Cubicle Animal

Blog migrated to WordPress

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 05:35:00 +0000

Folks,
For many days I have been considering migrating the blogs to WordPress. Finally I've moved CubicleAnimal to WordPress. Please change your subscription of CubicleAnimal feed to point to the url: http://cubicleanimal.wordpress.com/.

As a bonus you will find all the "Being An Underperformer" series posts under the category "BAU" on the new blog. Just click on the categories listed in the sidebar on the right and you will get all the BAU posts.

I've added two more categories; "Mortal Thoughts" and "Nonsense". "Mortal Thoughts" have posts that I write due to an instant flash of motivation to want to write about something I just found amusing.
The "Nonsense" category has the posts that are usual nonsense or absurdity that I see, feel and think about for a while before resigning it as being "absurd", "utter nonsense" or "bullshit".

Happy reading.

BAU:Lesson 4 - Frustrated... How many bosses do you have?

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 08:05:00 +0000

I have seen in some projects during my years through cubicle life that have more than one bosses. At the same level.

Usually a team performs best when there is a hierarchy of some kind with a flexible enough reporting structure. A rigid chain-of-command makes it pretty much stiffling for team members. Especially the ones who are part of an intellectual space such as IT or Media.

A friend of mine has highlighted the pitfalls of a team that has more than one boss very nicely in his blog "Multiple Boss = Exponential Problems"

Sweet slumber..zzzz. No new posts this week

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:50:00 +0000

Guys, I will not be posting any new post this week. I am traveling and want to enjoy the sights and scenes that our real world has to offer. So I am taking a week long break from this cubicle world I have created.
Next post will be on Friday, 30 March 2007.

Change in Site Redirection!!! Eeks!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 13:01:00 +0000

Hello folks!
Just to announce a little change in the blog appearance. The domain CubicleAnimal.com now redirects to the original version (Blogger), instead of the FeedBurner version.
I had kept the FeedBurner redirection because it allows me to collect nice statistics on my feeds. Although great for bloggers, it unfortunately, shows the feeds in a very dull interface.
Thus to achieve some spanking polished looks, I sacrificed functionality and have now redirected to the original blog site (cubicleanimal.blogspot.com)

BAU:Lesson 3 - Boss facing your back? No - No

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:18:00 +0000

You are at a serious disadvantage if your sitting position is such that your back is facing your boss. If you belong to this category, then I suggest you consider changing your seat ASAP.

You see, why I am telling you to do so has some reasons that I have cited during the recent days:

One: When you are sitting with your back to your boss means that your computer screen is facing, well, your boss. Now anybody who has "adopted" a boss, knows that this is not a good sign. And with the accuracy with which your boss pops his/her head up just when you've fired up your Yahoo! messenger, it becomes all the more dangerous.

Second: This reason is more to do with how I feel. I do not like when my boss has to face my ass every time I get off my chair. Even though, I know how much I love to do that.

In fact, I think, a reverse seating arrangement can work wonders for you. That way, you will be able to sometimes get away when got caught playing Solitaire on PC. Well, you may just be able to remind your boss how many times a day (s)he plays poker on his notebook.

Jokes apart, I think that if your boss is facing your back, and if unfortunately, you have a very pokey-nosed boss, then you may get frustrated by the continuous flow of "expert" commentary on everything that your desktop shows up.

technorati tags:BAU, Seating, Advantage

BAU:Lesson 2 - Never love your job; at least pretend not to

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:15:00 +0000

First, I apologize for the delay in this post. I was on a planned Holi festival vacation that got extended. And let me add that when I am on vacation, it means that I am with my family minus my laptop, my blackberry and my cell phone. After all vacations are supposed to be an “escape” and that’s just the reason I take them for.

Coming back to today’s lesson:

I strongly recommend/suggest/encourage you to NOT love your job.

A few days ago I saw a jobsite ad on TV where a person is shown who deserves a better job. But he is so much in love with his current job that he just can’t see the telltale signs that tell him to make the switch. Although humorous, this ad carries a serious message too. “Do not become so obsessed with your job that you tend to lose out on better opportunities.”

Through this lesson, I am NOT trying to communicate the following ideas:

Tell you to become a job hopper
Tell you to “hate” your job

What I am trying to highlight is that never get “emotionally-attached” with your job or your work. We never know what future holds for us. Thus in a world where “change is the only constant” I think it is always better to keep oneself ready for the next change when it comes staring at you round a bend.

technorati tags:BAU, Love, Job

BAU:Lesson 1 - Never be irreplaceable

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 06:51:00 +0000

Never ever be irreplaceable in your line of work.

If you are irreplaceable, it means no one can do the work that you do. This in turn means that your firm does not see anyone else who can deliver the quality that you can.

Such a perception can be a major setback to your career because your firm will find it difficult to promote you and fill your place with someone else.

Although many a times we strive hard to perform at our best, there are two different ways to look at it.
One: The firm will never fire you because you perform so well in your tasks.
Second: The firm will also NOT promote you, because they can't find your replacement so easily.

How to tackle this? I have a suggestion - a personal one ofcourse, so take it with a pill.

You need to maintain your skills in a such a manner that you offer a better deal than your peers, but at the same time ensure that you are not percieved as "the best" in that field.

It is a difficult task to do. So even after doing it all, if you can't bring your firm to realize that you too have a career, then I personally think it's time to re-evaluate your options.

Again take this harsh advice "with a pill".

technorati tags:BAU, Irreplaceable

Being An Underperformer - Curtain Raiser

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 04:44:00 +0000

Today, I am starting with a series titled "Being an Underperformer". Since the title is, sort of, long, I'll be using "BAU" to refer to it.

So all my posts titled "BAU" will indicate that the post belongs to the series "Being an Underperformer".

Each post will be in the form of "Lessons". So you will have "Lesson 1", "Lesson 2", and so on. Why "Lesson" you may ask? Well, because each post will have something that I want to tell readers NOT to do at workplace.

I know some lessons can raise a controversy. I also know that many of you may not agree to some of my thoughts too. So understand that these thoughts have originated from something I have experienced first hand or have seen it happening to others. So sometimes the lessons can be totally based on the situation which may never ever happen to you in a lifetime. To which I would say "Good. Consider yourself lucky. Because all my lessons are based on what NOT to do."

Another thing I want to point out is that I will keep the titles of all the lessons "negative". As in beginning with "Do not" or "Never". But once in a while I may come across a topic that I may not be able to put it as a "Do not" or a "Never" topic. So please bear with me on that.

For my new readers who wants to get upto speed on the background of the series, I will link the words "BAU" in each of my lessons to this post.

Other than this, I think we are good to go.

technorati tags:BAU, Curtain_Raiser

Waking up

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:01:00 +0000

It has been a deep slumber since June 2006 to February 2007. But now the meek cubicle animal is awake. What woke it, I do not know. But I feel I got the purpose clear after a long meditation on what I want this blog to represent.

The moment of truth is finally here...

From this day onwards, I am starting a series titled "Being an Underperformer: Things that you should NOT do at your workplace".
This series will be a weekly post, in which I will highlight one lesson on what you should NOT do at your workplace.
All these lessons will be written to guide you be satisfied at your workplace, but with a little dash of humor and fun to drive home the point I am making.
I will try not to make it too serious that you eventually switch off. At the same time, I will try not sound completely stupid also.

The first lesson begins on Monday. I have chosen this day because many people call it "Blue Monday" and find it hard to come to terms that there is a whole week ahead of them before they can enjoy the next holiday.

So keep an eye on this place each Monday. It may lighten up your mood and prepare you to face the oncoming week, head-on.

Its a job for the (wo)man

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 09:20:00 +0000

Who decides that a particular job is for a man or a woman?

I sometimes wonder why women are preferred in a particular job and why men are preferred in a particular kind of a job. For example: The HR department. Why is it that we find more women in an Hr department? And why is it that those women mostly are good-looking?

I can understand that some jobs such as a receptionist demands an attractive, good-looking lady, so people generally feel a sense of being welcomed nicely to the office premises. But in some jobs, I think this attitude is uncalled for.

Why is it that we find more men in a technology-driven firm? Is it that men can understand technology better than women? Is it that women are good negotiators that they are seen in large numbers in recruitment?

Why is the finance domain, almost fully occupied by men? Is it that women can't handle money matters effectively?

I don't think the jobs are so very different that the opposite sex is unable to do it? I think it is just a case of a "myth-becomes-tradition-becomes-faith".

What say?

Parting thought

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 06:21:00 +0000

Nah!!! I’m not retiring yet. Not even thought of it. Speaking of thinking, one of my colleagues resigned recently and threw a great party for all of us. One reason was because we don’t know when we’ll get to see each other from now on. A thought slashed across my mind about parting, thus the blog.

We all have been to similar gatherings, where one of our buddies is leaving us in search of the better “opportunities”. I’ll cut the crap about the food & the ambience associated and come to the point.

After all good things and dust settled down, we forget about it all. And some days later most of us forget the “good-guy” too.

But I still remember the morning after my last day at one of my earlier firms. I had gone on a little vacation before getting back to work, so I had all the time in the world to think.

I was thinking about those old pals back at the office, where I left them to their daily battles. And then looked at the small little memento they’ve gifted me in hopes that it will always remind me of them.

We meet people during our lives. They leave an impression of some kind that in a way change our lives. And still, when we depart, all that is left of those people is the mementos. Those lifeless, things that we associate with the living ones with whom we’ve spun some good times in our rather usually mundane, black-n-white lives.

And as mementos fall prey to the unforgiving claws of time, we one day lose them too. Then, we don’t have anything to remind us of those fine people. And our memoirs fly away like the butterflies, never to come back. Time is a great healer. But it is also the greatest eroder. It erodes our memories. Make them fade away and taking the few things that we cherish, with it.

So here’s what I’ve learnt on that hot, lazy summer morning. Don’t forget the ones whom you’ve made part of your life. The world is too small and life is too long. If you bump into someone after ages, the feeling of instantly recognizing them is overwhelming. And I’m sure you want to be the first of the two to feel it.

The Animal starts to think

noreply@blogger.com (Mustansir Husain) — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 16:58:00 +0000

They say that there is no limit to imagination. That our thoughts are like butterflies, zig-zagging through the winds.

And thus we ask ourselves lot of questions. Some we know the answers to...but just ask for the fun of it. And some that we don't the answers yet.

Some of these unanswered ones are hyped a little too much by our beloved hollywood stars and directors. Aliens, spaceships, distant galaxies, those extra-terrestrials with long boney fingers.

But before even venturing beyond our blue umbrella, we have enough questions to answer right here on this rock that we call earth.

Why do you think we are here? And not on any other planet – like Mars or Venus or Neptune or Pluto or some hell-blazing rock spinning at speed of 15 trillion miles an hour & generating some 119 trillion giga-watts of raw energy?

If your answer is that all these monstrous rocks can’t support life because they don’t have water, then I ask, what is it in the water that it can support life and something like hydrochloric acid can’t?

I mean, both of them are colorless. You can’t tell one from another till you taste it or better still “drop it”.

Then there are other things to ask yourself.

Ever wonder why do you wake up at dawn and sleep at dusk?

Why your body is designed the way it is?

If scientists say that the human body is the most magnificent machine made by nature, then why is there a need of other designs (organisms)?

Why is that even though we have a superior anatomy and state-of-the-art nervous system, that we are more prone to diseases than insects?

In fact, insects cause us diseases.

Whom do “we” cause diseases? Do we? Or Don’t we?

I’ve long back read Issac Asimov’s “Breeds There A Man”. It says that humans are bred, like cattle & chicken. They are experimented upon by some powerful beings who want to achieve stability in one of their experiments. These experiments are conducted in a sealed utensil (that can very well explain the sky that we see). That we are millions in a single drop that they are seeing under their “microscope-equivalent” device.

And the story says….that if the experiment goes wrong, they just wipe the slate clean and start all over.

Is that what a disaster mean to us? Wiping us clean and replacing with other specimens?

I'm not saying that I am an atheist.
But some things really keep you thinking. Oh and by the way, if you ever happen to meet God, how will you recognise Him? What makes you believe there is God?

As the famous "Morpheus" has quoted in the movie "The Matrix" - "Is is air you are breathing?".

I want to ask the same question. Is it real what you think is real?

Think about it. There’s lot to uncover, before we even peek out of our stratosphere.

I don't know the answers. But every question must be answered. So there will come a day for each of them.