Lungar Gupp XXVIII

Hello Guys !!

1. Good Bye Safari Suits. On 3rd Oct I was told that the circular regarding our new uniform has been released (dated 28 Sep 2007, but I doubt if it has been received by all offices till date). This was the best news of the season so far. We are now entitled two sets of winter and four sets of summer suits (3 sets for AMs). Different rates have been prescribed for heavy/light winter centres and are reasonable. DGMs and above will be receiving enhanced rates for the cloth. Rates of shoes, socks and ties have also been hiked. The revised limits are applicable whenever the next supply is due. Now isn't that GOOD NEWS ???

2. May the Tribe Increase. The Security Adviser was here some time back to carry out a review of the Security arrangements. He told us that there is a shortage of 26 officers in Grade 'A' in our cadre and the Bank is shortly going in for new recruitments to fill up the shortfall.

3. CPP Exam. The next CPP exam is scheduled for 03 Nov 2007 at New Delhi. Four security officers from RBI are taking the test this time viz : S.S.Raman, Moin Zafar, R.M.Bade and Bhuvnesh Sahni. Here's wishing them all the best. I am hoping to see them all at New Delhi (in private capacity) at the venue of the test. I am sure there will be a record turnout for the exam this time. I am mentoring 12 officers for the said exam and I know of others who will be taking the test. At this rate the day is not far when RBI will have its own 'ASIS Chapter'. My friend M.W.Khan ditched at the last moment which was a big letdown. He will now try his luck in May 2008.

4. Farewell Bitchings. A lot of loose talk was generated in the aftermath of a farewell party at Mumbai recently. Most of it centred around attendance as some of our colleagues did not want to attend/did not attend at all. I feel we should be magnanimous enough to bury our differences when somebody is bidding adeiu to the organization. By not attending the party all sorts of wrong signals are sent to all and sundry leading to more conjecture. Not done guys !!

Management Lessons From "Chak De India"

This has reference to my earlier post titled "Bonding RBI Style". The management lessons learnt from the movie (my version) submitted to the Bank are as follows :

Introduction

‘Chak De India’ is a movie loosely based on the real life story of former hockey goalkeeper and coach Mir Ranjan Negi who had to face allegations of match fixing after India’s humiliating 1 – 7 defeat to Pakistan in the 1982 Asian Games hockey final. Sixteen years later Negi’s honour was restored when he guided India to the Asian Games gold in 1998 at Bangkok. Later he won accolades for guiding the national women’s hockey team to win the 2002 Commonwealth Games gold at Manchester. Some important management lessons can be learnt from this film which are described in the succeeding paragraphs.

Team Spirit

Team spirit is essential for the achievement of organizational goals in the present day fiercely competitive world where geographical boundaries have no meaning. Even negative instances can be utilized as building blocks for fostering team spirit as shown in the film when the girls beat up the boys who were indulging in eve teasing. The ‘will’ to excel is more important than strength for any team to be successful in their endeavours.

Goal Setting

The organizational goal is more important than personal goals. As depicted in the film the national interest comes first, the team next and the individual last. This has to be the credo each and every time. The importance of goal setting cannot be overemphasized. If the cause is big enough, support is bound to follow.

People Management

The following important lessons in people management can be learnt from the film :

(a) Conflicts can be resolved by understanding their cause.
(b) Act quickly when personal problems turn into performance problems.
(c) Make sure people know you and your expectations when you are new to an organization.
(d) Maintain personal ethics.
(e) Identifying and mentoring future leaders.
(f) Do not ignore morale problems. Try to turn them around.

Change Management

Change is inevitable but hard to achieve. Every organization needs to change with time but there is always resistance to change. Peoples reaction to change is unpredictable and often irrational. As a manager one needs to create a compelling vision in order to encourage people to change. The vision should be inspiring and dynamic. The essentials of change management are building a team, picking people with relevant skills, strong sense of motivation and purpose and good communication.

Leadership

This is an important facet of management. It is one of the many assets a successful manager must possess. The leader does not have to be a ‘nice guy’ to ensure that his team delivers the goods. If the leader is committed to the cause he can even make underdogs rise to the occasion. The leader has to be disciplined and strict with his team besides being compassionate when the occasion demands.

Strategy

Recognise individual strengths and weaknesses and assign tasks accordingly for the fulfillment of organizational goals. Formulate a plan for achieving the goal and then exhort the team to deliver the goods.

Overcoming Prejudices and Biases

Religious, regional and gender biases have to be overcome and set aside if we are to succeed as team, organization or country. These prejudices are deep rooted in our society and they have to be shunned for the success of common goals. Constant awareness and education is required to eradicate this social evil.

Overcoming Personal odds

One’s biggest failure may turn out to be the ladder to success if personal odds are overcome and energy channelised in the correct direction rather than wallowing in self pity and low self esteem.

Conclusion

The film is offbeat and is realistically made. Every viewer will relate to it despite the absence of song and dance sequences, villains, fights and car chases. Everybody will find some meaning in this film which has humour, nationalism, defeat and victory finely woven into the fast paced narrative. In the end the following lines from ‘Jamaican Fragment’ by A.L.Hendricks come to mind :

“ You may have come across incidents where a person is not judged objectively, but by virtue of his or her gender, colour, caste, race or even his or her food habits. Does it not amount to prejudicial or stereotyped thinking ?”

Greener Pastures !!

Guys,

I got the following mail in my inbox as I am registered with 'Monster'. The same was forwarded to me by a friend too. ICICI Prudential are offering a CTC of Rs 8 - 12 lacs to ex-service officers after due training (at their cost). The project has also been endorsed by the Directorate General Resettlement (DGR) presently headed by Maj Gen Harwant Krishan, a Gorkha officer, whose younger brother Jaiwant was in my paltan. Worth a peek ... so here it is :

Dear Capt Nandan,

Greetings from TMI first!!!! ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited is now offering Middle Management Positions across India in multiple functions for Officers from the Indian Armed Forces (under the age of 50 years). For more details, please refer to http://www.tmifirst.com/armedforces/index.htm. Interested officers may register their candidature for the same. Short listed officers would be invited to an Orientation Programme. Warm regards,

Swaminath Adabala

Senior Manager

TMI first

All the best !!!

Lungar Gupp XXVII

1. The other day one of the general side officers who is known to me accosted me and enquired in a 'hush-hush' tone whether I had heard about a Security Officer leaving his car behind at the old duty station and claiming conveyance allowance at the new duty station ? I told him that he was more than two years out-of-date !! This is just an example of how we are constantly under the scanner in the Bank. It is unthinkable (even for bankers !!) that an ex-service officer could be involved in such a misdemeanour. Though the matter is 'stale news' for us now - it is still going around. Such stories doing the rounds cause immense erosion to our image and credibility. So guys let us resolve not to get carried away and to 'do the right thing- always and everytime'.

2. It seems that all the 'lobbying and backstage parleying' for occupying the DGM's chair that was recently vacated at Mumbai has come to 'naught' !! My friend Toms is ably running the show at Mumbai office at present.

3. It is understood that DAPM has written to RBSB to conduct promotion interviews for two posts of AGM and nine posts in Grade 'B' in our cadre. This has happened in the 'normal' course and consequential vacancies have been taken into account. The matter regarding upgradation of five posts in Grade 'C' is still pending. It will be a lucky stroke for aspirants in Grade 'A' if the interviews are held before the upgradation takes place. Watch out this space for further developments in this respect. In the meantime - start brushing up your 'knowledge' guys !!

4. The case regarding scrapping of 'Safari Suits' for us is engaging the attention of the top management and we may hear the 'good news' any day now. I just cant wait to trash my seven sets of 'bullshit' attire.

Wall of Fame at RBI, Bangalore !!

Hi Folks,

A 'Wall of Fame' has been established in our office to showcase singular achievements of the employees and their families. An illustrious team of youngsters from our office were the first to be featured on this 'wall' (it is a notice board at present but a suitably impressive 'wall' is on the way courtesy our Estate Dept) for their efforts to bring about financial literacy at grassroots level in the state by scripting and designing stories in 'comic book' style.

Well, at present, yours truly is adorning this 'wall of fame' !! The achievement being Board Certified in Security Management (CPP). Check out the following write up and photograph (double click to enlarge) :

The wall of fame has certainly made me 'famous' in the office. At least folks got an excuse to talk me despite my stern visage which is generally a put-off to many who meet me for the first time. I am on the lookout for a suitable opportunity to thank the management for this excellent idea.

UP Sainik School, Lucknow - Attention Old Boys !!

This Post is for Fellow Upsainians,

It was indeed a lucky moment for me to find pictures of my school while surfing the net a few years back. I copied them on to my blog later and never thought that this act would help getting in touch with long lost friends and fellow 'Upsainians'. I have very fond memories of the school which I joined in 1968 and left in 1972. My school number was 431 and my house was Tandon House. I plan to recount the tales related to UPSS when I have some more time on my hands in the future.

So any 'old boy' who searched for UP Sainik School on the internet also got my blog address thanks to the pictures and the text posted therein. The biggest surprise was me getting in touch with Rohit Varma (my house type, senior to me in school, but a dear friend) after nearly 27 years. He rang up from New Jersey (US) where he has spent most of his time and we plan to meet when he comes to India next. There is a lot of catching up to do !!

Another one was Suresh Chandra Pandey, (474/Kidwai), who posted a comment on my post 'Fire Training at Nagpur - More Photos' dated 26 March 2007 which I responded. Yet another Upsainian, Ashwini Kumar Tripathi, (938/Shastri), who is also based at Bangalore got in touch with me thanks to the blog. And it was through him that I now have the contact numbers of 9 other 'old boys' in Bangalore. The world is surely a small place !!

So any Upsainian out there (floundering in cyberspace) please get in touch by sending me a mail at nandanbisht@gmail.com

Bonding - RBI style

On 16th August (forenoon) I was told that all BLMC members would be going to see the 7.00 PM show of "Chak De India" at PVR, Forum Mall, Koramangala. The same afternoon a circular was received which confirmed this fact and also required all those viewing the show to put up a note on 'Management Lessons' learnt from the movie subsequently.

Such events are common in the corporate sector but it was a 'first' that I have witnessed during my entire service with the Bank. Its nice to see the winds of change in our conservative organization (even if it happens owing to a friendly push from the top !!) . I hope all you guys are not turning 'green' with envy at we being the first to be put through such an entertaining exercise. Well, I missed the beginning of the movie thanks to the lousy traffic in this city but it was a good experience. I must have watched a movie in a hall after 7-8 years.

The movie is a vibrant tale based on the real life story of M.R.Negi who was the goalkeeper of the Indian team that lost 7-1 to Pakistan in the finals of the 1982 Asiad. The story is all about him trying to redeem his honour and trying to fight the demons in his head. In the movie Shah Rukh Khan dreams to transform a motley group of girls from all over the country who dont see eye to eye with each other, into world beaters. The movie is all about how he does it.

The movie reminds us of our religious, regional, racial and gender biases in a stark manner. These are deeply rooted in our culture and their origins can be traced back to more than 2000 years when caste system was started in the later vedic ages. These prejudices are not going to be removed in a day but it is heartening to note that efforts are being constantly made to eradicate them.

Hearing the crowd clap at various times during the movie also reminds us of 'nationalism' even if it is just for three hours in the dark confines of the hall. Outside the hall the regional divide is very much present in our day to day lives.

It does have a lot of management lessons which I am not going to enumerate over here. The movie is offbeat and a treat to watch. So do yourselves a favour and 'Chak De'.

PS :The only flipside in the whole episode was that we could not watch it with the family. Got a lot of brickbats at home for that !! A sad epilogue to an otherwise enjoyable evening.

Lungar Gupp XXVI

1. The race for filling up the DGMs post at Mumbai is in full swing. Some time back one of the contenders from Chennai was the favourite but if murmurings are to be believed then it is still up for grabs.

2. CPP Exam. Sahni (Chennai), R.M.Bade (Mumbai), Moin Zafar (Jaipur) and M.W.Khan (Lucknow) are all set to take the test in November this year. Here is wishing them all the best. Maj Sahni is most keen to pass the test as he has just got his 'green card' for permanent residence in the US and attaining the certification will land him a $80,000/- plus job for sure. In fact, he is coming to Bangalore for a tete-a-tete with me regarding this.

3. Independence Day. Best wishes to all for the 60th Independence day celebrations tomorrow. We at RBI, Bangalore start the celebrations at 0600 hrs ( no kidding !! ) with flag hoisting at one of the residential colonies followed by another at 0630 hrs and 0700 hrs in the Bank's premises.

CPP Study Kit

Guys,

I am sure this will bring cheer to a lot of CPP aspirants from the Bank. At long last the Central Office is purchasing one set of CPP Study Kit. I got a call from the Central Security Cell last week asking my opinion whether to buy the 'Protection of Assets Manual' hard copy (set of four folders) or to go in for an online version which will be regularly updated. I told them to buy BOTH which our friend Mr Venugopal (AGM at CSC) assured me that he would advise DEAP to do so. Since this manual is the most important (besides being the costliest too) of all the prescribed books it makes sense to go in for both. This should encourage security officers to start preparations to attain the CPP certification. Another set is being purchased by CAB, Pune.

Breaking News !!

It is understood that five additional posts of AGMs in our cadre have been approved. The vacancies in Grade 'B' work out to three as on date after curtailment. It is expected that the regularisation process will be over soon and we may see a new DGM, five new AGMs and three new Managers. For all you know this may happen in 2007 itself. So all you contenders out there - dust your skids, brush up your knowledge and take out that bottle of 'old wine' - rejoice !!