- She lived unknown, and few could know
- When Lucy ceased to be;
- But she is in her grave, and oh,
- The difference to me!
From Lucy Poems by William Wordsworth
After many years, I remembered Marcel Hickman. I was interviewing a male assistant of some advanced years and probably something in his profile or mannerism took me back to those years.
There are many people who contribute significantly in our lives but other than a “thank you” is never acknowledged when you look back on life or career. Marcel Hickman was the first person to receive me in the Exide office. He was assistant to the Sales Department. To call him a secretary (that is what his designation read), would be limiting our understanding of his capabilities to shorthand, filing, and typing. For that matter, calling him an assistant, is also setting the understanding that he waited to be instructed or worked to a specific job description. Marcel was the sales anchor in Head Office. In the days before mobile phones, it was even more difficult to catch the always elusive salesmen. Marcel ensured that the sales machinery remained well-oiled. He was the man you went to for sales numbers at month-end and also the first person to catch your ire if the numbers did not meet the expectation.
There were no “working days” in his calendar, so long as you spared him time for Sunday church. I had the first-hand experience of this. Charged with some extra work during the budget period (being a multi-national in those days budget documents to exacting standards had to be sent to UK headquarters), I landed up in office just assuming that MH would be there, but he was not! Overcoming a paralyzing fear, I checked with the security and figured out the hostel where he stayed. With single-minded determination, I charged through the compound, asked a set of dumbstruck gentlemen playing handball his room number and proceeded up the stairs. A visibly disturbed Marcel was most unwilling to listen to me, insisting I should leave the hostel immediately and demanding to know how I got past the security. I extracted a promise that he would reach the office in under an hour and proceeded back. Apparently, the hostel had a strict “no ladies” policy!
Starting-off in MIS, my early career impetus came from a readiness to work 24x7. Budgets and QPR required detailed planning. The documentation involved a lot of wasteful work as edits had to be re-typed and checked. Here I would be hanging outside the Sales Director’s office waiting for each set of updates, new analysis, and numbers. There are fond memories of many warm cups of coffee arranged by the Director’s EA. They rallied around with me, never complaining even if the final edits took us well past midnight. They worked to exacting self-standards and taught me early in life to set my own goals and principles.
Then came a day when I had my own chamber and secretary. Can't say I did it right from the start. My first feedback from a lady was that I did not forward-share my plans, keeping her in the dark and the workload did not come in a uniform flow. Other feedback was that I was a workaholic and failed to bond. One learned, improved but most importantly had the very good fortune to have some amazing persons, in this journey. I would not like to take specific names here but I trust I have improved over the years to hold them as friends, confidantes and remembered to contribute in many little meaningful ways. So, there came a delightful time, when my assistant and I were both pregnant, just a trimester apart. Bonding got re-defined to another level and to date, we may not connect often but know we are there for each other.
Over the years, I have interviewed many persons for this position. The skill-sets have changed from dictation to MS Office. Maybe it is the generation that I belong to, but many times when several ideas are jostling in the head, I wish for that old competency of a shorthand speed of 80, and the presence of a person with whom I am completely comfortable. There is something in that free-flowing dictation and its edits. I don’t want to bring a frown on the reader’s face but must be honest to state that my assistants have helped me cope by allowing me the luxury of releasing pressure like a safety-valve. This job is not just a defined skill-set but the ability to be parenting the boss.
I bow today, to all of you who have walked with me and hope I have added value in your lives, in some small manner.
Thank you!
