Productivity in business, success in any endeavour requires continual intellectual application to three disciplines viz. concentration, consistency and cooperation. They are the rudiments of achievement in any field of activity. These words are no doubt used liberally among management personnel but few really understand, much less put them into actual practice. And the use of incentives can in no way substitute the fundamental principles governing production and success.
You gain concentration when your mind is with your action. The mind has a natural tendency to worry over the past or become anxious of the future. You need a developed, strong intellect to focus your mind on the present job. Concentration is the technique exercised by the intellect to hold the mind on the present occupation without allowing it to slip into the past or future. It is measured by the extent to which the intellect manages to hold the mind in the present.
The second discipline, consistency is the skill of directing your actions towards the ideal, goal set to achieve. Consistency is impaired by the ramblings of the mind. As you work towards the goal the mind slips into other attractions. The actions then do not flow in the direction of the set goal. Herein, your intellect plays a significant role to keep all actions moving towards it. When your intellect channelises actions in the set direction you gain consistency. The practice of consistency lends power, energy, strength to action. You observe this clearly in nature. Water flowing in one direction has power. Wind blowing in one direction has power. So does light focused in one direction. Similarly, if your actions are channelised in one direction, they become powerful. It is the mind, drawn by other attractions, that loses its direction and consistency in action. The intellect alone can control the mind and direct the actions towards the goal. When the actions flow thus there is power and success in any endeavour.
The third discipline is cooperation. To achieve an objective you need the cooperation of others. It is difficult to be an achiever in life without the spirit of cooperative endeavour. Germany and Japan were devastated in the last World War. But the citizens pooled their efforts cooperatively to rebuild their nations. Thus sprang the two nations to power and strength, both economically and politically. America and Australia were virtually nothing a little over two hundred years ago. The early settlers had also to pool their resources in a spirit of cooperative endeavour to build a nation. And have become powerful nations of the world. Hence the third essential requirement for success is met when the intellect maintains a true spirit of cooperation among one and all concerned.
An individual or organisation following the above three disciplines shall command success and productivity, progress and peace in any field of endeavour.
— Extract from “The Fall of the Human Intellect” book written by A. Parthasarathy.
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