Canteen Fundas

‘Bhaiyya, we’re got great talent on our debate team but we’re not performing,’ said Rinku. ‘How to build the perfect team?’ ‘Google did a 2-year study called Project Aristotle on what makes the best teams tick,’ said Rakesh. ‘It could help.’ ‘Wow,’ said Rahul. ‘What did they find?’ ‘They found five characteristics common to high performing teams,’ said Rakesh. ‘They’re ‘impact’ – where team members feel their work has positive impact, ‘meaning’ - where team members feel their work is meaningful,   ‘structure and clarity’ - clarity in goals, roles and execution plan, and ‘dependability’ - where members believe they can depend on each other to deliver their part. But it’s the fifth that’s most important. The other four almost don’t matter if it’s missing.’ ‘What’s that bhaiyya?’ asked Rinku. ‘Psychological safety,’ said Rakesh. ‘Do your team members feel safe enough to speak up, take moderate risks, without feeling insecure? Do they feel they can be vulnerable in front of p...

  ‘I set my 10x goals last week,’ said Rahul. ‘They really look scary and impossible.’ ‘Same here,’ said Rinku. ‘But Anjali achieved one scary OKR already. How bhaiyya?’ ‘To achieve 10x Objectives you must ‘Own’, ‘Understand’ and ‘Execute’,’ said Rakesh. ‘Achieving big goals is a matter of execution, of diligently exploring all possibilities. When Anjali set a 10x Objective of getting her poems published in an international publication, it was scary because she never got published anywhere before. But she ‘owned’ it and shared her 10x Objective with others. Then she sought to ‘understand’ the space by gathering information, talking to experts. When she had enough information she ‘executed’ her plans. To start the process, she wrote three new poems.’ ‘Writing’s easy,’ said Rahul. ‘What next?’ ‘It appears overwhelming because it’s an unknown area and you’re finding new ways to crack it,’ said Rakesh. ‘But with more information, you get new perspectives. Once you’ve enough inf...

  ‘I want to get out of the rut,’ said Rinku. ‘I want a method to improve my performance by 10 times using the same resources.’ ‘That’ll help my basketball team too,’ said Rahul. ‘Of course,’ said Rakesh. ‘There’s a process called OKRs that John Doerr wrote about in his book ‘Measure what matters’.’ ‘What’re OKRs bhaiyya?’ asked Rinku. ‘Objectives and Key Results,’ said Rakesh. ‘OKRs make you focus and commit to what’s most important and go for a 10x leap in that area. So, identify 3-4 Objectives for your team or yourself in areas of highest impact - objectives that seem impossible, scary, big enough to propel you to the next level. Things you’d love to happen but believe are beyond you. So, what’re your 10x Objectives?’ ‘An Ivy League school admission,’ said Rinku. ‘Winning the Inter-Collegiate championship!’ said Rahul. ‘It’s scary to even say it.’ ‘Then they’re good objectives,’ smiled Rakesh. ‘They’re scary, exciting, clear 10x objectives with concrete results.’ ...

 ‘Our basketball team’s fully set,’ said Rahul. ‘We’ve a common purpose, clarity of roles and are fully aligned.’ ‘But you’re not consistent,’ said Rinku. ‘Some days you play brilliantly, other days you suck. Something’s wrong.’ ‘Rinku’s right,’ said Rakesh. ‘You must convert what you have into consistent results. You can’t simply hope.’ ‘How do we do that bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul. ‘To deliver consistently, commit what each one will contribute to the team and hold yourself responsible for it,’ said Rakesh. ‘Do you do that?’ ‘We don’t explicitly commit bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘We believe everyone’s doing their best.’ ‘That’s what most of teams do,’ said Rakesh. ‘But good intentions don’t translate to concrete results. A better way is to commit to a clear contribution. That way you’ll find ways and deliver to potential.’ ‘How do we go about it bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul. ‘Ask everyone in your team to set their own targets on what they’ll deliver and share it with the team,’ sai...

 We’re having problems with Nishi,’ said Rahul. ‘He’s our star player but his attitude is affecting our basketball team.’ ‘What’s the problem?’ asked Rinku. ‘He’s not playing for the team,’ said Rahul. ‘He plays for himself. He does not pass to others, wants to score for himself. It’s affecting the team morale. The others are getting demotivated. What to do?’ ‘Interesting dilemma,’ said Rakesh. ‘Should the star player with a bad attitude come first or should the team come first?’ ‘We have to keep the star bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘Else we will lose.’ ‘Ah Rinku,’ said Rakesh. ‘The sum is greater than the parts as Aristotle said. The team carries a bigger punch when it comes together than what its individual parts are capable of, however strong they maybe. The team is bigger than the individual.’ ‘But bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘He scores half our score. How can we drop him?’ ‘Look,’ said Rakesh. ‘If he starts playing for the team, your team will score much more because the others ...

 ‘I landed a supporting role in the college play,’ said Rinku. ‘Woohoo.’ ‘Nobody will notice you if you’re not the lead, ‘said Rahul. ‘You should quit.’ ‘Rahul, she’s part of a team effort,’ said Rakesh. ‘Just like you’re part of your basketball team and want your team to win, I’m sure Rinku wants to be part of a successful play too.’ ‘Of course bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘And you can’t be part of successful teams by not putting your heart and soul into your role whatever it is,’ said Rakesh. ‘Are you playing your role to the best of your capability in teams that you’re part of Rahul?’ ‘What teams bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul. ‘I’m only on my basketball team right now.’ ‘How about your family, friends, college, society?’ asked Rakesh. ‘Where you play the role of a son, daughter, student, friend, citizen, human? If we’re not aware of our roles, we’re like actors standing on stage but not playing our part. It’s the perfect recipe for a flop show guys.’ ‘But what are we supposed to ...

 ‘Our basketball team can do so much better,’ said Rahul. ‘But we’re not able to play to our potential.’ ‘Happens everywhere,’ said Rinku. ‘We’ve got great individual players but fail as a team. Wonder why?’ ‘That’s because we behave like a group of individuals, not like a team,’ said Rakesh. ‘Be it with family, friends, college, society, it’s the same. Real teams work together to achieve a common purpose that grows the team and the individuals. Real teams achieve much more than the sum of their parts. And, as the team achieves its potential, individuals perform to their potential as well.’   ‘Wow, how can I get our team going in the next game bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul. ‘Just like you get a boat moving forward when two people are rowing,’ smiled Rakesh. ‘Or, an army marching forward in sync. Get them to work for a common purpose. An army’s purpose is to win the war. Your basketball team’s purpose is to win the tournament. An organisation’s or a relationship’s purpose is to...