Officially a day off due to Good Friday but there is always someone who is ready to pile on some work with some cheesy and patronizing line like…”I know its a holiday in India, but can you please try and send me something by your end of day……”. I seriously wonder how executives survive without data at their finger tips. Dont they keep their own “Go-To” folder with all the data, essential presentations and key reference material. It takes some real discipline to get there and continue to stay. 12 monthly business reviews, 4 quarterly reviews, 4 investor relation calls and numerous adhoc presentations. So much material gets generated from such reviews. All one has to do is keep them handy and refer to them regularly for all inputs. Executives have to get skilled in basic excel and that includes tools like Power pivot and using templates in power point. What if support teams are removed or made exorbitant from a service stand point ?
Reactions on the win mail start pouring in.
- Congratulations
- Congratulations All
- WOW
- Its been a long wait but well worth it!
- In times such as these, this is a fantastic achievement
- Fantastic win guys ! Hey, XXX let us discuss on how we should organize to deliver flawlessly (sane voice)
- Did you write this mail ? Wow! Really good one, thanks! Please support till contract is done
The one i treasure the most came in from a senior leader who specifically called out my leadership, efforts and not dropping the ball while juggling multiple jobs. Also highlighted how much the deal meant for the company and the practice. It is very hard to bring in the collaborative spirit especially with territories marked with a red line. However, the company comes before all of these and one has to only protect the interest of the company while addressing the needs of the customer. In such matrix organizations, ceding control is out of question. The moment control is given away, it is a dog fight with no real owners stepping in and it pretty much becomes like a dysfunctional democracy. Family’s happy as they were the ones to watch the effort going in to the pursuit.
One interesting perspective offered – this deal might have just saved a few jobs. Hope so!
Data collected for the overnight requested, prepared and submitted. An evening presentation with the executives lasts all of 45 minutes with requests for offline copies to work on. Another submission was finalized and readied for submission. Closure is important for everything !
Lunch was simple. An Amti (A tangy Maharashtrian Dal with Kokum for sourness) with Rice, broad beans curry and some grated salad
Had taken ownership for evening dinner and towards that had soaked for Adai, a protein rich pancake made like a thick crepe. Soak a cup of Idli rice with a handful of raw rice, handful of chickpeas, green gram, black gram and green chick peas. In another vessel soak half a cup of a dal medley (Red gram, Moong gram and bengal gram) along with red chillies. The whole thing is ground after 8 hours and allowed to ferment. Creative additions like curry leaves, additional chillies, moringa leaves, drumstick leaves and onions make this a power packed dinner.
A great week draws to a close. Need to chart out a course of action on how to design one’s life in the weeks and months to come.
Almighty’s grace is all over!
Journeysmatter 