At the outset, here goes two confessions - One, this post has come up as a result of a blog of a kid just out of his engineering college trying to settle into the shoes of a would be manager in the first few weeks of his new b-school. He's learnt two of most common jargon used in corporate more so in the consulting industry today. Second, consulting industry respects firms & individuals who can simply "add value" to simple things to provide a strategic direction and draw top management attention. Bamboozled...? Keep trying not to?
Coming to the two most commonly used ones - " We are taking a look at it" & " We will get back to you" - strictly speaking in most cases this would be the response to the person who has raised a question and if you dont even know what it is leave alone the answer to the question! Wannabe MBAs learn this the first from their seniors when they submit their carefully crafted assignments & hope for a good feedback from seniors! There is ofcourse a presumption here that seniors will look at it and let them know! Seniors always are in the "looking at it " "will get back" mode!
Now, for some consulting "value -add" to these! In the very first place what is value-add! Much bandied about but no one realizes unless they call consultants themselves who can make them realize! The consulting version of "will get back" is now "circle back" or "touch base"! Maybe because "getting back" sounds too lowly or prudish!
To get an initial overview has become "to take a first stab"! Interactions between two persons/processes/systems have become "touch-points"! Providing a maintenance guideline has changed to providing a "sustainability framework"! And to think of it, I have not gone towards bandying of words like alignment, strategic intent, perspective (to my knowledge the most commonly (ab!)used words"! Financial modelling is now equated with just basic revenue / cash flow projections!
I am still learning! People who are trying to welcome to the club! You can see for yourself the effect such "versions of truth!!!" have on people at large! Otherwise how will they dole out their largesse to us in form of fees! We provide them "value" with some solid creativity spiced up with an impressive verbage like "we will split the hair into two for our analysis" (meaning we will get into bare details)...they provide us the moolah! you give some, you take some.. Game of quid pro quo!
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Entry & Exit!
Entry and exit - antonyms in english, antipolar in direction but equal in importance at every phase in life! A grand entry into a phase of life and equally respectable exit is desired..
Whether the entry is grand - depends a lot on the people surrounding you. But the exit is almost always depends on how one has conducted oneself in that period of time...One of my teachers used to say, one should always exit before people want you to...rather you should exit when people want you to stay...this can be at a party, or for an artist on the stage floor, or a cricketer or even a politician...Humans however have a tendency to cling on to their existing states till of course the system pushes them away. The system when pushing you will not even for a moment reflect your stature and your contribution, status etc etc.
Even the great Kapil Dev was forced to exit despite the fact he was gunning for a world record. The entire media was abuzz that he was in the team only because of the record. Even if that might be the truth cant the system provide that concession to a sportsman who has given volumes to his country to be proud of!
Where this blog comes into the picture is in between the entry & exit, ones activities & actions almost always determine the propensity of the system to push you out! Most often the exit then becomes a quiet and nondescript one! When we came to NITIE there were a bunch of seniors, professors and everyone welcoming us, trying to make things & life in general easier and comfortable...The exit for almost all of us has been a quiet one with a few handshakes and lo! your 2 years come to an end! Everyone is left with a job and suddenly realizes he is on his own entirely! The very objective of most of us to come for an MBA was this job but now this doesnt seem as bluechip as it seemed to be 2 years back! Suddenly the desire of clinging to the same environment & cushion emanates but the system does not allow you to!
However, life as always has a way of evening things out! When you exit one you enter another system! And most often it is a little difficult to cope with it but even you have grown up! It is only then that you realize the ultimate truth! The objective of each entry & exit is to contribute a little bit so that you are not absolutely unprepared for the next entry!
That breaking off or coming out of a long relationship is painful is known universally! But not many realize that it actually makes you that much wiser when you enter the next one! Entering a new relationship is ofcourse difficult not because of the vestiges of the previous but more because you are more informed about your own self and your expectations! In Google-speak, the quality of your keywords and search strings become more refined hence search throws up fewer but definitely much better results!
It is therefore upto us to make our exit as less painful and more graceful! More importantly, realize the takeaways from it as each system is like an inn for the weary traveller which provides shelter for the life! You give the comfort of an existing system to enter a new one but the system returns you with the experience and wiseness to enter the next! You give some- you take some! Quid Pro quo!
Whether the entry is grand - depends a lot on the people surrounding you. But the exit is almost always depends on how one has conducted oneself in that period of time...One of my teachers used to say, one should always exit before people want you to...rather you should exit when people want you to stay...this can be at a party, or for an artist on the stage floor, or a cricketer or even a politician...Humans however have a tendency to cling on to their existing states till of course the system pushes them away. The system when pushing you will not even for a moment reflect your stature and your contribution, status etc etc.
Even the great Kapil Dev was forced to exit despite the fact he was gunning for a world record. The entire media was abuzz that he was in the team only because of the record. Even if that might be the truth cant the system provide that concession to a sportsman who has given volumes to his country to be proud of!
Where this blog comes into the picture is in between the entry & exit, ones activities & actions almost always determine the propensity of the system to push you out! Most often the exit then becomes a quiet and nondescript one! When we came to NITIE there were a bunch of seniors, professors and everyone welcoming us, trying to make things & life in general easier and comfortable...The exit for almost all of us has been a quiet one with a few handshakes and lo! your 2 years come to an end! Everyone is left with a job and suddenly realizes he is on his own entirely! The very objective of most of us to come for an MBA was this job but now this doesnt seem as bluechip as it seemed to be 2 years back! Suddenly the desire of clinging to the same environment & cushion emanates but the system does not allow you to!
However, life as always has a way of evening things out! When you exit one you enter another system! And most often it is a little difficult to cope with it but even you have grown up! It is only then that you realize the ultimate truth! The objective of each entry & exit is to contribute a little bit so that you are not absolutely unprepared for the next entry!
That breaking off or coming out of a long relationship is painful is known universally! But not many realize that it actually makes you that much wiser when you enter the next one! Entering a new relationship is ofcourse difficult not because of the vestiges of the previous but more because you are more informed about your own self and your expectations! In Google-speak, the quality of your keywords and search strings become more refined hence search throws up fewer but definitely much better results!
It is therefore upto us to make our exit as less painful and more graceful! More importantly, realize the takeaways from it as each system is like an inn for the weary traveller which provides shelter for the life! You give the comfort of an existing system to enter a new one but the system returns you with the experience and wiseness to enter the next! You give some- you take some! Quid Pro quo!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Fate & Free Will
Hindu culture has ingrained in us a deep sense of fate. We all have a common habit of saying that everyone comes into this world with a described fate and incidents, achievements, failures and even death happens according to that prescription of Fate. Grandmothers describe Lord Yama as the guardian of Fate and say that he has an accountant called Chitragupt who keeps a track of all good and bad actions and our Fate is described by our actions in our previous life.
However, Hindu culture also implores you to perform Poojas/other ceremonial rites like Karva Chauth by which it says that bad times can be warded off or long life can be ensured. Now if Fate has prescribed them before how can they be changed?
Lord Krishna says "Karmanyevadhikaaraste maa faleshu kadachana" in the Bhagvath Gita. He advises that you are to decide your destiny by your actions. We have heard many great people advising us as well that it is only human beings with their intellect can decide their future according to their Free Will. Now again if our past life has ensured a sequence of events/results Free will and "Shaping one's own destiny" are irrelevant.
Hindu mythology provides an astounding example of how one can defeat Death which is said to be beyond us. It describes a princess Savitri who marries Satyavan despite knowing that he would die within an year of marriage. She remains a dutiful wife and lives a righteous life devoted to her husband in the hope of a reversal as a result of her actions. However Fate is Supreme! On Doomsday the noose of Lord Yama falls on his body and pulls out his soul. The legend continues that Savitri follows Lord Yama and in order to ward off her insistence he grants her 3 boons (except the grant of her husband's life ofcourse). She asks for the prosperity of her in-laws poor family, her own family and as a third boon asks for a son. Lord Yama in his haste says "Tathastu" and asks her to leave. Savitri still follows much to chagrin of the Lord! Savitri chides him that despite his promise he fails to keep up his own boon. To a surprised Yama, Savitri says if husband is no more, how could she have a son? The Lord of Dharma that Yama is, He had to uphold his own promise and had to return Satyavan's life to her.
The legend uphelds the victory of determination and will over Fate even in matters of Life & Death which has always been considered by elders as irrevocable.
All this brings us to the question of "Fate vs Free Will" - which among them dominates? This question specially dogs us when we tend to take important decisions in our life. Personally, I have found people resorting to Fate when results of decisions/actions are not favorable and trying to take credit on their determination and will when actions bring positive results.
Without doubt, however the matter is one of intrigue and can determine one's own attitude towards life/decisions/actions. So what does the Hindu culture tell us on this subject through its intricate fabric of habits legends and tales?
A holistic view goes to show that its actually "Fate and Free Will" and never "Fate v/s Free Will". Since Hindu culture believes in rebirth, it says actions in this life will revert back to oneself in this life itself and if that does not happen in full measure it balances in the next life. That is in effect, our own will and actions determine our destiny and Fate. Both are two sides of the same and both follow each other in a cause effect relationship.
As always, its a two-bit cycle. Your actions determine the results and the same results determine your further actions....It thus goes on and on as a Game of QuidProQuo
However, Hindu culture also implores you to perform Poojas/other ceremonial rites like Karva Chauth by which it says that bad times can be warded off or long life can be ensured. Now if Fate has prescribed them before how can they be changed?
Lord Krishna says "Karmanyevadhikaaraste maa faleshu kadachana" in the Bhagvath Gita. He advises that you are to decide your destiny by your actions. We have heard many great people advising us as well that it is only human beings with their intellect can decide their future according to their Free Will. Now again if our past life has ensured a sequence of events/results Free will and "Shaping one's own destiny" are irrelevant.
Hindu mythology provides an astounding example of how one can defeat Death which is said to be beyond us. It describes a princess Savitri who marries Satyavan despite knowing that he would die within an year of marriage. She remains a dutiful wife and lives a righteous life devoted to her husband in the hope of a reversal as a result of her actions. However Fate is Supreme! On Doomsday the noose of Lord Yama falls on his body and pulls out his soul. The legend continues that Savitri follows Lord Yama and in order to ward off her insistence he grants her 3 boons (except the grant of her husband's life ofcourse). She asks for the prosperity of her in-laws poor family, her own family and as a third boon asks for a son. Lord Yama in his haste says "Tathastu" and asks her to leave. Savitri still follows much to chagrin of the Lord! Savitri chides him that despite his promise he fails to keep up his own boon. To a surprised Yama, Savitri says if husband is no more, how could she have a son? The Lord of Dharma that Yama is, He had to uphold his own promise and had to return Satyavan's life to her.
The legend uphelds the victory of determination and will over Fate even in matters of Life & Death which has always been considered by elders as irrevocable.
All this brings us to the question of "Fate vs Free Will" - which among them dominates? This question specially dogs us when we tend to take important decisions in our life. Personally, I have found people resorting to Fate when results of decisions/actions are not favorable and trying to take credit on their determination and will when actions bring positive results.
Without doubt, however the matter is one of intrigue and can determine one's own attitude towards life/decisions/actions. So what does the Hindu culture tell us on this subject through its intricate fabric of habits legends and tales?
A holistic view goes to show that its actually "Fate and Free Will" and never "Fate v/s Free Will". Since Hindu culture believes in rebirth, it says actions in this life will revert back to oneself in this life itself and if that does not happen in full measure it balances in the next life. That is in effect, our own will and actions determine our destiny and Fate. Both are two sides of the same and both follow each other in a cause effect relationship.
As always, its a two-bit cycle. Your actions determine the results and the same results determine your further actions....It thus goes on and on as a Game of QuidProQuo
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