Once upon a time, Picasso was sitting at a bar and whiling his time away. A star-struck fan spotted him and approached him with a request—could he make a quick sketch on a paper napkin?
Picasso acquiesced and in about a minute sketched a dove. The delighted fan could not believe his luck and thanked the artist profusely. Picasso though growled and demanded a huge amount of money. The admirer was stumped, and said the demand was an impossible one. Because it took just a minute to sketch the dove.
The artist wasn’t amused and growled right back: “No, it took me 40 years.”
In management scenario. Most of the manager have similar skills like Microsoft word, excel, graphs, PowerPoint and show-off. They give same excuses and their language and attitudes are almost same. They are easily replaceable. Just like current Hindi film actress, all know same skills – dance, dialogue, beauty and tears. All are so standardised. It means they are replaceable. You can hire anyone sonakhi, sonam, alia, Katrina, anuskha, yami, kriti, or Shraddha. Their career is short term. They disappear once they lose their beautiful face.
Picasso kind skill needs continuous efforts and keeping self-few steps ahead. It is Sadhna/devotion/prayer. It is like walking on unchartered road. Self-made entrepreneurs follow this path. They learn art of survival. They create quality which no one else can deliver, they mould themselves with changing environment. They fell. They survive. They reinvent themselves in each challenge. They know in this cut throat competition only few will survive and they are one of them. They break comfort zone more than usual. That is only way to keep self ahead. They reduce on quantity, and more focus on quality. They don’t repeat self. They are happiest people as they do what they like.
Picasso was a legend. People are ready to pay for quality. It may be art, paint, act, management, leadership, sports, or products. Creating a brand needs hours of hard work. There is no short cut. Talent can take you upto a limit.