Friday, September 05, 2008

Slow down, you move too fast…

31st August 2008. Had joined the new company for 10 days, and I still felt curiously redundant in my new role. Not that I WAS, since whatever suggestions I dgiven out so far in management meetings had been taken positively. Rolled out the plan last Friday to the senior members of the team; the reactions ranged from very thrilled to very interested.

Pretty nice guys, and I’m getting to know each of them personally, slowly and surely. Of course, I realize they will never be my “yaars” the way PharmARC people were, and that’s to be expected; I’ve come in as their Head, and so they are bound to have those mental constraints, at least for the time-being.

I also realize that only time will tell of the true colors of the relationships. The ones who act thrilled and so very nice, could easily be maska maaro-ing, and backstab me hollow; the ones who are reserved today, might turn out to be my biggest allies in troubled times. These are the risks we take in the game; the only hope is that life and my previous experiences over the past 5 odd years have managed to stuff some common sense down my gullet.

So, back to main topic.. why then, after all that, WAS I feeling curiously redundant?

Well, for one, at PharmARC, life was all about contingencies and deadlines and playing leapfrog helter-skelter, in projects. I don’t think we ever waltzed leisurely with the client, even when they wouldn’t have minded us to do so.. we were always insisting on the more energetic troubled tango. Lol. Fast paced and exciting, indeed yes, but gave no time to take a breath. I remember always feeling guilty if I ever left office when there was sunlight outside.

Here, we have a 9 to 6.. and we actually FOLLOW it, which leaves me eons of time to do my own thing. While I’m reveling in this, my mind is obviously a little slow in catching up (comfortably), with such a drastic change. Everyone works at a normal pace, without hyperactivity and hypertension. That still seems alien to me. In office, we are not running for everything, every time. There is no need anymore, WPP had “arrived” a long long time ago.

The second factor that causes such redundancy is the fact that the Meritus Bangalore set up is still small (30 odd) and dependant on MindTree for the tech stuff. Thus, between left hand and right hand, they are often waving wildly in the air without meeting, rather like 2 blind bats trying to do a handshake during a storm. Thus, what could take 2-3 max in a large office, still takes about 8, in a small one. Never had to face, and wait for “Support Functions” to do their jobs on time before.. it was a smooth process.

Will get used to it, will get used to it. And then….will change it for the better. Halleluiah!

A Major Food Group

I have a special fondness for the open air Barista on MG Road. The big orange umbrellas, shards of sun making weird patterns on the tiles, the wind getting tangled in one’s hair, the cigarette smoke curling lazily above our heads to dissipate with gusts of blustery weather, the foot-tapping music that makes me want to get up at random moments and dance around, and the high intensity of energy that fills the air.

It’s not just the coffee, I admit. I’m drawn to the whole experience. Sitting there for hours on end, discussing anything and everything, drinking cup and cup of coffee, taking it in turns to ensure people don’t ask us, albeit politely, to leave.

Close friends and family, body language relaxed and easy, laughing hysterically at god-alone-knows-what. Talking of things that one talks about only with those we are close to, knowing there is no judgment, no pressure.


Then suddenly, the conversations veer off on a tangent. The posture changes… urgent, eager, private. Listeners and talkers, simultaneously. It’s a closed circle, low tones directly stating different points of views, ways to figure out tight situations. And after a while, that’s over. People watching, languid moods and peaceful silences take over.

When I was a little girl – well, littler than I am now, at any rate – I had this poster in my room. As far as I remember, some of us friends had made them…yes, MADE.. it was our own thoughts and desires, regurgitated forth in all its squiggly glory on fancy paper. It said, simply,
The 5 Major Food Groups
- Caffeine
- Nicotine
- Protein
- Alcohol
- Cholesterol

The parents yoyo-ed between disgust, suspicion and amusement for a while, finally settling on the latter.

Those food groups didn’t really change over the years.. they merely increased or decreased in order of priority and percentage over time. Today, I can happily claim I’m a coffee addict. It’s almost indescribable. The smell of roasted coffee beans in a perfume shop, the aroma of freshly made coffee smells wafting in the air. We had this ritual in my old office, where we friends would gather in our open air cafeteria, first thing as soon as we all got into work. Each of us had our preferences; my poison was caffeine to get me awake and charged up to face the day. It never failed.

I think I will introduce that in my new job; feel almost “half of me” without it.