Lessons from Penang

These past few weeks at work have really got me thinking about corporate culture, management and most of all, leadership.

I think it's such a shame that a corporation, or an institution (could be a country, state, company, family???) with so much resources, that could be so much more than it is now, squander its assets and the very things that made it great in the first place. Complacency, overconfidence, and just the wrong, wrong priorities.

Before I joined this oil and gas goliath of an organization, I worked 2 years in a company founded by a Hungarian imigrant to the US fleeing World War II. When I first entered the organization, we (my fellow newbies and I) sat through a 1-week orientation where we were briefed about everything from payroll to whom to call if your airconditioning wasn't working. Then we were made to go through "compulsary" trainings - Effective Meetings, Constructive Confrontation, Decision Making, Performing to Values and Structured Problem Solving. After I left the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (the benchmark for all self-improvement books, I believe) became compulsary. My entire working environment was tailored so that I could do my job, focus on the CORE of the business, better. Everything from applying for my leave, getting IT helpdesk services to setting up my phone, cubicle, everything was just fast. HR, IT, Building Services, Safety realised that they were providing a service, that they were supporting the folks at the core, aka the people who brought in the money.

Sad to say here, the so-called "improvement" projects by our IT and HR serve to frustrate and add to the burdens of the folks in the field. More forms, more paperwork, more paper mail, more approval loops to go through when getting claims, applying for company loans, etc etc. What do we think? These projects were never intended to make our lives easier, they were just some wacko new experiment dreamt by folks who have more free time to think about how they can implement a project and get credit for the very sake of implementation and credit, and not to HELP the core folks (did I mention that it is the core folks who bring in the moolah and not the supports?). And the core folks just have there ridiculous new concepts shoved down their throats, on top of keeping the multimillion dollar facilities alive and spinning money from the ground below.

And ex-company had Accountability. I can't believe how much I miss this simple concept. Ability to speak was one thing, the main thing was the delivering of results. And whom does one ask for feedback on an individual? Surely his customer, his subordinates, his peers. Not just how his boss sees or hears him/her. It was that simple.

In ex-company, if I wanted this piece of information I knew exactly how or where to get it. It was that structured. In current co, well, I have to go on a wild goose chase to find out who held this position I'm holding now in 1982 and beg him to give me that info. Good luck, and oh, if you can't find the guy, then just get new data. After all, we have lots of money and time (although we say we don't, of course) to pay someone to do it and wait for him to do it.

I sometimes imagine what could the possibilities be if the same corporate mentality was used here, where I am now, what a great place this would be. In ex-company, if you took your time with it you missed the technology boat. New is not novel, it's a necessity if you want to survive. Speed, efficiency were the names of the game. And little expense was spared for training and R & D. Of course, current co. prefers to spend money employing other companies to do most of its employees' work, because current co.'s folks are too busy travelling to Holland business class to do real work.

Here, we need to get 20 people to drive to a hotel half an hour away (or fly them across the ocean) to list every single pro and con of making the decision, then one week later we fly a bigger group of people to another swankier place to review the decision of making that decision.

That, in my opinion, would not be necessary if we started making people accountable, answerable for the decisions they make. Then we would think more, do a lot more background work before we do what we do.

And we have endless lessons learnt "workshops" but no one ever brings these lessons learnt, or no one knows how to use those lessons in the next big project.

And you can't just "assure" that things are done by ticking off a checklist. And you can't force your needs onto others who are chasing theirs as well. You gotta earn their respect, and offer a solution. We're working for $$ at the end of the day, not to sate our egos.

You know what? Despite the fact that I'm earning 3 times of what I was at ex-company, I've always been a proud ex-company employee. But now, with my colleague's tardiness,, boastfulness, overconfidence and refusal to take responsibility, I have never been proud of being an employee. And you gotta respect where you work if you want to do well, don't you? Don't you have to believe and share the same values as the majority of whom you work with?

Well, at least I did when I was offshore. Back in the office, it's a totally different, and a rather more unpleasant ballgame.

You might think that I am, after all, working for current co. And that I, and only I made the decision to leave ex company to work in current company. All true. And this is a mere rant, of course. But I just have to get this off my chest, ok?

Quote from Andy Grove, and something that many of us, myself included, fail to practice:

"Be straight with everyone. This isn't an easy principle to stick to. There are always many reasons (better to call them excuses) to compromise a little here or there. We may reason that people are not ready to hear the truth or the bad news that the time isn't right, or whatever. Giving in these rationalizations usually leads to conduct that can be ethically wrong and will backfire everytime."

Plus a little pick me up, also from Mr. Grove - something to live by in the mediocrity of today's reality:

"Don't be encumbered by history, go and do something wonderful."

Happiness, fulfillment and how we work everyday is a choice. I will be accountable, and I will do my homework, make my decisions, do my work and go home contented every day.

Live and work by my own standards, and by those higher than mine own, of course.

Tata.