What do we do when the raw excitements and vicissitudes of a managerial career sap our energy and excitement of life? With impossible deadlines looming large, a key team member suddenly disappearing on a furlough and the better half turning into a bitter half because of our indifference to attending the Parent Teacher Meeting in the kid’s school, we are just left gasping for some fresh air.
What could possibly perk us up on such a day? Browsing through the incisive and witty cartoons of someone like R K Laxman can surely help us to beat our blues. For decades, he has kept the sanity of our denizens intact by bringing us a daily dose of the travails of the ‘Common Man’. He has also produced some of the best management cartoons with messages for employees, CEOs and business owners alike.
There is a tongue-in-cheek quality in his cartoons which gently prods the reader to introspect on a wide range of managerial challenges. The issues could range anywhere from late coming in office to the tendency to carry work home, to indulging in nepotism, to working under a very difficult boss, and the like.
Here is a very small sample from the vast repertoire of his works:
The Torture of Getting Hired
Getting Work Done
Late Coming
The Perils of Marrying Your Secretary
Nepotism
Working Under a Tough Boss
Carrying Work Home
In these days of technical gizmos and 24×7 connectivity, the office settings in these cartoons may look a little dated. But the messages are as hard-hitting and relevant as ever.
The works of Mario Miranda (who can forget the inimitable Miss Fonseca?!) are also delightful. Dilbert is another series which can educate and entertain us. But R K Laxman has created a unique world for managers of all hues with such sunlit perfection that we can just sit back and bask in its splendor and warmth.
(Source: The Management of Management by R K Laxman, ISBN 81-7094-497-X)
(Related Posts:
https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/the-inimitable-r-k-laxman-2-0
https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/of-secretaries-and-the-inimitable-miss-fonseca)
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