“Too Many Rules”

Greetings from India.  It's Wednesday evening here in Delhi and a chance to slow down a bit after a full and fascinating day in this lively place.  It began with a stroll through a craft bazaar called Dilli Haat to see the beautiful work of artisans from many regions of the country, then continued with lunch at a very hip cafe and bookstore at Khan Market.  From there I joined friends in a meeting to talk about how to create a new model for pre-schools that could be built and then replicated in rural villages in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh–also known as "U.P." but not to be confused with the other "U.P." or "Upper Peninsula" of Michigan that I am a bit more familiar with.  The discussion was very interesting and underscored our shared sense of the need to give all of our children the chance to explore, grow, and reach their unique potential as learners while also designing curriculum and environments that nurture the innate magic and joy of being a child.  This is especially important here in a country that is challenged to bring greater literacy and opportunity to all of its citizens.

Next we headed off to see a spiritual leader named Amma who was visiting Delhi to share her message of Divine Love.  And, as we took off our shoes and entered a large tent-like building with several thousand of her followers, it was clear that she had a lot of insight about peace, healing, meditation, and marketing.  I don't say this cynically, because her message and approach are thought-provoking.  But it was clear that Amma and those around her knew how to connect with people in a very deep way–which is something that could spark fresh thinking on the part of your company or organization.  And her life story of addressing suffering through the simple power of hugging people is inspiring.  During the past 35 years she has "hugged, counseled, and consoled" more than 30 million people around the world and has worked to establish hospitals, orphanages, hospices, and housing for the poor through her United Nations-affiliated NGO.  To think that I had never heard of her before today!? 

Then we finished the day with a delicious Northern Indian dinner.

Throughout the day I was also struck by the number of people in this sprawling city and the volume and variety of traffic.  Cars, taxis, motorized rickshaws, busses and trucks of all shapes and sizes, bicycles carrying people along with untold and often quite large possessions, as well as pedestrians and an occasional cow filled the streets with a remarkable sense of congestion.  And I could only imagine the challenge I would face if I were driving myself around Delhi.  Which led to an amusing moment when Manjula, the mother of my friend and host, and herself a renowned educator, told me that she preferred driving in India.  "Driving in the U.S. is very difficult," she exclaimed with sincerity and amusement.  "There are too many rules."  Interesting, I thought.  Too many rules made driving more difficult for some.  And after a day on the streets of Delhi I got the clear sense that traffic somehow worked with everyone making up the rules or the lack of rules as they went along.

Click here to see more pictures of traffic in Delhi…

We win in business and in life when we discover the healing power of a hug and the possibility to create order and innovation by not having too many rules in a very crowded place.

Cheers!