RESOURCES

Empathy. The scarcest of human emotions. There was a rainy drizzle that night when I stepped out of Nobu. Walking to Green Park tube station was one cigarette smoke away. I lit the customary smoke and stepped out. As I reached the Green Park tube, a man stood there. Weathered old face, weathered hands. You know he had been through a lot in life. The lines on his face told you that. 20p for today's last Evening Standard he said. I looked at my watch. 11 pm. The passers-by looked uninterested. Who would want today's paper at 11 pm? I bought it. He looked at me and said Thank you, Sir. That was the last paper. I can go home now. I had tears in my eyes. Why should anyone be that forced in life to sell a 20p newspaper even at 11 pm and then go home? I watched him wrap up and leave. I could understand how he must have felt.

At the workplace, a good manager needs to have empathy. I have seen managers/owners give impossible targets to their staff. Next month on we need to cross a crore in sales How? Break it down for them. So much should be food. So much should be liquor. Push a bottle of water on every table. Have a play. But most of all have empathy. Put yourself in the other person's shoes for once and see where they are coming from. A manager will only succeed when he/she shows empathy. #ChefBane

In my days on P&O Passenger Cruises, when I was working as a commi in the bakery section, I had to deal with this oven that constantly had heating issues. Some parts would bake well, and some would not. So, you would be constantly turning the baking trays to get an even bake. I requested the head baker to get it fixed from the maintenance department. They did it but it would revert soon enough. Finally, frustrated I asked my head baker to get it rectified for the last time. He said " Anyone can get a good product from a good oven. But if you can get a good product from a bad oven, that's what makes you a good baker". The comment struck home so well, it has remained with me till date.

It's the same with people. Anyone can do a good job with a swell team. A good manager is the one who can give a good product even with a bad apple in the team. Teamwork is getting everyone to walk the same path to the desired goal. I have used the same reply to date for sous chefs and head chefs who come complaining to me about their employees. #ChefBane

As an IHM student, doing 6 months of Industrial Training in the 2nd year of college was a part of your curriculum. Mine was at Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai. My first section, my favorite, the main kitchen. From day one, I was frying fish, helping the tandoori guy, doing snacks for banquets in my break time.

At the end of 2 weeks, I was exhausted physically but enriched mentally. Appraisal time. Chef calls me to his cabin. Asks me two questions. One: how many lights does the main kitchen have? Two: how many pillars does the main kitchen have?

I closed my eyes. Drew a mental image and told him.

He gave me full marks in my appraisal. Left me wondering why he had not asked me anything technical.

By then he had noticed my enthusiasm. Now he needed to know how deep into details had I delved.

Everyone can show a certain amount of skill. Only the ones who dig into the details can take accurate decisions. The devil, as they say, is in the details. #ChefBane

Life onboard a ship is harsh. 12-14 hrs a day. 9 months without a day off. This will either make you or you will quit within the first week.

Amongst the ones that remain, some develop an escapist attitude. This is evident when people absolve themselves of responsibility and say "that wasn't me" for a job not done up to standards. This had created a phrase on board. "The other man". Basically saying that whoever did this job wasn't me, it was the other man, who of course, at that time no one acknowledges to be.

A common thing all ship companies do is induction on the first day of joining. This would be all new joiners addressed by the Captain of the ship in a large theatre. At one such address, we could hear the Captain's voice booming over the mic. " The other man does not exist on this ship".

At work or running a business is the same. There is no one else to blame there. It is only you and your colleagues or business partners who are ultimately responsible for the profit or loss. Taking responsibility will prepare you for the next rung of hierarchy in your organization. In a business that is what will keep you and your business going in the long run. One, above all else, must take responsibility for one's actions. #ChefBane

#Privilege - the world is talking about it. It comes in various shapes and sizes. People in power feel the need to have more power. People in countries that are safer than most fail to see how they are far better off than others. People with the government as their safety net at times fail to see how good their position is. Onboard P&O Cruises we reached the port of Dakar, West Africa. The captain had made safety announcements warning people not to go out alone. Crew and guests. We were standing on the open deck when two locals approached us with an Octopus the size of a small dog. They did not want money for it. “Give us your shoes,” they said. They had plastic wrap on their feet with a rope tying it to them. We gave them used staff shoes in exchange. They went away happy. That day we knew we were lucky to be working on that ship. Someone was far less privileged, and we were not going to forget it in a hurry. As we enjoyed our octopus that evening as the ship sailed, those men felt a little bit better than their countrymen that day. Respect your privilege, do not abuse it. Use it for good. #ChefBane #RespectPrivilege

#Littleknowledgeisdangerous #professionalconsultancy #ChefBane

This morning on my walk I saw a mother with her kid on a scooter skid at the roundabout and fall. A crowd instantly collected and helped them to get back on their feet, some offering water. Apart from the fact that both the mum and kid hadn't worn helmets or any protective gear, what drove my ire was that the bystanders were moving the crying kid's hand and leg joints to check if all was well. Now, I do understand it came from a sense of offering help, but they could have done more harm than good. Had the kid got a fracture, even hairline, it would have made things worse. But they obviously did not know that.

Businesses are like that kid. It's bad enough that you try to start and run a venture without professional consultants( your helmet in this case) but when you encounter glitches, instead of calling in the pros you try to fix things yourself and end up causing more harm than good.

The business does pick up and run but now with a limp for life. Hence, #littleknowledgeisdangerous.

Hire pros who know the business better than you and you will never be the woman who skids her bike. #foodforthought #hospitalityconsultants

While planning is an integral part of a business/start-up, adhering to it is not something that everyone can do. Through life, I have seen businesses waver from what has been decided based on competition. I was driving out of my home when I slowed down because of a speed breaker ahead. I was aware that it had broken down due to which it posed a threat. From the dash, I could see a biker swerve in between a truck and a car, trying to sneak through at high speed on the broken speed breaker. The result was that his bike slipped in the direction of the truck and he was flung below the truck with the bike behind him. Fortunately for him the trucker, looking at his rear-view mirror, screeched to a halt. Fortunately for him, the wheels were far, but he was stuck under the body. Unable to move, the onlookers helped him out to safety. Start-up owners generally make the same mistake. They try to squeeze in a fast one without fully realizing the consequences, while fully aware like the biker, that the move may cost them the business, but the temptation of pulling a fast one supersedes the long term vision that has been planned for the company, just like the biker knew he has a family waiting at home, yet wants to risk it all. Was it worth it? #HaveaPlanSticktoIt #ChefBane