DRESS-CODE 2011...................CLASSIC DILEMMA ON A POSTCARD

.....And the action begins tomorrow. It's never easy to give up your favorite attire and slip into a metal. Laugh and let laugh has been the mantra for well over 15 long years at work  and  play. It's been an arduous trek, with taste of success few and far between. No complaining though. Despite the promise unfulfilled, it's been a hell of a ride. When sun rises tomorrow, can I straddle both ? It's not going to be easy, I know.   Will the clown RIP ? Or  a new warrior will rise from the ashes? It remains to be seen.

BAND OF IDIOTS........ POSTCARD DEDICATED TO CORPORATE IDIOTS

One of the things that really irritates me is the unprofessional approach of my fellow citizens who are perched on top of the corporate ladder. There is something very peculiar about our friends who hail from this part of the world. Unprofessional to the core and full of inflated egos, these idiots need a crash course in professional demeanor.

Who says....... ALL IS WELL!..............definitely not in the corporate sector where band of idiots have decided not to pick-up their phones, not to respond to mails, not to meet (..even if there's a genuine business opportunity in the offing).

POSTCARD ON WHEELS............FROM A JOURNEYMAN

Morning has broken, I am on my mark again
All buckled-up behind the wheels , here I go again

trying to beat the damn clock, driving like a man possessed here I go again

burning the wheels off this car, waging a new war , here I go again.

AFTER HOURS...........POSTCARD FROM THE LAST CUBICLE

Amidst this cacophony, a strange calmness envelopes me

lackluster day behind, this weired feeling is getting a stranglehold on me.

STOP PRETENDING!.........POSTCARD ADDRESSED TO ALL GREAT PRETENDERS

Where are the good leaders? Where have they gone? I wonder. Fancy designation on a business card doesn't necessarily make one a great leader, I always knew. But time and again, when you see mediocrity occupying the slots which requires inspirational leaders, it dampens your spirits. These are tough times, we all know. In fact it's a given and not a breaking news. What we need today are leaders who lead from the front and not those who hide in the trenches and put their troops in the line of fire. If you are reading this, and essaying a leaders role, then I suggest you take a good look at yourself and your leadership style. Do you have the respect of your troops? Are you a team player ? Will you provide the cover, when there's a situation? Do you really think the buck stops at you? Do you think your success is because of them? Do you think it's never about I and it's a WE, that wins a bloody war?

If you are a true leader, then your answer for all the questions above, should be a deafening YES! And if you are not, keep fooling yourself and let your regiment keep walking that tight-rope everyday..................RUST IN PEACE DEARLY PRETENDER!!

YOU CAN DO BETTER!...GOLDEN WORDS ON A POSTCARD

This one is for the special breed, that is slowly but surely inflicting irreparable damage to the business interest of an organization. Rather than focusing on more burning issues, company's precious time is being wasted on unproductive loose talks, by bunch of morons, who can't think, who are incapable of walking the talk. Trust me, bad run for any organisation is as much an internal people problem at the core, as much it is an external one, brought about by factors beyond organization's control.

DRESS CODE FOR THE DAY.........STILL NO GUARANTEE. POSTCARD FROM THE BATTLEFIELD

Keep on marching you weary soldier, don't look back, you just go

far away from nowhere, still you've got million miles to go

What lies ahead? You don't want to know, just don't look back..........keep marching, just go, you just go.

DEATH WARRANT....POSTCARD STAMPED - RUST IN PEACE

A leader who can't trust his team, his subordinates, his peers is definitely hell bound. If he doesn't realise this , in no time, he will be left alone to RUST IN PEACE. He should always remember that there are no bad regiments, there are only bad officers.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY............. CORPORATE HITMAN

You can see this dude, walking the floor in most of the offices . Smiling, never giving anything away, trying to be Mr.Perfect, someone you would love to work under. But hey! wait a second, don't get carried away by the deceptive demeanor. This is not a leader who deals in hope. He is neither somebody who believes in action. On the contrary he believes in creating factions. He believes in hitting people over the head.

Theodore Roosvelt once said "The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it". Not this man, my friend Mr. Perfect. He is not much of a believer in other peoples capabilities . He will make sure that the buck never stops at his table. He will ensure that everything that has success written on it belongs to him . Watch out for this man with three sides. You never know, you could be next on the hit list.

POWER POSTCARD !!.......TIME TO PACK A PUNCH

You thought I couldn't do it, I simply don't stand a chance

Ha! ha !! I've got some news , something that you could use

I am one up on you, and there's nothing you can do

You couldn't stop me then, you can't stop me now

I am all set to fly, to soar in the sky

This time I am going to do it, I will earn what's mine

Look back, sorry I never will, hope you won't mind..........Please don't mind :-)

FROM THE CORPORATE DIARY......BITTER N SWEET TALE OF MONEY

Salary negotiation I am told is an art rather than a science. The rigmarole of a tough negotiation can be quite rattling at times. Some people are too good at it and they are able to do it with great elan. And then on the other side, there are few who simply hate it. Not that they aren't capable, it just that beyond a point they find the process to bitter to swallow.

One thing that has always posed a question mark in my mind, and something that I haven't been able to fathom till date, is the exact role of Human Resource guys in the negotiation chain. Are they the right people to measure the worth of hard core experience? Should they have the final say? Are they professional and experienced enough to separate the wheat from the chaff? I really wonder, seriously I do.

I am sure there is a way out. I also firmly believe that many a times, deserving candidates run out of patience and give up the chase.And it's rather unfortunate that in the end the HR view of " My way, or the highway" prevails and the organisation loses out on an opportunity to draft somebody who could have been an excellent choice. THINK ABOUT IT ? I am sure quite a few of my experienced friends out there, at some point might have been at the receiving end of this so called, high handed approach( "I know what you are worth " P.O.V).

FROM THE CORPORATE DIARY.......POSTCARD BY A TOUGHIE, A SURVIVOR

Just in from the Corporate Zoo. Contributed by a martyr who chose to stand alone ....who decided to walk out rather than standing in the long queue of servile flatterers.

BATTLESTATION REVISITED..........

Sitting here all alone in the middle of the night
thinking, pondering, what went wrong?
Is it me? or it's them?
Who is it? Who has got it all wrong?

I am not turning my back my friend
Dreams I've still got many,
and courage I have plenty.
I am just gettin' sick n tired of these games,
games I can't comprehend and I would never ever play
I 've had enough I think, and it's time to walk away
quiet, real quiet I think I should walk away....should walk away.

RISE ABOVE THIS .........ME AND MYSELF !!

Where have they gone? Where have they disappeared?

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy said Martin Luther King Jr, undoubtedly one of the finest leaders of his times. Alas ! such leaders don't walk the earth anymore. Leadership is not just about the status, the position one holds, in fact it's about the awareness, the knowledge of one's own strengths and weaknesses and how best one can lead and motivate the team to achieve a common goal. It's so important to respect every individual, to shield his weakness and to harness all his positives, for achieving the desired results.

What we tend to forget, and it's rather unfortunate these days, is the larger, selfless role of a leader. What good is a leader, if he ends up leaving behind a trail of demotivated, unsuccessful, bruised and battered followers. I have closely watched many leaders making the same mistakes over and over again by putting their selfish motives ahead of the core objective and blaming the team for the debacle.

How would you explain , a leader imposing his or her whims and fancies on the team and not allowing them any room whatsoever to decide how they would like to operate or conduct themselves with other groups or teams. It's absolutely uncalled for, if a leader wants his team to demonstrate an attitude similar to his, especially towards the peers.

Sad ,isn't it? People are essaying the role of leaders, without even having understood the essence of leadership. And in the process, harming the interest of not just the people down below, but also the team as well as the organisation that has entrusted them with such a crucial role.

THINK ABOUT IT ! HAVE YOU UNDERSTOOD THE MEANING ? ARE YOU A LEADER??

BUSY NOTWORKING !! JACK IS HAPPY....AND SO IS JILL

No fetching a pail of water and no tumbling after. Jack and Jill are busy networking these days. Plenty of options to choose from , Facebook, Twitter,Orkut etc. Nothing wrong with that, isn't it ? I am in complete agreement, it's perfectly alright. In fact networking sites are cool . After all we live in a wired world. Technology has made it possible for circle of friends to stay in touch, share thoughts, ideas, so on and so forth.

But the trouble is, this "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and Jill a dull girl " ( Apologies Mr. James Howell for tweaking the proverb) attitude, is costing the companies dearly across the corporate landscape. Companies precious productive time is being wasted by irresponsible, immature young executives who access these social networking sites from their office computers during office hours. I am sure, yours truly won't be able to stand for the presidentship of any of these cool sites after this post, but I am more than willing to take my chances, and raise my voice against this menace which is a major stumbling block in upping the performance bar in scores of companies all over the world.

I am all for blocking these sites during the office hours. A strict ban should be enforced and anyone caught logging on to these sites should be severely reprimanded.

Sorry Jack........Sorry Jill. I think it's time to do something constructive, something big. It's time to make one extra business call, send one extra mail soliciting new business, meet one more prospect before you call it a day at office.

TO SIR WITH LOVE.....DILEMMA OF AN ADMAN !!

It is often said there's no shortcut to success. You have to earn it at every step. " Work hard son! Keep your head down and someday the world will be at your feet". Well ! for some strange reason the wise man forgot to mention an important thing during his sermon of success. He didn't tell his fellow men that somewhere down the bumpy road to success , a day will come when one might have to sell one's soul in the quest to have it all.

I have a close friend, who despite having all the necessary qualities to make an indelible mark in his chosen profession, still finds himself at sea. He is a victim of the lethal "P", the root cause of many a lost battles at the workplace , the sole reason for the conflicts within the ranks which has marauded the careers of many bright and promising . Not the one to settle for mediocrity, through out his professional career he has strived for excellence to the best of his abilities. A firm believer of " talk your mind and walk your talk" , he simply doesn't seem to get his due and is penalised for his sparks of brilliance. A man of ethics, finds himself surrounded by insecure superiors, wanting him to give up all that he has believed in and has stood for, all these years.

If you are reading this, wherever you are, I would love to hear your views and suggestions. Please do leave a comment behind. What do you think my friend should do? Succumb to the pressures and become like one of them. Keep walking that talk without expecting too much in bargain and not to worry about the consequences.. Be the man he has always been?

NOT YOUR USUAL G SPOT !!!

This post in the end might not be half as stimulating and pleasurable as the one in the latest Issue of cosmopolitan. But in todays corporate jungle for many the corporate G SPOT comes close to the real thing, time permitting even better.

Why do we blindly fall into this gossip trap, why can't we mind our own business, why do we even listen to all that crap that goes around, why can't we get it straight, why do we need a via media. There are so many questions unanswered at the workplace.

Having an ear on the ground is a good thing as long as it respects the individual and the system he is part of . It should never become a tool to settle scores and demean individuals. People essaying leadership roles should especially be wary about the flipp side. They should never foster and encourage such a culture.

Hope better sense prevails upon those who have made this an integral part of their hidden agenda at work.

IN THE END WORK SHOULD BE JUST THAT...WORK. AND WORKPLACE JUST A WORKPLACE AND NOT G SPOTS.

CRASH, BOOM, BANG !!......Taming the bad times.

Wall Street blood bath has scared the hell out of corporates. Not just in the land of Uncle Sam but elsewhere too. India is no exception.

"Stitch in time saves nine" seems to be the survival mantra for lot of Chieftains. Trimming down the work force, restriction on travel, freeze on recruitment seem to be playing heavily on the minds of lot of these guys. Is this panic justified? Some of it yes, but to a larger extent, highly debatable.

Tom Peters, the management guru, has a recipe for surviving and even thriving amidst the perfect storm, which I feel has a lot of merit.

According to the Master - "While many businesses will fail amidst the current economic crisis through no fault of their own, some will survive in spite of the odds—and a few will surprise by turning a messy situation into economic-competitive advantage. The requisite winner's attitude is expressed by former Ritz - Carlton chief Horst Schulze , commenting on his decision to launch his new high-end hotel business,Capella, despite the market madness: "I do not accept the explanation of a recession negatively affecting the [new] business. There are still people traveling. We just have to get them to stay in our hotel." And, indeed, getting an "unfair share" of "what's left" is near the heart of the matter. Schulze's remarks also remind us that instant, mindless cutting of R&D or training or salesforce travel in the face of a downturn is often counterproductive—or, rather, downright stupid. Tough times are in fact golden opportunities to get the drop, and the long term drop at that, on those who respond to bad news by panicky across-the-board slash and burn tactics and moves that de-motivate and alienate the workforce at exactly the wrong moment.

Tough times indeed require tough and unpleasant decisions—but thriving, not just surviving, is an option for those who mix wisdom and boldness of leadership with transparency and maximized employee involvement and engagement. Without suggesting that there is anything humorous about the pain that bad times cause, one can say that "this is when it gets fun" for truly talented and imaginative leaders at all levels and in businesses of every sort and size! "

Need I say anything more.................Tom knows best. A badly required pearl of wisdom to weather the storm.

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO ??........to be extraordinary!!!

Why do we settle for the ordinary? Why being creative, surely an unique trait, is little less ordinary these days? Why people lead a robotic DRILL @ WORK ? Why a memo can't be drafted in ten different ways? Why something as simple and natural as a little smile, is so hard to sport? Why do we withdraw in a shell, when there is so much turmoil outside? Why is the art of expressing, speaking your mind, dying a slow death?..............WHY ???????

I find myself in the midst of these questions everyday. When I raise my head to find the answers for questions I can't comprehend, all I get in bargain, is more questions.There's precious little happening around in this world, where I spend most of my time trying to stay afloat.

Have I given up hope?.........Not really. I will continue my pursuit for finding the missing pieces of this great puzzle @ work.

WHY SO SERIOUS SON??.........."Laugh and let laugh"

Humor!! such a priceless commodity. Brings smile to every face. And if you believe in research, key for living little longer.

The more I look at faces, the more I get convinced that people have stopped smiling. Bad thing about a face that can't smile is that it can't offer you anything. I try to find humor in small things. Love to tweak those words, those lines. Just to brighten up the ambiance. Make people laugh. Feel happy seeing them smile.

What pisses me off, is the constipated looks early in the morning. Fresh from the weekend spell, people should be bubbling with new found lease of life, but on the contrary, most drag themselves to the workplace. Thinking bloke like yours truly, feel alienated and lost in the whirlpool of not so happy faces.

Can't pull out a knife like the joker did , but really want to ask each one of them...........WHY ? WHY SO SERIOUS SON??