The following morning, I arrived at the office punctually, but this time, he was late. My managerial assistant, Prakash Singh, approached me with the remaining files. I asked him, "Prakash, please wait until you take this file. I'll just need 2 minutes. Prakash, one more thing, did everyone arrive?"
Prakash replied, "Almost everyone."
I pressed for clarification, "Almost? What does 'almost' mean? Did someone take a leave?"
Prakash clarified, "No, ma'am, nobody took a leave, but Aryan Mathur hasn't arrived yet."
I expressed my frustration, "What do you mean he hasn't arrived? It's his first day on the job, and he's late. How undisciplined. Please don't let him in today. Tell the guard not to allow his card."
Prakash acknowledged, "Okay, ma'am."
I reminded him, "And Prakash, I assigned you the responsibility to ensure everyone arrives on time. To whom did you delegate this task?"
Prakash responded, "Ma'am, I assigned it to Archana from the beginning."
I instructed, "Call Archana right now."
Prakash complied, "Okay, ma'am."
Archana entered my office, and I permitted her to speak. She explained, "May I come in, ma'am?"
I replied, "Yes, sure. Archana, what kind of behavior is this? Prakash assigned you a simple responsibility to ensure everyone is on time, and you didn't take it seriously." I let out a sarcastic laugh. "But what am I even saying, someone who arrived late herself? How can you value someone else's time?"
Archana defended herself, "Ma'am, I did warn Aryan to be on time and informed him that he'd be fired if he wasn't punctual. But what can I do if he didn't take me seriously?"
I advised her, "From the next time, if he doesn't take you seriously, inform me before I arrive. Then let me decide what to do with him. And please, don't repeat this mistake. Remember my words and you may leave now. Thank you."
As they were about to exit, I halted them, "Prakash, please stay. I need to discuss our new project. Archana, you may leave."
Archana expressed her gratitude, "Thank you, ma'am," and left, closing the door behind her.
A conversation about our new clients followed between Prakash and me, and I instructed, "Fix a meeting with them tomorrow at 10:00 AM. I will be there."
Prakash acknowledged, "Okay, ma'am."
The next day, Aryan arrived at the office on time. I had instructed Prakash to direct him to my cabin as soon as he arrived. I entered the office at my usual time, and Aryan came in, asking, "May I come in, ma'am?"
I responded, "Yes, please do."
An awkward silence hung in the air, and he cut straight to the point, "Did you call me, ma'am?"
I affirmed, "Yes, obviously. Do you know why I called you?"
Aryan replied, "Yes, ma'am, but it's true that I was stuck in traffic for more than two hours."
I continued, "Yes, I already heard that. But Mr. Mathur, do you know that I took the same route, and I arrived before you? You see, I always keep myself updated about the traffic situation in my area. Nowadays, we have all our updates on a single phone. I've been with this company for five years, and I've never been this late. I started this company with nothing, and now I'm highly successful. You may want success, but you're lacking discipline."
Aryan tried to explain, "Ma'am, I left my home an hour and a half early, but I still got stuck."
I empathized, "I understand all your explanations, but in life, after a few years, when you see your peers succeed while you struggle, you won't have any explanations. I'm warning you, Mr. Mathur, from now on, you need to be vigilant about traffic conditions. And one more mistake, and you'll be fired. This is your final warning. Remember, in life, it's a race, and if you can't keep up, you'll be left behind. Now, you may leave."
Aryan apologized, "Sorry, ma'am. From now on, I won't repeat my mistake. Thank you for giving me another chance," and left the room.