Working from Home!

This is a series aimed at helping employees come to terms with the “new normal” as companies have started claiming. The work from home paradigm. While I personally believe that in the long run this is going to be a liability, technology certainly allows space for a model which is a composite of the work from home and work from office. I will be sharing my thoughts on how employees should gear up to face this new reality in a space of 3 articles. So here goes.

Re-design your work styles:

Corona hit us rather unexpectedly, but the need to shift a part of the work, home, did not. We all would have worked from home whenever we needed time to complete tasks or when we needed time at home. While, we have worked from home in the last 2 months, I am sure most of us thought this was eventually going to go away. With companies keeping aside large funds to create infrastructure to enable work from home, it is time to revisit our work styles and habits. Here is where I would begin!

1. Take time to discuss with family members how the house has to be reorganized. If more than a single working member is at home, it’s very important to have these discussions in order to have stress free environment and optimal utilization of resources.
2. Redesign your home to design a workspace which is not only user-friendly, but also healthy in how it is lit up, air is circulated and allows for physical de-stressing once in a while.
3. Have specific times of when you will log-in and log-out. Work from home while saving time of transit is very hazardous and can create never before health issues because one tends to be stuck with their computer for endless hours. Having times for being “away” from the system allows you to refresh yourself and increase your productivity.
4. If both the wife and husband or the kids also need to work from home, use this opportunity to have lunch together, just like the lunch breaks you have with your office colleagues.
5. Whatever space allows you to have those post lunch walks, have them with your family members.
6. Focus on your personal hygiene. It is easy to postpone baths, brushing teeth, taking the bio breaks, having water or eating food which is hot and fresh. These things slowly become a habit and create health issues which might make you incapable of performing the very job which you desperately are trying to protect.
7. Have a strict bed room rule, where work, laptops etc do not enter the space where you sleep. While many might not have the kind of space needed to segregate different places of the house as work and home, it’s important to at least keep work away from the kitchen and bed room. Keep the bed room for relaxation. Our mind knows how to stress even when we sleep, but the body knows when it needs to sleep. Give it the space and serenity it needs to sleep.
8. Talk to friends, colleagues, family members as you used to while at office. Work from home might require you to always be “Online” and I am sure companies will come up with employee monitoring systems, you need to monitor your needs as a person as well. Not many companies are really employee-centric. Most don’t have the luxury to be. Hence look out for your self.
9. Have a “me time” to unwind. Resist the urge to be on the system beyond the 8-9 hours that are required. After all, if you don’t unwind and sharpen your skills, chances are you will anyway be replaced for waning productivity.
10. Take leaves as before. Work form home for some reason has made employees reluctant to take leaves, often carrying their work even when there focus is needed elsewhere. Attend those marriages, parties, medical emergencies or if not just for sleeping.. use your leaves… after all you have earned them!

A song from deepwithin

మీ అమ్మ పిలుస్తోంది ర కొడకో మీ అయ్యపిలుస్తుండుర కొడక

చిన్న నాడు ముద్దులెట్టి, రొమ్ముమీద నదక్ నేర్పి,
భుజాల మీద ఎత్తి తిప్పి నీ కోసము కరిగిపోయిన కొవ్వొత్తులు కొడకో,

మీ అమ్మ పిలుస్తోంది ర కొడకో మీ అయ్యపిలుస్తుండుర కొడక.

నీ సదువుకోసము ఊళ్లు తిరిగి, నానా మంది జనము కాళ్ళు పట్టి
నీ కోరిక కోసము అప్పు సేసి, నీ నుడితిన చెమట తూర్చి, నీ నిద్దుర కొరకు మేలుకున్న వాళ్ళు కొడకో

మీ అమ్మ పిలుస్తోంది ర కొడకో మీ అయ్యపిలుస్తుండుర కొడక

నీ ఆడ దొస్తుల సోకుకొసము, నీ సిగరత్తుల పోగమంట కోసము,
నీ నొప్పుల మలహమ్ము కోసము, వల్ల నడుములు కొంగినాయి కొడకో
మీ అమ్మ పిలుస్తోంది ర కొడకో మీ అయ్యపిలుస్తుండుర కొడక

ఆఫీస్ లో పని అంటావు, గోవా, ఊటీలు తిరిగొస్తవు, పెళ్ళము వెంట తిరిగి నీ దోస్తీ కట్టి అంటావు, నీ అమ్మ నాన్న తప్పు ఇందిరా కొడకో, తిరిగి వేగొచ్చేయి రా కొడకా

మీ అమ్మ పిలుస్తోంది ర కొడకో మీ అయ్యపిలుస్తుండుర కొడక

నిదుర పోవుడకు పరుపు లేదంటావు, వాళ్ళ కోసమేమో పాడే కొనిపెడతావు, నీ మీద నీకు హక్కేదిర కొడకో, జల్దొచ్చెయ్యరా కొడకా

ఉన్నదొక్కే ఆదివారము, నేను రాలేనంటావు, ఎన్ని ఆదివారాలు వాళ్ళు వేచియున్నారు, కాళ్ళు నొప్పంటే బండి కొనిపెట్టారు,
కళ్ళు నోపూలంటే ray ban nu కొని పెట్టారు…నీ ఖర్చులు జమవేయుటకు పించన్నులోదులుకున్నారు

మీ అమ్మ పిలుస్తోంది ర కొడకో మీ అయ్యపిలుస్తుండుర కొడక

పోనీ, నీకేమి చెయ్యలెదన్నా, నీ బాధ్యత రా కొడకో, నీకు కూడా కొడుకున్నాడుర కొడక. తండ్రి బాధ చూడరా కొడకో, ఆయన ప్రేమ నీకే ఎరుక.

నీకెట్లా చెప్పేదిర కొడకో, నీ పెండ్లమే నీకు గొప్ప. దాని తప్పు లేదురో, నా బంగారమే ఇనుప.

మీ అమ్మ పిలుస్తోంది ర కొడకో మీ అయ్యపిలుస్తుండుర కొడక

Investing focus in Education – My take!!!

The change is nice. The transformation, well awaited. Having worked in relation with the Engineering Education space in the country for over a decade now, in various capacities, I have seen different facets of the stakeholders at multiple levels.

From a student who was caught in an undecipherable world of equations, to students who comprehended the abstractness of spacial probabilities; from students who were there in expectation of a hefty dowry(a joke on campus) to students who found self respect through the support of scholarships; from managements who saw placements as a differentiation/USP to managements who struggled to pay salaries; from middle men who took every one for a ride to govt schemes which put the entire country in to financial crisis; from threatening recruiters to funded first generation entrepreneurs; I have had a view in to how engineering education in India, particularly in the South has taken shape from a qualitative, neighbor’s envy to a number crunching, often sympathy gaining industry.

Over the years, not much has changed in terms of the placement game and here is where, I say the change is nice. The transformation, well awaited.

Engineering education landscape has not changed much in terms of what it offers. The packaging has not actually shifted much ever since the IT boom in the last 90s. To quote a friend of mine who runs one such college, the duty of tier-2 colleges is to impart skill required for placement and for knowledge, well there are IITs. This sums up how the strategy of colleges today is cut out. It is clear then as to why there aren’t investments in to building the other aspects of education such as faculty development, course enrichment and culture building. While I am party to colleges which though have woken up late, have started the journey towards long term strategy, these are but very few to even make a dent in an other wise deteriorating system. I fear, the days are not far away when the students will lose faith in getting any degree under their belt. I feel the institutions, the systems which govern them and those who help design them have a major role to play, should we want the next generation to gear up for future necessities.

Today a question arises on various fronts of how the vicious cycle of (mis)designing the engineering package is being offered to the market. In this scenario, I laud the efforts of recent governments to audit and close down colleges which do not have the basics right (I do sincerely hope that the motivation is only quality of education and politics are minimal in this). In my travels across this landscape over the years, I feel its time that multiple organizations gain common ground and rethink their strategies of building a sanctum of learning which is the very basis of education.

Different models of engagement should be invented to fine tune the output from colleges.

First and foremost, faculty of colleges need to be invested in. Millenials, as the corporate is realizing pretty fast are a species which are tech savvy. India, in this sense is caught catching up. Faculty, in most cases are not in the profession by choice and most do not have a clue of how adolescent behavioral tendencies work on students. The knowledge sharing of best practices is in a sorry state. Faculty feel threatened by their peers and do not share their ideologies or teaching methodologies openly. When I say this, I say this with enough exposure to these discussions in formal and informal sessions.

Second investment to be made is in to technology. I do not mean placement training programs. Technology allows scalability and repeatability of teaching. Lack of use of technology is like offering grass to a tiger. The generation are technology natives and teaching them are faculty who are technology migrants. Many best practices of teaching are lost when technology is not used either for record and play or for demonstrative purposes. This is where students get disengaged and often demotivated.

Third investment to be made is in to industry tie ups. When I say industry tie-ups I am not talking about placement related Centers of Excellence or Innovation labs. These happen any which ways based on how much of a mutual rapport the colleges and companies share. What I mean by industry tie ups is that institutions should focus on culture building and behavioral development. Generic placement training on soft skills hardly suffices for placements and the remaining aspects of personality are left at the mercy of a strict Lecturer or Director of the institution. A professional tie-up with consultants and management consulting firms will help in building a brand for the future. Most colleges which aim for autonomous or deemed to be university status would do well to invest in this area sooner than later.

Fourth investment to be made is not about money. Its about time. Organizations should be able to carve out time for research pursuits. Not as a final year project, but as a way of life in the campus. Encouraging dialogue, coordination, overtime and originality require careful mentoring and channeling of personalities and thoughts. This needs time. This needs an unfaltering, dedicated support from stakeholders of the system. Theme based programs have been shaping up in some institutions on the lines of entrepreneurship but these are still very few. Colleges which claim entrepreneur cells hardly move beyond workshops on awareness. (I am talking about a majority). These workshops also unfortunately send diversified messages from different speakers. I am yet to come across a college, which can script a message through its guest speaker. The college owns the culture and should invest in scripting messages too. I am not suggesting that free exposure should be stopped, what I mean is that when you build a culture, you need scripted, focused messages towards each initiative. Finding mentors from industry, who work in tandem with faculty to build culture and not limit to technical learning should be an exercise which has to be carried out with extreme care.

Fifth investment, which is a foundation to all the above is in maintaining a sound brand in all areas. Not just placements. Branding is often misunderstood with external branding alone. Across multiple interviews of freshers, one thing I am sure I can vouch for is that organizations don’t invest much in building brands internally. Internal branding is a failure in many institutions and hence their brand ambassadors, namely their students have zero or minimal sense of belongingness to their Alma matter. Focus on making the student feel proud. Focus on making them wanting to come back. Focus on making them fight for the campus placements in their organizations. Its a sad feature of today’s colleges that most students forget their responsibility the minute they are out. They are happy that they got out. They are happy that they don’t need to be part of the system anymore.

These five are not in any order, but are a necessity from the sense of building a brand for the future. Education is a business today. No doubt. But who said it cannot be enriching and why not build the romance in to education while you educate? Many who read this blog would be friends or client from colleges. Pls. do not get offended if these make sense. Its never too late to invest in the right thing. Placement should be a byproduct of education imparted in the college. Not the purpose of it. These investments if made in the right way, would reduce costs on just in time placement expenses which run in to lakhs of rupees in the form of training, hospitality and special favors.

The change is welcome. Its slow. But it is in the right direction. The transformation, well… is due soon!

meHonestly!

 

 

 

Bring Out the Old, Ring in the Sensible

I was at a school few days back. The principal asked me how I am related to the kid and I told her in Telugu, what I am to the kid and got a typical response, “Oh! You are his uncle! why didn’t you say so!” followed by “Maternal or Paternal?”.

Before I could answer it, she realized the meaning of what I had said initially, smiled and moved on. I was super glad she did, instead of expecting me to explain whether I was a maternal uncle or a paternal. This conversation took me back to the  2005, in a lunch time discussion, with a senior soft skills trainer. We had an interesting conversation on whether we should have the kids calling their elders by relationships or by just names.

He proudly said that his kids call him by name and not as “Daddy” or “Papa”.  For a 24 year old, trainer in the making with an impressionable mind, it was a real “Uh! Oh” moment. I didn’t like his proposal one bit. I really didn’t know why till about an hour ago, when I was having a similar conversation with my nephew.

As an employee in corporate, I have always found it difficult to call my boss by his name, always using a prefix or a suffix post his name like “Dr.”, “Mr.”, “Sir”, “Garu” to ensure that I conveyed respect and didn’t cross my limitations when I spoke to him/her. Even among colleagues who were closer than others, closer enough to sooner or later qualify as “friends”, I would still use “sir” or “garu”.

The rules of the corporate have long been written by the west and when they arrived in India, the multiple customs, languages and culture has made life difficult for few. Suddenly, the “Mr.” became formal, while a teasing “saar” became casual. While the first name became casual and depicted ease of interaction, those who used their surnames to claim history, lineage etc. got the response “who does he think he is?”, “so what?”. Now this was limited to mainly the IT aka software industry. The other part of the industry, for a nice reason has retained its older customs though.

While you are wondering as to where am I getting, I will come to the point soon. What has happened because of this formal/informal mix at office is that the rules of an emerging India, had to be rewritten fast. Suddenly, “elders” have become “equals”. Dads became Dudes; relatives became outsiders. Terms have come in to play where the family which consisted of every one from 4 generations of relatives, have suddenly been classified as Outsiders, Close Relatives, Extended Family and Family. ( Gosh reminds me of the 7 habits).

While, there are those who don’t see issues with this, an old timer that I am ( a person who my friends tell me am from a different time zone, caught in a time wrap), I find this really bothersome. At least we avoid the complexities of that guy in a bar who had family issues, cos his father fell in love with his step daughter and married her, while his brother fell in love with his wife’s step mom. Names of relatives, define rules about behavior in society. I am not claiming that other societies don’t have norms. I am aware most of them have stricter norms. My thoughts are limited to how much effect this has on a typical middle class Indian family.

Our society, while it might seem very “conditioning” on the surface, has a deep rooted logic, which the present day scientists are still attempting to unravel. Each custom or tradition here in India has sense, only if some one is willing to explore it. When my son was born, I had friend of my wife’s commenting that she didn’t want to be called “maasi” since there is a chance that my son will fall in love with a daughter which she might have in the near of far future! See the sense? While there are fights about inclusion in today’s world, I wonder and like to know from this so called “new generation” mob, where is the inclusion of our culture and customs? Where is the inclusion of the generation that has been and the generation which grew up on a different set of rules while having to adapt to an extremely radical change?

The question remains. When corporate talk about localized globalization, why should formal dress be the only way to do business? Look at the chinese restaurants, thai massage, American fast foods model. Where ever they go, they take their culture with them. Sad thing is that we have people who want a court to issue an order asking coffee to be served in a cup instead of the traditional steel tumblers in hotels. If I had an issue of such sort, it would be easier to carry my own plastic mug whenever I wanna have coffee instead of expecting a court to intervene.

Then there is this new culture of using plastic bottles in restaurants. Ever wondered what happens to all the bottles that we drink? Is just convenience the only reason for this? What world would we be leaving behind for our kids? The traditional “kele ka patta or banana leaves” didn’t generate pollution. Today, if you serve lunch in India in a kele ka patta, you are either “miser” or “forcing every one to inconvenience” or “old fashioned”. Suppose you do the same in the US or UK, you will have 10os of posts on FB popularizing the restaurant claiming nostalgia and tradition.

I wonder why we don’t stand up? I wonder why we are so reluctant to hold our culture in the right spirit? While I wonder, this blog is my first step towards personal change. I have decided to implement my culture in as many things as I can. Indian culture is eco-friendly, society friendly and is far more evolved than most other cultures. Time we looked back!

 

 

 

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The journey

Many have written on life’s journeys. Life has many definitions and many more descriptions. I have my own. I have my own observations. I have been sharing them in different ways. But its always incomplete.

As generations change, every generation leaves its set of learning with their successors. Sometimes they worry and some times they care. But most important thing is that they share. The lessons which mattered to them.. which they think matter to their next.

While this has been going on another feature that runs in parallel is frustration. While the elders are older and the youngsters younger, the lessons lie in between. Those who trudge on a path, expect that their trudging has to become a faster learning process for their next and those who follow expect to let themselves be.

While leaders and organizations work hard to create learning curves and paths, seldom do they make progress unless the learner sees a motivation from which he will benefit. Environments change and so do learning experiences. Recreating the same environment to make learning coherent with that of the expected outcome doesn’t work in the case of most people. Individuals have their own sense of outcomes and use this sense to create opportunities which they see as beneficial.

Transfer climate is a necessary step to achieving a near close outcome. But how many organizations or leaders are willing to articulate let alone walk the talk? The journey is needed; a must. But who are the facilitators is a question which needs to be asked. What stakes they bring in to this journey, what contributions of theirs will make or mar the process? The process has to be scripted and the map drawn based on the script.

Managers who don’t succeed as well as expected are mostly those, who couldn’t see the pitfalls in their journey and not working on handling these pitfalls will affect the organization, not just the individual.

 

Why do I need to explain myself?

“I don’t have to explain myself to any one…I am what I am” a statement a friend of mine made has kindled my thought on how relationships proposer or flounder. I started my search with a question to myself. When I asked this friend a question, what was it I wanted? Was there an expectation, was there a doubt or was there something else.

Lot of times it happens in relationships that individuals get in to a cycle of mutual appeasement. Highlight among these appeasements is when individuals behave in a way which they believe is contrary to their natural self and then end up justifying to themselves why they did what they did. For individuals who are not natural at introspection or who aren’t close to their understanding of their “self”, this is by far the biggest burden of being in a relationship. The question “Why should I explain myself?” in itself envelopes a lot of feelings and emotions which clearly the individual has not understood or has tried to shield away.

So the question, “why should I explain myself?” is inappropriate when one is trying to find answers for their efforts at appeasement. A more apt question, which will provide actionable answers is “Why should I express myself?” The change of one word makes all the difference. The first question borders around rebelliousness of the self to an expected protocol of a relationship, while the second one impresses on the understanding of the deeper impact, thereby increasing chances of a prosperous relationship.

Not all individuals can pin point feelings and emotions to their core and this is more an issue with lack of introspective abilities than their rebelliousness towards others. It’s not their insensitivity to others so much as it’s their lack of understanding of their true self. Masking/ Mirroring are techniques which individuals use in a relationship to help it on its way. Knowing when to do what separates the “explanation” from the “expression”.

Relationships are complex chemistries of personalities and my intention here is not to define what they are. The intention here is to explore protocols which serve the higher purpose of self-discovery and mastery. A youngster who doesn’t spend time in knowing the self, establishing connect with self, will more or less end up lonely/angry/misunderstood or complaining. As in Berne’s transaction analysis, the conversation of an adult self with the inner adult leads to healthy relationships. “Explanation” is a word used in context where an individual is deemed to have done something against an expectation. This increases the burden on the person in two ways. One he feels defensive about his actions and two it provokes a self -denial mechanism which further bloats up his need to defend. “Expression” as a word generates positivity where one feels that he or she is not being cornered and is given confidence of all involved that he or she would be understood.

Explaining oneself is the most draining thing in a relationship. Expressing on the other hand is liberating. Explaining brings with it a negative connotation, something which justifies the unrealistic picture of the self and Expressing creates numerous possibilities of understanding each other. When expressions are suppressed, explanations take over. When explanations take over, the relationship suffers. One would do well to stop suppressing emotions while continuing to express them. Vulnerability in relationships can only be overcome through expressions. Explanations might work to resolve a conflict temporarily, but in the long term create a burden of self -deception, which will make things difficult and worse to handle. So the next time you feel like saying “ Why should I explain myself to you?”, stop and ask, “am I explaining in the true sense or am I expressing what I feel?” This will help in establishing higher tolerances for individuals along with a newer understanding of their “true self”!

The reason I have asked for clarity more often than not is my way of saying ” I want to know what you feel and am not questioning what you did”. The effort is to understand the intention while acknowledging the gap between intention and action. Many a times there is a huge gap between what I feel and how I act. When I express, it is a way of bridging the gap by emoting feelings which otherwise might be understood. I don’t seek an explanation of how you acted. I seek an expression of why you acted.

Next time, when some one in a relationship with you asks you “Why you acted the way you did?” do understand that the intention is to understand “What you feel” and not “What you did”!

“That’s your over, match and tournament Sourav!!!”

The last month or so for a lot of Indians has been a wait! To test if fate gets the better out of a man or does the man get the better out of fate. Many did not worry about the stock market, the exam dates, the girl friend’s tirades, the politics of the nation or the surge of emotion. All they were worried or concerned about was “Will Dada prove himself yet again”? I am one such person. Last one month to me was “Sourav Ganguly”. Nothing more, nothing less.
Yesterday’s loss to Rajasthan Royals has finally put my misery to an end. Growing old under the phenomenon called “Sourav the dada Ganguly” has not been easy for me and I am glad the wait has finally ended. To me Indian Cricket stopped the day Dada retired. The world cup was an Indian’s dream, but the leader/cricketer/believer in me has not been able to look beyond Dada.
Here was a man who took Indian Cricket’s head by the horns and turned it around. When he won his first match against MI this year, every one said, “The Tiger is back”. But well dada himself said that it was still early in the tournament to read too much in to the win. After religiously following routines of same clothing, same seat, same viewing partner, same hand and leg position and them emptying many bottles of pain relief sprays, I am glad the agony is over.
I knew the moment he dropped to number 3 in the batting order that this was not going the winning way. Leaders are at their best when they believe in their convictions and dada coming at number 3 was just not what he does. Every one celebrated the wicket of KP in Delhi, but well the next match proved why Tigers give up their pride to another tiger and slip in to being alone. I am sure had the gamble of bowling against Deccan Chargers paid off every one would praise the lord of the jungle, but well the minute he took the ball in his hands, I felt agony. I knew he should not have bowled. He did not need to prove anything to any one. But such is the way of tigers. They just don’t know when it’s ok to let the cub take over.
Calling my “idol” wrong would definitely hurt me, but well I didn’t see any other reason as to why he had to bowl. It was “Over, Match and Tournament” for him that day itself. Fighting the internal demons is not easy and I think my lord has been doing it for some time now. His running was taxing on all the emotions of the youngsters playing with him. They couldn’t complain and neither is the lord one to take a back step. Every loss to the Tiger’s team resulted in a heart breaking beyond repair in many corners of the country. True that DC have lost many, but well DC don’t have the demi-God of Off-side with them. They do not have the leader who made India believe. The redemption that people think about and the second chance they crave desperately for, did not come their way. Dada’s loss, to the nation was not an individual’s loss, it was a personal loss to every one who looked at the phoenix as their inspiration.
I read some where that leaders should know when to lead, when to hand over and when to move on. Many corporate houses have taught this to us and many believe that dada was one leader who would not need to move on.
For all those who still don’t understand the dada mania, here are some opinions:
1. I am sure Sachin would not be missed once he retires because he has never been part of controversy. He is some one who performs neither when it is needed nor when it is not needed. He is some one who can and who performs at will. It’s like he gets up and says “today I will spank the bowlers” and he does that.
2. Kumble has not been missed much in spite of being the highest Indian wicket taker.
3. Dravid will be missed each time the Indian test team is reduced to 40/5, or each time they need to draw a test by playing out day-4 and 5 of a test match.
4. VVS, Dhoni, Sehwag or any other cricketers, not even the cricketer of the century Kapil Dev will be missed as they are pure entertainers and their entertainment can be watched time and again on Youtube.
But well the dada is a different game altogether. He has been in controversy, thrashed bowlers on his day, entertained beyond comprehension with his off-side play, won matches through leadership and has lived out the common man’s dream. Yes, He has more commonness in him than a prince. He is still called adamant. But then so is the common man who refuses to let go of his faith and hope. He has been pushed out, but well he came back much like a common man who wakes up every morning to fight the demons of the day. He is common because he tries hard to prove that he has it in him still, like a common man…
Dada was called a loser by few of my friends, but well alas! If only they knew that the looser is one who perishes from the memory the minute the screen is off. He ain’t one like that. He will be persistently on your mind whether you like him or not, whether you want to shun him or not. He is like the concept of God, believer or not, you just can’t be away from him.
Watching him struggle to the presentation ceremony is more painful than spraying my eyes with red hot chilly sauce. I am a fan of the cult. The phenomenon called Dada. I am done seeing him face such tests. Fans don’t move on from their heroes. I won’t too. But then I want to tell my Lord one small thing.
“It’s over, match and tournament”. Time to let us fans rest with happiness.

Are the training teams important during recession?

“The first people to be chucked out are the supporting functions…” is a comment I heard while talking to a HR Manager last week. No he was not referring to any thing in his company. He was referring to the possibility of a financial crisis across the world. Recovering from the recession of 2008-09 was difficult but what about another one which seems to be staring every one in the eye?

I read a book about how tough people survive in tough times, but what about managements? Corporations? MNCs? well it is difficult ain’t it? While the previous recession brought out cost cutting survival strategies, what would this coming crisis bring out? No jobs will be on offer is an opinion that many managers have already started expressing. Many SMEs would struggle to come to terms with increasing operational costs and expanding businesses. I know at least few managers who think that cost cutting is going to be the solution. I could not disagree more.

Whether the world recognizes it or not, whether the efforts are quantifiable or not, it is the support functions like HR, Training, Hospitality etc which are more important than marketing this time around. Many said that its during recession that the marketing should be at its maximum and they would be tempted to believe that again. But the answer this time around is not going to be just getting business. It is going to be focused around getting work done and keeping people motivated in a seemingly chaotic economy.

Its easy to push out the support function people or to start lay offs with such functions, but I feel that it would be one of the bigger mistakes that companies would make. Here are some pointers on how you can get accountable work out of the support functions mainly training.

Make your learning department your partner in Marketing: Trainers are one of the most paid people in the world. But it would be safe to say that they are also the least respected. Employees look at training as a pass time and do not take it seriously enough. Managements would do well to make the training department an adviser to marketing. They should allow the Training department to come up with skill sets which would result in business. Business should also be sought in primitive domains. Some places where the company’s existing skill set can earn money to take it through the financial turbulence.

Give the bench strength a real match Out of the many cost cutting options available, laying people off is the first sought after step. I feel that this does not solve any problem. If at all it results in the loss of loyalty and belonging with the brand. Training is a function which can always accommodate hands on experience. Use the work force you want to lay off as the training people. They have experiences which are invaluable. Retain them at a lesser pay scale but on the rolls with a promise to put them back on the field as soon as the situations are better.

Get them to take up certifications As a trainer and consultant I am aware of the money that organizations invest in getting their employees trained by a third party. New is not always good. Yes outside inputs matter, but when internal motivation and change are needed, you need some one who knows the challenges and gaps well. Its only a local driver who can show you the real culture. An outsider will only give you a bird eye view. The cost cutting times are the ones where companies should invest in getting all the skill based certifications done.

Ensure that the training continues at a conquering pace Many companies use the lean economy to lay off employees who do not earn for the company. What they need to do is to focus on getting the bench strength to be ready for the times when the market will bounce back. It is not an easy task, but well planning can do only so much harm.

There are other ways of engaging employees of the support functions. Don’t let the cost cutting needs tell you otherwise.

Get Up Prince And Fight! Don’t Let A Stone Take My Credit Away

“Get up prince and fight! I wont let a stone take away my credit.” Any guesses as to who said it? Well ya you are right. Achelees says this to Prince Hector, in the movie Troy. Don’t know why but as I read today’s newspaper, this dialogue kept knocking on the inside of my rather hollow morning brain.

Is there any reference to this scene to what’s happening around me at this time? While its very difficult to let go of the great vision of Hector Fighting a rather unconquerable Achelees, the odds are just not the same when the comparison is drawn. Pakisthan here is the underdog as far as tomorrow’s match is concerned. As was Troy. Troy had Hector the inspired prince who in his own glory defied even the Gods. The attack is by a unit which probably comes with almost 10 times the population and 10 times the support. The only glaring difference is that it is not Troy’s shore. Its the shore of the GReece. Egamennon the conqueror of many a shores probably might just feel satisfied being compared to our own Dhoni. BUt then who is his Ulysses or who is his Achelees?

Its not easy to draw a parallel between the War of Troy and tomorrow’s match between India and Pakisthan. But why did these dialogues prop up?

I mean some how there would be another parallel that my mind would have drawn. If it was just a coincidence then almost 3 hours after these words were formed, they would have been erased by Hyderabad’s unruly traffic and my own favorite LB Statdium Dosas. But then why did they stick with me all the way to office.

A lil insight in to what I was reading in the morning brings about why this dialogue.

It was Mr. Malik’s statement to the Pak boys! He said something about fixing. Ayaz Memon wrote an article on the same. What was the Minister trying to do? Was he the small stone which stumbled the Mighty Hector? Was he trying to take away the glory of the Pakisthani players who fought unsurmountable doubts in a haven which was just as uncomfortable as the desert that lies between the two contries? Well why was this needed?

Afridi will remain one of my all time heroes whether he wins the cup or whether he looses tomorrow. I have followed Afridi’s game ever since he broke Jayasurya’s record for the fastest fifty. Here was a guy who came knocking… no honking in to the world cricket scene not begging for a place but by bulldozing over competitors to cement his place. As happens with all the greats he has had his slumps and these slumps would have been less bumpy had it not been for his temper! A guy who gives not an inch away in any game had definitely some flaws which made every one doubt if he ever belonged to the top specter. Was it only a lightning or was it accompanied by a thunder? Would this thunder soak the less worthy people around were questions which everyone had asked. But well thunderstorms and lightning cannot be predicted even by the best of seasoned weathermen. So is the case with Afridi. This is a guy who not only thunders but also pours.

When he took over captaincy for the world cup, he was a doubtful player but a very inspired ( to be read as determined and passionate) leader. He was not going honks and tonks with his bat but then who would undermine his contribution with the ball, which was a reminder of David taming Goliath. To comment on the team saying “NO fixing” is nothing but a minor stone on which even the greatest human would stumble on a rare moment.

It is the same pebble which might blind somebody’s vision, impair their hearing or generate a sprain at the ankle when stumbled upon. And as would happen with people with a leg sprain, the team will be more eager to prove themselves which might work against an otherwise united team, by opening the otherwise invisible gaps.

Shall Pakisthan loose the semis tommorrow, it would be more an effect of this stone (which will try taking the glory) and not any real fault with the Pakisthani players. I feel this was very bad timing on the minister’s part. But well he is allowed to be a part of history in his own right. Every individual should be allowed a shot at being part of history.

I pray India wins! But what I pray for is a very tightly competed match where Pakisthan Cricket team also gains its lost glory. Hector is one of the greatest generals in mythology. He cannot be hurt by a small pebble.

Mangala – A refreshing take on Voodoo

After almost four months, watched a Telugu Movie and what a movie it was!! After the fearsome cartoons called Evil Dead and Exorcist which I watched during my class -2, and few others like, the Hills have eyes (both parts), Raaj, Rakhsa, A film by aravind, Mantra etc this movie is a real “LIKE” for me.

While the dialogue where the hero in Raksha Says “Devudu unnadanatam muda nammakam (meaning to say that God exists is a superstition)” and the reply to which is “Devudu ledanatamu mudha nammakame( Meaning to say God doesnt exist is also a superstition)” satisfied both sides of the audience coin, the ending left the question hanging in the air. That was unique way to end a movie.

Mangala, is a different take altogether. It had two prominent messages to convey.

1. The Telugu industry has enough talent and need not be dependent on imports from Tamil and Hindi industry. This was portrayed in a very direct no nonsense way as far as I am concerned.

2. Occult practices do exist.

Before I explore silver linings ( ya more than one), I would like to talk about the black cloud. The minute the titles were over, I had realized that it was a copy of the movie “Drag Me to Hell” in English. This movie has been telecast at least 10 times in the Star Movie Channel in the last 3 months. For some body who has seen the English Original, the end would be obvious, but then again here is where the surprise element lay hidden even for an ardent Star Movies buff.

The positives:

1. One felt that the movie concept was well researched.
2. The plight of the occult practitioner when he casts an evil spell “Sakuchi” on an unsuspecting young boy was well caught on the camera. The Tantric also has his own concern when such evil practices are performed. Each tantric would be well aware of the harm which accompanies all forms of the black art. The dialogue ” Inkeppudu Pranam theese prayogalu cheyyanu” ( Meaning I will never repeat a life taking spell on any one) talks about the regret at having taken away an innocent life. The same scene continues in to another where the tantrik is feeding his only son. The happiness that comes by watching one’s son happy some times (may be for just a while) take away the remorse of killing some body.

While this short depiction of the selfless father is heart rendering, what is more explicit about a father’s love for his son is when the same tantrik sends “Sakuchi” after the heroin, who unfortunately ends up a victim of situations.

The movie goes through the regular Telugu Drama but without letting go of the actual message on dark forces. The original movie has a spell called “Lamia” – A goat headed demon as the killer force. There is a medium, the drasta… a person who has power to see a dark force but not enough to stop it. One such person in this movie is also present. While the voice used did not match the actor or the situation the message was very clear.

Any evil spell cast can be stopped by others only to an extent, but after crossing a threshold, it can be stopped only by the person who has cast it. A small example can be traced to the weapons used by Hindu Gods… like Brahmastra, Pasupathastra etc…There are rules which bind users of these weapons. Only the one who knows how to call it back can use these. The binding on this part is self explanatory. Evil spells are cast in a sudden moment of anger and frustration and not with a real hatred towards the life of any. Hence there should be the possibility of calling it back too.

Coming back to the movie, it is maintained across the length of the movie that only the GREAT Tantrik who has cast a spell can stop the “Sakuchi”. Sakuchi being the so called Most Evil Spell of all.

What I liked about the movie is that a great deal went in to showing natural ways of how a spell might effect. There is no unnecessary blood shed and no useless diversions. Also the way Sakuchi rescues its victim from hooligans also is a detail of the research done. The idea is that once a person is cast under a spell, he will be consumed by that spell only. Not by anything else.

Another common dialogue heard in the movies is “this is the strongest spell and no one can save you”. Many movies make a mistake of showing a demigod kind of a person who finally conquers this evil. This movie is special again in the sense that many Aghoras combine their power to stop this so called Sakhuchi the worst spell that any one can cast. This is more realistic to believe since any person who tries to counter a spell has to be himself an accomplished Tantrik. But even for the most accomplished Tantriks the intervention period is limited. Hence a collective energy from all Tantriks was a very practical way of showing it.

Finally the human Shiva Linga and the Jala linga were reminders that Bhoota Natha… the lord Shiva himself is the conquerer of any Bhooth or Evil since he is their Controller. The simple shots like bringing in a trishul between the tantrik and sakuchi when the latter tries to attack, chanting harahara mahadev to keep the evil away are just attempts at reinforcing the beliefs in common public of the utility of faith in God. While for a common person the movie would look like a waste of time through unclear songs and unnecessary comedy (if it can be called so), the movie is a definite worth for money for people who believe.

This is also a welcome change from the Tulasi Dalams, Kashmoras and Arundhatis where one individual always conquers the evil which is proclaimed across the movie as the MOST EVIL FORM.