Walking on the street is the most common and also most ignored part of our daily life. Every day almost every one of us takes a walk at least once. Every one of us walks with a purpose. Nowadays, we don’t even look at the road we are walking on, because everyone is busy with the smartphones and rest of the people are too busy in their lives. Think about it.. how many new faces did you see today? How many things did you observe? Did you think about anyone one incidence that happened on the streets except accidents? If the answer is NO, it is time to keep an eye around you while walking. I will give an answer to it as to why keeping an eye around you on the streets is important in just a moment.
Today, while having my usual morning walk I observed two men were walking along with their bull. It was a massive creature and humongous horns. It looked like a royal animal, same as we have seen on Harappan Civilization pieces. The bull was decorated with shiny clothes and horns were colored brightly. At first, I was stunned to see such a huge animal from cattle category. But then, in a moment I could see a problem in its walk. The walk was not as neat as usual. I had expected that the bull will walk royally just like its looks. But, he was struggling to walk. With each step, its hooves were slipping on the shiny tar road. It was a pitiful scene. It was simple, the bull, rather its hooves are not made to walk on the tar roads or any smooth surface, but, for dirt roads and natural terrain. Maybe you will find this conclusion very commonplace and maybe even childish. But, for me, it had a very important lesson to be learned while working in a corporate field. And the lesson is that
“If you try to ask someone to work on a project, with a technology which is not his/her core competency, no matter how good the character of the person is, he/she will fail to perform the duty!”
Now, many will argue that, if one has determination then he can achieve mastery of any subject. It is true theoretically, but if it was the case, one determined person would have handled all the work in the company, which usually employs many workers. There are many constraints within which one must work. Some of them are time, resources, personal likes/dislikes etc. For example, one can be excellent at coding but if he/she does not understand the purpose or the philosophy of the product then, he/she is likely to fail. Because, if you don’t know the beginning and end point of the PLC (Product Life Cycle) and also the customer’s point of view, then, you cannot write a code which will fulfill the objectives of the product. This in terms also hampers customer relationship and not a good sign for the brand’s future. A frustrated employee doesn’t find the motivation to work and never gives his best because he knows how to code but doesn’t know its application well and the overall project fails. So, as a strategy, it becomes essential to find the core competency and work on it hard.
As far as the team is concerned, two teammates can never be the same in terms of knowledge, creativity, and other managerial skills. But, if all the teammates have the same core competency it becomes easier for the team to collaborate. Of course, someone will be good at some part of the project, someone else will be good in costing and management, other can be good in customer relationship etc. At last even though horse, bull, cows etc have core competency to move around easily on dirt roads and natural terrain, every one of them has an extra set of skills, which make them unique.
Apart from the strategic point of view, I personally also take this lesson in a different way as well. ‘One must be aware of what he/she can do and what you are good at’. Self-assessment is very important. If we do not think of our core competency then there are chances that we will fail even if we work with the best of the intentions and enthusiasm. Will a QB be able to be a ballet dancer? No! As much as the manager needs to be aware of it, the person himself must be aware of it. This will help to avoid failures, wastage of time and also the frustration.
Now, back to the question, I asked in the beginning. Why is it necessary to keep an eye around you while walking on the streets? The simple reason is that many of the most successful entrepreneurs have spent most of there time on the streets. Mainly because they had less or sometimes no money. Yet, despite the poverty and lack of resources, they are successful. Where do you think they learned the lessons for the extraordinary managerial and strategic skills? On the streets. Everything is harsh, real, factual and open to the public on the streets. Anyone can see, judge and analyze what is happening on the streets. So, next time keep an eye on what is happening around you rather than messing up with your smartphone. You never know when you will learn the lesson of your life, as Robert Doisneau a famous French photographer once said
No movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street.
– Robert Doisneau