An addiction...

I have a confession to make.

I am addicted.

What started off 22 years ago as a random experiment of a wanton youth that I was has now become a full fledged addiction.

Not that I am complaining.

As is the case with any addiction, it starts with one act and then it soon becomes a self-fueling, self-fulfilling cycle. And I am not interested in breaking the cycle. In fact I am looking forward to increasing the frequency of such episodes since it is not a vicious cycle.

While my friends will remain un-named here; I have only sat back in amazement in the recent months, when they shared their stories with me. These stories left me gaping in wonder, surprised, inspired, knowledgeable and hopeful.

In our obsession with ourselves, we under-rate people, the stories they carry and the stories they are.

In my listening sessions, I ask them 8 - 11 carefully curated questions over an hour's time on Zoom.

To borrow a term from Ms. Barbara Minto - the first lady MBA that McKinsey hired in the 1960s, my questions are neither mutually exclusive nor collectively exhaustive but I have come out gratefully learning more than what I may have learnt otherwise.

I have come to learn of some unusual leaders who have no formal designation but have been quite influential; quietly speaking. I have come across names that are unusual but have a fascinating, inspiring and uplifting story behind them. I have learnt of what brings out the best in people and more.

In fact, they have been great examples for me of what Mikhail Lermontov says in "A Hero of Our Time" - "The story of a man's soul, however trivial, can be more interesting and instructive than the story of a whole nation."

The way each person has interpreted these questions have given me a wide-ranging set of answers, insights and perspectives.

These experiences have only further validated the truth in a Chinese proverb that I came across at IBM, NOIDA back in 2008: "An hour spent with a wise man is equal to ten years of study."

And to think of it that it all started with just one question that I was inspired to ask 22 years ago after my LLB classmate Mukesh Anand shared this Ralph Waldo Emerson quote with me: "Every man I meet is superior to me in some way. In that, I learn of him."

Simple & Profound.

_/\_