From Self-organization to Self-mastery

To organize self we have to be caring towards self .It means weeding and destroying what is not needed and will not be needed in future.It also means finding adequate space for what is needed to be retained, and also arranging them in such a way that we can retrieve whatever we have stored in the shortest  time .                            

              Self-organizing is a discipline.It involves clarity of mind , practice , patience and self-control.When done regularly at frequent intervals , self-organizing leads to self-mastery.Peter M. Senge has described Self-mastery as one of the five essential disciplines for leadership as well as for building a learning organization.Self organization is a process of self awareness and leads to self mastery.It helps us to cleanse our cob webs and bring to us clarity of mind ,thought and purpose.Human mind or nature is not easily subject to order.It has to be trained and disciplined.There are layers and layers of organizing.When we do second order organizing , we go into the deeper layers of  documents and materials.

Organizing requires us to know what is really important to us that we would like to retain and expand .What we would like to categorize as trash or redundant and would destroy.A clear understanding of what is trash and what is important enables us to know what kind of  our associated actions have so far affected the world and what have not been so .This also makes us understand our current reality and stand on various things and issues.Self organizing should be developed into a life long habit , an attitude and a way of living.                

                     Self-organizing increases our efficiency , proficiency and effectiveness,thereby making us professionally competent.When self-organizing becomes a regular life long habit ,attitude and discipline,it leads to self-mastery.Self-organizing gives us satisfaction and happiness.It makes us realize how naïve and ignorant we have been , and gives us a sense of confidence.Is organizing ,like consistency ,hobgoblin of small minds?No , because organizing expands our minds by the process of creative destruction. When we begin to organize , our mind has to discriminate between what is needed to be destroyed and what is needed to be retained and for how long.When we organize,our mind is undistracted and is free from lower level thinking.Organizing empowers us by  enabling us to focus on the broader horizon.                    

                    It is necessary to review our complete inventory every 3 months with strict regularity.In a way ,every review offers us a new start,a new opportunity to begin at the beginning.It brings us closer to our purpose ,by enabling us to weed out the trash and the redundant.
       Basis of organizing should be logic and not memory .Documents should be retained and arranged on the basis of a logic,for our memory is fragile .The logic of self-organizing starts with questioning what is actionable and what is non-actionable. Non-actionable documents are of three kinds;
1)Trash:Those documents  which are not needed, and which need to be destroyed.
2)Material in incubation:Those documents which need to be retained.Some may be needed to be retained for an uncertain period of time while others for a fixedor known period.
3)Reference materials:Some materials like books are needed to be retained in archives and library.Such documents are general reference and not more than one or two on a topic.We need to establish norms and time of retention  and destroying of different types of documents.
x x x x x x x x x x xx xx x x x x x xx xx x x xx x x x xx x x xx x xx
I decided to organize all my papers, books , certificates, writings , pictures and reports, which I had accumulated in the last 30 years.I devoted about two hours daily for about sixty days .As I  overcame my initial inertia and impatience ,I began to feel a sense of self-control , self-awareness , satisfaction  leading to a better clarity about my purpose and life goals.I thought , I was approaching  towards what Senge has called Self-mastery.I know ,I am no where near that stage ,but I certainly know that self-organizing is one very effective approach to Self-mastery .
  
                    

Freedom from Prejudice:The Cornerstone of Leadership

         

A leader must be value oriented and socially sensitive with tolerance and respect for diversity , and lead her/his organization to assume higher and still higher social responsibilities .If one studies  likely trends in leadership for the coming decades, one will find that in business , government or politics ,  diversity and social responsibilty  are two things  that  will  occupy increasing resources,priority  and attention .It is just the result of  evolutionary dynamics .Prejudices  can be based on race , religion , caste, region or physical or mental disabilities or any other factor. For example , prejudices against  women , jews , Africans , certain castes  and many other groups still exist in different countries.There is a wide spread prejudice against persons with certain disabilities.To be able to be an effective leader in such a world , a leader must not only  be personally free from all kinds of prejudices but also ensure that  members of the organization she or he is leading also rise above them.And this needs to be both in theory and practice .It is not easy .That is why , real leaders are very few .The rest are just duplicates .

                 " All overblown and generalized  prejudgments become prejudices if they are not reversible when exposed to new knowledge." so says Gordon  W. Allport in his classic 1954 book "The Nature of Prejudice"For those who have not heard of Allport , he was a leading social psychologist of 20th century.From 1930 onwards , he was a Professor of psychology at Harvard .Born in Indiana  in1897 , he died in 1967 at the age of 70.
A prejudice has two ingredients:An attitude of favour or disfavour  , and an overgeneralized belief .A prejudice , when practiced , results in discrimination.Discrimination comes about when we deny to a person or group equality of treatment .For example , it becomes discriminating when we exclude people from our neighbourhood, school ,employment or organization or country.Differential treatment based on individual qualities are not discrimination but those based on ethnic categorization are discrimination.To quote the UNO:"Discrimination includes any conduct based on a distinction made on grounds of natural or social categories, which have no relation either to individual capacities or merits or to the concrete behaviour of individual persons."It is born out of ignorance , superstition and unjust customs .

To some extent,each one of us is prejudiced against many things.We judge in favour of the values we hold, we defend our values and ways of living,we defend our values with pride and we reject those who oppose our values.

                   Is there such a thing as national character?The answer is yes, though objective studies  about national character are few in number.But it is important to distinguish between the real national character and the stereotypes , images that people have about national character.The Japanese have images of Americans as" hypocrite, materialistic,coarse, self-indulgent and luxury loving."Images are a mix of facts and previously held values and frames of reference.It is important to study images because people act in terms of these.It is important to correct false images because they add to misunderstanding and conflicts.Understanding images of national character as well as the genuine differences in national character, are important for leaders in this era of global markets and  increasingly unified world /humanity.                

       Prejudice leads to autistic thinking  and wrong decisions or sticking to old views.Autistic thinking is contrary to reasoning or directed thinking , and is irrational .It takes our thoughts to self-indulgent fantasy and does not advance them .In fact , we do not get anywhere.The whole process is self-serving .Our decisions , as a result , are in accordance with our preconceptions and self-interest.They are not objective .We tend to justify or rationalize our autistic thinking and do not like to admit that our thinking is autistic .

   If prejudice , by definition , continues despite exposure to new knowledge , what are the remedies?Can I overcome my own prejudices, or do I need external assistance .?Allport has  suggested  seven ways to  remedy prejudices .

1.Legislation  for  protection of victims against discrimination .

2.Formal educational methods.

3.Contact and acquaintance programs.

4.Group retraining methods.

5.Mass media.

6.Exhortation .

7.Individual therapy.

Formal education involves  imparting inter-cultural education .Evaluation studies have shown that inter-cultural education does result in lowering the prejudices.To my mind , this lends very strong support to inclusive education .Contact and acquaintance programs  make for friendliness and mutual respect .."Whatever makes for equal-status relationships and for more intimate acquaintance is likely to make for increased tolerance."            Group retraining is essentially a study of techniques of democratic leadership .It is a training program that helps people to improve their skills in  human relations.Mass media  ,films, publicity campaigns and propaganda do help in reducing  prejudices .

Another method is exhortation , preachment , admonishment and ethical talks .The best method to  reduce prejudices and change attitudes is individual psychotherapy.The individual needs to feel the need for approaching a counsellor.Though very effective , psychotherapy can reach only a small number of people .It needs to be practiced along with other methods of reducing prejudices. 

            A leader with prejudices cannot remain leader for long without destroying herself or himself ,and the organization she or he is leading.A "prejudiced leader" is an oxymoron (Yet none of the leaders except very few are completely free from prejudices.).Such a person is unfit to lead in a globalized world, with increasing demands to deal with diversity.With autistic thinking , she or he has poor ability to make correct decisions , be just and fair, to inspire and motivate.Such a person  wastes tremendous energy and resources of the organization and society and weakens the efforts for unity.She or he will not be able to enforce  with speed and firmness orders (from the top or courts )against  prejudices and discrimination.Such a leader cannot have tolerance and respect for the members of organization and other stakeholders  with diverse beliefs.
          India , with its million mutinies(To quote V S Naipaul)and rich diversity poses  great challenges as well as opportunities for leaders  to achieve the goals of equality, equity and growth.This necessarily makes it imperative that all persons in organizations (including business and non-governmental) of all kinds develop a culture of tolerance and respect  for diversity and freedom from prejudices .They should increasingly and deliberately place themselves in situations where they are required to handle successfully more and more diversity.This requires modernization of thoughts , beliefs and attitudes towards diverse groups  with their diverse character , attitudes , beliefs and values.In an organizational context , this means giving  special attention  to diversity and freedom from prejudice ,while  recruiting , doing placements,and designing,and implementing training programmes for the employee and top managers.
            

Obstacles faced by true Leaders

Why do we have very few true leaders , who can excite or inspire us? While there is a crying need for leaders in India and the world in all spheres of life  , why is the necessity not mothering true leaders?The question has actually two parts:

1)If such leaders exist , why are they  reluctant to lead or serve?

2)If as a nation we are not producing such leaders , what are the possible reasons?

I propose to take up only the first question at present .I will deal with the second question in another blogpost.Warren Bennis  dealt with this question in his 1989 book , "Why Leaders can't Lead . . The Unconscious Conspiracy Continues"(Warren Bennis , Inc.University of South California:169 pages).In fact , in this book , there is a  whole chapter 7 on this issue(entitled;"Where Have All the Leaders Gone?".He has given a number of examples in this book from the USA, some of them quite provocative.For example, in the chapter 13,"Pornography of Leadership" Warren Bennis says:"Nor does it (Smallness) solve anything when a leader pretends closeness to or a direct relationsahip with the people, as when Jimmy Carter wore Jeans and cardigan sweaters in the White HouseThe "simple" life as seen on a technotronic quadraphonic TV tube-is soft porn for the intellectual , falsely soothing and just as corrupt as the hard kind."However many of his insights are sharp and universal and apply to leadership issues in general, all over the world  .The book is different from normal leadership books and I recommend you to read it .

                  The main obstacles needed to be surmounted by true leaders are many , but I will shortlist some of the more important ones .

1)Leadership positions compel leaders to live in an unreal world .This world is away from the real problems of the people and is made up of media , advertising , technology , fashion , luxury and shopping malls.They  often meet and get advice from people who themselves live in an unreal world .In the process they begin to avoid reality and avoid facing facts.Their daily life is vague , dreamy and semi-conscious, and out of touch with reality .(I recall the story "The Bishop" by Anton Chekhov).

2.The Leaders become too focused on Bottomline and staying in power and increasing their power base.Money and Power become the main ends of leaders .They transition from selflessness to self-centeredness to selfishness.They become materialistic, greedy and ambitious  to the core.This quest for acquiring and retaining power  makes them centralized and controlling  everything , and they fail to delegate power and authority to others.

3.One major obstacle before leaders is entrenched bureaucracy, with a commitment to status quo.Because of increasing departmentation , subdivision and segmentation of work, bureaucracy performs segmented acts which  are amoral and done without guilt and responsibility .The leaders find it easy to use bureaucracy  for immoral acts .As Warren Bennis says:"Bureaucracies are beautiful mechanisms for evasion of responsibility and guilt."

                     A leader can cross this bureaucratic hurdle if he or she is on guard .This can be done by avoiding the temptation of appointing and surrounding themselves with"doppelgangers"(ghostly doubles).Leaders tend to choose assistants who  resemble them"not only in ideas and attitudes but in height , stature and dress".However comforting loyalty and congenialty  are, leaders should choose assistants from diverse viewpoints and background, as far as possible .A group of yesmen and yes women creates doppelganger effect , and in open invitation to anarchy.In my experience of three decades in  many key bureaucratic positions , I have witnessed the permanent  down fall of many  promising leaders.

4) Sociological trend towards individualism is also an obstacle in the path of leaders .People have their own personal vision and and are not willing or interested in  shared vision of the organization .They are unwilling to cooperate in teams, unwilling to make sacrifices for the common goals .They live in their own cocoons.This poses serious obstacle in the path of leaders.

5)A similar development is that people are increasingly becoming cynical and  do not dream any longer .It is extremely difficult to inspire and lead people who are without a dream for the organization or the country.

6)Pressures from competing constituencies make the task of leader difficult and full of obstacles .

7)Fear of failure is an important obstacle for a leader.They have a fear of being disappointed in case they fail .This creates self doubt and lack of confidence. and lack of faith in one's abilities.They indulge in destructive self-criticism .

8)Some leaders develop a "Know it all" attitude.They respond poorly to constructive criticism .

9)Leaders have a tendency to become hypocrites.They fail to abide by their own professed rules and standards.

10)Loneliness and socialization :Leaders have a great difficulty in choosing who to socialize with .Often , they have less time and interaction with  their family , resulting in loneliness .

           As a result of above obstacles , leaders who can take the nation to the heights of progress , justice and happiness, remain reluctant candidates for assuming the burdens and responsibilities of leadership .(I  need to study, discuss and reflect hard  to be able to suggest solutions at present but  i hope to do so soon ).

The Top Ten Leadership Skills

Why leadership is critical for success in any organization , is a subject which deserves separate space .But if you accept this as a given fact , then the most logical next question is :what are the skills of a a leader.(I presume we are talking about great leaders).Books like "Measure of a Leader" by Aubrey C. Daniels and James E. Daniels and "The Fifth Discipline . . The art & practice of the learning organization"by Peter M. Senge, touch these aspects  with some clarity .
              We can enlist hundreds of skills which we need to acquire  to develop  leadership in us.But some skills are critical and far more important .I reflected on this aspect and based on my observation , study ,my  exposure   as a senior civil servant in one of the biggest states of India and reflection , I was tempted to draw up my own list of the top ten skills of a leader.I confess that it is neither original , nor final .In fact , I have decided to monitor it from time to time and make changes , if needed.
                In what follows , I will describe these ten skills .Those who differ , are welcome to comment or write to me .It is interesting to assess one self periodically  regarding where one ranks in relation to these skills , and then think of the ways to improve one's performance , and actually perform better as a leader .There is no doubt that the better we are on these leadership skills , the better and more effective will be the performance of the organization to which we belong .

1.Personal mastery:Self- motivation , with a passion , a purpose , a meaning , hope ,optimism, positive thoughts and a high mojo .To be able to exercise leadership , we have to be self-motivated and ignited.This is possible only if we have a purpose and a meaningful mission .To my mind , this is the top most quality a leader must have and regain if he or she has lost it .We must be full of hope and optimism.We should have a high mojo and positive thoughts.

2.Self-management , self-organization , self-control, discipline including time management.We must bring order in our life , both in terms of time and space .This requires a strong discipline , a sense of cleanliness , avoidance of waste and also keeping our consumption to minimal levels .

3.Values , character , honesty, spiritual qualities and fortitude despite obstacles.We need to have faith in ourselves and courage of our convictions .This requires continuous practice with a sense of detachment .

4.Need for change .Building shared vision .Communication .Leading change .We must be able to feel the need for change in ourselves and in our organization, and we should make every member of our organization to feel the same need for change .Then we should develop a shared vision of things to come after the change .Finally we should have the skills to lead the change to its conclusion and reach our vision .

5.Team learning , coaching, mentoring , training , teaching , motivating , inspiring,  ensuring accessibility and mutual respect between leader and followers.A leader must be able to collect people together so that they think and work as a team .

6.Systems thinking , having a big picture.A leader should not only see the bigger picture but ensure that all the members of the organization also see the bigger picture .

7.Ability to manage , competence.We should not only lead but ensure that the things are efficiently managed within the organization .Ensuring that management is done , is also the task of leadership.

8.Confidence , decisiveness and sound decision making .A leader should be able to decide on issuesw and not dither endlessly .

9.Flexibility , adaptiveness, technology , innovation , creativity .A leader should be able to prepare the organization for flexibility .The organization should be able to adapt to new decisions , policies , strategies , technologies and innovative processes and practices .

10.Mental models , mindsets, paradigms.A leader should not only be able to question and change his or her own mental models , but also ensure that the whole organization is able to question and change deeply held but obsolete mental models .
Note:           The place in the list which I have allocated to a  leadership skill in the above list , need not  reflect the relative importance  of that skill in relation to others .

Clouds and mist

Suddenly something happened.Before I could sit down and figure out what it was , I knew something fundamental had changed inside me .I found myself grappling with the age old existential questions , which I knew are indeterminate(as advised by Siddhartha  who became Buddha) , which I have decided  a number of times earlier not to ask myself .But you really do not know when you get caught in the whorls and eddies , and then  you find yourself  face to face with the Wizard of Oz .
                     I know , cynicism is the worst enemy that we have to guard ourselves against .That hope , faith and love are as real as the ground beneath our feet .
             I hope to write , to read , to do and to share .This piece is just like a few rain drops after the clouds and the mist .

Education can transform an individual

          

I  recently  got  the opportunity to visit a school called Christel House Lavasa , district Pune , Maharashtra , India.It is a small school with about 280 students and 19 teachers. The students  come from the poorest  sections of society and are the children of  mostly illiterate,  agricultural labourers working near Lavasa.Most of them  belong to a scheduled tribe called Dhangarh.

                 I interacted with a few students of class Three and Four (10, 11 years old).They were extremely self- confident ,bright , curious and keen to learn .They asked me how I traveled to their school , and when I told them that I came by aeroplane , they wanted to know if they could sit in one and travel  around the world .They questioned me in detail about what kind of work I  actually did , when I told them that I worked as  a civil servant , for the government .When I asked  many students in different classes what (he or )she liked the best about the school , she would pause for a while to think , and then replied very spontaneously :"Our Teachers".I was amazed at the consistent but spontaneous  replies

                       The mission of the school is to break the cycle of poverty and  help children become  self sufficient contributing members of the society.   The school  mainly  works  at their self confidence and tells them that poverty cycle can be broken with the help of hard work and education. The advantage lies in becoming better in ones life by working hard to realise ones potential. Poor or rich , improvement is  in  their  hands.The teachers   have spoken to them a lot and  encouraged  them to ask questions.The school  has  specific periods allocated for public speaking.

                            The arrangements , hygiene, the quality of meals served was very  good .I was also  impressed by the quality and proficiency in music .They have systems in place, regular quality checks and regular audits, based on which  they compare  their performance against the  standards, strategise and improve accordingly.The  quality ,  commitment and team work  of teachers as well as other staff was impressive. On the whole , the school demonstrates   very clearly that  good education  has the power to transform an individual , irrespective of the social or economic background  , or place of birth.

                                    The school caters  specifically to the disadvantaged children .When I asked teachers whether the brand "disadvantaged" will not stick in the inner consciousness of these children when they grow up , the response was ambivalent .Perhaps  a more inclusive system , where they also admit "not-disadvantaged students" also on payment of fees, will prove to develop better citizens and leaders out of these children .And I also thought about the children with special needs , children who have part or full  visual or hearing impairment or some orthopedic disability .Not withstanding our educators, policy makers and international institutions talking endlessly about inclusive education for the disabled , it still remains a distant dream in our country .More enterprising educators with  hearts in the right place , right attitudes and determination , are needed to bring about real inclusive education in India.

When literature becomes an escape into living

I like to read books .There was a time when I would  regularly  borrow books from  school library  and read them , often a book a day .It was generally a book of fiction .Over the years , I started reading books on philosophy , management, self help as well as fiction .Often ,there were  long gaps in reading books , so much so that my reading was confined to reading  official reports , magazines , self help books and newspapers .Only once in a while , I was inspired to read a novel or a  book on philosophy .My "to read" list became longer and longer .

           Recently , I read "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair  - My Year of Magical Reading" by  Nina Sankovitch.It is a memoir .It  vividly  reminded me that the literature is there "to connect us to our truest selves." I loved this book .It  brought me back to my habit of reading  books.But unlike Nina , I have decided to read and review one book in a week .And I intend to continue it for long .

        Nina Sankovitch could not cope with the loss of her sister , whom she loves very intensely .To overcome her grief, she decided to read one book a day for one full year .She  also decided to review every book that she read on the same day and post it on her blog ReadAllDay.org.She started reading a book a day from her Forty Sixth birth day .Her four  children and her husband agreed to give her this as a  birth day gift , by supporting her on this project.After the end of one year , Nina is fully back into life  with a better understanding of self and the world .In the process , she indirectly establishes the restorative power of literature .We read not to eascape from living , but to escape into living. (Cyril Connolly"The Unquiet Grave").The 365 books that she read in one year from October28,2008 to October 28,2009 are published alphabetically at the end of book.

              Nina chose books of 200-280 pages which she could finish in one day .These were fiction as well as non-fiction .She admired not only the message of the book she read but also its style and choice of words.In fact , her own style is very captivating and has a  spontaneous flow .Her speed of reading is about 70 pages an hour .Mine at present is 30 pages an hour .Perhaps , it is good to read slowly .

             I find that most of the books quoted by Nina are fiction . Fiction helps us to discover and help self more than the self help books .In fact , self-help books are based on generalizations , and are  therefore less  precise .In works of fiction , we have a better camaraderie with the author.Nina  also keeps a "Quotes Journal" where she notes the interesting and insightful quotes from the book she just read .Then she shares these with others through her reviews.

 I recommend you to read this beautiful book , written in an honest and emotional style .It has inspired me to revive my habit of reading books , which I had nearly lost in the humdrum  routine of life.

A life in learning , curiosity and leadership

 "Love in the time of Cholera" by  Gabriel Garcia Marquez  tells us about  the enduring power of true love, that the need to love and be loved stays with human beings till they die .Now Warren Bennis, 85,  tells that  wonder and  curiosity stays with us  till we die ."I see the world with the same wide eyed  wonder because every thing is different than it was 25 years ago.Or 50.Or 75.I can't wait to find out what happens next .Every day I look around , and I'm still surprised." The most fortunate old people don't lose the curiosity , energy , playfulness and joy they had when they were young .

I first  knew about Warren Bennis  when Stephen Covey quoted  him in the "Seven Habits of Effective People".I quote:"In the words of both Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis,"Management is doing things right;leadership is doing the right things"(Page 101;The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People:Simon & Schuster, Great Britain , 1992 edition).If you dont know who Warren Bennis is and why he is famous , this book "Still Surprised:A Memoir of a Life in Leadership" by Warren Bennis with Patricia Ward Biederman,will tell you .It tells how a leader grows and struggles , continues to learn and maintains optimism .His memoir is uplifting .The book was published by Jossey- Bass, a Wiley Imprint in 2010 and has 236 pages and 9 chapters.                   
                     Reading Still Surprised, you learn not only about leadership but also about yourself.You will admire and respect him .

  Warren Bennis  had a good stay in India:"In 1964 , I was asked to become co-director of Indian Institute of Management , Calcutta. . . . That year Erik Erikson was in India on sabbatical from Harvard, working on his "Gandhi's Truth", which later won a Pulitzer and a National Book Award.Erik spent a good deal of time at IIM Ahmadabad which is close to Gandhi's birth place  of Porbandar."

               If Peter Drucker was the father of management , Warren Bennis is the father of leadership."In my bones, I knew how important leadership was and is.The very quality of our lives depends on it .We need and seek honest , competent leaders in every area of our lives-government , the work place, social organizations , schools."Leaders are needed in all fields -social , cultural , business as well as political .

Bennis was born on March 5, 1925 and grew up in Westwood ,NJ.Douglas McGregor(of The Human Side of Enterprise fame) was his mentor till McGregor's early and sudden death in 1964 .Bennis  says about mentors:"The mentor puts his or her reputation on line with every good word dropped about the mentored to people in power, every recommendation made..In that sense , mentoring is an act of faith."Doug was 44 and Bennis was 23 when Doug became his mentor.He remained his mentor for about 14 years till his sudden death in 1964...Bennis has a great quality of mentoring others."Today I urge students to identify great teachers , with great minds and sign up their courses.But at Antioch , I tended to choose courses in which I was certain to get an A".This remind us how we chose our subjects of study at university level.Bennis gives us a glimpse of how other great minds worked ."As he(Doug) said in his fairwell speech, he had tried to be non-authoritarian adviser to his campus constituents but had discovered in the end that the leader must lead:"I finally began to realize that a leader cannot avoid the exercise of authority any more than he can avoid responsibility for what happens to his organization."

                     Bennis worked with NTL(National Training Laboratory) founder Kurt Levin and Abraham Maslow (Hierarchy of Human Needs).  Bennis worked as the president of The state University of New York at Buffalo , the University of Cincinnati , the University of Southern California.He also worked at IIM, Calcutta (India) , Boston and Harvard.

               At the age of 55, as a professor of business administration and chairman of Leadership Institute at the university of California in Los Angeles , he wrote a  number of landmark books.The themes were"the nature of leadership , the importance of creative collaboration , how organizations and other groups work, how to effect change, the need to reinvent oneself periodically and how to create cultures of candor ."His first book "The Planning of Change" was published in 1961 and is remembered for popularizing the term"change agent"."Leaders:Strategies for Taking charge" was coauthored by Burt Nanus and was published in 1985."On Becoming Leader" was published in 1989 ande became a best-seller ."Organizing Genius:The Secrets of Creative Collaboration" was coauthored by Pat Ward Briederman., "Geeks and Geezers"(2002) coauthored by Robert Thomas, "In Judgment(2007) , coauthored by Noel Tichy,"Transparency:How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor"(2008) coauthored by  Jim O' Toole, Dan Goleman , "The Essential Bennis:Essays on Leadership(2009)  coauthored by  Patricia Ward  Biederman."Still Surprised" is his 30th book.

                   Bennis attributes his success to hard work:"And all you did was work hard , get lucky and stay alive."

                   Bennis had a series of not so happy relationships and marriages , which indicates that he is an imperfect human being .

               The book explains how Bennis chose to be a writer."It was heady stuff that convinced me writing was something I would be doing more of."

Bennis stresses the importance of his habit of reflection ."Analysis (psycho-analysis) had changed me in a fundamental way .It had given me a great gift , the habit of reflection ."

                     He points out  the bias against women in management world:"MIT's Sloan School of Management didn't accept its first woman student until 1966.Columbia didn't accept women undergraduates until 1982."

              He feels that there is a strong relationship between proximity and power.;"Proximity leads to access, which leads to power.To have a seat at the table, you first have to be in the room ."(I have my strong doubts on this , from my experience.)

                      As President of the University of Cincinnati, "I decided to open my office for three hours every Wednesday afternoon to anyone on campus who wanted to see . . .I decided after a few years to end them.They were a fascinating but inefficient way to get things done."

                     "We know something about time that younger people don't.It is finite.That makes every good moment that much more precious.And we are no longer the driven strivers  we once were." "I resist the urge to advise others on how to manage their lives , including coping with age."'Because my workplace is a campus, I spend time almost every day with students young enough to be my grand children".
               Warren Bennis is a self made leader who redefined leadership and made it a house hold word and concept .His memoir  tells us  that life is full of insights , inspiration , hard work and pure wonder .I have enjoyed reading this book .It has reconfirmed many of my beliefs and impressions about life and leadership .I recommend you to read it .