Wings of vision

Imagination is the creative power of soul. Life would be so boring without imagination. In fact take away imagination, and we find our lonesome individual selves, meandering aimlessly on the path of life. Do we not, recall with fondness our varied imaginary conversations with large variety of people, who never get to know what we speak to them ... we say in such conversations, what we may not dare say or which we desperately want to, but are not courageous enough to say ... a perfect case of imagination with no practical implementation; or stated differently, sentiments not embedded strongly enough in our perception, to make or turn them into reality. Imagination is a faculty of forming mental images or concepts of what is not in actually present to the senses. In psychology, imagination is ‘either’ reproductive imagination “or” creative imagination. ‘Reproductive imagination’ is the ability of reproducing images stored in the memory; while the skill of re-setting past experiences in the creation of new images, that are directed to actualise specific goals or find solutions to problems, is ‘creative imagination’. It’s only when one is blessed with the ability to imagine the action spurs. A mere scan of the development of human intelligence, over times immemorial, confirms that it was imagination of men (no gender discrimination intended or implied) that ushered in all the great discoveries and inventions. The scientific fiction of today is a reality of tomorrow. My childhood fantasy with the existence of ‘flying saucers’, became a reality within my childhood years … what was Appollo-8; landing in ‘the sea of tranquility’, on the distant moon. A flying saucer named, ‘Eagle’ by NASA. While Armstrong made that historic remark, “a small step, but a giant leap for mankind”; that first step also meant a death knell to all the “romance” associated with the beauteous, distant, unreachable, inaccessible zenith of the full moon, mentioned across all categories of literature. This achievement by man put an end to the concept of beauteous face of the beloved, as enshrined, for example in the works of Mirza Ghalib! The poet’s imagination was put to rest. It is not necessary that all “imagination” must result in positive discovery. Do business managers need to be possessed of the abilities to imagine? The answer can’t be any other, except a resounding, yes. The sight of a bird flying, stirred the human imagination to build aircrafts; the view of ducks, swans, drakes swimming and dancing on the waves of the ocean, evoked the building of ships and the ability of the sharks and whales to stay under water for long hours and its skill to nab its prey, with surprise, gave man the imagination to build the submarine. After initial inspiration, it is always an individual’s imagination that the rest is created. The architects, including those of Taj Mahal, Leaning tower of Pisa or the Pyramids, were all individuals who “ imagined”, before even the first brick was laid, of what and how their “end product” will be. We are marveled at their sight, but to those architects, it was mere translation into reality of their imagination. So is true of the works of legendary artists like Leonardo Davinci , Rapheal, Etc, They did not just pick up the brush and put it to the canvas; they made well judged and pre-conceived strokes, with clear end, their mind (imagination) had envisaged. Leaders and managers have to develop the art of imagination to carry forward their vision and the organization. I started writing in my mind (imagination) this article almost three decades back, when in London on Capital Radio-194, I heard John Lennon (of Beatles fame) sing the following lyrics: “ … Imagine there’s no countries, It isn’t hard to do, nothing to kill or die for … Imagine all the people, living life in peace”and here came those lines, which continue to motivate my imagination,” … you may say I am a dreamer, but I’m not the only one, I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one”. Here is a man who is daring to imagine, what today seems most implausible but to me the future looks good, for its occurrence. I imagine, therefore I act. The faculty of mental creative ability to deal successfully with unexpected twists and turns, unusual problems or circumstances of the market place, is within the realm of imagination i.e. a creative combination of perception with active elements of thinking. Results are dependent on the unity of imagination and action. Those (managers) who have imagination live in a land of enchantment which the eyes of others (competitors) cannot see. (Ballads of a Bohemian). Imagination cannot be controlled, chained, enslaved or imprisoned - it is one thing under the absolute control of any individual. For the traits of self-confidence, initiative and leadership, to be discovered and developed have to be firstly embedded in your imagination. A manger can do only that, which he believes, he can do. Any individual who is capable to do and do better, that he is actually not doing, is an unemployed person--by this quotient, you can find many leaders, mangers and even CEO’s, who despite warming the high back chairs are actually ‘unemployed’. The sting of imagination is lacking in their persona. They cannot see market trends because of the dimness of the imagination. For positive results one has to guide and harness imagination; what managers fail to recognize is that half of the wrongs in the organization is in their own imagination. A leader that has imagination will possess the art of combing through old ideas of imagination and build new ones. Only in men’s imagination does every truth find itself in effective existence.”Imagination, not invention, is the supreme master of art as of life (Joseph Conrad)”. For the preparation of any business strategy the first important step is to have the “imagination” of what and how the business should or would be like. Many a times, after the initial steps, “business imagination” also undergoes changes, as newer dimensions in conducting business are discovered. The creators of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, who had first drawn them on a paper napkin, had never imagined that the characters and their comics, action figures, TV shows, movies, etc would become super hit globally. A shift in imagination is a necessary tool for business leaders. Entrepreneurs are meant to be merchants of imagination. We cannot sow thistles and reap clover. Nature simply does not run things that way. She goes by cause and effect. If you feed your imagination with garbage, the resultant actions cannot be anything different. Nurture your imagination. Tame it. Harness it. Bring it to the fore in your day to day management of business issues. Be perceptive. Be imaginative. Move away from the daily grind. Develop, through sound imagination, perceptionality, and cognition of the behavior of market forces. Idealise your imagination. The results will idealise you. Imagination is a joint venture between experience and hope, and it is infinite. The writer is a freelance columnist

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