That Strategy Guy

16/10/2024

After sitting on the fence for long enough, I finally started a Newsletter on LinkedIn called "Breaking Mindset Barriers" where I will be sharing my thoughts on behaviour and business.

Simple insights that could create a significant impact on your personal, social, or professional life.

Once every 2 weeks there will be a new in-depth article.

The first one is on "Making Better Decisions" and how we can learn a few lessons from Military Theatre Command!

And then extend this methodology to the personal decisions that we make.

Trust you will find it interesting!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/making-better-decisions-sandeep-ohri-that-strategy-guy-bwrmc

Please share your thoughts by commenting on the post there on LinkedIn

What we can learn from Military Theatre Command! There’s nothing that mobilizes diverse and distributed resources more effectively than when a country is facing a national security emergency, like war! Data tells us that 90% of all new businesses fail, with only 9% of small businesses surviving 10...

04/10/2024

I went to 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛 but ended up 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 more - which made me realise that 𝗞.𝗘.𝗬. is the key to improvement!

𝗞.𝗘.𝗬. = 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳!

Last week I was invited to conduct a workshop on "𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁" at 𝗠𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗮𝗶𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 - a trade fair for the wood and furniture industry.

Trade shows and exhibitions have always excited me.

Exhibitors prepare for these weeks in advance, from stall design to marcom, to products and services to be displayed, their demo scripts, to logistics of travel, stay, social media, invitations, etc.

Visitors short list which booths they would like to visit and which seminars they'd like to attend, carry their own business cards, make travel arrangements, etc.

The whole atmosphere is charged with a sense of purpose - truly fascinating!

I reached well before time for my workshop and spent a couple of hours walking around the exhibition floor, seeing new products, learning new perspectives and meeting different people.

One panel discussion was talking about the current state of the wood and furniture industry and its challenges.

It estimated the industry size at Rs. 100,000 crore, with over 70% of it in the unorganised sector!

While new technologies were available, 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 were not, which posed a challenge to the industry as well as 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗽𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 thousands of job seekers.

The other major challenge was that of 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 - how do you make more wooden furniture without cutting trees - and so a balance had to be maintained, to protect the environment.

One method of reducing the carbon footprint was to have better, more efficient, and "green" machinery.

Another was: regular 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 to increase the life of the machines and to keep them operating at higher efficiencies!

And then there was this whole session on the 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 and how Indian participants won an encouraging number of medals at 𝗟𝘆𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰.

𝗦𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆!

Truly, you must 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 - that's the KEY to improving yourself, whether it be knowledge, skills, methodologies, strategies, or behaviours.

Well, now you know it too!

23/06/2024

Ability to endure pain. Being resilient. Shaking off setbacks. Believing in going after new opportunities. Prioritising your life. And much more...

This is one MasterClass every student should take.

Listen to Jensen Huang of Nvidia, give this talk to the 2024 Graduating class at Caltech.

He talks about using unconventional methods when faced with setbacks, to bounce back, time and again.

Invest 30 minutes and I'm sure you won't regret it!

https://youtu.be/Sc48ToLIQAY?si=U1sQHv1yeCs43wEW

加州理工學院（California Institute of Technology， CalTech）6月14日（周五）舉行第130屆畢業典禮，輝達（Nvidia）創始人兼首席執行官黃仁勳受邀分享人工智慧革命的獨到見解，輝達轉型為AI公司的非凡歷程，以及他的人生感悟，勉勵畢....

29/04/2024

317 - What was the Outcome?

Your Semester is coming to an end.

You've studied hard for the exams.

You think you wrote the paper well.

Your marks tell a very different story!!

You didn't fare so well...

You blame your "poor" preparation!

But, was it really bad?

Or you just think so because your RESULTS were poor?

Was the EFFORT poor, or just the result?

Welcome to Outcome Bias!

That's when you judge decisions based purely on the... outcome!

For instance when... a Cricket team Captain wins the toss, elects to bat first, loses the match & then blames his decision of electing to bat first!

Even though there could be so many other reasons!

But wait... commercially, this can work in your favour!

Your marketing team can clearly show how, by using your product or service, the outcome is desirable, & therefore helping draw the conclusion that your product was responsible for the excellent outcome!

But don't you end up fooling yourself!

Well, now you know!

26/04/2024

316 - Smile. Please!

A new car model has been launched.

The front has a really nice, "appealing" look.

You're wondering why you find it so... appealing!

Then it hits you!

When you see the headlights and the front grill, it looks like it's ... SMILING at you!

You tell your partner this!

She laughs & asks you what you've been smoking!

Well, is it really smiling?

Wait... are you the only one who can SEE it?

What's going on??

PAREIDOLIA - that's what!

A type of Apophenia - a tendency to perceive meaningful connections between... unrelated things!

People sometimes seek definite patterns in RANDOM information.
Sometimes when you're gambling, you may think you can "see a pattern"!

Yeah, sure! There IS a pattern!

It's called Gambler's Fallacy!

And it can wipe you out!

You may imagine that you're seeing patterns in the numbers that appear in lotteries, card games, or roulette wheels.

Sorry, no such patterns exist!
If they do exist, it's just in your mind!

Be careful of such tricks that your mind plays.

You may lose more than just a game!

Well, now you know!

24/04/2024

315 - Were Those Grapes, Sour?

You've applied for a job you really want.

You work really hard for the interview.

But you don't get past the 1st round!

Then you tell yourself, its good you didn't get through.

Since that particular company had lousy HR policies anyway!!

What's going on??

Positive Thinking??
Optimism??

Or good old Cognitive Dissonance?

Which is what happens when you try to internally "resolve" the conflict between various conflicting beliefs, values, ideas or feelings.

It's like the Fox in the Aesop Fable, who couldn't reach the grapes & then decided that he didn't want them, because "they were probably sour, anyway!"

Doing this makes it easier for us to "accept" our condition & reduce the mental stress/toll that we were feeling.

Take another example..

Say you're on a sugar-free diet...

And you eat an ice cream...

Which you shouldn't have!!!!

There are FOUR very typical ways in which people try to reduce the magnitude of their cognitive dissonance, with these typical responses:

1. Change the behaviour ("I won't eat any more ice cream")

2. Justify the behaviour ("It's a cheat day, so I'm allowed to eat one")

3. Justify the behaviour by adding another action ("I'll exercise an extra 30 mins")

4. Ignore / deny the conflicting info. ("This is low-sugar ice cream!")

Be careful of how you try to justify / rationalise your behaviour!

The grapes are NOT always sour!

Well, now you know!

22/04/2024

314 - First wear YOUR Oxygen Mask!

You're sitting in an aircraft, about to take off.

You're listening to the flight attendant telling you about safety.

Do you remember what they say about the Oxygen Mask?

It will drop from above & you need it to cover your nose & mouth, & breathe normally.

They also say if you're with someone who needs help, like a child, you need to put on YOUR mask first before helping them.

Makes sense!

If you're alive - and well - you'll be capable of helping others.

Self-preservation is important.
That's how we survived as a species too!

This makes sense in a lot of other things too.

You could be responsible for many other people - your kids, your family, your staff, your customers...

But if you don't take good care of yourself, how will you look after them??
And the same goes for others who look after you too!

You need them to look after themselves well, so THEY can look after you!

I recall Jim Rohn saying, "I'll take care of me, for you. Will you take care of you, for me?"

Don't be so obsessed with looking after others that you forget to look after yourself!

You may be the best cardiologist in the area.

But, in an emergency, you will need SOMEONE ELSE to give you CPR!

Well, now you know!

18/04/2024

313 - Law of Averages?? Ha!

You're watching an IPL match toss.
One Captain calls Heads.
But it comes out Tails.

He's done this in 4 earlier matches.
Called Heads, but it came out Tails.

He's lost the Toss 4 times in a row, already
This is his 5th Toss.

He's now CONVINCED it will be Heads.

After all, the Law of Averages has to catch up, right??

Then there's this candidate.

She's applied for a number of jobs.
She's been rejected in the last 6 interviews.

She's convinced that she'll ace the next interview and get a job.

After all, the Law of Averages has to catch up, right??

Sadly, she's as WRONG as that IPL Captain!

They're both doomed to be disappointed... if they think that this miraculous Law of Averages is going to suddenly turn things in their favour!

There's no mathematically proven basis for this Law of Averages!!

Forget being a... LAW!
It's, in fact, a... MYTH!!

It's also called Gambler's Fallacy!

Don't believe me?
Try it yourself.

Toss a coin an even number (6, 8, 10, 12) of times.

Do you ALWAYS get an EQUAL number of Heads and Tails??

Of course, you "could!"

But that's only because of our good friend... LUCK a.k.a. Randomness!

And not because there's some "divine power" sitting somewhere keeping track of all of your attempts!

So don't fool yourself into thinking of this... Law of Averages.

It exists only in your mind!
Get rid of it.

Improve your decision-making instead!

Well, now you know!

15/04/2024

312 - Perception Matters!

Yesterday morning, I thought of Ratan Tata!

I saw a family of FOUR, on a 2 wheeler!

With 3 pillion riders, the man driving it, barely had his tailbone on the seat!

Then Mr. Tata came to mind.

With his "vision" of providing a safer mode of transport for such families.

In the form of the affordable Nano.

Nano - the word comes from the Greek word meaning dwarf.

It's also a one-billionth part.

Yep, that's really, really small!

In terms of technology, nano tech is being pursued vigorously.

Preferred by chip manufacturers - the smaller the better!
But that word DIDN'T WORK for the car!

It came to be associated with "cheap" and not "affordable" or "economical".

Yes, those 2-wheeler users may have wanted (aspired) a 4-wheeler.

But NOT a 4-wheeler that was perceived as... CHEAP!

Cheap is hardly an "aspiration!"

Perception matters - and how!

Tata eventually shut down the line!

Make sure you see your product how your customer would see it.

Then make sure you communicate that message, well.

Or you'll be in trouble!

Tata's reportedly lost ₹1,000 crore!

Probably a drop in the ocean for them.

Can YOU afford that?

Like I said, Perception matters... and how!

On one hand nano is being pursued.

On the other hand, the Nano was ditched.

One word. Two worlds!

Well, now you know!

12/04/2024

311 - Did you Change? No? Really??

You bought a bicycle about 3 years back.

Last year you changed both tyres.
Fixed a brand new seat.
Replaced the brake and chains.
Changed the basic frame.
Got a new stand affixed.
Everything is... new!

Here's the Question:
Is it still the same bike?
Yes? Really??

Even though each & every part was NOT there, when you bought it?

This is the classic Ship of Theseus paradox.

When EVERY component of an object has changed, is it still the SAME object or a NEW one??

Ok, let's talk about YOU!

Are you the same person you were, say, 5 years back?

Even though you now have:
* 130,000 brand new hairs?
* 380,000 billion brand new blood cells?
* 730,000 billion brand new platelets?

And don't forget, you've been through so many different experiences over the past 157.68 million seconds...

Heraclitis was right when he said, "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man!"

If you think you haven't changed, think again!

Which brings me to the point I want to make...

You CAN change!
Everyone can.

In fact... Everyone DOES!
Deal with it!

Also keep this in mind the next time you catch yourself saying, "But I'm always like this, I can't change!"

You changed just now, too!

You're a "different" person now, from the person who started reading this post!

Physiologically? For sure!

Philosophically? Well, hopefully!!

Psychologically? That too, perhaps!!!

Well, now you know!