The 2 X 2 of Life ©

DISCLAIMER: This is the original intellectual capital of the blogger spawned out of sundry experiences in the corporate world. While this profound management concept will find direct relevance in the corporate sector, the author feels it is reasonably applicable in any walk of life. The author acknowledges the premier consulting firm, The Boston Consulting Group, from whose share-growth matrix (also called the BCG matrix), this involved concept is inspired. The sentiments expressed in this post, as in all other posts, are personal and quite close to the author’s heart and people who do not necessarily agree and are infuriated by this post should close this browser window, take a deep breath and get themselves a life!


The 2 X 2 of Life © occurred to me while I was staffed on the project I just finished at work. It is believed that the toughest of times bring out the true character of man. Well, I can vouch for the fact that the last few months have been tough times indeed but what they seem to have brought forth are some intriguing ideas and thoughts, most of which I cannot share, for fear of retribution that may prove too costly to afford. The 2 X 2 of Life © is a distillation of some of those un-shareable thoughts. Have a look at it. It is quite self-explanatory and where I felt there was explanation required I have provided one.




About The 2 X 2 of Life ©

The Axes:

• Temperament in life is your general disposition in your work life: whether you take life frivolously(happy) or take it too seriously and fret and fume over consequences(crappy)
• Ambition in life is your drive/verve/ enthusiasm towards work: whether you strive to outdo the competition and yourself in every endeavor of yours (raise the bar!) or you just look at work as a necessary evil and are more enthused about good food/music/lifestyle than the latest excel model or presentation that you made!(chhod na yaar!)
  
  
  The Quadrants:
  

BITCH

You have fought hard to be where you are today. A little bitchy voice within you constantly reminds you that you don’t deserve this and it may all be snatched away from you if you didn’t strain every single sinew every single second that you work. You think you’re doing good work but your insecurity does not let you feel happy about it. It not only keeps you on your toes all the time but also makes you do hideous things like sucking up to everybody at the workplace who could get you up the hierarchy. You have become the top management’s bitch in the organization and suffice it to say, you lead a SAD life!

LOSER

You’re weird! People like you are rare at the workplace but they most certainly exist. You are the cynic who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about anything at work but is also full of energy in trying to prove to everyone around you what a miserable life they are leading by working in this organization. You crib for the sake of cribbing. It’s not that you are unhappy with the work; it is fundamentally impossible for you to be happy with anything in life. You should loosen up and take life less seriously!


FIGHTER

You’re fundamentally a nice guy who knows what he wants from life. You give work its due importance and are also convinced, at some level, of the worthlessness of it all. Yet you have a competitive streak (which may be hereditary or acquired) within you that makes you go the extra mile. You are a stud at work and if not for your competitiveness, you would be a star. For you, there is hope!


STAR

You’re the man! You’re the Buddha of the workplace, the embodiment of equanimity that neither fears retribution from the bosses nor desires accolades for his work. You work because you have to. You know that you are above this ‘moh-maaya’ (mirage) of work and are already planning some cool career move like Ramesh Rao (of WagonR fame) where you will spend the rest of your life in the company of your deeper passion in life and what’s more important, hot looking women. The only problem is, STARS like you exist only in myths and the fantasies of over-worked corporates! Yet even your mythical existence give millions (including the author) hope and we all strive to be you one day!


Purpose of The 2 X 2 of Life ©

Nothing really. It’s just a tool to benchmark oneself as to which god forsaken quadrant does one fall in (it’s ok if you don’t fall anywhere or are a mixture of several quadrants – even I don’t know where exactly I fall). The idea is to move towards the STAR from wherever you are (something which is already indicated on the slide). If you’re a BITCH, however, you are really up against it!