Wings of Fire: An Autobiography (Digital Exclusive Edition)

by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Beautiful hands are those that do Work that is earnest and brave and true Moment by moment The long day through.

Worth

The historian Edith Hamilton wrote of ancient Greece, "When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again".

A basic aspect of a person's working style is how he plans and organizes tasks. At one extreme is the cautious planner, who carefully spells out each step before making any move. With a sharp eye for what can possibly go wrong, he tries to cover all contingencies. At the other end is the fast mover, who weaves and dodges without a plan. Inspired by an idea, the fast mover is always ready for action. Another aspect of a person's working style is control—the energy and attention devoted to ensuring that things happen in a certain way. At one extreme is the tight controller, a strict administrator with frequent checkpoints. Rules and policies are to be followed with religious fervour. At the opposite end are those who move with freedom and flexibility. They have little patience for bureaucracy. They delegate easily and give their subordinates wide latitude for movement.

What makes a productive leader? In my opinion, a productive leader must be very competent in staffing. He should continually introduce new blood into the organization. He must be adept at dealing with problems and new concepts. The problems encountered by an R&D organization typically involve trade-offs among a wide variety of known and unknown parameters. Skill in handling these complex entities is important in achieving high productivity. The leader must be capable of instilling enthusiasm in his team. He should give appropriate credit where it is due; praise publicly, but criticize privately.

"What you imagine, is what will transpire. What you believe is what you will achieve,"

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam.

"God can do tremendous things through the person who doesn't care about who gets the credit.

The ego involvement must go,"

"Before God trusts you with success, you have to prove yourself humble enough t...

four basic factors that I am convinced are involved in successful outcomes: goal-setting, positive thinking, visualizing, and believing.

The motivational inventory of a leader is made up of three types of understanding: an understanding of the needs that people expect to satisfy in their jobs, an understanding of the effect that job design has on motivation, and an understanding of the power of positive reinforcement in influencing people's behaviour.

God has not promised Skies always blue, Flower-strewn pathways All our life through; God has not promised Sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, Peace without pain. I

But God has promised Strength for the day, Rest for the labour Light for the way.