The Hindu Business Line : Just do it!

Captain Courageous: Rahul Dravid celebrates India's win over England in the second test cricket match in Mohali. The recent series against Pakistan and England stand testimony to Rahul Dravid's ability to face challenges with courage and confidence.

L. N. Mittal sent shockwaves through the international steel industry by making an unsolicited bid to acquire his main rival, Arcelor SA of France. He may or may not succeed in this bid, but when I look at the way he has built his empire, a couple of words come to my mind — courage, spunk.

Courage is the state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger or fear with self-possession, confidence, and resolution. Great achievers all have this quality, along with a great belief in their abilities.

They have goals that many people would consider as a pipe dream. It is an attitude of risk taking. It is like David confidently challenging Goliath with the full confidence that he has an even chance.

I am a fan of NBA and love their Slam Dunk contest, which is generally won by a guy closer to being 7 feet tall rather than 6 feet.

If you are less than six feet tall, playing professional basketball is a pipe dream. Nate Robinson who is 5' 9" had the gumption to dream big. He beat the tall odds and was crowned NBA's Slam Dunk Champion for 2006.

David 1: Goliath 0

Closer to our hearts and minds is our very own `Captain Courageous', Rahul Dravid. In the recent series in Pakistan, he set an example by opening the batting for India and facing a challenge he could have easily avoided. Uncertainty is an inevitable condition throughout life.

If chances such as accepting a tough project, moving to another location and so on are not taken, they can never be revisited Mark Twain said: "Courage is not absence of fear, it is the control of fear, mastery of fear."

If someone claims to be totally fearless, that person is also a blatant liar. Fears diminish and lose their power over you as you confront them. On the other hand, every time you give in and back away, fear gets a firmer grip.

The best way to develop courage is to consciously confront one's fear. Treat fear-inducing situations as a challenge and an opportunity to become a better person.

Courageous people overcome obstacles

My cousin, who was all of 19 and excelled in sports and academics, had an accident. He was paralysed from the neck downwards . He was dependent on others for a few years. But with courage he took charge of his life and is playing a very productive part in society.

Courageous people open doors that others can enter

This cousin runs a charitable trust that helps the physically challenged and provides employment to many fully able people.

The organisation called Amar Seva Sangam has won many accolades for its pioneering work. He has set a pioneering example of how even a severely disabled person can live an enriched life.

Courageous people learn and grow and have a zeal for change

When faced with the prospect of redundancy, people who are brave take up the challenge.

A friend of mine, who was retrenched, happily joined a BPO firm as a new entrant on par with people half his age. He took up the challenge enthusiastically and it has now become an alternate career.

Courageous people begin with an inward battle

Courage isn't the absence of fear. It is doing what you are afraid to do. The people in charge of the security of our country are ordinary people who have found extraordinary courage. The fear of losing one's life is the biggest fear one can confront. In the face of that, fear of losing your position and possessions seem trivial.

Courageous people take risks

A few years ago, I knew a manager whose project had run behind on both time and budget parameters. He gave many of his team members the highest rating that was possible — `excellent'. His boss refused to accept the recommendation saying that the results did not justify the rating. The project manager countered, saying that those team members had exceeded the expectations placed on them. The project had failed simply because the management had not asked for a realistic time schedule and an adequate budget. If anything, it was the management that needed to be rated `mediocre'.

Courageous people don't fear failure

We all make mistakes. It doesn't have to cripple us . Tom Peters, the management guru, declared two decades ago that companies must fail fast forward. The trick is to make mistakes at a faster pace and learn from them so they are not repeated..That theory still holds a lot of water. <167,1p,1>

In the corporate world, those who take risks and don't fear failure are the pioneers. Narayana Murthy would have simply been one more successful person instead of a pioneer of the Indian IT industry if he had not taken an enormous risk and abandoned his comfort zone. You do not have to wait until you are thrown overboard like Harvey Cheyne in Rudyard Kipling's classic `Captains Courageous'. Jump into deep waters and you will learn to swim and even frolic.

(The writer, an alumnus of XLRI, is a freelance HR consultant and trainer)