135. Reached the Target, But...

As the Sales Manager, I was interested in the performance and career growth of all the sales executives working under me.

Of the 15 sales executives in my team, I was worried about two men. Both had good skills. My concern was that they had not been using their skills effectively.

Of the two, I was well aware of the problem Naresh had. Well, every one in our team knew about it - except, of course, Naren himself. He had the habit of constantly watching what other sales executives were doing. If someone performed better than him during a particular month, he would make some frivolous allegation about that person. 

I had advised him many times, saying, "Why do you keep watching what others are doing? Focus on achieving your target."

But, Naresh had not changed his ways.

Because of this attitude, Naresh had been unable to perform well. His relationship with other executives had also become strained.

I resigned myself to the prospect that unless Naresh realized his problem and chose to change his ways, his performance would remain poor and his career growth stunted.

The other person who had a problem was Prasad. I couldn't understand what his problem was.

Every sales executive had a monthly target for sales. If someone exceeded his target, he would get an incentive.

Most of the sales executives struggled to achieve their targets. They worked hard to reach the targets before the end of the month.

In contrast, Prasad often reached his target within the first ten or fifteen days of the month. But, after reaching the target, there would not be any further sales. If I asked him about it, he would say, 'I am trying.' But I knew that he was not.

During some other months, he won't get any sales till the 20th of the month. But he would get orders after the 20th and reach the target before the end of the month.

It was very clear to me that Prasad was working only for ten or fifteen days in a month and that he was not making any effort during the remaining days. If he worked hard during the remaining days also, he would be able to earn a substantial sum as incentive. I couldn't understand why he was not doing so.

It appeared to me that Prasad had some problem at home. That could be the reason for his working hard for a few days and after achieving the target, shifting his attention to the family problem on the remaining days. 

I decided to visit his house and find out what the problem was. I went to his house during a time when he was not home.

Prasad's father was at his house, at the time of my visit.

When I introduced myself, Prasad's father became perturbed.

"Any problem, sir?" he asked me, with anxiety.

"No such thing. I have come here, hoping to help Prasad. I want to learn a few things about him."

"Sir! Prasad is a good boy. He won't commit any wrong. Addiction to drinking is the thing that has been pulling him down."

"What do you mean, sir?" I asked, in shocked disbelief.

"Yes, sir. He spends a major part of his salary on drinking. Since I have been getting a pension, we are able to run our family. Prasad has been telling me that he is good at his work and that there is no problem at the office. If he has committed any mistake, please don't sack him, sir. If you do so, our family won't be able to survive" he pleaded, still feeling perturbed and tense.

I understood Prasad's problem. 

He worked hard for a few days in a month and achieved his sales target. After that, he stopped focusing on sales, kept drinking and whiled away his time!

I regretted feeling how addiction to a bad habit stunted the performance of a person.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 14
Possession of Propriety 

Verse 135 (In Tamil)

azhukkARu udaiyAn kaN Akkam pOnRu illai
ozhukkam ilAn kaN uyarvu.

Meaning:

A person who has envy has no wealth. A person who has no propriety has no growth.    

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'ilakkai ettinAlum' by the same author)

Verse 136 (Soon)
Verse 134