THIS or THAT Episode 7: Old is not always Gold

This year my theme for the #MyFriendAlexa campaign is “This or That”. Here, I’ll be putting up a day-to-day scenario that mostly all of us face sometime or the other, along with two different ways in which we can react towards those scenarios – either “This” or “That”. So, let’s look at today’s scenario!

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Karan has recently returned from the United States after completing his Master’s in Business Management and joined his family business the day before yesterday. His father has been looking after the business for 45 long years like his own child. Karan’s father gave him two days to understand the business inside out and Karan is currently giving his feedback about the same to his father.

Karan: Papa, our product is par excellence and we have a great standing in the market. I’m very impressed with the attention to detail we give in manufacturing and delivering each piece.

Father: Yes, indeed. It is very important to keep our customers satisfied so that they remain loyal towards our brand.

Karan: Which is fantastic. However, what I noticed is, we’re not putting in enough efforts to keep our employees as satisfied as our customers.

Father: What do you mean by that???

Karan: Our employees are overworked and we treat them as if they don’t have a life outside of work. They’re already working 6 and a half days in a week and spending more than 12 hours at the office. This is not right papa. Happy employees are one of the keys to a great business. If we don’t keep them stress free, they won’t be able to add value to their work or our business. If they are content, they can bring in innovation and different ideas on the table, which can help us grow globally. I want to expand our business, and not just stand in one city.

Karan’s father could have two probable reactions to Karan’s concerns. Let’s look at them:

THIS:

Father: Now you will teach me how to run business? Just because you met a few firangs, now you will tell me what’s wrong and right? And these people are very lazy. They don’t move a muscle if I don’t keep a 24*7 check on them! And work should always come first. I have worked hard all my life only then have you been able to go abroad and study. You don’t teach me how to run my business.

Karan: I agree papa that our family has flourished because of your hard work. But I’m only saying that we can achieve the same amount of success, and even better wins if concentrate a little more on our employees and treat them a little humanly. And…

Father: What do you mean treat them more humanly? Do I treat them like animals?? I don’t want to hear a word from you now. You may go home and come to office tomorrow only if you agree with my working culture.

THAT:

Father: But beta these people don’t move a muscle until I give them an earful. I need to be strict with our employees.

Karan: I had a word with our employees papa and they are not happy with the work culture. I envision a business where our employees stay loyal to us and not just show up daily only for the sake of salary. This with a few more changes can help us grow manifolds in a short span of time.

Father: I think we can consider your point of view, maybe a few changes can bring in better results. Let’s sit down after an hour and discuss the changes that you want to propose.

Thoughts? Well, I love to interact with people (especially elderly) who are willing to learn something or the other, regardless of age or experience. It’s much easier to communicate with them and understand things from their view.

However, I have also come across a few elderly people who don’t accept any changes or suggestions from their younger ones because they believe their experience has earned them enough knowledge and they can never be wrong. They might have more experience, but that doesn’t necessary imply that the elder ones are always right and know more than the latter.

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to bang your head for your seniors to understand a change that was necessary to bring in? Do share your experience with us.

You may read other episodes here:

Episode 1: Late to the Party!

Episode 2: Crisp White Shirt

Episode 3: Road Rage

Episode 4: Out of Love or Out of Fear?

Episode 5: I have a different perspective, doesn’t mean I hate yours

Episode 6: “Log kya Kahenge?” ya fir “Kuch toh Log Kahenge!”

I’m taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s #MyFriendAlexa!