Solutions can be simple, not complex

 I remember when I was working on a large project for a very prestigious client. We were working on a continuous project which was monitored round the clock and had pretty stiff guidelines  to be followed. We also had to report results on the data that we were studying, by a fixed date   every month which was non negotiable.

For this project we were understandably very antsy and careful as we did not want to make the client unhappy in any way. We had a large team of people who were working on this project- one set of people were responsible for gathering the information, one set were dealing with the client and another set were responsible for dealing with the data and making the best use of it.

Now all of these people were headed by a project manager who in turn reported in to me. This person was wonderful at his job but at times would  find it very difficult to handle the three different groups of people who acted like prima donnas. These so called prima donnas would often come and  complain to me about the others and also about the project manager . These bouts had become so frequent that it was not only affecting the quality of work but also the timings of the report which was so crucial and also the morale of the overall team. Soon, I realised it would also affect the project and our business with the client.

So, I pondered over the problem quite a bit. I thought of changing the client services person at the helm and replace him with a tougher person; but I felt that I would lose out on a person with a brilliant mind and one who was very good at his job. Next I stepped in and started handling all of these matters myself . This worked very well for a time; but, I found it was taking up too much of my time. So, I finally hit upon an idea which I thought we would test out.

We appointed a three member team , the heads of the three groups- data analysis, monitoring and reporting . I asked them to meet at least once a week and resolve all the problems related to the on going project and keep both the project head and me in the loop.

It was miraculous! The cribbing and the complaining vanished. Since that day, there were no more delays or problems. Everything went smoothly and we were able to keep the client very happy. As a result, we were able to get more business from them. This taught me the lesson of looking for solutions from within. There is no need to look for answers elsewhere as the solution lies within the problem itself. We just have to know where to look. If we keep trying, we are sure to get the solution and it is usually a very simple one.

People have great potential

I joined a multinational corporation a few years back. To my dismay I discovered that I had my work really cut out for me. I had a mandate to develop the research division of the company . But I discovered that the industry itself was so nascent that there was no question of a thriving research division. besides, I found out that the organisation had also set up a small media outsourcing unit here as part of the global office.


These people who were recruited were simple, with little education and polish and largely from small towns. They were paid poorly, were not very motivated and were doing an okay job but were largely biding their time before they moved onto better jobs. Thus, the attrition rate was very high and we were constantly looking for people.

At the same point of time, I too was trying to grow the organisation and set up a proper research unit. I needed good people and resources but I was told that the organisation had a resource crunch and I had to make do with what I had. I really pondered the problem and also had a dialogue with each member of the organisation. They told me that they were not motivated as the hours were long, the work was not of  much use elsewhere and that they had no future anywhere else. I noted all these points and then I worked out a plan , which played out over time.

I made a list of the work which I had and started identifying people within the organisation for these jobs. I explained to them that this was over and above their responsibilities already assigned to them. They were eager to take on these assignments as it gave them importance and a sense of fulfilment. I was very apprehensive when I set out but to my utter astonishment, I found them to be quite competent at their new assignments.

They also started performing better at their original jobs and so the company too was very happy. Due to small and timely inputs, the original work which was very boring for them , became much more interesting. Seeing this, I stated giving them certificates for projects work well accomplished . These certificates and the additional skills they were acquiring thrilled them ! Soon, I was able to negotiate with the organisation and get them better hikes in salary and the attrition rates dropped dramatically.

But the most significant lesson that I learned was that these lesser skilled people who were being hired at a fraction of the cost of the higher skilled people were as good as many of the people coming out of institutes of higher learning!! There is a belief in the world that higher centres of learning produce better  students who can do a better job. This is why people who come out of these places earn a higher salary and these places of learning also charge a much higher fee. But my belief is that people are inherently bright. We need to believe in them and guide them and we will end up having many good people at a fraction of the cost.  It could revolutionize the way business is run !