The country of paradoxes …. where Mercs and bullock-carts co-exist on the road …. the feet of elders are still touched at home while calling your seniors by first names in the office ….. a country with a throbbing heart ….. a beautiful place that’s never short of surprises …. Here are a few that touched my heart….. this is my India …. The picture may not be representative …. But then who cares??
As we drove along happily towards Salem, my Bolero started knocking suddenly. When I tried pressing the peddle, engine began to die down. I immediately shifted gears. Once I got the vehicle in second gear, engine started showing signs of life again. I heaved a sigh of relief. Then it happened again as I tried to shift into higher gear …. I almost panicked! It was getting dark and we were just three of us – me, my wife and our four year old daughter - on a relatively quiet highway to Salem. We were on that road for the first time and had no clue how safe the road was after the dark. I wiped my forehead and started driving the vehicle in 2nd gear at a speed of 20. “Damn” – I knew the problem theoretically but it was as good as knowing only the theory of swimming in deep waters. This is the time when many “ifs” start troubling you …… if only I had put my foot down for getting the fuel filter changed rather than going by the assurance of the maintenance manager at the workshop ….. if I had started earlier in the day than spending half a day in office to start only at 4.30 ….. and so on ….. “What do we do now?” – asked my wife who thankfully can stay pretty calm in such situations …. “Nothing much, we’ll keep going like this and as soon as we reach Salem, we’ll check in the first hotel in sight and figure out about the vehicle tomorrow morning” …. Thankfully this ordeal ended in an hour and we saw the lights of Salem …… Don’t know how many people have felt happier than me and my wife at the sight of Salem …. I just drove in the first hotel that came our way ….. I think it was something called Cenney’s Gateway ….. “Let me first check whether the rooms are available” …. I told my wife as I left for the reception with the engine of the vehicle still running (just didn’t dare to shut it off). Mercifully the rooms were available …. “Is there any Mahindra service center nearby?” I asked casually and briefly told the counter-clerk about my situation ….. “Oh – there is one just right behind the hotel …. May be closing time now …. Why don’t you check there first, I’ll keep the room for you – don’t worry”. I ran to the vehicle with a big “thank you” to him …… As we drove to the service center, I saw a man in his blue uniform walking out of the service center. “Is this Mahindra Service Center?” “Yes, but we are closed now. You can come tomorrow”. “Please can you do something? I have to reach Munnar tomorrow morning, if I don’t get this fixed tonight, half my vacation will be spoied….. pleeeaseeeee!” “OK, lets check – we’ll go for the test drive – let madam and the kid be comfortable in the reception out there” “Thank you… but they will come with us” There is no way I was going to let my wife and child be alone in an unknown place in the unknown city!! As he drove the vehicle “Fuel filter problem sir” “ I know, please do something” “This is an authorized service station – I cannot fix it just like that” I pleaded again and he agreed to help. Next 45 minutes he and his assistant worked sincerely and did the necessary work of cleaning …. I sighed a relief as I drove the vehicle again …… he beamed “now no problem sir …. Go to Munnar and get it fixed when you are back in Bangalore – I guarantee” …… now came the difficult part …. How much should I pay this man ….. now that I was out of the stress, I started worrying whether I will be fleeced financially for this act of kindness! Ready to bargain for much higher amount, I decided to start with ` 200/- “Whats this sir …I don’t want any money” I thought he was being sarcastic. “No you helped me going out of your way so take it” “I told you sir - I can’t take any money – this is an authorized service station” “I’ll really feel good if you take the money” …. I never expected the bargain to go this way! As I almost thrust the money in his hand, he looked at it “Why ` 200 sir …. It was simple cleaning job” He kept one hundred rupee note back in my pocket before I realized it, gave a friendly salute and walked away ….. I was stunned as Raghavan walked away (yes … this story is 10 years old and I still remember his name clearly) ….. The money I offered could have been his day’s salary ….. I was in need and he easily could have gone for the kill ….. I saluted the man as he walked away quickly and thanked him from the bottom of my heart as it just reconfirmed my belief that “This (also) happens in India”.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
This (also) happens in India – part 3
The country of paradoxes …. where Mercs and bullock-carts co-exist on the road …. the feet of elders are still touched at home while calling your seniors by first names in the office ….. a country with a throbbing heart ….. a beautiful place that’s never short of surprises …. Here are a few that touched my heart….. this is my India …. The picture may not be representative …. But then who cares??
City of Nasik in state of Maharashtra is known for religious reasons and of course scores of temples are found all over the district. However, there is one particular temple that is different than the rest. There is a temple called “Temple of Dev Mamledar” – temple dedicated to a Mamledar (Revenue officer at a Taluka). His name was Yashwantrao Mahadeo Bhosekar – popularly known as Dev (meaning god) mamledar. The story does not stop at the temple – even today the chair that was used by Dev-mamledar in office is maintained as a sacred relic. The presiding revenue officer even today does not occupy the chair meant for Mamledar but operates from a chair kept next to Dev-mamledar’s chair …… so who was Dev-mamledar and what’s his story?
…… It is a true story of a revenue officer in 19th Century India. Dev-mamledar was the revenue officer of Satna around 1867 to 1873 …. In 1870 Satna faced one of its worst famines ….. it was during this famine that the mamledar decided to act rather than being a mute, helpless spectator ….. he distributed all his personal wealth including food-grains to the needy. Once done with his house, he opened the government coffers at his disposal and distributed the money to the poor and needy making sure that nobody died in Satna due to hunger …… the action obviously was not taken kindly by the British Government and an investigation was initiated ….. the folklore says that when the Government investigation officer came for the visit, he found the coffers were full and not a single penny was missing ……
I really don’t want to get into the miracle part of the story ….. not that I doubt it, but miracles is a matter of faith and I think faith should never be questioned. Irrespective of miracle , dev-mamledar still deserves the honour bestowed upon him. It takes an outstanding courage and conviction to save human life ….. Many can think about it but question is how many can act on it …. At a time when we hear the stories about government coffers being emptied for not so noble reasons and about government’s “logical (??)” inability to distribute millions of tons of food to the poor instead of wasting it, story of Dev-mamledar is an eye-opener. How many in the power today think that power is bestowed upon them by millions of needy people of this country who would not mind building their shrines, if they just discharge their duties honourably …. Interpreting rules and breaking them if required is need of the hour rather than destructing the precious commodity Mr Yashwantrao Mahadev Bhosekar saved over a century ago ….. Human Life!!!
City of Nasik in state of Maharashtra is known for religious reasons and of course scores of temples are found all over the district. However, there is one particular temple that is different than the rest. There is a temple called “Temple of Dev Mamledar” – temple dedicated to a Mamledar (Revenue officer at a Taluka). His name was Yashwantrao Mahadeo Bhosekar – popularly known as Dev (meaning god) mamledar. The story does not stop at the temple – even today the chair that was used by Dev-mamledar in office is maintained as a sacred relic. The presiding revenue officer even today does not occupy the chair meant for Mamledar but operates from a chair kept next to Dev-mamledar’s chair …… so who was Dev-mamledar and what’s his story?
…… It is a true story of a revenue officer in 19th Century India. Dev-mamledar was the revenue officer of Satna around 1867 to 1873 …. In 1870 Satna faced one of its worst famines ….. it was during this famine that the mamledar decided to act rather than being a mute, helpless spectator ….. he distributed all his personal wealth including food-grains to the needy. Once done with his house, he opened the government coffers at his disposal and distributed the money to the poor and needy making sure that nobody died in Satna due to hunger …… the action obviously was not taken kindly by the British Government and an investigation was initiated ….. the folklore says that when the Government investigation officer came for the visit, he found the coffers were full and not a single penny was missing ……
I really don’t want to get into the miracle part of the story ….. not that I doubt it, but miracles is a matter of faith and I think faith should never be questioned. Irrespective of miracle , dev-mamledar still deserves the honour bestowed upon him. It takes an outstanding courage and conviction to save human life ….. Many can think about it but question is how many can act on it …. At a time when we hear the stories about government coffers being emptied for not so noble reasons and about government’s “logical (??)” inability to distribute millions of tons of food to the poor instead of wasting it, story of Dev-mamledar is an eye-opener. How many in the power today think that power is bestowed upon them by millions of needy people of this country who would not mind building their shrines, if they just discharge their duties honourably …. Interpreting rules and breaking them if required is need of the hour rather than destructing the precious commodity Mr Yashwantrao Mahadev Bhosekar saved over a century ago ….. Human Life!!!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
This (also) happens in India – part 2
The country of paradoxes …. where Mercs and bullock-carts co-exist on the road …. the feet of elders are still touched at home while calling your seniors by first names in the office ….. a country with a throbbing heart ….. a beautiful place that’s never short of surprises …. Here are a few that touched my heart….. this is my India …. The picture may not be representative …. But then who cares??
As we sat down for dinner, I saw my wife little bit in a pensive mood. Being a cheerful person that she is, I was curious. When asked about the reason, the situation she told me was one of the most fascinating that I heard around me for some time……
The maid servant who works at our place has a story of her own. She works to support the family of husband + 3 kids (One son and two daughters). She is very keen that the kids take up studies very seriously. The story so far is nothing special ….. the real stuff is in the details of the story …. Elder son is average in studies so he works daytime to support his mother’s income and studies at night college …. The daughter – middle one of the siblings is very passionate about the studies and studied against all difficulties (family of 5 staying in one room). Based on her 12th standard performance she secured an admission in one of the Pune-based Engineering college for Computer Engineering! This is where the problem started staring at them – how to manage the expenses? How to pay the fees? …. especially when deadline for payment was just two days away. In this context she narrated the whole problem to my wife. I now understood why my wife was lost in her thoughts. “We should pay the fees for her first year to begin with” she said on an impulse. I couldn’t agree more “Whats the amount” When she told me the amount, the irony of the situation hit me – the amount was not more than if you treat a group of 8-10 friends for a few drinks and food in a good restaurant! Thankfully she had got an admission in reserved quota so there was a concession in fees. “Give her the cheque tomorrow in the name of the college but how are they going to manage the other expenses?”I asked. “Lets see, first lets at least help them to secure admission”. My wife told me that the joy on the lady’s face was an instant returns of the investment! …… Two days later the lady came beaming – The amount required for hostel and other yearly expenses was arranged partly through some bank loan by intervention of some kind-hearted banker (generally banks give more money to people who have it in the first place!). The rest of it was organized partly through some personal financial help and partly through some financial aid from a local MLA……..
The incident was overwhelming for me as number of stories emerge …..
1. More often than not I have seen the reserved quota system in education is misused by many who actually may not need it….. so it was nice to see a LIVE case of the benefit reaching the worthy.
2. We started the help in our humble way and we were not alone! Without worrying about overall feasibility if some help comes forward, there is a hope for the person to seek help …. Whenever you help someone, you are not unique – there are many others like you …. The amount raised for meeting annual expenses was quite impressive
3. Whatever criticism our education system draws, it still helps worthy students with burning desire to acquire education …. Time and again this has been proved by innumerable cases of studying in hardship
4. LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST – We have a serious issue of bias against the female child starting right from female infanticide – here was a case of a family with lower income group and uneducated parents working hard to get their daughter educated more than a son based on meritocracy! Just like candle in the stormy night, these stories always light my heart! There is HOPE ……
JAI HO!
As we sat down for dinner, I saw my wife little bit in a pensive mood. Being a cheerful person that she is, I was curious. When asked about the reason, the situation she told me was one of the most fascinating that I heard around me for some time……
The maid servant who works at our place has a story of her own. She works to support the family of husband + 3 kids (One son and two daughters). She is very keen that the kids take up studies very seriously. The story so far is nothing special ….. the real stuff is in the details of the story …. Elder son is average in studies so he works daytime to support his mother’s income and studies at night college …. The daughter – middle one of the siblings is very passionate about the studies and studied against all difficulties (family of 5 staying in one room). Based on her 12th standard performance she secured an admission in one of the Pune-based Engineering college for Computer Engineering! This is where the problem started staring at them – how to manage the expenses? How to pay the fees? …. especially when deadline for payment was just two days away. In this context she narrated the whole problem to my wife. I now understood why my wife was lost in her thoughts. “We should pay the fees for her first year to begin with” she said on an impulse. I couldn’t agree more “Whats the amount” When she told me the amount, the irony of the situation hit me – the amount was not more than if you treat a group of 8-10 friends for a few drinks and food in a good restaurant! Thankfully she had got an admission in reserved quota so there was a concession in fees. “Give her the cheque tomorrow in the name of the college but how are they going to manage the other expenses?”I asked. “Lets see, first lets at least help them to secure admission”. My wife told me that the joy on the lady’s face was an instant returns of the investment! …… Two days later the lady came beaming – The amount required for hostel and other yearly expenses was arranged partly through some bank loan by intervention of some kind-hearted banker (generally banks give more money to people who have it in the first place!). The rest of it was organized partly through some personal financial help and partly through some financial aid from a local MLA……..
The incident was overwhelming for me as number of stories emerge …..
1. More often than not I have seen the reserved quota system in education is misused by many who actually may not need it….. so it was nice to see a LIVE case of the benefit reaching the worthy.
2. We started the help in our humble way and we were not alone! Without worrying about overall feasibility if some help comes forward, there is a hope for the person to seek help …. Whenever you help someone, you are not unique – there are many others like you …. The amount raised for meeting annual expenses was quite impressive
3. Whatever criticism our education system draws, it still helps worthy students with burning desire to acquire education …. Time and again this has been proved by innumerable cases of studying in hardship
4. LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST – We have a serious issue of bias against the female child starting right from female infanticide – here was a case of a family with lower income group and uneducated parents working hard to get their daughter educated more than a son based on meritocracy! Just like candle in the stormy night, these stories always light my heart! There is HOPE ……
JAI HO!
Monday, September 6, 2010
This (also) happens in India – part 1
The country of paradoxes …. where Mercs and bullock-carts co-exist on the road …. the feet of elders are still touched at home while calling your seniors by first names in the office ….. a country with a throbbing heart ….. a beautiful place that’s never short of surprises …. Here are a few that touched my heart….. this is my India …. The picture may not be representative …. But then who cares??
August 2009 …… 25the August 2009 to be precise, I read an interesting article that was published in the local newspaper. This was a real life story of one Mr V. V. Venkataraman who taught Tamil language at school for 41 years and retired in 1985. Throughout his life he stayed in a rented accommodation and as the years passed by even that was unaffordable on a schoolteachers’ pension….. It came to a situation where he had even leave that house ….. one of his students who had retired as a municipal commissioner heard this and was really upset …. He connected with around 500 students whom Mr Venkataraman had taught … together they bought a 1200 sq. ft of land and built a two-storied house to be handed over to him on 5th September 2009 – the day India celebrates as Teachers’ day in memory of Dr Radhakrishnan …
The story can be viewed from two viewpoints …. It’s a disturbing state of affairs for the builders of our nation – the teachers as they spend lifetime molding generations …. But there is also a story of the enormous goodwill that the profession evokes in today’s age of break-neck speed …..
Closer home I have seen my in-laws getting the respect from the most unexpected quarters and in the most unexpected places as they come across some student or other wherever they go …. More than happiness, there is a visible pride written on their faces about the success of their student (A pride due to someone else’s success – a feeling I guess that might remain alien to me!)
Generations today may not exactly behave in the same manner with their teachers as generations did a few decades before, but even today the good honest teachers invariably draw the same respect ….
While something has been done on the pay front (I believe) and a lot needs to be done on the capability building front for teachers, there is one obvious matchmaking that may change the world … The problem is that apart from some isolated incidents, even today there is no concrete platform where students can reach out to their retired teachers who may need help …. Remember I am talking about an era where there was no internet “to keep in touch” and possibly talking about the teachers who even today may not have an access. I am sure this will be a powerhouse of an initiative which will give platform to the students to offer “gurudakshina” (A concept where student pays for the knowledge offered by a teacher and the payment is always considered as token in proportion to the knowledge received!) – many will come forward to reach out and honour their teachers rather than making the teachers waiting for the “favours” from the government!
August 2009 …… 25the August 2009 to be precise, I read an interesting article that was published in the local newspaper. This was a real life story of one Mr V. V. Venkataraman who taught Tamil language at school for 41 years and retired in 1985. Throughout his life he stayed in a rented accommodation and as the years passed by even that was unaffordable on a schoolteachers’ pension….. It came to a situation where he had even leave that house ….. one of his students who had retired as a municipal commissioner heard this and was really upset …. He connected with around 500 students whom Mr Venkataraman had taught … together they bought a 1200 sq. ft of land and built a two-storied house to be handed over to him on 5th September 2009 – the day India celebrates as Teachers’ day in memory of Dr Radhakrishnan …
The story can be viewed from two viewpoints …. It’s a disturbing state of affairs for the builders of our nation – the teachers as they spend lifetime molding generations …. But there is also a story of the enormous goodwill that the profession evokes in today’s age of break-neck speed …..
Closer home I have seen my in-laws getting the respect from the most unexpected quarters and in the most unexpected places as they come across some student or other wherever they go …. More than happiness, there is a visible pride written on their faces about the success of their student (A pride due to someone else’s success – a feeling I guess that might remain alien to me!)
Generations today may not exactly behave in the same manner with their teachers as generations did a few decades before, but even today the good honest teachers invariably draw the same respect ….
While something has been done on the pay front (I believe) and a lot needs to be done on the capability building front for teachers, there is one obvious matchmaking that may change the world … The problem is that apart from some isolated incidents, even today there is no concrete platform where students can reach out to their retired teachers who may need help …. Remember I am talking about an era where there was no internet “to keep in touch” and possibly talking about the teachers who even today may not have an access. I am sure this will be a powerhouse of an initiative which will give platform to the students to offer “gurudakshina” (A concept where student pays for the knowledge offered by a teacher and the payment is always considered as token in proportion to the knowledge received!) – many will come forward to reach out and honour their teachers rather than making the teachers waiting for the “favours” from the government!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
“Are you the PRINCIPAL here?”.....
As I walked in the office with my daughter on a lazy Saturday morning, the security at the gate greeted with a smart salute…..my daughter was suitably impressed ….. I’ll be nothing but a hypocrite if I don’t admit being pleased at my own importance in front of my daughter. I guess I had a little swagger as I walked to my cabin…… We were there just to pick up some stuff that I had left there…. As we walked back, she asked me, “Is this your place?” looking at my puzzled expression she asked, “Are you the PRINCIPAL of this whole place?” and in a flash I suddenly realized what she meant…”Hmmm, not exactly sweetheart”…. I only wished…. “Then how come the security saluted you? Our security salutes only the PRINCIPAL of the school”…… I did not know how to explain her and did not have the heart to tell the kid that amidst all the crisis I get into every day, I generally don’t have the swagger as I walk to my cabin!
For some strange reason, my mind went back a few years back while I was still in my first job…… one of our peons, Dattu, one day came to me and said,” I need a little favour”…. I suddenly became alert – what would it be…job for someone, money, extended leave….as if reading my mind he clarified “I don’t need anything for myself but we run a school in our community. There is a batch of 10th standard students that is passing out. It will be nice if you can address them”. Honestly, I felt a little overwhelmed……. Being in my twenties myself, I hardly had an exposure to such an honour. When I reached the venue, I saw Dattu beaming as the head of reception committee…… all decked up, wearing spotless white like a local politician and of course with the mandatory “Gandhi Cap”. We shook hands and proceeded to the venue…it went off ok (honestly don’t remember much of it!) … at the end, I had tea at Dattu’s place…. We discussed everything including politics……usual stuff when two colleagues meet on a social occasion… Indeed I had a nice time…… As I walked away I remember having a few thoughts ringing in my head…. Dattu and I hit off really well ….. I could very clearly see that he was a community leader – a fact I hardly knew ….. for Dattu’s kids who were introduced to me, I was a colleague from their father’s office and I must confess that I had graciously responded to a peon’s invitation…. My idea of my social responsibility blah….blah…..
As a man (or of course the woman for that matter) walks to the office from home, he walks out as the boss of the house….. runs the family. As he leaves for the office he is easily the most important person in the house …. There is an image of the parent that the kids build up in their mind …. Irrespective of what happens at the office….. As we take decisions that impact people or for matter as we speak to them would it not be great if we just graciously accept the fact that we are talking to someone’s HERO…… I guess conflict management experts soon will go out of the jobs!
For some strange reason, my mind went back a few years back while I was still in my first job…… one of our peons, Dattu, one day came to me and said,” I need a little favour”…. I suddenly became alert – what would it be…job for someone, money, extended leave….as if reading my mind he clarified “I don’t need anything for myself but we run a school in our community. There is a batch of 10th standard students that is passing out. It will be nice if you can address them”. Honestly, I felt a little overwhelmed……. Being in my twenties myself, I hardly had an exposure to such an honour. When I reached the venue, I saw Dattu beaming as the head of reception committee…… all decked up, wearing spotless white like a local politician and of course with the mandatory “Gandhi Cap”. We shook hands and proceeded to the venue…it went off ok (honestly don’t remember much of it!) … at the end, I had tea at Dattu’s place…. We discussed everything including politics……usual stuff when two colleagues meet on a social occasion… Indeed I had a nice time…… As I walked away I remember having a few thoughts ringing in my head…. Dattu and I hit off really well ….. I could very clearly see that he was a community leader – a fact I hardly knew ….. for Dattu’s kids who were introduced to me, I was a colleague from their father’s office and I must confess that I had graciously responded to a peon’s invitation…. My idea of my social responsibility blah….blah…..
As a man (or of course the woman for that matter) walks to the office from home, he walks out as the boss of the house….. runs the family. As he leaves for the office he is easily the most important person in the house …. There is an image of the parent that the kids build up in their mind …. Irrespective of what happens at the office….. As we take decisions that impact people or for matter as we speak to them would it not be great if we just graciously accept the fact that we are talking to someone’s HERO…… I guess conflict management experts soon will go out of the jobs!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Some Stuff about Ideas....
The man who had given me an appointment obviously relished his food more than talking to me….Of course he had asked me about food albeit with a clear expectation that I should say no! ….. After all these years, I somehow vividly remember the menu of his lunchbox but do not remember a single word that we talked….. a few friends in the college told me that I draw great caricatures (which was a fact) and had liked the way I sometimes sketched on my T-shirts…… “Why don’t you approach some agency who can market your offerings if you make the T-shirts”…… Without a thought, I went to meet someone in South Mumbai behind Sterling Cinema…… when I look back, I realize that the appointment given to me was more out of respect for my father than anything to do with the idea of 19-year old…. I have no grudges for the man who loved his food better than my idea……
After a few years in the job, when I was still in my twenties, I almost became obsessed with a desire to be an entrepreneur …… As I decided to take a plunge into entrepreneurship, I decided to stick to something closer to my background and started a recruitment consultancy predominantly focused on overseas placements …….. I can still smell my first new letterhead…… first small office…. I was on a high and back then in nineties earned my first million rupees …… not bad for a boy in late twenties in the year 1998 with just one PC as an investment…. I remember spending year and half happily only to get stuck completely on way ahead…… not because lack of work or capabilities but it was clearly a stage where I had to invest to expand…… was it worth was the question….. Having started business to earn more money….. I just felt limitations on my own knowledge and exposure – not so much of a problem by itself but I myself lacked clarity on big picture…… I took one of the most emotionally difficult decisions of my career….. to close down what I had started with so much of pride… It was a decision that baffled a few as I by then had started earning some decent money (I could buy a brand new car out of the money made from my enterprise – an ultimate middle class test of success!)…. The year was 1999 …. Demand for my sort of business was at peak …… I was fed up with it and decided to move on……
Life has been generous….. my career has always given me a diverse exposure….. I have always been associated with great people…… When I look back I guess I learnt a few things about ideas…..
1. Idea is not an impulse which you casually walk into ….. my heart really goes for the man who listened to me patiently over his lunch
2. It is good to dream higher money and the good things that come along with it but that perhaps is not adequate to be an idea…… An idea itself should be strong enough to be a guiding force ….. strong enough to keep the desire burning
3. An idea can be big only if it can be built upon by many …. Only if there are multitudes of stakeholder who see something in it for them …. All the big stories are built this way!
4. The beauty about an idea is you can understand all the theory about an idea but that doesn’t help to create one…..it has to strike your heart!
As I go along thankful to my exposures and learning that life has to offer, deep somewhere in my mind, I hope and pray that my big idea is somewhere out there and waiting to strike my heart! …………..
After a few years in the job, when I was still in my twenties, I almost became obsessed with a desire to be an entrepreneur …… As I decided to take a plunge into entrepreneurship, I decided to stick to something closer to my background and started a recruitment consultancy predominantly focused on overseas placements …….. I can still smell my first new letterhead…… first small office…. I was on a high and back then in nineties earned my first million rupees …… not bad for a boy in late twenties in the year 1998 with just one PC as an investment…. I remember spending year and half happily only to get stuck completely on way ahead…… not because lack of work or capabilities but it was clearly a stage where I had to invest to expand…… was it worth was the question….. Having started business to earn more money….. I just felt limitations on my own knowledge and exposure – not so much of a problem by itself but I myself lacked clarity on big picture…… I took one of the most emotionally difficult decisions of my career….. to close down what I had started with so much of pride… It was a decision that baffled a few as I by then had started earning some decent money (I could buy a brand new car out of the money made from my enterprise – an ultimate middle class test of success!)…. The year was 1999 …. Demand for my sort of business was at peak …… I was fed up with it and decided to move on……
Life has been generous….. my career has always given me a diverse exposure….. I have always been associated with great people…… When I look back I guess I learnt a few things about ideas…..
1. Idea is not an impulse which you casually walk into ….. my heart really goes for the man who listened to me patiently over his lunch
2. It is good to dream higher money and the good things that come along with it but that perhaps is not adequate to be an idea…… An idea itself should be strong enough to be a guiding force ….. strong enough to keep the desire burning
3. An idea can be big only if it can be built upon by many …. Only if there are multitudes of stakeholder who see something in it for them …. All the big stories are built this way!
4. The beauty about an idea is you can understand all the theory about an idea but that doesn’t help to create one…..it has to strike your heart!
As I go along thankful to my exposures and learning that life has to offer, deep somewhere in my mind, I hope and pray that my big idea is somewhere out there and waiting to strike my heart! …………..
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Information can be liability
I had just moved into Sales from my HR profession and we were discussing one of the possible deals. As we sat around to discuss our proposed solution, my enthusiastic sales person poured out information on competition…. Who is our competitor, who is the person involved from their side, his background, competitor’s strategy, solution…. Being novice to the sales function I was impressed! Next few hours we dissected the information received and finally shut our mouths and laptops to go home quite late into night…… As I drove back in the quiet of the night, something was troubling me……While trying to catch up sleep on reaching home, I realized what was it….. Yes, we had a great in-depth discussion on competitor solution and strategy, but we were no nearer to our own solution…. Next day as we met and resumed our discussion I had a simple question, “What’s our game?” As we slugged it out, we repeatedly came back to competitor’s strengths and our relative problems ….. We took a long time and in the end I still felt something missing…… not a very great feeling when you go out to win a deal…..
…. A few months down the line we were on another one… this time I was little more confident to lead the sales effort from the front…. As we sat around looking at the Request For Proposal (RFQ), we realized that we did not even have a clue about 3 of the 8 services required. This time I had declared –Lets first get together what we have and what we know….. I’ll do something about the 3 service lines that we don’t know…… I remember we had a great time and when we were ready with what we knew, the effort looked pretty good …. Almost a feeling an artist striking a right symphony…… “so what’s the plan for the other 3 service lines?” Someone asked me..... “I’ll present something on that”….. knowing my technical competency, everyone was bewildered! “What do you mean?” “Have we tied up with some partners?”…. “No” ….. “then what?” “We’ll tell them that we do not know” …. “Are you mad??” “No, look at it this way, you guys have almost created an artwork in your areas, I don’t want to stick some patchwork on that”….. One good part about that team was we trusted each other completely ….. As we stood for the presentation, I told our future prospects “Gentlemen, We are going to present only 5 service lines because even the spelling of other 3 service lines we know from your Request For Proposal document” they chuckled and said “Go ahead guys” …… Our guys did a fantastic job as they came into their elements in their respective areas for the balance of the presentation….. As the long drawn process concluded, we finally bagged one of the biggest deals for the region …. Later on as I talked to that CIO at his office, he told me “Look, I know perhaps you guys are not biggest or the best but you were the only ones who were candid right from the word go. We were doing Offshore work for the first time and the most important parameter was we wanted to work with someone we could trust. After all we are not asking to develop rocket science!” I confess …. That it was not a planned strategy or something ….. neither did we win only because of honesty …. Our technical guys did an outstanding job in presenting the solution but what I guessed worked in the retrospect was follows:
1. We focused on what we knew and came with our own solution based on our own strength ….. most importantly we believed in what we said
2. Other competitors were so big in size that the gap was just scary …. Even if we had stood on our heads we wouldn’t have come even close to their areas of strengths
3. We trusted each other and had a secret pact of flying under the radar lest someone from within organization should get alarmed at the stupid things we were doing on a big deal…. Rather than attracting all help and information, we picked and chose what we wanted or rather what we could process!
I am neither an expert on Sales or Strategy (or actually on anything for that matter!!) but I strongly feel that there is merit in taking a look at the philosophy that equates information with power. I don’t claim to have all right answers but sometimes focusing too much on information available like a competitor’s information makes you more reactive. I have always preferred to take stock of my resources and play by my strengths …. Information can be intoxicating …. Overdose of it can be quite confusing if you cannot process it all or influence any change based on it.
It is better to stay focused on your objective and seek relevant information rather than being led by information. Information is key to all decisions but overdose of information can be a liability……..
…. A few months down the line we were on another one… this time I was little more confident to lead the sales effort from the front…. As we sat around looking at the Request For Proposal (RFQ), we realized that we did not even have a clue about 3 of the 8 services required. This time I had declared –Lets first get together what we have and what we know….. I’ll do something about the 3 service lines that we don’t know…… I remember we had a great time and when we were ready with what we knew, the effort looked pretty good …. Almost a feeling an artist striking a right symphony…… “so what’s the plan for the other 3 service lines?” Someone asked me..... “I’ll present something on that”….. knowing my technical competency, everyone was bewildered! “What do you mean?” “Have we tied up with some partners?”…. “No” ….. “then what?” “We’ll tell them that we do not know” …. “Are you mad??” “No, look at it this way, you guys have almost created an artwork in your areas, I don’t want to stick some patchwork on that”….. One good part about that team was we trusted each other completely ….. As we stood for the presentation, I told our future prospects “Gentlemen, We are going to present only 5 service lines because even the spelling of other 3 service lines we know from your Request For Proposal document” they chuckled and said “Go ahead guys” …… Our guys did a fantastic job as they came into their elements in their respective areas for the balance of the presentation….. As the long drawn process concluded, we finally bagged one of the biggest deals for the region …. Later on as I talked to that CIO at his office, he told me “Look, I know perhaps you guys are not biggest or the best but you were the only ones who were candid right from the word go. We were doing Offshore work for the first time and the most important parameter was we wanted to work with someone we could trust. After all we are not asking to develop rocket science!” I confess …. That it was not a planned strategy or something ….. neither did we win only because of honesty …. Our technical guys did an outstanding job in presenting the solution but what I guessed worked in the retrospect was follows:
1. We focused on what we knew and came with our own solution based on our own strength ….. most importantly we believed in what we said
2. Other competitors were so big in size that the gap was just scary …. Even if we had stood on our heads we wouldn’t have come even close to their areas of strengths
3. We trusted each other and had a secret pact of flying under the radar lest someone from within organization should get alarmed at the stupid things we were doing on a big deal…. Rather than attracting all help and information, we picked and chose what we wanted or rather what we could process!
I am neither an expert on Sales or Strategy (or actually on anything for that matter!!) but I strongly feel that there is merit in taking a look at the philosophy that equates information with power. I don’t claim to have all right answers but sometimes focusing too much on information available like a competitor’s information makes you more reactive. I have always preferred to take stock of my resources and play by my strengths …. Information can be intoxicating …. Overdose of it can be quite confusing if you cannot process it all or influence any change based on it.
It is better to stay focused on your objective and seek relevant information rather than being led by information. Information is key to all decisions but overdose of information can be a liability……..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
