Friday Reflections

The Emperor Has No Clothes.

POINT TO PONDER

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.

                                                   -   Mahatma Gandhi

 

STORY LINE

The Emperor Has No Clothes by US Senator Robert Byrd - Senate Floor Remarks October 17, 2003 *Parantheticals reference work situation comparisons*

“In 1837, Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen, wrote a wonderful fairy tale which he titled The Emperor's New Clothes. It is the story of the Ruler of a distant land (Big Organization) who was so enamored of his appearance and his clothing that he had a different suit (New Program) for every hour of the day.

One day two rogues arrived in town, claiming to be gifted weavers (transformation experts from “support” groups). They convinced the Emperor that they could weave the most wonderful cloth (Best Program in the world), which had a magical property. The clothes were only visible to those who were completely pure in heart and spirit (Only to open minded employees).

The Emperor was impressed and ordered the weavers to begin work immediately. The rogues, who had a deep understanding of human nature, began to feign work on empty looms (meaningless indicators). Minister (Manager) after minister (Manager) went to view the new clothes and all came back exhorting the beauty of the cloth on the looms even though none of them could see a thing.

Finally a grand procession (Big Conference) was planned for the Emperor to display his new finery. The Emperor went to view his clothes and was shocked to see absolutely nothing, but he pretended to admire the fabulous cloth, inspect the clothes with awe, and, after disrobing, go through the motions of carefully putting on a suit of the new garments.

Under a royal canopy the Emperor appeared to the admiring throng of his people - - all of whom cheered and clapped because they all knew the rogue weavers' tale and did not want to be seen as less than pure of heart (they all knew to follow the party line and did not want to be classified as close minded or not forward looking). But, the bubble burst when an innocent child (honest employee) loudly exclaimed, for the whole kingdom to hear, that the Emperor had nothing on at all. He had no clothes (The program of the month was hoax).

That tale seems to me very like the way this nation was led to war” (organizations and employees are led into unnecessary and nonproductive activities).

 

REFLECTION

After the above text, Senator Byrd went to describe many examples from the current wars; the subject that is off limits for current scope of FR. But as the rest of the original story goes: The Emperor cringes, suspecting the child’s (employee’s) assertion is true, but still holds himself up proudly and continues the procession.

Choose Action

POINT TO PONDER

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.

                                                            - William B. Sprague

STORY LINE

                      The song I came to sing

                      remains unsung to this day.

                      I have spent my days in stringing

                      and in unstringing my instrument.

                                                "Waiting" a poem by Rabindranath Tagore

REFLEFCTION by Rajiv Shah

When I was a child I played competitive tennis. Training sessions were practiced four times a week at our local tennis club. After my lessons, I would retreat up to the clubhouse for a water and wait to be picked up.

Weekly, one of the workers from the proshop, a young teenager would come up to me to chat. He always carried around a copy of the USTA tennis rulebook. He would ask me questions about rules - many of which I didn't know, others I could care less about - and always he would give me pointers on my tennis game. I was a kid and being young I would just shrug and listen as he motored on. I figured this was the guy to listen to; he worked in a proshop, knew every rule in the book, and was older than me too. 

One day I asked him how long he'd been playing tennis.

He was silent for a second and then responded that he had never actually played - not any tournaments or matches anyway - but that he was studying the game so that when he decided to take it up, he'd be ready. 

I mentioned that he knew more about the rules of the game than anyone I had ever played with and asked him how much more he needed to know about the game before picking up a racket. I offered to play with him after my lessons but he shrugged and said he wasn't ready yet; that when he was ready, he'd let me know. 

I spent five years training at that club while touring the U.S.T.A. circuit and that day he spoke of, when he finally felt ready to play, never came. 

Tradition will accustom people to any atrocity... *Reposted from September 19, 2007*

All too often, we become ensnared by the familiar phenomenon:

1. We make rules based on the reasons that they make a lot of sense.
2. We follow these rules.
3. Time passes and things change.
4. The original reasons for the rules no longer exist, but because the rules are still in place, we continue to follow them.

Hint: you can click on the cartoon to enlarge it.

Three Mistakes an Employee should avoid (Laughter is the best stress reliever) *Reposted from June 12th,2008*

Three mistakes an employee should avoid:

1. Dressing better than the Vice President of Sales
2. Driving a car better that the General Manager, and
3. On Friday afternoons, openly displaying that he/she had a great week at work.

               - Advice from a General Manager two decades ago, who had a terrific sense of humor.

STORY LINE

A few decades ago, a Silicon Valley start-up company I was working for was acquired by a rather large company from another region of the world. The employees from the acquiring company were very formal in their dress and in their grooming habits. Noticing that I was not dressed to their standards, and because I was the person involved in customer and supplier relationships, they hinted that I was at liberty to consult one of their experts to help me with this problem.

The hint (i.e. this seemed to be an unwritten condition for continued employment) was received loud and clear.  I told their expert to help me buy the best possible clothes, no expense spared. We walked away from one designer store with a couple of very expensive suites, ties, and shoes.

I reported into work the next day in my new attire, but being an engineer I never noticed that my clothes were drawing a lot of wide-eyed attention from the people in sales.

A few months later, I went out for lunch with one of my friends. On the way back to my office, he asked me to test drive his beautiful Mercedes Benz. I politely declined, saying I was not worthy of such a prestigious car, but I eventually gave in to his persistence.

Upon returning to my office, I parked the car in the visitors parking space, which happened to face the General Manager's office window. As soon as I entered the building, our receptionist told me that Mr. Walters, our General Manager (GM) wanted to see me immediately.

As I entered his office, and before I could station myself in a chair, Mr. Walters told me, "young man, there are three mistakes an employee should avoid. And you are making all three of them." Remembering that it was Friday afternoon, I started visualizing my last paycheck.

"The first mistake," Mr. Walters continued, "don't dress better than VP of sales. All these guys in sales are wondering how a guy in the operations department could afford such a luxury." Nervous, I told him, "But it is you guys who wanted me to dress up. You can't get me for that!" Replied the GM, "dress up right, but not that much. A lot more modest."

"The second mistake," said the GM, "don't drive a car better than the General Manager." I replied, "but Mr. Walters, that was not my car. This friend of mine asked me to try out his car. On the way I was so careful driving that some teenagers got angry with my speed and flipped a finger at me. I have never been humiliated like that in the modest Toyota that I drive." Realizing that it had became a double jeopardy for me, the General Manager dropped that charge.

It was dawning on me that Mr. Walters could be in one of his humorous moods, so I dared to ask, "so what is my third mistake that will decide whether I am employed with you or not?"

He said, "you see, every Friday when you are heading home, you are whistling in the hallway, looking noticeably happy. And when people ask you how was your week, you say that it was great, very productive."  Totally confused, I asked, "what is wrong with that Mr. Walters? I serve you well, and I enjoy what I do.  The other day in the employee forum, you told us all to have fun."

"Well that is true, but don't make it that visible. Some people are wondering if you actually do any work. While they are stressed out with so many issues and looking forward to the weekend, you show that you had a great week and are looking forward to Mondays." Chastened, I replied, "but Sir, you hired me to tackle problems in the first place and you know that I give 111%. So how do I handle this Mr. Walters?"

"When people ask how was your week. just say: 'Oh, boy, it was hectic. So many issues, I couldn't get enough done.' Look a little miserable and your colleagues will feel assured that you are part of the team."

REFLECTION

By then I knew that Mr. Walters, who was one of the rare persons at that level with a terrific sense of humor, was in his lighter mood. I whistled and headed home.