Managing Egos= Managing People?

 Yes, most of the time, these are the same thing. 

That is one reason why flattery works in a lot of places. Bosses, for example are usually happy to hear good things about themselves. King's courtiers knew this very well, in the days when monarchy was prevalent everywhere.

It is a rare person who is immune to praise- deserved or undeserved. I am not recommending this route to get ahead, but maybe awareness of it may still be useful. Even otherwise, you can get things done if you recognise that people have egos- sometimes, bloated egos and the easiest way is to play along and get that satisfied.

Government servants in monopolistic situations are a good example, because they can block any initiative or request, unless egos are massaged. Well, that is sometimes given other names, but like Shakespeare said, the name is not very relevant. So, recognise and work around it if you face a monopoly of power. 

Wartime Innovations

 Ok, war is bad. We all know that. But it is necessary for the war machines to keep production of ammunition going and growing. We also know that. Therefore, we need innovation in wars-or innovative wars.

There have to be wars. Understood. But destruction, killing, mass migration? These are not inevitable. So, to achieve painless but real wars, here are two suggestions (one borrowed from a friend, one mine)

1. Have real ammunition fired at specially created dummy targets created in the enemy country, by prior arrangement with them. Fire all your missiles into those. That's how films do it, so we have the expertise, in creating sets that will get destroyed, instead of real people. The warmongers get the satisfaction of having done their macho thing. No people are harmed.

2. Both sides acquire technology which can divert all missiles and bombs to sites that are harmless, once these are fired/dropped. They are detected midstream and diverted, so there is no damage to life and property, but both sides can claim that thousands of bombs were dropped on the enemy.

How about it? Both are viable solutions, and the first is cheaper- just set aside some land for the bombings. 

Anopheles Makes a Surprise Visit

Anopheles and Me

For those who have lost the plot ..err, haven't been following the plot, Anopheles is a female mosquito who drops in on me to have a chat once in a while. We have had conversations on every topic in the world- theirs and ours. I had not seen her in a while, and it was a pleasant surprise to hear her buzz into my room.

"What is a war?" she asked without a preamble.
"Well, it is a situation in which we kill each other." I tried.
"But why do you kill each other?" she wasn't satisfied, as I was afraid she wouldn't.

"Some of us want to expand our kingdoms" I said, thinking of Alexander the Great.
"Are large kingdoms necessary for a king to be happy?"she innocently asked.
"I can't say, I never had one" I told her.

"So what's your poison?" she queried.
"Mine, I guess, is the ego. Without the achievements to accompany the desire, I want people to tell me I am great. This is a failing of the human race, not mine alone." I rationalised.
"And that makes you happy?"
"Temporarily, yes. But not for too long. I want a new toy after a while, because the old one ceases to tickle."I tried explaining.

"Could this ego, as you call it, also be the cause of some of the wars that I hear you keep having regularly?"she persisted.
I thought about Bush and his random wars on terror, Iraq versus Kuwait, Iran-Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, and all the others.
"I suppose so, at least many of the wars were ego-based," I had to conclude.
"But tell me, why are you in a war-like mood today?"I tried levity, in a bid to lighten the conversation.
"Because my kid whom I raised so lovingly, fought with me over a trivial issue and flew away from home,"she confided.

"Oh, my," I thought. Their world is not so different after all. And tried consoling her with some soothing words that helped her calm down. She promised to wait a day or two hoping he would return, and bid goodbye.

Id, Ego and Super ego

Some great psychologist (was it Fraud....I mean Freud?) once proposed that we have these three entities ruling our minds. The question to be asked is-

Does the Id run amok on the  day of Eid?

Does the Ego get adversely affected when we ride the Wego?

Do you feel like Superman when the Superego is in command? Or at least like Krishhhh,..ok, Shaktimiaan?

These questions are bothersome.

Any answers?