Boss as Villain

 If bosses are villains, I plead guilty to being one, around 4-5 times. I was, after all, the head of a few departments/institutions in some capacity, and responsible for the work of a few people- from about 15 to about 100 at different times. Faculty as well as non-teaching staff.

My experience as a boss (think of a less intimidating term if you like) has largely been good, when I had the authority to actually make decisions. Not just financial, but re-allocation of people, choosing people for particular functions, or other policy matters. In general, I believe in giving people a lot of responsibility if they seem capable of doing something, rather than micro-managing. I like people who do things, rather than those who simply crib- unless that cribbing improves matters.

I also believe that the old-world family run companies in India (with a few exceptions) did not grow to compete with global fast enough due to management methods that they followed. Things have improved, but we are still way behind China, in many aspects. Of course, governance and ease of doing things are also responsible, and the role of regulators. In education, there is too much regulation, though it appears to be easing-slowly.

  

People and Workplaces

 My learning, if you will...

At any workplace, people are always good..at least a majority. It's the organisation that sometimes is unable to leverage their enthusiasm, through faulty policies, or systems, or wrong priorities.

I have worked in a large array of organisations, and learnt this over and over again. Saw a few bad leaders spoil things too. But of course, they were appointed by someone. By and large, I found very nice co-workers every place I worked. KIAMS was probably like a close-knit family with thirty students, a dozen staff and six faculty when we started PGDM in 1998.

Does this apply to students and the classroom? I think it does. A bulk of the students in a class are ready to be motivated, if you give them goals that are smart.. achievable, interesting, and perhaps fun. For instance, group work in class (or outside if designed right) can be all of these. 

So organisational design (or in a class, pedagogy) can play a big role in a set of people who will excel, or otherwise. Pay attention to what is the mood around you, and why.

Glimpses of Birthday Celebrations 2022

 I had my birthday, and we also celebrated a friend's birthday (Pratima Gaikwad from IIMI) and a niece's too, during the week gone by. Glimpses through pics, of various things we did- ate, mostly.

First, mine- with IIMB classmates.

and NM colleagues.

It was Anjali's birthday on 2nd Oct.

So we bought books, and went to Sodabottle Openerwala

and read funny stuff on their walls.

Had an Irani chai, and again, celebrated with Pratima her birthday which was on 5th

with some Kandahari chicken (and great chai at her place). 

Imagine if we Did Not Have....

 Imagining that we didn't have a mobile phone, computer, TV etc. is not so tough, because my generation actually did not have these for at least some of our years on the planet. Was life better? Not necessarily, all the time.

We did get more exercise by just walking around, playing outside rather than on/with a gadget. But communication with hundreds of people through social media was made possible only because of the internet+computers or later, internet+mobile phone. I have definitely benefited from the ability to do this, and keep meeting people because of it. Most of these are enriching experiences, so I am not exactly complaining. Self-control is definitely needed, no matter which medium you use. Reading books late into the night every night probably had repercussions on the brain, if not the eyes, in the same way that gadget use has. Maybe the details are different.

Door delivery of many things is a good thing for people who cannot move around, due to old age, sickness etc. But not so sure about healthy adults who can. Building exercise into your routine, even if it involves buying bread or groceries, is actually good compared to everything being delivered to you. I would like though, all government servants to come ad bow, and ask what else I need- a passport, a vehicle registration, driving license etc..when will that dream come true?   

An Unusual Celebration

 Just attended a wonderful birthday celebration of a friend's aunt. She turned 87, and is as lively as ever. She was joking around, chatting as if we were longtime acquaintances (I met her for the first time), and was generally in high spirits. Some pics from the event, which involved two cakes. One, a special one from Vienna brought in by her nephew, and another, a home grown one from an Indian vendor, in the shape of a grenade, of all things! Great fun.

The 'Grenade' cake, before pulling the pin,..

and tadaaa, after.

Below, the special one from Vienna, Apricot flavoured, and a big deal in Europe.

Caselets on People I Know- Part 4

 Shafique Gajdhar

One of the smartest guys I know. He is from Dewas and an IMT Nagpur alum, but I really met him at Bangalore, where he continues, after a stint in Mumbai. Analytical, and used to be an fb regular. Now more on LinkedIn. Formed his own group which discusses Product Marketing.

Savitha

One of the most loyal friends I have had for more than two decades. First batch of KIAMS, at Harihar, along with Nidhi Kanungo and Achint. Her being in Bangalore helped, as we got to meet often.

N Pooja Varun

Unique personality, who has a deep connect with things rural. Runs an Agri Park or two in Karnataka, and is very aware of issues which have to do with farmers and agricultural produce. Was a PES student, and we caught up in Bangalore.

Dash

As the name suggests, he was a dashing IPS officer for all of 30 years or more, after the IIMB degree. Just retired, he specialises in telling tales of his adventures in a blog that he just started. We exchange more tales in person whenever we meet, which we have been doing till now..never too old to Rock..

Thai Red Curry- Vegetarian

 Now that Red Curry Paste is easily available in the supermarkets, I tried making the red curry for myself. The other thing you need is coconut milk- thick and thin. And vegetables, of your choice- I used Red Capsicum, Cabbage, Beans, Carrots and Onion. And a bit of chopped ginger to add zing. You could also add leaves of Lemon or fresh lemongrass if available. I did not add fish sauce, so this is a vegetarian dish, totally.

Stir in the red curry paste in hot oil for a few minutes, then slowly add the thick coconut milk, and vegetables (you can also fry the veggies first, before adding the milk). Let them cook a while, and then add the thin coconut milk and cook further. Total of about 10 minutes for both. You are done! Eat it with plain steamed rice. Very tasty!