Looking at my perplexed expression, my friend paused a while to clarify the situation. “You see I am convinced that the more I hide my bottles of alcohol from my son, the more curious he will become and will surely imbibe the drink surreptitiously in my absence. I decided that the best way to avoid this is to offer him a drink whenever I drank. He tasted whisky once and found it disgusting. I am now sure he will not drink even when offered.”

The CEO of a large company asked me to meet with his HR manager to discuss the possibility of conducting workshops on Lateral Thinking for his colleagues. I sought an appointment with the HR manager only to find the man was not interested in meeting me. I suspected that he did not like the idea of being told whom to meet.

A short time later, I sat opposite the man who leaned against his large desk looking cynically at me.
“So you think you are a latter day Einstein?”
“Sir I am far…..” I began saying but was interrupted rudely.
“I have seen many trainers who think they can transform this company. But they are only after money,” he argued.
“But I never even….”
“I believe we are creative enough and do not need….” His voice trailed off as the intercom rang. He barked some instructions to his secretary and then turned to me.
“See we are a very innovative company and do not need anyone to tell us how to think innovatively,” he said in an authoritative tone.
“Sir please listen to me….” Again I was interrupted mid- sentence.
“I think you are wasting my time,” he stated with an air of finality.
I got up. Before shaking hands I told him, “I hope at least now, when I am about to leave you, I will be permitted to say at least one sentence.”
“Of course go ahead. Why do you stand? Please sit down.”
I obliged and continued the exchange, “I have no doubt that your company is innovative and has won some awards for innovation. I am convinced that you do not need my services AT ALL! On the contrary I would learn from your lateral thinking colleagues. I hope that will happen some day.”
So saying I again stood up and stretched my hands towards him.
“Oh come on. Nobody can claim to have learnt all there is to any subject. We can learn from you. You have a formidable reputation,” said the man looking amiable for the first time. His defences were finally down.

I would go on to conduct a dozen workshops for that company and the HR manager is now one of my close friends!

These are two examples of counterintuitive thinking in which we ask ourselves what is the last thing that one can think of or do in a tight situation? One goes against the grain as it were.

The State of Tamilnadu was rocked by a series of shocking incidents of people imbibing ‘hooch’ and either dying or being blinded. The concoction served by bootleggers, was contaminated by acids and ethyl alcohol that were almost always lethal. The obvious ‘solution’ to this crisis that might come to most of us is to ban hooch, clamp down on bootleggers, swoop down on known sales outlets, and arrest the bootleggers. This not only did not solve the problem but made the trade even more secretive. The drink was now made under even more unhygienic conditions with even more cheap and lethal ingredients (including lizards and rats) which led to even more tragedies.

Surely this called for counterintuitive thinking. The government decided to open dozens of stores where good quality liquor would be available at a fair price. The underground market almost totally ceased to operate.

We all talk of corruption in India but few have offered concrete suggestions to reduce or eliminate it. The Right to Information Act is one step in the right direction. Here is a counterintuitive suggestion:

How about legalising corruption?

Let me give you an example based on a system that is in operation in a country even more corrupt than India. Let’s say that you need a fresh passport urgently since you have an opportunity to travel abroad. The Passport office has a reputation for corruption. Now a new scheme is introduced. Those who need a passport urgently—in a week for example—will have to pay 15% extra service charge; those who can wait till four weeks will pay only half that amount. No service charges will apply for delivery after four weeks.The collections will be distributed among the staff— as happens in a restaurant where the ‘tips’ are shared among all the staff.

In effect this scheme legitimizes what you would have been paying under the table, much like the tipping the waiter at a hotel. I believe most people may not mind paying additional amounts officially as against being extorted.

Witness that way in which people in Chennai do not mind paying a given amount of money to a ‘call taxi’ service where you pay as per the meter. The same people hate paying the same amount for the same journey to an auto rickshaw guy who actually is seen as an ‘extortionist’ since he ‘demands’ more than is considered legitimate. The call taxi amount is deemed legitimate .

The drug menace is one of the many evils of life in many countries including the US. Not many may be aware that terrorists obtain colossal sums of money by selling drugs based on crops that grow in Afghanistan. In effect any American who consumes drugs is financing the acquisition of armaments that are used in acts of terrorism. Drugs are banned but the ban is ineffective and has the unintended effect of making the trade even more secretive and lucrative. Some countries have attempted to implement a counterintuitive solution—Canada for example has made marijuana available legally!

My first encounter with this form of thinking was when I was a fourth standard student in a Mumbai school. I was an enfant terrible and my mischief was the despair of all my teachers, not to speak my classmates some of whom changed to another school just to avoid me. One day, a new teacher joined my class and looking back I could see how she used counterintuitive thinking. With much fanfare, she actually appointed me the class monitor!

The following powwow I heard not so long ago and I am sharing it with you in 7 parts; for I know you can only invest so much time at a stretch during working hours while not getting distracted from playing solitaire or forwarding the latest jokes.

“I don’t know. I am elated and at the same time feel empty. Have been doing everything right. Performed well. Went beyond the call of the duty. I am part of all key implementation projects. Boss smiles at me once in a while. Don’t extend my lunch breaks or take multiple caffeine/nicotine breaks. Yet right from being served coffee at the table to being invited for Boss’s regular outings; from figuring in the grapevine often to being called in for board meetings — everything seems to be eluding me,” groaned the newly promoted executive (NPE), stirring the contents of the glass placed in front of the accountant who asked how it felt to be kicked upstairs, after languishing for 2 years at the same position.

The accountant did his bit indulgently, to cheer up the kid for he liked the lad. This here was a young man with a sense of humor who after seeing him surreptitiously browsing an adult site chose to include him in his spicy e-mail forwarding list. Where others would have not batted an eyelid in appraising the top management of the same or worse giggle knowingly during lunch-time; this man here did what a kid with a golden heart and a funny bone does. The accountant filled the pauses occasioned by the limitation of NPE’s lungs with encouraging words. “I know you have it in you to move into the corner office some day. Carve out your niche. Don’t give a quarter. Guard your turf with zeal. The future is yours.”

“Thanks old man. I was working hard for it and have performed beyond anybody’s expectations. Still don’t know how long it will take to get fast-tracked onto the road ahead that is promising and paved with gold. Can see my own cabin, corporate credit card, car with chauffeur and conferences overseas. But are they mirages?” The NPE was slowly slipping.

“Listen. I know you are one of the best performers and the brightest chaps around in this organization, and god knows if all goes well, in little over a couple of years, instead of me passing your vouchers, you will be signing my salary cheques. But…” The accountant paused for the bearer to replenish his glass.

“But what? Do you think I will not make it?” ejaculated the NPE.

“NO!” Like numbers and revenues, the accountant, with equal dexterity, can mask the ugly underbelly and paint a beautiful picture. But there are occasions when he too can call a spade a spade. And this was one such occasion.

“And I will tell you why. Tell me, what do you think will get you promoted continuously and takes you to the high seat of power”?

“Multi-tasking. Ability to raise flag at the appropriate time. And provide solutions before others even identify the problems…” the NPE was like a man in possessed, banging his half-full glass (for he was an optimist albeit a naïve one) on the table. He could have gone on and on, for he was a man who never bunked a lecture at the business school or never failed to memorize key quotations from any self-help or career building guides.

The accountant knew that and moved in quickly.“That’s precisely what the donkey thought before he got a good hiding and was kicked out by his master whom he served loyally all his life,” said the accountant.

“What donkey? What rot is that all about, old man?” NPE was confused and slightly worked up.

“Okay, I know you dig management consultancies, self-help gurus, chicken soups with moving cheese, matrixes and clever acronyms more than anything else. So at the cost of the readers not following the 6 other stories beyond this one; for they will now know the formula for attaining power; I will proceed to lay it out.” He took a paper napkin and scribbled legibly (for accountants like doctors are not known for their calligraphic skills) to put down the following equation:
Power = Position + Positioning + Proximity + Personality + Perceptions + PR + Performance

“I don’t understand. I thought…” mumbled the NPE.

But he never got to complete the thought as the accountant interjected, “I know you won’t. So here munch on these peanuts and listen to the story.” Downing the contents of the half-empty (for the accountant sees things for what they are) glass and acknowledging the bearer who moved in quickly bringing in reinforcements, proceeded the accountant:

The Donkey who cared not for Position and put purchase on Performance
“In a small listless village, a fair representative of both listless and listed villages that dot our vast landscape lived a Dog and a Donkey working for a washerman running a profitable venture. The Donkey used to wake up early in the morning, nibble fast on little bits of grass leftover from the previous night to get ready to carry the dirty load. The Dog on the other hand, though wide awake used to rest its head on the crossed fore-legs, close its eyes and lie down till the washerman came in and patted on its back, played with its ears, left a freshly made roti and a bowl of milk in front of it, commending it for the long hours it has put in during the night and the successful outcome of its vigil (for his money and valuables were safe in the morning when checked).

At mid-day, the Donkey used to pass its time eating the grass that grew on the banks of the river, alone with no company, while the Dog relished its rice and soup with the washerman household. And then it would retire under the shady neem tree in the backyard, nibbling on a bone left to it by the doting daughter of the washerman. A completely sedentary and envious lifestyle. The most it used to do under the heading of ‘work’ was wag its tail to shoo the free-riding flies away.

During evening, when the washerman came home it used to lunge onto him, sniff and lick at his feet (for the Dog though shameless was never short on the shrewdness department). The Donkey used to amble in carrying in the washed load and its own fodder, never a murmur or a word of complaint. Subjugation personified.

Dinner was no different, the Dog was fed to the gills, for it had a long and arduous and most critical part to play while the Donkey ploughed through the forage before thinking of the day ahead. It thought the perseverance it showed and its performance would reward it in the long run. It was happy doing its bit for god, countrymen and its master. It reveled in the knowledge that its diligence is what kept the people close to each other and the world peace prevailing.

But for him, the whole world would have been one big bad chaotic place. Thus thought the good Donkey. The Dog along with its fellow dogs had formed a network, wherein only a few of them had to keep vigil across the village every night and raise a robust woof when anything unusual was spotted. This would alert the other dogs who would chip in joining the chorus; driving the unusual thing away and thereby meet their K-9 Performance Indicator. This usually helped the Dog catch more than its 40 winks during which it hated to be disturbed at all. On the day of its vigil, though, it condescended to spend time faffing around with Donkey. The faffing was mostly centered around how the master can do more to it for all the feet-licking it does day in and day out.

The Donkey though surprised, for it thought the Dog had it all, lent a patient ear mostly. On occasions, it used to berate the Dog for not doing its duty diligently, for instead of engaging in long conversations, it should be doing couple of rounds around the house. It (the Donkey) said it was thankful to the boss for letting it do its job without interfering and giving it timely fodder.

One day, on its vigil, while engaging in such a conversation, the Dog failed to notice an unusual movement near the boss’s house. The Donkey though caught it from the corner of its eye and alerted the dog to do the needful. The Dog said it was none of the Donkey’s business to tell him what he should be doing, and anyway it’s much better catching the thief with the loot, red-handed than scaring the thief off before he did any noticeable damage when the boss won’t be any wiser to the incursion. The logic didn’t go down well with the Donkey, as it believed that prevention is better than detention.

It rose to the occasion and let go in full throat that which its ilk is best known and derided for. It brayed aloud. The thief of course jumped a few inches higher in the air, for it was a new alert system that he came across, but nonetheless made good on foot, in the process upsetting the well lined flowerpots of the house. The whole household got up, the washerman was out with the stoutest of staffs in hand, bracing for for an intrusion if any, for the Dog hadn’t barked.

The Donkey, seeing the boss come from inside, ran towards him for a pat or hug or a piece of roti; for one doesn’t know what goodies a good and honest performance brings in. Drinking in one sweeping glance, the upset flowerpots, the nothing-wrong-with-the-world lackadaisical demeanor of the Dog, the boss deduced that the Donkey went out of its line. THADOOM… came down the staff on the hapless and unsuspecting lowly creature. “BRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY” a gut-wrenching cry reverberated through the air, making even the stoutest-at-heart Dog to wince a wee bit.

A wise owl perched on top of the neem tree, witness to the whole, clucked his tongue and thought aloud, “Multi-tasking blah. Raising flag blah blah. If only we all render what our respective positions demand from us rather than being slaves to conscience.”

“I get it, so you will suffer if you try doing good for the boss,” said the now sober NPE.

“You got it from the Donkey’s perspective, which is good but not great. Look at it from the Dog’s point of view if you want to be on the winning and powerful end of the bargain.”

“Mmm…there’s something in that,” admitted the NPE.

“Hang on, here comes our patron saint of spirits to serve another round of salvation. By the end of it all my boy, you will be a true man(ager),” promised the accountant while adjusting himself comfortably in the chair. He then proceeded to enlighten him with another story.

‘You   charge a fraction of this amount for your public  speaking courses.  Why are you charging so much for your lateral thinking workshop?” was  the common  refrain. I realized that a certain psychological phenomenon was  at work. I reacted creatively.  I lowered my fees for my public speaking  workshops and even accepted a small honorarium and sometimes did  it free. I then raised my fees for my lateral thinking  working again in keeping  with my expertise  in that subject and its possible beneficial impact on my trainees.

It worked.

What was happening here ? Here I was,  lowering my fees in one workshop and starting  to get  higher fees for my other  offering! 

Our mind is susceptible to anchoring .The initial impression or opinion or experience influences  later developments even  though  the latter  may  be  unconnected with what happened in the past. 

Let me give you another example. In a class on lateral thinking I asked my trainees to write down on paper the first 3 digits   of their mobile phone number.  Then I placed before them a bottle of perfume and asked them what according to them was the price of the bottle. I found that all of them had suggested a price that was not very different from the  3 digit  numbers they  had jotted down . The actual price was in fact in double digits !  The telephone numbers had obviously no  relationship to the perfume bottle price .

The minds of my trainees were  anchored by the 3 digits. 

To add to the fun when I showed them other perfume bottles  and found that   they were willing to pay prices not very different from their offer for the first bottle irrespective of the actual price of the product. The later bottles were of much better quality and much  higher prices. This reminded me of my predicament when I quoted much higher fees for my lateral thinking workshops.  

You may have noticed in negotiations with  unions –or even your domestic help—that they start with what you may feel is an absurd amount .The latter also  knows that the demand is very high.  Their  intention is to anchor your mind to the figure quoted . Your tendency is to negotiate a figure in relation to that figure on a plus minus basis usually the latter!

When a creative enterpreneur decided to start a chain of coffee shops in Chennai that would sell coffee at more than  double the price at the adjacent Udipi hotel he was considered stupid. After all , the reasoning went , the Udipi price   would serve as an anchor and who in that conservative cost conscious city would pay twice that amount for a cup of coffee. But the entrepreneur  had other ideas. He created a teenage friendly ambience ,with rock music , exotic coffee flavours, unmatched by Udipi hotels. What he  did was   to ‘shift’ the anchor. He succeeded [KWIKY’S] . Thereafter  his  prices became an anchor for other chains.

Have you considered that the first job you accepted influenced your entire career thereafter ? If you took up your first job  without much thinking –say you got carried away by the salary  –you may have found that you were stuck with a boring demotivating situation . You are now at your wit’s end . I had that experience.You find it almost  impossible to change careers and had to suffer in silence for the rest of your active life– bored and fed up.

How can one  avoid  anchored thinking?

Before you buy anything  expensive ask yourself if you have been anchored by anyone or by any advertisement.

Even  a  little thinking on this score will alert you and save you a loss. Examine all your  past decisions for their  long term effect . Resist the temptation to grab the first  thing that comes along. Wait and ponder.

Contemplate the anchors in your life.  Re- examine them and ask if they are relevant today and in the future .

This will open your mind to new avenues.  Many years ago I went to a cinema hall in Mumbai determined to see the film Poonam Ki Raat  a  1960’s  suspense thriller . My thoughts on what price to pay to the blackmarketer—I was aware that the tickets were being sold in black—were anchored by  my  allowance which I knew  was a fraction of the going rate at the blackmarket . I bargained smartly and got the ticket at my anchor rate. I was about to congratulate myself when the ticket seller played spoilsport.

‘Saab Kishore Sahu murderer  hai’ he said .It was like your car tyres had been intentionally deflated .

Take AR Rehman’s  statement at the Oscar ceremony and at Chennai on his arrival. I reproduce here what he said at Chennai:

“It’s a starting point in my career and will indeed make a difference in fans’ approach towards good music.”

“My award’s message was said clearly in my acceptance speech. In my life, I always had a choice between love and hate and I chose love. That is my philosophy in life and in music.”

“I chose to live a life overriding differences between people, states, language and religion. My fans should do the same.”

As fans congregated outside his home in the south western suburb of Kodambakkam, Rahman was keen to ensure that neighbours were not disturbed in the dead of night.

It is clear that Rehman thinks deeply and has a message for all of us. His message carries authenticity because he is known to practice what he preaches. Thus his modesty is touching when he said “It’s a starting point in my career.”

This is all the more surprising in the context of Bollywood where giant size egos are the norm. His decision to choose love over hate is directed at all those who choose the opposite –these people are too well known to bear enumeration here. Rehman show us all the way to managing multiple identities – Tamilian, bollywood/tollywood star, muslim, Indian, international – all wrapped in one seamless fashion. His music can switch from Carnatic to Sufi to Lebanese to Salsa – all in one song! He himself can switch from talking about Allah to speaking about Iraiavan—the Tamil Hindu word for God. In the face of some consternation among orthodox muslims, Rehman sang –with added gusto I thought – Vande Matram.

Not many may have noticed that he has introduced maybe a hundred new young singers to the Tamil and Hindi screens – his faith in the youth of India is evident in his statement that he would like youngsters to take a different view of music after his winning the Oscar.

His request that his fans ought not to disturb his neighbours in the dead of night attracts attention to a long forgotten quality in India—consideration for others.

As for Resool Pookutty what he said has gone less noticed maybe because sound mixing is too esoteric for the layman. He said that he considered his Oscar award as God’s gift on the occasion of Shivratri. He made another profound statement – there was one ‘sound’ before which there was no sound and after which also there will be no sound. He was referring to the Hindu concept of the cosmic sound OM. The significance of these statements lies in what to me is a rare instance of a Hindu not being shy of his Hindu identity in public. In our perverted understanding of secularism it had become unfashionable for a Hindu to be so in public. I am an atheist by the way.

Both these  achievers together convey anther message to all of us especially the young—humble origins need  not prevent you from aspiring for and achieving great success.
How do these guys covey their message?
Dil se.

Very depressing. Made me very uninterested about life. All I see around are just copies of DNA trying their best to survive. War is a laughable affair. So is the desire of a new bike. We are a temporary blip, registered nowhere in the universe.

And then on Sunday morning I just got home from gym, and as I was parking my bike, the apartment’s security came running, with a bright yellow lump held in hand. A love bird, obviously escaped from someone’s cage and later picked up by a kite for breakfast, fell on its head when it was being carried overhead. A direct fall to the ground would probably have been fatal; but the bird was injured enough. I took it home.

Its heart was beating too fast, and it wasn’t able to lift its head. I don’t know if the neck was broken, and I thought it’d have been instant death if that was the case. Taking it in one palm, I held some water cupped in the other, and much to my relief, it stretched itself to slurp. After some sips, it seemed to have calmed down but refused to eat bread crumbs I offered. It needed medical attention, so I called PFA and they took it to their hospital.

The bird is doing well now.

This is crazy. Why there has to be an equilibrium of everything? Nursing an injured bird changed it all — I love life again!