Raising Sanjana & Sokrati

My wife's and my joyous moments were at 4:46pm on the 7th of May 2012. After all the anxious excitement in the labor room and after the exhausting outcome, my little baby crawled to her mommy with a little weep, bringing tears to everyone present. I wasn't so sure then if the tears were out of joy or out of exhaustion. The gentle reminder from everyone "Your life is going to change" kept ringing. You may have done the hardest things in life, climbed the tallest peaks, would have accomplished million lines of code or have achieved million visitors on your site but when you hold a little baby in your hand all the confidence you mustered over the years would suddenly drain you leaving you so belittled. That's when it hits you "Maybe you are on ground zero. Your life has changed".

After the paternity leave when I head back to work with a 100 donuts to celebrate the joyous entry & return, the first thing that comes to my mind is "What has changed?". I am back with my folks who are in the other part of my life and I am back to the daunting challenges of making Sokrati successful. After the pleasantries and settling into my desk, the day just brisked fast. By the end of the work day which ended at around 08:30 pm Sokrati had no answers to that question. I reach home with my wife eagerly awaiting to greet me after my first day as father and while seeing our baby sleep I recite to her the events of the day. The day ended at around 1 am with still no answers lingering anywhere close. 

I think it is all up-to the way you perceive life. It is just another challenge and I have now (6 months later) begun to feel that with a right head and right principles you will need to change nothing. How is taking charge of a challenging enterprise any less of a change than raising a baby? I guess over the years I have begun to perceive myself as a parent to everyone at Sokrati. So in short I bring a tremendous parenting experience to Sanjana. There are so many similarities in both that it is mind-boggling.  

Lead by Example

Sanjana brought in a sense of realization & retrospection. I had begun to lessen my usage of foul words, begun to consume alcohol in moderation & had begun to set myself on the ideal path that I would expect my baby to aspire to. I know she will make mistakes and learn from her own as well, but I would try my best to lessen them for her.

How am I to expect that no production outage goes undetected at any time of the day, if I am not doing it myself? How am I to transpire enthusiasm in the company, if I am not energized myself? How am I expecting 100% client satisfaction from others, if I myself am unable to achieve the same? 

Building Trust

As a parent I am almost a manager on the outset. Trust cannot be built by the stick, it has to be built by arduous efforts of ensuring an excellent rapport. If I become unapproachable to my child's most trivial needs & demands I am sure she will become reticent towards me. If I expect that she disclose to me the faintest of her worries I got to create a bond that makes her believe so. One has to believe "No question is stupid, only answers are". 

The sooner a manager realizes that the fault is in his/her management style will he/she take corrective measures to ensure that the team operates smoothly. One has to have a very patient ear and a hawkish eye to understand the problems and not brush them away. There is no book or literature that states how to do that. It is only an exercise within.

Establishing a Good Life/Career

As a parent the first thing that comes to your mind is "I need to resolve to facilitate a good life for my child, so that they have a bright future and career". I am sure when the time comes I am going to ensure that she is in the right path of education, friendship & knowledge. I will make sure that she gets my undivided attention when she is beginning to explore life. 

It beats me as to how one can aim to achieve a successful company without facilitating successful opportunities of growth & career to everyone involved. A founder/entrepreneur has to take the necessary steps to ensure that everyone feels accomplished at the end. This would mean fixing processes, or setting new ones and establishing ladders to achieve growth. 

To sum it up

Yes if it ever did then possibly your life has changed for the better. So "Raising Sanjana & Sokrati", in the end it is either succeed in both or fail in both.