Look Busy, Do Nothing: The Tale of a FRAXer

In my class, opinion is divided on the subject of my sincerity....I think I am sincere and hardworking... everyone else thinks that I am a fraxer… For the uninitiated, that is XL lingo for free riders….. But I personally think that is highly paradoxical… because, the first rule of fraxing is never to give away that impression…. Look Busy, Do Nothing…. Regular visitors to this blog might recollect that I’ve mentioned it several times in the past….but never really got around to talk much about it…. Yeah, have been quite busy… ;-) I now give a sneak peek into my modus operandi….

Strategy 1: White Knight

Seek the help of a third party if threatened

“Rishi, yer free right? There is some work to be done for placements…”

“yeah dude, sure… be right back… am going to wake up this guy.. he has an interview in 5 minutes…… “

There is no guy….. there is no interview…. And nobody is coming back in 5 minutes ;-)

Pretty simple, uh?

Today.............
Group Member: "dude, did u do ur part for the project?"
FRAXer: "Sorry yaar, kaam nahin kar saka..... Kal raat ko placecomm ki meeting thi"

Yesterday......
Placecomm Chairman: "dude, come for da meeting today..."
FRAXer: "Sorry yaar, cant come.... group members busting my hump....presentation tom"

Strategy 2: Changing terms of engagement

Somebody thinks he can get work done out of you by just telling you… but you change the rules so that you don’t have to work unless he does some himself………..

“dude, can u please download this movie?”

“of course yaar.. that’s why I am in the movie committee….. just send a mail to b05044.”

Public has a very short memory… 2 advantages… neither will he remember the name of the movie, nor will he remember my id….

Strategy 3: Supply Chain Management Orientation

Kotler defines this as a strategic operation where you interface with other executives to build a seamless uninterrupted system from the raw materials to the finished goods stage.

Projects can be a little more tricky….. the key is never to form teams with the same guy for more than one subject….. this is of the utmost importance if you want to avoid detection… suppose there are 5 in the team… including you… in the first two weeks, send a lot of emails asking your team members to meet…. Do not fear, nobody is going to turn up anyway…. But it always builds up this mountain of guilt…. Poor Rishi.. he is so sincere.. has been calling meetings, but I’ve never turned up…. Then its time to go for the kill… divide project into 4 parts…. And go on the offensive!!!

“Dude Praveen!!!! U haven’t turned up even for a single meeting… now, sit and do part A… we are working on the rest…”Repeat the above procedure for Karn, Amal and Heera… done… sit back and relax while the project gets done and you emerge as the most hardworking guy in the group!!!!

Strategy 4: Leveraging Secondary Associations

Borrow brand identity from other entities that have their own associations…

This strategy is in case you are stuck with the same team member for two different projects… you obviously cant repeat the supply chain management orientation strategy… so you position yourself as a fin guy who doesn’t know shit about marketing or any other area, for that matter… This is highly effective in systems projects where your teammate is an IT workex guy….. But there is always a downside that he will never ever take u again in his team…

Strategy 5: Logistics Alliances

One company offers logistical services for another’s product

For committees, you need a whole new strategy… because there is no work anyway… so fraxing is natural… but even so, you should not appear to be lazing around.. so send a group mail and invite all your committee members to your room…. The host of meetings is never accused of fraxing…. And some arbit stuff will automatically get discussed anyway!!! Even if it is hurling obscenities at the quant professor……….

Strategy 6: Flexible Market Offering

Make use of discretionary options that people in different segments value…

Another trick is to understand the people you talk to and tailor your conversations… FYI, there are two types of people… type 1 never miss classes and hang out in the library… type 2 bunk classes and hang around the coffee lounge…. When you talk to type 1, throw in the names of a few competitions here and there… but when you talk to type 2, just tell them you are going to class… enough to make them feel you work hard!!!!

Strategy 7: Guerilla Tactics

On that sad day, my group members resolved to finally get some work done out of me.... 'chalo, we'll keep the meeting in rishi's room so that he is made to attend the meeting!!!"

Yes, it'd b quite easy for me to jus get out of ma room and go elsewhere... but naah... too lazy for tht....got better ideas.... jus dont open the door.. they'll bang ur door for like five minutes, curse you yet again, and presume tht u r elsewhere...works especially well with the newly installed locks....

These are just seven of the few hundred strategies that I have picked up at bschool…. Would be great if you, the reader, can share some of your own with the fraternity…If you think about it, the jargons they teach you here have immense practical value, even if it’s not exactly in the way it was intended…. Just remember, the key is never to get detected… People should be so happy to work with you that you have enough time to play AoE in the solitude of your room……..