Introspection Illusion (2)

“If the little grey cells are not exercised, they grow the rust.” – says Hercule Poirot; a wonderful fictional character created by Agatha Christie. Poirot has been on my mind all week (a) Buoyed by some encouragement, and no opprobrium, I have decided to exercise my grey cells and plod on with my introspection series. (b) our collection of Poirot is now complete; my better half did some meticulous research and ordered all the missing books. 

We inaugurated our current Head Office at Andheri, Mumbai in 2010. As we looked across our ‘street’ in summer of 2010, for many, it was a ‘Stendhal syndrome’ moment (minus the negative connotations) i.e. rapid heartbeat and disorientation - our head office was indeed an object of great beauty. 

Circa Feb 2021, we opened our Head Office again after 11 months (having kept it closed for COVID) This time around, it was heart-warming –we go to share some warm smiles, check on each other and savour some excellent filter coffee at Bru Café. For me, coming back to office has been all about connecting, collaborating, and co-creating the magic. Thank you Anuradha Razdan and our HR team for this fantastic hybrid model, you have added many ‘joules’ to my energy. I am extremely impressed with all steps that have been taken for safety of our people on the premises.  

We were also fortunate to wish Sitalakshmanan the very best (in person) as he moves on to his next adventure having completed more than a decade with Unilever. Yet another quality product from Unilever, Sita is a fabulous leader and a wonderful human being. We will miss him.

In part 1 of my introspection series, I picked up the thread on ‘’re-rating your stock’’. So, I have decided to take this forward to cover some thoughts on valuation. 

1.      Your value is neither your current salary nor an immediate offer*

For simplicity, let us define your absolute value as your current pay - salary and bonus, easy to understand and seldom the cause of concern. Your ‘’relative value’’ tends to get complex; comparing with perceived peers in same organization is no different to assessing your badminton skills in a local club with very few players. Benchmark your pay externally and suddenly you are hit with different industries (manufacturing, services, tech) and different companies (with varied value systems) i.e. suddenly it is a case of badminton Vs squash. 

‘’Well I have an offer and a raise from a similar industry or where my skills can deployed’’ could be your counter (so we are now playing badminton again but at a higher level). Indeed, this is good way to test your relative value. So, I do recommend that once every few years (don’t overdo it), get an external assessment of where you stand.

But the most important question to ask before you make a career move – have you rightly assessed your future potential by continuing in your existing organization i.e. all your future cash flows or your intrinsic value? Many a time, your current salary may be subdued, but future increases could follow a geometric progression, if you step change your performance or re-rate your stock. In my experience, our people ‘’over value’’ the external offers (for there is an number to see) and ‘’under-value’’ the returns of remaining in current organization. 

So next time, you have a dilemma, go to your line manager to consult before you think ‘resign’. You will get appropriate advice and be able to right assess your value i.e. both internal and external. Do remember, you have an offer because of your current organization, your experiences, and your delivery. On a personal note, I am glad that I did go to my line manager to consult many years ago when I had a similar dilemma.

PS: When you live on a 47th floor apartment, you end up thinking FSI or floor space index. Every builder would love some additional FSI for they can put more floors on the same land. So, in your career, maximise your FSI – add a floor by doing different and disruptive things in your current organization and not always head off in search of a new land parcel.

2.       Styrofoam cup:  this one is people who are and will be successful in your careers.

Simon Sinek (do google the Styrofoam cup video) summarises it extremely well when he says that all perks, all benefits, and advantages you may get for the rank or position aren’t really meant for you, they are meant for your role. When you get off your position, you will end up with a Styrofoam cup for your coffee, for all the fine porcelain would be long gone. Your actual crystal ware will not be the materialistic collections but an affectionate phone call or connect with people you have positively impacted and the leaders that you have created. When they reach out, you know you have made a real difference. 

I did caution you that all my illusions may not original. So, no better way to end, than by quoting Paul Arden: ‘’steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Remember it is not where you take things from, its where you take them to’’

Disclaimer:  I fully agree that career choices are influenced by multitude of factors with remuneration being just one such factor. 

Feb 2021