Google Founders talk about ending the 40 hour Work Week

Larry Page and Sergey Brin

You have to really give it to these guys !!

They did something as amazing as creating Google, one of those iconic products that like becomes a verb....... changes the world. And the best part, there’s still so much happening there, at a micro level and macro. 

At a micro level, I realize people are still learning all that Google can do. And at a macro level, Google is still bringing about change that can become another sociological shift.

First, an instance of the micro:

The other day in office, there’s this guy, Senthil, from Selco Mini Grids (I’ll tell you that story another day), who walks in and looks at a painting on the wall and he’s like, I wonder if it’s a Vinci or a Michael Angelo. I’m like, lets Google. He’s like, don’t overrate Google, this is a painting. I had the answer in less than a minute. For those of you who don’t know, it's an ap called Google Goggles, a picture recognition ap. You just need to click a picture and ask, and if it’s a known landmark or painting or celebrity, it’ll tell you. It was neither a Vinci nor an Angelo, but was a Sistine Madonna by an Italian artist called Raphael. . And in those five minutes of an inane conversation we had learnt something about art and also got to see some Vincis and Angelos too. That’s the level of knowledge availability that Google has enabled, right? 

Apparently, Peter Drucker observed in a 1992 essay for Harvard Business Review: 

“Every few hundred years throughout Western history, a sharp transformation has occurred, In a matter of decades, society altogether rearranges itself – its worldview, its basic values, its social and political structures, its arts, its key institutions. Fifty years later a new world exists. And the people born into that world cannot even imagine the world in which their grandparents lived and into which their own parents were born. Our age is such a period of transformation.”

For Drucker, the newest new world was marked, above all, by one dominant factor: “the shift to a knowledge society.”

For those interested, here’s the full article: What Peter Drucker knew about 2020

And I think Google has contributed to this in not a small way at all..... to the shift to a Knowledge Society through it’s mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful 

On the macro level:

What I really love about Google is that while being a technology and communication giant, it still keeps focus on the humane.

Here’s the latest:

A four day week! 

"If you really think about the things that you need to make yourself happy—housing, security, opportunities for your kids—anthropologists have been identifying these things. It's not that hard for us to provide those things," he said. "The amount of resources we need to do that, the amount of work that actually needs to go into that is pretty small. I'm guessing less than 1% at the moment. So the idea that everyone needs to work frantically to meet people's needs is just not true.

"You just reduce work time," Page said. "Most people, if I ask them, 'Would you like an extra week of vacation?' They raise their hands, 100% of the people. 'Two weeks vacation, or a four-day work week?' Everyone will raise their hand. Most people like working, but they'd also like to have more time with their family or to pursue their own interests. So that would be one way to deal with the problem, is if you had a coordinated way to just reduce the workweek. And then, if you add slightly less employment, you can adjust and people will still have jobs."

Huge potential sociological shifts there, huh?

While the world can wait for Google to show them the way, maybe we should at least think for ourselves, what say?

Nurture when Needed - A Corollary

To be able to ‘nurture when needed’ and ‘facilitate but not teach’, which are really the same thing, it’s about being able to let go and yet be there.

Okay, I’ve tried four different way of saying that and they’re all saying one part of it and not the whole. So here’s an instance in example, to get maybe one perspective clearer:

In fact it was an Aha moment too…..A couple of years back I was on a visit to Pune to see Dhruva at the hostel, and sometime during the trip, I’m asking Dhruva ‘Did I do this trip for you or for myself dhruva?’, and he’s like ‘ma, honest answer to a candid question…….. you did it for yourself’. And you know why this became an aha moment? Because if someone had asked me the same question, I would have said I did it for him, as I really had to plan around a lot of work at office to make that trip. 

What does this tell us?

That what drives our actions a lot of times is not coming from either the other person or even ourselves, but from a deep rooted space of conditioning and societal expectation……and that’s a lot of energy which in reality is counterproductive

My takeaway……. Yet again :)

Be aware…….. tune in to get the frequency right…….. into others and into yourself …..you'll find the space created so much more positive and solid

Nurture ........When Needed

That’s my rose bush in full bloom! and it made me specially happy to see it.

Why?

Because one month back it was sick. It had bugs and most leaves were visibly eaten away. I actually toyed with the idea of having it removed, but couldn’t get myself to do it. So decided to keep it and look after it. Gave it that little bit more attention, tended to it with love…….and look at it today.

A lesson there?

Yes, I know I’m the one who quoted the example of the bean seed not long ago; about how you can’t  m..a..k..e it grow…..and what you need to do is to make available what it needs and it will do the rest. It’s true. It's like the norm..the guiding principle.

But then, there are those occasional other times too,..... when it wants attention…….. when it needs attention……that little extra care and love. Aren’t we all like that? We mostly do really well on our own, but there are those times when things get to us, when we feel the drag, feel down………and that’s when that little bit of love, little bit of care can make all the difference. A little more awareness to know when, would help right?

Well, we continue to learn……….

CLEAN - The Clean Energy Alliance

There’s interesting stuff happening in the alternate energy space in the country. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a lot of enterprises step in to address the energy gaps in India, be it Solar, Pico Hydel, Biogas etc. In fact there are more than 250 firms already working in this sector, yet it’s under-performing in India. This is essentially due to lack of a supportive long-term policy framework, delays in disbursement of subsidies; limited interest among financial institutions and such others. What’s really missing is a supportive eco-system that can enable this to scale and bridge the huge energy access gap that exists in the country.

But when there are people and organizations focused on a good cause, there’s always the effort to find a solution I guess. That’s reassuring, ain't it?

In December 2013, 10 organizations came together to establish one single alliance in an attempt to resolve this issue. These:

What came into existence is CLEAN - The Clean Energy Access Network.

The Alliance is technology and scale agnostic (eg. biomass, solar, pico hydro and ranging from pico solutions, through to larger decentralized energy solutions) and the focus is decentralized, clean energy access space that reaches out to the underserved communities across India. 

CLEAN will represent the sector to the government and other stakeholders and is envisaged as a go-to point for all entities in the sector. It is also envisioned to become a go-to point for members of the sector internationally.

At this point the secretariat is housed in my office and we’re still looking for a CEO. This is by no means an ad, but if somebody knows somebody who knows somebody, responses are really welcome :)

Don't Indulge.....Be Happy

HOW much money do you need to be happy? Think about it……………What’s your number?

This was from an article I’d read a long while ago, actually in the NY times ( so please bear with the dollar bench marks, which I’m actually happy with, as it enables each of us to think of our own number in our own currency)

People come in all types, right? You’ll find those who say, it’s all about money, and then you’ll find the others who say I don’t care about money, and then there’s a whole lot of us who fall somewhere in between.

Like everything else in life, it’s about finding our own balance. How many of us have really put a number to it? I’ve tried it, and trust me, it’s hugely enabling, and liberating.

Liberating because once you’ve gotten to that number, you’re automatically liberated from having to put your energies behind getting to that normally vague and elusive (because it’s not fixed) goal; you don’t need to focus on growing it anymore.

Enabling because a logical followthrough is that it allows you to focus energies and time on what matters to you more.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs

Maslow’s triangle (1954), is a hierarchy of five motivational needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.

The motivation at each level is each of those needs yet unmet. Also, the need to fulfill such needs will become stronger the longer the duration they are denied. For example, the longer a person goes without food the more hungry they will become.

Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization. Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs. Maslow noted only one in a hundred people become fully self-actualized because our society rewards motivation primarily based on esteem, love and other social needs.

Think about it....... how many of those levels are money dependent? This can actually help you fix that number.

Excerpts from that article by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, as it's extensive research and data which could help think and clarify:

Additional income doesn’t buy us any additional happiness on a typical day once we reach that comfortable standard. The magic number that defines this “comfortable standard” varies across individuals and countries, but in the United States, it seems to fall somewhere around $75,000 pa. Using Gallup data collected from almost half a million Americans, researchers at Princeton found that higher household incomes were associated with better moods on a daily basis — but the beneficial effects of money tapered off entirely after the $75,000 mark.

Why, then, do so many of us bother to work so hard long after we have reached an income level sufficient to make most of us happy? One reason is that our ideas about the relationship between money and happiness are misguided. In research we conducted with a national sample of Americans, people thought that their life satisfaction would double if they made $55,000 instead of $25,000: more than twice as much money, twice as much happiness. But our data showed that people who earned $55,000 were just 9 percent more satisfied than those making $25,000. Nine percent beats zero percent, but it’s still kind of a letdown when you were expecting a 100 percent return.

Indulgence is often closely trailed by its sidekick, overindulgence. While the concept of overindulgence is probably all too familiar, the word “underindulgence” doesn’t exist. (Type it into Dictionary.com, and you’ll be asked, “Did you mean counter intelligence?”) But research shows that underindulgence — indulging a little less than you usually do — holds one key to getting more happiness for your money.

USING your money to promote underindulgence requires a shift in behavior, for sure. But another scientifically validated means of increasing the happiness you get from your money is even more radical: not using it on yourself at all. 

Surely worth thinking about, huh? 

It's not what you're saying..........It's what I'm hearing

I came across two clear instances today of where there is immense hurt caused, not out of intention to hurt but out of sheer lack of awareness……not even knowing that the result of your action was hurting the other

Situations of hurt happen all the time, unfortunately true, and they mostly come out of a space of self righteousness, anger, insensitivity on one side and lack, insecurity, ignorance on the other, right? And those are complex and tough. Deep problems……. needing deeper solutions. So let’s leave those out for now :)

But let’s look at the low hanging fruit.

The one where …..if we knew our action was causing hurt, we would be happy to not do it

Like for instance this person who said she hurt each time her mother told her that she needed to lose weight. We know the mother had only the daughters best interest in mind, the girl knows what her mom is saying is true, but she still hurts. Can that hurt be avoided? For sure

Another one…. Say when we playfully tease people on their taste in books or programs. You think you’re being funny, but I’ve seen a person break down and cry saying, why can’t you just accept that I like it? Little did one even know the comments had been hurting.  Could that have been avoided? Again, Yes, easily avoidable.

So how does that happen? And how can we avoid it happening?

It happens out of a disconnect in expectations. I expect it to be understood like this, but its understood otherwise.

Solution?

Communication. When you trust the other person cares, let the person know …..….and if it’s you…… and you’re told, listen.

The issue can be resolved by change happening on either side. And it will if there’s intent and clarity. 

I’m not saying take responsibility for the other persons reaction. No, I equally strongly vouch for being responsible for ‘my own actions and not for your reaction’. Having said which, I still think my communication is my responsibility. If my communication is being wrongly interpreted, especially to cause hurt, can I take responsibility to take that extra step to clarify intention.

Look around, become a little more aware, and you’ll see lots of those. Communication goes a long way in avoiding hurt….…….try it, it’s worth it.

Mind...... IN ......the Body

What the hell does that even mean, right?

We normally talk of the 'I' as being Body, Mind and Soul. For the purpose of this write up, let’s just stay with The Body and The Mind. The Body and the Mind are considered two distinct entities, and the association is typically understood as the mind being somewhere in the head, agreed? Like more in the brain kinds.

Confusing? Let me try again….like when we are emotionally upset or stressed out, we think we need to rationalize with it, like to sort out the mind, and we need to think to rationalize and deal with the emotion. Like use the head.

Even Google throws up stuff like this when you search images for 'mind'.

But I'm making a shift here, essentially connecting a few dots from different sources.

I’ve been hearing how the mind and even emotions are actually spread all over the body. Like they are or rather it is, a physical entity.

This trip first started at the Past Life Regression sessions I’d taken a couple of years back (This is essentially a guided trip down your subconscious memory, through this life and maybe beyond). After a few sessions my facilitator told me that I was stuck, he said there was some event or emotion that was causing a high level of stress and I needed to let that go. And I didn’t even know it existed, so how was I going to let it go?

And he said I should do three things for a couple of weeks 1) Yoga or aerobics everyday 2) Meditate if possible twice a day and 3) Get at least two full body massages.

What came as a surprise was the explanation he gave me. He said, I didn’t need to think about it to deal with it. The memory of that event, or rather the stress that it had caused was sitting as a physical entity in my joints he said. And as it was there for a while now, so it was kind of settled and stuck. It’s like a clogged pipeline that needed clearing he said. Since I’d decided I would completely surrender to the process, I did all that he said. Not that I understood too much.

Then came the Vipassana, when we were told that the mind existed in every cell of our body. And if we wanted to be aware, we needed to have every cell alive and active. The meditation technique is entirely based on this principle in Vipassana.

And recently I came across this article:

Medical Scientist Candice Pert showed the presence of a natural morphine or endorphin within the body, and she proposed that our emotions are information molecules that circulate throughout the body. The bunch of molecules that we term’ fear molecules’ cause the following : weakness in the knees, nausea in the stomach, tension in the chest, trembling of the hands, and perspiration of the forehead.

Molecules of emotion connect with receptors on each cell in our body. The connection also results in multiplying those receptors on its surface, making the body exquisitely sensitive to the next round of similar emotion.

Your body is eventually your unconscious mind. If you constantly live in fear, you soon develop a ‘fear body’. If you live in pain, we carry a ‘pain body’. If you live joyfully, you experience a ‘bliss body’.

All of these molecules, including the bliss molecules are available within the body. We just need to know how to access them. Romance releases love molecules. A body massage, fondling a pet, meditation, all produce well being molecules. Strenuous physical exercise results in the release of both endogenous morphine and bliss molecules. Seeking novelty, setting goals and achieving them, charges you up with reward molecules and confidence molecules.

Do you see the line between the physical and the psychic blur? 

It’s a subtle shift, a very subtle shift in perception, but if you start to become aware of this, and reach to where you imbibe it, it could mean a whole new approach to life……… and possibly a life nearer to bliss.