Arjun was staring out of the window indecisively. It was getting dark. He could see that traffic was easing up a bit. Time to go home. He could leave after sending the e-mail draft that
he had already reviewed several times.
He just could not bring himself to hit ‘send’. The hesitation was
irrational, he knew. The deadline was midnight. No divine intervention would
come before that. The list he reluctantly made up was the best that he was
going to be able to do.
The office was empty; or so he thought until he heard
footsteps. He looked up with idle curiosity. He was surprised to see that it
was Kishen. Kishen was the chairman of the board; and until early in the year, had also been the president of the company. ‘What is he doing here?’, Arjun thought.
Kishen had not participated in the day-to-day management for a while. Even when
he did come in to the office, he never came to the fourth floor, where the
middle managers worked.
His surprise must have shown on his face. Kishen smiled
warmly and said. ‘Hey Arjun, good to see you. Looks like I startled you’.
‘Good to see you sir – I was just surprised. I didn’t know
there was anyone else around’.
‘Stop calling me sir. You have known me for two years now,
and I’ve been asking you for two years to call me Kishen’.
That was true. Despite the difference in age and
status, Kishen had always treated him as an equal. They first met when Arjun
won the award for the best young manager. Kishen had taken him out for dinner
after the event and told him that he thought Arjun had the potential to get to
the very top. While that was flattering, it just seemed like a well-meaning, but
exaggerated compliment. Kishen had followed through by seeking him out whenever
they saw each other and making the time to talk.
‘So how are you doing Arjun?’
‘I won’t lie to you sir.. eh, Kishen. I’ve been stressed.
You heard that I’m going to lose a big chunk of my team, right?’.
‘Yeah. Singh told me that your team is badly hit. How bad is
it?’.
‘I’m going to lose twenty people out of the hundred and
sixty-odd. It’s not just the number. For me to meet the budget targets, I have
to let many senior folks go’.
‘I understand Ajju. That's tough. Anyone I know?’
A surprise again. ‘Ajju’ was a name only his close friends
used. How did Kishen even know that name?
With some hesitation, he said, ‘A few that you might know.
Francis, Raj and Dhruv. Dhruv was the toughest decision to make. He was my team
lead and mentor in my early days’.
‘Dhruv? I find it
hard to picture him as your mentor. You both seem very … different’. He
pronounced ‘Dhruv’ like ‘Drew’.
After a pause, Kishen said, 'Hang in there. You are not considering leaving, are you?'.
Arjun had been considering that, but didn't want to say so. He remained quiet. Luckily, the office attendant interrupted, offering to bring them coffee. They both nodded their assent.
It was getting painful, so Arjun tried to change the
subject. ‘What brings you here, Kishen? I didn’t think you handled day to day
work anymore. And that too, a visit to the fourth floor?’
Kishen smiled again. He looked twenty years younger when he
smiled. No wonder, Anita, the management intern, had been telling everyone she
had a crush on him.
‘That is a good question. I’ve been coming into work every
day this month. Dharmpal Singh is having a tough time with the restructuring. I
had to help. And as for the fourth floor, I just wanted to see who was still
motivated to stay late. A way for me to get some ground-truths. I used to do
that regularly when I was the president. I have to say I’ve never seen Dhruv
here at this time all these years’.
‘Dhruv’s strength is his judgement, not the number of hours
he puts in. I wouldn’t be where I am but for what he taught me in the early
years’. After some pause, Arjun added, ‘just like you have been in the later
part of my career’.
‘I can see why you are struggling with the decision then.
This is going to sound heartless, but I think he is better off elsewhere. And
from our point of view, he doesn’t fit in anymore’.
It did sound heartless, but Arjun didn’t know how to say it
without exposing his disapproval. He was quiet.
Another interruption. Coffee was served.
Kishen resumed when the attendant left. ‘Ok, look at it this way. Did you know that Dhruv can make a lot
more money in management consulting?’.
‘Yeah, I know he is sought after. I always thought he’s
here out of loyalty to us. But why do you say he doesn’t fit anymore?’.
‘Let me see - how do I say it without seeming even more cold?
His management style made sense when we were happy with incremental growth. He
can’t, or won’t make any tough decision. I never told you this, but it was me
who picked you over him for your current job’.
Now, that was a bigger surprise, enough to distract him from
all the gloom. Arjun never thought Kishen involved himself with staffing
decisions at that level.
‘What? Really?’
‘Yes, and I will tell you one more thing. I would have asked
Singh to let Dhruv go anyway, even if you hadn’t had him on the list. Does that
help make you feel better?’.
‘Maybe, but still struggling with why you’d do that. There
are traits of Dhruv that you don’t see’.
‘Nothing wrong with him Arjun. It’s a balance problem. We
need independent thinkers, disruptors and doers in the management. The problem is that he is just a doer, and we have too many of those’.
It was beginning to make sense. ‘Does that make me as
heartless as Kishen?’ he thought. He tried to think of other doers in the same rank and salary, but couldn't think of any.
‘Ok Arjun, you may think I am manipulating you. But I want
you to stop thinking of layoffs as harming people. They will all be fine’.
‘But what about loyalty? These guys are unquestionably
loyal’.
‘Yes, that is unfortunate’.
‘And my team will hate me. They love Dhruv’. That just came out. He had not meant to say that aloud.
‘Blame me. Tell them we had a chat and I refused to budge’.
‘This definitely helps’, Arjun thought; ‘should I be worried
that I’m more worried about what people think than doing the right thing?'.
‘Arjun, this is simpler than you think. After an initial
disappointment, Dhruv and the others will be just fine. I’m taking
responsibility for all this. Singh is telling everyone that I personally
oversaw this restructuring. I’m telling you I’d have added Dhruv’s name to the
list anyway. You had a smaller part in all this than you thought. Telling the
right decision from the wrong one is not as easy as it seems. Stop agonizing
over this’.
Kishen finished his coffee, flashed another smile, and left. It was dark outside. All lights in the parking lot were on. The cleaners were entering the building.
After some hesitation, Arjun sent the note, unchanged, to Human
Resources.
