the inner voice

While studying Engg sciences, we were asked to design structures and carry out stress tests on them to check their stability. While analyzing companies, we carried out similar stress tests, to check their creditworthiness 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, shocking national integration, humanity itself, taking it to a breakpoint. 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, a long-standing one, looking into the 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. Everyone waited with bated breath. All over in offices, in residences, in neighborhoods, hundreds of opinions were voiced....

A 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 lives 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....

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. 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, the 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 a...