We don’t remember days, we remember moments !

We don’t remember days, we remember moments – Pavese, Cesare ( 1908-1950), Italian, Poet, Critic, Novelist and Translator

2011 had many such moments. Beginning of the year, I commented upon start of the new decade bringing new promises along with it. Even though, in general, 2011 was a very tough year, especially people connected with the finance world, I still hold on to my earlier comment.

Each year when we look back and evaluate, we end up looking at our failures, at things which turned out contrary to our expectations or liking. And what that inferno of thought does, is further depresses us, building a kind of negative spiral, which engulfs and ends up strangulating us. Unless one makes a conscious attempt to stay positive, it’s very difficult to remain so given the surrounding ecosystem is so much volatile and uncertain. The coming decade will be a decade with ‘new normal’ - the earlier extreme / tail positions becoming the norm of the day.

So let me sit back, relax and look at the moments which buoyed me up, experiences which brought smile and satisfaction - those beautiful moments. The beauty is that when you start thinking you will suddenly discover many. That’s true with me as well. Starting with elevation at the beginning of the year, opportunity to learn a new line of business ( also helped me forge new relationships and build networks across the globe), Dad’s graceful retirement (July 2011 after 25 years of glittering service with Indian Diamond Institute taking both the industry and IDI to newer heights), a family vacation to US (something I had been dreaming for years), bought a house and more importantly staying in it, Aadi obtained his golf handicap, Nav improved her tennis skills, Anu’s untiring dedication to make it happen for kids – to count a few ! I urge each of you to do the same.

At a national level, countrymen got together to chop off the ugly head of corruption. Whether the movement was successful or not, it did bring out the issue of corruption in the forefront. It did give the confidence that masses which have stayed agnostic so far to the pressing issues can come together for a worthy cause. I personally do not subscribe to certain proposals of Team Anna or believe that a bill can cure all the ills, but to me the whole run-up was a beautiful moment which further strengthened our democratic set up.

Internationally while US and Europe tripped, Arab spring brought out the thirst for democracy.

2012 – the world is not going to end, as Mayans predict. That prediction is only good for the moviemakers. For the rest, it will bring new possibilities. The context is changing so fast, that we need to continually retool ourselves at a faster pace and shorter intervals. And if we keep doing that, we will be in a position of advantage to exploit the opportunities it will throw. Staying 'agile' and 'collaborating' will be the key to staying successful and happy.

One will need to learn to enjoy not only the 'destination' but also the 'journey'. The journey will be full of those ‘moments’.

We all have our time machines. Some take us back and they are called memories. Some take us forward, they are called dreams – Jeremy Iron, British Actor

Let’s take our time machine forward ( or may be fast -forward ) and dream. And work towards translating those dreams. Welcome 2012 !

The Silent Indian National Anthem

Start of the New Decade 2011-2020

Its not only the end of the year but also the end of the decade. 2000-2010 will be remembered as one of the decades where India underwent transformatory changes. The good part is that we all got an opportunity to lead and manage it while its still mild. The next decade will be much more virulent. Well this decade (2011-2020) will differentiate winners and losers at every stage. It will be much less tolerant. Mediocrity will have no place and will be much severely punished than the treatment it got so far. So tighten your seat belts, or should I say wear your space suits, the journey will be tough and exciting, certainly eventful.

So how does one prepare for it? I believe that being 'agile' and 'adaptive' will be two most important qualities, that will allow you to succeed and survive the next decade. Well, doesn't it sound deja-vu, very Darwinian :-). I also believe that all those who will choose to be in constantly in 'learning' mode will reflect the above qualities and will have a better chance of getting it right. And this learning could take various forms - seeking right experiences, going back to college, books, seminars, peer discussions, teaching etc.

Towards end of 2010, I got an opportunity to visit 'Nalanda', a world heritage site. Its near Badagaon, a mofussil town near Patna, capital city of Bihar, a northern state of India. This place was a learning centre of excellence, site of worlds first residential university. It has a fascinating history running over centuries, between 6th-5th century BC and 5th century AD. At its peak, it housed 2,000 teachers and 10,000 students from all over the world. Can you think of subjects being taught ? Students came here to learn Logic, Grammar, Astronomy, Theology, Medicine, Metaphysics and Philosophy. The architecture and plan of the university is a marvel of sorts. The ruins even in present form looks stunning and speak volumes of the mind and inspiration behind this thought. The temples, the stupas (monastery sites ) along with residential sites - all of them so well laid out, so perfect.

Spending hours at this ancient centre of higher learning, I felt so overwhelmed. I experienced a certain calmness and the same time felt very confident and energised. Couldn't have asked for a better 'learning' start for 2011.

I extend my best wishes to one and all.

The Ayodhya Verdict...Gandhi Jayanti

While studying Engg sciences,we were asked to design structures and carry out stress tests on them to check its stability. While analyzing companies, we carried out similar stress tests, to check their credit worthiness in extreme circumstances..their ability to service the debt….as a Nation, we underwent a similar stress test yesterday.

So what were the stressors, what did we shock? We shocked the cultural fabric, co-existence, tolerance, shocked the national integration, the humanity itself, taking it to a break point. The only difference was that unlike the routine stress tests which are conducted in a controlled environment, this was played out live into production.

The Ayodhya verdict, long standing one, looking into contentious question of who has the title and whom should the possession be handed over to was one of most speculated one's in recent times. Every one waited with bated breath. All over in offices, in residences, in neighbourhoods, hundreds of opinions were voiced. More importantly, the discussion also focused, what will this lead to? As the time arrived, you could see a sense of relief and fear. Very rarely you see both the emotions together. Relief that it will be finally off the back and fear that it will this lead to some sort of unrest. Indians made their intentions known but also played safe, just in case some mischievous elements.

But the message was loud and clear, both by the judiciary and the people of India, message of moving on, of sacrifice, of co-existence…both of them exhibited statesmanship making it clear that we can’t stay buried in the past, future beckons us and we need to seize the moment…

Forget recoverability from this extreme shock event, we came out in flying colours. India surprised itself, emerged stronger and more confident, making a new beginning in national integration build-up story. The foundation proved to be much more stable than it was imagined and the credit truly and only goes to citizens of India. For once, Gandhi Jayanti or the International Non-Violence Day, was celebrated in its true spirit.

Jai Ho.

Pay-Forward Pledge on 64th Independence Day

Couple of weeks back I was confabbing with a colleague, Ms Anuja Kale and she spoke about a very interesting construct called ‘Pay-Forward’, which not only resonated with me but stirred me, as I felt connected with that concept instantaneously.

All of us in our lifes and careers have been helped by someone…souls who had no selfish interest in doing that…..but helped because they genuinely wanted to…. and in some cases they took flak for that but still had the courage and conviction to do so…and that act played an important role in our growth.

The question is, ‘How do we repay this debt back?’

This can be repaid by two means….one...by doing a similar deed, ie. helping someone out there achieve his/her career dreams….has the passion and fire but probably needs a similar push...and you are in a position to do that...helping altruistically…..without any gains or political purpose…larger the no…better it is…second….by participating and contributing to the cause of the necessitous. Though we are celebrating the 64^th Independence day…we are far away from ‘wiping tears from every eye’, Gandhi's dream at the time of freedom. Therefore its almost incumbent on the privileged members to contribute in time and capital….and we should ...to the cause of the underprivileged.

And that’s ‘Paying-Forward’.

When you ask someone if he/she is willing to…the most common excuse you hear is that, ‘I don’t have time’. So this colleague of mine, who despite her extremely feverish work schedule, takes out time to share management and leadership lessons with the underprivileged section of the society ( they cannot afford to attend or hire someone of her caliber), at a school, almost every week. If she can, I am sure all of us can….

Even when looked selfishly, 'Paying-Forward' gives you immense peace, a commodity running severely short in these stressful days..

Let’s take a pledge today…that we will all start ‘Paying-Forward’, in some way and preferably both ways…and we in our own minute way would have contributed to the growth of the nation.

With Loud Cheers...Jai Hind

Morsels from my communication to the team

I thought I will aggressively blog all the way in 2009 and 2010. But after having joined DBOI (Deutsche Bank Group), my engagement with the team required to up my communication. In the trade-off my blogging suffered.

So this time, I have picked up some morsels from my communication, which I send to my team every month. They contain no reference to the organization. They are referenced to a context. Hence the liberty to publish.
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On Ownership and Empowerment

We are the leaders. One of the American Presidents, Harry Truman, had an inscription on his desk, "The buck stops here". It was his way of conveying that he takes decisions and he owns it. There are many processes where the expertise completely resides with us. In others, we will build. So feel confident and take decisions.

On Career Management

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, my earlier company, quipped, “Take charge of your destiny or someone else will”. This is also the time when you should think and plan not only short term but long term as well. It reminds me of a very memorable Para from Lewis Carroll's, Alice's adventure in Wonderland, we would have all read. The conversation between Alice and Cheshire cat as follows:

`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
`I don't much care where--' said Alice.
`Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.

On Why it makes sense to stick to a company

While talking of compensation, I would like to share a very powerful concept which I picked up in my conversation with Anshu Jain, the concept of slope vs intercept. Remember the line equation,

y = mx + b (where m is the slope and b is the intercept).

When you leave an organization for money, you probably gain from a one-time bump on the intercept but pay for it by winding up on a shallower slope, which over time, provides a lower total output. Staying back with a stronger firm, like ours, keeps you on a steeper slope.

On Work Life Balance

Yesterday night I was reading Kalpana Morparia’s interview in the latest issue (Nov 6) of Forbes India, where she comments on Work-Life Balance (WLB). She frequently gets asked, ‘How do you get your work-life equation right?’, to which she replies, ‘My work is my life, so where is the balance required’.

On Corporate Social Responsibility

We have become prisoners of our self-created comfort zones. So we need to open up, open up to the society we belong to, open up to the society which has given so much to us, open up to the society from where we draw all our resources. I hope we as a group can devote some time towards a noble cause. Can we as a team participate in at the least two CSR activities in 2010.

On practicing to believe and think the Impossible

To make most of it, think BIG and think the impossible, sought of 'Re-Imagine' as Tom Peter says. If you cannot, then please reach out to Alice! I quoted earlier from, Alice in Wonderland, now, let me take you through another piece which I love, from Lewis Carroll's "Through the looking glass".

"There is no use trying, " said Alice. " One can't believe in impossible things."
"I dare say you haven't had much of practice," said the Queen. "When I was of your age, I always did it for half an hour every day. Why, sometimes I 've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

If Alice can do it, can't we?

Continuing on the above....On the power of belief and how to begin the change

We have squared off the positions and start afresh. I think some of you tried chasing money.....why don't you think of turning the table....why don't you exponentially up your performance where 'money starts chasing you' ! This is an era of 'hypercompetition' and 'exponential' growth...so your performance also has to take an 'exponential' leap. Why don't you make a beginning in 2010 ! Each one of you has it in you....you have to believe it ...if you don't ...then you are not practicing to believe the impossible ! You think this is cliche, then let me take you to the 'Master' - Yoda, the Jedi Master of the Star War series....Here goes the conversation....

Luke : “I can't believe it”
Yoda: “That's why you fail”

So where do you make a start...well again the 'Master' guides us. In the " The Empire Strikes Back", probably the best in the Star War trilogy, where Luke really struggles hard and Yoda offers his words of wisdom.

"Unlearn what you have learnt "

First Impressions….surely not the Last Impression

I have been coming to Bangalore (oops Bengaluru ) for years now but mainly on business travel. This time, consequent to my job change, here I am with my family with our bag and baggage, in the so called “Silicon Valley “of India.

Did I just say Silicon Valley? Is it truly comparable to Silicon Valley? Yes and No. “Yes”, if we look at the industry cluster – IT and ITES and number of entrepreneurial ventures in this sector and “No”, if we look at everything else.

This place is very different from Gurgaon, where I moved from. You miss the attitude, the air, and the convenience, basically the feel is not the same. Not that I expect them to be same. Cities can’t be clones. Each city has its own signature, a certain uniqueness, on which it builds upon and draws you.

Some of my observations do suffer from serious bias…bias of comparison with Gurgaon, which is so powerfully etched in my mind. Further this is more in jest than some serious writing.

Sometimes I wonder, is this a city or a cantonment where civilians have been temporarily allowed to stay? Shouldn’t these large tracts of land be freed and the armed forces be relocated. They are ensconced the most-prime real estate, which should be the case, if you are building a modern city. Central areas of the city (read cantonment) should be converted to business and residential districts.

Right from the day I have landed, I am driving from one lane to another….Roads…you must be joking…I know what I am talking about…they are only lanes…where are the roads???….There is no road density. The answer has been converting many of them to one-ways. The city has witnessed an explosion of people with growth of, manpower intensive, IT and ITES industries. Rather than taking tough decisions like widening roads or being foresighted by building MRTS (now one is under construction and knowing this place will remain for long), government has gone about increasing taxes to obscene levels. This reminds me of the negative attitude of growing rich by pulling down others… such negative attitude only alienates citizens. Take the road tax for instance, it probably collects the highest tax and has absolutely pathetic roads….sorry lanes. The traffic crawls like a centipede.

Anyway there are some lanes worth being called roads and are crammed with speed-breaker bumpers, maybe I should call them vehicle-breakers. There is one road, christened Jail Road, 10-15 Kms long, which I pursue to come to office from Sarjhapur Road to Electronic City has no less than 40-50 such breakers. I still take it because the other route is horrible. The city is teeming with these breakers and that too without any zebra markings. I was thinking if all the breakers were painted in black and white stripes, the arieal view of Bengaluru , would look like one big Zebra crossing!

Obviously this gets on to the nerves of the motorists, hence everyone resorts to honking. It has become a part of their driving skill and routine, so much so that they honk even if there is no one around. Imagine all the buses (most of the corporates have bus pick up and drop for employees) and rickshaws honking early in the morning when you go to leave your kids to school. Noise and air pollution are at its worst. This is something that the government should seriously think about. Those shrill and continuous honks almost make you deaf and go crazy.

Most of the roads and lanes are dotted by two set of parallel lines, the open drainage, I had seen these only in villages and now here. Why there was no attempt made to convert it to underground drainage. It’s not a town anymore. The open drainages are clogged with mud and garbage, which anyway is a big health and safety scare. During monsoons, due to water logging you can’t detect them in many areas, leading to serious accidents and loss of many innocent lives. To my horror, a month back, a kid got washed away and I heard the commissioner blaming the mother on why she allowed her child to play outside. Thankfully he was sacked.

Looks like citizens have given up and they find refuge in Palmists, who dote the city everywhere. I am amazed to see the number of palmists in profession. Occurs, the whole city only lives on hope, or how else can they thrive so much!

While Bangalore was always known for its night life and pubs, what no one shared that nights are also famous for loose stray canines. These canines are in large nos., and are so very dangerous. I wonder why no action has been taken and we allow our citizens to live in fear of getting bitten. An evening stroll can result into checking in to the hospital. I pity the guys who ride their bikes back home from the office late nights (and you a have huge BPO-KPO crowd).

Hey it’s not about negatives alone….the city has equal or more no. of positives.

Weather….awesome….everything else eclipses when we talk of weather. God has been very kind and benevolent to this city. It has fantastic weather and that too round the year. Sprawling and scenic lush greenery can be seen all over and offers a very soothing sight. To a great extent it makes it up for every other lacuna and probably the only reason why people have been tolerating all the other hardships. I wonder if cities like Bangalore and Gurgaon have just been lucky….lucky by chance…Bangalore’s got such a pleasant weather and Gurgaon happened to be South Delhi’s neighbor and close to the airport. Had the Govt. been a little proactive, they could turn these cities to a Singapore or Hong Kong equivalent. Anyway, great weather a boon. One can swim all the year round, one can play any time of the day, golfers need not get up very early in the morning, your AC bills come down etc. Extreme environments can be very tough on elders, therefore this place is great for them.

What a safe place it is for the ladies. And that’s important, since women comprise of >50% of IT/ITES workforce and majority work in US / UK shifts. It is therefore utmost that city provides a safe environment.

Foodies will like the bakeries and fruit juice corners, and are very reasonable, which are in abundance…

Probably there is no better place than this for travel junkies. There are hundreds of destinations, at drivable distances (within 6-7 hrs drive). Motivated by this fact, I have bought Outlook’s weekend guide. Need to go on the first one.

What I liked the most…day before yesterday, at around 1 pm, I was strolling on the 4^th floor cafeteria terrace of my company, looking at the vast expanse and thinking about my work. It was naturally quiet, as guys start rushing in at about 2pm, suddenly I heard a cuckoo sing and that too for a full ten minutes. I looked at the cuckoo sitting on one the trees planted in the campus, down below from the terrace, I didn’t move. It was such a heavenly experience. I hadn’t heard a cuckoo sing in years. I would have definitely not got this in Gurgaon.

Anyway…I am sure it will finally work out for me in this city.....as they say…time is the greatest healer. I would have figured many charming locales and my next blog could be a 180^o turn from this one. Amen.