Enigma Solution

 "I have a problem", that is how many people often approach colleagues and bosses. We humans are fascinated by the problems of others because our basic instincts to both protect ourselves and see if we can benefit from 'the problem'. So we inevitably ask 'What is the problem?' Socially and politically asking more about the problem may not be a bad thing, but for a boss or colleague it can be very bad. Let me explain. 'What is the problem?' is an open ended question. As a result the pace, content, length and duration of the conversation is decided by the complainer, i.e. the person with the perceived 'problem'. If unchecked the complainer will rarely be brief. He or she will come to the point only after a lot of moaning and groaning, consuming a rather significant amount of the listeners patience, energy and time.  This is exactly what the complainer seeks to achieve by their droning on. To get us to accept, that there is a problem and since we ...

Work never ends, especially if you are looking for it. There is always something new to be planned, and executed, or something that needs to be attended to. Such people who are obsessed with work are known as workaholics. If one is focussed, result oriented and fortunate, success is bound to come. The danger is workaholics become magnets for more work and challenges, especially if one commands  necessary resources and authority. The danger for workaholics is that they grown distant from family, friends, and even they themselves. When one is young, one possesses boundless energy and enthusiasm and one can cope with this pleasing burden. However with passage, of time one can easily get overwhelmed, as I was. To cope, workaholics recruit more people into the team. Instead of productivity and output improving, it actually decreases. This is because new recruits learn quickly that 'upward delegation' can free them from much work and responsibility. This is not on...

                                    I f you go to a restaurant, there is almost always a waiter to serve you. The reason the person is called a waiter is he or she waits on you. The waiter's job is to wait. To not only wait but also watch and respond to the guest seeking information or some service.  No one likes to be summoned by the snapping of fingers, talked down in a demeaning manner or to clean up an unnecessary mess. The waiter's job is challenging especially when demands of guests are unreasonable. While waiting is common in restaurants, what do we say when this happens in organisations? It is quite common for even highly qualified and senior people having to wait on their bosses and political masters. Many bosses and even heads of families like to hold a grand audience with several people waiting on them. This makes them feel important while making people around t...

I t was the year of 1992 and I one of the proud owners of our family's rather large  manufacturing business. The head of engineering Mr. Pange and I had just reviewed his very attractive proposal to save our company a great deal of money and also improve quality significantly. I gazed at this soft spoken man with amazement and respect and asked Mr.Pange,   "we are lucky to have you on our team. I am sure  you must have saved your previous employer a lot of money and problems?"  He replied "Not a single rupee,Sir" "Why?" I asked incredulously. He said, "I presented my boss with an fantastic proposal which would have done wonders for the organisation, but he refused to even listen. It was the first and last time I made a suggestion until I joined you." His boss insultingly dismissed him saying, " If I want your opinion, I will give it to you. Now get back to work"

R ecession or boom time, employers, organisations and leaders always echo one sentiment, 'We can't get good people these days'. Good, means different things to different people. Unfortunately most leaders and employers rarely know what they themselves want. It is safe to say that employers want subservient employees who will do as told, deliver miraculous results and never give a dissenting opinion. Employers expect employees to never complain, be productive, always deliver high quality with a smile.  Typically bosses and colleagues only demand saying 'Give me, give me, …….  Give me this and give me that'. Everyone wants but no one wants to give. People resent this unilateral approach preferring rather the relationship to be bilateral. They would be delighted to hear from employers and colleagues, 'I want to do this for you and I want to give you this'. * Image by Ben Heine As social creatures most human endeavour requires ...

An interesting reaction to my writing, is that people begin to ask for advice. Though this is flattering it can be a bit dangerous both for me and the person seeking my advice. I wish they would realize that, all I have to share with most of them is only my confusion. Pradeep recently wrote to me, that he felt he was a zombie without a meaningful life. He worked for a very big and famous multinational organization. He was paid very well and had a lot of perks and facilities provided to him. He felt trapped in a line up of demanding and aggressive bosses, exhausted subordinates and impossible targets. Like most of his colleagues, even 12 hour work days and six days a week of slogging were insufficient to meet the workload demanded from them. He felt he was unable to satisfy his bosses because of lack of competence and ability. Constant battering by his bosses and unhappiness at home had eroded his confidence. He wanted my advise on ways and means to boost his confidence. I tol...

It was in 1502 that the egoistic mayor of Florence (Italy) Piero Soderini was under great pressure. He had appointed a novice to work on a giant piece of beautiful marble to make a sculpture under his guidance. Typical of many bosses Soderini had overestimated his own capabilities and by drilling a big hole in the middle of the block of marble Soderini and the novice had ruined it. Soderini had to find a solution, and  finally commissioned Michelangelo to do a sculpture . Michelangelo agreed and using the available shape decided to sculpt a young David with a sling in his hand. A few weeks later as the statue was finished, Soderini came to see the sculpture for himself. Soderini was pleased with what he saw. However like many patrons and bosses Soderini had to impose his ideas and have the last word. Soderini instructed Michelangelo to change the shape of the nose because it was too big. Michelangelo grasped the situation immediately realising th...

Does this situation sound familiar? You are on leave or on an assignment which takes you away from your workplace for a few days, only to discover upon your return, that all hell has broken loose. A customer, vendor or a key member of your team was tackled inappropriately or that substandard product or deficient service was delivered to a customer and finally some kind of financial irregularity has taken place. No amount of screaming or wringing of hands can undo the incident or the damage of actions arising out of those inappropriate actions. A well managed organisation would have a system with checks and balance that would prevent the likelihood of such mishaps. In most organisation at best you can go in for damage control to minimise the negative impact of poor decisions or improper actions. It is unavoidable that people do leave their work positions for personal or professional reasons. The absence may be of a temporary or even permanent nature. The question arises; How best to man...

Sincere, competent and reliable and conscientious, Derek D'souza was a good production manager.  One day Derek's boss the works manager opted to take up a job overseas. With a salary hike we promoted Derek our no 2 man to look after all manufacturing. Technically capable the indefatigable and sincere, Mr. D'souza took to his new role like a duck takes to water.  Derek faced many problems in discharging his new responsibilities well. Our organisation's performance on productivity and quality as did the morale of the team remained a concern. Six months after his promotion, a frazzled looking Derek came to see me. After the usual courtesies he placed an envelope in front of me. With apprehension I read the contents of the letter inside. Derek was resigning and wished to be relieved from his job at the earliest. To say I was shocked would be an understatement.   He said he could not handle the pressure.  What? Why? I threw many questions at Derek. I exper...