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.