184. The CEO's Interview

Soon after CEO Rajamani entered the office, all the employees including senior executives and lower level employees went into his cabin in small groups and congratulated him.

The congratulatory messages were on his interview being telecast in a television channel on business and finance, the previous evening.

"Excellent, sir!"

"You projected our company's image well."

"You answered all the questions fielded by the interviewer, without referring to any notes or documents."

"The lady conducting the interview made a few attempts to corner you with some tricky questions. But, you thwarted her attempts with your forthright answers." 

Appreciative comments like these were showered on Rajamani, by all the employees, the wordings of the comments tailored to the position of each employee in the company.

Kannan didn't join his colleagues.

Sometime later, Kannan went into the CEO's campaign to discuss with him a matter relating to his work. At that time, the CEO was alone in his cabin. 

After discussing with the CEO the matter he had wanted to, Kannan stood up from his seat and said, "Sir! I saw your interview yesterday. It was good."

"Sit down, Mr. Kannan! I need your frank feedback about my interview" said Rajamani. 

Kannan sat down reluctantly and said, "It was quite impressive, sir."

"I know about you, Mr. Kannan! You won't say things just to please others. Give me your honest opinion."

"Sir! In my opinion, you could have done still better."

"In what way?"

"Don't mistake me, sir! It appeared to me that you didn't prepare yourself well for the interview. I know that you didn't have the time for it. But, you might have asked someone to prepare a dossier, containing important facts about our company's performance and activities. The lady who interviewed you had come prepared with information and data about our company and the industry. She posed quite a few incisive questions, based on facts and figures. I think that for most of the questions, your answers were of a general nature. It appeared to me that if you had had data with you, your replies could have been more specific and profound. Sorry, again" said Kannan, wondering whether he had gone too far, in giving a frank opinion about the CEO's interview.

"It's fine. Your feedback reflects my own assessment about my interview. As pointed out by you, not carrying the required information with me while attending the interview was a lapse on my part. I took the interview lightly and failed to anticipate the kinds of questions that would be thrown at me. Thank you for your feedback" said Rajamani, with a smile. 

When Kannan went to the lunchroom during the lunch break, some of his colleagues were sitting and having their lunch there.

"How was our CEO's interview yesterday?" asked one of them. 

"Well, didn't all of us go to his cabin and congratulate him on the interview?" remarked another.

"That was just a formality. But, how was his interview really?" persisted the one who raised the question.

"I think it was not good enough" said another person. 

"He had gone there without even having a paper on his hand for reference, as though he was addressing a political party meeting. That lady had come well prepared and suffocated our CEO, by hitting him hard with a spate of uncomfortable questions" remarked another.

"But, I think he had managed the situation, to some extent."

"I would say he tried to manage the situation, but didn't succeed. The viewers would have known that the CEO had no answers to the questions and that he just said something by way of answers."

"That lady went on asking questions, determined to floor him and our CEO kept on making attempts to wriggle himself out of the difficult questions. It was like a comedy show. Good entertainment on a business channel!"

"Overall, he made a mess. If our company had been a listed company, the share prices would have tumbled steeply today."

"Kannan, you have not said anything!" one of them provoked Kannan. 

"Did any of you say these things to the CEO, when you met him in his cabin, this morning?" Kannan asked them.

"How can we say things to his face?" 

'But, I have!' thought Kannan.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 184 (In Tamil)

kaNNinRu kaNNARach chollinum sollaRka
munninRu pin nOkkAch chol.

Meaning:

Telling a person about his faults to his face may be passable, but never utter an imprudent word behind the back, without considering the consequences.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'priyAvukkup puriyAdha vishayam' by the same author)

Verse 185 (Soon)
 Verse 183