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The Power of Assumptions and Context in Decision-Making

  Assumptions we make define the quality of our thoughts leading to actions!! I recently had to carry out a certain math calculation, while appearing for an exam. It was not particularly difficult and I got the result in due time. But it did not sound right. I did sums, subtractions and divisions over and over and the result did not change. It was correct. Yet... it just could not be. Finally, I realized where the mistake was. I had started from a wrong assumption! As the starting point was wrong, all the subsequent operations, although they were carried out exactly, could not give the suitable result. This has been the premise of Rasmussen’s (1983) ‘rule-based error’ theory. If the ‘rule’ is studied without considering its ‘scope and limitations’, one tends to make a mistake by applying it incorrectly. A key ‘deployment’ aspect of any administered procedure/system is the ‘Scope’ and ‘Context’, to which it is developed. In spite, of a high ‘capacity’ system if the ‘assumptions’ are...
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The Power of Patience in Problem Solving

  Accepting the ‘real’ problem always precedes solution finding. The key aspect in ‘Kaizen’ approach to continuous improvement is not merely ‘finding’ the problem but to confirm, display, understand and accept to ‘clear’ it. This is the point where decision-making skills play an important role. We often tend to follow our instincts and have a kneejerk reaction to issues in our daily lives, which is likely to lead to ineffective solutions. Instincts have a very limited role in objectively defining the problem areas. It's better if we stop and give ourselves sufficient time to relax, reflect, wait for clarifying the problems and a possible solution to manifest. This essentially means to 'respond' to a problem rather than 'reacting' to it. Only after confirming and accepting the real problem, opportunities for improvement can be decided. The latter process requires a detailed deliberation. Proceed step by step. We cannot have the “whole” plan displayed in front of us i...
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Nurturing a Sense of Security Beyond the Surface

  ‘Feeling safe’ is very subjective and an indispensable need that everyone shares with the rest of mankind. Abraham Maslow has placed this at the second level of his hierarchy of needs. It’s indeed an inherent and vital component to live well and every human knows and works to secure their own physical and mental integrity. The problem arises when such need is jeopardized by some possible circumstances. What to do? There is no definite answer. Many steps can be taken in securing one's own personal affairs, but sometimes settling/fixing "things" might not be enough. The ‘feeling’ of safety goes beyond material stuff (physical needs). Having enough money to live comfortably is a good starting point... But a deeper inner feeling is necessary to make you relax and stop worrying about the future. Such a feeling can be fostered by the intuition of a greater 'plan' that exists beyond your physical perception. A plan that makes everything 'be well' in the end. Fo...
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Finding the Balance

  We come across different type of personalities in our daily lives both at work as well as in personal spaces. Some believe in always keeping a relaxed attitude and tend to take everything easy. They don't worry, they willingly accept whatever or whoever comes along. They certainly are pleasant to be with. On the other hand, others choose to be vigilant, keeping a careful watch for danger or difficulties. The former are more optimist, the latter much less so. Which attitude is the best? No definite choice, here. It mainly depends on one's own nature because certain innate characteristics cannot be ignored in anyone's personality. Being relaxed certainly makes you live more cheerfully, less stressed. But it can also lead you towards laziness and carelessness. Being constantly alert will keep you busy and active, paying attention to and keeping updated with everything that is going on. But it may also make you apprehensive and strung up. The best way is always the middle one...
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The Courage to Pursue Happiness and Growth

  All planned and thought out channges happens only after careful assessments and acceptance of the 'need' to change. Be it a business or a personal decision. We need to ask a simple question to ourselves - "Are we happy where we are?" If yes, Wonderful! Stay there and enjoy. But if we are not, there is no reason to feel disappointed. It only means that it's time for us to move on. And moving on means "change". In order to reach a different place (job, relationship, situation in general) the only possible way is to bravely face the unknown. We have to take a chance, leave the old behind so that the new can manifest itself. We need to experience a loss if we want to gain, to reach our goal. We need to feel secure, ofcourse, that's why we don't really like to abandon what we have been familiar with for such a long time, but the choice is in front of us. Either we stay where we are (and feel unhappy, unfulfilled, even a victim) or have the courage t...
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Job Change

  Do we really need a job change? Will it substantially ‘change’ and/or improve ourselves personally and professionally? Often it’s experienced that changing our job environment can't change what we are. If we want to experience something different from the present, we must decide to change the way we look at things, first. Before making a decision to change jobs, ask a few questions to ourselves. Have we tried to avoid, ignore, deny, and run away from something that we did not want in our own lives? Did we succeed? Were we able to improve our circumstances and our psychological state simply by changing the job environment? We might have, but usually, it's not that easy. The first change must happen "inside" before being mirrored, reflected "outside".
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Reliability & Safety

Of late, been reading a few articles on "Reliability and Safety ". What are their properties, how are they correlated, do they have a cause-and-effect relationship and so on. While reading all this, a question dawned on me. Do we talk about reliability in the same way we do about safety?? Is it ubiquitous as safety is??. Ask anyone in a plant, “who is responsible for safety?” You are most likely to hear, “everybody, from the cleaner to the maintenance tech to the CEO.” Now ask, “who is responsible for the reliability of the plant?” You will likely get a variety of different answers, but it will not likely be, “everybody”. But shouldn't it be? As we say reliability and safety is a 'system' property and it relies heavily on its interconnected/inter-depended components. From asset design, procurement, installation, risk management, operations and maintenance—everybody who touches the system—they are all responsible for reliability. But we have often treated reliabili...
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