Managerial lessons from life

Home is a good place to be. Hot, humid and stuffy, but this is the place i love the most! As i sit this sunny afternoon with filter coffee in hand and Binny curled up beside me I can’t help but reflect what my one year in IIM has taught me. Let me assure you, more than the books and the coursework, if I were to run my firm tomorrow i’d need to learn a lot more from everyday life.

Informal Groups Implode:
This is something i’ve come to realise over time after being part of several groups. Whenever there is no structure or defined roles, the interests of individuals serve towards the least number. So you notice one by one people keep getting cut out (sometimes the others don’t even notice), till there are core 2-3 ppl who have issues with each other. It becomes putting up and looking for a new group. Its not a cynical view. Its just nature. That’s why probably boyfriends and girl friends break up while married couple try to at least resolve conflicts before the D word.

If someone thinks their group is rock solid, think how many were initially part of the group, how many issues you find with other members and you will realise its a matter of time. You need a structure to hold things in place. That way despite the turbulence, the group finds footing.

This is essential for a manager to know. Cos all this bunch of friends just starting a firm without defined roles and designation is not gonna do a world of good. Lok Paritran is a perfect example.

Stepping on Egos is worse than dog tail:
Somehow, when you work at the lower end of the hierarchy, there is a sense of fraternity feeling. Fellow sufferers type. However when you are a manager or for that matter in position of power, you got to deal with fragile egos and flailing power centres, one of which is probably yours. Now when you have to step on egos, you better be wearing a ballet shoe so that you at least land gracefully.

When someone tells you, you can be frank with me, the fact is you can’t be! When there is power involved people behave like 3 year olds who want a toy. They see no rhyme nor reason and to them its all about ingratiating their egos. Unfortunately, I learnt it the hard way. With an equally reactive ego, I decided its better to let the actions speak than direct confrontations.

Best friends make business decisions tough:
I read this Direct from Dell, where he invariable calls his customers, clients and colleagues by name. He never calls them his friends. This is not something that we would be willing to listen to, but think about it. How often can we out rightly say a no?

We had the head of Wacker Chemicals (a German) talking to us. He said “Indians – they just want to please the other person. So they say a yes, cos they think it is impolite to say a no.” A lot of the batch got pissed when he said that, but ultimately its the truth. With friends you can argue, but whenever it comes to a face off, you put the friendship on line. We cannot be professional to friends, without stepping on egos!

Tomorrow if i have to start a business I would want likeminded people but not my best friends. Now let me tell you, that in itself, will be a point of contention if I had not known my friends.

Resisting change has causality count:
When change was first discussed in class, I realized I have always viewed change as a forced response to the environment. One of my blogs a year back carried a comment that said “show me one change hater who has survived”. I understood organizations were proactively introducing change and I think this we do in our life as well.
I noticed that whenever I feel cramped up, I do something to my appearance. So when I shaved off my French beard (that caused a batch mate of mine to choke on her food), I was just trying to incorporate a change I’m responsible for. Without sifting through jargons, I’d say change is better if you are the one who is bringing it.

Timing is everything:
Though its easier said than done and befit my PJs, I think this is something that is crucial that life teaches you. Starting from your first love to the your driver’s licence everything is in a hurry! People are not able to appreciate the event in their hurry to move on. This is not about the patience, but knowing the right time.
Having said that, I’d also want to be foolish – to not stick to timelines, have secret crushes, flirt a bit, but know when to stop. I’m not that mature yet.

The most trivial thing i had in mind is the freshers in management. Most of my best friends are freshers, but I feel, its not the knowledge you gain with work ex, but the experience of being managed in an organization that gives you a perspective of what goes through your employee’s mind. No doubt these guys would be good managers, but the empathy component might be a bit less. Having said that, it would work out pretty well if you are to be a results oriented manager.

Good is not good for everybody:
Thanks to Abra, the awesome 66 know the above statement as a joke. But just because your intentions are noble, your acts can’t be. People give a lot of crap about ethics and morals and values, but if you have to be taught that in class, I think there’s something not so right with the business world or with your value system. Its not always like a Madhur Bhandarkar movie. The tip for the manager is that at the end of the day do no job that can take away your sleep ( i mean the conscience part)

Pensiveness is not a new friend to me. With Binny trying to draw attention towards him by nudging my laptop, I think I’ve written things that not a lot of people would agree with. But I guess, these are my actual learning and i will hold onto them until proved otherwise. I know I can never be a manager who can sign the epitaph of anybody with a deal. And I don’t want to learn to be either.

I don’t dream to be a great manager or the powerful CEO, but to make my small world of loved ones happy and in the process do my bit for the people around me. Hope the tide of time or the 2nd year of PGP doesn’t change me (or i decide to be proactive).

Oh btw, Thank you Rana, for the HTML template tip on blogger :D