1. Have an Interesting Snippet to Share : Click Here
    Dismiss Notice

Non performers have a more fertile imagination!

Discussion in 'Cheeniya's Senile Ramblings' started by Cheeniya, Sep 18, 2007.

  1. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,627
    Likes Received:
    16,903
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    ‘I am not interested in excuses; I am interested in work done’ was how Jawaharlal Nehru once gave vent to his ire against one of his non-performing bureaucrats. As expected, his private tantrum, when let out by a rival bureaucrat, became a famous quote later. I have yelled in a similar manner against quite a few officials during my Bank days though not in the refined language of Nehru but more in keeping with the modern times like ‘Don’t give me that crap. Just go and finish the damn thing for God’s sake’ Crap, as you would have observed, is my synonym for excuses and damn thing for work.

    Now exactly a decade later, after both my language and outlook have become mellowed by age, I tend to express myself in a more refined way. I have all the time now to ask a tresspasser, 'To what do I owe the honour of your visit?' instead of 'Who the hell are you?' as I was wont to decades back! Incidentally, I have now reached a stage in life when I do not expect anything from others that would cause me hardship if not given in God’s time. If at all such a situation arises, I really do not know if I can retain my poise.

    As a contrast to Nehru’s petulant expression, I have heard a renowned British General once say ‘If you don’t do it well, you better have a good reason for it’ That, I think is very clever and is aimed at promoting imagination. If you take any group of people, some will be performers; the rest will be non-performers. The group that needs to be concentrated on is the non-performing one. You can either make them perform better by various methods (and the chances of your success are pretty dim) or make them highly imaginative by insisting on a good reason for non-performance. After all, society needs not only doers but thinkers as well. In the modern context, we need people who can think on their feet, not for formulating an action plan but for explaining a failure. In the corporate jungle today, the fittest is not the most action-oriented but the most eloquent. So I vote for the British General.

    I had a boss in my early days of banking career who used to be roused to fury when anyone tried to explain his late coming by saying he got delayed. You should not attribute reasons like you missed the 9.15 bus etc. You had to be very original. Like saying as you were leaving for office you saw your neighbour’s child falling from the second floor but you were able to catch her in time and all was well except that your shirt got dirtied and you had to go back to get into a new one. That would satisfy him a lot. This exposure stood us in good stead later in our career when we had to explain the negative variance in our business levels where our explanations used to so good that they were circulated to other branches as a model!

    But I must say this much for Nehru. If you want to be quoted even if you say normal things, better spruce up your lingo a bit. Don’t say ‘Grind it in man and get your ---- moving’ if what you really mean is ‘Create awareness, Take action’
     
    sindmani, Anisu, knbg and 1 other person like this.
    Loading...

  2. rajmiarun

    rajmiarun Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,134
    Likes Received:
    63
    Trophy Points:
    103
    Gender:
    Female
    I am reminded of a story Sri sir,
    Three youngters have to attend an exam, and all three were friends; they had been to a movie and the previous day and was not able to get up early, so they came late and when the principal asked why they were late they told that the car in which they were coming got punctured.

    Principal excused them that day but told them that they should take the exam the next day. The exam paper had only one question.

    Which tyre got punctured?


    You could guess the answers and the reaction to it.

    Todays kids and youngsters are so imaginative and creative, and if that imagination and creativeness is used in a better way they could do wonders.
     
  3. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,627
    Likes Received:
    16,903
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    Dear Rajmi
    You are right about the intelligence of the modern children. If only the parents can sit with their kids and guide them properly, sky will be the limit of their potential!
    But unfortunately, more and more children are getting deprived of parental guidance for various reasons. Everyone is busy in his own way and every one has to fend for himself. In my school days, my dad could never find time for us and it was my mother who gave us support in her limited way. All she could do was to sit with us while we prepared for our exams. That moral support meant a lot to us!
    Sri
     
    sindmani likes this.
  4. rajmiarun

    rajmiarun Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,134
    Likes Received:
    63
    Trophy Points:
    103
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear sri sir,
    You have not answered one of my questions!!! What made me your favourite?

    Let us come to the guiding part. Yes it is the duty of the parents to guide the children. My husband can play and play for hours teach them things playfully but when it comes to serious learning he will raise up his hands.

    So it is me who should teach my daughter. But even then when I loose patience he will but in to rescue her only to send her back to me after I cool off to teach her. Man he cannot be a teacher being a teacher's son.

    I tell all the parents of my 10th standard class, to sit with the children when they do the homework and when they learn their lessons. Some parents say that they can never understand what their child is studying to them I tell my mother as an example. She will sit with us, see to that we study the question answers, fill ups etc etc and make us learn them and ask us and tests us orally and will ask us to write and she will check with what we have written in the class work note book.

    She will also give us dictation of the tough words. She is not a graduate though she is a musician. She discontinued her BA music after her first year. When we grew up and things were more complicated she will simply sit with us doing her craft work or reading something and see to that we finish the work what our father gives.

    Yes that is the kind of moral support every child needs today because today's syllabus are definitely way above many of the previous generations heads.:mrgreen:
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2007
    sindmani likes this.
  5. Anandchitra

    Anandchitra IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,617
    Likes Received:
    2,620
    Trophy Points:
    345
    Gender:
    Female
    Cheeniya Sir;
    Yet another interesting writeup in your unique and inimitable style. when you started off with Nehru I knew we could expect a play of words. At the very first line you capture the readers imagination and makes them focus and not "yawn" maybe. So you score starts there. You then continue to intersperse your thread with your personal experiences and also show us your transition by nature. your line ... "If at all such a situation arises, I really do not know if I can retain my poise."... shows your nice nature and how you feel and react thereby scoring again. and you continue to the finish still linking it to your personal life and career thereby proving how intellectual you are. Big hit no doubt. As always you get great replies like rajmi's so far. Another Hit by the looks of it.
     
  6. aishu22

    aishu22 Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    2,598
    Likes Received:
    112
    Trophy Points:
    160
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Sri,
    Great Write-up! Thought Provoking too...Started with Nehru's statement sandwiched with your experiences and ended well with a lesson.
    This applies not only to non perfomers also to people who are untrue.People who tell a lotta lies needs to have a great memory power.Likewise, to give an explanation for late coming is also an uphill task!

    "It takes lesser time to do a job correctly than to give an explanation for not doing it right"- these are my motivational words at work and personally going late to work,home or to a meet is not my cup of tea.......
     
  7. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,627
    Likes Received:
    16,903
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    Dear Rajmi
    First and the foremost, in these days of rampant mil baiting, you have said some very nice things about your mil equating her with your mother. I found this attitude refreshingly different from what we see in most of the cases. When one reads your introduction, he will be struck by the fact that you have a good word about everyone. No complaints whatsoever! This attitude of yours has endeared you to me a lot!
    The role that your mother plays is what an ideal mother should be doing. My mother is not very literate but the role that she played in shaping the lives of her two sons would be worth written in gold! My elder brother starting from scratch in a 10-tenament house rose to become the Chief Secretary of the Govt of Tamil Nadu only due to my mother's perseverence. She guided me too to become a senior executive of India's number one Bank!
    In most of our families, the mothers only play a key role in shaping the lives of their children. Fathers may not have the same patience and understanding as the mothers!
    Sri
     
    sindmani likes this.
  8. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,627
    Likes Received:
    16,903
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    Dear AC
    For a man who is used to your naughty replies, the present one has come as a bit of a surprise. I find it easier to deal with your naughty replies than a shower of praise!
    Nevertheless, I am happy to hear you say some nice things about my posts! After all I am also a normal human being as susceptible to good words being said about him as anyone else! Thank you AC.
    You would have observed that I merely make a basic observation in all my posts and the readers take it from there. Sometimes I am amazed at the twists and turns that my posts take with more and more inputs from others!
    I must thank all of you for making my threads very readable with all your inputs. I would say unhesitatingly that the FBs give life to my threads!
    Sri
     
  9. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,627
    Likes Received:
    16,903
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
    Dear Aishu
    My dad used to tell us that lying was one of the toughest jobs. You have to be very consistent about your lying and you must have keen memory too. He used to tell us that with just about 10% of the memory power that we wasted in maintaining our lies, we would be very brilliant academically!
    In fact, some people have such an expertise in lying, they would make you start wondering if you are the one who is lying!
    Hitler's propagandists were the best in the art of making their lies sound like absolute truth! Goebbels was the best of them!
    Most of us dont lie because it is too tough an exercise! Telling truth is much less taxing!
    Sri
     
  10. subbutr

    subbutr Senior IL'ite

    Messages:
    342
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Gender:
    Male
    My dear Sri sir, [​IMG]
    Excellent ways to highlight the importance of punctuality & work cultures. [​IMG]
    Again from the leaf of Old school of thoughts subjects shared from your desk [​IMG]
    May all learn such lessons from you sir.[​IMG].the importance to maintain the time and work cultures
    Subbu
     

Share This Page