Conundrum: An acceptance of incompetence Rajendra …theleadershipreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/June-Issue.pdfwater) being awarded to Rajendra Singh for his path breaking work

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Vol1 Issue 6, June 2015

A Counter to the Grand Narrative of Education

Conflicting Values and Workable Solutions for Establishing Trust

Features

SR Rao and Transformation of a Post-Plague Surat

The ‘By Indian Standards’ Conundrum: An acceptance of incompetence

Transformer of Barren Lands

Rajendra Singh

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The Leadership Review brings to you select stories of

Leadership Derailment in its mega July issue. Also, available in print.

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The Leadership Review | June 2015 | 3

Editorial

Hegel had proposed that all of history progresses through opposition. Thesis and anti-thesis collide, producing a su-perior synthesis. This synthesis is the thesis of the next

stage producing its own anti-thesis. Synthesis two is superior to synthesis one.

Marx insisted that it was possible to hasten the progress of histo-ry by actively enhancing the anti-thesis.

The conventional impression of the leader borrows substantially from military history. And the vocabulary of business is replete with the vocabulary of war: strategy, tactics, execution, leader-ship, operations, etc. This implied war was no longer war; busi-ness was war. Therefore, the leader was audible, visible, larger than life, and what he did became the stuff of legends, heroes, icons even mythology.

The emergence of Asian economies like Japan, Taiwan, South Ko-rea, Singapore and now China, offered an alternate way of looking at leaders. Many leaders in these countries were paradigmatically different. Humble. Hard working. Spiritual. Persistent. Came from deprived background. Some lacked education. But they had will. Had vision and an infinite capacity to suffer silently; drawing their courage and audacity from inner resources. A bullet shot into the ground will go a few inches; but a drop of water can travel upto forty feet. The strength, power, flexibility, fluidity, and its latent capacities can make it exist in all three states of matter; meta-phorically too.

Jim Collins hit upon the level five leader quite serendipitously. The research around that literature gave the level five leader an empirical definition. But this is grossly limiting. Leaders with the attributes of the level five leader build sustainable success and institutions that last. Their legacy lives after they are gone. Exam-ples of these leaders are many. Our attempt is to cull out examples from our own backyard and showcase their achievements. Some past issues have carries stories that fit this description. Here we introduce Rajinder Singh, who is a level five leader. A local one. The one that emerges from the smell and taste and colour of this land. The sweat and heat and dust.

The anti thesis is here to refine our thinking about leadership, about achievement, about social contribution. To re-look at our man-making processes critically, and actively cultivate the benign, compassionate, giving and forgiving attributes. These will indeed be core attributes that will help us manage and lead in an envi-ronment of uncompromising change, complexity and turbulence.

R. Rajeshwar UpadhyayaEditor-in-Chief


Contents Progressive Leadership

Transformer of Barren Lands- Kameshwar Upadhyaya

Movie in Focus

WhipLASh- Kameshwar Upadhyaya

www.theleadershipreview.org

Editor-in-chiefR. Rajeshwar Upadhyaya

Head - Operations Sharad Mathur

Sr. Sub-EditorsKameshwar Upadhyaya

Sub-EditorsAarushi IngleshwarBlessy BobenKausambi MajumdarPrajoyeeta KashyapSubhajit MishraSthitipragnya Dash

Design & GraphicsAnil Kusumbe

[email protected]

[email protected]

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Vol.1 Issue 6, June 2015

Feature

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the Winning strategy SR Rao and

Transformation of a post-plague Surat

- TLR TEAM

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Book review

37 Sthitipragnya Dash

r. rajeShwar UpaDhyaya


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Insight

Contents

Column

News ......................................................................................................................06Worth A Thousand Words ...................................................... 13 Social Media Buzz................................................................................. 24Upcoming Events................................................................................... 36ponder This ................................................................................................... 41 Leadership program itinerary............................................. 42 Events in Focus ....................................................................................... 47

Regulars


14- Jill Sheldekar

An Applicable Model for Understanding Trust in

Multicultural Teams

A Counter to the Grand Narrative of Education

- Sanjay Ranade

27

Modi government completes one yearMarking the completion of his first year in office, Prime Minister Narendra

Modi, spelt out his achievements complete with facts, figures and statistics, on an interactive page on his personal investment. In a self-assessment of sorts, the Prime Minister judged his own administration on various parameters that included overall governance, foreign policy, pet schemes and a comparative analysis with the earlier UPA regime. The ‘report-card’ displays a marked shift from the earlier congress-led administration, which has often confessed to not being able to highlight its own achievements. PM Modi, who has received praise and brickbats equally, for his renewed focus on foreign policy, makes the case that his visits have ‘generated tremendous gains for India’. India’s stand at World Trade Organisation (WTO), its relations with SAARC nations, and the spotlight on his pet scheme of Make in India, are some of the examples that are highlighted on the page.

Arvind Kejriwal ups the ante against the centreArvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, accused the center of vesting

more power on the Lt Governor, calling it an experiment to take the country towards ‘dictatorship’. In his address at the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal lambasted Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, saying that he was “dancing to the tune of the Centre and deliberately trying to create obstacles for the AAP government. Whatever is happening in Delhi is dangerous. This is the Delhi experiment of the BJP-led Centre. One by one, this experiment would be implemented in every non-BJP state. They want to take the country towards dictatorship. I appeal to all non-BJP chief ministers to come together and unite on this issue”. He also alleged that slums across Delhi are being demolished at the instructions of Jung, so that people get agitated against the AAP government.

FiFA’s corruption malaises world soccerIn a sudden and odious move, the Justice Department charged 14 soccer

officials and sports-marketing executives with ’rampant, systemic and deep-rooted’ corruption. The Swiss authorities arrested seven individuals in Zurich, where FIFA was going to have its annual general body meeting. Swiss prosecutors also announced their own criminal investigation into FIFA’s puzzling simultaneous award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments to Russia and Qatar, seizing electronic data and documents from the FIFA headquarters. Nine soccer officials and five sports executives were indicted, and four have already pleaded guilty.

Dating back to 1991, the indictment alleges, those involved, conspired to receiving bribes from marketing firms in exchange for exclusive television contracts — to the cumulative tune of more than $150 million.

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Shady donations put hilary Clinton under the scanner Hillary Clinton is embroiled in a major new scandal involving money, influence, the

Clinton Foundation and her work as secretary of state. Even as Clinton was overseeing much of US foreign policy in her post at the State Department, her family’s foundation continued to accept donations from multinational corporations, some of whom stood to gain from her decisions as secretary — sometimes to the tune of billions. Between 2009 and 2013, Hillary Clinton was the secretary of state. According to Vox.com there were 181 Clinton Foundation donors which were also lobbied with the state, one of the most generous donors was one which was doing business with Iran. The chairman of a uranium-mining company with large operations in the US made a string of substantial and well-timed donations to the Clinton Foundation, even as the State Department was determining whether to approve a lucrative takeover of that company by Russian interests, according to The New York Times. The deal was approved, but those donations were not reported. Between 2010 and 2012, while Hillary Clinton was running the State Department, the Clinton Foundation told the IRS it had received no money from foreign governments. Reuters has shown that this wasn’t true, and the foundation has admitted it made a mistake.

Vladimir putin declares all military deaths as state secretsVladimir Putin has declared that all military deaths will be classified as state secrets

not just in times of war, but also in peace – a move that activists worry might further discourage the reporting of Russian soldiers’ deaths in Ukraine.

The Russian president has amended a decree to extend the list of state secrets to include information on casualties during special operations when war has not been declared, among other changes.

Previously, the list had only forbidden ‘revealing personnel losses in wartime’. He has repeatedly denied any involvement of Russian troops in a pro-Russian rebellion in Ukraine. No official explanation has been given for the change. Revealing state secrets is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

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The Leadership Review | June 2015| 8

Progressive Leadership Kameshwar Upadhyaya

Transformer of Barren LandsAccording to a recent report by EA

Water, a leading consulting firm in the water sector, India is set to become

a water scarce country by the year 2025 as the groundwater levels are fast depleting. And the country could definitely use a lot more concern in the general public about the issue. The gravity of the situation is inherent

in the fact that almost 70 per cent of India’s irrigation water needs and a whopping 80 per cent of its domestic water needs are met by groundwater. In this context, the timing could not have been any better for the Stockholm Water Prize (also known as the Nobel Prize for water) being awarded to Rajendra Singh for his path breaking work in the area of water

Rajendra Singh


conservation in one of the most arid states of India, Rajasthan.

In last 31 years, through Tarun Bharat Sangh, he has helped revive seven rivers, constructed more than 11,000 traditional water harvesting structures, and helped over 1200 villages avail water for irrigation. Because of his work many areas have been declared drought-free; and even if the monsoon gets delayed by one or two months, there is enough water for domestic consumption and irrigation. He is fondly called the Waterman of India, and has been awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership in 2001. Looking at the success of his community led movements, even the most sceptic of us will concede that his experiences shall yield numerous valuable insights. However, when I asked him how he managed to achieve this, he credited his luck and the communities he worked with; basically everyone else but himself. Upon coaxing and probing, I could unravel a paradoxical mix of humility and iron will in him that Jim Collins describes as the core element of a level 5

leader.

reinventing the Tarun Bharat Sangh

In 1959, Rajendra Singh was born in a zameendar (landlord) family that owned over 60 acres of land in Daula village of Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh. Eldest amongst seven siblings, Rajendra Singh was a bright student and grew up to become an Ayurvedic (traditional Indian medicine) doctor. During his student days, he was influenced by social activists like Ramesh Sharma and Jaiprakash

In last 31 years, through Tarun Bharat Sangh, he has helped revive seven rivers, constructed more than 11,000 traditional water harvesting structures, and helped over 1200 villages avail water for irrigation. He is fondly called the Waterman of India, and has been awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership in 2001.

Rajendra Singh in a village meeting.


Narayan, and actively participated in social causes.

In 1980, he joined the government services as a National Service Volunteer and that is how he came to Rajasthan. In Jaipur, he joined Tarun Bharat Sangh, an organisation founded by Rajasthan university students and office bearers to aid victims of a campus fire. In three years, he became the general secretary of the organisation, but fast got disenchanted by what the Tarun Bharat Sangh was doing. He felt that it was dabbling in multiple issues, which was why it had not been able to help resolve any. He wanted it to do something that mattered and helped those who needed it the most. Other office bearers did not see the need for this push to achieve more; the argument possibly was, ‘at least we are doing something’. But Rajendra Singh was not someone who could be satisfied by

merely doing something. He was striving for excellence and did not intend to settle for anything less than that. As a result, all other office-bearers of Tarun Bharat Sangh resigned. Not many would have expected this mild-mannered young man to take a tough stand for excellence which cost him his senior-most colleagues. But it was just the beginning, as by then, he was so driven that he quit his government job, sold all his household items to raise Rs. 23,000, and got on to a bus with four like-minded people to one of the most arid areas in India – Kishori village in Alwar district.

He, along with his colleagues, opened a dispensary in a nearby village of Gopalpura, and intended to teach in the village school. But Gopalpura was inhabited, in most parts,

by women, children and the old – need for healthcare and education was much less pressing than the need for water. Years of unchecked mining and logging had depleted the groundwater level in the region. In such a scenario, almost all of its young men had to migrate to urban areas, to earn a pittance that physical labour was worth in the second most populous country in the world. “They said to me, we don’t need your education. We need water. And I thought if that is what they want, we shall help them get it,” Rajendra Singh recalls. However, it was not what his colleagues thought. They left soon after they disagreed to do the physical labour that water conservation activities would demand of them. This was the second exodus from the Tarun Bharat Sangh, and it was a blessing in disguise. If they would have had their say, some 1200 villages would still not have enough water and 11 odd rivers would still be dry.

While Rajendra Singh had the humility to listen to the illiterate villagers, he also had the resolve to focus on this one thing that the villagers needed and he delivered.

Setting the wheel in MotionWhen he first went there, the villagers

confused him for a terrorist from the neighbouring state of Punjab, which at that time was suffering from insurgency. From there, to creating a strong movement of water conservation, Rajendra Singh has come a long way. “I started to build the first Johad (rainwater storage tank or pond) in Gopalpura on my own. I would work for seven to eight hours building it every day, and the people would gather around out of curiosity. They did not understand the theory of what I was doing, but at least some liked the fact that a city dweller was working in the field trying to help them,” reminisces Rajendra Singh. In the beginning, the young, who would return in the monsoons, were sceptical. But soon they too joined in. In three years, Gopalpura had a large Johad with a depth of 15 feet. The making of this Johad proved to be the first and most important push for the wheel, and soon the momentum began to build.

The Johad helped bring irrigation to the area, and the villagers reaped the best crop

I started to build the first Johad (rainwater storage tank or pond) in Gopalpura on my own. I would work for seven to eight hours building it every day, and the people would gather around out of curiosity. They did not understand the theory of what I was doing, but at least some liked the fact that a city dweller was working in the field trying to help them.

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in years. When the first batch of crops was ready to be harvested, the overjoyed residents of Gopalpura decided to throw a feast. People from neighbhouring villages, and some a distance away, were invited for a feast of daliya (an Indian dish similar to porridge). People from nearly 20 villages came to Gopalpura for the feast; villagers from nine of these wanted to build Johads in their villages. This is significant as it was not just people liking what he was trying to do, but also them being keen to understand and adopt his ideas of water conservation.“When the villagers saw the impact of the work we did, they stepped up and helped spread the idea,” he said.

All of a sudden, there was a surge of interest in Rajendra Singh’s work. “People would say, if Gopalpura can do it, we can do it too,” he says. Soon, Rajendra Singh started his first padyatra (walkathon) to educate people about making of the Johads and check dams. For the first Johad to come up in 1988, it took him three long years. In subsequent years the number of Johads constructed increased to nine, 36, 90, and 210 respectively. By 1995, with the rising ground water levels, the ‘dark zones’ had to be changed to ‘white zones’ in government records. Today, over 700 Johads are being constructed every year in the villages of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. All this has become possible

because one man decided to start on his own, even though he had no significant help.

Succeeding Despite heavy Oddsraising the Funds

Construction of each Johad costs around Rs. 1,50,000, and in the beginning, it was a

big challenge for poor farmers to raise so much money. But Rajendra Singh devised a uniquely Indian solution to this perennial Indian problem of lack of funds. With the villagers, he decided to go to the people of the village who had migrated to cities and had amassed significant amount of riches. In a collectivistic society, where many people still use their village’s name as their surname, a contribution for the development of their ancestral village is virtually impossible for one to deny. The emotional connect worked, and

By 1995, with the rising ground water levels, the ‘dark zones’ had to be changed to ‘white zones’ in government records. Today, over 700 Johads are being constructed every year in the villages of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.

A rainwater harvesting structure.


people contributed generously. Needless to say, it was ensured that all the money collected went directly into the projects. “The villagers provide accurate accounts of how and where this money is spent. We have developed a very transparent method of operation,” Rajendra Singh informs.

working through the SystemsWhile Rajendra’s indefatigable will has

yielded results, his fearless go-getter attitude has also landed him in trouble. Rajendra Singh recalls how he had been slapped with a legal notice by the irrigation department since he failed to notify them about the first Johad he built. “I had to go through a lot of legal cases and notices to get the work done,” he remembers. But what helped him was the fact that he did not have any selfish motive involved. “When I say I am not the owner of the project, and that it is the people who are undertaking it, the legal cases fall away on their own,” says the quick-witted activist. And once he changed the topography of the region, the then President, KR Narayanan came to see the work, and the local administration became more cooperative.

Fighting the Mining MafiaAs the word spread, in the year 1986,

villagers in Bhaota village, with Rajendra Singh’s guidance, made a Johad at the source of a dead rivulet Arvari. At the same time, in villages that were located in Arvari’s catchment area, people began to construct rain water harvesting structures. As the number of these structures increased, the ground water level increased as well. This resulted in an increase of the forest cover, which reduced the run-off of monsoon water, and the river started to flow again. While it was an achievement in itself, the results were

not as good as they should have been. The water level in ponds and lakes around Sariska National Park did not increase. Tarun Bharat Sangh volunteers soon discovered that water levels in the ponds and lakes were not increasing because water was getting stuck in the pits left unfilled in the limestone mining quarries.

It was worse than it appeared initially. An ecological imbalance was being caused by mining, and very powerful interests were vested in these operations – many of which were illegal. But resolved to make the region rich in water resources, Rajendra Singh decided to take on the mining mafia. He launched the ‘Save Aravalis Campaign’, led the villagers in to a long protest march, and got 45 other organisations from all over India to support this march. This created awareness among the masses about the situation and reduced the possibility lethal attacks on Tarun Bharat Sangh volunteers from the mining mafia. Once that was achieved, he filed a public interest petition in the Supreme Court of India, and the court issued an order against continuing mining in the region. It eventually led to the closure of 470 mines operating in the area.

Since then, Rajendra Singh has undertaken Rashtriya Jal Chetna Yatra (National Water Awareness Walkathon), has created a community of water activists, Rashtriya Jal Biradari; organised many Pani Panchayats (Water Parliaments); founded Tarun Jal Vidyapeeth (Tarun Water School); led campaigns to save major rivers like Ganga and Godavari; and helped many more villages enjoy easy access to water. Yet he remains rooted in humility and says, “I am the chairman of Tarun Bharat Sangh only on paper. The actual work is done by the communities we worked with”.

The result of rainwater harvesting.


Worth a Thousand Words


Column

jill Sheldekar

An Applicable Model for Understanding Trust in

Multicultural Teams

Building Trust and Credibility in an Intercultural work environment

(a Three part Series)

part - II


Anyone working in a cross cultural environment knows that trust is an essential component of high performing

teams. One must have a deep understanding of how trust can be established and maintained, which requires the ability to anticipate and prepare for potential challenges even prior to that first team meeting. Once project work begins, issues are bound to arise and the ability to find the source of trust issues in the team is crucial.

For part two of this three part series on building trust and credibility in the intercultural work environment, I would like to explore a model for building trust by looking at it through the lens of intercultural interactions. Each component will be followed by concrete examples that demonstrate the behaviours and conditions for which diverse teams either build or break trust.

One of the most applicable models for understanding trust at the workplace is the concept developed by Dr Duane C Tway, Jr. In this model trust is defined as, ’the state of readiness for unguarded interaction with someone or something’ and includes three main components:

Dr Tway asserts that a group can build trust if members of the team: One, have a high capacity for trusting based on past experiences; two, they perceive each other as being technically capable and competent to do their jobs; and three, they believe that each member is motivated by positive intentions meant to contribute to the success of the entire group. It seems simple enough – until we attempt to look at this construct through the lens of an intercultural work environment.

Capacity for Trusting: Individuals will have lower or higher capacities for trusting others based on their previous experiences and the environment in which they lived and worked in the past. One’s first job, first manager and experiences working with certain cultural groups will create a foundation for which trust is either granted easily to others, or trust must be painstakingly earned.

Intercultural Factors: The cultural environment in which a person is raised has a huge impact on their capacity for trusting others as well as authority figures. Certain cultures tend to have higher or lower capacities for trusting, especially particular ethnic groups within those cultures. Belonging to the dominate culture or a minority group, operating in an environment of scarcity or surplus, being historically oppressed or coming from a post conflict zone – these are a few of the factors that impact one’s natural capacity for trusting others.

Our past experiences not only result in a high or low capacity for trusting, but also lead to the creation of bias. One of the most pervasive forms is confirmation bias. Largely unconscious, confirmation bias is defined as the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories. One’s capacity for trusting is based on existing beliefs, theories and expectations as the result of past experience. Confirmation bias occurs when an individual approaches every new interaction with the intent of confirming an existing belief. Take a commonly held belief about Indian executives – they operate on IST or Indian Stretchable Time. If a person firmly believes this to be true,

Capacity for Trusting : a person’s total life experiences which have developed their capacity and willingness to trust others

perception of Competence: is made up of own’s perception of their ability and the ability of others with whom they work to perform competently at whatever is needed in the current situation

perception of Intentions: is the perception that the actions, words, direction, mission, or decisions are motivated by mutually-serving rather than self-serving motives


they will often mentally highlight examples of this behaviour every time they see it. Even when the behaviour cannot be observed, these instances will be ignored to ensure that the existing belief is maintained. This is a natural human tendency – to stereotype and generalise and filter information through one’s own lens in order to make sense of the world around us. However, a lack of awareness or sensitivity to one’s confirmation bias may severely impact their ability to accurately interpret the behaviour of others. If you go looking for something, you are guaranteed to find it! Confirmation bias, regardless of its positive or negative nature, reflects one’s capacity for trusting.

Example: One does not even need to look outside India to find low capacities for trusting among people. While coaching a senior Indian leader working for an MNC in Pune, a quarterly review revealed low levels of engagement among his subordinates. This leader had been an external hire from a competitor, was of a different regional background than most of his team (a Maharashtrian managing mainly Tamil executives), and had returned from the United States where he had been working for the last seven years. In the eyes of his team, he had three strikes against him even before taking over the role. Unaware of this, he made some early mistakes that solidified their negative expectations – destroying any chance to build credibility as their leader.

When team members begin a project with a low capacity for trusting, the impact can be devastating. Unfortunately, capacity for trusting is not something we can control or something which changes quickly or easily. It increases or decreases due to one’s current and future experiences.

perception of Competence: Trust in a team can only exist if members of the team perceive higher levels of competence within the group and have the following beliefs: I am capable of performing the tasks and responsibilities required for my role, and I also believe that my team members and my team manager are capable of performing their roles. This sounds simple – but conflicts in groups often arise when perceptions of competence come under question due to how competence is communicated differently across cultures – right

TRUST

This is a natural human tendency – to stereotype and generalise and filter information through one’s own lens in order to make sense of the world around us. However, a lack of awareness or sensitivity to one’s confirmation bias may severely impact their ability to accurately interpret the behaviour of others. If you go looking for something, you are guaranteed to find it!

at the initial stages of team formation.

Intercultural Factors: Direct, task oriented cultures put a lot of importance on the first meeting and what they interpret as confident body language (direct eye contact, upright posture, firm handshakes), and vocal presence (loud and clear tone of voice, appropriate pace, moderate emotional expression). Right from the beginning, one will determine the confidence level of other team members simply based on the way they speak, how much they speak, and other non-verbal cues. The assumption is that those who communicate with what they interpret as a high level of confidence, will be more competent in performing their tasks and responsibilities. Right away, this poses a challenge for cultures that

are more indirect and relationship oriented. The first meeting is a chance to establish trust based on getting to know one another. Body language should be more reserved during initial stages, to avoid the risk of appearing overly dominant. Until the status of each member is established, and a relationship is defined in which protocol for behaviour is fixed, one must err on the side of caution. These cultures also practice ascribed status – which is importance or position assigned to a person based on involuntary factors like gender, age, nationality, family background or ethnicity. In other words, they will be likely to trust and perceive higher levels of competence for someone simply because they are older or are from the dominant ethnic group.

This is one of the most common challenges I observe among global teams, related to perceived levels of competence. Members from more direct cultures like the United States and Germany make assumptions about a person’s competence based on the way they present themselves in the group meeting. This can lead to over estimating or under estimating a person’s abilities, or lower perceptions of competence for team members who do not prescribe to their idea of poise. While individuals from more indirect cultures

such as India or China, will assume higher levels of competence to those they ascribe status to or will extend trust based on relationship networks.

Example: A Swiss-German professional I worked with shared her hesitation to collaborate with her Indian colleagues, saying “I would rather just run the tests and present the results on my own than have to explain what I am doing.”After further investigation, I discovered that her lack of trust had little to do with the actual technical abilities of her team mates. Rather, her assumptions were based on behaviours demonstrated during interactions in the lab and during meetings – indirectness and passive body language. Once she recognised the importance of establishing a relationship, her colleagues felt more comfortable to work with her as an equal partner, and started to be more upfront during discussions. She regretted underestimating her colleagues who later proved to be highly knowledgeable and efficient.

perception of Intentions: Trust cannot be established or maintained if members of the group believe they are being devalued,

manipulated or set up to fail. Once again, it seems only obvious that this would be the case. However, managers often struggle to ensure that their intentions are interpreted as positive and fair, especially when executing tasks such as work delegation, rewarding and recognising and performance reviews. Even within teams, sometimes a highly competitive environment can lead to mistrust amongst members if motives are interpreted as self-serving.

Intercultural Factors: As discussed in part one of this series, value differences across cultures often result in different expectations for communication and behaviour. The challenge is that behaviours that are intended to give respect or communicate trust in one culture can have the exact opposite effect in another culture. In cultures that value inclusion, group harmony and hierarchy, there are a range of behaviours that are expected: using respect titles, avoiding open disagreement, flexibility and accommodation, etc. In cultures that value self-reliance, egalitarianism and task orientation, there are a range of behaviours that are expected: communicating a strong sense of ‘I’ and personal accountability, casual work relationships with limited formality or protocol, strict adherence

Until the status of each member is established, and a relationship is defined in which protocol for behaviour is fixed, one must err on the side of caution.



to schedules, etc. When members of a diverse team have conflicting values, it is only a matter of time before intentions come under question.

Example: Some of the most common expressions I hear from executives working globally, reveal trust issues as a result of questioning others intentions. They include:

What is the real reason for cc’ing me in that email? Why are they excluding us by speaking in a foreign language? What are they saying that they don’t want us to hear? He seems very friendly and approachable but then gets

annoyed when I need help? No one gives me a chance to speak up in group meetings. Why is my voice less important? When I ask him directly if these timelines are possible, he says ‘yes’ but later, I get a ton of emailed excuses for why he needs more time. He pretends to be my friend, but then in the group meeting points out my mistakes in front of everyone?

In majority of cases, the intentions behind these actions are not meant to break down trust in a group. They are simply the result of a lack of awareness of how one’s behaviour can be misinterpreted due to differences in values.

jill Sheldekar is the Director of Ethnosynth Consulting, Pune.

applying this Model: I have seen managers and members of global teams use Dr Tway’s model to successfully analyse, and identify strategies for increasing trust amongst culturally diverse groups. As an individual, one can take the following steps:

1. Reflect on how your past experiences have led to a certain capacity for trusting others in the work envi-ronment, especially those outside your cultural orientation, age and gender. What biases exist and how might this impact your interactions in new situations with new people?

Look for signs of higher or lower capacities for trusting amongst your team members. Think about what behaviours might re-confirm any negative generalisations. Awareness is key. Statements that reveal a low capacity for trusting include, ’I have worked with people from country X before, and they don’t seem to want to share all the information.’ Or ’People from country X have no respect for intellectual property. I’ve been burned in the past.’ Or ‘Colleagues from country X never seem to want to listen to us.’

2. Think about how your team members perceive competence. Is it important to speak openly about your own accomplishments, or would it be better to have them shared through a third party (another team member or manager)? How is your body language being interpreted by others? Will ascribe status work for you or against you?

Think about how you interpret the competence of others. Do you jump to the wrong conclusion based on your preferred communication style? Do you make assumptions based on something ascribed or some-thing earned? How could this be impacting your willingness to trust others?

3. Think about how your behaviour is interpreted by those who have a different set of values. You may be unintentionally offending others or simply sending mixed messages. Do not assume your behaviour is communicating the same thing to everyone.

Think about how you interpret others behaviour. It is easy to judge a person’s actions without removing your own lens and thinking about it from their perspective. Your cultural filter will distort the information you take in, leading to conclusions that are often inaccurate. Seek to truly understand what has happened before judging the person or situation, and be conscious of confirmation bias.

Once trust and credibility are established, diverse teams can thrive even in the face of adversity. In the final part of this series, we will explore ways to leverage cultural differences in teams where there are high levels of trust and credibility. Organisations can benefit greatly from diversity amongst team members when

they approach it as an advantage. By tapping into each individual’s inherent strengths, one can maximise team performance and create teams that are agile and innovative.


the Winning strategy

SR Rao and Transformation of a Post-Plague Surat

TLR Team


In September 1994, a pneumonic plague had broken out in Surat, an important trading city in western India. Such was the extent of the

damage that it led to a mass exodus of people and left the city in ruins. The plague in Surat had a far reaching effect on India’s image internationally, and made a dent on tourism revenues and exports. Though the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) managed to contain the plague, at great cost, Surat was still in dire straits.

It was in this desperate condition, after nearly

one year of the outbreak of the plague in May 1995, that the then government sent SR Rao to ‘handle’ the situation and prevent recurrence

of the disease and save India’s face. The government’s vision, if there was any, in posting Rao was perhaps short-term; to improve the city cosmetically and make it ready to be presented under the media spotlight on the occasion of the epidemic’s first anniversary. But SR Rao, a seemingly ordinary IAS officer at first, was not a man of short-term vision.

enters Sr raoSuryadevara Ramachandra Rao, a Gujarat

cadre IAS officer of 1978 batch, was posted as the municipal commissioner of Surat in May 1995. The posting in Surat was not SR Rao’s first stint as a municipal commissioner. Back in 1987, he was the municipal commissioner of Rajkot, and during that stint, he had shown that he was not a person of mere rhetoric but a taskmaster. In just six months, he had managed to lay a 63-km water pipeline to Rajkot which otherwise might have taken years with political, financial and bureaucratic tangles.

But Surat was much bigger a challenge. The Indian National Trust for Architectural and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), conducted a survey in November 1994, and Surat had one of the lowest scores in hygiene and was labelled as one of the filthiest cities in India. The low ranking from INTACH came barely three months after the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) had spent resources in scrubbing up the city in the aftermath of the plague. The roads were in a perennial mess of garbage and squalor. The city’s drainage system, with open sewers, was in shambles. Water borne diseases like malaria, gastroenteritis, cholera, dengue and hepatitis were regular occurrences during peak monsoon season. According to reports in the early 1990s, out of the total percentage of people dying from malaria in Gujarat, nearly 50 per cent were from Surat. The situation was especially grim in the slums where 40 per cent of the population of Surat lived.

Identifies the right problemWhile Rao knew that Surat was a disaster

posting, he was smart enough not to confuse the problem with its symptoms; he did not fall for the temptation to bring in one of the best practices from around the globe to rid the streets of filth. He understood that the context was far from ordinary, and it was not possible for him to identify one correct solution as there were too

Water borne diseases like malaria, gastroenteritis, cholera, dengue and hepatitis were regular occurrences during peak monsoon season. According to reports in the early 1990s, out of the total percentage of people dying from malaria in Gujarat, nearly 50 per cent were from Surat. The situation was especially grim in the slums where 40 per cent of the population of Surat lived.


many variables involved, and there was no easy way to establish a cause and effect relationship between them.

But soon enough, he found himself inundated with huge stacks of files and could clearly see that civil body’s efficiency was stifled by their weight. Because that was the only way bureaucracy worked; by passing around files from one department to another, sluggishly climbing up to top bosses of the civic body. And that is why the streets in Surat were littered with filth – the measures to clean them were still stuck in these files.

While he could see the problem in civil efficiency, he still needed to see what was going on the streets and what the citizens had to say.

probes FurtherTo probe further, he set the big bundles of

government files aside and started making rounds of the city. During the initial months of his tenure, Rao moved around the streets of Surat on foot, surveying the city first-hand. In these early morning field trips, he interacted with the citizens and acquainted himself with their problems. He also talked to employees of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), at all hierarchical levels, to learn about their perception of what was broken.

After rigorous probing, he figured that although the core problem in Surat was the civil body’s inefficiency, it was arising from multiple issues like lack of connect with the citizens, power politics of departmental silos, citizen apathy, corruption, lack of funds, and the catch-22 situation of bringing sewer lines to slums.

Improves the SituationOut of all these issues identified, he decided to

first focus on those which would yield immediate improvement in the situation.

Solution I - aC to DC

Sitting cooped up within the four walls of the office, most officers of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) were detached from what was happening in the streets. Their understanding of civic issues was a distant one that would often give an impression of apathy.

In order to bridge the gap between the citizens and the administrators, SR Rao started the ‘AC to DC’ (from Air-Conditioned offices to Daily Chores on field) rule in SMC. Under this rule, he exhorted

the officers under him to spend five hours on the streets of Surat to supervise the sweepers and cleaners. For 365 days of the year, from 7.00 am to 3.00 pm, all the officers of SMC including Rao would be on the field. In order to make sure the rule was followed by every officer, he ordered that all the ACs in all the offices to be shut till three in the afternoon. With this operation, Rao also ensured that there was a constant face-to-face interaction between grass-root level employees of SMC, like the sweepers and cleaners, and the higher-level officers.

During the implementation of the AC to DC rule, many officers resisted the change by saying they had to stay in office to meet people. However, Rao repudiated their claims by stating that citizens came to the municipality office with their complaints because the officers were not doing their work efficiently. And that the officers will be more effective if they worked on field rather than passing around files within the glass walls of their office.

Solution II – Bringing empowerment and accountability

Now, even when the officers were on the streets in complete connect with the issues of their municipality, concrete steps to resolve these issues were still missing. In the SMC, there was no synchronisation and cooperation between various departments, and the power plays between departmental heads disrupted efficiency. This made it very difficult to take any concrete action to resolve the civic issues.

SR Rao, with a Masters in applied psychology from Vishakhapatnam University, saw the solution in tearing the fiefdoms and busting the

In order to bridge the gap between the citizens and the administrators, SR Rao started the ‘AC to DC’ (from Air-Conditioned offices to Daily Chores on field) rule in SMC. Under this rule, he exhorted the officers under him to spend five hours on the streets of Surat to supervise the sweepers and cleaners. For 365 days of the year, from 7.00 am to 3.00 pm, all the officers of SMC including Rao would be on the field.

silos. He divided Surat into six zones and assigned separate commissioners to each zone. All the commissioners, who were formerly department heads, were given administrative as well as financial powers of the municipal commissioner. By delegating responsibility, he made them accountable for their own zones and made them deliver concrete results. Rao held daily review meetings where the zonal commissioners interacted, and became aware of the similar problems they faced in their respective zones and had to cooperate with each other. All the decisions, including the allocation of resources, were made in these meetings.

And the driving of empowerment and accountability did not stop at the top. He also brought into effect a road sweeping programme, where one karamchari (worker) was appointed

for every 300-700 metres of road, and made that stretch of road his jilla or beat. The karamcharis were given the responsibility of ensuring that no bin overflowed with garbage within their beat. At the same time, they were even given the power of slapping fines on defaulters like restaurant owners and shopkeepers whose premises were filthy.

Solution III – weeding Out Corruption and Incompetence

His weapon of choice against corruption and incompetence was transparency. Citizens were provided a direct phone line to him and he was also reachable on the streets. He introduced citizen complaints redressal system which was tracked online and reviewed in every daily review meeting. According to SMC records, during the first year of Rao’s tenure, more than 90,000 complaints were filed and addressed within deadlines. During the same time, disciplinary action was taken against at least 1200 employees of SMC; the reasons varied from non-performance

to bribe-taking.

establishes ControlOnce he set the immediate affairs at Surat

Municipal Corporation in order, he focused on issues which needed long term solutions.

Solution I – Surat First Campaign

While he was able to set the Surat Municipal Corporation in order, the conditions were still not improving significantly as citizens continued to litter the streets.

To solve this problem of citizen apathy, SR Rao launched the Surat First Campaign. He started by first creating awareness about cleanliness and methods for neatly disposing off waste. The next step was issuing guidelines for all eateries and other commercial establishments to use a dustbin and not litter. Finally, heavy fines were levied on those who did not abide by the guidelines.

This approach started working, and in some time, with his stringent moral authority, sufficiently lauded by the local media, inspired the citizens of Surat to become active participants in the upkeep of their city. Such was the influence of his transparent and high moral standards of working that many came forward to bring down their own illegal encroachments, including religious structures, when he launched a campaign against illegal construction.

Two years after Rao took over – the INTACH survey of 1997 rated Surat as the second cleanest city in India (one place behind Chandigarh).

Solution II - a New approach to revenue Collection

The changes that Rao proposed and brought into effect needed additional finances. But when he requested corporators of the city to increase taxes, his proposal was turned down.

On one hand he plugged in the loopholes in octroi collections, computerised accounts, and brought in the profit center approach to ensure efficiency in revenue collection and service delivery. And on the other, he redefined the way property tax was collected.

Since property tax was collected every four years, there was no constant influx of capital to the civic body’s coffers. To remedy this, Rao proposed collection of taxes annually. Again, the corporators created a roadblock for him.


According to SMC records, during the first year of Rao’s tenure, more than 90,000 complaints were filed and addressed within deadlines. During the same time, disciplinary action was taken against at least 1200 employees of SMC; the reasons varied from non-performance to bribe-taking.

According to them, the taxes were to be collected every four years and they opposed any change in that rule. Not one to bow down easily, Rao divided the city in four zones and assessed tax from one zone every year. Thus, he ensured that the SMC was getting sufficient finance annually, and at the same time he was fulfilling the corporators’ requirement of assessing tax only once in four years.

Under SR Rao’s leadership, the SMC’s revenue increased by nearly 54 per cent from Rs 164.7 crore in the previous year to Rs. 253 crore. Collections from octroi jumped to 19 per cent, and efficiency of property tax collection increased to 80 per cent from a mere 30 per cent.

Solution III: Improving the Living Conditions in the Slums

The problem of water logging was at its worst in the slums of Surat where it was virtually impossible to provide sewerage and drainage facilities, for their lanes were extremely narrow.

Knowing that the only way a sewer line could be extended to the slums, was for slum residents to demolish some part of their own houses. SR Rao approached some of the community leaders

in the slums. To the surprise of many, compelled by the moral authority of SR Rao and convinced of his intentions to help, residents of Surat slums demolished parts of their own houses to help SMC widen the lanes and lay sewer lines.

By the end of Rao’s tenure, over 82 per cent of Surat’s slums had high level of sanitation and hygiene. According to official reports, malaria deaths in Surat came down from 22,000 in 1994 to 496 in 1997, and zero in 2002.

P.S. – Surat continues to remain one of the cleanest cities in India because SR Rao put in place good systems to institutionalise the improvements he brought.

To the surprise of many, compelled by the moral authority of SR Rao and convinced of his intentions to help, residents of Surat slums demolished parts of their own houses to help SMC widen the lanes and lay sewer lines.


Surat is one of the cleanest cities in India today.

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zWith high lead content found in massively popular Maggi noodles and subsequent storm Nestle India founds itself in, a lot happened over Twitter.


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zWith high lead content found in massively popular Maggi noodles and subsequent storm Nestle India founds itself in, a lot happened over Twitter.


A Counter to the Grand Narrative of

Education


Language, Maths, Science and Geography are gradually disappearing from our classrooms. Along with them, we have

also forgotten music, drawing and craft. All of these are interrelated. And just to clarify – it is not just the students, but the teachers too who are losing their grip. There has been gradual erosion over the decades since Independence,

and the effects can now be seen. Young Indians are graduating and even acquiring higher degrees in ever increasing numbers, but without having a language of their own and lacking critical analytical skills. The crisis is so deep that we are now afraid of admitting there is one. As if this one crisis were not enough, we now have a complete disconnect between

Column

Sanjay ranade

formal education and livelihood. The nature of our economy is such that while education is a social and political necessity, it has failed to become an economic and commercial imperative. The argument for education is losing its sting as the numbers of unemployed pile up with every passing year. There is no correlation between the time and money spent on getting higher degrees of education, and the returns that people are getting from this incremental activity is robbing half their productive life.

Due to global economic and commercial forces, some important grand narratives are beginning to fail us. Our farmers are just that – farmers. They are into agriculture, but not into food or cloth and garments, or whatever it is that is the end product. Land prices are going up and it is no credit to the farmer. It is simply the result of global economic forces. Then we have our traders. They too are just that – traders. These are not capitalists or industrialists. The third category is the artisans. They too are artisans but not entrepreneurs. Not many people from these three categories have exposure to either entrepreneurial or industrial cultures. Of these three, the farmers and the traders are generating economic surplus thanks to the forces of global economics. They are suddenly finding themselves into money. They, however, lack the resources to make modern wealth from this money. Their ideas of what constitutes wealth continue to revolve around two important institutions – the family and the community. Both these institutions have remained traditional and conservative. Additionally, their identity is located in caste and religion – in that order.

The artisans have been beaten into submission for too long for them to really imagine expanding and growing and branding themselves. They value their autonomy, but that translates into pride over being independent, but decidedly small. They have the skill sets but lack any other support. The traditional support systems like the guilds were destroyed long before independence. Independent India has simply continued with the lack of trust in its artisans, leaving them to fend for themselves. However, they too are benefitting from the global reach and expansion of markets. But, they are not industrialists or entrepreneurs. What they call factories, are

really karkhanas. The organisational structure is not the modern industry but the traditional ustad-shagird hierarchical relationship. Not modern management, but traditional Hindu Undivided Family frames the organisational culture.

All these three categories have several things in common – they are all traditional, conservative, hoarding their wealth in family and community, and locating their identity in caste and religion. Combined, they constitute a significant proportion of the population.

There is one more factor that has been added because of our education system. They constitute among the largest numbers of people getting higher education and remaining unemployed or underemployed. The grand narrative of education is definitely failing us. We are not an agrarian economy but an increasingly pseudo-agrarian society. We are rooted in tradition and culture not because we care, but because we are afraid to move any other way. Our spirituality is a facade to cover up for our lack of critical thinking abilities. We want technology, but definitely not science, and most definitely not scientific temper. We want literacy, but we will not allow for space to think and contemplate. All these and similar contradictions have emerged because of the way our formal education and our means of livelihood have gone in completely different ways.

It is at this stage that two of the dominant institutions in an average Indian’s life, the State and the family, have quietly abandoned their responsibilities vis a vis education. At this point, it would appear that both these institutions have lost the moral high ground they had held for so many centuries. Both have demonstrated levels of moral and material corruption that

We want technology, but definitely not science, and most definitely not scientific temper. We want literacy, but we will not allow for space to think and contemplate. All these and similar contradictions have emerged because of the way our formal education and our means of livelihood have gone in completely different ways.

The LeadeRship Review | June 2015| 28

would knock down the sensitivities of previous generations.

When education becomes ‘self-financing’ in a society that is at the subliminal state between tradition and modernity, it becomes a commercial activity and teaching-learning disappears. Education is a violent process. The classroom is a very violent space. There

is intense interrogating, redefining, critical analysis that is being taught and learnt. There is more disagreement than agreement. There is self-exploration leading to revelations that are not comfortable, not agreeable, and not palatable. There is brutal criticism, not appreciation. There is more failure than success. This is true for the learner as well as the teacher. Without a lot of empathy and understanding about education in society, the teaching-learning process dies and what remains is instruction. Indian families have abandoned all understanding of the process of education. They do not empathise with the process and do not participate in it. The educational institution is a sort of factory

where the unfinished product, the child, is pushed on to a conveyor belt. Given time, the product takes on a finished shape and form, and comes out. If the product succeeds in the market, the parents take credit and if it doesn’t, then the ‘system’ is responsible. The State, on the other hand, has learnt to take advantage of the emotional distress that education causes. It has gone further. It has learnt to effectively fuel the distress and direct it towards its own goal of amassing and monopolising power and wealth. Over time, the corporate have also joined in – the State has the legitimacy and the corporates have the money. Both are populated by traders/farmers/artisans because that is where the money is. Thus, the State and the corporate are essentially money laundering and hoarding devices for the neo-rich traders/farmers/artisans, and the tremendous demand for education is ground for keeping the wealth in the family or community, and reaping the returns at the same time. The grand narrative of the modern Indian State and the private sector is just a dream that never came true. The grand narrative of the family is also coming apart. The organisational culture is agrarian, and the commercial culture is shop keeping or the karkhana.

The one thing that is sacrificed in this scenario is quality. The grand narratives of socialism, secularism and federalism have been used to cover the inefficiencies in education, and to divert attention from its disconnect with livelihood. Quality has been sacrificed at the altar of so-called social, political and economic equality. This has ensured that

The educational institution is a sort of factory where the unfinished product, the child, is pushed on to a conveyor belt. Given time, the product takes on a finished shape and form, and comes out. If the product succeeds in the market, the parents take credit and if it doesn’t, then the ‘system’ is responsible.


pseudo-intellectuals remain in power, the State stays legitimate and relevant, the shop keeping corporate continues to operate with abandon, and the mysterious ‘elder’ continues at the top of the hierarchy. All four actively keep quality out of the frame. It is not surprising that in the classroom, the teacher teaching Newton’s laws is treated as Newton by the learners who themselves either believe they can never be as good, or remain just as good, getting no better. Now, the teacher is teaching Newton from notes given by her teacher that were given to her by her teacher and so on. Nobody is reading Newton, so nobody is teaching nor learning Newton, so of course there is no Newton. Not second handers, there are now glorified fifth, seventh handers in abandon. Of course, they are unemployed. In this situation, success is not understood as a coming together of many ordinary factors that can be studied and most importantly, turned into a replicable model. Success in this world is always shown as being magical and worse, the result of divine providence, the blessing of elders and so on and so forth.

It would be naïve to believe that the young do not feel stress emerging from this shattering of grand narratives. It is the young who are most sensitive to the stress around them. How do the young in India cope with this? Easy access to mass media technology and digital devices has given them the opportunity to escape into a virtual reality where they feel they are connected, they feel informed, they feel they have worth, they feel appreciated. Of serious concern is the fact that the youth feel, but are aware that it is not real. They have the choices, but find themselves wanting in the ability to make the choice and live the success or failure of that choice. The impulse is eliminating the contemplation. That may look very youthful and energetic, but one need not be an intellectual or philosopher to know that one is useless without the other. The common complaint that the youth do not read is actually wrong. The youth are reading too much. They are reading much more than they are speaking, listening, thinking, writing or doing. They are reading into the text and the visual that is constantly flashing before them, but they are reacting much more than acting. The speed at which data is coming to them is much faster than their ability to plough back

that data into their lived realities, see the data work itself out, and finally translate into some action or thought. Younger and younger Indians are hitting the data highway running, and then they keep running breathlessly. It is important here to recognise that it is a data highway, and definitely not an information highway. It was branded as an information highway merely to sell the idea. Information is a by-lane flowing from this data highway, and knowledge is an even narrow and obscure lane tucked away without signposts. It is also important to note that as one begins to differentiate and look for

information or knowledge, the cost of being on the highway increases dramatically.

This situation is compounded further by the dominant aural-oral communication culture in India. This culture encourages one to contemplate even the most intimate thoughts or ideas publicly or within family, community and not in a private, individual space. As long as this contemplation happened, new ideas

It would be naïve to believe that the young do not feel stress emerging from this shattering of grand narratives. It is the young who are most sensitive to the stress around them. How do the young in India cope with this?


emerged, they were critiqued, questioned, changed. However, for several centuries now, this contemplative space has been replaced by axioms, grand narratives, shared within families and communities. The narratives went unchallenged and were enforced by force of hierarchy. Now, the young have found a space where these narratives are beginning to be demolished. The rationale of the narrative was lost over the years. Now, the indefensible narrative is in danger of losing itself. A key element of the new communication universe is the emphasis on user-generated content. The user feels completely empowered to express whatever comes to mind.

For the first time, Indian youth has the opportunity to look at data and come to conclusions, formulate theories and make

meaning about the reality they live in, on their own. This is leading to some very dramatic effects. The youth has not just left the real world behind; they have left books, theatre, cinema, television and classrooms too. They are engaging with their realities on their own terms. This is what is going to completely revolutionise the Indian social, political and economic context, and our basic structures. This is true liberation. The grand narratives are being ignored completely, and as more and more young people express themselves through micro-narratives in an environment of extreme violence and aggression, they are going to learn an entirely new discipline, a new behavior, and come up with a completely different rationale for their being. This tide cannot be turned back because of the sheer numbers involved. True, it has still to pick up its energy and reach its potential, and that is where our policymakers have to grow up from being mere farmers/

shopkeepers/artisans/elders and therefore, politicians, to something more responsible and mature.

In India, it is difficult to enter the education system, but easy to stay in it, and easier still to exit it. This has to turn around. Quality and entrepreneurship must be at the centre of education. Education cannot have the restricted socio-political agenda of State or family, but a more pragmatic goal of first and foremost, providing with livelihood and next, to help acquire the skills and knowledge required to measure, and achieve one’s true potential. India has been a phonetically rich world, and yet, our youth has no language to call their own. We have reached peaks of abstraction, and yet our youth shrink away from mathematics and critical enquiry. Indians achieved what they did with a combination of innate skill and extensive migration. Yet, the Indian youth is saddled at home cradling caste, family and community. Education must stop at twelve years. If a human being cannot be made worthy of earning a livelihood in that time, the system is obviously flawed. It is ridiculous to keep adding layers of meaningless degrees. Higher education must be driven not by livelihood needs, but self-exploration, analysis and most importantly research into our realities. Education has to be free. Only free education for all would demonstrate both the will, and the empathy and understanding of society towards this very important, but violent process of human evolution.

India is about software not the hardware. We never had hardware. We gave meaning and purpose to the technology of the world. What appears as inertia among the youth, what appears as disinterest, is actually the youth soaking up all there is to know and learn. India’s century is just round the corner, and the Indian State and the family, two powerful institutions in an average Indian’s life, can either choose to be left behind or lead the way.

Sanjay ranade (PhD) is Associate Professor at Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Mumbai.


Quality and entrepreneurship must be at the centre of education. Education cannot have the restricted socio-political agenda of State or family, but a more pragmatic goal of first and foremost, providing with livelihood and next, to help acquire the skills and knowledge required to measure, and achieve one’s true potential.


Upcoming EventsOrganiser Location Date Contact

4th Annual India Manufacturing Summit

Seminar of the International Business Ventures for SMEs

SME Chamber Of India

Mumbai June 25, 2015 [email protected]

AIAI Mumbai June 18, 2015 [email protected]

GreenCo Summit CII Mumbai 25-26 June, 2015 [email protected]

Financial Inclusion Summit CII New Delhi July 1, 2015 [email protected]

NASSCOM Product Conclave NASSCOM Kolkatta July 3, 2015 [email protected]

7th BRICS Summit BRICS and SCO Summit

Russia July 9-10, 2015 [email protected]

NASSCOM HR Summit 2015 Chennai

NASSCOM Chennai July 23 - 24, 2015

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Responsible Business Awards Asian Confederation of Businesses and Nalco

Mumbai July 23, 2015 [email protected]

National Awards for CSR and Sustainability

World Federation CSR

Mumbai July 24, 2015 [email protected]

Indian Wealth Management Forum

HUBBIS Mumbai August 27, 2015 [email protected]

Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit

Gartner Inc Mumbai September 1-2, 2015

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TEDxDTU TED X and Delhi Technical University

Delhi September 6, 2015

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India Summit 2015 US-India Business Council and British Business Group

New Delhi September 9, 2015

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7th Chief Learning Officer's Summit 2015

AMCHAM India and GOI

Mumbai September 10-11, 2015

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Renewable Energy Expo 2015 UBM New Delhi September 23-25, 2015

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Event



Amongst the curious phrases that have evolved in India’s continuing struggle with the English language,

none is more meaningless than the robust favourite, ’By Indian Standards’. It makes no sense. Either you have standards or you don’t. The insertion of a third, Indian option, is actually an advance justification for failure, an acknowledgment of mediocrity, and contentment with the status quo. None of these are particularly laudable, but the tragedy is that they are perfectly acceptable to Indian society. ‘By Indian Standards’ or BIS is never evoked to inspire a higher standard or aspire to greater achievement, it is a surrender to sloth and circumstances, an acceptance of incompetence as the true glue of our unity in

diversity.

The self-congratulatory euphoria that accompanies the ‘sea link’ between Worli and Bandra in Mumbai is a case in point. In the first place it is a bridge, just a bridge. But that does not suit the innate grandiosity of the national character, and so, it has to become a sea link. Secondly, it is not even particularly long, and third, the technology to accomplish this piece of infrastructure is over 50 years old. To continue this miserable train of thought, China makes one such bridge – it is a bridge in China, not a sea link – each month and sometimes they are up to 40 km long. There is no fuss over these things there, which is perhaps why they have just displaced Japan as the number

Insight r. rajeShwar UpaDhyaya

Rank Bridge Length (in metres) Country1 Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge 164,800 China2 Tianjin Grand Bridge 113,700 China3 Weinan Weihe Grand Bridge 79,732 China4 Bang Na Expressway 54,000 Thailand5 Beijing Grand Bridge 48,153 China130 Bandra Worli Sea Link 5,600 India


two economy in the world and are poised to oust the USA by 2030 to become the new numero uno of the world economy. A senior expat at BASF once rhetorically asked when India would come out of its ‘sea-link effect’!

Mild and outdated accomplishments in the world are still matters of pride here, for everything is subsumed by the reality of BSI. The Delhi metro is a matter of general rejoicing, even with all the accidents that occured in its construction. I remember this jubilation well; it was manifest when Calcutta had not yet become Kolkatta and got itself a metro. There was talk of the efficiency and general cleanliness of the new system, which is in itself is a depressing memory, for functional societies should not have to trot out such things as accomplishments. Today, the air conditioning is off, half the stations have inadequate lighting and squalor is creeping back. The seats are cracked, the overhead handles unpainted and beginning to rust, the glass grimy, the windows open to the dark dankness we rush through, but it is India’s first metro and that is all that seems to matter. The underground rail is Victorian technology for God’s sake. But when a train that travels at 60-70 kmph is classified as super-fast, such estimates about the metro rail do not seem so ludicrous anymore.

One of my friends lives in Pune. He was consumed with laughter as he described a scene he witnessed outside the Defence and Research Development Organisation or

DRDO stationed there. Five satellite dishes were being transported into the complex and were being brought in by bullock carts! Ancient India lives on in every aspect of our life; it is not a metaphor for enduring cultural and psychological transmission that gives a society its identity, but a prosaic physical reality. Recently, an organisation proudly put into its newsletter that, as part of their socially

responsible initiatives, they had given away 25 stainless steel bullock carts to villagers near their site. The appalling aspect of what should be a ridiculous story is that they were right. This new cart will actually improve the life of the recipients, increasing both efficiency and effectiveness, as well as reduce repair, and replacement cost and time - BIS! Both sides in this transaction seemed unable or unwilling to acknowledge the sheer preposterousness of what was going on.

A possible explanation for this tendency was put forward by a visiting Japanese expert on Kaizen. After the training was over and the participants had given him a tasteful Indian

Mild and outdated accomplishments in the world are still matters of pride here, for everything is subsumed by the reality of BSI. The Delhi metro is a matter of general rejoicing, even with all the accidents that occured in its construction.


gift to carry back to Japan, he announced, “I will draw for you a typical Indian.” On the board he made a figure with a huge head, a

large mouth, torso with a pot belly and spindly legs but no arms. When this was pointed out to him he said, “I said a typical Indian. Very good thinking – too much talking, no action taking. You cannot implement what you have learned. Arigato.” While all this is not very flattering, our attempt must be to first acknowledge the shortcomings and thereafter

correct them uncompromisingly. As leaders in our own spheres, we must be intolerant of mediocrity, have a larger view, be extroverted enough to look at what other countries and cultures have done and achieved. To learn from others because many others have a lot to teach us, just as many centuries ago we had a lot to teach to the world. To not remain introverted will be our first big step towards changing ourselves and thereby, our nation.

Take an example. It is clear to all that China is our main military and economic threat. Yet our introversion is pathological where we hardly know enough about them. In all my interaction with corporate audiences, I ask them whether there is anyone in the audience who speaks Chinese; if they know somebody who speaks Chinese; whether they know of a B-school or college or University that actively teaches Chinese; whether they know what has been happening in China in the last 72 hours (now that we have 24 hour news channels!) – the answer invariably is ‘No’.

On the board he made a figure with a huge head, a large mouth, torso with a pot belly and spindly legs but no arms. When this was pointed out to him he said, “I said a typical Indian. Very good thinking – too much talking, no action taking. You cannot implement what you have learned. Arigato.”

China’s economy grew at 316 per cent, seven times as fast as America’s over the past decade.

America’s fastest train goes less than half as fast as the new train between Shanghai and Beijing which moves at 302 miles per hour.

By 2025, China will build enough skyscrapers to fill 10 New York-sized cities.

The world’s biggest mall is in China, but it has been 99 per cent empty since 2005.

China has 64 million vacant homes, including entire cities that are empty.

If he spent his entire yearly income on housing, the average Beijing resident could buy 10 square feet of residential property.

InterestingFacts: China

In madness, I thought I was the most important person in the world. John Forbes Nash, Jr

Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure science. Edwin Powell Hubble

How strange is that lot of mortals? Each one of us is here for a brief sojourn, for what purpose he knows not. Vikram Sarabhai

Economy forced me to become a vegetarian, but I finally started liking it. APJ Abdul Kalam

The lecturer should give the audience full reason to believe that all his powers have been exerted for their pleasure and instruction. Michael Faraday

My brain is only a receiver, in the Universe there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength and inspiration. I have not penetrated into the secrets of this core, but I know that it exists. Nikola Tesla

In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind. Louise Pasteur

Don’t read so much, look about you and think of what you see there. Richard P Freyman

One sometimes finds what one is not looking for. Alexander Fleming

Man is an animal which, alone among the animals, refuses to be satisfied by the fulfillment of animal desires. Alexander Graham Bell

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe. Albert Einstein

Science walks forward in two feet, namely theory and experiment, but continuous progress is only made by the use of two. Robert A Millikan

A man may imagine things that are false, but he can only understand things that are true, for if the things be false, the apprehension of them is not understanding. Issac Newton


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Movie in Focus Kameshwar Upadhyaya


“I don’t think people understood what it was I was doing at Shaffer. I wasn’t there to conduct. Any moron can wave his arms and keep people in tempo. I was there to push people beyond what’s expected of them. I believe that is an absolute necessity. Otherwise, we’re depriving the world of the next Louis Armstrong.”

Fletcher was not there to like people and build a reputation with them. He was there ’to push people beyond what was

expected of them’. Whiplash is a movie that brings out this lesser known facet of motivation quite clearly.

Andrew Neiman is a first-year jazz student at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory, School of Music in New York City. He has been at the drums since infancy, and hopes to see himself among the likes of the legendary Buddy Rich and Jo Jones. Terence Fletcher, the famous conductor, walks in while Andrew is practicing in the music room late one night and invites Andrew into his studio band as the alternate for his core drummer. When the band rehearses the Hank Levy piece ’Whiplash’, and Andrew struggles to

achieve the right tempo, Fletcher hurls a chair at him. On another occasion, Fletcher slaps him continuously to get him to accept that he was rushing and was not in the right tempo.

Fletcher is abusive toward his students. He mocks and insults them with a firm belief of trying to make them better than what they believe they can become. Deep down, he believes that the elements of Buddy Rich or Jo Jones, the flash of which he can see in Andrew, can never be destroyed. He opines that it is these occasions that get people to stretch themselves

to achieve greater heights. Rightly has someone pointed out that the fine line between pushing a student to his potential best and being an utter tyrant is inconveniently blurred. Fletcher believes that each one of us is here for a reason and the drive for breakthrough success comes from ’The Calling’ of the individual who sees his potential best; long before anyone else. It is this vision that provides him with the inner drive.

Tom Landry’s definition of a coach as “the person who makes you do what you need to do to help you become the person you want to be,” doesn’t imply using heartless and demeaning methods. Neiman’s talents emerged in spite of

his brutal mentor, not because of it. Our self-direction or autonomy is a natural inclination. Daniel Pink points out to the simple example of how children play and explore all on their own. We’re all built with inner drive. That is why educational institutions provide a whole range of skills so that the individual can realise his Calling for himself. If workplaces can support autonomy by giving people real control over different aspects of their own work — whether it is deciding when to do it or what to work on, instead of micro managing, the inspiration to work in them would never die down.

Rightly has someone pointed out that the fine line between pushing a student to his potential best and being an utter tyrant is inconveniently blurred. Fletcher believes that each one of us is here for a reason and the drive for breakthrough success comes from ’The Calling’ of the individual who sees his potential best; long before anyone else. It is this vision that provides him with the inner drive.


The scarring effect of Fletcher’s method causes the kind of psychic pain that leads to self-destructive addictions. Don’t be fooled by outcomes. So how do you attain that intrinsic inspiration?

People who find purpose in their work unlock the highest levels of the motivation. Pink, in his book Drive, says that it’s connecting to a cause larger than just yourself is what actually drives the deepest motivation. Purpose, as Pink puts it, is what gets you out of bed in the morning and into work without groaning and grumbling — something that you just cannot fake.

That also means people who have purpose are inspired to pursue the most difficult problems. Elizabeth Moss Kanter, professor at Harvard Business School, has formulated her own motivating factors, one of which means the urge that helps people go the extra mile and stay engaged. She goes on to say that “People can be inspired to meet stretch goals, and tackle impossible challenges if they care about the outcome.”

Employers can help employees connect to something larger than them. Get them out of mere measurement by numbers and figures, and connect work to people and values. Providing patient photos, for example, to radiologists, who have little direct contact with patients, improved their performance.

At the local competition, Andrew accidentally misplaces Carl’s sheet music, who is the lead drummer. As Carl cannot play without it, Andrew steps in, informing Fletcher that he can perform Whiplash from memory since he had spent long hours practising it. Fletcher promotes him to the core drummer position. Fletcher later recruits Ryan Connolly, the core drummer from Andrew’s former lower-level class. Ryan is clearly a worse drummer, but Fletcher promotes him as the core almost immediately, infuriating Andrew. Determined to impress Fletcher, Andrew practices round the clock until his hands bleed. We are in the constant pursuit of attaining mastery, and we want to get better at doing whatever we are doing. It’s why learning a language or an instrument can be so frustrating at first. Mastery over any skill in the true sense is an asymptote. One can never master any art perfectly; he can only

People who find purpose in their work unlock the highest levels of the motivation. Pink, in his book Drive, says that it’s connecting to a cause larger than just yourself is what actually drives the deepest motivation. Purpose, as Pink puts it, is what gets you out of bed in the morning and into work without groaning and grumbling — something that you just cannot fake.

aspire and in the process, improve. That is why the aspiration of the individual to perfection is never achieved.

The next day, Fletcher tearfully reveals in class that a talented former student of his, Sean Casey, died in a car accident. The band rehearses Caravan, but Ryan struggles with the tempo. Fletcher auditions Andrew, Ryan and Carl for

hours while the class waits outside. Fletcher finally gives the position to Andrew.

On the way to a jazz competition, Andrew’s bus breaks down. Determined to make a mark at the performance, he rents a car but arrives late without his drumsticks. After an argument with Fletcher and an outburst against his fellow musicians, Andrew drives back to the car rental office and retrieves the drumsticks. As he speeds back, he meets with an accident with a truck. He crawls from the wreckage and arrives on stage badly injured. When he struggles to play the score of Caravan due to his injuries, Fletcher stops the band midway through the performance to tell Andrew that he is ’done for’. Unable to see his vision slipping away, Andrew

attacks Fletcher in front of the audience and is dragged away.

He even goes to the extent of breaking up with his girlfriend, Nicole, believing she might distract him. If the individual feels like he is not getting anywhere, his interest flags and he may even give up. A sense of progress, not just in his work, but his capabilities, contributes to his inner drive.

Days after, Andrew is expelled from Shaffer and meets with a lawyer representing the parents of Sean Casey. When the lawyer explained that Sean actually hanged himself, having suffered anxiety and depression after joining Fletcher’s class, Sean’s parents want to prevent Fletcher from teaching. Andrew agrees to testify anonymously, resulting in Fletcher being fired.

Andrew abandons music and is living with his father. He happens to walk past a jazz club one day, and sees Fletcher performing on stage. Fletcher invites him for drinks. During that time, he explains that people never understood what it was that he was doing at Shaffer. He wasn’t there to conduct. Any fool could wave his arms and keep people in tempo. He was there to push people beyond what’s expected of them. He believed that that was an absolute necessity. Otherwise, we’re depriving the world of the next Louis Armstrong. He invites Andrew to perform at a festival concert with his band.

On stage at the jazz festival, Fletcher reveals to Andrew, that he knew all along that Andrew

was responsible for him being thrown out of Shaffer, since he was the one who had testified against him, and this concert was his revenge. He leads the band in a new piece for which Andrew was not given sheet music. Andrew is humiliated and flees the stage to be comforted by his father, but as Fletcher is addressing the audience, Andrew returns to the drum set and starts playing Caravan. The rest of the band follows suit, surprising Fletcher, who eventually joins in. Andrew ends the performance with an extravagant drum solo, and at the end of which Fletcher gives him a smile, which Andrew gratefully returns, having pleased his teacher at last.

He even goes to the extent of breaking up with his girlfriend, Nicole, believing she might distract him. If the individual feels like he is not getting anywhere, his interest flags and he may even give up. A sense of progress, not just in his work, but his capabilities, contributes to his inner drive.


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Tapping Into Your Personal DNAJuly 27, 2015 to July 31, 2015

ISB, Mohali Campus

To be a leader and manager one needs to have a robust understanding of things such as project management, organisational skills, managing employees and monitoring their performance. But even masters of these skills aren’t necessarily transformational leaders. These skills are simply the foundation on which a transformational leader is most effective. It is based on an intense 20-year action-research into the nature of learning and thinking, achieved by interviewing Nobel laureates, over 100 CEOs, successful athletes, musicians, psychologists, brain researchers, and spiritual leaders. This path breaking research reveals that each person has a unique essence or DNA which, when tapped, clarifies purpose, evokes passion, unleashes leadership, and harvests creativity. This process is called ‘Igniting one’s natural genius’, and will help a leader devise action steps to transform the organisation. Top level management, SBU heads and high potential candidates who are being groomed for top leadership roles are the right participants for this programme. The fee for the participation is Rs. 1,75,000 plus tax. Email [email protected].

ISB - Darden Global Strategy And Leadership ProgrammeAugust 03, 2015 to August 07, 2015

ISB, Hyderabad Campus

Managing key relationships at all levels of business is essential for effective global strategy. Influential leaders are adept at building teams and partnerships that rise above personal interests and cultural differences within organisations and between countries. This programme is designed to give top and senior executives a sense of purpose, a leadership and strategic perspective about their businesses. The programme will focus on leading strategically in today’s environment of rapid change, new possibilities and growing globalisation. Special emphasis will be ascribed to creating a sustained winning edge using values, shared vision and purpose as a business advantage. It will stress equally on becoming an effective strategic leader and developing breakthrough competitive, sustainable response for one’s organisation. It is meant for leaders who want to move from controlling daily activities to creating new opportunities, especially encouraging independence and creativity within their organisations. The fee for participation is INR 6,00,000 plus tax. Email [email protected] for more details.



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July 27, 2015 to July 29, 2015

IIM, Banglore

Failures in organisations may be attributed to multiple reasons. These may include: inability of the organisation to adapt to external changes, poor strategy formulation or execution, financial mismanagement, technology disruptions, non-market issues, unplanned contingencies, marketing failures, managerial hubris or ethical and governance deficiencies. This programme addresses the issue of business and organisational failure; identifies different types of business failures and provides a framework for analysing and dealing with multiple failures. The programme is aimed to draw upon multiple perspectives, ranging from Industrial organisational theory, organisational ecology, and organisation studies, to emerging relationships between the non-market environment, strategy and organisational failure. The top leaders and executives at the top management of the organisations should attend this programme. The fee for participation is Rs. 65,000 plus tax. Email [email protected] for more information.

3 TP Emerging Leaders ProgrammeVenue- IIM Ahamdebad

July 26, 2015 to August 22, 2015

Managerial effectiveness in an organisation is enhanced if managerial competence and skill development activity is viewed in the perspective of the total organisation. An organisation’s growth and development is facilitated if the executives are exposed to learning opportunities and situations that simulate decision-making, diversity of perspectives and activities, and responsibilities of teams. The process of change is accelerated and sustained when interventions on leadership capability building and enhancing managerial skills are initiated simultaneously at different levels. Creating potential for development and upgradation of human resources is considered as a critical factor for an organisation in the long run. Leaders have to continuously engage in learning and unlearning activity which enables them to work in conditions of rapid change and uncertainty. Operationally, 3-TP is a set of three executive courses designed to meet the developmental needs of leaders at middle, senior, and top executives of medium and large organisations as well as public systems. The Emerging Leaders’ Programme is designed as an intensive general management-focused learning experience for middle managers who are expected to take leadership roles in future. The programme will provide participants insights into the processes of defining problems, specifying objectives, developing alternative courses of action, choosing the best alternative in an uncertain and changing environment, organising and managing people and resources to implement the chosen alternative, coordinating their work, motivating and developing them, and finally measuring and controlling performances. The fee for participation is Rs. 2,85,000. E-mail [email protected] for more information.

Book review – switch Sthitipragnya Dash



‘Switch’ by the Heath brothers turns out to be an highly engaging book about the dynamics involved in the

whole arduous, multifaceted and complicated process of change. The book is a functional testament of how the desired change can be brought out when situations, habits are typically rigid and hard. How would one successfully change him or herself? How can a leader go about leading the change? Switch is a blend of business experiences, academic research, and productivity tools and measures of how we can lead the change ourselves.

Heath brothers believe that it is the understanding of human behavior that can provide us with the paraphernalia for making changes in our lives, and leading the changes too. The instruments that the authors explain are very fundamental and derivable from our daily lives; there is nothing immoderate. They transmit their ideas by narrating stories about everyday people and organisations that have been able to undertake major changes, even while facing preposterous situations.

In this book, Heath brothers break the myth of the brain being a monolith. They proclaim that the brain has two mutually independent systems within it. First is the emotional system which is instinctive, it feels pain and pleasure. Second is the rational system which is the conscious practical one. In Switch, these two systems are referred to as the elephant and the rider. This analysis was originally opined by Jonathan Haidt in his book, The Happiness

Hypothesis. He says that the rational side, which is the rider, is perched atop the elephant, i.e., the emotional side. But the rider’s grip on the elephant is very feeble because he is relatively smaller than the elephant. And when these two go in opposite directions in

disagreement, the former is going to lose. To instill change and then sustain it, one has to appeal to the emotional side of the mind as well as its analytical rational side. ’Knowing something isn’t enough to change. Make people feel something. Trying to fight inertia and indifference with analytical arguments is like tossing fire extinguisher to someone who’s drowning. The solution doesn’t match the problem’, write Dan Heath and Chip Heath.

So, to bring about a sustainable change, Heath brothers recommend to first ‘Direct the Rider’, then ‘Motivate the Elephant’ and finally ‘Shape the Path’.

Directing the riderDirecting the rider involves first identifying

Knowing something isn’t enough to change. Make people feel something. Trying to fight inertia and indifference with analytical arguments is like tossing fire extinguisher to someone who’s drowning. The solution doesn’t match the problem.


the ‘bright spots’ and cloning what has been successful. The authors bring out this point brilliantly by quoting the example of Jerry Sternin, who worked for Save the Children International, and was successful in reducing the chronic malnutrition amongst the children in Vietnam in the early 1990s. Instead of designing extravagant programs, Jerry’s team identified the bright spots – practices that the mothers of well nourished children were using with the same amount of resources. He and his team only captured these bright spots and shared them with the mothers of undernourished children. By doing this,

Sternin and his small team, who were already on a shoestring budget, were able to reach out to 265 villages; which was a significant leap from just 14 villages they could focus on initially.

Once the bright spots are identified, the Heath brothers recommend scripting of the critical moves, i.e. prescribe concrete

actionable steps to change. The authors then argue that to build the momentum of change, it is important to give people a flavour of how they would feel once they get their arms around the change by pointing towards the destination. To give the clarity of why and worth of a change, Heath brothers suggest giving ‘destination postcards’ – a vivid, graphic, interesting imagery of what the destination would look like once you’ve made the changes required.

A teacher in Portland, Bart Millar, used this idea to get his boisterous back benchers in time to the class. He placed a used, but comfortable and inviting couch in the front row of his history classroom. Soon, the backbenchers competed to arrive early so that they could earn the special, comfortable seat.

Motivating the elephantThe next step is Motivating the Elephant;

Heath brothers say that ’Knowing something isn’t enough to cause change. Make people feel something’. According to them, a successful change metabolism would take place when it is SEE – FEEL – CHANGE; and not ANALYSE – THINK – CHANGE.

A great example of it happened at The Target Company, which was lagging behind in trends in the 1990s, when Robyn Waters joined the company as the ready to wear trend manager. Clothes that the company sold were neutral coloured like khakis, whites, blacks or tans; the idea of brightly coloured clothes

The next step is Motivating the Elephant; Heath brothers say that ’Knowing something isn’t enough to cause change. Make people feel something’. According to them, a successful change metabolism would take place when it is SEE – FEEL – CHANGE; and not ANALYSE – THINK – CHANGE.


was detested there. Waters saw the potential in selling colours, but she first had to get her merchants excited about them. It was a tough ask as the merchants being number driven, reviewed past year sales and argued that the colors had not been sold. The Heaths called this a classical example of Rider’s appeal not working because the data rebutted Water’s position. Water had to then think about something more creative so as to appeal to the emotional minds of the merchants. She brought large glass jars filled with water, put M&M bars in these, and the emergent show of sparkling bright colors appealed to the senses of the merchants. Waters also showed them how the customers were choosing the colors of their cars and their computers; she brought in the samples of Apple’s IMac computers which had lime green and various other pop colors. The merchants then saw her point. She brought colours to The Target Company by motivating the Elephant in the merchants and showed how a leader could actually get her team to not only adapt and incorporate the desired change, but also believe in that change.

The next key precept from the book is shrinking the change. The Heaths say that the Elephant can very easily get demotivated, derailed and upset, which is why it needs the invigoration and push from the very first step of the change. But shrinking the change is only to make it easy to ‘grow your people’. The authors say that ‘In times of change we need to remind ourselves and others, again and again of certain basic truths’. Our brains and abilities are like muscles that have to be strengthened by practice.

To demonstrate how to grow the people, authors cite a case of conservation of rare parrot species – the St. Lucian Parrot, which was facing extinction 2000. Paul Butler, a college student, played the role of the most unlikely conservationist; he mobilised the residents of St Lucia to protect the rare parrot specie by instilling a sense of pride about that bird living amidst them. He did not shrink the change, rather he grew the people. The key learning here is that you may shrink the change, but to make people feel the transformation and instill the feeling of why the change is what would bring about a long yielding result.

Shaping the pathThe other vital psychosomatic principle

that the authors highlight in Switch is that our outside environment, world has a great significance in controlling our actions even more than we harbor suspicion about. If the mise-en-scène around is not right then all the probity and rectitude will be defeated. So, the book proposes shaping the path as the as the final leap in the mechanism of change.

To shape the path, it is important to first begin with tweaking of the environment by altering the situation, which would result in altering the behaviour of the individual. Many smokers do not smoke when they are on a vacation, away from where they normally would smoke, because there is a change in their environment wherein they don’t get the urge to smoke. A situational control is essential. The authors say that what often looks like a ’character problem is correctible when you change the environment’. And a simple tweak in the environment can lead to dramatic transformations or changes in behaviours. Building habits could be done by maintaining checklists that would help the Rider keep the Elephant on track if it goes astray, and continue to motivate him. Lastly, to shape the path, Heath brothers recommend rallying the herd i.e. spreading the good work done in bringing about the change. The constant articulation of the desired change has to be shown better, so as to rally the herd towards successful change.


Events in Focus

Standards Conclave 2015Addressing the participants, Ajit Seth, Cabinet Secretary, Government of India stressed the importance of a strong standards ecosystem under the ‘Make in India’ campaign. He said that it is important for Indian manufacturers to comply with the right standards to export value added products and for India to become a manufacturing hub. Adil Zainul-bhai, Chairman, Quality Council of India, said that standards can help to improve quality of lives of Indian citizens. He pointed out that 15 years ago, automobile manufacturing in India was not known for its quality. Now, it is one of the largest exporters largely due to adoption of voluntary quality standards. Similarly, India has achieved excellent quality standards in generic medicine. Private players in healthcare sector have been accredited with world class standards. He felt that another area of focus is agriculture, which employs large number of players. In his address, Sumit Mazumder, President, CII, said that India is aspiring to become a manufacturing hub, and to achieve this goal there is a need to en-sure strong quality compliance. This will help India’s companies join Global Value Chains (GVCs), reduce information asymmetry as well as reduce overall transaction cost. Earlier in his welcome address, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, stated that in a low tariff regime, the focus has now shifted to Non-Tariff Barrierrs (NTBs) including standards. On one hand, it can help improve the quality of goods, but he also cautioned that it can also act as a barrier to trade. With the initiation of the Make in India campaign, standards and related measures have become significant and Indian Industry needs to prepare for the challenges of high standards.

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Ajit Seth addressing the conclave.


Mumbai hR SummitThe welcome address was given by Pravin Sathe, CEO, Elixir Communications. To highlight the need for focus on learning he pointed out the paradox of India having with as much as 10,000 crore jobs, and still being plagued by unemployment. He also spoke about the L&OD professionals being the mirror of the organisations. The keynote address was given by Dr Sujaya Banerjee, Chief Talent Officer and Senior VP HR, Essar Group. She stated that there is a need to treat employees as customers, and a customer centric approach should be taken. She pointed out that many HR professionals are treated as mere tools in the organisation, and the onus to change it lies squarely on them. She added that there is a need for an inward focus in the organisations to fill the talent gaps and advocated a three prong strategy to engage the three generations in the workforce. She concluded by high-lighting the five acid tests of a learning organisation — having a defined learning agen-da, managing discordant information, avoiding repetition of mistakes, providing loss of critical data and acting on what it knows. Nina Chathrath, Partner, Enhance Consulting, delivered the presidential address. She said that entire thinking around learning activities rests on developing managers. Instead learning should be driven to solve problems faced by the organisations. Breaking down the redundant mental models and then building a shared vision would help the organisation and its heads in creating team learning and attain personal mastery.

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Sujaya Banerjee and Nina Chatrath at the Mumbai HR Summit.

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Documents

Conundrum: An acceptance of incompetence Rajendra …theleadershipreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/June-Issue.pdfwater) being awarded to Rajendra Singh for his path breaking work