There I was, a naive, young boy, hoping the world is filled with ONLY good intent. Had I another reason to believe otherwise? My friends helped me in every way, my parents showed genuine interest and care to strangers, my teachers burned their mid-night oil for my excellence and God had gifted me with mentors who showed me only goodness.
I was 28 years old, when I was sitting across from a lady in power, her position allowed influence over the potential life trajectories of over 10,000+ people. She was convinced that I had a magic wand. She had heard stories of impossible feats done for people, families and organisations and she had an ask from me.
She presented a team of young people, and she mentioned her pain points, and asked what I could do for her. Her biggest challenge was people were procrastinating. And the young culture wasn’t, as she said, ‘focused’ on work.
I mentioned capability acceleration, and the speed at which these individuals can transform from within.
She was scared. And it was unusual. Internally, I knew I had to re-calibrate. That there was a hidden person beneath that sweet smile and soft voice. She concluded the meeting saying - “This is very interesting, let’s proceed forward. Will look at my team and get back to you this week”.
I knew that even though she was positive and specific, she was not going to get back to me. I have done sales, long enough to know that when someone is a dead end, a mirage, a waste of time - that looks promising but was never meant to convert in the first place. At that moment, my interest was not in the deal, my interest was instead in DISCOVERY. I saw it as an opportunity to know something about the WORLD we lived in. About something that is true about some of these Fortune 500 IT companies. I knew she knew something, I didn’t at that point in time. And I wanted to get that information from her.
And obviously she is not going to stand there with a golden platter, ready to share everything I wanted to know. So, I make a joke, she laughs and then I direct the conversation towards her dreams and aspirations and build rapport in that quick minute.
When we were in a space that looked like I was just about to leave, I looked back at her and asked, “Instead of EVOLVING your team, what would it be that would DIRECTLY help you get to the dream position that you just spoke to me about?”
Now, we were directly talking about what is between her and her growth according to her. And she blurted out that she wanted to keep the team motivated by gamification and things like that. She said she didn’t want them to grow because then there will be too many talented people to manage, and also that a 10% - 12% attrition is a good thing for her.
She also went on to explain how the strategy she mentioned above, would avoid that salary hikes and thereby keep profits high. She wanted her team to stay a little lost and not evolve too fast. Right within their boundaries. She said - “We don’t want them to become sharks, we want fishes that feel good.”
I knew what she asked for was pure evil, instantly. But it took me months and years to process the full ramification of that.
Her intent was to turn the workforce into ‘untalented’ workers who are happy in the high of calculated increments, feeling accomplishment from the gamification that is never designed for them to really grow. And if enough companies did what she did - that is trapping an entire nation to be an outsource agency and taking away the chance to allow these individuals to contribute to higher value functions, the economy at large would be headed for massive brain drain.
It’s not just uncaring, it was evil because - she didn’t just not want them to evolve, she wanted a design that keeps them addicted for 3 - 4 years. That gets them to chase a reward, and just like a video game, open the next level at each step. What she wanted was to design an addiction mechanism that felt good, while people wasted their prime years.
It has been about 7 years since this happened, but it keeps coming back to me now and then, that you have got to protect yourself, your people, your loved ones and your nation. Not all people are equally genuine. And you have to stand up for the ones you care about and the ones you may not know.
I am sure, I am not the only one who noticed this challenge. Maybe someone else would solve this challenge before I do. But it is heartening to know, as much as there are people like her, there are also people who would crush this danger. Who will be a Game Changer to the nation's talent pool and contribute to the world at large.
But you must always be careful about the sharp fist hidden in a velvet glove. Ready to feel like an embrace, just to hurt and harm. That is why it is important to teach our children to notice incongruences and to trust their intuition when they do.
I remember a lady asking me a favour. She smiled, she held my hand, it was a warm touch and her eyes had a soft gaze. What she asked of me appeared like not much of a big thing to do. But just as I heard her speak, I saw that evil look, a glance of it on just the left side of her face, that fierce look, a fleeting display of it between her eyebrow and chin.
At that moment, I knew she was setting a trap. And later I discovered her intentions. Most GOOD natured people assume everyone is like them. So, when they notice incongruence, they ignore it as them being ‘doubtful’ and ‘not trusting’.
The good news is that you don’t have to be totally alert, like a machine analysing everything to discern the good from the bad. Your intuition can be trained to do this for you. In early civilizations, people had to navigate by looking at the sky. In some areas, the sky wasn’t visible during certain months. So, people used to lie down on the boat and feel the currents of the water to know whether they were sailing in the right direction, even if the sky and the stars were not clearly visible. This practice developed intuition in their body, to feel the current and know if they are in the right direction even when the skies are covered.
You need to learn to TEST the intentions of people when everything is well and you have good people with you. So, when the day comes, when you need to avoid a trap, you are prepared to escape it with minimal inconvenience.
Beauty, soft voice, pleasant smile, complimenting words, hugs, gentle touch on the shoulder are all things that make a person feel pleasant - but discern the INTENT. And learn to do it young, and teach this to those you love.
The world has great people and it requires people like you and me to appreciate them, to separate the ordinary and evil from the game changers, so that more of them can thrive, evolve and grow.
Someone once said - “How do you find the pioneers? You search for those with arrows in their backs and fallen down, they are the pioneers.”
The founder of McDonalds was a good man, he gave good food, but he was cheated, his company was taken over and what we get now is cheap, unpassionate food. This is the story of millions of pioneers. The good news is that the era has changed. This is the time when game changers can live a fulfilling life.
And you and me can be part of making that happen by noticing the great ones from those who disguise.
The other danger of not taking a side, is sometimes, people slowly become that person they were not. When your friends visit you, sometimes you find yourself talking in their accent and showing some of their mannerisms.
How do you know that you won’t unconsciously pick the ‘incorrect maps’ of other people? There is a good chance when that lady joined the organisation, she was a neutral kind. Neither an impact creator nor evil. But not taking a side can push those on the boundary to the other side. Even if not to her extent, but even to a tiny bit. And that tiny bit can become the source of unhappiness in your own life and create discord in the family. You look everywhere else, but not recognize that your life changed because you changed and gave way to let go of that goodness in you just a little bit.
Take a stand to avoid people with not so good intentions even if it comes at a price. And help those with good intentions. This sends the message to the world that people who look out for others, people who wish to evolve others are not alone. And you can only do that, if you learn to discern the intent of people. And that means start TESTING intentions at a very young age. We all have done this as young children. Testing the intention is second nature, but as we grow into adults we allow charm, clout, position, endorsements, academic credentials and disguise to fool us.
Every one discerns at some point. But when you discern early enough, you give power to the impact creators. And thereby set in movement, a new trend of more power to the chosen ones. And a change of heart for the others. Back then, when I met that lady who didn’t want her team to grow, I left after I got the information I wanted. Looking back, if I had the skills I do now, I may have put a seed in her heart and succeeded to change her.
I still pray for her that God would change her heart and lead her to do good for her people. I read this verse by Jesus to his disciples when I was 12 - “Pray you that the Lord of the harvest will send more labourers into His harvest”. I read it several times a year, each time I read the gospel.
The world needs God’s labourers in His harvest. The more you experience the world, the more you do for it, the more you realise, the power of that verse. And it is a frequent prayer. We don’t need humans like fishes in a tank. We want them to reflect the image of God, in the likeness they were created.
