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. 

Not my city, not anymore

The fast paced unsafe life. Access to the best of everything high-class glazed in artificiality. The well-connected always herded metro. The unsatiable desire for conveniences leading to growing stress. This is the city of Delhi, which I refrain from calling ‘my’ city. I feel I don’t belong here. 

On one hand while it has become home to MNCs and giants which have world-class and multistoried offices with chic coffee shops nuzzled in every corner. There is insane traffic and road rage to get to these offices, every single day. While there is an excellent network of highways and flyovers with ingenious design all over the city, there is no check on the alarmingly growing number of cars and unmanageable traffic which make all the resources always insufficient. 

There are the best of international brands in premiere malls and markets, which are vulnerable to bomb blasts. And there are the finest restaurants and pubs all over the city but no safety guaranteed for women going to such places or going anywhere in the city for that matter. Forget about women, even small girls are subject to barbarism. The capital city, hub of the passive Central Government and also the breeding ground for parasitic criminals who get more confident of getting away because of the lack of action and failing of every system. And to top it all there is the affluent feigned class competing to get more affluent than the most affluent and mercilessly squashing the laws with money.         

 I don’t feel safe here, at any time. This is not my city, not anymore.   

Have you met the insensitive, crude, uncivilized and selfish?

Thanking the pantry boy for the coffee, waiting for people to get out of the elevator before you get in, holding the door for someone coming behind you, saying sorry to the person you accidentally step on, offering chair to an elderly person, helping your colleague with something which you are good at without them even asking for it, helping a new employee who apparently seems lost, keeping your mobile on the silent mode while in a meeting or movie…why should any of these things matter?

Tell me why should any of it seriously matter when we are living in a country where we are constantly fighting for resources and carry the same attitude to work every single day. We are in the 'me first' race be it on the roads or waiting in a queue or meeting the deadlines. I will be measured on my KRAs, targets and what my boss and boss’ boss thinks about me and nothing else. As I walk on the road, I am not obliged to help strangers or in my organization I am not bound to assist random colleagues. I get nothing in return and it won’t fetch me any reward either. 

When you see this attitude every single day, you can’t help but wonder what kind of people are we dealing with? And at times when patience runs out, you want to be like them to deal with them. But then, something pulls you back soon enough and you feel a disgust for these people all over again. Insensitive, crude, uncivilized and selfish is what you call them. But then what is it that pulls back?

These are all acts of generosity. Though minuscule  but these are so so important in making the person who you are every single day. These small generosities are making you a very content and fulfilled person. And this is not for anybody else but yourself. So irrespective, please keep your generosity intact. 

The big WHY

Simon Sinek, I love this guy (and he’s cute too). 

As I spend almost most of the day listening to him, I am so inspired by what he has to say. I am so so inspired to find the ‘why’ do I do what I do (and trust me it’s a difficult drill). Unless I find that, just doing meaningless work doesn’t make sense. Once you are able to find the ‘why’ do I do the work which I do,only then, can I believe in it, talk to people around me about it and innately have trust of people who believe in my why. You don’t need gigantic organizations or impressive degrees to make your credentials reliable but be crystal clear about why are you in the job which you are. 

It has made me also think, during an interview (which are normally short and there’s a tendency to just concentrate on what you do and how you do it) just how do you gauge a candidate or the organization which you aspire to join. The candidates exaggerate what they do and how brilliant they exactly are, the organizations too boast of how great they are and what great employee benefits they provide compared to their competitors. But where are the whys? Tell me would you hire a self-obsessed manipulative university topper? But then at the time of hiring you are just so amazed with that person’s scores. Do you hire people because they will work for your money or really passionate about the organization’s vision and are absolutely clear about how will they contribute towards it? No one really questions or answers the 'why' during those short interviews.

As for me, I still have to start my why quest but I am definite that I will, soon. 

My Profile

Time to switch off

It was that time of the week again. The time when you feel the lowest low, overloaded with cluttered thoughts and guilt of having overindulged during the weekend, not to forget the strange load weighing you down. Monday wasn't exactly her day; it was a day all the pressure exploded all at once. The pressure of combating the raging traffic, pressure of sharpening your fangs sharper than the last week to fight meaner manipulations, the harsher sun, the endless meetings where only the screechiest is heard and the perpetual wait for the next weekend.

While crawling through the snarling traffic, she thought of the 9:30 am meeting for which she would definitely be late. And this particular meeting was something which she definitely wasn't looking forward to. There was expected to be, if not more, a lot of mudslinging with no one really ready to take onus. The uninteresting meeting was to be followed with the final reviews of this particular assignment with its deadline approaching soon. The hurried lunch was to be followed with a meeting of a pile on responsibility which was inflicted upon her. It was then compiling the status reports and making the presentation for the next review meeting which was 2 days later. The day was so packed that just the thought of it was making her sick.

To overcome the sickness, she thought of the weekend that just went hoping to feel better. She sadly realized she hadn't joined the yoga classes she was planning to or visit her ailing granny. And she hadn't had the time to clean up the closet.

Why and just why there were only things to be done.

It was an instant decision. She turned back from the next turn, dropped an SMS to her boss and had a satisfied smile. The next was to switch off her official phone. And there she was headed to her favorite café from her college days. Even the thought of indulging in her favorite cheese sandwich and fruit punch was so exhilarating. It was time for a day of redemption even if it meant just 8 hours of it. Some time off for her thoughts and nostalgia. And work, well, what great difference could just a day make.