Positivity, Confidence & Guidance

Posted on February 6, 2022 by Capt. Shaji Kumar

There are some arguments that nobody can win. The truth of the matter, with regard to that thorny old question; ’Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ is that there is no ultimate truth. No logical process will ever decide it. Similarly there are many such unanswerable question in life. We always need to work around it, rather than through it. But some challenges in life are just not worth contemplating. Where, even if you can move a mountain, where are you actually going to move it TO? And what kind of an advantage will you gain for all that effort? Just think what could be possible if only you were to stop attempting the impossible! 

Whenever the world prepares for any sporting games, conversation turns to the issue of drug abuse in sport. When does an achievement become artificial? When it is fuelled by steroids and stimulants? When the obsessive determination to win stems from a warped experience of childhood? What’s relevant here is the whole notion of competition. What’s fair or unfair? Where DOES the need to prove oneself come from? At what cost should it be indulged? Pertinent food for thought now! However, Don’t ever underestimate the power of positivity. Confidence, in association with a little cleverness and being positive can accomplish a great deal.

Just the other day, I was in conversation with a very dear Friend of mine. He is a World renowned “Coach” who has been coaching, guiding and “helping” many top honchos in the Business World across 24 Countries. He also works with lot of other groups like Youngsters and provide guidance. He explained to me, very pertinently that all he can do is guide you to find solutions, the answers and solutions will have to be found by the Individual. Citing the example of Sachin Tendulkar, he explained that Sachin’s Coach Achrekar can only help him when he is out of the field, while in the middle of a game it will have to be Sachin who will have to do what he has to do.Sometimes, reflecting back I wonder, maybe I should have had a Coach to guide me in my endeavour. I had a Coach when I used to play Basketball. He would tell me things implementation of which helped me in my game and a better player out of me. Or in the Military Academy we had our “Ustads” who taught us everything from firing Guns to Missiles. Yes, without their support you would never learn HOW. Maybe things would have turned out “differently”. But then just like the example of Sachin, I have been doing what I have been doing in the field. However, maybe if I had a Coach it would have helped. People always look to someone for guidance. GURUS. And they do have a very pertinent and integral place in our lives. Who knows how things would have panned out otherwise.

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Happiness

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Capt. Shaji Kumar

Happiness is a state of mind, and we alone are responsible for how we can make ourselves happy. We seek answers outside while all the time the answer is glaring at us from within. Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically. The cataclysm has happened, we are among the ruins, we start to build up new little habitats, to have new little hopes. It is rather hard work: there is now no smooth road into the future: but we go round, or scramble over the obstacles. We’ve got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.”

Unfortunately, for a majority this truth is revealed quite late, by which time we have already spent a major part of our lives fretting and worrying, about what in the hindsight can be termed as trivial. In fact the secret to success is happiness. Being happy helps us resolve problems in a much better manner and it does improves our thinking. Our brains also function better when we are happy. Happiness starts inside you. Never put your happiness in someone else’s hands. When you take stock of the situation at a later stage in life, one does wonder what was the need for all that fretting and discomfort that we spent the major part of our lives. That is when you start reflecting on What If…

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SUCCESS AS AN ENTREPRENEUR – III

Posted on September 11, 2021 by Capt. Shaji Kumar

The grass on the other side is always greener. Is it genuinely green or is it actually an illusion. I ventured out long time back, and can’t really say that it has turned green, even though like the salt and pepper hair that I have now, it does seem to be interspersed with some green. And mind you I have spent some 21 years tending to it. A lot of ex-employees who were at one point associated with me did jump into the sea of entrepreneurship. I am not aware of how they fared in their endeavor and whether for them it turned greener almost instantaneously. One thing is however very certain, those who feel that entrepreneurship is indeed a get-rich-quick scheme are headed for a disaster. I meet so many people who rattle out the road map, get funded, create valuation and bring out an IPO / get acquired and then walk away with tons and tons of money. A select few hit par dirt and which triggered this berserk stampede. That is why today we find that 90% of startups are failing. 

Anyone who aspires to be an entrepreneur should have a innate desire to achieve success. And it has a long gestation time and the budding entrepreneur has to be prepared for the long waiting period during which the test would be severe and relentless. How does an Olympian win the Medal that he/she aspires for. There is no short cuts here.

You need to have a vision, ascertain the “WHY” factor and start small. Let the light far off be burning even though dim from afar. If Birbal could find warmth from the candle burning miles away then surely you can keep the desire burning till you reach your goal. Mistakes, aplenty are inevitable. But with each mistake the resolve should keep getting stronger. Never give up in the face of adversity. The situation will change eventually. The fire in the belly should remain burning. Perseverance and willingness to work hard. If you choose to be an entrepreneur then you have to choose to sacrifice a lot of other things. 

Your enterprise is your baby. Be proud of it. Never be dazzled with what is around you. A very senior person remarked to me recently about the location of my Office. It is my Office and I am proud of it. I am the “employer”, and if employees do not want to compromise and have their own locational preferences then it is their own restricted mindset and I cannot help it. Whoever heard of a well walking up to a thirsty person!! But then you can provide Value addition. 

I have built a goodwill by practicing integrity and taking very good care of my Customers. And this has definitely resulted in a very positive retention of Customers with solid goodwill. The Customers should not stop believing in your Venture. Never take them for granted. You exist only because of them and it can never be the other way round. If our reputation and integrity exceeds expectation then Customers will be willing to be associated with you regardless of the cost. It will not matter if you are more expensive. 

When you embarked on your entrepreneurial journey, was it a “risk” or a “gamble”. Just like success is never guaranteed, failure does not mean the end. Nothing is final. At one point, I went on to scale heights and in the very next year my business had plummeted. The slide could be stopped only recently and have again regained the upward momentum. Entrepreneurship has its flips and flops. Never be discouraged. If you do not give up, there is nothing that can stop you from succeeding…a true life story.      

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Success as an Entrepreneur – II

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Capt. Shaji Kumar

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and passion to reach for the stars to change the World. The grass on the other side is always greener. Is it genuinely green or is it actually an illusion. I ventured out long time back, and can’t really say that it has turned green. And mind you I have spent some 23 years tending to it. A lot of colleagues, who were at one point associated with me did jump into the sea of entrepreneurship. I am not aware of how they fared in their endeavor and whether for them it turned greener almost instantaneously. One thing is however very certain, those who feel that entrepreneurship is indeed a get-rich-quick scheme are headed for a disaster. 

Anyone who aspires to be an entrepreneur should have a burning desire to achieve success. And it has more often than not, a long gestation time. The budding entrepreneur has to be prepared for the long waiting period during which the test would be severe and relentless. How does an Olympian win the Medal that he/she aspires for. There is no short cuts here. 

You need to have a vision, ascertain the “why” factor and start small. Let the light far off be burning even though dim from afar. If Birbal could find warmth from the candle burning miles away then surely you can keep the desire burning till you reach your goal. Mistakes, aplenty are inevitable. But with each mistake the resolve should keep getting stronger. Never give up in the face of adversity. The situation will change eventually. The fire in the belly should remain burning. Perseverance and willingness to work hard. If you choose to be an entrepreneur then you have to choose to sacrifice a lot of other things. 

The hard thing isn’t setting a big audacious goals. The hard thing is laying people off when you miss the big goal. The hard thing isn’t hiring great people. The hard thing is when those “great people” develop a sense of entitlement and start demanding unreasonable things. The hard thing isn’t setting up an organisational chart. The hard thing is getting people to communicate within the organisation that you just designed. The hard thing isn’t dreaming big. The hard thing is waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat when the dream turns into a nightmare. And there is no formula for dealing with them.

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Time…Part I.

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Capt. Shaji Kumar

Yesterday, while in the middle of a training program, something about time came up and I thought it best to share some of my thoughts on TIME. How often in any given day do we hear this oft repeated lamenting remark, “I just don’t have the time”.

I have personally practised this my entire life, where I rise quite early in the morning and in the matter of exceeding programmes, I have managed to accomplish as much in one morning hour as in two evening hours.

We are all quite familiar with the phrase “Time is Money”, in fact Time is a great deal more than money. If you have time you can obtain money—usually. At the same time you may have all the wealth in the World, you cannot buy yourself a minute more time than what you have. The scientists & researchers have explained space, but no one has been able to explain time. It is the inexplicable raw material of everything. With it, all is possible; without it, nothing.

Time is also an astonishing daily miracle. Every morning as soon as you wake up your time purse is filled with 24 hours magically, yours to spend as you deem fit. And everyone – the richest of rich and the poorest of poor gets exactly the same measure. It is the most precious of possessions. No one can take it from you, it is un-stealable. And no one receives either more or less than you receive. Use it as you like – there is no punishment for right or wrong. It is not like the ones who “use” time better are rewarded by an extra hour or two. Waste your infinitely precious commodity as much as you will, you will still be rewarded with a fresh 24 hours tomorrow. No mysterious power is going to come bearing down and pass any judgement, “this man does not deserve time, and cut him off the meter”. You cannot waste your tomorrow, it is kept safe for you, you cannot even waste the next hour, you can only waste the Present hour.

We never shall have any more time. We have, and we have always had, all the time there is. It is a profound and neglected truth.

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Success as an Entrepreneur – I

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Capt. Shaji Kumar

Man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions, but when he realises that he is a creative power, and that he may command the hidden soil and seeds of his being out of which circumstances grow; he then becomes the rightful master of himself. Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.

Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself. No such conditions can exist as descending into vice and its attendant sufferings apart from vicious inclinations, or ascending into virtue and its pure happiness without the continued cultivation of virtuous aspirations; and man, therefore, as the lord and master of thought, is the maker of himself and the shaper of and author of environment.

Get up and get going. Let the power and potential of the circumstances work its magic. If there’s a limit to what you can physically do, at least allow your mind to wander freely in brave new territory. Courage is not the absence of despair, it is rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair. It should be easy to come up with practical, creative solutions to all problems. Forget plans and just resolve to do something that feels like it ’has a ring to it’. That ring, if you trust it, will prove to be made of 24 carat gold. And if you’re not sure what it is you should be doing, treasure your sense of uncertainty. Nurture it. Be proud of it. Remember that every great book begins with a blank sheet of paper. Every wonderful painting starts with an empty canvas. Every beautiful musical composition commences with a moment of silence. Every creative process, no matter how humble, requires you to bring forth something out of nothing. Which is very daunting. Usually, the best way to get going is just to do something. Anything. Then, at least, you’ve got something you can alter or adjust or improve on. That’s why what you are tentatively building is far better than nothing. 

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Lessons in Leadership

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Capt. Shaji Kumar

Courage is not the absence of despair; it is rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair.

My two leadership lessons. 

1. Look for a Solid Foundation:-

While you are in developing stage of your business, Invest all your resources including your time and energy in building the robust foundation which will take you to the next level . It will create an ideal platform for your business to grow into a much larger entity and take it to the next level. The strong foundation will enable you to pursue your growth and expansion plans. Resist the temptation for any quick (cheap) fix systems which can make it sloppy; rather make it as robust & reliable as possible.

2. Scalability is a matter of science:-

Scalability is when you take your growing business to the next level and essentially it is the result of linear strategic growth achieved over a period of time. For a business to be scalable, it must primarily focus on increasing the efficiency and overall value it adds. A proper scaling evaluation should be undertaken before making that critical decision. You also need to set the growth trajectory to follow i.e what speed, what route, what resources, when to pause and when to finish.

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ASTUTE CARE

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Capt. Shaji Kumar

Astute Care is led by a team of professionals who have the single minded devotion to fulfil the Values that it professes.

Results you can count on
Our Professional cleaners will provide consistent results. They will keep your home sparkling and fresh all the time. You won’t have to worry if company drops by unexpectedly. Your home will always be pristine. You’ll be proud to have spur-of-the-moment visitors.
Specialised Tools and EquipmentA professional provider will be aware of all of the major innovations and developments in the cleaning industry. They have invested their resource into finding the absolute best cleaning materials and equipment available on the market. They should have a wide range of supplies and specific tools and cleaning products for every job. They will know when and where to use each tool and will use these to deliver impeccable and high-quality cleaning results.
Trained and Skilled StaffA professional cleaning company will have a pool of highly trained and skilled staff. The employees are professional and have attended many hours of training. They will have unique training to clean all commercial environments and will do be able to deliver cleaning results efficiently. All of their staff should also be security vetted and background checked so that you are confident that they are hiring only the best teams of people.
Reduce your Environmental FootprintWhen it comes to environmental care, the cleaning industry has made great strides in recent years. A reputable cleaning company will be committed to ensuring that its products are as environmentally friendly as possible. They will have environmentally friendly solutions that are safe for both the environment and of course the people in contact with them.

All Service Professional are trained and certified by ALTA. (Astute Learning & Training Academy) – a non-profit initiative for the Blue Collar Workforce by Astute Outsourcing Services Pvt. Ltd. supported by Chaque Jour Aashirwad Social Welfare Trust.

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An humane approach to blue collar workforce management.

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Capt. Shaji Kumar

Howsoever, troubling it may sound, jobs have always been differentiated on the colour of the collar. White, Grey, Blue – that’s the way it has always been.

The “Blue” account for approximately 400 million jobs in India. Of these many are of contractual nature, where earnings are based on either the number of hours or days “worked”. Prominent among these are Drivers and “workers” engaged in Logistics, Delivery, etc.

I was instrumental (always abhorred the term founded and never been able to come to terms with it), Astute Outsourcing Services Pvt. Ltd.  in 2013, as a Facility Management Company, which later transgressed into “Staffing” services with the strategic acquisition of Adamas HR Services Pvt. Ltd.. And in 2020, re-kindled the nascent business segment of Residential Services re-christened as Astute Care (erstwhile On Time – Live Easy™, which I had started toying around in late 2016).

Seven years into Business, and going over numerous data especially in the post lockdown or pandemic scenario, I realised that my business is a contributor to the 400 million odd “blue collar” workforce. Even though the business model is not attributable to hours or days worked but based on actual employment with a employee-employer relation, it is still dependent heavily on the “Customer’s” end use requirement. Thankfully the Lockdown and subsequent social distancing norms and efforts to contain the spread of the “virus” has seen a spurt in demand for efficient and reliable workforce to handle deliveries and provide a sanitised environment both at work-place and in people’s homes as homes in this new normal scenario have become an extension of work place.

Pouring over the newspaper reports, many of the 400 million were not as lucky as our employees, and the distressing tales of woe over how the “migrant” workers trudged back home, on foot in the absence of any other viable mode of transport being made available. This got us thinking and utilised the abundant time available to put the AOSPL think tank to work and come out with a solution to better manage the workforce. 

My Team realised that there were a lot of issues which we could resolve by migrating to  technology. Digital, that seems to be the most prevalent byword going around post pandemic is what we based our future solutions on. Out came our drawing board – with plans to draw up a plan and solution where we could solve – digital on boarding, automated attendance management, payroll, leave, Insurance, skilling- a comprehensive model to have in place a effective workforce-management solution directed exclusively for the Blue Collar segment. Hence the idea of “SARAL JOBS” was mooted. There are lot of solutions for all types of Collars from on boarding to retirement, except the BLUE. So we decided on a multi-lingual vernacular based digital platform solution to cater exclusively for the much neglected Blue.

Just imagine, if a Data Mapping solution for these 400 million was available in the Pre-Pandemic era we may have been spared to have been spectators of this horrid saga which each one of us “witnessed” from the confines of our homes, while a majority of these 400 million trudged back to their places of origin. 

Most of the Blue Collar staff are deployed in an multi-location environment. We have staff deployed across the span of the Country and the “manual” process is rather cumbersome and difficult to comprehend for effective and timely solution. Say for example, if one of our delivery boys deployed at a warehouse wanted to apply for a eave, they presently follow a rather cumbersome process involving paper forms and getting stage even approvals, all of which is quite time consuming and considering the “work” pressure becomes quite an ordeal for the employee to manage. A solution like “SARAL-JOB” can automate and simplify all this and more – simplifying life – for the distributed workforce, leading to savings in cost and time. We at Astute have realised that the way forward is to invest in Technology for growth for the better of both the “Blue Collar” employee as well as the employer.

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Self Employed!!! 

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Capt. Shaji Kumar

Yesterday one of my my staunchest Critics, commented “once again” that I have made a complete “hash of my business”. This has happened many times with many “critics”. Does that make me an unsuccessful person? Have I not been able to achieve anything meaningful till date? These questions set me thinking!! What was it that I had set out to achieve? Did I make any promises to anyone? Did I make an announcement at any stage in my life? After pondering over it, I decided to draw up a complete “To Do List” and double check on what may have been missed out, giving reasons to attract such “comments”. 

I have enjoyed the privilege of a normal and quite pleasant childhood, thanks to my ever loving parents. However, since the beginning of this peculiarly horrendous year (thus far) their existence status regrettably has been reduced to singular surviving. Then to my surprise, even to this day, I managed to scrape through the education system schematics, which labels me as being “qualified”. Thereafter given the first opportunity, I scurried off to the Military Academy, as I deemed that it would be the only place where I could seek redemption, not to forget the “holy cow” bestowing its blessings, which was the tipping point. Alas that was not to be the final destination, and I opted to resign my commission after 5 years. To this day, even after 32 years, I have not been able to figure out the real reason – Why? Hence I have never actually had any definitive answers, when people used to ask me this question “to begin a conversation”. The reason still eludes me, though with no regrets, however thankfully these reason seeking questions have stopped. 

Then one fine morning, I decided that I wanted to be my own master – be Self Employed. The terms like Self-Employed or Self-Dependent [Atmanirbhar] were not quite in vogue,  during that period in history. However, I wanted to live the way I wanted to live. Blissfully and peacefully, on my own terms. Does that make me a risk taker, yes definitely – a “foolish” risk-taker, I can say since I had no plan – I mean I did not even have a documented Business Plan or a Power-Point presentation [I did not even own a Computer] with number crunching etc. The only thing that I did was, take the DECISION. This first step put the odds in my favour. This process kicked into motion one of Darwin’s Survival theories. It was the double ditch, either I jump through or fall in. It’s all about odds – put the odds in your favour. It is a decision making process. This is what I want my Sons to follow. This is the only legacy that I want to leave them. They should do whatever it is that they want to do – but they have to take that decision and be responsible for it. I have never interfered and neither do I want to. It is their Life and they have to be able to take that decision and live by it – as I have lived mine. 

“Heaven is a conscious choice to defy the ego’s voice”. Creating opportunities, maintaining momentum and advancing one step at a time. This was the focus. All the time I spent over the last 2 decades, engaged in  the so called “Hard-Work”. Thinking without awareness is the main dilemma of human existence. What was it that I wanted to be when I started this journey – to be Self Employed. Be on my own. I did manage to achieve that by providing above-average sustenance to my own family, and in the process also helping a few more, to earn their daily bread by way of their association with my business. I don’t owe it to anyone, but myself and today no one can lay a blame on me for anything – I am responsible only to myself and no one. I have never announced anything at any point, made any promises to anyone, then why does expectations have to be raised – of me. I know myself, and I know my strengths and weaknesses. The change we’re really looking for is inside our heads. The moment you become aware of the ego in you, it is strictly speaking no longer the ego, but just an old, conditioned mind-pattern. To this day, I have never even used the term “Founder” against my name. I have not founded anything, so why should I use this term. I have set my own goals, on my own terms have managed to achieve whatever it is that I set out to be – Self Employed.   

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