एक नूर आदमी, ...

माझ्या teenage मध्ये जितेंद्र भलताच हिट नट होता! पांढरी pant आणि  कलरफुल टी-शर्ट असा त्याचा पेहराव अगदी ठरलेला असायचा सर्व चित्रपटामध्ये! त्यातल्या टी-शर्टची मला भलती क्रेझ होती. Engineeringला प्रवेश मिळाल्यावर माझी पहिली खरेदी कोणती असेल तर सोलापुरातल्या नवी पेठेतील बऱ्यापैकी प्रसिद्ध कपड्याच्या दुकानातून तसला एक टी-शर्ट! नंतर माझं मलाच उमगलं की ‘तसले’ टी-शर्टस आपल्याला शोभून दिसत नाहीत! (कारण अस्मादिक काडी-पैलवान होते! J). मग वाटलं, हिवाळ्यात तरी ऋषी कपूर सारखे मस्त रंगीबेरंगी स्वेटर घालावेत! (Sweat-shirt, turtle-neck वगैरे प्रचलीत नव्हते. स्वेटरने ‘गुढीची काठी’ जरा गुबगुबीत दिसेल असाही सुज्ञ विचार होता! ;-)) मग  एकदा धीर करून ‘तसल्या’ वुलनच्या स्वेटरच्या किमतीची चौकशी केली आणि किंमत ऐकून त्या plan ला टाकोटाक तिलांजली दिली!

Engineering नंतर पुण्यात नोकरी-निमित्त आगमन झाले आणि नानाविध कपडे घेण्याची सुप्त इच्छा पुन्हा बाहेर डोकावली! मग काय; FC रोड, JM रोड, camp पासून ते मुंबईच्या fashion-street पर्यंत बऱ्याच चकरा झाल्या!

मला वाटतं, १९९५-९६ च्या आसपास मदुरा कोट्सने प्रथम branded शर्टस विकायला सुरु केले होते. Louis Phillipe ! मी नुकताच SAP मध्ये आलो होतो. वाटलं, पहिला branded शर्ट घ्यावा. मला किंमतही अजून आठवते, ७०० ते ८०० च्या दरम्यान होता. माझा शर्ट पाहून माझ्या colleagues ना पण थोडा धक्का बसला होता! नंतर तो माझा ‘लकी’ शर्ट झाला. (प्रत्येकाचा असा एक शर्ट असतोच ना :-?). पुढे मी Singapore ला आणि लगेच अमेरिकेला गेलो आणि अगदी वेड्यासारखा प्रत्येक brandचा एक तरी शर्ट विकत घेणं सुरु केलं!

आधीच माझं वापरणं अगदी काळजीपूर्वक, त्यातून शर्टची quality उत्तम आणि मी कित्येक दशकं त्याचं मापात (पक्षी, वजनात! J)! त्यामुळे बायकोच्या साड्यापेक्षा माझ्या शर्टची गर्दी जबरी वाढली! (हो, ‘तो ‘ Louis Phillipe शर्ट अजूनही माझ्या ward-robe मध्ये आहे बरं का!) असे असंख्य शर्टस, trousers कित्येक वर्षापासून (काही महिन्यांची सक्तीची विश्रांती देऊन) घालतोय. मध्यमवर्गीय संस्कारामुळे मस्ती करून कपडे फेकवत/देववत नाहीत. प्रत्येक कपड्यामागे काही तरी स्मृतीही दडलेल्या असतात ना!..

...आणि अचानक मनात विचार तरळून गेला. शरीररुपी वस्त्र सोडून जाताना केवढ्या यातना होत असतील नाही???

What the CEO really wants from you

Everybody wants to be a leader. Let’s also accept that most of us (from the corporate world) aspire to occupy the C-suite, the corner office.  There are lot of books, articles explaining how to be a great leader or how to be a CEO. But not many books are there explaining what it takes to be a great follower, a great subordinate (before you move to the top-most rung of the ladder). To end up as a boss, you first need to be a great subordinate. Deserve, before you desire. Right?

Mr. R. Gopalakrishnan (with 45 years of top-notch industry experience with executive leadership roles like Vice Chairman at Hindustan Lever Ltd & Director at Tata Sons) addresses this gap in his book ‘What the CEO really wants from you’.  He has used anecdotal style to share his management wisdom which helps readers connecting easily than a pedagogical/HBR case-study approach we find in many management tomes.

Forewords by Paul Polman (CEO Unilever), Management Guru Ram Charan and Adobe CEO, Shantanu Narayen provide the perfect start to the book. As Paul Polman puts it succinctly, “He has provided a refreshing and distinctive approach. The book explores the many ways in which to build that essential foundation of trust between leaders and managers”.

Mr. Gopalakrishnan uses the word CEO to convey the many seniors who influence your work and career. It is not just the immediate person you work for.  It includes other seniors (most important being manager of your manager) with whom you interact and who form a view or judgement about you as a manager. Understanding and responding to what the CEO wants from you is very important to your success and career. The build the case, author articulates the asymmetry of expectations; subordinates expect a lot from bosses but they don’t think much of boss’ needs or what they owe the company or boss. He expounds his unique framework of 4 As; Accomplishment, Affability, Advocacy, Authenticity in a flowing manner.

Even though the book is replete with examples and references from the FMCG/Manufacturing industry, it is equally applicable for any other industry (including IT industry) as well. (Since ultimately it boils down to people interaction / people dynamics no matter which industry you work in)

Personally I feel the book is a ‘must-read’ for any management professional. A couple of things resonated well and I felt like those are the areas where some course correction is needed from yours truly. (As the author uses the Delphi inscription, ‘know thyself’!)

In fact, it is the first management book I finished in a day so yes, I can call it unputdownable! :-)

Bad Boss? …Blessing in disguise!

I won’t go defining a bad boss here because each one of you would remember at least one name (rather, face!) once the words ‘bad boss’ are heard! Right :-?

But how many of you would look at the positive side of it?

Well, most of us would agree on one thing for sure. And that is, a bad boss, somehow, would always keep you on your toes, would ensure you’re never in the comfort zone!  Isn’t that a good thing? Your survival instincts (or, your hurt ego) would make you learn new things, shoulder bigger responsibilities, put in long hours, just to prove your mettle. Also keep in mind, you cannot choose your boss! So, if things are really getting worse in spite of you trying earnestly to put your best foot forward, you might want to consider looking out for opportunities. (Yes, it is true. People leave managers, not companies!) 

And in either case, you indeed might have learnt a couple of new things/skills in your current job or might be performing a different/bigger role in a new organization & all this happened because you were not complacent, you were not in the safe/comfort zone in the first place!  Right? Won’t you be thankful to him/her for it:-?

My own personal experience echoes same thing.  It was my first job (after engineering graduation) in a manufacturing company. My manager was a great human-being & I used to like working with him. One fine day, he got transferred and came in another manager, who somehow made my life miserable almost from day one. The ‘well-ensconced’ me was shaken out from my comfort zone & I began thinking of ways, options to tackle this. It led to my aspiration of doing post-graduation & which in the hind-sight seemed to have done wonders to my career!

So guys (& girls), don’t curse your stars for a bad boss.

Think positive; it could be a blessing in disguise!!

Cheers!!!