Being in Bangalore after almost a year gave me a chance to re look at certain things which I didn't pay too much attention to or ignored or took for granted or cribbed about.
This is going to be surprising but I really felt that the traffic situation had changed slightly. Things were as chaotic on the road in terms of following the rules but still traffic seemed to be moving better.
I still found the eateries everywhere but observed that footfalls seemed to be lesser. Though, I did see all of the usual places I haunted, still existing which brought a smile to me. Recession didn't seem to be wreaking a havoc as in some other places and maybe keeping our economy slightly disconnected was not a bad thing after all.
Infrastructure projects showed progress - metro, flyovers, elevated roads etc. were progressing. Actually I was surprised to see the good preparation which had been made to facilitate road usage on the Bellandur junction while the fly over construction goes on.
Still found empty apartments but many apartment projects which were lying vacant showed signs of life. Surprisingly, I didn't see any huge ongoing apartment projects but maybe that was just because I probably didnt venture into areas where the projects were on.
Found people taking time out to look after their health - running, cycling are all in vogue it seems.
Volvo buses were doing well and lots of people including me were using it regularly. Maybe that's helping the traffic.
I saw lot of traction on public-government joint initiatives. People becoming aware, getting involved in activism, taking up responsibility from small things to bigger objectives - my very good friend D as always inspired me by not the usual ability to manage time but also giving an insight into how he is involved in a movement which is trying to make changes at the grass root level.
Last but not the least, I met a BBMP official / clerk who refused "chai / paani" money. A young man who clearly said "I dont need it Sir!". Was gladdened to the bottom of my heart to meet this young man. "Congratulations to you Sir".
The list is longer but I go now to have my "chai / paani" :-)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Change - agent? first learn to understand it - Part 2
Continuing my observations regarding change and its various aspects an important realization which I made was as much as change is difficult to initiate and manage a connected complication of the same is conflict management. Many times good initiatives fails because of inadequate conflict management and resolution plus the tendency of the change initiator to play the role of the change consultant - always occupying the high ground and preaching what should be done.
This realization dawned on me when I spent some quality time with my parents at my ancestral home after a long gap. The daily routine in my house has remained so for years and both my parents strive tirelessly to retain it like that. The only problem is that age is catching up with them and so things which were done easily take double the time and triple the effort. On top of that my mother's dubious health makes simple tasks tiresome. The focus on task completion and the inability to do it in as good a way as it was initially done leads to frustration and ultimately more strife and tension in the house. The end result being that the parents are not happy.
Me, recognizing this, tried my utmost to make them understand that the insistence on this daily routine was ruining their quality of life - water management, plant management, bathing Alex ( pet dog ), cleaning, keeping the big house in order etc. were all things which were secondary to health and peace of mind. This led to more strife and conflict in the house and didn't serve the purpose which I was trying to achieve - ensure happiness of my parents. I left home unsatisfied having failed in my objective but have been thinking of how the could it have been managed better.
I don't have all the answers but some of the things which have dawned on me is that foremost I was naive in believing that i could give happiness to my folks, happiness cant be given, one can facilitate it but ultimately one has to be happy - I can't make someone who is unwilling, happy. Secondly, I was really behaving like a change consultant - a guest - who was making observations, applying management jargons and more interested in proving points rather than explaining the points. The result being I came across as a preacher and not a partner in this endeavor to improve a situation which subsequently led to my folks and I taking opposite sides. Change could possibly be better managed in a cooperative environment.
The thinking is ongoing but at least I have discovered two aspects which I need to keep in mind the next time I am at home. I am also happy that over the past few days of my stay I actually contributed in doing some of the more difficult house chores so that at the bare minimum some of the things could be off their mind for sometime.I also got rid of some the junk in the house. Actually what all I got rid off would be an interesting write too :-)
This realization dawned on me when I spent some quality time with my parents at my ancestral home after a long gap. The daily routine in my house has remained so for years and both my parents strive tirelessly to retain it like that. The only problem is that age is catching up with them and so things which were done easily take double the time and triple the effort. On top of that my mother's dubious health makes simple tasks tiresome. The focus on task completion and the inability to do it in as good a way as it was initially done leads to frustration and ultimately more strife and tension in the house. The end result being that the parents are not happy.
Me, recognizing this, tried my utmost to make them understand that the insistence on this daily routine was ruining their quality of life - water management, plant management, bathing Alex ( pet dog ), cleaning, keeping the big house in order etc. were all things which were secondary to health and peace of mind. This led to more strife and conflict in the house and didn't serve the purpose which I was trying to achieve - ensure happiness of my parents. I left home unsatisfied having failed in my objective but have been thinking of how the could it have been managed better.
I don't have all the answers but some of the things which have dawned on me is that foremost I was naive in believing that i could give happiness to my folks, happiness cant be given, one can facilitate it but ultimately one has to be happy - I can't make someone who is unwilling, happy. Secondly, I was really behaving like a change consultant - a guest - who was making observations, applying management jargons and more interested in proving points rather than explaining the points. The result being I came across as a preacher and not a partner in this endeavor to improve a situation which subsequently led to my folks and I taking opposite sides. Change could possibly be better managed in a cooperative environment.
The thinking is ongoing but at least I have discovered two aspects which I need to keep in mind the next time I am at home. I am also happy that over the past few days of my stay I actually contributed in doing some of the more difficult house chores so that at the bare minimum some of the things could be off their mind for sometime.I also got rid of some the junk in the house. Actually what all I got rid off would be an interesting write too :-)
Change - agent? first learn to understand it - Part 1
My recent visit back home has been a catharsis of sorts. How? well let me share some perspectives over a series of writings all connected to the same theme.
I attended the quarterly meeting of the Lucknow Club where the topic of conversation was Acrobatics of Change. This is a new book written by Mr. Moid Siddiqui and Mr. R.H. Khwaja. I was fascinated by the topic and the fact that older people would be meeting to talk about change. Well, as you would have gathered I was skeptical of this discussion as I am convinced that it is the younger generation which is the harbinger of change and that the older generation is the one which steadfastly opposes it. Mr. Khwaja's speech and the following conversation was much more than what I expected. To get an opportunity to listen first hand to a person who managed change in an organization which employed over 5000 people and led to a transformation of not just a district but a complete national business entity was intriguing. Since my professional job involves encouraging change, managing it and at times initiating and leading it I was able to relate to the conversation and also contribute to it.
It was fascinating for me to get first hand insight into how good governance tends to be a change incubator and how an individual amongst the bureaucracy having the opportunity could break through the logjam and push reforms through. In fact come to think of it in my skepticism I had started overlooking the fact that in a country like India ( this would also hold good for world in general ) over the past many decades in spite of all the failures there have been many positive instances of massive change initiatives which have been successfully managed by the governments of the land.
We the young who are so steeped in the corporate culture and life tend to overlook the fact that change is the permanent aspect of the growth of a country and there are various arms of the establishment / system , a term which is a synonym for stability, which are trying every day to ensure the balance between preventing large scale disruptions and rapid development.
I attended the quarterly meeting of the Lucknow Club where the topic of conversation was Acrobatics of Change. This is a new book written by Mr. Moid Siddiqui and Mr. R.H. Khwaja. I was fascinated by the topic and the fact that older people would be meeting to talk about change. Well, as you would have gathered I was skeptical of this discussion as I am convinced that it is the younger generation which is the harbinger of change and that the older generation is the one which steadfastly opposes it. Mr. Khwaja's speech and the following conversation was much more than what I expected. To get an opportunity to listen first hand to a person who managed change in an organization which employed over 5000 people and led to a transformation of not just a district but a complete national business entity was intriguing. Since my professional job involves encouraging change, managing it and at times initiating and leading it I was able to relate to the conversation and also contribute to it.
It was fascinating for me to get first hand insight into how good governance tends to be a change incubator and how an individual amongst the bureaucracy having the opportunity could break through the logjam and push reforms through. In fact come to think of it in my skepticism I had started overlooking the fact that in a country like India ( this would also hold good for world in general ) over the past many decades in spite of all the failures there have been many positive instances of massive change initiatives which have been successfully managed by the governments of the land.
We the young who are so steeped in the corporate culture and life tend to overlook the fact that change is the permanent aspect of the growth of a country and there are various arms of the establishment / system , a term which is a synonym for stability, which are trying every day to ensure the balance between preventing large scale disruptions and rapid development.
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