Footprints on the Mountainside

Very often, when I conduct programmes for run of the mill employees in smaller businesses, a recurring dissatisfaction for employers seems to be a lack of motivation and initiative among employees. Employees on the other hand, seem to think themselves “doing what they are paid for” and feel it is unfair of employeers to be constantly applying pressure for performance. Not that anyone says it in so many words….

This mismatch of expectations and delivery mints me a fortune, yet it is such an obvious thing, that sometimes I wonder why people can’t see it.

If you buy an apple, you get to eat an apple. If you want an orange, that’s what you have to set out to buy as well. Yet, I find such a basic thing missing in practical life.

I have seen hiring scenarios, where “dependable”, “qualified” and “budget” rule. The eccentric geniuses are walked by, in favour of the “stable” guys. Paper qualifications are important, as is not spending too much. Why would someone you hire in such a scenario turn out to be a creative genius at work? If he has all the qualifications, but is willing to come cheap, surely, it doesn’t make him an equal in terms of delivery with the dream employee in your mind, who you can’t afford - of course. I fail to see where is the problem. You are eating the apples you purchased.

The truth is, that many small employers would prefer to get someone inexpensive and spend time and money grooming this person into the dream employee. I have even seen plenty of “management training” businesses do this. So many people do this all the time, that it never ceases to surprise me that this “method” is still in practice after a consistent record of unsatisfactory results. Goes to show that temptation goes beyond rational behaviour.

What happens in practice is that the work in terms of quantity as well as quality delivered by this budget employee is far less than the dream one, even if there were a ratio to be considered. That dream guy could replace three of these and still find time to skip off home early everyday. Yet, the temptation of “saving money” works each time. Now the employer is not satisfied with his apples, because they don’t taste like his favourite or

The New Year is almost here, and the greeating cards with best wishes are flooding in. Just today, I received some 34 greeting cards. Many of them were from people I don’t even remember. I doubt if I am going to read them all - ever. Perhaps some of the really interesting ones, I might read.

If this is the state of my cards, what is happening around the world? How many trees have died, for cards, no one even bothers to read?

I rarely use paper for my work. And when I do, I use both sides, most of the time. It not only keeps the number of papers more controllable in terms of storage, but also helps me be more organised with a computer, leading to an efficient information storing and recovery method, which ends up saving a lot of time and effort for me.

Raka is also very particular about being careful with resources, and we often collect the clean plastic bags we have and return them to shops so that they can be reused.

I am sure we make a difference - however small. What if the many of us could actively involve ourselves into making tiny changes in our habits, to create a massive positive influence on our planet?

With this in mind, I went to the WWF website and got this information to share with the readers here, so that anyone interested, knows exactly what they can do and can begin, without further ado.

I’m not inviting anyone. It is your planet as much as mine.

Save Wood and Paper Return unwanted mail and ask for your name to be removed from the mailing list. Always use both sides of a sheet of paper. Use e-mail to stay in touch, including cards, rather than faxing or writing. Re-use envelopes. Always recycle paper after use. Share magazines with friends and pass them on to the doctor, dentist or local hospital for their waiting rooms. Use recyclable paper to make invitation cards, envelops, letter pads etc.

During Holidays Go on holiday during the off-peak period to prevent over straining resources - you’ll also avoid the crowds. Find out about your destination before you go on holiday - it may be an environmentally sensitive area. Doing this will also ensure you are informed of what to see and any local customs. Find out about places before you visit. You may be visiting a environmentally sensitive area, in which case you must take extra care to stay on footpaths and follow signs. Don’t travel by air if you can avoid it because air travel uses up large amounts of fossil fuels and creates greenhouse gases. Avoid taking things on holiday that you will throw away. Dispose of any rubbish responsibly - it can be hazardous to wildlife. Ask your travel agent or tour operator what they are doing to be environmentally responsible. Use public transport, cycle or walk instead of using a car. Use facilities and trips run by local people whenever possible. Don’t be tempted to touch wildlife and disturb habitats whether on land, at the coast or under water. Be careful what you choose to bring home as a holiday souvenir. Many species from coral and conch shells to elephants and alligators are endangered because they are killed for curios or souvenirs. Don’t leave any rubbish at the beach - turtles are often killed by plastic bags they’ve mistaken for jellyfish and many items take years to degrade as well as being dangerous. Boats and jet-skis create noise and chemical pollution which is disturbing to wildlife - don’t keep the engine running unnecessarily.

© [date of material] WWF. Some rights reserved.

I came across an interesting page that compares a piece of writing with an algorithm based on study of the differences of usage of language between the two sexes. This study can be found here. Curiosity is a virtue, or so I thought and promptly proceed to paste in a few articles from various areas of this site into the “genie” and see the results.

My results hit male as often as female. Is it that my writing style is masculine or that the genie is wrong? As far as I know, I’m female

The paper is quite interesting, and explains the findings from study of various samples and the differences the statistics bring out. Some differences are that females are more “involved, while males are more “informational”. This link to the genie puts these findings into a form, that you can submit writing into and have it see how the your writing reads out.

With a name like Vidyut, many people already confuse me to be male (all other Vidyuts I know of are male). Perhaps this is another thing that may be adding to the confusion?

Can’t say. Definitely worth exploring.

I often find behavioural differences between males and females, as well as differences in thinking styles. I find women more expressive and quick to reach out, while men often seem to be more into doing stuff, but not talking much about it, unles it is well within comfort zones. Women are quick to react to new events and try out new stuff, while men fare better in terms of consistency.

And so on…. but I’d better not bore people with unresearched findings. I’m just tickled about someone going to these extents to document the differences.

Comments and opinions welcome!

I’m not normally into lists of any kind. But occassionally, I find something that fits in just right on my beliefs and sense of humour. This email list from a friend has a couple of lines I like. italics mine

1. Winning isn’t everything. But wanting to win is. bingo
2. You would achieve more, if you don’t mind who gets the credit. or paid?
3. When everything else is lost, the future still remains. as long as its not life that was lost
4. Don’t fight too much. Or the enemy would know your art of war. I’d prefer to say “Fight as much as you like. Makes my chances better ;-)”
5. The only job you start at the top is when you dig a grave. well… whatever. List filling material - me thinks
6. If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for everything. probably
7. If you do little things well, you’ll do big ones better. sometimes
8. Only thing that comes to you without effort is old age. and body fat
9. You won’t get a second chance to make the first impression. hmm. ok
10. Only those who do nothing do not make mistakes. Yes, absolutely. nothing is nothing.
11. Never take a problem to your boss unless you have a solution. sounds like someone’s” voice of experience” out here
12. If you are not failing you’re not taking enough risks. not really pushing limits would be more like it
13. Don’t try to get rid of bad temper by losing it. well said
14. If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you. my favourite
15. Those who don’t make mistakes usually don’t make anything list expanding material
16. There are two kinds of failures. Those who think and never do, and those who do and never think. too much
17. Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win. we’re entering “God zone”
18. All progress has resulted from unpopular decisions. running out of creativity
19. Change your thoughts and you change your world. frail attempt at recovery
20. Understanding proves intelligence, not the speed of the learning. and pray tell me how this matters?
21. There are two kinds of fools in this world. Those who give advice and those who don’t take it. and a third - one who doesn’t fall into temptation of expanding lists
22. The best way to kill an idea is to take it to a meeting its a corporate classic
23. Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things. more theory
24. Friendship founded on business is always better than business founded on friendship. makes sense

ok. Looks like this is another of those lists I wonder if I should post this at all. I’ll keep it for now, for the sake of #1, 13, 14, 22, but there is no accounting for me changing my mind.

I had wanted to attend some behavioural training workshops to further my understanding of human behaviour and its impact on ourselves and others we interact with. I finally got my opportunity to satisfy this urge when I attended the Basic Lab on Human Processes by the Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Sciences.

To say that this was an eye opener is an understatement and probably not agreed by all members too. This lab was unlike any other lab I had ever attended. No structure, no agenda, only 5 days of time to explore our own selves, our motivations, emotions, our actions and the impact they have on ourselves and the ones we interact with.

Many of us went home wondering why they came in the first place. Others were of the opinion that some structure would have speeded up our initiation into learning to spot nuances in our interactions. On the contrary, I was delighted. This was the first time, I had plenty of time to observe normal human interactions and the ways in which we motivate ourselves into setting goals and working toward them.

The unhurried pace also meant that I could spend as much time as I liked pondering over these observations, and deriving new insights from them over time. We also learnt to deal with any issues that came up in our observations and to formulate strategies to achieve goals that required extensive and sustained effort. We saw how we form relationships and what they mean to us, as well as the impact of our behaviour on them.
On the whole, this is a journey of discovery I’d like to continue throughout life, and i see myself a changed person from this experience. My work with people is benifitting directly from my improving awareness and I am now making a habit of being in “observation mode” consciously when I come across new situations and people.