The intolerable "Chalta hai" attitude

This is a piece I had written some time back, but did not feel like posting it as it did not seem powerful enough. It seemed a bit like a crib. And I dont like to put negative thoughts in my blogs. However, a recent trip to Germany changed my attitude about this article. The discipline and the level of planning in Germany made me introspect about the “chalta hai” syndrome that we suffer from in our Indian Society. So, dont see this article as a negative piece but as an introspection one. Here goes the article.

Let me first define what “Chalta Hai” attitude means. Literally translated, it means 'it walks', but the real meaning is 'it's ok'. basically this means "brushing off things like rules because people think they don't matter”. In other words, thinking that taking some action on something or following a rule is “not important enough”. Do you think you suffer from the “Chalta hai” syndrome? Let’s take a look at some daily life personal and work examples:

1.     Do you jump a traffic signal because you are in a hurry? - Everyone does it. Why shouldn't I? Chalta hai.

2.     Do you throw waste paper on the road? - Everyone does it. Why shouldn't I? Chalta hai.

3.     Do you answer all the E Mails that are required by you to answer? –  “There are about hundred Emails I receive daily. If I don’t answer some of them, Chalta Hai!”

4.     Do you ensure accurate target setting at an SKU level for each zone? – “It’s a trouble working at brand level for the zones, If I pro rate at SKU level, “Chalta Hai”

5.     Do you set the list of your priority work for the day / week? – “I remember things at the back of my mind, why should I write it down, “Chalta Hai”

6.     Do you come on time every day? – “I stay back after office hours, coming late, “Chalta Hai”!

The funny part of the whole Chalta Hai syndrome is in the fact that you represent both the sides to crib. While at one end, you may not respond to the email where someone has asked for some info, on the other hand, you also crib when someone doesn’t answer your email of some urgent requirement. A lot of times, you don’t even realize that how this “Chalta hai” attitude is affecting others. Jumping the red light means accident for someone else, who braked hard to avoid colliding with you. You may not have done SKU level detailing of targets due to other “priority” works, but because of that there maybe wrong inventory stuck in some corner of the country. If this was done to you, would you accept someone’s “Chalta Hai” attitude? Even for yourself, sometimes you may feel that you are smart enough to take care of everything without necessarily “formalizing” it, by jotting it down on a piece of paper, but at the end of it, you mess up by forgetting something very important. When you don’t come on time, you start the day itself with firefighting, not allowing yourself to plan for the day. And that is when your entire schedule for the day goes haywire.

Above are just few of the examples on how “Chalta hai” attitude is so harmful to self, others and the whole organization. Man, by nature , is a lazy creature and needs to be pushed / motivated to work. When one of us display the “Chalta Hai” attitude, there are ten others who easily emulate it assuming its acceptable to be like that. Slowly, it becomes the culture and everybody starts adapting to this mode. This is how we promote “mediocrity” in ourselves and the organization. And then we get caught in the endless cycle of crib and unhappiness.

And this is the most significant difference between a developed economy and a developing economy. We dont even realise some of these issues as they have got ingrained in our behaviour and attitude. This is what has been disturbing me ever since I came back from my trip to Germany. That's why this article has been dug out from the archives.

Gandhiji once said – “Be the change you want to see”. A lot of times, “Chalta Hai” attitude has to be curbed at the senior level more seriously, to pass on the right message to everyone. And this is why, we need to STOP taking things lightly and say to ourselves – “NAHI CHALTA HAI, I will change it!”

Would like to hear your thoughts on the topic.

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

Are you a juggler

This management thought starts with a story borrowed from Devdutt.com (Devdutt is the chief belief officer at our group, Future Group).

In South Indian temple walls one often finds a character called Bhringi looking adoringly at Shiva dancing. What distinguishes Bhringi from the rest of the followers of Shiva is that he looks emaciated, just a skeleton in fact. And he has three legs, not two.

The story goes that Bhringi was a devotee of Shiva. One day, he came to Mount Kailas, the abode of Shiva, and expressed his desire to go around Shiva. As he was going around, Shiva’s consort, Shakti, said, “You cannot just go around him. You have to go around me too. We are two halves of the same truth.” Bhringi, however, was so focussed on Shiva that he had no desire to go around Shakti. Seeing this, Shakti sat on Shiva’s lap making it difficult for Bhringi to go around Shiva alone. Bhringi, determined to go around Shiva took the form of a snake and tried to slip in between the two. Amused by this, Shiva made Shakti one half of his body – the famous Ardhanareshwar form of Shiva. This was God whose one half is the Goddess. But Bhringi was adamant. He would go around Shiva alone. So he took the form of a rat, some say a bee, and tried to gnaw his way between the two.

This annoyed the Goddess so much that she said, “May Bhringi lose all parts of the body that come from the mother.” In Tantra, the Indian school of alchemy, it is believed that the tough and rigid parts of the body such as nerves and bones come from the father while the soft and fluid parts of the body such as flesh and blood come from the mother. Instantly, Bhringi lost all flesh and blood and he became a bag of bones. He collapsed on the floor, unable to get up.

Bhringi realized his folly. Shiva and Shakti make up the whole. They are not independent entities. One cannot exist without the other. Without either there is neither.  He apologized.

The story, like all other mythological stories has a lot to tell. Bhringi was the true devotee of Shiva and did everything possible to please his Lord. What he forgot was that his focus on "one" was so much, that he forgot to look at the other.

Have I confused you all through this story? Some of you will be quick to tell me the story of Arjuna who is considered an ideal! The story goes like this:

Guru Dronacharya decided to test his students in their skill of archery. He hung a wooden bird from the branch of a tree and then summoned his students. He asked the first one to aim for the bird's eye but not shoot just yet. He then asked the student what the student could see. The student replied that he could see the garden, the tree, flowers, etc. Drona asked him to step aside and not shoot. He repeated the same process with a few other students. When it was Arjuna's turn, Arjuna told his Guru that the only thing he could see was the bird's eye. This satisfied the Guru and he allowed Arjuna to shoot the bird. The lesson here is the power of focus.

All along we have been told that focus is a good thing and now I am saying please don’t focus or you shall be punished like Bhringi.

Very often in our lives, especially at work, when we focus on something, we, tend to deprioritize everything else and focus on it single mindedly. Can you recall the instances where you have put in all your efforts in one project and ultimately found out that all other projects in your hands are way beyond their deadline? I am sure each one of us has gone through this in various phases of our careers. We make one particular thing so important, that we forget that there are other things too, which make our work and life complete. We forget the fact that success and happiness is a result of all round performance and is never dependent on one parameter only. It does happen in our personal lives too. We chase one dream so strongly, that we completely ignore some others. Imagine putting all your money and efforts into buying a new house, that you have no money for any personal emergency. We often please Shiva and ignore Shakti. And therefore, like Bhringi, we are left with the bones, but we lose the Flesh!

You will argue that by focusing we are being like Arjuna and still being faulted? In my opinion it is incorrect to fault Arjuna for the focus. What we need to do is focus on the project on hand but manage multiple projects. So, you need to be Arjuna for a particular project but remember that you have multiple projects at the same time. What corporate world requires in today’s day and age is a juggler, especially as you rise up the hierarchy. A juggler focuses on juggling multiple balls. Like when you have to deliver on targets, these are measured in relation to topline, margin, inventory and expenses. Do you have the liberty of delivering on only one of them and still ask for a large bonus?

At times, it is definitely tough for us not to pick one out of so many things. With so many options available in our hands, it is natural to pick the one which is most important and has the most visible results to be taken before others. What we don’t realize is that focusing on only one goal at a time, makes us lose on so many other accounts. We should understand that true leaders have 360 degrees approach to any problem we are facing and whilst a few things will continue to be our focus, we must learn not to deprioritize other aspects. Balance between the important and not so important tasks remains the key to achieve your long term goals.

So, you need to be a good juggler in corporate world. Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

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