Promotion nominations at work

The promotion nominations had started two weeks back in our organization. The budget numbers given for our manager's portfolio were very low. As a result, we had to cut back on many nominations for deserving candidates.

Me and my peers fought hard to push in our nominees. We might be friends, but when it came to our respective teams, all of us felt that the candidates we had nominated were better than the other candidates. Why do we have this tussle every year? Each associate works in a different environment, with different client needs. We cannot use the same scale to compare two good candidates.

We had even discussed this with our senior management team. We tried to make them understand that retaining good employees is a better strategy than letting them go and hiring laterals from the industry. They empathized with us but told us this is how it must be done. We cannot change the policies.

The HR are quite intelligent people in the whole organization. They drive these policies but they will not take accountability for any of them. They would provide the budget numbers but will not take responsibility for the nominations. The responsibility and the accountability fall on the delivery managers although they have absolutely no power to change the policies. Pretty weird, huh??

The sad part is most of the times, we don't provide opportunities to associates to grow since we need to align to our client needs who are technology driven.

Then what do we do, adapt as an organization. We need to change the way we promote, appraise our associates. Unless we do that, it is going to be a big struggle to retain good talent.

Sometimes, you have many good people all of them who are equally qualified to be moved to the next level but cannot be promoted due to the budget limits. The vice versa happens as well.

I still regret the one nomination I had to give many years back. The associate was not qualified to move on to the next level. She was technically not strong, and was a reason why others in the team spent a lot of time in the cafeteria rather than doing work. I was asked by a person from the leadership team to nominate her. I did not want to do it but had no other go. He thought she was talented when we all knew that it was a facade. She was lucky. I will give her that. That year the process was very easy and almost everyone who was nominated got through. She did get through as well. I still repent for the mistake I had done every time I see her around.

Coming back to the present, me and my colleague are pitching for our respective candidates. We are waiting for the final results :)

Should I put up my short story for sale?

I had written about my experience of writing a short story here. One of the trainers of the management training program sponsored by the company I work for had published many management books that he had written on Amazon

During one of our conversations, he had asked me if I had published my book on Amazon. When I had responded in negative, he urged me to do that. He even showed me how to set up an account on Amazon and walked me through the whole process. It seemed really simple.

The big question is do I want to publish it on Amazon and put it up for sale. Being the first short story that I had written, it is close to my heart. I just can't think of making money of this work that is personal to me. Of course, I don't think anyone is going to buy and read my short story 😀.

Probably if I ever write another story, I would put it up for sale (hoping it is good enough for someone to buy it). But not this one. This is close to my heart and will always stay that way.

Children on the train journey

I had to travel back to Chennai on a train a few days back. We had booked tickets on the Shatabdi. Since we had boarded the evening train, we were given some snacks to have - cupcake, samosa, tea and a Haldiram's namkeen packet.

After three stations, a couple boarded the train along with their two children - a boy and a girl. The mother's seat was right next to mine. As soon as they settled in, the boy came up to his mom to ask her about what would be served. (The entire conversation happened in Thamizh. Tried my best to translate it) -

Boy - Amma, they have given others cupcakes and they are still eating them. Will they give us as well?
The mother - No. I don't think they gave cupcakes.
Boy - No amma, I saw the plates on many seats. It has cupcake. They give them as snacks. And they are still eating? Will they give us as well?
The mother - Ok. May be they gave it. No, they will not give us. They will only give us dinner.
Girl - Amma, they will give us ice cream right (She is so excited about it)
Boy (turning to his little sister) - Of course, they will give us ice cream
Girl - Will they give us chocolate and ice cream as well?
Boy - No, only ice cream. Isn't that right, amma?
Mother - Ask the TTR uncle. He will know.

By the time, the TTR came in to check the tickets. The boy was murmuring ice cream and looked at him in awe.

TTR (looked at both of them) - what class are you both studying
Both the children promptly replied.

TTR - Ok, where is your id card?
Boy - My school has still not given me my id card
TTR (laughs) - If you don't show your id card, you will not get ice cream
Girl to the boy - See, I told you they will give us ice cream.
TTR - Do you ride a cycle
Boy - yes,small cycle.
*Points at his sister
Boy - She does not know how to drive a cycle

TTR - Do you have a licence to drive your cycle
*Boy does not understand what he is asking
Boy - no
TTR - See you don't have license, no ID card, then no ice cream

*TTR then looks at the girl
TTR - Do you have an ID card
Girl- No
TTR - Then no ice cream for you
**Girl comes running to her mom
Girl - Amma, i want ice cream

Boy - I have my ID card at home
TTR- then show it. Otherwise no ice cream. See everyone showed me their ID card. Your parents showed me as well.
Girl (is about to cry) - Amma, I want ice cream.

TTR comes in after some time and gives them both a chocolate. They are both really happy and excited. That small chocolate puts a smile on their face. They thank him immediately.

Our dinner arrived after some time. Both of them ate very little and waited eagerly for the ice cream. The moment the attender gave them the ice cream, they were so happy. They immediately opened it and started to eat it.

Looking at them for that 20 to 25 minutes, made all of us smile. 

IRCTC rules on ticket booking

I was trying to book train tickets last night on IRCTC's online registration portal. While doing so, I got an error message that said that I had exceeded the maximum limit of tickets that could be booked in a month. The limit is 6 tickets per month.

I had no problems on that. They probably had a reason for putting up this restriction. They might have wanted to make sure that no travel agents are using this route. What got me angry was the message that said that if I linked my Aadhar card to my user login, I could book 6 more tickets. If an user links his/her Aadhar card to their login id, then they can book upto 12 tickets a month.

What kind of logic is this? I have seen private businesses give freebies when they want you to opt in to a particular policy. But a government trying to do that? It was so absurd and irritating.

If the government wants to make sure that a proof is needed to validate any ticket booking, then make it mandatory. It should be applicable to any form of booking - online or in person booking. If they don't want to make it mandatory, then leave it out. Why do you give a freebie for linking an Aadhar card. And why is this only for online booking.

And what is the intent or purpose of doing this? What are we trying to achieve in doing this linking?

I badly wanted to book the tickets and tried to link my Aadhar after a few arguments with my parents. They were clueless on why I shouldn't do it. They didn't understand that I would have happily done if I did not feel that it was invading my privacy.

As usual, I had some technical glitches in doing the linking. We finally went and bought the tickets in person.

I am still curious and trying to find out why IRCTC wanted to do this. 

Writings on the rear window of cars

Why do people have writings on their car's rear window? This is a question that hovers in my mind every time I see one.

Some of them have religious sayings or quotes that glorify gods of the respective faiths written on the rear windows. This probably stems from a belief that god would watch over them and make sure they are safe always. It could also be a way of showing off their religious inclination. 

Others have names of their family members (usually names of children) written on the rear window. When I come across these kind of writings, it makes me wonder why these people would want to share the names of their family members for the whole world to see. What do they gain out of this? Is this a gesture of the love and affection they have for them? If yes, why do they want to announce it to the world?

I am often compelled to ask the drivers of these cars or vehicles on why they do this. I guess many of them just mimic what others do.

Apart from these two types, I have also seen some funny, weird or quirky messages written on the rear windows. That is done when vehicle is usually owned by the younger generation.

It is each one's right to do what they want to do to their car.

Personally, I like to keep my car windows plain and clear without any writings or drawings on them. 

Should I or shouldn't I send the message??

We can crib all that we want. But the fact is that technology has helped us in staying connected with people we know. I don't want to dwell on the benefits and problems caused by technology, on how mobile phones have invaded our personal lives. That is a topic for another day.

All I wanted to write was about the confusion I have before I send a message on whatsapp to a friend or to a group chat. On many occasions, I would type in the message and delete it before hitting the send button. On the other hand, there have been instances where I had sent a message and then felt that I shouldn't have done it. Whatsapp allows a person to delete the message before it has been delivered - a big thanks to them. Still, there is no way you can delete a message that has already been delivered.

Why do I have this confusion. Aren't these people all friends. What is the whole point in adding them as friends in your contact when you cannot share your thoughts. I don't have a definite answer to this. It depends on the level of friendship that you have with that person. I know that some people would accept me the way Iam, they would never judge me. While the others who don't know me well would be quick to form an opinion of me.

There is another reason for this - a message could always be misinterpreted. It is not the same as having a face to face conversation. I have to be conscious on what I message to a friend or to a group.

I remember the times when I had really wanted to participate in a particular conversation in a group and then decided that it is not my place to do that. It was the fear of acceptance and the interpretation of the message - what if people laugh at my message, what if they thought I was trying to convey something else??

That is why I try to be cautious when I send a message to a friend or a whatsapp group and ask myself the question - should I or shouldn't I send this message??

Of course, there have been times when I had ignored the tiny inner voice that told me not to send the message and lamented my mistake later.

Death

Death is inevitable. We all know that we are going to die one day. We can only delay death, but we cannot evade it. Evading death is again an illusion. We think that we are prolonging it whereas in reality we are not the decision makers. If one is fated to die on a particular day, he or she will die no matter what they do.

Knowing all this, we still fear death and try to dodge it. We still experience pain and grief when someone close to us die. I remember how I had felt when I looked at my grand father and grand mother's ashes. A person who breathed life a day before, who spoke, ate, smiled, talked was suddenly no more and was reduced to those ashes. That urn that had the ashes was all that was left of them. And I asked myself - is that all? All these years of living means nothing at the end? That whole body - skin, blood cells, parts of the body, muscles are all contained in this ash? I mean that person was living a few minutes back. What happened to that person. Are they gone just like that. It scared as well as intrigued me.

I had the same question that every human being probably has? How would death be and what would happen after that? Would it be painful? The rational part of my brain tells me that we are just made of molecules and atoms. That is all. When a person dies, the life is gone and that matter goes back to the universe. The emotional part of the brain is not able to comprehend this logic. It wants to know if there is after life, if there is really heaven or hell and if there is rebirth?

And then when you look at life and people - the way we all run behind money, power, luxuries in life, fame. It seems as if death is just smiling at us and asking the question - "What is all this fuss about?"

That is when I tell myself - when it has to happen, it will happen. Don't think about it. I can only hope and wish for a peaceful and painless death for my loved ones and myself. As my dad always says, the best way to die is to go to sleep in the night and then never get up. 

My 50th blog post and Quotes on writing

I had never thought I would be writing a blog on my own. I created this blog sorely out of  frustration. I needed an outlet for the emotions that were swirling inside me. Now, it is more of a personal diary. It helps me to put down my thoughts and let the world hear what I am thinking.

I would be lying if I don't admit that I have trouble writing on a few days. It is not the same as scribbling a few lines in your personal journal. Although it is a personal diary, I had taken the decision to make it public for anyone to read. I need to be a little conscious on what I write.

If someone had told me this is what I would do a couple of years back, I would have laughed at them. And here Iam, writing the 50th blog post 👏🎇🎈

A few quotes on writing that I was able to relate to (I don't know who these people are 😏) -

⭐If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word  - Margaret Atwood

⭐I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn - Anne Frank

⭐To write something you have to risk making a fool of yourself - Anne Rice

⭐Every writer I know has trouble writing - Joseph Heller

⭐Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else - Gloria Steinem

⭐You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence - Octavia E. Butler

What happens when your laptop crashes??

Last week my laptop crashed. And my world came to a standstill. 😆😀 I know Iam being dramatic here. What do I do??? My work at office is dependent on two things - laptop and phone (mobile or desk phone). The laptop has my outlook pst files, work related documents and files.

When I switched on my laptop on Tuesday morning at office, it just would not start up. I got a blue window screen that had a lot of messages glaring at me. Basically, it tried to convey that the laptop had a big problem and it would not start unless the issue was resolved. The problem with working in a large firm is that, I cannot just walk up to the IT team to get the hardware fixed. I have to create a help desk ticket by calling the toll free number and then the ticket would be routed to that IT person who sits in the same floor where I work. Why?? process you see. We should all stick to process!!!!

Anyways, the guy came in, had one good look at my laptop and told me he had to take it to his desk to check what the problem is. After half an hour, he called me to give the bad news -

V (the IT person): Ji, your hard disk has crashed. You need to raise a request for a new laptop.
Me: What?? crashed?? What about all my data??
V: all gone.
Me: What?? All gone??
**Iam momentarily shocked, stunned. It was as if someone had just poured a bucket of water on my head.
Me: You should be able to get the ones saved in my D drive.
** Iam glad that I had the sense to save my outlook pst files (basically all my mails) in the D drive
V: No Ji. We may not be able to do that. Your laptop is out of warranty
Me: Warranty?? what are you talking?

V shows the sticker at the back of my laptop. See, it is out of warranty.

Me: If it is out of warranty, why did your team not send me an email asking me to come and get it replaced.
V: That is not my department. You need to ask the other team xxxx.
Me: Ok. Can you pls try (** I switch to pleading mode)
V: Will try, ji. Will talk to the vendor.
Me: Ok, now how will I work.
V: raise a request for new laptop
Me: But, why should I raise it. Isn't that part of your ticket resolution?
**He looked at me as if I had lost my mind

V: No, you have to raise on your own. I will close this ticket saying your hard disk crashed and nothing can be done since it is out of warranty. That is the process.

Me (looking defeated): Ok.

I then proceeded to call the help desk number again to check if I really need to raise a request for a new laptop. The girl on the other side confirmed that and raised one on my behalf. That ticket was assigned to the asset management team.

I got a desktop (thanks to K who manages all this stuff in our project). I had a lot of mails in my outlook and proceeded to respond to them.

Day Two -
I called the asset mgmt team asking them when I can get the laptop.

Asset mgmt team: Your laptop refresh is next month. We cannot give you a new laptop now.
Me: Great. But my laptop crashed and they told me it is out of warranty.
Asset mgmt team: No, it is not.

I walked to the IT team ODC and pulled in one guy who was working on something else. I told him what the Asset Mgmt team told me. After criticizing them with choice words, he assured me he would send an email to them. As promised, he did send an email that my hard disk did crash and I need to get a new laptop since it is out of warranty listing all the details. Finally they agreed to give me a new laptop.

When I asked them when I can get one, they responded saying that I was in a queue and it will take time. I responded immediately saying that it is ok, I am ready to wait. But I have end of month activities that are important. What should I do about it? They finally agreed to give me one the next day.

In the mean time, V told me it will take one more day to get the back up. I continued working on the desktop.

Day Three - 
I finally got a laptop in the afternoon. People told me that I was lucky to get it in two days. I started setting up stuff. It still felt empty without all the old data. V assured me he will get back the data from the D drive.

That was when I looked at my new laptop. No D drive. What the hell? I went back to the asset mgmt team and asked why I did not have a D drive. They told me that these days all the laptops and desktops are set up without a D drive. That is the new process. Seriously, who creates all these new processes??? They dismissed me politely and asked me to use the internal One drive.

Day Four - 
I got a call that my back up was completed and I could come and get it transferred to the new laptop. I heaved a sigh of relief and immediately went with my new laptop. That had all the work I had done for the last 16 years!!! It took them 2 hours to get the back up transferred.

My life returned to a semblance of normality after I got all my old data transferred to the new laptop.
These days, I make sure I take a back up of all my files before I leave for the day 😄

Did I really write an entire blog post on my laptop crash, huh??? 

Driving in the rain

After several months, it rained last week in Chennai. I was quite excited and watched the rain pouring down through the glass panes at office. It looked so beautiful.

That was when I realized that it was almost six in the evening and I had brought my bike to office. I had to leave before it started raining heavily and the traffic got bad. I have had some experience in driving in the rain. A few years back, I had taken my mother for shopping and we got stuck in the rain while travelling back. The advantage I had that day was that it was a weekend and mid afternoon. 

This time, I did not want to take any chances and thought I could beat the traffic if I left at 6 pm. When I got closer to the exit ramp, a big queue had already formed near to the exit and vehicles were moving at a slow pace. The exit ramp had a divider in the middle. The right side was a little wide and was for cars while the left side was for two wheeler and cycles. That day, the left side was completely blocked. Vehicles were able to move only on the right side. 

While driving out of the basement, I noticed that the left side of the exit was blocked because many people had parked their bikes right in the path. They must have wanted to drive out and then decided not to venture out until the rain stopped. I slowly made my way out. Although my bike skidded a little while going over the road bump they had put up near the exit, I managed to not fall down. I was scared and parked the vehicle near the foot path where fellow riders had done the same.

After standing there for a few minutes, I decided that there was no point in waiting. I was completely drenched, my clothes were wet. The water level in the roads were not going to go down and traffic would only get worse. Making the decision, I immediately started my bike and drove in the heavy rain.

I couldn't take two of the smaller roads that I usually took since the water level was so high. I drove at a very slow speed and let many vehicles over-take me. I had no idea why people wanted to drive fast and overtake others while it was raining. They are all insane!!!

I had just one goal - reach home safely no matter what happens and how much time it takes.

The road conditions were really bad, there was water clogging in many roads. It grew darker since it was raining continuously and almost all the street lamps were switched off. I was not able to figure out where the potholes were on the road. In fact I had driven my bike right into three to four big potholes on the way. I felt so cold and had to keep wiping the water droplets that had fallen on my helmet visor and the rear mirror on the bike. On top of this, the cars and the vans that drove parallel to my bike, kept splashing water onto my bike. 

Finally I reached home after one and a half hours. I was glad that me and my bike were back home without encountering any mishap 👏 It was a good experience. I was scared but I needed this experience.

After cleaning up, I went and hugged my dad. He was surprised. I told him that I understood what he must have gone through while driving the car and the scooter during the rainy seasons.

Old memories of him dropping me off, waiting for me and picking me up from the IIT entrance coaching classes even during the heavy rains came back to me. The coaching center was situated in a low lying area that was always flooded during the rainy season. Those days we did not even own a car. We only had a Bajaj scooter. No matter how heavy the rain was, he was always there to drive me to the coaching center.

Iam sure people would think that Iam making a big deal about this. This is what everyone does every day. Well, they could say all they want. For me, my dad is a hero!!!