Sebastian Vettel has won the 9th Grand Prix in a row this year. A feat that has been accomplished for the first time in the history of Formula 1. He also won 13 races over the course of the season – what a driver! When Michael Schumacher was winning all his championships not more than 15 years ago, it was thought unlikely that anyone could ever match those feats. Vettel has now won 3 World Championships in 3 consecutive years, the youngest ever triple World Champion. Of course, it is not just his accomplishment – it would be pre-mature to assume that were the case. The real story is that of the team – Red Bull Racing. Christian Horner is the Team Principal and to him must go the lion’s share of the credit for creating a winning environment in the team. Anyone in the sport, in any sport, will vouch for the difficulty involved in creating and sustaining a
Smart cities
It was interesting for me to note that the Economist, in its Sept. 7th edition, had an article on “Clever cities – The multiplexed metropolis”, touching on Smart cities as the cities of the future. New cities can plan and develop along the lines of smart phones by relying on computer networks and grids to Operate, Administer and Manage governmental tasks. It would then be possible to gather data and have it made available online for people to use in ways unbeknownst as of today. Gamification of some of the processes within the city ties in wonderfully if the smart cities do come into existence. Indications are that some cities are already implementing a few concepts. The corresponding potential pitfalls were captured in the Bruce Willis movie – Die Hard 4 in which the bad guys take over a city’s online grid system causing wide spread chaos. Of course, in a secure network and process, the bad day never comes
On a roll
Sebastian Vettel is on a roll. He is winning the Formula 1 Grand Prix like it is nobody’s business. He reminds me of Michael Schumacher in the 2000s when he drove for Ferrari and won 13 races in a single season. Winning one Formula 1 GP is achievement enough for mere mortals, to win multiple races in one season, to win 3 championships in a row is what makes these people great. Not all races are won “easily”. Not every time that success is tasted is the story the same. The end result, however, is the same. When on a roll, everything just seems to fall in place. The path is difficult, always unyielding and always challenging – it is the end result that people see and the past is forgotten while jubilating over and celebrating the success of the present. So what is it that people do to get on a roll? If Seb Vettel can do it, if
Change is at hand
I wake up in the morning, the start of a new day. Unknown to me, at some time during the night, the day has changed. I have adapted to this change subconsciously – I knew this change was going to happen. Monday would turn into Tuesday and I at some level in my mind, I have accounted for my approach to this day. However, certain tasks during my day undergo a change. I find that there is no electricity in the morning – I will not have hot water for a bath. Oops! I have to change my system to brace for the cold water on a chilly morning in Bengaluru. Leaving for work later, I find that the road near a traffic signal has been dug up for repairs. I have to change my route again to be able to reach the office. I have adapted to these little differences in my daily routine, sure. How could I adopt to bigger changes happening around
Honesty – a casualty?
Honesty is the first aspect that builds trust between colleagues at the work place. While I insist on honesty being paramount, it is quite remarkable to see how it stands to be one of the most compromised values that one holds. At the risk of being pessimistic about values, I do believe that honesty becomes a by-stander when it pressure is on and the delivery of products are at risk. Far too often have I seen honesty about the product quality, about timelines and processes being fudged underneath words. The power of a word is more powerful than a sword, as the cliche goes. True enough. Meetings and written exchanges between people are powerful reminders of this cliche. Of course, as a “realist”, circumventing honesty at a sufficiently high level is termed as strategy. So it is a strategic move when India does not discuss the CTBT treaty (if I remember correctly) in public while it is being signed. It
Mithun's Musings 