-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
I love this picture not just they are tennis fiercest rivals of all time. To see your greatest rival cry tears of sadness is the ultimate respect. There will never be another rivalry like this duo.Two men demonstrating the strength to be authentic. To be truly as you are, where you are. It's so obvious what this moment means to these two. Their powerful emotions clearly, courageously on display for all to see. How often do we hold ourselves back from being our authentic selves because we feel "it's not allowed." When was the last time you felt strong enough to be authentic? It disrupts and destroys all myths about masculinity, competition and vulnerability.Being vulnerable in front of others always shows one's inner strength and character.
Men are expected not to cry.
Men are expected to be tough.
Men are expected to destroy the competition.
Nothing about the raw emotion of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal follows any of those outdated, damaging and dangerous rules of toxic masculinity.
They are openly crying.
They are holding hands.
They are competitors on the court and compassionate comrades who respect and revere one another.
Possessing both masculine and feminine traits is the sign of an evolved person. This really warms my heart.
And I hope that we are continuing to move towards a world that evolves beyond the gender binary "masculine" and "feminine"; one that isn't so desperately set on putting people into boxes and telling them that who they are, what they feel, who they love and how they live is "wrong" or "right" based on how the world has gendered them.
Until then, I implore more and more leaders to show up fully in all of their *human* traits — regardless of gender — so we can embrace, learn from and love them wholly. Bow and respect to both Federer and Nadal..
-Karthik Gurumurthy
-Karthik Gurumurthy
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Integrity is the most attractive aspect of a human being. When you truly display integrity in all your relationship, you are undisputable. Never manipulate people for any reason. True leadership and integrity go hand in hand.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
When you focus on the "Problems", your "Goal" will stop appearing, and
when you focus on the "Goal", your "problems" will stop appearing.
The Sun is shining on the day so brightly so your day is also going to shine the same way. Let us focus on the right stuff.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Thank you to parents, teachers, students, colleagues for showing the light every step of the way.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Happy 50th Anniversary to Dad and Mom. Cannot thank them enough for everything you have done and continue to do for us. All the good things that Aravind and I have gotten is all because of your Blessings and Prayers. We are so thankful that we were born to the most amazing parents.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
In my twenty plus work experience, I have had the opportunity to work with amazing organizations and great leaders. What I have observed with the top leaders is they focus primarily on the growth and well being of the team and the communities to which they belong. They always put the needs of others first and help their people develop and perform at a very high level.
I have also witnessed so called average positional leaders sharing lofty big dreams but doesn't necessarily back it up with the action/ strategy to make that happen. To develop leaders, one needs to start from the ground-up. What separates average companies from the great ones is their ability to build a leadership culture through out their organization that cultivates great leaders.
"a true leader is not the one with the most followers but the one who creates the most leaders."
-Neale Donald Walsch
-Karthik Gurumurthy
So glad I went with my family to watch this wonderful movie on the first day of movie release(It is actually first day first show). Totally worth it and more.
#RocketryTheFilm #RocketryTheNambiEffect is an Amazing Achievement by @ActorMadhavan and his team on the life of legendary rocket scientist #NambiNarayanan . What a great tribute ! #Maddy lived the role & deserves all appreciation. Kudos Team 🏆🤠💐
-Karthik Gurumurthy
"Often in life, we forget the things we should remember,
and remember the things we should forget."
-Karthik Gurumurthy
The most convincing sign that someone is truly living their best life, is their lack of desire to show the world that they're living their best life. Your best life won't seek validation.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Current generation job market is better than what it used to be a decade ago.
If you are ready to learn and present yourself truly, you will get a job. No one questions your gap, or relevant experience. All people see is the attitude towards work and people. Most companies evaluate people at mindset level than skill set.
Upskill, build network, truly learn and stay humble. You will end up being relevant your whole life.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Never link your state of happiness to anything. Being happy is a separate entity. If your actions and results defines that, it will be manipulated by others and you will end up not being happy. Just be Happy, for no reasons with no strings attached.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
If you expect your team to implement continuous learning as a behavior, you must exhibit the behavior first. Always lead by example. This includes everything, from professionalism to integrity to passion to everything.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Don't waste time by judging people. Everyone behaves a certain way because they like doing so. That's all. Don't wear a Sherlock hat and start investigating every behavior and come up with theories to prove someone right or wrong. It's called waste of time.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
An absolute blessing to have had the privilege of meeting this amazing Uncle in Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana many many years ago,. Getting to know him and getting connected with mostly through Facebook. In this world of social media, one of the biggest boons for many of us was to have connected with Dr. Ramamurthy mama (Uncle)
What is special about this Uncle?
He is the beacon of light who uplifted our spirits everyday with Facebook posting, always with positive messages that made everyone feel that he is family and that he is genuinely and truly caring for us, cheering for us, comforting us, complimenting us.He made every single person in his presence feel that they were the most important person to him. He treated everyone around him with unmatched kindness, affection and love. He was very proud of Kallidaikuruchi, where he hailed from. He was a connoisseur of all genres of music, South Indian cooking and English literature (a Great PG Wodehouse fan!!)
.. the excruciating pain of losing you feels very much akin to having lost my own dad for you always extended that unconditional love to each and every one of us just like a dad would. With a very very laden heart we all bid our adieu to you .Will take a break from Facebook for sometime ...
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Understand that every person who has shown up in your life arrived to help you become the person you are currently now.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
“The fool wonders, the wise man asks”
The above quote is from former British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli. For me, its closest modern equivalent is, “The only stupid question is an unasked question.”
While I prefer the more elegant phrasing of Mr. Disraeli, I applaud the sentiment behind both. Even though at times it can be brutally difficult to admit you don’t know who someone is, what something is, how to pronounce something, how to do something, etc, you stand a far better chance of being well thought of—and, more importantly, learning something new—if you’re willing to ask the question.
Given this, what are some things you can do to feel more comfortable asking questions?
• First: Don’t confuse ignorance with stupidity. Just because you don’t know how to conjugate French verbs or tie a half hitch slipknot doesn’t mean you don’t have mastery of numerous other skill sets and bodies of information.
• Second: Point two flows naturally from point one: don’t apologize for your ignorance. We all tend to do this and it doesn’t serve us, or our listener. Instead, it diverts attention from getting the question answered into massaging one another’s egos. Stay on task; just ask the question. If your listener expresses surprise at your not knowing, don’t feed into it. Agree and add, “Yes, I don’t know. Can you tell me?”
• Third: Remember that everyone loves being an authority. While your boss or your colleague or your date may be surprised by your not knowing something in the moment, this will quickly be superseded by the satisfaction of getting to be the authority.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
The most precious space is not the land you have but it is your brain. Do not waste it by polluting it with unnecessary thoughts and outdated information. Use it wisely.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
As a kid you were enjoying life as you did not associate ourselves with any image or identity. As you grew you started enjoying the image that you created. Later you wanted more of it. In the pursuit of the identity you lost all the enjoyment in life.
Lose your image. Become null in your head. Enjoy life. The heavy lifting that you are doing right now is temporary and you will retire. People will forget you. Don't look back and feel bad.
You can do your job with 100% efficiency without mentally associating yourself with stuff that boosts your ego. Do and move on.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
In a world when you can be anything, be the person who ends the meeting early. Whatever you want to say it, say it quickly like a twitter message. Like my dad always used to quote "Brevity is the soul of wit"..Shorter the meeting, sweeter and happier everyone is..
-Karthik Gurumurthy
A father, before he died, said to his son:
“This is the watch your grandfather gave me and this is more than 200 years old.
Before I give it to you go to the watch shop on the first street, and tell him I want to sell it, and ask how much they offer”.
The son went and after several minutes, he came back to his father and said, "The watchmaker offers to pay $5 because it's old and has a lot of scratches.” He then asked him to go to the coffee shop.
The son went and after an hour or so, he came back and said: “The coffee shop owner offers $5, father.”
“Go to the antique museum estimator and show that watch”. He went ahead and then came back happily. “They offered me a million dollars for this piece.”
The father said: “I wanted to let you know that the right place values your value in a way right, don't put yourself in the wrong place and get angry if you get treated like crap. Those who know your value are the ones who appreciate you, don't ever stay in a place that doesn't suit you."
Make sure you know your worth and don't sell yourself short.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
If you are dull all the time, your talent will be forgotten and people won't collaborate with you. In a professional environment the accountabilities are handed over to only those who are high on energy and extremely active. You are measured based on the rate at which you bring positive ambience to your surrounding. So put back yourself together before entering your workspace no matter what is happening in your life.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
If someone reaches out to you for guidance, it doesn't mean they don't know and you know. It is more of thought partnering. Set the tone right. Don't allow scenarios to boost your ego. Collaboration and progress is the key to happy life.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Everyone makes mistakes; it would be small-minded to think you can’t make one. We learn more from screwing up than we do from anything else. When you think (or you know) you have failed, take some time to think. What did I learn? What will I do differently next time? How can I make better decisions in the future.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
The one thing that kept me going all these years is to begin everyday like it’s my first day at work and never stop learning!
‘Every individual I meet is an inspiration and Everyday is a new opportunity, to try something new, to learn, to evolve…’
It has been a great journey so far and it’s time for the clock to reset and start all over again!
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Work in silence and leave in silence. Success didn't necessarily need to make any noise. Feeling successful is a mindset and not an external acknowledgment. High performers work for themselves and do not expect anything in return. They leave. They will be missed. Graceful entry, graceful exit.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
What is the one thing that you can focus on fixing in an Agile team to start your journey towards an high performing team?
Fix the attitude of "My way or the Highway". Identify who has this attitude in the team and fix that first. This includes Scrum Master as well.
Encourage an environment where collaboration becomes a culture. Every thing with respect to product must be discussed as a team; get this into the team agreement. Things will start to take shape in the right direction.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
You cannot build anything without getting your hands dirty. Theoretical knowledge without actual implementation will create pseudo success at mindset level. It is more toxic than not having the knowledge. Get out and do the actual work.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Don't give your problems any power, you are bigger than your problems. You will overcome them.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Today is my Prof. K.S. Viswanathan's Birthday. It is no coincidence that it is also celebrated as Teacher's day. One of the best things Dr. KS Viswanathan did for me was say " I don't know the answer to that but I'll do some research." It modeled a more honest intellectual discourse. You don't have to pretend like you know everything and you don't always need to have or share an immediate opinion. Thanks Dr. KSV for your amazing example.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
When things work out for you, don't take all the credits. When things doesn't work out for you, take all the blame. Two simple rules to stay humble and grow. Success getting into head and failure getting into heart are self destructive habits.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Years of experience allows you to make more mistakes through the course of time and learn what is the best way to do something. If you are unable to gather this experience and constantly focusing on being right, your years of experience just turns out to be another number. Might fall into the trap of guided execution with 100% assured success. It won't help you on a longer run.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
If you love your job you don't need someone to manage you.
-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.
"Dont wait for a pat in the back......
to bring your best self to work"
-Karthik Gurumurthy
-Karthik Gurumurthy
"Gratitude shifts perspective from:
-Karthik Gurumurthy
While I’m typically known as positive, energetic, and optimistic, the past few weeks have definitely worn me down.
Tony Robbins says we cannot be angry and grateful at the same time. Focusing on gratitude shifts so much. When we are hurt and frustrated, it create our fear based reactions of fight, flight, or freeze which narrows are thinking and creativity. Gratitude breaks that cycle.
I found this little exercise from Harvard Business Review to be a helpful motivator. Perhaps you will, too:
“It can be hard to muster the positive outlook that fuels motivation and creativity. When we lose that positivity, burnout and fatigue can quickly follow.
How can you inject some optimism into your day? This two-minute exercise can help. Each morning, finish the following three sentences (either on paper, out loud, or even in your head) before you turn on your computer or start your commute:
Today, I will focus on _____.
Today, I am grateful for _____.
Today, I will let go of _____.”
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Call for duty. Do not waste your life. Not sure if we will get it again. Live to your fullest potential. Do not restrict your exploration based on assumed societal pressure. No one cares. Please live..
-Karthik Gurumurthy
"When someone asks us, "What makes you happy"? We always tends to think of something that is not right now with us. If we change this perspective to focus on something we have, life becomes beautiful."
-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
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.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
Stop replaying the past in your mind. Use your mental energy to manifest something new. Don't waste your precious energy being stuck on what didn't work out or what you could have done. Do something new today. Each moment is a chance to recreate yourself.
-Karthik Gurumurthy
I have been listening to the most amazing Podcast, "How I Built this ". Guy Raz does the most phenomenal job interviewing some of the most successful entrepreneurs of recent times. Guy has a real talent for interviewing entrepreneurs and engaging his listeners, which is what make this intriguing. The selection of stories are from some of the best and most entertaining episodes, from Away bags and AirBnB (and their Obama Os) to FUBU and Allbirds. This isn't a bunch of "overcoming all adversity and winning" tales. It's honest, true stories about the work, the practice, and the insights that sparked many of our most loved innovations. I can't get enough of it!!!