Saluting the Indian Politician

As Kolkata go to the polls tomorrow in the last leg of the world’s largest electioneering extravaganza, citizens are at the crossroads of a big decision making amidst a promotional cocktail yet again.

I remember penning down my random thoughts on the eve of the last state level elections wherein change was deliberated as the key theme.

The Indian elections, as one popular Television commercial argues, justifiably at that, are the greatest talent show on earth. 

You must give it to the Indian politician; they have never leave any stone un-turned and make a sincere effort to realize their fullest potential with regards to their communication skills. I speak this from heart without an iota of sarcasm. Their versatility with multiple media is just amazing. Television, SMSes, New Age Social Media, Print Media …none seem to be a challenge for them.  Ducks taking to water is surely an understatement. Questions posed by self-styled media anchors on national television are often on the borderline of medieval insanity yet every time the Indian politician comes out a winner. His intellectual capability and comfort with statistics make a dwarf out of many a journalist. 

I often feel that the Indian politician is a battered lot in a country wherein aspirations diversity would put the proverbial chalk and cheese to shame, if those had some feelings, that is.  Again, the conventional wisdom attributes the failures of our nation on virtually every other front to the equivalence of leadership goodness (read badness).

In retrospect, don’t you think we are somewhat unfair to this living and kicking creature called the "Indian Politician"? How many times do we take a brand manufacturer to court for failing to comply with the expectations promulgated in the national media? I wish someone comes up with some R K Laxman type common man cartoon which epitomizes the ignominy of the common politician.

Can we be fair for once and appreciate the tight roping he or she has to do; on one hand his ruthless affiliation... validating the financial viability of his choice (particularly if one is a rookie) and on the other mapping back into the topi clad financial modesty model, so strongly and sacredly drafted and grafted in the mind of his or her voter over the years. Mind you, we are in an age which has March-past the notion of Huxley’s Time as a tyrant years ago and is now under the post wherein Time is equaled to money but then our Politician is supposedly "other worldly". We determine the success of every other practitioner in terms of how much money he earns yet....

It is my feeling that those who hold high apolitical offices in this country are a more privileged lot. After all they do not have to face an appraisal every 5 years (which returns the prospect of joblessness) and is neither favored with the luxury of bending rules without much of public glare (unless it gets into the point of no return) like we have been seeing in the case of some of our sporting bodies.

Perhaps no other occupation in this country is subjected to the level of hostility from its prized “P” like this one. As we go into this last phase of the world’s largest “talent show” or “extravaganza” …whichever way you see it let us salute the Indian politician for his relentless passion in the backdrop of 360 degree hostility. Even the otherwise “kind” god, weather notwithstanding, have been indifferent this time round. 

Change or Not to Change?

BY RAJIB KUMAR

Denizens of Kolkata stand at the crossroads of the greatest political decision making of our times

As Kolkata goes to the polls in a couple of days time, Bengal/Kolkata denizens are at the crossroads of a big decision making amidst a promotional cocktail of remixed Rabindrasangeet, SMSes, Social Media appeals etc.etc.: Change or Not to Change?

The promoters and adversaries of the Change Model are close on the operating lines of a business framework; perhaps more so as globally we’re more economics driven than ever before virtually on every facet of our lives. Come to think of it…even the institution of Marriages supposedly made in heavens today encompasses financial considerations in the very first place for possible execution.

What we are doing in business under the ambit of Social Responsibility, we are being repeatedly reminded by operating and executing officers that it ain’t a luxury anymore. Ironically, while we leave no stone unturned to ridicule the politician, what politicians have been practicing traditionally, that is, “integrating society into strategy” is what businesses are trying to do validated by realism! Now whether this is a role reversal (with the profit center conceptualization of politics) is another interesting area of future research.

The last time political change happened in this state (1977), the late 60s/early 70s child’s parents (call it the hippies or Marijuana times if you please) have been deft at keeping our mind and soul away from the tormenting turmoil which necessitated or made it obvious. As an example while this author is afresh with images of his first day at school in 1974, crying and struggling to get out of the “cage” called classroom, there aren’t any of a new configuration taking over Bengal. One could, reasonably argue that the percentile component of these memories is also a reflection of the value system of the family in question at that point of time and their preferences and lifestyle.

While parents at this end were opinionated (just like any other out of Bengal) about their political inclinations but politicized they weren’t. Perhaps it had to do with their background. Though my eldest paternal uncle participated in the freedom movement almost jeopardizing my grandfather’s government job in the process, my father, a first generation businessman who “cycled” his entrepreneurial wealth in the one time Sheffield of the East, Howrah i.e. and my mom was a granddaughter of Kolkata’s leading Rice Baron.

Business realities, rather than political and economic theory inculcated a sense of balance and tact in handling political thinking and its challenging manifestations and the skill acquired at this end in this regard is some ways a genetic gift.

I also have vivid images of my mom’s emphatic involvement with the Young Women’s Christian Association in the 70s and early 80s but I hardly remember much from the disturbed 70s…whether the fallout of the Bangladesh War or for that matter the bloody phase of the Naxalite and Trade Union Movement.

My personal perception on these have been largely built around the work of Satyajit Ray or Mrinal Sen and through available literature. Yet such was the importance of the phase…it went on to establish a political monopoly that was to become an international case study on sustainability of an ideology that too within the “constraints” of parliamentary democracy. More importantly at the micro level it was going to have its impact on my and my contemporaries’ being.

One cannot but be a little nostalgic as we talk of change in this political equation at today’s crossroads. Those born in the late 60s and early 70s have been witness to varied frequencies of oscillatory movements of change.

I am however glad to see that we are challenging conventional wisdom with greater ease today. Political manifestos according to a noted columnist in the Hindustan Times has too been a great work of research and after thought, high on intellectual value and do-ability rather than being mere political slogans.

Unnoticed by many the infiltration of the educated young and diverse people from all walks of life into both the political groupings is a blessing for future Bengal. If the so called “Change” happens or it doesn’t this diversity and mature youthfulness shall take care of post result dynamics. I see many of my students going public with their political preferences on the social media…this reminds me of college days in the United States where students would be freely campaigning for their preferred candidate without being cause of anyone’s eyesore.

To be fair to the young people today and no matter how much we try to find fault in their personalities and executions you got to give it that the GenNext kid supersedes us on the speed of perception. They are way ahead of us when it comes to intuitive anticipation of their circle of influence. If we look at Focus, Flexibility, Speed, Span of Attention and Memory, one could argue that while on Focus and Span of Attention they are suspect (thanks largely to the expansion of the environmental universe), they score highly on the others and that shall be handy in the days ahead.

Whichever combination takes over from here on, the reality is none can hence afford to ride piggyback on its past/historical achievements. Just like the economic conditions today necessitate that earning and spending be inseparable with the scope of piling up of savings to take care of futures (model practiced by our fathers and forefathers) dwindling fast; political permutations and combinations too require continuous achievement to create a sustainable external value service to its client, the citizen.

Peter Drucker was never so relevant in Bengal Politics like he is today.
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The views expressed above are of the author’s and do not necessarily purport to constitute an official position of Offline, Material World or their team members.



(OFFLINE SPECIAL IMPACTS, APRIL 2011, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Reflections on a Strategic Conversation

Reflecting on a Strategic Learning Experience

Backdrop

The following is a brief reflection on two hours of an intellectually challenging engagement in a “Strategic Conversation” on “Building a Talent and Leadership Pipeline” steered by the renowned Prof Hayagreeva “Huggy” Rao, Atholl McBean Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human, Resources, Stanford Graduate School of Business. The conversation was held late last month and participants included the likes of Ambuja supremo Harsha Vardhan Neotia, Tractors India CEO, Sumit Mazumder; Satish Pradhan, Executive Vice President, Group HR, Tata Sons, National HRD Network National President, N S Rajan, Sourav Daspatnaik, Director-HRD & Strategy, Apeejay Surrendra Group, Sujoy Banerjee, VP-Human Resources, Eveready Industries Ltd. to name a few.

Challenges of Building Talent and Leadership Pipeline

Negative information being often viewed as diagnostic was one of the greatest challenges of building talent and building leadership pipeline. Negative information welds better than the positive. As an example, the otherwise “clean” politician’s one off corruption charges enjoy better recall value in the mind of the public.

There is a “fundamental attribution error” in how we view people in life and work. As an example, teachers often facilitate the success of high performers and reinforce low performance of others.

Examples:


1. “Only Rajesh seems to be interested in this class.”
2. “Obviously this was expected from you, Anil.”

While the above is a case of stereotyping by others, interestingly, “self stereotyping” also happens:

The very term “Athletic Test” is expected to be in the comfort zone on the mind of the black applicant in the United States just like “Intelligence Test” is expected to be one for the White. Conventional notions go on to shape self-stereotyping.

Stereotyping is also fuelled by Power. “Powerful” people are seen to have less of empathy and modesty. Ironically, in order to sustain power one needs to have exactly those two traits but that then is another story.

Way Out:

Talent Builders should look for talent that’s smart and conscientious. It is important to have the relevant intelligence to perform in the position as well as the dedication and sincerity to comply.

The fourth in the "big five" or the "five factor" theory is conscientiousness. This parallels closely with Jung's judging-perceiving. People who score high on conscientiousness are orderly, get their work done, arrive on time, and care about doing things right. Score low on conscientiousness and that probably means you tend to slack off on your work, rarely worry about deadlines or neatness, and are more interested in taking it easy.

Much of the problem could be avoided if we look for point blank for entrepreneurial talent. Those enterprising are always expected to fit the bill either way.

Interesting Case Studies:

Cisco: A game of poker helps to find out how you deal with emotions- based on how players respond to losses.

“Once a year, all TESCO directors and a thousand of its managers spend a week working back in one of its stores, stacking shelves, working on the tills, serving customers, reminding themselves of what they all do for a living.” (http://www.the-chiefexecutive.com/features/feature255/)

Companies like TESCO are using “Reverse Mentoring”- getting younger persons to mentor.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s book “Evolve” is an interesting read on this.

Crime and Business:

We took up the case of “Pirate Ships” wherein two sets of talent pipeline were required to sustain the model. One, those who would ensure compliance and discipline to laid down norms and then there would be the more “coveted” talent- risk takers. An uncanny resemblance with how business works as well.

Indian Pong League…

RAJIB KUMAR
 

Brazenness is the order of the day…that its flavor is Gall and Wormwood to the mouth hardly matters to its practitioners.

pong [pɒŋ] Brit informal

n

a disagreeable or offensive smell; stink

vb

(intr) to give off an unpleasant smell; stink

[perhaps from Romany pan to stink]

pongy  adj

ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun

1.

pong - an unpleasant smell

 

(Source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pong)

Brand Repositioning

I hope I am not being a spoiler in the party that celebrates shining India. Everything apparently is just great and perfect. Even good old Kolkata, once the perfect fit for Mother Teresa’s brand is moving ahead and away from its erstwhile reputation of being the world’s squalor capital piggyback on a plethora of fine dining joints, “secessionist” -as some envious journalist would describe- high rise residential complexes and shopping plazas that would give a run for its money to the very best from the prosperous world.

Bye… Bye… Miss American Pie…

As you breeze past in your swanky car to be stopped at the crossroads at a traffic signal post and enjoy the view outside of the changing land( and sky)scape, you are rudely woken up by a child knocking on the closed glass pane -asking for some help.  Your driver takes care of him, though not before your little wish of realizing an American dream right here in India stand untimely aborted.

My Child, Their Child

I usually do not miss out the “Hinger Kachori” whenever I visit Dakhineswar.  The quality has no doubt dwindled over the years but so what? There is another reason though why I don’t enjoy it anymore. As my child enjoys the kachori another cleans up the table at the other end.  The Kachori tastes gall and wormwood now.  Thanks to Braithwaite for allowing me to discover the essence of those words-yet again.

Lone Voices

At an Indian Chambers of Commerce Interactive Session at the Bengal Club, my childhood icon, the revered journalist M J Akbar laments to the gathering- it is difficult to bring change in this country. “At every level there is a vested interest that doesn’t want the change to happen because his interest shall get affected,” he says.   Wow…how true and obvious yet I never thought of it earlier.  Akbar gets emotive referring to the state’s advertorial in the morning’s newspapers: declaring that the gun has not be able to achieve a job or a meal (and therefore should be abandoned) but shamelessly remains silent on how it can be. 

30 Minutes Pizza, No Ambulance

As a popular mail forward does the round wondering why if Pizza can be delivered in 30 minutes why an ambulance can’t reach in similar time…and staying on food the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme meet on working out modalities for jobs for the poor has a food bill of just under 2 lacs for 130 participants to care of, apart from jobs! As brazen as it gets;

Power Corrupts, Absolute Power Corrupts, so…

Let there be no power- seems to the easiest route available for those who run the system and what’s more, it comes with such freebies as bytes on methods of self management of power (by turning off ACs etc after dusk etc.)

Indian Pong League

My very own coinage as the vicious circle of con currency convertibility modalities surface for the sake of the sports’ good; In a country where the percentage of those who achieve a square meal is anybody’s guess, there is also a mad scramble for the prized seat beside Shah Rukh Khan for a fortune for many others.  This brazen display of opulence is again…gall and wormwood. After all, Gayle bared by choice at that Pong League party; the boy who was begging bare at my car hadn’t a choice.

(Offline, Special Impacts, April 2010)

CROSSROADS

Story of a Braveheart

Rajib Kumar follows Aamir Khan’s heart


There are a handful of us and even fewer with some authority who actually care to stand up and question the system.

And may I quickly add: many of those who do; do a whole lot of good for society. The “good” is more like a Management Development exercise, whose results we don’t get to see immediately; yet once we do the learning is long lasting.

In the field of education, take the case of my very good friend Prof Varun Arya, director of Aravali Institute of Management, Jodhpur. Dual Alumni of IIT and IIM, Arya shunned lucrative jobs and followed his heart over head in setting up a management institute.

In the process, he ended up battling a long war with some vested interests in the country’s key accrediting body in the area of technical education. His battle was won few months back which involved lots of patience and sacrifice among other things for years together.

Arya’s battle (his story was first carried in this part of the country by Offline and was subsequently picked up by the major
Dailies) was perhaps instrumental in clipping of AICTE’s wings some days back in the area of inspection of existing institutes.

Aamir Khan, ofcourse, is a better known face. Initially dubbed as the “chocolate boy” hero Aamir today has matured into a serious filmmaker and actor. Each theme he has tried has been a box office hit and he uncannily admitted to Prabu Chawla in Aaj Tak’s “Siddhi Bath” programme that when he made these movies he never really thought of them as money spinners. He followed his heart. No wonder, thus, that his latest experiment is on following the tweet of one’s heart.

In recent times, wherein impact uniformity is hard to come by, no single movie has caught the nation’s imagination (especially the so called “Youngistan” segment) as much as 3 IDIOTS. Whether Chetan Bhagat’s book was adhered to or whether it motivated some depressed fella in some town undermine Aamir, the artist’s creativity and his daring to stand up and get counted. In his unique style Khan questions the system but never antagonizes the powers that be. In the process he manages to churn up a chemistry of a cocktail in each one of us-that of nostalgia and “feel good”.

Aamir Khan has handled a complex theme with maximum lucidity; I guess this has been his greatest achievement. His questions are serious; to say his treatment is down to earth is an understatement. He questions the great Indian rote trick but he never churns up a revenge feeling or bitterness. That would be the work of a run of the mill moviemaker –not Mr. Aamir Khan. Even the most hated character in the movie “Virus” is rendered lovable; at times we tend to admire him for his innovative wickedness!

Aligning with the mind of the citizen of Youngistan, Aamir’s film reinforces - laughing at ourselves, laughing through our failures or even the state of our personal economics. This is where 3 IDIOTS reaches out to the IDIOT in each of us.

Whether Aamir’s film shall ultimately make some headway in the mind of those who matter- policy makers -only time will say but it is needless to say that he has already managed to reach out to the hearts of the nation’s young by his message of following one’s heart.

(Offline, Volume-5, No-9, January 2010)

Self-Confidence as a Tool to Conquer the World

SIDDHARTHA GHOSH


The middle name of self confidence is belief. One cannot go to the top without self-belief; to build it, one has to believe in himself. Being perfect is not the idea— but one has to put a brave front and do the best he or she can. That's it in a nutshell. Here's a little more background on this.
Last term, I taught a 4-credit course to Post Graduate Management students at the Asian School of Business Management (ranked among top-10 B-Schools of India for 2008 by Deccan Herald). A second-year student approached and told me that he had read a self development book on leadership and personal effectiveness which spoke about the challenges faced by the top industry executives of US. He also requested that since self confidence is such an important parameter in an individual’s career, can they have extra sessions on the subject in their break periods.
On the same night, before retiring for the day, when I was pondering about the whole day’s activities, this issue really made me think that whenever I have dealt or communicated with CEOs, industry stalwarts or any top ranking personalities during my 10 years industry stint (of which majority was in Jet Airways - ranked world’s 7th best airline for 2008), I had rarely found self-confidence problems in them. It is almost impossible to make it to the top level in a multibillion-dollar corporation if you do not believe in yourself. On the other hand, when I speak to my students in the business school, I have noticed that students in my courses often want to talk about it.
This is such a crucial and interesting topic that I normally share these few suggestions about how an individual can build self-confidence. I also hope that the readers may have their own suggestions, which might be more important and valuable than this.
1. Human beings are never perfect. There are never right or wrong answers to complex business decisions. The best that you can do as a leader is to gather all of the information that you can (in a timely manner), do a cost-benefit analysis of potential options, use your best judgment — and then go for it.
2. Failures are stepping stones to success. Great salespeople are the ones who get rejected the most often. They just ask for the order more than the other salespeople. You are going to make mistakes. You are human. Learn from these mistakes and move on.
3. Planning and deciding without implementing is a waste! World is full of master-planners & strategists but still there are failures. Why ? Because the so-called leaders are so busy charting out plans and strategies, that they have no time or energy left in them to implement it. Don't continually second-guess yourself. Great leaders communicate with a sense of belief in what they are doing and with positive expectations toward the achievement of their vision.
4. Confidence Actor as Confidence booster – In some of your life situations, really the confidence may lack. But if you act and behave as if you are confident, the research has proved that it will really enhance your actual confidence-level.
5. Be “Courageous” to the world — If your team member see you as a weak and shaky leader, the whole team will crumble in its mission as it will have an adverse effect on their confidence quotient. Again a lack of courage on the part of the leader, would be a damaging black-spot for the whole entity as a whole.
6. Live in “Present” and eradicate procrastination from your life-diary. Life has a limited span. I believe that since we are all going to expire after a point, lets do our best to realize our goals by listening to our heart but acting or deciding only on the basis of our brain. Also, thinking about past or future too much, would result in unhappiness and frustration and please note that the world’s happiest people are not always those, who are rich and wealthy; but people who live their life in “PRESENT”. And also the presentists are the group of people who possesses maximum self confidence.

(Offline, Volume-5, No-9, January 2010; Siddhartha Ghosh is Fellow, Center for Research in Materials Management. He is Assistant Professor, Asian School of Business, Bhubaneshwar. He may be reached at drsiddhartha@yahoo.com)

IN LIGHTER VEIN - GOD & HR

A Catholic Priest and a Rabbi were chatting one day when the conversation turned to a discussion of job descriptions and promotion.
"What do you have to look forward to in way of a promotion in your job?" asked the Rabbi.
"Well, I'm next in line for the Monsignor's job." replied the Priest.
"Yes, and then what?" asked the Rabbi.
"Well, next I can become Arch-Bishop." said the Priest.
"Yes, and then?" asked the Rabbi.
"If I work real hard and do a good job as Arch-Bishop, it's possible for me to become a full Bishop." said the Priest.
"O.K., then what?" asked the Rabbi.
The Priest, begining to get a bit exasperated replied, "With some luck and real hard work, maybe I can become a Cardinal."
"And then?" asked the Rabbi.
The Priest is really starting to get mad now and replies, "With lots and lots of luck and some real difficult work and if I'm in the right places at the right times and play my political games just right, maybe, just maybe, I can get elected Pope."
"Yes, and then what?" asked the Rabbi.
"Good grief!" shouted the Priest. "What do you expect me to become, GOD?"
"Well," said the Rabbi, "One of our boys made it!"

(Offline, Volume-5, No-9, January 2010; Contributed by Debasish Bhattacharya, St. Joseph’s College. He may be reached at thisisdeba@gmail.com)

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CROSSROADS

Monkey Matters

The author overheard the conversation at the sheriff’s office during the crucial hours when the monkey thief was lost and found

Sheriff: “Could have the monkeys he stole freed the monkey thief?”

Aide: “But the monkeys are all caged ready to go back to zoo as far as I know Sir”.

Sheriff: “Are you sure they are going to put up there?”

Aide: “You mean….”

Sheriff: “Think about it …that zoo is worse than our jails...”

Aide: “You bet”

Sheriff: “Yeah…I even heard the meat meant for the tigers and lions are used to make curry for the keeper”

Aide: “No wonder the poor things have become so thin…But sir…how do we get back to the trail of the monkey thief?”

Sheriff: “Elementary, Son.”

Aide: “Oh?”

Sheriff: “See…that monkey thief and the monkeys must be having something in common. Or else why would those monkeys give in to him?”

Aide: “Oh…Like?”

Sheriff: “See monkeys never forget their roots….Me sure this monkey thief will be go back to the place where we nabbed him.”

(At this moment, news breaks in that the monkey thief has been re-caught)

Aide: “Sir…you were so very right…..”

Sheriff (blushing): “Count on experience son….we also count”

Aide: “Sir, people are asking why the thief was in an AC coach”

Sheriff: “What is the problem with these people…you treat someone well there is a problem…you treat him bad…they say its 3rd degree …”

Aide: “Right Sir!”

Sheriff: “Think about it…this poor man has been traveling in crowded trains all his animal life….sometimes standing all night with monkeys breathing hard behind him. All we wanted to do was to give the poor chap a little joy ride”

Aide: “I know Sir…this place is so mean…they doubt every good intention.”

Sheriff: “No problem dear…we must stand up and count…err… I mean get counted.”

Offline - Greater Impacts (September 2009)