An Idiot Showing Signs of Wisdom

Apart from good food and more than adequate sleep, staying at home (home town) increases my television viewer ship which otherwise remains restricted to cricket matches. I thought it would be worth while to share some interesting observations, especially for those who have given up on the idiot box.

The ‘breaking news’ is that most of the ‘saas-bahu’ soap operas have gone off the air. The new fad is the soaps focusing on child marriage and female infanticide in rural India. I must say that this is a tremendously pleasant and pleasantly tremendous turnaround. From provoking inane and baseless drama in Indian families, soaps have graduated to delivering a meaningful message to the society. With these social issues becoming critical in few Indian states (Rajasthan, Haryana), the soaps are doing a marvelous job in communicating the right messages to Indian masses. Their set up, culture and characters are adapted to the states where these problems have become a very critical social issue.

The second in line are the reality shows. The term reality shows has acquired a negative connotation. So I must clarify that here I am referring to talent reality shows and not Roadies and Big Boss types. Without having to invest in tv stars and expensive shootings, these reality shows are definitely high margin products for the producers. But keeping financial considerations aside for a moment, I think they are doing a very effective job in showcasing tremendous and diverse talent that exists in a country as huge as ours. This coupled with the fact that stand up comedy shows add humor and laughter to lives of millions of families every day has made the idiot box acquire fair bit of smartness and respect, at least for the moment.

Television for years would continue to be the biggest source of entertainment in India, particularly in non-metro towns. My first hand observation would put average viewer ship at 3 hours per day. This is partially contributed by the fact that other forms of entertainment such as adventure sports, amusement parks, museums and theatre is completely non existent in Indian towns and cities (barring metros). One does not need more facts to estimate the potential of the social impact that a responsible television holds. Internet has taken up the world by storm, but majority of India continues to be captivated by the idiot box.

From marketer’s point of view, it is an option that should be carefully exercised. Multiple national channels, overlapping concepts and regional channels pose a severe challenge of choosing a right mix. Further, the deeper you get into heartland, more the skepticism towards advertising pervades among the audience.

Before I conclude, I must reserve my appreciation for the entertainment channels only. As far as news channels are concerned, the turnaround is from bad to worse. The latest example is IBN7 covering for full half an hour the developments in the previous episode of one of the soap operas. And those who have not yet tasted the creative juices of India TV: D, I would recommend searching youtube and experiencing the unique blend of awe, humor and disgust in person.

While the power of television may be hard to grasp for those who live and breathe on the internet (including me), it may take at least another generation before any other medium can even come close to surpass it.

Some Thoughts on School Before School

Over past few days, I have had the opportunity to interact with students and faculty from various engineering institutes of the country, especially my alma mater IIT Kanpur. Looking back at my college through the eye of a professional has brought some observations.

To put my thoughts into the right perspective, I would like to mention a quote from Subroto Baagchi's Go Kiss the World. Mr. Bagchi writes, 'One's ability to connect and comprehend is not necessarily a function on one's education'.

'For most socio-economic problems in our country, only 20% of the solution is technical, rest 80% is people related', told me a senior official of one of the most prestigious engineering institute of the India. I couldn't have agreed more.

As engineers, we were wired to develop the best possible technical solutions to the problems. We did not learn to acknowledge and appreciate the implementation, institutionalization and training related issues that show up during the course of implementation. (The nature of the problems that I am referring to here are socio-economic such as those related to health, education and energy) We need solutions that are simple to implement, do not get stuck in the quagmire of bureaucracy and are easy for the end consumer to adopt into his life style. This change in the mindset is one of the key reforms that few years of work has brought on me since my graduation.

I will try to illustrate through an example. For one of my clients, I spent many days designing incentive schemes for its channel partners (dealers, retailers) only to realize that the recipient was incompetent to understand the permutations that would work best for him. As a result, the incentive plan fell flat on the face though technically it was the most optimum solution for achieving company's objectives. Later on, we proposed an incentive plans that was so straightforward that it made me feel redundant in front of the client. Bingo! The channel partners applauded it as they were comfortable with the plan. They worked towards it. Clearly, only 20% of solution to my problem was technical (designing incentive plan). Rest 80% of the challenge was people related - training the channel partners and communicating the incentive plan effectively. It did not matter whether it was technically the best incentive plan or not.

Taking cue from this experience, are we not missing something important in the our education system, engineering in particular? What about the implementation orientation, leadership and soft skill building aspects that make effective professionals? Are these aspects not missing even in best of the institutes in our country? Infact it becomes all the more important in IITs whose students have usually grown up with a spirit of cut throat competition bred by parents and teachers all their life.

Though I have no experience of US education so far, from what I hear I feel that US education system has successfully incorporated all round development into its curriculum. It is achieved through field work, community projects and strong collaboration with the industry. We may have something to learn and adopt from them.

What about faculty in higher education? With no institutional mechanism to train our faculty, how will they connect with new generation of students and nurture them as future leaders. I think my definition of training merits some clarification. Training here does not mean imparting knowledge and skills, but refers to the 'ability to connect' as mentioned by Mr. Bagchi. In professional set ups, there are training programs outlined for all levels - from analyst to the CEO. Why not in education set ups then? The official that I mentioned told me that he had once floated a proposal to set up a leadership development calendar for the faculty. However, the proposal was peacefully turned down by various stake holders involved, majority of whom were faculty themselves. Here too the problem was mostly people related.

Why Live On The Edge When You Can Live Off It :)

Looking Forward To The Elevator Pitch

At Berkeley Entrepreneurship Forum, one gets 90 seconds to reach out to investors and partners. A great yet so simple concept. It reminds me of high signal to noise ratio concepts from my wireless communication courses at IIT.

Quoting verbatim from website:
Make Your Pitch!

Have a great idea that needs funding
. . . a new company that needs that special person?

Be a “number” at the UC Berkeley Entrepreneurs Forum!

“The Numbers” is the Forum’s special name for those four or five people who make their “elevator pitch”, named after a window of opportunity one might get when taking an elevator with a potential prospect (especially in Silicon Valley).

“The Numbers” occur at the beginning of each program. Each speaker has 60-90 seconds to present their company and their need. Are you looking for help in building your company: funding, personnel, team members to enter the business plan competition, or maybe a student intern? Consider asking to be a number. Pitch to 150 people instead of 10-15 (maximum density of most elevators).

The forum also hosts quiet a few business plan competitions, one with focus on social entrepreneurship. The center also connects students with mentors and hosts various talk series.

Life appears very exciting when there is so much to explore and look forward to :)

By the way, I just returned from 8 day field visit for Light a Billion Lives initiative of TERI. If I have to summarize the entire experience in one word, it would be 'transformative'. Lots of interesting experiences and pictures/videos would be shared (few already shared on facebook) soon.

Getting to the Grassroots

This day marks a landmark in the journey of Sustainability Network. Within few hours, a team of 3 evangelists of S-Net - Ankit Jain a graduating student from IIT Kanpur, Soumil Shah a second year student at IIT Kanpur and I would be starting our 10 day journey to villages in Ranchi, Jameshedpur and Mayurbhanj (orissa) under Light a Billion Lives initiative of TERI. Here is what our itinerary looks like

Day 0: 27th May, 2009 – Departure from Delhi

Day 1: 28th May, 2009 – Meeting with NABARD and SRI meeting

Day 2: 29th May, 2009 – SRI visits (Parimita, Arvind,) / KGVK meeting and Visit ( Dhairya, Smita, SNet Team & Prashant)

Day 3: 30th May, 2009 – Traveling to Mahatabera /Jamshedpur (All team) – LaBl Choupal

Day 4: 31th May 2009 – AOL visit / SEEDS villages

Day 5 : 1st June 2009 – Traveling to Jashipur – LaBL Choupal (SAMBANDH) – Arvind, SNet Team

Day 6 : 2nd June 2009 – Creating Entrepreneurship - Jashipur (Arvind, SNet Team)
Parimita & Dhairya – Bhuvneshwar

Day 7 : 3rd June 2009 – LaBL Choupal - Baripada (SPARDA) – Arvind, SNet Team

Day 8: 4rd June 2009 – Creating Entrepreneurship – Arvind

Day 9: 5th June 2009 – Traveling to Delhi from Balasore – Arvind, SNet Team

We eagerly look forward to next 10 days. During this period, we will interact with NGOs, villagers, village entrepreneurs, touch and feel the transformation of rural life through solar energy, understand the technology and non-technology issues of the LaBL model. Thereafter S-Net team will come back and propose solutions, a business model, suggest projects for technology enhancement, tie-ups for funds mobilization, strategy for expansion. They will act as torch bearers who would engage other students on campuses for the same. The team will also pledge to 'Lighting a Village' and motivate others in the campuses to join in the pledge.

With mercury touching 50 degrees, the 10 day trip would not be a cake walk. But it will surely be an transformational experience worth slogging for. Watch this space for regular updates. I am not sure how much internet access we will have. But will cover every possible experience on return.

Go Kiss The World

It is probably very later for its reviews. Nevertheless I cannot resist to state that if ever I would want to write a book 20 years down the line, it would be this. Thank you Mr. Baagchi for such a wonderful read.

Unlike most management books, Go Kiss The World is not didactic. Like a story book, it meanders from childhood to adult experiences of Subroto Baagchi. And each experience brings out a learning for life (professional or personal). A must read for all professionals.

The second half of the book traces the inception to success story of MindTree. It is amazing to see how Subroto Baagchi managed to retain the first 10 members of the firm for 8 years, during which the firm touched 100 million dollars. The first 10 members were very senior professionals, coming from different backgrounds and professions. Keeping such senior professionals intact towards a common vision and through times of trouble is as much an art, as it is science. Through this, the author emphasizes on the importance of managing, or what I should say 'connecting with people.' In the long run, it is much more worthwhile than your IQ. How else do you think a person without even an engineering degree founded one of the most successful IT consulting firms of the world?

I could not agree more when the author says that it is very important to have a sales experience in life. It makes you a good negotiator. You learn to negotiate with partners, with employees, with bosses, with investors, with family and most importantly with your life. You learn to face rejection on your face. You learn to move on. You learn to act smart.

The book is interspersed with beautiful quotes highlighted through real life examples and situations. Quoting few verbatim.

The Power to Receive... a good example is family. Imagine parents of four children who raise them in a very comparable manner; yet the four children may grow up to be very different people in their own lives. One may become rich, and successful and insular, one poor but willing to help, another leads a life of principles and another develops a flexible moral code ond blames it on the environment. The input from the two parents remaining the same, the output can be vastly different. The power is then not in giving, it is in the extended hand the receives. What matters is the capability to catalyze what you have received.

You could not stop marveling at the simplicity and power of the above.

Life is not about living to earn, it is about taking the flight

We live in a world where perceptions are reality. And it takes time for perceptions to build up.

While it takes time for perceptions to build up, it takes even longer to change them.

When Subroto Baagchi wanted to leave Wipro, he said to Azim Premji
'I want to leave because we both think so differently'. Premji replied, 'that is why you should stay'

In days of crises, one leader may not necessary bail the team out . In dramatic journey, different people have to bring to bear their situational leadership capabilities.

I would not spoil the party by giving more excerpts without context and perspective. Enjoy the read. And more importantly, internalize it.

Size Matters

Reliance Trends put up a giant t-shirt (more than 50ft in length) spanning across 5 floors inside Ambiance Mall Gurgaon. It was a very attention grabbing promotion and an example of how marketeers constantly need to think innovative to make their products heard and seen. Posting pictures for reference.