Things I am learning from my boss...

I recently read a blog post that started with a tale of a lousy supervisor doing a truly horrific job of relaying negative feedback to a subordinate. It got me thinking about how some bosses can be so miserable. Not wanting to linger too much in negativity, I tried to conjure up some of the points from the various bosses and managers I see around at my workplace. A good manager is hard to find, but when you have one, you often get to learn valuable lessons.

Here are some things I have learned from my boss.

Maintain a blame-free work environment
Finger-pointing is a highly toxic and counter-productive behaviour, but there is more to it; in a relatively new organization it is essential to move forward at a fast and efficient pace. A no-mistakes pace is simply too slow. To survive, we have to move at a speed that guarantees a certain rate of error. We must accept the fact that mistakes will be made and corrected on the fly, simply because a pace that yields no mistakes will not bring us to takeoff before the end of the runway.
In a typical organization where a culture of “no mistakes” prevails, everything is gold-plated to death. Time is regularly wasted on unnecessarily perfect performances, and on cover-ups when things didn’t go according to plan.
“No blame” does not mean “no accountability”. My boss has clearly spelt out, “It’s OK to make a mistake and you will not be judged for it. Making a mistake and not learning from it is a different story”.

Don’t confuse “urgent” with “important”
You plan your day, week and month. You focus your efforts in a calculated effort to achieve very specific goals. Then someone rushes in screaming that the sky is falling and all progress is put on hold until the oh-so-urgent issue is resolved. There’s a hero’s aura about riding to the rescue and saving the day, but when the day is done, you are still a day (or a week, or a month) behind your schedule. The fires you are putting out may be real, or they may be artificial emergencies conceived to manipulate your priority list. Don’t let the moment’s glory distract you from executing your plan for too long. It may not be as urgent, but it is far more important.

Manage your personal productivity
Productivity is a complicated issue. First off, the disparity between individuals is huge. It is not uncommon for a star performer to be 3-4 times as productive as an average, good employee. On top of that, there are many subjective and even random factors at play; the estimates that we use to measure productivity are always partially subjective.
Improving your personal productivity is a great way to get better at what you do, but as an individual, you are the only one who can tell how productive your day is. You can expect your manager to measure your productivity over time, but when it comes to your day-to-day personal productivity — you’re on your own. You’re the only one who can do it, and you’re the one to benefit from it.

A Fact, hard to accept for me

This is a post which I have taken from my personal blog, and was written on April 17, 2010. almost after an year not, I was finding it too relevant again in my life right now, so thought of bringing it up here.

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There is a fact of life which so far in my life I have encountered quite a few times, and every time I lost something in the process. But even till date, I have not been able to accept this particular actuality, because somewhere at the back of my mind, I hope and pray that ‘it’ is not obvious to happen. And that is why I want to question ‘it’. Whoever reads this, would wonder what the hell I am talking about.

I have many examples to explain, but I am refraining from putting them here. But because of some incidents, a strange feeling has crept inside me, suddenly making me feel that things change. My feeling of loss stems out of such drastic changes concerning my very close friends. It’s a mixed feeling. This happens with a friend of the same sex, as well as the opposite sex. Whatever the case may be, I feel that post marriage, people view friendships in a different light. The losses always begin subtly and impact gradually. But is it necessary?

I am not saying that it is the married/engagement friend who is at fault. Relationships certainly do change after marriage/engagement. While he/she is trying to adjust to the new environment, his/her friends find it difficult to adjust to the new person he/she becomes. Insecurity, protectiveness and missing the old times become very prominent. Everyone needs company, and when the company seems to be drifting apart, it is obvious that a feeling of rejection sets in. And this is especially difficult for people like me whose world revolves only around a few friends, and finds comfort in the company of that friend.

I just get scared because my world is shrinking fast. Most of my close friends would get engaged/married before me, and I would be left all alone. I get anxious whether I should make close friends, leaving an open area to get shattered time and again. I commit myself totally to my friendships, and I give in everything for it. I don’t want my close friendships to get wilted and put myself in the position of saying, “Our friendship was great till it lasted.”

It's nice to be back... :-)

A little over a year and half ago, I started this blog, but back then I knew nothing about blogging. Nor do I know it now. For me, all I knew was that I was about to embark on a new chapter in my life wherein I would be putting down the thoughts coming to my mind.

Over last few months, I have been so occupied with work that hardly got time to write, even though there have been loads of posts queued up in my brain. But these things take forever to write, and now that I’m working, I don’t have forever to write.

So, in the spirit of “Good enough” is the enemy of “At all”, I’m going to start blogging again, but with no blogging schedule.

I’m writing because I want to – when I want to. I know from personal experience that I most like to write when I’m unhappy because when I’m unhappy I withdraw from the world and the last thing I want to do is to keep all that stuff confined to my mind, that’s making me unhappy. But that doesn’t mean I will not be delighted to share all the good things happening.

My only motive is to write. I don’t care how many readers there are – it is simply an outlet for my thoughts. It’s nice to be back :-)

In Shadows...

I have a realization that I may have to stop writing for a while. I think I could be upsetting people. Thought what I write seems to be philosophical, they are all inspired from my experiences in life. But I've been downright nasty with some of my posts, raising fingers directly or indirectly. I'm probably showing up the more thoughtful, horrible side of my nature and giving people all the reason they need to stop talking to me.

It's been an odd week so far, damn hectic and stressed out. It feels pathetic when you cannot talk to your close ones for an elongated period. Many of the fears about the frenzied work life that would accompany with my new job profile have actually come true. A few posts earlier I wrote about experiential learning, and exposure. Now, given how strenuous it can be, I fail to find time for myself, and end up frustrated.

Unintentionally, one day, through my wrath and hateful words, I will push away everybody those matter to me. Then I'll be alone and will be forced to surrender. This thing, this confinement to a shell, rules my life, and haunts me at times. It subtly tells me that the worst is inevitable and that the only way to avoid all the pain is to just give up. But I don't want to let it win. I want to make my success plausible.

The part of me that exists without shadow looks only for a bright future. Sadly the clouds are gathering and everything remains in shade. But soon I will return with my positive self, tearing apart the clouds of dejection, cheerful and progressive as always.

The Binding Energy of a Relationship – TRUST...

By its name, a relationship defines what it is, the ability of two or more people to relate to each other.

In order to relate to another entity, you have to trust them and be able to communicate with them. This doesn’t apply only to romantic relationships, which strangely is often the terms in which people think of a relationship, but also to family members and friends.

Trust, is the phenomenal word that gives a true shape to our life. It is the most valuable gift that we can offer to anyone. Have you trusted anyone blindly, or believed in blind faith? If no, then you have missed the essence of life. "Trust" is that simple element that forms the gist of all true relationships, and gives the sheer joy of Life.

And trust is a mutual affair. Everyone loves to trust, likewise everyone likes to be trusted too. Trust gives joy both to the one who trusts as well as to the entrusted. But why do we feel happy or contented when we are trusted? Is it a sense of achievement or accomplishment? No! It’s not! We feel happy when we are trusted blindly because we feel that our care and affection has been recognized. We are assured of the fact that our care is accounted for and is equally respected by the one who enjoys the care.

Relationships sans trust are just like sugar-free cakes. Trust is that fragile thread that strongly binds people together. There exist relationships in life that have no speck of trust, still they exist vaguely, but eventually end up in no sweet memory and no feel of attachment. This is what happens to relationships that lack trust. Such relationships can better be referred to as acquaintances. Most of the times when we are in a new surrounding, we will be longing for trust and friendship. Initially we will be allured towards people who superficially seem to share characteristics and wishes much similar to us. We gradually get along well. Then with the passage of time, we start feeling that inspite of spending a long time, there is no emotional attachment and neither is there any strong bond with them. This is because this new relationship was based on similarities and not on trust. So, relationships that lack the principle ingredient of trust are just transient.

Nevertheless, the critical point is that Trust, once been broken, there's a chance it may never be fully repaired. You might be able to achieve a degree of trust again, but the cracks from the break will always be there, and it will take far less to not only break, but completely shatter trust a second time.

So, if you want a happy life and a happy relationship, trust in trusting your loved ones. The same can be very well extended to business relationships, wherein when meeting your clients you need to convey a sense of professionalism and trust. You certainly don't want to come across as a "untrustworthy scumbag with a big sales pitch".

With someone entrusting you at all crossroads of life, you would really feel the difference.

Football Fever on the rise..Would the injuries spoil the party?

"Oh! Why is tomorrow? Why not today?" appears every time in our mind, especially while waiting for pleasure. It is always a heart beating feelings when it is a matter of counting down.


With the 2010 FIFA World Cup about to take-off, the excitement level is really high. ESPN Star Sports is all set for a higher TRP for the thrilling encounters. People are changing their travelling schedules, re-considering their plans so that nothing comes between them and soccer.


Like all football lovers, I have been waiting for these matches with bated breath, keeping my fingers crossed for my favourites.

Off-late, many star players have been either knocked out of the tournament or been considered doubtful owing to injuries. The question arises that would this be a big blow to the grand showdown? The sudden attack of injury demon to some of the favourite teams has hurt the enthusiasm with which the fans have been anticipating one of the world's biggest sporting events. Likes of Michael Ballack, Rio Ferdinand and Nani would be missing the entire tournament, while the skills of Andrea Pirlo, Didier Drogba and Arjen Robben would be unavailable at least for the initial games.

But nevertheless, the football fanatics are all geared up to witness the great battle which has been widely talked of - Christiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi. The predictions for who would emerge as the Champions has already become a war. The football fraternity (including me) is planning the big nights already. Are you one of them?

Amidst the chaos in Life...

A mail I received recently, so very well explains what should drive our life.
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A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some
expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups.

Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change. Some times, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

Don't let the cups drive you... Enjoy the coffee instead... :)

Agony of patients..Doctors need to know this...

It’s a prevalent and largely true fact that doctors have a pretty tough life, with their duty calling at any time of the day. Very often we see articles written about Doctors’ plight, about how patients’ senseless questions haunt them, about how they have to compromise with their personal lives, etc.

But I am writing about the other side of Doctors, which says about the frustration and agony that one experiences on visiting doctors. This is on the basis of what I noticed and experienced over the last one month, which was full of visits to doctors to get my left toe treated.

There are a lot of complaints against doctors. But unlike customers to any other service industry, patients cannot be impatient, and they cannot bargain with the doctor. Whatever the doctor says, prescribes, is God’s word.

1) Doctors value their own time over the value of patients’ time. No patient likes to arrive on time for an appointment, only to be left waiting for half an hour or longer. This way the patients’ frustrations only grow stronger.

2) Doctors often rush through the appointments, not even listening properly and leaving too little time for a constructive conversation. They cut the patients short when they are speaking, ignore what patients tell, and rely on charts instead of preferred one-to-one communication.

3) Doctors often preemptively mix-up and generalize the patients’ cases with some other previous case histories, and lump them with the generalist prescription only to regret later and correct the mistake.

4) Unnecessary prescriptions, be it for medicines/drugs or laboratory tests, is what most doctors give. For them, it is a means of showing how learned they are. But another reason is that most doctors are entrapped in a vicious circle of gifts and inducements. (Thankfully, the law has now started prohibiting such transactions between doctors and other related medical/pharmacy agencies.) But eventually it hits mostly at the pockets of the patients, instead of the disease or ailment.

This all at times makes me question, that what is it that Doctors don’t know? And the immediate answer which comes to me is ‘Almost Everything’. It is high time they realise this.