Three cheers for....

Three cheers for....


About Me...

I'm an ex-Capt. (NDA-IMA)...left the army because of an accident (lost right shoulder and of course, the rest of it)...got hold of life...became a leftie...started driving and writing with left...took CAT & GMAT...joined and left ISB after 20 golden days...joined IIM Ahmedabad from there...PGP 2007 - 2009...currently in Hyderabad... Well, Life is iffy !!

So, I'll make it easy...

You can drop a note to: rajat@rajatmishra.co.in

Personal Website

Quotes I live by...

  • Stretch out your limits once a while...lest you lose your elasticity... (recent offhand thought)
  • It's better to burn out, than fade away (Neil Young)
  • This too shall pass...
  • Shit happens...Life Goes on... (adapted from Forrest Gump)
  • Don't be sad, it's over...be glad, it happened !!
  • He Knows not his own strength, who hath not met adversity - Ben Johnson
  • Do whteva you want...Don't get caught !! (NDA)
  • Rules are like rulers...some can be bent, others can be broken :)

Friday, July 16, 2021

The DWIT framework (/diː’/wɪt/ or dee-wit)

Key ingredients—the core building blocks

So, there I was, sitting with a few of my coursemates from academy days last weekend. Many of the officers from my course are Colonels now and are commanding units. We were meeting after 18 years (wow!), and it seemed as if not a day had passed. After a few rounds of you know what, the question came up, “Rajat, what’s the one thing that defence veterans can easily bank upon in the corporate world?”

When it comes to the “one thing” question, firstly it reminds me of the book, “The One Thing,” but then I’m digressing. I’ve been asked that question before and my answer has always been the same. It’s the DWIT attitude, the “Do what it takes” mentality which is ingrained into us right from the training academy days (across all services). Well, the acronym DWIT isn’t my creation obviously, but the framework below is essentially my POV. With respect to business, it’s a quality that isn’t taught in MBA or academic courses. Of course, there are many professionals who develop this attitude with experience, but it’s one aspect which I’d say is a given for veterans. It’s the one thing that really helps in achieving business outcomes. And, I’m not talking about the basic definition of the phrase. There are certain underlying aspects (listed below) that are not typically stated.

D stands for being a doer (yes, that’s a word). Whatever the objective might be, focus on the first step and act. The emphasis is on taking action, i.e. not just talking in the air, or going into analysis paralysis, but taking the first step, and keep going in spite of roadblocks.

W stands for having the willpower and willingness to achieve the goal (aka determination), which is the essence of the framework in letter and spirit. If I compare it with various IT services delivery models, this is a typical managed services or managed outcome model where you take complete ownership of the outcome and do what it takes to deliver (of course there’s a premium and other aspects to it). Having the perseverance to pursue an objective is what this entails.

I stands for integrity, and this is a key underlying principle blanked out by a few. I remember, back at National Defence Academy, in the first term one of my seniors spoke about this towards the end of a punishment session. It was a fun time for him, not so much for us. “You guys will be trained on how to manage things—getting things done, one way or the other,” he said, while we were rolling on the ground helter-skelter. “You might be asked to get something urgently, and hear the phrase BBS, or beg, borrow, steal.” That caught our attention, and some of us stopped rolling and looked up. “Keep rolling,” he exclaimed and continued, “Remember that the last word in BBS is figurative. At the end of the day, if your hull integrity is gone, sooner or later you are going to sink.” He was obviously a naval cadet, but it was evident what he meant. We’ve all heard about stories where some companies haven’t really lived up to that aspect, which is unfortunate. Do what it takes to achieve your objective, yes, but it should be within the confines of what is correct.

T stands for understanding your target or objective (know thy enemy, maybe). Many times, we end up pursuing certain line of actions without a clear vision of the end goal. Has that ever happened to you? Of course it has, and that’s fine but not always. If something is really so important that you need to DWIT, then understand your objective and its consequences. Is it worth it? At what cost? And, of course there are many other defining questions.

Can everyone apply these principles? Yes, of course. When founded on the core element of integrity, DWIT is an amazing superpower to have, but not something learnt overnight. Once you have it, sky is only the lower limit, yours is the universe.

P.S: DWIT also refers to being able to “Deal With IT” when things go awry. We might do what it takes to achieve our goals, but we all know “Life”. Life is iffy, as I keep saying. There will be times when you do what it takes, but life throws a spanner in the works. At that point in time, all that we can do is accept, deal with it, personify resilience and move on. But that’s another topic, perhaps for another day.

Ciao ppl!

Ciao Life!!

P.S.2:  Comments welcome here or on Linkedin