A short while ago, an Internet parable made a deep impression on me.  Here is my version:

Once upon a time, in an era not too far removed from ours, there thrived a farm in a green valley on the other side of Utopia’s border. Given that it was the other side of Utopia, things were not  always perfect.  Despite the sylvan settings of the incredibly productive, picture-perfect farm, there swept across the land, monsoonal storms of great ferocity every quarter laying waste to the efforts of the 12 weeks that had passed it.

One morning, a serene, comfortably dressed stranger presented himself at the door of the farm owner’s cottage. He was seeking employment on the farm and had remarkably little to say beyond a few words of introduction. Since resumes were not yet invented, he handed a scroll of recommendation to his potential employer. The curious farm owner opened it to find it sealed with the crest of the largest landowner. The golden parchment had a single line etched in a fine turquoise ink. It read: ‘He sleeps in a Storm.”

Now, the owner recovering the ferocity of the last week’s storm was desperate for help. His farm hands had abandoned swearing, never to return to this particular realty show. So, the serene stranger was hired. Twelve sun-blessed weeks passed on the farm that bordered Utopia. Then in predictable fury, the powerful storm returned to rip and destroy everything in the valley. Awakened by the torrential rain and howling winds, the weary owner leapt out of his bed, calling desperately for his new hand who did not hear the frenzied knocking on his door. The man slept soundly, above the howl of the wind, lashing of the training, and the occasional crash of debris.

So the Owner dashed to the nearby barn and to his amazement, saw that it had been reinforced with logs and stood firm against the raging storm. The animals inside were secure and grazed placidly with plenty of feed. He raced against the pelting rain to his field, where he saw the bales of wheat had been bound securely, wrapped in tarpaulin, preventing even a sheaf from being inundated in the rain that cascaded in torrential streams down the ash-grey valley. In a final dash of adrenalin, he sprinted to the his favourite silo and discovered its doors securely locked and the grain, dry.

He then understood why the scroll read: 'He sleeps in a Storm'.

And so, Friend, if we tend to the things that are most important to our lives, we become like the serene stranger who slept through his storm.  Indeed, I have heard that on the right side of Utopia, ‘Sleeping in a Storm’ is the best way to find out if you are living your Happily-Ever-After.

 
I was reading today that since the beginning of civilization, that life has been a steady upward climb connecting with peaks of human achievement over the centuries. CSR—corporate social responsibility—makes you believe that is possible. Give or take the odd recessionary thought, that is the sort of thing that adds wings to your spirit.

CSR, if you think about it, is as old as the hills. I personally believe that it is rooted in a principle of life that every living being or entity thrives only when it contributes to its ecosystems. Our new era offers us a privileged look at this vital space of our lives. And, the fact that you are reading this shows that tells me that you already have a commitment, in one form or the other, to these focus areas: Communities, Environment, Heritage.

Again, the litmus test of your commitment to CSR lies in a single choice: Did you pick the biggest problem? Because that is where you will make the biggest difference. And so, here’s my take on how you can make our world a better place and create a legacy through it:

- Align your CSR  with your Organization’s ‘Purpose Statement’ (the combination of its mission and vision).
- Make long term, realistic commitments that will yield slow, but lasting change. Plant a tree. Or, a Forest.
- Reach out to your Community’s most vulnerable groups. Orphanages, old age homes, challenged and indigenous groups ache for your presence.
- Ensure that your Environment initiatives benefit land, water and air. Remember, they sustain you.
- Celebrate your Heritage. Preserve its customs, traditions, architecture, history, literature and performing arts.
- Measure your CSR through meaningful business case studies that capture their impact, reach and return.

Communities. Environment.  Heritage. Time for these ideas to take wing. Make your World a Better Place.
 

These last few months have seen me fly several times from Trivandrum into neon-tinted nights at Chennai, where I have been working on projects at animation studios. (So, where’s the recession?!) Long after humvee-like Macs sign off in the early hours of morning, I head off to Mathsya. For a memory of Madras, the city in which I grew up.
 
Mathsya, for me, marks a moment in time. Our rights-of-passage years—and the magical appeal of its filter coffee. Every trip home comes alive for me with a culinary pilgrimage to Mathsya at Egmore. The restaurant that is also a 21st celebration of the 5000 year old Udipi cuisine—a offering of India’s West Coast Mangalore region. Mathysa is an exemplar of Udipi Cuisine at its best. Mathsya has delivered a consistent brand experience since I first sampled its spread in the late 1980s. And, its spirit of hospitality is topped off by Ram ‘Bhatta’ Narayan, my friend, raconteur and restaurateur par excellence.

Udipi cuisine is a 5000 year old celebration of vegetarian cuisine that blends grains, beans, vegetables and spices in a mystic gourmet experience. It’s Aromatic. Earth-respecting. Wholesome. And, served with Ritual Purity.

The coffee set in front of you is not any coffee; it is a delectable decoction of two exotic coffee beans from the Coorg region. The ‘dosa’ is not just any dosa; it is a flavorsome ‘methi dosa’ that blends the magic of fenugreek with the traditional dosa. The sambhar is simply divine—it eludes description. And the chutneys, you see, are divinely ordained infusions of coconut, chillies and mint.

No wonder, they call it Food of the Gods!
 

Ever so often, I meet Communications Professionals and get asked about great writing--and how one can acquire a compelling writing style. I ask them to begin with Robert Gunning and his Ten Principles of Clear Writing. Robert Gunning is a respected American writer, who has consulted with over 100 newspapers including the Wall Street Journal and the United Press International. His 'ten principles of clear writing' are a highlight of the immensely popular title'News Writing and Reporting for Today's Media':

- Keep sentences short, on the average.
- Prefer the simple to the complex.
- Prefer the familiar word.
- Avoid unnecessary words.
- Put action into your words
- Write the way you talk.
- Use terms your reader can picture.
- Tie in with your reader's experience.
- Make full use of variety.
- Write to express, not to impress.

There, you have it. Ten ways to transform your writing. And, inspire Great Communications.

 

Observe the dance of light
between your trees
Nature’s delicate balance
of ozone, light & life’s peace 

Celebrate your inheritance
Pick your corner of Earth
Every handful in your palm
doubles its worth 

Eagles ride winds
Dolphins ride crests
You care for our future
Earth knows her best 

A seed in your palm
A forest across your land
Earth sustains her life
Knowing you understand  

An astute CEO that I know, once told me of the reason for his company's investment in Communications. "It is eighty percent of everything you do every day,” he told me. I once read that we think 60,000 thoughts a day. So, by imaginative extension, we use about  48,000 thoughts figuring out how to communicate. Iconic organizations have this figured out--especially on the inside.

Now consider this. You can easily figure the number of ways to communicate in an organization. These are the unofficial communication channels in your organization. I am using Vijay Vikram’s formula from his book Managing the Project Team here, which C= n(n-1)/2.  Here, C is the number of communication channels. And ‘n’ stands for the number of people.  So, a team of 100 people uses 4950 ways or ‘channels’ to communicate. A majority of them, you will instinctively know, are unofficial.

Once you have this figured out, you then need to work on powerful communications experiences (celebrations, meetings, newsletters, rewards, intranets, websites) that will inform, involve and inspire people across your organization. Look beyond technology. Look at the dynamics of your teams—its invisible leaders and opinion makers. Look at ways to have everyone see and understand your organizational road map. Tie every organizational communication with I with your vision. Let everyone see the big picture. Communicate in relevant ways to each of your internal audiences. Speak the same language. And, you will experience that powerful surge that drives performance through our planet's most iconic organizations.

Remember, it's about the eighty percent of everything you do. Every day.

The Infotainment Channels-Discovery, History and National Geographic-always expand frontiers of our understanding and imaginations. Whether it is sustainable cooking from a Chinese waterfront restaurant, to the secrets of Weapons of War, to centuries old principles of warfare that are applied in the largest commercial aircraft A380, it is one epic journey.

Let me explain.

This last week, I was fascinated by 'Flying High', a National Geographic documentary that connected ancient principles from history with the state-of-the-art technology that puts the A380, the world's largest commercial aircrafts in the air. The landing gear, for instance, works on the principle of the bike pump. The most fascinating explanation for the body of the A380--especially the upper fuselage came from the use of the new material GLARE (GLAss-REinforced fibre metal laminate).

As it turns out, this aluminium-glass-fibre laminate is lighter, and is more corrosion and impact resistant. It uses a mix of aluminium and glass fibre to create an incredibly strong aircraft body. Now, it turns out that the principle of GLARE is rooted in the archery armoury of Genghis Khan, whose galloping horsemen had a lightweight bow which was made out of horn (the hard material) and sinew (the soft material). This combination made it possible for them to gallop very fast and go into battle using lightweight bows & arrows. It enabled them to conquer Asia--and change history. The A380 used the same principle to keep itself light and impact resistant.

That got me thinking about the new frontiers of 21st Century communications.

To create high impact communications, we need to use Genghis Khan's principle in the communications areas. The soft creative approach needs to be backed by hard facts (and data) approach that creates measurable impacts across focus areas. We need to ask the question: how will I measure the impact of my communications strategies? How do I put a value to an intangible like Communications? This is the new frontier in 21st Century communications.

Genghis Khan used it to conquer Asia. A380 uses it to conquer the skies. We use it to conquer the new frontiers of communications in the 21st century.

Thank you, National Geographic!