Want to feel sane again

The blanket so blue and pure,
Did I find myself in the silent furor,
In the deep water so lost for words,
I sense so much in the unseen, unheard,
All the colors of this world and more,
Every stroke etched to my core,
Silent notes of the divine symphony,
Life, its innumerable forms, all in harmony,
Pleasures, pain, love and sorrow,
We are all so trapped in today and tomorrow,
I can't forget you pristine waters, so call me again,
In your depths I want to, once more, feel sane.

There lived a man who did not know about Amazon

If you haven’t already heard Ken Robinson on Ted, please do it right away. Besides being a splendid speaker with an excellent sense of humor, I couldn’t agree with him more about schools not being able to achieve what they should for the children who spend far too many years in them. I could so much relate it to this real example which couldn’t have proved it better. 

Sometime in the year 2009 (perhaps the year isn’t absolutely correct but the details which follow are), Sumit had this school group reunion and the invitation extended to the spouses. Also one of his friends who graduated from Wharton was visiting so another reason to plan the get together. I had heard about all of these friends sometime or the other but Sumit was giving a recap while driving to the restaurant. 

Wharton guy - This guy wasn’t exactly the top scorer academically but was very involved in everything extracurricular. He always had been quite proactive in all of the school activities and quite forthcoming in organizing some drive or some event even outside school. He exuded a lot of confidence and was always the first one to take responsibility of all extracurricular activities. 

School Topper - And there was this other guy who happened to be the topper and gone on to become a CA. He had scored brilliantly in the XIIth and now joined his father’s practice. 

Others - There was one who was flamboyant and still was the same. There were some more who were ‘normal’ or there wasn’t anything special to mention about them. 

The reunion - We reached, exchanged greetings and hugs, and ordered our drinks and appetizers. While all were enjoying their drinks, the obvious nostalgia filled the mood. So this School Topper and Wharton guy got talking and all turned their attention to their chit chat. 

The Chit Chat

Topper: So where did you say you’re working now?

Wharton guy: Amazon, I got placed with Amazon

Topper (a bit confused): What is Amazon? What do they do? 

I was suddenly coughing out my drink having suffered a mix of disbelief and amusement. I stared at him in absolute shock and noticed that everybody around the table was staring at the Topper too while he had a ‘What did I do’ naive look on his face. Couple of minutes passed in odd silence but ending it, the Wharton guy was kind enough to tell him about Amazon.

Well the dinner ended and all of us waved each other happy good byes but it left something which I will never forget (and I’m sure even the others present there will not). While all along we chase high percentages and then try for higher than the last percentage but percentages never determine your smartness or how you fare in life. They definitely do not!  

What's the smell of your organization?

Our adorable ex CEO, MR SM Roy, often used to quote this fantastic example.

A man at the New Delhi Railway Station relishes his favorite chocolate and throws the wrapper carelessly wherever he likes. The same man goes to the nearest Metro Station and again consumes another chocolate but this time chooses to find a dustbin to throw the wrapper. Or he chooses to keep the wrapper in his pocket till he finds a dustbin. It's the same man but what makes him behave differently? It’s about the 'smell of a place', he used to quote.

The example is so relevant when we talk about Organization Culture. Employees walk in and walk out of the organization every day but what differentiates the same employees is their passion. The passion which they carry to work differs from one organization to the other. 

Each one of us is passionate about something and feel a sense of belonging and what is hugely responsible for this is the organization culture. 

Some organizations are mistaken to believe that fat packages are great motivators. Yes, it may lure them to begin with but not to keep their passion going. The money will stop to excite them after sometime if they don’t feel a sense of belonging and fulfillment while walking into the office each day. They will feel disillusioned and negative and even spread it to their colleagues. And then they most likely will look to work for a fatter package elsewhere.

If we were to follow some organizations which offer a great culture, there are some clear trends. These organizations are about people, their comforts and thrive on the interactions between them. These interactions happen at all levels vertically and horizontally. The culture is open and friendly and when I say 'friendly' it means people are really willing to help. So you don’t really have a bunch of hostile people always feeling pressurized to compete with each other but a lot of helpful people who walk out of the office contented  each day having helped a few of their known and unknown colleagues. The organization provides opportunities for people to help each other irrespective of their designations. These are people who feel cared for as they can clearly see their role and growth in the bigger picture of the organization. And the organization cares about their passion, interests and growth. Employee friendly policies and practices are based on these trends. And a great culture makes an irresistible smell of the organization.