REAL-TIME SUCCESS N. JAYARAMAN
Much to my
chagrin, I have often come across instances when some people interacting with me choose to
subconsciously place me at an elevated level, absolutely not commensurate with my
present worth, intellectual or physical,
if any. I guess, by virtue of the position I might have occupied, once
upon a time, by default, in one or two organizations, for a certain time, people tend to do so, which
does not, ipso facto, contribute anything to my inner worth or IQ. That would
have remained stagnant at a particular point or rather declined with advancing
age, medical side effects or God knows what.
It is also not
necessary that all those people, who have something to do or not to do with me,
have to be compared with me, on one parameter or the other, every now and then.
But on certain occasions, consciously or otherwise, this practice is resorted
to by people, whether it serves them any purpose or not. Perhaps, it has
something to do with some psychological issues, which I am not sure of. It is
not of much concern to me though it might be to some others, presumably.
I sometimes
think that irrespective of the inherent merit or worth of individuals, people in
the middle-class bracket particularly; pursue different activities or vocations
just to eke out their living with comfort and happiness. Some choose a
particular field, by default, which suits them and some pursue a course which
neither suits them nor do they like it and keep changing till they find
themselves in a quandary, to start again from square one. There are plenty of
examples. Like for instance, someone succeeds as a sportsperson, someone does
not. Someone succeeds as a Lawyer, someone does not. So on and so forth.
What prompted me
to write this piece is that the other day, I sent a small mail to an old friend
of mine, remembering and appreciating his long and old association with me and
thanking him for being a good friend in good and bad times. He wrote back
thanking me profusely and also stating that he was obliged to be in the company of a senior official (he doesn’t know how stupid I was though somewhat improved now, with greying hairs, I
believe !) being his friend, though he is pretty small, in comparison and
all those things. In the heart of hearts, I know that both of us are more or
less equally educated and probably have the same level of IQ, with a rider that
if a competitive exam is conducted tomorrow, on a professional subject, probably
he would beat me squarely in that
without any doubt. Hope, no authority is listening, for if they really do it, I
am pretty sure all those so-called Executives, occupying cozy corner cabins, would
be exposed beyond recognition, just like me, because the juniors in the field
would knock them down in every single Department, e.g. batting, bowling or fielding, even umpiring. But what prompted him to place me on a
superior scale is just by virtue of my retiring at a somewhat better level than
him, which might have happened due to multiple, inexplicable factors not
related to merit alone, which I firmly affirm, I am far away from. The reason is
not far to seek. I might have made use
of some opportunities or freebies for upward movement which he would have
shrugged off due to some compelling reasons, if not by choice. But people just do what their heart dictates
without really knowing what is right and what is not. It is just providence
that guides every individual to do what he does at a given point of time and for
those who believe in Karma, it is what rules the roost.
Ending one’s
career in a lower or higher rank is not all that counts in one’s life. Maybe
it is an ego satisfying tool and gives a sense of accomplishment in the
materialistic world, which is a transitory phenomenon. The appreciation and the
accolades received from friends and society may add to the aura of the
individual undoubtedly, but where it will end up no one can predict. At this
point, it may be relevant to draw upon Peter Principle, an accepted concept in
Management which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their ‘level
of incompetence’. An employee is promoted based on his success in previous jobs
until he reaches a level at which he no longer remains competent, as skills in
one job do not translate to another. The theory further explains that an
Executive keeps on moving upwards up to a level, where he stops growing, and maybe his productivity tends to decline or the quality of output declines. Though this
cannot be generalized, nevertheless the theory works in a large number of targets
based Corporates and is a part of the curriculum. In our country, it is not
uncommon to find cases where CMDs and EDs have had to vacate offices or given
the pink slips due to omissions or commissions or both. In some cases,
Investigative Agencies run the extra mile to prove or investigate allegations,
even when they don’t smell a rat. And the whole country is agog with fabricated
stories, duly compounded by the exuberant media, the anchors of some of which
keep howling, 24/7: ‘the country wants to know….’
On the other
hand, when we look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs like Food, Shelter, etc.
Self-Actualization comes at the end, which one can achieve at a point when one
can put a cap on one’s needs and wants or can crystallize where
to put a full stop. Self-Actualization
enhances the well-being of the individual which is the sine qua non for a
satisfied and meaningful life. That varies from person to person. I would like
to mention the instance of a friend who was a Supervisor in an MNC. But his children were gems of students who
excelled as Gold Medalists in MBBS and Engineering and later became Research
Scholars in Ivy League Colleges in the US. I
also know of the son of another retired GM of a Bank, whose son was after his
father’s money after his retirement. So it all depends. No one-size-fits-all
formula applies.
We have also witnessed
that success of an individual is different from the success of a family. For
instance, a person might have reached the pinnacle of success or glory, but his
ward might be languishing to find a foothold in the corporate corridor or in
any other field, even after several attempts. At the same time, it is not uncommon to find
that the son or daughter of a vegetable vendor or an Auto driver has qualified
as an IAS and getting posted as DM. I
know one Doctorate in Economics who retired as a Scale One Officer from a
nationalized bank, but his son was a celebrated IFS Officer. Therefore, can it
be said that his knowledge or IQ was any lesser than the super bosses he was
reporting to from time to time for over three decades. It is altogether another matter that his articles used to be published in leading world magazines. There
are some qualified Officers like CAs, Cost Accountants and Engineers from
prestigious Colleges, who retire from relatively lower ranks in comparison with
simple graduates in Humanities who make it to the top positions, which does not
guarantee extraordinary caliber, to the best of my understanding.
Now, reverting
to the original issue, merely on the basis of an individual reaching a
particular rank in the management echelon does not necessarily add any intrinsic
value to his faculty, which remains almost constant at a level at which he would
have finished his education or joined
the organization, in a junior or senior capacity, leave aside the experience
part. What happens afterward is just a
matter of chance or accident or opportunity or destiny or all of them combined,
including some more invisible factors.
The same way, we
have often seen highly capable and qualified people, retiring in relatively
lower ranks. But I am sure, they know their priorities. They focus on better
health, steady income, peace of mind, better family dispensation, concentrate on
education of their children and become successful in their own ways.
The fundamental
issue is
how to attain Self Actualization
which is the most important factor and once one can find it at whatever stage
of life, satisfaction ensues, which cannot be evaluated in terms of status or
height or weight or complexion or any such mundane matter or influenced by any
external force.
Again, just
because someone is not in the rat race cannot be interpreted as a case of
ineligibility or incompetence or even negligence. Similarly, it cannot be
assumed that all people reaching the top Executive positions reach there solely
on the basis of proven competence or excellence in their previous career path,
without any exception. While the Mountaineers,
who scale mighty peaks, make and break records, nobody remembers the Sherpas, let
alone hail them. Nevertheless, they prefer remaining calm and quiet as the
untiring navigators of the treacherous mountains. They are also loved, perhaps,
in some folklore poems….! In those
hills……!!
____________________________________________________________________
N.
JAYARAMAN / 10.05.2020 / KOLKATA
98314-12836
/ njrnetwork@gmail.com
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