Chalk and Cheese

A couple of months ago, I completed 5 years as a working professional or to be more accurate as an I.T. professional. Since I am a stickler for dates, let me tell you that it was on 14 July, 2013 that the 5 years were completed. The first three and a half years were spent in BMC Software, a multinational product development company. That entire experience, which I was privileged to share with two of my closest friends, journeying from Project Trainees to Associate Product Developers deserves a completely different post.

I joined ITscape, a product development start-up on February 6, 2012. It was a tough decision to leave BMC as I really enjoyed working there. I was lucky to have great colleagues, friends and I was enjoying my work. But professionally, I felt it was the correct thing to do and I always wanted to work in a start-up either founded by me (I still dream of starting my own company one day) or people whom I trusted. I knew things would be different when you move from a company with more than 6000 people to one with less than 10. But needless to say, the difference is like Chalk and Cheese.

The first difference which I noted during my first week was the absence of emails in my inbox! In a big company with thousands of people, you are forcibly part of many distribution / mailing lists. As a result you tend to get a lot of emails during the day and night. As you go higher up the chain, the number of lists and subsequently the number of emails increase proportionally. People want to keep you "in-the-loop" and many a times it is indeed required. But here, in a start-up with just 10 people and majority in the same location it wasn't required and there used to be days where I didn't get a single email. In the beginning it felt quite unnatural but I've really got used to it now and it's a relief. The same holds true for the number of meetings.

One important difference while working in a start-up as opposed to a big company is that the stakes are much much higher. In a big company, in case you don't perform too well or your team doesn't deliver a good performance, it doesn't have a big impact (I'm talking about people like me who were on the lower end of the totem pole and not top executives). You might lose out on some deadlines, you'll cop some flack from the management and your own appraisal or bonus won't be satisfactory. In a start-up however, such slip ups can result in you not having a job next day as your company didn't secure the required financing and had to shut down! The stakes are that much higher and every individual and the team's performance has a lot of impact on the company's future. Similarly, the rewards and satisfaction are also amplified in case you do well. The news that you just got a (paid) customer is literally music to the ears and cause for a big celebration! In a big company if you're doing well, you already have so many customers and new ones being added constantly that unless you're in sales and it matters to your targets, you don't even know about such things. 

The most important difference for me is that you get to and need to learn a lot of new things while working in a start-up. The reason is, there is really no other choice. You can't say I can't do something or this is not something I was hired for. One way or the other the task  needs to be done. In a big company, with so many resources at the company's disposal, you get constrained to your specific skill sets. Of course there are exceptions and also highly motivated people who make it a point to keep learning new things. But I think that it is easier to learn something if you have a need for it and in a start-up there're always 100 things which need to be done. It helps a lot if you have helpful and skilled colleagues to guide you in things which you don't know a lot about. I've been lucky to have such people around me and consequently have learned a great deal in the past 1.5 years.

One thing which a big company allows you to do is plays sports competitively. I was lucky to be a part of BMC's Cricket, Football and Basketball team. And I can never forget the enthusiasm and competition in BMC's annual Internal Cricket Tournament. When I joined ITscape we didn't have enough people to make a cricket team let alone play a tournament. We are getting there though slowly and steadily ... 

I don't want to discredit work in big company. I've been lucky to have worked in companies at the opposite end of the spectrum and have enjoyed my time in both companies. There might be some people who are not cut out for life in a start-up while some might not like the life in a big company. I believe that if you work hard and remain positive, you can achieve success any where. To give a cricketing analogy (since I always have to have some reference to cricket), there are some people who love Test Cricket while some love T20. But there are some including me who love both as in the end they're just different versions of the same beautiful game.

Bitter the defeat, Sweeter the Victory

I am an average Sportsman. I have played and still try to play many sports. I've attended coaching camps for Cricket, Tennis, Badminton and Basketball when I was in school. Some lasted more than the others, but I would say that was more due to my aversion to fixed schedules and timings. This aversion also made me miss many of my academic lectures and private coaching classes. That's one of the reason why I'm a fan of the "flexi-timing" policy in my company right now, though some would say I do push it a bit far some times. But coming back to all the sports which I've played competitively, I would never call myself above average in any of them. Apart from eating a lot of food in a single go, there aren't many things which come naturally to me. Even that talent doesn't seem too awesome after seeing episodes of Man v/s Food.

Though I am average, I am also proud that I have represented my school, college and company in Cricket, Basketball, Football, Handball and Netball at various times in my life. Obviously that brings to mind the thought that the teams which I have been a part of were not really good. That might indeed be a fair call if you look at win-loss records. I have rarely been part of teams who have dominated their leagues like the earlier Australian Cricket team or the current Spanish football team. Most of the times I've been part of teams which don't have resources (human or monetary), struggle to come up with players even on a match day, don't have adequate bench strength and who get the worst luck in terms of draws or refereeing. However this is not at all a rant about the teams that I've been part of over the years. I feel lucky and privileged to have played with my team mates over the years.

I call myself lucky because had I been part of a dominating team I am sure I would not have played so many games. Some times it's good to be a big fish in a small pond as you get that many more opportunities. But I was definitely privileged since I got to play with team mates who despite all the odds of being an underdog, played beyond their potential and showed terrific fighting spirit to come up with some spectacular wins. 

I've listed 3 of those wins below, all of them from inter college Basketball matches. There were many more in various sports but to limit the size of this post I had to hand pick these.

• Modern College of Engineering v/s Army Institute of Technology (Basketball) - This is was one of the best victories we've had in four years of engineering. This match was played in our Second Year (2006) where as usual we were the under dogs. The match started badly for us and we were down by many points when an unusual 3 pointer from almost half way down the court brought us back. We went on to win the close match and it gave us great belief that we can win even when we're down by many points. The best part was headlines in newspapers the next day which said "Engineers beat Army men" and "Engineers stand tall".
• Modern College of Engineering v/s PVG (Basketball) - This was Modern's biggest upset in Basketball till the year 2008. PVG was tradionally a very strong team and it was a team which I had deep respect for. They played fair, ran a lot and had excellent coordination. We had always been on the losing side against them but in this one match everything came together for us. It was a big upset and one of our biggest wins. I didn't play a single second in this match but enjoyed every moment of it. I have in fact been on the bench a lot of times. Many times people who don't play sports competitively have asked me what's the use of being on the bench. They say it's better not to play if you're going to be on the bench. I pity these people because they don't understand what it takes to be a part of a team and how important the bench is to a team. All great teams have one necessary quality - their bench is very strong.
• Modern College of Engineering v/s College Of Engineering Pune (Basketball) - This is clearly the best match I've played in. We were playing at the the COEP ground, in their own tournament and in front of more than 200 partisan engineering students. It was them against 10 of us along with a few loyal supporters. Needless to say we were totally out numbered and being heckled continuously. The match started horribly for us. At the end of the first quarter the score was 17-2. In the second half we slowly started our comeback and towards the end we were neck to neck. So much so that the match went in over time. One over time wasn't enough and the match went to double over time. In that period our captain and best player twisted his ankle and was replaced by a rookie. But enduring everything we won and in the end the only noise in the stadium was the celebration of the 10 players and their supporters.

I believe that playing team games competitively has advantages beyond the obvious ones of exercise and competing. It teaches you a lot more than you realize. But the most important thing which it teaches is how to lose. I think it's important to know that in life, you may not win all the time and sometimes the only thing you can do is give your best. I have nothing against individual games but to me the feeling of celebrating a hard fought win with your team mates is unmatched. Even though I've been on the losing side many times, I have had my fair share of victories. And it is the knowledge and experience of losing which makes these victories even sweeter. In the end I believe that if you can say "I gave my 100% ...." it doesn't matter what comes next.

Keep your head bowed!

They say "Pay your taxes, hold your head high". Well, not so fast. If you are a part of the Indian IT Industry then I would ask you to wait. That's because come the month of January, employees all over India will become busy in submitting bills and receipts to claim tax exemption  Nothing wrong with that. It's a provision given by the Government. But the key point here is that for expenses like petrol and telephone, it's mandatory that it should be an expense done for business purpose and not personal. 

Every year there is an obscenely large amount of bills that are submitted and accepted but have nothing to do with business. The bills per se are not fraudulent but the expense is clearly a personal one. Medical bills and rent receipts are a different story. Many of them are clearly fraudulent. Medical bills are procured from corrupt (this word has lost its meaning) shop owners and rent receipts are printed, forged and submitted by people who are living in their own or parent's house for donkey's years. This goes on year after year with no obstruction whatsoever from employers and no one thinks twice about it. If you are one of the few people who do not submit fake bills and fraudulent expenses, give yourself a pat on the back. But look around and you'll see that you're in a terrible minority. 

I've had heated discussions with friends, colleagues and even employers on this point. I have tried in vain to convince my colleagues that this is illegal not just unethical. I've tried to make employers put in some stringent policies for avoiding this but to no avail. Over the course of these discussions I've heard many excuses:-

1) Everyone does it - Well, this excuse has been heard many times but in whichever context you use it, it is definitely not applicable. The fact that everyone is doing it does not give you the right. It still makes your actions illegal. The only consolation is that you're not alone.

2) What is the government doing for me? - I don't want to sound cliched but John F. Kennedy's statement "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" stands true here. You may not like a particular government and think that it is corrupt. But that in no way gives you the right to not pay taxes. If you think that your taxes are always going to end up in some corrupt politician's pocket, you are wrong. Your money might also be helping fund the Pulse Polio campaign which has made India polio free. The fact is you cannot rationalize using this excuse and the real truth is that you just want to save money.

3) I need to save money - Tough luck. If it is correct to use illegal means to save money and essentially make money, then we need to release a lot of prisoners in our jails as many of them indulged in theft as a way to get out of poverty. Saving money is good but only if it is done by legal means. Just because you don't get caught doesn't make this legal. It's just like following traffic signals when the traffic policeman is not present. You know you won't get caught or have to pay a fine, but you still follow the rule (hopefully).

4) Catch the corrupt politicians first - Yes, they need to be caught and taught a lesson. As a country, India needs to improve a lot in terms of corruption. But it starts with every individual. We have no right to berate the corrupt politicians and talk tough about them if we ourselves are indulging in corruption. Yes, avoiding taxes by fraudulent means is corruption. Just because it's not under the table doesn't make it any less grave. So before you do a fast against corruption to support Anna Hazare or talk about severe punishments for A. Raja and Suresh Kalmadi, think whether you have earned the right to make such statements. 

The sad part about all this is that the employees who are indulging in these practices to "save money" are ones getting 6 figure or even 7 figure salaries. You may think that these small amounts will not make a difference but it does. As an example and that too a very conservative one, let's consider that only half of the Indian IT industry (about 15 lakh individuals) end up not paying just Rs. 1,000 in taxes by fraudulent means. Essentially we end up not paying the exchequer Rs. 1,50,00,00,000 in taxes. That's 150 Crores. This is still a very very conservative figure. So think again.

What are the solutions to this? Well, if you're not in a position to formulate policy or make your voice heard to the management then you can definitely make some changes in yourself. Don't give fake receipts and fake reimbursement claims  Encourage your colleagues, friends to do the same and be a role model for others. However the onus lies more on the employers and policy makers. Every company should have a strict policy of dealing with fake receipts and claims. If you are a small company it's easier. You know what is a business expense and what is not. You know who lives in his own house and who lives in a rented accommodation  For large companies, it's important to do surprise checks and punish offenders. It's only when people know that they will be punished severely for saving couple of thousand rupees that they will think again. If there's no punishment, it's just a bonus. 

Whenever we see a traffic cop, we think of him as a corrupt guy taking money without giving a receipt. We take pride in saying that we were caught but we insisted on a receipt from the policeman. Where does this pride go when you submit a fake receipt for rent or petrol? The next time you bad mouth a policeman for being corrupt, compare yourself with him. This guy stands in the sun, in all the pollution, works in terrible shifts and gets a measly salary for his work. You work in a plush A.C. office, get free or subsidized food and a fat pay cheque every month. If you can justify yourself by any excuse for not paying tax, then he is more than justified in taking money without giving a receipt. 

The truth is BOTH are wrong. There is no justification or excuse for indulging in illegal and unethical behavior. The sooner we realize that as Indians, we will take a bigger step towards eradicating corruption.