Oxymoron...Life is!

I have a great idea! A ‘Constant Variable’!

When was the last time we felt bad about our boss (much younger readers to substitute boss with Parents, Boy/girl friend, school/college teacher etc) reprimanding us or telling us something absurd (in our esteemed opinion)? Not very long ago, right?!

We have always been told that our employers are ‘Gods…Bhagwan!’ because they pay us. Many Hindi, Tamil, Telugu (regional) movies have taught us that we need to respect and hold our employer in high esteem. One dialogue that I cannot forget is ‘Jis thali se Khaathe ho, usme chedh nahin karna’…loosely translated to read ‘never make a hole in the plate which you use to eat’…philosophically refers to the employer who gives you money (feeds you your bread and butter)...Don't wound the KING!

So with that premise we started leading a life of ‘Professional ethics’, ever since we started working…makes me feel real good when I talk about ethics…my pet topic. All of us have it but many of us choose wisely when to and when not to display it BUT we are well within our limits of decency even when we are not displaying it. Well, well ‘tis SUBJECTIVE! (pardon me!)

Our work-life revolves around ‘Corporate Culture’, ‘Politically Correct communication’, ‘Brainstorming Meetings’, ‘Controlled Aggression’ and my favorite ‘working with targets or ‘KRA - Key Result Areas’ on which our entire growth depends. (Am I hearing somebody say ‘how stupid’?! I agree with you…the boss plays a major role in developing and reading your KRA at the end of the year…Subjective Objectives!!).

Our life, growth, happiness, marital bliss, neighbors pride/envy, the banks’ survival, the pet’s happiness, friends’ happiness (subjective again…as usual Iam Gender sensitive) etc...in short the entire F...... world!! depends so much on your KRA and achievement.

Sometimes the situation is ‘Pretty Ugly’ at office/life in general, sometimes it could be ‘Seriously Funny’, some ‘Minor Crisis’, some ‘Great Depression’, some ‘Clear Confusion’ some ‘Open Secrets’, some ‘unbiased opinions’ and some ‘Near Misses’. That’s about how our life is generally lived!! Some insecurity, some loyalty, some rebellion, some responsibility and most of all Accountability and Purpose!!

Now for the idea!

Our politician…the entire government lives because we pay tax; the administration is full of ‘Public Servants’, which now makes us the employer. The Government, the Police, the Military, the Water-works, the Municipality, the Electricity Board etc are all surviving on the money we pay in the form of TAX…even the TAX Department lives off our money.
How would it be if we could be a Vice President, Manager, Assistant Manager, General Manager and CXO to prepare, discuss and measure performance of our ‘Servants'' (Iam being politically correct…Iam the PUBLIC) KRA on a monthly basis? How would it be to ‘Corporatize’ the Government functioning for us?! We live that way based on ‘Professional Ethics’ and some amount of insecurity to earn our daily bread and why should we let our employees (read servants) get away with murder and consistency in doing a bad job. They should be rated on the same scale ‘Outstanding achiever, Achiever, Meets Targets, Underperformer and FIRED’. We should strive for Perfection and tolerate only excellence! That about defines democracy for me!

Now, is this ‘Political Accountability’ a ‘Real Fantasy’ or a ‘True Dream’?! Is it like ‘Military Intelligence?!

Is it just an ‘Oxymoron’ that could be used for HUMOR?!

What ‘Sweet Sorrow’!! Let’s ‘Act Naturally’!! What would it take for us to achieve this desired setting?

This brings me to a ‘Rolling Stop’! I got to prepare for my quarterly appraisals and work on my KRA! Iam Accountable!!

Cheers!
Pavan