Thursday, December 24, 2015

In Hindsight Vision is 20/20

I started my Company long back many years ago along with P (A friend's friend then - now 1 of the two I consider my closest friends). We were young, hard working and willing to the extra mile to make the business work. We got a big break within the first year and took in a lot of employees. We had to give24/7 support. We handled it well but still felt the need to employ a senior person to manage the show.

One of my ex-colleague, let's say K, was freshly out of job, and over talks we just decided to take him in.  As work started in  earnest I realized that my workload had increased instead of decreasing. K was making small mistakes in a number of places, which ended up having large impact. I was forced to double check everything and cover it up for him. I was getting desperate.

P noticed the incompetence of K, (P was the MD), and asked me to pull him up.  Instead I started defending K in front of P. A sense of loyalty played a part at my end. I and P ended up having a major fight. Employees were afraid. No one knew which of we both will get angry next. Some of the senior guys (age wise I & P were quite young), started advising us. I have to say that many of them meant well.

I continued in the rooms which I and P had rented, whereas P started sleeping in the office itself. We started avoiding each other. We were not on talking terms, and this was exploited by one specific person. By a strange twist of events, both I and P had put our faith on K. He played the part of "Narada" the instigator perfectly. He will create his own stories, and then carry our response to the other. Luckily for us, K got another job and left our company.

I was convinced that the end of the company  was nigh. I had planned to leave everything and go to Hyderabad where my parents were settled. P had the same plans for his hometown. One day, we met each other on the road and started walking around. Both of us remember the words, but don't accept who said it. One of us said, "Our greatest strength was we both could always sit down and discuss whatever be our differences. Why has it changed now?"
 We  discussed and openly asked each other questions. Slowly the many layers of  deceit started peeling off. We realized while we were the masters of  the company, there was a ring master who took both of us for a ride. 

Destroying that day's team was quite easy, but the same tricks will not be effective today. Now the team has been forged through fire and the trust level is too high as compared to anyone else. A system of updating each other on various issues established that day continues even now.

Hindsight: Get your info direct, do not respond on what outsiders (sometimes insiders too) have said.


DISCLAIMER: ALL  THE INCIDENTS REPORTED ARE THE IMAGINATION OF THE AUTHOR. IT DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY RELATION WITH ANYONE LIVING, PAST PRESENT OR FUTURE

No comments:

Post a Comment