1015 am - Office Car Park
Warman and I, after a long, tedious journey and exhibition of unwavering concentration, crafty manoeuvering skills and patience finally made it - to our office. (I have no doubt that Warman would beat Alonso any day, on Bangalore roads!)
The first day. We did not exactly expect a lavish reception with flowers, cards and long-winding smiles and encouraging pep-talk (that happens at the Ritz Hotel, New York - we had a case study on that!) but what happened out there beat our expectations hands down.
1020 am - Office
Voila ! The office gate. Two striped glass-doors. One huge rectangular glass sheet on the side which proudly proclaims that THIS is the haven of the "best analytical minds in Supply Chain Management" and we both staring at it with a sense of pride and achievement at having made the cut. Then, we see that in all its glory, the doors are LOCKED. Yeah, locked. And you saw the time right !
1030 am - Bench Outside Office
Now, since our Senior Manager is in by 1030 we had decided to wait outside our office where there are some wooden benches a-la the ones besides Thames, London.
Now, I must accept humbly that I have never been to London, but over here I do acknowledge the contribution of my dear friend, philosopher and guide Karan Johar for allowing me to have a taste of London from the cosy comforts of the front row of a theatre. So, we both, Warman and I, sat down (NOT a-la Kajol & ShahRukh!) and discussed India's economy, shares to invest in what company, what would be the implications of Mallya's 'friendly' investment in Air Deccan. (We are MBAs, our discussions are strictly business-oriented!)
1045 am - Still There
15 minutes, by which time we have by using our awesome analytical skills have narrowed down and nearly found a solution to India's economic problems as well as our current financial ones, we decided to call our Sr. Manager.
"I am working from home today. Yesterday, Gaurav had not come. Nilesh will come at 12. Am not sure whether Raj would make it today. And Milind's bro is in town. So, he might as well not be around. Call up Milind to enquire about Raj."
By this time, we both wanted to say "I'm loving it!".
1100 am - We will Join TODAY
Having called up Milind we were assured that Raj would definitely be there and we assumed by default, before Nilesh. Hope, you see, hope !
1125 am - Made It !! Nearly :(
25 minutes later Gaurav turns up.
During this time, we had concluded without any doubt that we are at the right place. THIS is where we were destined to work. No fixed time to enter office. No compulsion for new entrants to be skeptical, to be unnecessarily formal - THIS is what a workplace should be like. It reinforced our idea that there ARE people like us out there who are competitive yet not obsessed by it, who are professional with a sense of balance, who are confident and not insecure, who would not assume much importance to a new entrant but would treat them just as one of theirs. We were impressed.
And then, Gaurav says "I don't have the key" (To which my immediate thought was "AV has")
1205 pm - Finally !
So, all three of us went to the nearby Cafe Coffee Day outlet. And again discussed you-know-what. Half an hour later, we decided to check. And lo behold. There was light inside !
I can bet that of all the guys of our batch, no one would even come remotely close to the experience that we have had. A locked door, a wait of one-and-a-half hour, no induction or orientation - something of a novelty which only a start-up can assure. The indications are positive. Only time will tell, whether this is the 2nd good decision of my life. Till then, continue to do what we did from 1020 to 1205 !
Friday, June 01, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Traditional Conformance
Non-conformism is undesirable. A great man (I think it was Einstein or George Bernard Shaw) once said "The reasonable man tries to adapt himself to the environment, while the unreasonable man makes the environment to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man". Well, who cares about great men, nowadays, anyways?
I am far away from the altar of greatness, even prospective greatness. If I were born in a different era - an era of philosophers, of thinkers, of historians, of sociologists maybe, by now, I would have already staked my claim to greatness!! But, it seems unlikely in this world.
But, I am a non-conformist. Not a radical, though. But, I refuse to believe that things could be done in one way only. That the beaten path is the best path. I would like to do something - anything in a way which no one has tried before. And it is not easy.
If people realize that, then its only trouble. Either way. In one case, you will be brandished as 'different' and you will not be considered for anything which is supposedly 'mundane' by their own dictum, in which case you lose out on a lot of things. In another, they will try to explain to you, that you lack basic sense of reason and intelligence and that they are the last torch-bearers of the highest form of intellect - that of following tradition.
The explanations are fascinating. And of course, what is spectacular and fascinating, glitzy and sparkling, in today's world, is more likely to be ridiculous and devoid of either rationality or intellect. Some of the choicest ones to have been thrown at the non-conformists and their possible replies:
"Our ancestors were not fools. They did it this way so there must be some merit in that!"
I am sure every one of us have heard one version of this or the other. I have no reason to believe that my ancestors were fools and in the same breath no reason either to believe that they were not. Generations after us, would think exactly the way about us. What they did, could have been right in their era but can be wrong in ours. After all, every philosophy does have a time.
"What will the people say?"
I do care what people think, but only when it does not interefere in anyone else's life. Apart from that, they may go to hell, for all I care. I can only give them an assurance on my part that I will be joining them there!
"My head is hung in shame when people speak to me of your actions!"
If you believe that you have done a fair job of inculcating the idea of questioning every premise put forth, that I will not accept any moral code blindly, unflinchingly, and exhaustively but would rationalize and filter out what is best in all, then you would not be ashamed of me even if I were the ONLY one talking nonsense in a sea of so-called sensible people. Otherwise, you have failed and if you have failed, then the only option left for you is to shut up, sit back and enjoy the spectacle!
"Why cannot you be normal? It is great if my neighbour's children do something of that sort. But I want my children not to disturb the social equilibrium!!"
I do not know what is normal. I am NOT normal. If I am capable of disturbing the social equilibrium, then, well, I have satisfied the first premise by which I started this post - I do belong to the club of 'greats'. And since, I do not, by reverse logic my actions would not even cause the flicker of an eyelid.
So here is to ancestral superiority, set structures, laid-out procedures and societal norms. May you all rest in peace. And let me be.
I am far away from the altar of greatness, even prospective greatness. If I were born in a different era - an era of philosophers, of thinkers, of historians, of sociologists maybe, by now, I would have already staked my claim to greatness!! But, it seems unlikely in this world.
But, I am a non-conformist. Not a radical, though. But, I refuse to believe that things could be done in one way only. That the beaten path is the best path. I would like to do something - anything in a way which no one has tried before. And it is not easy.
If people realize that, then its only trouble. Either way. In one case, you will be brandished as 'different' and you will not be considered for anything which is supposedly 'mundane' by their own dictum, in which case you lose out on a lot of things. In another, they will try to explain to you, that you lack basic sense of reason and intelligence and that they are the last torch-bearers of the highest form of intellect - that of following tradition.
The explanations are fascinating. And of course, what is spectacular and fascinating, glitzy and sparkling, in today's world, is more likely to be ridiculous and devoid of either rationality or intellect. Some of the choicest ones to have been thrown at the non-conformists and their possible replies:
"Our ancestors were not fools. They did it this way so there must be some merit in that!"
I am sure every one of us have heard one version of this or the other. I have no reason to believe that my ancestors were fools and in the same breath no reason either to believe that they were not. Generations after us, would think exactly the way about us. What they did, could have been right in their era but can be wrong in ours. After all, every philosophy does have a time.
"What will the people say?"
I do care what people think, but only when it does not interefere in anyone else's life. Apart from that, they may go to hell, for all I care. I can only give them an assurance on my part that I will be joining them there!
"My head is hung in shame when people speak to me of your actions!"
If you believe that you have done a fair job of inculcating the idea of questioning every premise put forth, that I will not accept any moral code blindly, unflinchingly, and exhaustively but would rationalize and filter out what is best in all, then you would not be ashamed of me even if I were the ONLY one talking nonsense in a sea of so-called sensible people. Otherwise, you have failed and if you have failed, then the only option left for you is to shut up, sit back and enjoy the spectacle!
"Why cannot you be normal? It is great if my neighbour's children do something of that sort. But I want my children not to disturb the social equilibrium!!"
I do not know what is normal. I am NOT normal. If I am capable of disturbing the social equilibrium, then, well, I have satisfied the first premise by which I started this post - I do belong to the club of 'greats'. And since, I do not, by reverse logic my actions would not even cause the flicker of an eyelid.
So here is to ancestral superiority, set structures, laid-out procedures and societal norms. May you all rest in peace. And let me be.
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