A whole new world for me

Many people ask me how different it is to work at Parikrma. On one hand I got what I wanted. I wanted to be in an environment where there was no wastage, specifically no waste of human resources. So, I have where there is absolutely no room for wastage of anything. But then again were surprises as well.

Firstly I needed to buy a lunch box and a water bottle. No cafeteria that has 2 caterers, a salad bar, coffee day etc. Then I had to get ear plus. There is a sand pit is right outside the room I work in. That not only means that everything from my laptop to my lunch is covered in a layer of dust. It also means that the children have a throughly good time during their breaks. Anyone who has been around children knows that when children have a throughly good time, adults need ear plugs. And to think that when I was at Yahoo, people complained if we talked too loud. Ha ha!

Then I was forced to make some reality checks. I came in here claiming that I knew everything about getting Parikrma to effectively use technology. And then the issues start surfacing one at a time. The heads of schools have been given laptops. Paper less office and all right! The heads of school admits to me that she does not really carry her laptop. She looks at me pleadingly and says "I travel more than 20 km each way each day, in a BTS bus. Its too heavy". Reality check!

And then of course, there is the power failure issue. No power means no connectivity. I guess one way to look at it is that I am forced to take a break on most days. But when the break lasts more than 3 hours then its a reality check!

But the most interesting change is my understanding of ownership. Its very wholistic. There is no concept of marking territories here and owning pieces of anything. Everyone feels ownership for the entire organization. If a marketing team member is not able to do her work due to power failure, she decides to go clean messy art room cupboards. When the physics teacher leaves the school, the head of ops jumps and the head of marketing jump in and start taking classes. Yes, roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined. But yes, work gets done. And how!

I have seen ambition or passion at work. But this one is new - love. I am stilly trying to understand it. But I cannot deny that I am feeling sometihng new too. Its positive. But what exactly is it?

I am also begining to wonder if its going to make it hard for me to return to my old life. Would I ever undersand it if someone said "its not my job", or if someone complained that the cafeteria did not serve italian food or that people talk to loud. Would I be able to relate?