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Patience, manoeuvrability, and the ability to
strike at the right time are the factors which can make anybody
handle his boss well, writes Meena Nanda
Imagine yourself to be Snow White. You
are out there in the concrete jungle fighting a battle of wits with
the stepmother called the ‘BOSS’. Can you survive without
the seven dwarfs? Certainly not, so these seven circuits stand in
for your seven saviours—it is up to you to make them tall or
squeeze them short. I am here to just introduce you to those seven
circuits/chakras.
But why call them ‘circuits’?
Roughly speaking, a circuit means anything that traverses a circular
path, thereby completing the flow of energy and repeating the process.
A circuit has both a positive flow and a negative flow. Call it
passive and dynamic. It generates the energy required to accomplish
any job or work. And here we intend to accomplish a very difficult
if not impossible task, that is, eat the apple and have it too by
managing the Boss properly. So let us start our journey into the
realm of chakras/circuits with the hope that by the time we start
learning all the 48 Commandments, you are ready to assemble a Perseus’s
shield for yourself, which when used prudently would also help you
in bettering your own worth and growth, charting thereby a steep
rise in your career prospect.
And do remember these commandments are
the commandments meant to enhance the synergetic flow of energy
at your work place. Wrongful handling of them can result in short
circuits. So the mandatory warning—Tread the circuits carefully.
If you find any of the commandments too archaic, please level it
‘A’. ‘A’ for Adults, meaning thereby you need
to come back to it after you grow little more.
The first circuit Four Commandments
This first circuit is very important as
it is the foundation stone upon which the whole edifice of other
circuits is built. If the understanding of the foundation is not
proper and strong, then the ensuing weakness may topple the super
structure.
To start with, it has four commandments
to offer, but before we learn the four commandments, it is better
to know the basic principles behind this circuit. And I am sure
you have already guessed it. It is the twins—Stability and
Solidarity. Like the foundation, the solid presence and compatible
solidarity with the other players and organisational aspects is
the basic and guiding principle to create a secure and congenial
atmosphere. This is what the Boss has been trying to create by making
you swear by your loyalty, sincerity, faithfulness and commitment,
and in return, giving you compensation—cash and kind. To contribute
towards the twin S’s you commit your time, energy, intelligence,
either for a definite duration or indefinitely. Besides, you at
times, swear allegiance either to the individual Boss or to the
collective impersonal Boss or the chair, which is understood by
the word solidarity.
The First Commandment
Know thy time. Here, I am reminded of the
ancient Indian wisdom documented in archaic Sanskrit in the form
of Vedas and Brahmanas. If you ever go through the Brahmanas, which
are supposed to be explanatory aspects of Vedas, ironically no less
archaic, you will notice a strange repetitive obsession with Kaal
or Time. Time was studied, analysed, and practically applied to
for achieving any target. In fact, time was regarded as that mysterious
dark element which fructified and multiplied every thing and every
event. Every growth, every achievement comes in due course of time.
As it is said there is a time for everything.
So our first Commandment is “Know
thy time,” which should include:
(i) What is your prospect of growth vis-a-vis
a particular period?
(ii What have the Boss and the organisation
achieved in the recent past?
(iii)What is the organisational short-term
and long-term planning?
(iv) What are your short-term and long-term
goals vis-à-vis your own time?
Once your perspectives are crystal clear
you should know how to achieve those by managing your time vis-a-vis
that of the Boss and the organisation. Here lie the catchwords—patience,
manoeuvrability, and striking at the right time. So we take each
catchword separately:
* Patience: This does not mean waiting
indefinitely in vain for something to happen. It means time-bound,
unhurried action, that is, without hurrying in a rash manner or
jumping to any conclusion. In other words, be punctual, be time-bound
in submitting your repo-rts and delivering the goods.
Avoid being rash and impatient. It takes
nine months to make a baby out of a zygote. Before that time-period
it is a miscarriage, and after that times it is fatal for the mother.
Never ever appear to be in a great hurry. Being punctual without
hurrying is the key word of this commandment for it means self-confidence.
So know your job, know your time, and know how to deliver the goods.
* Manoeuvring : In plain words,
it means buying time without appearing to be doing so. It reminds
me of a story: Once the Sultan of Persia had sentenced two men to
death. One of them started telling the co-prisoner that he was not
afraid of death as one day or other everybody was going to die,
but his only regret was that his secret knowledge of teaching the
horse to fly would be lost with him as he had not been able to teach
it to anybody, nor had got any chance to demonstrate it before his
lordship.
The spies of the king came to know about
it and dutifully informed the same to the king who became quite
curious and granted a conditional freedom for the required time,
that is, one year. The other sentenced man was aghast, it such a
stunt and commented that the man was simply postponing the execution.
The freed man replied, “I don’t think so. For I have actually
given myself four options of freedom. First the horse might die
during the training, second the Sultan might die, third I may either
die a natural death, or may succeed in teaching the horse to fly.”
Believe me, this is the tactic used by
every discoverer, researcher and scientist. And there are takers
for the bait, as for every ambitious Boss, the sky is the limit
and nothing is impossible, it is only a matter of time.
But while trying the stunt don’t forget
the previous wisdom, that is, don’t be rash and unconvincing
or you will spoil your own chances.
* Striking at the right time: This
has two sub-wisdoms—one is the end-time for tying up loose
ends, the other is, acting at the opportune time.
Now comes the discrimination between opportune
and inopportune time. I will explain it also through a story, a
Chinese one for a change. The two sons of Mr Shih had different
likings. One loved to learn tricks of war, the other loved intellectual
and moral pursuits. The second one appeared before the king Chi
and was selected as a tutor-priest for the king’s children.
The first one was appreciated by another king Ch’U and was
appointed as a general. Mr Shih had a neighbour named Mr Ming, who
became jealous of the neighbour’s children’s success and
thought his sons were equally good. So he sent his sons to two different
kings.
The war-loving one went to king Wei Court,
who was lying low to survive against a bellicose and more powerful
neighbour. He thought that the presence of this war mongering youth
in his court would send wrong signals, but unemployed the fellow
might offer his services to the neighbouring king endangering Wei’s
stability. So he ordered for his feet to be cut off, rendering the
Ming sibling a cripple.
The other Ming junior went to the court
of King Chi’n who was modernising his army to conquer a few
weak quarrelling neighbours. He was so peeved at the moral preaching
on non-violence and love by the Ming boy that he got the fellow
castrated.”
Perhaps, Ming’s children were as talented
as Shih’s, but the difference in their predicament occurred
because of their lack of sense for timing.
Excerpt taken from ‘Boss Management’
by Meena Nanda; Vikas Publishing House
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