e panorama 12

In this issue

Plateauing : When you are not getting anywhere at work

Management Mantras.

Compassion for the busy.

TV will be shut in 10 years.

Wise words

e-Panorama 10th Mar‘ 07. Year1,Vol.12

Newsletter of Bharuch District Management Association

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Plateauing : When you are not getting anywhere at workJudith M Bardwick (World Executive Digest)

(This article is contributed by Shri ANIL KUMAR GUPTA, Director (Technical Services) ofM/s. Ranbaxy. An alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, IIM Bangalore & Harvard Business School, he hasworked as a consultant to Govt of Ethiopia to ‘Study and Design Pharmaceutical Sector for Ethiopia’, a UNDP project and notably contributed to various senior management forums.)

It shall be interesting reading for Organisation came into existence before 1990 and alsoexecutives who had more than 20 years’ career. No matter how well you conduct & howefficiently you perform, things always do not remain good. Everybody experiencesplateauing. Question how do you turn setbacks into opportunities...READ ON...

The Plateaued Person: In January 1996, on the editorial page of 'The Wall Street Journal'.Robert Goldman Described his experience, as under …….

‘I am 42 years old. I work for a large corporation. But I am no longer moving up. Going in, Iknew there could be a price to pay. Too much structuring can be confining. But for me, theorganisation's chart was children's playground - a place to climb, swing and scramble all theway to the top. And that was where I was headed. Year by Year, level by level, I made myway up only. rarely did I doubt choosing the corporate life. Whatever the reason, I wasimmediately to be a 'STAR".. And though my corporation was too conservative to have a fasttrack, I did burn a few cinders as a steady progression on blue memos charted my upwardprogress. I knew in my bones that I would someday reach the top. Some men may stumble.Others may even fall by the wayside. But not me. Never me. Or so I believed, right up to theday, right up to the instant, when I learned that the fire was out, the star was extinguished, theclimb was over. A promotion that should have been mine was handed over to someone else.When the blue memo came out, I could hardly believe my eyes. SOMEWHERE ALONGTHE LINE, A TEST HAD BEEN GIVEN & I HAD FAILED. The corporation would bekeep me on. I would do my job, and in return, I could expect the average salary increases dueto an average employee. But there would be no more leap-frog advancements, no more bluememos.. I was no longer climbing. I was no linger a star. I had PLATEAUED OUT. Whilethere is a chance that my corporate fortunes will be reversed, I have glimpsed for the firsttime my own business mortality.’

Plateauing: Plateauing is a concept that says: when a major aspect of life has stabilised, as itultimately must, we may feel significantly dissatisfied. The essential source of thisdissatisfaction is that the PRESENT IS NOT ENGROSSING AND FUTURE IS NOTCLEAR. People who are plateauing are at all level - they are neither rising nor failing.Instead of being a clear problem, Plateauing tends to manifest itself as a vague but pervasivefeeling that things are not okay. The vagueness also stems from people's reaction to the worditself: they say that it makes them uncomfortable. But plateauing is a neutral word: itdescribes status. In one form or another, everyone plateaus. And over the course of a lifetime,almost everyone plateaus more than once. Plateauing becomes complicated whenorganisations and individuals find their most central values challenged by its occurrence.When people are plateaued, their growth ambitions, which formed the central theme of theirbeing, can not be achieved. Than the frustration spills out over everything that is important -people's identity: their sense of self-esteem, their relationships, their performance and theirfuture.



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When people feel plateaued, their performance suffers. So does the organisation. Manyof the PLATEAUED PEOPLE QUIT WORKING BUT STAY ON THE JOB. Comingto terms with plateauing involves coming to terms with reality of what we are & of ourlimitations. BEING FRUSTRATED OR FEELING STUCK SHOULD BE STIMULUS FORCHANGE & GROWTH. We are often most generating after we realise that we have beenstagnant. It is that realisation that gives us courage to create change & take on risk to getwhat we need. We make a mental transition in which we stop focusing on the past & movetowards a psychological future. We do that because stagnant is, being plateaued in life, is alittle death.

Kind of Plateauing

We gain a necessary perspective on what we can do to solve the problems created byplateauing when we look at the different forms that it takes. There are three kinds : Structural,Content & Life plateauing. While they are different from one another, they are interrelated.

STRUCTURAL PLATEAUING refers to the end on promotions. It is caused by anorganisation's hierarchy or structure. All of us know that as we climb up the familiar pyramidshape of organisation, the number of positions decreases dramatically & the opportunities tomove upwards decreases proportionally. But even though we know that, we hole we will beatthe odds & be one of those who get the brass ring.

People are CONTENT PLATEAUED when they their job too well. There is not enough tolearn. They are experts in their work & they are likely to feel profoundly bored. Most of usneed to feel the satisfaction that we are learning something new.

People are particularly venerable to PLATEAUING IN LIFE when work becomes the basisof their identity & self-esteem, which is fine as long as they are successful. But promotionsdo eventually end, sometimes provoking a terrible since of failure and frequently mastery atwork brings feeling of tedium.

Escaping the Trap: The fact is that everybody pleatues. The only difference among peopleis in how they handle it. The first task is the same for individuals as well as organisations:The phenomenon of plateauing must be acknowledged & the problem that it causes must beaddressed.

What Management can do about Plateauing

Managers have an enormous amount of power over people's lives & how they feel aboutthemselves. From either a business or a humanitarian point of view, managers should knowthat they can do a great deal to help employees cope wit plateauing. They must use variousforms of reassurance & communicate the facts that employees are valued, because plateauedpeople often feel unrecognised & are taken for granted. Some of the things that you as aManager can do are .....

Make the Facts Visible : The facts about plateauing, especially those that explain the originsof plateauing are immensely reassuring. People need to understand why they feel very bad.



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The manager can explain the relationship between work and personnel identity &self-esteem. People also need to know that major changes in values & lifestyle areprofoundly unsettling and that it is appropriate to feel anxious during transition. Theknowledge reassures people: it makes what they are experiencing predictable.

Eliminate Content Plateauing: Eliminating content plateauing does not solve the issuesby structural plateauing, but changing people's responsibilities does address the needfor challenge & sense of alienation that comes when people feel taken for granted.Organisations can use lateral transfers to alleviate the stress of content plateauing. Inaddition to the stimulation that such transfers generate, those job changes also assurepeople that the organisation is confident they can handle different responsibilities.While people really want the affirmation of a promotion, they will feel good about alateral transfer if there is challenge & their new responsibilities are important.Although changing people's jobs always involves some loss of productivity while thenew tasks are being mastered, the possibility of significantly increasing theirinvolvement because of new challenge far outweighs this loss. In addition to changingpeople from one position to another, managers can exchange some responsibilitiesbetween people who remain in their job. These exchanges can take place at the samegrade / level or between levels, if the status differences are not too great.

Create New Rewards: Most of us define rewards as promotions & money. Those are thegreat rewards but not the only ones. The danger is that if managers consider them the onlyrewards, then when they can not offer money or promotion, they do not reward at all. Whenpeople are working hard, they need to be rewarded. And frequently. Anything can become areward if it is something that people compete for, earn & value. You have to think about thevarious assets you have & redesignate then as rewards. Some rewards are the opportunity tohave fun, especially a vacation. Some rewards meet people's intrinsic needs such as theopportunity to do different work or return to school. Becoming a leader of a new department /division / cell or participating in an outside conference can be a form of recognition. Leadingan in-house seminar is an especially effective reward for technical professionals.

Encourage Initiative: The most significant symptom of distress in plateaued people - andmost destructive - is their passivity. They do not initiate changes in what is happening tothem, so they lose more self-esteem. Feeling powerless is a core reason for their alienation.

While manager can encourage employees to create initiatives for themselves in any sphere oflife, the most relevant area is their work. The objective is to replace the feeling of being actedupon with the feeling of being an actor. As employees experience success in creating options,taking the initiative & making decisions, they gain greater confidence & this gain inconfidence is maximised when the idea comes from the employee rather than the manager.

If the person is a workaholic. He / she may need encouragement in changing the commitmentbalance. While managers should not probe into someone's personal life & they shouldnot tell someone what to do with like, they can listen & counsel and suggest.

Give Honest Appraisals: Performance appraisal systems are usually good - it is the use ofthem that is not. Overall, everyone gets too good a report card. Most people receiveconsistent check-marks in the second best category, the one that says they are wonderful but



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not quite spectacular. There are human & political reasons that cause managers to minimizethe negative, but the coinage of praise ultimately becomes debased. Over time that isdestructive to employee as expectations about their career have to be in line with the realevaluations of those who determine what will happen to them.

When appraisals are inflated, inaccurate self-evaluations & expectations will develop, thenpeople with excessive high evaluations of ability are very likely to be traumatised when theyare plateaued. Moral is highest when evaluations are tough, because that allows employee toknow where they stand. Evading the truth usually creates feeling of mistrust & adds topeople's long-term uncertainty about promotion probabilities. It is easier to get over thespecific disappointment of being structurally plateaued than to tolerate not knowing whatyour competitive status is.

Manage by Walking Around : When managers are continually & informally accessible,people are less likely to feel powerless & insignificant. The level of spontaneous interactionincreases, especially between bosses & those they manage. The most effective managers areable to mobilise more people to get things done. They encourage, cajole, praise, reward,demand, manipulate & generally motivate others with great skill in face-to-face situation.They rely a great deal on indirect influence & they achieve that by spending a lot of time withpeople. That style of management makes subordinates feel powerful & significant, becausethey can talk to those with the power to make things happen.

( Disclaimer: The sender confirms that Ranbaxy shall not be responsible if this email message is used forany indecent, unsolicited or illegal purposes, which are in violation of any existing laws and the same shallsolely be the responsibility of the sender and that Ranbaxy shall at all times be indemnified of any civil and/or criminal liabilities or consequences there.) {courtesy Ms. Sheela Mistry, Insight Associates}



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MANAGEMENT MANTRAS :DHIRUBHAI AMBANI:

Growth has no limit - keep revising your vision If you make one grand plan and stick to it withoutupdating it with new inputs, adapting to new forces and adopting new practices, then it is a recipe fordisaster. Remember, a goal is worth it only if you get there. And growth is life.

Leap, look, leap There is a saying that there are only three kinds of people. Those who make thingshappen. Those who watch things happen and those who say what happened. Those that belong to thefirst category think big, project it with clear vision and then move with great speed to achieve theirgoal.

Nurture and motivate the youth The youth are energetic and brimming with new ideas, and havetalent and a desire to excel. Extend them the support they need, nurture them. Each one of them has aninfinite source of energy. Create the right environment and they will deliver with glorious returns oninvestments.

Build competencies Holding people hostage to core competencies restricts them. It is moreproductive to create competencies around people and processes to create value. This promotesflexibility, encourages growth and the value add-on will far exceed anything a conventional approachcan bring.

Break out of your orbit The world is a series of hierarchically stacked orbits. To be successful, youhave to break out of your orbit and enter the one above. After a spin in that orbit, you must break intothe next one and so on till you reach the top.

Bet on people - 'trust' is a five letter word for success Trust is the most valuable thing and it is alsothe most valuable thing that you can give. There is nothing like partial trust - you either trustcompletely or not at all. Trust is the foundation of growth.

Reject incremental thinking Piecemeal, blinkered and incremental thinking guarantees slow andstunted growth. True growth can come only with lateral thinking with multiple options and paths toattain a goal. Always encourage people to think out - of - the - box. Ideas are no ones monopoly.

Be humble Humility in success is the greatest virtue. Realize that success is a matter of hard workand teamwork - of employees, shareholders and well-wishers. Never let them down and always letthem feel they are a part of the family. In turn, they will never let you down.

Shun pretense A leader is not afraid to say he or she does not know. There is no equitabledistribution of knowledge expertise and energy. Do what you can do to acquire knowledge and applyit. Delegate the rest to the best.

Detail. Detail. Detail God is in the detail. Worship it. There isn’t a single successful individualenterprise or nation that has succeeded without paying attention to detail. Some will argue and say'simplify'. I say simplify the process but never forsake detail. Work with determination and perfectionand success will follow.

Achievement is history. Look ahead. This is often the most difficult to achieve but the most crucialfor continued success. Any achievement is instant history; it becomes the past as soon as it isachieved. How you build on that achievement decides how far you go.

(inputs from Nayan Bhatt. GNFC Ltd.)



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Compassion and not admiration for the busy VITHAL C NADKARNI , Economic Times

ROGER Henderson, a top UK stress-shrink, meets people who are always busy. Theywear their diaries as badges of honour, take pride in being thought as indispensable andsought after. Every now and then, they invariably say, “You have no idea how busy Iam, doctor.”

Why are they all so anxious as they rush from one frantic meeting to another, leavingbehind a trail of customers feeling shortchanged? Welcome to yet another facet ofstress, says Dr Henderson. The person who moans about being “too busy to evenbreathe” does not want sympathy but your envy — he want you to think: “Don’t youwish you were in my catbird seat? Don’t you want to be the hotshot who can give youanything but time?”

Martin Hayward, a consumer consultant, calls it ‘stress envy’. “People who are notfrantic suffer from stress envy because stress has become an aspiration. Our role modelsare busy, busy, busy,” he says. “The media portrays important people as neverhaving a spare moment. So if you’re not busy you’re not interesting.”

Notice how profiles of brilliant achievers lay stress on how busy the subjects are,seven-days a week. This is seen as an enviable sign of brilliance rather than as a hint ofa skewed and potentially unhealthy lifestyle. Those who are habitually stressed for timeare obliged sooner than later to find time for illness. Yet the idea you could be better ormore creative by taking your time is thought to be ‘seriously outmoded’.

So why do so many people brainwash themselves into burning the candle at both ends—working constantly and unable to prioritise? They think if they’re hot and in suchdemand, they must be successful. Their packed schedules are shields behind whichcower deeply stressed individuals unwilling to face up to the awful reality. If theirrelationship to time has become painful it’s because they are untrue to themselves,about who they are meant to be and what they are actually meant to serve.

Those who are caught up in the busy life have neither the time nor quiet to come tounderstand themselves and their goals. Since the opportunity for inward attention hardlyever comes, many people have not heard from themselves for a long, long time.

Those who are always ‘on the run’ never meet anyone any more — not eventhemselves! Rather than aspiring to be like them, wisdom would lie in offering yourcompassion to these veterans of weary treadmills to nowhere.

Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important.

The harm does not interest them.

T.S. Eliot



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TV will be shut in 10 years, says Bill Gates

Television as we know it today will become obsolete in the next 10 years, saidMicrosoft founder Bill Gates. He was speaking at the First Global CompetitivenessForum in Riyadh during his first visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. “I had mychildren with me recently and while we were walking in a shopping area, there wasthis record store and my son asked me: ‘What is a record?’ Well, he has neverseen a record. If I take him to a museum, he will see one. Yes, he knows what aTV is, but 10 years from now even TV will be something people will look back onand say: ‘Well, how inconvenient that was. You couldn’t carry it with you whereveryou wanted to, and you couldn’t organise it the way you would’ve liked to,” MrGates said during his keynote address.

He was referring to a sea-change in both the way we watch TV, as well the TV setsthemselves. Books will become obsolete too, Mr Gates said. “For interaction today,we primarily use the keyboard. In the future we will be using all sorts of means forinteracting with the computer. We are talking about eliminating textbooks or booksaltogether because we will have a very light thin screen, a tablet-like computerconnected to the Internet that you will carry with you at all times.”

An interesting revolution is underway, he said. “Ten years ago, when we thoughtabout photographs, we thought about taking a camera, developing a film. Andwhen we thought about organising and sharing our photo collection, it requiredworking on paper. That was not very efficient. Well, today, if you take a photo youcan put it on the Internet and have it published in a very rich, automatic way, andyes, in seconds. You can review your catalogue in a very rich way. Amazing, isn’tit?”

Mr Gates gave full support to Saudi Arabia’s economic development plans andannounced the signing of a record 14 agreements with Saudi public and privateorganisations. “The reason your plan is actually realistic is that you have theresources to make that kind of investment,” he told the top Saudi business,government and IT leaders at the forum. He said Saudi Arabia should drawlessons from the huge successes of both the US and India in the world ofinformation technology.

“The US has been the strongest in terms of research on IT and that’s whereinvestments in universities are going to help you,” he said. “India has been thestrongest in terms of the number of (IT) engineers it has employed in a wide varietyof things. There again it was the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) that helped itdo that,” he said, heaping fulsome praise on the Indians.

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Wise words Some of the Inspiring Quotes which tell not to give up in life ;

We can learn something from these Quotes

Never expect things to happen.. struggle and make them happen. Neverexpect yourself to be given a good value create a value of your own. If a drop of water falls in lake there is no identity.But if it falls on a leaf oflotus it shine like a pearl. so choose the best place where you would shine.. Falling down is not defeat...defeat is when your refuse to get up... Ship is always safe at shore... but is not built for it When you are successful your well wishers know who you are, when youare unsuccessful you know who your well wishers are. It is great confidence in a friend for him/her to tell your faults; greater totell him/her his / her faults. Even the word 'IMPOSSIBLE' says 'I M POSSIBLE' Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makesall the difference.

(Input from Mr. Mukesh Mehta, Heubach Colour)



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Baroda Management Association 18th Annual Management Convention

16-17 March 2007Marching India – New Horizons, New Achievements

ThemeIndia is marching - discovering new horizons. So is the case of Indian organizations – be it publicservice or private enterprises or NGOs. They are redrawing frontiers of vision, strategy, speed &direction of execution, size and above all definition of globalization. This march is led by inspiredleadership, young achievers and innovative minds. They are using new technology, creating pathbreaking opportunities, creating new vision for infrastructure of growth, reaching masses in true spirit,expanding circle of growth beyond economics, creating more fundamental strength in society forsustainable development. That is why India is not only thriving, resurging, transforming. It ismarching – searching new horizons and scaling new achievements. Convention is aimed atshowcasing views of great organizations in various social, economic & spiritual perspectives.

FOCUS Communication & Media - Enablers of Marching India o Breakthrough in Communication-Reaching Masses & Places o Media Spread & People Participation in Marching India

Economics of Marching India o Financial Engineering for Non-linear Growth o Marching India & Inclusive Growth – Myths & Realities

People challenges of Marching India o Mergers & Acquisitions - People & Culture Challenges o Attracting, Retaining & Developing Talent for Global Performance\

Accelerating March - Sectoral Snapshot o New Horizons & Achievements in ITES o Retailing in India- Growth Engine for Future o Public Institution - Innovation Methods in Action o Nanotechnology - Business in the Nanocosm

Value Challenges for Leadership o Spiritual-based Leadership in Business o Leadership for Business Growth

SpeakersDr. A K Balyan, Director(HR & Business Development & JVs), O.N.G.C.LimitedMr. Atul Phadnis, Chief Evangelist, Media e2e Pvt. Ltd.Prof. Atul Tandan, Director, MICA, AhmedabadMr. B K Achutha, CEO, Unilog Content Solutions Pvt. Ltd.Mr. D C Anjaria, Director, International Financial Solutions Pvt. Ltd.Mr. Gibson Vedmani*, CEO, Retailers Association of IndiaGuruji G. Narayana, Chairman Emeritus, Excel Group of Industries Mr. Jairaman Aiyer, Chairman & Managing Director, Stock Holding Corporation of IndiaMr. Kuldip Kaura, Chief Executive, Vedanta Resources Plc.



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Dr. P V Bhide, President (Corporate HR), J K GroupDr. Peter Pruzan, Professor Emeritus, Copenhagen Business School, DenmarkMr. P K Laheri*, Chairman, Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam LimitedMr. Pradeep Vaishnav, Senior Director – Human Resources, Sanofi-Synthelabo (India).Padmashree Dr. Pritam Singh, Director, Management Development Institute, GurgaonMr. Raj Nayak, CEO, NDTV Media*Mr. Sarup Chowdhary, Managing Director & CEO, Reliance World, MumbaiMr. S K Anand, Whole Time Director, IPCL, BarodaProf. T M Aminabhavi, Director, Center of Excellence , Karnataka UniversityMr. U K Basu*, Executive Director, Gujarat Refinery, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.Dr. Y K Alagh*, Noted Economist & Chairman, Institute of Rural Management, Anand

* - Confirmation Awaited

Participants’ Profile:Convention shall be an excellent learning resource for senior & middle level executives,entrepreneurs & managers as well as young professionals from all sectors & domain ofbusinesses.Date Time and Venue:Date : 16 Mar 07 (Fri) & 17 Mar 07 (Sat) Time : 9.00 AM – 5.00 PM (9.00 AM – 9.30 AM Registration)Venue : Royal Room, Hotel Surya Palace, Sayajigunj, Vadodara (Tel: 0265-2226226)

Registration Fees per Delegate Rs. 1500/- Non BMA Member Rs. 1200/- BMA Member Rs. 1000/- For 3 or more nominations (From same organization) Rs. 700/- For Students

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photocourtesy

dr.

m.s.

patel

::Editorial Committee::

ChairmanMr. Jayen Mehta, GNFC Ltd.

MembersMr. Mukesh Mehta, Heubach Colour,

Ms. Sheela Mistry, Insight Associates, Mr. G.M. Patel, GNFC Ltd.

Dr. M.S. Patel, GNFC Ltd.

ePanorama Advisory committeeMr. R P Vyas -President,

Mr.Kamlesh Udani -Past President, Mr.Ashok Panjwani -Vice President,

Mr.K A Shah -Vice President

Bharuch District Management Association601/602 Vaikunth Township, Opp: Polytechnic College

Bharuch - 392 002 Gujarat - IndiaPhone: +91 2642 228190

Fax: +91 2642 226619

To send your feedback, suggestions and articles e-mail: [email protected]



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e panorama 12

Documents

years career

years old

corporate life

large corporation

govt of ethiopia

editorial page

business mortality

average salary