January 6, 2025, Of all these sectors of global healthcare, it is arguable that the pharmaceutical industry becomes one of the crucial industries that have been making life-saving drugs as well as the furtherance of discoveries in medical research. This includes the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical goods that focus on better patient outcomes. The pharmaceutical industry-from small startup to multinational pharmaceutical companies-has made unparalleled contributions to overcome various global health challenges. Did you Know?India is often called the "pharmacy of the world" because of its role as a major source of cheap drugs and vaccines globally. Main Factors Influencing the Global Pharmaceutical Industry This does not truly mean that the pharmaceutical industry is no longer changing with innovation technologically driven, regulatory scrutiny changes, and shifts in demand for healthcare services. There are various drivers of its course, including innovation in drug discovery and rising importance of customized medicine and growing demand for vaccines and treatments in the post-pandemic world.  India stands way ahead of them all, in terms of potential generic medicines and low-cost production techniques for widespread global needs. However, the industry faces several difficulties in keeping abreast with demands from government regulations, quality standards, and healthy competition across the globe. Challenges and Opportunities in the Pharmaceutical Sector The Indian pharmaceutical sector is strong but has several challenges that are true of the industry across the world: these include the strict regulatory requirements, the quality control issue, and counterfeiting of drugs. Opportunities abound: the growth in biosimilars and vaccines, growing demand for affordable healthcare in emerging markets. Compliance to regulations:  Drug companies are doing business in a clutter of regulations that prevail in India and global regulatory spaces. It is very challenging to ensure compliance with the various requirements across countries, such as the U.S. FDA or Europe's EMA, but it cuts to the bottom line of providing assured safety and efficacy for their customers. Complexity of supply chains:  Managing global supply chains for pharmaceutical products involves maintaining consistent quality and authenticity of drugs. Counterfeit drugs are a serious problem today. It becomes more relevant to build further transparency and security in pharmaceutical supply chains with the use of blockchain technology. High and substantial R&D costs:  Innovation is at the very core of the industry, but the high cost of drug development continues to remain a major challenge. Indian pharmaceutical companies, however, have made some significant progress in R&D in fields like biosimilars and vaccines. Quality Assurance in the Pharmaceutical Industry Indeed, quality assurance is an excellent aspect that will guarantee the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products. In this regard, Indian companies will have to adhere to GMP and other stringent conditions. Thus, medicines manufactured will not only meet the national but also international norms of quality. A violation of such conditions may attract costly penalties, with loss of access to these markets in regions such as the U.S. and Europe, which are the most regulated. Did you know? India has thousands of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, the majority of which are checked and approved by global regulatory agencies, hence validated and safe for medicines. What is the Role of Pharmaceutical Companies in India? India is home to some of the world's biggest pharmaceuticals: Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, and Cipla. These companies are not only meeting the health needs of the country but also offering low-cost drugs to over 200 countries. They help global health care by developing critical generic, biological, and vaccine products. India has also transformed itself into a drugs manufacturing hub because of the advantage of low cost and the availability of large numbers of skilled workers in pharmaceutical sciences. What's happening worldwide in the drug sector? The major key trends to shape the future of the global pharmaceutical are: Personalized Medicine: This is a highly tailored medical treatment to individual patients on a basis of genetic makeup. Artificial Intelligence, AI: Many times, it becomes apparent that AI revolutionizes drug discovery and predictive diagnostics, patient care, and significantly heightens precision and reduces development time. What Are the Most Difficult Problems Facing the Pharmaceutical Industry? The pharmaceutical industry today faces severe major obstacles all over the world. Of the two main issues, both are charged ones: high R&D costs, and complex regulation; developing new drugs is a very costly affair, and often losses are incurred by companies involved in undertaking such projects. Other reasons are that regulatory procedures can be significantly very varied from one country to another. drug approval processes, especially in more challenging markets, take a lot of time and are protracted, hence delaying new therapies. There is also the challenge of higher price pressures where governments together with healthcare providers, especially emerging markets, demand lower-priced drugs. That would be a challenge to the bottom line of pharmaceutical companies and one of the main causes to fear in the sector. . How does India stand in comparison to the Global Pharmaceutical Industry? Indian pharmaceuticals are in leadership around the world, though firms have a highly competitive base in the production of generics. Now they mainly manufacture generics. But generic drugs manufacturing processes and a qualified workforce are so cost-effective. India has to face stiff competition from the emerging markets of China and Brazil. So they have to continue innovations in this respect to have a leading edge. What's Next for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing in India? The Indian pharmaceutical manufacturing industry is likely to be quite buoyant; advances in technology and investments in R&D in the pharmaceutical sector have a rapid growth momentum. Indian pharmaceutical companies are also looking at new markets in biosimilars and biologics, which offer significant growth potential. How Does Technology Affect Pharmaceutical Production? With growing transformative technology in pharmaceutical production, automation, AI, and blockchain are used for the streamlining of the processes, generation of less waste, safety, and authenticity of the pharmaceutical products. Optimization of big data helps pharmaceutical companies optimize their supply chains and improve their production efficiency. Interestingly, India is home to one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical manufacturing bases, and several of its facilities are certified by international regulatory bodies, including the U.S. FDA. How Can AITD Help? As time progresses with the advance of the pharmaceutical industry, a professional's capability to stay ahead of the curve will be necessary. Amity Institute of Training & Development  (AITD) gives a pharmaceutical professional customized training programs that are aimed at allowing him or her to adapt to the type of change that is happening within the industry, augment his or her skills, and remain competitive in this environment. Identification of Development Areas:  Our programs further help professionals identify some of the relevant areas for development, ensuring they remain relevant in such an ever-changing industry. Scientific Approach & Innovation:  We focus on introducing an environment of innovation and a scientific mindset in the pharmaceutical industry to reach higher growth levels and to grow better. Employee Engagement: Talent attraction and retention are needed by any pharmaceutical company. AITD's initiative aims at enabling employees to become motivated workforce that can match up with the goals of the respective organization. Current Market Analysis & Research: Ours does provide market analysis regarding the new, latest trends and developments going on in the pharmaceutical industry-an area that would put professionals at the cutting edge of the game. Role Progression: Our programs are able to guide a professional in his career progression-after all, helping him take that next step in his line of work. Workforce Management: Managing the workforce in the right manner is always well sought after by any pharmaceutical company. AITD's programs will empower managers to lead their teams more effectively. Interested in Learning more about the topics, here are a few links to relevant researches and studies conducted: Indian Pharmaceutical Industry: The Changing Dynamics The R&D Scenario in Indian Pharmaceutical Industry A STUDY OF PHARMACEUTICAL MARKETING STRATEGIES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES IN INDIA Final Words on Important Aspects of Global Pharmaceutical Industry The global pharma industry is at a crossroads today-between challenges and opportunities. The focus of India would be on all three fronts: generics, innovation, and quality. Such a change would require companies to keep their focus on R&D, maintain high quality standards, and be open to new technologies. This growing industry has also shaped the field for experts. To keep their heads above water, customized training programs by AITD will help pharmaceutical professionals embrace the nature of this constant evolution and enable them to compete successfully. Do you know? India is one of the biggest vaccine-producing countries in the world and plays a tremendous role in achieving global immunization goals.

December 26, 2024, “Thank you for your insightful questions!” said the host at the end of the event. That was a rarity to hear in my growing up years. So, despite being excited about being a part of the audience in a coveted event in my firm, when the mic was being passed around to the audience, I let it pass. That was not a first, but one of many times. Thank you for asking questions is a phrase we often hear, but how often do we use it to engage deeper with the world around us? Did You Know? Questions as a Learning Tool: Studies show that children ask around 300 questions a day, highlighting the natural human curiosity that drives learning from an early age. Barriers to Asking Questions Perhaps mental conditioning, fear of sounding stupid or ignorant, or just an inability to frame my thoughts into a question were my blockers then. But I knew I was missing an opportunity to learn, even if I would have said thank you for asking though and left the mic behind.. Answers are rewarded... questions are… well, questionable. In a world of here and now, tolerating questions itself is rare, forget about encouraging them. “Don’t come to me with questions—come to me with answers,” Who has the time?, I am superior—I know it all?, Why disrupt? And the list is endless….Even in social scenarios, such as when someone says, 'Thank you for asking me out,' it demonstrates the importance of valuing curiosity and genuine interest. The Journey to Embracing Questions It took quite a few years and mentoring from some of my mentors for me to ditch that hitch and embrace asking questions, and to encourage them too. The motto was: Better to ask and risk appearing stupid than to continue on your ignorant way and make a stupid mistake. But no one should actually need help in asking questions… right? I mean, is it not like an elementary aspect we are born with! That’s what most people may think. While human beings may be the only primates gifted with the ability to learn and exchange information, it indeed is a skill that needs to be grown, encouraged, and honed. Did You Know? Historical Innovations: The Polaroid instant camera was invented after Edwin Land's daughter asked why she couldn't see the photo he had just taken immediately, showcasing the power of a simple question in sparking innovation. The Role of Questions in Human Connection Among the myriad doctrines of questioning, the fundamental one is human connection. Whether it is with a child or an elder, or in general with other humans in personal and professional worlds, asking questions displays a genuine desire to know about others or learn from others, which builds empathy. Asking a friend about how they are or what happened helps deepen the bond. In a group with strangers, questioning can build rapport and relationships. In learning setups, questioning aids learning, knowledge gain, and sharing perspectives. In workspaces as well, it is the central nervous system in many ways.A common question people ask is, 'How do you say thank you for asking?' Acknowledging a thoughtful question not only encourages deeper engagement but also builds stronger human connections.  Our work depends on answers to questions all the time. “What do you think about this?” is such a question—when my senior asked me this, it defined ownership, building competence, confidence, empowerment, and so much more for me. When leaders ask the team for ideas or opinions, it builds trust and empowerment and spurs growth. It also helps avoid many blind spots and snares. The Scientific Basis for Asking Questions The scientific premise behind asking questions is simple: curiosity about how things or the world works, and what happens if things are done differently—this can be termed as gaining or deepening knowledge. Better ways to do things, new ways of solving problems, and creativity all erupt from the volcano of questions if it’s allowed to open. Of course, there is as much weight in doing it right or wrong. A wrong question or a wrong way of asking could change the whole course of things too. The Art and Science of Questioning There is a whole lot of research and science behind the art of asking questions or asking the right questions. It is not one particular theory or one way to do it. It is learned by first opening up and accepting the idea and then observing and practicing. If one is a shy person by nature, even answering questions is not easy, so asking questions is a far cry. But knowing some tactics is a sure help to grow the mindset of asking questions. A simple and popular method is Warren Berger’s three-part system of inquiry. Expressions like 'Thank you for asking me out' are simple yet powerful examples of how questions shape our social interactions. The meaning goes beyond politeness; it reflects appreciation for someone’s curiosity or interest. Did You Know? Cognitive Benefits: Regularly engaging in asking questions can enhance cognitive flexibility, which is the brain's ability to adapt to new, changing, or unexpected events, crucial for strategic thinking. Warren Berger’s Three-Part System of Inquiry Warren Berger calls it The Why, What If, and How of Innovative Questioning. Why: Asking "Why" helps us understand the core problem or challenge—why it exists, why it hasn’t been solved already, and why it might be worth tackling. What If: “What if” questions are used to explore new ideas for improvements or solutions to the problem from a hypothetical standpoint. How: When it’s time to act on those ideas, the most effective questions are practical and action-oriented—how to give form to ideas, how to test and refine them, and how to transform possibility into reality. This cycle of inquiry can be seen in many stories of recent innovations by companies such as Netflix, Pandora, Square, Nest, and Airbnb. Or, for a more timeless example, consider the invention of the Polaroid instant camera. Conclusion: The Value of Continuous Inquiry In summary, ‘WHY’ can be the game changer. ‘What if’ possibilities are the seeds of innovation. ‘How’ is the action stage of inquiry. But this isn’t a master key—there should not be one. The idea is to first be open to asking and encouraging others to ask, and using inquiry to progress. Thank you for asking anyway, because as Albert Einstein said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning..." Interested in Learning more about the topics, here are a few links to relevant researches and studies conducted: The Art of Asking Good Questions in the Classroom: A Phenomenographic Study of Teacher Educators’ Recommendations A Mirror to Human Question Asking: Analyzing the Akinator Online Question Game It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask: Question-Asking Increases Liking Key Learnings Embrace Curiosity:  Ask questions to enable a greater understanding of the world and to encourage continuous learning and growth. Overcome Fear:  Realize and overcome limiting factors, such as the fear of sounding ignorant; take on mentorship and practice asking questions to build confidence. Build Human Connections:  Questions reveal genuine interest in others, in turn building empathy and fostering personal and professional relationships. Enhance Leadership: Effective leaders use questioning to empower teams, create trust, cultivate ownership, and drive innovation. Follow a Structured Approach:  Follow frameworks, such as Warren Berger's Why, What If, and How to solve problems and explore solutions in a systematic way.

December 24, 2024, I always wondered why we never have two-moment similar in our lives? Why is there always some difference or change in our two experiences of the same object? Why in our lives have we never lived two identical days? Why are our emotions always in constant change? It has been said that change is the only real constant. The whole universe is in the constant rhythm of change. The flora and fauna around us are in constant change of growth and decay. The clouds are changing their patterns now and then, the cells in our body are in constant change, the topology of the earth is being changed with natural and man-made calamities, our moods keep on changing due to controllable and uncontrollable variables. It appears to me and hopefully, you would also agree that the entire cosmos - macrocosm and microcosm are together in a rhythm of constant change. Resistance to Change Most of us don't take too kindly to change especially when it is thrust upon us. We have many terms to describe resistance: pushback, not buying in, criticism, foot-dragging, and so on. We may also perceive resistance as a broad spectrum of behaviors that we don’t like—from an innocent question to a roll of the eyes to overt sabotage. Resistance to change manifests itself in many ways, from foot-dragging and inertia to petty sabotage to outright rebellions. People react to change in many different ways. Some may respond with fear while others may respond with denial. This resistance to change can be better handled if we knew the reasons why. The best way for people who are initiating the change is to understand the predictable, universal sources of resistance in each situation and then strategize around them. The Challenge of Implementing Change Change is always difficult to make, be it individual change or organisational change. Resistance to change can slow implementation, degrade benefits and in some cases cripple the entire project or the work that you are involved in. Most of the organisations have lost their identity and have become history due to the shear resistance to change. Resisting change is like we are trying to stop the never-ending waves of the ocean with your bended knees. But can the waves be stopped, No! Embracing Change Facing change today is a lot like surfing. Just like waves, change never stops. No two waves are exactly alike, but there are patterns. Waves form, roll, peak and break. Often, the difference between catching the wave and missing it completely—a fate worse than a wipe-out—is how well you understand the characteristics of that particular wave as it forms. Like change, waves can feel pretty scary. Finding yourself on the wrong side of a wave is no fun. Getting on the right side of that same wave, however, is incredible—exhilarating, enlivening and empowering. For organisations, if one harnesses the wave the right way, change can become a source of competitive advantage—energizing, stimulating and even fun. Strategies for Overcoming Resistance to Change John Seely Brown, the former chief scientist of Xerox Corporation and director of its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), has shown that the frequency of change and the degree of interdependence we experience today are both new. Previously, periods of dramatic change—such as the introduction of the steam engine, the telegraph or even cars—were followed by periods of relative stability. According to Brown’s work, the periods of stability we’d grown accustomed to were roughly 50–70 years long. In the last 20 years or so, however, new technologies have upended and destabilized that model. Today there are more ways the world can change, and, because we are increasingly interconnected, that change can spread faster. No matter the change we experience, how we embrace that change will forever impact how we can live with the change. The impact may be good for us or not so good for us, we don’t know and that makes the change so difficult. The change also sometimes brings with it a force which compels us to let go. It compels us to let go of the attachment to familiar habits, practices, places and people which makes it more difficult. Lets, together look into the reasons as to why we continue to resist change at the workplace and life in general. Resistance 1: The Most Difficult is to Let it Go! We all have our set and pet notions about ourselves, others and the whole wide world. Change shakes up those notions. Sometimes the force is so overwhelming that it tosses the very notion of ourselves in our own eyes. Change comes like a tornado and twirls our so-called notions and uproots them and tosses it around. It leaves behind a trail of emotional outburst and confusion about ourselves and the way the world appeared before it struck. The sense of chaos and the fear of the unknown makes us hold on to the memories and leads us to the state of denial. Holding on to the memories doesn’t fix anything. Replaying the past over and over again doesn’t change it, and wishing things were different doesn’t make it so. Deciding to hold on to the past will hold us back from creating a strong sense of self — a self that isn’t defined by our past, but rather by who we want to be. Oddly enough, painful feelings can be comfortable, especially if they’re all we know. We may not know who we are without that pain. This makes it impossible for us to let go. How to deal with it? Change hinders independence and can make people feel that they’ve lost control over their territory or control of themselves. It’s not just political, as in who has the power. Our sense of self-determination is often the first thing to go when faced with a potential change coming from someone else. Effective managers or leaders leave room for those affected by the change to make choices. They invite others into the planning, giving them ownership. This helps the team members to be in control of themselves. The same strategy can be applied in other aspects of life as well. Resistance 2: Insecurities Change scares people. Individuals tend to find security in traditional approaches to life and situations. One of the major reasons for resistance to change is uncertainty about the impact of change. Will I be the one who would lose it all? Will I be asked to leave if I am not able to embrace the new diktat? Will I be needed to prove myself all over again? The fear of the unknown always has a major impact on the decisions of the individuals. New technology, new procedures, new systems can all create uncertainty and hence resistance to change. Not knowing exactly what the change would bring about makes the employees anxious and apprehensive about the change. How to deal with it? Change is meant to bring something different, but how different? We are creatures of habit. Routines become automatic, but change jolts us into consciousness, sometimes in uncomfortable ways. Too many differences can be distracting or confusing. Effective managers or leaders should try to minimize the number of unrelated differences introduced by a central change. Wherever possible keep things familiar. Remain focused on the important things; avoid change for the sake of change. Change is a departure from the past. Those people associated with the last version — the one that didn’t work, or the one that’s being superseded — are likely to be defensive about it. When change involves a big shift of strategic direction, the people responsible for the previous direction dread the perception that they must have been wrong. Leaders can help people maintain dignity by celebrating those elements of the past that are worth honoring and making it clear that the world has changed. That makes it easier to let go and move on. Resistance 3: Do I Have the Competence? Can I do it? Change is resisted when it makes people feel stupid and makes them appear less competent. This is a fear that is difficult for team members to admit openly. They might express skepticism about whether the new software version will work or whether going digital is an improvement, but deep down they are worried that their skills will be obsolete. But sometimes, change in organisations necessitates changes in skills, and some people will feel that they won’t be able to make the transition well. Therefore, the only way for them to try and survive is to kick against the change. Some team members resist change because they are just hesitant to try new routines, so they express an unwillingness to learn anything new. They say things like, “I already know all that I need to know to do the job,” or “I am good at what I do, why rock the boat.” Resisting employees who have already made up their minds that the change won’t work or who are reluctant to learn something new will impede the organisation’s growth and adaptation to change. How to deal with it? Effective managers and leaders should over-invest in structural reassurance, providing abundant information, education, training, mentors, and support systems. A period of overlap, running two systems simultaneously, helps ease transitions. There is a common business saying that managers get what they reward. Organisational wide team members will resist change when they do not see anything in it for them in terms of rewards. Without clearly knowing “what’s there for me in it? “, there is no motivation for the team members to support the change over the long run. This often means that organisational reward systems must be altered to support the change that management wants to implement. The reward does not have to always be major or costly. Sometimes a small gesture or a pat on the back does wonders! Interested in Learning more about the topics, here are a few links to relevant researches and studies conducted: The Impact of Innovation on Firm Performance: A Systematic Review Change and Innovation in Healthcare: Findings from Literature Digital innovation: transforming research and practice Conclusion Change is a part and parcel of life and the universe, continuously impacting our experiences, emotions, and environments. Still, the most common human response against this very aspect of life seems to be resistance, propelled by fear, insecurity, and perhaps a certain reluctance to let go of the known. This resistance may impede personal growth and progress in an organisation but, at the same time, recognition of the real factors of opposition will help in building some effective strategies for managing it. Change represents the opportunity for growth and innovation only if one were to embrace it and build the organisational setting for adaptation. At the core of this lies a fine balance in empathy, communication, and strategic planning while wading through change.

December 24, 2024, In today's fast-paced and competitive business environment, the ability to build and sustain high-performance teams is more critical than ever. High-performance teams are not just a buzzword but a vital component for any organisation aiming for success. These teams are characterized by their exceptional high-performance team attributes, which include superior collaboration, strong communication, and a shared commitment to achieving common goals. Understanding the high-performance teams characteristics and implementing effective high-performance team building strategies can significantly enhance productivity and innovation. Did you know?High-performance teams often achieve significantly higher productivity due to their clear goals and effective collaboration. Creating a High-Performance Team Culture Creating and nurturing a high-performance team culture is essential for fostering an environment where team members thrive and excel. This involves adopting a high-performance teams model that supports continuous development and motivates members to reach their full potential. High-performance team management plays a crucial role in this process, ensuring that the right processes and practices are in place to maintain team efficiency and morale. Effective High-Performance Team Development Effective high-performance team development goes beyond just forming a group of skilled individuals. It requires strategic high-performance team coaching and the use of tailored high-performing teams activities designed to strengthen team dynamics and improve performance. By focusing on these elements, organisations can create teams that are not only capable of delivering outstanding results but also adaptable to evolving challenges and opportunities. Struggles in Building High-Performance Teams Most companies struggle to build High-Performance Teams - an important attribute where not much focus is given even by great corporations. “97% of employees and executives surveyed believe a lack of alignment within a team directly impacts the outcome of a task or project”  (source: salesforce.com) Operating in a Global Environment Companies today operate in a global environment, with rapid changes, and need to respond to these new opportunities and new markets with agility. Despite organisation investment in improving productivity and efficiency, we find organisations continuing to have challenges in creating high-performance teams. Approaches to Team Building Most of the approaches for creating these teams centre around managing performance and the leader's approach to building teams without a comprehensive approach that considers the team's purpose, its culture, the individuals that form a part of it and key underlying processes. Key Questions for Building a High-Performance Team Building a high-performance team for an organisation will be concerned with answering 3 key questions: 1) How can our team deliver higher customer impact?2) How can our team remain motivated and engaged in our strategic goals?3) How can our team achieve more with less? Did you know?Diverse teams are known to outperform their industry counterparts, demonstrating the benefits of varying perspectives and ideas. Amity’s approach to Building High-Performance teams.  Amity Institute of Training & Development (AITD) has an approach on creating high performing teams that relies on more than 30 years of research comprising 50+ organisations on what works in creating high performing teams and what does not. We identify key attributes of a high performing team to include: 1) The fullness of mutual accountability2) Enhanced Clarity and Deeper Sense of Purpose3) High interaction, knowledge exchange and Dependability4) Speed and Agility5) Sense of focus6) Operating with Creativity Understanding the Organisation and Team Development The work with teams starts with understanding the organisation that the teams operate within and the stage of team development. We then work with teams to identify a customized and team-specific approach that acts as a catalyst to create a high performing team. Importance of Mutual Accountability Team mutual accountability is a reciprocally authorized behaviour among team members of evaluating one another’s progress on the team’s task. Unlike performance pressure, which is externally enforced accountability on a team, mutual accountability is internal to a team. Teams with mutual accountability are likely to make prompt performance adjustments because team members, by their intimate understanding of the team’s work and impromptu conversations, can actively evaluate team progress and adjust ongoing performance issues. As teamwork becomes more dynamic and reliant in organisations, the “right” processes and task divisions become difficult to predict in advance. This makes external team accountability insufficient and mutual accountability among team members critical for prompt performance adjustments. The Role of Purpose in Teams Having a deeper sense of purpose is not just about having a clear mission that focuses on how a business will generate economic value. A higher purpose is not about economic exchanges. It reflects something more aspirational. It explains how the people involved with an organisation are making a difference, gives them a sense of meaning, and draws their support. It is only by creating a purpose-driven organisation that creates motivated and engaged employees. They act as change agents and bring their brilliance and creativity to their jobs. They begin to perform up to their potential. High Interaction and Knowledge Sharing High interaction and knowledge sharing are positively correlated with team performance. Knowledge has been recognized as a base of power and competitive edge for individuals who hold it. Some people may go as far as to see sharing their knowledge with others as a sign of losing their unique value in the organisation. Accordingly, people are not often eager to share their knowledge or expertise with others. However, research has endorsed that knowledge sharing is a crucial factor for facilitating optimal team performance. It enables team members to get better ability about the team tasks and objectives. Team members exchange task-relevant knowledge to support other team members and teams in accomplishing their goals. Speed and Agility in Teams Speed and agility are not the same. More than simply a single process or methodology, organisational agility is the ability to: Adjust strategies continuously. Empower employees to make key decisions on challenging projects Respond to ambiguity and uncertainty with flexibility and speed. View unanticipated change as an opportunity for transformation. By introducing flexibility and adaptability enterprise-wide, organisations can respond faster to fluctuating market conditions, improve overall organisational efficiency, and enhance customer satisfaction. (Source: Teamwork) Focus in High-Performance Teams Having a sense of focus is one of the key attributes of a high-performance team. Such a high impact team would comprise of a group of goal-focused individuals with specialized expertise and complementary skills who collaborate, innovate, and produce consistently superior results. The group relentlessly pursues performance excellence through shared goals, shared leadership, collaboration, open communication, clear role expectations and group operating rules, early conflict resolution, and a keen sense of accountability and trust among its members. Importance of Creativity and Innovation Being creative and innovative are the top critical success factors not only for companies but for leaders and their teams. Research has validated these findings, identifying creativity as the top leadership competency for enterprises. Leaders and managers cannot continue to rely on the same ideas that have brought them past success and cannot be effective by surrounding themselves with people who parrot the leader’s ideas. Teams should be encouraged to take risks in bringing fresh thinking and innovative ideas to the table, even if they are not 100% correct. The complexities of today’s marketplace require innovative solutions, which at times call for disruptive ways of problem-solving that may challenge the status quo: The business environment is too dynamic and the level of change is too complex we can’t rely on the same ideas or same ways to solve problems or expand markets with the same thinking we’ve always fallen back on. (Source: Quantumworkplace) Did you know?Trust within teams can greatly enhance employee satisfaction and job performance, underscoring the importance of a supportive environment. Interested in Learning more about the topics, here are a few links to relevant researches and studies conducted: Creating High-Performance Teams in the Modern Workplace Building High-Performance Teams High-performing teams: A timeless leadership topic (Source: Qualtrics) Conclusion In conclusion, team building is just not about team productivity and efficiency. The larger objective is to build a team culture that keeps delivering higher customer value repetitively and organisation impact, while productivity and efficiency improvement are just the natural outcomes that such a team can deliver. High-performing teams are unstoppable; they improve your top line and your bottom line.

December 24, 2024, Life is nothing but an experience. The quality of this experience called life depends on the kind of decisions we make – both short term and long term. Short term decisions take care of our day to day working both at the personal and professional level. Wherein, long term decisions define our lives overall. Decisions that we take are based on what we “value” in life, which is again determined by what “purpose” we have for our life. The undercurrent to any decision is the ability to think and line or focus of thinking depends on what mindset we have. Its rightly said "Life is a sum of all our choices" (Albert Camus). The Core of Strategic Thinking: Balancing Now and the Future Life as well as a business are both long-term races. They require to fully commit to the present while seeing through years ahead to define and achieve the best of the future. They require to embrace today while deciding on objectives, understanding the options, creating possible alternative scenarios and situations and determining the direction to be followed. Defining Strategic Thinking: Vision and Planning Strategic Thinking is defined as the process that determines the way people think about, assess, view, and create the future for themselves and others. Strategic thinking is the ability to know what you want to achieve and how to achieve it. According to Henry Mintzberg, the management guru, “Many practitioners and theorists have wrongly assumed that strategic planning, strategic thinking, and strategy making are all synonymous, at least in best practice.” According to Ellen F. Goldman who is a visiting assistant professor of human and organisational learning in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University, “Strategic thinking is a distinctive management activity whose purpose is to discover novel, imaginative strategies which can rewrite the rules of the competitive game; and to envision potential futures significantly different from the present.” Why Strategic Thinking Sets Exceptional Achievers Apart Developing a strategic approach is not always easy as it is as much a mindset as a set of techniques. However, it does result in the main difference between an average and an exceptional achiever. Success and achievement cannot just be left to hazards. In a study conducted by Harvard Business Review, 97% of the 10,000 senior executives asked chose strategy as the most critical leadership behaviour to their organisations’ future success. Strategic thinkers can imagine the big picture, identify the possible impact of their decisions and project the way to get there. Did you know? Strategic thinking is closely aligned to cognitive flexibility, which refers to the brain's propensity to adapt to new, changing, or unexpected circumstances. A skill such as this helps strategic thinkers revise plans if need be. Traits and Skills That Enhance Strategic Thinking I sometimes contemplate on what contributes to the ability to think strategically. Especially people who are the decision-makers, whose decisions impact their lives and many others directly and indirectly. Let us explore the traits, skills or habits which contribute to the ability to think strategically. 1: Being attuned to various dimensions of the world:  One of the special characteristics that make strategic leaders stand out from the crowd is their sweeping view of the world in which they operate. They have a broad view and interpret the road signs and indicators they see, using the insight they gain to actively shape the future. They seem to recognize that being attuned to the various forces working for or against them reveals valuable information about the strategic opportunities they are pursuing and the obstacles they may face. In comparison, leaders who are less attentive to the world around them or consumed by their daily demands are more susceptible to being caught off guard by unwelcome surprises, and they often miss windows of opportunity that open. 2: The ability to be attached and detached at the same time:  In my experience, the biggest asset of any strategic thinker is your ability to be attached and detached at the same time. Attached to the focus on the future and detached with the present state that you are in. This helps you to see the present objectively and discern the blinders that they might have while thinking strategically. This helps in cultivating the ability to step back and reflect and look at yourself and the entire situation and at the same time visualise the future in the third person. Being able to step back and view your world from farther off gives you a strategic advantage because you can see what you need to change in response to the hazards that are lurking, as well as the rich opportunities that are available for capture. Think of this characteristic of strategic leadership as “mental radar” that sweeps continuously across the spectrum of your world. “Your world” might include your team, functional areas, the organisation, your industry, the market, the technology you use, and so on. Good strategic leaders can spot and interpret the cues from this continuous stream of intelligence. Unfortunately, when we are not in tune with these signals, we may miss pieces of information that can have a significant impact on our careers or lives. Nobody wants to risk overlooking something crucial. As such, leaders must consistently and intentionally pay attention to their surroundings as they dig for insights and seek to understand the forces influencing the future. 3: Ability to think deeply:  I sometimes do not understand why people just want to rush and act for the sake of action? Why do not people think through and then act as that would be better than doing a half thought through work again and again and thinking that one is improving with every round of rework? I find this quite funny! You can ask me why. The reason is quite simple. The amount of effort and time one has put in to rework again and again is much more than one could invest in the first place to think through. But the action these days is more famous than thinking. If you are thinking … you are just too slow! Unfortunately, in our school curriculum these days, we do not teach kids to think “deeply”. But if you want to think strategically, the ability to think deeply makes it a smooth process. It helps you to stay with the thought for a long time and think the same through different dimensions. It is just like “chewing the cud” and extracting the most of it. and that helps one to come up with some of the most profound insights about the thought. 4: Assertiveness:  "Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude" (Zig Ziglar). After a comprehensive evaluation, they chose the way to go and walk firmly into it without vacillation. They may doubt but they do not let the doubts to fog the vision. They communicate effectively what they want and need by using clear orders while simultaneously respecting the thoughts and wishes of others. They can react appropriately under pressure and reduce anxiety by sticking to their decision and avoiding excessive questioning. Through high levels of confidence and self-esteem, they constructively receive both compliments and critics. They defend their points of view without harming others and manage to convince without force or hostility. 5: Emotional Balance:  Strategic thinkers can balance their emotions in a way that always favours the achievement of the ultimate goals. They are aware of their emotions, they can name them when they arrive, they do not react to them as an important element of accepting them and just when they are over the control of them, they decide. Whether they received positive or negative feedback, they can deal with it, understand, and respond in a way that protects and progresses toward their desired outcome. They are kind, compassionate and optimistic whenever facing their language response. Strategic thinkers are tremendously creative, but they can balance this creativity with pragmatism through a sense of realism and honesty about actuality. 6: Patience:  "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time" (Leo Tolstoy). Strategic thinkers do not ignore that achievement is a long-term ride. Milestones have all a concrete time and moment. And success is the result of a process of strategically planned work and efforts. Strategic thinkers can be patient. They do not rush conclusions. They do not bet it all at once. They invest their energies in a way that is sustainable and led by a long-term vision. They would diligently work bit by bit till their vision is reality. They have tremendous resilience. Getting up, dusting themselves and be back on track till the vision is not achieved. This can be summed taking inspiration from shloka from Kathaupnishad which Swami Vivekananda rephrased as, “Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached!” Did you know? Emotional intelligence has a huge contribution to strategic thinking. If leaders control their emotions, they are likely to make decisions that align with their long-term goals. Interested in Learning more about the topics, here are a few links to relevant researches and studies conducted: Exploring the Importance of Strategic Thinking to Strategic Planning in the Strategic Management Process THE IMPACT OF STRATEGIC PLANNING, STRATEGIC THINKING, AND STRATEGIC AGILITY ON COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: LITERATURE REVIEW Strategic Thinking in Professional Environment: A Review of the Literature How Amity Institute of Training and Development (AITD) Can Help The Amity Institute of Training and Development offers initial professional programs, strategic thinking courses and workshops on developing strategic thinking skills. AITD empowers individuals and organisations with the mindset and skillset of strategic thinking toward leadership, decision-making, and emotional intelligence. With its various offerings and expert advice, the AITD course and online training equips participants with the right kind of tools (strategic thinking tools) to enhance their strategic thinking capabilities, leading to results-oriented improvement in personal and professional lives. Did you know?  One of the critical attributes of successful strategic thinkers is patience. Leo Tolstoy has been quoted: "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time," meaning patience plays a big role in the realization of long-term goals. Conclusion It means the ability to be attuned to the environment, to hold the dual perspective of attachment and detachment, deep reflection, confidence assertion, and emotional balancing. These traits and abilities constitute an ability to act in complex situations and decide wisely, together leading to long-term success. This also involves an important element: emotional balancing. A strategic thinker must be able to control one's emotions so that immediate feelings do not mislead the goals of the long-term vision. All these traits and skills combined will help you deal with complex situations with wisdom and foresight to lead toward continued success and achievement over time.

December 24, 2024, Whether customers make impulsive or thoughtful decisions, it is highly dependent on the perceived value. When they make a decision about any product or service, they're thinking about solving a need. Customers look for trustworthy, knowledgeable individuals to educate them on a solution which is highly personalized and solves their problems. Understanding customer psychology is very important in influencing decision-making. Be it impulsive or well-thought-out choices, customers look for solutions that deal with their individual needs from a person whom they can trust and who has the expertise to effectively diagnose and address their needs. The customer of today is well informed and wants a consultative approach that builds trust, credibility, and loyalty. The scientific and artistic approaches can be combined by the sales professional in adopting a strategy that will most resonate with each individual customer's preference for the customer satisfaction and relationship-building processes. The Informed and Aware Customer, needs personalisation Today’s customers are well informed and savvy, they need sales professionals to help them diagnose their needs and identify solutions. Every banking customer’s need is different and requires customised solutioning. Customers need to be involved in the decision-making journey. Role and Benefits of the Consultative Pitch in the situation The consultative pitch equips sales professionals with the skills to understand customer needs better & faster. The consultative approach to solutioning adds a lot of value to the customer and it builds credibility and trust which creates loyalty and lifetime customer value. Did you know? Value Perception Guides Choices: There is perceived value in customers' choices more than in cost. So, the communication of benefits has a very important role to play. The factors which influence customer decision making is illustrated below: - The Science and Art of Customer Psychology Customer Psychology is a science as well as an art. It uses both theories borrowed from social sciences to understand customer behavior, and quantitative and qualitative tools and techniques to predict customer behavior. (Source: Vrogue) Steps in understanding customer psychology and influencing decision making process Building trust & rapport Creating a conducive environment by setting the right context and building trust through a consulting and problem solving approach Understanding different personality types There are different personality types having specific characteristics which drive and motivate customers. Comprehending the right type and channelizing the discussions accordingly is very important to generate interest and getting buy-in Did you know? Tailor-made solutions as per individual needs and preferences are expected by the modern customer. Empathize Imagining and thinking from the customer point of view and acting according to those beliefs opens up the customer. This comfort level motivates the customer to discuss the feelings and issues faced by them. Effective probing for uncovering needs Once the customer is comfortable and willing to discuss feelings and issues it is very important to probe deeper to understand the latent needs. The crux lies in the skillful probing technique to ask the right questions at the right time to extract the real issues. Demonstration of capability of product or service Nothing is more convincing than the demo of product and service in any form or method. It has been experienced and researched that most of the customers' objections and queries are taken care of by facilitating a good demo. Focus on perceived benefits Customers are not interested in all the features of the product or service but the ones which suit their customised needs. Every feature which suits the need adds to the perceived value and personalization which drives the propensity to decide in favor. Decision making Journey It has been seen that customers tend to postpone or forgo their decisions if they have doubts about the product or service. To take the entire process to a logical conclusion it is very critical to eliminate the remaining doubts and help the customer to arrive at a decision. (Source: Pinterest) Expertise of Amity Institute of Training & Development At AITD we have a pool of experts in psychology in conjunction with industry experts and consultants who are continuously involved in research projects involving customer decision making and the buying behaviors. The researchers have developed several data analytics tools to understand consumer behavior in the backdrop of evolving lifestyle changes, consumer preferences owing to digital transformation. The cutting-edge sales training programs are based on research, experience and design thinking which are contemporary as well as futuristic. Did you know? Adopting a consultative approach empowers the sales professional to understand the needs of the customer, thereby establishing long-lasting trust and loyalty. Steps in the Process of Consumer Decision Making  1. Problem Recognition This is the initiation stage where the consumer actually identifies that they need something or have a problem they want to solve. It may be activated internally through hunger or thirst or through external sources like advertising and word-of-mouth. 2. Information Search Information search: Having identified the problem, the consumer seeks information to solve it. This can be in the form of internal search, such as memory of past experiences, and external search, which includes friends, family, internet reviews, or even advertisements. 3. Alternative Evaluation The consumer, at this stage, will evaluate a number of products or services in order to determine which one best meets his needs. The comparison may involve features, benefits, price, brand reputation, and so on and so forth. 4. Purchase Decision The consumer, having put into consideration all the final alternatives, this is where the decision on which product or service to buy is made. The decision to buy might have reasons such as the availability of the product, promotional offers, or additional inducements. 5. Purchase Here is where the customer acquires the product. This can be in-store or online and involves transacting the purchase. 6. Post-Purchase Evaluation After making the purchase and consuming the product, the consumer evaluates their purchase decision. They evaluate whether the product meets their expectations and whether they are satisfied with their purchase. If all goes well with the consumption experience, this can result in repeat purchases, brand loyalty, or, if unsatisfied, returns and negative word-of-mouth. Examples of each step in the Process of Consumer Decision Making  Problem Recognition Example: Sarah notices her phone battery drains quickly and decides she needs a new phone. Information Search Example: Sarah has been going through the Internet reviews, asking the friends for recommendations and visiting electronic shops to gather information on the latest smartphones . Evaluation of Alternatives Example: After the comparison of various models in terms of battery life, camera features, price, and reputation, Sarah selects the particular model she was going to purchase. Purchase Decision Example: Finally, considering the best battery life and camera features available in her budget, she buys the smartphone from Brand A. Purchase Example: Sarah walks into an electronics store and buys a Brand A smartphone. Post-Purchase Behavior:  Example: One month of using the phone, she is convinced that it does the job like she expected it to. Consequently, I wrote a positive review online. Interested in Learning more about the topics, here are a few links to relevant researches and studies conducted: Marketing analytics: The bridge between customer psychology and marketing decision‐making Understanding Customer’s Behavior Theory and Models of Consumer Buying Behaviour: A Descriptive Study (Source: Zendesk) Conclusion Understanding customer psychology and influencing decision-making journeys are critical for sales professionals aiming to provide personalized solutions and build lasting customer relationships. As customers become more informed and discerning, the need for customised and consultative approaches becomes paramount. By building trust, empathizing with customers, and effectively probing to uncover their needs, sales professionals can better demonstrate the value of their products and services.

December 3, 2024, Have you ever picked down to finish a significant assignment — and afterward unexpectedly found you were transferring your documents on various online drives of work or fascinated by the YouTube post about what is going on in the existence of your #1 celebrity? Or on the other hand, maybe you unexpectedly understand that the pet should be taken care of, messages should be replied, your roof fan needs cleaning — or perhaps you should feel free to have a brisk snooze, despite the fact that it is just 11:30 a.m.? Before you know it, it is the day's end, and your significant undertaking stays incomplete. For some individuals, procrastination is a solid and strange power that holds them back from finishing the most earnest and significant work in their lives with a similar strength as when you attempt to bring like poles of a magnet together. Now and again, everyone leaves important work waiting on their plan for the day for a couple of hours — or days, or weeks — or even excessively long. Procrastination is a typical, near all-inclusive wonder — which makes it even more essential to comprehend why it strikes and what to do about it. The Nature of Procrastination “Procrastination is not just avoiding or delaying a task,” says David Ballard, head of the American Psychological Association’s Center for Organizational Excellence. “It also has to include an aspect that’s counterproductive, irrational or unnecessary.” Those triggers typically fall into one of four camps: expectancy, value, time or impulsivity, says Alexander Rozental, a procrastination researcher and a clinical psychologist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. In other words, “People procrastinate because of a lack of value [associated with the task]; because they expect that they’re not going to achieve the value they’re trying to achieve; because the value is too far from you in terms of time; or because you’re very impulsive as a person,” Rozental says. Etymologically, “procrastination” is derived from the Latin verb ‘procrastinare’ — to put off until tomorrow. But it is more than just voluntarily delaying. Procrastination is also derived from the ancient Greek word akrasia — doing something against our better judgment. "It's self-hurt," said Dr. Wharfs Steel, an educator of persuasive brain research at the University of Calgary and the creator of "The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done." That mindfulness is a vital piece of why dawdling causes us to feel so bad. At the point when we delay, we are not just mindful that we are maintaining a strategic distance from the errand being referred to, yet in addition that doing so is most likely an ill-conceived notion. But we do it anyway. Did you know? Putting off tasks often provides temporary relief from stress or discomfort, but this relief can reinforce the habit of procrastination, making it a cycle of short-term gain and long-term pain. Psychological Perspectives on Procrastination “This is why we say that procrastination is essentially irrational,” said Dr. Fuschia Sirois, Professor of psychology at the University of Sheffield. “It doesn’t make sense to do something you know is going to have negative consequences.” She added: “People engage in this irrational cycle of chronic procrastination because of an inability to manage negative moods around a task.” Procrastination is not a unique character flaw or a mysterious curse on your ability to manage time, but a way of coping with challenging emotions and negative moods induced by certain tasks — boredom, anxiety, insecurity, frustration, resentment, self-doubt and beyond. “Procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem,” said Dr. Tim Pychyl, professor of psychology and member of the Procrastination Research Group at Carleton University in Ottawa. “What I’ve found is that while everybody may procrastinate, not everyone is a procrastinator,” says APS Fellow Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University. He is a pioneer of modern research on the subject, and his work has found that as many as 20 percent of people may be chronic procrastinators. “It really has nothing to do with time-management,” he says. “As I tell people, to tell the chronic procrastinator to just do it would be like saying to a clinically depressed person, cheer up.” In a 2013 study, Dr. Pychyl and Dr. Sirois found that procrastination can be understood as “the primacy of short-term mood repair … over the longer-term pursuit of intended actions.” Put simply, procrastination is about being more focused on “the immediate urgency of managing negative moods” than getting on with the task, Dr. Sirois said. The Impact of Procrastination Indeed, there is a whole assortment of research devoted to the ruminative, self-accusing musings a large number of us will in general have in the wake of hesitation, which are known as "procrastinatory cognitions." The contemplations we have about procrastination normally compound our trouble and stress, which add to additional procrastination, Dr. Sirois said. Be that as it may, the flashing help we feel when dawdling is really what makes the cycle particularly horrible. In the quick present, putting off an assignment gives alleviation - “you’ve been rewarded for procrastinating,” Dr. Sirois said. And we know from basic behaviourism that when we are rewarded for something, we tend to do it again. This is precisely why procrastination tends not to be a one-off behaviour, but a cycle, one that easily becomes a chronic habit. Over the long haul, chronic procrastination has profitability costs, yet quantifiably damaging impacts on our psychological and actual wellbeing, including persistent pressure, general mental misery, and low life satisfaction, depression, anxiety and uneasiness, chronic weakness practices, constant sickness and even hypertension and cardiovascular disease. In the event that it appears to be unexpected that we procrastinate to stay away from negative emotions, yet wind up inclination far more terrible, that is because it is. What is more, indeed, we have evolution to thank. True procrastination is a complicated failure of self-regulation: experts define it as the voluntary delay of some important task that we intend to do, despite knowing that we will suffer as a result. A poor concept of time may exacerbate the problem, but an inability to manage emotions seems to be its very foundation. Did you know? Procrastination is strongly associated with personality traits like impulsivity and low conscientiousness. People who score low on conscientiousness are more likely to procrastinate, as they may struggle with self-discipline and goal-setting. Misconceptions and Behavioral Aspects of Procrastination A major misperception about procrastination is that it is a harmless habit at worst, and maybe even a helpful one at best. Supporters of procrastination often say it does not matter when a task gets done, so long as it is eventually finished. Some even believe they work best under pressure. Stanford philosopher John Perry, author of the book The Art of Procrastination, has argued that people can dawdle to their advantage by restructuring their to-do lists so that they are always accomplishing something of value. Psychological scientists have a serious problem with this view. They argue that it conflates beneficial, proactive behaviours like pondering (which attempts to solve a problem) or prioritizing (which organizes a series of problems) with the detrimental, self-defeating habit of genuine procrastination. If progress on a task can take many forms, procrastination is the absence of progress. There is no single type of procrastinator, but several general impressions have emerged over years of research. Chronic procrastinators have perpetual problems finishing tasks, while situational one’s delay based on the task itself. A perfect storm of procrastination occurs when an unpleasant task meets a person who is high in impulsivity and low in self-discipline. (The behaviour is strongly linked with the Big Five personality trait of conscientiousness.) Most delayers betray a tendency for self-defeat, but they can arrive at this point from either a negative state (fear of failure, for instance, or perfectionism) or a positive one (the joy of temptation). All told, these qualities have led researchers to call procrastination the “quintessential” breakdown of self-control. “I think the basic notion of procrastination as self-regulation failure is pretty clear,” says Timothy Pychyl of Carleton University, in Canada. “You know what you ought to do and you’re not able to bring yourself to do it. It’s that gap between intention and action.” Social scientists debate whether the existence of this gap can be better explained by the inability to manage time or the inability to regulate moods and emotions. Generally speaking, economists tend to favor the former theory. Many espouse a formula for procrastination put forth in a paper published by the business scholar Piers Steel, a professor at the University of Calgary, in a 2007 issue of Psychological Bulletin. The idea is that procrastinators calculate the fluctuating utility of certain activities: pleasurable ones have more value early on, and tough tasks become more important as a deadline approach. A subsequent study, led by Tice, reinforced the dominant role played by mood in procrastination. In a 2001 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Tice and colleagues reported that students did not procrastinate before an intelligence test when primed to believe their mood was fixed. In contrast, when they thought their mood could change (and particularly when they were in a bad mood), they delayed practice until about the final minute. The findings suggested that self-control only succumbs to temptation when present emotions can be improved as a result. “Emotional regulation, to me, is the real story around procrastination, because to the extent that I can deal with my emotions, I can stay on task,” says Pychyl. “When you say task-aversiveness, that’s another word for lack of enjoyment. Those are feeling states — those aren’t states of which [task] has more utility.” Did you know? Chronic procrastination has been linked to various health problems, including increased stress, depression, and anxiety. The stress of last-minute work and unmet deadlines can exacerbate these conditions over time. Interested in Learning more about the topics, here are a few links to relevant researches and studies conducted: On the Behavioral Side of Procrastination: Exploring Behavioral Delay in Real-Life Settings Study Habits and Procrastination: The Role of Academic Self-Efficacy Understanding The Factors Influencing Academic Procrastination: A Comprehensive Review Conclusion In general, people learn from their mistakes and reassess their approach to certain problems. For chronic procrastinators, that feedback loop seems continually out of service. The damage suffered as a result of delay does not teach them to start earlier the next time around. An explanation for this behavioural paradox seems to lie in the emotional component of procrastination. Ironically, the very quest to relieve stress in the moment might prevent procrastinators from figuring out how to relieve it in the long run. “I think the mood regulation piece is a huge part of procrastination,” says Fuschia Sirois of Bishop’s University, in Canada. “If you’re focused just on trying to get yourself to feel good now, there’s a lot you can miss out on in terms of learning how to correct behaviour and avoiding similar problems in the future.” “The future self becomes the beast of burden for procrastination,” says Sirois. “We’re trying to regulate our current mood and thinking our future self will be in a better state. They will be better able to handle feelings of insecurity or frustration with the task. That somehow, we will develop these miraculous coping skills to deal with these emotions that we just cannot deal with.