Ingredients of a good job and a good manager

So I am having all new range of experience nowadays. It is disappointing to see an organization killing its own fortune. Anyway, It made me think about what should be the ingredient of a good job and a good manager? In government jobs, the ability to influence system, social status, and job conditions are the most important parameters to judge the attractiveness of the job. Sometimes the media focus, international exposure, and some fringe benefits are also added. However, when it comes to a corporate job, the scene changes entirely. In the government job, one has the certainty on the job. For example, In case you are fired, your file must move to the table of President of India. The snail pace at which our rails and buses move, this takes two to three lifetime of a person in order to become reality. However, In the corporate world, such things are guided by the whims and fancy of your manager. So one should be very careful in choosing a job and choosing a manager. And don't be surprised if I say that "My Baap" culture is not just limited to the centralised governance paradigm. Unfortunately, in the private organisations where work culture is not so strong, "my baap" culture not only exists but it thrives.

Anyway, coming directly to the topic: I think the three most important ingredient of any corporate job is "Learning", "Network", and "Salary". Learning refers to the opportunity to expand your horizon of knowledge, working on new ideas and cracking some or other challenge in your day to day task. This learning happens not all by yourself. It is very important to have right kind of people around. People who are more competent than you and people who are differently competent than you. People who are ready to share their knowledge and people who are not insecure. Unless you have all these things in place, you may be losing something. As a computer science guy, the principle is simple. At least one new technology, one new project and one new team should be added to your professional profile.

Second is Network. It is of extreme important. Especially in the scenario when you face a manager who shows bias in his behaviour and who is insecure about his own standing in the organisation. You never may when you may be fired or deputed to some shitty work. What to do in such situation? I remember, somebody gave me a very good advice in the early phase of my career. "In a corporate job, make sure you maintain a contingency fund. Have a separate bank account and save your six months operational expenses into it. This will be used when you get fired or when you are in the process of switching the job." So in a situation of having a critical situation in one job, the first thing to do is remember your contingency bank account. Second and more important is to explore your network. In a country like India, it is not your skill but it is your network which gets you the desired job. In USA, It is your network + skill which lands you in the dream job. And how do you make a network? Primary network comes from your alma mater. But a much larger network is formed in the job settings. It is not about the company. It is always about the people who you work with. Any big task is always a team work. One man can not play an orchestra. Therefore, networking, meeting people, working with good people is not only necessary but an essential part of any job. You peer group ignites and sets your ambition bar. They influence your dream as you do theirs. Therefore it is necessary to work in a company where you can expand your network and leverage it to move higher up in an organizational ladder.

Third is salary. It is very important to have a right pay package which matches your skill set. Because the day you sense the mismatch in the salary-skillset tuple, you will not be able to work in a calm manner. If your salary is higher than your skillset then you will feel insecure and vulnerable. If salary is lower than skillset then you feel exploited. Therefore, salary must match your skillset. And this is where the manager also comes into the picture. A good manager must ensure that people get what they deserve. Or else, sooner or later things are going to burst. And when they burst in such an unceremonious manner then it is neither good for an organization nor good for the personal relationships.

A good management is all about connecting things. Skill with the right project, skill with the right salary and people with the right people. The moment they fail in doing so, they sow the seed of future troubles.

Anyway, will write later. There is lot of observation and lot more to write.

Psychology tidbits

I was reading "Times of India" and saw the news that a 22-year-old woman instigated the arson attack on 42 buses of a Tamil Nadu-based operator in Bengaluru. More importantly, She was a daily wager and had joined the protest for rupee 100 and one plate Biryani.

Well, firstly hats off to her performance. She really paid off for her wages. Secondly, salute to her competence on the job. She was hired for rioting and she did it pretty well. However jokes apart, This prompted me to think about the psychological underpinning of the issue. What prompted her to instigate the violence? What ignited her leadership skills in the time of crisis? What would have unfolded at the site of the incident which propelled her at the center of things? I am sure, she was not much bothered about Cauvery sharing issue. Given her daily wager status and paid rioting, I am sure she would not have even understood the issue properly. So what was it?

Psychology often answers such question with the explanation of Group Behaviour, social influence and cult behaviour in our society. In crunch situations, people are pushed in fight or flight response. Encouraged by sloganeering and popular support around them, some people rise to the occasion and assume the de facto leadership of headless, directionless mob. The attention of camera, uncontrollable adrenaline rush in the veins further prompts them to throw leadership tantrums. Sometimes, they turn violent and facilitate carnage and arson.

However, what about the Mob? Why do they succumb to such an impromptu leadership? Mostly it has to do with our conforming behaviour. Have you ever observed the process of traffic jams or stampede in crowded places? It happens suddenly because people have no directions to follow and everyone wants to get out of that situation as soon as possible thus they start running helter-skelter and in the process creates a deadlock from which no one could come out without intermediation. But if there is one person who directs them to behave in a certain manner then everything gets resolved in a smooth manner. From my understanding, oftentimes Mob lacks direction and in such situation if someone orders them to do certain thing then they excitedly do so. They exhibit conformity behaviour either due to group obligation or obedience to authority. Suddenly it turns into "We vs. They" or ingroup vs. outgroup behaviour. The Mob starts seeing police and other authority groups as their adversaries and end up playing their role as rioters. We also see the "Eichmaan phenomenon" here where people often pass the buck of responsibility and consequences to their bosses and absolve themselves of all kind of guilt behaviour.

Possibly these factors combine together lead to rioting and mob violence. In such situation, the best strategy for authorities to calm the mob down is to give them clear directions which are not antagonistic to what their leadership is saying. Instead, the directions should be friendly and should show them a way out of the situation. Further, authorities should put people in the mob who can take the leadership role and direct the mob from inside.

Anyway, bidding adieu for now.

Book Review: The Namo Story by Kingshuk Nag

The book by journalist Kingshuk Nag provides a very objective account of Modi's personality and evolution from a Chaiwallah to Prime minister of world's largest democracy. He had observed Modi from close quarters thus the Book is supported by personal references and anecdotes. However, it is not "The biography" of Modi. It leaves a lot more to be desired. Nag is very frugal in his description and biopsy of Modi's persona. It is more like a book on the evolution of RSS and BJP. Most of the details and accounts he has mentioned are openly available on the internet.

The book covers Modi in a sparse fashion. It gives very little detail of his childhood struggle. Further, it does not cover the Modi 4.0 i.e. Modi's transformation after becoming PM. However, his description of certain incidents helps the reader in capturing the personality of Modi.

Modi, as I understood from this book and from observation of his actions and speeches is a master player of "Chankya Niti". A hardcore Nationalist and hindutva ideologue who understands the political utility of the concept has evolved gradually in his thoughts and actions. He is very practical in his approach. He possesses focus, intent, and grand ambitions of making it big in his life. In some way, I find him as a "karma yogi" who plays the game by rules of Chanakya-Niti. He is hard working and extremely political person. As his party men describe him, Modi is constantly thinking about possible moves of his friends and opponents and thus always outsmart them by making right moves at the right time.

In the process, He does not refrain from hitting under the belt and using cheap tactics. For example, He called Shashi Tharoor's wife as 50 crore's wife. Similarly, he called the author and asked him if he is facing any threat because he is writing so much negative about Modi. Indirectly he was threatening him. His statement of "every action has some reaction" during Godhra also marks the political dark side of his personality.

His talks and actions are moderated by the political expediency of the situation. Modi's supporter justifies his action on the ground of pragmatism and shrewd politics.However, it also runs the risk of turning the country's institutions into monolithic undemocratic structures which run the risk of sudden collapse. But given the politically hostile neighborhood and grand developmental challenges which we face, maybe this is what India needs today. Moreover, Modi as RSS Pracharak was way different than Modi as Gujrat CM. Same looks like a case in Modi as PM. He has infused new energy, efficiency, and leadership in the administration. Time will tell when he will have to make hard choices which may put his vote bank in peril. Till then, I consider him as a good prime minister but probably not the best human being or the best prime minister.