DECISION MAKING
Strategic decisions made in a jiffy on a sudden impulse could lead to disasters. The company could end up having a wrong plant location, an outdated product, or a service of which the time is yet to come. Changing such a decision would invariably be an expensive affair.
Run of the mill decisions, like which brand of Xerox paper to buy for the office, or whether the car parking positions of officers should depend on hierarchy or time of arrival, are best delegated and left to be made at the operational level, where the executives are closer to the ground realities.
DELEGATION
When you can’t do something as well as the other person can, a smart choice you can make is that of delegating the task; that is, moving from doing it yourself to getting it done through others. If you do not learn to delegate, you could suffocate.
Trust, instinct, communication and control are the pre-requisites of delegation. Delegation without benchmarking and monitoring of targets is abdication!
DESIGNATIONS
Designations are not important in cases where the external exposure of the employee is minimal. They form the psychological part of an employee’s compensation package.
For those whose role demands an external exposure, a higher sounding designation would improve the canvas of opportunities, enabling a faster realization of company’s goals.
For employees who have outlived their core utility in companies which believe in firing people only when there is a disaster of a nuclear nature, an improvement in designation would be a valuable tool in the HR arsenal.
DETACHMENT
Beware of managements which exhort you to follow the much misunderstood principle of detachment expounded in the Gita – you should continue to slog all year long but do not expect that elusive overdue promotion. Do a reality check – are you repeating your own past performance? Is there a way you can improve the quality of your targets? Upgrade your work plans and actions accordingly.
If you can follow the principle of detachment, though, mental peace is guaranteed.
DIRECTOR, BEING ONE
Invited to be a director on the board of a company? Accept the offer only after a due diligence at your own risk and peril. You may earn a modest fee and some handsome privileges, but would have little control over the kind of legal and procedural misadventures taking place across the company. Unless, of course, getting served with a notice or landing in a jail is your idea of having fun in life.
DISCRETION
If you wish to start a relationship with the receptionist, better give the idea skip. There is not much difference between a manager rooting for an executive and a cashier having his hands in the till. Managements need to handle such cases with discretion; if the manager concerned is otherwise a good performer, he can be helped to get transferred to a temptation free location and kept under watch. Another misdemeanor, just throw him out.
Complex businesses require discretion in handling information of a sensitive nature – could be related to pay packets, new products and services or long term business plans. Judge the pros and cons and be discreet wherever necessary.
DRAUPADI SYNDROME
In what are euphemistically known as “matrix” organizations, reporting to several bosses at the same time could be a challenging experience. One has to learn to balance each one’s expectations against those of others. Much depends on their relative seniority or clout in the company, based on which one could handle the situation. Of course, it does not pay to pitch one of your bosses against the other, whether directly or indirectly.
ashokbhatia 