V G Krishnan

Parental indulgence and it’s serious consequences…

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Couple of days back I was watching on television an episode of a Tamil language reality program named ‘Neeya Naana’. The program focuses on socially relevant issues through debate and dialogue with impacted people and domain experts coming in to share their perspectives.  In this particular episode, the topic was on the youngsters riding the … Read more

Creative Job Titles Can Energize Workers

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What’s in a name ? While Shakespeare said, a rose by any other name smells just as sweet, he lived in a world where C-Suite’s and Executives and the services economy hadn’t arrived. Titles mattered then, titles matter now. The difference being, titles were awarded then and today there is freedom to choose them for oneself. 

The first time I came across an interesting job title was when Devdutt Pattanaik was designated as the Chief Belief Officer at the Future Group a couple of years ago. I then did a Google search for creative titles, and came up with titles like, Chief Evangelist, Chief People Officer, Chief Creative Officer.

Cut to the article enclosed. A receptionist is designated as director of first impressions, business development manager as creator of business opportunities, ambassador of buzz for head of corporate communications, chief cheerleader for CEO, Teao for the CEO of a tea company…sales ninja, marketing rockstar. Fascinating, right ?

As an executive coach, I wondered about the options to creatively title myself… Some titles that I came up with are Truth reflector, transformation artist, mind sculptor, purpose painter, inner engineer…

Do these creative job titles matter? Are they effective? It appears that creative job titles do energise and make an impact. 

Please do read the article connected with the link below. 

Creative Job Titles Can Energize Workers
  

Why less is better…

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Quality or Quantity. Width or depth. Less or more.

We live in the age of social media and internet where everything seems to be driven by numbers. Your popularity and admiration is judged more by the number of connects and followers you have on social media than what you have contributed or what is being contributed meaningfully.

I am also a victim to the numbers disease. Adding as many likes, connects and followers as I can to my various social media accounts. Do I believe in this? Absolutely no. But still I did it, swayed by what was said and read. With reluctance. Without conviction. I also started receiving messages from unknown people asking me to evaluate or score their performance. In fact one such connect from my group called me and asked me for a commission to network through his thousands of connects. This so called professional connect did not even know me or had never spoken a word with me. It’s then that I realised the futility of simply connecting or networking just for numbers.

Personally I have always believed in having few friends but growing the relationships over time, spending time with them, meeting and sharing, to contribute and get their contributions meaningfully. That is why they are called friends. I can say with pride that I have several friendships nurtured over decades and almost all these friendships have stood the test of time. Quality over quantity. There is a difference between a friend and an acquaintance. I do have many acquaintances but have few friends. I am part of several groups because of my interests, hobbies, profession and the like but I cannot claim that every member of each of these groups is my friend. Every relationship has to be nurtured, consciously, over time… It’s genuine care, love and deep commitment.

Am happy to share the link to an article that I found interesting and related to the subject:

Why smart people are better off with fewer friends

5 Reasons Good Deals Get Rejected

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Right through my career spanning over more than three decades, I have wondered on several occasions as to why my idea or project or proposal or offer was not accepted. Usually I do a thorough homework before I present anything to anyone and I also review after my presentations as to what went wrong and right. Nevertheless, there were occasions when I could not understand as to why what I offered was not accepted. If I could find a logical answer for the rejection of the offer, I reworked and went back with a revised offer but that also was not accepted. Over a period of time, I understood that there are far more forces at work than what I had assumed for an offer to be accepted, however ideal and valuable that may be for the person or group or the institution on the other side of the table. And these forces at work may be internal or external. Believe you me, in most situations, what you see IS NOT what you get! You need to dig deeply to understand the myriad forces at work before you present your offer. 

The article below from HBR is worthwhile reading, contemplating, and of course, to act upon. 

5 Reasons Good Deals Get Rejected

The Work Conversations We Dread the Most, and how to handle…

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Conversations at work, at times, are tricky. Sometimes they can land you in serious trouble, jeopardising all that you have accomplished thus far.

These conversations could relate to the dreaded performance reviews, optimal sizing of units or divisions, promotions, unilateral decisions getting communicated, firing someone, mergers and acquisitions leading to downsizing, one on one conversations with your notorious boss, office politics, exit interviews, the list is endless. Many of these leave you sleepless, full of stress and bearing the brunt of undesired consequences. 

Welcome to the VUCA world. A world full of Volatality, Uncertainity, Complexity and Ambiguity. If the earlier generation knew and understood why certain things happened and did not happen at a slower rate, the current generation faces challenges and changes at the speed of light leaving them no time to fathom “why” and they end up just facing the music.

Personally, I did face such challenges in my career and business. Informing bankers and financiers that we cannot return their money or interest, telling my boss directly that his assessment of my work was way off the mark, refusing my boss politely but firmly that I will not agree to a change in my role, being in the collateral damage in the fight between two international leaders of the consulting firm, disagreeing with a celebrity CEO of a glocal firm on his strategic views of a firm where he was a board member….a fairly long list.

Did my views prevail or succeed in all these situations leading to favourable outcomes? Most times yes but many times not. Except in exceptional circumstances, you can do your homework and prepare for your conversations so that you can swing the decisions in your favour. Preparation, practice, patience, persistence..all help. The learning that you would have from such conversations and experiences are invaluable. 

Am sharing the link to an article that provides insights into managing difficult conversations at work. Please do read. 

The Work Conversations We Dread the Most, According to Research

  

Opening a world of possibilities…

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Yesterday Bindu and I met with Ashutosh Burnwal and Manasvi Singh, co founders of buddy4study.com. We had a long and fruitful discussion, understanding each other’s platform, our background, and how we can partner for the larger good.  Buddy4study is a platform that connects those who are looking for scholarships in touch with those who provide … Read more

For Chronic Low Back Pain, Mindfulness Can Beat Painkillers

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Most of my friends know, and a few of them may remember that my Mom and Bindu’s Mom have the same name. Besides the name, they do share some common traits and habits. One such common habit is the habit of consuming paracetamol tablets not just to get pain relief but also for any and every possible situation. Both of them consider paracetamol as a panacea for all ills. 

I have tried my best to discourage them from consuming paracetamol tablets but have failed. I do not like to take medicines especially no self medication. I have always felt that most pain and fever conditions will go away on their own and all you need is to take rest. No need for self medication or a visit to your friendly pharmacist or even the doctor. 

And now this study that I have shared with this post confirms that even in chronic pain conditions, mindfulness plays a better role than painkillers. Better to go with mindfulness, meditation or even mudras to manage pain than go for pain killers, any day !

Also remember Osho’s words – Meditation and Medicine come from the same root. Both heal, Meditation heals the mind which completely stops the need for medicine, which only heals the body. 

Do read the following article – 

For Chronic Low Back Pain, Mindfulness Can Beat Painkillers