Taking Mac to the cleaners

Mac was a fault-finder with a mission. Everyday, he and his pet pooch Pooper would troll the streets of GovCairo looking for muck to rake up. GovCairo, being a usual sort of city, had it's share of muck to rake. So every once in a while, he would find a really juicy bit of muck - and would go to town with it. To some of the news-tablet makers, Mac was a hero. He gave them muck to feed on, when they were starving. They lapped it up and praised him. That made him feel like he and his Pooper are the most upright citizens in the whole world.

One day, Mac found out that the city spends a lot of money on street cleaners. He went and demanded that the city admin fire all the cleaners. They are a useless drain on public money, he said. I never see them working, he said. The streets don't need cleaning, they are already clean, he said. They should be building GovPyramids; and since they aren't, it is their fault, he said. When the city admin refused to oblige, Mac got upset. He threw a tantrum, became abusive to the cleaners and anyone who didn't support his rant about the unfairness of it all. For good measure he also ranted about the city admin, calling them ribbon-cutters, cronies to ribbon-cutters and MA-Lits (a clever insult he often used to mean illiterates, he once explained).

Well, here is the deal Mac. You never see them because they work early and you wake up late. Since you don't understand street cleaning tech (despite your fancy degree), even when you see them, you mistake them for someone else. The streets are clean because they are doing their job. No, no one told them to build GovPyramids. It is hard to build GovPyramids, when your job is something else; and when the GovPyramid masons' guild wouldn't let you anywhere their turf.

Some of the cleaners feel Mac needs help. You know, a bit off his rocker. A marble or two missing. No one could be that bad, ranting and trolling for a living. But heck, who knows? They send him their "Get well soon" wishes.

The cleaners do wonder whether Mac's problem is also being exacerbated by the news-tablet makers and muck-hungry public who won't double-check their facts and give Mac the cheap thrills for his trolling.

Note: This unfortunate story-from-the-real-life had to be written due to repeated allegations about the IT-Street cleaners by a Mac-gone-berserk.

Update (18-Oct):
Just saw Mac's response to my uncharacteristically acidic comments on the BabuBlogger site. Point well taken, Mac. I (honestly) don't know if I was jealous of your rising fame, but thank you. I will introspect. Perhaps you too might find an iota of truth in what I say. And yes, all the very best to you.

Are IAS officers special?

I have had the good fortune of knowing and working with several good IAS officers. I respect them, not because of their degree or position, but because they are good human beings, good administrators and intelligent people capable of stimulating conversations.

This post is not about them though. Quite the opposite.

There is a large aura (or is it a halo?) around most IAS officers. Most people are fearfully respectful of them. Awe, fear and sycophancy bordering on worship. Blown so far out of proportion, this has created such a gigantic cultural crater of immensely unproductive attitude and work culture - both within the cadre and in the people working with them (inside and outside governments).

Within the cadre, the emperor's new clothes are at their best, brightest and most intimidating display. So powerful is this fundamentally flawed portrayal that even fellow IAS officers display such blatantly sycophantic treatment to their superiors even if privately despising the person. This is so deeply ingrained now that it is routinely called "protocol"!

Most (non-IAS) people dealing with them do the same. Sadly, this applies to even otherwise intelligent people who work in culturally liberated environments. e.g., management consultants, IT consultants and academicians.

These two groups (insiders and outsiders) feed each others' behaviors quite powerfully - each strengthening the other. I suspect that the course design deliberately takes advantage of this effect and gets them to walk 6" above the ground right from the time they step out of their academy.

Objectively viewed, the Indian Administrative Service (the "course" or the "degree", not the cadre), is largely equivalent to an MBA in Public Administration - targeted for the Indian Governments. That's it. A targeted MBA. The cadre is created and sustained (largely) with these people.

Therefore, let us stop this illogically unproductive behavior. Let us treat them as people. No doubt, they are intelligent people selected through a rigorous process and then trained well to do their jobs.

Respect them as human beings, for sure. Pay attention to their views and ideas, but please don't elevate them to a pedestal so high that it diminishes their value by disconnecting their self image from reality. Do give them an opportunity to be true to themselves and stay human.

The emperor's new clothes

We all know the story. We all admire the innocence and courage of the little boy. However, in his defense, I submit that the poor emperor was only partly responsible for what happened.

Here is how I faithfully traveled the emperor's path - with equally spectacular results. I write this in the hope that other emperors wake up before little boys speak up. To save your time, I'll begin the story half-way and embellish it only ever so slightly to make it a tad less boring.

Year 2006. I had just started my second company. As a startup company, I worked closely with everyone of my employees. They addressed me as "Sir". I found it awkward. I asked them to call me by name. When they didn't, I began calling each of them "Sir" (including the female employees), just to rub my message in.

The company grew. New employees came in. I was deeply engrossed in my product development and customer expectation management issues. I was only acquainted in passing, with my new receptionist and accounts manager. I was now getting used to being called "Sir" or "MD-Sir".

Apparently by this time, my driver had started asserting his "superior status" over other drivers in the parking lot. He would expect other cars and drivers to give way to him and "his" car - even when I wasn't around. On the positive side, he would dress himself in a manner "befitting his status", so he was always very well groomed.

By now, I have begun to be completely preoccupied with my "important" work, worthy of the attention of an MD. I no longer had the "luxury" of more than a quick nod when people greet me on my way to my sanctuary and hallowed-work-place-of-the-MD. I am still nice to the people around me, but start building layers around me so that my important work is not interrupted "needlessly".

People stand up when I enter a meeting room. Without conscious thought I always make way to the head of the table in a meeting. I feel compelled to take control of every meeting and discussion I am in. I think nothing of interrupting anyone mid-sentence and hand out impromptu solutions - clearly conveying my no-nonsense go-getter attitude. I smile smugly at the astonished expressions on their faces and know that I've impressed the heck out of them with my incisive analysis and deep insights.

I often admire the intelligent nay - brilliant and successful, "MD Sir" who smiles back at me from the mirror. On my birthday, though I am touched by my employees' gesture with a bouquet and an obligatory speech - in a small corner of my mind, I congratulate myself for having done an exemplary job. No doubt I am a great guy and deserve every bit of admiration I am getting.

I now feel a tinge of irritation when a person waiting in the reception doesn't stand up when I enter the office. I consciously tell myself that I am beyond such petty things and I don't have a bloated ego (so why was I irritated?) - and in my generosity, I forgive the person.

I feel restless when I have to listen to most people in any meeting. Why don't they understand that I am intelligent? I already know most of this (whatever that subject was); and what I don't know, I don't need to know!


Note to self: I need to review the hiring process and performance appraisals esp., for this Project Manager who thinks she has a better solution than what I gave - and almost argued(!!) with me in the meeting.

Let me not bore you with more. I most definitely was wearing my own "emperor's new clothes". 


So I end this with just one thought: 


Why didn't someone slap me in the face and bring me to my senses earlier? Why didn't someone stand up and tell me what a damn fool I was, to not even consider others' suggestions? What gave me the exclusive right to the correct opinion? How did it happen that I am the best and the rest of the world is ... erm... next-best?


I submit that though the first mistake was mine, the people around me are equally guilty of letting me get away with it for so long - just to humor me, or in their own self-interest (to get their job done somehow and move on).


Finally... who is that kid who spoke out of turn? Let us get him an ice cream, LOL.

The many management maladies

Today I spent a lot of time thinking about why there is so much apathy and incapability built into (and breeding in) the government system? We can all analyze it to death and perhaps not agree at all.. but one perspective is perhaps worth considering. So here goes.

I have been working with senior Government officers for over 10 years now. I often hear (and see) that it is very difficult for IAS officers to delegate and get quality work done satisfactorily. True. In most cases, they are indeed the most competent people in their departments - with the next level people lagging miles behind. This has led to, among other things,

• Many IAS officers bulldoze their staff, treating them with scant respect; either by words or by actions - often both. 
• Most staff get used to it (attributing it to the "bhav" of the officers) and quickly iron out any initiative or risk-taking elements from their blood.
• Sincere IAS officers (who want to get work done) are always overworked and frustrated with the system.
• Over a period of time, they sincerely believe that indeed the (IAS) cadre is so good, that no one else is worthy of even polishing their shoes.
• More subtle is the tendency of even good officers falling into the trap of not listening even when they should; because they lost the habit of listening and because people around them are always happy to take orders and not contradict them.

Well, this problem exists not only in the Government - but also in the private sector. Egos are less exaggerated, so it is just a bit more understated - but it does exist and not in an insignificant way. If you are in the private sector, think.  Have you often been dissatisfied with the juniors' work? Have you often found that your manager overrides you with hardly any consideration to your views? Have you found it hard to fill positions because "good people are hard to get!"? Then there is something for you to think about.

In the IT consulting area, I have often heard how the top (senior) consultants work their back sides off to meet deadlines because their juniors' work is simply not up to scratch. It may be true, but the remedy is not to centralize work / authority. Pyramidal work flows rarely scale... they introduce bottle necks (yea, in a bottle the neck is always at the top).

Whenever a mistake is made, authority/delegation is take off, the person is given a good dressing down, review mechanisms (preventing the poor person from ever taking a deep breath without someone looking over his shoulder) are put in place, policies and approval procedures are fine-tuned, etc... In short, the manager, formally or informally takes more power towards the top, alters processes to reduce capacity, kills initiative and enters a vicious cycle that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy ("it is so hard to get good help these days").

I think it is time to pause and think. It is not easy, but there are ways to get out of this rut.

Give your team a chance to commit their own mistakes. Support them, correct them, coach them, guide them. In time you will find that you don't have to carry all the load yourself. It takes time to do this. Initial output will probably suffer and you may need to compensate in some ways to avoid losing clients - but the pains are worth it.

I give below, three of the many wise things said to me over many years - that have helped me do the right things. One by an adversary in a bitter fight, to hurt me; one by a friend, in jest; and the last, by a vendor counterpart.


"Do you think you are the only one who wants to work, Sastry? "

Hard hitting, but a truly good point. While it doesn't mean I tolerate willful negligence or incompetence or downright apathy, the increased understanding does offer some insights on how the situation might be remedied; in about 20% of the cases, in my case.

Definitely, there are a lot of people who also want to work; want to do good work, in fact. Of course, there are a good many who don't care. Therefore before screaming (erm... I don't mean literally) at people for lack of results, it helps me to figure out which category of people are causing the problems, and deal with them accordingly.

"Nobody is perfect. Not even you, Sastry! "

Delivered with a touch of sarcasm by a close friend, this helps me in two ways. One, when I mess up it helps me overcome my ego/diffidence - so that I can admit my mistake and offer to correct it. Two, when others mess up, it helps me see things in the proper perspective.

"Take the emotions out of any argument / conflict. It helps focus on the issue and find resolution quicker"

Most people, especially successful people have enough ego to often blind them to the issue at hand. I have come across situations where the reaction is something like "who the hell is he to tell me how I should do my work?"Well, if we can take the ego out, we might find that in the same situation, "Is that right? Could I have done it better?" leads to self-improvement - as opposed to a fight with whoever told us how to improve (albeit in a tactless way). 

It also helps guide juniors better when they mess up. Instead of taking the "Who gave you the authority?" or "You should've taken my approval first!!" approach (which only kills all initiative henceforth), we could take the "What was wrong with that decision?" and "What should you have considered before making that mistake?" approach to coaching them and keeping up the initiative levels.

I hope this helps others like it helped me.