Because...

• Its too late in the night for an early thinking stage.
• I have been battling a nasty headache for the past couple of hours that has been causing a pulsating ring in my ears.
• My son has been coughing all night for the past week which took away my routine sleep routinely.
• Procrastination has been big on the "Threats" section in my SWOT analysis.
• I want to post something that does justice to anybody spends their valuable time reading my blog.

There are other reasons too, but there you have it, my top 5 reasons for not posting anything substantial this time around. Let me also take this white space (which happens to be free and out in the "internets") to express gratitude to my ever curious and inquisitive reader base for putting me in this position of self improvement.

To quote my guv'nah Mr. Schwarzenegger - " I will be Back"

Micromanagement: An analysis

"Now he has 3000 people to micromanage".

That was the comment of my ex-colleague (and now friend) about the promotion of his boss as VP. "A very clever thought"- I said, and then we moved on to other more important topics.

I brought this thought back from the dark corners of my brain to the forefront for analysis while idling away at a later time. Do all of us have a right to complain about micromanagement? Don't we do it in our day to day lives? How many times have we said something and then quickly followed it up with - "Sorry, It's just that I am very particular about this stuff." Nice excuse, but isn't it camouflage for having things your way - aka micromanagement?

A couple of years ago, I was at my friend's son's birthday party and paying attention to what the party clown was doing (I know you meet a lot of clowns at parties, but this was the guy in the costume - he was paid to be one). He had handed out pens and papers for the kids there and was asking questions. The kids were supposed to solve some problems using intelligent and thought provoking answers. Pretty run of the mill, but then I noticed that there were some parents between the kids eagerly looking at what the kids were upto. It was then that I realized - they were instructing their own kids to do it the right way (translation - their way) so that they could solve the problem faster. Isn't that micromanagement? Do these parents have a right to complain when their bosses instruct them to do something the right way (again - their way) so that the project can be done quicker?

In my professional life, I have moved from individually contributing positions to leadership positions and back, and I have come to know that work delegation is an art - you have to precisely know what, when, how much and to whom the delegation needs to be done. On one occasion, when my (previous) boss came back from vacation in the midst of a mission critical project I said to him - "I am sure the project delivery status might have bugged you while you lay on the beach." He shook his head and replied - "No, I made the decision to take a vacation knowing that the team could be trusted with their skills and that all of you don't need me looking over your shoulder to get work done.".

So post-mortemically speaking(I know, it's not a word, but I trust you readers with analysis and word deduction skills) , a person tends to micromanage a team/person when he/she

@ thinks they are inept in getting a task done

@ does not trust that they can come up with the best solution without external help

@ thinks they are not motivated enough to get the task done without another pair of eyes overlooking their shoulder

@ has an obsessive compulsive urge to get the task status every few minutes.

So look back at stuff that you have micromanaged (or are doing right now) and check up on the need for it. How frequently do you demand a status update from your team? Do you have to check up on your kids every so often? Do you have to call your spouse every now and then and remind them of their tasks (or ask them when are they going to do it)? Do you have to force your parents to do stuff in the most technologically advanced way because you think that takes the shortest time?

But then...

Maybe your team is waiting to get important stuff completed before they send you a status update. Maybe the kids need to toy with their imagination and beliefs and it takes multiple efforts to learn and get things right. Maybe your spouse needs a break form all the reminders and instructions so that they can clear their mind for all their ToDos. Maybe your parents don't use the internet for paying bills or stand in long lines instead of using the self checkout line, but that is their comfort zone and and that is their assurance that the task will get done.

The next time you complain of being micromanaged, look it up in your life - This time you may be the vanquished, but have you ever been the perpetrator?

What will you do with your platform?

A couple of weekends ago, I was in a cabin at south lake tahoe with my friends. On one of those colorful evenings, we all sat down around the snooker table, and started our usual "song fest" - everyone pitching in with their vocal chords and one of our friends on the Tabla. We were having loads of fun for a long time, but unfortunately, the gathering had to end on a sour note (literally!)

Why, you ask? No, it was neither public drunkenness nor egoistic conflicts that caused it, but the mere wish of the tabla player to hear one of his favorite songs. The rest of the crowd had heard enough of that song, and they did not want a piece of it anymore. No, it never got to a point where an argument broke out or shouting was heard, but the session quickly ended and the tabla went under wraps. Now, I always tilt in the favor of a talented artist, so I am going to side with the tabla player. I know it is hard to please an audience, but once a person has established talent, isn't it fair game for that person to expect some respect from his/her audience?

*********************

Arundhati Roy, after winning a booker prize in 1997 and numerous praises, revealed what she truly liked and thought about the world and was labelled an "Activist Writer" and pushed out from mainstream audiences. Oprah Winfrey, a television powerhouse, lost some of her audience after she came out with her support for Barack Obama, the current US president. Meg Ryan, after becoming America's sweetheart, tried to break free from the romantic lead stereotype and lost most of her audience and ultimately the "sweetheart" title. My friend playing the tabla, tried to express his opinions and quickly went out of favor for some of his listeners.

Without beating around the bush, let me ask the question that I am driving at- If you are given a platform where the masses lend you a piece of their five senses, would you use it to leverage more of it or would you use it to speak your mind? Of course, I would rather be given a platform than be a commoner lending an eye/ear to someone, but would I be able to fight the dilemma that comes with it?

What are you doing with the platform that you have been handed in life? Be it the platform of a parent, a boss, a friend or a soulmate. Obviously, I am not talking about the case where everyone agrees with you and all your audience is on the same aisle as you in the great ideology divide. I am talking about less than best case scenarios. Do you strive to be true to yourself or do you strive to make the platform bigger by pleasing the audience and thereby attracting more of them?

One of the readers of my blog told me - "If you write more about India and topics related to Indians, I am sure there will be more subscribers and readers to your post." Of course, you are intelligent enough to guess my reply - I write about stuff that I care about and what I feel is right. (Let us put aside for a moment, the fact that my audience is nowhere near a critical mass to shake things up.) Since advise is among one of the few things that are still free, let me dole out some.

Impart "values" and "morals" from the platform of a parent instead of the usual "Great Job" rhetoric. From the platform of a boss, look up, not down to people who report to you (Remember, some of them did have a choice but still stuck with you). Accept your loved one as a whole (the good with the bad) when you are handed the platform of a soul mate. Most importantly, be true to yourself and use the leverage to promote goodness in this truly amazing world of ours.

With that, I mark the end of my short and sweet Avatar as a preacher. Hopefully, I made you think. As for the Tabla player, we are all jamming this weekend at his place - I am looking forward to his reaction when the spotlight beam shines on his face.

Games parents play

"Dad, can you change my name when I am a little older?" As I took my eyes off the road and looked at the rear view mirror, I could see my son's eyes squint a little in an effort to hide his embarrassment. He was sitting in the rear seat and he shrugged soon after he finished up his question. We had named our son Jacob (after my dad) and it was an anglicized name - I have heard of other Indian kids complain about their names sounding too Indian and hard to pronounce, but Jacob - no, that is not a name to complain about. I laid my eyes on the road again for a bit and then turned back and asked - "Why do you want to change your name, Jacob?". "I don't know", came the reply - " just because."

Soon, I was at a traffic light that turned red - so I stepped on the brake, turned around and continued my conversation. "There must be some reason- If it is a valid one, we can think of changing your name", I said. I knew in my heart that it was a lie, but a dad's gotta do what he has to do to get his son spill the beans on what is really going on.

"Well, a kid in my class calls me Jacobi to make it sound like I am a small kid". I could sense the sadness in his voice. "And I don't want to be a small kid". "Hmm.." I thought to myself - "If what I said earlier were true, this would be a good reason to change his name - since his feelings got hurt."

"Well Jacob, you have to tell him that it Jacobi is not your name and that you don't like being called that name."

"I told him that - like two hundred times; but he said he doesn't care and calls me Jacobi anyway." At that point I knew that he had really tried hard to resolve the situation - because two hundred is his largest number - anything unimaginably huge is two hundred for him.

"Oh..OK", I mumbled, which was my place holder response in lieu of a clear answer or resolution.

I had to turn my attention to the road again as the car behind me started honking. By the way, is it just me or does the red light always change to green when you really want it to stay red for a bit longer? Sorry, back to the point of discussion.

I started thinking about how this muddy situation could be cleared. "What is the name of the that kid?" I asked. "Mark (name changed)" came the reply.

I gave it more thought. "Ok, heres what you do Jacob - Call him markee and say that he looks like a small kid and sounds like one too. If he gets angry, let him know that you will stop once he stops calling you Jacobi and that's how the deal works. Got it?"

"YES! - that is a good idea!" I could see the appreciation and happiness that glittered in his eyes. He was happy that his dad had helped him solve a problem that was nagging him for a couple of days. After all, it was only the third day of school this year.

And then I thought some more. "What if Mark does not get annoyed? What if Mark's dad counters this with another strategy? This is getting interesting. I don't even know Mark's dad, but I am eagerly awaiting his next move. Wow, this is like playing a strategy game without spending the money to buy it. What if this is wrong? Shouldn't I be telling him to lay low and be diplomatic whenever he can? Wait, the real world is not going to be soft and politically correct and diplomatic all the time, so this could be an early training package for him - on how real life is going to be. Besides, he tried the diplomatic route already."

That night, he gave me the privilege of reading him a book. Usually that spot was reserved for my wife. I was elated that he had already found a friend in me. "Yes, this is a team game", I thought to myself. "Bring it on; Mark's dad! Put your game face on! May the parent with the best wits win."