Setting S.M.A.R.T goals and scaling Himalayan heights

How does one go about pursuing one's ambitions which are sky-high?. Especially, if those ambitions necessitate goal-setting and their implementation with the help of teamwork. ­­Here is an activity that we performed in our class which helped us understand what went into setting smart goals.

                                        Tower building Exercise

          We were given a set of wooden blocks and build a tower using them. These blocks had to be placed on top of one large block. There was one person who was building the block and the rest were asked to assist him. Also, whenever the tower falls, the game was as good as over.

          We were then asked to arrive at an estimate for the height of the tower to be built. The rest of the class was asked to give suggestions about goal set, goal history, and goal achieved in terms of the height of the tower as we all made educated guesses about them.

          This activity was then used as a platform to explain the concept of S.M.A.R.T goals. The picture below shows the importance of S.M.A.R.T goals and what they really mean when it comes to achieving the goals.

            

          The process helped us understand that human potential is infinite and that it always comes on top of the other parameters. The parameters considered were:-

1. Potential

2. Goals set

3. Performance (actual)

4. Performance (history)

          The goals set will always be less than the potential. It's our efforts to bridge the gap between potential and goals set that will help us move closer and closer to our goals and become near-perfect. 

The Story of three Chinese Monks

                              

          The film is based on the proverb "One monk will shoulder two buckets of water, two will share the load, but a third and no one will want to fetch water."

          The film is an animation movie directed by A Da, released in 1980. The movie is a silent movie, and hence worthy of appreciation across cultures. It tells the story from the Buddhist Bhakku's point of view. Different instruments were used for the description of each monk.

          Subject of the movie

          A buddhist monk lived atop a mountain. Everyday, he took a yoke and a bucket along with to the foot of the mountain to fetch water. The water that he fetched was enough  for his daily needs and to water his plant which was kept with the idol.

          One fine day, he was joined by an older monk at the monastery. Since both of them needed water, they carried a bucket tied to the centre of a pole to the foot of the mountain to fetch water. However, the attempt to share the work failed miserably as each monk felt that it was the other's job to fetch water. The plant also was running out of life due to lack of water.

                              

          The scenario worsened when the third monk joined and began to devour on the water collected by the other two. The three were undecided on how one had to go about the task of fetching water. Their prayers were also hampered due to the unrest between them. The plant also began to grow sober. So did the idol as depicted in the movie.

But there came a twist in the tale when the monastery caught fire. They say that tough times bring out the best in you. So did it in this case as management strategies evolved from the crisis.

They run for their lives....and how?

          Extinguishing the fire was the single motive in the minds of the monks. That urged them to come up with a disaster management strategy. Innovation made the strategy a highly successful tool to combat the fire. Productivity was at its peak as the three monks implemented the strategy in unison.

Lessons in Management

          Co-operation among team-mates is an art that needs to be imbibed for success in the corporate arena. It's not just about how good you are, but it's also about the intent that you display to take the team along with you. As exemplified in the movie, it was co-operation that helped the monks 'get out of jail.'

          Innovation was also a topic that was covered in the movie as the monks used a pulley system to draw water. It showed the importance of technology in improving productivity.

          As they accomplished their task, they later reaped the joy of success which was catalyzed by teamwork. The plant blossomed, the idol grew happy, and they meditated with peace.

          

Craftsmanship versus Modern Management

            Our third session on Principles of Organization and Management dealt with differences between craftsmanship and modern management and the right mix of ingredients necessary for modern management. So how does one bring out the differences between the two in a management classroom?? Read on to know the answer.

Tower Building Activity:

            An individual from the class was asked to come forward and build a tower using a set of blocks. After listening to the ground rules involved in it, the individual built a tower that was 16 blocks high. Kudos to him for that as he went about doing his job with clinical perfection. Dr. Mandi referred to this activity as an act of craftsmanship as only one person's skills were involved in building the tower.

Modern Management:

            So much for craftsmanship. So why does one need modern management after all if one man could be so effective. But the fact remains that in an organization, the activities require a lot of co-ordination between individuals and among departments. This is necessary to meet the objectives of the organization.

            To stress the importance and the complexity involved in teamwork, a group of 3 people were asked to come up and execute the same task (tower building). The three people were assigned the roles of:-

 1. Manager: Responsible for developing a strategy in order to meet the objective.

2. Instructor: The interface between the manager and the worker.

3. Worker: The one who takes instructions and goes about building the tower.

            The above-mentioned activity beautifully brought out the complexities involved in modern management as against that of craftsmanship.  

Salient features of Modern Management:

            1. Manager holds the authority. In the case of craftsmanship, the worker calls the shots.

            2. Interdependency is more in modern management.

            3. There's delegation of responsibility.

            4. Alienation can be high whereas in the craftsmanship, there are high chances that the worker is satisfied.­­­­­­

            5. Bundling  of the right things also becomes necessary in the case of modern management.

           

3 E's of Management:

1. Effectiveness: The ability of a process of to achieve the desired result. It's a non-quantifiable character.

2. Efficiency: It is the ratio of the output achieved to the input required in a process. It's a quantifiable character.

3. Excellence: This is the ultimate motive of any organization. The formula for the excellence of any organization goes like this:

                                    Excellence = Efficiency * Effectiveness

           

Motivation Theories-What makes 'Y' a better manager

                        Motivation is an art. You need it in every sphere of life and more so in management for it's a prerequisite for managers to keep their employees motivated through trying times. Douglas McGregor's 1960 publication on Theory X and Theory Y managers has been a motivation bible for organizations for ages now. It talks about two completely contrasting theories of motivation and their impact on the mindset and performance of employees.

Theory X Managers:

                        These managers believe that employees are inherently lazy and disinterested and that their sole aim is to earn money. They feel that employees try to evade work. Hence, they feel the need for a hierarchical structure which maintains control at every level of the organization. They also like to have comprehensive control mechanisms in place. Such managers tend to blame the employees in most situations instead of taking stock of the system, the training, and the environment at the workplace.

Theory Y Managers:

                        Managements that function based on this theory assume that employees are ambitious and self-motivated. Such managers seek enthusiasm in their employees and assume that employees see work as an end in itself. They also urge the employees to explore their creative realms which can improve the productivity of the organization.

                        The picture below gives an illustration of both kinds of managers:

                        

            

   

    Moving forward, we now analyze the reactions of both types of managers to various situations:

Situation 1:      Employee dislikes his work and manager assumes he is lazy.

                        Such a situation is seen in those organizations which lack clarity in goal-setting and their directive principles are not in place. The employees tend to lose their motivation to perform better under such circumstances. The manager, instead of taking steps to motivate the employees, lets the situation go out of control and the organization falls into sickness.

Situation 2:      Employee likes his work and manager assumes he is lazy.

                        Such a situation has great potential to land an organization in trouble as the best of the employees tend to lose motivation and quit the organization. This is because, although the employees are skillful, hardworking and motivated to extend their limits, the manager doesn't allow them to realize their potential. This leads to frustration among the employees and the organization suffers.

Situation 3:      Employee dislikes his work and manager assumes he is not lazy.

                        This situation is typical of a place that involves repetitive work but loads of money. Although the employees are frustrated due to lack challenges at work, or due to any other reason, the manager gives it his all to motivate the employees. Department change, performance incentives etc. are ways to motivate the employees. Such managers generally end up being successful in their pursuit for excellence.

Situation 4:      Employee likes his work and manager assumes he is not lazy.

                        This is a dream situation for any organization. Employees are ready to push their limits and the management is open to their ideas. The management motivates the employees to think out-of-the-box at every major step. This results in a win-win situation for the management and the employees. The organization also benefits immensely from the same.

                       

                       

           

                       

                        

My first day at NITIE and my tryst with our prolific professor

                                            

               Weather prediction, they say, is a tough job. Very often, the predictions go awry. But anyone trying to forecast the weather in Mumbai can step into the role with aplomb. Such is the predictability of the weather in this part of the world during this time of the year.

               The weather inside our NITIE campus was also quite predictable. There was a lot of nervous energy around. Walking in the hallowed portals was a dream come true for all of us. Everyone had just one question in mind "It's my first class in my dream college. What's it going to be like?" as we huffed and puffed our way up the stairs to Syndicate-1.

                                             

               It was 9 AM. Dr. Prasad, fondly referred to as professor Mandi by his students, strode into our classroom.  The first few moments of the class was a throw-back to my cricketing days as Dr. Prasad gave us a few balls and asked to play around with them (Who said that learning wasn't fun?). It was more than enough to cool down the tensed nerves.

               Then came my time under the sun. Dr. Prasad asked me and my friend (Aviral) to take centre stage. He gave me a pink-coloured toy and asked me to sell it to Aviral for 70 rupees. I tried my best to fit into the shoes of a salesman for my company and named it 'Child-play International Toys.' At the end of the exercise, both of us received a word of appreciation from Dr. Prasad. We then realized that the objective of the exercise was to apprise us of the travails of a salesman in selling a product. It also showed us why management education was necessary to make a transaction click.

                                            

               2500. Yes, that's a number that I wouldn't forget in my life. For that's the amount that I would be sacrificing everyday as the opportunity cost of doing my MBA. How does one get it back? Listen to Dr. Mandi. His solution is Earning while learning. While that's easier said than done, I am on the lookout for ways to do it. Dr. Mandi's desi ways fail to impress nobody as he asked to take an oath saying "Aaj ki roti, aaj hi kamaana hai."

               "Blogging? Oh, such a waste of time." If you are one of those who say that, then think again my friend. This was the biggest takeaway for me from this class. Dr. Mandi spoke to us about the importance of blogging and the potential it has to educate the masses, free of cost. It can indeed serve as a panacea for the lack of infrastructure and quality of education that our education system is suffering from.

               Floyd is always fun to listen to. But Floyd inside a classroom?? It just doesn't get better. It was Dr. Mandi's way of telling us "Don't be another brick in the wall."

               At this juncture, I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes, The secret of life is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.