Direct advice is like a double-edged sword.
The ego of the receiver is often hurt, and the ego of the advisor is also injured on the rejection of his idea.
Insult is further added to the injury if a dominant person dislikes the direct suggestion. Please recall the Hitopdesha tale "The birds and the Shivering Monkeys" in short.
Once some monkeys were shivering under a huge tree in the heavy rain and resultant cold. A kind-hearted small bird suggested them to build homes and live comfortably. The monkeys turned red at the unsolicited advice and destroyed all the birds' nest.
The ego of the receiver is often hurt, and the ego of the advisor is also injured on the rejection of his idea.
Insult is further added to the injury if a dominant person dislikes the direct suggestion. Please recall the Hitopdesha tale "The birds and the Shivering Monkeys" in short.
Once some monkeys were shivering under a huge tree in the heavy rain and resultant cold. A kind-hearted small bird suggested them to build homes and live comfortably. The monkeys turned red at the unsolicited advice and destroyed all the birds' nest.
Thus suggesting directly to the superiors is just like committing suicide, although, even small children dislike to take orders.
A boss seldom wants to give the impression that he acted on the juniors'advice. Therefore, we must avoid direct suggestions to a superior, especially in meetings.
A boss seldom wants to give the impression that he acted on the juniors'advice. Therefore, we must avoid direct suggestions to a superior, especially in meetings.
As far as possible, suggestions should be indirect even to juniors.
I worked under an excellent Manager at Baniapur. The fair-complexioned tall Shri P.K.Singh often told stories about his colleague Shri Jaleshwar Singh. He related, "What a competent officer, Jaleshwar Babu was! He kept all his files neatly and tidily. His customer service was superb. He scanned the whole Don branch just after joining. He was a 24 Carat gold." In a nutshell, he appreciated desirable qualities of Shri Jaleshwar Singh before me, instead of directly advising me anything.
I must confess, "I secretly longed to develop such qualities that would make Shri P.K.Singh appreciate me behind my back."
Asking a question is always better than declaring a conclusion.
One gentleman called a senior officer to congratulate on the latter's promotion. During talks, the gentleman expressed," You, too, belong to 1983 batch." My senior was genuinely flustered since he belonged to 1989 batch and his Wellwisher made him six years older. So the better alternative was to ask," You belong to which batch?"
Once I wrote an article " Is Talking Similar To Driving?"
Be as careful as a vehicle driver whose little carelessness may damage other vehicles.
I worked under an excellent Manager at Baniapur. The fair-complexioned tall Shri P.K.Singh often told stories about his colleague Shri Jaleshwar Singh. He related, "What a competent officer, Jaleshwar Babu was! He kept all his files neatly and tidily. His customer service was superb. He scanned the whole Don branch just after joining. He was a 24 Carat gold." In a nutshell, he appreciated desirable qualities of Shri Jaleshwar Singh before me, instead of directly advising me anything.
I must confess, "I secretly longed to develop such qualities that would make Shri P.K.Singh appreciate me behind my back."
Asking a question is always better than declaring a conclusion.
One gentleman called a senior officer to congratulate on the latter's promotion. During talks, the gentleman expressed," You, too, belong to 1983 batch." My senior was genuinely flustered since he belonged to 1989 batch and his Wellwisher made him six years older. So the better alternative was to ask," You belong to which batch?"
Once I wrote an article " Is Talking Similar To Driving?"
Be as careful as a vehicle driver whose little carelessness may damage other vehicles.
