Zero Defect
This zero defect concept is so damn important. We seldom realize this during our student life that how important is perfection at work. We make mistakes, we take deadlines leniently, we take wrong proxies for a lot of calculations, we just don't deliver perfect results. But now, that is the highest priority in any company - delivering perfect work and correct results. One wrong calculation could put your company in bad books of the client and consultants can't afford to lose clients. With every one client gone, there are atleast another big set of them that start doubting their work. Similarly, with every one client added, theirs a big bunch that starts getting attracted towards consultants' work.
Recently worked upon a case wherein I made some wrong calculations (So, stupid of me). The senior replied back indicating exactly where I made a mistake. It was mere carelessness. Had to apologize to that head and promise for not making any such foolish mistakes again during my tenure at the company. Got so scared that day but at the same time it has definitely made me more careful at work. Never do I ever send my work without a re-check from then on.
Time taken to write this post: ~10 minutes
Seniority
Heirarchy is one thing that freaks me out sometimes. At times, employees got to listen to their seniors even when they aren't really correct. At times, employees got to respect their seniors, sit back and not respond even when they're boiling inside. Not that these seniors could actually fire the employees, but their reviews definitely are a big decision in further promotions, salary hikes, awards in the company, and a lot of other things. It's actually just one single frustrating moment. If employees could control themselves then, things smoothen out and all the angry feelings go off.
Had a really bitter experience with one of the senior employees at the office. She had her cellphone kept near my laptop and was gone out for some work. Now that cellphone has been one of my favorites because of a really cool game in it. I picked it up and started playing. Suddenly she turned up from no where and started shouting saying that she's shocked seeing me play with her cellphone. I don't know about her, but I was indeed shocked at the way at which she spoke. Guess this is just a start. Will have to face a lot of more worse experiences during this corporate life. Hope that I am able to control myself and am able to act in exactly the right way then. GOD bless.
Time taken to write this post: ~10 minutes
New Laptops
Today, corporates spend so much on their employees that they actually deserve to make their employees work their way. It got to come from both sides. They take care of us employees, we got to take care of their work and help them earn big profits so that they further take care of us. Our office has given away new laptops for everyone - IBM Thinkpad T60 series with 60 GB hard disk, 1.5 GB RAM, 1.87 Ghz P4. These laptops further have fingerprint detection system in them. Guess, its called biometry or something. A person can login just by touching on the laptop's mousepad. That may be a very old technology but I saw it for the first time in my life and trust, it looks really really cool.
Apart from that, they've been treating us now and then. Must have attended some 4-5 parties in the past one month. Recently had a breakfast at a five-star hotel. This is definitely one of the benefits of working in a big-shot MNC. Startups do give a lot of exposure and opportunities to learn but they definitely do not give that many benefits. Not that I would prefer working in a big-shot corporate more than working in a startup. Just that I didn't find my kinda work in any of the upcoming startups. Yes, I did look out for them during those IIIT days.
Time taken to write this post: ~10 minutes
Strange Decisions
People take so many strange decisions that I find myself taking no risks in life at all. One of my very close friends got into Maruti udyog Ltd. Trust, it's a great company to be in for the mechanical engineers, which he was. He did join the job but then left it in just 2 days to drop an year and prepare for the civil services examination. Now, sitting idle for an year and preparing for an exam about which no one can be sure is not what I would have ever done. Infact personally, I don't even consider it as an intelligent decision. 12 months is a long time to sit back and prepare for something. After all these struggling years that we've left behind, it seems really tough for a person to take such a kind of decision. But then there are strange decisions and strange conflicting philosophies all around. Sometimes I wonder if these strange decisions are what help you achieve big things in life.
Time taken to write this post: ~8 minutes
Right or Wrong Dilemma
At times it happens that things look so true, so right but still one doesn't wish to agree with them. In those times, one tries to find faults in there some way or the other. It's not just a controversy between right or wrong, it's a controversy between the mind and the heart. It's a difficult situation. Me finding it really tough might indicate that I have a weak will power or that there's insufficient self-control. But then, that doesn't change the fact. It's not valid to be angry at impractical things, unrealistic things but then that is what anger is. It makes you forget all the goodness around. All it knows is bringing mental and in extreme cases physical harm too.
Was a little angry and sad all night but then with time, it all gets settled down. One makes oneself understand about some bitter facts which have to be accepted some day or the other. Sooner the better. And moreover everyone has his/her way of living life and has complete right to do the same. This is India afterall. Life's cool and it should be lived with the same coolness. Why worry about future? Who's seen it anyway? Keep all those self-proclaimed baaba jis aside.
Time taken to write this post: ~12 minutes
A single moment
People say this all the time. A single moment can change your life. A single second can bring a transition in your career. Just a second can destroy everything or fill someone with complete joy. There are a whole lot of such examples. Such things tell me that I've yet to see a lot of things in my life basically because never ever has anything happened that makes me realize the truthfulness behind these facts.
There were some moments that indeed motivated me from time to time, motivated me to work hard, to give in my best. Though, I've yet to achieve a lot of things. Haven't had any achievement so far that makes me feel good about myself, about which I could boast around like most people do. Ok, boasting about one's abilities may not be the right thing to do, nevertheless an achievement was what I was talking about. Hmm, enough of talking about myself. That is what an individual does afterall. Me, mine, myself.
Have been trying to get up with three alarms in the morning but am so full of laziness that I switch all of them off and get back to bed. Got a little late yesterday for the office too. Thank God, not everyone had turned up before I reached in there. It's even bad on my part that haven't been keeping my promises. A pending gift, pending list of phone calls to be made, pending replies on orkut, pending replies on mails, pending tasks to be done for friends and relatives.
Time taken to write this post: ~20 minutes
Make your importance felt??
Is that what this world is all about, these people, these friends and strangers. Everyone around is ready to make his/her importance felt when comes an opportunity. Making others feel your presence is not what am talking about. That is suppossed to be a good thing and nobody would ever care about you if that is not done. But the sad part is that people these days make unjustified use of their position/rank be him a security guard or a professor, be him a sweeper or a doctor, be him a washerman or an executive. There are two points to be realized in here - first says that we all need others around all the time and that is what these others take privilege of. The other point says that people have started becoming so 'importance-hungry' that they're ready to go till any limits just to make others beg before them for mercy.
Yesterday, I took an exit from one of the two gates of the building where we have our office. Instead had to take the other gate. I must have moved just a few meters when I realized that. On returning back, the security guard started shouting at me saying that am not allowed to move in from that gate. I tried to explain that will have to go all way round a kilometer if he doesn't let me in but in vain. People are ready to shout at others, yes they are. People are ready to take an undue advantage of their positions. It may be his duty to not let people in from the exit gate but shouting doesn't count under his responsibilities for sure. Tired from work, I was in no mood of arguing with him and hence went ahead to travel an extra kilometer. Hardly matters.
Time taken to write this post: ~15 minutes
Art of Loving
Was talking to one of my cousin grandfathers. He's currently 91. Long age hasn't lead to any kind of weakness in him. He ofcourse is very old to be active but he still does everything himself. Often goes out to chat with friends and attend religious functions. He's recently written some beautiful poems that reflects his love for GOD. "It's not easy to write all those kind of poems without a talent within" is what I said. His reply to that was - "Beta!! you don't need an artist in you for such things. All you need is a special kind of attachment, an affection, a deep sense of love and faith, a confidence of depending for everything on whomsoever you love. Love someone more than you've ever loved yourself, you'll start writing even better poems."
Have been loving someone for quite sometime now. Hope's alive that I might come out with beautiful poems some day. Trust, it's a great thing to have - an art of doing something without actually having an artist within. Search for that artist is on.
Time taken to write this post: ~10 minutes
Transition Required!!
Yes!! Time has come for a major transition of this mindset. 21 years is a long time that I spent living in a business class family. Dad's a businessman (for the uninformed). It's easier for the business families to spend without budgets but it's not that easy for the working class and I can sense that myself from the past one month (of this job). Fixed pay requires an efficient budget. How long would it be possible to just keep on having fun? In the RDB language,
we've made life act our way in all those college days. Life's started showing its colors now. Guess, things should be managed much before everything turns out to be a disaster.
Second pay cheque should be here in a day or 2. Company's got this wonderful system of giving off the pays 10 days in advance to the month end. It gives us a sufficient amount of time to plan expenditures. Have been thinking of working on something besides the regular job schedule but this damn procrastination has held me up. Need some internal strength.
Time taken to write this post: ~10 minutes
Get work done first!!
Never ever pay an advance in life for anything if there's an option. You get bound to the service provider and there's not much that you could do then apart from shouting and screaming in case the service doesn't get you satisfaction.
Had to get a reliance recharge for Rs. 100/. I paid for that before actually getting the new increased balance. While the money got deducted from the shopkeeper's account, I didn't get any updates. Had to visit the shop so many times to settle things that am totally frustrated of getting any more future prepaid recharges. And that finally made me a buy a Hutch postpaid connection. So, for now I've kept two cell phones to get in touch with friends, colleagues and strangers.
Contact me at: 09313825099 (Reliance) or 09811925099 (Hutch).
And did get an engineering gift from parents. What sweet parents I have to gift me with a
Nokia 3250. Amazing cell with a 2 mpxl camera, a 512 MB memory card and an excellent sound quality. Hope that I don't lose this in a way that I lost Nokia 6600 long back.
Time taken to write this post: 12 minutes
Best of those cases
Though working in a consulting company doesn't give technical details of the businesses and is just about studying the business models and strategies, there are ways to get benefits from all those cases too. There are short term case studies which do not give one much information and at the same time, there are long term case studies which can give one a lot of in-depth knowledge of the business. Longer cases are mostly boring but are definitely more knowledgable.
Things didn't go that well in the office today. Could have done better work but probably the fact that longer cases (my current kinda case) are boring, made me lose on some information. Need to be more focussed and attentive in future.
Participated in the BCC soccer competition today. Various groups of 2-3 people (in office) had to select 2 teams and 1 player from the teams participating in the world cup. With each game and each goal that either of those 2 teams and the player (that we selected) win/score, the group keeps on getting points. There's a pot that the groups would win depending on the score at the end of the finals of the world cup. Since our group didn't get an early chance to choose the teams, we had to settle down with South Korea and Croatia. But luckily, we got a chance to select Ronaldinho (Brazil). Hope the guy scores a lot of goals for us. Good luck Brazil and ofcourse to S Korea and Croatia.
Time taken to write this post: 10 minutes
