~ Sanjay Tumati
At C3SLD, we start of the day by meeting together for approximately an hour every day Monday to Saturday. Much like an morning assembly they have the effect of keeping the group together. C3SLD is now a medium sized org with about 30 people spread over teams à Embedded Software, Drivers, Layout, Layout automation, Verification, Absolute and Mathegramming. With these many people, it is very easy to get into a silos and for members of one group to become isolated from those in other groups. Over time, an us Vs them mentality can also develop as seen in large organizations.
The morning meetings are a reminder as to what is common between all of us, why we are all in one team, what is our purpose as an organization, what is our purpose as individuals, how our purpose as individuals is aligned with our purpose as an organization among many other things. It is very well known that people come together over shared activities even more than over shared beliefs. The morning meetings are our shared activities and it is part of the glue that keeps us together as a team.
While keeping the team cohesive and connected is an important function of the morning meetings, it would be a tragedy if it was limited to that. After all, morning meetings could just have everyone playing board games and that would be enough to keep the group connected, however superficially. It would be better to utilize that time in a way that is wholesome, benefits the individual as well as the organization and also forms deeper connections between participants. It is my belief that the morning meetings at C3SLD do just that. Here is our schedule during morning meetings
- Monday: 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM à Vipassana and Metta
- Tuesday
- 7:45 AM – 7:55 AM: Anapana
- 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Learning sessions, either technical or non technical. A sample of topics covered are TED talks, Unix OS, VI editor, Verilog programming, Mathematics, teaching effectively, Financial literacy, Social service etc
- Wednesday
- 7:45AM – 7:55AM : Anapana
- 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Radical Transformation leadership (RTL) sessions choosing selected topics from the RTL workshop
- Thursday
- 7:45 AM – 7:55 AM: Anapana
- 8:00 AM- 9:00 AM: Book reading, currently RTL by Monica Sharma, Formerly Altered traits by
- Friday: 7:50 – 8:00 AM, Anapana, Layout team meeting with Aura and Software team, Mathegramming code reviews
- Saturday
- 8:00 AM – 8:10 AM : Anapana
- 8:10 AM – 9:00 AM: Weekly reflections
- Sunday (Optional): 8:00 AM -12 Noon à Half Day Vipassana course to serve old meditators in the greater Auroville and Pondicherry area. All Shifuians and 2-3 C3SLD youth attend every week.
My own perspective on these morning meetings is that it is a good start to the day, a positive start to the day. I always enjoy and look forward to hearing Sanjeev speak during these meetings and his perspectives give my mind nutritious food for thought. The 10 minute Anapana focuses the mind and the rest of the sessions reminds us as to why we are doing what we are doing. C3SLD is a growing organization comprised of individuals who have made a commitment to their own growth and the growth of others. The role played by morning meetings in this growth is not little.