Qualifications or “Callification,” Selection and Retention Criterion

 

Endless Efforts

 

“Callification?” Your efforts to find out what it means in the dictionary shall go in vain. I just made it up.  Patiently read through it; you will know what it means.   

The three submersible pumps working continuously and in tandem could not fill the colony’s overhead tank. The employees kept the pump running. One pump ran dry far too long and burned itself out. The open well also ran dry. They told no one. Why should they? They had nothing to lose. I noticed the unusual activity and enquired. This had been going on for a few days. It should not have. 

I did a quick calculation of the flow rates of the pumps, the capacity of the community tank, and the tanks over the individual houses. Considering the endless efforts of the pumps, all the overhead tanks should have been filled and overflowing. It did not happen. I concluded that there must be a leak somewhere in the pipeline. The large amount of water that leaked out must have gone under the foundation of somebody's house. People seemed to be oblivious to the potential losses and damage. 

Stimulus 

“Let us check the pipeline to identify and plug the leak,” I suggested. “You have no qualifications to decide what is wrong with the water distribution system,” came the only response in the group. I was not surprised. I did not expect anything different from that individual. Did the crass response stem from deep-rooted prejudice germinated in ignorance? 

Ignorance? The individual had never bothered to ask me about my qualifications or experience. He could not have known about my academic or professional qualifications.  I did not have to revisit the lessons in fluid mechanics or applied engineering or fall back on my experiences in managing the civic amenities of one of the biggest cantonments to understand the elementary science problem. I also did not have to rack my brain to remember my lessons in missile technology. After all, determining why an overhead tank refuses to fill up is no rocket science.  

Prejudice? Prejudice is a platform internally constructed by an individual using preconceived notions about individuals, groups, or even things. The result of a “taught” or “thought” concept, it invariably becomes a subconscious driver. It influences, often negatively, everything an individual thinks, says, or does. We all carry prejudices of some sort and tend to use broad-brushed templates in our thoughts, and actions. Some amongst us make it obvious and take it to obnoxious levels. Prejudice is the result of our inability or unwillingness to reason out within ourselves. If we sit down and dispassionately analyse our conversations and the decisions we have taken over time, we should be able to spot the prejudices underpinning them. 

Many believe that the job of the Army is to only guard the country’s borders. They think that everybody in the army stands in rows along the borders preventing people from crossing over. Some feel the Army is all about marching and doing physical exercises in the morning to prepare themselves for a duel at the border and doing sentry duty. They ask, “What does the army do when there is no war?” They cannot fathom the extent to which officers of the Indian Army toil on various contemporary academic and professional subjects. Their mobility up the hierarchy ladder is largely linked to their performance in these tests. Unfortunately, such injurious ignorance is prevalent even amongst the “supposed to be” well-read.  

Response 

I was angry and instinctively wanted to respond in the same coin.  The wisdom that age, exposure, experiences, and knowledge bestowed on me forbade me from stooping down. I decided to deny traction to the foul mouth. His response, however, triggered a much deeper thought. I am, by nature, given to analyse the ‘why and how’ behind every ‘what’ I see or experience. Why did he say that? Nobody does anything once. There is always a pattern and they leave a trail. He did. 

Besides his prejudice, which I was aware of, there must be an underlying belief that prompted the response. In possession of a professional degree, he had given himself to the belief that formal qualifications define an individual’s competence and his place in society. It showed in his generally loud and contemptuous behaviour. Unfortunately, there are many like him, enslaved by similar beliefs. This misplaced belief has forced people to obtain fancy qualifications by whatever possible means. It is common knowledge that people adopt illegal means to secure academic degrees. Some go to the extent of even buying doctorate degrees. Esteem somehow seems tagged to the few letters that find a place after an individual’s name. Do formal qualifications denote competence?   

Understanding “Callification” 

The discussion does not in any manner advocate the thought that an educational degree is a waste of time. One needs to have the basic requisite educational qualification. Mere possession of the qualification, however, is no guarantee of the presence of expected skills or the aptitude to apply the acquired knowledge. If an educational degree defines comparable competence, two equally qualified professionals like chefs, doctors, economists, fashion designers, lawyers, or musicians, should all demonstrate comparable performance. This is not the case. 

Everyone gets the initial foothold into a profession using the few letters representing a mandated educational degree. It may also be the inescapable requisite for career progression. Degrees merely indicate that the person has cleared a qualifying examination, by whatever means. The marks obtained by the person do not in any manner indicate his proficiency. It merely shows how well he fared in recalling answers to the questions, which in turn was anyway a matter of probability. This gives the individual the required ‘qualification’ to secure entry to an organisation or a job. Once an entry has been obtained, they need to perform in the role assigned. In performance, the difference between grain and chaff lies in “callification.” Without callification, however, smart one may be, one cannot make lasting Impressions in the field one has chosen. 

“Callification,” is the calling from within. If a person has a calling from within to be in a profession, then the quality of the work, he or she gives the organisation and the impact the person makes easily stand out from the rest. They are normally so self-motivated that they only need to be told the end state, not the how. Team leaders can easily distinguish between those driven by qualification and fired by “callification.” 

Selection Criterion 

Recruitment is now mostly an outsourced activity. Recruiters and head hunters are guided by the selection criteria template provided by the client. They look only at the qualification and track record of the prospective resource because they have no means to determine the callification.  Team leaders at all levels would love to have those fired by “callification” because it makes achieving goals easy. Many “callified” people are considered mavericks and leaders unsure of themselves may be loath to have them around. 

One of the common responses I get to most of my articles is, “What is the remedy?” There is no panacea for HR problems. It must be tailored to suit each situation. I cannot help HR professionals or those involved in making policies on selection, career progression, attrition,
and retention, by prescribing any means to determine if someone has the “callification” that they are looking for. I certainly know of a CEO who goes to great lengths to look for it.  

The CEO 

The qualification required to get on to the organisational roll is just an engineering degree. The degree guarantees the prospective candidate only an opportunity to sit for an examination conducted by the firm.  The exam unlike entrance processes adopted by many other firms focuses mostly on the application of knowledge that the qualification was supposed to have provided the candidate with. It also evaluates the ingenuity and adaptability of the candidate. 

Once a candidate gets through the written gateway, he or she faces an interview. According to the CEO, they look for the “spark” in the candidate. Talking to the CEO, I understand that the candidate reveals the presence or absence of the “spark” they are looking for within the first five minutes of the interview. The candidates call it the “desire to do something special” and I now call it “callification.” The candidate’s lack of communication skills does not become a barrier in this determination process.  It is a vibe, a feel that the candidate sends across and one that can easily be picked up by the discerning. The firm attributes the almost 100% retention of the resources to that spark or callification. The firm has been growing, in size and business. 

With no malice to recruiting agencies and professional head hunters, third-party recruitment may always ensure qualified resources, not “callified” ones.  Organisations staffed by “callified” people can make even deserts bloom.

A Table Full of Dishes ; Sanu Ki?

 Ubiquitous Affliction

“Sanu ki,” a usage in Punjabi, is both a phrase and an idiom. “Sanu” translates to “us” and “ki” means “what.” Together, it merely means “to us, what” or in other words “why bother?” Simply put it means “I don't care.” That is where it stops being a phrase. Depending upon the context, “sanu ki?” assumes many a meaning. Commencing from being a plain expression indicating disassociation, it can mean anything like irrelevance, irreverence, scorn, and at times the sublime state of acceptance of the inevitable. One needs to spend time with people who speak Punjabi to capture the essence of the “sanu ki” served. It can mean anything depending on how, when, and where it has been said and to whom it has been delivered.  The difference in tone can change the associated meaning. The versatility of this phrase or idiom is what caught my attention.

In Malayalam, my mother tongue, there are different versions of ‘sanu ki?” Starting from “namukku enthiru de? to “nammaku entho venam?” words, tones, etc continue to change as we travel up north, from the southern tip of Kerala.  I am sure there would be something equivalent in all languages and different versions, within the same language, depending on the local dialect. Irrespective of the language, or its local dialect they all essentially mean the same, “sanu ki?”

Harmless as it may sound, it can pack a deadly punch when it becomes an attitude. Some, having got away with it for some time, become “cordycyeped[i]” by this attitude. Irrespective of the size of the organisation or its field of operations, if even one member of the team becomes infected, then it is likely to spread to other members sooner than later, spelling disaster for the organisation.

Disaster Everyone Shut Their Eyes To

Established in 1985, Enron became a multi-billion-dollar behemoth. Everybody was sure about its future, or everybody thought so till it declared bankruptcy. The company was packed with talents. They were masters of the ruthless pursuit of profits. There was nothing stopping them anywhere and in whatever they attempted to do. Yet, Enron fell and when it fell, it fell like a pack of cards because something that talents could not prevent pulled it down from the inside.

Postmortem dissection revealed that a few at the top had lied deliberately and some around them colluded while the many other equally talented kept quiet about it. They all individually were afflicted with “sanu ki.” More than the greed of a powerful few at the top, the fall was ensured by the silence of many who could stop it but chose to abdicate. It is said that it is not the violence of the few that kills a society but the silence of the many. 

Cost of Collusion

Most of us find it difficult to speak up even when we know that the path or the decision being taken by the organisation, we are part of, is wrong. We could be worried that by speaking up we could be seen as anti-establishment, end up damaging hierarchical relationships, and spoil our chances within the organisation. Under such circumstances “sanu ki” is the path most of us normally choose. “Sanu ki” killed Enron. Dissection of organisational failures across the world would reveal that “sannu ki” was the ailment that finally killed all of them. If we look around, we can see many people within our families, organisations, and societies remorselessly abdicating their responsibility, to tell the truth. If we muster the courage to look within, we can see many instances where we too have abdicated. We can go to any extent to be seen to be nice without realising that if “sanu ki” can decimate organisations and societies it can destroy us too. The sad part of it, we actively collude with others either for favour or out of fear.

It is easy to compliment someone successful. It is easier to ignore a flaw and let it pass by when it does not impact us adversely. There are many who even at the cost of discomfort keep quiet when they see things go wrong. Most of us desist from giving the correct picture or feedback to those whom we know for fear of offending or spoiling the existing relationships. Anyone who musters the courage and gives suggestions that are contrary to what we believe in is considered offensive and even inimical. Most of us avoid such people.

On the receiving side when things have gone irredeemably beyond, the very same people who chose to be nice through silence would be the first ones to come forward with an “I told you so,” or an “I knew it.” We are conditioned to be nice to the extent of allowing our near and dear ones to fail. Luckily for this world, not everybody believes in sannu ki. Some do bite the bullet.

Bite The Bullet

Recently, on my social media page, I posted a picture of a few dishes laid out on a dining table. Many of my friends liked it and some even posted comments.

One message bucked the trend. "What do I make out of this Picture? What is it all about?" came the private message from my friend in Canada. What is so difficult in understanding a picture?" I thought. many had already seen, put their likes, and even commented. That was my instant response. I did not feel good at all. I tried to justify my act and refrained from giving any weight to his argument.

I had been blunt all my life. I had fallen foul with many for rightfully telling them what I thought was wrong with them or in what they did. Few well-wishers advised diplomacy. I tried but like all half-hearted attempts, it failed. I knew that many in the hierarchy avoided me because of my reputation. Interestingly, I was handpicked by two Director Generals only because of this reputation. I also rose in the hierarchy. I continued to be what I was. If I had chosen to be blunt then, I must give that right to others, now and always too.

After the initial discomfiture, I looked at the picture. He was correct.  Without context, the picture looked meaningless. If you want to understand how awful it was, just try switching on any Indian movie song sequence, preferably one that you have never seen before, switch off the audio, and try watching. I felt the same about the picture I shared without annotation. Most people who liked and commented on the picture must have given it their own context. Were they being kind or were they merely exercising their option of “sanu ki?” Either way, I was happy with all of them.

The Chinese Dinner My Daughter's
Mother-in-law so painstakingly
prepared for us 

On the other hand, here was a man who took time out very early in the morning, risking the friendly relationship we had forged over time, to tell me that I had fallen short. I knew it was straight from the heart and with the sole intent of correcting me regardless of what I felt. I immediately sent him a message of gratitude and made corrections to what I had done. I checked my previous posts. Most of them were without any reference to context, just like the movie song sequence that had no audio to accompany. They all had many likes and comments too. All my incomplete posts seem to have met with people who exercised their choice of  “sanu ki?” 

Today, people find it difficult to point out mistakes. Parents find it difficult to advise or correct even their own children for fear of repercussions. Imagine the damage we are inflicting on ourselves. We forget that “sanu ki” returns to bite.

Human Beings and Human Doings

Recently, a friend gave a talk about “human beings and human doings.” The content of the lecture is her intellectual property. The title set me thinking. I am convinced that it was ‘human doings’ that helped us evolve into human beings and it is in these very ‘doings’ that we, as a society or species, will either flourish or flounder. ‘Sanu ki’ goes against the grain of collective survival.

“To err is human,” didn't someone say? 

"To correct is even more human," I feel.

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[i] ‘Cordycyeped’ is a concept that I had discussed in my previous blog published on Jun 15, 2022. The link to it is given here.   

https://jacobshorizon.blogspot.com/2022/06/beware-you-could-be-cordyceped.html

Two Telephone Calls The Redwood Trees and A Stamp Pad

 

The First Call

It was a call from a former colleague and friend. He was organising an event to get former army officers and their spouses together, on an informal platform. He and a coursemate of mine reached out to all the veteran officers. Their efforts bore fruits. Many officers confirmed their attendance. I presumed he called up to discuss something about the meeting. 

“Sir, I want you to give a talk on ‘group dynamics’ at the meeting, he requested. I could not decline. Each attendee had a distinguished career behind him. Most of them had commanded and led troops in operations. They were masters at keeping teams together and eliciting performance from them in the most trying circumstances. Their spouses had seen it all from very close quarters. Talking to them about team dynamics, I knew, was like showing a candle to the sun. 

I scoured the web for research papers on the subject. All the articles, I laid my hands on, were clinical in their approach. Those in the realm of behavioural sciences took the psychology and psychiatry routes. Papers dealing with management used medical, clinical, and industrial inputs to explain the why of everything. They prescribed how to increase organisational harmony, growth, and productivity. I wanted my talk to be something other than academic because I was to address men and women who risked their own lives for the safety, honour, and welfare of the country and the men they lead. I wanted my talk to connect with their hearts.

When urgency dictates responses, people normally choose easy fixes. I loathe it because such solutions invariably become residual problems that persist. I just dig deeper, strive harder, and normally succeed in coming up with solutions that don't become problems later. I have been lucky. My mind was hard at work. I had not yet come up with any interesting connection. 

The Second Call 

It was quarter past eight in the evening and bedtime was fast approaching. My mobile buzzed. The message was from one of my cousins. "Will you be at home on the 28th of September?" it said. "As of now; Yes," I responded. "Can I call," he asked. "Certainly," I replied. 

He was older than me and was more of an acquaintance than a cousin. Our childhood interactions were brief. We were next-door neighbours and also members of the same local club. Members of the club were a band of youngsters, all in the same age group, looking for adventure and fun. He came to the club only to play badminton and steadfastly stayed away from mischief we worked up. He was studious, focused, hardworking, detached, reserved, and determined to carve a niche for himself. I was part of all the mischief that we, friends, planned and executed unless they decided to pull one on me. 

After graduation, he pursued studies in engineering and secured a career with a prestigious company. When I graduated, I joined the Military Academy and became an army officer. We drifted apart and raised our own families. We met just twice or three times in the last 40 years. Social media opened up avenues to catch up with people and we found a place on each other's contact list but never contacted each other. His message, therefore was a surprise. 

My mobile rang. “It has been many years. I want to meet you, sit down, talk with you, and hug you. We all are running against time. I want to spend some time with you before it is late,” he said. I could sense the sincerity in his words. We agreed to meet on the 30th of September. My mind was still hard at work when I retired to bed. “Why did he call me up?” 

That night I had a strange dream. I saw a forest full of giant Redwood trees. The name ‘redwood tree’ lingered on. I got up from the bed and drank water. Redwood trees? The dream was about things alien to me. I went back to sleep. I dreamt of the Redwood trees again. 

The Redwood Trees

Normally, I find it difficult to recall dreams once I wake up. This dream refused to fade away. I had never been to any Redwood forests. Then, out of the blue, I recalled having read something about the redwood trees of California while I searched the net for places to visit in the USA. I searched again.

Redwood trees are amongst the tallest, biggest, and oldest trees in the world. Some trees are said to have a girth with a diameter of more than 20 feet. It withstands rot, fire, and pests. What is visible to the naked eye is not its actual strength but the manifestation of the real power that lies hidden beneath the surface. Storms and floods cannot fell a Redwood tree. They hold each other. I decided to make the secret of the Redwood trees the ‘connection’ between me and the audience. 

 

The Secret

All trees send roots down; the taller the tree, the deeper the roots. Redwood trees are the tallest but adopt a different strategy. The taller the tree, the farther its roots travel. Like other trees, it does send its roots deep down but unlike other trees, it also sends its roots away in search of other Redwood roots. When the roots of different Redwood trees meet, they embrace each other and eventually merge. It is believed that each redwood tree is connected, at its roots, to all the other redwood trees in the forest. Imagine the strength of each tree held firm by a forest full of roots. No storm or flood can harm a Redwood tree. Storms and floods are inevitable.

Storms 

Individually, each one of us might be super achievers. We might tower over everybody else around us with our achievements. Our wealth and health may seem unassailable. We may even feel undefeatable. Unfortunately, aging is inevitable and afflicts all of us, however mighty we may be. It is also an uneasy process. It brings along storms every day; to each man his own. 

“Empty nest” is a common challenge. We plan the future of our children and strive hard to raise them to succeed in life. When our children grow up, they leave the nest in pursuit of careers of their choice and also raise their own families. Initially, we take great pride and satisfaction in saying that our children have gone far but as age catches up one realises that the nest is empty. It is a situation that we all strive to bring upon ourselves and therefore an irony that we have to come to terms with. Emptiness is the first storm to hit an empty nest.

The storm gains fury as we age. Physical ailments, lack of sleep, and loss of purpose accentuate emptiness. Days become shorter, nights become longer and the horizon looks a bit closer than before. The clock sounds louder at night signaling the presence of emptiness in our nests. The inability of our children to meet our demands on their time, proximity, and care starts hurting us and even negates the pride we once carried about their achievements. The more we demand the less we feel we get irrespective of whatever and how much soever they do. Emptiness is the most dangerous form of cancer. It rots one from within.

Loss of spouse and friends, inevitable in our journey in time, worsens emptiness and makes the storm unbearable. Those amongst us who toiled all our lives only for ourselves, like trees sending their roots down without connecting with the world around, can find emptiness unbearable and storms hard to survive. Those unwilling to mend ways have nothing but bitter emptiness for company, as they age. Their escape comes through Dementia, Alzheimer's, and eventual death. Luckily, it is never too late to start extending our hands of friendship and cooperation to the people around us. There is just one impediment, the baggage we carry.

Baggage

The only impediment to sending our roots out in search of other Redwood trees is our ego. We think no end to ourselves because of the success we attribute to ourselves. We might have been anybody when we were at the zenith of our profession. The place we considered our thrones, the very symbol of our achievements and success, has to be handed over to someone younger even if we don't like it. There will be people more capable than us even if we don't accept it. It is better, we understand that positions and authority are transient and we have travelled beyond them. It is the same with our failures. Success and failures are comparative and perceptional. Pivoting happiness on success and failure is the ultimate cruelty to oneself. This realisation can make it easy for us to let go of the baggage of success or failure that weigh us down as we age. Unwanted cargo only helps a ship drown faster in a storm.

The Stamp Pad

 

Finally, the day I was to address the veterans dawned. I opened the closet to choose the shirt I was to wear. The first thing that caught my eye was the stamp pad. 

It happened a year back, I had called the Soldier welfare officer, requesting an appointment with her. My wife and I were required to affix our thumb impressions on a document in her presence and get that document attested by her. The fine lady had a busy schedule that day. She could not give us an appointment on that day during office hours. She, however, visited us on her way back home. She even carried the stamp pad for the thumb impression. She left the stamp pad back with us. Her act was one of absolute benevolence. I have kept it as a memento. Every time I see the stamp pad, I am reminded of, not just the immense kindness she showed but all that I received all my life. It also reminds me to be grateful for anything I receive. 

A sense of gratitude is a great nutrient. It changes the way we look at life. We become aware of our interdependence as members of the community we live in. It helps initiate, maintain, and sustain fruitful relationships and contribute without expectations. It also works as one of the best antidotes to the ailments inflicted by ego. The older we get, the more reasons we can identify to be grateful. The more we age, the faster we must shed our egos. 

Sans egos and filled with gratitude it becomes easy to stretch our hands out for friendship. When many hands come together each one of us becomes tall like the Redwood trees in the forest, immune to storms and floods that we encounter in our daily lives.

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.

Harvesting Cognitive Dissonance

 Go Along 

Comical acts online or on TV, invariably comes along with an abundant dose of ‘canned laughter [1]’. We might miss the joke but not the laughter. Sooner than later, we too tend to laugh along; even when we don't quite get the joke. Our compulsion to go along is more pronounced when there are people around!  

WhatsApp group discussions play it out best. Anyone could have initiated it but inevitably, it gravitates to align with the opinion of an individual or a group of individuals. Initially there could be many widely differing views; strong, loud and clear. As discussions progress, differing voices either fall in line, or just fade into silence. Views that differ from the majoritarian are gradually given up, willfully or under pressure. It is not always necessary for the majoritarian opinion to be correct legal or valid, yet everyone goes along! Don't believe it ?

Revisit previous discussions on your mobile; it could provide undeniable proof! You can easily identify the dominant ones, the dormant mutes and the browbeaten. Eventually everyone tends to go along; to be in the group.  

Two seemingly isolated events but connected by a profound human compulsion called cognitive dissonance; the compelling desire to be with the dominant majority! 

 

Do We Always Go Along  

When our thoughts run contrary to the one predominantly held there is a sense of discomfort within us and we are driven to address it. The easiest way is to align oneself with the majority in view. Individuals to start with, homes, society and even Nation States are not exempted from this behavioral aspect. The degree and intensity of the dissonance experienced differs from person to person. More rooted one is to one’s belief, higher is the intensity of discomfort. If the dissonance has existential risk attached, likelihood of ‘going along’ is stronger.  After all North Koreans adore their leader!  

What happens when there is no existential threat? 

 

Conscience versus Pragmatism 

Mob lynching has become a common occurrence in many places. Individually nobody likes to kill or be killed. But seldom do we find anyone from within trying to prevent the mob from lynching the hapless. At least momentarily conscience of each individual in the mob goes dead.  

Many a time, people tend to go along even when they know, what they're going along with, may not be right. The discord within one’s conscience is often drowned in rudimentary survival need of being part of a group; the predominant human trait that helped us survive the wild, create societies and nation states and even wage wars against one another! Deeply imprinted into our genes, as an acquired  trait and perfected in the course of one's life, giving in to the majoritarian view guarantee us our place in the group and provides a sense of protection irrespective of what we hold as right or wrong. After all; it is more important to be alive to fight another day for another cause that may be more important to us: though that day may never come! In the choice between living by one’s conscience and being alive, spine gives way to survival instincts.   

The debate necessarily need not be on survival issues. Yet; it is it easier to be part of a group even though one knows that the group’s view or decision is wrong. It is our innate quality that draws us closer to the group even against the call of our conscience, justifying the unjustifiable. Those who stand firm by their conscience are either expelled from the group or forced to get out. They either perish in solitude or emerge separately creating groups that hold another set of views seemingly driven by their conscience. This is the path seldom trodden.  

Understanding Majority

Majority may not necessarily be defined in numerical sense always. One strong man can create a majority being the nucleus. Others, join for selfish reasons and the bulk, is made up of people often referred to as silent majority. They are there for fear of being seen holding contrary views. They easily shift to another power center when the wind blows that way. 

Driven by incompetence to voice, impotence to stand up and be heard, they are easily afflicted by cognitive dissonance. Organisations, associations and such bodies are infested with such people; certainly selfish and often scheming.   

Can Cognitive dissonance be productively channeled? 

 

The Mantra for Corporates

Getting teams to deliver and meet deadlines is one aspect that every organization wants. While diversity in skills, domain expertise and opinions add to the quality of options generated, success depends on convergence of thoughts post decision on the way forward and unity in action thereafter. Cognitive dissonance can be ‘managed’ effectively without impinging on individual’s esteem and eroding his skill set and willingness to deploy it. If such a conducive climate is created it can help the organisation reap rich.  

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[1] Canned laughter or laugh track is the pre-recorded laughter inserted into a audio or video programme. It is essentially a cue for those watching or listening to laugh.

Building Organisational Capabilities for Sustenance and Growth

History The Teacher

History talks of many an empire. What could be common to all the empires of the past?

The Mauryas, Guptas, Mughals, Romans, Persians, Ottoman, Hans, Spanish and the British, each one a powerful regime, held sway over vast swathes of land and had subjects across geographical boundaries we now recognise. Geographically and chronologically spaced well apart, each one tremendously influenced populace it ruled upon and made lasting contributions to virtually every aspect of contemporary culture.

Each came into existence and grew but couldn’t succeed in sustaining themselves to grow into perpetuity. Despite unquestionable powers, and repressive enforcement systems, perpetuity eluded each one of them. Having failed to sustain and grow beyond a time, they now remain confined to pages of history; their significance waxing and waning, at the mercy of contemporary political regimes in their attempt to attain perpetuity.

History is a great teacher. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

Study history and take a close look at current geopolitics and experience a sense of déjà vu.

Sustenance and Growth – An Entwined Pair

Sustenance is about finding fodder for existence whereas growth is an organic characteristic that enhances relevance of an entity to its surroundings. Growth is comparison, of an entity to itself or others plotted on a timeline. Thus, growth of an individual could be of about chronological age, biological and intellectual attributes, capacity to fend for oneself or contributions to the society.

For business entities, sustenance is about footing the bill of operations without going down under; whereas growth is multi-dimensional expansion, in areas of activity or structural architecture. Sustenance of business depends on its ability to generate return on investments. Growth depends on the share of ROI employed to extend the envelope of relevance and influence. Sustenance-growth combination dictates sustainability.

Though inseparably entwined, sustenance and growth have independent attributes. Continued sustenance results in growth. Growth demands new dimensions of sustenance. Demands of sustenance denied, entity dies. Bare sustenance stunts growth and stunted growth kills. Good sustenance nurtures growth.

Essentially organisational existence is an ever-demanding ever-expanding, never-ending cycle of sustenance and growth that can extend to perpetuity.

Perpetuity

Craving for perpetuity is hardwired into every species.

In the case of animals, limitations of perpetuity imposed by physiology is overcome by bloodlines called family. The evolved, ensure perpetuity through ideologies or lasting contributions to society.

Organisations, being nonbiological entities, differ. Organisations can subsist for a short while on minimal returns. But such existence does not promote growth. Absence of growth is atrophy. Atrophy eventually kills. Growth is inescapable for organisational existence. Therefore, perpetuity has to be designed and weaved into organisational architecture. Sustenance and growth into perpetuity is sustainability. Sustainability goes far beyond its recent self-limiting association with organisational performance in environmental social and governance yardsticks.

Existence in perpetuity is deemed when entities don’t plan to down shutters. Organisations born with predetermined life expectancy don’t visualise growth. Those which plan otherwise, are fly-by-night operations which loot and scoot. Perpetuity is not applicable to them.

Fuel for sustainability is profitability. So, prima facie everything about business sustainability is about financials, the bottom lines! Can abundant profits ensure sustainability?

Is Profitability Sustainability?

Abundant fuel assures extended cruise range. But the structure must be built to overcome turbulences, capture headwinds and negotiate crosswinds. Otherwise, sustainability, even with huge quantum of fuel could be port afar, because unmanaged inherent asymmetries exert exponentially increasing drag consuming all the fuel at one’s command.

History is replete with examples of companies with attractive balance sheets vanishing into thin air. Profits, real or cooked up, couldn’t prevent extinction. Satyam, Enron, Lehman Brothers and such others could teach us a lesson or two.

If profitability couldn’t guarantee sustainability, then what does?  Definitely there is something else. What is it?

Sustainability Models

Simplistically put, sustainability is the characteristic, of an organisation, which influences current operations to ensure existence in perpetuity. Sustainability is about future-proofing tomorrows, today.

Easier said than done, tomorrows of a business, is a complex amalgam of environmental, social, and financial diktats. Each one, an important capital, often at loggerheads with others, needs to be ‘relationally managed’ to ensure sustainability. Each one has to be nourished without compromising the other. Thus, sustainable growth of a business organisation necessitates creation of governance models (ESG Models) that ensure balance amongst the trio.

Contemporary businesses have migrated en masse to ESG models for sustainable growth. ESG models are characterized by well-defined measurable yardsticks and tick-box adherences. There are highly evolved models that incorporate compliances and various business requisites. Business entities employ such models to evaluate organisational systems and processes. Unfortunately, even well-intentioned companies with well-defined, well-articulated policies and well prescribed methods and process fail.

Is the current ESG regime inadequate?

ESG Adequacy?

ESG is an unbelievably large canvas to draw from and therefore concept of sustainability cannot remain confined to any one approach or model. The number of approaches to adherence and compliances are varied and number of proponents of each model even more.

Businesses naturally adopt any one approach that suits their area of operations and gravitate to chosen areas to be in conformity with local laws. CSR activities, emission reductions, reusable energy, carbon audit and foot print reduction are some areas where companies evince interest. But most of them are compliance driven.

Some highly evolved ESG models incorporate business ethics and profitability into the monitoring and evaluation system. The choice, notwithstanding, each one ends in benchmarked processes with quantifiable and measurable parameters.  Does adherence to ESG norms alone ensure sustainability?

Processes have important role in sustainability so do people driving and operating it. Sustainability boils down to building organisational capabilities that encompass people and process.

Organisational Capabilities

The synergy cumulative of competencies of all individuals of an organisation and efficacy of processes is organisational capability. Accepted and collectively practiced value systems, that define and dictate how individuals and groups interact within and with the outside, represents organisational culture. Organizational sustainability is a derivative of organizational capability and culture.

When business entities succeed in creating and internalising a meaningful organizational culture that shapes strategic decision-making, define ethical boundaries for transactions, dictate operational activities and bind all stakeholders to it, it can hope for sustainability.

How does this brick-by-brick process happen?

Committed Competencies

Each organisation needs individuals with skills and competencies to achieve organisational aims. While each individual cannot be expected to possess all competencies required by the organisation, all individuals should have each competency required to discharge responsibilities assigned. Though onboarding would have been based on stipulated QR, it calls for continued refinement.

If organisational culture is conducive, each individual will excel not only in the core competency expected, but also acquit themselves well with additional skill sets, making them deployable in multiple area of operation. Presence of enlarged range and depth of competencies creates conditions conducive to sustainability. Chances of sustainability improves when competencies become commitments.

Organisational Agility

An organisation may come to existence to provide a specific product or service or a range of products or services. Unfortunately, demand for both products and services do not remain static in terms of nature, quality and content. The constant socio-economic-cultural flux that the world is in, demands consistently matching changes. While an existing product or service may be the toast of the time, it could be dumped at short notice.

The pandemic and associated unprecedented disruptions forced many a business to fold up. At the same time, new ones sprang up with unheard-of products and services. While those who reveled in the status quo were left to lament loss of opportunities, the agile ones seized opportunities the adversity provided. A whole new set of millionaires were created.

If an organisation can sense the need to change its product, service or process well in time and is agile enough to bring about changes in processes and methods, probability of sustainability improves.

The Fickle Capital

Businesses survive and thrive on stakeholder inputs. The promoter or equity holders alone do not dictate sustainability outcomes. The clientele, vendors, the society and all the elements of the value chain are important stakeholders in the sustainability matrix. Treating each one with care leads to brand loyalty. One-time creation of clientele and servicing them do not create brand loyalty. Loyalty comes from long time of pleasant association

A static loyal clientele does not guarantee sustainability. Unless an organisation continues to enlarge its loyal clientele, sustainability is a no-go. Loyalty, in times of aggressive market poaching, is a fickle attribute that succumbs to temptation. Disruptive pricing and alluring promises can lure away the loyal. Quality of product or service should be strong enough to resist brand credibility and loyalty erosion.

It is not the consuming clientele alone that matters. How an organisation treats its vendors and other elements of the supply chain, has a significant say in sustainability. When the going gets tough, it is the set of vendors, who render shoulders to the organisation. Unless stakeholders are treated well during harvest, sustainability will be the first casualty in adversity. Growing loyalty improves sustainability.

Teams and Networks

Organisations thrive on teamwork. Unfortunately, the concept of team seems to get confined to silos within organisations. In fiercely competitive organisations, teams are confined to verticals or less. Sadly, with raging cutthroat competition and interpersonal one-upmanship fostered by competitive comparisons, verticals shrink to segments, segments to groups and groups to individuals who don’t trust each other. Trust deficit is paramount and resultant dwindling retention, an epidemic. Teams do not live long enough to foster esprit-de-corps.

This is the ultimate recipe for disaster for organisational sustainability.

If an organisation can enlarge definition of ‘teams’, operationalise it to be more inclusive, and establish bridges of operational and non-operational relationships long enough to create kinship that can endure turbulences, probability of sustainability, improves tremendously.  It’s the strength of the network that helps identify, handle and overcome individual and organisational challenges.

Team longevity enhances organisational sustainability.

Leadership

Quality of leadership influences sustainability. Leadership is associated with vision and decisions.

It is the ability the leadership, individually or collectively, to define the desired organisational trajectory, understand the socio-economic, politico-cultural and environmental situations currently obtaining and likely to evolve, design interventions and apply course corrections that influences sustainability.

It involves predicting turbulences and generating a range of likely responses to negotiate and overcome challenges. It’s a risky affair. Unkind, but casually called ‘sound decision-making’, organisational leadership dictates sustainability.

It is only history and hindsight that can judge strength and weaknesses of decisions.

Operational Efficiencies     

It is not only people that matter. Processes have an important role in dictating sustainability. The bottom line is about operational efficiency, which encompasses a large array of activity. It encompasses technology adoption, obsolescence management, market dynamics and interior economy.

Local civil laws and norms may exert pressure, forcing changes that involve capital. Decision on how long to continue with existing technology or process and when to dump those in favour of the newest technology doesn’t come without pressure on capital. Capture of new markets and retention of existing ones may need capital infusions. Delay in infusion may be suicidal whereas untimely intervention could even be counterproductive.

Dilemma of contesting existing profit margins with infusion of capital to stay ahead is not new to leadership, but every time it's a challenge. That is when leadership and decision-making become demanding and exiting.

Sustainability Mantra

Without right leaders and led and without right processes, business can neither sustain nor grow. There is no single mantra to achieve sustainability.

Sustainability is like riding the high seas. Neither two waves nor two storms are same. Every calm is a whisper of an impending storm. It is for the captain and crew to negotiate waves and ride out storms. 

Leaders must foresee waves and storms and prepare the led to take on the fiercest. The led must relentlessly press on. Only then can they triumph.

Sustainability isn’t easy, else empires would have persisted.