Security Managers Conference - 26 Dec 2005

Hi Guys,

All offices were required to forward their suggestions for discussion in the subject conference by 25th of this month. The objectives spelt out in the Central Office letter which the said conference is 'purported' to serve, I must confess, went completely over my head. Nevertheless I have asked my office to forward the following points for discussion :

(a) Standardisation of Security Procedures. Procedures and practices relating Security matters should be uniformly followed at all the Centres. This includes chain of command, creation of identity, following best practices and standard operating procedures.

(b) User Interface during Technological Intervention. Security Managers should be involved at the siting stage whenever introduction of new technology related to Security is contemplated by the Bank. More often than not Security Managers have to contend with outdated technology and the installer of a particular gadget has his way in the siting the equipment.

(c) Career Prospects for Security Guards. The Bank may think about a three tier career progression for Security Guards/Durwans. Starting from the base level to Head Security Guard and then on to Security Supervisor or ACT so that morale is maintained.

(d) Career Progression for Security Officers. With the induction of 27 more Security Officers at Grade ‘A’ level the total strength of the cadre will swell up to 115 officers. A majority ( 92 %) of these officers will be in Grades ‘A’ and ‘B’. There is an urgent requirement for increasing the posts at Grade ‘C’ level (which have shrunk to just five posts) so as to ensure that Security Officers continue to give their best to the organization and do not get frustrated.

"Better Verify Your Sources"

It was autumn. The Red Indians on the remote reservation asked their new Chief if the winter was going to be severe or mild. Since he was a Red Indian Chief in a modern society, he had never been taught old secrets; when he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell how the weather was going to be. Nevertheless, to be safe, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be bad and that the everybody should collect wood and be prepared. Being a practical leader, he had an idea after a few days. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked "Is the coming winter going to be bad?" "It looks like this winter is going to be terrible," the meteorologist at the weather service responded. So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more wood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Is it going to be a cold winter?" "Yes," the man at National Weather Service again replied, "It definitely will be very severe". The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of wood they could find. Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going tobe very cold?" "Absolutely," the man replied. "It's going to be one of the coldest winters ever.""How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked. The weatherman replied, "The Red Indians are collecting wood like crazy".

P.S. This reminds me of the sitreps we have seen in service regarding activities across the border based on supposedly authentic "sources"!!!

Dont Change The World

Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he came back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony.

He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of cows' skin, and would cost a huge amount of money. Then one of his wise servants dared to tell the king, "Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money ? Why don't you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet ?"

The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a "shoe" for himself.

There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story : to make this world a happy place to live in, you better change yourself - your heart; and not the world . . .

Lungar Gupp VI

Hi Guys,

Following is the latest "gupshup" :

1. Height of Fraternisation. A senior colleague has recently been hauled up for boozing it up with the Security Guards ( of all the people in the Bank). For God's sake guys dont take fraternisation to such heights !! If you are so starved for company - go it alone ( " ekla chalo re") - but DONT RESORT TO SUCH STUNTS. As it is, the collective image of our cadre is taking a beating, so please dont make matters worse.

2. Dereliction of Duty or What ?? Another colleague has been issued a chargesheet for not performing his duty properly. Please make sure that you know what you are supposed do in whatever area you are working viz : Security, Protocol, Maintenance or CCTV. Such cases are a dampener of spirits for all of us. So let us not get caught on the wrong foot (or with our pants down !!).

3. Career Progression. The Security Adviser, it is learnt, has promised to include the point regarding our career progression and the resultant frustration in his openeing remarks in the forthcoming "Security Managers' Conference", which , by the way , is scheduled to be held on 26 Dec 2005 at Mumbai. I will put up a post regarding this after I have attended the said meeting.

That's it for now. Happy Boozing and Happy Working !! Ciao !!!

It's all about STRATEGY

A blind man sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet and a sign that read: "I AM BLIND PLEASE HELP". A creative publicist was walking by him and stopped to observe, that he only had a few coins in his hat. He dropped a few more coins into his hat and without saying anything, took the sign, turned it around, and wrote something on it...................... .

He placed back the sign by the blind man's feet and left. That afternoon the creative publicist passed by the blind man again and noticed that his hat was now full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized his footsteps and asked if he had re-written his sign and wanted to know what he actually wrote? The publicist responded: "Nothing that was not true, I just re-wrote your sign differently".

He smiled and went on his way. The blind man never knew, but his new sign read:"TODAY IS SPRING, BUT I CANNOT SEE IT".

Moral of the story:Change your strategy, when something does not go your way. Present your view in a different way, when things are not working out. A change in strategic outlook, can turn our life around !!

P.S. Maybe a change of strategy on our part regarding our career progression will make the management take notice of our plight !!

Lungar Gupp - V

Hello Guys,

1. It is believed that the latest circular regarding the award of "Barsati" designation of Grade C to those of us who are drawing more than Rs 15950/- basic pay is NOT a fallout of the representation made by Chennai office for sanction of additional posts of Grade C in our cadre.

2. Our friends at Mumbai are planning to take up the same issue with the authorities after the wage settlement for officers is over in another couple of days.

3. The CGM i/c, DAPM was in station and I had the opportunity to listen to his address which was very enlightening. He emphasised the point that he advocates an 'open door policy' and his mantra is to treat everyone like 'family'. Taking a cue from that, may I request my friends at Mumbai to apprise him about our problems. He told me that he is willing to do whatever is possible 'within the ambit of the rules and regulations'.