FIRE THAT IMAGINATION

World War-II saw a pitched battle at Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The battle was fought between the U –Boats and the Allied Ships. According to the War Shipping Administration, the U.S. Merchant Marine suffered the highest rate of casualties of any service in World War II. Officially, a total of 1,554 ships were sunk due to war conditions, including 733 ships of over 1,000 gross tons. The colossal battle reached its frenzy many a times even as the Oceans kept on throwing multifarious challenges to the navigation and control of vessels on either side. These battles saw many a men fire their imaginations and setting the records straight.

It was a black night and a strong westerly was heaving the Atlantic Ocean. The U- Boat was on surface and heavy rain was falling from the top. The visibility was almost dead zero, but, there was a sparkle in the blue eyes of the U-Boat’s Commanding Officer Kapitan Karl Wachter. He was keen to slip inside an Allied convoy, unseen and therefore welcomed the wind, waves and the stinging rain. His imagination was all fired up.

Somewhere close in the Atlantic Ocean, Captain Donald Macintyre was holding the compass binnacle on the open bridge of his Destroyer Herperus. He was all fired up and steering at the end of the convoy. His Officers and Men were continuously hunting for U-Boats and to safeguard their convoy.

Karl Wachter ordered a dive of his U-Boat to periscope depth and scanned the area. His sonar picked up the trace of convoy ahead and starboard (right) side of him. Wachter surfaced the U-Boat and searched, but there was nothing that he could find. The ocean was unending and the waves continued to batter the U-Boat. He dived again and got the bearings checked again. There was a constant bearing gain and Wachter surfaced to close to the target. Zero visibility was adding fuel to Wachter’s burning desire to carry out an attack on the Convoy ships.

Donald Macintyre was leaving no stone unturned to save his convoy and soon as he saw a blip on his radar, 5 miles astern, he shouted U-Boat and ordered a high speed turn. The alarm gongs went ringing and the big Destroyer straightened out and ran at full speed down the radar bearing. The imaginations were running based on calculations. Karl Wachter had not imagined such a quick turn of events. He thought that he was well hidden in wind, waves and rain. It was late when he ordered a swing to starboard (right) when he saw Hesperus , bow –wave creaming, running down at him out of the rain.

The U-Boat went into an urgent dive and Macintyre had seen his prey. He went silent as the U-Boat disappeared and then laid down a pattern of depth charges which inflicted severe damage onboard the U-Boat. The gauge glasses shattered as depth charges continued to explode all around. The battering was so severe that some battery cells cracked and pungent chlorine gas leapt across to capture the compartment volume. Wachter continued to dive the boat deeper. The crew fought bravely and restored the emergency lighting and one of her motors. The U-Boat started limping slowly. A difficult decision lay ahead and the only hope of U-Boat was on surface. Wachter pulled all his imagination to his side and surfaced the U-Boat. Soon as he surfaced, the good luck prevailed and both her diesels fired to life. Wachter saw the Destroyer less than 300 meters away and swung the U-Boat to its stern to vanish in the rain squall.

The Destroyer was turning around too and fired its guns onto the U-Boat. Wachter positioned his stern tubes towards the Ship and fired a salvo of torpedoes. The heavy sea were making the matters worse and the torpedoes missed their intended targets. The firing on either side was now to defend their respective skins but imaginations were running wild. Both Wachter and Macintyre were facing ferocious weather and each other’s capabilities. They both had orders in hands to finish their respective enemies, but, at this stage both lay in a different situation. The 3^rd dimension of rain, wind and heavy seas added difficult factors to this hunt. In their hearts, both had a silent admiration for each other as darkness engulfed once again around them. They both had to live for another day of action and slowly both drifted into respective darkness envelopes to steer clear of the Harm’s Way. Wachter and Macintyre were living the imaginations of their leaders and their national interests. To execute those imaginations, they had to match the mission requirements using their own imaginations. Imaginations are fluid in nature and continuously merit changes as per changing situations. If the situation changes and the corresponding imagination is not changed, the results can be catastrophic.

Imagination is the bedrock of humanity. The capability to imagine and then to build upon that imagination has been the hallmark of humans. After all humans have the niche capabilities of being able to do almost each kind of activity which other living things can do in limited quantum. This is a great gift to the mankind and its correct utilization is the responsibility of each human. However, imagination knows no bounds. Therefore, imagination has the capability to run wild. The capability to run wild leads to chaos as targets of each imagination are different. Should this deter from imagining? Imagine humans must and worthwhile should they imagine. In each one’s own way, the humans will continue to imagine and lead their lives. Each life in turn becomes a cog to churn the big wheels of society.

Now, is the time to think big. Should the humans fire their imaginations and in which direction? This is a dilemma for many humans and their imaginations take them to choppy waters in their respective life. Do they have the capability to understand that their lives gravitate towards difficult ends due to their skewed imaginations? Does anyone ever guides them? Who are their role-models? Majority blame their circumstances for their lives. They do things without realizing the repercussions of their actions. Can they be helped or guided? This is the time and topic to ponder.

We end up following various humans as role models. These are the people who fire their imaginations at the correct time and ensure that they do actions to love up to those dreams. Imagine big, imagine good and imagine correct- Life would not go astray if the path to imagination is laid out well. After all, it is the power to imagine which keeps the World moving on its axis. Let us endeavor to fire our imagination in the right direction and touch scores of lives in our human arena to motivate them to imagine for good. Humanity thrives belligerently in chaos. The reverse is also true that inventions occur when chaos prevails. Imagination is the key to keep the chaos under control.

So, are you willing to fire your imagination to better this World and to live a peaceful life?

BREAK THAT VUCA JINX

This is the VUCA Era- a common statement that is heard all over the World and almost in every walk of life. VUCA is an acronym used to describe or reflect on the Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity of general conditions and situations. VUCA has penetrated at each level and phase of human life. Confusions keep cropping up in human minds even as the World has been virtually shrunk and is commonly labelled as a Global Village.

Luxury today knows no bounds. The planet is full of amenities, devices, gadgets, life-saving paraphernalia and what not. However, the dream of settling the Mother Earth into the elusive Eden Garden remains unfulfilled. Each human is trying to outgrow his/her own self. This, surely is a biological phenomenon, as one grows. However, the lust for endless growth leads to a mix of confusions which then grow faster than anything else and thus is born the VUCA. The lives of humans have got cluttered rather than getting uncluttered with the ever penetrating technology. One does not know where to stop and what to do in case of encountering a speed breaker jump in the life’s arena.

Almost all humans are employees in some way or the other. Either they serve an outside agency, or, if not outsiders, then, they serve their own creations. After all, everyone gets up in the morning and serves himself/herself! Even breathing can be considered as a service. The service is supposed to be a comfortable process for a skilled human being. Each one gets picked up for a particular work based on their qualifications/skill sets developed.

In spite of skills and all the training, humans fall into the vicious VUCA Loop. Once they fall then the VUCA Loop continues to cast it’s never ending spell. Employees end up playing truant at works be it professional or personal and keep leaving digital traces of the misadventures. Poor delivery patterns emerge as the set datum is not reached due to lack of focus. The aim to do “much more with much less” keeps the humans tied up into myriad activities some of which are actually beyond their skill sets and natural capabilities. Technology is supposed to be breather for humans, but, here we are standing in a World where communications between humans are falling to lower levels. Technology has brought in the spoken jargon and use of the half understood jargon is leading to more of VUCA.

The clarity of the mission or the works to be achieved gets lost as VUCA emerges in simplified processes. Each process has a definition and a road-map. Difficulty levels have a natural place in any process achievement. However, the cluttered mindset blocks even the easiest of operations. What is the reason for the cluttered mindsets and its natural outcome-VUCA? Is it lack of clarity as humans are not designed to address multiple issues or is it that the cluttering of processes is the hallmark of the humanity? The human capabilities have only increased vi-à-vis their life spans. However, the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity has increased multiple fold in almost all the arenas of human influence. Too much of care, support and availability of various means has dented the human performance rather than enhancing it. Long working hours, poor health, lack of focused approach and confusions in spite of long duration meetings clearly reflect the long shadows of VUCA. Vested interests keep natural progress at bay and does not let the global village to stabilize.

So, what do the humans need to get out of the VUCA jinx? Simplicity is the key for rich civilizations. All that is required is understanding of the objective and to approach towards the mission without a negative self-interest. Humans have always succeeded when they have kept their differences aside and worked selflessly. There is no harm in calling a spade as a spade. A spade cannot be a gun, right! Keep life at its simplest boundaries and the World starts appearing round. A flat path can be long and tiring. A round path at least brings one back to the start point. Confusions lead to panic and downgraded performance is the natural outcome. VUCA emerges suddenly out of nowhere and then there is no escape from its venomous jaws.

It is true that the fittest will only survive. To remain fit, humans have to really work hard. The cluttered humans will continue to fall behind in the race towards survival. The aim is not to lose the sight of the mission but to scale it with ease. The plans should not fall apart at the first impact with the enemy or the situation. Simple objectives can be converted into complex goals and scaling can be carried out to climb the stairs of success smoothly. Each field requires humans and in each field there are cluttered and uncluttered methods. The choice would remain with humans to break the VUCA jinx by remaining alert and perform according to their capabilities.

After all, nothing remains permanent and change is the only constant. The Management Gurus have preached VUCA to the World and days are not far when something new emerges and outshines today’s VUCA. Change should always be for the betterment, isn’t it folks? So, why live with VUCA! Break that jinx, move on and do not let your mind get clogged. Take bold decisions and move along for no one in this World is actually perfect. We are all being measured against a gauge and who knows what its calibration standards are! VUCA can be captured and eased out of human lives. It just requires a bit of standing up for the harder rights instead of the easier wrongs. So, do you have it in you to capture and decimate the jinx of VUCA circling your life, eh!!

    

CLIMB IN A DAY

On 29 May 1953, Sir Edmund Percival Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. In 1952, Tenzing Norgay was part of a Swiss Expedition which had fallen short of Mount Everest by 240 meters due to weather and exhaustion.

Hillary and Norgay had carved out a professional relationship as they both trained together for the treacherous climb through Khumbu Icefall. The final Camp at South Col was set up by the Hunt Expedition at 7890 Meters. The first of the two climbers of the expedition, Bourdillon and Evans, attempted the summit on 26 May 1953. They fell short by 91 Meters as Evans’ oxygen system failed in those trying conditions. Hillary and Tenzing then made the second attempt.  

Snow and wind held the pair up at the South Col for two days. On the morning of 28 May 1953, Hillary and Tenzing set out with a support trio of Lowe, Alfred Gregory and Ang Nyima. The two pitched a tent at 8,500 m on 28 May while their support group returned down the mountain. On the following morning, Hillary discovered that his boots had frozen solid outside the tent. He spent two hours warming them before he and Tenzing attempted the final ascent wearing 14 kg packs. The crucial move of the last part of the ascent was the 12 m rock face later named the "Hillary Step". Hillary saw a means to wedge his way up a crack in the face between the rock wall and the ice and Tenzing followed. From there on the balance effort was relatively simple. Tenzing Norgay stated in his narration "The Dream Comes True" that Hillary had indeed taken the first step atop Mount Everest, despite Hillary quoting that both had reached the summit at the same time. They reached Everest's 8,848 m summit, the highest point on earth, at 11:30 am on 29 May 1953. As Hillary put it, "A few more whacks of the ice axe in the firm snow, and we stood on top." 

What would have been the thoughts of Hillary and Tenzing as they packed their bags to make the final assault on the virgin peak of Mt Everest? The day would have dawned with its own peculiarities on 8500 meters above the Mean Sea Level. All the previous days of the expedition were now events of past utilized for acclimatization, training and climb. 29 May 1953 was a brand new day for both the climbers and they had a mission to scale. The only baggage they carried was physical in nature and weighed 14 Kgs each pack. With their eyes set on the top of the summit, they would have both made a careful climb up the mountain. They did not carry any radio sets to communicate their climb with the base camp. Everything that they both were tasked to achieve had to be done on that day- 29 May 1953. Each passing day would have only made their task difficult and worn off their spirits. The mission would keep on getting critical with the ticking away off the clock. The choices are limited when time starts wearing away towards darkness. Both Hillary and Tenzing did what was supposed to be done- they climbed the Mount Everest in a day on that fateful day of May 1953. In the history books, both got etched forever as the first climbers to scale the tallest mountain and the singular date 29 May 1953 became a landmark date.

In any human life, the time spans can be large but the days of milestones are unique and singular. Humans prepare in their own myriad ways for various challenges and adventures of the maze called life. Who knows what they encounter in between or how they shape up plans to meet the exigencies? The magic of successful humans lies in circumventing/taking challenges head on and achieve the tasks on the designated day. The significance of each day lies in the achievements scaled in its span of 24 hours. Humans learn and practice to be ready for the D-day. Everything, therefore, does happen in a day!! Some may contest this assumption but what is the harm in getting pinned to the ideology that each day is important and much can be achieved if the focus is correct.

A student prepares the whole year to write that elusive exam on the D-Day, an astronaut trains for that perfect take off on the D-Day, the project are matched for various timelines to meet the D-day etc. In almost each human activity, the day is an important constituent. A lost day cannot be regained. All practice is void if the target cannot be captured on the D-Day. Each one of the humans have the capability to awaken themselves to capture their day and to achieve the climb. The will power factor plays an important role in shaping the human destiny. No human activity is easy, but on the flip side no activity is such complex that the little climbs associated with them cannot even be attempted. Each failure can be converted into First Effort in Learning (FAIL) and each end can be termed as Effort Never Dies (END). In every No there can be the Next Opportunity (NO). There is no better adage that “Each Day Counts”. After all, the final climb happens in a day only.   

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay dreamt years about climbing the Mount Everest and climbed for 07 grueling weeks before they dug the final axe on the peak at 1130 hrs on 29 May 1953. The climb was done in a day.

Each day, all of us are preparing and practicing for the respective climbs in various fields. The D-day arrives with each of its moment etched with precision. The time does not stand still ever. We have to gather ourselves up on all possible fronts and make the first move for the climb. Each step takes us closer to the summit. Finally, the last axe is dug deep onto the summit and it provides the last help to scale the highest point. The height of success dwarfs everything else- though momentarily as the next challenge starts unfolding its majestic climb. So, keep putting out those steps in the right direction to achieve the climb in a day.    

FOX SQN MEGA SOCIAL, NEW DELHI-28 NOV 2015