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Oh boy! He's the boss

It's the age of young bosses. APARNA KARTHIKEYAN on greenhorns zooming right to the top

BOYS MEAN BUSINESS Breaking the old mould, young bosses are here to stay PHOTO: R. RAGU

A couple of decades ago, the archetypical `big-bosses' were wise, old, bald men. They wore `safari suits', spoke with great authority — often quoting from their long innings in the company, were widely respected, why, almost revered. And this would've probably remained the case, had the IT and FMCG giants not conspired with Engineering and Business school grads to take the world and its collective conscience by storm.

Breaking that `old' mould, they simply picked out young, bright hopefuls, signed them up for staggering salaries and groomed them on the fast track. Gracefully swinging a niblick, intelligently quoting the latest management `guru', the `young big bosses' made quite a splash on the covers of business magazines, even while they easily scaled the dizzyingly high corporate ladder.

Babies? Not really

Clutching their fancy diplomas, bagging highly coveted corner cabins, the young bosses are unfortunately hated the minute they cross the official threshold. While `fresh thinking' and `fearlessness in the face of failure' set them apart from the risk-averse old-timers, they're unfortunately branded as `babies' and dismissed as `inexperienced greenhorns' by the displaced veterans.

R. Janakiraman, who started his career in the engineering industry and currently heads the `Innovation and Technology' in an MNC, feels that in the knowledge era, age is not a criterion — only capability and a willingness to shoulder responsibility matters. He reminisces about his early days, when he was on everybody's radar and recognised as a boss, but not a leader. "There were people who were older and more qualified reporting to me and initially there was some resistance. But the moment they saw that I added value and showed results, they accepted me."

Ajay Krishnan, senior executive in the banking industry, believes that in IT, high performers who're in the right place in the right time zoom right to the top. "The dynamic nature of the IT industry and the fact that 50-60 per cent of the companies themselves are young, is driving this trend. The same is the case with people who take a punt on emerging industries — like cell phones. But whether the next generation will get the same opportunities, or if hierarchy will set in as these industries mature, we'll have to wait and see," he reasons.

B. Jayakar, retired honcho from the engineering industry, however, cautions that theoretical knowledge of management can never equal hands-on experience. Agrees Ajay, "With experience comes emotional maturity. After a certain level, it's not about managing content anymore, it's about managing people." But Janakiraman feels that successful young CEOs are often excellent people motivators. "Demanding top performance, inspiring commitment and developing the company are the hallmarks of a good leader — and that's certainly not age dependant," he says.

Finally, it's all about money.

Unfortunately, yet understandably, the disparity in pay scales between poorly paid old-economy workers, government employees and IT bosses, why, even fresh recruits, has spawned an undercurrent of resentment. Raghavan. J, erstwhile software pro, currently pursuing his MBA from a premier institute, recounted a harrowingly embarrassing experience. "While driving back home down the IT corridor, I once gave a lift to an old gentleman up to Tiruvanmiyur. He comfortably settled down in my air-conditioned car, appreciated the spanking audio-system, and asked me some rather pointed questions about the industry. Just when he got off, he asked me, `Thambi, but why do they pay you so much? Do you really deserve all this?' I was totally flabbergasted," he admits.

The inside story

Janakiraman reasons that in the IT industry, the growth has been both aggressive and phenomenal. "In this industry, you get treated on par with international resources — both in terms of responsibility and money." Agrees Srinivasan Murali, software pro-turned-entrepreneur. He reasons that to compete in today's environment calls for completely different skill-sets and the young crop of employees who provide this are rewarded with high salaries simply for that edge. Jayakar, however, says that he is rather surprised at the record salaries offered to freshers (especially the ones from B schools). "Naturally this leads to a lot of antagonism," he says. But Raghavan counters this. "Companies are not here for charity. In the age where the investor is scrutinising balance sheets closely, they're really careful about their investments. The market will not pay more than what the person deserves," he maintains.

Sadly, competency doesn't seem to be universally or uniformly rewarded — a highly qualified engineer stuck in an old-world organisation can only look on dismally, as the IT guys haul the lolly by the sackful. And this, says Jayakar, is why people are flocking to grab the better paying IT jobs. Janakiraman, however, is hopeful that with globalisation, the compensation package in the other industries will shortly catch up.

The downside

Money, power and peace of mind generally don't go together. "Proving oneself and winning the confidence of the team in a short timeframe results in an extraordinary amount of pressure and certainly takes a big toll on personal life," admits Janakiraman. Setting very high expectations, constantly striving to further raise the bar, peer pressure, emotional roller coasters — all potentially result in early burnout.

And oh yes! Techies also have this rather peculiar tendency to sport goatees, which, teamed with a rapidly greying crop of hair, is supposed to lend the right `distinguished, professional aura' to impress both clients and colleagues alike. Wonder if they know what the clients and colleagues, not to mention the highly amused immediate family, actually think about it.

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