"Break All the Rules" but with care!

I have some comments to offer on the six leadership lessons that Goler, the Facebook's HR chief, recommends from the book "First, Break All the Rules". I'm sure, the book is valuable though.

But before I begin, here's a MaiKu© (my Haiku) on it that I dare..

Rules broken without care

Cure is the nightmare

Crisis that all dare

The first lesson she talks about is "Personal relationships are crucial for success".

She talks about the 12-questions that the authors Buckingham and Coffer write to "capture everything you need to know about the workplace." Four of which she says are as follows that employees should respond positively to.

1. "Do I know what is expected of me at work?"
2. "Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?"
3. "At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?"
4. "In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?"

That's about empowering your employees. And I completely agree with it.

Lesson two she says, "Great managers do not follow the Golden Rule", which states that you must treat others as you would like to be treated, is one of the most common pitfalls of management, argue the authors.

This lesson is acceptable as long as the person has right intentions for the common good. Otherwise, a 'Kaans' who gets a 'Raama' treatment (i.e. gets forgiven for intentional mistakes, as per his own expectations) may get reinforced to continue his wrong acts if he is not awarded a 'Krishna' treatment at the right time in right proportion. Hardly anyone expects to be treated with punishment right?

Lesson three she says is "Employees should primarily be hired for talent". Good that the authors Buckingham and Coffman define talent as "a recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied.

I would always hire a person for talent as well her attitudes towards work and towards the people at workplace. In fact, I would value her attitude more than the talent and her knowledge itself. Because the latter can get diminished in absence of the former.

Lesson four she says, "Employees should be guided by outcomes, not steps". This does help to accommodate for individual approaches to work as also to unearth some innovative ones.

But if employees are given unguided freedom to find their own paths to achieve the agreed upon results, at times it may result into some damages in the form of prohibitively extra costs in terms of damages to customer, other stakeholders, or to the property itself due to abuse of certain procedures, norms on safety and change in specifications of the offerings.

Lesson five she says, "Buckingham and Coffman write that it seems intuitive that managers should spend more time with struggling employees than with top performers, but that their research shows the opposite is true, because top performers are responsible for the work that moves a company forward."

Struggling employees are as much important as the top performers, because else they may get demotivated if they feel ignored.

An abnormality, while in its seed stage, ignored by 'ignored people' may grow into a big problem that even the top performers may not be able to solve.

Remember, generally top performers are fewer than the number of struggling employees in an organisation. The time may not be enough for the top performers to catch up with the growing number of grown problems ignored by the struggling employees inadvertently though.

Lesson six, she says, (Buckingham and Coffman recommend that in order) to have a thriving organization, a company must offer several developmental paths, creating "heroes" in each primary function, so that an employee is actually rewarded with more freedom to excel.

I do appreciate this one provided the "heroes" are created and recognized from among the struggling employees as well, in fact from all around the company. The freedom to them should of course be guided and with a protection from fear of failure, if any. The resultant will be a lot of improvements (Kaizen innovations) across the company even from the so called struggling employees... A win-win for the struggling employees as well as for the top performers and ultimately a win-win for the company.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Forgive Or Don't?  
Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily

Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow 
How To Make A Difference 
Big-Be Or Bug-Be ! 
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms ! 
Nauseous Communication Gaps 
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis 
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam! 
Will It Work Here?  
Some Moron ! Some Great !!! 
That's How Morons Work 
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable 
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass  
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling 
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy 
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture 
Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice? 
That's how some business partnerships work 
Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !! 
Technology in-place, security dis-placed
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important?
Do you know a Best-Career-Plan 
Customer or Custo-Mer?  
Experienced A Delightful Payment ! 
An Experience of Heart-and-Soul 
Less With More And More Gets Sore 
Should one care for value?  
ABCD of India Shining
Beware Of Political-Presentations 
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis 
Hoarders Of Filthy Hoardings

How To Make A Difference

What do you do when a dog barks at you? 

IQ, EQ or SQ: What is more important

Do you exercise your choice meaningfully

Success Or Failure: What Do You Like?

Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture

You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable

Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?

Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy! Why? 

Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!

Nauseous Communication Gaps 

In a Problem?: No Problem ! Dwell A While !! 

Succession-Plans In Fast Lane!

About my first book World-Of-Kaizen

"World Of Kaizen"!!!

My first ever book but surely nor the last one.

The book was inspired by the revolution, rather the continual improvement evolution in Japan post the second World War.
Japan rose like a "Phoenix bird from ashes" as they say.

The cover picture was inspired by the Japan story.

What do you see in the cover picture of the book?

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder as they say!

One may derive a simple meaning out of the picture.
Someone else may see immense complexity in it.

Author sees immense power in the Kaizen (continual improvement) philosophy that helped Japanese to create a new world from their status 'in ashes' prevailing then, post the World-War-II.

Whatever may be the 'current' status, good or bad at any given point in time. But when people come together with a common goal for common good, most often the best comes out for 'the better'.

See the rising Sun in picture.

Sun gives energy to the world.
It gives energy to the human being. 

The energy could be gross or subtle.
Gross one has power to make her physically and mentally strong.
Subtle energy has power to 'awake' the 'Sun' inside a human being.

And when such 'Internal Sun' arises, nothing is impossible.

When more such 'enlightened' human beings are or get enabled to come together, team-work in its true sense happens with the speed that no one can stop.

Great things happen thereafter!
Problems such as poverty, terrorism, even planetary worries such as global warming, appear dwarf then.
New world can evolve even out of the dirt!!

That's the "World Of Kaizen"!!!

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Crying? It's time to kick-it-off!

Talent-Is-Latent: Enable It!

Listen to iceberg of VOC to acquire customers 

In-big-problem? Wear-hats-to-solve-it!

Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !! 
Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily 
Does recognition really matter 
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important?
Do you know a Best-Career-Plan 
Take your career in fast lane! 
Succession-Plans In Fast Lane!  
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms ! 
Nauseous Communication Gaps 
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis 
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam! 
Will It Work Here?  
Some Moron ! Some Great !!!   
That's How Morons Work
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable 
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass  
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling 
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy 
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture 
Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice? 
Make checklists your friends  
Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow 
How To Make A Difference 
Big-Be Or Bug-Be ! 
A customer gets what s/he deserves: Shoddy Quality! 
Listen to iceberg of VOC to acquire customers

Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell Me Hey Raam!

The other day someone asked me how should s/he behave with a funny, unpredictable, sham character that always played games at workplace?

I told him to study the difference between epic characters RAAM and KRISHNA-Shyam in order to pick up a few cues and learn therefrom.

Both RAAM and KRISHNA (Shyam is his one of the famous names mostly used in songs and films) are epic characters to be learnt from while sailing through real life.

Both had good intentions!

RAAM always believed that - people always have good intentions, - people always do good. So RAAM always behaved 'good' with all people meaning he applied Saama (साम) strategies. He mostly left people, things and their given situations to themselves, open-ended in order for them to happen and evolve on their own.

Sometimes things did happen as 'good' because as in the epic called Ramayana those times were good as well as people were generally good.

KRISHNA (the character from epic called Mahabharata) also got good intentions delivered from others. But to get measurable delivery in a time-bound and desired manner, he had to keep changing tactics and strategies. He applied Saam (साम) strategies with Raama-like good people but applied guerrilla tactics and strategies (Daamaa-Dandaa-Bhedaa: दाम-दंड-भेद) with bad characters like KANSA.

KRISHNA kept modifying his strategies to suit a given situation because he had to achieve common-good while generally operating in bad times (Kalliyug: कलियुग). In Kalliyug one must face situations fearlessly and courageously.

One must read Bhagwad-Gita to understand Krishna philosophy. As Swami Vivekananda says, in order to understand it better, play football before reading it. You need to be strong physically and mentally to understand it's power.

What's the learning?

While leading our role in achieving a goal for common-good: Be RAAM-like with RAAM-like behavior of people.

But be KRISHNA-like with KANSA-like behavior of people.

A ©MaiKu Poem that the question inspired:

Whenever's a situation sham
Like Saama-Daamaa-Dandaa-Bhedaa' of KRISHNA-Shyam
Not 'Saama' like RAAM

©MaiKu Is My-Haiku
Freely ideate it's poetic rhymes
Any objective topic it chimes

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

How To Make A Difference

What do you do when a dog barks at you? 

IQ, EQ or SQ: What is more important

Do you exercise your choice meaningfully

Success Or Failure: What Do You Like?

Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture

You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable

Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?

Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy! Why? 

Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!

Nauseous Communication Gaps 

In a Problem?: No Problem ! Dwell A While !! 

Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!

How do you behave when you come across security-guard of your housing society? Do you address him "Hey Watchman"?

In what manner do you speak to your driver or that of a taxi or for that matter a persuasive roadside salesman or a typical 'have-not', even a beggar?

Or, how do you behave with your subordinates for instance?

In very first encounter with them in the morning, do you nod as in expressing salutation to them? Or do you ignore their salutation if they give one?

If you've done the former, you have not-taken-them-for-granted. You have behaved as-desired like often done with external customers. Behaving other way round is like being indifferent. It's like disrespecting their self-esteem.

Indifferent behavior hurts ego and thereby breaks relationships. On the contrary a genuine smile recognizes their presence. It flashes back to you as good behavioral reflection of theirs too. It's like an adult-to-adult behavior that maintains self-esteem of both the parties as in BMT or TA language of behavior modulation.

How do you behave if others don't keep promises and instead misbehave with you repeatedly?

In spite of being in power, do you stay considerate enough say to bring facts of their misbehavior and indiscipline to their attention in a respectful manner? Do you play your role in providing justified resources if any to enable their promised performance level? 

If yes, then you have not taken them as well as yourself for granted. In inevitable cases you might have even reprimanded them for their undesirable repetitions though.

Former is like 'selling' instead of 'yelling' at them for their undesired behavior while the latter being 'telling'.

If you are not in power what do you do to reprimand their repeated misbehavior?

Such people may not be worthy of attention. Nor are they worthy of your fellowship except that to get job done with Krishna-tactics. Until the first opportunity comes your way to exit relationship it might be a good idea to make a little compromise while keeping them at arm's length. Having got one if it's not availed of then you do deserve to be taken-for-granted.

Aren't the same rules applicable back home?

Yes very much but with an extra care else you may not get food.

Recognition, review, resources, reward and reprimand (5-R) rules are applicable at home as well as at work. Wisdom will help you evolve which ones with what mix and how much dose to administer, when and where.

Those who don't apply a judicious mix of 5-R rules with wisdom (with weightage primarily in the corresponding order) do deservedly get taken-for-granted repeatedly be it at home or outside at work. In Indian scriptures this is advised as Sama-Daama-Dandaa-Bheda technique to get the needed done!

Footnotes :
BMT: Behavior Modulation Technique
TA: Transactional Analysis

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Discrimination-is-Cremation of Law-&-Order (Part-1) 
Discrimination-is-Cremation of Law-&-Order (Part-2) 
Discrimination Cremated! But How Long? 
A Ride To Hell
Make checklists your friends 
Drove To Hell ... Almost !
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam!
Will It Work Here? 
Some Moron ! Some Great !!!
That's How Morons Work ... WASTES
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass 
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture
Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?
That's how some business partnerships work
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important?
Prevention: The Best Cure! ... Is it really so?
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !
Beware Of Political-Presentations
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis
Hoarders Of Filthy Hoardings
How Many Times Do You Wash Hands

What do you do when a dog barks at you?

I mind my business if the dog minds it's own business. 

But what do I do if it barks at me?

What options does one have when a dog on street barks at her while s/he is busy minding her business?

Option-1, Fail-to-notice or Simply-walk-away hoping that it won't harm me.
Option-2, Flight as they say or Run-away thinking that it will harm me.
Option-3, Fight-back 'Acting' or Be prepared to Hit-back-hard (in order to prevent dog becoming offensive).

If you have tried each or some of these options sometime or the other in past, it may be interesting for you to study the consequences you faced. 

'Funny' were those days when I faced such situations particularly on lonely streets while returning late from library during my college days.

If I simply walked away, the dog would continue barking. At times it became aggressive too. What-if I had not 'acted' to hit back with a stone? 'Fear of consequences' itself used to force me to 'act' anyway. I still continue the practice of 'acting' if needs be.

Once while a friend was with me, by-design I 'acted' to run away. And the dog became aggressive. It ran after me. Of course we were well-prepared to protect ourselves.

What's the learning?

If you keep quiet when someone hits you, be it a physical assault or a competitor's attack, actually you end up reinforcing the aggressor's behavior as justified. Like the street-dog, aggressor might become aggressive every time you are in sight.

Unless there's clarity-on or fear-of 'consequences', the aggressor would continue enjoying the bullying.

What's your role then? To subscribe to the famous Gandhian principle of "If someone slaps you on one cheek, show him your other cheek."? Or behave like epic character Raam?

If you misinterpret this statement to your detriment, you should be responsible and accountable for the consequences.

Perhaps Gandhiji himself didn't mean it that way. At least I am not ready to believe this at the cost of facing consequences of some Gandhian researcher's annoyance though.

I believe that Gandhiji himself hated cowardliness. Perhaps difference in his approach was that he was bold enough to be ready to face adverse consequences, if any, of adopting non-violent mode while fighting for just-rights.

My corollary in understanding Gandhiji is if I am not bold enough to face consequences of choosing non-violent mode then I must either take help of available lawful modes or in fact hit-back-hard in case of emergency or rather fight back well-in-time (proactively) in order to prevent one from arising. Care-before-Cure I mean. It might mean using Krishna-tactics to ward off sanely-looking people but insanely-inside.

Title-line of a Hindi song aroused P.J.-poet in me to pen down my belief in Krishna-kind of philosophy in this context to live in the modern world.

जैसे को मिले तैसा

जैसे को करें ऐसा-वैसा
राम संग बर्ताव राम जैसा
तो मुँहमें-राम बगलमें-छूरीवाले
कंस संग कृष्ण जैसा
समझले वरना खुदी हो जाओ ऐसातैसा

जैसे को करें ऐसा-वैसा 

राम संग राम जैसा कंस संग कृष्ण जैसा

क्युं है ज़ड-जोरू-जमीन पे भरोसा
अंतमें ज़ड को सारोने परोसा
तो जोरू ने अच्छेसे तरोसा 
जमीन ने खिसेको जो खरोसा
समझले वरना खुदी हो जाओ ऐसातैसा

जैसे को करें ऐसा-वैसा

 राम संग राम जैसा कंस संग कृष्ण जैसा

क्युं तू करे पैसापैसा
भूल गया आया तू नंगे कैसा
जाओगे खाली हाथ वैसे के वैसा
होना ही है एकदिन ये तमासा जैसा
समझले वरना खुदी हो जाओ ऐसातैसा

जैसे को करें ऐसा-वैसा

 राम संग राम जैसा कंस संग कृष्ण जैसा