Gone are the days when...

A proposal,

Was one of marriage

An engagement,

A promise to marriage

A delivery (under pressure),

Had to do just with childbirth

And,

Everybody lived happily ever after

These days...

We

Propose to clients

Execute engagements

Deliver under immense pressure

And, with no time to lose,

Start proposing all over again.

It's a funny world!

Caveat: The observations made in this post are based on limited experiences during a limited window of time under certain limited circumstances. These are not meant to be generalizations though they might “sound” generic.

I have ranted extensively on this blog. After all, I am an SME* on that, there is even a label named ‘Cribbita’ on this blog. My rants have ranged from vending machines to “name calling” conventions to professionally acceptable language. However, I have consciously steered clear of never ending, debatable topics. Save this once.

At the risk of sounding contentious, here we go!

The fact that one is a woman does not mean that

1. One does not know the first thing about numbers – Gender has nothing to do with being marketing pro or finance pro. Personal preferences have. And, as an aside, the two need not be mutually exclusive, there are people who like and know both Finance and Marketing.
2. One can talk only the supposedly ‘girlie’ stuff (like shopping) – One knows how to hold a reasonably interesting conversation (interesting to all parties concerned); or, one does not. Period. One need not be of a particular gender to be stupid enough to talk about subjects that do not appeal to everyone in the group, when in a group.
3. One has no career aspirations – This is what beats me the most. Beyond a point, gender has very little to do with aspiring for an interesting career. How can being a woman be so much of a barrier at this level that it is even taboo to “desire” things, which are quite common place and not too out of the ordinary otherwise?

It is quite hilarious to note how easy it is to stereotype. And, ah, well, to generalize too.

* - Subject Matter Expert

The great Indian employers' struggle

The news came in today morning. Yet another was poached by a rival. This is the second time it has happened this quarter; and, by the same rival.

Tempers have been flying. It is so unnerving it’s not even funny. After all these days of sharing, caring and working together, how could employees turn disloyal over night?

There was no clue of it, no signs of the bad times to come. Everything was normal; life went on as usual, and we were blissfully ignorant of the developments happening behind our back.

But now this big blow!

We are crippled, till we find a worthy substitute. The amount of training that needs to be given, the time that the new one would take to settle down and actually start working… It is going to be toil, a painful tussle, a fight till the end, by when the poaching would start all over again.

Oh God! If not for sneaky neighbors and unfaithful servant maids, the world would have been a much better place to live in.