Lessons learnt

Networking is important but there are many who will be with you for ‘what’ you are and only few will be there for ‘who’ you are

Think like a manager

I started my career as a sales clerk writing bills for Rs. 385 at Moosajee Sones in 1980, just after school. My first inspiration to be a manager came from Gamini Ranasinghe who was the Sales Manager. One day I asked him how one can become a manager. His simple answer was think and act like a manager. This I consider my first management lesson in life. 

Wherever I worked at whatever position I worked this was my approach. I always tried to look at issues from the point of view of the owner or the MD of the company. That eventually brought me to the top. If you are not already you must end up as CEOs and Chairmen of boards eventually. If you want to go there, practice these three Cs, that is to be Conversant about all aspects of the organisation, be Concerned about other functions and disciplines of the business and Contribute to other areas of the business without limiting to your own area of expertise. 

What you are vs. who you are

I went to sell some products to a company called Woodplex and ended up joining them as my second job. My immediate manager was a well-respected marketing person of that era, Sam Wimalasekara. Everybody knew him. He used to accompany me to his club on Fridays to introduce me to people that matter. He would affectionately refers to me as a guy from his own hometown, a good chap but useless for I don’t drink. As a young marketer I was impressed as to how so many people knew and respected him. 

About a year later Sam was driving home and got involved in a road accident killing a person and maiming another. This was a disaster for him. For three months he could not come to office. During that three months only people who visited him were myself, two of our office colleagues, his son and two other gentlemen. None of those who was with him at the Club was there.

This taught me a very powerful lesson. Networking is important but there are many who will be with you for ‘what’ you are and only few will be there for ‘who’ you are.

When I was the MD of AVIA NDB Insurance as the year-end gets closer my mailbox gets full with greeting cards, and desktop with complementary items. No hampers for I had established that as a policy. My phone would get filled with messages during the 31st Night. I left full-time work in August 2010. That year hardly any cards, only very few complementary items and less than 20 SMSs. By the next year almost all these had dried up. Then when I joined the Sampath Bank Board there was a rumour that we would set up a new insurance company and again the number of greetings increased. 

So never get carried away by the position-related glory.

Ichi Go Ichi E

Buddhist climb Sri Pada to worship the footprint of the Buddha. There are only two pali stanzas to recite in veneration of the holy place. But there are over 600 verses of Thun Sarana Kavi that pilgrims chant on the way. We were told that these are sung to overcome tiredness. But I think there is a different reason. This means the journey is more important than the destination. It also highlights the importance of enjoying the journey. Maybe that is why people in the past composed Pel Kavi, Karatta Kavi, Bamara Kavi, Nelun Kavi, Paru Kavi, Pathal Kavi, etc. to enjoy the task they did however much it was tiring for them. 

Destinations give us direction and inspiration but in order to reach that we need to strive, strive spending time and effort. In that we spend life. Life is nothing but the time gap between the birth and death. If life is the most important thing for me then every segment of it however small it may be is important. And if I am doing something in using my life shouldn’t that be done with utmost joy and commitment?

In a documentary on NHK Television the interviewer asked a basket viewer in Japan as to how long he had been doing that job. He said 30 years. 

“Thirty years doing almost the same type of basket, don’t you get bored?” asked the presenter. The basket viewer with a big smile in his face said, “Maybe they are very similar but as far as I am concerned every one of them is a masterpiece.” Don’t you think that he enjoys the journey?

This is captured in a simple Japanese phrase called Ichi Go Ichi E. Meaning One time One meeting. When Japanese meet they have this attitude so every meeting is considered unique and treasured, thus they give each other total attention.

If we bring this attitude to every task we do, every encounter we have we will certainly enjoy the journey. After all who knows whether we reach the destination?

 Fragile identity

In spite of leading a textbook life of good health habits, with absolutely no risk factors being present, I was discovered with two blocks in my heart during a routine checkup and ended up getting two stents placed in 2011. It was not painful at all and in two days I was back at work. During the next two weeks when I was supposed to take bed rest, I finished compiling a book titled Jataka Vidasuna, indexing all the stories of Pansiya Panas Jataka, relevant for various life situations. However this stenting business was a major blow on my self-image. 

I used to consider myself to be a very healthy person and that was because of my well-balanced lifestyle. But the reality is completely different. I, kind of felt ashamed of myself. My self-image of being a healthy person is now challenged! In dhamma this is called Arogya Mada. This was a very powerful lesson. 

We tend to build our own self-image using various props, our physique, our capabilities, our possessions, our experiences, memories, our qualifications, positions and even what the society endows upon us, etc. But we have absolutely no control over them. All these can change in one moment. They are all like borrowed garments. So when you know the transitory nature of them you do not take them so seriously. Then life becomes very light and enjoyable.