You Are Promoted, You Too And Yes, You Too

In some organizations promotions are distributed like candies.

The yearly performance cycle culminates with funny communications regarding every tom, dick and harry (though these are proper nouns capitalization has been omitted intentionally for very obvious reasons) getting promoted.

One of the pet stooges of the top dog would distribute candies, oops... promotions to his pet stooges, who but naturally also happen be the sub-stooges of the top dog.

So a pet stooge of the top dog would write one email after the other: "You Are Promoted, You Too And Yes, You Too"

It would perhaps be more sensible to write an email regarding those few who are not promoted.

Since everyone else would be promoted!

Add what is the criteria to be promoted?

Well, just one and only one.

And to put it in a highly mathematical manner, you get promoted if and only if you are a pet stooge of the pet stooge of the top dog.

There is no requirement whatsoever of the criteria like merit, competency, performance, results on actual ground that would generally be used in a professional set-up.

And in case you happen to ask that question, here's the answer you would get.

What's merit, competency, performance, results on actual ground?

What are these... seriously?

Loyalty, length of service, being in good books of the top dog is only what matters in such organizations.

Of course, such organizations can't have professional set-ups.

They are really speaking lala companies where being a blind loyalist of the bada lala and the chota lalas is the only qualification one ought to have.

You Get What You Deserve or are Destined to, Not What You Desire or Demand

Many a times you get this feeling that you truly deserved what you failed to get.

You believe you had everything going for you but then, in the end, something did not click for you.

The above happens too often, and with too many people.

Why does the above happen? Why with too many people? And why too often?

First, destiny plays an important role whether you agree with that or you don't.

Being the right person at the right place and the right time can change the outcome of many a life situations.

And the right person in a given life situation may not be you but someone else or maybe no one!

Also, what you deserve is what others really think you deserve. Not what you think you deserve.

What you desire or demand is usually what you think you deserve.

Your desire or demand is generally based on your own assessment of yourself in terms of your capabilities and competencies.

For whatever may be the reason, at times you think that you deserve something.

So you end up having a desire for that something

And not only that, sometimes you end up demanding that something because you really believe that you deserve it!

For all that matters in the end, you may not actually deserve it.

The reason might be very simple, however hard and heart-breaking it might be.

You are totally wrong in your own assessment of yourself.

Those who can give that something to you might think just the opposite of what you think.

That you actually don't deserve it!

Desire and demand have no value.

What you think you deserve is not what really matters.

What others think you deserve is what really matters.

And perhaps the only thing that really matters.

When You Don't Have Much to Say, You Can Only Smile

Very recently I met someone who was going through some crisis at work.

When I asked him about how things are going on, he just smiled.

He spoke about couple of things. But not much.

This is so very true. When you don't have much to say, you can only smile!

Or is it actually a smirk.

Maybe it is more of a smirk than a simple smile.

This shows the person has virtually no control, or has lost most of it, on what's going on.

And not only that. He is also partly, if not primarily, responsible for that crisis.

The question is: can smile help?

Giving an honest answer may be much more helpful.

The answer should obviously talk about why things may have gone the way they did.

And an honest inquiry into the ways and means for not getting into get into such a situation ever again.

The smile may tell another story.

That person is a nincompoop and thoroughly incompetent for the position he holds.

He will smile again, next time, and that too very soon.

Are You Working in a Lala Company? Use this Checklist to Find that Out

How to know whether you are working in a Lala company or not?

Here's a checklist that you can use for this purpose.

1. Has the top man cultivated a set of four (or put your number) stooges around him for running the show?

2. Is parking space reserved for the special stooges despite "first come and first park" policy that is supposedly being practiced?

3. Are there some special people whose Laptop bag is fetched by a office boy from their car to their cabin?

4. Do the top man and his stooges always go together for lunch and are served food in a special way as well as sometimes served special food too?

5. Do the top man and stooges work in a secretive and opaque manner and take many decisions in closed-door meetings?

6. Does the top man has a ludicrous fetish for becoming popular and well-known and is he always chasing awards and accolades, some of which are utterly silly?

What is it Like Working for a Lala Company?

The title of this post will resonate quite well with you if you have ever worked for a Lala company in your career.

What are the thoughts that would come to your mind?

How would you feel?

And what is it really like working for a Lala company?

You are befuddled about the things going on around you.

Like the company is not making enough money so team lunches are stopped but unnecessary and useless off-site meetings get planned.

You are amazed about the fact that the company still exists.

The kind of non-sense going on would make you think that "Ripley's Believe It or Not" is actually all very ordinary.

You feel humiliated about some of the odd things that keep on happening off and on.

Like you come in the morning and are told that the parking place is not available for some silly reason.

And you come to know later in the day that car parking has been reserved for the old, special brigade.

There is lot of talk about open culture and transparency, and that's a problem, there is mere talk.

You are perplexed about the kind people working in the company, especially at the senior levels. 

Everyone placed (yes, placed artificially)  in the supposedly leadership positions are there due to only one reason, servitude - their loyalty to the master and unquestioning attitude.

You are demotivated by the kind of culture you need to put up with constantly.

Since culture is a direct function of the kind of people in leadership positions, it is obvious what kind of people surround you.

The root of the problem is the top dog who openly and blatantly works through and only with his four puppies.

The top dog and the puppies form a close-knit coterie of bad asses.

And when a company is managed by such a cozy group the consequences are eminently disastrous.

You are scared about the consequences due to the kind of organization structure created and management style practiced in such companies.

Loyalty is the only criterion in such companies.

This also leads to a highly grade-conscious workplace.

The sad and strange thing is that the HR head is such a company, who is basically a clown carrying a school-boy attitude and a stooge of the top man, doesn't understand the difference between role and grade.

Artificial reporting structures are erected in such companies with no consideration for merit and competence.

The delivery head in such companies is another specimen, basically yet another clown and a stooge of the top man, who doesn't at all understand how to manage projects and people.

He is a polished talker but an incompetent performer.

The administrative heads of other groups are no different.

Don't Say, Don't Tell, Don't Ask, Don't Listen

What happens when your channels of communication with another person break down?

At least four distinct things happen.

You don't say anything to that person.

You don't tell anything to that person.

You don't ask that person for anything.

And you don't listen to that person.

Why would your relationship with a person come to such a stage where there is a complete breakdown of your channels of communication with that person?

There are many reasons.

The first reason is difference in the way you think versus the way the other person thinks.

You might think the relation between you and the other person should work in a certain way.

You might think something is important.

But the other person may think differently.

An example of this:

• You may consider physical intimacy and sexual relations with your spouse to be a important bedrock for a happy and wholesome marriage.
• However, your spouse would seem not to care at all about this.
• This may result in verbal conflicts and disagreements.
• That eventually leads to breakdown.

The second reason is the gradual building up of ego.

You slowly start thinking that why you should always initiate the communication with the other person. Especially when there is a temporary breakdown.

Temporary breakdown of your channels of communication with another person can slowly become permanent because of ego coming in the way.

An example of this:

• After every minor fight with your spouse you might be the one who always initiates the first interaction to normalize the relation.
• However, your spouse behaves in an odd way and is also never the one to initiate the thawing process.
• So slowly you might come to a stage where you would say, "why should I be the first one, every time?". Your spouse might think, "why shouldn't you".
• That eventually leads to breakdown.

The third reason is that you may slowly grow over the need to have any relation with a person.

Communication is necessary to build relation with another person.

If the other person doesn't respond in kind for very long you might grow over the need to continue any meaningful relation with that person.

And once you don't consider the relation with a person important the need to keep your channels of communication diminishes and at times would simply cease to exist.

An example of this:

• You spouse refuses and avoids physical intimacy and sexual relations for silly reasons.
• After several refusals and rejections you slowly develop your mental mechanism to start reacting in a certain way.
• You develop the attitude, "I also don't care any longer. This is all over".
• That eventually leads to breakdown.

And finally, you then enter the state where you "Don't Say, Don't Tell, Don't Ask, Don't Listen."

True Empowerment will Always be a Pipe Dream in an Unprofessional Company

An unprofessional company is typically characterized by a strange culture where symbolism prevails over pragmatism.

In such companies true empowerment will always remain a pipe dream.

There are serious deficiencies that percolate the structures and staffing in such companies which result in abject failure of its systems and processes.

The company is run by a close-knit group of incompetent but manipulative people. This group is sadly what constitutes the senior management in such a company.

The only qualification of such people is their blind loyalty to the voodoo master. Yes the head of the organization in such companies is nothing more than a voodoo master.

What happens in such companies is similar to a pied piper playing the flute and driving the rats along to his tune.

The head of the organization is like the pied piper. And his loyal stooges are like the rats who play along the tune.

The coterie works like a pack of wolves. They do not care about the organization and the value-add from their respective departments.

They only bother about protecting each others' backs.

They work like a group of manipulative crooks who indulge in secret games and do malicious things behind the curtains.

Of course, they would act as if they are highly professional.

The facade of professionalism is created through symbolic gestures related to people practises.

Lot of silly things are brought into the company to this effect but with no actual change on the ground.

External awards, certifications, industry accolades, etc. become the primary source of false pride in such companies.

True empowerment remains a pipe dream though because the top man and his coterie don't let that happen in the real sense.

Promotions and appreciation in such companies follows just one criterion - loyalty.

Strange reporting structures are put in place by the top man and his coterie.

Reporting structures are created to actually perpetuate the control of the coterie. True empowerment has no place in such a company.

All the good words and phrases are used in meetings but they mean nothing.

Rituals related to people practises are established and followed religiously but on the ground nothing really happens in the true spirit of empowering people.

Handling a Sudden Medical Emergency at Home

When bad time strikes, you or someone in you family may face a sudden medical emergency.

A few minutes before the emergency all would seem to be going very well.

And then suddenly!

Getting panicky is very natural and perhaps the first reaction one would normally have.

Unless you are a trained doctor or medical expert, there is not much that you can do that in such a situation.

Here are some thoughts on what one could do to handle a sudden medical emergency at home:

• Quickly assess the extent of impact or damage, if that is possible. This may be possible in case of external injuries only.
• See whether the family member can be taken to a hospital immediately. If not, call for the ambulance immediately.
• Take the patient to the nearest hospital. Any reasonably equipped hospital in your vicinity would be fine so that first-aid or emergency treatment can be given without loosing precious time.
• In case of any case history to the medical emergency the hospital you generally go should be contacted and informed and you should do whatever advised.
• Have at least 3 people, if possible accompany you. One should stay alongside the patient, the second one should stay along with the doctors and the nursing staff. The third one should do the errands like arranging for money, getting things from outside if not available at the hospital, etc.
• Always remember, for you the emergency may be a first-time or a rare situation that you may not have ever faced but for the medical staff it is just routine.
• Based on the immediate above point, let the medical staff take the decisions based on their professional judgment. You should certainly expect them to brief you as appropriate and at the appropriate times.
• Certain necessary paperwork may also be required to be completed as the treatment begins. That is another reason having 3 people helps. The third person can easily take care of such administrative tasks.

Some other miscellaneous thoughts to take care of some other things that though not directly related to the medical requirements are important for you to manage:

• Maintain a positive and encouraging attitude as you interact with your family member who is going through the physical pain and discomfort. He or she would need both physical and mental support to handle the tough time with higher level of fortitude.
• As soon soon as you get time, but surely at the earliest, you should inform the relevant people at workplace about the fact that you may not be available for certain days. Do mention medical emergency so that they are more considerate to your needs in such a tough time in your personal life.
• Ensure you brief the people so that critical tasks at your workplace don't get missed in your absence.
• Make sure you have medical insurance policy to take care of such situations. Inform the insurance provider at the earliest possible.
• Keep an emergency fund equal to 2 times of the medical insurance amount. This would help in case the hospital you go to is not a network hospital. Also it gives you a nice cushion which is 3 times the medical insurance amount and that should normally be sufficient in most cases.
• Make sure some of your investments are liquid so that in case you run out of the emergency fund, you should be able to access some more funds by quickly liquidating your investments so as to generate the required funds.
• In case even the above also fails to provide you the needed funds, you may have to explore taking personal loans to take care of medical expenses. This should hopefully be a "God forbid" scenario!

Always carry the feeling of gratitude that the whole thing could have been even worse that what it is.

Never carry the grudge "why me"?

Be positive and cheerful. Generate inner mental strength to take care of whatever situation is there before you since that is your reality at this point of time.

Do whatever you can do to the best of your availability. Leave the rest to the medical experts.

And finally, and most importantly, pray and thank God. He wanted you to go through such an experience in life. It is simply destiny at play.

Key Pillars for Happy Relationships in Life - Concern, Connection, Camaraderie and Candor

Having happy relationships in life is supposedly a key factor that significantly influences whether your life will be long and good or not.

So how can you ensure that your relationships with others are truly happy and deeply fulfilling?

There are 4 Cs that go into making a relationship happy and vibrant.

Concern

This simply means being worried about other person's challenges and providing physical and emotional support as and when needed.

It also means doing things to take care of other's rightful expectations from you.

Concern is not just caring for physical needs of a person but his mental and spiritual needs too.

Looking after other's interests and likes and taking care of them in most situations is important for the relationship to survive, especially during the bad times.

Connection

This simply means being able to operate at par with the other person's wavelength and frequency.

Connection becomes a binding agent that keeps you close to the other person.

It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, but if the connection with someone is truly genuine, familiarity will make the bond stronger.

What makes it possible for a person to like another person despite deep awareness of that person's weaknesses, pitfalls and "not so good" traits is a genuine bonding with that person.

Also, no one is perfect. Neither that person. And nor you!

Camaraderie

This simply means enjoying each other's company and complementing each other in an overall sense.

No two individuals can think alike but if their thinking patterns are totally disjoint and disconnected there is no hope for camaraderie to even exist forget about it thriving.

Camaraderie gives a sense of purpose to your relationships with others.

Candor

This simply means being open, honest and frank with the other person.

Candor doesn't mean you can say anything that comes to your mind.

What candor means is you will say things when it would genuinely help the other person.

The Three Monkeys that Sat Together

This post is about three monkeys, the three monkeys that sat together.

Why the monkeys sat together?

Well, they sat together because they are well, ahem, monkeys.

Monkeys sit together in meetings.

So but naturally they sat together.

One would observe the above in Lala companies where English-speaking monkeys, oops Lalas, run the show.

Or rather, the monkeys are the show!

The monkeys speak like one body, one soul.

And what's their key competency?

They are pet monkeys of the top gorilla-like monkey.

The gorilla likes loyalists who know only one thing.

"Yes sir".

The monkeys are also adept at scratching each other's backs.

They are the insiders. They know the secrets.

They play dirty games in the back-channel.

The top gorilla knows everything but does nothing.

The top gorilla is the real culprit.

Allowing monkeys to create mess all around and remaining silent is not what would happen in any professional set-up.

In a Lala set-up, monkeys creating the mess is the only thing that can and would happen.

Another meeting, another day.

The moneys sat together. Again.

Are You Working in a Conceited Company?

How do you really know whether you are working in a conceited company or not?

Here are some tell-tale signs that are too obvious to be missed even if you keep your eyes tightly shut:

• The top man is full of vain. He is only interested in becoming famous. He keeps on running after all kinds of awards, with most of them being utterly non-sensical and worthless.
• The top man wants to do everything that he comes across. And his pet puppies always have the same answer to his quirks - "Yes sir!"
• The set of clowns reporting into the top man have only one characteristic - they are foot-lickers of the top dog.
• The set of clowns running the show go together for lunch, carry a sick, condenscending attitude and jumbo-sized ego.
•  The clowns, who are are the trusted lieutenatnts of the top dog, walk around the company's corridors and staircases with a funny swag.
• The top dog is the owner and the puppies are the co-owners. And hence they indulge in all kinds of funny and unethical actions.
• Such organizations have a club of old-timers who are deeply entrenced into the organization's DNA. Since they have not worked elsewhere, they think they are "James Bonds". However, in reality they are "Sickly Retards".
• The old-timers do what they want to do. They don't know what's going on outside the four walls of the company and are full of conceit and vanity.
• The old-timers do all kinds of non-sense and the clowns and the top clown himself are a party to the non-sense that goes on in the name of strategic initiatives.

Commonly Hated Traits that are Generally Rampant in a Third Grade Organization

An earlier post titled Small Companies but Big Politics and Even Bigger Egos dwelt upon the types of creepy creatures in the top rung of the hierarchy in a third grade organization.

Such organizations are led by a leader who creates a close-knit group of loyal stooges whose only qualification is their long experience and profound expertise in saying "yes sir".

In such organizations loyalty is everything.

Merit, competence, skills, professionalism, ethics, etc. are hollow words.

Words that are hung in beautiful frames on the walls but otherwise mean really nothing.

The top man is fully and only engrossed in searching for ways to become more and more famous and known outside.

There is a deep sense of insecurity and littleness that results in such a mono-maniacal focus on "becoming popular".

There is no effort made towards promoting and rewarding merit.

The top man rules through his henchmen.

The coterie of henchmen down under resembles a pack of supercilious and conceited jokers.

A very few outside the company worth the salt may know the king joker but no one knows the jokers!

The jokers work like a group of monkeys who scratch each other's backs.

They become one when they see someone as a threat to them.

Following article presents a list of 10 traits that so nicely align with the types of people described in the aforementioned post.

https://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/10-personality-traits-you-will-be-hated-for/

So here's a take on which "traits you will be hated for" goes with which of type mentioned in that earlier post.

This makes quite an interesting read.

Type P - Unreliable, Dishonest. 

This type is engaged in finding ways to show to all that only it is a part of the core management team of the company.

As an aside, in a third grade organization the management team is actually not professional and is, really speaking, just a silly bunch of immature, unprofessional, unethical stooges who are blind, mindless loyalists of the top clown.

In reality, Type P is nothing more than a toxic manipulator.

Type P shows as if it is genuine but is actually a cunning fox.

Type M - Arrogant, Rude.

This type is engaged in finding ways to show to all that only it matters in the company.

In reality, Type M is nothing more than a creepy manipulator.

Type M pretends to be mature but is actually a crooked fox.

Type R - Conceited, Condescending.

This type is engaged in finding ways to show to all that only is the smart one in the organization.

In reality, Type R is nothing more than a scheming manipulator.

Type R tries to show as if it is too smart but is actually a very silly fox.

Type S - Unreliable, Rude

This type is engaged in finding ways to show to all that only it is working hard in the entire company.

In reality, Type S is nothing more than a loud-mouthed manipulator.

Type S tries to show as if it is very straight forward but is actually an unreliable fox.

Type T - Temperamental, Dependent.

This type is engaged in finding ways to show to all that only it is important for the company.

In reality, Type T is nothing more than a pusillanimous manipulator.

Type T tries to show as if it is very decisive but is actually a dilly-dallying fox.

Type M/D - Temperamental, Pessimistic

This type is engaged in finding ways to show to all that only the activities it is performing is important for the company.

In reality, Type M/D is nothing more than a pomp and show manipulator.

Type M/D tries to show as if it is working with good intentions but is actually a wily fox.

Type V - Temperamental, Domineering

This type is engaged in finding ways to show to all that it is very popular and very accomplished.

In reality, Type V is nothing more than a sound and image manipulator.

Type V tries to show as if it is very progressive and professional but is actually a controlling fox.

So what kind of company are you working with?

Are you working in a third grade company?

And which Type of third grade person is bothering you in the third grade organization you are working with?

Is is Type P? Or is it Type S?

Maybe Type T? Or maybe Type M?

Remember such bad elements come together when you challenge even one of them.

After all such bad elements do naturally form a good company.

But tend to make the company they work with a bad one!

Types P, R, T, M make good friends. And they are loyal stooges of Type V.

Type V loves them all. He also loves Type S and M/D. They are also long-time stooges of Type V.

An interesting question to ask is this - who is to be blamed?

Types P, R, T, M are all culprits. However, the real culprit is Type V.

After all, things tend to percolate from top to bottom.

Newton's law applies very well to a third grade organization too!

Buddha, Ganesha and the Jungle - Some Interesting Pictures

Found these pictures painted by someone on a wall.

It was actually a single wall painting but the pictures have been clicked and captured as five different pictures.

The painting on the wall was really artistic and fantastic!

The pictures obviously tell a story of sorts, Story of the Buddha, Ganesha and the Jungle.

These make for some very interesting pictures.

Haridwar, Har Ki Pauri - Some Photographs

Here are some photographs from a recent family trip to Haridwar and Dehradun.

These capture some of the religous sites of Hindus, tourist spots and landscape that is so very unique to this part of India.

In fact, Haridwar actually means the gateway to God.

Haridwar = Hari + Dwar, Hari is a Hindi word that means God and Dwar is a Hindi word that means Door or Gate.

How To Remain Spiritual And More Importantly Sane While Driving On Indian Roads? Heck, Is That Even Possible?

Driving on Indian Roads is tough, very tough!

Tough in every manner one can think of - physical, mental and even spiritual.

As per the so-called Gurus and Swamis, we need to attain spiritual enlightenment.

And going further, as they would add, we don't necessarily need to renounce the worldly affairs but live through the worldly affairs steadily applying the spiritual principles.

Come to think of it - how can one remain spiritual while driving on Indian roads?

Or, more importantly, how can one remain sane in such a tough situation as driving on Indian roads?

Heck, is that even possible?

Tough question, indeed!

Let us talk about the experience of driving on Indian roads - some experience it is.

In case you are still wondering what kind of experience that is, go and ask someone who has had that "nothing short of divine" experience.

Better, travel to India and get the first-hand "nothing short of divine" experience.

Whether your spirit gets enlightened or not you will surely have some experience!

What magic and miracles happen when you are driving on Indian roads?

Left and right may not mean much

Depending upon your mood and the temptation of taking a shorter route, left can become right and right can become left. It is hard to guess what is right and what is left. 

Or rather what is right and what is not right. So at the end, one might conclude that right is not right but left and left is not left but right. 

This realization of oneness is nothing but deeply spiritual!

Red lights at traffic junctions are mostly for ornamental purpose

Red, amber and green doesn't always mean stop, look and go.

You either just don't look at colour of the traffic light and merrily drive on or choose to read the colour based on your innate sense of whether you will get through, alive.

In any case, you are neither this mind nor this body. So what if you loose you body in a bloody accident.

The real you, which is pure consciousness, can, of course, never die, so why waste precious time at red lights.

This realization of the permanent consciousness manifesting itself through your temporary physical body is nothing but deeply spiritual!

Right and left turn indicators waste battery power and eventually fuel

Why waste fuel? Why not help the environment albeit in a very small way?

Also, it is fun to keep those following you in a dramatic suspense about your next move? That helps people awaken their sixth sense too.

This realization of the need for everyone to awaken their sixth sense is nothing but deeply spiritual!

Vehicle type and slow lane and fast lane are good concepts but not to be followed

You can ignore that and drive whatever vehicle you want to and where ever on the road you want to.

So it is perfectly fine for you to drive a bi-cycle or a tri-cycle or a bullock-cart or a tractor or a truck or a two-wheeler or a car or even a bulldozer.

Freedom guaranteed by democracy makes this easy. 

After all, everyone seeks the same, one supreme being but the paths may be varied and of each one's own choosing. 

This realization that all paths lead to the same source of supreme power is nothing but deeply spiritual!

Roads are not in good condition and at times do not have well-defined contours

The general condition of roads is pathetic, to say it very nicely. Hence it is critical to figure out how much of the road can actually be used.

The extreme lanes of public roads are generally not meant for use. They are either in a dilapidated and broken state and/or used for parking and/or used by the shopkeepers as their private display area.

The other part of the road may as well be in a dilapidated and broken state with potholes the size of craters and/or uneven road surface and/or may have huge or ungainly speed breakers.

On top of that, there may be sudden, sharp cuts and U-turns and/or entry points into and/or exits from main roads. You need to be road-smart to figure out these sudden changes.

You are required to navigate the pathetic roads and the mad traffic with madder drivers like a true Karmayogi.

If you want to reach your destination you need to fight, and drive.

This realization that one has to continue with actions to keep on moving on and to accept the real nature of life which is like driving, with the traffic, the vehicles and the drivers, is nothing but deeply spiritual!

So can one remain spiritual while driving on Indian roads?

Yes, one certainly can.

So how can one remain sane in such a tough situation as driving on Indian roads?

Very simple, by becoming spiritual.

Or maybe not. Who knows?

You Can be Dead in a Second, at any Second

Have you ever thought about this?

You can be dead in a second, at any second.

Sounds scary but it is true.

As true as you are at this moment, as you are reading this.

The fact is life is fragile and transient.

At times, you may get this feeling that you are going to be there forever.

Never believe that. That's a complete lie.

The fundamental truth underlying life is just one - death.

Everything else is a lie.

In Hindu philosophy, Upanishads come at the very end of the Vedas. In fact, Upanishads are referred to as Vedanta also.

Vedanta literally means the end of Vedas or figuratively speaking, the last word or the final/conclusive essence of the Vedas.

Similarly death comes at the very end of life.

That way, death means the final/conclusive essence of life!

You can be dead at this very month. Or may be not.

You can be dead the very next moment. Or may be not.

You can be dead by next day. Or may be not.

You can be dead by next week. Or may be not.

You can be dead by next month. Or may be not.

You can be dead by next year. Or may be not.

You can be dead in next 10 years. Or may be not.

You can be dead in next 100 years. Or may be not.

You can be dead in next 1000 years. But for sure!

So even if you live long, remember the following:

It would be next to impossible for you to live beyond 100 years of age and simply impossible for you to live beyond 1000 years of age.

So should you worry that you will drop dead one day?

No, absolutely not.

Clarity in respect of death being the end-point of life is not only a physical reality but also has enormous psychological value should one choose to derive it.

Death is not something you should be scared of.

It rather is something you should always be ready to embrace.

It is always useful to know the end-game.

And what is the end-game?

You can be dead in a second, at any second.

Why the Question "What is the Purpose of Life?" is Fundamentally a Flawed Question?

"What is the purpose of life"?

Before we proceed further, it is absolutely important to take note of the following:

• Who would ask this question? It has to be a human being who is mentally fit but it cannot be an animal or even a human being who is not mentally fit per se
• When would someone ask this question? Typically, when the person is going through a tough phase in her life. This question will usually not get asked by a person when everything in her life is going well (secure job, high income, loving spouse and family, great health)
• Why would someone ask this question? This question would be asked when one looks at one's own life not as an actor but as an observer, standing far apart. It's like the "real you" asking this question to the "physiological and psychological you" (at this juncture, it is important to see the "three you" in the "apparently one you")

In light of the above, it is easy to see why the question "what is the purpose of life"? is fundamentally a flawed question.

Why the heck should life have a purpose? Think of an animal. Does it ever ask "what is the purpose of life"?

No.

It just lives life without worrying about its purpose. That is just very fine.

Purpose is not really essential to live life. And without a purpose one won't die instantly.

Any animal is born at a finite point in time and space and comes into "being". It then lives for a finite period of time. And it eventually dies at some finite point in time and consequently stops "being".

Purpose or no purpose, the cycle of birth-living-death will happen as it should.

Human beings ask the question "what is the purpose of life"? because they think they are either a reflection of the supreme being or the supreme being itself.

So they better have a purpose.

What if there is no supreme being?

Or even if there is one, he is not interested in the worldly affairs?

Or even if he is interested, he doesn't known a certain human being exists?

Or even if he knows a certain human being exists, he doesn't care whether that person has a purpose in life or not?

Or even if he cares about the purpose of that person, he doesn't agree with that purpose?

How would he let the person know the purpose is not alright and there should be a different purpose.

It is even not known whether the supreme being is actually a she and not a he or maybe something different from either he or she.

Why do we pull purpose into this situation. Why the question "what is the purpose of life"? assumes so much of significance.

The reason could be very simple.

Since the  "apparently one you" asking this question is actually the "three you - the "real you" and the "physiological and psychological you", human being tend to assume that they are somehow more important than the other living creatures.

A man or a woman has the right to ask the question "what is the purpose of life"? but not a dog, cat or a mouse. Why is that so?

Have you ever seen a dog attending a philosophical discourse and ask such a question "what is the purpose of life"?. 

Human beings control the planet and decide what the purpose of a dog should be.

The purpose of a dog can be serving as a pet to a person, getting used for some kind of experiment, working with police for bomb detection, or even getting served as part of some dish on the plate!

But the above purpose is actually super-imposed on the dog and the dog may not agree to have the above as the purpose of its life.

The dog doesn't get a choice unfortunately.

The point is, a dog can live life without a purpose or with a super-imposed purpose that it may not necessarily agree to given a choice.

It may be born as a street dog and die as one without wondering about and worrying about "what is the purpose of life"?

Human beings think they are not a dog and hence they should have a purpose.

This thought runs against the basic philosophy of desire-less action so well narrated in the Bhagvad Gita.

If you live life with fruit of your actions as the purpose of the action and your life as well there will always be issues. 

The Vedanta philosophy dwells upon the "apparently one you" and the "three you - the "real you" and the "physiological and psychological you" in a very insightful and profound manner.

As per the dualistic school of thought (Dwaita), the "apparently one you" is supposed to be a reflection of the "supreme being" (Brahman).

And as per the non-dualistic school of thought (Adwaita), the "apparently one you" is the "supreme being" (Brahman) itself!

Living is about being and nothing beyond that. 

You are there because you exist. Things are there for you because you exist. And you exist because you are there.

Being there is all there is to it. Having a purpose is not anyway impacting or getting impacted by being there.

Life is simply about existence. If there is no existence, there is no life. If there is existence, there ought to be life.

So life doesn't need to have a purpose. It is all complete in itself.

And that is why the question "what is the purpose of life"? is fundamentally a flawed one.

The question that is more pertinent to be asked is actually this:

"Why not to bother about purpose of life and how to just be as you live life before your drop dead?"

The purpose of life is to just be!

The Role of Capability, Liquidity, Equanimity and Serendipity in the Making of a Stock Market Genius

Talking about the stock market, have you ever wondered what makes someone an ordinary investor but someone else a market genius?

Of course, we do know very well that those who put their money in the stock market mostly end up as ordinary investors with ordinary returns (in the range of 5% to 12%, on CAGR basis).

Only a few, just a very very few, end up as market geniuses with super returns (more than 16% and going upto 20%-25%, again on a CAGR basis).

The 12%-16% returns zone is like the no man land's and its hard to label such investors as either ordinary or genius. Such investors might be better than the ordinary investors but they are by no means geniuses.

So what separates the men from the boys, the geniuses from the rest?

In this context, it is useful to look at the role played by four "ity"s - Capability, Liquidity, Equanimity and Serendipity - in the making of a stock market genius.

As an aside, the ordinary investors are perhaps influenced by the fifth and the most dangerous "ity" - Stupidity!

Coming back to the four "ity"s, let us analyze how they can play an important role in the making of a stock market genius.

Capability

• Understanding the financials of the company behind the stock is a core skill. Knowing how to read the annual and quarterly reports is a part of this core skill
• Knowing how to crunch, slice and dice financial data is another core skill that is a part of stock-picking capability of an investor
• Understanding the macro-level economic and business factors that affect the entire stock market or specific sectors as well as the micro-level factors influencing a specific stock helps avoid gross mistakes in selecting which stocks to purchase, when and for long hold onto it and equally importantly which ones to avoid

Liquidity

• Being able to withstand when the market is down with no compulsion to sell gives a lot of holding power to an investor 
• In fact, being able to purchase even more stocks when the market is down adds to the firing power of an investor
• Making sure one has enough free cash to spend without resorting to selling stocks to pay for the routine and emergency expenses goes a long way in making an investor firm-footed

Equanimity

• Being psychologically strong to not react to any bad news in panic and any good news in elation is a core skill that makes an ordinary investor into a genius
• It is easy to see that those who have managed the "Liquidity" part very well are in a much better position to act with equanimity
• One's temperament and disposition has a deep impact on how one would react to any given situation in the stock market
• Being able to control one's urges and not relying on just the first order thinking but taking a pause and spending some more time to exercise the second order thinking is of paramount importance

Serendipity

• This simply means having the good blessings of lady luck. Since no one knows what the future holds all investment decisions are projection of the future state based on analysis of past information and certain assumptions
• If things change drastically in the future, analysis of past information may at times not only not be useful but also may be misleading. History may tend to repeat itself but it's hard to guess where exactly it will repeat itself
• Projection of the future state based on certain assumptions happening exactly as was thought is itself an assumption. If the assumptions made are not correct or complete or important assumptions get missed out, things can go haywire with consequences that are hard to imagine
• There is nor formula or magic behind finding a stock at the right price, holding it for the right time and exiting from it at the right time. Genius investors tend to experience this more often than the ordinary investors and more than their skill, serendipity may be at work!

Clearly the four "ity"s - Capability, Liquidity, Equanimity and Serendipity - indeed play an important role in the making of a stock market genius.

So do you have the four "ity"s? Are you still an ordinary investor? Or are you now a stock market genius? 

Why Employee Opinion Surveys are Useless?

Employee opinion surveys are touted by HR as an important event on their annual calendar.

The whole premise is that such surveys help understand the current levels of employee engagement and help the management "correct" it through HR intervention.

There is a fundamental issue with the above premise - the typical remedial approach of HR and management to "correct" things does not work.

The basic assumption is this: employees will tell the unvarnished truth in such anonymous employee opinion surveys. But will they?

The irony is that such surveys have "funny" questions like the below:

• "The company has an open and transparent culture"
• "It is usually safe to speak up in the company"
• "The management of the company is genuinely willing to listen"

Very ironical. Think about it.

If the above three were true, then the survey is not really required in the first place. Employees would have already shared what they had to!

But if the above three were not true, the responses to the above questions will not matter.

If the responses are all nice and good, the management and HR will pat their back on their own.

It's awkward and hard to pat your own back but in many organizations the management and HR folks become very good at it by repeating it many times, of course for silly reasons.

However, if the responses are not all nice and good, the management and HR will justify and rationalize why that is just normal. 

Employees need to grown up!

Other aspect is related to design of such surveys especially in small-time organizations where at times the number of questions is more than the number of employees!

First, there may be too many questions.

And most of them are very vague - do you think your manager keeps you informed? do you get the resources to perform your job?.

It is ridiculous to assume that any sound-minded professional will not share the above concerns with his or her manager when the situation so warrants but wait for the silly circus of opinion surveys by the HR jokers to share them.

And if employees do indeed wait for the silly survey, then something is fundamentally and majorly wrong with the organization at the most basic level.

Open culture? Transparent culture? Very funny.

Second, the options one has to choose are typically a variant of strongly agree, agree, no opinion or neutral, disagree, strongly disagree.

What does "no opinion" mean. Ideally this should be a 10-pointer (with 1 being least happy with that aspect and 10 being most happy about it).

So if the question is "The company has an open and transparent culture" what does "no opinion" mean?

The culture might be sucking and sickening which would mean 1 or amazing and inspirational which would mean 10. Or based on the employee's perception somewhere in between.

It can and should never be "no opinion".

So even if one employee states "no opinion" that is just one more reason that would make the entire survey completely useless.

Third, such surveys are generally kept anonymous.

Now that means an employee would share certain things in the survey that he can't share otherwise in any other forum.

This is a complete antithetical statement.

If the organization has an open and transparent culture, then employees should have shared their concerns and grievances already.

So no need for any stupid survey.

Such exercises shouldn't be seen as another tick-the-box by the HR folks which it has unfortunately become in the current corporate construct.

Fourth, these surveys are run by the management and its close-knit coterie for the lesser mortals.

So obviously, they are not required to participate in such surveys.

This shows the sick culture prevalent in such organizations where there is clear demarcation of "Us" versus "Them".

Again, this goes against the very notion of an open and transparent culture. 

This ganging up means should an employee decide to be honest in such surveys and provides the real/raw feedback about the style of management (or rather the lack of it) of the top folks including the close-knit coterie, they will refute it collectively.

The "Us" would simply conclude that the "Them" need to grow up.

Such feedback will be disowned, disparaged and conveniently thrown to the trash bin.

Above tendency is generally highly prevalent in the small-time, Lala-driven and and coterie-infested companies.

These are the so-called "Desi" and the "Pseudo-MNC" companies.

However and very unfortunately, such surveys will continue to happen as a ritualistic exercise by the HR every year.

That would be the case since such surveys tend to serve the "real" but ultimately useless agenda of the management and its close-knit coterie very well. 

Such surveys become yet another management tool (or manipulation tool, if you like) in the hands of the "Us" while dealing with the "Them".

The top dog would say, "Look, we have an open and transparent culture, that's why our HR does this thing, this annual employee opinion survey, as we genuinely want to know what they think".

It is quite amusing to note that the top dog conveniently forgets what stops employees from sharing their concerns otherwise. Why a survey?

As the top dog is saying the above, you can well imagine the manipulative HR head, sitting next to the top man with a Cheshire cat smile, glancing cunningly at the close-knit coterie present in the company's board-room, all nodding their heads with a stupid look on their faces!

It is quite clear that opinion surveys are a mere hogwash and completely useless.

It is useless because the "Us" - the indispensable management and its close-knit coterie all fully understand what is really going on (how much they genuinely care is anybody's guess).

It is useless because the "Them" - the dispensable employees also fully understand the drama being performed in the name of opinion survey where survey counts (for the HR, to tick the box) but not the opinions!

And it might very well happen that the person who was "highly engaged" as per the opinion survey responses drops his resignation letter the very next day.

When the Head of Operations is Incompetent and Doesn't Take Ownership

In some organizations the head of operations doesn't do justice to his role.

He is there simply because he is a close confidante and a mindless, blind loyalist of the top dog.

They most certainly would have worked with each other in the past and being a "yes sir" man the top dog loves his operations head.

After all, which dog is not fond of its puppy?

And since he is a trusted lieutenant and close confidante of the top dog and in full know of his dirty secrets he doesn't need to have competence and take ownership of the tasks assigned to him.

Competence and ownership were never the reasons why he was put in the position of the head of operations in the first place. He never deserved to be one.

That way, this person is an epitome of stupidity and low intelligence.

He doesn't know the stuff but has a strong position by virtue of his blind loyalty to the top dog. He would shout, sit and shake as dictated by the top dog.

Basically, he has no mind of his own.

Such a head of operations can survive only in an organization where he is a part of the coterie of the top dog.

He and others in the coterie are there since they lick the feet and the back of the top dog.

As a consequence, such a person can cause tremendous damage to the level of professionalism in the company as also the level of accomplishments by the company.

Any company like the above is doomed for closure, if not today then tomorrow.

Presence of a top dog who likes to surround himself with "yes sir" puppies with a head of operations who is incompetent and doesn't take ownership (like the other puppies in the coterie) can have only one fate eventually.

Shut down.

So if you are in such a company, you must realize you are in grave danger.

Protect yourself by moving on before the dooms-day.

The Naked Dance of Increments and Promotions

In many organizations, especially small-sized and stooge-infested ones, there is this naked dance of increments and promotions that is repeated every year.

The naked dance is carried out like a tribal ritual in a total unprofessional and even obscene manner by all concerned - the pack of joker-like executive management, the top dog and his pet coterie and the lesser mortals.

The lesser mortals erupt in elation and joy or anguish and sadness when they get the letter, depending on what the letter of increment contains.

The naked dance follows soon thereafter!

The lesser mortals are distributed the letters in a company-wide meeting where the top dog calls out the names of the lesser mortals and hands them the letters.

The CEO is such companies is nothing short of a Joker-like Lunatic (JL) who along with his Nasty Stooge (NS) decides who gets what.

And this meeting is as funny as one can image it could be!

Or, in some other crap organizations the lesser mortals are sent emails with the letters (in electronic format with password) copied to one of the coterie of the top dog.

Department heads and managers in both such organizations are basically made to look like fools.

There is no meeting, no discussion with the department head. In fact, they are not even informed about what transpires in the secret, dirty meetings of the top dog and his pet pups.

The emails that go to the lesser mortals is based on the discussion of the MD in such companies who are basically viciously stupid (VS) and carry out their con jobs using the person taking care of such matters who is a rat-like scoundrel (RS).

The mails are not copied to the department heads and managers but to the stooges who form the coterie of the top dog.

Those in the coterie come in many forms. There are those who are experts in toxic silence (TS), or like a maverick kid (MK) or a piddly pest (PP).

The above characters in these organizations make the performance appraisal process which should ideally be handled in an immaculately professionally-run manner culminate in the naked dance of increments and promotions.

So do you see naked dance of increments and promotions in your organization?

If no, lucky you.

If yes, you are in a bad company. Period.

And if you know what situation you are in, and you are a real professional and not a stooge who is a part of the coterie you should remain that way.

Don't get up and do the naked dance.

Remain professional.

Don't even join when others are doing the naked dance.