Oops, I failed! Lessons on facing failure from a corporate leader

 Oops, I failed!

How do you feel when you hear the term “fail” or “failure”? Coyote, the famous character from the animated series “The Road Runner Show,” failed most of the time. The story revolves around the two main characters Coyote, and the Road Runner where Coyote repeatedly attempts to catch the Road Runner, but he continues to fail. However, he never stopped chasing the goal despite failures. He is a very educated and creative character who manages to invent a new way every time, yet he fails. One of the reasons why Coyote failed is his inability to realize his mistakes and weakness. 

The question is, how many people accept in a corporate world that they failed? What is the tolerance level we have for people who failed? An individual can be successful on the performance front; however, they fall on the softer yet important aspect. Today, I am celebrating my failures, and what I have learned from my mistakes.

Most of the people managers at mid-level could not move to the next level because either they are scared of failures, not prepared for failures, or don’t realize what it takes to move upwards. During my journey, I realized that many leadership programs talk about what will make you successful rather than what will humiliate you, crush or break you. There are five possible reasons why most mid-level managers or people like me have failed at some point of time in their career: 

• Trying to do it all yourself (Do it all yourself): One of my bosses once said, “Life is beyond individual brilliance, and he is right.” The most apparent mistake by perfectionists or people who want things quickly is trying to do everything themselves, which impacts them in the long run. The right team structure is one of the ways to avoid such a situation. 
  
  
• King without troops: Wars are won by armies (troops), not the crowd. A troop of one thousand people is better than a crowd of ten thousand people. The crowd can be emotionally connected; however, it won’t hold enemies for a long time. The leaders are either unable to hire strong second-line or don’t know what to hire, due to which they fail. The other important element is to hire more competent people who can do things better than you; otherwise, everything will come on you, which is bound to fail. 
  
  
• No devolution of power: One of the common mistakes by a leader is they don’t delegate the authority or power to the chain, which delays in decision making, bureaucratic system and everyone is playing a role one level below. This is the biggest obstacle in succession planning because the team is mentally not ready or hesitant to make decisions. A good leader empowers their teams which lifts individual, function, and the organization. 
  
  
• A frog in the well: At times, leaders don’t have an outside-in view because they have not ventured out of the well (organization operations) to see how vast the outer world thinks. In such a scenario, a person may stagnate at a particular job or a role and won’t grow beyond time. The outside view gives you a fresh perspective, helps build progressive policies or measures, and most importantly, builds an external persona, which is very important for any leader. 
  
  
• Financial acumen: Imagine what will happen when a salesperson sells a product without knowing your cost of production or rock bottom price? They might end up selling at a loss or not able to take any strategic decision. The leaders need to have a holistic business overview and understanding to get the respect from their peers, internal and external stakeholders. 
  
  

We all have to taste failures many times, and we need to remember that success won’t come so easily. Afterall, even the cartoon character Coyote took 26 episodes to catch The Road Runner. You don’t need to be afraid of failures, and most importantly, you need to let others step in to help you. Future managers need to work on all the above elements at the right time to avoid saying, “Oops, I failed!” This is my story. Are there any places where you as a leader failed?

 

Article Source: https://www.peoplematters.in/blog/leadership/oops-i-failed-lessons-on-facing-failure-from-a-corporate-leader-31525

Originally written for PeopleMatters.

One Country: 36 broken systems

 

India is a federal union of 36 entities comprising 28 states and 8 union territories. In 2014, Make in India was an initiative by the Government of India to make and encourage companies to develop, manufacture and assemble products made in India. The policy approach was to create a favorable environment for investments, efficient infrastructure, and ease to operate. One of the biggest challenges for industries is the unfavorable labour laws, and that's why the government has introduced the new wage code 2020. The purpose was uniformity and simplification. 

The 36 entities of our country try to drive their agenda for their political interest rather than the larger interest of the country or state residents.  A recent example is that the Haryana government has ordered that the law under the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill states  75% reservation for locals in private sector jobs, societies, trusts, limited liability partnership firms into force from January 15, 2022. The salient points of the law are:

• The law provides for 75% reservation in private sector jobs to those with a Haryana resident/domicile certificate.
• Jobs with a gross monthly salary of not more than ₹30,000 will be up for hiring local candidates.
• The law will be applicable for 10 years.

The act will be applicable to employers of private sector companies, societies, trusts, limited liability partnership firms, partnership firms, and anyone who employs 10 or more persons in Haryana.

All the employers will be required to register their data and the compensation of the employees to the labour department website. 

The government's rationale of increasing employment opportunities to the state's local residents through such laws is a deterrent to the overall state growth. The industry has always been suffering due to the talent war due to the lack of skilled resources, and the recent great reshuffle spree has made it more challenging for them. The new reservation act is like a nail in the coffin, and the organizations will start shifting the jobs to other states to survive.  

The government is facing a lot of criticism from the private sector, and it will adversely impact the state as well as organizations: 

1. The government interference in the private sector will kill the meritocracy culture, and it will directly impact the productivity and growth of the organization 
2. The new act will hit small and medium enterprises adversely.  
3. The state government doesn't have a supporting infrastructure or education system to provide skilled people to the private organization, and again it will impact the quality of product /service.  
4. Many of the organizations will move out of the state, impacting the new investment, real estate, and state taxes. 

The government has introduced a new slab of INR 30,000 gross per month without any rationale; neither it synced with minimum wage nor ESIC guidelines. Therefore, a new register, a new audit, and one more license increase another regulatory framework for the organizations. 

The biggest question arises all these 36 entities of the Republic of India have been introducing something that is breaking our system. Due to our broken system, our global ranking in GDP and Human Development Index (HDI) is 122nd and 131st, respectively. Most importantly, we are challenging the ethos of the Republic of India, which is "equality among equals." Every person, who lives within the territory of India, has equal rights before the law.

It's time for the government to think differently and work with private organizations for the next two years to set up talent development centers like Modeling career centre and build more robust governance. The objective should be making residents more competitive to be employable anywhere in our "one country." 

 

 

Article Source: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/strategic-hr/one-country-36-broken-systems-31672

Originally written for PeopleMatters.

5 hiring trends to reinvent your recruiting strategy today!

 

Do you remember "Po," the famous character from the movie Kung Fu Panda? As much as you might have enjoyed the film (I certainly did), did you imagine a lovable, fluffy panda becoming the Dragon Warrior and bringing peace to the valley? To be honest, nobody did. Even in the movie, when Master Oogway announced Po as the dragon warrior, nobody, including Master Shifu (Oogway’ s disciple), believed the prophecy. The decision felt wrong and impossible. Yet, in time, Master Oogway’ s prophecy was fulfilled, and Po proved his worth as a brave yet compassionate warrior.

On similar lines, almost nobody will believe me when I say that traditional recruiting will die. Furthermore, organizations that rely solely on recruiters will struggle to find and nurture talent in the future. Yet, this scenario will come to pass. We have seen the indications all along.

 

Think about it - organizations have been working on strengthening the talent acquisition function for years. Yet, they haven't succeeded despite having big staffing teams, creating separate functions for talent pooling or diversity and inclusions, and seeking extended support from boutique staffing vendors. Recruitment remains a $30 billion industry, and the reason is that everybody needs "good" and "on-time" talent. Unfortunately, the traditional recruitment model has failed to deliver. The emerging code of work, fuelled by the pandemic, calls for a cohesive, transparent, and digital ecosystem to streamline talent acquisition and promote employee satisfaction.

Here are some hiring trends to reinvent the recruiting function:

Recruiting AI Chatbot - The New Dragon Warrior

Well, not a panda, but an AI-powered chatbot is the future of the recruitment industry. The combination of AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) can solve the majority of problems faced by Talent Acquisition Leaders – including the quagmire of finding "good" and "experienced" talent "on time."

With advanced capabilities to crunch numbers and information across millions of data points, an AI-enabled recruiting platform can find suitable profiles within a second of crawling. A chatbot also takes over communication, providing real-time visibility to both the candidate and the hiring manager. From resume screening to interviewing and onboarding, the software can automatically handle all these functions while matching the suitable candidates to the right post for maximum productivity. Presently, several organizations are introducing these capabilities in their recruitment system through PeopleStrong's Alt Recruit and Workday to see incremental results. 

Focus on Recruitment Marketing

Traditionally, organizations have focused on job boards, job fairs, and other print media for attracting talent. However, local recruitment ads no longer cut when you have the option of hiring candidates from across the world. Instead, it's better to focus on creating an employee-centric online presence by investing in a branding strategy for your organization. Become active in various social communities where your "ideal" candidates are likely to hang out to attract individuals that match your company's vibe. Creating a separate function for recruitment marketing can help accelerate this process and even prove to be a turning point for your existing recruitment process.

Recruitment Scientist

Returning to Kung-Fu Panda, I'd like to quote something here. Master Shifu said, "If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than who you are right now." I find this statement to be especially true for the recruiting space. 

Take the example of technical recruiters or recruitment specialists. This is one of the most abused terms in the present scenario. In fact, the recruitment specialists who ruled the roost in the past couple of years will either fade away or shift to the role of recruitment coordinators while AI takes over the core recruitment process.

In the meanwhile, another coveted position would arise – of recruitment scientists who work closely with business leaders to create qualified job profiles and possess the capability of having technical conversations with candidates. This will help reduce the hiring lead time, cost of hiring, and, most importantly, business leaders will get more productive hours from members who spend at least 15% of their time interviewing. 

Many organizations like us have created such an ecosystem where recruiters are directly able to manage hiring for entry-level candidates without the involvement of the business. The recruitment scientist knows the actual task and evaluates candidates with the business hat instead of the HR hat. 

Location-Based Compensation

The pandemic has created extreme financial pressure on organizations while also leading to new and remote working models. Several organizations reduced operations and laid off employees in 2020 to keep the wheels turning. Additionally, some organizations are now introducing location-based compensation or a differentiated compensation strategy to reduce costs.

To make this model work, you first need to fix a base pay for a particular role or skill to ensure parity. Additionally, there can be a location-based allowance, which is based on the living costs of the area where the employee is located. 

The model helps in several ways. First, with remote hiring, it's possible to recruit talent from Tier 2/Tier 3 cities. These individuals needn't move to the metros and can continue working from their location - which saves them hassle and cost. From an organizational point of view, it becomes possible to address the talent crunch. Additionally, remote employees are likely to stick for a longer duration even at a lesser compensation, as they needn't incur any additional expenses to move to the city. 

Planned Workforce Management

Organizations have been trying to create a diverse and inclusive workforce for years. However, they haven't succeeded due to various reasons. With remote hiring, it becomes possible to focus on these elements to become an equal opportunity employer. For instance, if an organization intended to hire specially-abled individuals but couldn't because of the existing office infrastructure, that hurdle can now be overcome by giving an equal opportunity to people who can work from the comfort of their personal settings.

To reduce costs, recruiters will also focus on hiring fewer individuals. They will prefer employees who are subject-matter experts or multi-talented to bring more value to the table. 

Parting Thoughts

While the trends shared above might look ordinary, the results can be genuinely transformative depending on the seriousness with which they are implemented. Eventually, you have to follow the "Common Sense" approach to build a new and focused recruitment strategy centered on candidate value proposition, talent pooling, and primary hiring sources augmented with advanced metrics to improve the overall productivity. I like to call it the 5W approach: Who, When, What, Why & Where. Eventually, organizations that follow a proactive and common-sense approach to recruitment, coupled with intuitive decision making and cultural alignment, will emerge as the recruiting leaders in their space. 

 

Article Source: https://www.peoplematters.in/blog/recruitment/5-hiring-trends-to-reinvent-your-recruiting-strategy-today-31085

Originally written for PeopleMatters.

Talent Acquisition Function: A Circus !!

"Wise individuals absorb lessons from their errors. However, those who are truly smart learn from others' errors. Fablehaven's Brandon Mull

The irony of the corporate world is that while implementing their strategy on the ground, most organisations overlook the aforementioned assertion. The fundamental issue is that we prefer to learn from our own errors rather than those of others.

Without thinking about and executing innovative recruitment practises, an organization's credentials of success are incomplete. What come to mind when we hear about businesses in India being named "Best Places to Work" or having "Best HR practises"? We identify with their processes' ongoing evolution in keeping with the dynamic business environment. Staying current with international practises is essential in today's environment since they not only set the way for

The irony of the corporate world is that while implementing their strategy on the ground, most organisations overlook the aforementioned assertion. The fundamental issue is that we prefer to learn from our own errors rather than those of others.

Without thinking about and executing innovative recruitment practises, an organization's credentials of success are incomplete. What come to mind when we hear about businesses in India being named "Best Places to Work" or having "Best HR practises"? We identify with their processes' ongoing evolution in keeping with the dynamic business environment.

In today's world, being current on global practises not only lays the path for innovation, but also aids in anticipating societal eventualities that may not have transpired in emerging countries yet.

Businesses spend millions on branding and working with reputable recruitment services. It aids them in meeting their immediate needs and maintaining market competitiveness, but the best course of action is to take a step back and consider, "What should we do to build a better future? How equipped are we to put these novel concepts into practise?

It's time for recruitment departments across all industries to adopt a "go for the moon" strategy that revolves around candidate value proposition, talent pooling, leveraging common hiring channels, focusing on high end metrics, and increasing overall productivity through a structured approach of the five Ws (Who, When, What, Why, and Where). In order to achieve Six Sigma in the recruiting industry, organisations must raise the maturity level of their talent acquisition department and begin executing modest initiatives.

Companies who have understood that being "proactive" in this sense may pull the entire HR value chain, from developing a talent pool to tracking KPIs and putting an emphasis on readiness (employee, project, timetable, and cost), are performing better.

In order to better comprehend the current situation, it is essential to "break the rules" and think strategically.

This circus should NEVER DIE! 

माता रानी की वंदना

माता रानी का नाम स्मरण कर, हर शुभ काम कीजिए,

श्रद्धा से भरकर मन को, सच्चे दिल से प्रणाम कीजिए।

दुनिया तो बस माया है, छलावा हर एक द्वार,

भक्ति की नैया लेकर, जीवन-सागर पार कीजिए।।

माता बस इतनी कृपा करें, आपका साया बना रहे,

नयन कभी भी भटकें न, चरणों से नाता बना रहे।

शरीर कर्मयोग में रचे, आत्मा सेवा में लगे,

इस फ़क़ीर को अवसर दें, जो जीवन भर आपको जपे।।

माता हमारे कष्ट हरें, संकट सारे दूर करें,

दुष्टों का नाश करें, अधर्म का तूर करें।

हर दिल को दें शांति का वर, सद्बुद्धि का प्रकाश,

हर जीवन में भर दीजिए, विश्वास और उल्लास।

From Tracks to Temples: A Faithful Traveller’s Diary

When I was a kid, I always wondered—who the hell made these traditions, and why are we blindly following them?

It was my personal million-dollar question. No one ever gave me a satisfying answer. Not my family, not my teachers—not even Google (and that's saying something). But over time, I found the answer myself… not in books, but in trains, temples, and tiny acts of kindness. For the past 25 years, our family has been visiting a Goddess Durga temple in Bhiwani during Navratras. No matter what storm is hitting our lives—exams, jobs, breakups, promotions, or pandemics—someone from the family shows up to light the Akhand Jyot.

It’s more than a ritual—it’s our emotional GPS.

Similarly, I’ve been doing an annual pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi for the last 10 years.

And now when I look back, these are not just trips. They’ve become our traditions. My firm belief? Maa Durga is my invisible Wi-Fi—strong signal, zero lag, all blessings.

Whether my next generation will follow these traditions or start their own TV show on “Why Not to Believe?”—only time will tell. But I’m glad I chose this path.

Let me take you through my recent journey to Vaishno Devi, filled with divine darshan, accidental adventures, and stories that make you smile (and sometimes shake your head). 

The Train Chronicles: From Dilli to Divinity

I boarded the train from Delhi and noticed a young mother sitting opposite me with her 1-year-old daughter, Divyanshi. She was travelling alone from Mumbai to Ludhiana to meet her in-laws—on a train with no pantry and barely any halts. She hadn’t eaten in 5+ hours. At the next stop—Ambala—I grabbed some food for her and took care of her little one while she ate. She looked at me with pure gratitude. I waved goodbye to little Divyanshi at Ludhiana.

Lesson? Small act, big smile..

Enter the B.Ed Bahu & Her Mom

From Ambala, two more passengers joined—another mother-daughter duo. The daughter was studying B.Ed near Katra and was also pregnant with her second child. So the mother decided to stay with her in the hostel. It turns out, trains are great for parenting podcasts!

I smiled and thought—this is the real multitasking: degrees + diapers and only women’s can do it. 

Faith Has No Eyes – Just Vision

At Katra, I saw a blind man from Alwar (Rajasthan) who had come alone for darshan. My first instinctive (and admittedly foolish) thought was—“What will he even see?” But then it hit me—darshan is not about sight, it’s about insight. I helped him get his yatra slip. Later, I found out a family had adopted him for the entire journey.

Faith really does find its way.

Mr. Dubey & The Kolkatta Chapter

While climbing up, I met an elderly couple—Mr. and Mrs. Dubey from Kolkata. He’s a Physics professor, retiring in July’13, and wanted to bring his wife for darshan. Since I had nothing better to do (and was unofficially training for the Vaishno Devi Olympics), I became their guide till Bhairon Baba. We spent 6 hours together, clicked photos, shared stories, and exchanged numbers. I became their local Google Maps with voiceover. I basically became their honorary third child.

Free prasad + emotional bonding = spiritual combo pack.

The Ardhkunwari Confusion

At Ardhkunwari, a group from Bihar looked lost. They didn’t know about the Yatra slip requirement. I guided them through the process, shared some tips, and we parted ways.

Note to first-time travelers: Google Maps doesn’t help with spiritual queues.

The Sleeper Class Saga

Now the funny part—my return train was at 5:00 AM. I reached the station at 12:00 AM (classic overplanning). The debate began: hotel for 4 hours or railway station lounge luxury? By 2:00 AM, saw my train already parked. With the attendant’s nod, I boarded early and dozed off like a budget yogi. Slept. At 3:00 AM, train started moving! I panicked—was this divine mischief? Turned out it was going to the yard for cleaning. So yes, I technically took a joyride at 3:00 AM before the actual journey. My train finally left Jammu at 8:00 am.

Indian Railways: Where suspense meets spirituality.

The Man Forgotten by His Family

On the way back, I met a 75-year-old man with cataract and vitiligo. He was travelling alone to meet some relatives because his own son had stopped caring for him. He looked tired… not just physically, but emotionally. His story stung. How do people forget the hands that once fed them? Made me want to hug my parents tighter.

Reminder for all of us: Karma has a longer memory than Facebook.

The Call That Keeps Ringing

Throughout my 3-day journey, my family kept calling: “Are you coming back or planning to become a priest?”  Jokes apart, no matter how old you get—even at 31, you’re still the little kid of the family.

But the truth is—Maa Durga made sure I never felt alone. Strangers became stories. Moments became memories. And somehow, even chaos found purpose. Because as I’ve learned:

• Traditions aren’t always forced.

• Sometimes, they grow on you… like chai, or kindness, or the chants of “Jai Mata Di.”

Next year, same journey. New stories. Same faith.

यमराज की परेशानी

आज कल हम सभी यही कहते हैं की दुनिया में इतना पाप और समस्याए बढ़ गयी हैं, पता नहीं आगे क्या होगा। मैंने सोचा अगर हमारा यह हाल हैं  तो सोचिये "यमराज" का क्या हाल होगा जिनको हम सभी मनुष्य के कर्म के हिसाब से फल देना होता है। इसी विषय पर मैंने कुछ पंक्तिया लिखने की कोशिश करी है।

यमराज एक दिन हुए बड़े परेशान,
एक अकेला चित्रगुप्त कैसे करेगा काम।

दुनिया की आबादी, गरीबी और पाप से  वो परेशान,
ऐसे तो पापियों का लग जायेगा यमलोक में जाम।

धरती पर मनुष्य ही बन बेठा शैतान,
नेता, पुलिस, साधू, परिवार किसी का नहीं कोई इमान।

मंदिर में लोग दे तो रहे बहुत दान,
पर मन में छल-कपट ने ले रखा हैं स्थान।

खुनी, चोर, झूठे को कर रहे सलाम,
सच्चे को हर कोई दे रहा दुःख और करे परेशान।

किसी को नहीं हैं पाप और कर्मो का ध्यान,
दुनिया में अब रह गए नाम के भगवान्।

दुनिया में फेला हैं हर तरफ सिर्फ अज्ञान,
ऐसे मैं कौन रखेगा का बेचारे यमराज का मान।