Searching for Heroes

Remember the glorious songs of yester-years: 'yeh hai reshmi zulphon ka andhera', 'zindagi ittafq hai', 'Allah yeh adaa kaisi'? Remember the actress who made these songs memorable on screen? Oh yeah! I am talking of Mumtaz. Did you know that of the 17 odd years of her career, she spent only 7-8 years as a top rated actress. Before that she struggled as an extra, heroine's friend, supporting actress, and a side-kick. Now how many actor or actresses you know who have persevered and made it the top? Rekha's name comes to mind. But she was always a lead actress - a bad one who reinvented herself, but a lead actress, nonetheless. I checked with a few of my friends; there is no such example in the South India too. Similar, but not quite. That's why she is a hero and someone to be inspired by.

You can see and hear her journey here => mumtaz-a-study-in-perseverance

Heroes and Managers

This is from Reality Check by Guy Kawasaki.

Dr. Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University and Zeno Franco of the Pacific of the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology wrote an article called "The Banality of Heroism" ... According to Zimbardo and Franco, heroes managers do five things:

1. Maintain constant vigilance for situations that require heroic action.
2. Learn not to fear conflict because you took a stand.
3. Imagine alternative future scenarios beyond the present moment.
4. Resist the urge to rationlize and justify inaction.
5. Trust that people will appreciate heroic (and frequently unpopular) actions.

In my book, managers are heroes. They make things happen. Not heroes.