Page 43 - IMDR - Journal of Management Development and Research - March2019-20

discovers potential with action and power of imagination because the need is to

satisfy oneself. Therefore, no one else but the person himself can deliver that
satisfaction to self. This need begins and ends in unique self of the person. This

cannot be standardised or defined by anyone else but the person himself.
To continue with our example of a professional, he or she has to ask ‘How much

satisfaction do I deliver to myself every day? How much time and other resources do
we invest in identifying and using our potential?’ More importantly, ‘What is the

proportion and importance given to professional development vis-a-vis potential

development?’
The answer is that modern professionals equate professional success as a mark of

personal fulfilment. They are caught in a trap of ‘market success’ that make them

repeat doing what they are already competent at and rewarded for by the market and
workplace. Hence, they do not invest in work that may be risky and may not get so-

called ‘success’ but may be self-fulfilling. Professionals need special guidance,
family and social support to focus on higher order need of self- fulfilment. A close

study of professionals in SMEs reveals that although successful in their careers, many
individuals are not satisfied with what they have achieved in life. There is a constant

struggle to reach the goal faster and faster without realising that the goal itself may be

not the right one.
The challenge of discovering and enacting human potential: To recognize potential

one does not need data and information but life experience, contact with other fellow
human beings, his own powers and relatedness with nature. In other words, these are

the tools man possesses which need to be utilised by him to uncover his true potential.
However, electronic media diverts our attention to consumption of images and

products. Our attention is diverted to satisfaction of wants generated form advertising

messages rather than our potential. For example, how is a six-year-old child impacted
by constant advertisement of junk food products? How would he develop need a for

games, fine arts, stories, theatre which are the means to identify one’s potential? In

fact, sports and arts are seen as careers and money- making activities rather than an
end in itself or for larger purpose of developing all rounded personality and

fulfilment. Social media has played havoc in the minds of the new generation and
that is being used for self-gratification and building image. People are moving further

and further away from human interaction to machine interaction.

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