Aakash Kakkar, Co-founder of the trendy mobile app ‘Kakcho’ boldly seconds No Sir No Madam ideology. Kakcho is a mobile app that provides efficient fashion advice to users by connecting them to stylists and industry experts.
He is a business administration graduate from FDDI School of Business and Entrepreneurship. Aakash along with his college friend, Ridhima Chopra, put their heads together to come up with the idea of Kakcho. They both share a liking towards fashion; are admirers of entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson and Hugh Hefner. Consequently, they wanted to start their business to tackle the problem of dressing-up for any occasion.
Aakash mentions that he always encourages his employees and intern to follow No Sir No Madam custom. He opines “When you communicate with someone on a first-name basis. You interact more with them. You feel comfortable enough to talk about any problem that you might be going through in your life.”
To tackle this issue, they have set up a routine where, any employee can approach his or her colleague and ask them to take a walk, so that one can share his or her difficulty.
Aakash emphasizes that they are able to maintain this routine only because of first-name culture. In addition, he states — employees often get frustrated with their job and keep switching jobs. This is because they get agitated by the ‘Sir/Madam’ culture followed in the company. A salutation dominant tradition in a workplace makes employees feel restrained. They lack the liberty to express themselves and feel unhappy about their jobs.
Having co-founded his company right after college, he never had to work in any corporate office. However, he narrates about his internship experience, “I was at a firm named ‘Squadrun’. I was unaware of the salutation-free culture being followed in that company. Subsequently, I addressed a senior as ‘Sir’ out of habit. The senior took time to correct me and informed me about the culture that they followed.”
Moreover, he claims that No Sir No Madam ideology helps in abolishing workplace discrimination as well. Aakash remarks — When you address a person as ‘Sir/Madam’, you are giving them power to suppress you sometimes. Ergo, they feel accredited to harass you and take advantage of their position.
Talking about abuse of power, he reviews about the salutation edict prevalent in government offices. Bureaucrats often abuse their power as they feel invincible. It is partly the mistake of the citizens who address them with a salutation and give them a sense of being superior than others. Accordingly, they misuse their designation to launder scams and impose fear on their juniors.
Aakash surmises that power dynamic corruption in government offices needs to be tackled immediately. He believes that leaders of political parties and esteemed people should comprehend the difficulties fabricated by ‘Sir/Madam’ culture. In addition, they should also apply No Sir No Madam doctrine to make themselves more approachable.
People doing less-appreciated jobs in India have been subjected to discrimination for years. It is saddening that they are now accustomed to such unfairness. Aakash articulates that we ought to uplift them by giving them the respect they deserve.
They would feel happy and empowered, if given the liberty to address their employers by their first-name. As it is not their fault for being less fortunate. However, they too are human beings and are worth of equal respect.
Infusing No Sir No Madam teachings into people is a tedious work which can be achieved faster through the means within the education system. Accordingly, Aakash utters that school is the place where a person’s brain is molded.
Ergo, introducing No Sir No Madam conviction to students would help them in understanding ‘mutual respect’ concept. This would also benefit them as they will not have to subdue themselves to any formal obeisance in the future.
In conclusion, he conveys, “everyone should instill No Sir No Madam habit in their lives. It would aid people in acknowledging the idea of mutual respect. Thereupon, once you realize the importance of first-name custom, you will not bow down to anyone who feels entitled to be respected.”
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