Might is NOT always Right but Right is ALWAYS Might

The events happening in my office in the recent past have finally brought me back to posting something here again and I thank them for it. I have been working for almost 12 yrs now as an IT professional and have been recollecting my past experiences in the various different organizations that I have worked for. Today, when I think about my reasons for leaving the various different organizations that I worked for, I have realized that I always left because I didn't want to continue to work in the environment that existed in each one of them. I have come across the statement - "People don't leave organizations, they leave their managers" and I don't agree with this statement. Managers are the way they are because of the environment that exists in their organizations. If the environment is healthy the managers are also going to be REAL managers. They are genuinely going to be interested in contributing to the organization by giving genuine suggestions to improve the processes existing in their organizations, by giving genuine suggestions to their superiors to help the latter improve their contribution, by giving genuine feedback to their subordinates to help the latter improve their contribution and also by genuinely being interested in grooming their subordinates. But all of this is possible if, and only if, the environment in the organization is conducive to it. If it is not so then the manager will be fighting a lone battle to do all these things and will, finally, be either forced to leave the organization or eventually succeed in changing the whole organization (the probability of which appears to be very very low). But even if the manager (who genuinely wants to contribute and is a REAL manager (ideally I would have liked to use the word Leader here but lets just stick to the word manager)) leaves such an organization, is it really his loss? Maybe it is the loss of the organization which he leaves???

I have always believed in doing what is right and no matter what the circumstances are and no matter what the consequences might be, I don't think I have deviated from this approach. Of course, a lot of people can question that what may be right for you may not be right for somebody else.....but then if you sit down and think about it....ALL those who have this question in their mind will eventually realize that all of us have an inherent understanding of what is right and what is wrong. We are ALL born with this understanding and the "right" things are actually "right" for everyone and the same is applicable to the "wrong" things. Most of us, when we do something wrong, try to give justification to it by, for example, saying that under the circumstances that is what I had to do. But deep down, inside our hearts, we know that what we did was actually wrong. But we just did not have the strength and courage to do that which was actually the right thing to do. Just like somebody said to me a couple of days ago - "that's the way the corporate world works". Anyways, over the years, it has happened quite a few times that someone has come to me and reminded me about what happens in a storm. They say that when there is a storm, the trees which bend (or stoop down) manage to survive but those (of which are very few) which have the courage (or stupidity - as most of us would say) to "stand up" to the storm and refuse to bend down and give in, almost always fall down. Let us look at this age old example with the help of two kinds of trees, the first one being grass (which never stands straight and is not even tall enough to even bend down before the storm) and a big Banyan tree (tall and standing straight and never able to bend down even when there is the severest of storms - simply because it is NOT in its nature to do so). Even in the severest of storms the grass never perishes, simply because it never ever stood up for itself (forget about standing up for others). But it is trampled on by everybody, and by everybody, I mean EVERYBODY. People walk on it, jog or run on it, sit on it, play on it ......... but no matter what, it is always "under" or "below" you. The majestic Banyan tree, may or may not be able to weather the storm. But even if it falls down and perishes, a lot of people benefit from its wood and most of this wood is put to "good" use. On the other hand, if this friend of ours, the Banyan tree, does not perish and manages to survive, it will continue to provide shelter and shade to the people who are seeking it and the purpose of its existence will continue to be served. It is, of course, obvious that people around it will respect it all the more. Both, the grass and the Banyan tree, benefit others, but in very very different ways. It is for each one of us to decide, whether we want to be the grass or the Banyan tree.

Now, finally, coming to the title of this post. A person, who is considered "mighty" (for example a politician or a businessman (with a lot of money) who can influence others around him) might not always be doing things which are right but a person who has done the right things is ALWAYS ,and I repeat ALWAYS, is going to be mighty simply because he has NOTHING to fear for his actions. A person who is in the "right" becomes fearless, because his conscience does not disturb him at all, and that's what makes such a person MIGHTY, mightier than all those so called "mighty" people around him who cannot face themselves in the mirror, leave alone face their God (if, at all, they believe in any).