The Office-sphere.

I want to create something new, something interesting. Something worthwhile for people as well as for my employees. But I just have this thought, that too every morning and then I can’t find a solution for that throughout the day, Aniruddh thought again today, Perhaps I am not satisfied with what I am doing currently. I need change. This business, I did inherit from my father but even after working here since the past five years, I still want something more out of life.

Yet again Aniruddh got lost in thought as he was having lunch at the office canteen. He had been sitting there for an hour and none of the employees had dared to ask if something was wrong. How can they ask the Director of the company if something was wrong.

It took another thirty minutes, when Aniruddh’s phone beeped of the next To-do task for the day. He looked at the time in his phone, checked again on the wall clock, got up and hurried back to his office cabin.

Man, I don’t want to be late for the general meeting. How does it look when the Director himself is late for the meeting. And then there is the issue with Production and Maintenance team, always arguing with each other. God, will there be a time when these two will get along, Aniruddh thought as he picked up his diary and walked towards the meeting room.

As he reached, he could already realize the sounds of ‘subtle’ arguments. Maybe somethings don’t ever change, he thought and smiled, and now there will be complete silence.

And so it was, as soon as soon as he entered the room.

⁃ Siddarth

Emptiness.

Almost everyone has this kind of day. No one wants to do anything on that day, just sit on a bed of grass and look up at the stars, relaxing and wondering just how big the universe is. But exactly how could he say that to his parents, will they understand it? Have they ever had a day like that? Probably not. As Leon was thinking on this, his phone rang again. This is the 5^th time in the last 15 minutes isn’t it.

He picked up the call again, nodding and replying appropriately, let out a sigh and put the phone, screen down, on the table. The work isn’t that much frankly, rather I want to do more, but I can’t find any motivation for it.

It was 7 pm at office and everyone except him and his secretary had left. He called out to Elsa and asked if there were any more important matters to be attended for the day. Elsa went outside, checked her calendar and diary notes, came back in and said, “I believe everything is done for today. Do you need me to schedule something for dinner?”

Leon looked at his watch for a moment and replied, “No it’s okay. You can leave as well. I will be going home as soon as I am done going through a few documents.”

Elsa asked again, “Are you sure you don’t need me to order dinner or snacks?” to which Leon politely denied. She greeted him and left.

Now it is all quiet here. This feels like when I started this. At that time how many people were there? Around 5 including me. Now this firm has more than a hundred people, and yet it still feels the same. I wonder whether that is a good thing or a bad. He shrugged as he thought of this.

He turned around his chair and saw the main street though the full-length glass window. There were a few youngsters walking with a can of beer in their hands, some office goers sitting on the steps talking to each other and going through their mobile phones, and he also saw his secretary, talking to someone on the phone and laughing much. I don’t think she will ever dare to laugh like that in front of me. He thought. Or for that matter, has anyone in office laughed like that in front of me. The thought made him both, prouder as well as a little sad.

He picked up his wallet, shut down his computer and went outside the cabin. While turning off the lights he glanced another look at his desk, the computer screen was still throwing a blue glow on his desk and chair, perhaps from the shut down screen. He chuckled a little and left.

-Siddarth

Journal #20

Day 20. April 2nd.

“Life is very interesting. In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.” – Drew Barrymore

Today was a decent day again. Woke up and meditated, did some yoga and then freelectics. It feels refreshing after that. I did also box (after a long time) for 5 minutes today just to get my body used to it. Think I can wake up half n hour earlier from tomorrow?

Then went to office, and met with a customer. It is hard to hear about all the issues that come up every now and then but it is a big relief when they are resolved. I suppose that is the essence of business, to have something going on now & then while fixing other issues. That’s how you gain experience.

I did get to finally open a axis bank account for trading today. Kudos to that!

Back home I went through some news articles, and then read the HBS book on Strategic Marketing. It is an interesting read for sure.

The needed trip

Veer hurled the ball-size wrapped paper on his computer monitor, which hit the screen and fell on the table. Just moments ago, the same paper was denied by his boss.

He had printed and filled the leave application due to exhaustion, and had realized in the morning that he needed to get out of the office for a while. Probably a month. Or more like a week. And now he was plain annoyed by his boss, for rejecting the leave application.

Veer got up from his seat, and walked in the direction of his boss’ office. He clenched his fists as he slowly rolled up his sleeves, first the left and then the right. He side-eyed the office, where his boss was having a discussion with a few other employees, and then walked past it to go to the restroom.

At the sink, he splashed some cold water and looked at the mirror thinking, “Again the same moment that everyone sees in the restroom of your office. Here is my old self, 10 years from now, with white hair and a new suit & tie, and the same job. The same position as now.”

Veer kept looking at the mirror for a whole minute, after which he was woken up by someone poking him on the shoulder. He looked around and gasped “Boss!?”

Trump said, “I kept calling out your minute for what felt like a decade. What is wrong with you Veer! You look tired.”

“I am sorry sir.”

“It’s okay, it is better to go back to your seat and get work done rather than standing here.”

“Yes boss. I will go.”

“One more thing. You can take the holiday from Saturday to Monday, next week. Is that okay? You know we are throat-deep in orders right now, and we need all the hands we could for the time.”

Veer looked up at his boss, his eyes made contact to Trump’s. He managed to control his emotions and replied, “of course boss. That works fine too. Thank you for thinking about me.”

Trump replied, “It’s okay Veer. I want the best for my employees. I think about you all the time.”

Silence

He corrected, “I mean all employers think about how can they make it easier for the employees to handle their job. After all, I was also in the same position at one time. So I understand.”

Veer nodded and thanked him again before leaving for his valuable seat.

He threw the ball shaped application on his desk, printed and filled a new one with the new dates, and went to his boss to get it signed thinking, “Let me get this signed right now or else he will forget later and this will all but be a dream.”

“I look my best when I’m totally free, on holiday, walking on the beach.” – Rosamund Pike

Journal #15

“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up!” – Stephen Hawking

Day 15. March 14th.

Today was a rough day, especially as the day went by.

Went to college, attended a few classes, even submitted an assignment on time! One of the courses seems so tough because of my absenteeism that I feel like I am falling way behind everyone else.

Had lunch and then went to office. Didn’t have much work today, except the same import stuff confusion that had been going on for a while. After coming back home, I did apply to a couple of programs in Harvard Business School online. Hope I get accepted to them.

Considering there is so much on my plate right now, I need to segregate and plan things better or else everything could crumble.

On the positive note, I did step up and apply to the programs that I had been deciding for so long.

Journal #14

“Always have a vision. Be passionate, Act confident even when you are not.” – Larry Ellison

Day 14. March 11th.

Motto of the day – “Don’t be scared to follow your dreams. And never doubt it.”

Started today with a jog and Freelectics again. It’s the daily grind that counts. Then went to work, fixed a few issues, talked to a customer, payment to a supplier and more on.

What do you do when a customer doesn’t reply back to you either on email or WhatsApp? What doe it mean? I need to find a solution how to fix this.

What do you think about Mercedes GLC? I feel it is an impressive car. It’s either Volvo XC60 or GLC. Any suggestions?

Later in the vending, had dinner. I had been having this headache today, and feeling very alone. (Sometimes I really wished I had a girlfriend but then I don’t know if that’s the right thing considering it is a time commitment)

Watched an episode of Dororo and wondered what my goals are. I need to have a fix sight at my goals (Suppose your goal is to run faster then break it down by what speed you want to achieve first or what competition you want to win first).

Goals for this year:

Running (Achieve a speed of 30 km/hr)
Body (A toned body with proper muscle structure)
Invest (Start with around $1500)
Learn more about the business and entrepreneurial environment

What are your goals for this year? Do you think they are achievable?

Journal #12

“Continuous efforts – not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking our potential.” – Winston Churchill

Here is Day 12. March 9th.

Today started okay, cleared up a confusion with a customer, and then had to think long for the correct product for them.

A walk around the manufacturing unit is always interesting when you reach workplace. Although there are new obstacles everyday, there are solutions as well.

Walked around quite a lot today, though it is good for the body rather than sitting at the desk, it sure is tiring as well.

Coming back home bought a new mobile for Mom. It was priceless to see how glad she was on getting it. 😊

Later watched a couple of episodes of Black Lightning on Netflix. I would say that the show is okay, could have been a little more character depth.

Journal #11

“Continuous efforts – not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking our potential.” – Winston Churchill

It’s the lucky number 11. March 7th.

Today was a long day, skipped exercise although did read a few pages. Then went to office (Yes, skipped college), did some work, went to check on the samples being produced, we all celebrated uncle’s birthday (I suppose that’s the advantage of family owned unit, you make such personal connections), worked a bit more.

Coming back to house, went to have dinner outside.

As you see nothing interesting, except while sleeping I did watch a bit of “The Last Witch Hunter”. The movie seemed decent. What do you think?

Journal #10

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

Finally the 10th day, March 6th.

Today started okay with some Freelectics. Then went to college for a couple of classes, it feels like it is getting boring by the day. On that note, I still need to throw a birthday party for people, maybe watching ‘Captain Marvel’?

Then went to office with my cousin brother (he manages the unit in Kolkata). Office was pretty normal today, replying to mails, samples were getting ready and should be dispatched by tomorrow, reporting a few complaints to supplier and thinking more on how to get things organized.

At times it feels like the pressure from doing both the college work and office work is too much. I suppose that was the reason my mind just went blank after returning home from office. So I just kept to myself, had dinner and watched youtube.

Still, Never give up. Keep moving forward!

Journal #6

“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” – Jordan Belfort

Woah, it’s the 6th day already. February 25th. So today is my parent’s anniversary and I ended up gifting nothing. I am planning to buy a mobile, and maybe a good speaker or Television? And also planning a party! Let’s see how it goes.

On the other hand the day was okay, better than tomorrow. I did end up completing a few assignments, only to get a few more today. This is getting so out of control. I also discussed with a professor about how I was interested in investing in a technology business, and how I should weight out my ideas. It is always good to explore and research, and also discuss with other people. You actually get to know so much more on the topics!

It was a slow day at office, and really disappointing about samples. Cmmon people! Why does a task always end up being late by at least a day or two when it is given to other people. (Is there a solution to this? How does a manager get things done? How do people in business stick to deadlines?) It is as if people have no sense of urgency, I wonder if I give off the same vibe.

Back home I discussed with my cousins again as to the best gift for parents, you can’t be perfectly right. Achievement was that I was finally able to apply for a credit card, A person has his/her needs after all. And of course that I was able to complete a few of the assignments.