Thanks to a combination of many factors, this was a killer weekend. (in every sense of the word) And as with all killer weekends, there were many learnings. So, here goes –
– Saturday involved two photo shoots with close friends. This was thanks to a great suggestion from a very dear person to ensure that I invested in photo shoots. This wiser person insisted that they would make for great memories going forward. And I can already see how!
– Aside from the fact that I can’t wait to see these photos, I’m sure I will look back at the photos for years. And here, due credit to the guys at ‘The Time Capture’ – both of whom are close friends. They showed infinite patience, care and professionalism to ensure we had a great time! I can’t wait for their photos but given my experience with their track record, I’m sure they will exceptional.
– I couldn’t help but wonder how models posed for one shoot after another. It gets really tiring!
– Between the photoshoots, I had a 4 and a half hour long meeting with the organizing team of an event I’d played a part in creating in university. They were a great team.. and we were doing some classic ‘people problem-solving’. I had quite a few take aways from that.
– The biggest takeaway was the power of an open candid discussion with a bunch of enthusiastic people. It’s amazing how it can energize you!
– The biggest duty of a leader is to listen. Find me a top executive who spends more time talking than listening.
– It is NEVER about the ‘right answer’ with people. We could choose to dole out task lists to people and delegate.. or we could choose to brainstorm ourselves and choose what we wanted to do. Even if the results were the same, the process makes all the difference in the world.
– One of the other bigger jobs of a leader is to see in people who/what they can be.. rather than just looking at who they are.
– I fell ill. Had a fever for the first time in 2 years! I take great pride in the fact that I am mentally fit enough to avoid sickness. But, this time around – I guess I could have seen it coming. Ever since the last week of my project in Oman, I’ve been running on a crazy schedule with action packed trips to the desert, home and now here in Singapore. So, I guess I was due a rest (atleast mentally).
– I’m always reminded of something a friend said ages ago. When you fall sick, it’s God’s way of saying ‘Dude..take a break’.
– I fought off the fever till afternoon though and even went for ‘Forest Adventure’. I had an action packed couple of hours and managed to finish the course. This was a treat for close friends and boy, did we have a great time! (Though I finished quickly.. and slept off on a bench)
– We went for lunch to a place at the Singapore Airline sports club. The place looked high end but what do you know – the food was good and cheap! We found this place thanks to a search on hungrygowhere.com on one of our iPhones on 3G. Technology never ceases to amaze me.
– Thanks to a bit of a mishap, we left 2 bags in a taxi. These carried laptops, clothes etc. After a few hours of frantically calling the cab company, we got the bags back. That’s the magic of Singapore – even though we had NO details about the taxi.. we fully believed we would get it back. The company sent out a broadcast to all their taxis and duly, our taxi driver gave us a call and returned the bags.
– Weekends like this always make me wish for a LOT more time with friends. A great weekend (despite falling sick, losing our bags for a few hours).. and memories for a lifetime.
– And it was one of those weekends I felt really grateful for life. It was not perfect and didn’t go as per plan – but we didn’t need it to be to be happy. Life in microcosm..
A Learning a Day 