Learning from unorganized sector..!!

I am not a great fan of Whatsapp forwards, but something was shared today by my father and I was glued to it instantly. Very meaningful pointers explained in a very simplistic way. Penning down a few below:

1. The way demand is managed by the street hawkers. They never run out of their stuff in their day to day transactions.
2. The way entrepreneurship is done by the small scale vendors. Same vendor selling stuff for Holi, then for Diwali, then Ganpati and again for Christmas. What a balance of market segmentation.
3. The way a traffic light book hawker decided which one of the book is the best seller, since he has to carry the best ones in his hands to sell
4. The way the product line is decided and managed for the sellers at traffic signal. Santa caps on Christmas, Flags on Independence day and Republic day. Every time, year on year without fail. There is never a shortage in terms of demand and supply, and they never are delayed in terms of product launch. The unsold stock is taken back smoothly and new product is pushed back to the market. and all this without a MS project, or Continuous replenishment system or even an ERP.
5. How does someone who was serving tea, had a cup of tea with someone like Mr. Anand Mahindra.
6. How someone taught the speaker in this video value of perishable items, how to create space when it says houseful, how to steal funding when there is no budget and so on.
7. Relationships always matter, in personal as well as professional life.
8. How can kids be taught big lessons like loosing gracefully, not getting disheartened by a failure and teamwork in simple day to day life.
9. Why can't we promote our neighborhood snacks shop owner to build and deliver better than multi store food chain outlet.
10. And finally, why can't we build and create a ecosystem wherein everyone is able to thrive instead of stealing everyone's share.

Pretty simple things carrying a lesson and learning within.

Not every forward is waste of your time indeed..!!

Here is the source India unInc: Management lessons from streets of India

Mahatma in My Boss..!!

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Prelude : This is a fictitious story about a conversation between a boss "Krishna" and his subordinate "Arjun" in this new corporate world, wherein the Boss guides the subordinate using knowledge of Satyug and Dwapar yug and how the management was done in those days. What is interesting is how Krishna is able to closely correlate the day to day things to the proven ways of management form history and was able to make Arjun understand the key to success.

Story:   

On a Monday morning at office, when Krishna reached office, Arjun was waiting for him and he greeted him and the story begins

Arjun: Good Morning Krishna! How are you?

Krishna: Good Morning Arjun, have a seat.

Arjun : Boss I have a question for you. In fact I have been wanting to ask this question since long but couldn’t find a suitable time.

Krishna: Oh! To progress in life you should clear your doubts at the first given opportunity.

Arjun: Thank you Krishna, I wanted to ask that why do you keep these three monkeys of Mahatma Gandhi on your table? Are you inspired by Mahatma’s life and his philosophy?

Krishna: yea you are right but first you tell me what is the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi?

Arjun: Yes of course, Mahatma Gandhi was the spearhead of Indian Independence Movement, he led many movements against British rule like Non-Cooperation movement; Quit India movement; Swadeshi Movement and above all, his autobiography “ My experiments with Truth” is a great inspiration for youths across…

Krishna : Great what have you learnt from Mahatma?

Arjun: To always speak truth, Nonviolence, to be polite yet firm in my approach, fight for justice.

Krishna: Do you practice all this?

Arjun: Well… it is difficult but I try, you still haven’t answered my question.

Krishna: Yes…these three monkeys!! You tell me, what do these monkeys symbolize?

Arjun: Do not speak, hear and see evil.

Krishna : Very good. These three monkeys are my Management Gurus.

Arjun: This is interesting and inspirational Boss. You mean to say you never speak, hear and see evil. I am impressed. If everyone in this office starts practicing this mantra, we will all be happy and this company will grow like anything. Boss, I am very happy to know this, if entire management becomes like you there will be no back biting, no favoritism, no fear in this company. I sincerely believe that tone at the top has a key role to play in any organization’s success.

Krishna: Hold your horses my dear! You didn’t get it correct. I am not saying that I do not see, speak and hear evil

Arjun: But boss you said these three monkeys are your Management Gurus

Krishna : yes you are right, These Monkeys are my management Gurus. Let me explain it to you. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Do not see, hear and speak evil.”

Arjun : yes

Krishna: I have done a little modification in this philosophy or you can say I have my own interpretation of this philosophy

Arjun: which is

Krishna: I decide time, situation, place and people to practice this philosophy.

Arjun: I didn’t understand you.

Krishna: Dude! I am saying, I decide when & where to see, hear and speak evil.

Arjun: I am confused

Krishna: Hmm... you are behaving like Arjun from Mahabharat. Let me explain it further for you. In real world, you need to be smart enough to decide how to use this philosophy to your advantage.

Arjun: Boss, please do not confuse me further.

Krishna: Ok tell me, do you like everyone in this company?

Arjun: not really.

Krishna: Good. Let me give you a situation, let’s assume there is an issue in this company and that mistake is made by an employee whom you like. what you will do?

Arjun: irrespective of my liking or dislike for that person I will speak the truth.

Krishna: This is the root cause of the problem.

Arjun: meaning?

Krishna: I’ll take a call based on situation, which means if the mistake is made by a person who does not fit in my scheme of things, I will speak against him.

Arjun: and if he fits in?

Krishna: I will bring into play three monkeys and will speak about improving processes, controls and tone at the top etc.

Arjun: But this is wrong.

Krishna: No this is management and the day you will learn this philosophy you will also start growing in the organization.

Arjun: but Krishna, this is not the teaching of Mahatma Gandhi.

Krishna: No one really knows what exactly he wanted to preach, everything is subject to interpretation and the speed at which I’m growing in the organization it seems that my interpretation is correct and working for me.

Arjun: In that case I may not be able to work in this organization any more.

Krishna: Don’t get emotional, all organizations, whether family, social, political or corporate are same and remember I like you.

Arjun: meaning you will never see any wrong in me.

Krishna: Yes, till the time you fit in my scheme of things

Krishna: Do remember my management lesson:

“Use these monkeys as per your convenience and keep doing wrong if it benefits you.”

Arjun: But these monkeys are not asking you to do wrong.

Krishna: No Dude, in fact it is implied…see what they say. Do not see, hear and speak evil which means you can silently keep doing wrong.

Arjun: Thanks Boss, I will try to become Mahatma like you although it seems difficult for me.

Krishna: Good acceptance is the first step to change. To be successful, I have always seen Mahatma in my Boss.

Arjun: Yes, Boss now I can also see “Mahatma in my Boss.” 

After few days of this conversation, Arjun was again stuck with some thoughts in his mind and wanted to have some guidance on how to go further, so he again approached Krishna. The conversation went on like this.

Arjun: Boss, I have another question for you.

Krishna: I told you earlier also to clear doubts at the first given opportunity.

Arjun: yes Boss, I remember your words.

Krishna: well then make practical use of my wisdom.

Arjun: You are right Sir.

Krishna: I know that I am right and you cannot contradict it either.

Arjun: Sir back to my question.

Krishna: go ahead.

Arjun: Boss! you keep saying that you can see through people.

Krishna: Yea, I can and I can read minds too.

Arjun: This is incredible, is this a God gift or you have developed this skill?

Krishna: Ha ha ha

Arjun: Boss, I am curious, if everyone in this organization is able to develop ability to see through people then there shall be no confusions, no misunderstandings and no lack of communication. We shall hire worthy characters and there shall be no difference in “practice & preaching”. There shall be complete trust and all shall work for the betterment of the organization without any apprehension.

But Sir, there are people in this company who aren’t clean and transparent but are still close to you. If you can see through them, why don’t you expose and get rid of them for the benefit of the organization?

Krishna: Good question Arjun but you are forgetting my first management lesson

Arjun: yes, Boss you told me to “Use Gandhi’s monkeys as per our convenience and keep doing wrong if it benefits us.”

Krishna: That’s what I do…

Arjun: I didn’t understand

Krishna: Indeed, I can see through people but I use this skill as per my convenience for my benefit

Arjun:  but isn’t this wrong?

Krishna: wrong or not is just a perception and as I told u last time that everything is subject to interpretation even Gandhi’s three monkeys are subject to interpretation.

Arjun: I agree but is it not correct to hire right resources, that will solve all problem. Once this organization is free from unethical people you will be able to apply Gandhi’s principle of three monkeys to the fullest.

Krishna: Arjun, it is difficult to get honest and intelligent people in this world and to run business you need people who have business acumen and can work with various kinds of individuals & in challenging environment. Only honesty & ethical behavior cannot serve the purpose.

Arjun: I didn’t understand.

Krishna: See, I believe in only two management philosophies

Arjun: and they are?

Krishna: First one was propounded by Bhagwan Ram and the other one was by Shri Krishna

Arjun: Sir I am unable to understand what has Bhagwan Ram & Krishna got to do with modern day Management.

Krishna: This is where you go wrong, both Ram & Krishna were management gurus.

Arjun: This is interesting sir…

Krishna: In fact for both Ram & Krishna ultimate objective was one i.e. ‘Good must prevail over bad,’ but their routes were different. On one hand Ram believed and practiced only ethical behavior whereas Krishna practiced blow for blow, you may call it situational leadership.

Arjun: but which one is the right practice

Krishna : Principles of Ram are impractical in today’s world.

Arjun: But sir ideally Ram’s principles only can bring peace and happiness in this world

Krishna : we don’t live in an ideal world and by practicing Ram you shall never reach the pinnacle and therefore I practice Krishna.

Arjun :  I agree  but Boss then what is the relevance of Ram in today’s world

Krishna: Ram is what you can hope to be and Krishna is what you actually can be..

Krishna brings practical approach to life whereas Ram cannot be practiced

Arjun: coming back to my question. Can you really see through people?

Krishna: ha ha ha! No, I can’t and no one can.

Arjun: I didn’t understand

Krishna: Let me explain, it’s extremely difficult to look within. unless you are in touch with your inner self, you cannot connect or see through the inner self of the other. A soul can only connect with another soul.

Arjun: wow sir but why do you keep saying I can see through

Krishna: well this is a strategy to make other uncomfortable

Arjun: But what is the need

Krishna: to hide my own inefficiencies.

Arjun: So you are saying…To hide your flaws you attack others…is this not wrong

Krishna: Again, this is your interpretation. I am here to win!!

Arjun: win what

Krishna: To win everything I want and eventually to win over myself.

Arjun: You are so candid, Are you not afraid of anything

Krishna: Not of you at least.

Krishna: remember “Keep applying principles of Krishna till the time you reach to a position where you can afford to be Ram”

Arjun: You are great. I can clearly see “Mahatma in my Boss”

Why even the most powerful team falls apart..!!

What exactly is a team?

• Is it only a group of skillful people working together? No
• Is it herd of people who are expected to say yes to everything? No
• Is it a one man show (read manager)? No

So what exactly is a team and who keeps it bonded together ?
If you go by books and management principals, it’s always a manager who binds the team together and ensures that everyone is working towards the larger organization’s goal.
But in reality, it’s mostly the inverse. The teams are driven towards more of a personal goal. Although as per “The Manager” that might be his correct understanding of the organizational goal.
Let’s have a look on few possible reasons which create this disconnect in real life

 1.     Showcasing unnecessary stress and urgency
When every-time things are portrayed as urgent and team is pushed to finish it as soon as possible. What happens eventually that team members stop giving importance to even urgent things.

 2.     Lack of transparency
I do understand that information should be shared with only intended recipients but a practice of hiding all the information just to use it at later stage never helps. It’s always good to keep your team members informed about reality of the project/ assignment. No one likes surprises, that too always.

3.     Judging people only basis own experience
It’s good to access people basis personal experience but it’s dangerous to be judgmental basis only personal experience. No one in this world is having all the experience in life. A truth, the way it’s interpreted is, My Truth Vs Your Truth Vs The Truth. Its very dangerous for any team if the manager is accessing people only basis his knowledge and consistently ignoring inputs from others or taking only selective feedback. Team members in this case lose their motivation and will never deliver to their capacity

4.     Nano-Management Expert
Gone are the days of Micro-Management, now a days managers go one step ahead and they even want to review mails which are being sent, doing multiple iterations of a simple document or spending time in revising the presentations for n number of times. When one is kept under the lens all the time, the person tends to finish the job just for the sake of finishing it because he/she knows that this will be reviewed again and again and again. This kills all the talent and suppresses creativity.

5.     Not giving personal space
Last but not least, people who expect the team to be there at office all the time, expect them to spare all the personal time for office, eventually force the team for the truancy. Everyone is a mature individual and knows how to take the responsibilities and finish it as per the agreed commitment. But everyone needs personal space too. What seems as a waste of time to a manager can be the person’s choice of de-stressing (I have heard sarcastic comments on my hobby of writing blogs in my career). This should be respected and given space.



If simple things like above are managed tactfully, the team can do wonders..!!

Innovation..!!

What's an innovation ?

• Inventing something new
• reinventing something in present scenario
• revamping existing processes by removing bottlenecks, or
• doing something which gives positive new solutions

In my view, anything which improvises existing process and procedures, refining it, adding something new (irrespective of it's being big or small) which enhances the output or anything which results in customer delight should qualify as innovation. It doesn't have to be next big thing, irrespective of its size and aura, what should matter most is the customer delight and business excellence.

It doesn't needs fancy jargon, complicated explanation or fancy titles. One should target excellence with simplicity to achieve it. Targeting to enhance basic building blocks will also serve the purpose.

Simply, keep innovating and keep contributing..!!

What is the key factor in customer satisfaction?

• I have heard so many times during my career "The testing was not done properly" or "The delivery guy doesn't have proper business knowledge" or "Delivery was not done on time". People rarely realize that following steps ensure that any delivery for customer (internal or external) is done "On Time In Full"

  • Requirement gathering- Ask as many questions as possible while collecting information at this stage. Don't get dishearten by people who say that you are asking questions because you don't understand business. In fact you are asking because you are having hawk's view of the entire situation, which in most of the case is better than any specific user community. Capturing more and more details will help in preventing re-development of output and hence sticking to timelines
  • Feasibility Study - Don't get surprised if user asks for a 8000 CC car while offering to pay for a 600 CC engine and expecting it to get delivered as on yesterday. Do a stock check before you commit on what can be delivered in your current scope of delivery 
  • Modular development - No one will ask it specifically but will expect every part of your delivery to be independent so that it can accommodate last minute "Eureka" moment inventions and discoveries
  • User based testing-  Ensure that the user who has given the requirement, tests it to the best of his capability. You might have to scrap entire output just because it was not tested by the user
  • Go-live- Always be ready to mitigate any mishap during this stage (trust me Murphy's law is not a myth). Start with a small user base in controlled environment so that anything going not as per expectation can be corrected without any major impact to business.

  You will always come across people who would know everything and are always ready with suggestions. My stake would be to take as much as help and input possible in order to deliver best output.
  And I strongly believe that support cost will be minimal if above points are handled properly.
  

How about this..??

After living within the confines of a six-day work week during last few years, people started working in five-days week and now there are instances of  four-days week. It’s became possible while one is ready to work for ten hours a day, then he gets three full days as holiday. I was just thinking what if now companies who provide their employees annual leave of around one month, gives them an option of mixing their these paid holidays with a flexi-working option of four-days a week. Although I am not a HR specialist, but just give this a thought, what all can be an outcome of this.

First, let me explain the “why” behind this concept by beginning with a very important aspect of the “people” portion of any business – the “company culture.” Believe it or not, many aspects of our culture are directly related to this special perk. Here are a few of the reasons for that statement and perhaps a few questions you should ask yourself as an employer:

1. How much more innovative and exciting would the business be if every single team member spent one full day each week devoted to research/innovation? What insights, new ideas and energy would be pumped into the business? isn’t this something which pulls talent to all the startups ?
2. Such a perk is an amazing draw in the age of recruiting the best in talent to your team. Like a hit song, HR department needs a “hook” to snag the cream of the crop. It will make an incredible difference!
3. Correlated to the above point, the employee retention rate literally soars! Who would ever want to give up three days at home, only commuting four days a week and the cerebral exercise of weekly research?
4. Even though the team is working 10-hour days, the sense of urgency brings a high level of energy, and in my opinion, focused collaboration. It is a joy to watch and to be sucked up into this flow of energy and enthusiasm
5. The extra time for research makes for a well-informed team and the high self esteem level realizing they have something unique. (Plus, meeting a repairman on a Friday or planning numerous three-day getaways is never taken for granted …)
6. In many cases, Thursday nights after work become an even bigger chance for team socialization and fun. This also seems to be vital to retention rates. A recent study indicated the No. 1 reason for a person not to change jobs is based upon having a close friend at the same company. Sort of makes sense, right?
7. A drastic decrease in reporting sick to office cases (since things could now be managed in these extended weekends or weekends supplemented by flexi leaves)

Obviously, if you have a large customer service component to the existing  business or if you must be open for retail hours, it takes huge amount of ingenuity and near perfect scheduling prowess to adjust to this type of schedule.

For me these above few points may help the decision makers in reaching the conclusion that the extra focus, energy, teamwork and dedication resulting from a four-day work week supplemented by flexi leaves will drive your productivity skyward! 

Not a bad outcome for a simple idea Sirjee….!!

Working for a small setup helps you grow..!!

Ever since organisations were formed and global spectrum was implemented for corporates, it is believed that employees should go through processes and practices to enable them learn new things to scale up fast. This on paper translates into getting involved in planning, training, development, taking new responsibilities and initiatives.

One popular conception is that to be nurtured as a leader, one must need to understand the dynamics of the profession in a well established set up where processes and scope are well defined. What they fail to see is that there are very limited opportunities to put such learning into practices at these places.

The reality is while one is working with any of these big, well established corporates, they never get a chance to take risk as they are designed in a way to reduce the risk factor to the minimum. Only the young entrepreneurs give fair chances to an individual by giving him opportunities to take risks and succeed. Google and Amazon are few of the biggest available examples. Because if one thinks within the defined frame of the traditional setup, there are very less chances to innovate and execute. The priority will always be to follow the rules and processes.

In the present complex business environment, anyone who gets an opportunity to grow in terms of technical, managerial and humanitarian expertise, emerges as a leader. In big organisations you have a structure in place which helps in you getting into all these roles, but if you are working for a startup or a small organisation, you need to think and act like an entrepreneur and constantly be on the toes to look out for new opportunities in all the areas. One should always remember that success also depends upon individual skills, appetite for success and how one aspires to be in life.

“There is no point working as a small fish in big pond after a while”

I know people who moved on and left their comfortable jobs from MNCs to join comparatively smaller firms and are happy learning things at these places. Although this decision must have impacted their perks and pay cheque, but what they have today is the pleasure of being able to put forward their ideas and implement that to be “The One” for changing the ways of working in their new firm. Moreover, these smaller firms do give flexibility in terms of working hours and working from home as compared to the big organisations.

Also, it is also not very difficult to move up the ladder in small firms, as every person from the top to the bottom knows you and your work, and whenever an opportunity comes by, it is very easy to put yourself forward. Whereas, in large firms, you are working as a hidden employee, which would result in some key members of the management not knowing you.

Since large organisations have a good amount of budget that can be used to buy and manage latest in resource and technology, it has some negative sides as well. As each person has a defined role in his area making it very difficult for a person to gain knowledge of other areas in this kind of environment. On the other hand, despite providing immense opportunities, small organisations have a limited budget for these things and which results in more and more efforts to learn and innovate instead of just going and purchasing the readily available services.

More importantly, to make yourself dependable even in the best of times, one needs to be aligned with the company’s processes, culture and ethics, and should be able to set the right expectations and manage expectations of all the stake holders to grow as a leader.

“It’s not the pond but the quality of fish that matters in a longer term”

How to be a good "People Manager"....!!

Becoming a manager is easy but achieving a tag of People Manager is equally difficult. Be always ready to accept and face challenges to succeed.To experiment and innovate with cautions is something which has to be used effectively under different circumstances. Be always ready to learn even from your subordinates and believe me, you will cherish it in your life.


Be customer centric:

Every user in your company, regardless of the level, is your customer and has to be treated accordingly. Treat every user in the organisation as if he had the ability to contribute to your development. Believing in this attitude works wonder and that is the most important step (and perhaps the least cared IT management aspect) in shaping yourself as a prospective senior executive, simply because this is scarcely available in IT professionals.

Let your customers have a choice:
Understanding the problem well and offering alternative solutions brings the best result to get your customers agree to one of your solutions.Having patience and the power to convince them is the key here to make your user agreeable to a single but effective solution proposed by you. Not only you must have this attitude but you must also demand the same from your subordinates, with near zero-tolerance principle for bad customer service. Your involvement with your internal customer brings their involvement, thus leading to a high-value based culture. Never forget that you are there not only to manage IT but also to create ethics and values which ultimately form the foundation for you to blossom as a good manager among the managers.

Your accent does matter:
Avoid too heavy technical jargons during your interactions with people in other functions. Not every one can understand your jargons as you can also not understand all their marketing tricks. Any simple communication with not IT people will help them understand the process better. Enjoy a good long discussion with other functions, without discussing much of the technology. Try to understand their problems,functional interests and their expectations from IT solutions. Speak clearly so that they can understand what you want you communicate to them.


Know weak links in your team:
Respect for your subordinates will help reduce turnover and show management that you are a leader (another rarity among IT people). Use your anger wisely to handle difficult people, if the need be. Converting a weak link into a strong one is the ideal approach. Your success depends on your ability to identify three wrongs--intention, person and situation--at an early stage.

Calling up your customers on a regular basis brings a sense of satisfaction among them. Ask them how you and your team are doing and if there is anything you can help them with. Then taste the magic happening for you in the form of songs of praises from your customers as they get floored by your proactive approach. As a technocrat one tends to create hype about the IT solutions, which may generate over expectations from end users, function heads and top managements. Be genuine to generate high expectations rather than over expectations, which otherwise leads you to be a victim to the classic IT pitfall of over committing and under delivering.

A word of caution:
When you under deliver, you not only ensure a frustrating customer experience, but you send a feeler that you are a panic planner. Call a spade a spade when a solution is elusive. If necessary, explaining the facts well might help you to overcome anxiety at the other end. If job is your priority, then never be a part of petty infighting in your company. There are times when nothing works. Learn to adopt new strategies quickly and take calculated risks. Have firm plans to avert the risks expected to come your way. Accept failures as part of your life but only to learn and succeed next time.The success you achieve must be shared with your colleagues, right from top to the bottom of the technology and functional team. Humility in giving credit of your success to the team involved gives a facelift to your attitude towards people. Empowering them with knowledge and delegation makes your team more motivated and work towards organisational goals.

Networking keeps you updated:
“It’s not always what you know but who you know.” Everyone should learn to establish and sustain the relationship with former colleagues, bosses and even vendor representatives. Be active in professional associations, attend good technical/skill enhancement events and workshops which are opportunities to build a great circle of contacts.Functional and individual conflicts are bound to come in your way and you must handle each one differently but effectively. You may fail in your first attempt but to keep attempting is the key to success. And last but not the least, everyone makes a lot of errors in this process but to learn from these to move ahead and not to feel bogged down is equally important. Always keep a well balance between work and life.

Learn to say ‘no’ skilfully when required, instead of over committing and under delivering "

Change in Life ....!!!

I owe this to so many factors and people in life....

Here I am sitting in my office @ night…
Thinking hard about life
How it changed from a maverick college life to strict professional life…..

How tiny pocket money changed to huge monthly paychecks
but then why it gives less happiness….

How a few local denim jeans changed to new branded wardrobe
but then why there are less people to use them

How a single plate of samosa changed to a full Pizza or burger
But then why there is less hunger…..

Here i am sitting in my office @ night…
Thinking hard about life
How it changed…..

How a bike always in reserve changed to bike always on
but then why there are less places to go on……

How a small coffee shop changed to cafe coffee day
but then why its feels like shop is far away…..

How a limited prepaid card changed to postpaid package
but then why there are less calls & more message……

Here i am sitting in my office @ night…
Thinking hard about life
How it changed…..

How a general class journey changed to Flight journey
But then why there are less vacations for enjoyment….

How a old assembled desktop changed to new branded laptop
but then why there is less time to put it on……….

How a small bunch of friends changed to office mate
but then why after 8'o Clock it always feel like getting late….

Here i am sitting in my office @ night…
Thinking hard about life
How it changed….. how it changed……..

How to handle criticism...!!

Destructive criticism has become a regular part of our lives. This is a criticism that tears down rather than builds up the person it is targeted at. The more ‘public’ a person is, the more criticism he tends to face, simply by virtue of the fact that more people know him. These people can be writers, blogger, artists or people with ideas, even at office.

Almost always, someone else will have a different method of doing things, or a different opinion on a matter, just as we have our own methods and our own opinion. We all like to impose our methods, as we think that we have the best method and the best opinion on the matter. Our inherent pride only serves to increase the friction and spark division and conflict. This can easily lead to uncontrollable anger, a sense of injustice, insecurity from a lack of approval, or depression from being unappreciated. How to handle all this?

Be prepared for the unexpected

Yes, this is probably the first mental step. Whenever you start something new and you are upbeat about it, obviously you think for the best and think that everyone will like what you have accomplished. However as the saying goes, prepare for the worst. It doesn’t mean that you should be pessimistic, but you should have a frame of mind where you are ready to face all kinds of feedback.

Humbly learn what you can

There may be some truth behind what your critics say, despite their motivations. Be humble and be willing to listen and learn. The critics can be a means of grace by which we learn to be more godly, or wiser in some matter, or become more competent in some skill. So treasure them. In fact be highly suspicious if no one seems to be coming to you to point out our mistakes.

Reduce the passion

In the previous point I mentioned about being prepared for the negativity. Now, I know this is easier said than done because when we are in a positive frame of mind and cheerful about something new, we don’t usually want to think about the negative aspects. Hence the way to get in that frame of mind is to reduce the passion and be calm before you announce something new. That’s when if negative feedback pours in, although you will get upset, but you will handle it in a better manner without getting frustrated.

Face it as it comes and then analyze it

Now when negative feedback and criticism does start pouring in, there is nothing much you can do. Well, yes, you can always stop the comments, sign out of your IMs, mails, twitter, log out of your computer and then run away to your home. But does that solve the purpose? In fact if you do this, the next day you will face double the criticism and you may be titled as a coward who knows how to tickle the dragon but can’t face the fire.

So here the important thing is to face it as it comes and then analyze it. Check why you are getting negative feedback and what exactly people are disliking. You could also participate in the discussion and be candid and answer the questions. This can help you in two ways:

• You get a lot of constructive feedback and a lot of support from your followers.
• Those who criticized you bluntly may change their mind after participating in the discussion and may accept that they were actually wrong.

Hence instead of running away, you should face it in a brave manner.

Believe in yourself

Last but not the least, no matter what happens, its important to believe in yourself and in your work...!!

A mixed feeling...!!

I never belong to a category who is very happy to come to office for any thing on any given day. I prefer to work as per my wish, in my style keeping in mind the timelines given, but not in the traditional 9 to 6 orthodox style. But today when I came back to office after a gap of around two weeks, it was a different feeling altogether. One bit of me was happy to be here while other was not so happy.

Last two weeks were crazy for me, nothing was fixed, no schedule, sleep was missing as peace inside mind was missing. Body's internal cycle went for a toss, late nights and early mornings, errant eating patterns along with all type of junk being dumped into my stomach as food. News of few people leaving us at job front and an uncertainty of what next will come.

When I reached office, it was like coming back to place where I belong to, but the bad part was that so many things were missing. I missed someone who used to be there everyday, his comments, his jokes, his teasing comments, his guidance, the fun time we used to have, but on the other hand I was feeling good to be back with my guys all around me. Those leg pulling sessions, pseudo working..sometimes really working, conference room gossips and all.

The day ended with a session of match watching with present and ex-colleagues. Enjoyed that too, reminded me of college days when we all used to go out for movies together. Now I am trying to settle down from inside of my mind with what I am left with.

This is what we call as life, full of unexpected events and lacking few expected events....still it moves on..!!

People leaving the company..!!

Every company faces the problem of people leaving the company for better pay or profile.

Early this year, Mohan, a senior software designer, got an offer from a prestigious international firm to work in its India operations developing specialized software. He was thrilled by the offer.

He had heard a lot about the CEO. The salary was great. The company had all the right systems in place employee-friendly human resources (HR) policies, a spanking new office, and the very best technology, even a canteen that served superb food.

Twice Mohan was sent abroad for training. "My learning curve is the sharpest it's ever been," he said soon after he joined.

Last week, less than eight months after he joined, Mohan walked out of the job.


Why did this talented employee leave?

Mohan quit for the same reason that drives many good people away.

If you're losing good people, look to their immediate boss. Immediate boss is the reason people stay and thrive in an organization. And he's the reason why people leave. When people leave they take knowledge, experience and contacts with them, straight to the competition.

"People leave managers not companies" 

Mostly manager drives people away?


HR experts say that of all the abuses, employees find humiliation the most intolerable. The first time, an employee may not leave, but a thought has been planted. The second time, that thought, gets strengthened. The third time, he looks for another job.

When people cannot retort openly in anger, they do so by passive aggression. By digging their heels in and slowing down. By doing only what they are told to do and no more. By omitting to give the boss crucial information."If you work for a jerk, you basically want to get him into trouble. You don't have your heart and soul in the job."

Different managers can stress out employees in different ways - by being too controlling, too suspicious, too pushy, too critical, but they forget that workers are not fixed assets, they are free agents. When this goes on too long, an employee will quit - often over a trivial issue.