The illusion of control: the curse of Knowledge.

Lehman brothers hired the best-trained brains in the industry, best MBA, CFA and Analyst. Arguably the best intellect at investment banks form the spine of the global financial system, yet the global meltdown of 2009 , was completely a man-made disaster. In an article, The Economist said that any outsider could have seen the rot in the financial system of America but not the bosses of the financial firms. Think of it, the best brains in the US, Ivy league executives which taught others, to make money out of money…actually could not see this happen.

Why could not they see? How did they Errr..?

Can we call it the curse of too much knowledge? Or was it the illusion of control? Or is one the cause of the effect? This is not about the global financial crises. It is about box of knowledge.


Let's pick a story from the "Wisdom of Kung Fu-Panda" crux of the animated movie Kungfu Panda. Sagely Kung-Fu Master Oogway the Tortoise selects a fat Panda Po, devoid of any Kung fu skills as the ultimate saviour from notorious Tiger Tai Lung.Master Shibu  ( Disciple of Tortise- Oogway) cannot believe that a fat, lazy, perpetually hungry Panda, could be better than his other legendary disciples, who had practised hard for years. He believed, his disciples were better equipped to beat the Challenger Tai Lung and Panda could never learn the art. Master Oogway remained sagely unperturbed- he gave Shibu some Kung-fu wisdom - to bring harmony in his eyes, to see beyond his curse of knowledge, shed his illusion of control. Only then did Shibu, Inspired by the faith of his master believe in the Panda. The Panda not only learned Kung Fu..but had some advantages which Master Shibu would not imagine…….the panda proved the faith in him right By defeating Tiger Tai Lung

Why did the Panda succeed?

Did panda have too much systematic knowledge, conventional wisdom?..did he have an illusion of control..he was just what he was, himself, doing the basics right with courage…devoid of too much knowledge of the system not enclosed in a box. Unfortunately, the global financial system had no celestial intervention or the wisdom of Sagely kungfu guru Oogway.

One can merely speculate, whatever it is worth. Innovation and varied perspectives aren’t formed due to a system, they are spontaneous and arise when we leave enough slack & diversity in the organization. Unfortunately, we believe that only one X set of inputs in a system can create Y. We narrowly define the inputs. Take a straight jacket approach. Get stuck…exactly as the financial system. Knowledge is power, yet…. It is as much a curse, It imprisons you inside the very body of knowledge. It encloses you in a box, curses you not to see, beyond it. It can be seen, as an improvised form of the bounded rationality concept of economics. Rare are people who break this BOX.

Human beings want to control, they wish they could measure everything and try to analyze and recreate it. Man’s achievement…its monuments, his scientific advancements exist because of this instinct. Overindulgence in this knowledge creates exactly what one can call the curse of knowledge.

Let's look at our own organization, inside the organizational process and systems- how many are willing to have a fresh viewpoint from a fresh manager? Does not our organization use, only going through their own grind as a pre-requisite to have an opinion. Is there any motivation or understanding to innovate, to change, to look at things differently? Is it not a curse of knowledge? The Inertia of Status Quo?
A fresh new look by a fresh manager from a different industry may bring in the imagined space and innovation in your products or services. Why? Maybe this new blood is not under the pressure of encroached knowledge of your industry or organizations. Do leaders need this new blood with an unbiased perspectives, different kinds of knowledge? yes they do… Why then would you find young line staff coaching Leaders at this renowned company?
Reverse mentoring at Nokia

Connecting the dots........

Posted on XLRI GMP Collaborative blog on my initial XLRI experience.....

I opened my eyes and looked outside- It was dawn. I jumped out of my berth time was still 05:15 Am. The sky was a deep blue with hues of red and orange melting into yellow on the horizon. It was a magical feeling different than other morning i had felt. As the train sped toward the station, a dry cold wind was hissing past me, as if whispering welcome to Jamshedpur!

It is not easy to leave a well paying job in recessionary times, especially when you are doing very well .The Job market not looking too good, people questioned me? MBA is a separate charm, It was my cherished dream, I was willing to take risk; confident about myself.

As I first entered the XLRI campus, the greenery struck me, the silence and serenity of the place was a stark contrast to the noise of Mumbai. The hostel was neat & clean, I got a garden facing room. When I connected my laptop to the Lan- I was online 10 minutes into the hostel.

The Inauguration ceremony was simple, the views of the administration candid. No big show or festivity was kind of visible but the communication was crystal clear and effective- XLRI’s has 9 years experience of 1 year batch, you are mature and experienced guys, we have all the facilities, it is for us to extract the best of it. The preparatory course began, and I was in for some hell of ride 4 lectures each day 1.5 hrs each. I was scared, as the day was to end with a 3 hrs accounting class, but that........ was not to be.

The accounting class was the surprise package, we all now look forward to that lecture J faculty entertained us J with accounts, must acknowledge it is one of the best education experiences I had. Learning accounts will be fun with this Prof, he ended the preparatory course with the address of his home- simple statement “’do drop in!!!!!’’I realised each Prof stayed in the campus and was accessible. Another interesting Gentleman professor we have ( of all the things he teaches us managerial communications) is a elderly reverent father, who has clearly laid down strict rules to be followed in his class, a formal attire grooming us to be Gentleman- but in anger he address us as ‘”Jokers’’ hilarious at times - but then again he treated us with a 7 course dinner, a formal event at MDP residence- he went ahead to teach us table etiquettes, thus he is using all his tact to make us learn things we may not pay much attention to- Non verbal communications. Meticulous and dedicated is what I have made my opinion of profs at XLRI- I frankly did not expect it, as these guys are very humble straight forward and how they ‘’present’’ themselves is never an indication of what they are. This was way beyond our expectations- this place was too good.

I was not expecting this at XL, I remember in January, I filled a very simple admissions form. The Sudden request for online essay form by XLRI was not expected, but manageable. These essays tried measuring my motivations and probed me as a person. An interview followed, where the Profs respected my opinion not trying to prove that they knew better. They were probing me, checking my presence of mind, understanding tit bits of my industry commenting about Korean chaebols but not arguing with me, not aimed in outsmarting me. They had straight forward humble approach. I had not imagined that this approach was backed by some solid knowledge, understanding of the subject and the industry.

I can now connect the dots, it was this all along....XL was not founded by government intervention or some corporate bigwigs glamorising MBA- recruiting students to play the rankings game. It was formed by Jesuit priests. It is the part of a tradition what is called as “Convent Education” The staff is humble, dedicated and meticulous because their aim is to serve, glamorising or marketing the course isn’t their aim. The reputation of this place is not based of glamorous advertising or smart PR work.

This institute routed in history sticks to its values- excellence and integrity. All along from the application, essays, interview and now lectures at the institute. The GMP program is not about 26 year old guys outwitting each other in class- as if groomed packs of brats need masks of managers. This is about mature individuals with experience, exposure and talent. This place is not about excellent advertising and PR. It is not money spinning machine .XLRI is about its service to society, sticking to its values Excellence and integrity.