Carrots & Cards of Value

It's the time in HP (Hewlett Packard) that shaped my outlook with regard to career and work environment. The different nationalities that we had to interact with automatically brought in a constant need for improvement and vast exposure. Days passed and I moved out of to a new workplace and the first thing to strike me was how can people still manage to work at such slow pace. I found it very difficult, initially, to digest the fact that no one is trying to make any changes to the routine work they do; nobody is thinking about any improvement that they can bring in, to make their days filled with excitement and Change. 

In HP we used to give away Value cards to the fellow associates, for helping us out in any way. It was a way of telling them that their effort is appreciated and very much valued. And when I moved onto the new work place, this was one suggestion that we made to the management in order to facilitate team building. Today, after 2 years of my tenure here, I finally sent out Carats to my colleagues to let them know that I appreciate their efforts in supporting my profile. Am not sure about the excitement this would build in among the people here, around me. But I still do remember the days in HP when we used to feel so great while giving away or receiving those cards. When we appreciated someone, we felt great for being able to do that; for letting them know that what they do is nothing small. And the person receiving those cards had always been in the limelight. 

I guess, these are few things that tie you to the strangers around, in a work place. These kind of R&R's always bring in a feeling of empathy among colleagues, rather than the usual bossing around or seclusion. Even though every profile carry the threat for some amount of criticism, such thoughtful ideas motivate people to look for good work to appreciate. And that ofcourse would help remove the hostility out there in any office.

* you can see the value cards pinned onto the board, behind us