Each working day is a new experience and each new experience can teach you so much. Here are a few lessons I have learnt at work in the last few months, which I would like to share with you.
- OTHER CULTURES CAN ALSO TEACH YOU SOMETHING: My most recent assignment took me to South Africa. While in a lot of countries there is dignity for labor, South Africa is where I found respect among staff members for every person including drivers, cleaners etc.
- AGE DOES NOT MATTER: While I believe that maturity in decision making comes with rich experience, I have also experienced that at times it also adds baggage which impacts the choices people make. Sometimes the toughest decisions are easiest to make when you are able to think out of the box with a fresh approach. At the same time, it is not always that more experienced people will have less energy. Yes well-groomed and mature person ensuring rationale the decision process must lead team.
- BE PATIENT – Plan and then execute: It is rare that when you starting new operations, things will go exactly as planned. There is nothing wrong in it, as new businesses are kick-started with assumptions while planning, and ground realities could be very different. But, then it is important to re-align your business with reality, re-plan and then execute it well. This approach may seem to slow down the process, but will allow you to make corrections and execute is well. In absence of this, I have seen businesses working in fire fighting mode, which could further add to the mess and in the process, a lot of important stuff gets ignored until it reaches a point of conflict.
- GIVE FREE TIME TO YOUR EMPLOYEES: In my recent overseas assignment, teams request for free time initially seemed over bearing and it appeared to me that the locals just did not work hard, till I stepped back and tried to understand the situation. It was not they, but we Indians who had got into the habit of pushing ourselves to work long hours and were being impatient. These long hours over a period of time were impacting our health and ability to think out of the box. Soon, with a cluttered mind that had got no chance to unwind, I was just doing what I was expected to execute and was losing my ability to think beyond and be creative in my work. Well, just in time, I understood the importance of relaxing and taking a break. While I did not get the luxury of relaxed moments but I realised the need for my team to get weekly rest hours and worked hard to convince the management to consider changing the operations to five days a week. Fortunately, the founder agreed. I am sure there are happier faces, happier families and that reflects in the numbers I see in the daily reports now.
- LISTEN TO YOUR PEOPLE: You cannot understand the problems of your staff unless you have faced them yourself. So when the team asks for something it should not always assumed to be unjustified. Listen with an open mind and act upon it judiciously. It doesn’t mean you accept everything that anyone asks for, but listening with an open mind is important.
- BUILD A STRONG CULTURE: My experience at Google makes me believe with conviction that if there is that one unique thing that differentiates one organisation from another, is its culture. Having a strong culture in line with the values and making sure that no one compromises on it, will help develop a sense of belongingness among your teams.
- HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLE: If you feel strongly about the culture you want to develop / maintain and also you don’t want to deviate from your mission, you must hire people accordingly – without compromising. Hiring could be slow but you will see consistency in your work approach and you will build a company you could be proud of. I would give weight age to attitude and aptitude over academic qualifications.
- LOOK FOR AND NURTURE HIDDEN TALENT IN YOUR PEOPLE: Though people get trained in specific professions, but they may have skills that could be used in other areas and have attitude to make a difference elsewhere. In my recent assignment in South Africa, we had an Optometrist who was an exemplary administrator with amazing people skills. Moving her to project management made all the difference in easing the operations.
- LEARN TO SAY NO: Sometimes we literally believe that boss is always right. But when you see from their perspective, they have hired you because you are smart and you bring your knowledge and experience to the table. At times you may have reservations on the decisions being made, it is important to put your point across even if it means disagreeing. You may be proven wrong, but at-least you made your boss think of other possibilities and then take a decision after all considerations. Much as we think otherwise, mature management is always open to suggestions of its people.
- YOU CANNOT PLEASE ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME: You are human and will be working with fellow human beings and in this web there will always be conflicts and disagreements. Many times we get stuck in trying not to offend anyone and trying to keep everyone happy. These situations give rise to politics and gossips. It is important to do the right thing that is in the interest of the business objective or ethics, and one must take stand. As long as you handle conflicts with maturity and without taking it personally, you will find these disagreements to be healthy and if resolved without wasting time, will be good for the growth of your organisation.
- BE PROCESS ORIENTED TO BECOME SUSTAINABLE: Human capital is the most important resource in any organisation, but even humans have an expiry date. They will move jobs or will become old. Unless you take a step back and create processes that are independent of “specific” people, your business will always be high on dependency. JRD Tata very appropriately said, “People come and go, companies remain”.
- WHEN THINGS DON’T WORK – STEP BACK, RE-PRIORITISE AND INITIATE CHANGE: Business and the environment it operates in, change with time. It is believed, that the only constant is the “change”. This is becoming even more dynamic and unforgiving for companies that do not change with times. Whether your business is an old one or a new business, if something is not working, it is important to stop fire fighting and rather take a step back and make the necessary changes to become relevant and real.
- IF YOU WANT TO LEAVE A FOOTPRINT, STOP FLYING AND KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND: Some people grow fast and become over confident of their abilities and network. Sometimes, they even fail to realise the role of fate and luck that contributed to their growth. We have seen business people who created multi-billion dollar companies, sold them and their subsequent ventures never took off again. It is important to keep your feet firm on the ground and respect people and processes to run business. Being humble does not cost anything, but takes you miles ahead.
- BRANDING IS NOT JUST FOR THE OUTSIDE WORLD: The one thing that worked real well in my recent assignment was the branding that the company focused on for internal use. Whether it was the use of logos, dress for staff, wraps on the vehicles all worked towards the pride that the staff associated themselves with the brand connect.
- BE A GIVER: I have seen this as an underlying concept in an organisation that believed in the power of givers gain. But, I find this to be true for every organisation and even an individual, whether it is in their relationship with their staff members, vendors, partners, customers, investors etc. If you see yourself as a giver, you will find the universe returning much more than you are able to give.
These are few of my business lessons. But as mentioned earlier, each day teaches you something new. So will keep sharing what I learn. If you find any merit in the above, feel free to share with your network.
