It is ironical that while CWG 2010 was happpening in India , with all the controversies of corruption and ineptness of Govt. Departments & politicains involved , there was a marketing campaign being run by IDFC - Infrastruture Bonds.
The campaign theme appeared to be " Become an owner of India's Infrastructure ( Road, Airports)". The Noble thought being pushed was - Invest in these bonds and help build infrastructure of India, which will make your own life good and do you proud as an Indian & Countrymen.
Wasn't Govt intention in conducting the CWG the same ? So where did it go wrong?. Hopefully the inquiry Instituted by the Govt. will reveal and punish the wrong and wrongdoers. I say hopefully , because I am not hopeful.
Let me share my reasons why?
Indian Goverments, have never acted in a comprehensive & decisive manner, in the past, when it came to matters concerning common man being impacted by their deceitful, manipulative & unimaginative actions, even though those have come out and have become common knowledge.- Bhopal, 26/11 , Telecom & ........
The principal opposition party has suddenly gone silent, perhaps, put on backfoot by a strategic action of raid by IT on Mr. Sudhansu Mittal. This is even after Nitin Gadkari went ahead alleging PMO being party to such large scale corruption. This ccandal , I believe had the potential to bring down this Government. Not anymore. This entire scandal has the potential to weaken the establishment ( political system & bureacracy) irreparably & hence there seems to be a silent acceptance amongst the estbalishment to rally behind each other , failing which they believe they all will be easy targets in Media and general public. Left Parties which threatened to bring down Govt on price rise , called for bandh , nuclear bill is virtually silent. Not one major leader has come out with any statement. The Political class is getting together to show solidarity.
This solidarity means that " They will continue to be corrupt & blase about it".Common man - go take a walk....They have mocked us in the past and they will mock us in the future.
The major channels & media are now looking at new stories & controversies.CWG 2010 is not anymore occupying prime time news & debates. The voice is not as shrill anymore. The Journalism not as incisive anymore. Meanwhile Poiliticians and Bureaucrats are preparing themselves with armoury , due to more than adequate time given by the , ironically, most honest PM.Forewarned is effective than forearmed.They are Forewarned.
We are corrupt. Absolutely.Not only in terms of money but also in our intentions and execution. The entire planning on inquiry has been good , all politically correct decisions have been taken till now. Hereafter is action time. Now , like CWG , scope of work, deadlines, timelines , multiple agencies, blame game, procedural issues ..will come out. Finally a face-saving gesture of removing few ministers from key positions.
Common man , while you are proud on infrastructure remember it is built on money collected from you and not even spent judicously. Perhaps the Ad from IDFC should have shown that same common man is so disgusted that - he removes chair from airport and takes them home. Thats where he belongs. He should not come out of home at all.He will stay happy there only. Politicians dont want him outside. Common man causes them unneccesary headache and makes them work hard & even smarter in being corrupt and inept.
This carnage by Govt in CWG 2010 is more gruesome that 26/11. In fact the more I think , the more I believe that more or less both these events are similar and yet the public response has been very different. Candle Lit marches, gatherings at iconic places , News channels reporting was way too serious and motivating. Govt did take corrective actions. How much and how effective ..wait and watch.
This time however , how wonderful it will be if there are overnight candle light marches on India Gate & Gatway of India , peacefully, by common man coming together. It is our money , wasted. It is our trust , betrayed. It is our confidence , shaken. It is our country , shamed.
Let Govt issue a inquiry map clearly stating no. of contracts being investigated and timelines by which each will be made public, with each passing week. Certainly contracts of 20 crore can be investigated faster than those worth 2000 crores. Let people demand it. Let us request Electronic Media to stay focussed and continue with this issue as headlines.
Politicains need pressure to work , apart from our money.
Did I say I am hopeful?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
What is the purpose of your life?
I regularly watch videos on ted.com. If anyone has not known or seen the videos posted by them, do so at the earliest. Inspiring & thought provoking. One such video provoked me to write this blog.
In the video I saw, the speaker goes to great lengths to argue & establish that organizations which successfully sustain themselves over long period of time do it based on “why” – purpose of their existence and not on “what” they produce/sell to customers. He goes to great length and with evidences attempts to establish that customers respond to genuine purpose of organizations; their why?
One case comes to me of “Wal-Mart” which I believe is also an example of what has been stated above. Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, said in 60s, that their purpose / mission is to bring down the cost of living for an average American. Profound, Sincere, Transparent, ambitious. Firstly his own employees believed him. Secondly the customers believed him as the “why” of walmart aligned with their “why The case that is being made here is that, People are not buying “what they (walmart) sell”; that is product at lowest price; people are buying because of “why” Wal-Mart is selling. ”. In the following years, many emerged as competition in this space for Walmart, but customers continued to believe in walmart more than anyone else.
This concept works in various situations and environments, just that terminology changes. Let us look at selling. In selling, it is said that seller must identify needs of a prospect. Isn’t identifying need of prospect “why”, customer proposes to buy the product? It is.
Companies research the needs and pain points of customers before designing and marketing the product/services. These needs are “why “the customer will consider & buy their product. While buying he is convinced of “why” you wish to sell to him. He believes your intention to produce that good/service is to “help him satisfy his need”; his” why” to buy. If they believe otherwise, a mass of them, critical mass, will not touch the product.
Let us look at situations within organizations. People work for people. People work with people. Only when a subordinate senses the purpose, explicitly or implicitly, “why” of actions being demanded of him by his organization, senior, leader, boss as uplifting, honest & sincere- does he go about putting his heart & soul in achieving it. Leaders establish purpose. Leaders do not drive people. Purpose drives followers, subordinates, teams, organizations. I am sure employee takes “pride” even today@ Wal-Mart; as they truly believe that their leaders are sincere to the purpose. Hence, employees at their own levels contribute to cutting costs, avoiding wastages, controlling leakages, driving efficiencies etc. Once “why” is established, they know “what” to do.
Let us look at our relationships @home. Our ability to manage our child develops considerably when we share with him the “why” of what we are asking him to do (what). Try it out with a youngster. Tell him to do something and more than likely you will hear him whispering F%$@ o%$. Explain “why” you want him to do that and you have a fan. Is this not very basic & is this not the way we want ourselves to be treated? Yes of, course.
At the root of Chris Argyris’s concept of “Advocacy & inquiry” is enabling people to reveal & share “why” they say “what” they are saying, to be able to travel the “Ladder of inference” together & reach a common, shared understanding. Advocacy & inquiry helps establish alignment around the core ” why” than “what”.
It is true everywhere that people respond to “why” and not “what”. We all know it. We forget the basics. We focus too much on “what”. Great Movements are built on “purpose”. People have followers because of purpose. Gandhi had a purpose. Did people follow him or followed his purpose. I think it was the purpose. His “why” had become people’s “why”. Freedom movement sustained and we won independence.
Do you know your “why”, your purpose or are you just going around doing” what” others have done in the past or are doing today ? Perhaps this could be the reason of our stress & unhappiness. Following the “what” but not asking “why”.
"Why” is a difficult question to ask yourself but track record of successful people & organizations suggested that it makes life easy. Wanna bet.
In the video I saw, the speaker goes to great lengths to argue & establish that organizations which successfully sustain themselves over long period of time do it based on “why” – purpose of their existence and not on “what” they produce/sell to customers. He goes to great length and with evidences attempts to establish that customers respond to genuine purpose of organizations; their why?
One case comes to me of “Wal-Mart” which I believe is also an example of what has been stated above. Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, said in 60s, that their purpose / mission is to bring down the cost of living for an average American. Profound, Sincere, Transparent, ambitious. Firstly his own employees believed him. Secondly the customers believed him as the “why” of walmart aligned with their “why The case that is being made here is that, People are not buying “what they (walmart) sell”; that is product at lowest price; people are buying because of “why” Wal-Mart is selling. ”. In the following years, many emerged as competition in this space for Walmart, but customers continued to believe in walmart more than anyone else.
This concept works in various situations and environments, just that terminology changes. Let us look at selling. In selling, it is said that seller must identify needs of a prospect. Isn’t identifying need of prospect “why”, customer proposes to buy the product? It is.
Companies research the needs and pain points of customers before designing and marketing the product/services. These needs are “why “the customer will consider & buy their product. While buying he is convinced of “why” you wish to sell to him. He believes your intention to produce that good/service is to “help him satisfy his need”; his” why” to buy. If they believe otherwise, a mass of them, critical mass, will not touch the product.
Let us look at situations within organizations. People work for people. People work with people. Only when a subordinate senses the purpose, explicitly or implicitly, “why” of actions being demanded of him by his organization, senior, leader, boss as uplifting, honest & sincere- does he go about putting his heart & soul in achieving it. Leaders establish purpose. Leaders do not drive people. Purpose drives followers, subordinates, teams, organizations. I am sure employee takes “pride” even today@ Wal-Mart; as they truly believe that their leaders are sincere to the purpose. Hence, employees at their own levels contribute to cutting costs, avoiding wastages, controlling leakages, driving efficiencies etc. Once “why” is established, they know “what” to do.
Let us look at our relationships @home. Our ability to manage our child develops considerably when we share with him the “why” of what we are asking him to do (what). Try it out with a youngster. Tell him to do something and more than likely you will hear him whispering F%$@ o%$. Explain “why” you want him to do that and you have a fan. Is this not very basic & is this not the way we want ourselves to be treated? Yes of, course.
At the root of Chris Argyris’s concept of “Advocacy & inquiry” is enabling people to reveal & share “why” they say “what” they are saying, to be able to travel the “Ladder of inference” together & reach a common, shared understanding. Advocacy & inquiry helps establish alignment around the core ” why” than “what”.
It is true everywhere that people respond to “why” and not “what”. We all know it. We forget the basics. We focus too much on “what”. Great Movements are built on “purpose”. People have followers because of purpose. Gandhi had a purpose. Did people follow him or followed his purpose. I think it was the purpose. His “why” had become people’s “why”. Freedom movement sustained and we won independence.
Do you know your “why”, your purpose or are you just going around doing” what” others have done in the past or are doing today ? Perhaps this could be the reason of our stress & unhappiness. Following the “what” but not asking “why”.
"Why” is a difficult question to ask yourself but track record of successful people & organizations suggested that it makes life easy. Wanna bet.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Reference check of Employers
These days, we hear & in some cases experience that employers are using internal and external resources to conduct reference check on candidates to verify claims on salary / experience etc as some of them encountered false declarations from candidates.
Who is to be blamed - Obviously candidates. You just cannot lie , be untruthful to organization which will provide you employment and career.
Let us reverse the discussions for a moment.
I am sure most of the new joinees in middle/senior management encounter surprises and shocks after joining a company. While they are communicated great things about the organization and its practices , they do find a yawning gap between promises and delivery.
Is it not fair for candidates to ask for names of ex candidates from these companies to carry out a verification on various things which impact his work and output. Work culture , Execution culture , delegations , independence etc.
Candidates should ask to spend a day in the organization meeting a lot of people asking and seeking out what they deem fit to be checked about the prospective employer.
Is it asking for too much.
I do not think so. I believe in next 3-5 years this will start happening.
In fact people may be reluctant to joing certain organizations and these very companies will offer such an opportunity to market them selves. What a day it will be!!!
Think !!!
Who is to be blamed - Obviously candidates. You just cannot lie , be untruthful to organization which will provide you employment and career.
Let us reverse the discussions for a moment.
I am sure most of the new joinees in middle/senior management encounter surprises and shocks after joining a company. While they are communicated great things about the organization and its practices , they do find a yawning gap between promises and delivery.
Is it not fair for candidates to ask for names of ex candidates from these companies to carry out a verification on various things which impact his work and output. Work culture , Execution culture , delegations , independence etc.
Candidates should ask to spend a day in the organization meeting a lot of people asking and seeking out what they deem fit to be checked about the prospective employer.
Is it asking for too much.
I do not think so. I believe in next 3-5 years this will start happening.
In fact people may be reluctant to joing certain organizations and these very companies will offer such an opportunity to market them selves. What a day it will be!!!
Think !!!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Save Tiger Campaign - Whose Responsibility
You login in to any website - you would get a banner reading - 1411 left.
My question is this. Who is responsible to save them ? This answer should come from who is responsible in first place to get their count down from 4000 to 1411 in India in last 100 years.
Normal citizens like me can join campaigns - online, sign a petition to Govt, take out a candle light protest. Will something happen. Concrete actions has to come out from experts who are either not visible or are not heard / given the platform and freedom to so something.
Apathy.
Today Morning I read a news item. Supreme Court Judge has said in a petition filed to " Save Yamuna" that it is a " gandha nallah". -Dirty drain- He is right , when 25 major drains of Delhi city bring muck, filth,pollutants without processing in to the river , stangnant river at that, what would happen.
In last 15 years there were three occassions when Govt of Delhi has given a written undertaking to courts that drain water before being released into Yamuna shall be treated and only then allowed in to river. Has anything happenned - No - not even a single politician , bureaucrat has lost his job.
Apathy.
These areas are just a few which are not owned by any body. No one.Money is still being spent. Tax Payers money. No accountability.
I am reminded of a story- Everybody thought somebody will do it. Somebody thought any body could do it. In the end nobody did it.
My question is this. Who is responsible to save them ? This answer should come from who is responsible in first place to get their count down from 4000 to 1411 in India in last 100 years.
Normal citizens like me can join campaigns - online, sign a petition to Govt, take out a candle light protest. Will something happen. Concrete actions has to come out from experts who are either not visible or are not heard / given the platform and freedom to so something.
Apathy.
Today Morning I read a news item. Supreme Court Judge has said in a petition filed to " Save Yamuna" that it is a " gandha nallah". -Dirty drain- He is right , when 25 major drains of Delhi city bring muck, filth,pollutants without processing in to the river , stangnant river at that, what would happen.
In last 15 years there were three occassions when Govt of Delhi has given a written undertaking to courts that drain water before being released into Yamuna shall be treated and only then allowed in to river. Has anything happenned - No - not even a single politician , bureaucrat has lost his job.
Apathy.
These areas are just a few which are not owned by any body. No one.Money is still being spent. Tax Payers money. No accountability.
I am reminded of a story- Everybody thought somebody will do it. Somebody thought any body could do it. In the end nobody did it.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
3 Idiots - Who has learnt the lessons?
There was a virtual flooding in my Inbox of stories and presentations singing praises and enumerating learnings from the film 3 Idiots. Indeed a nice story telling by master craftsmen raju Hirani.
Trainers in India would flog this film snippets to death. Bore people with the film / scenes to highlight and emphasise learnings to the managers.
These very managers then would go back to their respective organizations after trainings. What would happen when they wish to put their learnings in to execution/application? Any guesses?. We know it and have seen it in the past.
One thing that I believe we all have missed and it does not find a mention in any of the presentations / messages being circulated - is the role of employer / organizations.
Behaviours are changed for good when they are encouraged , an environment is provided for people to flower. Is it just enough that only one stakeholder changes his approach and while all other key stakeholders in the system continue to live in the old world/order?. Here I believe stakeholders being looked at is only colleges institutions, as in the film?. Don't you think institutions success is determined by their ability to attract top corporates for placements and top drawer salary, whihc makes new headlines. Top corporates want to pick the first graders.
Is it a coincidence that in the film this aspect has not been highlighted enough.Perhaps limitation of an entertaining story to be told in 3 hours meant highlighting one aspect of a problem which has multiple tpuchpoints in our lives.
Clearly the company which hired Raju - what were they thinking?. Why did they hire a guy with more or less poor academic records? . Will anyone today hire similarly just on attitude. Major corporates go to Tier 1 institutes and would like to be first / second on campus to pick up best of the talent based on scores/grades. They are only offered brilliant candidates based on exam gardes.
Will the corporates now provide colleges a profile for shortlisting based on behavioral indicators and soft skills and not ask for students with grades above a certain level?
Will the Corporates when they go out looking for youngsters at entry level ( 1 -2 yesr experience) look for attitude and behavioral indicators. If so do they have knowledge / tools to do it?
Let these brilliant organizations lead the way - Infosys / L&T / HDFC / any one plZZZZZ...........
Let us not wait for Raju Hirani to make a sequel highlighting the responsibility of corporates to nurture the natural talent and skills. It will not happen. It is a commercial world and perhaps there is story to tell but not good enough script and moolah for Raju and Vinod Chopra.
So let us wait ..... or somebody write to Kapil Sibal ... he is making couargeous and right moves. We cannot wait. let us not wait.
Trainers in India would flog this film snippets to death. Bore people with the film / scenes to highlight and emphasise learnings to the managers.
These very managers then would go back to their respective organizations after trainings. What would happen when they wish to put their learnings in to execution/application? Any guesses?. We know it and have seen it in the past.
One thing that I believe we all have missed and it does not find a mention in any of the presentations / messages being circulated - is the role of employer / organizations.
Behaviours are changed for good when they are encouraged , an environment is provided for people to flower. Is it just enough that only one stakeholder changes his approach and while all other key stakeholders in the system continue to live in the old world/order?. Here I believe stakeholders being looked at is only colleges institutions, as in the film?. Don't you think institutions success is determined by their ability to attract top corporates for placements and top drawer salary, whihc makes new headlines. Top corporates want to pick the first graders.
Is it a coincidence that in the film this aspect has not been highlighted enough.Perhaps limitation of an entertaining story to be told in 3 hours meant highlighting one aspect of a problem which has multiple tpuchpoints in our lives.
Clearly the company which hired Raju - what were they thinking?. Why did they hire a guy with more or less poor academic records? . Will anyone today hire similarly just on attitude. Major corporates go to Tier 1 institutes and would like to be first / second on campus to pick up best of the talent based on scores/grades. They are only offered brilliant candidates based on exam gardes.
Will the corporates now provide colleges a profile for shortlisting based on behavioral indicators and soft skills and not ask for students with grades above a certain level?
Will the Corporates when they go out looking for youngsters at entry level ( 1 -2 yesr experience) look for attitude and behavioral indicators. If so do they have knowledge / tools to do it?
Let these brilliant organizations lead the way - Infosys / L&T / HDFC / any one plZZZZZ...........
Let us not wait for Raju Hirani to make a sequel highlighting the responsibility of corporates to nurture the natural talent and skills. It will not happen. It is a commercial world and perhaps there is story to tell but not good enough script and moolah for Raju and Vinod Chopra.
So let us wait ..... or somebody write to Kapil Sibal ... he is making couargeous and right moves. We cannot wait. let us not wait.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
5 day week -
Few days back, I was thinking about the rationale & logic used by companies to determine working hours/ days / week in their respective organizations. Times have changed since 80s when , If I recall correctly, most MNCs and large corporate had a 5 day week in their main corporate and regional/zonal offices while sales team had a 6 or 5.5 day/week.
This piece today has been triggered therefore by above and newspaper report “Deccan chronicle”.
Study: People happier on weekends
This study appeared in Journal of Social and clinical psychology. Briefly it states that free time allows people to chose things to do and this freedom results in their doing things which makes them happy.
There have been articles circulating on the net – Infosys chairman Mr. Narayan Murthy stating that people who work extended hours through the week and even on weekends – make mistakes on Monday and then work to correct all other days of week due to pressure and fatigue.
I am still wondering that when research, history and contemporaries are all vocal about the weekend why do organizations continue to have more than 5 day week? Is there still a belief that more hours spent = more output. I don’t think so. Do you?
Is there a case for 5 day week today again when with Blackberry/ emails etc there is actually no. start and end of day?
Is there a case for regulation to ensure max hours work/ per week?
Is there an issue of organization behavior? Will HR ever understand this subject and stand up for their most critical resource?
This piece today has been triggered therefore by above and newspaper report “Deccan chronicle”.
Study: People happier on weekends
This study appeared in Journal of Social and clinical psychology. Briefly it states that free time allows people to chose things to do and this freedom results in their doing things which makes them happy.
There have been articles circulating on the net – Infosys chairman Mr. Narayan Murthy stating that people who work extended hours through the week and even on weekends – make mistakes on Monday and then work to correct all other days of week due to pressure and fatigue.
I am still wondering that when research, history and contemporaries are all vocal about the weekend why do organizations continue to have more than 5 day week? Is there still a belief that more hours spent = more output. I don’t think so. Do you?
Is there a case for 5 day week today again when with Blackberry/ emails etc there is actually no. start and end of day?
Is there a case for regulation to ensure max hours work/ per week?
Is there an issue of organization behavior? Will HR ever understand this subject and stand up for their most critical resource?
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