Analogy between Workplace and Driving !!!

You start on, you have an initial balancing act, you move smoothly, sometimes you are quick, sometimes you lag behind, sometimes you overtake, you see some people reaching their (temporary) destination and sometimes you reach your destination and observe people still moving on !!!! I am NOT ONLY talking about driving, I am also talking about Life in the workplace!!!

That is how analogous they are !!!

You starting your vehicle is same as saying you start moving towards your destiny (destination) with your degree (vehicle)... You have that initial balancing act (say the first gear change), which is the same as saying, you getting your first job and that initial anxiety. Then there's a phase with smooth driving on not-so-smooth roads, which can be related to getting used to the job despite the several issues and roadblocks !!! Then you see the road full of vehicles, similar to your peers in the workplace. How much you try, you have that urge in you to perform better than everyone around. You then see yourself overtaking some vehicles and observe that those vehicles aren't better than yours (strange perception). This aspect of driving can be related to the fact that some peers are "perceived" to be less talented than you, and hence you perform better than (overtake) them. You also observe some vehicles overtaking you, but you don't feel that your vehicle and you are less gifted, instead you try to compete with them. In this process, you sometimes realize that the vehicle the other person is possessing is actually better than yours, you accept this fact and carry on. In the workplace, this can be related to accepting that someone in your department is "actually" better than you, and how-much-so-ever you try, you wont overtake them unless they slow down !!!

Then there are road blocks which forces us to reduce our speeds. This is similar to the weekends we get or the holidays (and occasional picnics) we get during the phase of our work, telling us to slow down our pace of working and somehow start all over again. There's a phase (especially in the highways) where we are at our top speed, similar to how we perform to the best of our abilities in the office. Then sometimes you realize while you are moving towards your destination, there are some vehicles that travel with you. Your friends in your workplace. Traffic signals convey a very interesting similarity to life in workplace. Whats happens in traffic signals ??? Some are bestowed with green signal (move on) while some get the red ones (halt and then move). The red ones are the ones to be avoided, and not liked. In a similar fashion, some projects (or the procedures involved in working) are directly approved, while some of them have to be reviewed and the process comes to a grinding halt, albeit for a small duration, before they are carried forward. Breaking the signal then becomes similar to breaking the rules and ethics for the temporary betterment of the firm (Like taking bribes).

There are occasions where you are bogged down by a slow moving vehicle in front of you and for some reason you are not able to overtake it. These occasions are analogous to the fact that while working in teams, there are some who are slow and take their time to complete their piece of work, and you cant continue your work unless they allow it to happen, since more often than not they are related. On a small street, theres a bus moving and all the other vehicles behind have to slow down and follow the bus with its relative speed. Perfectly explaining the situation where there is a team of lions led by a lamb !!! The slower your boss, slower is your work. And theres no option but to follow the leader, coz the boss is always right !!! ;-) You just wait for the opportunity to get a relatively wider road to overtake your boss !!!

There are occasions where you know about the different routes to reach your destination. Similar to the routes one can take in a workplace to reach a desired result. One road may be a short-cut of twist and turns while the other may be relatively long with lots of straights. Similar to saying "Ends justify the means" and "Means justify the ends" respectively. :-)

Accidents too explain a lot about somethings in workplace !!! Accidents are uncalled for, in any situation, unless you are interested to commit suicide :-P. Similarly, mistakes and issues, and that too major ones, are seriously uncalled for !!! Unless, of course, you are interested to "leave" your job for something better (like leaving your life 'hoping' for something better).

Now, are traffic police similar to Auditors ??? Your guess is as good as mine !!!