu, Nepal.

The main aim of this conference is to create a platform to bring together academics and industry experts, and allow them to share their research findings, experience, and expertise in the field of AI.

Logo taken from AITB International Conference website.

Why go to college?

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

At a time when technology has enabled most of us in the world to take online courses and workshops from anywhere plus colleges are an expensive investment, we need to reevaluate the importance of physical academic institutions.

For colleges, the questions to answer:

What is the value proposition of a college in a world where online courses and workshops have taken off and students have abundant resources (YouTube, learning platforms etc) to enhance their learning or increase their knowledge/skills?

How does a college justify that huge cost (or investment) for students to attend? What is the return for the students after 4 years of classes, late nights, weekend projects etc?

How can a college coexist with the growth of new and abundant online learning platforms?

For the US colleges that attract a lot of international students, how will they navigate the new landscape where domestic colleges start to offer quality, less expensive, and more industry driven education to its students?

As technology continues to make certain current courses outdated, how frequently will colleges update their course curriculum, keep teachers trained, and stay competitive with other colleges?

For prospective students, the questions to answer:

Why is attending college important?

What value will the college degree have once I graduate or if I want to start a business?

Will I get the expected return on my 4 year investment in a college degree?

If the job that I’m planning to get does not require a degree, how important will that college education will be?

If I am already very self motivated and have big dreams, will college actually be a hindrance to starting my freelancing business or entrepreneurial journey?

Lots of questions and they are more relevant than ever.

A Nepal Detective Story reading

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Arne Drews will be reading from his book Demons A Nepal Detective Story on April 7, 2019 at Kathmandu Guesthouse in Thamel.

Goal setting

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Have you found yourself struggling to achieve your goals? Do you feel overwhelmed that you don’t have enough time to work on your goals? Do you put off working on your goals for tomorrow or the week after?

Here’s something useful to answer the questions above:

A KICK ASS GUIDE TO GOAL SETTING A ONE THING GUIDE

I recently used the above guide for a personal goal I have. I did the Exercise 1 Goal Setting To The Now (page 8 on the Guide) and found it helpful to put my goal on paper and lay out the steps to achieving it.

The foundation

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

A lot of projects get started. Some big and some small. Yet, I believe the right team can make all the difference and the project’s foundation is very important.

I have been part of many projects including planning company events. Most recently, I was part of a team that organized our company’s annual gala. Our first organizing team’s meeting was full of excitement, energy, and fun. I felt great about being with this team right away. That same level of excitement and enthusiasm carried over to the following meetings leading up to the gala. The day of the gala arrived and we all delivered on our parts. The gala was very well organized, finished on schedule, and everyone had a great time. I credit the organizing team and the amazing group of volunteers for pulling off such a feat.

Starting with the right team will do wonders.

Sleep well

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How to sleep like an elite athlete!

Beauty of not yet

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Professor Carol Dweck, Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford talks about her groundbreaking work on developing mindsets. She emphasizes the power of “yet” in helping students succeed in and out of the classroom. What a beautiful concept!

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” Speech | History

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