Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Finishing always last...

Yes, you heard it right. I didn’t make any mistake in writing up my subject line. It is just human nature, to be competitive and while being so, compare with others. While there are plenty of advices from experts, to dump those comparisons and move on, I think 99% of the people still compare either themselves, or their kids or their spouses with others, every moment. I myself do! The reason is, we always want to win, everywhere, every time. No doubt about it.

But, there is one occasion when you want to finish last. Guess what? Imagine you are in your boss’s cabin, trying hard to explain something you just did, the reason you did it, the way you did it and convince him of the value you bring into the organization by doing so. Let’s say, you are thoroughly convinced about its value, yourself (most of the times, you’re). But, your manager is one stupid idiot (again, it mostly is!), who doesn’t listen to your side at all. He always has something or other to argue about and point out only the wrongs about it. He always wants to end a conversation with his directive to his sub-ordinate. Otherwise, he feels beaten. This, I am sure applies to most of us too (not only our bosses), even during a simple conversation at the coffee table with your colleagues. I want to confess, I am no exception till I decided to give a try to something I read about, a few days back.

The other day, when I had a hot argument with my boss, I just kept silent after a few lines from my side. I let the boss do all the talking. I knew that there are only two possibilities here. Either, the boss will get tired of talking all through. Seeing no response from other, he feels like an idiot (which he really isJ) and stops cribbing. The other possibility is that he won’t budge, but keeps on talking. In my case, the latter happened. But, when I came out of the room, I noticed that the usual I-WON-AGAIN-YOU-LOST smile was missing in my boss’s face. You know what, he’s really got beaten this time, because he never expected that I will be submissive. I am sure, the next time around, when I visit him in his cabin, he will keep himself more silent, and receptive to my words…

PS (Only to my boss): This is just a story, don't grab me by my collars for what I wrote...

No comments: