Redundancy – The hot job

I am glad that Lady Destiny offered to me the communion with Mr. Officer, an individual of the “Hard Work Pays” Order. My observations and subsequent inferences on him have helped me in a great way, to deduce my further conduct in the Professional World.
A person with a 15 hr workday for 6 days in a week, Mr. Officer is a man of energy. Be it going boundary-less at work, be it silently undertaking the load of peer-inefficiencies, or be it religiously making himself present at every cross-road of business transaction, he definitely portrayed a man of zeal and rock solid commitment. The last point is note-worthy. Officer took it to be his austere duty to have his fingerprints on almost every activity in his realm of Operations. This was not with an intention of overt self-importance or its likes that often drags one to illusionary heights, only to throw one down later. This was more with an intention of taking personal responsibility of all activities that unfolded in his realm. And from responsibility and accountability arises character and with character rise leaders – courageous leaders. Mr. Officer, in my eyes was definitely a leader, a long-distance front-runner with the followers far and strewn.
It was more than year of observation that lead me to see the fact! The race that Officer was running was not on a racetrack or road, but on a treadmill! He was running hard and perspiring as a result, all right, but was never moving from his start point!! He was tiring, though his zeal was unshaken, the “alleged” distance recorded by the treadmill meter made him smile, but then, progress as mentioned earlier was only “alleged” progress. This stark truth shook me, saddened me! A man of worth, this guy was enjoying only “alleged” growth. My analyses and further deductions on this sorry commerce between effort and reward were thus.
Officer was working with the entire load on his inviting shoulders. He worked in a fashion that made his fingerprints a necessary mark on every activity to be deemed a success. In other words, his little professional kingdom completely depended on him for its survival and Operations. He very well understood this, however, this fact only pleased his humble ego and did not awaken his fore thinking abilities. He never saw the pole that he was making out of himself without which the beautiful climber could never exist. Alas, Selflessness, thou art an outsider in the business Warfield.
Person-dependency can prove to be dangerous for businesses today. For an individual who propagate and practice this, it can be fatal. As a result of detailed understanding of the problem and zeal to overcome it, no matter however routine its frequency be, he goes about his functioning. Escaping the problem is a crime for him. However, is escaping from the very occurrence of the problem a crime? This question never arises to him. Elimination of the very occurrence is the crux of the solution. Setting up of systems that do not cause dependency on certain individuals is the crux of maturity of the self and the team. With change being the only unchanged aspect of human existence, the success of the projects that he handles has increasingly begun depending on unchangeable processes. In short, redundancy of the person, nay, not the person but that of the role that he plays is the need of the hour. Slipping out of the role that we hold without negatively impacting the functioning of the role is what I mean here.
And by redundancy of role, arises the freeing up of individuals who have been instrumental in such designing, and this pool of freed up geniuses is meant for higher orders of professional and personal life. Being irreplaceable can make one immobile and stunt ones progresses. And hence, what one considered a pet project slowly turns to be a predator on oneself! And hence processes and disciplined adherence to them has this undoubted, enviable importance.

I have been writing for quite some time now. I am amazed about what Mr. Officer has unveiled to me. Something so lush in its meaning and relevance. Mr. Officer is definitely a leader.

Note: This account has been triggered from inputs from a budding successful professional.

A candle in the breeze

One sometimes finds oneself in a situation of a candle in the wind. The breeze blows hard on the flame in intervals, and just when the flame tries to re-establish its presence, there comes the breeze again to play havoc! The flame continues to make the resurrection act till the breeze finally goes silent.

Events do just this individuals sometimes.

Such periods are ones that highlight the character and resolve of the "flame". Such chapters are highly educative, not only for the self but also for all mankind.

That Day with Her.

After weeks of intense hard work at office, we decided to unwind, one Saturday at a bicycle trail in the forests of Savanadurga. After all, a good way to escape the corporate jungles, filled with chilling Air-conditioning systems and monstrous computer gadgetry, is to find refuge in the terrains of the gorgeous Lady Nature! Very often have I experienced such trysts with this magical Lady being extremely enriching and calming.
It was close to noon when we 23 corporate escapees, each crowned with crash helmets and loaded with bottles of water, mounted our bicycles. Our guide announced that the path consisted of 80% of downhill terrain, and that worked well on our sensitive motivation circuitry. The Lance Armstrong in each of us was ready to be unleashed. It started with a bang! We zoomed past each other with a vengeance, each overtaking maneuver convincing our ego about the presence of a genius in us. We were on our way.
And lo! There came out the Sun, and with Him, out came perspiration, out came our fatigue, out came our thirst, out came our cameras, and out came our comradeship! We found ourselves looking over our shoulders for our companions, often stopping to help and motivate. The Sun began to get merciless, and so was the terrain. Legs began to complain and throats began to cry hoarse. Every water source on the trail attracted attention and respect (we had to bow down to drink water from the borewells, u see!). Our guide was rather nonchalantly cheerful at our antics. Rightly so, for we were just another herd doing the rounds.
Slowly, we settled down to enjoy the beauty around us…and listen, what an amazing presentation of greenery. The banks of the trail were lush green as far as the eye could see. The moving path below and the caressing breeze working on our hair and skin added to the intoxication. And can anything beat the joy of drinking from the borewells and feasting on fruits from the jungle trees!
I am persuaded to repeat, this Lady truly captivates! And just to ensure we uncover and celebrate our resilience, She gives us an uphill stretch, with an inclination of close to 40 deg, and with absolutely no shelter on an early Indian summer noon! We pulled ourselves through the ordeal. And just as we got there, She presents us with the panorama that made every drop of sweat worth the spill! Lake Manchinabelle, with its non-circular periphery looks amazing from the hilltop. Something, that rivets even Cast Iron hearts. Well, the Lady not only captivates and challenges, but also coaxes after the challenge.
In all, we had bicycled 18 km, stopped half a dozen times, drank litres of water, shed close to 500 calories of fat and clicked hundreds of pictures. We were a rejuvenated lot; after all we were with this mesmerizing Lady called Nature!