Vigneswari has completed 4 training sessions at our office so far. The two classes in November were all about setting goals and their power to make dreams real.
Just yesterday, I heard this awesome quote while listening to Oprah – Purpose is spirit seeking expression. I believe in the huge power of purpose to move mountains. It is the mover and invisible spirit behind all great creations.
I was present during the last two training sessions at our office. In the session on Monday, November 11th, Vigneswari told our group stories of people who believed in their purposes and made it big in their lives. One by one, everyone expressed what they wanted to achieve in their lives. I feel awful that the speech and hearing impaired are not able to voice their deep aspirations.
A few house keeping staff spoke about their desire to build their own homes. Ramesh wants to educate his daughter to be an engineer and build a home in Chengelpet, while Vasanth wants to finance his sister to become a doctor and renovate his existing home. There are other house keeping staff who want to earn at least Rs.50,000 every month within a matter of 5 years.
Nazeema’s goal is to buy a Swift car in two years and send her mother to Mecca. Dhana aims at becoming an operations manager within two years while earning enough to give her mother Rs.20,000 every month.
I communicated my goals – for Service Square to achieve a turnover of Rs.10,00,00,000 (10 crore) during the financial year 2016-17. To impact the lives of 1,00,000 people before the end of 2016 through my writing and speaking, is another aspiration. And to enjoy the comfort of my own home during 2015 and function out of our own posh, spacious office during or before 2017.
Mathan had all his goals linked to Service Square. He had very big dreams for the company. He is a perfect example of a person who by his constant striving has reached where he is today. He had very humble beginnings in the housekeeping department when he joined us more than a decade back. He has traveled far during this period.
Before the next class on Tuesday, November 26, everyone had written down and visualized their goals with pictures on A-4 size papers and pinned them on a large board made for the purpose. Prior to their doing that, I had spoken to all of them individually. I felt very good and convinced myself that I was lifting the lives of so many people out of ordinariness.
Vigneswari and I had a chat at the end of the session. I confided to her about the sense of frustration that had swept over me the previous day, looking at the poor results from our tele-marketing team.
She spoke about the 101 ways she planned – the name of her company is 101 Degrees – to enrol participants for the training programme she is conducting at the end of December. Then she urged me to get out of the office as often as possible.
Initially, I raged at the temerity of this girl to preach to me. There was however, no denying the sense behind what she said. I kept my ego under check. She is exhibiting the teacher in her without restraint and that is what we are all called to do, while playing our roles with different people.
After Vigneswari left, I made a start writing down a few of the 101 things we ought to do. I also ventured out of my office a few times during the week and came back with discoveries. After visiting Pudur and Shollinganallur areas of the city I felt the itch to open at least two new offices in the city within a month. A few months have altered the landscapes of these places in the city. The number of huge residential apartments in the city boggles my mind. The opportunity for Service Square seems endless.
Meanwhile, I had firmed up in my mind that the three best house keeping staff in our team could and would handle responsibilities of developing our housekeeping business in three distinct areas of Chennai.When I discussed with them the idea, they seemed to be buoyed by the exciting prospect.
The day before yesterday, on Friday evening, Mathan and I had a meeting with Vasanth, Ramesh and Sridhar, the three housekeeping staff handpicked to lead the charge – to take themselves and Service Square to glorious futures. Two of them have been with us for several years and they are efficient in their jobs.
The meeting with them dampened my spirits. Two of them did not evidence even a fraction of the faith I had in them. They just sat and listened as Mathan and I shared the vision with them.
Thrusting responsibility on unwilling and unprepared people could lead to disappointments. We could even lose them if they realize the responsibility is too hot for them to handle. Besides, my prime task is to transform the business. And we need the best people we can find for the purpose. We could lose valuable time trying to transform people to transform the business.
Perhaps, the right approach would be to let them ask for the responsibility when they are ready. They should show their readiness by educating themselves adequately in their spare time, going for spoken English classes and taking their in-house training sessions very seriously. More importantly, we will be devaluing the position and responsibility of the job by giving it to them on a platter. Let them desire it ardently and fight for it.
I have learned this the hard way. During the last 13 years, I hardly made any progress in developing Service Square. Not because I did not have the talent. I just did not desire it with passion. Having a purpose is not enough. Only when there is a burning purpose does the spirit seek and find expression.
It is a daunting task for me or anyone else to create the vital ingredient – the burning desire – in people. All I can achieve is to nurture it within myself.
During the last one year, Service Square has undergone a mild metamorphosis. Our business has doubled. A few of the housekeeping staff is getting twice what they were earning at this time last year. We have doubled the house keeping staff strength during the last 6 months. There are three people to do telemarketing. There are several plans on the anvil……….
I have finally begun to think we are in business. There is a lot of desire.
As I have said in most of my blog posts, it all begins with me.
The lives of a lot of people are riding on my fire.