"There is a joy in building, in
creating something from scratch" my former boss used to say. I couldn't
quite relate to it until I experienced it myself; we both brainstormed one late
evening and developed a template for process mapping and subsequently developed
it into a full-fledged automated BPM (Business Process Management) solution. In
hindsight, it was quite a unique feat to achieve. It was a moment of great
pride, indeed a joy to have designed and developed a tool which was conceived
and molded by our own brains (although scripted by an IT developer). It was not
our domain, we were risk advisors, were not in the business of developing IT
solutions, and the fact that we did this while managing our day jobs made it a
sweeter accomplishment.
This is perhaps the thrill that drives
innovators, designers or creators irrespective of the size, prominence or the
value of the creation. When a potter for instance creates his best clay vase,
he can sit back for a moment, admire its beauty and take pride. Other creators experience
a similar adrenaline rush too, for example when a car designer comes up with
his miniature car model, when an architect pens his design on paper, when an
application developer completes his final round of testing, when a musician
records his masterpiece. There is a natural sense of attachment and pride
attached to it.
A coach/mentor/teacher feels this
joy too, when his understudy/student performs well. When your team member who
you are mentoring is able perform consistently above expectations or when your
student scores very well in his exams, the mentor/teacher feels proud since
they are a part of this success story. But perhaps the biggest joy of creation
would be experienced by a mother, who develops the baby and nurtures it in her
womb. When she delivers the baby and sees it for the first time, that moment is
life changing; her perseverance has created new life!
The sheer thrill of building something
which will outlast them or which will be a ‘new first’ is what innovators like
Steve Jobs, Elon Musk get driven by. For them, money is more of a consequence
than the desired end state. Apps like Uber, Airbnb, Amazon, Netflix, etc have
managed to change the entire business model by creating innovative solutions.
Uday Kotak, Managing Director of one of the large Banks in India once said,
"You know you were successful if you were able to build something that
outlasted yourself"; such a beautiful and simple way of measuring success.
My boss always said "your work
should have always have your stamp" which means that your work should
always speak for itself, should have the best possible quality and technical
standards and that creation should so good that you should take pride in your
piece of work.
If you haven’t build anything yet, start
today. Something small today may be huge tomorrow. If you have built something
yet, do not let go of it, keep trying, you may never know when your fortune
might turn! There are no barriers to what you can create, the sky is the limit!
So go out there, follow your instinct and build something which will add value!
Happy Building!
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