As the sun set for the last time in 2008, little had I expected that the next year will be so. It has been really a great year so far, testing my skills in decision making and choosing between 2 or 3 options. It’s been such a simile, that having wanting to pursue my higher education in management, I was encountered with practical situations in the same and what better could one have expected. Though there have been a few instances which has required a lot of planning, thoughts and implementation from my side, I would like to mention 3 big instances where my decision making skills were put to a tough test.
The first one came as early as the first day of the year itself. It was about choosing between a career in the company which promised growth in the same company which I had been working and attending an important interview for admissions to the MBA program of a B School. The Career Development Workshop (CDW), as it is called, is a dream of every graduate engineer who joins the company. The sooner one attends it, the faster he grows. It’s a combination of formal, semi formal and informal events where your managerial capabilities are judged and a growth plan is arrived at the end of the two days. I too was happy to find my name in this year’s list, but the only hitch was it was scheduled in the second weekend of February, which almost eclipsed with the dates of my interview at Pune. Unfortunately, this particular institute did not even give us the choice of picking our dates. As a couple of weeks rolled on, the dates were announced and as luck would have had it, it fell on exactly the same day as my CDW!! I did not want to let the opportunity go out of my hands, nor did I want to miss the CDW. Also, I did not even want to give any hint to my colleagues and company, by being absent from the same. I tried my luck by sending a mail to the institute and luckily for me, they obliged to my request and my interview dates were preponed by a couple of dates. This enabled me to attend both the important events. That I did not attend the CDW later, due to some other reasons was a different issue. But the toughest part here was the anxiousness and the tense moments I had to spend, in the weeks that ensued between the time I applied to the institute and the day the interview dates were out. Even the few days when I was awaiting a reply from the institute for the change of interview slots were equally tense.
The second one came sometime in mid march. By this time, I had already put in my papers and was set to leave from the organization. I had received final admission calls from 3 institutes where I had applied, and was in a big dilemma over choosing among the three. The problem here was more about the approaching deadlines. I had to send the first installment of fees (running into a few lakhs of rupees), before a specified date, failing which I would forfeit my seat. So the pressure of arranging for funds, within the right time and for the right institute, was really huge on me. At times, I even made a few blunders at work, which were overlooked by my boss understanding the phase that I was going through.
The third one was the most difficult and the toughest one. I still don’t know whether I have made the right decision, but then let the people involved in the same, take a call. Two of my closest friends got married on the same day. And the difficult thing was, one wedding was in Bangalore and one in Udupi. Adding to that, one more of my college mate, with whom I had grown reasonably close over the last couple of years, also was tying the knot on the same day. It was a case of triple trouble. One of them is my classmate from Standard 3. We have been together, all through our life. We have been undeclared heroes of our class, where the first two positions were always reserved to the two of us. In the class, the competition always started from the third rank onwards. Together we have won many competitions and awards and were famous in our district. In college, we were roommates, sharing the same room in the hostel. And as luck would have had it, we were both placed in the same city Hyderabad. I met this second friend of mine, in 11th. He had migrated from his hometown to Udupi in search of good higher secondary education. And what an association it has been. For the two years of pre university education, we were literally partners in crime. We have played so many pranks together and so many tricks here and there. I even remember one chemistry problem in our 12th, where the entire college, including the lecturers got it wrong, and we had single handedly fought it successfully to become heroes in those days. Our association continued in engineering days as well, where though he was in a different branch, we were always together. And the association has continued to this day, where we both take each other’s opinion in every small and big step we take in life. The third friend I have has been a good acquaintance in college. He was a day boarder and we were not so close in college. Once we moved out of college, he found himself abroad, working for an MNC. And because of the time difference, our chat timings used to match. We grew a lot closer online, and I always wanted to attend his wedding. Now attending one wedding would definitely mean disappointing the remaining two. At times, I have even considered the option of not attending any of the weddings. But then, making one friend happy is definitely better that making none happy. Believe me, it was one of the toughest decisions of my life. And having taken the decision, I hope all my friends, especially the ones who I disappointed (all 3 of them, know each other), understand the type of pressure I was under and take no offence at my absence.
I have believed, that God has always helped me take the right decisions, and I am sure that in these instances also, He is behind me.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Phunny Inccident!!!!
This is arguably one the funniest incidents that I enjoyed in my 33 months at my previous organization and I thought I should blog it down. So here you go.
It’s 10th April 2009, less than a week for me to be relieved from my current job. I have already put in my papers on the 1st of March 2009 and was asked to work till the 15th of April which I have obliged. Having said that, as per the advice of my friend, I have tried to have the maximum fun out of these 45 days.
Our GM was on a two day visit to Hyderabad, supposedly happy at the good performance we had put in at this year’s CSI studies. He wanted to visit some dealers and wanted to motivate them and their team as well as the team at our end, who made it possible. He came to Hyderabad yesterday, and after a couple of dealership visits, he opted to spend the evening with a few of his childhood friends, who he claimed to be meeting after 15 years. So, we (me and my boss) accompanied him till a place where we were working on a project, and he proceeded and went on to check in to one of the posh hotels in the city. We had agreed to meet at 9:00 AM, this morning.
Today, I picked up my boss on my motorcycle and proceeded towards the hotel where he was staying. I parked my bike, and we went up to the receptionist and asked her to leave him a message. Promptly, within 5 minutes, he came down and with a few more minutes he checked out from the hotel and proceeded with our dealership visits. No sooner had he checked out, he received a sms on his cell thanking him for the stay in the hotel. Once we were done with all the visits for the day, we had lunch and by 3:30 PM, we bid him goodbye after which he headed to the airport and we took an auto on our way back to the hotel where my bike was parked.
Now the last couple of weeks were very hectic, primarily because of the summer and more so because of the financial year change. Having involved in a lot of planning and deployment of the same, we were totally drained out. And going back to the office would again mean getting back into the same routine again. Having seen the same tired expressions on my boss’ face, I thought of some plan.
Me: “Why don’t we go and have a small nap at the hotel??”
Him: “Are you out of your senses?? He has already checked out and checking in again would mean a huge amount. Remember he is a GM, and his bills are paid on actual!!”
Me: “Let’s at least give it a try Sir!!”
Him: “Okay. Do whatever you want, but please ensure that you don’t screw up our image. As it is, you are going in a week’s time. It doesn’t matter to you. But we have a lot at stake. ”
Me: “Don’t worry. I won’t land you in any trouble!!”
We walked to the receptionist. She remembered me from the chat we had in the morning. I asked to speak to the manager and she introduced me to him.
Me: “We are from XYZ Co. Our colleague had checked in to the hotel last evening at 6:00 PM and checked out today morning at 9:00 AM. As you would have observed, we were having some discussions in the lobby in the morning and we need to discuss more about that for about an hour. So it would be great if you can give us a room for an hour or so. We have to catch a flight at 8:00 PM”
He did some calculations and got back. He asked us to confirm the name and cell number of the GM which we promptly did. After punching some more details into the system, he handed us the key card.
Mgr: “We are sure you will be leaving by 6:00 PM right??”
I had a smart glance at my watch and said, “We’ll vacate the room by 5:30 PM. Don’t worry. And yeah, thanks a lot!!”
Holding the key card in my hand, I turned back victoriously, to see an expression of shock and disbelief on the face of my boss. No sooner had we crossed the lobby and entered the lift, we both laughed our hearts out. It was only 4:00 PM and we had one hell of a nice rest, that both of us needed the most for us to work consciously for the next few hours!! I was only hoping that once we checked out again, my GM did not get the Thanks for staying message again!!!
It’s 10th April 2009, less than a week for me to be relieved from my current job. I have already put in my papers on the 1st of March 2009 and was asked to work till the 15th of April which I have obliged. Having said that, as per the advice of my friend, I have tried to have the maximum fun out of these 45 days.
Our GM was on a two day visit to Hyderabad, supposedly happy at the good performance we had put in at this year’s CSI studies. He wanted to visit some dealers and wanted to motivate them and their team as well as the team at our end, who made it possible. He came to Hyderabad yesterday, and after a couple of dealership visits, he opted to spend the evening with a few of his childhood friends, who he claimed to be meeting after 15 years. So, we (me and my boss) accompanied him till a place where we were working on a project, and he proceeded and went on to check in to one of the posh hotels in the city. We had agreed to meet at 9:00 AM, this morning.
Today, I picked up my boss on my motorcycle and proceeded towards the hotel where he was staying. I parked my bike, and we went up to the receptionist and asked her to leave him a message. Promptly, within 5 minutes, he came down and with a few more minutes he checked out from the hotel and proceeded with our dealership visits. No sooner had he checked out, he received a sms on his cell thanking him for the stay in the hotel. Once we were done with all the visits for the day, we had lunch and by 3:30 PM, we bid him goodbye after which he headed to the airport and we took an auto on our way back to the hotel where my bike was parked.
Now the last couple of weeks were very hectic, primarily because of the summer and more so because of the financial year change. Having involved in a lot of planning and deployment of the same, we were totally drained out. And going back to the office would again mean getting back into the same routine again. Having seen the same tired expressions on my boss’ face, I thought of some plan.
Me: “Why don’t we go and have a small nap at the hotel??”
Him: “Are you out of your senses?? He has already checked out and checking in again would mean a huge amount. Remember he is a GM, and his bills are paid on actual!!”
Me: “Let’s at least give it a try Sir!!”
Him: “Okay. Do whatever you want, but please ensure that you don’t screw up our image. As it is, you are going in a week’s time. It doesn’t matter to you. But we have a lot at stake. ”
Me: “Don’t worry. I won’t land you in any trouble!!”
We walked to the receptionist. She remembered me from the chat we had in the morning. I asked to speak to the manager and she introduced me to him.
Me: “We are from XYZ Co. Our colleague had checked in to the hotel last evening at 6:00 PM and checked out today morning at 9:00 AM. As you would have observed, we were having some discussions in the lobby in the morning and we need to discuss more about that for about an hour. So it would be great if you can give us a room for an hour or so. We have to catch a flight at 8:00 PM”
He did some calculations and got back. He asked us to confirm the name and cell number of the GM which we promptly did. After punching some more details into the system, he handed us the key card.
Mgr: “We are sure you will be leaving by 6:00 PM right??”
I had a smart glance at my watch and said, “We’ll vacate the room by 5:30 PM. Don’t worry. And yeah, thanks a lot!!”
Holding the key card in my hand, I turned back victoriously, to see an expression of shock and disbelief on the face of my boss. No sooner had we crossed the lobby and entered the lift, we both laughed our hearts out. It was only 4:00 PM and we had one hell of a nice rest, that both of us needed the most for us to work consciously for the next few hours!! I was only hoping that once we checked out again, my GM did not get the Thanks for staying message again!!!
Sunday, April 05, 2009
To vote or not to vote - The big Question!!!
With the country heading towards the largest electoral exercise in the world, more than 75 crore Indians will decide the fate of who will govern the country over the next 5 years. And with every passing day, the campaigns are reaching newer levels.
I was in CCD yesterday, when I overheard a conversation from the next table. They were discussing on whether to vote or not to vote. With the type of the public that generally frequents these types of outlets in the country, the discussion was not surprising. Having overheard a few of their thoughts, I just couldn’t smile. We too picked up the same topic and started discussing among ourselves. And the slow service at CCD, in fact gave us enough time to ponder across lengths and breadths of the topic.
The fundamental question which runs in every teenagers mind is whether we should go out and vote in the elections at all. And most of the people who have just acquired their voting rights, unlike me (I was very excited about my first vote in any general election), seem to be over pessimistic about voting. The common reasons given are, the candidates who stand for the elections are not capable enough, there is so much of corruption around, one vote is not going to make any difference to the crores of votes, what’s the point in going and voting when the accessibility to the leaders (or rather representatives) of the people is literally not there and so on and so forth.
The point is not that. I consider voting as a duty rather than a right. More than anything, as responsible citizens of a country, we all should vote. According to me, it’s totally wrong to talk in the air, without being able to justify things. During our debate, one of us told that most of the people who contest elections are all school drop outs and illiterate. But that was a gross understatement. We have ample number of qualified people and by qualified I mean people with real good educational background. We have people with basic graduation degrees to MBA’s from Wharton and Yale and PhD’s from Stanford and Harvard. Of course I do agree that there are people who are illiterate who contest for the elections, but then I am pretty sure that their number can be counted with the fingers.
Coming to the point of educated people being in politics, as long as the people are able to conduct themselves well, as long as they are able to understand life better, and as long as they are able to administrate decently, there is no real need for these big degrees. After all education is supposed to do only this!!
Often candidates standing for the elections are termed as incapable of the job and so on. But majorities of the people, who make these statements, are actually not even aware who is contesting the elections from their area. So how can anyone generalize the statement of candidates being incapable? Of course there will be a fair share of people belonging to that category also. But the best thing to do is find out a bit about the candidates and vote for the most capable person.
Now there is every chance that all are incapable. It does happen. And this is where our system fails. At least earlier, with manual ballots, one had the option of registering an invalid vote, thereby not electing anyone. But with the advent of EVM’s that option is ruled out now. I have read a couple of forwards about provisions being in the constitution for not voting for any candidate, but still registering a vote. I don’t know how far this is actually true. Maybe some research in this area would do some good.
I often come across people who crib about lack of amenities, poor infrastructure in terms of roads, water etc, and corruption in the system etc. What we all fail to understand is that we are a part of the system too. And if the system has a problem, we are a part of the problem. And when we are the part of the problem, part of the solution also lies with us. I always advise people who always complain, to try the system first, and then comment on it. I had this boss of mine, who always used to say, “Unless you have tried something, don’t even say that things are not possible”. I completely agree with him. If you have tried and failed, then you have every right to talk. But without any efforts, talking in the air is actually ridiculous.
Who says there is no system in the country? The system may be delayed, but it still is there. It may be painfully slow, but its there. Or else how would you even explain the powers that the Election Commission is able to execute in enforcing the Model Code of Conduct during the election time. 15 years ago, this was unthinkable. Now, anyone who violates the code stands the sure chance of getting booked under law. What happens next is a different question. But the point I am trying to make, is that things are changing in
Many more examples like these can be given, but the essence of these is very simple.
On a concluding note, I would like to emphasize on the fact that, just as in other cases, if you don’t perform your duties, you won’t be eligible for your rights; if you do not vote, you have no right complaining whatever happens in your society. Be it as small an issue as frequent power cuts or as big an issue as a terror attack on your city.
Friday, March 20, 2009
A Quarter of a century!!!!!
One of the many sms conversations I shared on 17.03.2009, the day I turned 25.
Ash : Many happy returns of the day Dost. May you have a successful year ahead.
Nit: Thanks a lot Dost!!
Ash: Know what?? Today is a very significant day. Its not like just another birthday!!
Nit: Why?? Just because I negotiated the turn of 25 successfully??
Ash: That’s only a part of the reason. See, its like this. Because of you, many people have got new identities. Pushpa became Mamama because of you. Because of you, Vimala became Amma and Narendra became Aanu. Nirmala became Pachi and Ramesh became Mam. So its like you have created a new identity to so may people. So the significant part of this day is that we are celebrating the Silver Jubilee of all these identities being created on the same day.
Nit: Oh Wow!!! Never realized that!!! See how great I am!!!
Ash: You are definitely great!! But I am greater, as me how!!
Nit: How??
Ash: You became Anna only because of me!! So that means I gave the identity to the identity creator. So doesn’t it make me great?? I am really proud!!!
Nit: Yeah it definitely does!!!
Ash : Many happy returns of the day Dost. May you have a successful year ahead.
Nit: Thanks a lot Dost!!
Ash: Know what?? Today is a very significant day. Its not like just another birthday!!
Nit: Why?? Just because I negotiated the turn of 25 successfully??
Ash: That’s only a part of the reason. See, its like this. Because of you, many people have got new identities. Pushpa became Mamama because of you. Because of you, Vimala became Amma and Narendra became Aanu. Nirmala became Pachi and Ramesh became Mam. So its like you have created a new identity to so may people. So the significant part of this day is that we are celebrating the Silver Jubilee of all these identities being created on the same day.
Nit: Oh Wow!!! Never realized that!!! See how great I am!!!
Ash: You are definitely great!! But I am greater, as me how!!
Nit: How??
Ash: You became Anna only because of me!! So that means I gave the identity to the identity creator. So doesn’t it make me great?? I am really proud!!!
Nit: Yeah it definitely does!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)