Ready to Jump Ship? Wait! Know Your Real Friends!

You are a superstar. You have a few years of quality post-graduation experience under your belt. But you are not the laid-back kind; you want a lot more from your talent, leveraging your background in advanced Applied Math. Lately, you have spent many evenings and weekends working on a super-duper scientific application that will standardize and harmonize humans' food habits across all significant primary cultures and around the globe. You have also concluded the person inventing the applied science leading to humans' classic cuisine will be the first trillionaire. Granted, the vast majority of the current billionaires will agree with you, perhaps regretting that they took a much safer IT route. The good news is, they are now way too involved in their business to compete with you anymore.

Now that you have decided to quit your job and give your concept a full-time go, you should finally know who your real friends are at your workplace. You can apply the same logic to your previous workplaces too. Meanwhile, don't make too much splash until you patent your know-how, including the algorithm. This chapter is not about making a value judgment about whether you are (financially) ready to leap; instead, this is offered to help you understand who your real friends are.

When you are part of the system, you are always under the impression that the people around you are all your friends. Not really! Now is the time you will figure out who your real friends are. Given your near-perfect IQ, you will see that there are four emerging groups. The first two groups comprise the largest population, followed by the two much smaller ones. The fourth emerging group includes a handful, perhaps fewer.

Okay, let's end the suspense!

Group 1: Those who have been Encouraging you to become an Entrepreneur – These are the folks who have been encouraging you to become an entrepreneur by constantly reminding you, "You are too brilliant to waste your life here." These are generally the most ordinary people who are threatened by your presence. That is an essential characteristic of the average at workplaces. They do not like the presence of a superstar so they tend to fake up in their minds that their performance is continually being compared with yours, though you know it quite well that that's never been the case. It's the other way around: Your presence not only protects them but helps them improve their overall efficiency level. Now that they know you are on your way out, they are incredibly relieved, perhaps ending their worst nightmares. Wherever you meet them – by the watercolor, at the lunch table, in the elevator, etc. – they will congratulate you, not once or twice, but over and over again. These folks are neither your friends nor your well-wishers. Of course, you will expect the same from an over-rated boss and average peers, often broadening this group's base. In the end, you will be inundated with their contact information. You have to write them off and toss their info on to the first trash can outside your office building. Try not to use such average bosses and peers as references as they often go on a mindless rant confusing the counterparty.

Group 2: Those who are Openly Congratulating You – Invariably, this will be the largest group. These are also very ordinary people who, deep down, are either very uncomfortable or are moderately threatened by your presence. While these folks will not directly encourage you to leave, your resignation will be welcome news. They do not like a superstar's presence either, but they tend to be less aggressive and proactive in getting rid of a superstar than the prior group. Of course, they will also congratulate you every day upon face-to-face encounters until you leave. This group will also take the maximum initiative in arranging your farewell party (and what not), which has nothing to do with any gratitude or respect for your contribution to their general upliftment but to celebrate their final liberation from their hysterical mindset. Needless to say, while the last group is more like your enemy, this group is neither your friend nor your well-wisher. Again, you will be inundated with their contact information. Just toss them.

You will still hear from these two groups initially (as the free hand-holding suddenly ends) but not for too long. After your departure, departmental expectations will take a nosedive, paving the way for their favorite consultants and vendors to return and take over. Of course, your departure will make these outsiders as ecstatic as their inside counterparts. The lost paradise has been regained. Happy days are here again!

Group 3: Those who are trying to talk you out of it – While this tends to be a small group of smart people, they are not yet fully convinced that you are ready for the plunge. They are worried that it's premature, and you might be in severe financial trouble down the road. These folks will usually convince you to defer the departure until you line up some financing as an alternative way of validating your concept. Some will even mobilize their successful contacts and arrange for you to meet them to retest your overarching self-belief. Out of the deep sadness of losing an outstanding employee and a great mentor, they won't be too forthcoming with their contact information. In fact, until the last day, they will remain optimistic that there could be a change of heart. Either way, these are your good friends and stay in touch. They will be calling you from time to time, expecting exponentially-growing good news from you, and they will always be proud of your achievements. That's how the generous hearts bind into a larger than life group.

Group 4: Those who are Talking to your Boss to Hold You Back – A handful of people, often fewer, in your department will be frantically chasing and trying to talk to your boss to hold you somehow back. Unlike Group 3, these people are not only concerned about your well-being, but they are also profoundly alarmed at the thought that the department would be losing its hero. Sometimes they go this extra mile by risking their future. Case in point: When the boss is of the average kind, he would love to see you leave, heaving a big sigh of relief. When these folks approach such a boss with this plea, they unknowingly jeopardize or sacrifice their future. Of course, to them, the overall good is a lot more important than their future. It is part and parcel of their nature so that they will repeat it all through their lives. These are generally the future superstars too.

Have you ever wondered why the above-average folks are so much more successful at workplaces than the genuinely brilliant ones? The above-average ones follow the proven format while the genuinely brilliant ones could care less, usually walking away from the herd. Anyway, these are your best friends. They are very few and far between. In poor counties, people even sell blood to bail out their best friends.

From now on, your paycheck stops, so stay focused and stick to your mission. You will soon be there. When you become the first trillionaire, remember some of your friends perhaps silently sacrificed their future to see you become successful.

For now, know who your real friends are!

-Sid Som, MBA, MIM

homequant@gmail.com

Link to the Book

Bully Boss – What You Must Know!

-Sid Som, MBA, MIM

homequant@gmail.com

Link to the Book

Bully Boss – What You Must Know!

-Sid Som, MBA, MIM

President, Homequant, Inc.

homequant@gmail.com

Link to the Book

How to Excel at Work and Outclass the (Internal) Competition

By looking at the corporate ladder, winners promptly realize that their peers are their primary competitors while their boss happens to be the secondary competitor. As they establish that maxim, they understand the need for a set of creative and consistent strategies to narrow the competition down – gradually. Of course, the winners recognize this winning path quite early in their career, clearly defining their intermediate and long-term goals and steadfastly working on and fine-tuning the strategies. In the process, they also learn to remain unwaveringly focused, making navigational changes, as and when demanded by today’s fast-evolving corporate environments.

And, that’s how they win – just a matter of time! Meanwhile, the competition remains busy on Monday morning quarterbacking, falling behind, often far back. The goals vary even amongst the winners, but the strategies they follow (to achieve those goals) tend to be similar. So, what do the winners have in common?

1. Winners Never Underestimate or Lose Sight of the Big Picture. While they discharge their daily duties extremely diligently and efficiently, they are always in the know as to the positioning and importance of their work relative to the big picture (i.e., how their departmental work, directly and indirectly, contributes to the corporate goal). This skill comes naturally to all visionary leaders. On the other hand, the competing start-up folks who get bogged down, however ethically to their daily work only, end up becoming successful operational technicians, rather than enterprise-level solution providers. While the new management trainees are generally (hired and) trained together, this fork becomes increasingly apparent and visible to the bosses, quite early on. They easily stand out to the smart bosses as their questions and concerns are generally the big picture-oriented.

2. Winners Rarely Develop a Rigid 9-to-5 Work Mindset. From the get-go, they learn to condition their work mindset and ethics on the heels of the other successful corporate leaders, so they rarely nurture the conventional 9-to-5 habit; instead, they enjoy taking full ownership of their work, thus letting the work dictate their daily hours, irrespective of any allowable paid comp or overtime. In other words, the winners always know how to take total ownership of their work, while the rest tends to succumb to a structure of pre-defined rules and some superficial responsibilities. The smart bosses also foresee the budding leaders in the folks who believe in taking total ownership of all assigned projects and are always eager to take on new challenges.

3. Winners Know how to Get into the Groove of Aiming High. Winners understand the value of time, so they prefer working lunches with the smart bosses rather than lunching out with their peers. They recognize and appreciate that the vast majority of intelligent bosses rarely have an extended time to enjoy outside lunches. Therefore, the working lunch idea makes more sense to both as they build better professional chemistry. Since the budding winners also realize that even during a working lunch, they are being watched and evaluated as if it were a staff meeting, they learn to come prepared and stick to the most critical issues and concerns related to the project(s) being discussed.                

4. Winners Know how to Build a Brand to Make their Work Stand out. It’s in the DNA of all winners to reject even the straightforward work. Instead, whatever they do, they try to excel and outrival the competition by building their brand. Over a short period, the smart bosses start to recognize and appreciate the additional effort. Even in a group project, their brand becomes clear and present. The branding not only gives them instant recognition and enhances their image, but also protects their work from being inappropriately used or abused by others. Such brands also help bosses as they can easily present that class of work to their higher-ups without spending days preparing a special report for a short one-off meeting. Linking brands are more uncomplicated and time-saving as the same feather forms them.       

5. Winners Develop the Moral fiber always to help Staff, Peers, and Bosses. Winners know their help is ever needed not only by their staff or peers but also by their bosses, making them some of the most highly sought after employees in their departments. But it’s never a negative or an annoying issue for them. They take it very positively from the beginning of their career and continuously build upon them, so much that it becomes part of their work ethics, even as they move up the ladder. Developing this moral fabric is inherent in visionary leaders. The great CEOs are generally easily approachable. Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, used to maintain an open-door policy to walk in and talk to him without prior appointments.   

6. Winners always Know when and how to Walk away from the Herd. Their primary professional attributes – ability to critically think, solving enterprise-level challenges, staying focused through the work stages, and the determination to reach the finish line – are so different from the general competition that they start challenging the status quo and conventional (group) thinking as they settle into the job. The fact that the winners understand the importance of the big picture immensely helps them articulate inherently better and more convincing cases and enterprise-level or, at least, broad-based solutions. Of course, they also realize that the only way they can promote better ideas and solutions is by walking away from the group from time to time, and they are generally unafraid to do so, as it’s always for the greater good, not for the individual championship.

7. Winners Develop Strong Personality to Fend off Bully Bosses. Given an unrestricted domain of authority (due to weak superiors), bully bosses often resort to the reign of terror, especially targeting the smartest (who make the vile look inferior!) and walking down on the curve. While the winners are generally some of the most polite and pleasant personalities, they also realize that developing a strong character is equally important, and they tend to nurture that trait in themselves from the school days, leading into the corporate life. Often, to make an initial assessment of the environment, many new graduates from the top schools insist on personal meetings (job interviews aren’t enough) with the future peers and bosses before accepting an offer. They also understand the importance of an exit strategy when the environment remains polluted beyond repair.  

8. Winners Learn to Take Full Advantage of Leadership and Management Opportunities. While the competition remains iffy (makes and rationalizes excuses) of taking advantage of proper leadership or management opportunities, the winners not only recognize them, but they confidently line up at the gate as well. They know it quite well that the early attempts to climb the ladder – even when the outcome is a foregone conclusion – are critical. The winners never balk at meaningful opportunities as they know the ladder turns into a pyramid, getting narrower and narrower as the climb continues and reaching the inflection point where the major league gets separated from the minor league, so to say. The winners become the EVPs, FVPs, and CEOs, while the old competitors wish them good luck.

9. Winners Learn the Do’s and Don’ts Early on and Practice them throughout their corporate life. It is generally beneath their dignity to even talk about their performance or achievements, let alone bragging about them -- a practice that becomes their fail-safe second nature. Likewise, while they are incredibly respectful of all races, religions, ethnicities, cultures, orientations, etc., they always avoid unnecessary talks or discussions on such issues. They develop the habit of evaluating everything based solely on merit resulting in net positives; in other words, when they spend any time on any discussions, they make sure that the positives far outweigh the negatives, a priori. They enjoy their work to the brim, thus always looking forward to Monday mornings. In the process, they learn to avoid all negative stimuli, distancing themselves from all negative personalities (as much as possible) and meaningless social talks around the water cooler (they will smile and walk away). Last but not least, as they start their career, they do not waste time wondering where to start, often getting into the habit of writing self-addressed work summaries on Friday afternoons, so they do not waste time on Monday mornings wondering where to start.

The early start is critical. Procrastination means whiling the career away. Aim High.

-Sid Som

homequant@gmail.com

Link to the Book

Ready to Jump Ship? Wait! Know Your Real Friends!

You are a superstar. You have a few years of quality post-graduation experience under your belt. But you are not the laid-back kind; you want a lot more from your talent, leveraging your background in advanced Applied Math. Lately, you have spent many evenings and weekends working on a super-duper scientific application that will standardize and harmonize humans' food habits across all significant primary cultures and around the globe. You have also concluded the person inventing the applied science leading to humans' classic cuisine will be the first trillionaire. Granted, the vast majority of the current billionaires will agree with you, perhaps regretting that they took a much safer IT route. The good news is, they are now way too involved in their business to compete with you anymore.

Now that you have decided to quit your job and give your concept a full-time go, you should finally know who your real friends are at your workplace. You can apply the same logic to your previous workplaces too. Meanwhile, don't make too much splash until you patent your know-how, including the algorithm. This chapter is not about making a value judgment about whether you are (financially) ready to leap; instead, this is offered to help you understand who your real friends are.

When you are part of the system, you are always under the impression that the people around you are all your friends. Not really! Now is the time you will figure out who your real friends are. Given your near-perfect IQ, you will see that there are four emerging groups. The first two groups comprise the largest population, followed by the two much smaller ones. The fourth emerging group includes a handful, perhaps fewer.

Okay, let's end the suspense!

Group 1: Those who have been Encouraging you to become an Entrepreneur – These are the folks who have been encouraging you to become an entrepreneur by constantly reminding you, "You are too brilliant to waste your life here." These are generally the most ordinary people who are threatened by your presence. That is an essential characteristic of the average at workplaces. They do not like the presence of a superstar so they tend to fake up in their minds that their performance is continually being compared with yours, though you know it quite well that that's never been the case. It's the other way around: Your presence not only protects them but helps them improve their overall efficiency level. Now that they know you are on your way out, they are incredibly relieved, perhaps ending their worst nightmares. Wherever you meet them – by the watercolor, at the lunch table, in the elevator, etc. – they will congratulate you, not once or twice, but over and over again. These folks are neither your friends nor your well-wishers. Of course, you will expect the same from an over-rated boss and average peers, often broadening this group's base. In the end, you will be inundated with their contact information. You have to write them off and toss their info on to the first trash can outside your office building. Try not to use such average bosses and peers as references as they often go on a mindless rant confusing the counterparty.

Group 2: Those who are Openly Congratulating You – Invariably, this will be the largest group. These are also very ordinary people who, deep down, are either very uncomfortable or are moderately threatened by your presence. While these folks will not directly encourage you to leave, your resignation will be welcome news. They do not like a superstar's presence either, but they tend to be less aggressive and proactive in getting rid of a superstar than the prior group. Of course, they will also congratulate you every day upon face-to-face encounters until you leave. This group will also take the maximum initiative in arranging your farewell party (and what not), which has nothing to do with any gratitude or respect for your contribution to their general upliftment but to celebrate their final liberation from their hysterical mindset. Needless to say, while the last group is more like your enemy, this group is neither your friend nor your well-wisher. Again, you will be inundated with their contact information. Just toss them.

You will still hear from these two groups initially (as the free hand-holding suddenly ends) but not for too long. After your departure, departmental expectations will take a nosedive, paving the way for their favorite consultants and vendors to return and take over. Of course, your departure will make these outsiders as ecstatic as their inside counterparts. The lost paradise has been regained. Happy days are here again!

Group 3: Those who are trying to talk you out of it – While this tends to be a small group of smart people, they are not yet fully convinced that you are ready for the plunge. They are worried that it's premature, and you might be in severe financial trouble down the road. These folks will usually convince you to defer the departure until you line up some financing as an alternative way of validating your concept. Some will even mobilize their successful contacts and arrange for you to meet them to retest your overarching self-belief. Out of the deep sadness of losing an outstanding employee and a great mentor, they won't be too forthcoming with their contact information. In fact, until the last day, they will remain optimistic that there could be a change of heart. Either way, these are your good friends and stay in touch. They will be calling you from time to time, expecting exponentially-growing good news from you, and they will always be proud of your achievements. That's how the generous hearts bind into a larger than life group.

Group 4: Those who are Talking to your Boss to Hold You Back – A handful of people, often fewer, in your department will be frantically chasing and trying to talk to your boss to hold you somehow back. Unlike Group 3, these people are not only concerned about your well-being, but they are also profoundly alarmed at the thought that the department would be losing its hero. Sometimes they go this extra mile by risking their future. Case in point: When the boss is of the average kind, he would love to see you leave, heaving a big sigh of relief. When these folks approach such a boss with this plea, they unknowingly jeopardize or sacrifice their future. Of course, to them, the overall good is a lot more important than their future. It is part and parcel of their nature so that they will repeat it all through their lives. These are generally the future superstars too.

Have you ever wondered why the above-average folks are so much more successful at workplaces than the genuinely brilliant ones? The above-average ones follow the proven format while the genuinely brilliant ones could care less, usually walking away from the herd. Anyway, these are your best friends. They are very few and far between. In poor counties, people even sell blood to bail out their best friends.

From now on, your paycheck stops, so stay focused and stick to your mission. You will soon be there. When you become the first trillionaire, remember some of your friends perhaps silently sacrificed their future to see you become successful.

For now, know who your real friends are!

-Sid Som, MBA, MIM

homequant@gmail.com

Link to the Book

Are You a Future Superstar? Take the Test!

Save the obvious: You aced the SAT and GMAT, graduated from Ivy, completed a top MBA program, and joined a Dow component. Despite these astounding achievements, you are not a superstar -- yet. Just being brilliant does not make you a superstar. Let's put it this way: It is necessary but isn't sufficient. Only a tiny percent of brilliant minds go on to be recognized as true superstars. To be a superstar, you must uniquely and spontaneously rise above the smart peers, with a higher persona and more humane qualities. So, what are those other qualities?

1. They Protect and Promote Staff and Peers – Superstars are some of the most selfless leaders, always putting the interests of staff members and peers ahead of their own. Protecting and promoting others is not only their second nature, but they also go the extra mile in doing so. Atop, they achieve all this quietly and consistently, without letting anyone know that they are so selfless in taking care of their immediate environment. As a kid, I was confused about something, so I sought my mom's advice. Her spontaneous reaction was, "Son, whatever you do, always think of others first. If you act that way, you will never have to worry about yourself; God will always take care of you." That's the universal mantra all superstars subscribe to.

2. They are Very Humble, Pleasant, and Soft-spoken – Superstars tend to be incredibly humble, delightfully pleasant, and esthetically soft-spoken. Though the departments or agencies they lead invariably outperform all others, it is beneath their dignity to ever brag about it or take any personal credit for their achievements. They generally give full credit to their staff, or a collective effort, at best. Of course, the evil folks around them interpret these great virtues as signs of weakness. It's always the average and overrated that tends to be a snob and arrogant. On the other hand, superstars are like saints and are uniquely qualified to smile away all evil stimuli. 

3. They are Least Confrontational, moving on when the environment becomes Intolerant – Superstars are usually the least aggressive and mostly the low-key kind. They never waste time and energy on meaningless or greed-filled confrontations and exercises. On the contrary, they are incredibly smooth operators, uplifting the environment with exceptional intellectual faculty and superior emotional stability. As they know their mission all too well, they rarely stick to one job for too long. Despite conventional wisdom, they move on for newer and more significant challenges when they realize they do not have much more to contribute to that environment. Alternatively, when they face intolerant environments (e.g., psycho boss, confrontational peers, unmanageable staff, hostile labor unions, etc.), they move on, knowing very well that there is a better home elsewhere. Money, power, and prominence do not entice them. Contributing to the highest level is the sole mission of their existence.

4. Steve Jobs' Manpower Plan is tailor-made for them -- Steve Jobs (RIP) used to say, "It does not make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people to tell us what to do." In other words, great institutions hire the best and let them work on their choosing projects, thus allowing them to maximize contributions to the business objective. Superstars always look for such flexible environments, with adaptable supervisors. They do not enjoy environments where they have to take instructions from the second-rate supervisors frequently. As they get started, they quickly learn and understand the big picture, figuring out where they could be most productive and contribute optimally. A fantastic operations manager is a great employee, but not a superstar. A superstar is an original thinker, a consistent enterprise-level solutions provider, a selfless team player, and a passionate protector. They love what they do. 

5. They Prove their Vision in important Management Meetings – While superstars tend to be low-key, they take control of the critical management meetings, ensuring that their vision sets the agenda. This is not a selfish act; this is done to educate the attending senior management of the availability of the forward-looking plan that aligns more effectively with the corporate objective than the erstwhile program often promoted by the incompetent supervisors (in place due to political appointments, nepotism, favoritism, quotas, etc.) to maintain the status quo and control. When the unfit steals the limelight, the irrelevant agenda disparages the big picture, denigrating the greater good and weakening its power. Superstars' DNA forces them to fight tooth and nail to strengthen the institution and not undermine it. 

6. To them, quality is everything – Their lives revolve around quality, leaving the quantity to the great employees. So, they carefully research and join environments that continually emphasize and consistently promote quality ahead of quantity. Steve Jobs used to say, "One home run is much better than two doubles." Many brilliant minds dilute themselves by trying to strike a balance between quality and quantity. Fortunately, the budding superstars figure out from the get-go that they are mutually exclusive, so they learn to focus on quality, i.e., research and innovation. To entice and hire the superstars, the great visionary entrepreneurs offer disruptive opportunities leading to world-class creativity and innovations, coupled with an unrestricted domain of flexibility with the power of decision-making -- the two elements that helped fashion the great institutions like Apple, Google, and others.

7. They Know the Importance of Time in Professional Life and how to Manage it Optimally – This is one area where the superstars beat the other brilliant minds. Superstars come to terms that time is the most precious thing in professional life, so they learn to utilize every moment of it efficiently. Their inherent aversion for arrogance teaches them to accept mistakes honestly, making it part and parcel of their professional learning and growth, which helps them grow into natural perfectionists. In a way, superstars' lives closely resemble those of the cake decorating champions who never fail to complete their masterpieces on time, every time. Whether they are decorating the next masterpiece or working on applying more intelligence to the Rover on Mars to seek out water under the surface, they are continually monitoring and managing time, with utmost precision and respect, considering how brief the human life span is and where time waits for none.

8. They believe that the Total is Greater than the Sum of the (Contributing) Parts – Superstars never waste time and energy looking at the glass as half full or as half empty; to them, it's always full. They know the sum-total of people's strengths far outweighs their weaknesses, so their management style is still strength-based. From their young life, they learn to figure out how to harness the power of an available resource pool to the max. As a result of their ever-positive attitude and outlook towards life and work, the departments or agencies they manage to perform incredibly efficiently, remaining consistently ahead of the competition. While the game evaluates each resource as a combination of strength and weakness, they look at resources as an all-strength event or a composite, which helps them deploy and utilize resources faster, more effectively, and often incredibly cheaply. 

9. They are Incredibly Efficient Budget Managers and Lead by Example – While the average and overrated perennially cry for an ever-expanding budget (that's the only thing they are good at!) to run from their incompetence, the superstars, on the other hand, continuously prove to the world the need for and the ultimate use of asset management. They are the living proof that when a group of ordinary people is placed under a great leader, it rocks -- just a matter of time. Of course, the flip side is equally valid. The reason some great institutions go down the tube is the poor leadership with bankrupt vision. On the way down, they keep pointing fingers at everyone and everything except themselves. Superstars never pass the buck. They also develop an excellent eye to seek out talent, putting them in charge of the key and strategic nodes to strengthen their departments or agencies, setting examples for others to follow. Setting and leading by example is inherent in them. But one will never hear them asking for a bigger budget or bragging about their performance. They are smooth and quiet operators.

The departure of a superstar often leaves behind a long-lasting vacuum that is rarely replaced. Evils drive them away. Fools rejoice after regaining their paradise. The smart ones share their fond memories for years, telling the world it was their once-in-a-lifetime privilege to have known and worked with a superstar.

Sid Som, MBA, MIM

homequant@gmail.com

Link to the Book