Structured Freedom – In action
May 14, 2012 at 1:46 pm | Posted in Blogroll, Real-life experiences, Structured freedom | Leave a commentThere is a building next to our office which is currently being demolished to be rebuilt fresh into something else. It used to be a lively place as one of my client’s office, which I had visited often more than a decade back in my previous avatar as a one-man software development organization. Almost every day, I have been gazing at it nostalgically remembering my experiences in different rooms as one by one they keep coming down. I see the old structures vanishing and the freedom locked within being released with immense new possibilities emerging. By now, all the old structures are gone and the place is in a state of almost complete freedom, except for the boundary walls. The whole experience reminds me of my favorite concept of structured freedom.
In the absence of any structure the total freedom is useless, as you can’t do anything with it. The people who inhabited the building needed the structures to enjoy their freedom. They could work safely because of the walls. They didn’t have to stand the whole day because there were comfortable chairs. They were not sweating in summer because there were air-conditioners. They could see things clearly because of comfortable lighting with all its wiring with fittings & fixtures. In short, all those structures helped them to go about their work and not be bothered with the inconveniences. Structures are good – they help us. But do they also sometimes come in the way of our freedom?
One day during my visit, I had noticed that they were shifting their accounts section to another room because they needed the current space for expanding the testing facility for the engineers. But the new place available for the accounts guys was comparatively small and I could see the unhappiness on their faces. The engineers of course were happy and so was the management because the dispatches would now go up.
The chairs & other accessories could be easily moved around because they are flexible structures. Same thing could not be done with walls because they are rigid and to change them you need to break them.
This was the case with the physical structures, but the management had also to deal with the mental structures. Some of those who had to move out adjusted quickly while others kept nursing the wounded ego. The management had to deal with soft versus hard structures and choose a strategy suitable for each type. This was an interesting case study in retrospect.
Now my mind was back in the present. On one hand I was sorry for something that was brick by brick going away forever. On the other, I was excited by the brand new structures I would get a chance to see soon. But that is what life really is about, isn’t it?
A different perspective about organizational policies
April 30, 2012 at 8:32 am | Posted in Blogroll, Organizational Excellence, Practice Excellence, Real-life experiences | 2 CommentsRecently I read an article “The government is not above the rule of law” by Gurucharan Das in The Times of India. Mr. Das was CEO of Procter & Gamble India and later Managing Director, Procter & Gamble Worldwide (Strategic Planning). Now he is a full time writer.
A few sentences from the article attracted my attention. I realized that if a few terms are replaced as applicable in the context of an organization instead of the country, it provides an interesting perspective about the organizational policies. Here is how,
Original from the article: Citizens look to the state to reduce uncertainty in their lives. The state does this through a robust set of laws. The rule of law is based on a moral consensus, expressed daily in the ‘habits of the heart’. People obey the law not only because they fear the punishment but because they think it is fair and it becomes a habit and a form of self-restraint.
After replacement: Employees look to the management to reduce uncertainty in their lives. The management does this through a robust set of policies. These policies are based on a moral consensus, expressed daily in the ‘habits of the heart’. Employees adhere to the policies not only because they fear the punishment but because they think it is fair and it becomes a habit and a form of self-restraint.
See if it makes sense.
Tools have the power to change our lives
April 9, 2012 at 10:19 am | Posted in Blogroll, Out of my mind, Real-life experiences | 1 CommentRecently I changed my cell phone from Blackberry to Samsung Galaxy Note. I was using older model of Blackberry, mainly to manage my mails. The smartphone has, just in a few days changed how I interact with others, how I spend my time and even how I think. Let me explain,
It has suddenly opened up a new world. Earlier, I was using BlackBerry mainly for mails and occasionally for phone. So if I needed to click a picture, I would wait till I was near my camera. When I wanted to have video conferencing, I was looking for the laptop, and so on. But now everything is in one place. I do, what I want, when I want. It has completely changed my interactions with others.
Now I spend far less time on things where getting to the tool itself sometimes took lot of time and I spend more time exploring the untried. That in turn opens up new possibilities. The way I organize information has also started changing dramatically.
As I write these lines, I am wondering what exactly are tools. In a way, they include anything that helps us to do things better and faster. They include physical as well as mental tools. Even processes and automation are tools in that sense.
When we are habituated to certain tools, they become our extension. We use them almost without thinking or being aware of them. However, higher the dependence greater are the risks. I remember in old days, when I once misplaced my address book, it was so tough till I found it. Recently a friend of mine, who is not tech savvy, told me that he keeps three copies of his physical address book – one at home, one in office and one in his car. In today’s world this appears an over-kill. But it underlines the extent of dependence on tools and how far we may go to avoid the risk of not having them handy.
What we consider as part of us and what as external tools is relative. It depends on how we define our identity. You may like to check http://prkarve.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/who-am-i-i-or-i/
Are our hands & feet or eyes & ears part of us or just tools? Depends on who we think we are. In a lighter vein, those who are attached to their families consider it as an integral part of themselves; others may consider family members as mere tools. It is the person’s viewpoint.
Have you also experienced the power of tools?
What comes first?
March 19, 2012 at 10:08 am | Posted in Blogroll, Real-life experiences | Leave a commentIndian Rail budget was presented last Wednesday and was followed by lot of drama with the Railway Minister being asked to resign by his party supremo. I was a little surprised by the order of priority narrated by him in his response as “My country comes first, then family and then the party”. Normally we tend to assume that bigger the system, more important it is. Following that logic, he would be expected to say “My country comes first, then the party and finally the family”.
This reminded me of my own couple of experiences. The first occurred almost a quarter century back. I had just landed at Indore airport from an official tour by the evening flight. I saw many of my colleagues along with a few directors at the airport to receive some important guests. A dinner was planned in honor of the guests and I was told to join in. It happened to be my son’s birthday and he was eagerly waiting for me at home to join a small party we had planned for his friends. I had to make a choice and without hesitation I chose to leave for home. My colleagues were aghast and cautioned me of displeasure I would cause by my decision. But I had my priority clear.
Second incidence is much more recent, just a quarter of year back. In December last year, I was to conduct a Webinar from office and there was a family emergency. I was in two minds as I knew my wife needed me by her side to support her. However, she was firm and asked me to go for the webinar. She even asked me to switch off my cell so that I would not be disturbed, though she had to manage it all alone till I rushed back home around midnight as soon as the webinar was over.
We have always believed that rather than blindly following the hierarchy of priorities, just because everybody says so, it is much better to decide from case to case. The guiding principle is where we are needed most. In the first example, there were many others to take care of the guests whereas my son would have been very disappointed. In the second case, my absence would have meant a last minute cancellation of the webinar, causing inconvenience to many who had taken time out from their busy schedules to attend.
Have you faced similar situations? What was your basis of choosing one over the other?
Power of collaboration
February 6, 2012 at 10:33 am | Posted in Blogroll, Real-life experiences | 2 CommentsRecently I attended a marathon brainstorming session lasting 6 hours. When it was over, we were amazed by the extent of progress we had achieved.
At the other extreme was a case last week. I write a new post for my blog every Monday. Though I share my views and ask for response / feedback from readers, including the members of LinkedIn groups I am member of. The response to this request is very meager. Last week, when I was burning mid-night oil to complete my blog post, my wife made a suggestion, which took her probably just a few seconds, that if I want to get feedback from my readers, I must actively involve them. It triggered the realization that I need to take a very different approach so far untried by me. Next day, I posed a simple one-liner question to the group members asking for help. The response was simply overwhelming. I had never imagined that so many persons would take time out and share their experiences and make some wonderful suggestions. I experienced the real power of collaboration.
When I think back, even my wife’s suggestion was part of collaboration. Her perspective which was very different from mine led me in unfamiliar territory and opened up new opportunities for me.
Few takeaways from these experiences of last week, Different perspectives add value to the collaboration. Interaction time to create this value can vary widely. An open mind ready to try the unfamiliar leads to unexpected results. You can’t predict in advance the outcome because as they say “one thing leads to another”. The real power of collaboration lies in the synergy at play.
Your views and inputs are valuable; please share.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
November 28, 2011 at 10:05 am | Posted in Blogroll, Real-life experiences, Self Improvement | 1 CommentFrom time to time, we read / hear quotes or sayings which sometimes are amusing and other times could be even boring. Unless we experience their real effect on us, they come and go without much impact on us. To illustrate let me share an incident that occurred a few days back.
In the stream of mails that we keep receiving I noticed one particularly because it irritated me. As all of us do, he had forwarded a long conversation thread of which so far I was not part of with just an ‘fyi’, which is a commonly used short form of “for your information”. I was in the middle of a busy day with lot of things yet to be completed for the day and I had to dig deeper in the mail thread, spending a few precious minutes to figure out what was the information he wanted me to have.
Later in the day when majority of the chores were done and behind me now, I could think of the incidence more peacefully. It suddenly hit me that I have been doing the same thing to others without thinking about the recipient, how much information he already possessed and what additional information I want to provide him with. There was a moment of guilt quickly followed by the need to change my practice. From that day, I am careful to consider whether just ‘fyi’ is adequate or I can help the other person by pointing out what additional information I am trying to share. I presume and hope that it is helping others. But in any case, I feel good that I am caring for others’ need and acting on it.
Whoever said “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” had a point which I realized only after experiencing it myself. Do you find it happens in your case too?
Good questions to ask
November 14, 2011 at 12:53 pm | Posted in Blogroll, Practice Excellence, Real-life experiences | 1 CommentRecently I had an interesting experience where I happened to be present in an unusual discussion between a father, mother, their teenage daughter and an aunty who was visiting them. The daughter, let’s call her Priya to protect her identity, wanted to spend a rather large sum – beyond her pocket money – on her birthday party for friends, which would have been a bit of a strain on her father’s wallet. Obviously, he was bit reluctant and was opposed to the idea though he was not openly saying so.
Priya had recently attended one such a party at her friend’s house and wanted to outdo her friend. Mother had to take a final decision. This may sound rather odd for some old timers who still believe that father is head of the house and should always have a last say, without realizing that times have changed. The discussion was taking the usual course with Priya fighting for her idea, the father getting more & more annoyed and the mother looking at them with an exasperated look on her face while the aunty kept closely watching the discussions without saying a word.
Then suddenly I heard her say to Priya, “Can I ask you a question?” When Priya nodded, I was surprised by the question the aunty asked “Do you see any problems if you gave such an expensive party?” Priya was so agitated by the discussions so far that she hardly understood the question and went on with her arguments which she had repeated umpteen times so far. Aunty interrupted her and quietly said, “I understand what you are saying but ..” and repeated the earlier question again. Priya suddenly stopped and was thinking for a few minutes before she spoke again. This time she was tentatively repeating some of the arguments her father had given earlier though providing her counter arguments.
After hearing her for a few minutes, the aunt asked a similar question to the father, “Do you see any reasons why it might be a good idea for Priya to go ahead and give the party, though I understand that the cost seems to be a bit too high?” The father had by now understood the direction the aunt was giving to the discussion and mentioned a few reasons in favor of giving the party. By now the points put forward by each of them were slowly merging with a lot of give & take. Finally there was no need for the mother to give her decision as it was already amicably evolved by the father with Priya.
After witnessing this incidence, I started thinking whether we face similar situations in other parts of our life. For example, as a passionate champion of Scrum, I often try to convince the project managers to go for it. My arguments are in favor of Scrum and the project manager concerned will normally come up with ten different reasons why it won’t work for him. In such situations, generally the person who has to take a final decision is not a part of these discussions. What if such a person who has to take a decision on Scrum adoption in a given project gets me and the project manager together, asks manager to only focus on mentioning how it would help the project and asks me what problems I anticipate in implementing it successfully, both of us would be forced to think differently and the quality of discussion will be raised to the next level. I will have to understand more about the project and the manager will have to similarly know more about Scrum.
If we look, this approach might be quite helpful whenever there are two parties with their strong convictions and a person who has to take the call. What do you think? Have you come across similar cases? Your views and inputs are valuable; please share.
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