Nellaiappan's Column-5: "Gettings Things Done"

Getting things done is an art. It is like how a bee extracts honey from a flower. Another way is like crushing sugarcane to extract juice. How do you extract work? Are you a bee or a crusher?

When I asked the above question in the training program I got many different answers. I am a bee, said someone. No, I am a crusher, was the second answer. The third man said, “I am a bee most of the time, but occasionally I become a crusher to the same person”.

“It depends on the other man” was the next interesting reply. It depends on whether the other man is a flower or sugarcane- someone elaborated. He further added, “I am a bee to a flower and a crusher to a sugarcane”.

“It not only depends on the other person, but mostly on the situation too. Ya, urgency and precision of work drive us so” was the view of an Engineer.

The Production Manager said, “ I am a flower to my boss and a crusher to my production team”. Amidst waves of laughter the Production Supervisor contradicted his boss by saying, “ No, no. Our boss is always a bee to us”

“You are expected to speak like that, as the annual appraisal is fast approaching” – HR Manager added his share. Roars of laughter filled the air.

Someone seriously interrupted, “Where is the question of flower and sugarcane? I have clay, dry hard clay with me. Even if it is wet clay, I can mould it to the required shape. How to mould dry clay?”

You add water. It is as simple as that. HR man had the readymade answer.

“Why should the HR recruit clay and sugarcanes in the first place instead of flowers?”, argued the Maintenance Manager.

“All were flowers at the beginning and only their long association with you, made them as clay and sugarcane,” retorted the HR Manager.

“We cannot remain as flowers as long as the bosses are not bees,” added the union leader.

“No one is a complete clay, sugarcane or flower. They act differently at different situations and accordingly we have to handle them,” the GM explained with live examples.

He concluded with “Tell people what you want. Never tell them how it should be down. Instead, question them how they are going to do it. Let the other man feel it is his baby. If it is your baby they will kill it, and if it is theirs they will cherish it.

The entire program was full of interaction and GM was praising me (in his cabin) for the bee and sugarcane example. I told him that that was not my original stuff. I read in a book, how a government should collect tax from its people like a bee collecting honey. I only modified it to another situation.

Then I should appreciate you for reading good books, he said. If you want to appreciate someone, you present him or her with good books, I told him. That’s what I suggest you too.