Page 31 - #letter to son

#SangamNiti MORNING
The company fired a majority of the staff. And then got contractual
labour with the result that the factory floor kept humming as if nothing
had happened. It appeared as if the premises had received a fresh
wash of people. Nothing more. He also bore in mind that the police
or the labour commission might foment trouble and took precautions
accordingly. He was planning ahead.

He had conveyed to the shopfloor staff that he’d given them all their rights
to earn adequately and live a life of dignity. He said he had given them
all their due privileges, some of which went beyond the ambit of normal
compliance. Even the bonus was well above industry compensation.
Then why were they striking and disrupting work, snatching away his
right to grow his company? What he said made absolute sense.

That day I was amazed at his clarity of thought which had led him to
take such a difficult decision with ease. “The art of managing difficult
situations,” I thought, “is eased by prescience and clairvoyance.”

Surprisingly, most of the sacked staff rallied back into the factory the
next day, seeking apology for their hasty action. To my bigger surprise,
the chief took them back into his fold. And welded everlasting loyalty.

The chief had an uncanny knack of trusting his people. He had
freely delegated authority – but with accountability. This irresistible
complement had created a micro-entrepreneurial community, yet
had its own checks and balances. And he never overstepped delegated
authority.

This was evident when a staff from the shopfloor pleaded with him to
reinstate his employment when he was retrenched by his supervisor.
The chief patiently explained that if he were to override the control
of his line managers, they would be compelled to doubt their own
authority, which would create chaos on the shopfloor. Second, he said
he couldn’t be seen as setting a precedent in which he would disregard
his supervisor’s authority and go against his decision. And third, he
said, the employee could find placement anywhere else and getting into
a new environment would be good for his own career.

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