The Miserable Middle

 


Inspired beginnings and happy endings


Everyone loves the grandiose of the big announcements and the innocent simplicity of happy endings. One vividly recalls the November 8th, 2016 address deliciously termed as demonetization. The dramatic 2011 late-night broadcast "we got him" with an accomplished aura that informed us of the death of Osama Bin Laden. The August 15th radio broadcast that romantically suggested that we encountered our "tryst with destiny." Sexed-up visualizations of inspired beginnings and happy endings are but easy to draft. Hatch an idea, conceive a plan, concoct strategies, or trump up falsity (pun intended) that is right up the alley of a leadership playbook.


The station of the Miserable Middle

It is the miserable middle that eats our ideas for breakfast. The cumbersome and tedious middle is the dietary fiber that gives the wholesomeness to our breakfast. Columbus was caught in the middle of the ocean. Gandhi was caught in the middle of the movement. Warren Buffet was caught in the middle of an investment. All three of them will vouch for the miserable middle. It is a whirlpool with turbulent undercurrents of nagging naysayers, niggling doubts, rising negativity, irritable customers, and recalcitrant peers. At this station,  the best-laid plans look like a failure. Dhoni's dilemma kicks in here. Should he prevail in the journey and pursue his passion or alight the train to inspect the tickets of fellow travelers. We know how that story turned out!


If you have reached this far in the essay, you will notice the writer meandering through the passage and drifting away from the core topic. 

The writer is keen to rest his fingers and tempted to scrap this piece.     

But if he stays the course and cuts through the coarse tides, the end is nigh. Major changes often slide into the cesspool of lethargy. The slipped schedules and waring enthusiasm form the Achilles heel. 


Whether you are President Biden de-trumping America or random director Ramesh trying to implement a plan, use my checklist inspired by Prof. Kanter to determine when to persist and when to pull out.


Aladdin's Powerpoint: Did the genie from the PowerPoint grant your wish? Did the mythology of sales pitch turn into reality? Did water turn into wine? Did you create success stories in your ecosystem?  

Beware of the Boredom: Are you still smitten by the idea? Was it just an infatuation? Are you still excited about the idea?  

Test Support: Have your sponsors deserted you? Has the team directions changed? Is the need still there?

Search for synergies: Can the project work well with other activities? Does 2 and 2 make 22?


Too many No's, cut your losses, and blame it on others! But if the answers are mostly Yes, it is not over yet. You are still in the middle and still in the game. Stay the course and stick with it. As Prof Kanter Said," Recognize middles' struggle, give it some time, and a successful end could be in sight."

 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mining the essence of a life well lived

I first met Harihara Iyer in 2009 in a hurried and anxious setting – not for him, but for me. He wasn't particularly interested in me, but I was hoping to win over his daughter's interest! I'll never forget his opening salvo to me 17 years ago. I would dread such a question from a prospective employer, but coming from a suitor's father, it was downright jarring. He skipped the pleasantries and cut straight to the chase: "Are you a CA?" (He knew I wasn't). The question pierced right through my gut!   But I rattled off my rehearsed response, highlighting my MBA and certifications (including Hindi Prachar Sabha, of course!). However, his attention had already wandered midway through my meandering response, and I could almost hear him mumbling, "Next groom, please." Despite that shaky start, our bond grew over shared interests in politics and macroeconomics. We'd discuss election results and India's economic landscape, and I'd nod enthusi...
Read more

The undertones of an Overton window

This is a momentous week to recall the pivotal year of 1991 in India's history. 1991 was a remarkable period in the country's history. India was at a crossroads, which was a fancy way of saying we were bankrupt. The cabinet secretary handed a note to the newly sworn-in PM. He looked at it bewildered and asked, " Is the economic situation that bad?"  The non challant response — "No Sir... It's worse!" Thus began unraveling the story of the reforms. The options for the intellectual and the diligent finance minister were straightforward: a simple three-point plan: devaluing the rupee, liberalizing trade, and disrobing the license raj.    Unlike a corporate leader who could simply draft a policy, issue a memo, and expect compliance, the economic reforms were not corporate boardroom drama. The Oxford-educated finance minister was not making chess moves but making strategic maneuvers. But there was a democracy at pla...
Read more

Stress-tastic: The Art of Worrying Well

The human capacity for stress is boundless. Give us a problem, and we'll worry. Take the problem away, and we'll find something else. Stress is such a stressful topic amongst the chatterati. To assess the quality of challenges in a given society, look at what the local newspaper in the city is fretting over.  I visited a country last month where food allergens and bullying at school were among the most stressful issues for the community. The local newspaper reported food mislabeling as one of the gravest crises of the century. The locals were stricken with grief when they heard about employees back in my country working nine hours a day! They claimed to have empathy burnout by merely hearing the story! A Child getting bullied at school can cause deep distress in this community. As a child, I remember getting thrashed at the playground. I come back home with a deep gash in my hand. My grandmother glanced at it and suddenly remembered that she urgently needed a half-liter of milk...
Read more