It's only about winning

Everything should be won. Winning is everything. It is always the end that matters. In fact, the end alone matters. To be honest, I am not an ardent fan of Indian cricket team. For that matter, of late, even the sport itself. I owe my dislike to our traditional Indian attitude. All are equal. But some are less equal.

We create heroes and worship individuals in a team sport. A cliche, perhaps. When heros fail in their quests, we blame their families and girlfriends. Not so long ago, we did end up blaming a player's girlfriend for his failure to perform. If we are that candid, how come we worship certain individuals who hardly helped the team win matches in the last ten years. Mind you, the team lost to an arguably inferior team during one such hero's World record of hundred centuries. Attitude does have relevance in a sport. Unfortunately many players go irrelevant due to lack of it.

Does means matter at all? Perhaps, not. Modern minds are invariably trained to look at where we want to be over how we reach there.

In corporate world too - where analogies can easily be derived from any team sport - worshipped heros are abundant irrespective of whether they deserve or not. Always not how but what has been accomplished. In the East, this is one of the reasons why people use the word 'team' a lot in their workplaces. Upon careful observation - although not generalising - I found something interesting. The word 'team' almost always is used under such circumstance by individuals who force fit him or herself into a successful team and become an integral part of success by projecting themselves as the kingmakers. This is purely human and I have nothing against it. I am free from those desires. However, this observation triggers a thought - When the team comes first and I am leading it, where would that leave me? Ahead of the team? Hard for me to imagine, let alone comprehend.

Hero worships in a team is a typical western 'transactional' approach. Carrots and sticks. Remotely transformational. I don't know if I'm the only one who feels so. Do you also feel this way?

Anything that is abused and taken for granted loses its value. Like 'nature' so 'team'.

Note: I plan to write a series of posts on leadership. I would be glad to hear your thoughts on this subject.

A sadist nation

In order to understand the gravity of the situation in hand, I would request you to consider the following for a minute.

Imagine that you are at home all alone. You are expecting an email that is going to decide your career. That email, whatever be the content, is going to dictate your next actions. Everything is dependent on that very email that is expected any moment now. You open your computer. Internet is down.

Now close your eyes. Think about it.

Now imagine someone in a prison right now at this very moment is waiting for a message that is going to decide whether he is going to die or live tomorrow. Yes, it is only ten hours from now. Ten long hours. Please don't tell me your internet is more important than a life.

I am very much aware of venturing into a grey area. This post is about neither terrorism nor right or wrong. Only about humanity. By all means, I am against capital punishment. History never taught us that hanging a criminal brought good to the country. If we were to hang all criminals, we will be struggling to fill all 356 seats.

Even if it is decided by the 'so-called' elites that capital punishment is the way to go, why wait twenty two years? And, why so many appeals awarded? Many unanswered questions. The President is still deciding someone's life when there is only ten hours left. If this is not barbarism then what is.

As usual, the ruling partymen are cynical, arrogant, and determined to award death. It looks, as if, some of them were walking around with a noose in hand as a gift. They keep sensitising the few hundred innocent lives that were lost twenty two years ago. While I respect every life, to them, I ask one question. Where was your noose when your leader's apparent inaction costed thousands of innocent lives less than thirteen years ago?

While the lives lost anywhere due to any kind of terrorism can never be And must not be compared, it is necessary and appropriate for the politicians to keep their hidden political agenda away and look at the situation with humanity.

Keeping someone - even a criminal - waiting to know about his fate when 'tentatively' only a few hours left of his life is a sign of a sick and sadistic society. We are indeed developing. Not positively. No matter when the President decides, humanity is hanged already.

This, we make in India proudly.