Why do corporate teams turn evil?: Blog # 291

Why do corporate teams turn evil?

Remember school days? Remember competitions in school? Remember winning and losing? Remember being happy when you won and upset when you lost? Some of us would have turned a bit negative in failure. Some of us would have become negative towards self and rarely towards others too. If you were lucky enough to have had good teachers, the moment you turn negative towards others, they would have given you a whack and told you to get over it and try harder the next time. In corporations, this doesn’t happen.

When someone fails in a corporate, the penalty is high. This is fair enough. It makes competition thrive. Having said that, this culture of intense competition kills the smallest sapling of collaboration. How often have you heard a colleague praise another one? They do praise when the two are in entirely different strata (for example, an entry level employee and a leader). The appreciation for a peer is so hard to hear. Why? If one does that, it might enhance the chances of other person’s growth. Why are they against this growth? The reason is that as you move up, there is such less room for co-existence. The pyramid cannot be more pointed!

Now the absence of collaboration leads to the mindset of “That is not my job!” How often have you heard a manager telling a fresher who suggests an idea for the larger team, “You do your job! Don’t get involved in too many tasks. There are other teams to take care of those things! ”We can all talk about organizational goals. But as long as the high premium on success stays, people will try to achieve only their goals and advance their agendas. They wouldn’t care about the larger picture at all.

Most organizations save their costs in employing lesser staff than required. This shortfall keeps the employees so occupied that they are unable to do anything beyond their daily routine. When they don’t have time to finish off their daily tasks, how will they help others? If they don’t help each other, how will personal relationships flourish? In the absence of personal relationships, what collaboration do we expect to happen? Collaboration is essentially lending a helping hand to each other, isn’t it? If people don’t like each other, they will not help one another.

This is where large corporations can learn a lot from startups. Startups are small, nimble and are in a position to maneuver easily. Every large company is made up of small teams. If there is a will, they too are capable of behaving like startups. Now, do all startups embrace the above-mentioned characteristics? Absolutely not! There are startups with founders whose egos are more inflated than their firms’ valuation. This trickles down the organization and people are at each other’s throats. But there are some smaller organizations who spend their time and energy on making their teams better, in terms of inter/intra- team relationships and dynamics as much as they focus on business. It is this aspect that larger organizations should emulate. 

Is profanity lazy comedy?: Blog # 290

Is profanity lazy comedy?

There are some popular Indian standup comedians. Popularity doesn’t necessarily mean talent, though. It is like someone being a star or an actor. Many a time, these are two mutually exclusive sets. Is that why they resort to abuses in all of their videos?

I do not want to stereotype all the standup comedians. Neither do I want to make a sweeping generalization. There are some who speak the language that you and I use and still manage to evoke laughter out of the audience. The more talented ones even make people think and push them towards challenging the mainstream line of thought. 

The moment anyone is questioned on anything, the phrase ‘freedom of expression’ pops up. It is a phrase that we use very loosely. It doesn’t mean one can say whatever comes to one’s mouth. One needs to apply mind also to the words before one speaks. Of course, this doesn’t mean one should think or speak only on the lines of what the popular narrative is. Anyone with a valid reasoning should and must challenge status quo and conventional thoughts. That is how we evolve as a society. But this doesn’t mean one can be a motor mouth. Anupam Kher once said that if you find the tone/content of conversation you use to be acceptable at your home, you can use the same language in public too. Do you think these comedians will be using the same language when they sit with their family? I think not. If that is the case, what gives them the liberty to do so with others?

At times, blurting out profanity is equated with being ‘cool’. To my mind, it is the sheer lack of vocabulary. In this case, it is lazy creativity and lack of talent. Most of the popular comedians are aware of the power of abusive words. The moment a four letter word is mentioned, they get the audience’s attention. It is merely because of the shock factor. In day to day lives also, we tend to turn our attention towards someone who abuses for it indicates a situation of extremity. But no one wants to spend a whole day listening to someone whose words stink. It is a short-lived trick to get more and more people to watch their videos.

The artists that we have seen over the years did not have a sense of entitlement. Many were vain, some of them were pompous and a fewer still were arrogant. But a sense of entitlement was absent. Alas! All we can see in today’s comedians is just that.

One of the comedians was so full of himself and his little circle of friends that he proclaimed that they were the most progressive minds in the country during an interview. This is exactly what the so-called regressive minds also think! The tragedy is that in their haste to portray themselves as apostles of free speech, they are unaware of how foolishly they imitate the tricks of those whom they call rigid and close minded. 

Notice Period?Be Nice to them! : Blog #289

Notice Period?Be Nice to them!

              Notice period is a tricky time in all of our careers. It becomes even more difficult when managers try to be at their insensitive best. If anyone from your team is on notice period, be nice to them. I have seen some managers making the foolish decision of being nasty to their employees during those times.

 To begin with, it is nice to be nice. If that isn’t reason enough, they are going to be your company’s brand ambassadors to the world. They have a lot of credibility having worked in your firm and being fresh out in the market. An employee going out with a bad experience is the worst branding that your firm can have. If you are not concerned much about your firm and if you think that the larger organizational performance has nothing to do with your growth, my condolences. You may stop reading this blog right here.

Now, how much of a difference can one person make in an organization? By now, those who have a thinking mind would know that each person is important in a company’s organizational structure. Be it a company with 100 people or with a few lakhs. One person can bring about a huge change in an organization. That person need not even be at a leadership level to impact a change. Having said that, much greater is the impact a person can cause in a team. If one of your team members is leaving, you will need to find a good replacement. If you give a tough time to an employee of yours, they will not go out silently. Thanks to social media channels, it doesn’t require much of an effort for a job seeker to find out who one’s reporting manager is going to be. All it takes is one ping to the disgruntled team member to find out what managerial style a person has. The moment a candidate gets a negative feedback about a manager, he/she will pull back. Every good candidate these days will have multiples offers on hand. Right there, you lose out on a good candidate.

Is this a one-way street? Absolutely not. The outgoing employee is also expected to be graceful in the exit. One must not forget that the organization and the team would have contributed a great deal to one’s growth. One should ensure that transition is smooth and the team is well equipped with the knowledge needed to induct the next new recruit. More often than not, the managers ensure that this knowledge transfer happens effectively. It is the treating-the-employee-well part that is often taken lightly.

Organizations often take great care in welcoming new employees. However, minimal effort goes in to ensuring that an employee who has stayed with an organization and contributed to its growth for quite a number of years goes out with a smiling face. At best, the teams organize a call, cuts a cake and everyone speaks like the person is dead. It is more of a eulogy than an appreciation session. How about dropping the person home?  How about giving the person a collage of hand written notes and a plaque of appreciation? How about a chance for him/her to bring the family to office on the last day? These are tiny gestures which will go a long way.   

Arun Babu

Words! : Blog # 288

Words!

 You know what is rare in the world we live in these days? Conversations. Thanks to the gadgets, we don’t even look at each other. Let alone talk. Rarer still are good conversations. Good conversations need good words. If you choose the words carefully, they have the ability to influence people. Carefully nurtured words make poets out of normal people.

Now coming to the way many of us talk these days. There is such a lack of vocabulary. It is either lack of awareness of words or just plain laziness. Here are a few examples:

I was surprised to see that – What the @#$%!

I was shocked to hear that – What the @#$%!

I am proud of your achievement – Dude, what the @#$%!

I was very happy to meet my friend – I met my friend and I was like, what the @#$%!

I met my family after a long time. I was so moved – I met my family and I was like what the @#$%!

My friend gave me a birthday gift. Something I have been wanting for a long time. I couldn’t thank him enough – My friend gave me a birthday gift. I was like what the @#$%!

I got very less marks in an exam I thought I will ace. I was very disappointed. – I got very less marks in an exam and I was like, what the @#$%!

If the above isn’t enough, the below words are used with such carelessness that will put a snail to shame:

Like

Stuff

Whatever

Bro

Dude (To be read as Duuuuuuuudeeeeee!!!)

         Imagine all of us talking to each other with a set of 10 words and nothing more to add. How limiting will that be! If this continues, that is exactly where we will land up. Let us please start talking with words and not just lazy profanity.

Pictories #3 ~ Of pictures and their stories : Blog # 287

Pictories #3 ~ Of pictures and their stories

Photographs are the poetry of masses, don’t you think? I love photography and the magic around it. It gifts us the ability to craft a story in a 4*6 space. In this time of timelessness, photos are the easiest way of archiving our memories. This Picstory, my attempt to weave a story with pictures is special for this one is about my sister’s weddingJ.

This was the wedding card. Upon seeing this is when I got the idea to do a photo trail of the wedding. Red is so the color of a wedding, isn’t it? – Bright, Vibrant and spirited. Like all things in wedding, there was a lot of back and forth on finalizing this card. I so loved the idea of the couple and the elephant on the cover. For someone from Kerala, it can’t get more festive than this!

No South Indian wedding can be complete without Jasmine. Often we forget that fragrances form an integral part of our memory. A fond scent can evoke those memories which we think we have forgotten. The heavenly smell that emanates from these lovely flowers is always identified with weddings in my part of the world.

That is the bride trying on her jewels. These days, there is a constant debate between the bride and the relatives on how much jewelry need to be worn. The bride wants to wear less of them and the relatives can’t seem to think any number of ornaments is a bit much.

Any Indian wedding is a retailer’s dream. The amount of clothes purchased is beyond belief. Clothes are gifted to relatives, extended family and to dear ones in social circles. It is fun to see people trying on clothes and admiring others and themselves. It adds to the festivity and makes the wedding a riot of colors.

These garlands form a pivotal part of the wedding ceremony. It is when the bride and groom exchange these garlands that they are joined in matrimony. I envy the craftsmen who weave them. What a wonderful job they do, to be able to contribute towards joining two minds forever, isn’t it?

My sister is the kind who hardly wear any ornaments. To see her try on those anklets was a moment in itselfJ. Enhancing the beauty of the moment was the intricate Mehendi patterns on her leg and hands. How artists make this world more lovable, isn’t it?

There is something about a house about to host a wedding. It is not merely the decoration that adorns it. It is also about the festivity around the house. There is constant chatter, chaos and celebration. It is almost as if the house is having a runner’s rush!

Like the above pics? Want to be bombarded with such images on a regular basis? ;). Please follow me on Instagram. My Insta handle is roamdworld .


Check out the other Pictories:

Find Pictory #1 here
Find Pictory #2 here
Find Pictory#4 here

Jallikattu must stop! : Blog #286

Jallikattu must stop!

Let me begin by saying that I have the greatest regard for Tamil Nadu and the people from there. Some of my dearest friends are from Tamil Nadu. Having said that, I feel there is a need to have a hard look at this cruel practice of Jallikattu which many people from Tamil Nadu seem to be supporting. It is beyond doubt that this “tradition” involves cruelty towards animals. Imagine a poor animal being tortured and trained to be aggressive all its life. What kind of an existence will it have? And one fine day, it is let loose to a crowd waiting to attack and surmount it. The bull is out there not putting up a performance for us. It is undergoing a great deal of trauma.

Now, the strongest argument that comes across is that it is part of tradition. There are good traditions and bad ones. Don’t you think this practice leans more towards the bad side of the continuum? Of course traditions add value and flavor to our existence. But are our existences so weak that it gets affected by preventing a practice which involves harassing a poor animal? Shouldn’t we take pride in doing away with such a practice and show to the world that we are moving ahead collectively?

There is a visible pattern to the responses coming across. Largely, people in Tamil Nadu want to continue this practice. They do not look at this as something which harms the animal. This is a trap that all of us fall in to. Many a time, we are too close – literally and figuratively to the subject/topic that we fail to look at the larger picture. We lose a bit of objectivity.

A while ago, I had written a blog supporting the usage of elephants for festivals in Kerala (Link : An Open letter to Pamela Anderson ). Back then, I couldn’t see the torture that elephants go through just so that our eyes can have a feast. Not that I wasn’t aware of it. Just that I refused to see it. One of my colleagues told me that educated, well read people do not even participate in the debate. I feel that is true. We do not even make a conscious effort to discuss the rights and wrongs about it. Now when I look back, I feel I lacked objectivity to a great deal. Today I feel the practice of using elephants for festivals need to stop. Although during festivals, many precautions are taken to ensure that they aren’t harmed, elephants belong in the wild. It takes a great deal of torture and confinement to break their spirit and control them so that they listen to the mahout. This needs to stop.

An actor as intelligent as Kamal Hassan should have refrained from making the comparison to biryani.  It trivializes the whole debate. No doubt, it is a very popular argument. But it is not a very intelligent one. The reason being, food is about existence and entertainment is about fun. Lack of entertainment will not kill people but lack of food can. Should we stop killing animals for food? May be we should. But I feel that is too idealistic an argument to make.  May be years down the line, when we have enough sources of food, we should try and stop killing animals too.

Most of us will not willingly harm even an ant. Then why are we failing to SEE the cruelty that we are committing towards these animals in the name of tradition?

Is HR just a nice-to-have function? : Blog # 285

Is HR just a nice-to-have function? 

Everyone loves to bash up people who work in HR. Part of the problem lies with people who work in HR and the rest is with the organizations. Often, HR is where organizations tend to cut cost. HR professionals are mostly paid less which will mean most organizations don’t get the best talent. Add to this, the attempt to cut cost since HR is an ‘enabler’ function. When an organization tries to implement a ratio of 1 HR professional for every 500 employees, what kind of productivity can be expected from that person? Yes, there are many people in the HR department who do not respond to emails, do not pick up calls and do not provide a solution for most issues. But there are such people in other functions as well. Isn’t it a bit unfair to paint everyone with the same brush?

Now, addressing the title of this blog. Smaller organizations look at HR as a function to celebrate birthdays, ensure attendance and pay salary. That exactly is the reason why such organizations remain just that – small. When I say small, I don’t mean the number of employees. Here it is indicative of the vision of the organization.

People are at the heart of every organization. This is not just another fancy statement. This is the truth. As one works more and gains more years of experience, this truth becomes clearer. As important the processes are, it is the people who drive them and take organizations to greater heights. People need to be nurtured. Not everyone can engage with people. It requires patience, a flair for conversation and the ability to empathize. All these require people who are trained in these areas.

HR is relevant in good times and bad times. In good times of an organization, HR should be used to gauge how things can be made better. Efforts should be made to understand what investments need to be made in its people for their longevity in the organization and the long fruitful life of organization itself. In bad times, HR is needed to uplift morale of various teams. Interventions need to be made to ensure that excesses are avoided and people are made aware of the situation. These are times to tighten the belt and reinstate work productivity to bring back the organization to its glory.

Does HR have real cost impact on the organizations? It does. The most visible impact is through recruitment. It is one of those functions which is almost invisible when all is going well. Everything changes the moment there is a wrong hire. A wrong hire can unsettle the entire team and thus create a dent in the organization itself. On the other hand, a really good hire can have a very positive impact on the organization as well. Another role is that of a Business partner HR. If the BP HR is not playing an active role and if the team manager is someone from whom Lucifer takes notes, it can have disastrous consequences for the organization. People can and they will quit. This needs hiring which involves cost and training which needs cost and time. Similar is the case with other HR functions as well.

I read somewhere that people are disgruntled with HR mostly because they look for a friend in the HR person. An HR person is not expected to be a friend to employees. He/She is expected to be fair – both to the employee and to the organization. Interests of both the parties need to be kept in mind while taking a decision. It is tough and HR needs good people. It isn’t a nice-to-have function, but a must-have one!

This Newyear, let us do good! : Blog#284

This Newyear, let us do good!

Aylan, a 10 month old little kid from Hyderabad waiting for his bone marrow transplant surgery. Lakshmi, a 60 year old elephant needs to be relocated to a place of quiet and a bit of wilderness so that she can live the rest of her life in peace. Hundreds of children in Gurgaon are waiting for a roof to be built over their heads so that they can have a bit of childhood to cherish when they grow up.  

Every New year, we all make resolutions to be a better self than the previous year. I am sure many of you would have already zeroed in on a list which will drive you through the year. Although past experiences might tell us not to take that list too seriously, let us be hopeful J.

I feel one of the easiest ways to feel good and be a better person is to help others. Many a time, we would have wanted to help people in need. Lack of time, access and just not knowing how to help them might have prevented all of us from helping our fellow beings. There are times when we would have stopped ourselves from extending a helping hand for risk of being duped.

You can help Aylan, Lakshmi and the 100s of those little kids without having to fret about any of the above concerns. www.milaap.org is essentially a platform for helping people in need. It was founded by Anoj Viswanathan, Mayukh Choudhury and Sourabh Sharma in 2010. Today, this platform has contributors from over 120 countries across the world and helped people in need by raising funds to the tune of more than Rs.100 crores. You may help with as little as 100 rupees.

Let us lend a helping hand. It is said that charity is done mostly not for others, but for oneself. It helps in well being of oneself more than that of others. This New year, let us help ourselves J.

He who lost Babylon: Blog # 283

He who lost Babylon

He was busy at his office. Having returned from abroad armed with a master’s degree, he was asked to oversee two of the smaller companies of the business empire that his family owned. He knew that the companies were not going anywhere in spite of his best efforts. It was on a cold evening that he received a phone call asking him to helm the entire business group. He wondered as to why he was chosen.

To be the Chairman of a world renowned business group was not a small responsibility. It weighed down on him considerably. He found it difficult to convince veterans during board meetings. He felt that he was not being taken seriously. He tried his best to reason with the seasoned leaders. They refused to budge. One fine day, he changed the rules of the game. He slowly started bypassing them. They were not told about important decisions. They were made to feel irrelevant. Those who couldn’t understand the language of subtlety was told in loud and clear terms to leave. He knew there would be backlash and he was ready for it.

Years went by. He strived hard. He managed to turn around some businesses. He made some smart investments. He was leading the business empire in to the future. Soon he realized how newspapers and public relations worked.  Newspapers wanted Ads to stay afloat. When he could control about half the revenue of the entire private enterprise of a nation, he knew how to rein in the newsprint. He also realized that people care more about stories than numbers. He created a very smart story around his business empire. They told the story of ethics, corporate social responsibility and governance around the business group. They told similar stories for all the group companies. They told them repeatedly. Soon it was as if no one could question the credibility of his business house.

            He had friends in all the right places – ministries, newsrooms, corporate circles and everyone that mattered. The government felicitated him with the highest civilian honors. His business empire grew by leaps and bounds. Along the way, he made some bad decisions. For fear of upsetting him, not even one newspaper criticized him. His corporate circle heaped praises on him for the failed endeavors too. Many knew that the group was bleeding money. Everyone kept quiet.

            It was time for him to retire. He found a replacement, quiet and conscientious – more importantly not charismatic and hence less threatening. He expected the new chairman to toe the line. The newbie did just that in the beginning. And then, the winter set in the board room and the relationship. He tried all the tricks in the trade. But nothing helped. The newbie conquered the boardroom like an old king captured Babylon. That would mean his legacy would be threatened. His foibles would be revealed. He asked the newbie to step down. The newbie reminded him of his younger days; how he had pushed aside the veterans thereby implying that now he was the veteran who needs to be removed.

            He had to make a decision. It is either his legacy or his business group’s that was at stake. He knew the group would eventually recover from the bad press. But it was upon him to guard his legacy. He underestimated the clout of newbie. He expected everyone to sing his praises. Alas! That was not to be.

            He and his group, both stood tainted. And he became a fallen hero.

For the love of family : Blog # 282

For the love of family

I do not know how one can comprehend not having a family. To not have someone whom you can call one’s own, To not have someone around with whom you have grown up with, To not have someone who will forgive all your sins without batting an eyelid is a tremendous void.

There is something strange about family. They are your worst critics. They are the ones who holds grudges for the longest of times. They are the ones who drive you up the wall. But they are also the ones whose approval you seek the most. They are the ones with whom you want to mend your fences with.  They are the ones whose absence can make you feel empty.

All of us know that living in this world is not a walk in the park. As one grows older, one realizes how difficult it is to navigate the vagaries of life. Having a family by the side gives one the notion that one is not alone in this journey.

Later on, one does realize that the challenges in life really are one’s own. One has to walk through one’s own troubles. There is a great deal of loneliness in crisis. It is not that the family does not want to support you. They try their level best. But then, there is only as much a family can do. Still, the realization that there are people around you who are concerned for you does make the journey easier. Imagine not having anyone around you to offer a word of solace. What an abyss of grief will that be?

I have always felt that what keeps us going in life is memories. For a while, I thought memories are made of places and experiences. But I continue to realize that it is people who make memories. It is always people. Places and experiences are just the props on the stage. It is the people who brings the stage to life. It is up on us that we collect good people who make good memories. Friends are a blessing. But a large part of our life memories beginning from childhood are made up of people from our family.

My friend Jeeva and I were talking today about the demise of Jayalalitha, We felt may be one of reasons why people were so moved by the passing of one of the strongest political leaders of our times was the lack of a family around her. To lie there waiting for her final journey, lonely without having someone nearby whom she could call her own was indeed heartbreaking to say the least.

Blessed are those who can claim to have a family around them!

Pictories #2 ~ Of pictures and their stories ~ Blog # 281

Pictories #2 ~ Of pictures and their stories 

These days, we all click pictures. I think, of the many things which social media managed to do was to take away the elitism from photography. Anyone with a cell phone is a photographer these days. Of course, this does not mean that all of us take good pictures. But we all try. What I request all the shutter bugs though is to use a line or two to describe your thoughts while you took the picture. This would add more gravitas to the picture than reducing them to mere hashtags, don’t you think? Here are a few clicks of mine and what I think of them.

While trying to capture these two people on a boat in the middle of the sea, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the beauty of solitude and friendship. If there were only one person on that boat, it would have been only about solitude and how it helps one to reflect on thoughts and life in general. The presence of second person there makes it to be about friendship too. How blessed one should be to find someone in the journey of life with whom one can share one’s silences too.

That my friends, is a spread from Murugan Idli at Besant nagar beach in Chennai. I literally had to stop myself from diving right in to that banana leaf before clicking this picture. Those of you who haven’t had Murugan Idlis have no clue how delicious a humble food like Idli and those chutneys can get. Don’t even get me started about the sweet pongal. There are very few things as therapeutic as good food, isn’t it?

My little sister is getting married. We were at the jewelry store to buy gold and this is something which we all liked. Look at the intricate work that has gone in to the pendant. What adds to the glory is the little red, green and pink stones around the pendant. It speaks volumes about its creator. How swiftly time passes by. One moment before, we were kids fighting for the larger bar of chocolate and now, she is getting married!

How beautiful this house is! The little corridor which is ideal to read a book or to just wile away time chit chatting with your friends, the thatched roof, and most importantly the sun and the sand. I have failed to understand as to why people like mountain and mist and snow so much. I have always been an admirer of a bright sunny day. This picture somehow reminds me of my summer vacations spend in Palakkad, my mother’s place. Somehow I feel these houses have a soul to them unlike the concrete blocks that surrounds us these days.

There is something oddly intriguing about a lone tree, isn’t there? It rises high above everything else around it. Yet there is a sense of loneliness to it. In this particular one, it is by the side of a pool overlooking a sea. I wonder what the tree might be thinking. Is it looking only at the pool admiring its own reflection? Is it aware of the vast ocean ahead of it? Is it trying to decide as to which side it should grow towards? Only the tree can tell.

Like the above pics? Want to be bombarded with such images on a regular basis? ;). Please follow me on Instagram. My Insta handle is roamdworld .

Check out other Pictories:

Find Pictory #1 here
Find Pictory#3 here

Find Pictory#4 here