Playing to the galleries Date:   Thursday , December 28, 2006 What happens if you start playing Hindustani classical in a rock concert? You wouldn’t be appreciated for sure, but there’s also a strong possibility that you might go home with a broken limb or two. People, by their very nature are attached to what they like and are dismissive of what they don’t. Unfortunately, this is not recognized enough at the workplace. Let’s take the ramp-up efforts of a company to elucidate the point better. At the onset, it is essential to note that Aperto Systems has seen a three-fold growth in its ranks since I joined three months ago. The most difficult job has been getting the right kind of people. Most companies in a similar situation would fall in line with the practice of going the typical HR way—of bombarding prospective candidates with numbers, be it in the form of offered package, the company’s revenue, or its projected growth. This oftentimes shoos good candidates away, as they are highly disinterested in such arithmetic. Keeping the scenario in mind, it becomes essential, therefore, to tune the pitch based on the audience one is addressing. In the case of Aperto, I have managed to secure quite a few of our valuable employees just by telling them what attracted me to this organization. It took a simple call, where I told them why I had quit my previous job, how I was dazed by the WiMax technology space that Aperto operates in, and what is the value the company has given me in this three-month span. No revenues, no talk of projected growth, and no mention of compensation—yet the pitch has worked on most occasions. Of course, the numbers become important if the candidate is interested in them. When hiring for senior positions for example, numbers play a big role, while in the case of juniors, talks on the scope of their work can compel them to come on board. Not only does playing to the galleries work in times of recruitment, but it impacts team dynamics as well. To push the levels of bonding in Aperto for example, I often indulge in personal interactions with the engineers. But such an approach wouldn’t work in the U.S. where interactions teeter more on the professional front. Faced with that when I was in the U.S., I had adopted a completely different approach. I would take my team out for a company-sponsored lunch every Wednesday, where each member would take turns to address the others on what he/she was working on. That way people got to know each other, and six months later the interaction level was phenomenal. At the senior managerial level, this approach assumes far greater implications. While interacting with the Director of Software for instance, we talk of how a certain thing can be done in Bangalore and how the execution is going to be on time. There’s no mention whatsoever of the cost-cutting prospects. Yet that very factor assumes primary importance when talking to the CFO. In his case, I give him a specific price tag (say $10,000) essential for executing the task out of India and what values the specs might fetch from the customers’ side. Playing to the galleries, undoubtedly, is a science that all of us have come to know and understand. The secret though lies in its execution and that, I believe, is still an art. The author is Managing Director, Aperto Networks, India