Tag: Corporate Culture

Two Perspectives about Getting on and off the Wrong Train

Life sometimes puts us on the ‘wrong train’. How to decide if we need to get off the train or just enjoy the view?

Life rarely goes as planned. Maybe you didn’t plan on the having the job you currently have, even five years ago. Sometimes, we chase after opportunities and sometimes, we are made to create opportunities for ourselves. We decide on one thing and another thing happens. There are two perspectives to these ideas about change (of life and plans of life for us) and growth.

The Cost of Change:

There’s a well-known Japanese proverb that goes:

“If you get on the wrong train, get off at the nearest station. The longer it takes you to get off, the more expensive the return trip will be.”

This can be applied to so many scenarios of life:

-Feel stuck in a job you don’t like? Quit before your mind gives in to the habit of comfortable misery. Get off the next station.

-Feel stuck on an idea you know doesn’t seem to be working out? Stop and check if you should put it on the side for now, quit or course correct. Decide the ‘station’ you want to get off and do that before the train rams into your sense of competence.

-If a project needs you to test something on a user, test on one user, in a controlled environment, so in case there’s a flaw, it doesn’t reach thousand users later. Decide if it works and make the required changes as early as you can. The more you stall, the more expensive the return ticket becomes. As the writer Steve Krug puts it, ‘the cost of change grows over time.’

The Suprises of a Journey:

On the other side of this coin about ‘getting off’ from the ‘wrong train’, there are countless writers and philosophers from across the world that remind us how it is the journey that is more important than the destination. One may get on the wrong train, one may not reach their originally planned destination. But they still get to take in new, undiscovered scenery. The ‘wrong’ train may eventually make us find new a destination we didn’t even know we needed.

This too can be applied to many scenarios in life:

-Stuck with a job which you didn’t plan on having? Might as well learn something about it now and try your best to do it well, with your full presence. We may know people professionally who didn’t plan on getting in a career they are in right now and somehow, managed to be at the top of that career they ‘originally’ hadn’t thought of choosing.

-Your initial idea has turned all topsy-turvy and you don’t know what to do with it now? Maybe there is a new direction your idea is meant to go in.

-Testing on a thousand users led to a different outcome than anticipated? Maybe think if the users can still benefit from this ‘new’ outcome.

Getting on a wrong train may either lead you away from your planned destination, or it may lead you to a destination you were more suitable to go in. Our decision then lies not in quitting, or staying but deciding the cost of staying on the ‘wrong’ train. And both decisions can be sensible ones depending on our situation. Some questions we may ask ourselves are:

  • Is the cost of change likely to make your life miserable?
  • What will you lose if you stay on the wrong train?
  • Is there something you may gain if you stay on the wrong train? 

These are the answers we need, which may help us decide whether to get off at the next station or enjoy the scenery. So dear reader, would you like a new ticket or would you like to get off at the next station?

From Old to New to Old: A Reminder About Being ‘Good’ At Our Jobs

Ashok had decided to start his own recruiting firm. He felt he had enough of experience working in the industry and now it was time to start something on his own.

Janki had been thinking about going back to her job as a programmer now that her child had grown up enough. Her industry had undergone massive shifts during her maternal sabbatical, and she had quite a task to do with all the upskilling and re-training that she was going to need.

Ajeet had been a successful architect, having made a name for himself for years, and with many famous projects to his name. But he had now decided to change tracks and start working at an NGO that provided vocational training to the underprivileged.

In all these different cases, there is one thing in common.

You may guess that all of them seem to be people going after their passion. But maybe Janki’s case is just that she wants to get back to working, passion or not, we do not know.

You may guess that all of them seem to be people who are starting something new. Maybe, but Ashok is starting a new recruiting company, but he isn’t unfamiliar with recruiting. Similarly, Janki isn’t completely unfamiliar with programming.

You may guess they are all taking a leap of faith in trying to do something out of their established lives. They are all seeking to venture out of their familiar zones. While that is true, there is one common thing that binds all these cases together, and that is they might take time to get ‘efficient’ at their new ventures.

In their old established jobs, they could put in 20% of effort and would be able to reap 80% of the outcomes. That 80/20 ratio of the Pareto Principle may go for a toss for these people as they undertake something new.

Like we said, they may need more time to get things done. To feel like they actually ‘achieved’ their dreams.

This is a thought a lot of us may have when we think of following what our heart tells us. The world around has trained us for instant gratification. We want instant results and instant effectiveness. We want the results of the Pareto Principle where 20% of our efforts are enough to get 80% of the results.

But the truth is that venturing out of our familiar comfort zones has an initial cost, and that is our time. Learning something new requires our time and we may not get immediately efficient at the task. In those moments, it is tempting to give it all up for the comfort of old efficiency. Ashok may need some time to understand how to manage an entire firm, formulate its policies from the scratch, manage personnel and he may be tempted to go back to his old job where he just had to follow his boss’s policies. Janki may need some time to upskill and understand the new developments in her industry and she may be tempted to go back to her life as a stay-at-home mother. Ajeet may need a lot of time to understand how an NGO works, and it maybe tempting to him to go back to his job as architect where his years of practice come to him automatically.

But what Ashok, Janki, Ajeet (and all of us!) should remember is that their ‘old’ old jobs also required years for them to gain mastery. It was years of experience and hard work that made them an efficient recruiter, earlier programmer and later mother and architect. Years of hands-on experience and hard work for them to achieve the 20/80.

Any new path, any stepping out of comfort zones may not give us instant results. Efficiency takes time to develop. Does that mean we give up?

Of course not!

When we begin something new, the path is rarely easy. In those moments, we might need to give more time to things. We may need to work overtime (and not be a clock-watcher at that!). An old task we have been doing for years may require less time than a new task we have just learnt. But just because we aren’t efficient now, doesn’t mean we cannot get efficient ever!

Getting ‘good’ at any new job, any new venture requires time. Instead of looking back at our old life, the path is to look forward, because soon, this ‘new’ will become ‘old’, meaning, efficiency will soon come to us!

The Courage to do it Scared

Sometimes, we must go after our goals even when we are scared.

image to represent new year resolutions and planning to implement them, going after your goals even when scared

Weeks into the new year, Deepa felt miserable because she was not able to implement all the big and small New Year resolutions she had made.

Noticing her gloom, the people around her had tried to reassure her:

“It’s okay, it has only been a few weeks, you still have the time to implement your plans.”

“It’s okay, maybe you can start your plans during the Spring season, the actual new year in nature!”

“It’s okay, you can only begin with the small resolutions and then move on to the bigger ones.”

“Yes, take it slow, one day at a time, one resolution at a time…”

Slow, she had taken it, and she had the necessary planning, all done. The only thing to be done was the implementation, and yet something was stopping her.

Varsha, a wise old friend who was also like a mentor had been noticing Deepa’s dejection at her own inability to implement things. Varsha and Deepa lived in the same building, and would often carpool together- their offices were quite nearby and they would often spend their lunch-time together whenever possible.

During one such lunches, they both got into a conversation around Deepa’s new year resolutions. From wanting to eat healthier, to starting her own Youtube channel, Deepa had everything planned out. The planning and the resolutions themselves were quite realistic, so there was really nothing that could prevent Deepa. And as had been mentioned earlier, something was stopping her.

‘I don’t know what is happening Varsha ji. I wake up everyday and look at my post-it notes, my step-by-step planning. But I get scared.’

‘Scared of what dear Deepa?’ Varsha inquired with a gentle expression. She indeed had much love, like an older sister, for Deepa.

‘I am scared of so many big and small things. I am scared, for example, my Youtube channel will not work. Or it might work too well and I will be overwhelmed by it all. I am scared that my resolution to wake up early and get into fitness will result in detection of some new health problem that might prevent me from fulfilling my resolution. And for some resolutions, I am just plain scared that I might fail. Every day I wake up with the hope that today these fears will go away and I will be able to start implementing my resolutions. But the fears don’t seem to be going away.’

‘That’s a lot to be scared of!’ Varsha let out a small chuckle but quickly her expression changed into something Deepa was sort of familiar with; the ‘boss-lady’ expression who got things done and who helped get her employees to new heights. With a firm, resolute expression but with ever more warmth, Varsha said,

‘Deepa, the fears may never go away. You may never stop getting scared. Sometimes, even I get scared. I have my fears too.’

‘Really? Then what do you do when you get scared? How do you make the fear go away?’

Varsha took a deep breath and continued, ‘The fears never go away. Or they go away for some moments and then they come back. They key is to go ahead despite the fears.’

Deepa thought about it for a bit and asked, ‘But what if it’s my instinct that’s preventing something bad happening? A woman’s gut feeling is said to be very strong…’

‘Agreed. But gut feeling will not leave you questioning and anxious; gut feeling doesn’t paralyze you- it leaves you feeling stronger and firmer with your decision to do or not do something. Fear on the other hand leaves you feeling miserable; you feel like a failure and you begin questioning your own capabilities. You seem to be in fear, don’t you think?’

Deepa nodded.

Varsha continued, ‘Yes. Fears are going to be there. Yet you must get up and chase your dreams, big or small. You must not, cannot, wait for fears to subside. I still do some things where my heart beats faster than usual, where I get worried about what lies next, where all sorts of possibilities form in my head. And yet, I go for it. I have planned things. I have prepared. I have done what is expected of me to do- my ‘karma’. Ideally, I shouldn’t be scared but if I am, then so be it. I do what I want and need to do, even if I am scared.’

And with this, Deepa found new courage to go ahead and start with ticking off one new year resolution at a time, with her impeccable planning. For some of those, she was scared. But she went ahead, anyway, scared.

Team UHR wishes everyone a very happy new year. May the year bless us with courage to implement our plans, and face our fears with the courage to go for what we want, even if it is scary. There is courage in doing it scared.

Tools that Actually Matter

In a time when external excess and internal emptiness co-exist, a reminder about the ‘tools’ that matter.

image to show the importance of skill vs fancy tools

Sam had called a plumber for a leaking pipe in his kitchen. Soon, a middle-aged man with a faded tool-kit walked in, calmly but purposefully.

As he started working, Sam noticed certain things that made him question this man’s qualifications as a plumber. A wrench with a cracked handle. A saw that had half its part missing. But Sam also noticed something else that left him puzzled- despite these broken tools, the plumber appeared unbothered. In fact, he was doing the work with his characteristic calm and, rather skilfully.

Ten minutes ago, Sam was almost convinced that he had called the wrong man for the job, but soon enough, Sam had to also change his mind. Although he remained puzzled.

The plumber had identified the issue correctly, worked with these seemingly broken tools. The leak was gone and the tap looked as good as new. Impressed and grateful, Sam decided to give the plumber extra money.

The plumber shook his head and refused, further adding to Sam’s puzzlement. ‘Who refuses extra money in this day and age?’

The plumber responded, ‘Every job has a fixed worth. If I take extra money today, I will expect the same or even more tomorrow. When that doesn’t come, I will be disappointed. I prefer to be content with what I have.’

Now Sam’s puzzlement was mixed with admiration and pity. ‘At least buy yourself a new set of tools with this extra money. It will make your life easier.’

The plumber again responded in the negative, saying ‘The tools work perfectly well even though they might be slightly broken or rusted or old. Just like us old people!’ He let out a warm chuckle, which Sam couldn’t help but mirror.

The plumber went on, ‘When you write with a pen, it doesn’t matter if it is a simple pen or an expensive one. If you know how to write, any pen will do. And if you don’t know how to write, no expensive pen in the world will be of any help. The skill lies in the hand, not in the tool.’

The words sank deep. As Sam stared, at the resolute but content face of the plumber, the initial puzzlement and pity were gone, and only admiration was left.

Contemporary times make us race for comfort and wealth. We do what gets us these ‘rewards.’ Everything in excess, nothing being enough. We work long hours for jobs which never really satisfy us. We have bank accounts full of money but we do not feel wealthy or even worthy. We have all the tools- shiny and expensive- yet our outputs always seem to lack that unnameable something. That is probably because we seem to have forgotten the value of the real tools- the tools called:

  • Honesty
  • Hard work
  • Gratitude
  • Contentment

With these intact, even ‘broken tools’ can create miracles and become worthy. Beyond fancy jobs and degrees, it is the work ethic. The work ethic that values honesty and hard work, an attitude that finds gratitude- these ultimately show us what’s worthy. Swanky offices with swankier technology to work with and the swankiest certificates are good but honesty, hard work, gratitude, contentment are the ultimate technology and the ultimate certificates: these are the ‘tools’ that ultimately matter.

Handling the Post-Festival Blues

With a lull in the long stretch of festivities and having to return to the ‘normal’ work routine, are you also experiencing post-festival blues?

As the long Festive spell from August to October, sees a Break, before we enter into Christmas and New Year Festivities, we have a little Lull.

Lull in the festive energies, lull in the mini- and big- office parties. The Navratri and Diwali decorations are slowly being put aside now, and the office suddenly seems too…normal.

Getting back in the groove after a stretch of festivities can be difficult. There is a lingering feeling of wanting a longer break. If you had no break, you at least wish that the office space would suddenly not go back to being so quiet again. We have cases of the ‘post-festival blues’!

Let us have a look at some ways in which we can use our ‘post-festival blues’ to our advantage:

Enjoy the Routine: Breaks often mean our daily routine goes out of the window- slow mornings, long lunches, no deadlines and evenings spent with no plans for the next day. Going back to routine work after a long stretch of festivities can be tiresome. It may need a lot of motivation….at first.

The beauty of routine is that once you actually get back to it, you discover a lost ‘rhythm’. Sometimes, we actually need things to be structured to have a productive day. That daily commute where you gather your thoughts for the day ahead. Or the positive kind of pressure you put on yourself to meet that deadline. Or the ‘eustress’ or the good kind of stress that propels you to innovate and work hard. All this and all other kind of ‘hard work’ helps us to rediscover the rhythm we may have lost during the festive stretches.

Enjoy the Quiet: The sound of the gentle murmurs, the shuffling of papers, the beeps of machines and the tapping of keyboards- the ‘quiet’ office is often considered one of the best environments to work in. After the din of celebrations, a calm, quiet environment in the office means better focus and better productivity. Now is the best time to use this to the best of our advantage after a refreshing break.

But wait, the festivities are not over yet…

If you are someone who just cannot get over the post-festival blues, well, Christmas is not far away! There are more celebrations, breaks in the routine to look forward to. We can also remember that the ‘diya’ within can always remain lit up- it doesn’t have to end with Diwali. So, light up the office space with your bright presence! We can still wish everyone well even without any festival around. We can bask in the abundance of our life through gratitude. We can keep our work area decorated with small reminders of our loved ones. The gifts of kindness and empathy never go out of season. And there is no wrong time to celebrate hard work.

So, are you ready to turn the festival blues into the joyous lights of the productive routine?