When would I be a good consultant?

Today, I was posed with this fairly simple looking question by one of the campus recruits from the 2010 batch. I replied (what I thought was a simple reply) - "You are not ready yet!!"

But after 2.5 hours of the session and some more thinking, may be I was wrong. I had a different question in my mind by the end of it - Should we be imposing our thoughts on a generation that has always learnt to create their own destiny and paths? I remember my elders constantly telling me that my destiny is in my hands and I am the only one who needs to work on it. After hearing the same thing again and again in my life, it became a part of my thought process. My generation took some time to digest it as we saw an economy opening up, opportunities coming our way. I was 23 when a more liberal finance minister (Dr. Manmohan Singh) decided to open the Indian economy and thus changing the way India and Indians would be looked as, in the decades to follow. At that age, I did understand the difference - my brother (2 years younger) could get a decent job after he graduated (unthinkable for a non-engineer when I graduated).

But the new generation has not and would probably not be able to relate to this as they were too young in 1991 to understand it. The aspirations are different, the lifestyle is different and more importantly they are far more impatient to deliver the goods than we were at their age. They are not scared to stand in front of their CEO and question the strategy of the company - they don't understand the word 'protocol' (rightfully so). If we want the best from them, we have got to respond with a far more nimble and adaptive culture, give them opportunities where they could prove their worth and finally become more modular in our approach towards their career plans so that they are able to get what they want and the way they want it.

Now, how do we respond to this changing environment? I may not have all the answers at this point of time but here are a few suggestions:
1) Let each individual actually create at least 50% of their goals and objectives that they would like to be measured upon and as an organisation we should create a culture of adaptiveness to support them.
2) Share with each employee the business objectives and ask them to write their contribution in front of each of those objectives. 'What' is more important than 'How' - let them figure out the 'How' question even if it means that they come up with a 1000 different ways of achieving it as it would evolve based on each other's learning.
3) LISTEN more - I think preaching is the easiest thing to do, practicing slightly more difficult but listening is the toughest while it is the most important thing. I truly believe that effectively listening to the problem can give the right solution almost instantaneously - most of the times.
4) Mentors, supervisors and leaders should only guide. One of my close friends once told me during a discussion, "Organisational leaders should be the guiding force and not the dictating force if they really want the organisation to succeed but more often than not, they end up being the latter".
5) Belief is more precious than experience - seniors in the organisation carry extensive experience but the young guns have more belief in themselves and are better prepared for failure with their higher risk appetite. We should give them a chance - they may fall and dent their self-confidence but when they regain that confidence, it will be stronger than before.

Finally, having heard many people talk today as if they have been trapped in a bottle, I just have one suggestion for all of them - do not wait for 'Aladdin' to come and unplug the bottle, use your strength to open it on your own. Your strength is your belief, your knowledge and your dreams. They day you manage to unplug yourself - I'll come to you and acknowledge that you are ready!!

30th October 2011

It could be one of the most important dates in the history of Formula 1 and surely for India with the first ever Indian Grand Prix scheduled to take place (subject to inspection; which I am sure Dr. Vijay Mallya would manage considering he got into F1 for this particular day!!). This could be an important milestone for Formula 1 as they could potentially add millions of new fans and make one of the most expensive sports in the world far more attractive for the corporate sponsors to jump in.

The 2011 calendar would now have 20 races and the most important thing is that the Indian Grand Prix will be 3rd last in the calendar – making it a very important one from a pure championship standing perspective.

It would also be an ideal time with the winter season just about to set in and with Diwali (India’s biggest festival) on the 26th of October, the festivities would continue to the race weekend – don’t think anybody could have asked for more? Not so right – the icing on the cake would be to see an Indian driver in the Kingfisher team opening the champagne bottle at the end of the race (it is definitely possible)!!

Am I excited and will I be there? - Oh YES :-)

God also could not have done it!!

While cricket is almost a religion for most of the Indians and 'Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar' their God; I was thinking if there was anything that God himself/herself could not do that a Sachin can.

Sachin has bounced back every single time his critics have questioned his decision to continue to play after 20 years of international cricket; similarly, God has through numerous actions shown the atheists in this world (arguably though) that there is a supernatural power that can create and/or destroy anything and irrespective of the advancement this world may have achieved, it still cannot defeat this power.

God has acceptance across the globe (in different forms and with different names) and so does Mr. Tendulkar who is a well recognised personality in any part of the world.

But I did find that one thing that even God could not have done it!! Unlike God, Sachin has outdone himself so many times that I have to admit (finally) that he is probably the best ever to have played the game of cricket. Trust me this is not an emotional statement coming because of what he achieved today; he has had probably bigger moments in his lifetime but I never felt the same. What makes him so special is the fact that in spite of all the stardom, there has not been even a single moment of arrogance from the man and to top it all, I believe he is one of those people, who truly are good at heart.

I salute the guy and the spirit of being 'Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar'!!

PS - This blog is also a dedication to the biggest Sachin fan I have ever met; I rest my case now :-)

'Cricket' to 'Sports in India' = 'MBAs' to 'Campus Recruits'?

I was sitting in one of the campuses waiting for the next candidate to come in (she was busy with the process of another company) and since had nothing better to do, decided to brush up my math. Started calculating how many MBAs would be joining the corporate world from the top 20 Indian B-Schools and what is the spend looking like for the corporate world.

Guess what!! The annual spend by the corporate world at a fairly pessimistic average salary for the 2010 batches of the top 20 B-Schools is going to be at least a whooping INR 4 Billion!!!

This has to be one of the most expensive month for the corporates who rely on people and especially aggressive in hiring MBAs. It actually was amazing and it took me time to digest the fact that there is a lot at stake for everyone - the recruiters, the candidates, the interviewers and the B-Schools.

I hope that the ROI is positive otherwise we would soon witness a reverse trend in hiring of MBAs and that would be very bad news for the millions of aspirants looking for a degree/diploma in Business Administration. The key question is whether the corporate world seems to be paying an atrociously high differential to MBAs (nobody seems to be asking for other streams in post graduation) and thus the analogy being questioned in the title of this post.

I would closely be following the trend in both the areas, which seem to be changing already...

PS - I completed my MBA a few years back and do not carry any grudge against my classmates/institute/professors :-)

Life is not always about winning

7:10 a.m., 27th April 1996 (Ferozeshah Kotla ground, New Delhi) – I was warming up for our match with the visiting England Under-19 cricket team. I saw my coach and captain go into the players’ room to decide the playing eleven. This was my 5th match for the Under-19 team and I was all excited about the big match as a couple of selectors for the Ranji team were expected to come and see the match.

While taking my final lap, I saw a Maruti Van stop close to gate # 3 and eight people come out from the van with big smiles on their face. I was wondering who these people were, who had come so early on a Saturday morning to watch a friendly match between two Under-19 teams!!

Then I spotted Gaurav (a friend of my brother) who was right at the centre of that group, beaming with joy. He came to me and greeted me immediately. He then introduced me to his parents, brother, sisters and aunts. They were very excited that he has been selected for the Under-19 team and that he will be playing against the England team (it really did not matter to them that it was just a friendly cricket match and not a war for independence).

The coach and captain came out soon and called me to inform that I was in the playing eleven; by then I was confident of being in the eleven for almost all the upcoming matches as I had done well in my first four matches with them. I just casually asked who is the 12th man and they promptly replied that Gaurav will be the 12th man. I really don’t know what role a 12th man has today in an Under-19 team but in those days, a 12th man was a nice name for the water boy. I was not sure if I should tell my coach and captain that Gaurav’s entire family had come to see him play in his first match and before I could make up my mind, they had gone to announce the playing eleven to the rest of the team.

I knew I had less than a minute to do something about it. My inner voice wanted me to do something but I just didn’t know what to do. Then as if the message came from God, I ran towards my coach and managed to stop him just a few yards from where the team was assembled. In a very low tone and with some pain in my voice, I told him that I was not feeling too well and I may be suffering from an upset stomach. I told him that I would not be able to give my 100% on the field.

He was visibly upset at this last minute news and told me that it was critical for me to play as the England team had some really good batsmen. He also explained that their batsmen would be vulnerable to spin (a bowling form) and apart from me, they had no one else in the spin department. I immediately responded and suggested that they should let Gaurav play as he too is a good spinner. He turned around looking for Gaurav and saw him standing with a group of people. The coach asked me, “Who are these people next to Gaurav?” Casually I answered, “Oh they... they are just some of his family members”. My coach stared at the group for a few seconds and then looked at me with his eyes wide open. I thought my career was going to be over that instant but that was not what happened.

He smiled and said, “You know this match is important for you. The selectors will be there; why do you want to do this?” I was completely exposed but since my heart had overtaken by mind, my reply to him was prompt and crisp; I just said, “I know but this is more important.” He just smiled again, put his hands on my head and walked towards the team.

Yes, Gaurav did play the match in place of me and to be fair, he did well. We lost the match but there were still 3 people from our team who were smiling at the end of the match – Coach, Gaurav and me.

Any other day, I would have been very upset to be part of a losing team but not that day. Winning is important and you should give everything you have to win but sometimes life is not about winning alone. Although I withdrew from the sport a couple of years later, Gaurav still plays for the Delhi team and hopefully will play for India someday.

Being Secular...

I never imagined how the name of a person can go against him/her till the 1993 Bombay blasts happened. I was sitting at my home waiting for a friend of mine to call me and tell me the time we would be meeting for dinner. Like everybody else in my family, I was glued on to the television watching the news; Bombay (now Mumbai) had witnessed serial blasts a couple of days back and was subsequently having communal riots. I asked my dad, “What does communalism mean?” He answered patiently but honestly, I did not understand a word of what he said.

Just then I got a call from my friend and she told me that she will not be able to meet me for dinner as her parents had asked her not to meet me or even speak to me. I was speechless and my mind went back to the last few days, thinking what I had done wrong. Just a week before that day, I had gone to meet her at her home and I had had a friendly conversation with her parents. A thousand thoughts went through my mind and none were convincing enough; never in my life earlier, had I been so desperate for answers.

Ten days later, she came to my house with her mother and to my surprise, her mother asked me why I hadn’t visited their house for more than a fortnight; once again I was speechless.

Her mother was visiting my house for the first time and I noticed that she was looking around for something but I had no clue what it was. Suddenly, I heard a very excited tone in her voice and in a single instance; I got answers for all the questions that were puzzling me for the last 10 days. I also suddenly understood the meaning of what my dad told me while explaining the word ‘communalism’. She told my mom, “Oh you have a temple in your house, so you are a Hindu; that is so wonderful and I am so glad. Why did you then choose the name Suhel for your son? It creates so much confusion about your son’s identity…”

While I was happy to see the smile on the faces of the daughter-mom duo (although I am sure both had different reasons for the smile on their face), another set of thoughts started troubling me. If my last 10 days were nothing less than mental torture, then what do Abdul, Karim and Rizwan go through every single day of their lives? Abdul, Karim and Rizwan were some of my closest friends from school and people whom I had known for more than a decade. I am still not sure what they feel about how the rest of world treats them because of their names; I never had the courage to ask them but I am sure it is not a very good feeling.

So many events have taken place since then - whether it is Godhra or the riots after that, all just made me believe in one thing – secularism is not about being non-communal. Secularism is about treating all around you with equal respect and not judge the people by their name; religion or caste. There is nothing worse than living a life where you are judged and discriminated against based on your name; religion or caste and I sincerely hope that everybody understands this sooner rather than later...