Ajit Doval is no ordinary spy or human being. He is what legends are made of.
Ajit Doval architected many critical operations including Balakot and Surgical Strike after#Uri, here he shares 6 decision making lessons after Balakot. #PulwamaAttack Click To Tweet
Some of the things that he has done in his lifetime include:
- Living in Pakistan for 7 years – ostensibly at Data Durbar in Lahore – and spy on Kahuta
- Infiltrate the Nagas and bring about a consensus of 6 of the 7 tribal chiefs to isolate Laldenga and push for an accord
- Enter Golden Temple to meet Bhindranwale at the height of the tension before Operation Bluestar – posing as an ISI operative – and get the information needed for the operation.
Entire country is fascinated by what PM Modi and Ajit Doval have done in case of the Surgical Strikes and the Balakot air attack. So it is important to listen to the man who planned it all, Doval himself, on how he did it?
Doval discusses the Balakot strike and the Surgical strike and how they reached the conclusions that they did and what went on his mind while they were going on.
Besides discussing how he decided on Balakot or the Surgical strikes, he shares his Decision Making Lessons and they are worth listening to. Some nuggets are:
- Establish the Worst Case Scenario and Improve on them: First and foremost establish the worst case scenario in any situation. If you can handle that, then you go ahead working to reduce the risks and negatives with the scenario. Improving upon your odds of getting the Best Case result should then be the focus.
- No Bad Decisions, Just bad option selection: Decisions are not bad. It is just that out of the many options you may have selected a bad option. Ultimately it boils down to choices you make based on the information and intel you have.
- Never take a decision when you are angry or anxious: Anger and Anxiety always hinder proper decision making. When you make decisions in either of these states your objectivity suffers and you end up making wrong choices. So, wait till your anger subsides and anxiety is reduced, and then evaluate the situation.
- Don’t just take the “right decisions”, but ensure that you make your “decisions right”: Making the right decisions is important, but once you have made a decision, ensure that you stick with it and overcome all the hurdles that come with it. Don’t keep changing your decisions.
- Treat every situation as new and on its own merit: He declares that he never repeats any act or strategy again. He looks at every situation on its own merit without bringing his past knowledge, experiences or actions into play.
- Remember, you are responsible for what you decide and do: Many things you decide and do. But remember in all of that, that you were the one who made the decision. No one forced you to. So make your own decisions and ensure you stick by them.
When asked about advice for the young student community and what should they do, he advised them to be and think like Indians above all. Ensure you have the good of the nation in your heart, and you think of how to improve things. And he shares an incident from Swami Vivekananda’s ship voyage from Japan to US and how he learnt a great lesson in nationalism from a Japanese co-traveler. It is worth listening.
This whole interview is an amazing piece of interaction which gives us some insight into what goes on in the mind of the man who ensures that 1.3 billion people are safe.. every single day!
