Striving towards Excellence

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Overthinking in decision making causes us to spend too much time thinking and getting stuck in a loop of inaction. You can't read the future and you can't know everything. So do know that thinking harder doesn't activate the crystal ball. and overthinking and problem solving aren't the same thing . Being a leader requires confidence, decisiveness, and quick thinking--none of which are served by overthinking every decision or scenario or worrying about every move you make.

There's a time to think, a time to act, a time to reflect, and a time to move forward.

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Your growth mindset, or lack thereof, is critically important to achieving or not achieving goals. There is nothing wrong with realistic optimism. And don't let someone tell you otherwise.

Over my career, I've witnessed those with growth mindsets are realistically optimistic and achieve their professional and personal goals consistently.

They have ability to work through adversity. They realize by working smart, hard, together, with focus and doing so with consistency, they will achieve their goals.

They don't get too high or too low. They are team players and give recognition to others. They are coachable and often seek out coaching. They realize they themselves don't have all the answers. They most often are self and situationally aware; and bring positive energy to situations, even challenging situations. They might fail, but they learn, and consequently grow and achieve goals.

Conversely, I've also observed those who lack a growth mindset. They might take convenient accountability in positive situations; but lack accountability/responsibility in challenging situations.

They often bring negative energy to situations. They themselves don't admit fault or failure....In their mind "someone else fails them and causes them to not achieve their goals". They often are inconsistent in achieving goals.

-Karthik Gurumurthy

CITIGROUP CEO New move!

Citibank CEO, Jane Frazier just made brilliant leadership moves: She banned ZOOM meetings on Fridays. She's asking employees to seize their own well being & set boundaries for work-life balance. 

"Dont wait for a pat in the back......

to bring your best self to work"

-Karthik Gurumurthy

-Karthik Gurumurthy

"Gratitude shifts perspective from:

• Don’t have to have.
• Past to present.
• Can’t to might.
• Narrow to wide.
• Lack to generosity.
• Burden to energy.
• Complaint to enjoyment.
• Problem to opportunity.
• Pain to potential.
• Obligation to freedom.

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Success in life comes not from holding a good hand but a playing a poor hand well. No extra credit for blaming anyone. Move on.

Wishing you all a wonderful holidays.
May the spirit of the season embrace you.
The year that tested us all in many ways, that tested our faith, hope, resilience give way to a deep sense of hope, peace, joy and positivity.

I trust you take some time to relax, reflect, recharge.

-Karthik Gurumurthy

-Karthik Gurumurthy

“Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say.” - Andy Stanley

Isn't that true?

Listening is such a powerful and yet such an undervalued tool. Listening cannot only help us resolve discrepancies, listening can make sure that challenges do not even turn into issues.Leaders need to surround themselves with people who say what needs to be said, not what the leader wants to hear

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Are you grateful for the life that you have? Or do you take things for granted? Maybe you haven’t thought about it for a while. Did you ever fail to appreciate someone you care about? Was that because you were too busy putting out fires or focusing on other things? Or perhaps you assumed they’d just hang around forever.

The problem is, when you take people or things for granted, you put them in jeopardy. It’s not enough to make up for neglect after they’ve slipped away. It’s important to be grateful every day for the wonderful things in your life. Think of this as a wake-up call.

What Do You Take for Granted?

Parents. You have parents who offer their unconditional love. They’ve given a lot of themselves to ensure that you have a better life. Show some gratitude. If you’re not one already, you’ll probably be a parent one day.

Country we live in. We can share our thought process openly and have the choice and freedom which you wouldn't witness in so many parts of the world. Unless we step out, we do not remember this. Every time I step out of the country I remember how thankful I am to be living here.

Loyalty. People remain faithful to us through good times and bad. When was the last time you showed your appreciation?

Love of your life.Your spouse may be the most important person in your life. Do you take his or her love for granted?

Students. I have had connection with student familes who’ve been with us for years. Am I thankful for the loyalty and the Blessings?

Health. We don’t appreciate good health until we feel lousy. When we get better, we take our health for granted again. (So much for learning from our mistakes.)

Freedom. We have: the right to privacy, the freedom to speak our mind, and the privilege to practice the religion of our choice. It wasn’t always that way. People gave their lives to protect those freedoms.

Variety. We have so many travel options, food choices, and retail alternatives available to us. Not everyone has that luxury.

Trust. Your faith in those who are close to you enables you to share your deepest secrets with them. Do you realize how special that trust is?

Dedicated team. We have an amazing team who do everything we ask of them — and more. Do you acknowledge their value —or take it for granted?

Security. We have reasonable weather, access to healthy food, and can walk the streets safely at night. Be thankful that we don’t live our life in fear.

Basic necessities. We have three meals a day, a warm bed to sleep in, and a shelter over our head. To some people, that’s a luxury.

Nature. After days of bad weather, we appreciate the sunshine. Maybe we shouldn’t take clean air or water for granted.

Life. Everyday we see someone in the obituary column and our name is not featured there. Do you take that for granted?

Appreciate What You Have Before It Becomes What You Had

One day we should take a moment and listen to ourselves. We complain about not having enough while we lose sight of the wonderful things that we have. That happens because we get restless, things become too routine, or perhaps because we enjoy the hunt for something new.

The problem is, when we take stuff for granted, things eventually go south . . . the relationship goes sour, the team member jumps ship etc.. And, of course — then we react with panic. As the saying goes, “People say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Truth is, you knew exactly what you had . . . you just never thought you’d lose it.”

So . . . think how you’d react if those things “walked” out of your life. Why wait for that to happen? If you’d care a lot if you lost them, find the time to show appreciation for them today. As the saying goes, “You should appreciate what you have before it becomes what you had.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Power lies in your ability to focus on doing what is important. If you focus on the right things, and work at them often, you will achieve exceptional results. Eliminate activities that don’t add value.  Focus on activities that gives the greatest payback of time and energy.

-Karthik Gurumurthy

"When one's expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have."
-Stephen Hawking

Love this quote. Not in a sad way, and I suppose it depends on how you read it.

Lot of times we tell ourselves that “no one cares what I think” or “this is just the way it is or there’s nothing I can do”

When we realize that those are just stories and we learn to not expect what people might be thinking, or how a situation should be then it opens up a whole new way of seeing the world and appreciating what’s really there.

Because people will care what you think and want to hear what you have to say and there’s always something you can do.

Always.

When you learn not to expect a certain result, people surprise you and Life surprises you.

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Self improvement is a choice and one which is without any external constraints. As long as the desire is genuine and the intention is serious we are all capable of being a better version of ourselves every single day.

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Lot of times I encounter people who wished that they can go back in time and alter the course. I don’t believe in living with regret but there are some things that I would definitely have done differently in my life. Obviously I can only know that now with hindsight so it would be impossible to know how some things would play out at the time. I’m a big believer that we do what is right at the time, using the information we have.

What is helpful now though is having the benefit of that knowledge to know that that thing, person or job isn’t for you.

It helps us to make future decisions and navigate our way through any new options that present themselves.

One of my friends asked me the question  the other day if f it was possible, would I go back in time and change anything? Probably not. All those decisions (good and bad) led me to where I am today, and all the people I now know and love. Better to focus on now and appreciate all the positives rather than dwelling on a past you can't change. Easier said than done sometimes.

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Gratitude can make you feel calmer, content and relaxed. Each time we reflect on what we have and what we are grateful for, our brains release Serotonin.Serotonin is the key hormone to stabilise our mood and happiness – it promotes our wellbeing. It also helps with sleeping and digestion.

Practice daily gratitude at the start of your day and notice how you feel happier, calmer and relaxed. I spend 5 minutes as part of my morning routine to be thankful for all I have.

I ask myself - what am I most grateful for today?

Each day my response includes:

· For my amazing family, colleagues, students

· I get to serve the world each day working with favorite people.

· My deep network of incredible souls (family and friends)

· I get to choose how I react and respond to each and every situation I find myself

· I get to choose how I nurture my mind, body and health

When we SERVE ourselves and show gratitude - we in turn SERVE all those we touch, see and interact with.

👉🏽 What are you most grateful for today and how will you embed the practice of daily gratitude into your routine?

Wishing you all a fabulous start to the week.

-Karthik Gurumurthy

I follow IPL (India Premier League) Cricket tournament which happens every year during March-May where Cricketers all over the World participate for different franchises and  is exciting and entertaining to watch. Because of Covid-19 pandemic, this year it moved March-May to Sep-Nov time period and was scheduled to happen in Dubai..

One of the games I watched today was between Rajasthan and Punjab teams. Punjab played first and posted a  big total of 223 funs and Rajasthan was given an opportunity to chase this mammoth total. Even though Rajasthan had the potential to cross the line, one of the players Rahul Tewatia  was struggling in the middle and was taking lot of time to score runs. His batting partner (Sanju Samson) was however fluent and was scoring runs with ease. At one point the way Rahul was paying everybody was feeling sorry for the Rajasthan team and felt that Rahul needs to exit as  he was taking time and if someone else comes,  at least they can take a chance of winning the game. That was the impression every body had (including myself).
Then, without the slightest warning, he broke free. Rahul who is in the team more for his leg-spin bowling started hitting sixes all over the ground. It was not a flicker of hope, but an all-consuming fire. He scored 53 runs of 31 balls and helped Rajasthan team win the game against Punjab almost from an impossible position.

Lesson#1 We all make mistakes, but the way we approach mistakes defines our relationship with them. For some of us, we are intrinsically terrified of mistakes and failure, and we refuse to even try or freeze  in the fear of doing something worse. However, Rahul Tewatia diid not let his mistakes define him. He quickly learned it and moved on. 

Lesson#2: Following was the tweet from Rahul back in 2017.  What is there to learn from this tweet? He has pre-played his success. Everything is created twice: First in mind, then in reality.

Great work Rahul! Such a great inspiration!

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Happy Independence day, India. The  poem "Where the mind is without fear" was written by one of the greatest poets of India, Rabindranath Tagore. This was written during the period when India was struggling for freedom from the British rule. It was a part of ‘Gitanjali’, a compilation of all his poems which was published in English in 1912.

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of the truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake."

-From Gitanjali (aka Song Offering) by Rabindranath Tagore

In this poem, Rabindranath Tagore expresses his love for his country and prays to the Almighty for its well being. In his prayer, the poet says that his countrymen should not live in fear anymore and must do away with the evils of society. They must live with respect, dignity, honesty and perfection.  The poet envisions India as a country where the people live without any kind of fear or oppression and hold their head high with pride, dignity and self reliance. He also says that knowledge should be attained without any restriction. There should be no discrimination based on caste, creed, race or religion. India must reach towards its goal of attaining freedom and being an ideal nation. The countrymen must possess noble thoughts and do away with all the superstitious beliefs that defy logic and reason.The poet prays to God, seeking his support and guidance for his countrymen to have noble thoughts and actions. He asks God to awaken them into this heaven like place of an independent nation.

-Karthik Gurumurthy

One of the things my dad advised when I left to US for grad school (about two and half decades back) was making a schedule or routine and sticking to a routine on a day-to-day basis.

One of the many challenges of Covid was the disruption of routine. As creatures of habit, we all had routines around going to work and the activities of our personal lives. These routines were dramatically changed and constrained. Suddenly most of us were working from home and establishing new routines by necessity. Some put their routines on hold hoping that things would soon return to a semblance of normal.

I quickly realized that I needed to adapt to the new constraints and develop a daily agenda that would best serve me and the results I wanted to achieve. I saw the challenge then (and now) to make the most of every day regardless of circumstance.

So I revisited and nenewed my current schedule.

A good schedule creates good results and vice versa. Knowing high payoff activities and doing them consistently is key to effectiveness. Rather than leave their day to chance leaders are strategic. And with an increase in remote work, a schedule is even more important.

Here are the ingredients of my schedule:

Rest. A majority of us don’t get enough sleep. Given the increased time we have at home, there’s no reason not to catch up and start getting the sleep we need. Sleep deprivation can lead to decision making that is impaired to the equivalent of moderate intoxication. A quick review of research shows how sleep is central to attitude, mental and physical help, obesity etc.
Starting Early. Getting your day off to a good start is important. For me that includes walk, study, prayer and reflection. I like to rise early so I can do those things without rush (right now I’m editing this article at 5:15 a.m.). The point isn’t how early you start your day but to begin purposefully and peacefully. This will equip you to hand the challenges that you will inevitably face later.
Problems. Some will come to you but others are already on your agenda. Prioritize the most important problems to address. Trying to solve every problem at once usually makes you ineffectual. A good challenge is to ask yourself, “How can I change this problem into an opportunity?” The difference between a problem and an opportunity are often perspective and ingenuity.
Projects. These are the important things you choose to do to move you closer to your goals. Don’t confuse activity with accomplishment. You can get lots of little things done and still not be doing important work. Projects are the building blocks of your business’s and your life’s success.
Relationships. Which need renewed, repaired or raised to the next level? Think in terms of the important people in your business and life like you think in terms of important projects. Before Covid-19, many relationships were addressed in the time we had left over rather than intentionally. When the pace of life slowed, we had time to invest in deepening and strengthening relationships.
Hobbies. All work and no play doesn’t make Jack dull, it makes Jack fatigued and unhealthy. What things that you enjoy and refresh you that you can do for some period of time each day to provide you a much needed respite? I hear leaders say they don’t have interests outside of their work. If you find yourself in that category, consider the benefits of curiosity and wonder, of learning new skills and widening your interests. Not only will it be rewarding, it will almost certainly benefit your work life.
Rejuvenation. What do you do the end each day as well as you began it? One classic technique from positive psychology is to identify three good things that happened during the day. Another is to simply ask yourself, “What is the most important thing I accomplished today?” I keep a note pad next to my bed to record insights that come to me in the time before I sleep. Ultimately, gratefulness and reflection are a positive ending to the day.
The next day? Simply repeat your routine.

You might notice I left out interruptions (which will inevitably occur). You don’t have to design them into your day. They will happen naturally and regularly so you might want to include some margin to deal with the important ones as they occur.

These are my ingredients. You may add or subtract for your renewed routine. But now is a good time to re-examine and renew your routine to make the most out of every day you are given. You can’t put more time into your life, but you can put more life into your time.