Little thoughts….

Sometimes the wrong train takes you to the right station.

Situations don’t make you happy, we make them happy and memorable too at times.

We chase dreams, nightmares chase us. Choose the right approach towards life.

Reality is like a clear water, you see it only after a long & patient wait.

Don’t try to pretend to be clever all the time. It is good to be dumb at times to know the truth.

Street smartness works well at sales but it doesn’t with friends or loved ones.

Chance and opportunity are two extremes. One arrives unexpectedly and the other is found out after you put in considerable effort.

Mediocre men are tolerated in organisations but mediocre women aren’t. Women have to make huge effort to stand out.

Excellence requires hard work to achieve and harder to maintain for a longer time.

Buying Peace is all good but it needs huge effort to work towards it.

Everything in this world is bought over a trade, including peace and enmity.

Governments could be reckless and squander people’s money but not the head of the family.

What is good for you is good for your society and country too.

All over the world governments work towards making poor poorer and rich richer.

Inefficiency is not measured in any manner, it shows up in the results.

Love for the country is not shown only when look up at the flag, but we show it when all people are treated equal and happily co-exist. Happy society, Happy country.

Economy and Confidence

Economy is about confidence. When a bond is issued by a Government, it promises to pay back the bearer in future. The bearer is confident that his/her money will be paid back by the Government. 

The world relies on confidence between people, banks, governments and countries. If a link is broken in a chain of transactions between any two players, then it is breach of confidence that creates enmity, hatred, litigation and bankruptcy.

Governments all over the world try to ensure the wheels are running, the chain intact, ensuring the economical and financial parameters are always kept in balance. So when a government borrows money to spend on its people, it is expected that the borrowings never cross a threshold limit. If it does, the burden of debt it borrowed falls on its people.  Not only that, people are forced to pay more taxes when the government hikes up the tax rates to increase revenue to pay back its debts.

An efficient government spends money only on developmental related work, GDP growth initiatives and upliftment of needy but most of the time the funds go for appeasement of certain sections of people and other wasteful expenditure. Recently a state government in India came out with a white paper on its financial status that revealed that each household in that state carries a debt burden of Rs 263000 ( approx $3500). What a sorry state of governance! In Indian ethos, borrowing beyond one’s personal repayment capability is always frowned upon and people have grown imbibing the culture over many generations until credit card and personal loan offers came into their life and made them spendthrifts.

A Government needs to be extremely prudent in managing its revenues and debts and work towards a path of growth of its economy and people. The day the politicians and bureaucrats realise they are duty bound to keep the people happier that will be the day the true meaning of good governance is felt. Until then, it is a life of misery and sorrow.

Business Sustainability over a century – An Indian Model

There are numerous business houses in India that have survived many decades and some of them are older than 100 years. The founding fathers of these businesses had such a great vision and foresight of how their businesses needed to survive long years in the interest of community and economy of the nation. They had built their business on a strong foundation of values – ethical, social relevance, economical sustenance and environmental awareness. A sustainable business does not need any newer definition of Corporate Governance. These Corporate houses and the then Indian Governments co-existed so purposefully, unmindful of global competitions and resource crunch. The unselfish entrepreneurism of the founders, always keeping the consumers in mind, amply underlines the need for businesses to be always customer and people centric. They created lakhs of employment opportunities for successive generations to earn, live, thrive and prosper.

Business sustainability is the buzz word today in the corporate world but every business must be aware that there are business groups and entities like Birla Group, Wadia Group, Times of India, Shalimar Paints, TATA Group, Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Dabur, Kirloskar Group, Godrej & Boyce, ITC, TVS Group, SBI etc are living examples on how they have sustained their existence over many decades.

Not with standing two World Wars, the Great Global depression, India’s independence struggle, the population growth, the licence-permit raj, controls on foreign exchange and expansion, and the reforms of the 1990s: a handful of Indian companies have seen it all, and adapted along the way to do well. India has around three dozen century-old companies that are listed and still actively traded. One will be surprised to see such a long list of corporations that have weathered many storms and are still standing tall as a true testimony to the indomitable spirit of their leaders, their business acumen and ethical mind set.

“Response to change is the first condition for survival in business,” says Dwijendra Tripathi, a former IIM professor who authored The Oxford History of Indian Business

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies_in_India

India’s Turning Point – Challenges & Opportunities — Archives

I am happy to share the outcome of the year-long research done by McKinsey Global Institute. The findings are important in the context of Covid-19’s effect on health and economy. Though people have not returned to work at the levels that existed before Covid, it has been steadily recovering. Covid and lockdowns have taken a […]

India’s Turning Point – Challenges & Opportunities — Archives

Be positive, not on C but on G(rowth)

The 2nd wave of Covid is still hitting us hard in some parts of India but it appears to be receding in most parts of India as per published data. We will come out of it strongly like we did in the first wave. Self Discipline is the key.

There is a hectic movement of IT professionals across companies. All top IT majors in India are hiring big time, mostly due to attrition and a renewed technology focus. They are indirectly feeding each other in resource fulfillment but at a higher cost. Start-ups and mid tier companies are feeling the heat from cost perspective but they don’t want to let go new opportunities after a dull year. 

Healthcare, Retail and Consumer goods industries are continuing to do well and manufacturing, other than auto, service and infra companies are generating revenues that look good.

As per a survey, key economic Indicators are at 140-192% of 2020 levels and 45- 110% of 2019 levels, not withstanding May 2021 being a wash-out with 23 states under lockdown, thus robbing off 90% of GDP.

Indices at Indian stock exchanges look encouraging with better annual results from top companies, though it is a roller coaster ride. But recovery and GROWTH are steadily & surely happening. It is the resilient people who make all the difference, not technology.

 #hiring

 #healthcare #opportunities2021

All that we know yet don’t know

Acquired knowledge is an illusion, developed wisdom is real!

Don’t you agree?

If you are asked to write a few lines on how a zipper in your dress works, you may think how simple it is, but when you try to put it in words, you struggle. We know how a refrigerator or Microwave oven works and do we really know their mechanisms and write in detail about these machines.

We think we can write about anything – health, economics, politics, Justice, education, sports etc but rarely we go deep into them to exhibit our expertise unlike those who specialise in them. Sometime I wonder how those editors of newspapers or magazines write prescriptions for anything on the earth to showcase their prowess. They are supposed to quote experts’ views and present the readers a balanced view of people and matters but they hardly do it. Anchors of TV Channels resort to similar method and indulge in propagating their own version of truth and get their panelists to support their views. Sensationalism, anti-government stand, attempt to present your own country and people in poor light, not prioritising news feeds are major flaws that deny the real picture of issues surrounding us.

World famous scientists knew what they are known for. Renowned story writers knew how to write a good story and not on economics. Economists know the world economy but not on health or sports.

The illusion that we know and understand things better than we actually do is the main reason that impacts the relationships between people, society, political parties and countries.

Lets us get enlightened on things that we don’t know fully yet!

A Creative Organization

How could an organization be creative? How creative ideas of both a start-up or established one be put into practice to stay ahead of the curve and survive? Both consume a lot of energy and resources of varying degrees yet both want to be leaders in their own area of expertise.

Institutionalizing a culture of creativity and excellence in an organization is the first step of the leader at the helm. This requires an enormous understanding of its people and their behaviour and their quest to do something different, adding value to the work they do everyday. There needs to be constant motivation and inspiration from the top to unleash a sense of creativity in people, showing them the avenues they could let their creative thinking to take shape and be nurtured. Many large organizations that exist today were not created overnight but were built brick by brick to realise the creativity and skills of its people.

The likes of Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Walmart, Toyota or those Oil giants have allowed their people to think big and creative to add many revenue streams that increased their top lines. On the other hand, we have also seen many large corporations that had failed to innovate – Polaroid, Pan AM, Compaq, General Motors, Kodak, Yahoo, Toy’R’Us are great examples of how lack of ideas could cripple their growth and business. Inertia of being larger companies drag them into becoming a soulless organizations inimical to change.

It is necessary to encourage nerve and spunk, inject a spirit of fanaticism among the employees of organizations, simultaneously dismantling the layers of hierarchical hurdles at the same time. This will help to cope with today’s bewildering complexity created by global competition, mergers, acquisitions and cross cultural alliances. Eliminating hierarchy is not about doing away with titles and designations but instilling the entrepreneurship in employees, recognising the need for equality among the superiors and subordinates , removing the fear and barriers of communications and embolden them to speak up on flaws in strategies affecting the business and offering creative solutions to address them. Acknowledging their creative ideas is not enough but rewarding them to contribute more that add value to company’s operations.

Growth is impossible without systematically correcting past errors and continuously executing new ideas to become leaders.

Mentorship

All of us, at some point in time, had a mentor or two or still have one. What makes us to consider a person as a mentor? Leadership traits, uncluttered views in matters, success in profession, role modelling, sticking to a righteous path or counselling attitude during difficult times – some or all of these qualities in them had helped us to choose our mentor.

We have heard mentees saying their lives were greatly influenced or impacted by their mentors which is good if positive things happen but in a professional career, is it entirely true ? We cannot have an autocratic leader or boss as a mentor; we cannot have one who is good in manoeuvring office politics and has grabbed power or someone who employs dubious ways to achieve goals and results . It is important that youngsters choose more than one mentor along their professional journeys because people long for newer things at various stages in life and they meet persons who help them to realise these new aspirations. 

This route will help us not to become a fanatic or feel strong about a leader or faith or belief in our community too. Hero worship or Patronising a leader is harmful if it is taken to a level that blunts our views and approach for our own good as well our families and society. It was considered a right step in a progressing society many decades ago during the era of Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Swami Vivekananda or Mother Terasa but today we do not have persons of their stature with us.

Having said the above, we also realise that digital mentor is taking over human mentor these days but there is none to guide the youngsters to appreciate what is right or wrong in a physical world. Society for many generations, had learnt to lead a good life from the teachings of Gurus / Teachers and perhaps it is wiser for us to continue the same way, because this is how we enrich our knowledge and be good to our society and environment.

A journey that had challenges and successes..

I look back those 40 years since my first days in an office….

The best part of career life for any individual is mid and late 20’s when you get introduced to a factory, a corporate set-up, an art world or a field work that provide you with loads of experience in understanding your customers, aligning your daily work to keep them happy, manoeuvring the challenges at work place and importantly, keeping pace with learning newer skills. I am no exception to this phase of life and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed working for corporates that were well known in the industry and at the same time learnt how one had to be always customer focussed to enjoy success. These corporate giants are still the leaders in their own industry having gone through a phenomenal growth.

Travel and work constituted a major part of my early work life, trying to find new customers and the good part of it was I could visit new places and befriend good people. Selling a varied product line was as exciting as a new recipe from your spouse’s kitchen and it gave an insight to industries, their customers and their success factors. Over these years I learnt the importance of improving the product or services to always keep your customers within your fold and later on when I had ventured into an entrepreneurial role, this aspect helped me to be always mindful of emerging customer trends and their expectations. In my late 30’s, I had an opportunity to indulge in social service and develop my public speaking and communication skills while serving a world wide service organization. That was also an important phase in my career when I had to take a few risks and seek a different career path. With income on a steady decline, I chose a new field, Information Technology in late 1990’s. In the beginning this was considered to be not a wise decision and there was every chance that I would be starting as an entry level programmer or junior business analyst at that age.

Thanks to the organization that had trained me to be an ERP Consultant, I was able to bring in all my functional experience into consulting and I could start my new career at a comparatively advantageous position than many of my colleagues. This move also had its own share of problems with dot.com bubble exploding at the dawn of the century. After a struggle for a year or two, I had to grab a new lease of life in moving out of the country for assignments. This gave me the required exposure to be on a firmer ground and there was no going back since then. The organizations that I had worked for in the first 10 years of this century, presented me ample opportunities to hone my skills in acquiring and retaining new customers with quality deliverables and be responsible to hire and mentor hundreds of budding and aspiring youngsters to take to Process and Business consulting as their professions. What is most satisfying in this stint was that I was able to take care of my family reasonably well, raise my children with good education / comfort and to build new homes as it offered me a much needed financial stability.

My decision to move to a well known global IT leader with an impeccable brand recall, certainly helped me to learn the pseudo- entrepreneurial side of running a business, provided me with a global exposure to different work ethics across geographies and to sharpen my consulting and people skills. It was indeed an fascinating experience to work with these multi-nationals and this has come handy TODAY to be able to continue my journey as an independent consultant after I bid adieu to a satisfied corporate life.

A creative HR organization helps to unlock employee potential

Successful organizations have always thrived and grown, and employees are a good reason, for their experience enhances the ambience at work, improves their productivity and creates positive vibes all around. A happy work force results in employee retention, breeds innovation and lower operating costs. But the arrival of the pandemic and its impact on the business environment, disrupting the employer-employee engagement, has made HR organization to think a newer way to gain insights into the minds of employees.

In a competitive marketplace, how do organizations keep the morale of the employees high to achieve their business outcomes, especially when we are seeing lower level of personal interaction with leadership or peers during the period of WFH. Longer work hours, coping with both work and family pressures at the same time and absence of leisure activities when they are struck indoors, they all contribute to stressed up individuals and do a great harm to the well-being of employees besides drop in productivity and lack of active participation in new business initiatives that their organizations plan to execute.

Data that are available to HR team in an organization, from its employees – Pay-roll, medical, Finance, feedback on surveys etc – all these helps to analyse, and gain insights using AI tools and take a decision concerning an employee or a group of employees as to what would they need to do to keep them happier. A huge volume of data is available to top leaders of the organization but inaccessibility of the data by functional managers or HR, handicaps them to devise methods to increase the level of engagement with their teams.

Most of the organizations focus only on leadership team and their well-being but little thought is being given to lower layers of work force. The requirements for 25-year-olds in an organization are different that of employees who are past 40. The challenge lies in tailoring their perquisites and support to meet their expectations and that is where the data on hand comes handy. This challenge may be even insurmountable when the organization has grown over new acquisitions or mergers involving different cultures and practices. The commitment level of individuals with respect to meeting their needs towards house mortgage, health and well ness, career advancement, Children education, leisure and social do vary. Most organizations do not have the culture to share the data of their employees within its hierarchy, but it must be done to help improvise programs that enhance employees’ involvement in organizational growth initiatives. However, the usage or leveraging data to align with corporate objectives, may require consent from employees as per local laws of the country.

Understanding employee behaviour is of great importance to an organization and collecting and analysing their behavioural / psychological data for a better employee experience, and a more productive individual are important. HR teams should spend more time and resources to achieve them.

#happyemployee

#HR