JOIN USHe was savvy enough to be a jack of all trades and a master of many. Though he was only an office boy, his overall demeanour and the efficiency with which he discharged his responsibilities put him on par with the higher-ups in the organisation. Hard-working and agreeable, he was the most sought-after man at the workplace as he juggled myriad jobs in a day with zest.
Shekar would be called throughout the day. His name would blast from all corners. The manager's cabin, the staff counters, the water cooler and the dining area would resonate with his name every now and then. "Yes, sir/ma'am," would be heard and then pronto, Shekar would go sprinting with enthusiasm. Whether it was photocopying, filing documents, taking circulars around, running to the bank for errands or taking care of fused bulbs and rickety furniture, Shekar was not only versatile at all these jobs, he also seemed cocksure about what he was doing and no one would dare second-guess his work.
Having joined the company as a fresher straight from college, I found Shekar's disposition a stark contrast to the sluggishness of many of the employees, me included. It intrigued me that the better-qualified and trained should lack the passion and vigour that someone in the lowest rung of the office pyramid possessed with ease. My curiosity at what made this humble worker tick day after day led me to engage in small conversations with him. At the end of a few weeks, the simple thesis that gave Shekar his strength unfolded from the dialogues.
I learnt that when Shekar had started working, uneducated and untrained that he had been, he had often fallen short of excelling in all the jobs that were given to him. However, on any day there would be one job in which he would have done exceedingly well. So, at the end of each day, he began to dwell on the one job that he excelled at. He would bring the success of that job to the surface of his mind and replay the events that led him to excel at the job over and over. That would instantly reassure him that if he could do one job well, he was capable of doing well at any job. At the same time, he also deliberately hid in the attic of his memory the shortfalls of the day. He let them dwindle and die there in the dark. Before long he had developed the habit of turning his focus on the things that he succeeded at rather than on those that he failed to do. With this habit, he picked up his self-confidence. Self-assurance soared, which in turn gave him a keen desire to do well all that he had to do.
So, it became plain and simple to me after a while that Shekar was more than an office boy by no accident or chance. He painstakingly built on his self-confidence that many better-educated working with him failed to do. The strength of his self-confidence was enough to make him a jack of all trades and a master of many, and have many look up to him as Savvy Shekar.