Its a beautiful night..... it has a soul of the early dawn as if its hopeful of something. As if the morning rays are hidden somewhere behind the tower of the temple, just waiting for the waking hours to light up the laden sky. Its an expectant night, and a mysterious one; awaking the piscean me. Oh how I love thinking these aimless thoughts, just witnessing the shows of the universe, and 'not thinking' about the more material thoughts of life. (or may be those thoughts aren't really 'material', may be they are too trivial to be thought about!)

I always have this feeling that I should do more with my life. Be more happy, accomplish more, do more things that please me...  its been such a long time that I have done something that really pleases me from within... for the first time I am feeling 'bound' by this marriage.... probably its a lot to do with so many people around (yes, the family visitors are always here!); I am not getting enough of the 'me' time.... and that makes me miss blore so much!!

and here I go turn my back towards the balcony railings and open myself to the sky... what a sky it is.... its 11 30 pm or 4 30 am? I just want to lie on the grass and look towards the sky... want the wind to mess up my hair while I stroll crushing the wet grass under my feet.

Step, trundle, quake.... are you listening?

There are learnings from the book and then there are learnings from experience.

From three jobs and three very different setups, there are several things that I have noticed about good leaders/ managers. Its difficult to cover them all in one post. So, the one that I want to write about today is "being closer to the ground".

The very first thing that this translates into is 'approachability' and 'knowledge of the ever-so-changing-ecosystem'. The more 'distant' you are from your subordinates, the more difficult it becomes to 'know' them,'manage' them, 'lead' them

It also translates into a sense of humility (at least some!). Success is difficult to manage on a personal level. A rapid climb-up in life boosts one's ego to the extent that it becomes really difficult to remain level-headed. And when one's head floats in the sky, well, they become oblivious of whats happening at the ground level... Closer to ground, also means that you understand your people, their motivations, their aspirations, and their individual 'role'in the whole ecosystem.

Being 'closer to the ground' also enables good leaders to see through immediate problems at hand and think about how things 'can evolve' in the future; this mean that the manager would get know when an approaching sound is a footstep, a trundle, or a quake..

Besides all, it lets you remain human....

PS: I am documenting these learnings so that I don't forget them when I need them the most! These are so simple and straightforward things, just that our visions get blurred to the obvious things in life!

PS 2: I love the fact that I am working. I can't imagine myself sitting at home.

case study

from one of my facebook status messages:


A "I want to do a case study on my new b0$$. He deserves to be documented."
......
We will need to call in a team of evolutionary psychologists and behavioral genetics experts, to study the causes of his multiple personality disorder and toxicity, and also the deadly combination of his supremely sadistic behavior along with his calculative brilliance.
The case would of course be incomplete without a comprehensive analysis of his superhuman powers of blatantly lying through his teeth w.o. any signs of embarrassment/ guilt/ cognizance."

List of places I want to see in Delhi

(I have already seen some of these before during my childhood)

1. Top on the list is the Phoolon-wala baazar (the flower market) at CP: Obviously one has to be up before dawn to enjoy it in its full glory

2. Humayun tomb
3. Safdarjung tomb
4. Akshardham mandir

and then there are several unexplored heritage buildings that I have seen from a distance but never visited...

and, then there are numerous restaurants and pubs on my 'to do' list!

.... off for a while

Well, why have I been so off from blogging? because I am so off from extra-curricular stuffs these days (buhuhuuhu.....)

I have got a grinding job, that doesn't really inspire me... have got no saturdays (not even saturday nights!)... all because of a toxic boss! add to that my bf has been down with jaundice for over a month now (well, he has recovered now, but still has been advised rest/ caution for sometime)....

So, basically quite an uninspiring schedule! :(

But I am resolved to change this... how?... i am yet to figure out!

learning on the job...

Have you seen something and said WOW and then grabbed it... and then realized it was actually YUCKS!

Well, thats how my new b o s s is. So, I like how my job profile looks on paper, and am decently ok with the work conditions, all except my b o s s.

I have historically prefered to use the word 'manager' instead of 'B***' because it sounds like a master-slave relation.. but alas, thats the word I have to (& I am) using today...

My first job gave me an experince of "how good organisations work", " how good managers manage", "how to be a good manager", "how to love your job" etc... 

My biggest learnings these days are "how bad organisations work", "how bad managers operate", "how not to treat your subordinates/ peers", "how to 'show' your non-existent-output"...

Make no mistakes! these are big learnings too! and in a way 'must-know's too... But its like saying 'Difficult situations are the biggest teachers'... well yes, but when you are going through those situations... they are ... well... 'difficult'! (you could replace 'frustrating' for 'difficult' here for me) ....

Readers should expect more about my corporate learnings in the coming posts.... 

White hair

White hair can actually work in your favour, specially if you are a workaholic, reverence-seeking, office tormentor trying to work your way up-and-wide.

SOB

Oh! how I miss caring for my plants! and how I miss dancing!... and I miss my night shows... all for that SOB boss.... for how long can I bear with this? :(

'Remember'

I have joined a new job and my successful stint of 'working with good managers' has cone to an end. He is one of the meanest (if not THE meanest) managers that you would encounter around. More on this later.... 

So, I get this mail from my bf at 9.50 AM:

"Subject: Remember

1. HTC 2. EnY 3. Have fruits 4. Stay cool 5. Use Profanity :)

"

PS: Obviously the last one is meant for peer discussions/ cribbings only

back in action!

From an MNC environ and investment banking/ research domain, I am now with an Indian construction company (in a corporate finance role)

People have been asking me why did I take this job? Well, it's pretty simple for me to answer, though their attention span doesn't survive my explanation.

So, here am I blogging about it…

I am here to learn. This move was not intended to be a precursor to profile X which can lead to profile Y and then ultimately profile Z.

I am here to learn. Full stop.

I want to work, I want to accomplish something. I want to do something fruitful.

I want 'not to be bored' with my job.

I want to be within an 'action' environment.

in short, I want to learn

And this is a big enough motivation for me.

Now, I understand that this all comes with huge baggage:

An operating company environment is very different than an advisory one, there are people from diverse background and hence diverse 'issues'.

It is a construction company, so office support functions are weak to say the least (I have been trying to procure a rim of A4 sheets for printing since past two days!).

There are semblances of politics at all levels – high, mid, low… and so on…  

And worst of all (and the only one that makes me sad) is the 6 day work week!

But, in spite of all this, I am excited about my work. Though I am being cautious in my excitement. But let's see how it goes! but for now thank you Lord!