Positive Vibrations

15 March 2021

Positive Vibrations

    Yesterday I had the privilege to attend a program on Shivratri celebrations at a Bramh Kumari Centre at Bangalore. Privileged that this was my first invite to address the gathering on a subject of spirituality. Privileged that I had the fortune of getting to learn a couple of very important behavioural aspects that impact our daily lives.

     Yes, I want to treasure these learning for bringing a change in myself, to help me resolve the irritants one has to face. These are very simple things to do, yet difficult to initiate this process in one’s own behaviour. But, worth giving it a try.

    One of the speaker told about the misery he had to face because of an unfortunate divorce process that his only son, an IT engineer, had undergone. The boy had returned from US, in a distraught condition. His love marriage was dissolved in the nascent stage itself. He was to be resurrected, overcoming the mental agony he was having. As a responsible parents,  they meditated to find a solution to help their son. And the solution evolved was very simple-  to just fill yourself with absolute and unconditional love for the son, never pointing out the miseries that were being faced. For giving a positive vibration to their son, they decided to look into the son's eyes, with love only. No talk of any negativity, encouragement and loving care became the central theme of their conversations. Gradually, the son could overcome the depression of the heartbreaking episode and joined a job, locally. He also got inspired to meditate and started taking care of his health,  as well. Today was a happy day for the parents, as the son could find a match for settling down in life. The family is happy again. 

         Then, there was a lady speaker, principal of a school, who narrated about how she was duped for Rs 70,000, by an on-line fraudster, by posing as an insurance company representative.  The lady’s husband had met with a serious accident and was bedridden since quite some time.  The lady was the only breadwinner in the house. She had already narrated her misfortune with the fraudster, earlier. She complained to the bank, but nothing happened.  In this mental state, she was trying to find solace in spiritual discourses,  as well, when she chanced upon to listen about the power of vibration of love and kindness. Even when a person does some wrong and harms you, there is no point in cursing that person. Instead,  bless him with all happiness in life and wish him well. It sounds quite weird to extend good wishes to a person who had done harm to you. It is difficult to forget the injury inflicted on us, but the lady principal decided to mould her thought process to comply with this principle  and she started thinking well of the fraudster.  After about a month, a miracle happened.  She got a call from the fraudster,  ‘Didi, I will return your money’. And within a fortnight,  she got her money back from the fraudster. This change of heart in the fraudster was perhaps aided by the positive vibrations that the lady principal used to give him, albeit in prayers only,  from far off. 

Reminds me of the Gandhian philosophy, ‘ if a person slaps on one cheek, offer your other cheek, as well to him for slapping.’ Mahatma Gandhi had understood and propagated the theory of changing hearts by nonviolence. 

Don't keep quiet. Demand your due..

28^th July 2013

Scene at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi

Time: 3.30 pm

During our  transit time at the GMR created airport, we dashed for a cup of coffee at a food court. The menu displayed ‘Espresso’- our favourite since we  first got the taste of coffee. It had other  offerings, as well. For the sake of understanding, when I asked about their ingredients, espresso had only coffee and hot water- no milk. So, we settled for ‘Coppuccino’.

@ Rs85 each cup, it turned out to be a bad bargain, with a tasteless liquid.

We decided to complain  the young man behind the billing desk. He had a stock reply, “This is made by machine and nothing could be done about it”.

Not ready to give up, I told him that he may try adjusting  machine for a better taste.

He took the cue and took back the cups. This time the order was served in a proper tray (with tissue paper) and the Coppuccino tasted very well.

 Took the tissue paper.

Wrote, “Good coffee. THANKS. This was as expected. Please keep it up.”

Finished our coffee, went to the bill desk to personally deliver the appreciation note.  Left the note with another man, now sitting behind the cash register. He was amused to read the short note. I took time to explain the incident that led to this and got to know that the concerned billing guy was Anand. By that time, Anand returned back. My note was handed over to him by his amused colleague.

I was leaving the counter and Anand was all smiles, with some confident resolve reflecting on his face.

I was wondering. Had I kept quiet and sipped the insipid liquid without a word of protest, we all would have been losers.

A little, but effective communication made it win-win situation….

Re-discovering Life

I saw the movie ‘Chalo Dilli’. It’s about a thoroughbred lady- a budding business tycoon, who has long past the experiences of growing as a ‘free child’.

Forced to spend a night and a day in rustic confines in the company of a boisterous and nosey flippant, she realizes that one is prized not by worldly possessions, but by the bit-by-bit touching experiences one has with people and nature.

The lady constantly tries to wear a mask of wealth, sophistication and class, which wears off easily when she observes the stark realities of a commoner’s life (depicted by the stinking condition of wash room that she is destined to use and she really comes out as a ‘fresh’ person).

 It’s finally winning of relationships rather than winning of business deals for wealth creation. Truly, ‘what is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare’?

About the flippant ‘Bhaisaheb’ of the lady, kudos to the brave heart who has mastered the ‘art of living’. The message is loud and clear ‘if you laugh, the world will laugh with you and if you sulk, you’ll sulk alone’. The choice is yours.

See the movie and keep intriguing, “What is the motivational force in this guy’s life?”

Keep on exploring the movie and realizing life….

Tata Tea’s Munnar operations

           

             On reading the blog on ‘Participative management in KDHP’, my friend Mr Dave wanted to know as to why Tatas decided to exit the business of tea estate in first place. Was it due to losses, inefficiency, workers problems or something else? I truly don't know Tata's version. But the deal of Tatas bringing workers participation in the equity and in the operations of the tea estate, has been a win-win situation for both the parties.

            From what is being seen today, the deal brings the following two perspectives to the fore:

     i)   From Tata's perspectives, the selling of shares to the workers provided the Tatas an exit from the loss-making tea estate business. This also enables them to focus on their forte of highly valuable retail tea brands. They package and produce 'Kanan Devan' retail tea outside the town, which shows their interest in operation of consumer brands.

          The success of this model, besides becoming a vehicle for resolving the profit crisis of the tea industry, also trumpets the company's socially responsible business ethic.

    ii)   For the vulnerable workforce in a time of crisis in the industry, this deal gave them an opportunity to save for their futures, besides giving them a sense of financial commitment in the company. 

Participative Management: The inspiring turnaround of the tea estates at Munnar

   In the ET (19-10-10) I read an interesting article (by P K Krishnakumar) on workers’ participative management in the tea estates. I find it inspiring and worth sharing.

   “As per the report, in 2005, Tata Tea, the owner of Kanan Devan Hill Plantations estate in the picturesque Munnar (Kerala) decided to exit the business completely and handed over the management to its employees. Today, 98% of the 13,000 workers own around 68% of KDHP, while the remaining is owned by Tata Tea and others. Each worker has a minimum of 300 shares of Rs 10 each. In 2009-10, KDHP clocked a net profit of Rs 41 crore (as against Rs 8 crore losses in 2005). The turnaround is not only on account of buoyed tea prices, but is a testament to the change in company’s management structure and operational processes.

    Productivity has increased 58% from 33.3 kg per worker per day (in 2005) to 52.6 kg in 2009-10. The workers are a more prosperous lot, enriched by higher bonuses and dividends, besides capital appreciation of their shares. The employee-run KDHP model is making a show-case for the people intensive plantation business.

    The new management structure has also helped in a marked improvement in the physical and mental health of workers and their families. The infant mortality rate among KDHP workers has fallen, the birth rate has dropped, alcoholism is on the wane, and workers are now eager to come to work without supervisory checks. Unauthorized absence from work has also fallen.  

    Their workers today exhibit ownership in their performance. The workers are paid higher wages, if they perform above their average benchmarks, maintaining the quality of plucking.

    Apart from financial incentives, workers are motivated by that now they have a voice in the management, and being consulted in administration, welfare and other activities. The suggestions made by them for efficiency and cost savings are considered for implementation. This instills a sense of pride in them and they are encouraged to deliver more. They have also representation on the board, the selection being made on the basis of their performance. Decision –making, which was top-down under Tatas has now become bottom-up.”

    The above report outlines the evolvement of society as has been long cherished and dreamt by planners and visionaries. If you have been to Munnar, you may visualize the picture perfect setting in there.

    Skepticism would lead us to think that one sparrow does not make the summer. But the impact of changing aspirations of workers for a better life and redefining of the requisites for motivation are truly reflected in this case. It also confirms the belief in the theory ‘Y’, which advocates that the ‘employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties’. The unions being rendered redundant is a significant pay out of this management approach. But only brave hearts like Tatas would dare to be the first to tread on such untrodden path.

    Only posterity will tell how other industries / enterprises take cue from this model to cure their own ills.  

Strategy: Confidence building

There are products and services, which exude confidence of reliability. This is backed by sustained efforts by the company to be consistent in offering what they are perceived to offer.

   The collapse of Enron, Lehman Brothers, Barings Bank and the tricksters revealed in the functioning of Satyam, IPL and likes, have left us to wonder whether the definition of ‘business’ has been revisited to mean ‘making money and money’ alone. No body believes in business any more. It is not strange to understand this change, which has been witnessed in almost all professions, including the medical – where the doctors are expected to govern themselves by the ‘Hippocratic Oath’ and the noble profession of teaching -where schools are supposed to be temples of learning and not for extortion of money from students. We shall save the reading by omitting the much touted politicians, bureaucrats and self professed god men etc.

    If a business strategy has the spirit of ‘sustainability’, it must work to command the confidence of its customers and public at large. The business must be seen to be coming from a good and responsible corporate citizen. This is a continuous process and should be exhibited both in words and action and perceived the same by all the people, i.e., the employees, the customers and the persons affected by the operations of the company, overtly or covertly.

   If you feel that your company should be reckoned with the trusted brand equity, you can start by

·        Treating people with utmost humane approach

·        Bringing transparency in your dealings

·        Being bold enough to accept responsibility, correct yourself and move on

·        Taking the feedback as an opportunity to improve and not as criticism

·        Learning to give more value for money through R&D, innovations, and ‘Benchmarking’ etc., and

·        Ensuring that the environmental balance is not disturbed.

   You can do it. The time to start is now.

To Worship the workplace and ‘My machine’

We often hear the advice “work is worship” in the form of a gospel. This, I feel, is told more as a metaphor than as a practical guide. The possible reason being, that both work and worship are intangibles.

Getting to tangibles, I have observed people worshipping their workplaces. They bow and touch the floor at the office entrance, revere before their desks/ workstations and some people pray for a while. Many of them dust the desk/ desktop etc., themselves, as well, before starting the day. The performing artists are generally seen to bow and touch the floor before entering the arena. These small gestures give back positive feelings to the workers/ employees, and it instills a sense of ownership in them. This sense of ownership leads the employee to work with dedication and commitment. The employee is then ready with the basic desire to lead a nice day. It is now up to the work environment to get best out of the employee.

In the above paragraph, the pivotal point is the feeling of ownership of the workplace by the employee, which adds value to the environment.

Taking the ownership factor further, recently I came across the concept of ‘My Machine’ at a plant. This concept can do wonders in improving the performance of the machines. In plants, where a worker or set of workers is assigned to work and operate on a particular machine, its ownership can be assigned to them. The owner’s name(s) can be displayed near the machine. They refer to the machine as ’my machine’. These virtual owners are expected to-

- Keep the machine neat and clean at all times (as a concerned housewife who keeps on cleaning the kitchen platform whenever there is some spillage or mess).
- Display the work status of the machine (e.g., under maintenance, under repair, no plan, no operator or the product being manufactured etc.)
- Also display the details of the work loaded on the machine and the quality checks that are to be performed.
- Suggest measures to improve the performance of the machine, like minor modification and technological improvement etc.
- Suggest improvements in the working environment of the machine.
- Keep periodical record of the improvements made in its performance and report ‘then’ and ‘now’, as a matter of learning.
- Ensure its timely preventive maintenance.

The best way to demonstrate the benefits of ownership are to let a vital (may be complex) machine to be owned by the Chief of Production.

The good practice should start from the top. Try this.