HOT POTATO DUMPLING – LESSON ON GOAL SETTING By Haris Adi Waid DTM
HOT POTATO DUMPLING – LESSON ON GOAL SETTING
By Haris Adi Waid DTM
My mom tried to put out the fire in my mouth with some cold water. I had burned my tongue while hogging on some freshly fried potato bondas. Bondas are spicy south Indian potato dumplings.
After the hue and cry, I stopped complaining about the awful, hot bondas. It was then that my dad stepped in to say that it was not the bondas that were bad but my approach towards eating!
He had an uncanny knack of putting things into perspective that would make us reflect on our misdeeds. He said that I had wasted an opportunity to relish the tasty snack only to satisfy my greed and not my need. He then went on to narrate this incredible story.
The legendary, ancient Indian philosopher, Chanakya, was known for his remarkable strategies. He was humiliated at the court of King Nanda and was seeking revenge. In his search for an ideal candidate to replace King Nanda, Chanakya found the young Chandradragupta, took him under his wings, trained him for warfare and prepared him to become a king. After seven years, Chananakya, along with Chandradragupta fought and lost the war against King Nanda, and were wandering in disguise as commoners.
Near a remote hamlet, he heard a woman chiding her hungry child for attempting to eat hot food.
“Do not be foolish like Chanakya, else you will burn your fingers,” she yelled at her boy. After mellowing down a little, the mother consoled the crying child saying, “My dear, don’t you know the food is scorching at the centre? You should eat it bit by bit from the side of the plate, where it is a lot colder.”
She gave the child a word of advice. “You see, Chanakya, led by his young, inexperienced disciple, Chandragupta, is trying to defeat King Nanda, who has a big army of men, horses, and elephants. If I were Chanakya, I would have suggested that Chandragupta first conquer the smaller territories, nibbling them all bit by bit from the outside before reaching the capital. This is the only way he can win this battle,” she concluded before washing her hands.
“Chanakya has got a lot of catching up to do before taking his formidable enemy head-on. The strategy of conquering small territories will infuse greater confidence in Chandragupta’s soldiers.”
My father said that this incident helped Chanakya employ the art of starting strategically, small, but keeping the ultimate goal and the picture in sight. My father not only taught me the importance of manners through such stories but also imbibed in me patience as a virtue to achieve my objective.
The key to reaching one’s aspirations is to imagine one’s goal as a pie and then cut it into smaller pieces. Nibble one bit at a time, cherishing the flavour, until one consumes the whole pie. The only ingredient required to reach one’s goal is the desire to accomplish it.
It happens that we have to start at some point and move towards our destination. But where, when, how to start is an important and a very tricky question. Here is how my friend carved his path to success.
Kanthraj Urs managed to complete his engineering diploma. He liked the practical portion of engineering more than the theory.
He was not keen on seeking any line of work, knowing that his academic achievements would not get him one. Instead, he decided to create employment. In the initial days, he used his backyard as a makeshift place to service automobiles. Slowly, he gained a reputation as a quality car maintenance provider. Later, he became the most preferred car service provider in his neighbourhood.
Then one day, out of the blue, he coordinated the selling of a used car to his customer. This opened up a whole new opportunity for selling cars! Sometimes, it is good to listen to your heart. He heard his heart loud and clear.
His fortunes took a turn for the better when his passion for cars made him one of the leading car dealers of major brands in our region. Now, he has diversified his business, and his enterprise provides employment to hundreds of graduates in India.
On the other hand, at one of the first companies where I worked as a management trainee, I noticed this potential entrepreneur with big ideas and bundles of energy to support his dream.
His business plan ran into several pages, which included prediction models, growth strategies, market shares and a few million in revenue along with colourful spreadsheets filled with graphs and charts.
Despite sufficient funds and resources, his company did not do well and was eventually acquired and managed by an investor.
The hard and bleak truth is that according to Forbes, nine out of ten startups will fail. It suggests that potential entrepreneurs should write about how they will overcome their failure. Once they get an answer to this question, they should go ahead and launch their business enterprise.
Then, as a leader, create a congenial ecosystem for people to thrive in one’s organisation. For example, an entrepreneur must first strive to allow his vision to percolate to the shop floor. The people at the bottom of this domain are the building blocks. These blocks of the building are as strong as its foundation!
Ask the employee about his environment, how he feels about coming to the office every day. One knows that the company is heading in the right direction if he says that he is happy and sees a long term growth.It is good to dream big but at the same time it is also important to visualise and break this dream down into achievable and realistic goals.
In my father’s own words, if we fail to break our goals into achievable blocks, then we accuse our fate. Just the way the boy blamed those delicious hot bondas instead of relishing them.
Time to Reflect
- Describe your understanding of this statement. It is good to dream big. At the same time, it is essential to visualize and break this into achievable and realistic goals.
- What is your long term goal, say five years from now? How will you cherish eating this delicacy without burning your fingers?
- Share that moment of glory when you have strived hard to reach your personal goal. How can you repeat the same feat for your next purpose in life?
* This story is an extract from the book “Stars Shine Only in the Darkness” – Inspirational Stories from Everyday Life
