Quality of Success

I was part of a team building event the other day and went bowling. Normally, I try to bowl straight with as much power as possible and try to knock off the pins. I saw one of my friends beautifully curving the ball. It looked magnificent. The ball would appear to be heading across the lane but curve in and knock all the pins almost always. I started trying it and as you can imagine it was hard and more than often the ball did not curve let alone knock a single pin. One of my other friends who was watching me with interest told a great thing that is still resonating – “the quality of success is directly proportional to the probability of failure“.

It is relatively easy to knock all the pins by bowling straight and fast. But, that gets boring and is relatively less challenging. Can we keep enjoying the success of knocking all the pins everytime without saying “uh, ok!”? The quality of success is as important (if not more) as success itself.

Yes, I did get a brilliant curve ball going when I bowled my last ball of the day. Everyone around me was impressed; but the only thing I remembered was the way the ball curved at the last moment before it reached the gutters and knocked all the pins. I struck with a curve ball. I cannot wait for more.

It is efficiency everywhere

I have been traveling this month a lot for conferences, training and most importantly demoing Chip Lead’s office tool. It has been a wonderful experience so far. I am writing this blog from the Phoenix airport .

One of the most important aspect of collaborating with somebody is the efficiency you can bring to their table. The problems you can solve for them, the benefits you can provide them, the relief you can bring them, and the contacts you can bring to their table. It is always about them! I have found this attitude to help me a great deal in getting the ideas across and open new avenues and problems to solve. The month I have met some wonderful people, in and outside Qualcomm. These people have brainstormed with me, have criticized my ideas, constructed my mindset, opened my mind towards problems that I was taking for granted and helped me become professionally grow.

There are challenges everywhere if we look carefully. Everyday is an opportunity to solve something new, make the world around us a better place.

As an intrapreneur, it is more important to be aware of the problems your company is trying solve. Talking to people on different sites or teams or mindsets helps a great deal. What you think is the least significant can actually be the most significant problem. Another thing, an intrapreneur has to remember is the motivation to solve something. If your motivation is personal glory, you won’t get far. You will get into emotional battles on insignificant issues. The real reason I want to solve a problem in my company is to relish the challenge, and be a signficant part of the next step ahead. This will win friends and supporters who love the copany as much as you do and who love solving problems as much as you do.  Remember that a selfish person can never be an intrapreneur.

Anyway, my apologies for a long delay in posting. I should be more regular here onwards!!