An Imbalanced Pursuit of Happiness!

Just like individuals band together to create families and families come together to create societies, our collective conscience creates the conscience of the society we live in. Since our societies depict realities that stem from our collective conscience, it is important that our perception of those realities is firmly rooted in a moral and just socio-economic system. The realities that stemmed from the collective conscience of the founding fathers of our nation were once beautifully summed up in what we now know as the Declaration of Independence.

“…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”

-Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Today as I look at the state of affair of our union, I see a nation slowly drifting away from the foundational framework laid down by the founding fathers for the governance of our collective state of affairs. I see a free market enterprise system out of balance where statutory loopholes are frequently exploited to undermine fiduciary responsibilities. I see financial profitability playing a central role in guiding our decision-making processes. The unalienable right of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness has now become a privilege no longer for the masses.

Our poverty rate is now the third worst among the developed nations according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to http://www.businessinsider.com/ , our nation’s household participation in the food stamp program has increased 20.28% since 2009; while one out of every seven mortgages in the United States was either delinquent or in foreclosure during the first quarter of 2010. In spite these alarming statistics of economic and social suffering of the masses, Wall Street paid a whopping $144 billion in compensation and benefits to its executives for 2010; a 4% increase from the $139 billion paid out in 2009. With homelessness growing at an alarming rate, healthcare costs skyrocketing and debt spiraling out of control, certainly we the masses are in pursuit of a very distorted reality of happiness.

If our individual consciousness is fueling our collective consciousness then it behooves us to closely examine our own selves to decipher the root cause of this socio-economic imbalance. A good point to start is a little bit of inward reflection. One of the greatest Sufi mystic poets from the region of Punjab in Pakistan, Bulleh Shah, talks about our struggles with this respect in many of his poems. I’ve tried translating a few lines from one of his poem: 

We're so occupied with attaining outward knowledge

That we never spent time knowing our souls

Our thoughts are shaped by externalities

Yet we never contemplate what the heart holds

We’ve reached the limitless skies

But we’ve failed to reach our heart’s inner folds

Inward reflection is the ability to self-monitor our own adherence to accountability, commitment and transparency with the filters of morality and ethical codes of conduct in our own lives. This type of self analysis is innate to the human souls who are mindful of the oath of conscience they took when they took on the responsibilities that came with the unalienable rights endowed to them by their Creator. Because with rights comes responsibilities. We have the right to make profit from our businesses, but we also have the responsibility to show restraint when it comes to wasteful use of our resources. We have the right to be ambitious and dream big, but we are also responsible for taking time for introspect and inner reflection. We have the right to grow and prosper, but we are also supposed to respect the laws of nature so that we don’t pillage and plunder. We have the right to improve our own material wellbeing, but we are also supposed to help the less fortunate and the needy.

Intrinsic to long term sustenance of our Declaration of Independence is the adherence to a balanced governance framework; a framework that is built on the pillars of accountability, commitment and transparency. Balance has to be the core component for universal governance of our affairs. It is this balance that in turn induces equitable and sustained prosperity. And this balance cannot be achieved unless we learn to reflect inwardly.

“Surely, God does not change the state of a people until they change the state of their own souls” (Qur’an 13:11).

This is About Internal Agitation

So in your face, obvious

That no one seems to care

Hollow molds of emptiness

No more hope left to share

Resurrecting from within

Rekindling the flare

Rise up O down trodden

Change the state of affair

Your revolution is waiting

There are responsibilities to bear

Let's take them on, one more time

With unison we declare

We'll fight for human dignity

To eradicate despair…

The agitation that started in Tunisia is now spreading to other parts of the Muslim world. This is no emotional outburst of uneducated masses caused by any external stimuli. This is not about demonizing the west. There is no US flag burning. There is no religiously motivated rhetoric behind the outrage. This is not even about demanding rights; I’m afraid that time is long gone! This is about hopelessness! This is about despair; despair that reaches deep down into the human psyche imploding the soul. People in the Muslim world have being oppressed for too long. The primary mode of oppression has almost always been this sleazy style of statesmanship; driven by greed; intoxicated with power; void of any conscience; hollow from within; self absorbed!

Of the world’s poorest nations, more than half are Muslim. Moreover, about 75% of refugees in the world today are Muslims, externally and internally displaced, due to wars, famine, and/or severe economic conditions. There is no sign of just governance of public affairs in many Muslim countries. There is no end to social inequities. Justice is for the wealthy. Punishment is for the weak. Such unhealthy conditions of social and economic imbalance, not only creates desperation but eventually fuels social destabilization and unrest ripping apart the very fabric that binds a society.

It is true that physical agitation is a manifestation of lack of basic civic necessities. But what we see today is not a result of physical agitation that can be controlled by force. Although many leaders in the Muslim world will resort to brutal force to suppress this uprising; a cowardly act indeed. In actuality this agitation is the agitation of the soul, especially Muslim youth, one that is fueled by the deprivation of human dignity. For it is true that these so called Muslim leaders, the whole lot of them, have done nothing but to deprive their people of basic human dignity.

It only starts as a whisper

That ignites a burning desire

They may fight the uprising

But they can’t put out the fire

Synaptic Impulses

All human beings are endowed with certain capabilities that are God given innate to our souls. What we do with these capabilities in this life is up to us. We will be held accountable for them one day! Once we can understand that accountability in our everyday living, we go through a spiritual awakening.


This short book of poems is about my inward journey; my attempt to decipher the meaning of my life. My hope is that whoever reads it reflects upon their inner journey inculcating a desire to change for the better, rather than just cluttering their minds with yet another set of readings.

Get your copy today and start your own process of inner reflection!

May we all continue to read and learn new things in life that are beneficial to us and others around us and may we from the wisdom that we are given continue to uplift others in their thoughts and in their actions. Amen!

Organizational Governance

In a free market system corporate governance is generally a lagging influencer, meaning that we introduce rules and regulations after a negative event has already occurred. Our knee jerk reactions to unforeseen performance results almost always give rise to efforts for greater transparencies. Although greater transparencies may create short term performance correction, they seldom create accountabilities to the right entities. The concept of a balanced governance model is one which is built on the foundation of accountability not transparency. Because where accountabilities start transparencies begin.

Intrinsic to long term economic sustenance of any organization is the adherence to a balanced governance framework; a framework that is built on the pillars of accountability, commitment and transparency. Balance is core to universal governance laws. It is this balance that in turn induces sustained prosperity.

A balanced governance model is one where accountability, commitment and transparency are the foundation on which public trust responsibilities are shouldered. Responsibilities only to special interest groups leave other governance components either under utilized or over leveraged. Organizations often put financial performance ahead of all other performance parameters, creating imbalance in governance. In such one-dimensionally run organizations when the financial element weakens or buckles, the entire organization collapses instantly. Wonderment and unbelief follows as leaders and analyst are left dazed and confused only to blame their failure on external market economic forces.

Organizational Learning a Bottom Up Approach

I once asked a very successful business man whom I was working for, what is it that I can do to make you happy?

He said with a smile on his face, "Just excel in everything you do and never stop learning."

I did not understand what he meant back then, but he knew exactly what he was asking me to do.

Although my ability to excel and become successful within his organization did help me advance up the ranks, but it was my excelling that truly propelled his business forward. The lesson that I learned from that one little conversation has really come a long way in shaping my thoughts today about organizational learning strategies.

The success of any organization lies in the personal and professional growth that the lowest level member undertakes as part of his or her development cycle. Because if the organizational member at the bottom grows everyone on top rises.

The MBI Framework
Life is based on a single set of directives –a divine manual called the Quran, for stipulating a code of submission; a code that applies evenly to all realms of our lives without distinction. So if Quran is that set of policy directives, the word of God Himself, then Prophet Muhammad’s character (May Peace and Blessing of God be with Him) is the behavioral manifestation of the word of God. Just as the Quran is a document perfect in its compilation and delivery, so is the character of the person who was charged with disseminating this information to mankind. Therefore, for a sincere Muslim, implementing the MBI framework should not be a foreign exercise.

The MBI framework is a pyramid with two halves, see figure below. The intellectual half signifies the Quran. The physical half signifies the way of the Prophet. The two halves are not mutually exclusive. One feeds the other. The intellectual realm has to be firmly rooted in the basic principles of the Islamic creed (Aqeeda). Similarly the physical realm needs to be in conformity with the Sunnah of the Prophet. Without this balanced approach the framework loses its essence.

The progress forward starts off with the willingness of an entity (individual or an organization) to acquire the right type and level of education coupled with measurable actions. Education as soon as it is acquired needs to be implemented. Education that is not implemented does not become knowledge. Therefore, the first step is attaining the right education followed by measurable action creating behavioral knowledge. Behavioral knowledge is applied hands on education; one that empowers. For without behavioral knowledge skillful understanding of any subject cannot be achieved. This skillful understanding helps in fueling our thought process and forces us to contemplate. In order to achieve mastery one has to spend time contemplating what they have learned, how they have applied it and what results they have achieved. This type of a comptemplative exercise forces us to improve our skill set. The mastery of skills and the ability to contemplate enables God consciousness. Only when one has achieve God consciousness through this process their persona becomes worthy of exemplification.

The MBI Roadmap
The journey from the base to the top of the pyramid requires implementing a five (5) step MBI roadmap. The starting point for implementing such a God-centric framework starts with the concept of SALAM©. SALAM© is an acronym that constitutes the building blocks for MBI. Each letter signifies a time tested corporate management dictum. Yet each dictum is filtered through the core fundamentals of spirituality and God consciousness.

The MBI Roadmap:
· Sense of Purpose
· Accepting the Framework
· Learning Organizational Wisdom
· Applying the Flexibility in Practice
· Mastering the Process

The following is a brief description of each MBI building block:

Sense of Purpose
And We did not create the heaven and the earth and that between them aimlessly… (Chapter Saad, Verse 27).

If there is a purpose for God’s creation of heaven and earth and everything in between, why shouldn’t there be purpose to what we do as human beings? Having a sense of direction is a vital component of success in the business world. Our bearings should be calibrated to the right course constantly; otherwise we may not reach our destination. A sense of purpose, the reason why, should therefore be the underlining cause for all actions that we undertake. The first building block for MBI is therefore our ability to have a sense of purpose. Purpose is the fuel that drives our engines. It is the reason why we do what we do. That is why in the corporate world everything is tied to goals, strategies, missions and visions. These are all tools for inducing a sense of purpose. The first step in MBI roadmap is defining our organizational goals and the goals of each of our members.

To each is a goal to which Allah turns him; then strive together (as in a race) towards all that is good. Where so ever ye are, Allah will bring you together. For Allah hath power over all things. (Chapter Al Baqarah, Verse 148)

Accepting the Framework
It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong). (Chapter Aali Imraan, Verse 3)

The analysis of any man made frameworks indicate an inherent inability to be proactively balanced in addressing all organizational goals. In other words, any man made framework is flawed and incomplete until it is infused with universal spiritual laws.

The second building block for MBI therefore is divided into two folds:
1) The degree of our acceptability of the divine operational framework, and
2) The skill with which it is applied as our guide for decision making processes.

Any process void of written procedures is random and arbitrary; because processes without procedures are an indication of absence of governance policies. Policies in turn are entrenched in principles. The principles, whether financial, administrative, or operational, are derivatives of spiritual fundamentals based on natural universal laws. Therefore a good indicator or an entity’s core not being guided by the MBI philosophy can be easily accessed by quickly looking at its procedural day-to-day running of its affairs.

Learning Organizational Wisdom
He grants wisdom to whom He pleases, and whoever is granted wisdom, he indeed is given a great good but none will grasp the Message but men of understanding. (Chapter Al Baqarah, Verse 269)

Once we have our goals set and our framework examined, the next step is to acquire the wisdom and intelligence to implement the framework. Since not everyone is endowed with wisdom, it is important to tap into individuals who posses this God given capability. Therefore acquiring wisdom and intelligence is a twofold process: 1) having people on our teams that have the right knowledge and experience, and 2) developing a keen sense of understanding of our roles and responsibilities.

People with understanding of the subject matter can guide us forward effectively. And having the correct understanding enables us to put the right actions into motion; actions that are mindful of our goals. The third building block of MBI, therefore, is our ability to learn the wisdom behind the key elements of the framework and their relationship to both our short range and long range goals. Benefiting from the collective wisdom of the organization and learning to manage the shared knowledge is vital to organizational success. Organizations without the ability to inculcate operational wisdom in their members lose their focus. Attaining organizational wisdom is learning how to harness the various elements of intelligence within the organizations.

These elements of intelligence are:

1. Personal Intelligence: The ability of the organization to enlist members who based on their individual aspirations synergize the organization’s goals and values
2. Group Intelligence: The ability of the organization to foster intelligent collaborations among its members.
3. Organizational Intelligence: The ability of organizational members to tap into their collective group intelligence enabling them to respond or adapt to the challenges by executing the right actions
4. Collective Organizational Wisdom: The ability of the organization to archive personal, group and organizational intelligence efficiently so that the collective wisdom can be documented for mentoring and training purposes.

Applying the Flexibility in Practice
(Such has been) the practice (approved) of Allah already in the past: no change wilt thou find in the practice (approved) of Allah. (Al Fath, Verse 23)

While natural law is perfect and does not require constant change, it is our way of implementing the natural law that is far from perfect and requires continuous realignment. A God-centric management approach is one that is accommodating to change in our attitudes and management styles.

The fourth building block of MBI is therefore, applying flexibility in practice. Flexibility in practice is having the courage to admit our mistakes, redress our wrongs and manage by consensus so that we can constantly realign our goals to prescribed natural laws. Another important element of applying flexibility is the ability to be accepting of different point-of-views, being non-judgmental and learning to work with a diversified set of individuals. When a goal is comprehensive enough to benefit everyone, then minor differences and disagreements should not be allowed to derail the forward movement towards that goal.

Mastering the Process
So lose not heart, nor fall into despair: For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in Faith.
(Aali Imraan, Verse 139)

Understanding the wisdom behind the framework enables an organization and its members to master the right skill set. Skills that are not based on collective organizational wisdom lead us off course. When our practice of fulfilling our duties and responsibilities is God conscious and our skills are based on collective organizational wisdom, we exhibit flexibility in our approach in resolving our challenges. This flexibility allows us to accept decent, respect alternate opinions and encourage diversity within our organizations. The fifth and final building block in MBI is therefore the mastering of the process.

Attaining mastery is no easy task. It is attained after much trials and tribulations. Hallmarks of entities that attain it are humility and reverence. Whether you are an organization of one or many, setbacks, economic downturns, competition and other environmental challenges never seize of exist. It is these challenges that make us and shape us. But if the basics are sound and the foundation is build upon core principles, the goal is alway in sight.

Mastery (Ihsan) is not only the combination of efficient process oriented approach in managing our programs with effective strategies aligned with the core principles of governance, it is also the ability to lead by example.

This is just my opinion based on my limited knowledge. God knows best!

A Risk-based Submission Management Approach
Reactive ad hoc solutions just do not provide a strong enough systemic approach in mitigating risks. Risks can only be minimized if we have total understanding of our goals, our responsibilities and our duties to perform the task at hand. Only a well founded and properly implemented management approach can provide a measure of confidence that good performance is not an accident and that poor performance can be identified and rectified.

The degree of confidence in our ability to understand our goals and to monitor our performance is the key to forecasting success or failure. This is what Management by Islam (MBI) is all about -- a God-centric operational framework for adaptive risk mitigation. It is a frame of reference that is based on a balanced approach; combining corporate organizational management and development philosophies with a God-centric spiritual dimension. The better we manage our risk the better off we are in predicting the end result.

In absence of a framework for submission, conformance is arbitrary, accountability is non-enforceable and success or failure has no meaning. The Quran is, therefore, the policy document establishing the framework of submission. Just as the Quran is a document perfect in its compilation and delivery, so is the character of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessing of God be upon him) who was charged with disseminating this information to mankind. The Prophet’s life is the physical manifestation of the word of God. There is no doubt that everyone is created with the spirit and the understanding of following the divine set of guidelines prescribed by God and following the example set forth by His messenger Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessing of God be upon him).

And remember the favor of God upon you and His covenant with which He bound you when you said, "We hear and we obey"; and fear God… (Chapter Al Maidah, Verse 7)

It is not God who needs to have one unified approach in judging His creations’ submission to His divine will; rather it is the creation that might argue otherwise given its tendency to err. Hence one approach for judging with justice and fairness is to stipulate a general framework for submission and standardize roles and responsibilities so that the rules of submission can be applied evenly. The adherence to those rules thus is based off of a single set of directives –a divine manual called the Quran, the word of God Himself.

Since this life is a test for mankind to see how closely we follow the convenient we made with God, to submit ourselves to His divine will, we are given the ability to choice without any compulsion. What defines our success in the end is our attempt to stay, to the best of your abilities, within that prescribed framework in spite all our short comings, faults and mistakes.

If we stay within the prescribed framework, we are labeled as people who submit to the will of God with consciousness – a Mutaqi. If we venture outside the prescribed framework we lose that designation. The figure below is the graphical representation of this submission management framework; a risk based submission management matrix.



The matrix is a combination of two key elements of submission; 1) Strength of Character and 2) Variability of Belief. Everyone starts this journey, life, in a specific cell on this matrix. The struggle to get to the green zone is defined as jihad-al-nafs (our inner struggle). The distance between our cell and the green zone is directly proportional to our God given capability to withstand the tests that are assigned to us.

…No burden do We place on any soul, but that which it can bear. (Chapter Al Anam Verse 152)

The closer we are to the green zone the better we have become in submitting ourselves to the divine framework and hence the better we have become at minimizing the inherent risk we face. This Risk-based Submission Management Approach (RSMA) is a four step process:

1) Acquiring proper knowledge about the word of God and the way of the Prophet.
2) Striving to achieve connectivity with God
3) Working on our intentions (how we internalize His message), and
4) Taking action (how we apply God’s word)

The right knowledge will create the right connectivity and the right connectivity will instill the right intentions and the right intentions will compel one to take the right actions. And only by the will of God and His grace will those right actions take us closer to the green zone.

So the purpose of this life, as I see it, is two folds:
1) To try our utmost to stay within the framework as close as possible to the green zone, and
2) By our actions and deeds try to influence others both inside the framework and outside of it to come closer to the green zone.

These are my assumption based on my limited knowledge, God knows best