Personal Development

Baggage of the Old (past) – Good or Bad?

Ensures

Some lessons from 34 years in the industry – experiential learnings that I thought would be worth sharing. Not sure who I should credit this pictorial story, but with due credits to the original author I am taking the liberty to share it and Copyright owners can get it touch with me for suitable remedial measures, if required

I have been fortunate to have been working in Development function almost all the time (and even when I had Business/Sales development function, I ensured training and development and R&D was my additional responsibility. For the simple reasons that I would be forced to be abreast of the developments in the Technological world and benefits of working with young minds (fresh with no prejudices or judgements) who invariably drive us to an “out of the box” thinking. No doubt it is challenging when every decision are questioned in a manner unthinkable for old-timers (Not all, but most of them in my experience in about 7 huge multinationals that I worked in)

A Harvard research (I think it was in 2015 or so) in a survey of around 10,000 companies revealed that more than 70% of the organisation considered Older Age a Competitive Disadvantage. This agreed with another research of American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) whose findings that age based discimination (Over 2/3 of samples between 45-75 years Old) is indeed prevalent in the industry.

With an aging demographics, it is indeed a challenge since elderly folks will clearly outnumber the young workforce. Most importantly, there is another school of thought – Older professionals bring their expertise and why to let precious skill that took many years to acquire go waste. On the flipside, that is a job that another youngster rightfully should have been entitled to. Remember King Charles III waiting for 73 years to be crowned the King – Pitfalls of Longeivity.

And in any case, going by my experience, I have seen most of us wanting to continue working much past their retired life. As Stephen Hawking said : “Work gives you meaning and purpose, and life is empty without it.”

Organisations, when hiring an elderly resource, assume that we bring wisdom to the table by virtue of being old and experienced.

The Big Question – Is a business looking for someone Wise or someone Careful?

One obvious drawback is the “idea” Baggage we bring in to the workplace. By and large, all progressive ideas that is seemingly risky (even those considered worth taking) is spiked at source. Younger workforce, raring to go would obviously find it discouraging. Do the elderly workforce bring in Congnitive diversity? In practice, I find it is a myth, though statistics shows a mix of age groups in the workforce. The ideas and perceptions of the elderly will invariably swamp suggestions of youngsters and they get pushed towards implementation. This is a dangerous situation for any enterprise when the world is borderless, and technology is changing every second. We cannot solve the the problems of today’s business with solutions that worked in our prime times.

Ideally the elderly resources should be in self-actualising mode – guiding the young leaders on a path that lets them sprint but don’t trip and just in case they do, just spread the net so that the fall is arrested. Instead what I found is that each one of us attempt to become a part of the same rat-race chasing Fancy Job Titles, Personal Career Growth, Bigger money and Greater Power, frustrating the younger Thinkers and Doers, but also many times, frustrating themselves. The rats who are anyway in the race will never know if the cat is chasing them or part of the race. It is good for us to avoid this confusing situation for the younger ones, who are the future of the enterprise.

Can you Spot the Cat among the rats in this race?

Another serious area of challenge is total resistance to Change. There is almost total unwillingness to adopt modern technologies and adapt to the changing work styles. Less flexible with their preconceived notions about the way things are (or the way it should be), the rigidity more often paralyses the growth of the enterprise.

More often than not, it is a myth that elderly workforce don’t get into workplace politics or show more responsible attitude towards work (as a Harvard Business review piece suggests). The Old Boy club is so well entrenched and have a great affinity to each other. We gang up much easily when our ego is bruised or when our inability to adapt becomes obvious. What we don’t realise is that not only it harms the organisation, but in the end takes us down too.

The Old Boy Club – It still exists and is thriving – though it has no place in the modern world
PC: https://vocal.media/

It is important to realise that agility both physically and mentally is no longer there. It is not those days when we could afford to let some slips happen and recover. Every slip today sets the organization irrecoverably back, considering cut-throat competition, who are waiting to sort us out.

Don’t disturb the applecart is our oft repeated advise. Why do we have to do it that way, is a question that would find a stock answer “We don’t know – that’s how things are done around here” Can there be a more dangerous phrase we can hear in workplace? This thinking is far worse than the possibility of best competition that would clean us out. We will do it the same way since this is how we have always done it this way.

Not naming the organisation, but even in the face of steady decline YoY or even MoM in the numbers (Per capita) the consolation peddled was that the absolute numbers have risen (disregarding the expenditure that has proportionately risen). Until it was too late, the reason why the numbers kept dropping was never realised, because we always did that in the past and it worked, losing sight of the customer who was becoming wiser by the day? Customers don’t live in the past, they live not just in the present, but also look much ahead into the future. If there is no value add, they subtract you from the equation and go to someone else. Unless there is innovation (nothing to do with your past or breaking away from the past) which by nature is resisted by the Old-timers, it is a cinch that competition will sort us out. The worst part is that every organisation would have fantastic young Leaders who are the future – if only there is a small shift in the mindset of the older leaders, if only there is a realisation that these youngsters are the future of the organisation, not us who are just the railings for them to seek support, if at all they need it. Instead of getting into the turf protection essays, nurturing a coterie running personal errands, using them to circle to shield ourselves to make reality beyond the shield invisible, but does a world of good to remember reality exist. Any incompetent shield will sooner or later fizzle out & will sort us out. No one can live on past glories because the world is dynamic – what is good in the morning, may be obsolete, and even a threat, by lunch time. Ideas or business methods have very short shelf life. Let the mindset also be aligned to that shelf life.

Let us respect the Biological norms. We are in the evening of our lives (Flourescent lamp or incadescent lamp times) and let us be catalyst for brigher luminaries (LED luminaires). They are the light of the future and make some allowance for them to trip. Didn’t we trip then? The newer generation are far better informed and careful than what we were (or what we are). Is there a guarantee that our decisions will not boomerang?

I recall this Tweet that was not in this context but applicable here too. It was to drive home a point to someone that number of followers on Social Media is not a privilege but a responsibility

Original Tweet here: https://twitter.com/surnell/status/1052291844929986562

It is our single most important responsibility to be factual, backed by data. Good to remember that this generation give a tinker’s damn to opinions not backed by data. By the way, I say it is our responsibility because someone who trusts our wisdom may quote our opinions as gospel truth and if it was just an opinion pulled out of the hat and not based on data, not only they lose their face among those where our opinion was quoted as fact, we lose our credibility too. Bluffing and getting away assuming that by the time fact check is done it will be forgotten, is a thing of past. Today the truth can be discovered with a click of a button. Therefore, it serves everyone including ourselves well if we stick to Facts, instead of bluffing our way to win some arguments.

If you cannot back it with Data, keep your opinion Packed

To sign off, in these IT and Tech world, dominated by young, enthusiastic and highly capable bunch of qualified professionals, “grey hairs” may be respected but may not be valued. It is the “Grey Cells” that matters. And it helps us to act our age instead of acting a sulking or jilted lover especially in workplace. If we have not adapted or incapable of adapting, bidding a goodbye is the best for everyone around.

“Its not how old you are, its how you are old.” ― Jules Renard

Let us age gracefully, age responsibly instead of just growing old. It is not our chair that should give us a value, but we who should make the chair valuable. How we are to the world, without that Chair is true reflection of one’s worth. Increase that, instead of bank balance or position.

Sustaining Volunteering-Dispassionate Attachment

Ensures

Once again this is a collection of my tweets in a fairly verbose manner since this doesn’t have limtations of number of characters like on Twitter

सक्ता: कर्मण्यविद्वांसो यथा कुर्वन्ति भारत |
कुर्याद्विद्वांस्तथासक्तश्चिकीर्षुर्लोकसंग्रहम् ||
saktāḥ karmaṇyavidvānso yathā kurvanti bhārata
kuryād vidvāns tathāsaktaśh chikīrṣhur loka-saṅgraham
Bhagavad Gita 3:25

As ignorant people perform their duties with attachment to the results, O scion of Bharat, so should the wise act without attachment, for the sake of leading people on the right path
Source of translation : https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/

In context of Volunteering for the Fight against Covid19 Pandemic, what was initially thought as a short term battle, got extended wave after wave and as I write this we are already at the end of Year 2 and battling the 3rd wave (thankfully not so harsh like the 2nd wave). Original mobilisation was for just 2 months and it never seem to get over.

In an online talk to a collection of Civil Society, where I suggested a free-flowing Q&A model instead of a Lecture and then follow up questions. The first question I received was a interesting one. The participant wanted me to describe in a phrase (don’t know why this limit)- what can prevent Volunteering Fatigue, that would be natural due to unexpected extension of time devoted to a passionate cause, as against paid volunteering – My answer phrase was “Disapassionate Attachment” which is the essence of that particular verse from Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Everything else is subordinated to the Cause.

More often than not, especially in the current round of Volunteering, Young, energetic and passionate volunteers never needed any motivation as they are already inspired and self-fired. But those get fatigued are those who want to deliver perfection and fail.

न बुद्धिभेदं जनयेदज्ञानां कर्मसङ्गिनाम् |
जोषयेत्सर्वकर्माणि विद्वान्युक्त: समाचरन्

na buddhi-bhedaṁ janayed ajñānāṁ karma-saṅginām
joṣhayet sarva-karmāṇi vidvān yuktaḥ samācharan
Bhagavad Gita 3:25

The wise should not create discord in the intellects of ignorant people, who are attached to fruitive actions, by inducing them to stop work. Rather, by performing their duties in an enlightened manner, they should inspire the ignorant also to do their prescribed duties.

Whenever these inspirational gems talk to me about how to avoid failure in the task – I only request them not to aim for delivering perfect service, but aim to deliver acceptable service. Because what the beneficiary needs simply is unpredictable (COVID19 context)

Not all our stories ended up like in a fairy tale – but consolation is that it was not due to lack of effort. Not to let one setback paralyse because we then are letting down so many others waiting. Agreed we are not machines, but there is no choice but to move on.

Working in various verticals of my current efforts, establishing the basic framework and hand it over to the successor who can definitely do a better job than us to innovate and grow the vertical better to serve more people. Here, a mistake most leaders commit has to be discussed. Their inability to let go and trust the successor to do it better (there could be other reasons, but keeping it positive). Since it was conceptualised and executed first time by me, I always feel no one else can do that task as well as me (leave alone better). More often than not, a good capable leader is lost in the process because he/she is not available for any other task and occupied in something so mundane or routine by now, that anyone else could have done. As Chandan, one of the volunteers said, Once you weather the storm, leave it to someone to manage in calm waters. I have found some of them get fatigued in this situation. They assume they are in control of everything and get mentally tormented that in reality they are not in control of that situation. Fight against COVID19 was a cascading situation of this nature, even today. Letting go is an important achievement when you are in dispassionate attachment and helps avoid volunteering fatigue

I draw from my personal experience when I adopted this practice. Withdraw from the vertical once the assigned role of establishing framework is over (Dispassionate Attachment). In almost each Veriticals, my successor grew it in unimaginable scale (to be honest, I could not have done it at all)

The last round of volunteering was totally different model and found it was more enchanting. Zero Budget operation, Amorphous bunch of citizens coming together for a single cause – BeatTheVirus & slogan being WeWillWin, it came with horde of challenges. Navigating through unfriendly official system to deliver using the same system. Being amorphous itself brought some amount of unpredictability, with no formal organisation structure, one that emerged on its own during the course of operation (Swayambhu in action) and various pushes and pulls in different directions. But in the end DELIVERED

During the horrendous 2nd wave, it may not have ended well for some families but visible gratitude of people whom we touched, only reinforced the feeling that they did not give up on the world. When they say, Thanks for being besides us & making us realise not everything in this world is bad. It was personally very different this time. Losses were kind of certain – lost many of them known to me very well too, we were able to help some who emerged successfully from the havoc to come back and work with us.

With self fired young and enthusiastic Volunteers, only facilitative leadership works and best form in my opinion is Servant leadership. Transactional leadership is sure prescription for disenchantment. Show-how works better than know-how. Officialdom and bureacracy would well take note of the popular saying in QMS context, “Never end up having a system for documentation instead of a documented system”. One big mistake we do in the process of chasing a system it to create so much of documentation, most of them totally avoidable, that instead of working we had a team spending most of the time creating presentations and records. It is not about discipline or credit-chasing (young ones are smart they see it right away), look for method in madness especially in Unpredictable situation.

To add an important thing here- to avoid Volunteering Fatigue, consider Volunteering as a privilege not a favor we do to others. Reason why I had serious apprehensions about using the words like CoronaSainika or CoronaWarriors etc (though I plead guilty of using it many time myself)

In the context, Pujya Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar ji in 5 words said – “We Are Not The Doers“. What a lovely way to remain detached while remaining committed to the cause. Designations, hierarchy, results, even the organisation – nothing would matter once in this mode.

Thoughts of a fellow volunteer on org: I think this is the general phase of how it happens. Be it economy or any other thing, there is a phase of really good unselfish work, followed by growth, then peaks and due to vices and ego taking over, the downfall.

Signing off saying, Letting Go is not Giving Up, it is smart way to remain objectively detached (accepting that we are not the Doers) from outcomes, but ensuring there is no lack of effort.

Happy Volunteering

Happiness is Infectious!

Ensures1 Comment

Sharing a chat with  maxi background,  that I had with an ex-colleague on #LinkedIn, on how I managed to handle a stressful job of getting a BIFR company into a Going Concern. This called for retrenchment of “Humans” many who were with this Organisation for years, more than my age at that time.

Background
There was this Company which went sick and referred to BIFR. With Manufacturing unit for Electronic Version of the product (let me call it EB for Electronic Box) in #Bengaluru (which was a 2 year old unit) and a much larger and older unit for Mechanical version unit (let me call it MB for Mechanical Box) in Chennai (40 year old Unit).

With technological advances and end process deficiencies MB was slowly but surely on the way out but for some weird reason the Management resting on the then Market Domination (>65% Market share) never saw the writing on the wall. Market was moving, albeit with a lot of resistance from the end-consumers and immediate customer, towards more accurate and precise, process efficient EB.

Buoyed by this resistance, they hoped against hope that it was a temporary and the market would revert back to MB (to be fair, there were some business in the replacement market, less than 1% of FG inventory per month)

EB units tenders increased in numbers and Organisation was forced to start a unit in Bengaluru to design and manufacture of EB. To the credit of this organisation, they were also the first one to have a significant installed base of the Electronic version in the market.

However, despite almost zero demand for the MB, it never resized their production, nor redesigned the lines for EBs. Production continued with same strength and to the designed capacity. FG inventories piled up. With no shipment, it was stressing the Cash Flow as also increasing the Creditors. Labour Unions did not agree for scaling down production.

Servicing the Bank loan/advances, Payment to Vendors were taking a hit. Old habits die hard – Unions never gave any leeway for the management to reconsider any aspect of production – Double wages for Over-time (yes production of MBs working Over time, that only piled up in the FG Stores)

The Bengaluru unit (headed by yours truly at that time) by itself was Profitable EB unit, with rationalised process, optimal personnel, but was being bled by the MB unit, which was a White Elephant. EB Unit Capacities were no where near the requirement to handle the entire organisation. This continued for 2 years and the inevitable happened.

MB unit (which for 5 years was a drain on the organisation with zero contribution to top line) began pulling down EB unit and started sinking. Despite good order book, it became extremely difficult for EB unit to continue and the vendor support shrank due to non-payments, and employees in this unit began idling due to lack of raw materials.

Finally, the Organisation was referred to BIFR and upon their enquiry, declared it a sick unit. Accepted a proposal for revival. With two bankers as primary operating agency and with me as Chief of Operations, a revival package was worked out.

Barring a couple of executives the entire management was changed by the operating agencies. Then began the painful process of revival. The first task for to retrench Humans (I don’t want to reduce them to a pair of hands), who worked for this organisation for more than 35 years (which was my age then).

The chat with my then colleague yesterday was about how at that age I managed the entire process (with grace of God and my Guru, very successfully) and the psychological impact it had on me (who was one of the resource, I insisted continue with me during the revival process). Let us call him Mr K, then an young but brave lad with two years of experience

First step was to shift the entire manufacturing to Chennai, from Bengaluru (where we operated out of a rented premise). We explained the situation to the staff here, and made an open offer to all the employees to join us there on same terms (with an assurance that if things go as planned, it can be reviewed upwards).

Most of the production staff being ladies had difficulties moving and they were given a 3 months buffer with full pay, to look for alternate. Some of them (around 30 out of 80+) decided to continue and move to Chennai. Rest of them found alternate employments within the buffer period.

As always, financial institutions wanted me to revive the unit with no resources 🙂 And were pressurising me to let go of everyone here too. It was then (so many years back) that I coined what still remains my favourite phrase – these are not head counts for me, but heart counts (recently I saw some motivational speaker using this in a TED talk).

To make it a going concern, we need those who are passionate and who believe that it can be done. We also need people with knowledge and Skill to work. There was no way we could find any resource from the MB unit in Chennai (Incidentally, they went on a strike at the unit). Finally I was allowed to have 22 (out of 80+ from this unit) and 8 of them had to be left behind.

With Vendors breathing down our neck, resisting this shift, it was the first major challenge to be overcome. Threats, blackmails were an everyday affair, heavy doses of which I had to live with. We then had a meeting with operating agencies and all affected parties, explained the situation and got their buy in for the only way forward. To reduce cost, do some businesses, work out some formula and time period for pay-outs.

Finally, in 2 months time (and one month ahead of target) the entire unit was shifted to Chennai. Next was the challenge to move the EB manufacturing facility into the MB unit. With the employees there on strike, they resisted this tooth and nail and we had to move the line in, with heavy security. A part of the line was set up in another facility to begin production pending settlements.

We know had the biggest challenge of all on hand. To convince the promoter/erstwhile management to infuse funds for two purposes, one to negotiate a golden handshake and second to restart the production. Lesser said the better on how this challenge was overcome. But overcome we did.

The most challenging part of the whole process began. Inviting the representatives of the Labour force for a negotiated settlement. Political arms of Labour unions got involved and things were only messed up even more by them. It was then that my HR head directly talked to the employees.

I explained that at this point of time, I have some funds which can be the settlement amount and if there is any delay, even this position will become precarious. Also acknowledged that this business owes it to them for the successes till 5 years back but today they have no contribution to make in the changed business scenario.

I also offered them a re-employment provided they acquired the skills and at par with existing employees (not their existing scale). Finally, I just made it a situation of – either we all sink together with nothing or take something and let those who deserve float and begin sailing.

The deadlock continued and despite their request for another settlement offer, I was clear I had nothing extra to offer and in fact the funds available towards this head is reducing with every passing day. Exactly 62 days later, about 200 of them signed a petition and accepted the offer and it was immediately accepted and settled. It was just a matter of time for remaining to accept and move on.

Vendors accepted a revised proportional payment settlement. Some of them continued to support us in the revival process and some of them we lost forever.

Bankers were convinced to reschedule the loans, interest components to be waived. Government was approached to provide a temporary tax exemption.

Customer confidence was won, purely based on the quality & ruggedness of our designs and clear intent shown. In 33 months, from the time I took over this became a going concern.

Now K’s doubt was, Sir! How did you even manage! We were dealing with Humans in the entire process. Suddenly one fine day, bidding them goodbye and not to come for work. Looking back (though the thoughts were not like this), I only had the interest of organisation and larger number of affected person in mind

To protect interest of 350 people and their families, I had to otherwise sacrifice more than 400 employees and their families who were contributing to the revival, then comes Vendors and their employees and their families.

So decision was clear! It was only about alleviating the pain of 350 people, which I did sincerely by negotiating the best possible settlement under the circumstances (it was a hard bargain which the world never knew) – they wanted to settle for nothing.

Though I spent sleepless nights, remembering the sad and tearful faces of affected people, in the end, it turned out to be successful. This business was then sold to another corporate and is currently doing extremely well.

Recently attended the naming ceremony of the grand daughter of one person who was retrenched. When I apologised for the past, he said nothing to apologise – YOU DID GREAT. My BLESSINGS! We knew we were to get nothing. But you heard our abuses patiently, fought for us and got us amount which was princely sum those days.

Lesson for K:

If you are focused on the task sincerely, all other factors are redundant. Whatever it takes to fulfil the task becomes the guiding factor.

37 year irrelevant experience meant nothing that day for us, 2 year’s relevant experience like his helped us settle even those much experienced employees.

All along, even thereafter, I had to manage workforce or peers and colleagues who are aged much more than me. But if we are clear on the objectives of why we are in an organisation, does age or experience of the other person matter?

As long as there is no malafide, or biases, or preferences or even aversions, if we stick to being professional, we will be talking only business and not emotions or sentiments. There is a different place and time for that.

In my previous employment, the guy who hired me had to report to me within a year. He was totally uncomfortable. Tried to convince him that his job and he as a person still has all my respects, just like I have for anyone else. We are here for a task and generally as a rule, I don’t lead. I only facilitate people to do their jobs. Unfortunately he did not think alike. He opted not to have his contract renewed and retired.

What worked for me in my work, is never to treat a person as a pair of hands (or a piece of brain in IT industry). Respect him or her as a whole person, then they enjoy working with you. They look forward to come to work and not look for excuses to take holidays.

It is in a manager’s interest to keep everyone around happy. Else even manager looks for excuse to take a holiday. A lively bubbling workplace is something everyone enjoys being in. And I have a selfish motive to keep my workplace a happening and happy place.

Because happiness and enthusiasm is infectious  🙂 It rubs off on me too.

IT WORKS. Try!

PS:

1) Though I had many opportunities to work for reviving Sick Businesses, I never accepted any offers to do it again. Today with increased awareness in me, I know it is pain that I may not be upto. Those days, I never even realised but simply did the job. In the process, for quite some time it resulted in poverty thinking and mental stinginess in me. This took a lot of effort to overcome.

2) The same management killed another group company (automobile industry), which had 80% market share for the product, because they refused to work on Electronic product of the same. Today’s vehicle do not have mechanical version at all.