|
Onething I like about Poornam is that, I can always be myself in this company. 6 plus years in the company has never burdened me with any bogus body armour. Everyone in the company addresses me by my nick name and my puppy, Vodka still wags her tail when she sees me. Yesterday , one of the youngest kids Haripriya told me to "Get Lost" ( "poda" ). I felt nice coz I realised that she is considering me as a friend. Things around me has not changed much since college days.
However, if I strain my eyes harder, a few changes becomes visible. Like, I'm no more considered a wildcard entry to all gangs in the company. I go to food court, where a bunch of fresh kids would be sitting and suddenly they all just vanish into thin air. And then there is our watchman, who awkwardly rises from his seat even after I told him not to. Still, those are all just minor incursions which I can live with. Rest of my world has remained the same. I remember a major debate with one of my friends in US , who also happened to be a customer of our company. After a long day and few beers , we sat down discussing "how an employer should interact with his employees". My friend had been running businesses for over 15 years. He believes that an employer should keep his employees at a distance, especially when it comes to personal matter. I believe in another school of thought. I like to know my boss as an individual, as a human being with emotions, good humour sense and a cool head. Similarly, I try to be as much as I'm to those whom I've to lead. I like to show my emotions , whether its happiness , sadness , anger or frustration without any veil. Perhaps , over the years I've learned to control my emotions . But whatever comes out is a direct reflection of what I feel about the situation. One morning , I went to give my car for minor repair. I was wearing a cargo and t-shirt as I had no other plans for the morning. Not only that I did not get any prompt service, they asked me to come later in the evening to see if anything could be done. In the evening, they treated me like I am some God who drove in straight from heaven. The security gave me a salute and supervisor had a warm smile plastered to his face. All that changed was my dressing , as I was in formals so that I could go straight to office from service center. Thats how it is gonna be , if you keep yourself at a different height. People might respect your post, chair or dress . Do they actually like you as a person?If not , my dear friend , you've some more work to do. Call yourself successful , when people like you regardless of which post or chair you are in .
That reminds me of Joshua Bell , Grammy Award-winning violinist. In an experiment, Joshua Bell played one of the most exquisite compositions on his $3.5 million violin. Only difference was that , he was performing incognito, in a subway station wearing casual attire and a baseball cap. After almost 1 hour , during which over 1000 people passed by, only one person recognized him. Guess how much money he collected for his performance ? Just $32.17 . Any other day , people would have queued to shell out $100 to just get a ticket to listen to Joshua performing. Read the entire story in washingtonpost .( thanks Aarti for your lead ). |  |
My word of advice to everyone ..... just be yourself. World is a wonderful place to be in , when you stand on your own legs and view with your own eyes. ( Btw, Haripriya if you ever read this .....not even Vodka, my dog would laugh at ur pathetic jokes in the future.)
|
