Greet a soldier today

Captain Dinesh Yadav’s return home awoke the whole colony, when in the middle of the night - crackers burst, music blared and residents seemed to increase their decibel levels to best the ongoing cacophony. Dinesh is a 20 something, dapper soldier serving in one of the country’s most sensitive areas – Kashmir. Obviously, any soldier returning home from such an area warrants a hero’s welcome. Senior Yadav – now touching 80 – had tears running down his cheeks when he tightly embraced the young soldier. He had good reason, I thought.

The senior Yadav had sat me down, two days earlier, sharing his perspectives with me on corporate services and ‘risk management.’ Corporate service personnel have a cushy life, he said, stretching himself on the sofa. What could be the worst thing – losing a job, ending up with debts? Yes, I nodded, with my eyes transfixed at a conspicuous photograph of Dharmesh Yadav, who was killed 15 years ago at the valley. Dharmesh was a born soldier, and laid down his life protecting hundreds of others, said the old man. His voice extremely proud yet poignant. There is absolutely no guarantee for life once you decide to become a soldier, he continued lighting an incense stick near his son’s photograph, yet no one really cares about soldiers. Our conversation later veered towards what corporate entities could learn from soldiers, especially on risk management.

However, the conversation and more importantly the circumstances had sent me into some kind of an introspection about the value of life. Mr.Yadav, I thought had a very strong point. At a time when corporate India is pampering its employees- offering cash and kind - to stay put in one job, thousands of soldiers are trying their best to effectively deploy their risk-management strategy in a do or die situation. While we throng malls and multiplexes in search for continuous entertainment, soldiers are fighting it out to let us sustain our entertainment quotient. Despite a luxuriant life, we are still continuously seeking incentives for motivation to carry out personal as well as professional tasks. Leaving the old man’s house, I asked him what he does to motivate himself and other soldiers. Shake hands with them and let them know their job is crucial for the nation – he said.

I am now looking for soldiers…

Lesson from the MD

The conference was just four hours away and the approval for the press release had not come. It had gone through at least 10 iterations – majority of them undertaken by the communication, marketing and the legal team based in US. Why the delay then? The MD based in India is yet to go through it, said our client counterpart. One of my senior team members was on the threshold of losing his temper over the client who was repeatedly checking about ‘all the other things,’ which he knew were in place. As time passed, we knew there wasn’t anything anybody could do but just wait for the MD to approve. Sitting amidst team members, who were vociferous about the MD’s ‘attitude’ and the company’s slothful culture, there was no room for airing anything positive.

An hour later, two foreigners emerged out of the business center followed by the head of marketing in India. No sign of the MD yet. As if to increase the tension in the air, the marketing head wanted to know if we had everything in order. All I could hear was someone gnawing their teeth. Ten minutes later, the MD emerged out of the business center - in a wheel chair, heavily bandaged and unmistakably in enormous pain. The blood stains were still fresh on his forehead and feet – the white bandage and the numbers on the wheel chair indicated he was coming directly from the hospital. As he approached us, he congratulated us for getting the ‘messaging’ bang on. He apologized and asked the person who was pushing the wheel chair to handover a green folder. “Thought, I’ll get the printed copies myself as we are getting delayed,” he said while moving on to the conference hall. No one from our team spoke for what seemed eternity.

Once the conference was over, one of the members went to the MD and helped him move around his wheelchair so that he could interact with the press. Why did you make it for the conference, asked an inquisitive journalist. Why shouldn’t I? Am perfectly fit to make an announcement – so why not? A start-up in India, and part of a diversified group, he was the innovator behind a game-changing product that was being launched. When the last journalist left the venue, he called our team and thanked each and everyone. His parting words still remains fresh in my memory. “You guys have one of the toughest jobs. How do you write something that is in synch with others thoughts?”

That event taught me couple of lessons. One is to increase my tolerance levels, two to be kind and three – everyone has a way of writing, what is important is to capture the idea, the thought.

Shadowing those in power

Discussing colleagues at workplace, my wife made a passing mention that her colleague was trying to google their CEO’s hobbies. For what? I exclaimed. The justification went on for 5-10 minutes but did not actually make sense. Her colleague had his own reasons, I thought. The next day in office, a colleague was digging into LinkedIn to extract details about a client. Well, it is important when you are planning to do business together, I thought. However, there seems to be more to this practice of ‘finding out more.’ According to psychologist Susan Fiske, “People pay attention to those who control their outcomes. In an effort to predict and possibly influence what is going to happen to them, people gather information about those with power." That is the ground reality.

In an earlier company that I worked, there was a deliberate and collaborative effort towards understanding clients. It was imposed on every client facing executives to find out – what does the client like the most, when is his/her birthday etc. Was there any result, any benefit to anyone? Absolutely no. Social capital or the ability to network should be an outcome of something larger. Smart executives in the same company pushed their knowledge with the client to get his buy-in and ultimately built a stronger relationship. The idea holds true in every professional relationship – an agency/client or a leader/follower. How much can one stretch his/her social capital to make a difference?

This ‘finding out more’ practice is mostly done for an immediate requirement – a project, a lead. Happen to read what Dr.Ivan Misner, who is supposedly a networking guru had to say about investing in networking. According to him, "You should always ask new contacts to tell you about a business challenge they are confronting. That way, you might know someone who can help, and that's the start of a relationship." Everyone has a way of accomplishing what they want in life – some leverage their networking skills while others rely on their intellectual capital.

If you want to be the best, let others be…

Everyone wants to be the best – no doubt about this. And, everyone has a way of being or becoming the best, be it at the work place or life in general. Now, it is said that people are at their best when they are happy performing a given task – when they enjoy the task. Am forced to believe that workplaces should hence be nurturing happiness so as to ensure sustained productivity. Personal experience also tells me that happiness is directly linked to freedom.

Back in school based in Munnar, then famous for its wildlife, we were barred from cycling, especially in the tea estates. We were warned about tuskers, wild buffaloes and other possible elements that could hinder our cycling experience. When questioned about the freedom to do what one enjoyed, my dad would say that the feeling was mutual - cyclists would encroach upon the freedom of animals. As kids, we would in any case enforce our freedom – cycling to the elephant lake and trekking to the boondocks. Age brought along with it the necessary freedom and parents would just extend ‘advisories.’ “Heard there is a rogue elephant on Maduppaty Estate – be careful.” None of us would go anywhere close to that estate as we had seen and heard enough about the consequence of bumping into a rogue elephant. The ‘advisory’ or ‘direction’ worked well for us. We could extend our freedom to a vast expanse and be happy.

Going by the attitude of today’s youngsters at work, organizations better apply the same logic. This is especially true in a people-centric business where business is awarded to best consultants and not the best-known ones, where clients seek talent, not firm names and where competition for new projects is not between firms, but between people and their ideas. We all know ideas can flow from anywhere in the organization. Remember the success of Post-it? The point is everyone in an organization is capable and can contribute significantly to the growth of it. It is just that everyone in an organization should believe in others; be tolerant of the way others accomplish a specific task. Be kind and helpful. Above all, proactively try and nurture an ecosystem for happiness. According to leadership expert, Dee Hock, “There is never a time when our knowledge, judgment and wisdom are not more useful and applicable than that of another. There is never a time when the knowledge, judgment and wisdom of another are not more useful and applicable than ours. At any time that "other" may be superior, subordinate, or peer.”

Every employee is a leader in one way or the other and hence it is important to note what Dee Hock says, “a true leader cannot be bound to lead, a true follower cannot be bound to follow.” The moment they are bound they are no longer leader or follower. If the behavior of either is compelled, whether by force, economic necessity, or contractual arrangement, the relationship is altered to one of superior/subordinate, manager/employee, master/servant, or owner/slave. All such relationships are materially different from leader/follower.”

The blind spot

Ever wondered about ‘blind spot’ in your career? It dawned upon me during a Sunday evening drive with a cousin of mine. He remarked that the ‘blind spot’ (part of the car that blocks vision) in my car was posing enormous challenge especially while anticipating turns on the long winding road from Lonawala to Pune. Having driven the car for over 2 years, ‘blind spot’ was something that I chose to neglect. After all, it was just a fraction of a second experience and nothing unusual can happen in that period. It wasn’t a very convincing response as I could make out from his face and he reeled out accident cases that occurred as a result of a millisecond of negligence. While leaving he asked me to be careful about the blind spot.

The next morning newspapers had unusual photographs on the front page – airhostesses. While most of them displayed a toned-down disposition, there were a few antagonized ones up in arms. None of the flight attendants had anticipated a drastic step of this nature from their employer. One of them was quoted saying she was asked not to report to duty when she reached the airport. Couple of others were featured in a box on the front page, highlighting their focus to be a flight attendant, move to Mumbai and the expenses incurred to secure a job with the leading airline and finally how their dream was shattered in a day. Nobody anticipated this despite the mounting losses airlines were reporting at that time. The airline’s case was one that hogged limelight in India. World over, the year 2009 saw millions of people losing jobs and then blaming their organizations and economy for being cold-blooded.

I’d like to believe that people know the possibility of a job loss but become enamored with what they are pursuing that they choose to neglect that remotest possibility. Just like how I chose to neglect the blind spot in my car. Most of the my friends intellectually understand that the industry is transforming but stick to the tried and tested skill sets and knowledge, which very clearly will not be a differentiator. “We will see when the change gets onto us,” is the customary response. Should we get into trouble and then run paranoid seeking to re-build ourselves?

Not that one has to reflect insecurity but it is important to understand from the network of friends what is happening in one’s office and industry. More importantly, be ready for the distant opportunity by continuously attempting to grab it. Remember, companies aren’t chasing market share but opportunity share so as to build a secure future. Why not us?

Frogs, mistakes and tea sessions

Early in my career, mistakes – minor or major – resulted in a closed door team meeting at the end of which members walked out as if they had bullets riddled all over their body. There would invariably be an exclusive target – thrashed to pulp - who would disappear for ‘tea’ after the meeting. I’ve had several such ‘tea sessions,’ which was in retrospect a test of tolerance. And, it would result in two key decisions. One, never to commit such mistakes again and two, never to let people go for ‘tea sessions’ while working in a team. The stint in that company, and with that boss in particular was enlightening as it paved way for me to be more responsible – in work and with team members. When I moved to another organization which had quite a few people working with me, the lessons imbibed earlier were diligently implemented. In the first meeting after joining, my boss said, ‘there are 7 team members here and their growth is your responsibility,’ and he left. If he is extending that much freedom, the team would obviously expect the same from me, I thought.

While pondering over the new role and the responsibilities entrusted on me, my mind went down the memory lane – to the science practical periods in school. Our teacher used to push me to dissect more frogs than anyone in the class primarily to ensure that I overcome the irrational fear of ‘dissecting something alive’ and get best results. ‘The more mistakes you make, the better you will learn. They are an essential part of experimentation and the innovation initiatives undertaken every day.’ she would reiterate while I stood grief-stricken over yet another mistake – a dead frog. This unbearable exercise or practical learning crossed the threshold of my tolerance and during one such session, I put the frogs ‘allotted’ to me in the dust bin thinking they would escape or be safe. Well, sometimes action done under ‘good faith’ turns out be great blunders or mistakes. The frogs jumped out of the dust bin, landed next to the group of girls where our teacher was detailing the objective of the session. Once the ensuing pandemonium ceased, it was clear what the next steps would be – point fingers. It was difficult from then on to gain trust from the teacher but I still the remember the days when she would stand next to me until I produced results to her satisfaction, the bar for which she would raise higher and higher. The lesson from this, according to her was that she wanted me to not just learn by making mistakes but ‘master the art of dissecting’…something alive, I would add.

Cut to the new organization and the team of seven who was now having coffee with me. After getting to know them, I shared three of the following points:
1. Make mistakes – silly or grave.
2. Realize the mistake, own them and more importantly - learn from the mistakes.
3. Let me know the mistake before the client calls.

The tea sessions continue even today but with colleagues and more importantly as a team bonding exercise.

Mobile menace - The ring tone that I hate

The lounge was packed with people - many with mobile phones wedged between their shoulder and ear-conveying and receiving positive messages.Positive vibes was evidently forced upon the bystanders of patients - by doctors, nurses and other visitors.Amidst the cacophony over phone,there seems to be a deliberate attempt at maintaining the decorum, ie, not to disturb others anxiously waiting. No phone rings more than twice.

It was in this scenario that a faint ring tone first caught my attention. The old Hindi number became louder and no one appeared to own it.Well, the ring was slowly hitting the peak and the already anxious lot now seem to be getting perturbed including myself. I was trying my luck to figure out the origin of this now ear-piercing ring tone, which obviously was inappropriate to the grim situation prevailing in the lounge. Just then it occurred to me that the crowd was staring at me. The most scornful expression ever trained at an innocent 'also anxious'
bystander, I thought. The person next to me couldn't resist and pointed to a bag next to me where I had left my Dad's phone. The phone was handed over to me while my brother went to collect medicines for Dad who was admitted at the CCU.Unfamiliar with the ring tone, my mind conveniently dismissed it as not mine.The next couple of seconds are best not recalled. All I remember is the thought of the floor just paving way for me to go down-away from the glare.

With Dad in the CCU and me being an unpardonable owner of a frivolous moment, the anxiety and embarrassed situation must have been obvious.Some of the bystanders proactively tried to strike a conversation-with an attempt to shield my embarrassment. This shall remain forever etched in my memory and obviously of several others.

The days to come...

So, computing is now following the utility model – pay as you go. There is a grid which supplies how-much-ever, whoever wants. Today’s cloud computing model was proposed long ago – even before Nicholas Carr keyed in the then (in)famous book, ‘Does IT matter?’ It is not surprising as we humans follow a pattern in whatever we undertake. Take the example of cars. The early models used to resemble a horse carriage. Television resembled radio. How about the internet? Remember the early days when pages were content heavy? Well, it followed the newspaper model. The early newspaper used to highlight events for the day so as to attract people for the same. Entertainment, education and sometimes pure business – newspaper played a vital role in bringing together people with similar interests. Now, we have social media addressing such niche interests.

No doubt, the internet has since evolved to create a virtual market place, replicating the brick and mortar businesses. Where do we go from here? While the internet gave us the convenience of doing whatever we wanted from home, the emergence of mobile as a device capable of doing anything, anywhere gives convenience a new spin.

M.S.Dhoni, captain of the Indian side can enjoy a ride inside a tanker truck. Thanks to technology enabling him to take part in a birthday for which he got delayed, be on the dance floor in a pub…it could be real and very soon. There is no doubt that the young are relying more on their smart phones, which could possibly mean that the coming generation would be seen skipping the technology called PC or notebook. If a fisherman in remote Andhra Pradesh can today sell his catch through the mobile phone even before hitting the shores, imagine what could happen in a metro in the days to come. My neighbor, Retd.Cdr.Sukumaran Nair tells me that he talks to his son on his mobile, chats with his granddaughter at night on the same device and reads news while on the go.

I was left thinking about how brick and mortar organizations would change their business model to embrace ‘mobility.’ More importantly, address an increasingly segmented audience that are increasingly seeking personalized services. For those in the business of communications, it is time to look for devices and applications that is enabling customization.

Lessons from Carlton Towers disaster

Carlton Towers was once a landmark on the airport road in Bangalore, housing prominent business giants. It was also one of the earliest buildings reflecting the rapid development of Bangalore as an IT hub. After 11 years being in the limelight, the building was gutted last week by fire and now controversy shrouds it.
The reams of pages written against the building owners reflect one important factor of life. When you’re on top, be sure about the way down. Development is rapid today and all of us get caught up with the urge to move up the ladder of development. At Carlton Towers, being in the thick of things - maintenance, repairs and investment towards this seem to have been overlooked. Overconfidence? Yes, it’s pretty common. At office, we were discussing about someone close. At a young age, when he tasted success – he began showing signs of being lackadaisical and arrogant. While on top, he neglected the very fundamentals that helped him succeed in the first place. It’s the case with most of us. As we become used to development, we tend to oversee the fundamental rules – or feel that it doesn’t apply to us any longer.

In the case of the building in Bangalore, the owners were focused (my opinion) in generating more revenues and closed the fire exits to pave way for something else. “This is a robust building, one of the best in Bangalore and nothing can happen to it.,” seems to have been the attitude. Sounds familiar? Certainly, we hear it from people in leading organizations. While the seniors in the organization carry an attitude of ‘been there done that’ for all the initiatives, new joinees are given no training in carrying out tasks. This implies erosion of competitive advantage that enables the organization sustain its leadership. Read that engineers at the Chernobyl nuclear plant overlooked routine safety checks because they had done so before, and nothing had happened. We all know what happened there after.

At Carlton, the slide must have begun when ‘security’ wasn’t a discussion point, when people responsible conveniently skipped a crucial process or discipline. After all, why do we have so many fire exits?

Social Networking and PR - the power of complements

You can't let what you know limit what you can imagine. Case in point – Mrs. Kumar, a 65 year old neighbour who was excited to share with me the success of a get-together she organized via facebook. Facebook? I repeated in disbelief. She sat me down for half an hour and gave me a lecture on the various benefits of social media, reiterating how it is transforming the communication landscape. Oh! certainly – I remarked and eased myself as I was keen now more than ever. Her husband was feeling really bad for me and informed Mrs. Kumar that people my age are proficient in social networking and that she should stop advising me on the same.

The response from her was immediate and will stay forever with me. She said, “as one attempts something new and exciting, it is important to look to others for ideas and practices, especially from an unrelated field. What works with or for them can possibly be applied to solve your challenges.” In a nutshell, if one wants to improve business, look at adjacent market for ideas. I quickly recalled the power of complements about which I was reading that morning. Complements are products that tend to be consumed together. Think of movies and popcorn, or pen and paper, or personal computers and digital cameras.

The story of Michelin brothers is a classic case here. Nicholass carr detailed the story. In 1900, shortly after the two brothers took control of their family’s venerable rubber business, they suddenly decided to publish a guidebook for tourists. Their Michelin Red Guide provided information on gas stations, hotels, restaurants, and other roadside attractions along with various maps and driving tips. The brothers printed 35,000 copies of the first edition - and gave them away free.
The move seemed hard to justify. After all, book publishing has little to do with rubber processing. Management gurus, if they had existed then, might have chided the brothers for losing sight of their “core business” and expanding beyond the scope of their “organizational capabilities.” They might even have used the story as a case study on why family businesses should bring in professional managers. But the diversification turned out to be an act of genius. The brothers had already realized that they needed to shift their company’s focus from the production of rubber, a basic commodity, to the production of rubber products - goods that they might be able to differentiate in the marketplace and sell at a premium price. They started by launching a line of pneumatic bicycle tyres, which quickly became popular. As the turn of the century approached, they realized that car tyres might turn out to be an even more lucrative extension of their traditional rubber business.
There was just one problem: automobiles were still rare and exotic products. Cars tended to be purchased by a fairly small set of well-heeled thrill-seekers, who drove them only occasionally. Before the Michelin Group could make a go of the car-tyre business, more people would have to start buying cars and they’d need to drive their vehicles more frequently. That’s where the Red Guide came in. André and Edouard saw that by giving motorists a practical, problem-solving handbook for traveling by road, they’d encourage the sale and use of automobiles - and in turn pump up their company’s nascent tyre business. Tourist guides and automobile tyres are complements. Make it easier for motorists to find a decent hotel room, and they’ll take longer trips in their cars and, in turn, replace their tyres more frequently.
Mrs.Kumar has more on the power of networking and leveraging social networks for the same. The more the medium, more need for communications and hence more PR professionals.

Influencing the trajectory of development

The PC industry had witnessed the mighty coalition of IBM, Microsoft and Intel when the industry was still in a nascent stage.
The trio set the objective of establishing an industry standard for increasing PC penetration and of course establish leadership.
Many would have believed IBM to take the lead with its already established O/S2 architecture but the coalition triggered an
unlikely disruption with MS breaking away with its own standard, leaving IBM gaping. Windows and Wintel became a household name
within a few years. Coalitions are formed usually to increase a company's share of influence in the industry.As an increasing number
of organizations focus on the future, competition isn't about building products for future, it is about influencing the trajectory of
industry development. The rise in coalitions can thus be attributed to the quest towards 'influencing.'
 
How about employees? How can they play a role in influencing the growth of an organization and possibly the development of an industry
in which their organization is present? The answer obviously is coalition.
- Partner like minded: While many organizations advocate the need to have globally integrated talent, today it is important for employees
to proactively reach out to others with similar skills xperience and outlook.
- Collaborate:Many already do this via social networks. However, majority of those logging in don't have an agenda or objective. One can
successfully collaborate only when there is clarity in terms of the intended outcome.
- Eye on future:What one possess as talent today might become obsolete the day after. In a coalition, it is imperative to keep ones eyes
and ears open to understand where the organization is heading towards and the industry. What are the necessary competencies for the future?
- Be open:There is no room for the rigid-in an organization as well as in the industry. If the objective is development, it should be collective.
A coalition can also collectively hamper growth, remember. 

Posted via email from rahulanands's posterous

The new innovation agenda

There’s this wide-spread notion that Indians aren’t good at innovation but just dishing out services to support someone else based in India or else where. While it may appear to be trivializing a broad subject as ‘innovation’ by linking it with the movie, 3 Idiots, now running to packed houses in the country – it is a reflection of how a broad subject hitherto restricted to the realms of intellectuals can be simplified and served to the masses. From the definition of manufacturing to flying a small airplane to successfully delivering a baby sans any medical support – the movie offers enough for innovative minds to chew. The fact is that there is perhaps no other country which is as stretched as India when it comes to leveraging resources – natural or otherwise. And that very fact make Indians adaptive innovators. We come out with the most effective solution though it may not be the best when it comes to presentation of the same.

No doubt, India’s innovation prowess can be substantiated by several products that left the worldwide market bemused – Nano being the latest. How about the Mumbai dabbawalas – who gave management gurus new framework on process innovation? If one delves into India’s business landscape, examples of innovations would come out in plenty. Who can forget the shampoo sachets customized for a specific audience in India? According to Navi Radjou, Executive Director of the Centre for India & Global Business (CIGB) at Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, Indians have a penchant for turning adversity — such as widespread scarcity of natural and financial resources in India — into an opportunity to innovate and create more valuable products and services at less cost for more people. Radjou provides the example of Harish Hande, who founded SELCO in Bangalore, India in 1995. While the Indian government is still deliberating on how to effectively deliver electricity to the 600 million Indians who live off the grid, Harish has already sold more than 100,000 modular solar lighting systems in the remotest regions of India. His firm SELCO employs an innovative business model that relies on a cost-effective grassroots distribution network to deliver affordable electricity on a pay-as you-go basis to underserved Indian shops, households, and schools to power their everyday socio-economic activity.

As the shift to the networked economy becomes more pronounced, the world will possibly embrace India’s standards of innovation – quick and cost-effective. Why? Couple of reasons:

a) Innovation can’t wait: As competition increases, faster innovation-to-market will become a norm. Organizations will open their innovation horizon – beyond a captive center - and equip themselves to understand the market they serve and also the adjacencies. Innovation will not be restricted to a specific number of people in the organization but manifold implying the rise of intrapreneurs.
b) Cost of innovation: Obviously, with the need for more and more innovations, cost will race down the spiral and force companies to leverage best resources across the network. Having said that innovation will also become customized to address specific markets. Example, IBM’s spoken web initiative in India.
c) Innovation will be value-based: Incremental or disruptive, as organizations focus on addressing specific markets by customizing their innovation initiatives, the focus will necessarily be on extending the best value for their customers. Recall the introduction of shampoos through sachets in rural India – the customer proposition will be largely value-based of which cost becomes a significant component.

When you're in Australia, do as the Australians

It was one of those days when our neighbour was forced to stretch his parking area -
his sedan slightly encroaching upon our area. That was enough for my wife to spent
her energy - repeatedly checking if he corrected himself and warning me how in the
long run this could potentially become a habit. Obviously, her tolerance limit was low. The neighbours weren't any different;my wife was forced to reduce her tolerance. For that matter, such behaviour seems to be common.we increasingly tend to become ourselves and would love to have a system or society that is favourable to our way of thinking or culture.

Cut to Australia where Indians are facing so called racism. The issues seem to
have grabbed media attention all of a sudden. The question is whether the same has
been happening for a long time and been kept away from the media or has racism cropped up all of a sudden? The latter seems to be more probable going by the increasing number of Indians targeting the land of kangaroos as a destiny of promise. The real issue also lies in the burgeoning Indian population in Australia.

As the numbers swell, they excessively try to be themselves-replicating culture, tradition,festivities etc challenging the established and distinct social structure prevalent in the country. It is a case of repeatedly challenging the tolerance levels of natives and provoking them to eject those trying to force fit something new to the system. Indians conveniently forget the age old saying-when you are in Rome, do as the Romans. Like in business, diverse culture should blend efficiently towards building best practices, thus realizing a common goal.

Until and unless Indians seek to blend with the Australian culture, challenges will mount and individuals will face the brunt.

The clean state principle

My kids demand a clean sheet of paper to show their artistic talent, mostly when they have nothing else to do. At 2 and 5, their effort isn't anywhere close to art but a reflection of their observation. A simple straight line would be termed a snake, for instance. The uncomplicated drawings and clear justification for the same also connote something very important - a clear mind that acts like a powerful absorbant. It's unadulterated even though it is untethered. They demand a clean sheet of paper as they seek something that resemble their mind, which can clearly articulate even the most complex article that they come across with ease.

Is there a lesson for us adults? Of course. Let us first take our approach to people. We meet someone and we become judgemental immediately. The person is most often lacking in something even if he or she is friendly, smart or intelligent. With that in mind, it becomes a challenge at the workplace to strike a cordial relationship. Move over to activities at work. There is always one way of carrying it out and the best way is yours. No one cares the fact that it is an expression of mind and it could differ from people to people. There is a mindset in carrying out activities and it increases with the size of an organization.

Can't we leverage the 'clean state principle?' Such an initiative is important for the success of the organization as well as individuals key to drive success.
The clean state principle means the need for viewing resources - people, activity, process etc- as a leverage for driving competitive differentiators. A person could bring fresh perspective, new competence to the organization.However, this can be attained only if the organization permits a culture of openess. A new person should be seen as someone who could make a difference at an individual level. What is the difference in this approach? Well, it is not a top-down approach but a bottom-up one where every individual strives for a clean state every day.

Rise of social networks will diminish value of journalism

An increasing number of journalists are reserving their best – comprehensive and incisive articles – for their independent blogs. Competitive landscape for journalism is certainly changing and expectedly, established media houses are employing dedicated resources towards building their presence in the new mediascape. In the absence of incentives for providing content for another medium, journalists, especially the senior folks tend to set out on their own. Their independent venture is usually blessed with readership from the erstwhile print publications. With the new medium proving to be interactive and lucrative, seasoned journalists are increasingly being lured to online medium. Print publications are left with fresh minds trying to match wavelengths of CXOs and industry analysts. With few in numbers, they are increasingly relying on corporate communication executives for content. The result is for everyone to see. The dailies seem to be focusing on more positive news with industry trends, corporate profile, management profiling etc finding flavor.

The rise of social networks that relies on real-time news is also forcing organizations to rethink their communication strategy. A wrong move could trigger off uncontrollable dissemination of news. Organizations are today holding back on communication – be it external or internal or they are focusing even more on the ‘key messages’ they want to deliver. In summary, they are making the journalists job much more challenging. For the same reason, print publications are unable to provide business decision makers a platform to get insight on their industry. More importantly, CEOs are under less public pressure as most of their strategies are confined to the four walls of their organizations – no one questions the efficacy of the same until the organization slips remarkably.

'Forwarding' happiness?

It’s apparent by the dozens of ‘mail forwards,’ that happiness is much in demand. The stakes seem to go up by the day with ‘forwards’ stating tangible values as the outcome. Well, who doesn’t want a million, especially when it could come after a few clicks – keying in names from the friend’s list. A new job? It’s not surprising that ‘forwards’ reflecting ‘new jobs’ have been on the rise as the downturn had rendered many jobless. Any mail promising something even remotely close to a job would certainly entice the jobless and hence the rise in such forwards. ‘Forwards’ have become a priority for many - my friends and relatives categorize them as important, urgent etc. They can’t be blamed. When you’re in a sticky wicket – you tend to reach out to even the most impertinent of stuffs. And, when there’s a tinge of a intimidation in the ‘forward,’ there is desperation and hence it goes to the ‘urgent’ mails. On many occasions I have myself opened ‘forwards’ that blaringly stated – ‘if you don’t forward this to 10 friends in the next 10 seconds, your boss will call you aside to share a bad news.’ Do I take a chance?

These days I ignore most of the forwards and try to stay focused on what I want. It’s a lesson I learnt from a friend who was desperate to get clients for his new consulting business. He went through a rough patch especially in the first few months when the recession set in. However, his undying passion and perseverance in following up with prospective clients; long wait at several coffee shops across the town clearly reflected a promising future for the business. He is now a jet-setting consultant but still trying to push clients for the next appointment. When asked the secret of his success and that too in a short time, he said, ‘what you focus is what you get?’ That for me was a powerful statement with multiple connotations. Ever since that day, it was easy for me to overlook enticing mails – be it job offers or a million for just forwarding.

Coming back to the forwards reflecting happiness – if one is genuinely focused on creating happiness to 10 others – am certain it’s just a call away or worse a personalized e-mail away. Remember the days when we were deprived of such instant communication tools, the days when we wrote long letters to friends? We were always trying to establish a connect, which would provide an emotional high, right? Why can’t we recreate such ‘happiness’ with instant communication tools? Every time I call my Mom, she says don’t forget to call on Sunday evening thinking that am busy and can set aside time only on Sundays for her. Well, these days I call her at least twice a week. One interesting change has been the change in the structure of our relationship network – from a two-way, expectation-free network, our relationship is turning out to be unidirectional and purely driven by profit motives. It is so because one ‘expects’ something back from the relationship being established. The moment one ‘expects’ something from a relationship, there will arise a critical yardstick called satisfaction. Knowingly or unknowingly one prioritizes activities to carry on the relationship, based on the ‘expectation’ and the ‘satisfaction’ derived from the same. Happiness is thus only a possible outcome.

As the authors of The Go Giver says, When you base your relationships – in business or anywhere else in your life – on who owes who what, that’s not being a friend. That’s being a creditor. The authors further state that “Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.” For me, it’s all about being invested in people, it’s all about ensuring the person next to me is happy.

Is Mukesh Ambani a good leadership brand?

The trip to Mumbai made me think of leadership styles and the perception it evokes amongst public . An under construction multi-storied building started it all. The building apparently is a multi-crore project by Mukesh Ambani to house his family; clearly reflecting his taste for luxury and reason for being in the Forbes richest list. Now, it's believed, at least in India that a successful person-in
business or otherwise is one who is humble and relentlessly working towards uplifting the needy. More importantly, I was reminded of what Management Guru, the late Peter Drucker said, “The CEO is the link between the Inside that is ‘the organization,’ and the Outside of society, economy, technology, markets, and customers. Inside there are only costs. Results are only on the outside.”

Mr.Ambani seems to be an exception. The cabby who was driving us to the hotel from the airport related Mukesh Ambani's ambitious project in the middle of India's commercial capital-Mumbai to Ratan Tata's gesture towards terror victims of Taj Mahal hotel. Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons is obviously held in high esteem as he went out of the way to be a part of the grief stricken families. This is an era where business leaders are required to evoke inspiration. Young executives – increasingly trying to integrate corporate social responsibility into their daily activities are reflecting a renewed passion for purpose and values, a sense of responsibility to local and global community. More and more of these executives are seeking a work atmosphere that reflects a ‘business movement’ aimed at addressing a larger social cause. Does Mukesh Ambani fit into this?

According to John Baldoni, a leadership consultant, leaders have an identifiable persona that is a reflection of what they do and how others perceive them. It is called the leadership brand. According to him, the leadership brand is a reflection of the leader’s credibility. The objective is to develop it wisely and nurture it carefully so as to help create strong bonds of trust with followers. What it is not is all the more important. Leadership brand is not about chasing visibility. Mukesh Ambani has reportedly sponsored an event to felicitate Sachin Tendulkar after the cricketer finished 20 years in cricket. With most of the bollywood's 'who is who,' the event seem to be an ideal set up for garnering personal visibility. Do we see Ratan Tata doing similar PR exercises?

Why is India ranked low in IT adoption?

India ranks low in the latest Global Information Technology Report (GITR) report that evaluates IT adoption. It’s appalling considering the potential of this country and the promise seen by MNC technology vendors who are establishing their presence in the country. The country has also been witness to several automobile giants, retailers and manufacturers setting shop - why then this low adoption? The most obvious response would be the economic downturn. However, if reports from domestic IT majors are to be believed, IT adoption in India across verticals has been quite encouraging. The flip side is that India still has a long way to go vis-à-vis other countries when it comes to embracing the digital model for business. In other words, the country is an undersold market for technology.

The report throws light on interesting facts that would see growth in IT adoption in the days to come. For example, it points out that the price of personal computers is falling rapidly and the emergence of a whole new class of laptops, priced as low as US$100 to US$300 is enabling large segments of the population of emerging countries to now get access to affordable computing. Software capabilities are improving steadily, and they account to a large degree for the growth in popularity of social networking platforms and other Web 2.0 services. What’s most intriguing is the growth of members in LinkedIn, a social networking site. This despite the slump in economy. It goes on to show the significance of internet and networking in daily lives. IT seems to be indispensable. While mostly confined to tier I and tier II towns, internet penetration and social networking is increasingly becoming a imperative, especially amongst youth and is expected to drive further growth in cost-effective net-books.

The other reason pointed out in the report is related to the fact that both public- and private-sector leaders now fully accept the important role of ICT in stimulating growth and enabling the development of economies by significantly increasing productivity across sectors. Agility and productivity has become a norm. Imagine booking a railway ticket to any place of choice in India sitting in office, transferring money from the nationalized banks to parents in remote areas. Well, all this when you’re stuck in a remote town – implausible, isn’t it? Jagadish, a fishing contractor based in Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh is today able to fix the price of his catch even before his boat with the catch nears the shore – thanks to the penetration of the mobile phone. Farmers are able to flash biometric cards for updating their bank accounts on a daily basis or for that matter avail loans without having to spend time at co-operative banks – thanks to technology, which is empowering people at the bottom of the pyramid.

Another key factor that might trigger better ICT growth here is the reverse brain drain. With the downturn, many Indians and even foreign nationals are targeting India as a potential job market. With global exposure and deep domain expertise, these people can leverage their skills to establish market ‘colonies’.

Teaching is the highest form of understanding

It’s a knowledge-driven economy - individual knowledge and collective wisdom could possibly be the differentiator for success – an individual’s or of organizations. ‘Independence’ has paved way for inter-dependence where the success of an individual or organizations could possibly trigger off world of opportunities for others. In business parlance – the network effect. . At home, Captain Gopinath’s focus in bringing the ‘dream of flying’ closer to the masses helped commoditize flying with low cost carriers stretching the market. Today, millions of Indians fly across the country – saving precious time, enhancing relationships, or simply improving life. Today, every feature story about low cost flying in India has a mention of Captain Gopinath. Take the example of Toyota. Though there are several car manufacturers across the world, the manufacturing process of Toyota is vividly discussed, why?

The answer is simple. We tend to quote or refer ‘learnings’ in our day-to-day conversations. The phenomenon seems to increasing as pressure on individuals ‘to learn’ mounts every day. This is prevalent in an organization as well as outside. With competition elevated to a global landscape, neither organizations nor employees can rest on past glory as competitive differentiators become a moving target. The quest for learning hence is a continuous process and stretches outside the organization. Gary Hamel, the influential business strategist, likes to say that one of the most urgent questions facing leaders (and thus their companies) is, "Are you learning as fast as the world is changing?"

It could possibly be inferred that employees will stick to an organization where continuous learning is encouraged and embedded in its culture. An ex-colleague of mine used to engage all of us in a discussion about latest trends in technology, every day in the morning. We used to discuss, debate and also distribute knowledge assimilated via this exercise to clients and journalists who were in contact with us. All of us would prepare well for the ‘debate’ in the morning lest we run out of points. In a nutshell, we would keenly look forward to the ‘mornings.’ The debate also enabled the team start an in-house journal besides helping win new business mandates showcasing ‘knowledgeable team mates.’

Many leaders have now come to terms with the fact that for their companies to stay ahead of the competition, their employees, cutting across the entire organization, have to learn more than the competitors. Employees will have to acquire new skills, keep tab on emerging technologies, and suggest new ways to do old things, from manufacturing to marketing to R&D. An organization can be a learning one only when it truly understand its people and their unique requirements. Aristotle famously said, "teaching is the highest form of understanding." Ever wondered why the likes of Infosys founder – Narayanamurthy, Air Deccan’s Captain Gopinath to name a few are recalled by the masses? While they stayed focused as leaders in their organizations, they also knew what is ailing the industry, what should people learn and more importantly they were willing to share what they knew. We don’t forget what we learnt and from whom. Our favourite teachers are the ones from whom we have learnt a lot.

Value add

India has been witness to organizational transformations and business model innovations. Pepsi, the beverages major says that it will tailor the company’ global model to suit Indian markets. IBM, has been stressing its unique approach to India by ‘lowering its center of gravity.’ As companies rev up to emerge successfully on the other side of the down-turn, many seem to be changing their business models while trying to be as close as possible to where the action takes place – the market. More and more of these organizations are scampering towards reviewing their own values and culture while simultaneously attempting to adapt to the dynamic local markets, India for instance. It is obvious that only those organizations that are nimble and flexible will thrive as they experience unusual and challenging market scenarios. How can a successful company operating in a mature market in the US replicate the same operating model in a remote village in India? The answer to this lies in the success of shampoo sachets introduced in villages across India by a small firm in Chennai, India. The company, through this initiative changed the existing landscape for shampoos.

How did CavinKare disrupt the market with shampoo sachets? Simple, it understood the market better than the gorillas of the industry. Its employees gave an insight that transformed the company’s fortune. As organizations transform their business model, it is imperative for the employees to change their working model as well. What are the necessary competencies required for the future? Well, the obvious answer would be deep domain expertise that ensure the power to leverage insight as well as foresight. Take the example of IBM. The company leveraged its global ‘Steel expertise’ to develop a template that can be put to use in markets when the demand picks up. It had the foresight that Indian steel manufacturers would adopt the template two years before they actually did. However, it’s common knowledge that there is a dearth for such specialists. Even if they’re available, it’s at a premium.

Such specialists come with unmatched and unbridled passion that organizations find it tough aligning them to their culture. What is the solution? One way to overcome this would be to let employees work part-time – allow them to undertake whatever they are passionate about for the rest of the time. Organizations can align their business goals with employee’s personal goals and derive utmost benefit. There should of course be some alignment of objectives. For instance, a journalist who would like to focus on the NGO’s can possibly pass on intelligence in leveraging the NGO’s for building a targeted information network.

A finance executive who passionately believed in contributing to the society relinquished her plum job to focus on mobilizing funds for a school for the under privileged. Her firm later allowed her to follow her dream but engaged her with the company on a part-time basis. While she could network with the firm’s clients for funds towards the under-privileged, the firm benefitted from her expertise and also the NGO’s client base. As organizations re-visit their values and culture, employees should do the same. It’s time to follow the heart. The finance executive re-joined the firm because she knew the association would be mutually beneficial and that her expertise in the firm could uplift a part of the society.

As Rosabeth Moss Kanter writes, People search more broadly, see more opportunities, and generate more ideas if they are encouraged to think about the world and not just about their function. If they look closely at society, not just as a market abstraction but as a collection of fellow humans with needs worthy of attention, they see that there is always room for improvement. "Better" is always a moving target. When people feel their ideas will contribute to serving society, beyond the quest for revenues and profits, there is an additional motivational boost to focus on new solutions, not just pushing more of what they already know. They care about solving the problem because it is connected with their values, and they are willing to keep working until the problem is solved, not just until they have a product to throw over the transom.