But yes, I think that scenario does exist in the Corporate World today. Everybody I know seems to think that "my Company moves too slow for its own good and for my own liking". Yes, it is a phenomenon of my generation (yes, I am party to these sentiments myself - at sporadic intervals) to get frustrated at work within a year - thinking not much is happening ever since I've joined in - and we laugh coyly about how our parents spent decades with the same organization without much of a fuss. We tend to jump jobs, thinking the next company is likely to be 'more' fast-paced than this one - only to find out that it's the same 'slow & steady' everywhere.
Curiously, no matter how slow we think our organization is, it has been around for a while and seems to be making good money and making a difference somewhere. And it didn't matter much to the previous organizations when we quit in despair, as it lived to see another beautiful day. Where then are we missing the point? I am making an attempt to figure out this dilemma of our lives with this note.
First up, the likely causes of our disillusionment:
1) Great Expectations: Anybody who joins an organization after multiple rounds of interviews - where a lot of his ideas impressed the panelists - and with a significant pay package - is bound to feel important. He comes to the organization almost thinking they've recruited him to 'save the organization from doom' and that great initiatives are expected of him. Only to find out that the seniors have their plans (and resources) in place alright and you are expected to only aid the execution exercise. It doesn't matter what you think and there are no KRAs for your "strategic inputs". Your KRAs only evaluate your execution skills. Whoa! I was supposed to be a "Thinker" and not a "Labourer". Depressing.
2) The Need for Speed: "I feel the need... the need for speed (movie quote from Topgun)" could very well summarize our state of mind, as soon as we join an organization. We want to do a Marketing Assignment in Month 1, Sales & Distribution in Month 2, Finance Assignment in Month 3 (probably a M&A), Strategy & Planning in Month 4, Earn a Bonus in Month 5 and Play Golf by Month 6. Armed with an MBA, we know it all (don't we?) and are really surprised when organizations don't seem keen to tap into our Multiple Skillsets. What we don't realize is that real life business execution doesn't get over in a 1-hour presentation that we typically made in B-schools. I remember how in most of our Marketing Case Studies & Projects, we made the same lame recommendations again and again: increase distribution, advertise, brand, reduce costs, introduce new products & services, beat competition, and so on. All these recommendations took just an hour to present and earn an easy A+. In real life however, each of those single initiatives takes a 6-month effort. So, the 6-7 items which I took an hour to execute earlier in B-school, now takes me 3 years to execute. So, much for speed.
3) Media: With tens of Business Channels on TV, tens of Business Newspapers and tens of Business Magazines and of course the Internet - reporting business developments all around the world - mostly in real-time - we tend to believe that the entire world is indeed moving really quickly and we are missing out. The point that we miss is - these are developments of Scale. There are thousands of 'big' businesses (not even counting the smallers ones) out there in the world and with millions of people employed by these companies, there are likely to be 100 significant business moves on a daily basis. We tend to forget that these 100 moves are not a result of speed, but rather a natural outcome of business Scale. If we really looked at an individual's role of a 'moving organization above' under a microscope, he is also probably working on things just as slowly as we are. But, we tend to worry about our Lack of Speed, as if were really missing out something in our lives.
4) Lack of a Noble Mission: This is easy. I don't think any of us who joins any organization today really does it with a "Noble Mission" in mind. We don't really want to change anybody's lives - except our own. Ratan Tata launched the Tata Nano, out of sheer nobility of upgrading the 2-wheeler family to a 4-wheeler family. Of course, he does this keeping business metrics under control, but there was a mission alright. I don't think any of us today really has a mission when we join an organization today.
5) Work Defines Me: For so many people of our generation, "Work is what defines them". I am an I-banker, I am a Manager, I am a Analyst... somehow there are no other dimensions to one's self outside of the Work Place. And, when the work place is not 'satisfying' enough, it almost makes you lose your definition of self. Life loses its meaning...? One is miserable...
Pursuit of Happiness
In such a scenario, it is therefore imperative to gauge and adapt the "Pace of An Organization". Unless, it is really not a workable environment in tune with your speed, the following pointers might help in adjusting to the Pace of An Organization and make the current Work Place itself - a more Satisfying Experience:
1) Flexible Great Expectations: Whenever we join an Organization, we tend to have a list of 5-10 things that we would like to contribute and achieve. Here, we tend to pursue them in a strict sequence: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 - my Professional Objectives must be fulfilled in this sequence. First, I must do Marketing, then Operations, then M&A and so on. I say - Forget Sequencing, Just Achieve. How does it matter if you fulfilled your objectives in this sequence (as dictated by Organizational Pace) - 3, 1, 5, 2, 4. First, Operations, then Business Analysis and then Marketing. At the end of 5 years, you will have managed to do them all anyways. We need to build this little Flexibility in our approach alright, rather than blame the Elephant that is the Organization. And let's not forget than an Elephant - with all it's might and slowness - is still a symbol of longevity and prosperity.
2) Enjoy the Roses: Most of the people of our generation want to complete their corporate careers by the time they are 35-40. My question is: what are you going to do between Ages 40-70? And how can we forget the old maxim - life is a journey, not a destination. Within an organization - instead of achieving 10 things at Quality Level 5, I would rather achieve 5 things at Quality Level 10. It is about enjoying the Roses (figuratively speaking)...as you ride along. Cherish & celebrate little successes and gain pride in the fact that you probably helped strengthen the foundation of your organization even if you could not help it run quicker.
3) Rationalize Media Information: I have an observation - So many "big-bang" announcements about a new project or a new initiative by some company or the other usually fizzles out into a non-activity some months down the line. I'd like to quote the example of a very glamourous corporate activity that must of us MBAs dream of doing one day - M&A. M&A's always look so good in the media - it feels like Alexander conquering the world - big numbers, big talk, high-end hotels, strategy talk, synergy, golf-course decisions, public high-fives...Wow. All of us want to do this once in our lives. However, most of these initiatives have failed miserably. Check out:
- http://www.management-issues.com/2007/3/26/research/nine-out-of-10-mas-fail-to-deliver.asp
- http://jurisonline.in/2008/11/failure-mergers/
So, the point here is to "rationalize media information" and remember "all that glitters is not gold". The grass may seem greener on the other side, but it is not always so. Focus instead on the good that your organization is.
4) Making a Difference - One of Ratan Tata's quotes that has been etched in my memory goes something like this - "You could play the game that others play, and you would probably grow faster and you would probably be more profitable. But, you would be just like everyone else." It isn't really about achieving corporate goals quickly enough, but it really is about "Making a Difference" - to one's own self and to the society, if you can.
5) Fulfillment outside Work - I know, I would want to be known as a Pianist, Quotes Collector, Badminton & Table Tennis Champ, Pilot, Skier, Teacher, Husband & Lover, Good Son, Traveller, Philosopher, Astronomer, Salsa Dancer, Painter and so on. You get the idea. Rather than worry only about the likelihood that you are not doing enough in your corporate life (and that life is slow), I think we even ought to worry more about us doing enough outside our corporate life. And, I am sure we are not. In fact, I have had this conversation with my friends often that how come we are never perturbed when we procrastinate working on our interests month after month, but we are intolerant about achieving corporate objectives by the day. This has to change, I guess.
There's a quote, you know, saying that - no man on his deathbed ever wished that he'd spent more time in office. Why are we then so disturbed about the Pace at which an Organization works? In fact, I can't help thinking that the slower it is, the better. Because, it then gives you the time to do so much more. Additionally, you can always aim to do a Michael Schumacher even - that is, get your extra 2 seconds juice out of the same car (read: organization) rather than yearning for a new car... Hmmm...
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