MONDAY MUSINGS SEASON 2 - EPISODE 358
23rd March 2026
Importance of Integration
Integration
The knowledge that is trivial, not based on logic and binds one to just one type of action considering it to be the all in all, without any knowledge of reality is to be considered Tamasik-Gyana ie knowledge in the mode of darkness (Bhagavad Gita 18.22)
Multiple departments within an organisation work towards their individual goals, but these goals must align with the organisation’s goals. There is no use of the individual functional goals unless they integrate well with the organisation’s goals. That is big picture thinking.
#PMBOK
There are 10 established knowledge areas in Project Management, as per the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK), and Integration is a very important knowledge area among them. Integration ensures that all tasks connect well to the project's objectives. Otherwise, everyone would have performed extremely well but the project would not have achieved its objective.
The Tunnel that never turned to completion
#Barog is a small hill station in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh on Kalka – Shimla railway line. The tunnel just before Barog railway station has a famous history and a great learning from that story. I had the opportunity to visit and understand the history and the lesson from that sad story. Barog Tunnel at 1144 meters is the longest tunnel on the route and appears just before the Barog Station.
Colonel Barog, who was in charge of that ill-fated tunnel, made a mistake by boring it from both (opposite) ends of the mountain, which is quite common because it speeds up construction. The crew was divided into two teams, and both teams began digging and blasting the tunnel from opposite ends. The Colonel instructed the crew to bore the tunnel according to his calculations, with the vision that the two tunnels would meet in the middle to form a single tunnel.
The workers kept boring from both ends, but the halves did not meet even after crossing the centre of the mountain. Barog realised that the two ends would never meet because the integration aspect was missed in the project plan.
The British Government fined Colonel Barog Rs. 1 for allegedly wasting government property. The workers were also furious because all their hard work had gone to waste.
The British engineer could not digest this humiliation and, during a walk with his pet dog, shot himself in sheer desperation. It is said that his dog, upon seeing his master bleeding profusely, ran in panic to a village near the present Barog railway station for help. However, by the time people reached the spot, Barog had breathed his last.
Integration Testing
Many software development projects failed due to integration issues. #IntegrationTesting plays an important role alongside unit testing in software development projects.
Key characteristics of big picture thinking
Key characteristics of big-picture thinking are: Focus on the long term, connecting the dots, Delegating Details, and adapting to change.
Three Stonecutters
Three stonecutters were seen working on a site. A man wanted to find out what they were doing and asked the first stonecutter.
"Don’t you see? I am cutting a stone." The first worker replied without lifting his eyes from the stone.
"I am shaping a stone to fit in a hole in the wall." Answered the second stonecutter.
The third stonecutter gave the reply, “I am building a cathedral."
The first two workers lacked ‘big picture thinking’. The first reply is the ideal example for ‘task orientation’, and the second person was highly ‘process oriented’. The third stonecutter is the one with ‘big-picture focus”. Both task orientation and process orientation are important but ‘big-picture focus’ is the glue that binds everything together. It is important to cut the stones well and it is even more important to ensure that the stones fit well in the gaps and even more important that the stones and the holes stack up well as a cathedral.
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#PositiveNewsPage
Continued from the previous episode, based on inputs from multiple sources, but not copied, including from AI
#IndiaT20WorldCupWinAndLeadershipLessons
The Indian cricket team won the 2026 T20 championship and, in that process, broke many records. Continuing the discussion on management lessons from this euphoric win;
4. Bold Leadership Decisions
India’s strong talent pipeline has naturally created intense competition for places in the national team, especially the T20 team.
Talented players such as Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, and even the captain of the Test and ODI teams, Shubman Gill, found it difficult to secure a place in the T20 team due to intense competition.
It can be emotionally difficult to see such talented players missing opportunities. However, this situation reflects the system's strength rather than a weakness.
There were lots of debates over the exclusion of Shubman Gill from T20 team. However, the management took the bold decision to drop Shubman Gill. In hindsight, this paid back in the flexibility to experiment with the top order to achieve the vision of establishing the best possible score in the first powerplay.
This is in contrast to sticking with Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakaravarthy despite their poor form early in the tournament.
The team management faced intense criticism for backing players like Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy during their difficult times.
Many cricket commentators, newspaper sports experts, and even the self-declared experts among India’s 1.4 billion passionate cricket followers openly questioned the decision. Several newspapers carried stories debating why these two players were not dropped from the playing eleven.
One can only imagine the pressure on both the team management and the players themselves in such an environment.
However, true leadership is tested during moments like these. The team management remained firm in its belief in the players’ abilities. That trust and patience eventually paid off, as both players delivered impactful and match-winning performances.
Learning: Organisations that foster strong internal competition develop stronger teams and future leaders. Bold decisions to be taken based on strategic vision, at the same time, reposing confidence in talent development.
5. Eye on the goal
Axar Patel’s brilliant catch (the first one of the two brilliant efforts) in the India-England semifinal is pure magic to watch for a long time, and it will remain one of the best catches in cricket for a long time.
Axar Patel produced a stunning, viral leaping catch to dismiss England captain Harry Brook in the 2026 T20 World Cup semi-final. Running backwards at full speed, Patel took the difficult catch with a full-length dive to break a crucial partnership, significantly enabling India's 7-run victory. Watch the moment once again now for new learning. Watch Axar Patel’s sprint backwards before the final leap.
Axar had his eyes glued to the ball for the entire sprint. He never took his sight away from the ball even for a second. In the final moment, when he realised there would still be a shortage, he made the final leap with an extended hand to take the ball at the edge of his hand. That is the focus on the goal.
Lesson – Never allow your focus to drift away from your goals. Track your progress towards your goals and make the adjustments whenever and wherever required.
There is so much to learn, and the learning will continue in the next episode as well.
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Conceived, compiled and posted as a motivational newsletter #MondayMusings every Monday by Jaganathan T (www.authorjaganathan.com).
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PROMOTIONS
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