An HR article written for a consultancy :))

Do something every day that you don't want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.
Mark Twain

Middle Management Positions that our free market offers are not free enough, neither for the employee nor for the employer. And whatever freedom is available with the CTC, is corrupted due to the boredom that besets organizational work. Yes, our able HR Executives will argue that there are planned a surfeit of “Activities” to keep the employees away from that insidious operator, but nothing is far from reality. Boredom Exists and if we can, someday, calculate the cost of that boredom, it will be formidable at the least.
First, according to psychologists there can be “n” number of reasons for boredom, but I will narrow them down to dwell with in the organizational ambit
Excessive hierarchy- Series of “Approvals and signatures” on a document lead to a protracted process. The intent of such formats is laudable no doubt, but the effect is lack of accountability. That dynamism of “owning up to the task” is lost and mediocrity is fostered.
The Bottleneck- Remember E.Goldratt’s “The Goal”, “If my efficiency is ascertained by the next slowest process, I’d better work at that pace”.
The Job Allocated: If what is to be done is not at par with the capacity of the employee, but above or below her working average, rethink allocation!
How high may I fly: Stagnation. “However hard I work, there is no recognition, leave aside rewards.”
Partiality: This follows us right from the primary school classrooms up to the corporate board-rooms.
Like I said, “n” number of reasons. The underlying malaise for most of these is fortunately (or unfortunately) is lack of empowerment. Employees, the productive ones (there are two types of these, One-who really do the job well, Two-those who want to show that they can do the job well!) need that push that the mother eagle gives to her eaglets so that they venture out in to the skies! In organizational context, this push is Empowerment.

In their book “Blue Ocean Strategy” Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, both professors from INSEAD, discuss how to “CREATE” virgin market spaces, the Blue (unexplored) Oceans away from the Red Oceans of bloody competition. This book deals essentially with marketing. But I find its application almost as much in HR as in Marketing. It was Vineet Nayyar of HCL Technologies, who, for the first time used this term. And believe me, it is a mesmerizing one.

THE BLUE OCEAN EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

He equated a company to a big group of several sub-companies. Each of these subs’s handled by a group of employees. Now each employee is the owner of his sub. The performance of the sub is her performance and vice-versa. This concept is not a virgin one. It has been tried in the Garment industry where it is called a modular system of manufacturing. The only requirement of this system is that the people in the process should be dynamic and Multi skilled. It is the process that makes them such. They own up to collective success or failure, they make better team-workers, they do quality work and the co-ordination amongst the team members is such that occasional absence of one team member does not hamper the productivity of the group.

This is what the 21st century knowledge economy is all about.

Empowerment will not make breakthrough, but it will definitely make a space for it. That is what we have to do, make a space, a void and then fill it!

I seem to be savoring a little pedantry, but let me present an improvisation. The first rule of empowerment is to “value” contributions, any contribution to the organizational goal, to give space to ideas, any idea that is reasonably positive. This works as a message “Your contribution is Valuable, Keep giving”, “Your ideas are helping us think, Pour in!” Everybody likes feeling important. Imagine a birthday with nobody to wish you!

Sam Walton appreciates competition with in the organization, but he clarifies that pitting one against another is not the same as creating factions within. Beware of factions, if you see somebody making them, break them. But they are not so evident, and so the remedy is to be proactive and nip them in the bud. Factions are the No.1 enemy of the organization. They make it fall within! Imagine a family in which children do not love their parents, Fallout is similar for organizations with schisms- You are then empowering schisms.
All of us have subtle preferences, and as long as they are subtle, it’s okay. But if they are evident then they will simply feed gossip! Everybody wants to be the boss’s favorite but the boss should like being Everyone’s favorite i.e. IMPARTIAL BEHAVIOUR.

In Guy Finley’s words,
Everything and everybody that resists correction is part of the problem.

Empowerment speaks when one respects one’s job, value’s oneself as an important link not as a cog in the wheel which can be easily replaced. It speaks when a mistake can be pinned down to one process. Not playing pass!
There will be theories and suggestions galore for posterity and later, but the execution is the main problem! We know it is good, but how to go about doing it. Whose function is it to empower the employees-HR or Top Management! We’d say both! But that is the part of the problem! Something that one OR the other could do, and consequently neither did! But is it a function at all? I object! Empowerment is not anybody’s function. It is a policy. If employees are empowered, it is there in the fabric of the organization. Can appreciation be a function? Can “Impartial Behavior” be a function? These are values, not functions or responsibilities.
“I work with the XYZ concern” OR “I work in the XYZ concern” there is a whale of a difference! Let’s be the first statement!
Have a Good Day!!
-Ettishri B Rajput

Larking About...

Once upon a time in India, was a girl, who from her childhood was endowed with great things. She had marvellous parents, who loved her sister and herself, and most importantly loved each other. She had a very good friend stating nearby, walking back from school together, everyday, playing together everyday, competing as well, snitching and skirmishes, some long squabbles which are too short by worldly standards, they shared. There was one more aspect of her childhood, Her Sister, the most beautiful of ALL sisters in the world. And she herself was the most pugnacious one. She played with neighbourhood boys, and easily dominated them just as One of them. It was difficult for the boys to ignore a girl so WELL-BUILT. Her mother always tried to inculcate a sense of excellence in her, and it really showed, she never had to be goaded to her books. She really cruised and glided. That was her disposition. She wrote the professions of her preference on the house furniture. Her father described her as one of "Sky is the Limit" one's.
God has abided by her all the time and I hope now she can be just as she was, to long back as she sees, footprints are still intact on those sands that never occurred to her so plainly distant and barren as they do today. I hope her journey be a long one, and satisfactory ans that she arrive "not a moment too soon", for the "Work of Creation is never without travail". Amen!!

LOCATE THE SKULL...Holbein the genius of rendering!

This is a spectacular exemplar in rendering. I must show this to my friend Nikki, who will only tell me she already knows it, because she is an artist (Her Majesty deigned to make my portrait on my 24th birthday while Nalini held a torch under my face-due to the power cut-and thanks to them that the portrait came out better than the object.;) ). Have a look at this pic, it is a very celebrated one!! And also locate the skull while viewing it from an Acute angle!! Voila!!

DISCOVERY!

No, it is not that great a discovery like found water on Moon...or in a municipalty tap...!!
Okay, enough of my insensible unadorned wit. But you will bless me for what I have found for you.
One is http://www.onelife.com/; a website dedicated to an age old question about our Culture, questions are enlightening. Haven't read all of it, but will write a feedback as and when I do.
Second in http://bedouina.typepad.com/doves_eye/2008/10/hello-kind-world.html ,It is really moving how this lady writes. Fab!!

Hats Off McQueen!

I Dozed off with McQueen in my hands!!

It was the year 2006. My first year in NIFT, New Delhi (Masters in Fashion Technology-AP). The very honourable and an oracle in matters of spotting fashion trends-Ms. Bani Jha of the FD(Fashion Design Dept) took some of our lectures on Overview Of the Global Fashion Industry. It was from her that I first heard about Lee "Alexander" McQueen. It Definintely did not impress me much at that time, because I wasn't much interested as I understood little due to my own immature portrayal of Apparel Design and overmuch dependence on technicalities, which no matter have tehir own place in the sun but not before Inspiration and Imagination...but what struck a chord was the Man's originality and how he never repeated "Anything" . His level of committment is what I would like to reach to. From Savile Row to Puma Alexander McQueen, he was A Class Apart.

But I was not any good for OGFI lectures (for that matter any lecture after lunch), i usually tried & occupied a far off seat in the lengthy PJ Hall (it is "PJ" ie;Pupul Jaykar so that i do not let you make nerdy guesses :)!!), so that I save myself from being spotted dozing (and there was a fair chance i would be spotted). But I know what I have missed when I dozed with Mcqueen's design appreciation notes in my hands, and Bani Ma'am, was too genteel a women to humiliate me, spoilt a bit, I am,but only to make amends.

Mcqueen was a genius...My tribute to him...I will learn Appreciation Of Design.

P.S. Once I got a bit embarassed by my own sleeping habits and I used to carry a cup of tea to ALL classes after Lunch break(keeping in mind the faculty).

Qusetions MICA

What would happen if all human beings wore the same type of clothes> (same colour and design)?Write at least three benefits and three negative effects of it in the appropriate space in answer

Dear Mr. Question Maker,If everyone here on earth wears clothes with the same colour and design, i will tell you what will happen-
First the Negatives (so that you end up happy :))-
1. I will lose my job, my career, my everything-I am a Fashion Technologist (NIFT will close down and lost in the oblivion...eerie!!).
2. It will be a great difficulty deciding "which colour" and "which design" before this uniformity is forced upon-right from the rocket scientist to out motor mouth media people will be engaged in this "decisive decision making", thus, leaving little time for other more useful things. We will lose a lot of money per day till this issue is sorted out.
3. For believers-God will repent giving us brains!!
God help blind dates-How will "they" "find"each other :
Now the positives-
1. Oppurtunity of a lifetime for burglary and mugging industry-we all will have a benefit of doubt-remember the age old question asked in detective series for scouting out the thief-"Kapde kya pehne the?" No answer to that then.;)
2. About a 100 million dollars saved each day...or what ever is the figure for 'Apparel purchased per day"'. may be this can counter the No.2 negative.
3. A whole dimension of aspirations will disappear. That will definitely mean faded our motivation towards material wealth. Is that a positive, well if we are ready to become saints....
In essence the world will become too "Good" to live in!!
For patrons of equality, let us try out easier areas first, begin with banker's salaries!!

Who am I ?

Hi, I updated and revamped my blog, congratulations you can savour a little colour now that...
Up Above the world so mache, my title is inspired by my Nephew's garbled words. This a classic, my 2 year old nephew, Master Vedu used to sing song Twinkle-Twinkle in this way....he had sth peculiar, he'w garble the whole thing to his worthy liking and speak only that way, like Goji, for a doggi....he made an "O", as if making a flower...But alas, his creativity had to be nipped in the bud, feel bad...he must still be creative, but we must tame him! When we don't have reasons, anything said several times and it will be believed. So that's not a difficult task now, moreover it is outsourced to schools nowadays!!
I just wish one thing, I dont like it when anybody loses herself in the whole mad world, I hate it when I get that wretched feeling that I may lose myself in this whole manouevre! That's me-Chintamani-Ettishri Rajput-Yes that is my real name!!

TodayI talked to mamma bout different swamis and yogis like swami Vivekanand, or Yoganand Paramhansa, why can't we be like them? She said they are divine souls!! Aren't we...no I did not ask that, but still, we can be good at whatever we do! Right...I still have to improve a lot in all areas of life. When that is not the easiest thing to do, it is the only one possible! Why is it so difficult to improve our self???
BIG Question?
First why is it so difficult to admit that we need improvement?

Second, why is it so hard to believe that we can be better?

Third, Why do we love ourselves so much, with so many faults, we excuse ourself, which is undoubtedly important, but never learning to forgive somebody else?

Four, In your mistakes why do I not see myself, In your gain why do I see my loss, in your pleasure why do I see my pain?? (In me don't you see yourself?)

Five, why do I blame others, There is good story here! A man, paralysed, lying on his deathbed spoke to his wife thus,"you were there with me when I was fired from my job, when my mortgaged home could not be salvaged, when that happless accident mutilated my right arm, when my business could not seem to work and at the end was foreclosed, you were there all through! Now I realise you only brought me Bad luck!"

Why do I never seem to be able to get hold of myself, the self-elusive self?

And when I do, why is it so difficult to follow through with myself, with somebody else it is always easy?
Why why why the heck!
Because, probably I feel that I am already so good...smetimes I feel If all of us would some how had been made ina way that we would be able to see our own face in all else's...there wouldn't be much of the chaos that dwells here! as Gulzar says "chalo hum sab aayine pehne".

Probably, I do know about my ineffeiciencies and i successfully hide them under the drapes of Maya, saying "Ok am bad...is he/she any better"!
Here Iam okay you're okay helped me- It says "Blaming your faults on your nature doesn't change the natre of your faults"
We want to "reform"our spouse, our kid, some co-worker, but who is eluding us...not the world, neither its realities....we always elude ourselves. This "I", who keeps eluding me, is a fucking coward, it never likes being brought to justice but I am a diehard litigator...atleast for others , then who is this "Me"who does not like what I seemingly like, who wins when i lose, who is the part of the problem that resists correction? WHO AFTER ALL IS THIS ME?