Chindogu!

The art of the useless is something many of us specialize in over a life time. We accquire stuff, that we may never use, drawing comfort in the act of buying.

The Japanese, with growing urbanization and wealth, post World War 2, indulged in wanton buying and coined the word 'Chindogu' for urban folk buying up and accumalating useless stuff.Stuff that was useless or that they would not use.

Now with the Japanese economy stagnating and real incomes dropping for urban Japan, many people are re looking at their habit of 'Chindogu'. It is extremely difficult to drop the habit at the flick of a switch.

Japan's rural population has aged and the farming sector has seen alarming dips in productivity with the average age of farmers, being about 65 years, prompting many youngsters to relocate from Japanes cities like Tokyo and Osaka to rural Japan and take up farming as a livelihood. For this to happen young Japanese will need to give up the habit of wandering into malls and shopping for Chindogu, which like many things is an addiction.

The Grades story!

As we move along many would have thought that we would dump using education grades as a filter for landing a job. Far from this, the world in general seems to be regressing and many organizations are looking at even 10th Grade marks to decide if a candidate is good enough, thus right away filtering out a chunk of candidates who might be otherwise good enough to make the final cut.
Even as we decry our education system and youngsters cry foul, organizations seem to look for future success in the marks or grades that, that very system seems to produce. Why the dichotomy?
To my mind, it is clear that historical data, does point a finger at what lies ahead unless something dramatic happens. As an example, a poor student, would suddenly start performing brilliantly only if the there are drastic changes in the environment and vice versa. Many say that the famous Bill Gates was a college drop out. The drop out was by choice and because he smelt a greater opportunity elsewhere. His being a very good student gave him the confidence to take the risk to shun his studies.
A good consistent academic record indicates consistency, discipline, hard work and an ability to hang in there when the going gets tough and not least intelligence. All these traits are highly valued by corporate who are tired at handling the proverbial flash in the pan. Ask any HR worth their salt and they will substantiate that. Organizations zero in on the top B Schools and Engineering colleges, only because they assume that students good enough to get in there would display the above mentioned traits or values in the future, as well.
In an uncertain world, marks seem to be the best bet in determining future success, not an ideal situation, but we would have to live with it for the moment. Many would say that the Indian system, of education, with its emphasis on grades, kills innovation. I think it is more to do with our economic condition and lack of infrastructure. Well educated and heeled Indians seem to be creative enough. One has only to land up in the Silicon Valley in the USA to understand this. Many of them folk came from the education system that is still in place in India.
I would place my money on good grades with a sound attitude anyday!

A Monkeys Paw!

The Monkey's Paw is rather a scary story over a 100 years old, which talks about not being able to escape fate and that every wish carries a cost.The story involves Mr. and Mrs. White and their adult son Herbert. Sergeant-Major Morris, a friend of the Whites who has been part of the British Army in India, leaves them with the monkey's paw, telling of its mysterious powers to grant three wishes, and of its journey from an old fakir to his comrade, who used his third and final wish to wish for death.
Mr. White wishes for £200. Their son is killed by machinery at his company, and they get compensation of £200.Sad compensation, indeed.

Apparently monkeys are trapped in South East Asia, buy inducing the animal to dip its paw into a bottle of peanuts. The greedy monkey clutches at the nuts and is sadly unable to get its paw out of the bottle. It does not have the intelligence to let go and run, either.As panic sets in, fear clouds its judgment and its freedom is lost, as the hunter picks it off the anchored bottle.

How like humans? We are trapped in a vicious materialistic spiral and have little inclination of letting go, to move on to better things in life. In management parlance it is called 'Escalation of Commitment', where precious resources chase useless pursuits, as people and organizations refuse to let go and move on!

Gersoppa!

A shipwreck containing 200 tonnes of silver worth £150m has been discovered in the Atlantic – the largest haul of precious metal ever found at sea.

The SS Gairsoppa, a UK cargo ship sunk by a German U-boat in 1941, was found by US exploration firm Odyssey Marine.

The firm will retain 80% of the cargo’s value under the terms of a contract with the Department for Transport.

The vessel was on its way back to England from India when it ran low on coal in stormy weather, and tried to divert to Galway harbour, but it was spotted and sunk by the German U Boat.

Three members of the crew survived in a lifeboat and reached the Cornish coast two weeks later, but two died trying to get ashore.

The wreck of the 412ft ship was found this summer nearly 4,700m below the North Atlantic, 300 miles off the Irish coast, but it was only confirmed as SS Gairsoppa last week.

Odyssey Marine’s senior project manager, Andrew Craig, said: “We’ve accomplished the first phase of this project – the location and identification of the target shipwreck.

“Now we’re hard at work planning for the recovery phase.

“Given the orientation and condition of the shipwreck, we are extremely confident that our planned salvage operation will be well suited for the recovery of this silver cargo.”

SS Gairsoppa settled upright on the seabed with its cargo holds open, which means remote-controlled robotic submarines should be able to retrieve the bullion.

Odyssey’s chief marine archaeologist Neil Dobson said: “Even though records indicate that the lifeboats were launched before the ship sank, sadly most of her crew did not survive the long journey to shore.

“By finding this shipwreck and telling the story of its loss, we pay tribute to the brave merchant sailors who lost their lives.”

The merchant ship belonged to the British India Steam Navigation Company, and was ordered into the merchant navy fleet at the outbreak of World War II.

Now, why does Gersoppa, ring a bell

? Well, it happens to be the highest waterfall in this part of the world not very far from here at Bangalore.

Bangalore Tales!

About two score years ago, to this day, much before president Obama made a mention of the city and much before the word ‘Bangalored’ entered the English dictionary and hugely before Bangalore became Bengaluru much to the chagrin of the non Kannadiga, Bangalore was on the front pages of almost every major newspaper of the world.
It all started with, the former Indian Prime Minister being blown to bits by a suicide bomber in a small, decrepit, dust bowl of a town in Tamil Nadu called Sriperumbudur. The local master mind of this rather dastardly act relocated to Bangalore and made his home not too far from where I stay in the suburbs of Bangalore.
To cut to the chase, Sivarasan, more famously called the one eyed jack and his cronies died by their own hand when cornered by the police in the house that they were holed up in. Sivarasan blew his brains out and the rest chose to bite on a capsule of cyanide and apparently died in a ghastly embrace.
Apparently the police were lead to this solitary house by the local milk distributor, Haalina Muniyamma or milk Muniyamma. This brave lady showed the chutzpah to identify and inform the police of the whereabouts of the dangerous killers.
In the hoopla surrounding the event she was promised a reward, which has not materialized as promised. She is further astounded that Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of the slain PM, visited one of the conspirators in jail and ‘forgave’ her!( Vote Bank Politics is what some might say ) ‘What of my poor family?’, laments the old lady. ‘Does anybody care?’ To add insult to injury Muniyamma’s son was denied a police job because he could not grease the right palm, she says. She had led a simple life. Her life changed after the incident at Konakunte. For some time, she even had to live under police protection. "I was promised reward of Rs 10 lakh but nothing happened. After much pleading, I got Rs 60,000 in 1992,'' she recalls.
What a sham.Whoever said, that the world is a fair place?

***** Prisons!

Professionals from abroad working in India have a morbid fear of landing themselves in an Indian prison and rightly so considering the way our prisons are said to run and maintained.

However with growing liberalization, wealth and opportunity, prison is home to quite a few big wigs these days, both from the south and the north of India. No discrimination there.

With this influx there is a good chance that we shall soon see 5 star prisons!

Teachers Day!

Teacher’s day, when I was at school was big ticket. The day was viewed with certain amount of anticipation and excitement. My mother after a great deal of pester would conjure up a bouquet for my favorite teacher and principal, which would eventually get tossed into a large heap.
Teacher’s day was also about getting an opportunity to teach junior kids, as the teachers would take a break from the class for the day and entertain themselves at school, or so we thought.
For me, alas, the opportunity never came, simply because I was never a teacher’s pet and I learnt very early that it pays to cozy up to the right people.
While not being able to teach kids at school, left a rather bitter taste in the mouth, I've made up for it by teaching big kids now and quite enjoying the journey.
Kids, these days do not humor me with flowers and cards, but many do call and say that somewhere I made a difference to their lives and those few words make it all worth the while.
Having seen many sides of the world I can safely say that teachers are some of the most poorly treated professionals and societies that do not recognize them are doing so at their own peril, because nobody became a somebody, without a teacher and great societies have had great teachers to get there.
!

Just pissing in the wind!

A few days ago, there was a sense of déjà vu, as I was between choosing a book to buy at a Crosswords store, here in Bangalore. The book in hand was 'Summary of Broken Republic: Three Essays', by noted speaker and freewheeling democrat, Arundhati Roy. The Booker prize winner is either loved or hated for her outspoken views on issues in India and many belive she is of little value other than being a nuisance at best.

The déjà vu, came about because as I flipped through pages, a procession went by, with the national flag and all, in support of the man of the moment in India 'Anna Hazare', who in his fight against corruption has pushed politicians of all hues into a rather tight corner.

In this battle for survival the politician has received assistance from rather unlikely sources, one is Ms.Roy. Her reason for opposing Hazare being that he did little for his village when farmers were committing suicide and more importantly that he was an RSS sympathizer many years ago, thus in a way echoing the voice of politicians in the UPA.His message, well thats not important, as far as she is concerned.

Ms. Roy's logic is a tad inexplicable. She has no take on how corruption is to be fought but when there is a movement she is seen making feeble attempts to derail it by targeting its leader. With her limited wisdom Ms.Roy ought to see that the move on corruption has gone beyond Hazare and the message has captured the collective imagination of India.

Should Ms.Roy, feel very strongly about her views on Hazare a good idea would be to fast in protest and take her chances! In her book she talks about her time with Maoist guerrillas which made a profound impression. She vividly describes spending nights sleeping on the forest floor in a "thousand-star hotel", applauds "the ferocity and grandeur of these poor people fighting back", and says "being in the forest made me feel like there was enough space in my body for all my organs". She seems to root for the underdog. Yet when the common man looks to make life better for himself she makes an attempt to thwart it by pretty prose in a daily newspaper.
Just pissing in the wind, I would say.

Are you a Sammy?

In apartheid South Africa, being called a ‘Sammy’ was as derogatory as it could get. If you were not an African or a white European then by default you were a ‘Sammy’, and so Indians were Sammie’s. How did this term come about? Apparently, the indentured labor shipped to South Africa, from India by the British, many years ago, to work their mines; plantations and so on were from South India and in all probability had names ending with ‘Swami’. The Swami gradually turned to Sammy, probably innocently and stuck as a derogatory name for anybody who was brown in color, thus reinforcing apartheid and racial discrimination.
A few days ago, while discussing terrorism, a participant said that, terrorists were all ‘Jihadists’. An innocent remark, but with dangerous portends because it directly then links terror to a particular religion and then leads to broader stereotyping. As we now know terror attacks across the world have more to do with political ends and end result of social disparity rather than meeting religious goals. The England riots and massacre in Norway by a right wing lunatic are a case in point.
Stereotyping unfortunately happens all the time, innocently at first so that a person or people can be identified and pigeon holed and then get a life of its own with tragic consequences. In conflicts, people tend to develop a negative percept of the other side. The opponent is expected to be aggressive, self-serving, and deceitful. These stereotypes tend to be self-perpetuating. If one side assumes the other side is deceitful and aggressive, they tend to condition their own response. This turns to a vicious cycle grows worse, as communication is either shut down or filters develop which color interaction.

The Quiet Bangalorean!

Two things struck me over the last week or so. The first being the fact that men in power clutch at anything and everything including straw when they fear they are drowning and two, the entertainment that the mundane provides.
Both have to do with the Indian cricket team’s performance in England and the recall of Rahul Dravid to the one day team after two years. It is not coincidental that India did not play top class teams abroad during this period and now that they are, performance clearly separates’ men from the boys.
While the cricketing pundits in India do not seem to be overly surprised, the man himself (Dravid) has since announced his retirement from pajama cricket, post the series for which he has been selected. He probably realizes that he will be jettisoned once the team returns to India and its flat tracks where the big boys with bigger endorsements will come out to murder hapless bowlers in the heat. He saved the selectors the trouble of dropping him.
Former India batter, Sanjay Manjerekar was at his best when he observed a few days ago that when people saw the God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar when he was 14 years old there was no doubt that they were watching a genius in the making. Manjerekar later captained Rahul Dravid and says he never thought that Dravid would reach the heights that he has and the tough bloke that he has turned out to be. In short Dravid has over achieved.
In doing so he has shown us the importance of intelligence, dedication, simplicity, hard work and focus. Characteristics that never seem to go out of fashion, the size of endorsements not withstanding! You can also be certain that he will be there trying to keep the English bowlers out, while the Indian Institute of Management @ Ranchi, India, attempts to map beleaguered Indian captain M.S.Dhoni’s brain, to determine his leadership traits and style.
Slapstick and comedy are never in short supply.The probable reason why we smile amidst our daily chaos and silently salute quiet blokes like the Dravid's who keep us afloat!

While Nero fiddled.............

All ages down history have had their spectacles. If it was the gladiators of Rome then today it must be the Indian politician. Hopefully the comic spectacle of two of our senior politicians in Karnataka heading to the famous temple of Dharmasthala, to duel, has ended and we can get back to more serious stuff. The news papers too, can get back to being less of comics. ( A few days ago much of the front page of a national daily was covered by the build up to Dharmasthala and that Aiswariya Rai was to be a mom!!!!)
The jamboree was apparently spurred as charges of corruption were levelled by each against the other in fits of self righteousness, following which a duel in the form of taking an oath like a truth serum was arranged at the temple.Why not a polygraph at NIMHANS?
Many years ago I was caught in a terrible storm, on the west coast of India. The ship was battered and bruised. Many thought we would sink and that was the end of that. Well, we survived and secured ourselves in the port of Kandla, which had in turn been pounded out of shape and the destruction was humongous. As all of us tried to pick the pieces up and get on with life, we heard, much to our collective dismay that the then Prime Minister A.B.Vajpayee was visiting Kandla to comfort the beaten population. There was chagrin & dismay because the politicos visit would only serve as a distraction to struggling state machinery in Kandla. I’m afraid the circus in Karnataka is one such distraction where time could be spent in dealing with more pressing issues rather than troubling devotees heading to Dharmasthala to get succour for their overflowing woes.
The Roman emperor Nero is said to have fiddled while Rome burnt itself to cinders. While most historians have discounted this as untrue the piece of trivia refuses to leave Nero and whatever good he might have done is forgotten.
A similar fate lies in wait for our ‘leaders’ unless they address real world issues rather than duelling in a virtual world.

The Big Loser!!!!!

In masculine societies like India to be seen as second best is painful. Our people are not only aspiration filled but also very competitive. The scramble for success is evident in almost every walk of life. In fact you rarely see a person walking these days. They are either cutting corners, jumping Q’s or traffic lights, in order to get wherever they have to get first.

The American’s, masters of jargon, went a step further and called all those who were not first as losers. There are no prizes for being second best as far as they are concerned. And nothing hurts more than being labelled a loser. The term is a slur which is indefensible and once labelled a loser one simply slinks away to lick his or her wounds, because there are no comebacks.

So today I was taken aback when one of my colleagues said he was a ‘Big Loser’. I admired the man’s candidness and was inclined to agree, but still, where did the nonchalance come from? Was society in flux? Just to get to the bottom of this rather strange admission, I decided to cosy up to him and complimented him on his new svelte look. His face lighted up and he described his exercise routine, in deep detail. The flow was so good I hadn’t the heart to stymie it and I did not.

I was beginning to nod off, when he suddenly stopped and said that, that was how he was the big loser. ‘What was that again, I asked?’ As if addressing a person with limited cognitive ability, he said, that the Gym he frequented had awarded him the prize of ‘The Big Loser’ for having lost the most weight amongst his peers at the Gym, over six months. So the loser tag here was a prize and he was proud to wear that badge of honour, despite what people think of being called a loser.

I too ‘am a pretty competitive guy, and the battle of the bulge is one battle that I would like to lose or should I say win and what the heck, I even will not mind being called a loser in this respect!

Shooting the messenger.....................

.

A couple of days ago I inadvertently barged in on a small group discussing the shenanigans of Baba Ramdev. He was labelled a nincompoop and various other names, accompanied by derisive laughter.
I remained silent and the only one to do so and my silence was noticed with some surprise. Was I a chela of the Guru? Did I admire the yogi? By my silence I was trying to indicate that while Ramdev, need not necessarily be a role model for the general public to emulate, the message that he was trying to pass on to the lay Indian was very important and worth attention.
Corruption has hit me, the middle class Indian the hardest and I'm interested in anybody who speaks up against the corrupt in this country.
Ramdev has got corruption to the centre stage and has the powers to be worried and thinking. In short he has pushed them out of their comfort zones and there is hope that we might see a less corrupt society and more value for our money.
It is important to closely look at the message rather than shooting the messenger from the hip and losing what could be a game changer.
Let's not shoot the messenger just as yet, folk!

The top view!

When I first flew in India in the 1980's I was generally first in to check in just to get myself a window seat away from a wing, this to look at the scenery below as we took off and landed, at various airports. One exception though was Mumbai. It was the depressing sight of the large Dharavi slum that greeted you as you slid into the city.
The other day, when Ratan Tata, called Mukesh Ambani new mansion, as 'sad', it struck a chord. The point that Tata was trying to get across was, are the rich and powerful morally entitled to ostentation in a a land that still has the poorest of people on this planet. Is it business Dharma?The 'Reliance' group is definitely not a shining example as far a charity is concerned and it is a cause for concern, when you consider that they are a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs in India.
It is interesting to think of the view that the portly Mr.Mukesh Ambani would have from his top floor? Shining Mumbai or a slum swept landscape?
To say that the well to do got that way, due to their sole efforts is perverse and is arrogant and on most occasions it is a fair piece of luck that got them the riches. One Mr.Bill Gates, readily admits, that his tiny town had one of the early computers in the US and as a youngster he got an early shot at it, which started an enduring journey to success. Chance it was!
Post my early experience with flying in/out of Mumbai, I opted for an aisle seat. This, at least, allowed you to chat with the air hostess and make less inhibited trips to the toilet...........

Thank God Its Friday!

A couple of days ago, I met up with colleagues of mine from my sailing days. Time having taken its toll, there wasn't a single one of us not having lost hair or with a distended paunch. The re-union ended fairly late and I stepped on the gas to get home pronto, after much bonhomie.

The only hitch was that, I was stopped by the police for an alcohol check and had to go through a breath analyzer. As there was no alcohol consumed at our party, I got through the test without issue, which was not the case with many of the other folk hanging around, mostly youngsters in the mid twenties to early thirties. Most sulked, having consumed unacceptable levels of alcohol. Many argued, in polished English, with the few cops present, who looked tired and trying their best not to lose it.I have not seen cops having TGIF parties. Can there be a better reason to get drunk than to celebrate the weekend? Thank God Its Friday!

I was impressed with the way the much maligned police dealt with the reckless and irresponsible louts who are educated enough to speak polished English, but ignorant to the traffic rules in Bangalore.It only goes to show that education has become domain specific rather than holistic and many of us miss the larger picture.

In the group, there was this rather affluent looking girl, who was mooting the idea of bribing the cops to avoid the fine. This when we rally behind a gent called Anna Hazare, to root corruption out.The cancer of corruption and the ability to take the shortest cuts to get what we want, has seeped so deep, that it is going to take more than Anna Hazare and a Lok Pal Bill to get it out of our system.

What we need are tougher laws, more cops, greater fines and less parties!

Dock Death!

In a tragic accident yesterday, the 'Casion' or gate at a Navy dock in Visakhapatnam gave way, allowing sea water to rush in to the dock, killing four Indian Naval personnel. The dock union has alleged that contract workers have also been killed, an allegation that the Navy has denied thus far.
I have seen work at many a dock and can unhesitatingly state that Indian docks have the worst standards as far as safety is concerned. A few years ago, I saw a man killed right before me, when a steel pipe fell on his unhelmeted head from about a 100 feet high.Tragic again beacuse safety had been flouted at every turn.
These days, as part of my HR course, I teach safety to young students, for about two hours, in a class room. Many times the kids, have a look that suggests, 'Why are you telling us all this crap?' Unfortunately it is this disinterest that transfers to the workplace, resulting in accidents and death and a huge loss in operational efficiency, time and money.
Safety is a habit and like all good habits needs discipline and effort to inculcate. In most Europe based organizations that I have seen, unsafe people are sacked, without any remorse. There is zero tolerance and is probably the reason why, more people return home to their families at the end of the day, than in India!

Bhangra from Bhatinda!

On a visit to Punjab if you see a traffic cop, atop his pulpit,gyrating to a Bhangra beat, you need not be surprised.

Naunihal Singh, a young Indian Police Service officer posted at Bathinda, a south Punjab district, introduced the Bhangra as a unique exercise regime for obese, overweight and pot-bellied policemen.

Those police personnel who need to shed weight take part in the exercise, including dancing to Bhangra numbers, every morning for over one hour. One could probably see pot bellied cops, sweating it out to get back into shape.

In just a while, the personnel undergoing the weight-loss regime have collectively lost over 2000 kgs. For the uninitiated, that is what a fair sized Indian elephant weighs and is a stupendous result.

The Punjab police is mulling implementing this program for all its policemen to balance the rich Punjabi diet which is generally preceded by copious amounts of alcohol.

The Bhangra, is a traditional dance form of the Punjab and is a wonderfully energetic dance, which while being easy on the eye need not impress purists who swear by Indian classical dance forms.

The young police officers quest to get his force back into shape is to be appreciated and shows uninhibited thinking!

Freedom at Work !

Some of my MBA (HR) students are offered an internship in ‘Policy Making & Administration’. They look a little puzzled. Isn’t Human Resource Management all about Performance Appraisal, Compensation and T & D. Where did policy making come into the picture?
HR Policy making is one of the toughest areas to be in these days, particularly when dealing with white collar knowledge workers and highly unionized blue collar labor. It becomes particularly important when employees are ready to take employers to court at the drop of a hat.
Look at this story!
Walt Disney Co. is locked in a big ticket fracas with an employee who claims the entertainment behemoth is restricting her right to practice her religion at the workplace and in that sense restricting her freedom.
Imane Boudlal, 26, a hostess at the Storyteller’s Cafe in Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, claims that her employers are discriminating against her by forbidding her to wear the head scarf that her Muslim faith requires her to don.
Interestingly, Boudlal made this request after two years of working with Disney and adhering to Disney’s dress code. She says that a religious awakening has caused her to make the request. Disney for its part, first offered to modify the employee’s costume to incorporate the hijab and further to shift her back office. Boudlal has rejected these offers.
The case raises the question: What is an employer’s obligation to support its employees’ desire to express their religious beliefs through dress and physical appearance?

Disney is clearly caught between a rock and a hard place on this one, but have decided to fight it out to preserve, what they say is the Disney culture and costume.
The case is interesting because it deals with freedom of expression on one hand and an employer’s right to conduct business in a way that they see fit, as long as it is legal and ethical. Factors that conjure up a potent mix, when it gets to court and also the decision would have long standing implications.
Disney’s policies are well thought out and articulated and they are confident of winning the day…………………………having said that HR policy making is a tough nut!

On dogs and competition!

On my morning walk today, sensing the coolness of the air and twirling my baton, I marveled at how fortunate I was to live in a part of Bengaluru, surrounded by trees. The sense of well being was heightened when joined by an acquaintance with his dog on a leash. We got talking about our respective families and why we had chosen to live in 'an out of the way place'?
Well, the reason for him was that he wanted his kids to study in the 'Valley School', which is a stone’s throw away from us and a well talked about school, particularly for returning exapatriates. Knowing the answer I asked him -'Why Valley School?'He said that it kids are kept away from the mundane competition that kids in other schools face.
Which brings us to the fundamental question, is competition bad? Why does one Sachin Tendulkar, still run around a cricket field, in a creaking body, thrilling us with his genius? Why does, an all time great like Rahul Dravid, have to be advised by a bowler like Shane Warne, on his batting ( He took it in quietly )?Does Bill Gates work for the money? Behind a calm facade, the guys are competitors and will compete with you to the death, if you throw them a challenge! The world celebrates these guys.
Which brings us back to the point, as to whether competition is bad? The fact is, in my opinion, we should be teaching kids to deal with success and failure in life with equinanimity and grace, because the world is neither a fair place nor life one rollicking party! Shying away from competition is like sending our soldiers to fight at Siachen in sneakers. Ill equipped the battle is lost even before it begins.
Australian Keli Lane, a golden girl who was a water polo star was recently convicted in a court room filled with drama, of murdering her baby daughter in 1996, because, she feared that the young kid would jeopardize her chances in the 2000 Sydney Olympics! She has been jailed for 18 years!Can you think of anything more horrendous? Did her competitive spirit lead her to murder or was it a lack of values?Was it poor upbringing? As collective Australia, scratches its head, one can only wonder.
As our conversation was warming up, we were surrounded, by a bevy of dogs, in all shapes and sizes, threatening the little dog on the leash, causing us to beat a hasty retreat.The little dog, did not attempt, to show aggression even once. Not very competitive...............
Street dogs are not something we can talk about with pride in Bengaluru, I reflected!

A word, here and there!

A few years ago, I chanced upon a conversation, between the Port Control of a major port in India and an American ship. The ship was to enter port and was being delayed due to various reasons. Personnel at Indian Port Control's can be obtuse and painful, and the American ships captain was clearly getting peeved. After a point there was a change in the tone of the captain and he refused to be put off until he received absolute confirmation of his docking, from the Port Control. In contrast Indian ship captains allow themselves to be routinely bullied by the Port Control.
Why does this happen? There is a fairly simple cultural explanation. Americans are a more egalitarian society and 'Power Distance' is low. In India PD is high and as we perceive the Port Control to be in a superior position, Indian ship captains are deferential, to the point of accepting a lot of BS!We are simply afraid to speak up!
Look at the following:
Avianca Flight 52 was a regularly scheduled flight from Bogotá to New York, USA. On Thursday, January 25, 1990, the aircraft performing this flight, a Boeing 707, crashed into the village of Cove Neck, Long Island, New York after running out of fuel. Eight of the nine crew members and 65 of the 149 passengers on board were killed. Investigation showed that the crew asked for a "priority" landing which, because of language differences between English and Spanish, can be interpreted as an emergency to Spanish-speaking pilots but not to English-speaking air traffic controllers. This may have caused some confusion amongst the pilots when ATC confirmed their priority status.
It is also a fact that Columbia is a high Power Distance country (See the comparison US to Columbia) and the pilot was deferential to the Air Traffic Control at New York’s, John F Kennedy airport, whose manner was blunt and aggressive. They do not understand high context niceties.
The Columbian captain could have used the words 'Emergency' or 'Mayday' and been assertive with Air Control at JFK. All he had to say was “Chum, I’m out of fuel, the plane is going to crash & I need to land now!”
Many of his passengers would have lived, with those magic few words, but then there is culture, to contend with!
(see link)

Distant Echoes

The perils of International Business are many. A case I discuss in class deals with a Capt.Rinen and his ship the Tampa, where the good and conscientious Captain picked up a clutch of Afghan refugees off the Christmas Is.
The refugees insisted on being landed in Australia, for what they thought would be a better life. The Australian government had other ideas and it turned into a huge international incident causing much heartburn in
Australia, Norway (the ship was Norwegian), Afghanistan & Indonesia.
There is yet another recent incident involving Norway again.
An estimated 30,000 Norwegians seeking justice for the rape and murder of student Martine Vik Magnussen in London three years ago have launched a boycott against Coca-Cola products. They’re protesting Coca-Cola’s business ties with the wealthy father of her suspected murderer, who has eluded arrest by British police.

The girl was a regular fun loving youngster, who is said to have had her fair share of alcohol and drugs, tragically suspected to be butchered by her Yemenese boyfriend, who fled Britain for Yemen, post the murder, in 2008, after a night long party.
Now here comes the rub. The boyfriend’s dad is a billionaire who runs the distribution for Coca Cola in Yemen, Egypt and Libya and has ties with Xerox and Daimler Benz. Pressure built in Norway and then threatened to spread to the rest of the western world against doing business with the allegedly tainted Arab family, as they refuse to extradite the suspect to Britain.
A few days ago, finally, Coco Cola severed ties with Shaher Abdulhak the alleged suspect’s millionaire father three years after Martine was raped and murdered. The point is an event in London, involving a Norwegian miss and an Arab youth has implications across several nations and lead to business realignment.
Shaher Abdulhak lobbied hard with politicians in Norway and Yemen. He threatened to sue politicians in Norway, as well, but public pressure was a little too strong. Business, politics and ethics are all wonderfully juxtaposed as this case shows you and when it goes international the going gets complicated.
Interestingly the campaign to preesure the soft drink giant was run on Facebook. Social Networking and technology. A modern day panacea for an age old crime!
Will the dead girl get justice? Martine's family belives she will and the struggle to get the young suspect to Britian to stand trial continues.

Human Touch !: Mastering luck!

Human Touch !: Mastering luck!

Mastering luck!

The Times of India, created a virtual storm, by stating that MS Dhoni had blundered into the finals by not playing R.Ashwin, on what was a slow turning track at Mohali, in the World Cup Semi final between India & Pakistan.
MSD was smart enough to take cover by saying, in a post match interview, that he had misread the wicket, but hadn't Ashish Nehra bowled brilliantly. The general hoi polloi tore TOI to pieces, calling the reporter a nitwit, a scumbag and various other names, including his competence to comment on the issue.
I wonder why? Because, India had beaten Pakistan? I find the logic strange. It is Dhoni's business to read wickets correctly and make tactical decesions.Dhoni has admitted that he erred and I hope he does not err in future because against a more determined and focussed opponent it would spell curtains for the Indian team. At Mohali it was Pakistan's incompetence rather than anything else that got India victory. Imran Khan says that his team’s loss to the west Indies in 1983 in the SF in England rankles less than the Pakistan loss to India at Mohali a couple of days ago. Why, because in 1983 the Pakistani's were baeten by a far superior team, at Mohali they committed hara kiri.
Dhoni is a wonderful and regular guy. No questions there. Is he the best captain that we have seen? I reserve my comments. Dhoni leads a team built by Ganguly & Dravid and tended in a crucible of fire called Australia by a certain Anil Kumble. Dhoni's test will come, when the likes of Sachin, Dravid,Lakshman, Zaheer and Sehwag move out of the Indian team. The day is not far.
Many say Dhoni is a lucky captain.
Napoleon, the French Emperor and military genius, when told the virtues of a new General, eg. the man's heroism, bravery, skill in battle and so on - waved his hand impatiently. "That's all very well," he said, "but is he lucky?"

In the present euphoria you might replace Napoleon with the Indian public. Napoleon’s luck finally ran out at the famous Battle of Waterloo, where the French were decimated by by a combined Anglo allied army lead by the Duke of Wellington. That is the issue with luck. It deserts one at the most inappropriate of times and history changes for ever.
I hope Dhoni's luck holds, because he will need a lot of it, unless his decision making is sounder and his team's cricketing skills better!

Grist to the Mill!

A few days ago, in discussion with a visitor to the Alliance University, the topic of training for Cross Cultural Management came up. The visitor a man from the corporate world said that many of these training sessions are a hoax because the trainer has rarely if at all travelled to the countries he/she talks about and the end result is that when the trainee really travels overseas they find themselves shortchanged and wanting to strangle the trainer!
Following this, I said, that we are probably the only nation in the world whose history has been written by foreigners and in that context we as a nation have been shortchanged.Our discussion was short and a little vague, but this is what was in my mind........................
John Mills produced his magnum opus 'The History of British India', in 1801, which propelled him to stardom, post a very ordinary career. Mills made his name by severely attacking Indian's in general and talking about their general lack of culture and 'backwardness'.

This is what Mills had to say, on the subject:

A duly qualified man can obtain more knowledge of India in one year in his closet in England than he could obtain during the course of the longest life, by the use of his eyes and ears in India.

If you are wondering what a 'closet' is, Mills, is talking about his toilet in England. The further question is why did Mills, make this statement? Was it to cover up the fact that he did not visit, India, once, or the fact that he knew no Indian language, unlike say the German 'Max Mueller'. The greater tragedy is that, the tome he produced was embraced by the British East India Company and used as a training manual for their India postings, causing their officers to set foot in India with a jaundiced eye.

Mills, for some reason, concludes that Indian history began in 4000 BC, so everything pertaining to Indian history has to be accommodated in this time frame. If archeo-astronomical data seems to indicate, that the Ramayana dates to 7000 BC, Mills will not accept it and it is labelled a 'myth' because it does not fit his straight jacketed model of India and Indians. The myth story, has perpetuated to our times because Mills, said, in 1801, that Indian's are a backward lot and the British were here to civilize Indian's.

A nation's self esteem comes from its history and achievement and it is interesting to see that Mills had not a single nice thing to say about India? Was he the head of a 'propaganda' machine working for the East India Company? If so, he did a great job, but if he was masquerading as a historian, his tome should have been consigned to the waste paper basket a couple of centuries ago, beacuse as far as I'm concerned you should have been there and done that, before talking!

Loose Cannons!

A week ago the Indian Navy, struck a body blow for shipping, world wide, by sinking a pirate vessel in the Gulf of Aden and capturing the fleeing pirates.With this amazing operation the Indian Navy has clearly established its reach & prowess.
For me it was a redemption of sorts seeing the INS Khukhri being part of the operation, because in 1971, the INS Khukhri was a ship the Indian Navy lost to the Pakistan Navy, in a sea battle.
In a move to take on piracy, our Defense minister is toying with the idea of having 'Sea Marshals' or armed security men on board, merchant ships to protect them.The issue is, ships unlike organizations cannot have 'matrix organizations', where the reporting structure is loose and not clearly established. The point is, will the 'sea marshal' work under the command of the ships captain or will he/she operate as an independent entity answering only to his/her call? On board an Indian ship the authority of the captain is supreme and is established by the Constitution of India ( Merchant Shipping Act 1958 ). This debate has been raging in western Europe and the USA for a while now and no answer has been found.No ships captain would like to see a loose cannon running around his ship.
Another idea is to have a 'fortified' area on board, where crew can secure themselves under attack from pirates and wait to be rescued by a rescue force. Assume this scenario played out on a crude oil carrier with 100000 Tons of crude oil? What would prevent the pirates from blowing up this floating bomb, before the rescue force arrived?
While the Defense Minister's zest is commendable, his lack of domain knowledge is painfully evident and eventually like all conflicts the solution to this vexed problem as well, will have to be found by diplomats on land rather than by guns at sea!

Choices we make...............................

Every time I watch Fredrick Forsyths classic 'The Day of the Jackal' there is a nuance of life that I see, afresh.
To fill you in, the story is about, France in the 1960's, having about lost its last colony in Africa ( Algeria ). The architect of this surrender is their president and WW 2 hero General Charles De Gaulle. A miffed group of army personnel feeling betrayed decide to bump off the president and so hire the 'Jackal' a shadowy Englishman to do the job. Now begins the cat & mouse game, between the French police & Jackal.
The defining moment for me in this superb thriller, is the point where the Jackal gets to hear that the police are on his trail and as per the terms of his contract can ditch the assignment. As he waits, in his 'Alfa Romeo', at a fork in the road one taking him to Paris and the other on to Italy, he you can see his mind ruminating over the choice that he is to make. Flee to safety in Italy or press on to Paris? Take up the challenge and kill De Gaulle or choose safety and admit failure?
The Jackal, chooses the challenge, drives on to Paris, fails to kill De Gaulle and is shot, to be buried in an unmarked grave by the wayside..............Had he fled? Did his arrogance get in the way of his judgement?
He made a choice and paid the price. Fleeing to Italy would have been a different price to pay, maybe being caught at the border and jailed, for life.
Choices in life are killers, you pay a price, for every choice you make, one way or the other and ergo there are no absolutely rights or wrong choices. There is that element of grey in an inelegant world, which creates success and failure, opportunity and threat.

Like Charles De Gaulle would have said:

Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility for it, makes it his own.

What he did not say, was the price that you pay!

Mad Monkeys and Dictators!

The freshly minted Indian parliament saw a strange language being spoken. Hitherto the only other tongues heard there were Hindi, English & Hindustani.Curious parliamentarians were told that this language was Kannada and spoken in what was called Mysore. The gentleman who spoke this language further made a strange request, he said that the President of India should alter between the north & south!
The same year, a north Indian city saw a strange problem. A rabid monkey was at war with mankind and had bitten about a hundred people. The monkey could not be put down, because in this land, for Hindus, the monkey embodies the God 'Hanuman'. The Prime Minister of India shot off a furious letter to the Chief Minister, asking if he planned to hand over the city and eventually the state to monkeys? Sanity was restored and the mad monkey met its end, whatever its standing might have been.
The year I'm alluding to is 1950! One can see the attempt at inclusiveness and rationality, since which we ( India ) have bungled along, from one crisis to another, even while saying that we are growing to be an economic power.The inclusiveness that the gent from Mysore proposed has all but disappeared even as the disparity between the rich & poor widens and rationality went out of the window with the Babri Masjid & the burning of passengers at Godhra, in Gujarat.
Greater wealth has brought about a strange myopia and lassitude in handling issues which require urgent attention. The politician in India as well as the general well heeled population feel that we will not have an Egypt like uprising here because we go to the polls every five years and elect a motley crew of politicians, to run our ship. Absolute hogwash! The Indian poor is a patient animal but one can feel that patience running thin and when it eventually wears, it is going to be a day of reckoning for many.Unfortunately these kind of revolutions are rarely directed and have tragic consequences for the innocent as well.
Has the Libyan dictator Col.Gaddafi met his end? Amidst increasing chaos the dictator says his people love him? Do they, after 200 or more protesters have been killed and exapts of all hues flee Libya? Shades of a mad monkey?

Awesome America!

( The picture is by Kishore, shot at the Nandi Hills, close to Bengaluru, India )
Apparently the cool tender coconut, that you find being sold for about Rs 10 a nut on the roadside,in India, has become hot news in the United States.The tender coconut's water is touted as the new fail safe Isotonic panacea and is said to deal with a wide variety of health issues ranging from kidney stones to diabetes to being a rich source of potassium.

The tender coconut is receiving a great deal of attention as it is being associated with a host of Hollywood celebrities from Madonna to Demi Moore. No more carbonated drinks for them, tender coconut water is the new flavour of season.

This has caused a host of folk scurrying to market bottled coconut water post which you will have folk branding the stuff and carrying out a high profile marketing campaign where you will see, guys or better still pretty girls,with bronzed sweat stained bodies & skimpy outfits, amidst a game of beach volleyball, endorsing the new exilir! The process of getting the stuff into little bottles will be patented and will create issues of IPR across the world. There is also sure to be a great deal of media coverage talking about celebrities experience with the tender coconut and its benefits to one's health and otherwise.

All this while, the poor Indian, continues to sell his nut, on probably an old bicycle for Rs.10, on a hot afternoon, to tired pedestrians, by the wayside, storing the shell for firewood and after removing the meat which makes a delightful snack.

I'm amazed at the Americans chutzpah to exploit the mundane and create an industry where none existed, surrounded by hype, hoopla and glitz.The coconut is not new to us, but did we create a buzz around the nut? No way!It, probably been quietly drunk in this part of the world for centuries.For that you need to be an entrepreneur and an MBA from a premier B School, hopefully from the USA!It is also not surprising as why you have boom-bust cycles in quick succession, where virtual industries disappear causing immense pain to the poor bystander.

Carrying out a quick SWOT Analysis, what is the 'weakness' that the coconut water faces? Apparently some Americans feel it tastes like 'smelly unwashed socks', which throws up the fundamental question: 'Why in the first place do they chew on, dirty socks?'

Human Resources & Human Beings!

Are humans resources or are they simply human beings who turn up for work ? Are they resources at the work spot and cease to be resources when they walk out of your office? These are fundamental questions that need to be answered by the 'Talent Philosophy' of an organization.

Many an organization,treat sacked employees very poorly,subjecting them to the humiliation of a body search as well as searching their car and so on. These are departing employees who had probably served your organization for a number of years before you found them incompetent.

The fundamental point is, is an employee as asset. Infosys says that employees are assets and so reflected in their balance sheet. Wonderful, but the problem is when the value of the asset depreciates. What then? Sack them..............

How else would you look at at an employee in an age when everything is to be measured and encapsulated in a 'bottom line'? Many Japanese firms treat their employees as 'investors', where the employee is investing their skills & time with the organization. The perspective now changes, dramatically. It is probably the reason why Japanese firms see longer serving employees.

While I respect American Management practise, I also believe that,we should be wary of blindly following imported practices. Management has much to do with a nations philosophy, ethos and culture. To ignore these is stupid and akin to throwing the baby out with the bath water............

While my line of thought looks utopian, I firmly belive that humans are not only about resources and business and bottom lines!

The Power of an idea!

A dozen ships,five hundred soldiers & a few horse was all that was required for the Spanish Conquistador Cortes to roll the mighty Aztec Empire over, who ruled what is today's Mexico. Just spare a thought, a few straggling barbarians from Spain, pursued by their Governor in Cuba, destroying a solidly established empire with a large standing army backed by experience and wealth. How was this possible?

Montezuma the king of the Aztecs was also their general and high priest. A divine ruler whose decision was final.When Montezuma first heard of Cortes he though he might be Quetzalcoatl, the God of Wisdom, who hated human sacrifice and, according to legend, was due to return to Mexico after being banished by wizards, rulers of the land. This worked to the advantage of Cortes, because it made Montezuma indecisive in his dealings with Cortes. He sent gifts instead of armies to Cortes and his men.This indecisiveness allowed the Spaniards the leeway to consolidate and press on.
It took two years, but in the end Cortes and the conquisitatadores prevailed even though outnumbered a thousand to one. At one point Cortes kidnapped Montezuma and threatened to kill him if he did not follow his wishes. Finally, Montezuma was killed by his own people according to the Spaniards. Cortes and his men looted the country, then settled the country, tore down its sacrificial altars, replacing the Aztec rituals with Christianity, and brought European government to the New World, with immense brutality.

A nation and its culture vanished for ever...................!

The power of an idea is all conquering. Ideas can motivate & debilitate as in the case of Montezuma and Cortes. Don't let the wrong ideas take root in your head and lose a battle before it begins.

There will be people who will tell you why you are not good enough or why you will lose or why you cannot do something.Shut them out!

The tragedy of culture!

Culturally Japan is one of the most 'masculine' nations of the world. This does not mean that they are a macho tribe and menfolk of other nations are wimps. Japanese men have traditionally been the breadwinners for the family while the wife patiently waited at home to welcome an unemotional husband.No kiss, no hug for the waiting wife, all things that you would see in a Hollywood flick. Japanese husbands do not believe in overt affection. How about the Japanese wife? Well, fed on a staple diet of western culture she is looking for more of the hug-kiss routine from her husband.........so much so the the divorce rate in Japan has shot up a whopping 70% the last ten years, the impact of an alien culture on the Japanese way of life. A tragedy but that's how it works.With the physical intimacy the Japanese have also imported American divorce rates.These days Japanese woman are said to frequent special restaurants where they pick men off a menu to talk to. Just to talk to and be praised by..............
Cut to the USA. A bevy of Indian students, treated as illegal entrants after enrolling at a fly by night college and worse being deported to India. The Indian media has gone to town, screaming about the fact that the students have been 'dog collared' with a RFID tag that would be used to track them till they are shipped off to India. How can Indians be treated that way? Not done to us, no way!

What the media seems to have forgotten are the following:

#1. The Indians were illegally present in the USA.
#2. The 'Dog Collar tag' was placed only when the students refused to pay a bond.
#3. Only a small percentage of students have been tagged.

Culturally we do not like to lose face & rules mean little to us, but then the action is in the US of A, where rules are to be followed and in an achievement oriented culture 'Power Distance' is low.

A lack of understanding is one thing, discarding our way of life for another, without serious introspection is foolish!

Mumbai Again!

Yesterday’s collision, between a warship and a merchant vessel, off the Sunk Rock, in Mumbai Harbor is a serious affair. More so because it involved an Indian Navy ship the Vindhyagiri, out on a sortie with civilians on board, on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The Director General of Shipping, has ordered an enquiry and in due course you will probably see the following:
1. The Captain of the Vindhyagiri will face a court martial and be crucified. 2. The Captain of the Merchant Ship will probably, have his certificate suspended and his ship arrested. 3. The civilians on board will be so traumatized that many will not sail again. 4. The company that insured the Merchant ship will pay damages quietly.

The seriousness of the situation is that, damage to a warship, is construed as an act of sabotage against the state, unless proved otherwise. Also the warship is going to be out of action for a while undergoing repairs. It is fortunate that the collision did not result in an oil spill. Mumbai has seen serious accidents too often recently to rest in comfort. Last year, apart from the Chitra-Khalijia collision, a coast guard vessel CGS Vivek sank in the port after it was hit by Panamanian vessel Global Purity in March. On August 31, two ships collided at Indira Docks, the largest dock in Mumbai Port.

Considering the location of the accident, the merchant ship should have had a pilot on board and the Harbor Control should have monitored traffic. Why this did not prevent the accident, is a mystery? Consider the fact that traffic through the Straits of Malacca, off Singapore is much heavier, but traffic control is so good that one has not heard of an accident for a great many years, now. Many of these accidents as well as terrorists landing in Mumabi through sea, are serious pointers that all is not well at Mumbai port in terms of safety and security. Considering that Mumbai is still our commercial Capital the economic fallout would be disastrous if the port is not administered with greater care. Having said that, you will in all probability once again see, the small fish being netted, while the sharks get away!The story of our times...............

Brainless Brawn!

Sometimes, I wonder how I got through school, having spent much of the time outdoors playing one sport or the other and in doing so have played for my state, district, school and club teams.
So the other day when my wife asked me if I had played hockey, I surprised myself in saying no, I had not. Surprised because, hockey was played around me and I had avoided the game...........The thought intrigued me. Why was the sport not on my list? On reflection, I can only come up with one reason. Fear of injury. I can recollect many of my friends being terribly hurt, while playing the game, because rules could not be enforced, at that level & brawn ruled over brain. Being a slight kid, I avoided the sport and the danger of being whacked by a hockey stick on the shin or head.
Is this a monologue on hockey? No it ain't.
The other day, an acquaintance from UP told me he had to sell his 'Haveli' for a song. Why? Jungle Law rules and he would have to face all sorts of harassment, if he wanted the right price. Brawn rules.Thugs running wild in a lawless world.
The point is, if brawn rules brain, then people are going to shy away and zero in at safer avenues. Probably the reason why I stuck to cricket which is not a contact sport and brawn can be handled with a piece of wood and my acquaintance settled in Bengaluru, where there is a semblance of law.
Parallels can be drawn to most places. States, organizations and so on!Organizations without a solid enabling & fair culture is a wonderful playing arena for the Machiavellian manipulator who will run circles around the smaller less scheming folk and will misuse power, real or imaginary.
But then do the brainless brawn have the chutzpah to figure that out? The question determines the success or failure of an entity.........

The smell of success!

An aspect of India liberalizing and going global is the availability of exotic perfumes at most shopping malls. What was once easily available only to the foreign returned is now very desi.So much so, you get to smell, a Davidoff or a Burberry more often and even more so as the disposal income of Indian's rises.
The perfume area is my favourite at shopping malls. I stalk the place and sample perfumes at random & end up smelling like a fruit punch.
Interestingly, I get to smell perfume more often at the campus too.Students seem to be quite comfortable dousing themselves with fragrance for a class!
Great, but what's the bad news. One is that, your perfume might have been at the cost of a musk rat or civet cat.More importantly, research has indicated that, male interviewers are not very enamoured of folk turning up for an interview smelling of Calvin Klein................while female interviewers are more accepting and like people smelling like roses.
what could be the reason? Apparently male interviewers think that the candidate is trying to manage an impression or indulging in impression management, while females are more accepting.
The next time, you are due for an interview, try to determine the gender of the interviewer or else leave the bottle of perfume alone, that is if you want the job badly and are prepared to play the game.Success does not necessarily result from smelling good!