Box of Secrets
Your management team, what to do, they are rock stars. We are so gifted. Don’t laugh too much; I know there is zero talent here. These simple Bala moves have taken hours of practice. You should have seen us on day one. It was so embarrassing. The choreographer was like pulling his hair out, and then we improved. Nothing dramatic but enough not to get booed too much, for that is how Cybage is. It doesn’t matter about how we are on day one. The organization works with us, helps us, tries to perfect us. So, how does Cybage do that? Now that secret calls for a story, a simple story of you, me, and everyone.
So, three youngsters enter college. The first one comes from a typical middle-class family. Dad has used his life savings to put him through college. He is aware of his family limitations. The very thought of chilling, loosening up with friends makes him feel very guilty. His outlook towards life is a bit too serious. The second one is a girl from a traditional conservative household. Always taught the value of sacrifices, to put the needs of others before her. Unfortunately, her giving nature comes at the cost of being unfair to herself. She is delicate, a bit too sensitive. The third one is a small-town boy. Financially well off, but no exposure to big city and fast life. So, he has no confidence, feels like an outsider amongst big city and convent educated crowds. He is too simple for todays’ showbiz world.
So, all three, Mr. Sincere, Miss Sensitive, and Mr. Simple find their support system in each other and become good friends through college years. Now, the job market is hot, and the trio gets placed in decent IT companies. Before partying, they make a pact. We shall focus on our career and fix all our weak points. Now, let us meet again only at our tenth reunion and see where life has taken us; and true to the commitment the trio begins their professional journey by turning over a new leaf.
The sincere one decides to add color in his life. He goes all out to spice up his daily routine – chitchat, socializing, musical nights, cultural programs; for that is the beauty of the IT industry. It is an extension of campus life. Over here it’s not all work. I have seen people playing pool and table-tennis for hours and hours.
The sensitive girl tries to be more outspoken. Working on an emotional vulnerability. So, she makes sure her expectations are clear to everyone and no longer tolerates nonsense. So, this is how IT industry works. You have a chance to fearlessly express what you feel. Be it with your customers, peers, bosses and if you are an enterprise enough, you can even give it off to your CEO, sometimes.
And the simple boy resolves to be flamboyant. He goes all out to work on his UI appearance, how he talks, dresses, and speaks. In no time he is a confident part of the mainstream. The IT industry comes with a plenty of exposure including trainings to polish your personality, to build your confidence so much so that sometimes it feels like everyone owns the company.
Now, the trio progress well. As the years roll by, they rapidly climb the lower levels of hierarchy and now are project leads and waiting for an anticipating a key mid – management promotion. They are very excited. Their tenth re-union is right around the corner. A perfect time to show off to the batch-mates; and then misfortune strikes – none of them get their promotion. The story has a familiar ring. We join an organization, work so hard on all our weak points, and yet at some stage our career graph starts plateauing.
So, what did we do wrong? Who to ask? Managers? They hardly know us. This mystery can be only solved by the original idiots, our college friends. So, the trio meets at the reunion. Soon they figure out they are in the same boat. Now, that should have been a little consolation. But, strangely it isn’t. For they can no longer relate to each other. They used to be a gang, no more. The very endearing quality they saw in each other has gone. May be the mistake is not theirs. May be the fall lies with their organizations to not having provided them a balanced framework. How to be sincere, and yet be able to chill out? How to be confident, and yet be simple? How to be sensitive, and yet be outspoken? If only they had joined Cybage.
Everyone knows Cybage is known for its chilled-out culture. Activities year-round, bosses dancing like jokers. But, here is a thing. Our customers live far. They cannot see all this. All they can see is our commitment to deliver. How else can you explain a record-breaking growth year where we signed-in the highest number of customers, smashed one thousand crore revenue milestone by a mile? Make no mistake is Cybage’s sincerity at work. Let me prove it to you. If you come from a typical middle-class family like I do, sincerity is in your blood; sacrifice has got you here then let us cheers for our heroes, our parents, our siblings that we grow up with so loud that they can hear us from right here.
See, listen to these screams that is Cybage’s outspoken culture in full display. Be it at Laxmi Lawns or back in Cybage campuses. Cybagians know how to speak their mind out. But, not at the cost of being insensitive. Our thousands of beneficiaries of Cybage foundations poor students, helpless villagers, as NASSCOM who recently applauded your Cybage for its gender inclusivity initiatives. Sensitivity is institutionalized in your Cybage’s DNA, let me show you. If you are a Cybagian female, who takes pride in a caring instinct or you are a Cybagian male who carries tremendous respect like I do for their female colleagues or any woman who ever stood alongside them in their life. Then, let us join our hands together and applaud for the great women of Cybage.
Now, this is called confidence. Proudly applauding for self and our colleagues. A glory that is visible far and wide no wonder your Cybage has been bestowed as the Best Employer Award by Indeed.com and People Matters earlier this year and the people who matter, who make this happen are simpletons. Simpletons who just keep multiplying. You heard today, today we have a record audience of over nine thousand people, two new state-of-the-art facilities – one in Gandhinagar and one in Pune to accommodate our growing army. So, from where do these simpletons come from? So, let’s find out. If you hail from a small place or a simple non-convent school like me but are incredibly proud of the tiny world you grew up in, as proud as you are of your Cybage. Then, let me see how loud you can scream.
Perfect noise! Now this is what defines Cybage. A journey in perfection. We started with an imperfect dance, now have got all the right sounds, and soon our evening will get even more perfect, all the moves will get even more perfect when Neha comes and takes over; and hopefully she will include our three friends tally at the reunion. So, let’s go back and rescue them.
So enlightened at the reunion, the trio decides to change things; and no, they do not revert to job-hopping. For neither the employer, nor the promotion is important to them anymore. All they want is to rise again in the eyes of their original friends. To regain their special qualities such as sincerity, sensitivity, and simplicity; and then something strange happens. The trio’s infectious traits rub on to the teammates and before you knew it, something very weird happens. The sincere least teammates always have a delighted customer, thereby giving everybody breathing room to loosen up. The sensitive teammates start reaching out to each other, thereby allowing everyone to be outspoken and the simplest teammates no longer feel boss over they rise from the shadows and become confident. Soon, the trio surrounds by beautiful relationships, the teams they had nurtured, outspoken, confident, chilled-out, and they no longer feel the need for approval of their college friends. But, what about their promotion? I don’t’ know as they don’t work for Cybage.
But, what I do know is a myth that our organization changes us, rescues us, or perfects us is the other way around. It’s we all together with our special qualities who influence our culture and take you to perfection. We don’t belong to the company; the company belongs to us. If you are a Cybagian female from a small town, grew up by a limited means, Cybage belongs to you; and if you are a privileged boy from a big city, it doesn’t matter my friend, Cybage belongs equally to you.
All of us own an equal piece of Cybage heart and pockets including the identical percentage variable, a bumper one, one of the highest in our history that awaits us at the end of the current blockbuster year.And this dance floor tonight belongs to all Cybagians as Neha takes over and bumps me off and I come down to pick up some dancing tips from each one of you because the truth is Cybage management is not good at dancing or managing, its Cybagians who make Cybage perfect.
So, thank you Cybagians for just being yourself, for teaching your Cybage to swim in the ocean of your beautiful gifts. May god up there, keep your inner beauties intact, and may goddess Neha back there make your evening perfect. For tonight, let’s leave aside our sincerity and simplicity. Tonight, let’s just party, chill, and dance. At least what’s that I would be doing. We have earned it. I don’t know what the folks back there, what they are planning or folks back here. But, if you need to find me, don’t even try. I would be lost somewhere in this beautiful ocean. Thank You, Good Night, God Bless!
Listing Arun’s speech after watching management dance is just cherry on the cake for people like me who are now not a part of cybage but still a cybagian. Arun you are Rockstar
Salute sir, lovely speech
Nice speech !!
Agreed with you.
I recently joined Cybage and was not part of Annual Bash last year, but listening to Arun’s Speech felt really special and inspiring.
Awesome!!!!
Excellent is the word for Arun sir.
Nice speech
Awsome Speech
Indeed glad to see S3 ( Sincerity , Simplicity and Sensitivity) on the stage and the feel in air
It doesn’t matter whether you are associated with Cybage or not but being an ex Cybagain I will always admire you sir.. Proud to be an Cybagian..
Awesome speech sir!! Thanks..