How much Appreciation is right?

This is a short write-up on another vast subject. A lot of you would be thinking this write up is about monetary appreciation and possibly involves stock market tips. However, the appreciation that I am talking about is something else. In the online dictionary, it means Recognition of the quality, value, significance, or magnitude of people and also, An Expression of Gratitude.

In every organization, Appreciation has a large role to play. It is one tool, which when used appropriately, can do wonders to the overall atmosphere and productivity of the workplace. Let’s take a look at this story:

Madhavan was blessed with two sons – Veer and Karan. It was Madhavan’s dream to become an army officer, a dream which he had to give up due to untimely death of his father, where he had to take over his Father’s business to make ends meet. It was therefore natural for Madhavan to pass on the same dream to his sons. Veer, the elder son, was into physically activities and was involved in lot of sports in his school. Karan, the younger lad, was more into academics and was specially good at painting. Given his dream, Madhavan kept on getting inclined towards Veer, thereby ignoring what Karan did. Any win in sports race, even if it was class level, would call for a party at the rich businessman’s place, and a state level win in painting competition by Karan would go unnoticed. Time passed on and Veer kept on getting more and more over confident. He believed he was the fittest and toughest guy around, and his father did confirm that to him time and again. Veer, finally cleared the entrance got through NDA. However, he was not prepared for the tough situations and rude behavior inside the campus. It was a shock of his life to see that he was one of the slow performers in the entire batch. Three months down the line, he gave up and quit. Madhavan, shocked that he was, decided to turn to Karan and appreciate what he was good at, only to discover that Karan had given up painting long back.

Appreciation works two ways – both absence of it and excessive presence of it, makes you give up. While the absence makes you doubt whether you are going in the right direction, excessive presence makes you over confident of yourself and therefore, makes you complacent. What we need in life, is clearly the right balance between the two.

Imagine what happens when you keep appreciating your team members for everything they have done. Well, they feel good for some time, but slowly it starts becoming regular. One, they lose the importance of what is being appreciated, and also it is natural for them to get overconfident in their work area. Slowly, they notice that there is no challenge in their life and start cribbing about the mundane situation that they have landed into. There is nothing to fight for, nothing to grow for. Everything is perfect, but boring. Also imagine a situation, where no matter what your team members do, you never appreciate. The first thing it does is that it confuses them and does not give them a clear picture as to if they are going in the right direction at all. This results in them getting de-motivated and therefore prevents them from taking any extra efforts. They slowly adapt a quitter attitude and give up what they thought they were doing well.

Who’s loss do you think happens in both the situations? Primarily – your team members, no doubt on that. But in the long run, it's your loss , it's the loss for people around your team for spreading negativity (either complacency or quitter attitude) and therefore, the entire organization.

A lot of times, appreciation is also related to your expectations. If you set your expectations too low, you will be abundant in appreciation and vice versa. Therefore, setting the right expectations is also equally important. Therefore, next time somebody comes to you expecting a feedback, think twice. A wrong balance, may just spoil it all.

This is a vast area of discussion and the thoughts over here are only some starters. As always, I would like to hear your take on this one.



PS: You can also reach me out at @agrawalsanjeev on twitter

Three Meals are Better than One

This thought is all about how healthy you eat and why we have three meals a day rather than only one. Surprised? I am not a nutritionist and that’s not the kind of topics I write about! Well, the thought is about all our health, but not necessarily through our Diet Plan. Then what?

More often than not, we are advised to eat at regular intervals than one large meal. This activity helps the body constantly burn calories and keep all the organs active throughout the day. It avoids overcrowding of food in the stomach and helps you keep fit and healthy! Just the same way, do you think even our professional goals should be to about consistency in delivery rather than work on “one” big bang? Does this consistency in delivery help us keep active and “one” big bang result in Overcrowding?

Ranveer was known as the God of ideas. Every time the management would get into a problem, he would pop up a new idea and then things would look good. People still remember how the team got saved once  when team was under tremendous sales pressure and Ranveer came up with some ideas to boost institutional sales, which helped achieve targets for the quarter. At the end of the year, Ranveer was confident of getting one of the highest ratings in the company. During his appraisal discussion, he had a lot of new ideas to take credit for– improvement in institutional sales, review calendar formalization, proper allocation of media spends for festive and a lot many more. But his Boss, Amar, certainly didn’t seem to be very happy. Ranveer got upset and asked how can he not get happy with his performance. And then Amar asked a few questions:

è When was the last time company generated some institutional orders? – Did we forget about it when sales pressure got a little relieved?

è When did the last review happen as per your review calendar? – Was it simple and practical enough to be followed regularly?

è What happened to the Allocation of Media Spends for last quarter? -  Did we use the learnings of Festive to make last quarter allocation better?

And suddenly Ranveer knew what Amar was saying. All these things were great initiatives, but happened only once!

The world is full of bright and brilliant ideas, and all of us tend to have some of them. But then, why are only few people successful. That’s because success is not a result of one Big Initiative, but of delivering consistently. Take a look around and see what are the things you really admire – your favorite restaurant serving your favorite soup with just the right amount of salt in it, your favorite apparel store which always stocks “your” size of garments or even your spouse, on whom you know you can depend in the worst of times – consistency wins hands down! Trying a new restaurant or a new shop never gives you the happiness and satisfaction that the power of consistency does.  It helps us not worry about the regular things in life and focus on more innovative and new ways of working / living.

A lot of us have beautiful ideas and take amazing initiatives. The fact remains, that if we do not take the efforts to convert those ideas into processes, and achieve regularity in it, we will never be able to harness the complete benefit of the idea at all.

A lot of times, I have seen that people get into complex models and calculations to arrive at a conclusion and I can instantly tell them that this way of working is not going to work at all – simply because it is not “simple”. The more we try to complicate things around, more the chances of it not being repeated. So the basic law of achieving consistency in work, is to keep things simple. Maybe it’ll not get us to the best level of precision, but if we are able to repeat the activity at a regular frequency, it will give us much better results than the last decimal place of a number.

Another thing which is useful in helping you achieve consistency is measuring of results. If you don’t get convinced about the results of the effort, no matter how great the idea is, you will always feel like postponing the next occurrence of the activity. Measuring of results also helps in determining whether an idea is really workable or not. A lot of ideas do seem very bright on the paper, but in reality, they may not turn out to be as great. Therefore, it becomes really important for us to measure the outcome of an initiative and act upon it accordingly. An idea without action is as good as no idea.

In business, we constantly strive to achieve consistency in everything – be it sales, profits and performance. It is from each individual, that consistency will come. A lot of times, terms like “disproportionate growths” are confused as “one time” and therefore, constant efforts go missing. We need to completely believe that one time efforts may lead to short term success but to be the ultimate success story – the only thing which will work for us is consistency!

Hoping to hear your feedback on the topic!

 PS: You can also reach me out at @agrawalsanjeev on twitter.

Time has wings

I often wonder, what is one thing which, if controlled well, would help us resolve many of our issues in our life and the answer to that is “Time”! Time is one resource, which is equally distributed to all the living beings on the planet – some know how to make the most of it, and some crib about never having enough of it. But the most unique characteristic of time, is the fact that, it Flies!

Roshan was upset. Just few months back, his Boss was promoted as the country head of this retail chain and Roshan had replaced him as the Business Manager of Central Zone. But he certainly wasn’t very happy with the way things were turning out. He duly completed his day today activities and things were working out well, but he could not understand why everyone had to rush at the final hour to make things happen. When he wanted to advertise for the latest offers for Navratri next week, they got a Page 12  LHS Position. When he wanted Buying Team to buy “Dandiyas” for forthcoming Navratris, they couldn’t manage and his team had to fix an SIS in emergency. When he organized an Employee Engagement activity, the MCs of the event kept forgetting their lines. These things kept frustrating him. Everything would happen, but everything was a compromise. He wondered how to master these things and that’s when he turned to his Boss, Arun, for help. The first thing Arun asked him after listening to his problems was – “What are the plans for Christmas?” and Roshan exclaimed – “Christmas??? That’s way too far!”. Arun, smiled and said – “Time has Wings!”. He continued – “I understand that day today activities are important, and I appreciate the fact that you’ve been carrying them out well, but unless you have an eye on the future, you will never be able to command the present!”.

Time Flies, and believe me, it really does. Every time, you think that there’s enough time for a certain event, think again. Every activity in an event has a certain lead time, and if we do not plan in advance, it is certain that we will lose control on the same. Even if there actually is some time for the event to arrive, if we start planning for it NOW, most probably, the outcome will be as per our expectations. Whilst I agree on the importance of carrying out day to day activities as per requirements you do need to have an eye on the future and act upon it right now! So, to win you need to ensure that the balance of current and future is well maintained in our work and priorities.

Let me give you another example of how time flies.

Geet and Siddharth were room mates in a college hostel. They both worked really hard for the forthcoming midyear exams and were expecting good grades to show their parents in the festive break. When results were declared, Geet broke down. How could he get a “B” grade? He had worked so hard and his exams were fairly decent. He asked Siddharth about his results and Siddharth quietly replied “I got a B too”. Geet immediately concluded that the relative grading system is fake  and no amount of hard work can result in good grades. Now he cant wait for another six  months to prove his parents that he really worked hard. He gave up and then onwards, he only explained his parents that relative grading system was unfair and it was only meant for students who can butter teachers well. Siddharth was upset too. He met his parents and promised them that he would work harder for Annual exams. Within no time, annual exams came. Siddharth got an A, and Geet a B-.

Somebody wise has said “Days are long, but the years are short”. Short term results should not determine our priorities in life, because guess what? Time flies my friend. From one event to another, from one year to another and from one appraisal cycle to another, time does fly! If you have put in your best, the outcomes will be best. Priorities and direction should take precedence.

With these two stories, I have tried to explain how this unique feature of time, has to be captured and exploited by us. Kabir has said – “Kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab, pal mein parlay hoyegi, bahuri karega kab?” (Tomorrow's work do today, today's work now, if the moment is lost, the work be done how) .  Therefore, we must leave procrastination behind us, and start acting on things “NOW” to have a better control on our future, which is almost here!

Do you have your future in your hands? Or do you let time fly with its powerful wings? Do write in.

PS: You can also reach me out at @agrawalsanjeev on twitter.

Elephants can dance

Elephants are the largest living animals on Earth today. The average weight of a male elephant is said to be around 4500 kgs! They are said to be very intelligent and social animals. We have seen snakes dance, monkeys dance, But do Elephants dance?

Whenever I ask my team as to what is the biggest obstruction on the way to achieving disproportionate growth, I am told that the “high base” of last year is the issue. And I often wonder – Is it True? Is it really not possible to disproportionately grow bases which are already high? And the single word answer that my mind undoubtedly gives is a blank “No”!

Well, it may sound too idealistic and to some extent, unrealistic, so let’s begin with an example. Let’s start with an iconic company – Apple. When iPhone was launched, did anyone think that something better than that can be possible? The innovative concept and sleek design captured the hearts of millions throughout the world. iPhone launch was a phenomenon and I do remember seeing so many times in newspapers, customers waiting in such long queues in countries where iPhone was about to get launched. Nobody could imagine something better could be possible within the life span of a mobile phone. The truth is that within a span of 4 years, iPhone has launched 4 versions, each one significantly better than the last  one. And now, they are all set for the grand iPhone 5 launch – one device which will change the rules of the game forever. One look at the features, and you’ll again think that nothing better than this can ever be possible! Would you be surprised if they launched an even superior iPhone 6, hopefully not!

We are living in a society which is full of examples on how big companies keep surprising us with more and more positive results over a period of time. HP, IBM, Bank of Baroda are just some top of the mind examples which hits instantly the moment you think it is “impossible” to twist and turn huge bases. There are many many other examples. If you just take a look around you, you will realize that the world does not function on the basis of base at all. Everything keeps growing despite the current status of their being. Do you think you cannot learn more or get enlightened because you have already matured enough? You believe you can’t put on more weight because you are already obese? Will you ever think you don’t need more money because you already have enough?

Now let’s think of this. Why is it even easier to grow on large bases than small bases. The answer lies in large base itself. If you have a large sales base, you have a large customer base and therefore, so much more word of mouth marketing available to you free of cost! If you recently saw the list of India’s Most Trusted Brands in Brand Equity, you would realize that trust also comes from the scale of business. It is Virtuous Cycle – More Customers -> More Sales -> More Word of Mouth -> Even More Customers. Isn’t it fair to expect more from bigger bases? The only condition here remains is to make every customer of yours, a happy one, and they will ensure that whatever your bases are, you grow much more than that. If you stick to this golden rule, no base effect can ever hamper your growth path.

 

The market is large and the potential is incalculable. The bases should never be calculated according to the previous performance, but more in terms of Market Potential. I again do not mean, market share, but stressing on the word “potential” to highlight that there are still areas that nobody in the market would have ventured into, which are completely untapped. When we think of the bases in this light, they surely will look too small to not achieve disproportionate growths!

And yes, let me tell you, Elephants do Dance. Despite their weight, Despite their perception, they do dance. I have quoted above, the elephants who danced on the power of innovation, strategies and belief that they can do it! Do you think that there’s an elephant around you? Do you think it’ll dance?

Diwali aa rahi hai…..

PS: You can also reach me out at @agrawalsanjeev on twitter.

What makes you stop?

I often ask myself – Why is it that we are always afraid of committing beyond certain limits? Why don’t we announce that we will push ourselves beyond our limits? What is it, that despite our all honest intentions, we fail to believe in ourselves? What makes us Stop?

Jitesh was disappointed. The results of the “Budding Leader Program” interview was just out and he couldn’t believe that his name did not feature over there. And Rohan, his colleague had just got selected, despite similar target achievements that both of them had during the year. He tried to reflect back upon what happened last year, and what came to his mind was a board room scene before the year begun.

Jitesh had a serious debate with Mr. Sharma, their Boss, proving him how achieving a 20% growth would be impossible and therefore, would demotivate his entire team. He had a lot of points on his side – ranging from high base of last year, competition cropping up in the meanwhile, some key members of the team resigning and many more. Finally, Mr. Sharma gave up and reduced his targets to 10% growth only. Jitesh breathed a sigh of relief! Rohan, on the other hand, accepted 20% growth with much zeal and Jitesh thought that was only to butter the seniors.

After Q1, Jitesh got 110% achievement, while Rohan closed at 98% and was being questioned by seniors. Jitesh, was thanking God. He finally got a little more confident that it’s not as difficult to achieve targets. He looked at Rohan’s disappointed face and felt so much better about having negotiated his targets well enough. He was wondering what face would he have shown to his Boss if he didn’t achieve.

A lot of times, it’s not complacency or “ulterior motives” that make us stop from taking higher targets. The biggest thing, which makes us “stop”, is the “fear of failure”. We have grown in a society where we are driven to be successful – career, social lives, family and others – and where failures are unacceptable! When we fail, we are threatened to be punished. The world judges us by how much we have over delivered rather than delivering at par. We all believe in “exceeding expectations” rather than “meeting” it. A lot of us would believe that the story ends here. But there’s something more to it, let’s take a look.

For Jitesh, it was easy to achieve his targets. He would do little and his targets would get achieved. He and his entire team were now over confident of delivering numbers. He remembered how for Rohan, every single week used to be a struggle. Rohan kept on pushing for the sales by various means. Motivating his staff, setting the processes right to make people’s tasks simpler, focusing on SOPs, Rohan and his team were always on their toes. And when, for a few weeks, Rohan saw that the targets were getting missed, he encouraged his team to have innovative ideas for sales. Now, his entire team was only thinking “how to sell more”. All this, Jitesh thought was so much of efforts that he managed to save himself from and still face his seniors.

This is what most of us fail to look at. What new did we learn? Did we try hard enough? Are we happy with ourselves? And most importantly, what can go worse if we fail to deliver what we have committed?  In quest to show the world how great we are, we forget to show it to ourselves, and this is what makes us “stop”! We always choose to become “an example to others” rather than “ a better  individual”, not realizing that only and only the latter leads to the former.

At the end of the year, both of them closed at 100% ABP Achievement, though Rohan’s growth was 20% and his was 10% .Jitesh was satisfied with his performance. After all, not everyone manages to achieve 100%. But then, he remembered meeting Rohan outside the Interview room, how Rohan was beaming with confidence and in front of which, his own satisfaction with his performance was getting overshadowed.  

One thing we all have to accept, is that all of us work towards a target. If the target gets achieved easily, we are bound to get complacent and not try harder when our targets get achieved. The easiest way out is to take lower targets. But is target achievement the only parameter that you would judge your professional life upon?  

Atychiphobia – The irrational fear of failure, also known as performance anxiety. Atychiphobes generally gather a defeatist attitude out of fear of failing, making them avoid trying to achieve anything due to potentially failing at it. This strategy is known as avoidance behavior. Atychiphobes may also suffer from an inordinate sense of perfectionism, and may only try something that is guaranteed perfect. We all, do suffer from Atychiphobia in various degrees, and at various stages of our life. If you turn some of the pages of history, you will find that most of the leaders only became successful, after tasting multiple bites of failure. Do you suffer from Atychiphobia? Do you realize how it is hindering your own growth? Are you working towards coming over it?

Hope this note gives all of you a different perspective to look at your limits.

You can also reach me out at @agrawalsanjeev on twitter