It was in July 2011 that I decided to finally hang my uniform.
Having given my youth to this excellent profession of arms, I set out to explore what lay on the other side of the hill. But what I experienced was the Great Divide.
Me, My Men and My Country.
Some people asked: Really?
Do read about this strange contrast between the army and corporate at
https://discoverthewriterinyou.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-great-divide.html
2. Transition
It was in July 2011 that I decided to finally hang my uniform.
Having given my youth to this excellent profession of arms, I set out
to explore what lay on the other side of the hill. But what I
experienced was the Great Divide.
When I said: Me, My Men and My Country.
Some people asked: Really?
3. What You Learn at the Academy
The safety, honor and welfare of your country come first, always
and every time. The honor, welfare and comfort of the men you
command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last,
always and every time.’
Philip Chetwode
4. Other Side of the Hill
The vagaries of civil life had been quite a popular subject during
many a heated discussions; at the late night officer mess parties
and time was now ripe to eat the forbidden fruit.
As my family settled down at Meerut, life brought me to Mumbai
where I accepted a corporate job as a marketing manager. I rented
a flat near my office as travelling in this city of dreams, especially
during the monsoons, was a nightmare. As the basic wherewithal to
fight a new battle fell into place, I marched ahead with a sense of
pride since that was the only way I was familiar with.
5. Old Habits Die Hard
• At the workplace or otherwise, I always treated women (even
though some of them were half my age) as ladies and men as
gentlemen. My sincerity and commitment towards my job were as
unquestionable as hitherto before. Most important, I still
considered the organization to be of paramount importance in my
scheme of things and looked upon everyone as part of a big family.
• But the reality dawned upon me in a rather cruel manner.
6. Recession
A partial recession had set in early 2012 and the company decided
to ‘cut the flab.’ In an unprecedented move, hundreds of employees
were fired and rendered jobless. One of them was Gayathri, a shy
and soft spoken girl who was part of my team. Her mother was
scheduled to undergo a critical breast cancer operation shortly and
she needed funds badly. Like a good soldier, I walked into my boss’s
cabin and explained her situation to him. But his response was short
and sweet: ‘ You should worry about saving your own job. As for her,
she has to go.’
7. Save Your Own Job
Her husband, who also worked there in a different business unit,
was also thrown out the same day. As she got the dreaded call from
the HR department, she broke down. I sat next to her, trying to
sound positive, saying things which I did not myself believe in. The
very efficient HR department took just thirty minutes to finish off
with her. I saw her standing in the car parking alone, staring blankly
at the office building where she had spent seven long years of her
life.
8. Farewell
After a while, I accompanied her to a nearby restaurant along with
my team for a cup of tea. As the very quiet farewell drew to a
close, she rose, thanked everyone and trudged away. As her tired
body mingled with the great mass of humanity active on the road,
she left behind a vacuum in which the reality of my new life struck
me with full force.
This was not army where the organization supported the individual
so passionately.
9. A World of Machines
Later, I realized that employees also had no love lost for the
organization. A few green bucks were enough to lure them away.
Moreover, they were not very particular about growing as
professionals. A large number of them carried on with their small 9
to 5 lives without any zest. They did not exercise, they did not play
any games, they had no hobbies and they lived as if it was a
formality. And however hard I tried to treat them as ladies or
gentlemen, quite a few had no idea how to behave like one. There
was simply no emphasis on grooming these youngsters the way a
young army officer is groomed in his regiment.
10. No Sense of Belonging
Equally surprising was the fact that there was no importance
whatsoever attached to cultivating relationships. Even if you knew
someone for ten or fifteen years, he would never invite you to his
home . Employees roamed around with each other, just for the sake
of company, during lunch or tea time. Their associations were
mechanical and superficial; without any depth.
I remembered with what zeal my soldiers cared for my safety when
I was posted with a Rashtriya Rifle battalion in J&K, engaged in
anti- terrorist operations.
11. Money, Money and More Money
Here, relationships were too weak for sacrifices of this nature.
What to talk of giving up one’s life, here an employee would not
even adjust a day’s leave if the situation so demanded. It was a
case of a strange union where neither the organization nor the
workers felt for each other. The overriding factor was not to
achieve a higher common goal, the overriding factor was only one –
money, money and more money.
12. Heartless
Heartless is the most appropriate word that I can coin for the way
the famed corporate world functions. I still remember how the
company went on to cut a substantial part of a teammate's salary as
he was forced to move on additional leave since his father was
critical and slated to undergo a heart surgery. And as he recounted
later, to add insult to injury, a smug lady on the other side of the
table, further clarified: ‘I have no time or desire to listen to your
personal problems.’
Had it been army, financial help would have poured in without
asking for it, apart from the tremendous emotional support that
everyone gets there so unconditionally.
13. Insight
But I am thankful to God for giving me an opportunity to recognize
and experience this Great Divide. Had it not been for this, I would
have never completely realized the true worth of armed forces and
the high moral and ethical standards they stand for, not to mention
the enormous sense of belonging that makes them what they are.
14. Chetwode Revisited
• Lastly, if I ask one of my corporate colleagues to rewrite the
famous Chetwode Credo, he would probably reframe it like this:
• ‘My own safety, honor and welfare come first, always and every
time. The honor, welfare and comfort of my subordinates doesn’t
actually matter. And country? Are you kidding me?’
