Vasudeo is my father’s name. In a normal middle class Indian family of 70’s and 80’s me and my siblings grew up enjoying the freedom of calling him by first name within the four walls of our house. While we enjoy his friendship - his status for us is nothing less than that of a god…. This in fact is a first lesson… you need not follow any rituals to get your natural respect….. He being a man of few words, I learnt innumerable lessons through his simple actions…though the meaning of many I was to understand much later…..these are the few moments that have always stayed with me …..management lessons learnt from Vasudeo
My brother and me had got the news that my father would be given a car by his office. This was late 80s / early 90s and cars had still to become commodities. We already had a car and with the struggle that we had seen both our parents go through, second car in the house was a luxury. The reason for our excitement was different though – both of us were in college and if father has his own car – we would have one car to share between us – we already had marked the days of the week for the ownership of a car.
During these times, once I walked into my father’s office as I was loafing around that area. He used to head Legal & Personnel (there was no HR there). It was after office hours and he was writing some notes (yes there were offices without a computer on the table!). “So, when is our new car coming?” – my father looked at me and handed me over the note that he had just written for his next meetings with the directors – “Whats this?” “Read on” I read the note and his recommendation on the car policy and was shocked – “Are you alright?? You are recommending no car policy is necessary. Is this some kind of your idea of being a hero?” I was extremely upset as it meant for me and my brother to continue our fights on the time-share for our two-wheeler! “Just cool down – I don’t need to do these gimmicks to be a hero. Read the second page”. I read the second page which had some crap about the facts and figures and some analysis which supported his recommendation. “By the way I had written the second page first” – I had a suspicion that he was actually enjoying the conversation! I was in no mood to be logical. “You keep saying that you want to do an MBA in HR – please remember that job means that you are a trustee to the organization and some of the policies that you sign will also impact you adversely. If you are not ready for that – don’t bother” He got up to leave – I knew the meeting was over!
I will be dishonest if I say that I was enlightened and impressed with his thought process. On the contrary I was very upset and did not bother to speak much to him on the way back home. He was calm as usual and perhaps little relieved that I was not in my natural belligerent mood!
Over the years as I started working in the same profession I realized time and again the value of his words. There are many a times when there is conflict of interest when it comes to some policies – you may not be exactly at an advantage yourself due to some policies that you are custodian for. Well, that’s the interesting piece of my profession and as the years passed by, I understood what my father told me that evening little better!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Our own little corruption
One of the best phases of life is when you have girlfriend, pocket-money, a two-wheeler and no responsibilities. Roaming around the streets on a two-wheeler with your girlfriend sitting behind, you tend to think that you can do no wrong. Thankfully I had this phase for about four years in my life where the main agenda of the day for Pallavi and me used to be to roam around the streets of Mumbai on Kinetic Honda. We used to have roughly around a pool of 30-40 rupees between us (early nineties with petrol costing just 6 rupees it used to be a tidy sum).
One such day on a Sunday morning - traffic was easy and we were going past Dadar (can be called a center of the city). A traffic cop caught me jumping the signal. First thought in my mind was economic situation. Sunday used to be a day when both of us used to go to South Mumbai for a movie (an ultimate class act given our general economic condition!). If the traffic cop had charged me the regular penalty for jumping the signal, Sunday was gone! At the age of 22, this is equivalent to losing a million dollars!........... I parked my kinetic honda, asked Pallavi to be there and went on to negotiate with the cop ….. Finally we settled for Rs 10 (If I remember right the fine was Rs 20 then). The traffic cop pocketed the money and went away …… Sunday was saved ….. On the way back home I proudly told Pallavi about how I saved the Sunday …. As she got down at her place she told me, “Your value system is saleable for 10 rupees, so next time I don’t want you to tom-tom about your value system and integrity” I was furious and we argued about the how she lacks maturity and does not understand the value of money (after all I was three years older than her!) “Anyway, right now you are capable of only 10 rupees corruption …. Who knows what you would do when you are capable of more?” and she walked away ….. Her sense of timing in terms of walking away from arguments in style has remained intact all these years! I was so furious that I reached from Worli to Vile Parle in less than 20 minutes (usually a distance of 30 minutes those days) ………… I couldn’t think of anything else the whole night ……
next day when we met, both of us had calmed down
“Perhaps I was little harsh yesterday but I get bugged with any form of corruption but I guess I stretched a little too far” ….
“No you were right. I agree with your last statement about my ability limited to only 10 rupees now. If just for having a Sunday my way, I could do this, god knows what I would do in future”…
“Don’t be a fool, I really did not mean it that bad!”….
“No you were right and be that way so that I can reserve my rights to tom-tom about my integrity and values in front of you whether I achieve anything in life or not!” and we both had a hearty laugh…..
This happened about 18/19 years back ….. till date, I have not bribed anyone in any form though life has seen some tough moments …. If a cop catches me I apologize, plead guilty and pay the fine if he demands so!
One such day on a Sunday morning - traffic was easy and we were going past Dadar (can be called a center of the city). A traffic cop caught me jumping the signal. First thought in my mind was economic situation. Sunday used to be a day when both of us used to go to South Mumbai for a movie (an ultimate class act given our general economic condition!). If the traffic cop had charged me the regular penalty for jumping the signal, Sunday was gone! At the age of 22, this is equivalent to losing a million dollars!........... I parked my kinetic honda, asked Pallavi to be there and went on to negotiate with the cop ….. Finally we settled for Rs 10 (If I remember right the fine was Rs 20 then). The traffic cop pocketed the money and went away …… Sunday was saved ….. On the way back home I proudly told Pallavi about how I saved the Sunday …. As she got down at her place she told me, “Your value system is saleable for 10 rupees, so next time I don’t want you to tom-tom about your value system and integrity” I was furious and we argued about the how she lacks maturity and does not understand the value of money (after all I was three years older than her!) “Anyway, right now you are capable of only 10 rupees corruption …. Who knows what you would do when you are capable of more?” and she walked away ….. Her sense of timing in terms of walking away from arguments in style has remained intact all these years! I was so furious that I reached from Worli to Vile Parle in less than 20 minutes (usually a distance of 30 minutes those days) ………… I couldn’t think of anything else the whole night ……
next day when we met, both of us had calmed down
“Perhaps I was little harsh yesterday but I get bugged with any form of corruption but I guess I stretched a little too far” ….
“No you were right. I agree with your last statement about my ability limited to only 10 rupees now. If just for having a Sunday my way, I could do this, god knows what I would do in future”…
“Don’t be a fool, I really did not mean it that bad!”….
“No you were right and be that way so that I can reserve my rights to tom-tom about my integrity and values in front of you whether I achieve anything in life or not!” and we both had a hearty laugh…..
This happened about 18/19 years back ….. till date, I have not bribed anyone in any form though life has seen some tough moments …. If a cop catches me I apologize, plead guilty and pay the fine if he demands so!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
A bowl of rice
I was reading a story to my son and realized that I was reading this story after years. It is an interesting story which I am sure you would have read and when I read it after gap of decades, it struck me hard.
The story is about Kubera – the lord of wealth and family of gods – Shiva, Parvati and their son Ganesha. One fine day Kubera decided to show off his wealth to Shiva and Parvati. So, he invited them for lunch. The almighty Shiva exactly knew why he was invited and refused politely – “Why don’t you take little Ganesha instead – he really relishes good food!”. Little disappointed Kubera agreed. Riding on his golden chariot along with Ganesha, Kubera thought ‘Hmmmm…. Actually it is good that little Ganesha is coming over. Being a child, he will get impressed even more!’……… As they reached home, Kubera offered the best seat in the dining hall to Ganesha and beckoned his servants to bring over the food. Little Ganesha started devouring the food as it was brought and his appetite surprised Kubera – ‘Hmmm – lord Shiva was right, little Ganesha really likes the food’………. As Ganesha went on for over an hour, there was a panic in the kitchen. The Head cook whispered in the ears of Kubera “Master not only the cooked food, but even the supplies are over”. As they chatted Ganesha yelled “where is the food, I am hungry”. When he realized that the food was over, he got really annoyed “That’s not fair, I’ll now start eating everything that I see” and he took a bite of the golden plate! Kubera was extremely scared and ran to Shiva and Parvati to narrate the whole story. As they heard him patiently Parvati brought over a small bowl of rice “Take this and give it to Ganesha. He will be alright” Little worried with the small size of the rice bowl, Kubera reached his palace. Ganesha was extremely angry by then and he was living up to his promise! Little scared by the scene, Kubera politely offered the little bowl of rice cooked by Parvati. Ganesha took the bowl and started eating. By the time he finished the bowl he felt very heavy and full – so much so that he just could manage to eat the last morsel in the bowl.
I had read this story as a lesson taught to pompous Kubera. But as I read it after the years, it had a whole new dimension. We all have a Kubera in us – it’s the ambition. Of course ambition is good and drives us to achieve great heights – gets us our place of honor…… But there comes a point where ambition also drives us over that thin line that separates honor from pride……. As the pride takes over the joy of belittling someone overtakes the contentment of achievements…….. Pride knows no boundaries and often invites self-destruction as Kubera found out……. It took only a small bowl of rice cooked by Parvati to calm down the storm invited by Kubera’s pride ……. It was those few morsels of rice cooked with pure love that could calm down the un-satiated hunger ……. As our ambition drives us hard, we all need to find our little bowls of rice …….. it could be that little daily chat with the family…… banter with old friends …… solace of a book or a melody …… Our little bowl of rice always reminds us the importance of peace, contentment in midst of a raging competition fought by our ambition……
The story is about Kubera – the lord of wealth and family of gods – Shiva, Parvati and their son Ganesha. One fine day Kubera decided to show off his wealth to Shiva and Parvati. So, he invited them for lunch. The almighty Shiva exactly knew why he was invited and refused politely – “Why don’t you take little Ganesha instead – he really relishes good food!”. Little disappointed Kubera agreed. Riding on his golden chariot along with Ganesha, Kubera thought ‘Hmmmm…. Actually it is good that little Ganesha is coming over. Being a child, he will get impressed even more!’……… As they reached home, Kubera offered the best seat in the dining hall to Ganesha and beckoned his servants to bring over the food. Little Ganesha started devouring the food as it was brought and his appetite surprised Kubera – ‘Hmmm – lord Shiva was right, little Ganesha really likes the food’………. As Ganesha went on for over an hour, there was a panic in the kitchen. The Head cook whispered in the ears of Kubera “Master not only the cooked food, but even the supplies are over”. As they chatted Ganesha yelled “where is the food, I am hungry”. When he realized that the food was over, he got really annoyed “That’s not fair, I’ll now start eating everything that I see” and he took a bite of the golden plate! Kubera was extremely scared and ran to Shiva and Parvati to narrate the whole story. As they heard him patiently Parvati brought over a small bowl of rice “Take this and give it to Ganesha. He will be alright” Little worried with the small size of the rice bowl, Kubera reached his palace. Ganesha was extremely angry by then and he was living up to his promise! Little scared by the scene, Kubera politely offered the little bowl of rice cooked by Parvati. Ganesha took the bowl and started eating. By the time he finished the bowl he felt very heavy and full – so much so that he just could manage to eat the last morsel in the bowl.
I had read this story as a lesson taught to pompous Kubera. But as I read it after the years, it had a whole new dimension. We all have a Kubera in us – it’s the ambition. Of course ambition is good and drives us to achieve great heights – gets us our place of honor…… But there comes a point where ambition also drives us over that thin line that separates honor from pride……. As the pride takes over the joy of belittling someone overtakes the contentment of achievements…….. Pride knows no boundaries and often invites self-destruction as Kubera found out……. It took only a small bowl of rice cooked by Parvati to calm down the storm invited by Kubera’s pride ……. It was those few morsels of rice cooked with pure love that could calm down the un-satiated hunger ……. As our ambition drives us hard, we all need to find our little bowls of rice …….. it could be that little daily chat with the family…… banter with old friends …… solace of a book or a melody …… Our little bowl of rice always reminds us the importance of peace, contentment in midst of a raging competition fought by our ambition……
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Mind the Gap!
We were buying a bicycle for my daughter. As soon as we bought the bicycle, I clicked my daughter’s photo along with her bicycle………. I couldn’t help remembering the experience of buying my first bicycle……….. I wish we had a camera ready that time. What a memorable day! …………… Keeping in the tradition of those days we went all the way to Kalbadevi (a place in South Mumbai) and bought a lovely red color BSA SLR cycle………… We carried it on the top of the cab and all the way till we reached home, I prayed that it reaches home safe. As soon as we reached home, a group of 7/8 friends gathered around to admire the new vehicle in the neighborhood (there were no cars that time apart from couple of two wheelers so a new bicycle was a significant vehicle) ……. Though actually everyone had a similar bicycle, all my friends were excited. We spent considerable amount of time admiring the new bicycle! ….. Next few months, every day at the end of the day, I would carry home my prized possession (to think of it, it was little crazy to carry the bicycle two floors up over my shoulder!!!) ………
“Why are you taking my photograph in the bicycle shop?” my daughter asked me. “Oh! Its your first bicycle and I thought I should preserve the picture” ….. “But you have never clicked any photo other times when we bought a toy” …… she was really puzzled …… “A TOY?” …. Deep inside, I felt little hurt as I expected my daughter to be little more excited! As soon as we reached home she rode the bicycle for some time with a joy and was really happy. Once she was through, I asked her “Should I take it home for you?” …. “Bicycle?…. Home??.... why? Lets just leave it in the parking lot like my other friends do!” Now she was really confused and looked at me to check whether I was alright. “OK – lets go home”
Deep in my mind I wondered whether my daughter was losing simple joys of life …… has she lost the sensitivity? ……. I remembered the simple joys that we had ……. A family dinner in the restaurant once in two months …… new clothes …… new toys ….. firecrackers …… there would be an event around each of this……Firecrackers reminded me – she had refused the firecrackers that year for environmental reasons! Though she loved firecrackers, she had no qualms giving up once she studied its effect on environment at school……..
……. Suddenly I realized that I was unfair to the little one …… How fair was it to judge her sensitivity quotient based on what I was sensitive to? Life has moved on ……. What was luxury to me in my childhood was almost the hygiene factor to her …… expecting her to jump at things like bicycle was as ridiculous as expecting me to jump at the sight of new bath soap in the house!
Times change and so does the contextual reality. It is plain unfair to judge the newer generation based on our feelings that are stuck in the past……. Perhaps it is natural reaction but highly avoidable! It is great to cherish old memories but there is only one way to avoid conflicts of generation gap – “MIND THE GAP”
“Why are you taking my photograph in the bicycle shop?” my daughter asked me. “Oh! Its your first bicycle and I thought I should preserve the picture” ….. “But you have never clicked any photo other times when we bought a toy” …… she was really puzzled …… “A TOY?” …. Deep inside, I felt little hurt as I expected my daughter to be little more excited! As soon as we reached home she rode the bicycle for some time with a joy and was really happy. Once she was through, I asked her “Should I take it home for you?” …. “Bicycle?…. Home??.... why? Lets just leave it in the parking lot like my other friends do!” Now she was really confused and looked at me to check whether I was alright. “OK – lets go home”
Deep in my mind I wondered whether my daughter was losing simple joys of life …… has she lost the sensitivity? ……. I remembered the simple joys that we had ……. A family dinner in the restaurant once in two months …… new clothes …… new toys ….. firecrackers …… there would be an event around each of this……Firecrackers reminded me – she had refused the firecrackers that year for environmental reasons! Though she loved firecrackers, she had no qualms giving up once she studied its effect on environment at school……..
……. Suddenly I realized that I was unfair to the little one …… How fair was it to judge her sensitivity quotient based on what I was sensitive to? Life has moved on ……. What was luxury to me in my childhood was almost the hygiene factor to her …… expecting her to jump at things like bicycle was as ridiculous as expecting me to jump at the sight of new bath soap in the house!
Times change and so does the contextual reality. It is plain unfair to judge the newer generation based on our feelings that are stuck in the past……. Perhaps it is natural reaction but highly avoidable! It is great to cherish old memories but there is only one way to avoid conflicts of generation gap – “MIND THE GAP”
Thursday, February 3, 2011
HR policies and Grandma
My morning was spoiled …. Well almost …. Whenever you deal with HR policies that tread on the dangerous territories of compensation, I always feel like a slice of cucumber in a vegetable sandwich – you are pressed between the two sides and finally achieve martyrdom without being noticed!!
Whenever compensation policies are discussed, there are financial realities on one side and aspirations, which are almost always disproportionate vis-à-vis realities, on the other side ….. Your job in HR is to implement the realities while maintaining the overall good health of the organization……
I had just walked out of one such meeting discussing revised overseas allowances with a group of associate….. Extremely frustrated with the negotiations, I just decided to take a walk on the terrace. Well, my company was perhaps the only IT company operating out of south Mumbai. Our office was a cute little bungalow with a lovely terrace garden ….. next to our office was a typical Mumbai residential structure crammed with lot of families …. In the window next to our terrace, I saw a stubborn 4-year old along with his grandma …. The little one simply refused to eat the routine food and wanted something different which the poor grandma was helpless about ….. Something in this run-of-the-mill scene stopped me in my tracks …… I could not hear the what was being said but grandma had started a dialogue keeping the food tray aside ….. the child started giggling after some time …. As they got along, grandma slowly picked up the food tray and started feeding the kid …. By then the child had started listening with rapt attention and eating the morsels one after the other ….. As the food tray finished, there was a peculiar expression on Grandma’s face – it was not cunning or of any victory but simply that of pure contentment …. She was admiringly looking at the kid with mission accomplished! ..... Nowhere in the process had she raised her hand or voice ….
It was one of the most gracefully handled conflicts – LIVE! Grandma knew that what she was feeding may not be fancy but was the best available for the kid ….. she also acknowledged the kid’s desires without dismissing them ….. She was definitely focused on feeding the child but also sensitive to the situation and realities … there can be genuine conflicts without anyone being “unreasonable”…. She knew the importance of the job at hand but perhaps, was not anxious to “get over” with the job somehow ….. Anxiety breeds more anxiety in a situation where conflicts / difference of opinions exist ….. I guess there were two very important drivers …… Grandma was extremely concerned with feeding the child for its well being rather than accomplishing a “task” and she also had an outstanding temperament not to get drawn in any “battleground”.
Wisdom is far more precious than “strategies” in some matters …. I thanked the old lady from the bottom of my heart and as I walked back for the next meeting, there was a definite spring in my stride!!!!!
Whenever compensation policies are discussed, there are financial realities on one side and aspirations, which are almost always disproportionate vis-à-vis realities, on the other side ….. Your job in HR is to implement the realities while maintaining the overall good health of the organization……
I had just walked out of one such meeting discussing revised overseas allowances with a group of associate….. Extremely frustrated with the negotiations, I just decided to take a walk on the terrace. Well, my company was perhaps the only IT company operating out of south Mumbai. Our office was a cute little bungalow with a lovely terrace garden ….. next to our office was a typical Mumbai residential structure crammed with lot of families …. In the window next to our terrace, I saw a stubborn 4-year old along with his grandma …. The little one simply refused to eat the routine food and wanted something different which the poor grandma was helpless about ….. Something in this run-of-the-mill scene stopped me in my tracks …… I could not hear the what was being said but grandma had started a dialogue keeping the food tray aside ….. the child started giggling after some time …. As they got along, grandma slowly picked up the food tray and started feeding the kid …. By then the child had started listening with rapt attention and eating the morsels one after the other ….. As the food tray finished, there was a peculiar expression on Grandma’s face – it was not cunning or of any victory but simply that of pure contentment …. She was admiringly looking at the kid with mission accomplished! ..... Nowhere in the process had she raised her hand or voice ….
It was one of the most gracefully handled conflicts – LIVE! Grandma knew that what she was feeding may not be fancy but was the best available for the kid ….. she also acknowledged the kid’s desires without dismissing them ….. She was definitely focused on feeding the child but also sensitive to the situation and realities … there can be genuine conflicts without anyone being “unreasonable”…. She knew the importance of the job at hand but perhaps, was not anxious to “get over” with the job somehow ….. Anxiety breeds more anxiety in a situation where conflicts / difference of opinions exist ….. I guess there were two very important drivers …… Grandma was extremely concerned with feeding the child for its well being rather than accomplishing a “task” and she also had an outstanding temperament not to get drawn in any “battleground”.
Wisdom is far more precious than “strategies” in some matters …. I thanked the old lady from the bottom of my heart and as I walked back for the next meeting, there was a definite spring in my stride!!!!!
Monday, January 10, 2011
“A little piece of Soap……”
I checked into the Guesthouse and instinctively inspected the room as per my checklist. I am not really fussy about the décor of the room whenever I travel for work – but hygiene and cleanliness is non-negotiable. While checking the bathroom, I saw a small pack of soap but also noticed, a piece of a used soap – little irritated, I just threw it away. Getting ready never takes more than 15 minutes for me ….. soon I was out of the Guest House waiting for the car to pick me up …….
While I was waiting outside the Guest House, I saw what you can see on any road in many Indian cities ….. there was a small row of ramshackle shanties. In front of one of them, a lady was bathing her child. The child was giggling as if it was enjoying a royal bath …. Well it was I guess more his mother’s touch that made it special than a half-filled aluminum bucket or a small piece of soap! May be its not decent to stare at someone’s daily chores like that but somehow I just couldn’t take my eyes off the scene. Once the bath was over, the lady scrubbed her child with a dry piece of cloth, wrapped him in the same and kept him carefully in a dry place. Once she had taken care of the child, she picked up a stone nearby and unfolded a piece of crumpled butter-paper kept under the stone. With lot of care, she wiped the small piece of soap with her dry hands and wrapped it in the butter-paper as if it was a piece of some expensive jewel.
As I sat in the car and left the place something stirred in me ….. the small piece of used soap that I threw away back in the Guest House kept coming back to my mind …. I wondered … so what about that? ….. surely I was never going to use that and nothing wrong in what I did … what then?? …… A funny stream of thought came to my mind …. Both the soaps – the one which I threw away and the one which I saw ceremoniously used by the lady on footpath – must be neighbours on a rack in the shop. Our Guest House care-taker must have bought one and stuffed it in his bags carelessly, while the lady must have bought it after careful evaluation of her options ….. the Guest House soap was used for a day by someone and was now lying in a dustbin …. The other one will be a valuable piece for some more days …….. SO WHAT ???? …. what was troubling me?
….. And then it just struck me ….. soap is a soap is a soap – same/similar ingredients (sincere apology to all brands!) and same utility ….. one is bought as what marketers popularly call ‘low involvement purchase’ while the other is not. It is not so much about the end-use or ingredients or price, but it is more the context which makes all the difference. So for an argument sake, if the soap had mind of its own, the ‘Guest House soap’ must have felt nice being a part of an up-market set-up than the shanty where the other landed. The Guest House fellow always stayed in a nice soap-case whereas his poorer cousin in a crumpled butter-paper……. But as they lead their life, the one in the shanty is more valuable to someone and the one in the Guest House is just casually in thrown in the dustbin one day……….
Does it happen to us? When we choose careers, do we get attracted to the “better places” than really finding our context there ? Do we spare some thought about how valuable are we to the place ? This is not as simple as a small company Vs a big company ….. or a multinational Vs a local company …… that will be simply naïve …. What is more crucial is our ability to find our rightful place where we are cared for, valued and not tossed around!
….. The car was taking me to my destination faster than I thought …. Actually, I was visiting a college to address a group of students on “How to choose a right career and workplace?” …… I quietly folded and kept aside my notes …… I thought…. I perhaps had something better to share with them than my well-prepared notes……….
While I was waiting outside the Guest House, I saw what you can see on any road in many Indian cities ….. there was a small row of ramshackle shanties. In front of one of them, a lady was bathing her child. The child was giggling as if it was enjoying a royal bath …. Well it was I guess more his mother’s touch that made it special than a half-filled aluminum bucket or a small piece of soap! May be its not decent to stare at someone’s daily chores like that but somehow I just couldn’t take my eyes off the scene. Once the bath was over, the lady scrubbed her child with a dry piece of cloth, wrapped him in the same and kept him carefully in a dry place. Once she had taken care of the child, she picked up a stone nearby and unfolded a piece of crumpled butter-paper kept under the stone. With lot of care, she wiped the small piece of soap with her dry hands and wrapped it in the butter-paper as if it was a piece of some expensive jewel.
As I sat in the car and left the place something stirred in me ….. the small piece of used soap that I threw away back in the Guest House kept coming back to my mind …. I wondered … so what about that? ….. surely I was never going to use that and nothing wrong in what I did … what then?? …… A funny stream of thought came to my mind …. Both the soaps – the one which I threw away and the one which I saw ceremoniously used by the lady on footpath – must be neighbours on a rack in the shop. Our Guest House care-taker must have bought one and stuffed it in his bags carelessly, while the lady must have bought it after careful evaluation of her options ….. the Guest House soap was used for a day by someone and was now lying in a dustbin …. The other one will be a valuable piece for some more days …….. SO WHAT ???? …. what was troubling me?
….. And then it just struck me ….. soap is a soap is a soap – same/similar ingredients (sincere apology to all brands!) and same utility ….. one is bought as what marketers popularly call ‘low involvement purchase’ while the other is not. It is not so much about the end-use or ingredients or price, but it is more the context which makes all the difference. So for an argument sake, if the soap had mind of its own, the ‘Guest House soap’ must have felt nice being a part of an up-market set-up than the shanty where the other landed. The Guest House fellow always stayed in a nice soap-case whereas his poorer cousin in a crumpled butter-paper……. But as they lead their life, the one in the shanty is more valuable to someone and the one in the Guest House is just casually in thrown in the dustbin one day……….
Does it happen to us? When we choose careers, do we get attracted to the “better places” than really finding our context there ? Do we spare some thought about how valuable are we to the place ? This is not as simple as a small company Vs a big company ….. or a multinational Vs a local company …… that will be simply naïve …. What is more crucial is our ability to find our rightful place where we are cared for, valued and not tossed around!
….. The car was taking me to my destination faster than I thought …. Actually, I was visiting a college to address a group of students on “How to choose a right career and workplace?” …… I quietly folded and kept aside my notes …… I thought…. I perhaps had something better to share with them than my well-prepared notes……….
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