The Hindu Business Line : New, creative resolutions

NO, there is no mistake in the headline, and the theme is not the kind of promises to oneself made every First of January, which are then the object of much self-deprecating humour later. Here are some special promises well worth considering as practical policy for oneself, all through the year — if, and only if, we are serious about becoming more productive, innovative and, on the whole, better as professionals or managers.

As I had already suggested in my previous piece ending 2005, we could start by learning to relax sufficiently off working hours so that we come to the workplace charged up, instead of dragging leaden feet.

We could also lighten up a bit at our office or factory itself, leaving some time for a little variation in routines. At least you can dress up the office space differently so that it doesn't look too drab and monotonous; a few flowers, even if artificial ones, and a poster or two could help.

We might try to explore how else we can `do things differently' — starting with, say, monthly business reviews. Instead of just asking people to present targets, the actuals achieved, variances and reasons thereof — which are pretty standard across the world — you could also ask every member to tell you one simple new breakthrough idea they came up with in their area and with what result.

It would also be interesting to have people consciously review personal life goals including such things as learning a new language, playing a game or spending time in the library on a book list. This would just show that work-life balance and self-paced learning aren't merely fancy jargon that the Chairman dishes out every year at the Annual General Meeting.

At regular and weekly update meetings, instead of taking notes in straight line fashion, you might do some drawing and mind-mapping (a term made popular by Tony Buzan) as a way of analysing and discussing problems pictorially and lay them out for all to see together. This may seem to some people as a trivial device but, believe me, it makes a big difference to the mind that is used to thinking in bullet points or just straight lines.

To start with, one could simply put a number of keywords that occur during any important debate into circles and blobs and link them up with cause and effect arrows. This forces one to consider the inter-relatedness of problems, which may help in partly removing the departmental or functional lenses through which we are so accustomed to look at our work and the world — the more senior we are, the more this is so.

If you are not working in the sales/marketing function, make it a point to visit a customer once a quarter, if not sooner, Look up a few stores in a far away town where you are holidaying, without revealing your interest in the company's products and see what you get by way of unbiased feedback.

Call your office once in a few months and ask to speak to someone senior in Marketing or Management and see how long it takes you — to even get past the operator, never mind reach the person you want to.

At meetings that are expected to be confrontational between traditional "rivals" such as accounts, R&D, operations and sales — get some role play time, just for the fun of it, and see how difficult it is for example for the accountant to think and act like the customer service person, or vice-versa. Video-tape such meetings and play it back — to have more fun, and sensitise people to the team-work imperative.

Well, that's a good enough to be going on with — start on a few more of your own, and see what happens. Best of luck!

(Feedback can be sent to srchander23@netscape.net)