20-09-2022, 09:35 PM
The sheer number of people there surprised Amishi. She knew that the Bombay office had about 1000 employees, but just hearing the number is one thing and actually seeing a thousand people gathered in a small place is another thing. She felt lost and confused, unsure of whom to talk to. And suddenly, the enormity of the responsibility she was about to inherit dawned upon her. Even as a senior manager in her previous job, she had not supervised more than 20-25 people. And here suddenly, she was supposed to run a branch of a 1000 people? Would they obey her, respect her? She was just a 28-year old woman about to replace a 50-year old veteran. How could she command the kind of professional conduct and dedication from her employees? Had she bitten off more than she could chew? Amishi suddenly felt nervous and felt the confidence seep out of her.
As she was staring at the crowd around her, a waiter approached her with a tray of drinks. She absent-mindedly picked up a glass of orange liquid and sipped it. She winced at how strongly alcoholic the drink was. But maybe a strong drink was exactly what she needed to calm her frayed nerves. She sipped it faster than usual, surveying the scene around her.
And then Amishi noticed something else. Everyone was dressed very casually, in shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, sarongs, flip-flops. And she was dressed in a black formal pantsuit. Her business attire seemed comically out of place at this fun party, and sure enough, she noticed some people giving her strange looks. And she realized - at her first ever interaction with her employees, she would be overdressed. That only added to her nervousness, and she gulped the whole drink down.
A waiter appeared at once, taking the empty glass from her hand, and giving her a full one. She looked at the drink in the glass. It was brown, and seemed to be cola. But one sip, and she realized that it was Long Island Iced Tea. The drink is usually very strong, but this one was particularly potent. She started sipping it, still unable to decide whom to talk to. And that's when she heard someone pointedly clear their throat behind her.
"Hello." a young man said, with a wide smile on her face.
"Hi." Amishi responded a tad too cheerfully, feeling a little buzzed from the drinks.
"You've come from Delhi, right?" he asked.
"Yes, I have." Amishi replied, surprised that she had been recognized. Having been in the US for close to ten years, she had never had any contact with anyone who worked for her father. Since she worked for another company, her picture had never been published in the company's reports or brochures either, although her father's and brothers' pictures were always present."
"Well, come with me then. Mr. Bose and the other senior guys are in a suite." the young man said, turned around and started walking.
Amishi followed him as they walked out of the poolside lawn area and through a corridor.
"Excuse me, but you are?" she asked.
"Oh, I am Dilip. I am an executive assistant to Mr. Bose. I am the one who called up your people in Delhi, and they described you, so I knew how to recognize you." he replied.
Amishi was surprised to hear this. Her father had been the one who had insisted that this week-early visit be unannounced, so that she could see all aspects of the business as they usually were. When employees knew that a new boss was coming, they usually did their best to hide the flaws and the problems. Unannounced visits, Mr. Dayal always maintained, were essential to keep your employees on their toes. So as far as she knew, no one apart from her father, mother and her brothers knew that she was coming to Bombay.
"OK, what did they tell you exactly? And who talked to you?" Amishi asked.
"It was a Ms. Priya who I talked to I think." Dilip said.
Priya? That was the name of her father's secretary. Stupid woman must have blabbed about her visit. Amishi decided to call her father later and ask him to scold Priya for spoiling the whole point behind her unannounced visit.
"She told me you were the one coming." Dilip continued. "And she described you perfectly - tall, slim, straight shiny hair, grey eyes. Nice outfit by the way."
"Oh, thank you." Amishi said taking another sip from the glass in her hand. "I was actually just thinking I felt quite out of place in it. Overdressed for the occasion."
"Oh, nonsense. Actually, the pantsuit is perfect for the occasion. Gives you a very corporate executive look. As for being overdressed, well, in your line of work, it is better to be overdressed, at least initially." Dilip said, leading her up a flight of stairs.
Amishi remembered that her father had told her the exact same thing. In her old company in the US, the culture was to dress casually. Even the CEO rarely wore suits. But her father said that won't work in India. At least for the first few weeks, he told her, dress very formally. Conveys professionalism and authority. Later on, you can dress a bit more casually if you like.
"Yes, my father says the same thing." Amishi said.
"Your father???" Dilip asked with a look of incredulity on his face. "Your father gives you advice about your....work?"
"Yes, why shouldn't he?" Amishi asked, surprised at Dilip's surprise, "He knows this business better than anyone else I think."
"If you say so." Dilip said, and walked on silently.
As she was staring at the crowd around her, a waiter approached her with a tray of drinks. She absent-mindedly picked up a glass of orange liquid and sipped it. She winced at how strongly alcoholic the drink was. But maybe a strong drink was exactly what she needed to calm her frayed nerves. She sipped it faster than usual, surveying the scene around her.
And then Amishi noticed something else. Everyone was dressed very casually, in shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, sarongs, flip-flops. And she was dressed in a black formal pantsuit. Her business attire seemed comically out of place at this fun party, and sure enough, she noticed some people giving her strange looks. And she realized - at her first ever interaction with her employees, she would be overdressed. That only added to her nervousness, and she gulped the whole drink down.
A waiter appeared at once, taking the empty glass from her hand, and giving her a full one. She looked at the drink in the glass. It was brown, and seemed to be cola. But one sip, and she realized that it was Long Island Iced Tea. The drink is usually very strong, but this one was particularly potent. She started sipping it, still unable to decide whom to talk to. And that's when she heard someone pointedly clear their throat behind her.
"Hello." a young man said, with a wide smile on her face.
"Hi." Amishi responded a tad too cheerfully, feeling a little buzzed from the drinks.
"You've come from Delhi, right?" he asked.
"Yes, I have." Amishi replied, surprised that she had been recognized. Having been in the US for close to ten years, she had never had any contact with anyone who worked for her father. Since she worked for another company, her picture had never been published in the company's reports or brochures either, although her father's and brothers' pictures were always present."
"Well, come with me then. Mr. Bose and the other senior guys are in a suite." the young man said, turned around and started walking.
Amishi followed him as they walked out of the poolside lawn area and through a corridor.
"Excuse me, but you are?" she asked.
"Oh, I am Dilip. I am an executive assistant to Mr. Bose. I am the one who called up your people in Delhi, and they described you, so I knew how to recognize you." he replied.
Amishi was surprised to hear this. Her father had been the one who had insisted that this week-early visit be unannounced, so that she could see all aspects of the business as they usually were. When employees knew that a new boss was coming, they usually did their best to hide the flaws and the problems. Unannounced visits, Mr. Dayal always maintained, were essential to keep your employees on their toes. So as far as she knew, no one apart from her father, mother and her brothers knew that she was coming to Bombay.
"OK, what did they tell you exactly? And who talked to you?" Amishi asked.
"It was a Ms. Priya who I talked to I think." Dilip said.
Priya? That was the name of her father's secretary. Stupid woman must have blabbed about her visit. Amishi decided to call her father later and ask him to scold Priya for spoiling the whole point behind her unannounced visit.
"She told me you were the one coming." Dilip continued. "And she described you perfectly - tall, slim, straight shiny hair, grey eyes. Nice outfit by the way."
"Oh, thank you." Amishi said taking another sip from the glass in her hand. "I was actually just thinking I felt quite out of place in it. Overdressed for the occasion."
"Oh, nonsense. Actually, the pantsuit is perfect for the occasion. Gives you a very corporate executive look. As for being overdressed, well, in your line of work, it is better to be overdressed, at least initially." Dilip said, leading her up a flight of stairs.
Amishi remembered that her father had told her the exact same thing. In her old company in the US, the culture was to dress casually. Even the CEO rarely wore suits. But her father said that won't work in India. At least for the first few weeks, he told her, dress very formally. Conveys professionalism and authority. Later on, you can dress a bit more casually if you like.
"Yes, my father says the same thing." Amishi said.
"Your father???" Dilip asked with a look of incredulity on his face. "Your father gives you advice about your....work?"
"Yes, why shouldn't he?" Amishi asked, surprised at Dilip's surprise, "He knows this business better than anyone else I think."
"If you say so." Dilip said, and walked on silently.
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