Election campaigns

The elections in the state of Maharashtra are just a few hours away. I am sure you will see and hear about the campaigns in all possible media. Some make it attractive with the celebrity quotient, some bring in the political heavyweights from their own parties. but spare a thought for the independent candidates. In a few hours, we all will exercise our constitutional right... and as always we will be unsure if we have made the right choice or not. How will we decide? The representatives from the area never release a quarterly report of the progress as corporates do. Forget quarterly , an annual report would be a big relief. But that's for another day, as the situation gets tense, lets talk something humorous.

Let me take you some years back. I was all alone at home and thought of taking a siesta. Just then, I heard a knock on the door. As no one was in the house, I reluctantly pulled myself up and went to open the door. And as I did that, there stood a lady who was a complete stranger. Even stranger was the way she was standing. She just smiled,held a carrot in her left hand and pointed to it with the right. I asked her how I could be of help to her. She said," This election, when you exercise your vote, remember the carrot. I politely said "Yes ma'am". And once she left, I just couldn't stop myself from laughing.

There have been innumerable number of candidates who have visited my place as part of their election campaigning, canvassing for votes. As you know, they hibernate for five years post elections so I do not recall any of those faces. But this lady and the proverbial carrot for the voter rabbits will remain etched in my memory forever.

As you all go to vote, ensure that you have done your research on the candidates you have to choose from and not fall for the vague promises and proverbial carrots.

The Corporate Dahihandi

Dahihandi is a very popular term with Indians - atleast Mumbaikars. For those Indians who do not know about it and foreigners( I am not too sure if any read this blog...) please visit http://www.dahihandi.com/ to get acquainted to it.

I believe you must see a Dahihandi LIVE to be left amazed at how easily human beings can achieve a target with good team work; a task which would seem daunting and impossible if you are alone.For those who haven't seen it LIVE and for my article to make sense further( I know it never does... but I am trying), I suggest you see the video below:

After working in a corporate setup for about 2 years now,I can't help but draw comparison at how closely this Dahihandi resembles the corporate world. The so called corporate ladder.

The corporate ladder has no rungs. Rungs in this case are people. And just like the Dahihandi, the base has to be the anchor.

As in the Dahihandi, its important for you to realize that your very existence there doesn't depend on the people above you but the ones below. So as you move up the ladder, you need to know that if your sub-ordinates are to move in random directions, you will fall flat on your back; never mind the support and affection the people above you have for you.

So a great manager is one who can ensure that his team has his support. For if the ones below him move, it results in two consequences:

1. As in the Dahihandi, he is likely to fall flat. This is just physical damage.

2. Even more dangerous effect; your superiors are going to pour down on you - literally as in the Dahihandi

A colleague of mine writes in a social networking site " I want to get to the top and I will." Very good ambition; I was impressed by the determination and the confidence in the line. And many others I know share this spirit.But seldom do these people realize that there are only two ways of getting to the top where they aspire to be:

1. Your subordinates are good enough to take your place so you can be pushed up to the next level; similar to Dahihandi again

2. Your superiors, the people above you, can pull you up, that is you are good enough and diplomatic enough to be in favor and consideration; again like the Dahihandi

I am sure a high percentage of people who have read till this point in the article are either youngsters who are starting off or some managers who have a team to handle. To all those managers/Team Leads, I just hope that they find this article relevant.

To sum it up" Corporate ladder is not made of rungs but humans, nor matter how much your superiors favour you, if a sub-ordinates move out, you will fall flat on your back and your superiors will literally pour on you."

After having worked with different managers( not all in my reporting hierarchy) in my corporate stint, I have also observed that the managers who are great with their sub-ordinates are likely to climb up this ladder faster than the ones who find it difficult to adjust.

I am normally not bothered as to who read my blog and how many comments I received, but I would enjoy the spirited youngsters and managers/Team Leads( whom I have written about earlier in this article) to share their views on this if possible.

Karna hai kya mujhko, yeh maine kab hai jaana!

"Karna hai kya mujhko, yeh maine kab hai jaana,

lagta hai gaunga zindagi bhar bas yeh gaana"

I know all of you recollect these lines out of a Hindi film in the earlier part of this decade. No, I amn't going to write about Hindi films.But, if you check this video out before reading further if will do two things:

1. Help you relate to what I want to say better.

2. Relieve you of the monotony of reading my irritating blogpost at one go.







What we see here is 11- year old Damon Weaver interviewing President Obama. The guy seems too calm and mature for his age, doesn't he? ( I am not talking about Obama). The good thing I like about the US is that they are willing and supportive of youngsters who want a HEADSTART. If you take all the entrepreneurs in US who have made it big, they were into it quite early. Apple's, Steve Jobs was a millionaire before 24. Bill Gates and Micheal Dell weren't far behind as well. Why is it so when it is widely believed that the talent that runs the show in these companies is predominantly from India.

The typical Indian youngster doesn't discover where he wants to go early... and at any given point in time has a diverse advisory board influencing his young mind with too many ideas.

So, he is bound to sing in his head the first two lines of this article.

All of us want to make it big while we are still in our early twenties. Patience is a virtue which is dying its natural death. In these times what our young guys ( not that I am too old) need to know what exactly they want to become and then single mindedly work towards it. Mr. Weaver seems pretty sure of his interest and I won't be surprised if he is a big name in media 15 years down the line.

In recent years though, I have seen India giving youth ample opportunity early in life and the testimonial to such acceptance comes in the form of Darsheel Safary winning the Best Actor - Critics last year and another teenager Manjeet Singh winning in the same category in this years' Filmfare awards. If you are in India and in the 15-35 age group, you are in the right place at the right time.

Many people I know, including me, used to relate to the first two lines of this article. But, I genuinely believe the in the next decade, there will be a huge percentage of Indian Youth singing:

"Karna hai kya mujhko, yeh maine kabse hai jaana,

isliye gaa raha hoon, apne success ka yeh gaana"

Amazing Quote

J.R.D Tata was an amazing man. I know the line gives you a feeling that I know him personally and I would like to claim that though it isn't true. I happened to read a biography of the great man called "Beyond the Last Blue Mountain". I believe its a must read for all budding managers and prefessionals. There are too many takewayas for you to resist reading.
But what has inspired me is a quote that featured in all leading dailies during his 105th Birthday on the 29th of July. The quotes is as below:
"If I have any merit, it is getting along with individuals, according to their ways and characteristics...At times it involves suppressing yourself. It is painful but necessary... to be a leader you have got to lead human beings with affection"

I am sure if the managers and team leaders of today learn this, the efficiency of their teams would increase manifold.

Wars!

A blog post after almost two months... and a very depressing one at that! Before you close this window as you are likely to do with my other blog posts, I amn't going to write about nuclear bombs and bloodshed.
In school, history teachers taught us all from the Mughal invasion of India by Babar in 1526 to the Britishers coming in and ruling through the 17th and 18th century. The ways of invasion and the style of ruling has changed over the years. The British ruled in the era of Industrialization and the wars fought then were all about sophisticated weapons.
The 21st century is the Age of Information, and as I notice, the next wars will be the ones fought on the web. I have been fortunate to lead web communications for my company, Financial Technologies (India) Ltd,(http://www.ftindia.com/ ) and in the three months since taking up this role, I have realized that today's wars are fought on the web. Blogs, Social networks, Bookmarking, Folksonomies,.... companies resort to all these things to compete.
And if studies are to be believed, the average time spent on the web per week is on the rise and there isnt a better way to capture mindshare than enhance your web presence. So, if Google has captured the mindshare for search, the Bings and the wolframalpha's are trying their best to outclass it. The number of social networking and bookmarking sites are also testimony to the fact that companies seek to be all over the web so the demand for such sites will be there and new ones would keep coming even if you have Linkedin and Facebook and bookmarking majors like Digg and Delicious.
Companies have also come up with innovative ways to have more eyeballs and mindshare on their online presence such as community initiatives. Under the tutelage of my Director - Communications, Mr. Miten Mehta, I have been learning the importance of the same and our community initiatives at Financial Technologies (http://www.ftindia.com/community/) and I am amazed at the interest that it has garnered in the financial community. Barely an year old, but there are companies vying to feature there. I have had people from start-ups, authors, established brokerage houses and banks etc. calling me just to feature in various sections of our community initiatives.
The bottomline is, if my experience in the last three months understanding and learning the web is anything to go by, the web is the future.So all you professionals out there, if you don't know a thing or two about SEO, Offpage optimization,Affiliate programs and so on, its time you put your act together and enhance your web presence else you would be lagging behind in the rat race before even realizing it!
So gear up your arsenel and prepare yourself to fight the virtual wars... for the ones who take a headstart are likely to prevail!

Silver Jubilee

Recently, I got an opportunity to write a few verses to wish a couple on their "Silver Jubilee" of togetherness. Though I couldn't attend the celebration, I did a call of appreciation by the pretty as ever bride of the occasion on the day following the celebrations. As I post this on my blog, I wish them many more moments of joy and years of togetherness.

The river was destined to meet the sea,
Don’t ask me why, it’s just meant to be,
The earth was destined to marry the sky,
You can ask me why, don’t feel so shy.
The sky was the groom, earth the bride,
Rainbow’s the garland, they wore with pride.

Let me tell you about a groom, just like the sky,
Won’t find one like him, even if you are good spy.
Like the summer sky, he’s always clear and bright,
Having him around is an absolute delight.
Always comes to your aid, will solve your plight.
In this big bad world, he is a shining knight.

For a groom like the sky, the matches were dearth,
To fit the bill, there was a bride like the earth,
They married each other and lead to the birth,
Of a truly great couple, and of priceless worth.
Unlike couples to whom, marriage’s like a girth
They have lived a beautiful life, swift and mirth.

Over the past 25 years, they have donned various hats,
And have been fantastic parents, to two innocent brats.
Have been an awe inspiring couple, to all their peers,
No wonder they’ve turned up, with wishes and cheers.
To celebrate a silver jubilee, and years of marital bliss,
We wish you start all over again, with a lovely little kiss.

It happens only in India

With due respect to the constitution and the law of the land, the "Kasab trial" has made our system a laughing stock. I was shocked to see the news yesterday with the line "Not guilty" flashing on my T.V screen. Kasab has claimed "Not guilty" of his act.

I would call this RIDICULOUS if I had to put it kindly. If you need evidence, you have it all, on T.V, on camera, eyewitnesses and after all this, if you give someone an opportunity to plead innocence, there is something seriously wrong.

I think this would happen only in India.

Another instance which led me to believe the title was when Aishwarya Rai had to marry a tree as she is a Manglik. If there is any country in the world where the World's most beautiful women would have had to undergo such a plight, it is India.

This happens only in India.

Show the middle finger.... With Pride!

On 30th April 2009, you could have flaunted your middle finger ... without any apprehensions( This post is applicable only for India... or rather Mumbai). You could show that middle finger with a sense of having done a duty, having fulfilled a constitutional obligation. The virgin voters flaunted their middle fingers with a sense of accomplishment.

But, to all those who din't vote, I guess they need to be shown the middle finger, for they ought to have realized that its once in 5 years that they get an opportunity to do something for the country and they let go of it, just to enjoy a long weekend.

Having said that, please spare the ones who aren't in the country owing to their professional commitments. Let me finish by congratulating celebrities like Priety Zinta and SRK who flew to India just to vote. I hope, the people who chose to celebrate the long weekend over the elections should be ashamed to call themselves SRK fans, if they are.

Office Politics

Once you are done with your college, you will rarely get time for anyone. You will rarely meet your best friends. I am sure we would end up forgetting their faces if not for the Orkuts, Facebooks and Linkedins of the world. (Okay, I know they are called Social networking sites).
If, by any chance, you meet one of them, the very common question asked is " How's work going?" and the most common complaint is "OFFICE POLITICS".
Along the way, the term has been successful in capturing a share of my mind and I have often pondered about it. And, now that I have completed about an year and three months in a very reputed organization, I feel I am good enough to write my point of view on it.
I like to silently observe events happening around me and infer things out of it. I have seen really deserving people not getting where they ought to be and the ones playing their cards right getting to positions they do not deserve to be at all, nor are they capable of being there.
My friends have confirmed the fact that the same is prevelant across organizations, and the story at their end is no different. All these talks had convinced me that to move up the ladder, you need to be like some politically correct people around you, who will ensure that no opportunity to show you in bad light is left ungrabbed. I was convinced that it is these arse lickers (Sorry... but just couldn't find a kind word here) who will move up the ladder... and I believed no matter how hard I work or how well I do, I wont be able to match them.
Another six months into the job and I feel very pleasant. For you can play all the politics in the world and climb up the ladder, but if there is something that can keep you there, its KNOWLEDGE. Without that, you simply can't be there for long. So, if you feel there are undeserving candidates there who are getting ahead, the best thing for you to do is to update yourself, to read and to enhance knowledge rather than to crib and cry about OFFICE POLITICS... because the ones that are better at you in that can be beaten in the game fair and square, if you have the knowledge and if you read a lot, because it leads to ideas, itleads to innovation and if you are to build storeys( this is not a spelling mistake) of success, the foudation ought to be knowledge and not office politics... and if you are gathering the former and are getting better at it, you are bound to get far ahead in the corporate race because the corporate race, after all, is not a 100 metres dash but a full fledged marathon and the ones who get a Headstart with Office Politics will run out of steam even before the half way point.
I want to dedicate this article to some friends of mine because they wanted to find a way out of a problem which is the title of my topic here and the solution they seek, in all likelihood, lies in the body copy.
Though I am not an enlightened one, but to these friends and anyone else who stumbles upon this article, my suggestion would be to remember that ... The corporate Race or Corporate Marathon(whatever you wish to call it)... is a unique one... as the finishing point seems to keep going farther and farther, so If you are running to win, you will be disappointed, rather you should run because you really enjoy doing so and with the so called knowledge boosters, running will become real fun and a very humbling experience.

Laid Off!

The title gives you a pretty clear picture of what I am going to talk about. For all the naughty ones who read this, it is not at all about getting laid.
What I want to talk about is the issue of cutting jobs and laying off people in tough times. I have heard about people who have absolutely meagre salaries being laid off. And, I have also heard of the big wigs who still ensure that they fly business class. Now, if we are cutting costs, why can't the Head Honchos and the decision makers fly economy class. I mean three trpis made by them might be enough to have saved the meagre earning employee (Probably the breadwinner of the family).
What I find even more hard to digest is the fact that when the companies made huge profits, did they share the same with there employees, then why would they burden the already burdened employees with pay cuts and lay offs.
Its all in the game, its a part of the value chain. Any problem, may it be recession or increase in taxes or inflation, the customer at the end of the value chain has and will always bear the brunt. Whom will he pass the burden to? Then, we hear of educated people like siftware engineers taking extreme measures, not just killing themselves but there families.I have three questions for three different sections of the corporate world:

1. To the companies: Will they be sharing the profits with the employees with the same fervour as they did with the job cuts and pay cuts?
2. To the HR/ Recruiters: Will they still seek and look for loyalty when the organizations do not stand by the employees in such tough times?
3. To the Employees: As you are aware, the companies won't be loyal to you and you are as good or as bad as the work you do. "Love your Job but never love your company" said Narayan Murthy. And, he also did something to tackle such problems and not be just a software engineer who would have been laid off. He set up INFOSYS, he moved up the value chain, he gave himself the option of having someone to pass the buck onto, to bear the brunt.With due respect to Mr.Murthy, what I want to say is to BE AN ENTREPRENEUR. Its high time you chuck your middle-class attitude of having a safe and secure job. NO JOB IS SAFE AND SECURE... so the faster you move up the value chain, the better for you.

Anyone who reads this article is bound to believe that I have lost my job.No, I haven't yet...But I have heard of so many such incidents around me happening to friends, acquaintances, etc. that I was enthused to write on this issue.
I would like to hear from each one of you... any HR guys visiting my blog, I would love to hear your point of view as well. To all those who are laid off, pls. drop in a comment and rise from the phoenix... If they do not have a job for you... YOU CREATE ONE FOR YOURSELF... I know its easier said than done but please give it a thought!

Make a Wish ...

The title is misleading. There is an organization by the same name
The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of India(http://www.makeawishindia.org/), which is part of the largest not-for-profit wish granting organization in the world, serving 30 + countries with International affiliates on five continents. But I will be talking about somehthing totally different.

I will talk about a friend of mine who will be getting married soon... and she made a wish... she wanted me to write a poem for her. I truly believe that as good samaritans, we should grant the wishes of two kinds of people, one who is going to Die and one who is getting married...

So, I put together a few rhyming words and managed to write four verses.

Now, whether to call it a poem or not is at the reader's discretion but the person whom I wrote this for believed I should post it somewhere. I chose my own blog because I do not want to be accountable for the time lost by the reader while going through the lines below:
( My friends may try a hand at guessing who the person in question is... The first 5 correct entries will get the previlage of posting gaalis on my blog for taking them through a painstaking experience of reading such ordinary stuff)

The message was loud & clear, was spreading at lightening pace,
My friend rushed to me and said " Man! You gotta see her face".
The lecture has its effect, for I wasn't able to comprehend,
Was he talking about a new classmate, or some latest trend?
"There she is", he pointed, to the corner of the canteen,
He was as hopeful and excited as, an innocent pre-teen.


"I hope she's single", he said, in his hoarse & squeaky voice,
She painted a picture of calm, amidst all the buzz and noise.
Some guys said she's charming, others said she's all poise,
But they all unanimously believed, she is the perfect choice.
"Please forget her", I told my friend, she isn't your ideal date,
"She's beauty with brains" I declared and quickly sealed his fate.


To her acquaintances, the above line may seem to be a rumour,
Just laugh it off, the above line’s said to add some good humour.
I've known her well & been her friend, for about three years,
Along the while, I’ve come to admire, her popularity among peers.
Always a glint of hope in her eye, seems like a shinning pearl,
Seems a tough nut to crack, but she's just a simple girl.

To grab 'er attention, guys tried all tricks, tried acting rather smart,
But all it took was a Robin Hood, to steal her golden heart.
In a few days time, he'll marry her; he will take her far away,
No matter where she goes in our hearts, she's always bound to stay.
As she gets ready to wear the crown, of a nice and homely wife,
I seize this moment to wish her a very prosperous married life.