Want to be a good manager in the corporate world? Sorry, want to move from Good to Great as a manager? Much better question eh? I like that :)
If the answer to one or both of the questions is yes, then you must move on and read. Even if the answer is no, move on and read as this gives you valuable insights that the MBA classes don’t. Just for the heck of it…go on…
Now, I see most of us are ambitious and so the answer would be yes. So let’s begin.
To be a successful manager, good or Good to great, you must learn some lessons in management (self, work, people etc). Iam not a big fan of MBA theory so I’ll use practical examples and you need to drive a car or atleast do some back seat driving to derive the invaluable lessons. The session is called Drive and Derive (lessons)
Lesson 1:
Break all the rules… don’t get caught!
This is easy because just like the work environment our traffic system has rules and regulations but the majority does not follow them. While driving in peak traffic it is never easy to maintain rules because that way you’ll get delayed in reaching the destination. All others are not following rules so how can you? That is the most important lesson, when in Rome do as Romans do. We are running a rat race. Drive more and become an expert at breaking rules and getting ahead, it doesn’t matter if some people get delayed or hurt, that’s the way life is! The key is not to get caught or atleast if caught having the presence of mind to blame someone else and confuse the entire situation. This is a lesson in building personality, building managerial qualities, effective use of resources, maximizing opportunity etc
Lesson 2:
Know your opponent
This is a little tough! You got to know the power the opponent wields to harm you. Once you gauge that, you plan actions and reactions. So when you drive around and face a stressful situation with another guy on the road (read colleague at office) first check his number plate, if it is a fancy number, play it cool and resolve. If the number plate is regular look at the build of the person, if he is small just take the lead and thrash the shit out of that person. Likewise in the corporate world, look at the ID card and build of the person and take action. Some opponents are insignificant and you can thrash them even if it is your mistake, like the motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians etc. Trust you got the lesson. This lesson is in interpersonal skills, understanding corporate fundamentals, assertiveness, achieving success etc
Lesson 3:
Know the key people, Make the right friends
This is easy. When you ram your car into a truck or a bus the damage caused to your car is more, so watch out and be careful when you encounter these heavy vehicles. This in the corporate world is very simple; don’t take on those you cannot put down completely. The damage would be more for you. Befriend them so that you could use them to ram someone (a smaller vehicle). This is a lesson in networking and also in sales (selling your own profile)
Lesson 4:
Know who the favorites are
It does not take the brain of Einstein to figure this out. This one is for the guys: In a stressful encounter on the road if your opponent is a lady, you are never gonna make it buddy! (Sorry about that, it is in good humor. Iam not gender biased and I treat women and men as equals) Irrespective of whose mistake it is, the lady is going to get all the support. So save yourself some stress, take it easy and get going. Avoid any hint of confrontation. For the ladies this lesson is very easy to understand. In the corporate world, there are obvious favorites for the key people, do not confront them or befriend them, both ways it will cause you stress. This lesson is in developing interpersonal skills.
Lesson 5:
Make Noise!
Evidently the easiest lesson! Whether or not people like it, whether or not there is a traffic jam, for no damn reason just blow the horn! Draw attention and then make up a reason for making noise. You will see that mostly the people give way and you get ahead, they may be annoyed though. But do you care? Nah! In the corporate world it is not only enough to be skilled; you got to keep making a noise. Well all of us are by now used to blowing the horn out of habit more than necessity irrespective of the type/brand of car one drives. This lesson is for influencing skills, marketing/promotion of self!
One could be an MBA from IIM/harvard etc, one could be a gold medalist in academics but that don't matter much. You could have donkeys years of experience, you could have great values etc but that don't matter as much either.
These are the 5 important lessons that will help any professional move from good to great. There are many more lessons on Innovation, Professionalism, Performance Management etc…but I think once you start driving you will start deriving these lessons too. We are a smart lot!
Remember, the corporate world and the traffic is very similar.
Lot of vehicles/people, different types/brands, big or small, limited rules/regulations that can be exploited, same destination/goals for many, unpredictability, luck/chances/fortune play a vital role, at times your skills do not matter. So the more you drive (work) the more you derive!
Hey I forgot, you become far more successful if you practice back seat driving where your job is to increase the stress for the driver, blame the driver in case of any problem and at all other times feign ignorance of what is happening around you to give the feeling that the driver is in control. This is what you need to practice if you must reach the top of the corporate ladder. Start with friends if you cannot afford a driver ;)
Good to Great!! God save....oops! Help us!!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Passion or Caution?!
Passion: Any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling!
It is a word that many of us use very frequently, a word we identify with almost every day of our lives, actually every moment. Live life with passion, work with passion etc are sentences we often hear. It is motivating to hear this and inspiring to see some people demonstrate ‘Passion’!
However we do not have a clear definition to this passion, as in every word, it is strongly subjective. A person working with passion is often judged by the result that the work produces. Most of the time it is the very result/reputation that determines the intensity of passion that the person displays… It is the visual of successful (or not) people that tells us something about passion. We take sides; some take inspiration from winners and some from underdogs.
In reality, it is the individual that knows about his/her passion and the biggest threat to that is the attempts to make the world around understand that he/she is passionate. It is here that the actual game starts, the game of life. We set out to prove to the boss, the peer, the friend, the spouse, the child, every acquaintance etc that ‘I Have Passion’. Sit up and take notice!
Now, I have to move on to the topic that is very close to me (us); corporate work culture. I believe Iam passionate and I believe that so is everyone else. But strangely that is not going to get me anywhere (so say a few wise souls).
The expected passion at work is,
1. Working long hours
2. Making the boss look good
3. Being available 24/7
4. Doing what the boss says, the boss is always right - a sure-shot way to grow ;)
I have always had a different opinion and Iam always strongly defending it. I had a discussion about this with one of my colleagues recently and I was trying to understand this particular ‘Corporate Work Management’. My point has always been, if Iam doing all that has been mentioned above, am I demonstrating any passion? If so, what passion do I have for my personal life?
I realized that in today’s world it is not ‘Passion’ it is ‘Caution’.
Don’t do this as the boss may not like it. Here, it is the only way to work. We are culturally very different. Don’t say this, don’t do this, don’t question, try to be sober, try to be in the boss’s good books, be careful of this person, he/she is well connected, don’t this and don’t that. Don’t, don’t and don’t. What a passionate life to lead?!! Wow, Iam thrilled!!
We are exercising only caution now and there is no time for passion. Even if there is it has to be passion with caution, what a joke!!
Scheming, planning and managing for that promotion. Sadly this is leading us to the non-existent world, which we all know is unreal but still believe that it exists, the world of success! I really do not know how to describe success, Excuse me!!!
It is painful to see so much suffering around, so many people whose self esteem is being hurt, so much compromise of self respect, so much drama and so much caution that leaves us with nothing but work on our minds all the time. In the bargain, health is lost, stress in every relationship is very high (in fact people are giving up on relationships and not the elusive world of success), there is no time to love yourself and others, No passion! The passion is dying or is it dead? I don’t know.
I would like to end by quoting what I think one of the soldiers had once said,
Iam the unwilling,
Led by the unqualified,
Doing the unnecessary,
For the ungrateful!
It‘s so full of passion. It is inspiring to think, to scratch the surface!
Iam willing to be the minority!!
It is a word that many of us use very frequently, a word we identify with almost every day of our lives, actually every moment. Live life with passion, work with passion etc are sentences we often hear. It is motivating to hear this and inspiring to see some people demonstrate ‘Passion’!
However we do not have a clear definition to this passion, as in every word, it is strongly subjective. A person working with passion is often judged by the result that the work produces. Most of the time it is the very result/reputation that determines the intensity of passion that the person displays… It is the visual of successful (or not) people that tells us something about passion. We take sides; some take inspiration from winners and some from underdogs.
In reality, it is the individual that knows about his/her passion and the biggest threat to that is the attempts to make the world around understand that he/she is passionate. It is here that the actual game starts, the game of life. We set out to prove to the boss, the peer, the friend, the spouse, the child, every acquaintance etc that ‘I Have Passion’. Sit up and take notice!
Now, I have to move on to the topic that is very close to me (us); corporate work culture. I believe Iam passionate and I believe that so is everyone else. But strangely that is not going to get me anywhere (so say a few wise souls).
The expected passion at work is,
1. Working long hours
2. Making the boss look good
3. Being available 24/7
4. Doing what the boss says, the boss is always right - a sure-shot way to grow ;)
I have always had a different opinion and Iam always strongly defending it. I had a discussion about this with one of my colleagues recently and I was trying to understand this particular ‘Corporate Work Management’. My point has always been, if Iam doing all that has been mentioned above, am I demonstrating any passion? If so, what passion do I have for my personal life?
I realized that in today’s world it is not ‘Passion’ it is ‘Caution’.
Don’t do this as the boss may not like it. Here, it is the only way to work. We are culturally very different. Don’t say this, don’t do this, don’t question, try to be sober, try to be in the boss’s good books, be careful of this person, he/she is well connected, don’t this and don’t that. Don’t, don’t and don’t. What a passionate life to lead?!! Wow, Iam thrilled!!
We are exercising only caution now and there is no time for passion. Even if there is it has to be passion with caution, what a joke!!
Scheming, planning and managing for that promotion. Sadly this is leading us to the non-existent world, which we all know is unreal but still believe that it exists, the world of success! I really do not know how to describe success, Excuse me!!!
It is painful to see so much suffering around, so many people whose self esteem is being hurt, so much compromise of self respect, so much drama and so much caution that leaves us with nothing but work on our minds all the time. In the bargain, health is lost, stress in every relationship is very high (in fact people are giving up on relationships and not the elusive world of success), there is no time to love yourself and others, No passion! The passion is dying or is it dead? I don’t know.
I would like to end by quoting what I think one of the soldiers had once said,
Iam the unwilling,
Led by the unqualified,
Doing the unnecessary,
For the ungrateful!
It‘s so full of passion. It is inspiring to think, to scratch the surface!
Iam willing to be the minority!!
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