StoryPreso, Bangalore (2025)

10/02/2025

Use 3x2i to build your quotient!

In the Forbes article titled, "Steve Jobs and the One Trait All Innovative Leaders Share" August Turak states, "Mr. Jobs ... wasn’t curious about things that would make him successful. He was successful because he was so curious."

What made Steve Jobs ?

Every child is curious. But many a time as parents and teachers we prevent that from growing! In the quest to stop mistakes, grow in maturity, etc, we literally put down this trait!

In the case of Jobs, his parents and certain teachers guided him to keep being curious.

His father Paul Jobs marked off a section of his table in the garage and told his son, "Steve, this is your workbench now". And from that close proximity, Steve got to explore, imagine, examine, experiment, and create things.

While his father taught him to be curious, it was a different story at school, where he encountered boredom. He became uncomfortable with the system and started to rebel and made it difficult for others to understand him. When they complained to his father, he told them politely “If you can’t keep him interested, it’s your fault”.

Steve Jobs recalled, “My father was of the opinion that the school was at fault for trying to make me memorize stupid stuff rather than stimulating me. He was very supportive of me”. But then few teachers like Mrs.Hill understood Steve and taught him differently and shaped him while keeping his curiosity alive.

Steve Jobs says, “I would have ended up in jail during school if not for two or three teachers. When you are young, you are vulnerable. There is a tendency to try unnecessary things. A little bit of course correction goes a long way in changing our lives for the greater good. A teacher is an important person in your life. We spend more time in our school than in our home. A good teacher increases your curiosity, guides your curiosity, feeds your curiosity. A teacher is a proactive guide, not a reactive assistant”

So how can we build our curiosity?

Use the 3x2i formula:
EXplore, EXamine, EXperiment
Ideate and Innovate

A 2015 PwC global survey of 1,379 CEOs showed that the traits of curiosity and open-mindedness were among the most desirable traits sought in the organizations’ new hires.

You want to increase your Curiosity Quotient, start 3x2i today.

Visually LIFTing Leaders!

04/02/2025

What is your ?

“Your driver is on the steer, driving you and you can feel free to doze in the car; this is trust built on competence. Competence is to ensure that your actions put people's hearts at ease when things are in your hands.” ― Israelmore Ayivor

Each of us, whether we are experts or apprentices or newbies have a set of competences. We all carry an invisible suitcase with us called the competency case.

In that case, we have

and

A heart surgeon took his car to his local garage for a regular service, where he usually exchanged a little friendly banter with the owner, a skilled but not especially wealthy mechanic.

"So tell me," says the mechanic, "I've been wondering about what we both do for a living, and how much more you get paid than me.."

"Yes?.." says the surgeon.

"Well look at this," says the mechanic, as he worked on a big complicated engine, "I check how it's running, open it up, fix the valves, and put it all back together so it works good as new.. We basically do the same job don't we? And yet you are paid ten times what I am - how do you explain that?"

The surgeon thought for a moment, and smiling gently, replied,"Try it with the engine running.."

Remember we don’t have to be the best at everything, or know everything or feel confident in every situation because each time is an experience that helps us learn something. Some of those experiences will become part of our competence if that is our goal and dream.

Demosthenes is known in history as the greatest of all the Greek orators. He built his knowledge around various topics, learned a lot, tested it out and was very clear of his dream to be an orator.

But he didn’t start being the best. In fact he had a big problem!

When he delivered his first speech, it was a fiasco. People booed him because he had a stutter. It is said, someone told him to “Draw the air into your lungs, not your brain!” This really impacted Demosthenes- the failure and the suggestion. He refused to give up and built a strong attitude to grow and succeed.

Early in the morning, he went to the beach and spoke loudly at the sun with all of his might. His objective was to strengthen his lungs. After performing this ritual, he went back home to practice. And he did so in a very peculiar manner. He put a handful of stones in his mouth and forced himself to speak without stuttering. After several years with this unique training regime, he began to speak without any stuttering.

From then on he actively participated in the legal and political issues of the city to gain experience, visibility and credibility.

He built his competency KASE - knowledge, attitude, skills and experience to become one of the best orators of the world. It is said that his speeches were acclaimed by thousands of people.

What’s in your competency KASE?
Share in the comments.

Visually LIFTing Leaders!

03/02/2025

Don't let rob you of after!

“Reach out and help others. If you have the power to make someone happy, do it. Be a vessel, be the change, be the difference, or be the inspiration. Shine your light as an example. The world needs more of that.” ― Germany Kent

Lizzy angrily woke up in the morning, got ready quickly and went to work. She of course did not bother to wake up Adrian. Today was her special day, her birthday but she didn’t feel like celebrating it! The fight they had last night had drained her completely and she even wished they were not together anymore. Anger clouded her emotions so much that she even wished that Adrian was dead and gone.

The years of good living, the laughter, the joy, the cherished moments all disappeared as she bit back tears on her way to work. She reached the office, and got busy with work. A few colleagues did wish her though.

It was around 11 am that the first call came from Adrian.
She put it on silent.
Then again and again and again.
She switched off her phone saying to herself, "I am not forgiving him now, maybe " and told her colleagues that her phone was not working.

By 3pm, she saw 2 cops walking into her office. She wondered what the issue was. They went to her manager and then they called her in. She was not worried but curious.

They asked her to sit down and then told her the news.

Adrian had died in a car crash that morning!
He was driving to see her at work.
He had booked a birthday lunch at her special place.
He was carrying flowers, a card, and a wrapped gift with him.
But then the truck…

When the ambulance reached him, he with his dying breath told them, to tell Lizzy that he loves her, that he kept calling her to tell her to live a full life, to smile, to dance, to love God and if possible, forgive him and remember him.

Lizzy was in shock.
She asked about the time of the accident.

And she switched on her phone.
The calls…Adrian was calling her after the accident, he was calling her when he was dying!

The cops gave her the broken flowers, the card stained by blood and the gift.

She opened the card and it read,
“Happy birthday dear Lizzy. I am so sorry. I wanted to apologise in the morning but my ego took over me. I wanted to wish you and hug you but my pride would not let me do it. I thought I would do it . But then God showed me the truth and by His power, I realised my mistake. You are my gift from God. I love you and wish to spend the remaining days of my life on earth with you and you alone. Will you forgive me and love me. Love. Adrian.”

Later…

Let's eliminate the later
I will do it later
I will say it later
I will think about it later
I will forgive later

We leave everything for later as if "after" was ours.
But after that it's often too late…
So, leave nothing for later!

The day is today.
The moment is now.
Do it !

Visually LIFTing Leaders!

09/01/2025

To be an influential leader you must build your daily!

“Life is a character-building opportunity that we all volunteered for.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich

One of my favourite leaders who built his character daily was Abraham Lincoln.

In 1860, President-elect Abraham Lincoln said: “I hold that while man exists, it is his duty to improve not only his own condition, but to assist in ameliorating mankind; and therefore, without entering upon the details of the question, I will simply say, that I am for those means which will give the greatest good to the greatest number.”

Modern day psychologists would label his parents as dysfunctional and abusive. He was mocked and ridiculed by his school classmates for the way he looked and dressed.

At age 22, he failed in business, he ran for the state legislature and was defeated, and he tried to start another business and failed again. When he was 26, he was rejected by a woman he loved and had a nervous breakdown. At age 33, he married a woman who was found to be mentally unstable, and once more was defeated for Congress. At age 37, he was finally elected to Congress but at age 39 he was once again defeated. He subsequently campaigned for and was defeated for the senate, vice presidency, and again for the senate.

Then at age 51 he was elected president of the U.S!

Lincoln did not choose his experiences of failure and defeat, but he did choose how to respond. He realized that he was not reacting to an event but to how he interpreted the event. His life is testimony to the uniquely human potential to turn defeats into triumphs and to turn one's predicament into a human achievement. For those events that were not up to him, it was his own attitude that determined their influence on him. When he was no longer able to change a situation, he changed himself.

(Source: https://nurtureforthefuture.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/character-building-stories-real-live-people/)

President Theodore Roosevelt said in 1905. “Lincoln is my hero. He was a man of the people who always felt with and for the people, but who had not the slightest touch of the demagogue in him. His unfaltering resolution, his quiet, unyielding courage, his infinite patience and gentleness, and the heights of disinterestedness which he attained whenever the crisis called for putting aside self, together with his far-sighted, hard-headed common sense point him out as just the kind of chief who do most good in a democratic republic like ours.“

Ps. Ashish Raichur talked about the 4Ds of character building:

- whom do you follow? who or what influences you?

- why do you lead?

- how do you lead?

- whom do you build? what value do you give?

How are you building your character daily?

Visually LIFTing Leaders!

07/01/2025

Collaboration is the big word for 2025!

"As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration. Other people and other people's ideas are often better than your own. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life." - Amy Poehler

Want to but find the process a little harder than expected?
Interested in collaborating with someone but not sure how to start?

I sat at a round table with strangers wrapped in layers of clothing. They all had smiles and they felt good to be there. I and one other person were the odd ones.

Wondering why? Well, I am sitting at a community dinner for needy people organised every Sunday at my local church where volunteers collaborate to prepare a hot meal for homeless people, hungry people and lonely people.

It's remarkable to see volunteers collaborating in different jobs - be it setting it up, cooking meals, serving, cleaning, conversing (that's what I did) or just being there in person. Each has a role to play, for it's not only about feeding the hungry, or giving some warmth but a dignified way to host people who have nowhere to go and no one to talk with.

That's the power of heartful collaboration!

If you have never been involved in any volunteer movements, let me encourage you to do so in 2025.

But hey, collaboration is not just for non-profits or a big purpose.
It's an everyday need in many situations.

My 18 yr old son joined the university last week and he has to share a room with another and learn to live in iversity housing - arranging, cooking, cleaning, managing, conversing, planning and doing. For someone used to living comfortably with family, collaborating with strangers is now a must!

What about you?

I created this 2AA (double A battery) framework to help him collaborate with anyone and everyone. To collaborate effectively to achieve a purpose, we need 2 sets of collaboration batteries.

The first set has:
Ask &
Acknowledge/Appreciate/Answer

We start by asking with genuine interest, to find out more. This puts the other person first and when the other person shares, we acknowledge, appreciate and where relevant, answer without trying to take over the conversation. This goes on like a loop, creating a shared understanding and building relationships. We call this the Prep phase.

The second phase called the Progress phase has these two:
Agree &
Act

By going through the Ask & Acknowledge process we finally arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement for the purpose at hand. Once this is done, we document it and start acting on it.

We of course take feedback on our actions by restarting the Prep phase.

"The whole point of collaboration is that you give and take from each other, and that's how you create things that are totally new." - Virgil Abloh

Ready to collaborate?

Visually LIFTing leaders!

03/01/2025

Which toy will you ?
(Read on to find out)

“Friendship is built on two things. Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for someone, but if you don't have trust, the friendship will crumble.” ― Stieg Larsson

My daughter came running to me and said, “Daddy, my friend is angry at me. She is saying that I told others what she told only to me”

I asked, “Did you tell others?”

She replied, “No. I only gave some clues. They guessed it on their own”

I continued, “ Do you know the story of the 3 toys?”

“A teacher brought 3 identical toys to class and asked the students to find out the differences. All the three toys seemed to be identical in their shape, size, and material. The only noticeable difference was the color of their buttons and hands.

After keen observation, the students observed holes in the toys.
The 1st toy had holes in each ear.
The 2nd toy had holes in the ear and mouth.
The 3rd toy has only one hole in one ear.

The teacher applauded their observation and gave them a needle and thread saying, ”Now use this to experiment with the holes.”

The students inserted the needle in the ear hole of the 1st toy and it came out from the other ear. In the 2nd toy, when the needle was put in the ear, it came out of the mouth. And in the 3rd toy, when the needle was put in, the needle did not come out.

Now I asked my daughter, “What did you understand from this?”

She replied, “The toys are different, even if we can’t see the differences.”

I said, “Great. Each person is different just like your friends. Now imagine if the needle and thread are you tell and the toys are your . Then what do you think is happening?”

She thought for some time while I controlled my urge to spill the answer.

Then with a spark, she said, “Daddy, the 1st toy is not listening…the 2nd toy is listening and talking?”

I said, “Can you relate the 2nd toy to why your friend is angry at you?”

“Oh!” She said, “the 2nd toy is listening and telling what it heard to others without asking if it can be shared. Guess I should have asked her before sharing bits of what she told me to our other friends.”

I continued, “That’s great. You need to be like the 3rd toy so your friends can trust you to keep to yourself what they have said only to you.”

My daughter was again in thought while I interjected, “Now what should you do?”

She continued, “Be like the 3rd toy…and tell my friend I am sorry”.

A few minutes later they were all back at play.

With little children, and is pretty quick and true.

It isn’t often the case with adults. When trust is broken, it’s hard to rebuild it.

We need to have trustworthy friends and confidants who are like the 3rd toy.

1. Make a list of the people in your life and ask yourself what kind of toy they are.

2. Whom do you trust in that list and why?

Visually LIFTing Leaders!

01/01/2025

Let's be a Blessing in 2025!

"God blesses us more so that we can be more of a blessing to others." - Mark Patterson

It's that time of the year to pause and reflect on our blessings. I know for some, we could have wanted the 'big' things but maybe it never happened in 2024 or worse results or relationships or both went downhill.

I understand how it feels.
I understand that while many are celebrating you may feel like crying, like hitting, like screaming, like falling apart.

I understand.
I was there.

Now let me tell you, don't let that stop you from counting your blessings and being a blessing.

No, I am not preaching - simply telling you the secret God has embedded in our universe.

"You don't have the power to make rainbows or waterfalls, sunsets or roses, but you do have the power to bless people by your words and smiles You carry within you the power to make the world better." - Sharon G Larsen

It was a bleak year, a hard year for my training business. Having struggled hard to establish myself I found no progress. Only a few clients, only a few earnings, not even one in the pipeline.

And it was already December.

11 long months of enduring the dry season.

I thought I was doing all the right things - promoting, marketing, networking, connecting, discounting, blah blah blah.

Very little revenue to show for it.

No, it was not 2024, it was 2007.

I still remember vividly, meeting this gentleman who said they needed training for their nonprofit volunteers but they don't have money to pay for it.

I know the experience, I know the catch but this request stuck with me and finally after a good amount of turning around in the bed for a whole week, I grudgingly decided to say yes.

I prepared for it with many strategies to promote my paid program when facilitating.

When I drove to that venue, and met those volunteers, my heart was awakened. They were blessing others without any reservation. They were givers with love at their core. I had never before met 48 people with so much passion to serve until that day. To add to that, their humility, their empathy, their kindness won me over.

I worked with them for 3 days and needless to say, I learnt more than they did. I gave from my expertise but they gave from their experience. I gave from my mind but they gave from their heart.

I learnt what it was to be a blessing that day.

Thank God, He has helped me to continue to be a blessing every single year.

Do you want to be blessed and feel blessed?
Then start by others!

That's the secret.

B - Be available
L - Love with action
E - Encourage
S - Share your blessing
S - Serve with joy

"There are people in your path just so you can be a blessing to them. Anytime you do good for others, you are sowing a seed for God to be good to you." - Joel Osteen

No matter what 2024 has thrown at you, choose this day to be a blessing.

Let 2025 be the blessing spark for you.

Visually LIFTing Leaders!

19/12/2024

Character or Competence.
What should be the one leaders should look for first when they hire or promote someone?

“We aim to develop physique, mentality and character in our students; but because the first two are menaces without the third, the greatest of these is character.” — Joseph Dana Allen

Take the case of Juliana Chugg, the former Managing Director of General Mills Australasia.

She listened to the needs of her employees and even went against the advice of the board by closing the doors of the workplace at 1 pm every Friday, so they can spend more time for weekends. This action resulted in no job losses or salary reductions, no drop in productivity, and no increase in working hours on other days during the week.

As a relatively young mother in charge of a diverse international company, Chugg understands the need to balance her personal and work demands: “The role of a managing director is not to make all the decisions. It is to get the people who have access to the right information together so that, collectively, they are able to make better decisions than they would on their own.” Chugg received the Victorian Businesswoman of the Year award in 2000 for her visionary and caring approach to business.

What happens when people choose people based on character instead of competence alone?

Consider the importance of hiring with focus on character from these CEOs:

Sir Richard Branson says, “If you can find people who are fun, friendly, caring and love helping others, you are on to a winner. Personality is the key.”

Robert Chavez of Hermès says, “When it comes to hiring, we look for people who have a sense of humor, people that can smile. We like to ask candidates, “What’s important to you?”

Jean Regan, President, CEO & Chairperson of the Board of TranzAct Technologies says, “Personality is something that cannot be taught – it’s inherent to each unique person. Job skills, however, can be taught, molded and polished to facilitate the job in which the person is placed. This is why it is so important to hire for personality and train for skill.”

So if you are hiring a CEO or a fresher, consider their character in relation to the organisational culture.

How would you describe your Character as a leader? One way to do it is using the ACCID test for Character.

Here is the ACCID test for Character:
(Instruction: Please rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is low and 10 is high and recall behaviors that support each rating)

A - Accountability

C - Courage

C - Care

I - Integrity

D - Diligence

Then ask your spouse, your colleagues, your boss and your direct report to also rate you.

I would encourage you to do this monthly to reflect on and build your Character and those of others in your team, family and organization.

“Character is the indelible mark that determines the only true value of all people and all their work.” — Orison Sweet Marden

Visually LIFTing Leaders!

16/12/2024

Character is the most important mark of a true leader!

“Successful leadership is not about being tough or soft, sensitive or assertive, but about a set of attributes. First and foremost is character.” — Warren Bennis

Consider the case of Carlos Ghosn, the CEO who 'saved' Nissan from bankruptcy.

He joined the company in 1999 as an outsider with Brazilian, French, and Lebanese citizenship, but became one of Japan’s most recognized business leaders—nicknamed “Mr. Fix It” by an adoring public, celebrated in manga comic books, and awarded a medal by Emperor Akihito himself.

And yet hidden behind this reputation of a results-producing leader who outperforms every time was a different mindset & lifestyle.

In 2014 and 2016, Ghosn threw lavish birthday parties at the Palace of Versailles for himself and his wife, perhaps with company funds. He and his family owned a 120-foot yacht and upscale homes in Tokyo, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Amsterdam, Beirut, and New York. He invested in wineries and contemporary art. And even though he was awarded a compensation package four times as large as that of his counterpart at Toyota, Ghosn spent much of his tenure at Nissan complaining that he was underpaid.

Now some of us may think he deserves all this!

Well, the story does not end in the highs…

On November 19, 2018, he was arrested after stepping off his corporate jet in Tokyo, charged for a host of financial misdeeds at Nissan, including misappropriating $5 million and concealing about $80 million of his compensation over eight years.

After his arrest, Ghosn argued that these were allegations fabricated by rivals within Nissan. But instead of standing trial, he hired a former commando to hide him in a music-equipment box and fly him by private jet to Lebanon.

Ghosn’s saga is shocking, isn’t it?

A high profile celebrity leader and CEO who had a great reputation and demonstrated a winsome personality had sadly a different character!

“Every man has three characters—that which he exhibits, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has.” — Alphonse Karr

Most leaders focus on:
Creating their - what others should think of me and on building their - what I want to show about me to the world!

But fail to focus on their - the moral fibre that guides everything.

In an ideal scenario, our character must be the same as our reputation and personality.

“The respect that leadership must have requires that one's ethics be without question. A leader not only stays above the line between right and wrong, he stays well clear of the gray areas.” — G. Alan Bernard

So, ask yourself today, what is guiding your leadership - Character, Personality or Reputation?

Visually LIFTing Leaders!

28/11/2024

How can your 💫 values help you lead better?

If you are a , then it is important for you to know your values and lead with them.

“Apart from values and ethics which I have tried to live by, the legacy I would like to leave behind is a very simple one - that I have always stood up for what I consider to be the right thing, and I have tried to be as fair and equitable as I could be” - Ratan Tata

Harsh*th was a young MBA who finally got a break into an MNC. With a much bigger pay package and lots of perks, life suddenly became spectacular. Soon the benefits began to take over his reasoning and living. His humility was replaced by pride, honesty by lies, empathy by self-glory and that affected his relationships. But he didn’t mind - after all change is good!

He brought his mom who lived in a small city to his big home. Within a few months, she began to get uncomfortable with his attitude and actions. But a mom is a mom and her love is always special and she adjusted and lived with her ‘changed’ son! One weekend, Harsh*th came home angry, upset and obviously stressed. On Sunday evening, she quietly went to Harsh*th’s room and saw him sitting on the ground, holding his head in his hands. She sat down next to him and Harsh*th rested his head on her shoulder.

Then he narrated what was troubling him.
❌ He had made a big mistake but all his colleagues and even his boss became unsupportive of him and he was sacked. He didn’t know what to do. She quietly ran her fingers on his hair and said, “You remember your favourite role model, right?”

He said with a gleam in his eyes, “Yes, Ratan Tata”

She continued, “Well, he is known for many things but one thing that stands out for me is the way he lived by his values. No matter the situation, he stood by his values. They are his guideposts”

Harsh*th looked at her and said, “What are you saying mom?”.

She smiled, “What are your values son? I know you have some wonderful ones, but you seem to have forgotten them.”

✅ That’s when it dawned on Harsh*th and the fake persona he had created around himself broke! On Monday he went to his boss and explained his failure to live by his values and apologized to each of his colleagues and other contract employees whom he had treated badly. Then as he was clearing his desk, his boss came to him and said, “Looks like you have learnt what has gone wrong Harsh*th. We believe in second chances. So I am terminating the sacking order and invite you to continue to work with us, but with your heart”

From that day on, Harsh*th chose to lead with his values.

How can values help you lead better?
The framework gives the clue.

💫 Get CLARITY in making goals & plans

💫 Guide your ACTIONS be it in words or behaviours

💫 Create a RIPPLE in your relationships

💫 Help you make the right DECISIONS

💫 Reduce your STRESS

Name one value that you with?

Visually LIFTing Leaders!

26/11/2024

🤷 The TALE to end your everyday!

We all love stories.
We love to read stories.
We love to listen to stories.
We love to watch movies, TV shows and even documentaries with good stories.

Don't you?

✍️ What if we document and tell our own stories?
True stories of your daily, regular work that reveals your 📈 performance each day.

“It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” - Patrick Rothfuss

Our stories are our true experiences crafted with a framework, packed with emotions, stored and shared.

Now you may think - I am not a storyteller.
You don't have to be - you just need to be You!
And being You - simply tell what you have done.

“Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here.” - Sue Monk Kidd

I was consulting for a niche product startup organization to help them use visuals and storytelling to work more productively. One of the things I noticed was the amazing stuff they get to create each day. Sadly, they just used to consider it as part of their daily work life and never took the time to see the amazing work each one does. This meant when it came to the performance review, most of them didn't have much to share.

When I invited the core team of eight on an 'end of the day' listening process to document their performance, I had to ask them questions and help them with a framework to put together their true experiences and share them in their own style.

📈 The framework I created was the TALE and this can help each of you in building your story sets while ending your day in a great way. To add to that this will help you in documenting your performance and can be used effectively during your performance reviews.

Ready to give it a go?

✍️ Here is the TALE performance documenting framework that you document every day and reflect on once a week and use in your performance report over a month.

T - what am I THANKFUL for today?
A - what did I ACCOMPLISH today?
L - what did I LEARN today?
E - who did I ENCOURAGE, EDUCATE OR EMPOWER today?

✍️ Now the way you write it as a story using this simple process:
On 'date' at/during my/the 'place' I was 'doing' this 'task', and I was 'thankful for / accomplished / learnt / encouraged...'

Here is an example:
"On 25 Nov 2024, during my zoom meeting with my new facilitators I was able to show them how to engage with their participants better by using 3 meeting tools and I educated and encouraged them to become confident and competent."

Now it's your turn.
🤷Take the TALE for a spin and you will thank me for it.

Visually LIFTing Leaders!

“The stories we tell literally make the world. If you want to change the world, you need to change your story. This truth applies both to individuals and institutions.”― Michael Margolis

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