Think ahead - Sarita Kutty / Reshma Majithia
Make time for priorities. As the world becomes more interconnected, events outside our life and career have an impact
on our business as well as our family. In fact, our daily routine takes place in a larger context of social, technological, political,
economic and cultural change. Hence, to be successful, we must try and understand that world. Without this, it is not
possible to be primed for innovation; we will only be able to react and avoid.
Though we are quite aware of the above facts, we consistently gauge some risks and problems poorly.
The period during the financial crisis was one such exasperating and exhilarating mix of traits — being both divine and felonious.
In a world where so much is unpredictable and confoundingly complicated, the forces that led to the economic catastrophe
seem far more profound than the global financial system that imploded. It has proven to be a deadly experiment. Bankers and Wall Street amassed their riches, but as usual the public was adversely affected. Growth had come to a standstill, until the time
it was assisted by periodic injection of stimulus.
The rationale of a stimulus package to reinvigorate the economy comes from the Keynesian economics formula which
was used successfully after the world wars. It states that the fiscal policy actions by the government should be changed to
stabilise the business output. This has led to a raging debate over what an effective stimulus package should look like.
Many different policies are purported to stimulate the economy, but it is important to discern between those that will have
their effect in the very near-term to offset rising unemployment this year and those policies that have longer-term effects.
Moreover, success also depends on how well we think. We are not paid to collect, sort, store or retrieve information, although we do these things every day. We are paid to interpret that information and create and implement new ideas. Try as you will, you get behind in the race. Thus, it indeed is an incessant strain to keep pace.
The meaning of words marked in bold
Primed (V):
|
(prahymd)
to be prepared for |
Gauge (V): |
(geyj)
to appraise, estimate,
or judge |
Exasperating (Adj) |
(ig-zas-puh-reyt-ing
irritating or provoking to a high degree; causing extreme annoyance
|
Exhilarating (Adj) |
(ig-zil-uh-reyt-ing)
exciting, enjoyable |
Divine (Adj) : |
(dih-vahyn)
of or pertaining to a god, especially the supreme being, wonderful,
beautiful |
Felonious (Adj) :
|
(fuh-loh-nee-uhs)
wicked, villainous
|
Confoundingly (Adv) : |
(kuhn-foundingly)
to perplexing or amazingly confusing or surprisingly;
bewildering |
Catastrophe (N): |
(kuh-tas-truh-fee)
a sudden widespread disaster |
Profound (Adj):
|
(Pruh-found) penetrating or very deep; very serious |
Imploded (V):
|
(im-plohd) to explode inward |
Amassed (V):
|
(uh-mas) to gather for oneself, collect as one’s own |
Adversely (Adv): |
(ad-vurs-ly) unfavorably, negatively, unlucky, unfortunate |
Standstill (N): |
(stand-stil) a state of cessation of movement or action, stop, halt |
Stimulus (N):
|
(stim-yuh-luhs) something that incites to action or exertion or quickens action, feeling, thought, something that revives |
Rationale (N):
|
(rash-nal) the fundamental reason or reasons serving to account for something. |
Reinvigorate (V):
|
(ri- in-vig-uh-reyt)
to put vitality and
vigour back into
(someone or something) |
Raging (Adj):
|
(rey-jing) very serious, arousing strong emotions, arguments |
Purported (Adj): |
(per-pawr-tid) alleged; supposed; rumoured |
Discern (V):
|
(dih-surn) discover, descry, distinguish, perceive |
Incessant (Adj):
|
(in-ses-uhnt) continuing without interruption, ceaseless, unending |
|
