Now doesn’t it say a lot about the versatility of the little instrument? Imagine carrying a laptop around the house; or when you go somewhere outside – anywhere. Real life examples: At one time I was stuck in the backlanes of Goa in the night after extensive partying. Had it not been for the maps on the cellphone of a friend and our most capable guide, we would have been lost. Then again, there are times in the cold winters, when I don’t want to leave the warmth of my blankets, and yet check that important mail.

The little instrument drives my routine. Had it not been for the alarm and reminders, I’d not have existed. This instrument has made my impulsive dreams come true on many occasions. Like while driving from one place to another, I have suddenly taken a U-turn to a Cineplex, having booked the tickets to a movie I always wanted to watch, but thought of it only then. How? Thanks to the little screen and a decent voice that helped me book tickets over my cell phone. So what if it cost me a bit more than a normal call? It was well worth the quality time I spent with my friends.

The cellphone has become an extension of our bodies. Even for the painful calls that sometimes have an adverse effect on life, I cannot imagine life without mine. Can you?

was really something! Enjoyment was all around us: people laughing, talking and dancing, drinking, eating and what not! Once97 has a tradition of celebrating its founders’ day every year. This year we celebrated it on 24^th December at Vatika in Prgati Maidan.

We started with the informal session with Vijay, our Managing Director, followed by a formal brief presentation. It is always good to listen to him. He uses simple words in his presentation and makes you understand the most complicated things with ease. He talked about the early days of One97, now and future.  He spoke of Challenge Vs. Opportunities, Customers’ need – our mantra, which he has also written about on this blog.

After this, was the turn of the culmination of the efforts made this year in our Annual Rewards and Recognition programme. We believe in rewarding performers.  In this programme, we receive company-wide nominations for achievers, then they go through further selection to become our Rock Stars.

Our Rock Stars left the stage only to rock a little more with our theme of the evening “Rock theme”. Our entire branding is undergoing a change and we are already rocking! Our New Year calendar, done in the same theme was then unveiled. What better than a rock performance to bring out the theme! So we had a rock group perform for team One97. This set the pace for the rest of the evening.

Up next was something that brought out the hidden talent of our incredible team… team performances. I did not know we have professional dancers and singers with us – well almost professional. Many teams danced on many themes and ideas and were received with continuous cheering and dancing.

The two emcees of the evening, Anant and Saurabh of Radio Mirchi added quite a zing to the whole show. No concluding statement here, because I would like people to share here what they thought about “The One97 Gig ‘08″. Let it flow…

Some pictures from the GIG

I could hear faint voices as I suddenly wake up to find the car parked near a shiva statue thats several feet high from the ground. “This is Rishikesh,” said someone. The earlier night, myself and other rafting aspirants congregated at One97 Noida office and departed toward the foothills in three cars. Three cars with each of them defining their own world of fun. Car1 had people who had different interests, car2-the other, and car3 , the rest of the interests.

So we people of different interests, had a singular motive, which was fun. And fun was what this Rishikesh rafting trip turned out to be. With friends surrounding, the dawn mist glowing, the water flowing, the endless river forever and ever… a line from a song that I had heard a week before, could never be so alive and true for me.

The morning breakfast was over and this seemed like an entire world altogether. Aldous Huxley would have rephrased his thought about doors of perception had he been to the Ganges. We wore our life jackets and helmets and were ready for rafting in two rubber bumpers. A quick instruction class later, we were on our way on the Ganges. To begin with, we had to jump into the water to get confidence that the life jacket is really a life saver.

There were three to four adventure filled spots while rafting, starting with a slow current rapids, to the relatively higher current ones. Man! you wouldn’t believe, words would just be an understatement. Next came the cliff jumping, perceptions can be so deceptive. I thought it’s a 5 feet cliff, only to find that it was more than 20 feet after climbing it.

All seemed to happen in a flash of second but around 4 hours had passed travelling 25 kms in water. Amazing, isnt it?

We had literally become amphibious! So now was the time to explore the next part, yeah, the land. So after drying ourselves up, in the evening, we roamed around the Rishikesh town. Many sights like roaming foreigners, a lazy religious town evening and much more awaited us. Call it the best of paradox , Goa and Rishikesh seemed the same, except that the bars are replaced here by good restaurants, not to mention the “Baba Massage parlor”!!

We walked up and down the Laxman Jhoolah, had snacks at a German confectionary. Man! life is just awesome at the Ganges! Back at the camp, bon-fire during the night and a miraculous dinner (I mean, anything edible you get to eat near the Ganges would beat every other food hands down), Wine and music, what more do you want? The next day , after breakfast and stopping at the “On the way Dhabas”, the joy of travelling & happiness got fulfilled (Not to forget the Shikanji that we had, this won us all!!!).

And if you are impressed (oh yeah , high hopes) with my writing here & feel to thank me , you can do so by buying me a place at the banks of the Ganges (winks!).

Accessibility:

This value really is a gesture… a warm and friendly gesture … which helps eliminate formality and create a bond which develops a conducive work environment. How friendly? Well, consider this: we have a ‘First Name’ culture here. It’s been ages since I greeted someone with a  “Good Morning, Sir”! There is so much inter-mingling among all, that anybody can walk upto to any department and meet with the concerned person. I for one, feel that this saves up on a lot of time and leads to better understanding and co-operation between people and departments.

People don’t have to say that they are having fun at work. If they are, it shows. Is work only work, or could it be fun too? How does work become fun? My take: Of course, we all make our choices early in our career. But even the most seemingly fun jobs have their share of pain behind them. In such a scenario, what makes it real fun is different for different people. For some, a word of appreciation works wonders, while for others it may be a reward.

People travel hard, work hard and sometimes sacrifice on sleep during weekdays. If after a week of filled with work, one is exposed to some fun element, it only makes one look forward to Mondays, instead of hating them. And the week I do not hate my Mondays, I have figured out that I give more of myself to my work.

We have these Fun-Fridays at work, where we gather and do fun things like games, singing, dancing, quiz and much more. Not just de-stressing, it also helps us know more people who are our colleagues.

So fun helps with work. Fair deal, what say?

What should be the other values that make our cult the *cult*?

A compilation of values discussed already:

2. Transparency
If you have seen the new One97 building, you could not have missed its glass facade. If you have ventured inside, you would have seen a sea of spaces lined with open work stations and cabins made of glass walls. A zero-barrier, open, transparent office.

This is what Wikipedia says about Corporate transparency: a form of radical transparency is the construct of removing all barriers to —and facilitating of— free and easy public access to corporate, political and personal information and the laws, rules, social connivance and processes that facilitate and protect those individuals and corporations who freely join, develop and embellish the process.

So are we really as transparent as our “look”? What does it take for us to become a  zero-barrier, open, transparent company? Is it enough that our “top brass” is easily accessible? Is it enough that expression has its close friend: freedom at hand?
1. Freedom
It also takes freedom for talent to flourish in a corporate workspace. Freedom to think; the confidence that you will be heard, and the sub conscious belief that you share a mission with others, to realize a vision … I think this is an outcome of culture.

Our culture.

This is what Wikipedia says about Corporate transparency: a form of radical transparency is the construct of removing all barriers to —and facilitating of— free and easy public access to corporate, political and personal information and the laws, rules, social connivance and processes that facilitate and protect those individuals and corporations who freely join, develop and embellish the process.

So are we really as transparent as our “look”? What does it take for us to become a  zero-barrier, open, transparent company? Is it enough that our “top brass” is easily accessible? Is it enough that expression has its close friend: freedom at hand?