Golden fish for corporate wisdom

Those who have the habit and love to maintain fish aquarium know the problems associated with having golden fishes. In all instance, the golden fish will be the first choice of people in general to have in the aquarium as they are easy to maintain and lovely to see. Some people do attach sentimental values with 'golden fishes' also.

Golden fishes do give many troubles to its 'aesthetic expectations' of the owners. The brilliant golden red or yellow or orange colour of the fish fades when the aquarium is not properly exposed to light. If the golden fish doesn't get adequate light, the colour starts fading or disappearing or getting disfigured.

The light stimuli are inevitable for the continuous synthesis of the colour by the pigment producing cells called 'Chromatophores'. Continuous synthesis is inevitable for the continuous availability of the 'colour' in the fish. Only the continuous light stimuli ensure the above possibility i.e., continuous synthesis and consequential 'continuous supply/availability'.

The above phenomena seen in golden fish conveys a strong message to the corporate world as a whole. Performance potential and capability to perform may be a stable trait of the employees. But to convert the 'potential' capability to 'kinetic' one, the frequent interventions are inevitable. Unless such interventions are there, the performance of people do fade, diminish and vanish like how the golden fish looses its colour if the light stimuli is absent.

Certain 'behavioural traits 'of the employees is nothing but responses to some stimuli. As long as the stimuli are there, the responses are also there and when the stimuli are removed, the responses too would automatically disappear.

The corporate also needs to read and understand the above fact during preparing 'reward' schemes to the employees at the end of the financial year.

It is not the 'mere' intervention that will make the difference, only the 'right intervention', i.e. knowing and utilizing the right 'stimuli' for 'right response'.

If one feed the golden fish regularly with healthy foods, change the water of the aquarium periodically, maintain the fishes spatially but no exposure to light, still the colour of the golden fish will change. Certainly, poor maintenance of the aquarium also affects the colour. The key factor, and 'the factor' responsible for the above is 'light stimulus'.

Every employee is different, so are their role and performance potential. The HR therefore should understand the 'organic ecosystem' of the corporate individually and collectively and only then different approaches, strategies and methods can be explored and employed.

Nature has plenty of management wonders to offer to man, but the corporate should introspect as how sensitive and open their HR function is. Only the 'biologically sensitive' HR can make a difference to the noise in the corporate and can ensure an all inclusive growth of the organization.

Dr S Ranganathan, ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai

Learn more from the following management books
1. Jungle wisdom for corporate management – lessons from the university of nature by Swami Sukhabodhananda and Dr S Ranganathan

2. Nature – The Entrepreneur by Dr S Ranganathan