"..be sure to carry a box of tissues, I always did that for my reviews with her.."

"...be sure to carry a box of tissues; I always did for my reviews with her...," said my colleague with a smile.

Let's call this woman "Rani." Rani had been with the firm for many years but hadn't received a promotion. She was one level away from a managerial position and had expressed her desire to move on from her current role to learn and grow elsewhere. I had recently taken on an additional responsibility and needed another team member. My manager asked me if I would consider her, and Rani joined my team.

Six months later, it was time for appraisals. As I left my desk for the meeting room, her former manager, who sat across from me, said the above quote. The meeting went smoothly. We discussed her performance, and then came the question - "What should I do to get promoted to an Assistant Manager? If you can tell me, I will work on it with discipline." 

 

The great thing about HR operations—or any type of operations work—is that the tasks are usually quantifiable and measurable. I set goals for her based on the time-sensitive steps in her work, each of which had a standard operating procedure. I created a simple Excel spreadsheet to track her work weekly. Deviations due to uncontrollable factors were discussed, while controllable ones were noted as areas for improvement. 

Rani, a determined single mother of two, had never finished her degree because of family responsibilities, yet she was a quick learner. Not only did she learn to handle deviations, but she also mastered tracking her work via Excel. She requested to come in two hours later than the usual start time, which I agreed to, knowing she had morning responsibilities. Some evenings, I'd see emails from her late into the night and suggest she stop working, but she always responded that she was just finishing up a few more emails.

Finally, her zest to learn & perform won and she earned a promotion after another six months. This time, in the appraisal meeting, she had moist eyes, not due to sadness but due to the joy of getting the word "manager" in her designation finally. She continued to excel and earned another promotion 24 months later. She was a classic example of someone motivated and willing to put in the effort to achieve her goals, both personal and professional. All she needed was direction and the right tools.

Eventually, I had to move on from the company, and although I never needed to offer her tissues during any of our reviews, her eyes welled up as I left the HR bay for the last time that day. A few years later, I received a WhatsApp message from her: "Hi! Just wanted to share that I completed my graduation. We moved to a bigger house. My daughter is getting married, and my son just started his first job. Please come to the wedding. By the way, we all still miss you here."

That night, I went to bed smiling, and I think that smile lasted all night long and into the next morning.

Wordle

"...that was indeed ambitious..."

"...what a silly mistake...!"

"....I should have thought more..."

"...that's awesome...!"

These and other such lines probably get exchanged daily between friends across the world post midnight. Not 12 am IST or EST or GMT, but 12 am in their respective zones. If not in the few minutes post midnight, then probably in the first few hours of the next morning. 

Wordle has definitely taken the world by storm. It's like a mini-addiction that you would not mind getting addicted to. Because you know you just cannot lose much by getting addicted to something that's fun yet can only cost you a few minutes of your time daily. It has definitely ignited communication channels where friends end up literally discussing the word of the day and the way they approached it. It also  has showed us how people can control their excitement (and mind their conduct in a way) and not spoil the game for others by not disclosing the word of the day once they know it ( I remember unfriending someone I barely knew on FB in 2012 when I read him post "Kareena bhoot hai" while I was on the way to watch the movie Talaash ).

Another wonderful aspect of this game is how everyone approaches it. Almost everyone starts of with the aim of getting the word in 6 attempts. We even miss a few wordles early on and then it starts to challenge our competitive spirit. So then comes the tightening of the process. Some start with 2 or more vowels, some have a set of letters they feel are more common than the others, some (or may be its just me ) have the practice of starring with the same word daily ( more often than not, I start with "SUGAR" and the one 1st row &  2nd row hits were thanks to the sweet word ). The discipline to not touch the greens and to include the yellows in subsequent rows slowly firms up & you end up bettering yourself daily. While the game definitely needs a lot of luck (like any other game or event in our lives) it somehow does act like an exercise for the mind. Everyone watches how many attempts  their friends took to crack the word for the day and it further sparks a drive to do better & improve their skills & approach to the game.

I guess any sport or game that we play brings out our character in some way and it then requires us to mould our character to ensure we can thrive in the game. Wordle though simple, is no exception to this phenomena I believe. If you carefully dissect how you approach it daily, you'd probably end up learning more about yourself.

Here's my grid so far. The first few attempts where I took it lightly cost me the chance to get to a 100%. I know I can play this game forever and yet I cannot get a perfect 100%, but the idea is to get as close to 100% as I can, one wordle at a time.

"Please change his designation from Senior Manager to Manager"

"Please change his designation from Senior Manager to Manager..." read the email from my then-manager.

I was stunned! Let's call this demoted guy "Kachra" (not to demean him, but just a reference to the famous character from Lagaan). 

Initially, Kachra soared in his career. He achieved his first promotion in 6 months, subsequent ones every 12-18 months. During that period, he was a senior manager. A year before this incident, Kachra transitioned to a new business unit (BU) reporting directly to the unit head (let's call him Andrew). Andrew was convinced that Kachra was no good. After a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), he recommended either termination or demotion to a manager. The HR leader (let's call him Ishwar) agreed to the demotion. However, the story didn't conclude there. A few months later, Andrew decided to let Kachra go. Ishwar, after reviewing Kachra's past performance, believed he deserved another chance. Coincidentally, at the same time, one of the leaders (let's call him Bhuvan) was looking to hire a manager to manage a money-guzzling process. Ishwar convinced Bhuvan to give Kachra a shot at it, and the transfer happened.

Kachra knew this was the last chance to prove his metal. He put in the efforts and hours to learn about the new role and started addressing the challenges that Bhuvan was struggling with. About 18 months later, not only did Kachra embrace the new role adeptly, but he also showcased substantial savings through process improvements. Bhuvan & Ishwar were pleased to promote him back to Senior Manager, and in the subsequent years, he continued to rise up the ranks.

While this episode underscores Kachra's resilience, it also raises concerns about role mismatches and the pitfalls of premature promotions. To be fair to Kachra, perhaps he matured at the right pace, but several factors could have hindered his progress:

1. Kachra might have been better suited for an execution/Individual Contributor role, not yet ready for a more strategic position.

2. The skills valued in his initial BU may not have been appreciated or applicable in the new BU.

3. Despite performing at his capability, he might have fallen short of Andrew's expectations. Reporting to a BU leader for the first time could have overwhelmed him.

4. He could have been going through a personal struggle during his transition, and that compounded until a point of no return, becoming a lost cause for him and Andrew beyond a point.

5. Inadequate guidance and resources may have hindered his performance in the new role.

While other reasons could exist, Kachra demonstrated his ability to deliver. For various reasons, he was a misfit in the new BU role, and it was a commendable decision by Ishwar and Bhuvan to invest faith in him, providing a second chance with clear goals and ample support to ensure success.

Most individuals deserve a second chance, if not a third.

Less Biscuits, More Mouths.

Less Biscuits, More Mouths.

While jogging at the beach this morning, I saw this interesting sight. A guy with a bag of what appeared to be Parle-G biscuits was feeding some stray dogs. As I jogged a few steps further, I saw two more parties appear at the scene. The crows and a kid. I did not want to stop and make the good man conscious, so I passed by but I could notice he was probably pulling out some biscuits out of the bag for what appeared to be a hungry kid. I guess he may not have bothered or rationed for the crows as they are anyway widely seen as scavengers. 

A moment later, I pondered what would he have done if he had limited resources at hand. What if he had just a handful of biscuits but quite a few dogs, the kid & the crows as potential consumers? No, in no way am I comparing the plight of the kid with that of the dogs and the crows. What if he had a pack of 5 biscuits but 8 dogs, the kid & the crows wanted to get some of it? Would he pick one to feed or would he pick two (or all three parties) and spread out what was available in a proportion that he deemed to be fit. And what if it was someone else in his place in the same situation?

I guess we all face similar challenges in our personal and professional lives. Resources ( Time, Money, Energy, Promotion Slots, Positions, Budgets etc.) are often limited and we need to spread them across multiple things/people that require them. Some at the exact same time. Some might (figuratively speaking) pick the kid and give him everything ( if they feel the kid needs it the most) , some might still want to give it all to the dogs (for whom the resources were originally meant), some might spilt it between the kid and the dogs, some might give it to just selected ( and not all ) dogs and yet others might also feed the crows ( after all, some of us consider them as our ancestors and feel good if a crow comes to feed from us).

None of the above ( and more such ) options are probably "wrong". The distribution of limited resources will always depend heavily on the mindset and goal of the entity ( a single person or a group ) wanting to distribute it and, hence, there will always be three perceptions that will be formed no matter what methodology/thought is used to distribute the resources. One set will feel they were short changed and got none/less of it, one set will be grateful and feel that they got the resources, probably because they deserved it and one set will be indifferent to the outcome. 

Biscuits are always limited. Allocate them judiciously if you are an entity. Cut the entity some slack if you were expecting to be a recipient.