Life is full
of challenges and opportunities; hence, also full of fulfillments and
disappointments. Life has several templates to grow or atrophy,
materialistically and philosophically, as one moves through various stages of
life, from birth to death. All wise parents try to set up a life that is full
of opportunities and fulfillments for their wards. Unfortunately, due to
factors beyond one’s control, idyllic scenarios do not mostly happen, except
for those borne with a silver spoon. As one gains the ability to independently
analyze the life’s challenges and opportunities, emulation-execution emerges as
a conundrum which most individuals flirt with, and more often than not, fail to
get it right. This blog post discusses a paradigm of emulation. Emulation is
the thought or act of trying to do something like someone whom one likes or
admires (usually a role model). Emulation is an attempt to try. Execution is
the act of actually carrying out the act in a manner that conforms to, or
exceeds, the expectations set by, or perceived of, the role model. Emulation
and execution are governed by an invisible but intrinsic factor called emotion.
The process
of emulation is a life-journey process that is invisible and unrecognized for
most time but is real and perpetual. Emulation, in formative years, occurs
through family upbringing and pedagogy. Emulation in later years occurs through
experiences and aspirations. In the earlier formative stage, one is told explicitly
to emulate a model behavior, be it from family, religion, history or contemporary
public life. In the later stage one gets inspired or motivated by oneself to
emulate a certain model behavior. In the formative stage, execution is
compelled by the system, be it the family or the institution, while in the
later stage execution flows from one’s own volition that execution gets
results. Obviously, there exist no cut and dried boundaries, as all through
one’s life the processes of emulation and execution keep taking place, most
times with guidance (and sometimes with misguidance!) providing fulfillments
and opportunities in this journey. If there could be a way to align
opportunities, emulation, execution and fulfillment in one’s life, it would
indeed be a great pathway to ‘materialistic nirvana’!
Worthiness,
practicality
Emulation is
a part and pathway of life whose existence cannot be denied. Emulation can
occur in multiple ways, from a feature to a person, from a trait to a personality,
and from an objective to a mission. There are five common cautionary
characteristics of emulation that an individual needs to be aware of. The first
relates to the inability to judge for oneself whether one is emulating (or
should be emulating) a person or what he or she stands for. For example, it
would be one thing to believe that one should emulate Dr Abdul Kalam (the past
reputed Scientist-President of India) and an entirely different thing to
believe that one should emulate Dr Kalam’s erudition, simplicity and passion.
The second pitfall is the belief that emulation is around one role model. Here
again, one tends to emulate, rather unknowingly, several people or several
features for several reasons, and the ability to align or integrate multiple
emulative processes is vital for comprehensive development. The third is a lack
of understanding that emulation is an iterative process. While emulation cannot
be opportunistic it cannot also be ossifying; it is a continuous learning
experience in its own right. The fourth is that emulation, oftentimes, has an
emotive trigger; de-cluttering the emotional aspects is necessary for
meaningful emulation. The fifth is a perception that one needs to be
independent, and never emulative; this, of course, is the greatest fallacy and
pitfall for, even pioneers emulate a pioneering behavior or mindset!
In totality,
Inability to introspect into one’s own emulative behavior often lands one in
difficulties; more positively, understanding these aspects helps one achieve
fulfillment from emulation. To be successful in emulation, one must consider
two primary aspects of emulation; worthiness and practicality. Whatever or
whoever one emulates must fundamentally be worthy of emulation, that is it must
be positive and capable of providing fulfillment or actualization. Secondly, it
must be practical to emulate and execute. While heroic sagas have been written
of amazing achievements even under most challenging circumstances, they have
been made possible because of certain accentuating features of the emulators.
In other words, knowing what to emulate and how to emulate holds the key to
successful emulation and fulfillment. It always pays to emulate a feature,
trait or an objective than a person, personality or mission. Given that
unknowingly, a person has multiple emulative triggers, it would be necessary to
stay narrowly focused rather than broadly generic in emulation.
Competency,
completion
While
worthiness and practicality are the essential parameters of emulation,
emulation itself cannot be successful without execution. Execution has two
facets; competence and completion. The desire to emulate must be backed by
passion to execute. Individuals who embark on risky programs of sportsmanship
or creative arts leaving conventional means of livelihood finally become
successful as they get to understand and grow their competence well and remain
relentless in their passion till they succeed in their task. The first step to
successfully execute is, therefore, to understand the competency needed to
execute. The second step to successfully execute is to understand the final
step that defines the completion. Individuals, unlike organizations, cannot
outsource their competencies. Those who execute based on others’ competencies
eventually fail in non-native circumstances. Again, individuals, unlike
organizations, cannot redefine completion. Unsuccessful organizations may get
taken over and eventually prosper with accrued synergy but unsuccessful
individuals lapse into oblivion, relative to potential.
At an individual
level, therefore, every thought or act of emulation must be accompanied by an
understanding of competency and completion. In this process, there is no better
way than emulate what the role model stands (stood) for, and how he stands
(stood) for. Biographies of great
leaders, or their own teachings constitute a great way to understand the ‘what
and how’ of emulation. Working with legends and role models in real time is an
even greater opportunity. Being part of a great philosophical organization may
in itself lead to opening of one’s mind on what one should look for. The irony
of the situation is that many times individuals begin building competencies
(like becoming a certified professional) and assuming completion (like landing
a good job) without understanding the larger purpose of emulation. Whether one’s domain happens to be a matter
of choice or circumstance, it is important for one to appreciate those aspects
that are worthy of emulation and grasp what it takes to successfully emulate.
Transient versus
committed
As mentioned
earlier, emotion plays a major role in the process of emulation; more often
than not, emotion is the first trigger for emulative thought. As one watches an
exciting sport, one may feel that the sportsmanship displayed is worthy of
emulation (“I wish I could play like Sachin!”). As one listens to a music
program, one may feel that the musical talent evokes emulation (“I wish I could
sing like SPB!”). As one gets swayed by a corporate leader, one may feel that
the role model is all there to emulate (“I wish I could present like Steve
Jobs”). The point to note that these tend to be transient thoughts of
emulation, spurred on by emotional feel-good experiences and aspirations.
Committed emulation, on the other hand, is a rational process; even when
spurred by emotion, it delayers emotion from logic to develop a sustainable
basis for emulation. It connects an individual to what the leaders stand for as
much as for the leaders themselves. Mahatma Gandhi’s success was in connecting
Indians to the values of Swaraj and
Ahimsa, and making them emulate those values for the larger national good.
Committed
emulation has both material and philosophical aspects to it. It recognizes the
importance of being (or becoming) someone well recognized in the professional
or social system on the strengths of one’s capabilities. It has to be,
therefore, a matter of considered choice, even if it is triggered by emotion.
One may, after a successful career stint, be emotionally attracted to be a
social servant. It is important to logically analyze whether that worthy goal
of emulation fits into oneself (or what one is capable of becoming) by passing
the idea through the four filters of worthiness, practicality, competency and
completion. Of the several emotive options that one encounters in each phase of
life, these four filters would help one crystallize one’s emulative thoughts
effectively. An emulative process has to
mandatorily satisfy all the four criteria; drawing a blank on any of the four
would lead to imperfect, if not negative, results.
Emulation as
‘sadhana’
Sadhana is a
Sanskrit word that means a quest to accomplish. Emulation is like sadhana. The
goal has to be carefully chosen, and the ‘sadhaka’ (the one who is set on the
path of sadhana) cannot, and will not, rest until the process of emulation is
complete. Fortunately, in the classical systems of education, the concept of
emulation as sadhana is ingrained. Most accomplished musicians gain their
musical strengths through individualized apprenticeship under reputed musical
legends. The concept of house surgeon in medical education is aimed at letting
young doctors learn the skill of medical practice from the experienced
physician or surgeon. Even in a corporate setting, the practice of youngsters
working as executive assistants with leaders is a way of apprenticing the
youngsters in the art and science of management and leadership. As the base of
talent seekers keeps expanding at the base, and as career development keeps
becoming a more fast-paced race, unfortunately, the apprentices as well as the
leaders seem to be missing on the fulfillment of emulation.
And, for
those who still appreciate the need for emulation, it is important to realize
that sadhana or emulation is a great anti-gravity effort. Non-emulative talent,
like water, flows as per gravity to opportunities available. Emulative talent,
on the other hand, scales new peaks with each phase of sadhana, based on
committed and diligent efforts. Literally and figuratively, enlightened
emulation is akin to intrepid mountaineering. And the aim of emulation is not to
create intellectual clones but to enhance the intellectual strength of the
talent base in the country and the society. Typically, every society or every organization
produces only a few natural leaders or maestros. The more the larger
population, whether of a society or an organization, seeks to emulate the
leaders and maestros for what they have accomplished and the virtuous paths
thereto, the greater would be the combined intellectual strength of that
society or organization.
Posted by Dr
CB Rao on July 26, 2014
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