When the Chips are down!

Young Indian couples, a couple of years into marriage, start taking heat from the near and dear ones. This pressure is more on those who, by choice or otherwise, do not procreate. In case they decide to have children, they face pressure to raise their kids as superheroes who will change the course of the planet. As the kids grow up & get married after boiling the ocean, they eventually face pressure to procreate. It’s a nice vicious cycle dubbed as the purpose of life, which continues from generation to generation. Call it Hereditary Heat!

I observe a similar trend when it comes to delivering consistent results in the Corporate Jungle. If you ask me, it’s as fair as fair can be. If families give you heat, you can’t expect employers to act any differently. So, when you hear a Senior Management person saying, 'We follow a family culture here,' you know what it really means. The actual trouble, however, starts when the markets go south without going south geographically. When the market nosedives, the once-celebrated heroes fall under a bad light. Everyone then becomes Sherlock Holmes, connecting imaginary dots and concocting theories about why the teams aren’t delivering stellar results. It's a tough phase for all professionals, and they soon find themselves juggling two major problems. As a professional responsible for managing P&Ls in a non-annuity kind of LoB of varying sizes and shapes for about 16 years, I have some views to share. Do read if you have time; otherwise, see you later.

Let me capture it below starting with the itch-

a) Impostor Syndrome: A superior brain, with whom I have had the privilege of working closely since 2007, explained this concept to me. Observing the way I operate, he foresaw that I would be hit by this syndrome. It is a psychological phenomenon in which individuals doubt their accomplishments and harbor a persistent fear of being exposed as frauds, despite evidence of their competence. They may deeply believe that they rode the wave largely because everything around them was booming and not because they did something very different or strategic.

b) (Un) Professional Advice: We receive a lot- I mean, a lot- of unsolicited advice from every conceivable source. The less someone understands the context, the easier free advice becomes. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone suggested getting a ladder to the office because the market may go up anytime. The trouble with advice overload when someone is at their lowest is that they are more vulnerable to it, resulting in the implementation of wacky ideas that further stretch their bandwidth, as wisdom and logic may clearly take a backseat when the person is already hit.

The above-mentioned troubles complement each other when things aren’t the best. I try to remember a few things when in trouble and bugged beyond belief. The Itch Guard part-

a) Respect the economic cycle. The market is weak, and there is no point in thinking or trying to convince people that everything is alright. Your strategies have yielded good results in the past, but they're not working now. Acknowledge it, sense opportunities, connect deeply with clients- old and new, develop better strategies, and ensure flawless execution with consistency and agility. Adding some real hard work will increase the chances of seeing a stroke of good luck gatecrashing, bringing back that old Corporate Winning Grin. Efforts pay, every day!

b) The world loves free advice when it's outgoing- strictly when it's outgoing. Let’s consider the young couple we started with. Every human & animal that has produced offspring at some point in life or possesses an understanding of the theory becomes a subject matter expert here. My approach everywhere is to listen respectfully to the advice coming my way. In case I receive something groundbreaking, I record it, review it, and implement it swiftly. The rest is considered useless, and I won’t carry it. Nonetheless, I express gratitude to all my advisors. Beware, never argue with an advisor, even if the advice seems impractical or non-contextual. Listen to them as if it’s music to your ears and help them feel better!

c) Never allow negativity to creep in and give you auto suggestions that nothing is working and nothing will work. Keep the spirits high, work smart, work hard, keep smiling, treat people with respect, and await the results. My boss recently told me that when the market goes down, relationships decay- with clients, with team members. This is extremely dangerous because when the market goes up, as it inevitably will, the decayed relationships will disappear, seeking other options. Then, we will be left with a good market and no team to leverage the opportunities.

That’s it; nothing more to say. I'm glad if I was able to hold your attention until now. Now, please go and do something more important. The market isn’t in the best shape- what worked then will not work now. We need to change tracks and figure out where the music is in the market.