Almost all the time, we 'Work' and do not 'Serve'. Anything we consider, as service will not make us feel bored. That is difference between Serving and Working...
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From "One Minute Can Change a Life" by Steve Goodier.
When Henry Ward Beecher was a young boy in school, he learned a lesson in self-confidence, which he never forgot...
The key problem in India is always implementation, not lack of policies. We have great policies and ideas about how to do things, but severely lacking teamwork...
Read MoreWe believe our employees are our partners, who are at the forefront of our progress
One evening a Swamiji of Sri Ramakrishna Mutt was addressing the participants on the concept of work culture.
One of the participants asked the following question to the Swamiji: "I am a senior manager of Materials Department and I joined this organization 25 years ago as an Engineer Trainee and over the last 25 years I have gone through every experience in the organization and I am now the senior manager looking after the material function independently.
During the initial part of my career, the job was very challenging and interesting. Every day was exciting and I looked forward to each day with lot of interest. However, all those exciting days are gone since I do not find my job any more interesting because there is nothing new in my job. As I have seen and handled every conceivable situation there is no more challenges in my work.
I am now feeling bored because I am doing a routine job. However, Swamiji, I am living in the same house for over forty years, I am the son for the same parents for over forty-five years; I am the father for the same children for the past ten years and the husband for the same lady for the past twenty years. In these personal roles I do not feel bored and the passage of time has not taken away the zeal from me.
Please tell me why I am bored of the routine in the office and not in the house?" This was a very interesting question and we were all very anxious and curious to know what the Swamiji had to say!! The response from him was very interesting and convincing. He asked the executive the question: "Please tell me for whom does your Mother cook?"
The executive replied that obviously the mother cooks for others. Then the Swamiji said that the mother "Serves" others and because of this service mindedness, she is not feeling tired or bored. But in an office, we "Work" and not "Serve". Anything we consider, as service will not make us feel bored. That is difference between Serving and Working.
He asked the executive to consider his work as service and not merely a work !! This was a very interesting analysis!! Whenever you put a larger context around your work and see a broader meaning for your work, you will take interest in your work. An awareness of larger purpose of your job and an appreciation of its importance will make a very big difference in your internal energy.
You should believe that you are here for a purpose and should believe in the spiritual context of your role.
Never settle for less than your dreams, somewhere sometime you will find them.
When Henry Ward Beecher was a young boy in school, he learned a lesson in self-confidence, which he never forgot.
He was called upon to recite in front of the class. He had hardly begun when the teacher interrupted with an emphatic, "No!" He started over and again the teacher thundered, "No!" Humiliated, Henry sat down.
The next boy rose to recite and had just begun when the teacher shouted, "No!" This student, however, kept on with the recitation until he completed it. As he sat down, the teacher responded, "Very good!" Henry was irritated. "I recited just as he did," he complained to the teacher.
But the instructor replied, "It is not enough to know your lesson, you must be sure. When you allowed me to stop you, it meant that you were uncertain. If all the world says, 'No!' it is your business to say, 'Yes!' and prove it."
The world says, "No!" in a thousand ways:
"No! You can't do that."
"No! You are wrong."
"No! You are too old."
"No! You are too young."
"No! You are too weak."
"No! It will never work."
"No! You don't have the education."
"No! You don't have the background."
"No! You don't have the money."
"No! It can't be done."
And each "No!" you hear has the potential to erode your confidence bit by bit until you quit altogether. Though the world says, "No!" to you today, will you determine to say, "Yes!" and prove it?
Here is a very interesting article by Sam Pitroda, Chairman & CEO of World Tel.
The article is a bit lengthy but a Must, read for all Indian
(One Indian =3D 10 Japanese, 10 Indians =3D One Japanese)
Lack of teamwork and co-operation is one of the most serious problems affecting progress in all areas of India and wherever Indians work worldwide.
The key problem in India is always implementation, not lack of policies. We have great policies and ideas about how to do things, but severely lacking teamwork.
When the Japanese came to work in India to develop the Maruti Suzuki car, a joke went around that one Indian was equal to 10 Japanese: Indians were very smart, capable and dedicated individuals. But 10 Indians were equal to 1 Japanese: Indians lacked team spirit and co-operation. What makes matters even worse is our crab mentality) if someone is trying to climb higher and achieve more, the others just drag him down. The signal that the others send out is, " I wouldn't do it; I wouldn't let you do it; and if by change you start succeeding, we will all gang up and make sure that you don't get to do it."The question is: Where does this attitude come from, and how do we recognize and handle it?
Part of the problem is our cultural background. We've had feudal and a hierarchical social system in which whoever is senior supposedly knows best.
This was fine in earlier times when knowledge and wisdom were passed on orally; but in modern society, there is no way that one person can know everything. Today, you may find that a young computer-trained person has more answers for an accounting problem than a senior accountant has.
Until we understand how best to leverage this diversity of experience, we will not be able to create and fully utilize the right kind of teams.
Sam Patrido : In my younger days in the US, I attended an executive seminar for Rockwell International, where about 25 senior company executives had congregated for a week for strategic discussion. In the evenings, we would break out into five different groups of five people each.
In those group workshops, someone would delegate tasks, saying: "You make coffee; you take notes; you are the chairman; and you clean the board". The next day, there would be different duties for each group member.
No one ever said, but I made coffee twice or I cleaned the board entire day. I thought to myself, if this were happening in India, people would be saying, "But I'm the senior secretary, why should I make the coffee and you be the chairman?" Hierarchy comes naturally to our minds.
Group work requires a thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of individuals irrespective of their hierarchy. Because of our background, we often don't learn how to exercise and accept leadership to lead and to follow simultaneously.
Some gravitate toward exercising leadership, and others gravitate toward accepting the lead of others. But in true teamwork, everyone needs to do both. Being a good team player implies respect for others, tolerance of different points of view and willingness to give.
The ability to resolve conflicts without either egotism or sycophancy is a very important aspect of being a team player: You have to agree to disagree. I find that people in India somehow tend to focus on achieving total agreement, which is almost always impossible.
So before work begins people want everyone to agree on everything instead they should say OK. This is what we agree on, so let's start working on this.
What we don't agree on, we will resolve as we go along. For things to move forward, it's important to work on the agreed-upon aspects and not get bogged down in the areas of disagreement.
Yet another snake that kills teamwork is people's political agendas. You've got to be open, clear and honest to be a good team player. Most people though, have a hidden agenda they say something but mean the exact opposite. I call it split-leve consciousness.To say and mean the same thing is a very critical part of a good work ethic.
When Sam was working in C-DOT (400 employee size company), If someone had not been doing well, Sam used to tell the person directly to his face in a general meeting. The employees said that was insulting and they should be pulled aside individually to be told of the inefficiency. But in today's world, you cannot afford to do that every time.
Besides, Sam figured that criticizing someone in a meeting was for the benefit of all present, and everyone could learn from that individual's mistakes. It was then that Sam learned how Indians do not differentiate between criticizing an idea and criticizing an individual.
So in a group, if you tell someone that his idea is no good, he automatically takes it personally and assumes that you are criticizing him. No one can have a good idea everyday on every issue.
If you disagree with my idea, that does not mean that you have found fault with me as a person. Thus, it is perfectly acceptable for anyone to criticize the boss - but this concept is not a part of the Indian System.
So from time to time, it is important for an organization's Chief Executive to get a report on the psychological health of the firm.How do people in the team feel? Are they stable? Confident? Secure? Comfortable?
These are the key elements of a team's success. For a boss to be comfortable accepting criticism from subordinates, he must feel good about himself. Self-esteem is a key prerequisite to such a system being successful.
Another serious problem facing India is the dichotomy and difference in respectability between physical and mental workers, which seriously affects team performance.
Mr. Sam had a driver named Ram, who he thought was one of the best drivers in the world. He used to open the door for him whenever he entered or exited the car.
Right in the first few days Sam told him "Ram bhai, you are not going to open the door for me. You can do that if I lose my hands". Ram almost started crying. He said, "Sir, what are you saying?
This is my job!" Sam told him that I didn't want to treat him like a mere driver. He had to become a team player. Sam told him that whenever he was not driving, he should come into office and help out with office work - make copies, file papers, send faxes, answer phone call or simply read - rather than sit in the car and wait for me to show up.
Diversifying tasks increases workers' self-esteem and motivation and makes them team players. Now, even If Sam calls him for work in the middle of the night, he is ready - because Sam respects him for what he does.
Team Interactions unfortunately, when good teams do get created, they almost invariably fall apart. In our system today it is very difficult to build teams because nobody wants to be seen playing second fiddle.
It is very hard in India to find good losers. Well, you win some and you lose some. If you lose some, you should move on! You don't need to spend all your time and energy of different cultural backgrounds, religions, ethnicities and caste groups - a fertile ground of diversity in the workplace.
We should actually be experts in working with diversity. But it can only happen when we get rid of personal, caste and community interests. There could be a 40-year-old CEO with a 55-year-old VP. It has nothing to do with age; capability and expertise are what counts.
But you don't yet see these attitudes taking hold in India. Managers in the US corporate environment who work with Indians - and in fact, with Asians in general - need to recognize that these individuals have a tendency to feel that they are not getting recognition or are not being respected.
It must be realized that these individuals have lower self-esteem to begin with and therefore have to be pampered and encouraged a little more because they need it. This makes them feel better and work better. No Substitute for Teamwork. Teamwork is key to corporate and national governance, and to get anything done.
The fundamental Issues are respect for others, openness, honesty, communication, willingness to disagree, resolution of conflict, and recognition that the larger goal of the team as a whole rumps Individual or personal agendas.
Don't be afraid of pressure.
Remember that Pressure is what turns a lump of coal into a diamond.