The bell curve

Diversity in human society is not a racial phenomenon. It is more a product of the human sixth sense, response to stimuli. Even within a single person’s response mechanism there is enough diversity to be plotted on a bell curve. At the end of the day, life is a bell curve and any claims of success can be represented by a measurement. There is power in numbers, and the bell curve represents that. What would be apparent through plotting the journey of a lifetime on a bell curve is that the flanges on the left and flanges on the right would be freak shows, more a factor of acting out of the skin or acting out of the mind. The remaining curve represents the true thought process behind the achievement. Self-discipline, technique and personal organization governs the shape of the bell, be it a person’s life, a sports career, a company or a country.

Put in business parlance, diversity in the performance of the company is a given, given the myriad stimuli of the myriad people who make things happen. The left and right flanges can be again counted as freak shows that cannot be mathematically modeled, or brought under disciplinary rules. The rest of the curve represents the process, and the people that can be influenced by the process. The success of a company can then be modeled by the success of the process in place. Assuming the right side of the curve to be greater than the left side of the curve, if the bell curve tends to the right, progress is being made and the company and its people are moving in the right direction. If the bell curve tends to the left, the process needs to be revisited. This may seem like a mathematical representation of the scientific theory of management, but, the difference is that this is not a static production goals theory but a measure of sustainable development of the company. It is more a measure of the opportunities provided within the company’s framework for sustainable development. The more the tendency towards sustainable development, the more the bell curve would tend to the right.

For the progress of an individual, a society, a company or a country, sustainable development is the key. Sustainable development is defined as ‘providing opportunity for simultaneous and continuous economic, environmental and cultural development over generations’. For the sake of this discussion, with the scope limited to one lifetime, the words ‘over generations’ can be substituted with ‘in diverse conditions’. The 80-20 rule is synonymous with the bell-curve philosophy, and with a sustainable process, the 80% ratio is being influenced. The better the self-discipline, technique and personal organization, the better would be the influence and control on 80% of situations faced in life. The better the processes in a company, the better would be the influence and control over 80% of the success achieved by the company.

In conclusion, success can be measured in mathematical terms, the numbers tell a story, and the story is that of a sustainable practice represented in the form of a bell curve.

Indian Economy, Indian Society and Indian Cricket...

There is a deep correlation between the Indian economy, the current trends of the Indian society and Indian cricket. Instant gratification, and not long term goals, is the governing principle, and sadly, the quality of the product is affected in each case.

In the desperate need for new heroes we hype the hell out of initial sparks…. Look at Indian cinema…. It took Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth years of hard work to be named super stars….. But, today, it takes one hit film to be named a super star... What is Dhanush doing these days, apart from living in the shadow of Rajinikanth??? His one or two hit films seem a distant memory to all the crap thats on show these days...

Cricket is the same thing…….. One good series, and you are the next Sunil Gavaskar….. did we not say that of SS Das? Does anyone remember him now?

Be it the economy or our cricket, we seem to be banking on natural talent and sparks of glory to put us on the remarkable trend we are seeing recently.... cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar are a gift... someone like Rahul Dravid is our Godsend message... If we can concentrate on processes and religiously stick to sustainable practices to attain long term goals, we can build a great colossus in the midst of talented genii like Sachin Tendulkar....

The watchword in India should be 'Sustainability'.. Infrastructure is expensive and human resources are invaluable... building the two so that every generation have their Vishys, Kapils, Azhars, Sachins, Souravs (for his flamboyant captaincy) and most importantly the Dravids, Kumbles and Gavaskars endlessly should be the answer to most of the issues.... the former being the list of flair players and the latter being the method players…

There is an identity crisis in India right now, and the sooner India wakes up to this fact, the better it is going to be for all concerned. It is imperative that a long term plan be put in place, with milestones identified and the country work towards it as a whole... This is a critical period in the development of the country and indeed in the survival of the human race, and India has a critical role in this puzzle.

The Indian economy needs to get over the economic growth fad and invest into economic development, put otherwise, it needs to make sure that the economy expands not through a couple of sectors but achieves more inclusive growth from all sectors. Indian cricket needs to get over making money thru TV rights and build the product up to standards. Indian cinema, well well well... the lesser said about that, the better... The identity crisis is so apparent in the kind of movies that are box office hits!!! Whats more to say to that??? For all this to happen, the political fabric needs to be revisited, especially at the local government level, and widespread awareness campaigns need to be launched to educate everyone on the perils of the current trends in Indian society.