Business Organisation. Which Employee would you rather have. And some other aspects.

 

Business Organisation. Which Employee would you rather have. And some other aspects.

Dinesh K Kapila

What would be the ideal employee profile. Think about it. I have blogged earlier about the optimal manner of working as regards Junior Officers in the Corporate Sector. But as to the team, this is always the Corporate Version of an orchestra. All players are required.

Years and years ago, a top management officer called me aside and advised me to cool off on pressurising an officer reporting to me. I had a honest discussion. The officer was mainly running errands for him and thus taking shelter and not attending to even basic tasks. Well, he clarified, I require all types, to run the office.   It cannot run only with dedicated work horses only. Be as it may and I do know it is contentious, but it is only to illustrate the need for all types of officials of varied profiles in any organisation.

Bit seriously, the main concern in any target oriented corporate organisation is to focus on the need to have focused staff having a common objective overall, driven by a common work culture (the adherence may vary from individual to individual but a core is common)  and aware about their goals and targets and the policy as laid out and more important the strategy. Communication is the key. Plus of course skill, education, professional orientation, a team orientation etc.

But above all in a body corporate (commercial) it is a business orientation coupled with the above. An understanding of the core of the business and endeavoring to contribute to the Balance Sheet in whatever capacity as appropriate.  Understanding the mode of business and goal orientation and executing the corporate strategy. Know the financial aspects  and implications. This could be the employee one would rather have.

To illustrate, a businessman cum farmer (though all farmers are inherently businessmen) was to go on a long pilgrimage of a year. He was worried who would oversee the farming operations cum lrge business of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc. This farmer was a canny businessman. His main claim and route to riches was his stock of seeds, high on germination, quality of the produce and the farmer was very selective about this aspect. He had four sons and thought about this issue. He was reconciled to some loss but wanted to mitigate the risk. Finally he collected the parent  stock of seeds and divided it into four equal parts. He now called his four sons over and stated that since he would be away for a year and meditating and hence out of touch, the four sons should oversee the business jointly by carving out separate functions and portfolios. The farms could be taken care off by the farm manager but he needed to be guided by the sons. The status should be the same of all operations when he returned.

Turning to the seeds, he said, each sone was to take one part and keep It safe. These seeds were highly precious and it had taken him decades to perfect them, generation on generation. He would like them to be returned to him as they were after a year so as to continue the uninterrupted chain. The sons assured him in all seriousness and told him not to worry. As soon as he left, the sons were in an argument. Who would handle which portfolio and what business, the negotiations etc. The farmer’s wife looked on helplessly as the sons squabbled. She finally advised them to handle each business and portfolio for three months each and walked away sadly, stating that the seeds were their lookout. The eldest was apparently the wisest, he needed money and decided to make an investment in Gold, he sold off the stock of seeds with him and reasoned he would sell the gold at the end of the year for a handsome profit and buy similar seeds. The second son, who considered himself to be financially a wizard, sold the seeds and invested the proceeds with a money lender for a year. The third son was an obedient son, he faithfully kept the seeds in a store room and locked it. Rather double locked it. The fourth son called the farm manager aside and asked him as to how the seeds were precious and what was the cycle of production, the financial returns and preserving them. He also asked the farm manager about his knowledge about the seeds and their preservation. He then proceeded to get them planted.

A year later the farmer  returned. Rested, he immediately asked his four sons to return the seeds. The eldest son stated he had just purchased fresh seeds but of a lower quantity as the price of gold had declined in a year.  The second son stated that the moneylender had just paid up and he was yet to buy any seeds, he was truly sorry but he would buy them soon. The farmer was truly disturbed to hear this from the two sons. The seeds from  the market would be but a pale shadow of the parent stock he had entrusted them with. The third son went over and brought the seeds from the store with a look of satisfaction. The seeds had dried up, lost their value.  The farmer sighed, obedient, maybe  diligent and truthful but the results were not evident . Then the fourth son took him to  the particular fields he had cultivated with the farm manager.  There was a crop which had matured and was ready for harvesting. It was verdant and the farmer was happy. The fourth son stated this was the second cycle and he had earned a handsome amount from the first crop. He had leased more land to farm with the surplus. Plus he had applied the seeds for the second cycle with due diligence and the scientific mode of application and was confident of a higher yield and realisations. He had already sold the produce at a handsome premium. The farmer was truly happy and immediately stated it would be the fourth son who would succeed him as the head of the business.

The other three sons were now disturbed. They complained to their father that he left no clear instructions, there was lack of clarity and more important, the fourth son had actually indulged in a business venture and this was a hustle. The farmer advised them that he had instructed clearly to run the business smoothly, but they had squabbled and by taking turns to run it only created discontinuity. The seeds were to be retuned exactly as they were and this was not the case with the three elder sons. The fourth son had invested wisely, earned a surplus, preserved similar seeds and thus adhered to the terms and conditions. As to the hustle, which business was without a hustle. Here he meant hustle in a positive way.

Coming to this issue of hustle in business, I must share a real life story I read once of an executive working in a new age company which was scaling up very fast. The executive’s only crib was that while the technology and its development and application was truly engrossing, the hustle of the business operations left her in a quandary.  Reminded me of the three sons as above. I had discussed the concerns of the “hustle” with my brothers in the corporate sector plus a couple of cousins.  They only stated, to summarise, no  hustle, no business. It certainly had to be within the regulatory framework and lawful and also reasonably ethical. The policy framework from the Board / Promoter had to be clear and the strategy laid out. But beyond that, it had to be focused on sustaining margins or enhancing them. Every negotiation had to focus on this crucial aspect.  This cannot be lost sight off in any business organisation and by its employees.

Once I was with a business family, committed to that business for a few generations. They were experiencing a slowdown and were disturbed about it. Times had changed, they sighed, the new crop of  businessmen were sharp, focused and rather ungentlemanly at times. Networking with a purpose was the new mantra and so was socialising with all stakeholders, be it from the regulatory side, the administrative side, the financial aspects and so on.  For a family which would rather keep to itself and pursue the higher goals of life, this was proving rather problematic. Well,  each business has to be clear about where it stands and where does it plan to stay in the informal pecking order. The business promoters may have to reorient somewhat also, as I reasoned with them, remain teetotallers but there was no harm in extending entertaining guests or being a bit more in the face.  They  had to evolve too to stay in the race. And their employees had to know and understand this. Or they could preserve wealth or diversify, but preserving wealth as a strategy was only a short term gain, ultimately, a business had to grow, or be satisfied with reasonable returns and maybe a lower degree of recognition amongst peers.  As regards ethics, each business promoter had to draw the line, this was certainly flexible for some but then many are staying the course and riding it out too. This debate would always be there. This aspect is an interesting area on its own.

Well, that’s that then for now.

==================================================================================