Is there a management lesson in Team India’s dramatic stumble at the final hurdle against Team Australia literally and figuratively at the 2023 CricketWorldCup?
Hardly a week has passed after Team India got outplayed in a strategic gamble that Australian captain Pat Cummins got spot-on right from the toss to the finish! One can blame the overcooked (for spin) pitch, the overbearing, partisan crowd or the over-cautious middle order Indian batting but it boils down to accepting that on the day, one team read out the perfect script for success while the home advantage got squandered to become a pressure on our warriors.
Business is full of such decision making based on risk taking which gives us all the most important lesson – EQUANIMITY in facing every situation with just the SAME PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE!
“DO YOUR BEST AND ENJOY THE REST” were the words of Swami Chinmayananda, who deeply influenced my thinking among million others in a magical transformative journey as a globally renowned Vedantic Master reaching the message of the Bhagawad Gita to the youth of the day. The PUN was intended in that sentence. When you have done your best, you can literally ‘sleep’ well or rest well. You can also ‘enjoy the rest’ of the world doing their best in competing with everyone to win the biggest cup of success to drink from. In this case, it was Australia who beat us and though it rankles enough to try harder, we also accept, even admire, their resilience in crossing the line.
SAMATWAM is the original Sanskrit word for which EQUANIMITY could be the best translation in English. Rudyard Kipling beautifully expressed it in his poem “IF” about treating both Victory and Defeat as “imposters.”They both play with our emotional vulnerability as well as our emotional competence, and our job is to manage them both and not to live in denial.
Play the game for the passion that elevates our spirit rather than dampening other’s spirits. Looking at the heroic, stoic but gracious way that Coach Rahul Dravid and Captain Rohit Sharma have handled themselves, I am glad they won a billion hearts. Even the most critical non-playing public have realised this is perhaps the best Indian cricket team to have NOT won a World Cup! Such is the gracious, matured response of a nation who are disappointed but not dejected.
Time to move on with a heavy heart to support others much like our Braveheart Soldiers who have been doing and will do this professionally for us FOREVER!
EQUANIMITY is a state of mind and it’s a blessing for becoming professional in attitude!
So, did “we” lose or did “they” win? BOTH! WIN-WIN is an attitude – “SAMATWAM” in short, wins hearts!
CHEER UP! IF YOU LOST THE CUP, YOU WILL STILL WIN THE HEARTS IF YOU CAN CHEER UP! TAKE THE LEARNING AND MOVE ON, TEAM INDIA!
SO WILL WE – LEARNING FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE TO PICK YOURSELVES UP!