GET OUT of the way!

The FIFA world cup euphoria is behind us. We move on. For almost a month, “Goal” has been the magic word. “Goal”, Gooooal”, “gooooooaaal” could all be heard.

And then the same “Goal” is heard at work. The excitement of this goal is probably not the same. During a discussion on the goals for the team, a manager might have rarely seen all his team mates jump in the air and punch it.

From the time I have started working, I have always been a keen observer of various teams and their leaders. I have known many effective leaders across age groups handling diverse teams. I have heard them all talk about goals and the importance of strategies to achieve those goals.

So, how different is it from football? Isn’t the same applicable here?

If we draw a parallel of corporate teams with football, where does the team leader play? If we were to look at the larger picture, where does the CEO play, or where does the head of important functions play?

With this question in mind, I decided to gather details of captains who have lifted the football World cup till date.  The list is as below:

Year	Name	Position
1930	José Nasazzi	Defender
1934	Gianpiero Combi	Goalkeeper
1950	Obdulio Varela	Midfield/Defender
1958	Hilderaldo Bellini	Midfield/Defender
1962	Mauro Ramos	Midfield/Defender
1966	Bobby Moore	Defender
1970	Carlos Alberto Torres	Midfield/Defender
1974	Franz Beckenbauer	Midfield/Defender
1978	Daniel Passarella	Midfield/Defender
1982	Dino Zoff	Goalkeeper
1990	Lothar Matthäus	Midfield/Defender
1994	Dunga	Midfield/Defender
1998	Didier Deschamps	Midfield
2002	Cafu	Midfield/Defender
2006	Fabio Cannavaro	Midfield/Defender
2010	Iker Casillas	Goalkeeper
2014	Philipp Lahm	Midfield/Defender

A close look at this and the number of midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers among them contribute to 68% which means 68% of the captains who won the cup were the ones setting the game up.

I believe, therein lies a strong message. A leader/ captain makes the game. He is one who defends the fort and comes in to avoid a crisis situation. A good leader will create his center forwards and empower them to achieve the team’s goals.

This leads me to some more thoughts on football:

Would Argentina be better off with another captain instead of Messi? There is no debating that Messi is among the best if not the best, but the perspective from Midfield/ Defense will always elude him.

It is probably that perspective and the need to identify the goal scorers that creates great captains and leaders.

If we extend this to cricket, the success of MS Dhoni across all formats is evident. It may be due to the fact that he comes in to bat later in the innings and empowers the able team mates to finish the game before he steps in. And if they fail, he can always come in and save the day.

Two apparent lessons then, from the FIFA world cup events to corporate world’s captains and team leaders:

1.       Create the opportunities for the goal scorers and GET OUT of the way!
2.     If the goal scorers are not able to perform (and that is a rare case), step in.

Are you ready to GET OUT of the way? If yes, your team will soon tell you, “It’s a Goooooaaaal”.

The "PARKING LOT" Principle

I had a tough time reaching office this Thursday with two hours and a bit more in a not so comfortable bus. It felt like a bullock cart ride, thanks to the competition between the potholes and the traffic, each trying to outdo the other in delaying the journey.

After the struggle, I managed to walk into the office building and a colleague of mine was parking his car. After the customary “Good morning” and “how are you”, he asked me a question.

He asked, “How do you come to know how much a company pays its employees, how do you judge if they pay as per industry standards?” I thought he was asking me this question because my profile involves web communications and leveraging social media.

I replied promptly that you can go on websites such as www.glassdoor.com , www.payscale.com etc. and check out what is posted there. It will give you a fair idea.

He told me that all you need to do is check the Parking lot of the companies. Depending on the cars parked in the parking lot, you could actually gauge the pay scale and then map it as per the level you are selected for.

 I tried to visualize the parking space of organizations I have been to and tried to apply this. Hence was born the “Parking Lot Principle”.

This excellent learning was enough to recharge my batteries and I was looking forward to doing great work. I believe, sometimes, great ideas, observations etc. at the beginning of the day might help employees put behind hectic travel and other such problems encountered before reaching work and contribute to the fullest. It had that effect on me. It is just such sparks that ignite the interest in work and help individuals put in their best.

If such sparks are provided every day, I believe the results will be overwhelming. I am sure, The “Parking Lot Principle” is surely one such example.  

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.

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!