'Bhakti' and Misplaced Devotion

Two images published in a leading daily just a day back caught my attention. They were different images but had a remarkable common connection.

Image 1 was of a strong political leader hailing from a Southern State descending on a airstrip in her helicopter. All her party leaders stood with folded hands while the helicopter is still in air about to touch base.

Image 2 was of a yesteryear Bollywood star turned politician and his wife. The image showed the wife at the feet of her husband and the caption read Mrs. 'S' worshiping her husband before he goes to file his nomination.

Did you see a common connection between these images? I saw 'Bhakti' a common connection between them.This misplaced 'Bhakti;' has been somehow become a part of our culture and it has taken its own toll on our society.

This 'Bhakti' for politicians has resulted in blind, almost fanatic followership. Hence the emergence of self-proclaimed saviours sometimes in the name of religion, sometimes in the name of caste and sometimes in the name of region. As India goes into its general elections in a couple of days, here is hoping that we do not vote out of 'Bhakti'; instead vote in the most deserving candidate to the parliament.

This 'Bhakti' in family has meant that the husband is regarded as the incarnation of God. 'Pati-Parmeshwar' meaning 'my husband is my God' has been told as a dictum to the girls and women in this country. Result has been a huge gender imbalance in families and societies that has not augured well for either sexes.

This 'Bhakti' in religion has meant that we have made demigods out of people. Every village, every town in India has its own spiritual 'Guru'. A majority of them have been alleged from time to time of land-grabbing, black magic, sexual misconduct etc. But the 'Bhakti' of the blind followers has been such that either no criminal proceedings have been initiated against these demigods or they have blocked the police and administration against taking any action.

This 'Bhakti' in organizations has meant that focus has been on compliance, reflexive obedience and keeping status-quo since that keeps everyone 'happy'. It is not 'safe' to 'differ' in such organizations, no conflict, no new ideas, no innovation and servility to the core.

'Bhakti' can only be towards the almighty, the creator, the God. Any other 'Bhakti' will only have disastrous impact, breeding incompetence, sycophancy and corruption.

Refrain from 'Bhakti' to build truly engaging families, societies, organizations and nations.

Saheb, TV aur Ghulam

Most daily soaps dished out on Indian television are so downright abysmal in terms of quality. I mean how they can make something so insane and devoid of rationality! At home however I am a ‘passive’ viewer with not even a remote access to the remote during primetime. So resigned to fate, I watch the junk.

In one of the soaps a character playing the role of an entrepreneur-father, overjoyed by the occasion of his son’s birthday orders over phone to his manager to suspend all work and put all employees to work of finding out the best video games and toys in the market for gifting his son. This one scene that caught my attention cannot be shrugged away as just one-off ‘idiot box’ stuff.

One of my acquaintances working in a mid-sized company in a western U.P. town told me once that be it a celebration or mourning in his Chairman's family, they all have to be present  on 'location' and are assigned some or the other work. Refusal to take such responsibilities or no-show shall automatically mean dismissal.

Welcome to traditional sub-continent firms! Employees can be put to personal work and that is considered to be a matter of right. The ‘Saheb’ culture still remains especially in the non-metro India and person serving the ‘Saheb’ is only treated as ‘ghulam’.

Soaps can be of some use after all. So maybe it may be a good idea to watch some, for amongst the crap there may be occasional insights. By the way I have even started to like some!

UnFair treatment of Fairness Creams

Aamir Khan has joined Amitabh Bachchan in the Bollywood Celebrity Brand-Bashing Club. While Amitabh did the unthinkable of pulling down a brand he once endorsed, Aamir recently criticized celebrities who endorsed products like fairness creams.

Is everyone entitled for a personal opinion? Yes, but then attacking  brands that has been legally allowed to operate in a land, with no provocation, calls for a motive on the part of the brand-basher. 

Amitabh called Pepsi 'poison' after his contract was over with the brand or say after Pepsi did not go for a fresh contract with Big B! Should he then return all the money that he received from Pepsi for endorsing the brand or should he apologize and take personal accountability for all those who consumed Pepsi for all those years when he was singing praises of Pepsi. In all likelihood he will do neither. 

Aamir finds fault with those who endorse fairness creams. If there is a company that manufactures this product and if there are people who want to consume the same, what is Aamir's problem? People who are using fairness creams are well aware of the uses and disuses of the product. They consume it at their own risk and for their own drives. In fact data suggests that fairness cream market is slowing down in India. According to numbers from research firm Nielsen, the fairness cream market has slowed down in value terms and shrunk in volume terms over the past few quarters. 

Ok! there are some who think Aamir or someone should tell consumers what to consume and what not to buy. No wonder we believe so much in regulation! It is like telling a person who can afford a Nano to buy a higher end car because Nano does not have air bags. Now if that person can afford only a Nano and is ready to bear the risk of owning that car, then why should anyone crib? 

"Please Aamir and Amitabh, gives us a break! We know what to do with our lives. Get a life and stop thinking that we cannot decide for ourselves." 

May be all this Aamir rantings are for promoting the latest edition of his program. Then perhaps it is fair to ask him why does he endorses a program whose philanthropic partner is a foundation whose associated company has been shown no-Reliance and asked some very serious questions by a 'common man' party! 

"Just a suggestion, Aamir, consider doing one episode of your program on these questions of Reliance."

Both Aamir and Amitabh seem to be on a personal brand and image building mission. There is nothing wrong with that except that they chose to do so at the cost of other brands. 

Engagement to a brand, organization or issue calls for free thinking and free market thinking. Let people and markets rule. Personal agendas can wait.

Go Far to Get Close

All that engagement needs at times is a genuine gesture...

Employee Happiness - Input or Outcome?

When the HR director at SAS was asked about the logic behind the vast array of benefits and services that SAS provides to its employee, he famously replied - “…there is nothing altruistic about all this. This is a for-profit business. we do all this because it all makes good business sense". SAS CEO Jim Goodnight went on to add - "I keep my employees happy and they keep my customers happy.”

So do happy people help a company make more profits? 

Research definitely shows that it does – Thomas Wright, professor at Fordham University, claims employee happiness accounts for as much as 10-15 percent of the variance in performance between different employees. 

Another research shows that at work, happy people are: 31 percent more productive, 40 percent more likely to receive a promotion (people like happy people), Less absent, with 23 percent fewer fatigue symptoms, Up to 10 percent more engaged at work, and are able to sell more – happy sales people produce 37 percent greater sales.

But what’s the happiness route?

Both Job satisfaction and engagement principles are rooted in happiness concept. So is job satisfaction the route to happiness or does happiness take the engagement way?

According to me job satisfaction and engagement take completely opposite routes to happiness.

Job satisfaction school of thought has believed that employee must be made happy. And if an organization can do so then these happy employees would be more productive. So, organizations simplify work, reduce work hours, dole out benefits etc., to make their employees happy, in anticipation that this will make them work harder. However this theory has largely not worked, for if it had then all our Indian PSU establishments would have been in Fortune 500. I have nothing against these PSUs but then we all know barring one or two none of them have really done well. Look at the pitiable state of organizations like Air India, Indian Railways, state electricity departments, waterworks and we know that despite these government institutions driven by the socialist view of the world have tried to do everything to keep their employees happy, the results have not necessarily been rosy.

On the other hand, the Engagement school of thought believes that the organization should do everything possible to maximize chances and opportunities for an employee to contribute. So if an organization provides benefits then it does not do so to make employees happy rather it does so to take away the worries from the mind of the employees and hence leave a large part of his/her mindshare for thinking about work. Companies like SAS understand and take care of their employees and their families; in turn employees get more time to take care of the company and its customers. Similarly at workplace the entire leadership, all resources, facilities and systems work towards making sure that the employee finds more avenues and interest to contribute. When an employee finds such a space, he/she can effectively contribute; it also maximizes his/her achievements and consequently the recognition & the rewards. Higher pay-offs and a sense of achievement & fulfillment lead to Happiness.

In short, while job satisfaction school of thought treats happiness as an input, engagement school of thought treats happiness as an output! Evidence from practice and research shows that the latter approach has worked much more than then the former.

Recently the IT mega city in India Bangalore has been plagued by high attritions amongst doctors. With the rapid mushrooming of private multi-specialty hospitals in the city the demand for quality doctors has multiplied many folds and has reportedly brought poaching talks in the board rooms of such organizations. But money isn’t the only reason why doctors quit. In fact a city newspaper recently quoted a senior doctor, when asked about the reasons of high attrition, stated - “There are only two reasons why doctors chose to move out. Either it is due to the administrative differences or because there is no equitable distribution of finances. Administrative differences happen when a person who is not from a medical background is involved in the decision-making process. This would mean that a doctor would have to wait for long for their equipment as that person in the administration does not understand the need for it. This would only halt his career move which is why he would choose to shift his practice.”  

In this case an uncooperative and non-supportive administration robs the doctors an opportunity to contribute; creates an environment that frustrates the professionals and forces them to leave. No amount of money or benefits is able to arrest such an outflow. ‘Satisfaction’ theory fails once again.

Contemporary research has also challenged another traditional ‘satisfaction’ anchor – the ‘work-life balance’. The problem with work-life balance is that it considers only the work hours and not whether the work is meaningful or not. Research shows that a meaningful work is of far greater value than necessarily lesser work hours. This is not to take away the concept of manageable work hours but then it is not the determinate. When an employee find meaningful work, it gives him/her far greater opportunity to contribute, succeed, achieve and be recognized & rewarded for the same. The outcome is happiness and engagement.

In fact Gallup has gone on record to state that – “Don't Pamper Employees -- Engage them! Satisfied or happy employees are not necessarily engaged. And engaged employees are the ones who work hardest, stay longest, and perform best.”

So keep your employees happy but make sure it is an outcome and not an input. Take the engagement route to happiness!

Bibliography

Kamath, V. (2014, 01 20). With hospitals boom in the city, doctors jump jobs for greener pastures. Bangalore Mirror.

Pfeldt, E. (2012, 12 27). Gallup: How Employees' Well Being Affects the Bottom Line. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/elainepofeldt/2012/12/27/gallup-why-leaders-cant-afford-to-ignore-employees-well-being/

Simson, N. (2014, January 21). Productivity Hacks: Happy People Are Productive People. Retrieved from Linked in: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140121000342-1291685-productivity-hacks-happy-people-are-productive-people

Sorenson, S. (July 02, 2013). Don't Pamper Employees -- Engage Them. Gallup Business Journal. Retrieved from http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/163316/don-pamper-employees-engage.aspx

Tandon, Y. (February 02, 2012). Why Work-Life Balance Isn't Balanced. Gallup Business Journal. Retrieved from http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/152204/why-work-life-balance-isn-balanced.aspx

Not - So - 'Sweet Sixteen' ... Disengage.

Even the staunch atheist shall start believing in God on Indian roads. To wriggle out safely from the chaos and confusion that reigns on Indian roads one shall definitely need a divine intervention. As a matter of fact one can find an idol or godly inscription/memento on the dashboard of most vehicles. 

When the talk show queen & media mogul Oprah Winfrey visited India sometime back, after experiencing the traffic on Indian roads, she reportedly remarked-“what is it with the red light mean stop or not? Or is it just for your entertainment?” She supposedly compared traffic on Indian roads to a scary video games where one keeps wondering what’s going to hit suddenly.

Well! Comments of Winfrey must not come as a surprise to us for we all are part of it everyday. Oprah Winfrey saw calm beneath chaos on India. Driving in India for more than two decades, I see the ‘species of drivers’ causing all the mayhem amidst this chaos. 

If there was ever classification of chaos, this is it! Here is for the first time, drivers on Indian roads decoded:

1.       Lane Cutters- If you happen to find lanes on Indian roads, then you would definitely find lane- cutters.  They cut lanes anytime anywhere and everywhere.

2.       Slow Movers- Blissfully unaware of the amount of inconvenience that they cause to others, the ‘slow movers’ move at snail-pace in the middle of the road.

3.       Slow Blockers-Unlike ‘slow movers’ they not only move slowly but intentionally block other traffic. They somehow derive a sadist pleasure out of keeping others at bay, even when they move slowly.

4.       Jumping Jacks-The name comes from the famous yesteryear Bollywood hero known for his calisthenics on-screen. Some motorists seem to do similar jumping acts on road. All of a sudden a vehicle would jump in front of your’s, testing your braking skills.

5.       Screechers- The last thing that comes to the mind of such motorist is brakes .And when it does they apply the same with full gusto. The result is not only a screeching halt but a sudden panic for the followers.

6.       Unstoppable - Newton’s law of inertia stated that a body continues to be in a state of rest or motion unless acted upon by an external force. In case of unstoppable, no external force seems to act once there are in state of motion. So nothing stops them, not even the red traffic lights (Oprah remarks have been caused by one of these unstoppable).

7.       Sneakers-  This species of motorist must have lived in narrow burrows or by-lanes, and hence  sneaking has become an irresistible habit. They sneak-in between the traffic at the slightest opportunity.

8.       Dare Devils-  The second word describes them better than the first one. These are the Road- Rambos doing stunts at the cost of safety and lives of others & of their own.

9.       Big Bully- If you have seen the public transport buses & over-loaded lorries, then you would perfectly understand the big bully. They move, cut (lanes) and stop at will. You better not take them- on, if you love your family.

10.   Parking Dunces- If you do not know how to park, you don’t know how to drive-‘parking dunces’ are a nightmare for others. They park poorly, many a times at wrong places, as if it is their birth-right.

11.   Desperadoes- ‘Desperadoes’ are always missing a flight or an important appointment /meeting(not that they actually missing one)& hence are running on their  vehicles. ‘Hurry’ seems to be their second name and they ensure to make curry of the rest of the traffic.

12.   Road Runners -  Crossing a busy road in India is an life-death adventure and hit or miss the zebra-crossing is not respected, of course if  there is one and hence road runners are at large.

13.   Dribble King- They could put the Pele,  Maradonas,& Messis to shame by their dribbling skills, only if they did the same on the sports field. Instead they shamelessly try such skills with their vehicles(mostly bikes) on the road.

14.   Cautious Rookie-  Everyone who has licence knows to drive! Really! This rule doesn't apply everywhere (don’t be surprised!!!) and hence is born the cautions rookie who is probably the new driver on the block testing his/her skills right in the middle of the traffic, adding more to the chaos. Go back to the school, man!

15.   Romeos-  And, how can we forget the Romeos who have just had a ’Skyfall’ and are leaving no stone unturned to impress their dames…. The only problem is that they have chosen the road for the ‘salsa’. So bingo, be ready to dance with them & face the music!

16. Minor- Under-aged kids encouraged by their too adventurous parents taking to the wheels put themselves and everyone else on the road at risk. recently an accident in Bangalore involved a minor driver. Shameful, really!

Not that there aren't any good men and ladies behind the wheels but they are a crying minority, being constantly bullied by the one or more these not-so sweet sixteen Ds'.

So what if this chaos means inconvenience to millions, wastage of tonnes of precious productive time, immeasurable stress to commuters and what if it has earned India the dubious distinction of the country with maximum number of road accident deaths(in excess of 142,000) in the world? We still continue to add and adjust to this chaos.

Number of Road Accidents and Number of Persons Involved: 2002 to 2011
Year	Number of Accidents		Number of Persons		Accident Severity*
	Total	Fatal	killed	Injured
2002	4,07,497	73,650(18.1)	84,674	408,711	20.8
2003	4,06,726	73,589(18.1)	85,998	435,122	21.1
2004	4,29,910	79,357(18.5)	92,618	464,521	21.5
2005	4,39,255	83,491(19.0)	94,968	465,282	21.6
2006	4,60,920	93,917(20.4)	105,749	496,481	22.9
2007	4,79,216	1,01,161(21.1)	114,444	513,340	23.9
2008	4,84,704	1,06,591(22.0)	119,860	523,193	24.7
2009	4,86,384	1,10,993(22.8)	125,660	515,458	25.8
2010	4,99,628	1,19,558(23.9)	134,513	527,512	26.9
2011(P)	4,97,686	1,21,618(24.4)	1,42,485	5,11,394	28.6
(P): Provisional Figures within parentheses indicate share of fatal accidents to total accidents *Accident Severity: No. of persons killed per 100 accidents Source: Road Accidents in India 2011 report (morth.nic.in)

We often blame infrastructure, traffic cops for the mess, Things are far from perfect, but the first thing that must be done by the traffic cops is to disengage these drivers so as to keep roads safe for those who care, for those who obey traffic rules and do not encroach upon the liberty of others.

As much it is important to engage, I think it is also important for companies to decide whom not to engage? 

Hire for attitude and train for skill is the golden principle. Trying to engage with everyone means we fundamentally believe that anyone can be on-board. Jim Collins had very correctly said – ‘Get the right people on the bus and then decide where to drive that bus’. ‘Right’ is the operative word. And that cannot have a single dimension interpretation. Right has to be looked as much from the competency perspective, it must also be looked from the attitudinal and behavioural perspective. Bad hires have been bleeding companies.

Live 2 Work, 2 Die - Asia waiting to 'Explode'

‘She ignored sleep so much that the latter embraced her forever.'

This became unfortunately true for Mita, the young copywriter who died after 30 hours of continuous work, with no sleep. A professional working for Young & Rubicam, an ad agency owned by international powerhouse WPP at Jakarta, would often work with no regard for sleep or rest. Her final tweets that later became a chilling countdown to her death are an evidence of her extreme work behavior.

Mita Diran, 24, collapsed to the floor and slipped into a coma last Sunday after weeks of sleeping little and downing energy drinks just to keep going. 

Mita’s case brings back the memories of Karoshi – a term coined in Japan as early as 1980s of a price for prosperity that people are paying with their lives.

Audrey Tsui’s seminal work on the cost of prosperity in Asia stands-out as a study that clearly proves that Mita Diran’s case is not an isolated incident.

The findings clearly indicate that there is something hugely wrong with the way people are juggling their work and lives-

“The rising prosperity of Asia's growing economies has drawn adverse consequences on employee wellness and the work-life balance of many people. Intensified global competition and the expanding wealth gaps in Asia induce stress and create tension. Long working hours, excessive workload, weekend duties, inadequate physical activity and an unhealthy lifestyle are often cited as the key sources of chronic fatigue and work stress. Mounting incidents of occupational illnesses/accidents, and the growing number of Karoshi and suicides among prime-aged working adults further raise concerns regarding individuals' health awareness and corporate effectiveness in employee wellness management.”

Back in India a recent bus accident that killed 45 people on board, the inquiry revealed that accident occurred since the driver was overworked and under slept. During festival season when demand for omnibuses increase in India, drivers often do extra-trips for long distances with little or no break. The recent tragedy was avoidable had the driver not been forced to make three trips between Chennai and Theni, a distance of more than 500km, with just a five-hour break.

Despite these incidents, Asia continues to work in a pressure cooker, waiting to explode any moment.

After all what are we working for? Forget it no one has time to think that… So dump the thought and live to work to die…literally!