Himanshu Khanna, CEO and Founder of Sparklin propagates in favor of No Sir No Madam doctrine. Sparklin specializes in creating an identity synonymous with how your customers know you. Their team comprises of designers, marketers, wordsmiths, and tech heads. Each with a varied expertise, coming together to maximize the business benefits of their clients.
He is a graduate in communication design from Pearl Academy. Prior to instituting Sparklin, he has embarked on different ventures. Additionally, he has also been a visiting faculty at Pearl Academy.
Himanshu states that they adhere to No Sir No Madam ideology in their company. He opines “No Sir No Madam convention is an efficient way of communicating with others. It reduces the time wasted on deciding a salutation for the other person. Moreover, it also helps in building a personal and cordial relation with others. Whereas, ‘Sir/Madam’ culture is very superficial and takes the discussion away from the actual point that you want to convene about.”
“Furthermore, I have noticed that people tend to utilize salutation edict when they want to be courteous or respectful to anyone. It is deeply rooted in the minds of the general public that to display respect you have to greet the other person with a formal salutation. Although, with the boom of startups, ‘Sir/Madam’ tradition is slowly and gradually being eliminated from a professional workplace,” adds Himanshu.
He considers himself lucky that he never had to interact with bureaucrats. However, he is aware of the prevalence of salutation order in government offices across India.
Himanshu mentions — While a lot of government sector employees impose ‘Sir/Madam’ decree onto others, I have been lucky enough to have a different experience. I have to visit public sector banks because of my business. I was amazed to notice that I did not have to address anyone with a salutation and yet, my work was completed on time. I reckon, with time, public sector employees too will get rid of a salutation dictum.
On talking about blue-collar workers and the hardship they have to face because of their backgrounds. Himanshu remarks, “People need to take up responsibility and educate them about No Sir No Madam thesis. As, it is difficult to get them accustomed to converse with their employers on a first-name basis.
In addition, employers and leaders too should give them the liberty to convene with them without any formal obeisance. We have ensured to inform the clerks and peons in our offices to communicate with everyone without any salutation.
The major challenge for No Sir No Madam to be instilled in everyone is making people aware of this cause. Himanshu, therefore, suggests that schools should teach students about first-name culture at some level. This could be a part of children’s behavioral science classes, wherein they are taught about the essence of mutual respect and other social issues.
He even recommends introducing soft skills classes in schools so that students get to learn about personality development. The different nuance of soft skills classes would enable them to be more confident. As a result, they will grow to be more self-reliant and not bow down to anyone’s authority.
At the end, Himanshu concludes “Giving someone your complete attention while conversing with them is respectful enough. You do not have to subordinate yourself in order to make someone else feel honored.”
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