The Deconstructionist in Me....

  

I am a Deconstructionist.  By careful textual analysis I dismantle history piece by piece until peeling away layers of misrepresentation, misinterpretation and manipulation – in other words all subjectivism – I come upon the truth !!

History is constantly written by people in the present. Great minds are defined by their ability to interpret the past, reject the lies propounded by the conspiracy of the so called historians and extract the hard truths buried there. After all, what is History but a synthesis of language and text ? But language, by definition, is notoriously unreliable and texts, by large, are ambiguous, open to interpretation and therefore distortion !

And the Moon followed....

The seeds of this poem were sown when we, once in a while, would be travelling in bus from Indore to Khandwa (or vice-versa) on our way to Calcutta (or back to Indore, as the case may be) for our holidays (or back to school after holidays)......

Early in my life I made a discovery

while travelling I would observe

and

feel.....

  that

   in the nights

      the moon followed me.....

While I travelled

the moon

     rode with me,

         first gliding smoothly.....

           then

              bouncing over bumpy stretches,

now on the right,

   then straight ahead

the silver light

    washing over

       dry grasses in open fields,

streaking along through black branches

finally disappearing

   as

      the road

         winds

             its way

                through the hills.

When I crest the hill

There

   it is  again

      suddenly grown

                      immense

                               ripe

flooding the town

    with sprawling light

so magical !

I

  Finally

     Begin to understand

Why

   it is said

      to inspire

            ‘looniness’

It is then

  that

    I realise

     how much we sometimes need

      the magic

        and

           romance

              of moonlight

 - a light

     that is nothing

      like the hard glare

           of the sun that it reflects.

Moonlight

    softens our faults

       all shabbiness

          dissolves

                 into shadow

It

   removes

      the myriad details

leaving

   only

      the sharp outlines

and highlights

and brushstrokes

 – the fundamental shapes of things.

I stare

  transfixed

    in the soothing,

          restorative glow,

bouncing

    my ambitions

            hopes

               and plans

           off this great reflector.

I dream

   my dreams

examine

     the structure of my life

      and make

              considered decisions.

In a hectic confusing world

it helps me

    to step out

           into a quiet,

       clear,

          swath of moonlight

to seek out

     the fundamentals

and eschew

        the incidentals.

Years later,

   one day,

     my little nephew

         burst breathlessly

             through the door

led me out,

   coatless and shivering

the gravel

     crunched underneath our feet,

from somewhere

     beyond the nearby lake,

        the plaintive calls of the birds

                drifted through the air

                       and

                            died away.

Past the row of trees,

that line the road

               to the lake,

the sky

     opened up

with

   the full moon

                    on it,

                   suspended

so

     precariously close

that

  it might be

    hurtling towards us

                    - incandescent,

even larger

  and more breathtaking

           than I had ever seen before

climbing

    its motionless climb

over

    the molten silver

                  of the lake.

Even a five year old could see

this was

    not just the moon

it was

          The Moon !!

When I turned around

he was

        grinning,

               expectant,

studying my face intently

to see

    if he had

       pleased me.

He had.

I knew then

     that

      the Moon was following him too !!!!!

Tears

Am back at what I do best.....write.....

If I were tears in your eyes,

I would trickle down

caress your cheeks

      and

          Die

     on your lips.

If you were tears in my eyes

I

  would never cry

 for

    the fear

    of

      Losing You !!

Five Temptations of a CEO – V : The Fifth Temptation

Am getting there.....the last chapter !

The 5^th Temptation of CEO

The CEOs who resist the temptation to protect their status of being popular with their direct reports, to make correct decisions and to create harmony sometimes fail because even if they are willing to cultivate productive conflict, their people may not be willing to do so. Why not ? Because the CEO gives in to the final temptation : The desire for invulnerability.

Self Analysis

Some questions that will help identify your susceptibility to this temptation. ‘Choosing invulnerability over trust’...ye mighty & despair !!

1.     Do you have a hard time admitting when you are wrong ?

2.   Do you fear that your direct reports want your job ?

3.   Do you try to keep your greatest weaknesses secret from your direct reports?

CEOs are relatively powerful people. Being vulnerable with their peers and reports is not a comfortable idea. No one loves admitting being wrong, but some people hate it. They mistakenly believe that they lose credibility if their people feel too comfortable challenging their ideas.

No matter how much these CEOs encourage productive conflict their people do not feel safe to enter the fray. As a result the reports position themselves around the inferred opinion of the CEO and conflict with one another only when it is politically expedient.

Great CEOs don’t lose face in the slightest when they are wrong and admit it, because they know who they are, they know why they are the CEO, and they realise that the organisation’s results, not the appearance of being smart, are their ultimate measure f success. They know the best way to get results is to put their weaknesses on table and invite people to help them minimise those weaknesses.

CEOs who understand this concept intellectually but cannot behaviouralise it sometimes symbolically admit mistakes and weaknesses. This proves counter-productive as it reinforces the notion that the CEO is unwilling to put real weaknesses on table. Overcoming this temptation requires a degree of fear and pain that many CEOs are unwilling to tolerate.

Simple Advice for the CEOs

As a CEO, the greatest level of trust that you can give – actively encourage your people to challenge your ideas, i.e. trust them with your reputation and ego. They will return it with respect and honesty, and a desire to be vulnerable amongst peers !

CEOs who focus on results more than status, accountability more than popularity, clarity more than certainty, productive conflict more than harmony, and trust more than invulnerability can still fail, but only if they are thwarted by competitive and market pressures that are largely out of their control !!

Five Temptations of a CEO – IV : The Fourth Temptation

Can’t even say that am back to doing what I enjoy....writing....till I become more regular in my endeavours !

The 4^th Temptation of CEO

The CEOs who resist the temptation to protect their status of being popular with their direct reports and to make correct decisions sometimes fail because they do not feel comfortable with decisions they make. Why not ? Because they give in to the next temptation : The desire for harmony.

Self Analysis

Some questions that will help identify your susceptibility to this temptation. ‘Choosing harmony over productive conflict’...the rule of status quo !!

1.     Do you prefer your meetings to be pleasant and enjoyable ?

2.   Are your meeting often boring ?

3.   Do you get uncomfortable at meetings if your direct reports argue ?

4.   Do you often make peace or try to reconcile direct reports who are at odds with one another ?

Most people, including CEOs, have been raised with a philosophy that it is better for people to agree and get along than disagree and have a conflict amongst themselves. Harmony at times restricts ‘productive ideological conflict’, the passionate interchange of opinions around an issue.

This becomes evident when executives bemoan the number of meetings that take up time that is needed for ‘real work’....a sign that those meetings are not productive as they should be. But don’t be deceived. Pleasant meetings or boring ones are indications that there is not proper level of overt, constructive, ideological conflict taking place.

Every meeting has a conflict. CEOs often squelch any potential for passion by making peace....sending a wrong message that pleasant, agreeable meetings are preferred by the CEO. After few pleasant meetings, boredom sets in & executives start lamenting the real work that they could be doing.

Productive meetings should be exhausting inasmuch as they are passionate, critical discussions. Without this kind of conflict, decisions are often suboptimal. All related information, perspective & knowledge ought to be out on the table. Not every person’s perspective and opinion can be agreed with, but they can be considered. The best decisions are made when all available knowledge is considered; the chances of optimal decisions are greater – including the likelihood in those decisions, which is just as important.

Simple Advice for the CEOs

One should encourage direct reports to air their ideological differences, and with passion. Guard against personal attacks but not to the point of stifling important interchanges of ideas. Tumultuous meetings are often signs of progress ensuring issues are not swept under the carpet. One thing to remember, tolerate discord !!

Five Temptations of a CEO – III : The Third Temptation

  

Am back to doing what I enjoy....writing.

We move on to the 3^rd Temptation of CEO

Even CEOs who resist the temptation to protect their status and to be popular with their direct reports sometimes fail. Why ? They choose certainty over clarity. They succumb to a different temptation : The need to make “correct” decisions, to certainty.

Self Analysis

Some questions that will help identify your susceptibility to this temptation of ‘choosing Certainty over Clarity’   

1.     Do you pride yourself on being intellectually precise ?

2.   Do you prefer to wait for more information rather than make a decision without all the facts ?

3.   Do you enjoy debating details with your direct reports during meetings ?

Many CEOs, especially the highly analytical ones, want to ensure that their decisions are correct. In this world of imperfect information & uncertainty, they end up delaying their decisions with the need for precision & correctness, often ending up failing to make their people’s deliverables clear. They end up giving vague and hesitant directions to their direct reports and hope that they would figure out the right answers along the way.

However, intellectual precision alone is not a sign for this temptation. It shows signs of manifestation during staff meetings in terms of unnecessary debates over nitty-gritties. These debates are problematic for two reasons :

1.     They eat up valuable time that can be use to discuss larger issues.

2.   The more important of all – they create a climate of excessive analysis and over-intellectualisation of tactical issues !

One person who cannot afford to be overtly precise – it is the CEO !

Simple Advice for the CEOs

Make Clarity more important than Accuracy. People will learn more if you take decisive action than if you always wait for information. And, if on receiving additional information you realise that the decision you have taken earlier, in the spirit of creating clarity, change the plans & explain why to your team. It is your job to risk being wrong ! The only real cost to you of being wrong is loss of pride. But the greater loss t your company of not taking the risk of being wrong is Paralysis !!

Five Temptations of a CEO – II : The Second Temptation

Too much of travel and arrival of a new born....my sister had a baby boy after some complications in the first week of June (whose pics are there on my facebook)....resulted in a too long a break from my blog !! I had been penning my thoughts on scraps of paper....was unable to put them in context on the blog. Though pace in life has picked up, I can’t use it as an excuse to not do what I enjoy doing....write ! I really appreciate the comments that were posted encouraging me to write. Thank you.

That brings us to the 2nd Temptation of CEO

Even CEOs who resist the temptation to overfocus on protecting their status, resist taking hard decisions and not holding the people who report to them directly accountable for delivering on the commitments that drive results. This happens because they succumb to a different temptation : The desire to be popular.

Self Analysis

Some questions that will help identify your susceptibility to this temptation ‘Choosing popularity over accountability’ Et tu Brutus !!

1. Do you consider yourself to be a close friend of your direct reports ?
2. Does it bother you to a point of distraction if they are unhappy with you ?
3. Do you find yourself reluctant to give negative feedback to your direct reports ? Do you ‘sugar coat the pill’ when giving a negative feedback ?
4. Do you often vent to them about issues in the organisation ? Or while expressing some issues - Do you refer to your staff as ‘We’ and the other employees as ‘They’ ?

Wanting to be liked by peers is understandable but a serious problem. It stems from the fact that the direct reports are usually of the same age or more. As they also spend considerable time together, they develop a sense a camaraderie. As a result, some of the direct reports may also end up being the ‘sounding boards’ of the CEO.

Empirical evidence of this phenomenon is that CEOs conduct performance reviews for their direct reports far less diligently than do managers at other levels. It‘s not because they are too busy or lazy, but because they do not want to deal with the prospect of upsetting one of the peers.

All Executives need people they can vent to about the challenges they face in their organisation but should try to avoid any sense of favouritism that may be perceived when accountability is being discussed. Even a slightest hint of favouritism or unfairness can cause an avalanche of negative reactions from other. This usually manifests itself in staff meetings in comments such as, “When will these people stop questioning us and start understanding what we are doing ?”

Ironically, the very same CEOs will not hesitate to ultimately fire a direct report when his / her performance level becomes too costly, thereby severing the relationship completely. But they fail to provide constructive or negative feedback along the way. CEO should not forget that he is the manager of the team and should tell them in clear terms what he expects and remind them of the expectations and the consequences, financial or otherwise, constantly.

Simple Advice for the CEOs

Work for long-term respect of your direct reports, not for their affection. Don’t view them as a ‘support group’, but as key employees who must deliver on their commitments for the company to produce predictable results. Last but not the least, your people aren’t going to like you anyways if they ultimately fail !!

Five Temptations of a CEO – I : The First Temptation

Was taking a break for last few weeks….am back to business. Picking up the thread where it had been left….The Five Temptations of the CEOs - The First Temptation !


Most CEOs were result maniacs before reaching the top slot. But once they reach the top of the ladder in the organisation, most of them end up concentrating more on preserving the status. This represents the most dangerous of all the temptations : The desire to protect the status of their career.

As a result the CEO starts making decisions that protects his/her reputation (alternatively his/her ego) and avoid making decisions that might damage them.

A question to ponder on : Don’t executives realise that by focusing on results they will ultimately achieve greater status & ego satisfaction ? Yes, but this requires a lot of work over a long period of time with many episodes of ‘status-loss’ on the way.

For a CEO who is unable to resist this temptation, even a temporary loss of status is unacceptable !

Self Analysis

Some questions that will help identify your susceptibility to this temptation. But that does not mean you will succumb to this temptation. ‘To be or not to be’ is your call !!

1. Do you personally consider it a professional failure when your organisation fails to achieve its objectives ?
2. Do you often wonder : What next ? What will I do top this in my career ?
3. Would it bother you greatly if your company exceeded its objectives but you remained somewhat anonymous relative to your peers in the industry ?

Although it is healthy to separate one’s sense of self esteem from the success on the job, but on a professional level these should not be divided – organisational success and professional-personal success are one and the same. Quite often you will find CEOs justifying their own performance even when the organisations they lead are failing around them. Take the example of the CEOs of the big 3 auto giants in US who went to the Congress for the bailout package as an ideal example of this.

Even though other ‘human factors’ are important, only the CEO is ultimately responsible for results of the company, and this must be his / her final measure.

A pronounced concern for the ‘next step’ is a good sign of susceptibility to this temptation. It is a possible indication that success is being gauged in terms of career advancement rather than current performance.

It is in human nature to hope for a just share of acknowledgement, it is dangerous to entertain the same. Worrying about how much public recognition one receives is a possible sign of susceptibility to the first temptation. All CEOs at some point or the other in their career receive a short shrift when it comes to public recognition. The ones who eventually get recognised are the ones who are not distracted by the occasional slighting in the public domain. For they take larger personal satisfaction from achieving the results.

Simple Advice for the CEOs

The future of the company you lead is too important for the customers, employees and the stakeholders to be held hostage to your reputation (read as ego). Make results the most important measure of your success, else step down from the job !

In one the episodes of a famous serial of yesteryears, ‘I Love Lucy’, Keith comes home to find Lucy crawling around the living room looking for something. When he asks Lucy what she was doing, she informs him that she was looking for her earrings. When asked where she had lost her earrings in the living room, she replies, “No, I lost them in the bedroom, but the light is so much better out here !”

Similarly, for most of the CEOs, the “light is better” in places like, finance, marketing, strategic planning; away from the “low light” area of behavioural self-examination.

Even the progressive executives end up staying in “living room” by adopting management fads and leadership trends in search of painless remedies for their ills. While some of the remedies work for a while, the eventually leave them exposed to the very basic issues that caused the problem in the very first place.

Irony of the fact is that most of the executives are intuitive enough to understand all this. And many struggle to do anything substantive about it. Instead, they get overly involved in the details of their business, distracting themselves unconsciously from their personal leadership issues, often to the point of creating complexity where it should not exist. Struggling heads may disagree, giving a barrage of reasons which are mostly only symptoms of their trouble.

But the bottom line is - Being a CEO or heading a group is a tough challenge but not a complicated one !

What you have read above is a just a part of a very interesting book called “Five Temptations of a CEO” by Patrick Lencioni I read recently. Some very interesting insights, hence am tempted to share the same with all of you. In subsequent blog(s), I will write a gist of what I have read along with my own interpretations. And will simultaneously try to do justice to what has been written in this interesting book. A tough task, nevertheless worth putting in an effort.

Goodbye

When we met,
Wish you hadn’t nourished me with your smiles,
your mischievous banter
and
your sloppy kisses

Wish you hadn’t gone
And leaving me
to suffer
in this unending desert of silence.

When we parted
oh how strangely did we part
Not a word !
Not a tear !!
Not a sigh !!!!

My heart and my soul were aflame
Burning me inside
The Beast in me
did try taking over,
screaming….
stop her, possess her, make her yours
But the educated, cultured coward smiled
and
waved Goodbye !