Management by Stories: The Halo effect of Colors

This is the season for the campus rounds amongst Corporates to choose the promising professionals from the various talent factories!

While the ritual will go on as it ever does, it’s also season for quick reflection for those who lost their place in the bitter-battle of 'creating an impression's.

Most of them invariably go into a temporary hide to seek the obviate of oblivion before the reality strikes and they bounce back (though feebly) yet again to the fire front to put forth their credentials for the 'next to the best business house'.

To them specially is this article. Battles may be lost; The rules of the game is to win the war.

Take heart from this story which relates so closely to the real life work situations.

I promise you, you will be gingered up to play game with added vigor and pep......

Colors fascinate and fascinate more those innocent children!. Whether it's a rainbow or those balloons that soar high up the sky it just fascinates them to no end.

The old man selling balloons knew it more than anybody else and was making a decent money at the town fair much to the amusement of children around; who flocked to him to pick their choice!

Whenever the crowed thinned out our balloon vendor use to release a set of different colored balloon; red, green, yellow, pink, blue and as it went up the sky more children would get attracted to him and that meant some more business for him.

Watching this was a poor little boy who could not afford the pleasure of buying those balloons and was staring with envy at the other lucky children around. He seldom moved his eyes off the balloons and the colors and as he stood there in utter amazement a sudden thought stuck him. He very hesitatingly he went across to the vendor and enquired, "Uncle can a black balloon also go up the sky and as high?

Now the old man could immediately understand the deeper meaning of the innocent question. He kneeled down in front to meet the eyes of the boy and said "My little boy why no". He held the boy by his hands closer, pulled out a black balloon from his bag, inflated it and set it free! Much to the utter surprise and cheers of the boy.

The black balloon too soared sky high and in a matter of time was seen competing with the other colors. The Boy could just not believe his eyes.

Looking at the admiring eyes of the boy the and as if summoning all his gray hair wisdom the old man continued. "Remember there is nothing in the color that makes these balloon go up the sky. Actually it's all in the gas which I am filling that takes them to those heights".

Saying this he pulled out yet another black balloon, inflated it with the gas to make it ready for it's flight attached a long string and presented it to the boy saying" this is from me for asking such an intelligent question".

The boy thanked profusely the old man and left the scene.

Like those balloons!! How often have we too got colored in our vision, falling a prey to this optical illusions. Honestly it would be as often. Yes the black balloon does bring us closer to our work place.

Well, in real life work situations too we often get carried away by the external features and fall a prey to the 'Halo effects' whether it's with people or of things like those plush office decors or those high technology and infrastructure etc.

Add to these, those perfectly tailor-made resumes, those pass outs of accredited management schools and institutions, those immaculate attires, coupled with the commendable accent and well trained gaits, those well drilled kinaesthetics of a body language, those latest technology used in presentations, those impressive articulating abilities, those language savvy writing skills in memos, reports etc. those never failing courtesies from fellow colleagues...are just only a few of the long laundry list of illusions floating around in the system everywhere.

We start in a hurry estimating their worth even before coming to closer understanding of their intrinsic real value.

It's a different matter that the fall occurs as fast. We do come to realize our folly when the curtains are raised and the veil is thrown open. This happens most of the time when the initial damage is already done with those illusionary first impressions leaving us to struggle to come to terms with the biting reality.

Here one is not even suggesting that these are not of any relevance and neither is one even for a moment discounting the impacts these are capable of making as ice breakers while dealing with people and situations. On the contrary admittedly some of these qualities become an imperative prerequisite in certain job positions or even at certain levels in the organization.

But here lies the catch like those colored balloons that provides us the wake up call!

The name of the game is simply to check out if we are getting carried away by external projections a la the colored balloons and to look for the intrinsic qualities.

And finally this could be the burden of the song for ever in our mind:

Let's not get carried away by colors alone; but by the mettle seen and shown
For colors can blind us many a time and remember it makes little difference most times.

After all who can forget the little poor boy who left the place richer with knowledge.

All the best.

Mohan Prasad
mohanprasad04@yahoo.com