Managing Madness

Last weekend I went calling on my relative - a jovial fortyish guy, whose first look will tell you that the guy doesn't want to miss any fun in the world. Always sporting a smile, close to his family, visits his native village every year , drives long and goes to the refuge of his Mridangam to detox himself. Now a senior project manager with a tier-1 IT major he has come a long way through sheer work and attitude and is in an enviable position for his age. During the chat, though we exchanged notes on the tough IT world he was not complaining, but his black ringed eyes told a different tale. His wife worriedly filled the rest saying that he works through the day and night hardly sleeping,  forever on calls, at times even missing his meal. He also intoned, but with a smile, that he would like to quit soon to enjoy his life. I was rather taken aback, as this was the second guy who talked about quitting the job due to pressures and stress, in that week . The other one was a management grad from a premier institution who was asking me earlier in the week as to how one could spend time after a quitting a busy IT life.

I was introspecting- whether the industry has enlarged its pound of flesh or the present day guys are unable to manage the work -life balance. But these people I interacted with are no mean guys and they understand the world around. In the context , I also remember to have read a piece on doing some work on Sundays too, for a better ensuing week- a moot point, indeed.

Current working scenario, IT or otherwise,  is indeed tough but in my opinion, not unmanageable. As they do for their work, some out of the box thinking and customized plans could go a long way in relieving one of some strain.

After some initial months, one could easily identify the pattern of his line of work- including the unexpected tasks.  I created my own ways of working around:

• I have my own customized spreadsheet detailing my day's activities. This database served as a major reference point  for progress, activities, achievements, shortcomings, trainings , contributions etc., This I found to be very useful while preparing for the annual appraisals and periodical reports
•  Like some Indian in-laws, bosses are born and meant to be tough, as their role demand some toughness. Instead of whining about them, we need to customize our work pattern so that they suit their expectations too. 
• One of my bosses has the habit of expecting weekly updates right from Saturday morning.  I used to keep filling up a template through the week on a daily basis and instead of waiting for Mondays, I used to send them as the last item before I left on Friday. Note the timing, 'last item...' and that is important !!
• Every boss has his/her own idiosyncrasies and seldom they match. Understand your boss's expectations and try to work around the same. This spares you from most of  unwanted tension and arguments.
• Heaping of work beyond one's capacity now has a new connotation akin to a stress test. If you complain, you may be slapped with this argument. So, try to prioritize and also make sure you reason out the same, which will be understood by any reasonable boss.
• Working over the weekend is a pain, but then in the changing scenario, you do not  have much choice. At least, be mentally prepared to work on Saturday. If there was no necessity, you could enjoy or clear some lesser priority items from home. If it happens, it was no more a surprise as you had already planned for it. This I learnt from a project in which I worked through all the Saturdays for more 9 months in that year !!
• Identification and grooming of the trusted next level are a key to one's success. 
• Do not try to dirty your hand with everything. Understand the intricacies and try to distribute it to your other leads. 
• Working for multiple geographies with different time zones is a real challenge. But, if you choose to distribute amongst your leads and Managers you even can be seen to be working 24 hours.
• While on planned vacation do not completely switch off from office. Keep tracking the mails periodically for continuity , but never respond unless it is of paramount business importance. Keeping track helps you to get on line quickly on your return. 
• On return from a vacation, move your vacation mails to a designated folder so that they do not impede with the fresh priorities. When you sort your vacation mails,  you will be relieved to find that many are for information only, so that you could focus on things that require your response.

Nowadays, everyone comes with almost same qualifications and skills. But then how come some are very successful and climb the ladder faster while some get stagnated. It is such customized thoughts and realignment that helps the organization to distinguish between the wheat and the chaff. Importantly, none of the above could suit your type of working. Perfect. That is why it is necessary that you identify or invent patterns that are suitable to you.

Also remember planning is no more a virtue.You may start the week with some 10 top items and end up doing 7 none which were in your original 10. If that happens, be happy that you are managing your tasks well !!

Last but not the least, never allow yourselves to be taken to the 'end of the world' situation. Nothing in the world is so irreversible. For every situation, there is a solution, a workaround and nothing to despair about. Its definitely not worth being short tempered at home mulling over the official tensions. Try not to think of official chores on Sunday and relax with your family, so that you can start the Monday with a fresh mind.

தலைப் பிரசவம்

அன்புடையீர்

வாழ்க்கையின் பல பரிமாணங்களை எதிர் கொள்ள வேண்டும் என்ற ஆவல் என்னிடையே என்றும் இருக்கிறது. ஆனால் அதை  ஒரு மித்தமாக  நேர்க்காணும் தைரியம் எனக்குள் இன்னும் வரவில்லை. ஆகையால் , ஒரு குழந்தையைப் போல் ஒவ்வொரு படியாக ஏற முற்ச்சிக்கிறேன்.

இம்முயற்ச்சியில் முதல் படியாக என் வலைப்பூ(

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  http://kapalicanvas.blogspot.com/)  ஆரம்பித்தேன். இது தந்த உற்ச்சாகத்தில், இதற்க்குக் கிடைத்த வரவேற்ப்பில்  தமிழிலும் எழுதத் துணிந்ததில்  என் தமிழ் வலைப்பூ (

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http://chinthikkiren.blogspot.in/) மலர்ந்தது. 

எனக்குத் தோன்றும் எண்ணங்களையும், அபிப்ராயங்களையும் வலைப்பூ மட்டுமில்லாமல் சிறிது அனுபவமும் கற்பனையையும் குழைத்து ஒரு கதையாக மெருகேற்றினால் என்ன என்ற எண்ணம் தான் , என் முதல் கதைக்கு மனதளவில் வித்திட்டது. சமீப காலமாகப் படித்த பல கதைகள் என் இந்த ஆசையைத் மேலும் தூண்டி விட, விளைந்த சிறு செடி தான் , என் முதல் கதை "பரிகாரம்".

இது தமிழ் எழுத்தாளர்களை ஆதரித்து அவர்களுக்குத் தளமளிக்கும் http://www.sirukathaigal.com/. என்ற இடத்தில் என் உண்மையான  "கபாலி" என்ற பெயரில் இன்று ப்ரசுரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

காக்கைக்கும் தன் தன் குஞ்சு பொன் குஞ்சுதான்- என் கதை வடிவ முதல் கன்றை ஈன்றதில் பெருமகிழ்ச்சி அடைந்துள்ளேன்

முதலடியை எடுத்து வைத்துள்ளேன்- இன்னும் பல கல் கடக்க உள்ளேன்-  தங்கள் வாழ்த்துக்களுடன்

என்றுமே என் எண்ணங்களையும் எழுத்துக்களையும் பற்றிய உங்களின் கருத்துக்கள் என்னை உற்ச்சாகப் படுத்தியிருக்கின்றன, சிந்திக்க வைத்திருக்கின்றன. ஆகையால் தங்களின் கருத்துக்களை ஆவலுடன் எதிர் நோக்கும் :    

Adaptations

My daughter's pet peeve about me is that I plan at the drop of a hat.

During my busy official days, when I started looking at the tasks for weekends on Friday evenings , she used to come hounding at me for compartmentalizing the weekend, rather than enjoying it.

I am now used to getting up early, sometimes as early as 5 AM and go for a morning walk to return before the sun is up. I enjoy this brisk walk, on the cool shore of Marina with enchanting music on my Ipod so much that I have started looking for it.

Few hours back when I got up , I rushed with my chores not wanting to be late and get beaten by the sun. When I anxiously gunned my car towards Santhome high road, it was flagged down for some diversions. To beat the obstruction, I took an early left and tried approaching it from a different direction, only to be waved down again by some brisk Khaki & white cops, to apprise that a marathon run has just started and traffic will not be allowed until 9 near the beach. My programmed mind quickly swallowed the disappointment of missing the Marina today and looked for an alternative.

In no time, I was at the green covered Nageswara Rao park, not far away from Mylapore and I resumed my day's walk there. The chill of the dawn aided by last night's rain and the lush greens of the park pepped me up and I happily switched on  P.B.Srinivas songs loaded yesterday after setting off the 'RunKeeper' app. After a round of walk the app announced that I have walked for five minutes and the distance covered was 'zero' kilometers. I paused a while to reset the settings but realizing that it was not responding, I resumed the walk swallowing my planned activities for the second time within an hour of waking up.

After a couple of rounds of walk I slowed down to inquire about people assembling at a point to be informed that the park organizes a 'mikeless kutchery' every first Sunday of the month and encourage mostly school going children to perform. Appreciating the wonderful gesture of the sponsors Sundaram Finance I continued my walk and a free copy of a Daily distributed to all visitors coupled with a green, cool environ urged me to sit and I started browsing through the paper, even before the completion of my regular walking duration.

While I was enjoying the news and the young voice singing Vathapi Ganapathim to the accompaniment of Mridangam and violin, yesterday's rain slowly reared its head to the annoyance of all especially the parents and well wishers of the young performer. While the scant audience of relatives and walkers started looking for cover, the young artiste was deep into his aalap with closed eyes not minding the falling drops and never aware of the audience scurrying for cover.

When he finished the song and started preparing for the next rendition, there were no disturbances in his voice or eyes and he was only too focused. Rain or shine the kid was determined to sing today and has left the worries to other organizers and continued his performance.

There seemed to be a lesson the young chap had delivered. I will tell my daughter that I agree with her opinion, when she wakes up !

Never mind the tenets of quality "If you fail to plan you are planning to fail".

What to Do?

Some months back I took against a bank hard for having charged me unfairly in my Cash credit account and were after them through all ethical means until I got the charges reversed. As is with me, I promptly sent a message to the Manager thanking him, though there was nothing to thank them as I had to make couple of repeated calls to remind them to do so. I felt this is how I should close the issue, so that they don't accuse me of not having informed them when the interest was reversed while I was always after them for this. But , to my disbelief, I got the same wrong debit reversed again ! Which means they have over paid me.

The same situation happened to me (I don't know why its me always at the receiving end- pun intended) again when a popular cinema hall charged me for an online transaction but failed to deliver the service. After I took up with the Credit card provider and also the Theatre , I got the wrong debit reversed - this time also twice !

While I promptly informed both these parties about the double credit, it still remain un-reversed even after a month ! Now I am in a dilemma what to do - whether to keep reminding them or keep cool with unexpected bounty- though small they are ! I do not want to be accused of sharp practice as  was done to the great Mahatma when he pointed out a wrong entry in his client's account, which argument made his client lose the case ! At the same time time, I would like to wait and see as to how their accounting system detects this or test the efficiency of their audit system against leakage of income.

I am at the crossroads of a middle class dilemma. If some one could guide me on this, I will credit them with lots of good wishes, even twice !!

Pollution of a different Genre

People are aware of different kinds of pollutions viz, air, water, sound and so on. But, of late a different kind of pollution seem to be catching up and doing the rounds slowly.

With the opening up of  communications, television channels have started airing opinions freely , at times even deliberately airing questionable and skewed opinions which leave lasting  impressions in the minds of innocent viewers. The language of the land is cleverly (mis)used to portray villains as innocent victims and at times even as heroes. Channels are being used to air opinions which will not stand the scrutiny of law. But, then who cares as nobody is really bent on following up with the multitude of television channels.

Though the yellow side of the ink media has also mushroomed it is being sidelined by the Internet media whose speed and reach it can ill afford to compete with. But it is to be remembered that back in the villages and yet to develop areas , it is the newspaper media that is still ruling the roost.

A matter of concern of late is the developing negative aspects of online sources and social networking sites. In the absence of an effective controlling mechanism and authority, people are at will spreading rumours and opinions which will be hard to justify. Before one could protest the incorrectness, the matter would have been spread to millions and the damage already done.

I was rather shocked to read some articles and reviews which were strongly opinionated and when contacted clearly the author was at a loss to justify the matter. Similarly, there were some articles on why investing in Gold is not worthy and why one should not buy immovable properties, why college education is not preferred etc.,. No issues in expressing such thoughts and everyone has freedom to express one's , as I do now. But the opinions given there are so skewed and fail to stand even the next level of scrutiny proves the hollowness of the arguments advanced and makes one wonder whether such articles were written with different intentions other than economic or financial ! My only concern is whether such misconstrued opinions are being forced down the throats only to form contrived pressure groups thus giving a sociological angle to the issue.

We had once heard of child locks being employed in Televisions. While there is no realistic possibility of enforcing such controls, the authorities are also weary of stepping in as that would tantamount to trampling on the 'freedom of expression'. How to stem this rot  !! As this pollution can spread multiple times faster than others and is more likely to affect youth of impressionable age, there is a crying need for attention on this.

Why wait until they are 'Late'?

The gradual fading away of some of the popular faces and voices of yesteryear is now impacting those who are on the verge of acquiring senior citizen status. The passing away of singers PBS & TMS have certainly left a huge dent in the tamil music world which is next to impossible to fill up, to use the popular cliche . Even now, when I hear any song on radio which is invariably rendered by TMS, I sincerely miss him. I also feel that this great singer could have been more recognized, more feted.

Immediately after the passing away of any such prominent personality it has become a norm to dig deep into the archives and bring all great feats and hitherto unknown traits of the person. Why can't we do this when they are alive? An artiste , personally values the appreciations, claps and feedback far more than the remuneration he receives. In fact, in one of the proposals for the Kalyan Nagar Association in Mandaveli, Chennai, my brother suggested few months back that we must honor TMS, the aging artiste in our neighborhood for having made the audience dance to his voice for decades. I appreciate the foresight of my bro but before this could be implemented the doyen has passed away.

This morning a post by the popular personality Manushya Puthran in Face book  "ஒரு மனிதனையாவது சாவதற்குள் கொண்டாடுவோம்..அடையாளம் காண்போம்" triggered my thoughts on the subject.

Not only in film or music world, but in other areas too such as medicine, education, child welfare, environment, sports ...... there are many such greats and let us identify and appreciate them for the services they have rendered. 

No doubt, we will do it but what I plead is let us do it when they are still with us , so that they could also rejoice at the recognition.

Sweeping, Seeping and Snooping

Of late, I find many voluntary and service minded organizations indulging in cleaning the surroundings , clearing the lakes of weeds etc., This is a laudable effort in that it shows the involvement and commitment of the individuals towards a better environment that promises a better tomorrow. On the flip side, I also feel whether this could be a solution for the problems littered around us. If some organizations and good hearted people clean the place for a day or two, what lasting benefits is it going to bring? Will this not lull the civic authorities also? I feel that instead of OR in addition to this, such organizations could join hands and pressurize the civic authorities to do do their jobs. It will be better for such organizations to play a supervisory role,  monitor and track their progress instead of taking the brooms themselves. This is with due respect to these organizations and individuals whose efforts I applaud and in no way this is meant to disrespect or degrade their efforts. This is only a thought viewed with a different hat.

It is pathetic to hear about the technical and civil glitches that is surrounding the  newly built  airport terminals at Chennai. It began with the faulty design of the ramp, then a section of the roof or its false ceiling caved in and the latest is the seepage of the  roof. What is surprising is that if the roof seeps for the rain which lashed Chennai for hardly an hour, how will it stand the real fury of the North east monsoon? What happened to the quality standards and controls that are more talked about than implemented? What about the ownership of such misses that could turn costly? It is pathetic because, we talk so much but in reality none of these is observed or implemented.

On to the snooping of the US governmental agencies of one's data through the Gmail, Skype etc., - Shocking to say the least. Particularly from a country which regards high the privacy and rights of individuals, this is the least expected. At the same time, I admire the US President in admitting openly about its attempted peep at others' data, which also show the intentions of the Govt that appears to be genuine.

But, from a layman's perspective I have always wondered as to how on giving your password all the mail, cloud data  etc., are retrieved. This means someone has access to all your data and he goes on to retrieve your personal data even if your security details are lost by you after checking with some personal and private questions. For a query as to why this org which is storing the data of millions of people across the world are not (mis)using them, my conceivable answer is he does not have time to look into all the mails. If this appears naive, remember, my earlier claim of 'layman' here. But, in the unfortunate event of some sensitive data getting into the wrong hands , then you are done and dusted.

But then, it could also be argued that no one pressurized you to store all these data in a public domain protected by private people. It was on your own volition, you chose to believe them as it is without any service charges and so one has to pay for the same. It will be prudent to park only  banal data in such sensitive areas and not your private data such as passwords, bank account details, credit/debit card details, online transaction passwords etc., Prudence is more required and it is the innocent and the gullible and at times even a careless scholar could become a victim here. So, use your discretion.

If you want unhindered services, accesible from across the world with few clicks but with no cost, then one needs to be cautious. You cannot have the cake and eat it too - right ??