Surviving in the Corporate Jungle: A Backpacker’S Guide
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About this ebook
This book is a compilation of tactics you can use to not only survive but also do well in the corporate jungle. It is intended to amuse, entertain, and educate. It is a lighthearted take on the art and science of management, from the jaundiced perspective of someone who is still learning it!
It offers quite a few gems of wisdom meant for managers and entrepreneurs of all hues, sizes, and shapes. They could be the aspiring kind, the practicing and tired kind, or the retired kind.
Glum chief executive officers, hassled by the harsh slings and arrows of managing a business, might get motivated to look at the sunnier side of life upon leafing through some of its contents.
Nail-biting aspiring managers may understand how to successfully navigate their way through the corporate jungle. They might also get prompted to develop an inner compass based on personal values, leading to better levels of satisfaction, happiness and fulfillment.
Ashok Kumar Bhatia
Ashok Kumar Bhatia is a corporate generalist and a management counselor. He is passionate about sharing the wisdom acquired by him in his career spanning over four decades. A post-graduate in Physics and in Business Administration, he says he suffers from Professoritis and Wodehousitis. He lives in Pondicherry, India. His blog posts can be found at www.ashokbhatia.wordpress.com.
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Surviving in the Corporate Jungle - Ashok Kumar Bhatia
Copyright © 2017 by Ashok Kumar Bhatia.
Illustrations by Upendra Ratra
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
www.partridgepublishing.com/india
THE BACKPACKER’S KIT
Book Endorsements
A Note Of Caution…….
Author’s Note
Advertising
Adjusting To Company Culture
Aggressiveness
Analysis Paralysis
Art Of Creative Dissatisfaction
Auditors
Being Accessible
Being An Ostrich
Being Unreasonable
Bell Curve And Performance Appraisals
Big Fish In Smaller Outfits
Blunders, Handling Of
Bosses– Meet Them Halfway Through
Brand Building
Burnouts
Business Schools
Calling Back Yourself
Cheating And Creativity
Circularity Leading To Sustainability
Compromises
Complacency
Conflicts, Resolving
Consultants
Corporate Strategy
Creative Accounting
Decision Making
Delegation
Designations
Detachment
Director, Being One
Discretion
Draupadi Syndrome (Facing A Multi-Boss Challenge)
Education
Ethics And Values
Environment
Excuses
Fat, Reduction Of
Favours
Fear And Courage
Female Power
Filing First Information Reports
Financial Markets
Fire In The Belly
Get-Togethers
Grapevines
Hiring And Firing
His Master’s Voice
Hr 2.0
Imovation
Intellectual Freedom
Interpersonal Relationships
Incentives
Job Labels
Jumping To Conclusions
Kiss Frequently
Leaders
Legal Eagles
Logic Vs. Emotion
Loneliness Blues
Managers
Management Lessons From India
Marketing
Meetings
Mediocrity Vs. Excellence Vs. Perfection
Micromanaging
Moral Compass
Networking
Organization Structures
Overstaying One’s Welcome
Packages
People
Performance Evaluation
Planning
Policies
Politicians
Promises
Promotions
Praise And Reprimand
Procrastination
Public Relations
Quality
Quantitative Approach
Questionnaire
Quotients
Responsibility Of Dissent
Retiring
Romantic Escapades
Secretaries
Seniority, Respect For
Shooting From The Hip
Stress
Succession Planning
Sustainability
Talent
Targets, Goals
Teams
Terror
Thanks!
Time, Managing
Underground Cable Connections
Vacations
‘Vice’ Presidents
Visibility
Weaknesses – Market Them!
Wealth – Creation Of
Whistleblowers
Work Life Balance
Working Hours
Xerox
X, Y, And Z
Yes-Men
Zombies
Zoo Organizations
Some Jungle Aphorisms (The Backpacker’s Kit: Summarized)
Some Brickbats And Bouquets
A Word About The Author
BOOK ENDORSEMENTS
There is no dearth of books on Management. However, Mr Bhatia’s book ‘Surviving in the Corporate Jungle’ soothes the frayed nerves of a manager with fresh insight in challenging situations. He communicates the serious messages with humour and wisdom. It is bound to leave you not only chuckling but also wiser and smarter.
Sandip Choudhury
Regional Finance Shared Service Lead (VP) North America, Mylan Inc.,Southpointe, PA, USA
Management is both a discipline of human knowledge and a practice with profound impact on our daily lives. We learn about it in classrooms but also in stories and little notes containing the wit, the humour and the salt and pepper that really make a difference at the end of the day. Ashok’s book makes one think, smile and reflect over our organisational lives taking us by the hand with delightful kindness into a realm of effectiveness but also of compassionate empathy by those who share our time and our space.
Jose Fonseca
Dean School of Business and Social Sciences of Universidade Europeia of Lisbon, Portugal
For those who worry too much about the managerial challenges in their careers, here is a ready reckoner which will not only provide a fresh perspective but also bring a smile to their frown. Highly insightful, amusing and at some points hilarious, such as the entry on
Boss – Meet him halfway through"!
Paul Griffiths
Strategy and Knowledge Management expert; Director, Latin America at Lafferty Group; Partner, Corporate Edge, Chile
"It took me barely two days to read the Portuguese version of this book dedicated to an additional type of animals: organizations! In an entertaining way I could remember several situations where I have observed such behaviors inside organizations as an employee, an investor, a board member and a teamneurs.
I am especially pleased that the author has used the metaphor of jungle to share knowledge instead of using the violent metaphors which usually come from war references.
The flair of the season these days is entrepreneurship. It is a new religion in an era which appears to belong to Start Ups of all sizes and shapes. It also helps to reduce the burden of unemployment that our governments face. Whether for entrepreneurs or for career oriented managers, the book shows a fast 360º way to navigate the choppy waters in which Homo Organizationum operate."
Marco Paulo Abrunhosa Cardoso
A wisdom seeker, Kotka, Finland.
At CEO World, I get to handle diversities of various kinds - cultural, national, industrial, commercial, gender-related, age-related, and the like. This brilliant work helped me to understand how I can leverage the differences between
giraffes and
elephants, while building an
harmonious jungle". It is impossible to not to finish the book in 1 or 2 days. Revisiting the book reminds us about simple principles that have a huge impact! All of this with a great humour!"
Miguel Dias
Founder & CEO, CEO World, Portugal
Having spent over three decades in the corporate, one can empathize with the professionals who have to tread their paths with much caution. Some stretches are sunlit, many others are deeply wooded, dark and ominous. This book captures not only the strategic thinking but also the tactical skills required to navigate one’s way to success, inner satisfaction, happiness and most importantly - peace. If the objective is to work and produce results in all situations, this unique compilation of witty aphorisms and concepts shows one how to do it.
C S Dwivedi
(Vice President – Manufacturing & Corporate Planning, HCL Infosystems Limited, India)
This book is
dedicated to
my late parents
who laid the foundation of my life and career.
A NOTE OF CAUTION…….
The corporate world is labelled as a jungle, for no one single species rule it. It is a world of its own, with immense variety of personalities, behaviours, systems, cultures and hues often resulting in a canvas which is so very kaleidoscopic, defying a clear definition. Experienced observers who have lived in the jungle, management students, researchers and professors, all