The IPL Awards - A whimper

Well, it was the IPL Award Ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai. All teams were lodged there, members donning blue IPL T Shirts or the usual Black Suits. Of course, one or two old fashioned members were in Tuxedos as well.

Willy – nilly, I have to admit, players ought to be judged by their play and not their demeanor in arenas which are not of the sport they practice. I say this because off those arenas, most of them are awkward, their expression lacks refinement, they strut around with a swagger that reeks of arrogance from shallow understanding of life and of course, there is often a conspicuous lack of humility; the money that they earn and multiply, oozes out from all quarters, the girls - most of who are mesmerized by the flashy lifestyle, the glitz and glamour of these players and places that they go, and some who just find the sweat and testosterone just too irresistible - keep throwing themselves on these players and keep the attention of audiences and onlookers alike riveted by their juvenile and jaunty behavior. Also, most of these consorts are from middle class background. Their socialite bravado and sometimes saucy looks launch them in these circles. Their tryst with glamour and glitz is post adolescence. Following the trend, they all have to adhere to western couture. The awkwardness and discomfort of carriage is evident. But they must wear gowns. All of them without exception. Thats ordained by the high priests of couture.

I was also surprised to see the now much controversial Lalit Modi apparently acting pretty much in control of the situation even on the eve of his dismissal, beckoning and back slapping players as though the findings that flambéed the fortnight that was, were nothing beyond the the supposedly dead - pan revelations of an arm chair media, not meriting anything more than a cynical sneer from a typically American fall guy, and to be buried out of the peoples memory after a quotidian enquiry.

Well, in this melee the man who stood out, showed grace and also a twinkle of intelligence in his eyes was the diminutive Sunil Gavaskar. In the midst of the big bodied players, our little master though dwarfed, stood out. He had both appeal and aplomb which seem to be growing with the years that he is adding to his age.
One phenomenon which intrigues me no end is the fad of being flanked by burly black bedecked men, who apparently are paid to protect the VIP - the people they lunge around. Why should able bodied players carry protection. I think more than need, it is a matter of trend and fashion. It is a statement of having arrived in life. These guards are mostly a nuisance for people at large, and ironically enough, land up roughing up the very people who build this semblance of stardom about their protectee.

Padma Shree to Saif Ali Khan

I am quite disillusioned and even piqued by the type of people picked by the government for awards. There have been controversies galore about the nominations of the Padma award for decades now. Dr Rajendra Prasad wanted to reward the nurse who looked after him through his illness by the Padma award and mind you she was.

Saif Ali Khan, indicted in multiple cases, like the black buck killing and also the duty evasion case, was also awarded.

Notwithstanding the fact that I have nothing personal against this Khan, I made an RTI application on the procedure followed for short listing for the Padma Award. Of course my angst is more against the government which is making a mockery of these awards than against the Khan, who probably does not even know what he has got.

My making such an application should not give the reader an impression that he was the only person who did not merit the accolade. There are many more. Then why did I choose to writ against the Khan. Well I do not have any sound reason for this, other than he is one undeserving person who I was familiar with and I was precious sure and aware of his indictment in some cases.

But of course, this is true, that these actors are rewarded enough in terms of money and fame that another award from the government would do them hardly any good. Clearly they don’t seek the type of recognition that such awards are associated with. The government needs to clarify to the people what these awards stand for. A committee of peripatetic bureaucrats is hardly the right constitution for recognizing musical, academic, theatrical or any other fine arts talent. Chronically, bidding time in one ministry for a more lucrative tenure in another, perhaps makes them most inappropriate for making such selection. Being themselves, a product of a system that is bereft of any mechanism of recognizing much less nurturing talent, how does one expect them to do this for others.

I do recall, once, while I stood in a queue for check in at the Jet Airways counter, I saw a diminutive man sneak into the queue and ask the counter agent, if the flight could be delayed as Mr Saif Ali Khan accompanied by Ms Kapoor were trapped in traffic. Well to the dismay of this handy man of the Khan, I had overheard him. While Jet Airways seemed inclined to make this small gesture to a big celebrity, I threatened to de-plane if the flight was unduly delayed for any such reason. Since my de-planing and consequent de-manifesting and bag offloading would have delayed the flight much more than the courtesy waiting for the star, good sense prevailed on the airline which confirmed to me that no such special treatment would be extended.

For those who saw the last Filmfare award ceremony, would occasion with me to agree, that the onstage buffoonery of the duo - SRK and SAK – was pitiable. The “chote nawab” joke was really in cheap taste. It bemuses me completely, to imagine how a man who operates at a low mental level that he does, and is involved in criminal cases that he is, be found deserving of such national honours.

Why Micromanage?

Why Micromanage

To micromanage is a syndrome that is becoming more and more prevalent in the corporate world. Well it is established and widely acknowledged that micro – managing has its perils and limitations. I wonder why bosses tend to micro manage.

It is important and prudent to delegate. Just that you have to diligently choose the right person for the right job, which could be onerous at times and of course very critical. Having done that, it is important to delegate, trust the judgment of the operational manager and give them space to exercise discretion and operate.

Today, because of the various conveniently available tools of communication, un-imaginative mangers are encouraged to relinquish their own briefs and minutely chase the progress of their direct reports or those even a step lower. They are completely deprived of new ideas and thus find chasing their manger a task more simply accomplished than creating value at a higher plane or making an action plan for a change of orbit.

I think, one of the most successful empires of the world was the Roman Empire. It was clearly upon the King to look for talent who could govern in his name, following the basic tenets or principles set by the King himself, but nothing beyond. How that value system that the King espoused was to be translated into governance was left to the good judgment of the Governor.

Having chosen the right, dependable and loyal candidate, all that the King would do is to watch his caravan disappear into the dust kicked up by the horse chariots round the corner of the hill.

Selukas Nikator was left behind by the Greek general Alakshendra or Alexander.
Ayodhya was left to Bharat, who governed in the name of Ram ensuring that the values that his elder brother stood for were upheld and the people were safe and happy. Chandragupta ruled upto Taskent of course not by micro-managing.

But e mails, faxes, telephones and above all, video conferences, have your bosses continuously breathing down your necks and always making suggestions which are more like directions.

No micromanagement is also one of the reasons, why companies hived off the parent invariably do better than they were doing as a part of the group, because they become owners of their own destiny. Lucent technologies being hived off from AT&T is a stellar example.