The Cup is Half-Full

I was talking to this 9 year old who had asked me to do something. I told her that there is a 99% chance of it not happening. Her reply to me was,"That means there is a 1% chance that it will happen".  And guess what, it did happen.  I loved the enthusiasm and the optimism of the youngster.  Hoped, this enthusiasm and such a positive attitude was there with all of us.

A visiting foreigner once asked me as to why there is almost one festival every month in India.  I asked her as to what happens in her country during the month of December when Christmas is celebrated. She said that there is lot of joy, a feeling of giving, lot of shopping, lot of visiting relatives..and generally, a lot of love and fun in the air.  I asked her what if there is a Christmas every month?  She said that would be the best thing to happen in her country. I told her that is why there is something to celebrate every month in India. It keeps the cheer and the feeling of giving, love and sharing throughout the year.  The atmosphere is charged with a positive attitude.

Our ancestors were amazing at ensuring that the positive attitude remained throughout the year and they came up with different reasons to celebrate.  Most of the time, we are caught up in the day to day chores that we forget to celebrate our successes.  We forget to see the positives in the messages that we receive in this universe. 

I was flipping between various news channels the other day and saw only depressing news coming through.. an accident here, floods there, miners trapped, someone murdered, etc...it is not Sri Lanka that won the cricket match..but, it is India that lost the match which makes news value...I am sure that for every such sad news that we have, we also generate enough happy news.  We just don't seem to share such happy news.

In the corporate world too, we see that the senior management is always grumpy and under pressure.  Have we ever wondered why?  Day in and day out they are getting only bad news - what we call "escalations".  If someone is just feeding you with bad news happening in the company through the day, how do you expect your mood to be?  Despite all this bad news, the company would have grown 20% during the year.  So, I keep wondering as to why only bad news should reach the top management? It is good to get the bad news out there on top so that quick decisions can flow through to rectify the situation.  But, it is also worth the while to sandwich this bad news with good ones too. That will create an atmosphere that is positive to work in while resolving issues.

Let us look at this universe in the way that the creator wanted it to be...balanced, peaceful, happy!!!  If each of us decides to share one piece of happy news every day with at least one other person, this world will be a better place to live in.

How Lucky Are You?

Given all the spare time, I have been watching few movies of late.  Most of these movies talk of money and how it is a bane on our society.  Some have too much of violence.  A lot talk on love but not too sure what these directors are trying to convey.  I believe that life should be a mix of both ups and downs, the so called "good" and "bad", the happiness and the not so happy moments.  Unless the mix is there, we do not appreciate the concept called "luck".

This term "luck" is very elusive.  You ask anyone on the streets as to how lucky he/she is and the answer you get is usually "not very".  When you ask them why, the reply is how something did not go very well that day or the previous day.

I believe that I am very lucky.  When I see someone who does not have a limb, I am grateful that I have all limbs and all of them working fine.  Do they creak because of age...yes, of course...but then, that is wear and tear. Atleast they are working.  When I see the beggar on the street, I am grateful that my parents gave me a better standard of living and afforded my education cost.  When I hear people say their relationships are not working, I am grateful that there are people around me who love me (the 4 corners of my life).  When I hear that people take an hour or so to fall asleep after going to bed, I am grateful that it is few seconds for me.

To me, luck is all about good health, happiness, peace of mind, loving and being loved, being able to eat well and enjoying it and above all, able to sleep peacefully.  We notice that money does not figure in this list. Does it mean, money is not needed...of course not. We do need the money. But as someone said, if you have enough money, it will take care of you. If you have too much, you will need to take care of it.

Most of the time, luck is in your mind.  How lucky you deem you are is a state of mind and is not the size of your bank balance or house or car.  I remember I was struggling during my first climb of Sabarimala.  I was talking to my friend and climing the hill and at one point just stopped.  I was very tired and thought of stopping.  As I talked to my friend, I turned around and saw many people following us up the hill. Two people caught my attention. One was a young man without legs. He was propelling his body up the hill with his two thin hands.  The other was an eighty year old lady walking up hill with the help of a stick.  If they believed that they could do it, it would be an absolute shame if I stopped.  The climbing of that steep hill was more in the mind than in the body.  I got to the top of the hill in less than an hour!!!

So, if you are thinking of how not very lucky you are, please do reflect on the millions who are worse off than you...reflect on all of the above.  Remember, luck is in your mind!!!

Inclusive Growth

I have decided to give the motivation topic a bit of a rest and will come back to it after sometime.  Today, I thought I will write on my favourite topic - Inclusive Growth.  I wrote an article on the office intranet few weeks ago on Inclusive Growth and thought I will re-produce that here with few changes.

I was recently sent a mail that discussed how luxury apartments are coming back to demand. The story talked of a sky walk with cobbled pathways lined with trees, above the 19th floor, where apartment owners could do their walking/jogging. I was struck by what people could do to feel “happier” or “more secure”. I asked myself if I would trade an opportunity to help a poor child’s education with a chance to jog on one of those skywalks. The answer was a definitive no.

India grows at over 7% every year but this growth is not at the same pace across all sectors and does not therefore, include all parts of our society. So, we end up with two ‘Indias’ with stark differences – one that is really affluent and can afford these skywalks and one that can barely scrape through with one meal in a day.

For growth to be healthy, we need to understand the pace of growth across all sectors and ensure that it reaches out to all parts of the society. Since we have not done that it has impacted us significantly. So, what this inequitable growth does is to skew various aspects of the society – salaries across industries, education system and the courses that children opt for (eg. more people doing computer engineering or a degree in accounting), eating patterns, inflationary pressures that are different in cities and villages, cropping patterns, disease patterns and you name it…almost everything. One of the key reasons for increasing naxalism is precisely this difference in economic conditions across the country.

What can we do?

We need to break the poverty cycle and each one of us can do this in our own small way. We can improve the chances of someone getting a job by providing them with a level of education they would not have otherwise got. If we do that, we give these people and their families a livelihood and a method of sustenance. We need to look at options of giving jobs at villages and smaller towns so that they need not migrate to large cities. I am sure each one of us thinks about this when we hear our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talk of “inclusive growth” and when he says that this is the only way forward for us as a country. Each of us must also look at breaking this poverty cycle in our own way, because the aim is to have an India with no stark differences in living standards.

In one on my earlier jobs, I started a program to employ staff from 3rd and 4th tier schools.  People whose family income did not exceed Rs.3000 a month in 2004.  It was a huge success.  What made me realise the real impact was when I got a mail from one of these staffers 4 years later. He wrote (and I quote), "Sir, I am not sure if you remember me.  I was one of the people you employed 4 years ago in the first batch of contract staff.  Today, my sister's son goes to a better school than the one I did." (end quote).  This email of his made my day!!!

Motivating People - Setting Expectations

The ability to work with ambiguity is something that all of us have to pick up.  Especially in the BPO/KPO/ ITO industry in India.  We are so used to clear, rules based work that anything ambiguous just foxes us.  We just do not experiment around to figure things out.  This is because our focus on process has just dumbed us down.

People struggle to different extents depending on how ambiguous the work is.  This is why, as leaders, it is very important to set clear expectations of the role.  What has worked for me over the years has been setting expectations clearly so that I know what I want of my team and my team knows what my expectations are. They, in turn, sit with their teams and then come back to me to re-negotiate expectations if they seem not achievable.  This goes on till we come to meet on common grounds.  However, this time is well spent as there is no point in jumping in to a car and driving if we do not know where we are headed to.

However, expectations and the role itself will not be clear all the times.  As we go higher up the ladder, it becomes that much more fuzzy.  So, we need to adapt ourselves to handle this ambiguity of not knowing what is expected of the role.  This is where leadership comes in.  We need to define the role and figure out what could be the expectations of the role from stakeholders and then gain acceptance from stakeholders on what they could expect from you in the role.

I have worked in many situations where nothing was defined and I just needed to get in, work things out for myself and set a path.  While treading the path, you will make mistakes (like taking a wrong turning on the road).  But then, you just need to recognize that, retrace your steps and take the right route again.  When I started setting up a global back office for a company and wanted to introduce a Business Controls function, I was told that it already exists in Risk.  I had already hired 3 people for the function.  I quickly redeployed two of them while the third left the company.  I took course correction to disband the function even though I knew that it was essential.  After 4 years, the company established the same function under a different name.  Someone got this and asked me as to why this function could not have been created 4 years ago when I had suggested it.  I just told him that I had been a bit too early for the company to accept this. 

While expectations can be clear, ambiguity and maturity of the organization can hamper progress.  So, you need to also understand and time the organization well.  Otherwise, you will be like me, having to disband a newly created team!!!

Summarising my three days of writing on this subject...be a human being, recognize that the teams you are leading are also human beings and need to be respected. Communicate honestly and clearly. Set clear expectations but understand the organization well and time your moves carefully.

I hope this is helpful...I can see that the number of visits to this blog has increased but the number of comments has started coming down...not sure if this topic is boring or I am getting boring with this topic...guys, please send in your comments...it will help me refine my thoughts.

Motivating People - Communication

In my first note on Motivating People, I wrote on what it is to be a human being first and then a colleague/ manager/leader.  Today, I will focus on communication.  I believe that communication is not a means but a strategic weapon.  Personally, I have used this effectively to reach out to people at all levels within the organization.  Communication should be honest, open, transparent, consistent, timely and brief.  It should be followed through with actions that are committed as these follow through actions are the only way to build trust within large teams.  In my current organization I have a team of 4800 people and this is across 6 levels.  If you really need to reach across the various levels and to so many people and be able to convey the same context, you need to do so through different channels.  I reached out using the following channels:

a) Emails addressed to all staff;

b) All staff townhalls - here I would speak to a group of 200 and above and answer questions as well;

c) A mail box that any one could write to with their thoughts/concerns/appreciation/suggestions and only I had access to that mail box.  I would reply within 24 hours.  I would follow through with actions and go back to the person who wrote to me once the actions were completed.  Everyone knew through my actions that these mails were kept confidential;

d) Intranet;

e) Skip level meetings - I would spend 2 hours every day meeting people at different levels to hear first hand from them on their issues, suggestions and thoughts;

f) Forwarding data and information to all my direct reports;

g) One to one meetings with all my direct reports;

h) Weekly, Fortnightly and Monthly meetings with my direct reports, stakeholders, managers, etc.

In my opinion, there is nothing called over communication.  We need to communicate up the chain, down the chain and laterally.  Further, our communication channels need to be carefully thought through.   We also need to time out communications well so that we do not confuse staff.

Personally, what worked best for me were the email box (I had branded this as well) and the skip level meetings. These really got me closer to my staff at all levels.  They knew I was approachable and that they could come to me with any problem.  They also knew that they would get a response in 24 hours and a quick solution. 

At my immediate direct report level, the one to one meetings worked best for me. What also my direct reports liked were the information mails I sent on the economy, on what is happening around the company, on business and management related topics, etc.

If you want people to be motivated and to see you as a leader, then be visible and also communicate effectively.  Your staff cannot figure out what is going through your mind unless you state it.  You cannot make out what is going through their heads unless you make an effort to find out and provide enough channels to them to reach out to you.  Keep it plain, simple and honest.  This has always worked for me.

I will sign off with the oft repeated adage - "If you want to be an effective leader, then, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate"

Motivating People

One of my friends called me the other day and spoke on my blog. He told me to write a series of articles on how to motivate people at work.  I have been struggling with this all through my life but thought that I will dedicate my next few postings to this topic.  Different people get motivated by different things at work.  Some want a good role, some want learning, some want money, some want convenient timings, some want lots of work, some want a living....and the list goes on and on.  It is very difficult to pinpoint any one particular motivator because each one of us could need a combination of some of the above.

Over the years, I have worked with so many people.  I believe that all human beings (whichever generation, whichever culture, whichever country they belong to) have four things in common: the need to belong – they need to be clear that they belong to an organization and a team; the need to be treated with respect; the need to understand the purpose of their job and their role; the need to be recognized and appreciated. If I am able to touch them positively on these four aspects, I will be accepted by them as their leader.

So, my learning has been that the first step to motivate people you work with is to show them that you are a human being first and then their manager/leader/colleague.  That you respect each one as a human being and not as what most organizations call them "human resources"....personally, I prefer the term "people capital" to "human resources".  The question then arises as to what should we do to be seen as a human being. This is so complex and yet so easy.  Just be honest and be yourself every time.  This is simple but very difficult to be.  Our complex corporate setting makes it so difficult to be honest and yourself.  You have to show that though you are a leader, you will make as many mistakes as anyone else.  That you are a flawed human being with all the vulnerabilities. If you show you are vulnerable, people appreciate that more than seeing you as "Fort Knox".

What has worked for me is being honest with my teams, communicating openly and through various channels and showing that I am a flawed human being.  While talking to staff, I give examples of the mistakes that I have done in life and that makes it easy for them understand that I have come up in life only after learning from so many mistakes.

It is also important to remember that you need to make your people feel that they are being treated as human beings.  I always believe in this saying: ‘They may not remember the words you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

More to come on this topic guys...happy reading and, as usual, send in those comments!!!

Where is that smile?

This technology beats me...I tried figuring out how many people read my first attempt at blogging but could not.  I saw 3 comments and 3 followers.  I am happy that someone other than me is actually reading what I write.  So, I have decided to continue writing and today I want to write on that quickly vanishing commodity called " the smile".

There is an old adage that says we strain 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. So, it is better to smile than to frown. While I am thrilled with this, the known fact as of now is that it takes 12 muscles to smile and 11 to frown. So, the odds are stacked against smiling.

When I glance at the news paper or view the news channels every day, all that we get to read or see only depresses me. Not sure why only murder, rape, vandalism, extremist activity, corruption, etc. make news value? When we talk to friends, I notice that most of them have only office problems to discuss or just say something not so complimentary about others. 

So, I decided to change channels and started watching the Pogo Channel, a channel for kids.  This is an amazing channel and, I believe, that kids have got it right. They prefer to have fun in their lives.  I watched a program called "Takeshi's Castle".  It was hilarious.  Not only did I have an amazing laugh that lightened my heart but also learnt quite a bit from the program.

Takeshi's Castle is all about people trying out different activities that are absolutely bizarre and trying to succeed in completing those activities.  I have learnt quite a bit from this program. The first is that we can make absolute fools of ourselves in front of the camera and have a blast at it.  That we should keep trying hard and many times over till we succeed (you must have read the story of the Spider and King Robert Bruce).  That we should come up with new and innovative things to do (there are so many activities and games that are done in this program).  And finally, at the end of the day, we must have had a whole load of fun.

In our daily lives, with all the struggles of lousy traffic, depressing news, squabbles and the tensions that we have created for ourselves, we forget to use a commodity that is within each of us. A commodity that we can dish out anytime, anywhere but we choose to ignore.  A commodity that if we dish out, gets dished back to us in equal measure or probably more. A commodity that really lightens our hearts and keeps our souls intact...OUR SMILE !!!

Four Corners

It is Friday the 13th August and I am trying my hand at blogging for the first time. Why is my blog called Four Corners?  I live with my wife, 2 daughters and my mom...they are the four pillars of my world and, of course, the 4 corners along which I get kicked around!!!  The fun is I grew up in a family that did not have daughters..only brothers and guess what - 4 of us!!!  Since most of my life is going around these 4 pillars, I decided to call this blog Four Corners.

I am in one of my best phases in life...changing jobs and am on long leave (2 months) before I move to my next role. Since I have the whole day to me, thought I will start blogging.  I head up a back office in Bangalore, India and manage a team of 4800. My new job will get me to manage a larger team.  What I like best about this job is that I have the opportunity to meet so many people daily.  I learn from each interraction and hope that I have had a positive impact on every person I meet. I hope to write on many such interractions and what I have learnt from these.

I wrote an article on Sweating the Small Stuff few weeks back on my organization's intranet...read it and if you think it makes sense, why dont you write out to me?

Sweating the small stuff

The other day, I overheard my wife telling our daughter to tidy up her room. In true adolescent spirit, my daughter responded: “Don’t sweat the small stuff, Ma!”

For a minute I smiled at the retort. But on second thoughts, I disagreed. It’s the little things that truly matter. I believe that one needs to focus and invest on the small things as well, because that’s what contributes to and sometimes makes a critical difference to the ‘bigger picture’.

I recently ordered a birthday cake for a friend and the baker messed up the name on the cake. All because he had not paid attention to my request! Small thing he would say, but it made the difference between being able to present it to my friend on a happy note or feeling bad that the moment was lost all because of a ‘small thing’.

What makes successful organisations? One of the main factors of success is attention to detail. Successful businesses consistently do all the boring, fundamental, necessary and unexciting little things over and over again. Most of us, including me, spend an enormous amount of time and effort worrying about trivial instances in our daily lives. So my daughter’s words really hit home and I mused over how she would also learn the lesson someday. Spend time on the small stuff, at the same time don’t lose focus on the bigger picture.

In large organizations, we need to sweat over all types of issues – ranging from small to large. When it comes to handling people issues, we must sweat the small stuff. As a leader, I have always found that a high-touch approach is absolutely necessary to find out what’s on people’s as well as our minds. This is why I push so hard on skip level meetings with teams and communication channels for our people. Issues may seem small at times, but it may just be that one thorn in the bush! So you must strive to get it out of the way before it causes a major mishap…That's sweating the small stuff!