Work-smart strategies
Rajshree Sarda
TOUGH times take place in everyone’s lives but the ability to deal with personal problems in a way that does not spoil your productivity is what separates the promoted from the pathetically pitied. When you are in a crisis, but not crushed by it, it shows that you are focussed on your work and can handle pressure. It does not matter how many hours you work, it is how you handle and organise the daily details that makes the difference. Being simply brilliant is not enough. To succeed in your chosen career, you need strategy and cutting-edge organisation.

The silent disease 
Benazir Amin
HARJEET KAUR identified the term ‘osteo’ with two things: calcium and arthritis. At 67, Kaur (name changed) added a third dimension to the term: Osteoporosis. Recurrent, searing backache led this mother of four to go in for medical help. An X-ray confirmed a small fracture in her spine, and further tests revealed that she had osteoporosis.

Anant Mann Anant Mann, architect “One should have an ability to relate to people, to perceive what the other person desires thus getting the maximum out of them and giving them best. With a little skill, will and ability, opportunities will come and if they do not come knocking, go after them like a zealot. It is this that will help you get the extra edge.” Neena Singh Neena Singh, vice-president, HDFC: “You have a vision, a plan and a self-belief. But what about your team? Build a team of like-minded people who have the same drive and who aspire to excel. Always look for ways, through new information or learning to value add and improve. Being simply exceptional is not enough, you have to be perceived as one also.” Vijaya Sharma Vijaya Sharma, Director NIIFT, Mohali and Additional Director Industries: “Keep abreast of everything that is happening in your field, nationally and internationally. Have a curious outlook and an appetite for knowledge. My three-point attitude has helped me tremendously. First, have sincerity of purpose, second, hard work and no short-cuts and third, grab opportunities and take the lead whenever necessary.” Ranjana Shahi Ranjana Shahi, Chandigarh Municipal councillor: “At every opportunity, pick up a new skill. Do not sit still. Learn to synergise your people, handling skills to match the ever-changing pattern of management requirements. Do all this with absolute passion and zeal and success cannot elude you.”

Work-smart strategies
Rajshree Sarda

TOUGH times take place in everyone’s lives but the ability to deal with personal problems in a way that does not spoil your productivity is what separates the promoted from the pathetically pitied. When you are in a crisis, but not crushed by it, it shows that you are focussed on your work and can handle pressure. It does not matter how many hours you work, it is how you handle and organise the daily details that makes the difference. Being simply brilliant is not enough. To succeed in your chosen career, you need strategy and cutting-edge organisation.

Meera, a much-trusted assistant watched enviously as her junior colleague was congratulated by her office staff and her boss for her promotion. She wished desperately that she was in her shoes but like the last time she was superseded again, despite her hard work and excellent reports. Meera was seen in the company as smart, conscientious, and reliable but not one to inspire staff with her foresight and imagination. After much introspection and some help from professionals, she realized that she was performing in black and white and her colleagues in technicolour. She was not only low profile—- she was also seen as a plodder. Her counsellor said that “hard work and diligence alone will not help you go up the ladder. Risk-taking capacity has to be there too.”

Management experts say, a lot depends on the positive images one generates. Skilful self-promotion and attitude counts and the right attitude is all about self-belief. With self-belief comes self-promotion. At the risk of being simplistic, here are some often overlooked ways of working smarter, not just harder ,which I learnt after talking to some very smart working women. Remember : clean and neat and “every thing in place” surroundings, along with schedules kept efficiently will put you in control and correspondingly will ensure better work and clearer thinking.

1. Schedule your day. A daily planner is a must as it helps you prioritise.

2. A cluttered desk creates visual noise and makes concentration difficult. Keep it clean.

3. Now for some more important moves. Never brush aside your achievements. State quite clearly how much effort a particular project has taken.

4. Do not wait until you are asked to do something. Put yourself forward. Do not get pigeon holed in a job and let your superior know by word and action that you are able to contribute more.

5. Look the part. Behave as though you were in the job you aspire to.

6 Read the company accounts and understand the bigger picture.

7. Keep in touch with what goes on outside your department or team. Demonstrate your new- found knowledge.

8. Read the trade press and journals. During the course of conversation let your boss know something he/she does not know.

9. Volunteer for high profile projects, aim to get noticed.

10. Focus on the tasks that add most value to the organization. Remember they may not be the most or even the most difficult ones.

When you do strategise your self with above tips, relationships will change. You will no longer be one of the gang, you will be a leader. Some people may be threatened by your success and not like you as much as they did before. Be prepared for sabotage in your efforts to perform well in your new role, but do not get sidetracked. There is no harm in indirectly showing off your accomplishments but never spread out and out lies. Your credibility will be destroyed if you are caught. Simply plant the seeds of your greatness and let others develop their own ideas about how efficient, devoted and important you are. You will become more desirable for your company when others want you as well. When you are being pursued by other companies, it definitely boosts your value but remember, never falsify data, shred documents or disclose confidential information because these are acts of major consequence that could eventually hurt the company and compromise your career. Once you become systematic in dealing with these as a routine, a large part of your work will get streamlined and the feeling that you are about to be overwhelmed by an avalanche of tasks will disappear. This is so liberating that you become more productive, work smarter and become an automatic choice for plum assignments and promotions. Your long term career goals get a much needed boost because you are the one who is seen to deliver. So don’t you think it’s worth getting organized like this?

The silent disease 
Benazir Amin

HARJEET KAUR identified the term ‘osteo’ with two things: calcium and arthritis. At 67, Kaur (name changed) added a third dimension to the term: Osteoporosis. Recurrent, searing backache led this mother of four to go in for medical help. An X-ray confirmed a small fracture in her spine, and further tests revealed that she had osteoporosis.

Unfortunately, osteoporosis is most often diagnosed only after a fracture, by which time a patient has already suffered 30 to 40 per cent bone loss. Both the bone loss and fractures could have been prevented with a timely densitometry and other tests.

Osteoporosis, which literally means ‘porous bone’, is characterised by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue which makes bones fracture easily. The hip, spine, ribs and wrists are particularly susceptible to fractures. Women, particularly after the age of 40, need to guard against this degenerative disease.

While a few facts are available about osteoporosis in India, it is a health threat for more than 28 million Americans; and 10 million Americans, 80 per cent of whom are women, already have osteoporosis.

Explains Smarajit Chakrabarty, an orthopaedic surgeon, “Osteoporosis is not just calcium deficiency. The organic matter in the bone gives it elasticity while the inorganic matter which is made up of substances like calcium and phosphorus, give it strength.”

Timely treatment is crucial to tackle the suffering of those with osteoporosis. For instance, Harjeet learnt only later that she was a classic case for osteoporosis and a more pro-active approach and timely consultation with her doctor may have saved her considerable pain and inconvenience. Her spine, like her mother’s, had shown signs of curvature. Moreover, her being a woman, with a small build, and leading a sedentary lifestyle had put her in the high-risk group.

Others at risk are those who smoke, consume caffeine or alcohol in excess and take medicines like corticosteroids, thyroid medications, anticoagulants or treatment for epilepsy, arthritis, rheumatism, cancer and asthma. People with anorexia nervosa and bulimia also form a part of this high-risk group.

In the early stages, osteoporosis is painless and so, it is often called the silent disease. Typically, in later stages, when it is diagnosed, it causes back pain and later, loss of height, a curving spine, and then, tendency for fractures.

Just as it helps to identify risk factors, steps to tackle osteoporosis too need to be taken. By the age of about 20 years, a woman acquires 98 per cent of her skeletal mass. Building strong bones during childhood and adolescence and keeping the good work on later, can be the best defence in postponing osteoporosis.

The first step, says Dr Renu Joshi of Max Healthcare, is a healthy diet with enough elemental calcium intake through milk or milk products, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, seeds and nuts. A cup of milk works out to about 1.5 slices of cheese, which is equal to 300 mg of calcium. Dietary calcium ought to be between 1,000 and 1,500 mg per day.

However, although osteoporosis can be slowed down, bone degeneration, like so many other ageing inevitabilities, cannot be avoided. “The effects can only be delayed,” clarifies Chakrabarty. For this, accumulating a lifelong bank account of calcium for both men and women is significant. The more you put into this account, the greater your reserves to push back osteoporosis. Although osteoporosis can strike at any age, symptoms generally show up in women after menopause. After 65, both men and women lose bone mass at the same rate and absorb less calcium.

Apart from dietary regulations, lifestyle changes help delay the onset of osteoporosis. An active lifestyle, with regular exercise like tennis, walking and swimming are strongly recommended, while exposure to sunlight helps in getting Vitamin D. Smoking is a complete no-no and alcohol and caffeine intake need to be controlled.

While the medical fraternity has long been aware of osteoporosis, the lay person has only recently come to accept its implications. “Ten years ago, a patient would have laughed if I had diagnosed osteoporosis,” recalls Chakrabarty. “Today, awareness has increased and people take our diagnosis seriously. They even ask, before the problem arises, if they should take calcium.” It is this proactive attitude that ought to break the back of a disease, which threatens to turn into an epidemic. (WFS)