The Perfect Script - The Journey Ends

A journey is defined neither by distances nor destinations. Intentions with which it started, the road taken, pace at which it progressed, the stopovers, fellow travellers, experiences enroute, impact on the traveller and the impact the traveller has on his fellow travellers and many such other aspects define a journey. A journey, truly is about the process; the preparations, shine, rain, challenges and turbulence enroute, the joys and sorrows involved. Much like the ascent to a mountain top culminates in commencement of the descent, for no one ever stayed at the  summit till eternity, journey once commenced must end even if it is seemingly static. Even if everything else is static, time will fly.

Life is a one way journey that commences with birth and ends with death. Plainly put, it is the time that separates death from birth. Once born, we must all die. Emperors, Kings, Pharaohs, Autocrats,  Dictators, in fact every man and woman on the planet, powerful or powerless,  rich or poor,  significant or insignificant, and every living thing must conform to this law. No one has ever defied this law and in all likelihood it shall remain so. Nothing whatsoever of the traveller physically remains barring some belongings that someone may fight over or may not even bother to look at. That too becomes somebody else's soon. But that doesn't affect the traveller who has disappeared after completing the journey. 

 

If there is anything eternal about life, it exists only in the realm of the faith we profess. Not even the most exquisite memorial can ensure eternal remembrance of any human being. Emperors, kings and despots despite their best efforts to remain immortal have failed. They, like lesser mortals, will  also fade into oblivion. Then why such fuss about the journey?

Imagine a journey where other travellers look for you, eager to travel with you, to experience your company and partake in your experience. Such a journey is one worth undertaking. The story of such a traveller is likely to be retold by fellow travellers. Such stories pass on from generation to generation extending the longevity of that journey even in the absence of the traveller. Consider the journey of a traveller who never comes across anyone, avoids others, works to be of no relevance to anyone and has none relevant to him or her.  He or she also travels but on a lonely insignificant journey. Of significance only to themselves, many amongst us actually are on such lonely journeys with a facade of significance. Look around; we may find many on such wretched  journeys. 

Look within to find for yourself the significance of your own journey.  By birth each one of us sets out on a journey fully equipped to make it memorable, but many go astray. Fortunately, even if we have hit the wrong path, course correction is possible. All journeys, however  good, bad, trying or  easy, once commenced will have to end. Since destinations are known and we have the freedom to make the journey beautiful, why not earnestly attempt?

Books are similar. Though physical boundaries of the written work are dictated by its covers, neither covers nor the thickness between the covers ever defined a book. Physical beauty of the book least defines it. The idea, intended message, narrative, narration and its relevance at the time it is read defines the book and determines its longevity. More congruent the idea with that of the reader and friendly the narration, easier it is to associate, assimilate and internalise it. In most cases if the book represents what we want to say and could not, we instinctively fall in love with it. In such books, we often find some character that may be a true reflection of ourselves. No wonder, why written works have immensely influenced humanity. Once in the hands of a reader the author, having done his or her work, is not even an observer. What goes beyond the covers is only the story within.  

We too are like that. Our life too, physically exists only between the two covers called birth and death. What can go beyond the two is only the narrative we create during our lifetime, longevity depending on how relevant we as a story has been to the ones around. The more relevant we become to those not directly associated with us, the longer is our story likely to propagate. Salvation and rebirth are concepts that reside in the realm of one's belief system. One doesn't stand to realise it in this life for salvation comes after death. Whether we as individuals can realise if we have attained salvation or not after our death is also a matter of belief. salvation notwithstanding, we have a choice of making ourselves immortal by scripting the current narrative of our existence appropriately. Such scripts go well beyond time. It is about such scripts that people naturally say, "once upon a time there was…". The story once commenced, unfortunately has to move forward in time. Yes; it can make amends ahead but can't go back in pages or time to erase and rewrite.

We are on a one way  journey, scripting a story for a book that is racing towards completion.

If life was so simple, why do people grieve when they lose someone dear? Billions have lived before us and died. Most of us would have experienced the departure of someone very close sometime in our journey. We all grieve. But sooner than later, we all have come to terms with the loss, in our own way and then get on with our own journey.  The severity of the impact surrounding loss is dictated by how it impacts our physical existence. Loss of a breadwinner impacts the dependents intensely at least in the short term. But soon those left behind find ways and means of existence. The impact on the emotional wellbeing could linger longer, depending on the coping mechanism of those grieving. Most recover over time while some inadequately equipped to cope tend to moor themselves to the loss, laying waste a chance to script a beautiful narrative. The more we focus on the loss, the more intense the pain and longer the effect. There are many  coping mechanisms. The easiest one is to celebrate the life of the departed rather than focusing on the departure.

A story without an end and journey without destination is yet to be created. We don't know how far our destination is. It could be nearer than we think. There are no rehearsals and retakes in this journey or scripts. Let us commit ourselves to making this journey memorable and a story that generations pass on.

Pretenders and Koels: Organisational Narratives

 Robbery?

Have you ever felt cheated at work? 

You did all the work and someone else robbed you of the credit! 

For many career men and women, this  may be a daily affair. If you have never come across such a situation in your career; you could be amongst the handful few on the planet; otherwise you may be immune or insensitive enough not even to recognise or register this universal phenomenon.

Have you ever cheated someone of their credits? No. Never; I don't ever do such unfair things!! If one has a few human beings on the ladder steps below them in the organisation, such an event would certainly have happened with or without one’s knowledge. Even if it hadn't  actually happened, it is unlikely that someone below you in the ladder hasn't  thought so. If we have climbed the hierarchical ladder, at least sometime in our career, each one of us would have stood accused of giving credit to a pretender. If you haven't been told so, it is likely that you are either uncommunicative or unapproachable. The question remains; are we big hearted enough to accept what we willingly or otherwise perpetrated? 

Et Tu Natura?

I enjoy sitting out on the veranda, looking at my garden and sipping coffee. I enjoy gardening and love my small garden, mostly potted plants. This is where I saw a management lesson unfold!  

Last Sunday, I noticed that the Orchid at the corner had flowered. It looked beautiful. A single stem, not very conspicuously coloured, beautiful nevertheless. It looked as if it emerged from the basket hanging above but actually it was the shoot from the plant potted well below. That plant had shown no symptoms of flowering anytime in the near future and I was in a mood to chop it away. It was on a second thought that I decided to retain it.  Then, when it set forth its shoot and flowered, it looked as if the plant on top of it owned the shoot. The one above stole the thunder from the real source. It would have been a tragedy if I had chopped it off. Despite knowing each plant individually, for a moment I gave credits to the pretender. But there are other natural phenomena that are even more cruel. Brood parasites abound in nature. Koels use Crows to propagate their young. In the process of laying its eggs, koels are known to actually push as many crow’s eggs out of the nest. Crows unaware of the tragedy Nurtures koels eggs. Koel chicks hatch first and consume the maximum food that the crow brings. An intelligent crow is beaten by a smart Koel. Interestingly, organisations nowadays promote the culture of smart working!

Credit Grabbers and Koels 

In every organisation, there are many pretenders, who practice the art of grabbing credit for someone else's job. They may do it either in subtle ways or even making it obvious. It is not restricted to the lower levels in the hierarchy. It is omnipresent across all levels and all verticals. Modus operandi may differ. As a result, a thorough and hardworking individual could end up being labelled an underperformer. It becomes rampant if the evaluator or supervisor himself is incompetent or has come up through the ‘pretend and grab’ route. They slowly erode the kernel from within.

Organisational koels are not rare either but they like brood parasites can be even more dangerous. They deliberately, covertly or overtly, raise obstacles in the path of a colleague or subordinate to disrupt duties being discharged. Some of them even sabotage the systems and processes to achieve their ulterior motives. The management may not realise the presence of brood parasitic activity. It can come in endless ways. At the lower levels it may be by doing a shoddy job to take advantage of a facility given by the management. At the supervisory levels it could be connivance or fear of correction or both. Though not very obvious it actually cuts the organisation at the roots leading to its failure. Organisations in the service industry are easy prey to brood parasitic activities. 

When we are vested with the authority of assessing output of people below us in the hierarchy, it is possible that we give credits where not due, robbing someone who actually toiled. More the number of subordinates to be assessed, the easier it is to go wrong. Weak systems, inadequate checks and balances can help koels make a killing. 

Who stands to lose from koels and pretenders who grab others’ credits and how?

Losers

If the organisation is proprietary in nature, the loss likely to be suffered would be personal for the proprietor. Since the loss would be felt personally, investigations would be prompt and therefore corrective interventions are likely to be applied sooner than later. In non-proprietary organisations, since the management may not realise the short term or long term losses immediately, pretenders and koels are likely to be at play more often. Larger the organisation, higher the probability of multiplicity in hierarchical interactions and more remote the chance of discovery, more conducive the environment for pretenders and Koels to thrive. While the pretender or koel may continue to reap rewards, the organisation may be hopelessly hemorrhaging. Damages inflicted would be cumulative and might never get attributed to any one individual. Therefore the necessity of putting systems and methods in place to prevent such practices becomes more inevitable in large organisations.

The golden rule to remember is pretenders and koels may make the sun look shining, to make their hay, but they would be pushing the organisation into darkness, sometime for eternity. There are enough examples too.