My Expectations

I am into the last week of one month notice period in the office. I am itching to get into IIM Lucknow and begin the most important phase of my life. I feel like a batsman padded up and waiting for the play to start.

If I look back at last few years of my life, I feel the four years of engineering in NSIT was a big let down. I could have learned a lot more but squandered the opportunity. Why did it happen? One reason as I see now is that I was not clear of my objectives. Mine was a journey without a destination and a clear sense of purpose. No wonder, I covered great distance but displacement was paltry.

Wise men never repeat the mistakes. So I have decided to put in writing what I expect from this course. It would serve as a template, a reference which would guide the route I choose in this momentous journey. Let this be the light that leads my way…

My expectations are:

1. Good understanding of all functional areas of management.
2. A structured thinking process. The ability to define a problem out of thin air.
3. To further refine my thought process
4. To discover new facets of my personality
5. A network of great individuals to march with in the professional life.
6. Buddies for life. NSIT introduced me to some people whom I respect a lot. I hope IIML gives me a larger number.
7. The confidence to do anything.
8. Time management
9. To prepare me for battles in corporate life. I should never quit because of inability.

Delhi, My Love....

I am leaving Delhi for IIM Lucknow in just about eight days i.e. on 20th June. Just four more days of office for me. Though I was born in a village called Kallidaikurichi in Tirunelveli in southern Tamil Nadu, I have spent all my life here. My schooling and my engineering were in this historic city. For my job, I wanted to move out of the city so that I can meet up new people and learn new language and culture, but as luck would have it, I got the job in Greater Noida itself.

So, I wanted to move out for the last two years but now that I am actually moving, I feel a bit uneasy. Leaving this city is emotionally more difficult that what I imagined it would be. I would be missing my family, friends and above all my daily dosage of “Gol Guppa and other chats”. Traveling in DTC buses seems pleasurable and this sweltering heat bearable.
Though I am just going to a near by city that I can reach in six hours and one which is similar to mine in terms of climate and culture, I still feel the pain. I am thinking about the people who have to leave their motherland and go to some strange place permanently. How difficult it would be for them.

Now I understand why NRIs are more attached to this country than the average resident Indian. Now I understand why they say “Janani Janmabhoomischa Swargat api gariyasi”. I always supported Nasser Hussain when he complained about British supporting Asian cricket teams in England. Now I am a bit skeptical. You just can’t cut away the roots.

If planned emigration by choice is tough, what about the forceful displacement of millions of people in war torn areas. These people are forced to cut their roots and move to a strange place on account of the ego of a single man, an emperor or a political leader. What emotional turmoil do they go through? When I talked to a Kashmiri pundit, I see a glint in his eyes as he talks about his ancestral home. Now I understand the affection for Pakistan amongst the elder Punjabis. Imagine the plight of Hindus and Muslims at the time of partition as they moved to a strange land. Imagine the dwellers of the “City of Peace” (Jerusalem) during those chaotic years of late 1940s. Imagine the situation of people of Africa who have civil wars as the only constant thing in their life.

These thoughts further enhance my love for ahimsa. Why can’t the world be a happy place where there is no conflict, hunger or poverty? My Lord! When will you answer my prayers of “Loka Samasta sukhino bhavantu, Sarve janaha sukhino bhavantu”?

PS: This should qualify as my most random post. I started with something and I ended up this way.

Twin Rules on ethics

I was having a discussion with one of my college friends. She just mentioned that I am an ethical person. I have received this compliment from others as well but did not think much about it. I am wondering what they mean when they say I am ethical. I think what they mean is I am a man of principles and values. (It’s a nice compliment and I enjoy writing this blog). I can’t say if I am a man of principles but I can assume that I am perceived to be one. Also the fact I got this compliment from many people spread over a period of a year will help me in assuming that I am indeed one.

Ethics and morality come into picture when you have to take a decision or to make a choice. Your decisions and the choices determine what sort of person you are. I can safely assume that I have been consistently making those choices that people expect a principled man to make. More interesting question is how I do it. Do I follow a rule consciously to help me make a decision or is it just natural? If its natural, am I doing it subconsciously and the process is so innate that I fail to perceive it? To find answers, I thought of situation where in I was faced with a difficult decision. After replaying many incidents, I think I have discovered the twin rules that help me decide on the choices.

Rule 1
Whenever you have a choice to exercise, evaluate each of the option carefully. Think over the options in great detail understanding what each of them means for you. All these years, you must have a developed a system of values for yourself, certain ideals that you cherish. Just ensure that the choice you make does not contradict those. Because, when you look back at these decisions, you should be proud about it irrespective of their monetary or social benefits. At the end of the day, when you see your image in the mirror, it’s always better to see a guiltless face and proud shoulders than a guilty face and drooped down shoulders.

This rule works for 80% of cases. You generally have two or at most 3 options and this rule helps. For the remaining minor cases you can use rule two.

Rule 2
Identify a set of people you admire and whose views you respect. It would generally be your family members and some friends you respect a lot. The set should consist of people who understand you well, should be your well wishers and you reciprocate their feelings as well. Now evaluate each of the options and see if they approve of it. Does your action increase or reduce your reputation and respect in their frame of reference. Will they be happy and proud of the choice you exercised? These questions go a long way in helping you make the choice.

Countdown begins...

Finally, the wait is over. I have formally resigned today from the job and need to serve the notice period of 1 month. I expect to be relieved on 18 June. Even though I had intimated my decision to my manager and team members 3 weeks ago, I held on the job so long so as to complete one year of service. I am unable to express my feelings now. I am neither sad nor elated. The feeling is very similar to the day I got this job on campus.

Looking back at this one year, I made some good friends, learned a lot both professionally and personally and on the whole am more mature than what I was a year ago. Company, though not a good pay master ,offers a good quality of life. Lot of perks and encouragement to do things that you want to do makes it one of the better places to work for. The disappointment of leaving the company is masked by the fact that I am going to IIM L. It’s a new inning and hope that I start on the front foot right from the first ball.
1 down, 29 more to go.


I plan to write a series of blogs to share my experiences of the journey to Hel(L). Watch out this space.

BudgetBlog - Social Sector

FM Chidambaram has called education and health care the twin pillars of the social sector. The increased outlay for both education and healthcare is a step in the right direction. However, the allocation falls way short of the target of 6% and 3% of GDP as mentioned in the CMP. The countries that have achieved high growth over a prolonged period have done so because of their strong emphasis on education and health. Education can make the difference between half a billion mouths to feed and a billion hands to earn. Health care goes a long way in ensuring battle ready soldiers in the fight against poverty.

Mid-day meal scheme, a concept pioneered by the late Congress leader Kamaraj ( former CM of TamilNadu) way back in 1960s is being now introduced all over the country. Well, better late than never! Establishment of 6000 model schools, opening of more Nehru Yuva Kendra, 3 new IITs and other excellent institutes of higher learning are laudable steps. Not only this, the govt. should expend all its energies in improving the quality of all institutes of higher learning in this country. Today we have few institutes of excellence like oases in deserts. It is the right of every Indian to see a forest of excellent institutes.

INSPIRE, if properly implemented can go a long way in ensuring an army of technologists and scientists that the country would need in days to come. To sustain a position of economic pre-eminence in this century, the role of science and technology can not be over emphasized. To tackle the problem of jobless growth, the FM has proposed the up gradation of ITIs and the launch of a world class skill development programme. He should have also considered the demands of IT and BPO industry for setting up of finishing schools for the graduates.

All the well intentioned policies of the govt. would come to nought if we do not focus on its effective implementation. A system of controls should be established so that projects are completed without cost or time over runs. Our record when it comes to implementation has been very poor and it’s an historic opportunity to set the record straight. Let’s march towards our rightful place at the top of the world order. CHAK DE INDIA.

Sustainable Development

CSR has come a long way from a being a dangerous fad to one of the functions of business. I feel time is not far when CSR wont be taken up just as an act of charity but for strong economic and business reasons. CSR is just one aspect of the broader idea of Sustainable Development. I believe Sustainable Development practices will be taken up by more and more companies as they see its advantages particularly in the long run. What exactly is Sustainable Development (SD)?

SD, as I understand, has three aspects to it- environmental, social and political. When the business practices are socially sustainable, politically sustainable and environmentally sustainable we have a business model that’s economically sustainable for perpetuity. Environmental sustainability deals with practices that do not harm the environment irrevocably. The companies need to be concerned about the natural resources that they consume and if possible, replenish them so as to remain resource neutral. Political sustainability deals with respecting the regulations of the countries in which we operate not only in letter but also in spirit. It calls for highest standards of corporate governance and business ethics. This is the only way we can forge a long term meaningful relationship with our customers, employees and the suppliers.
Social sustainability relates to the idea of inclusive growth. Our business divides the members of the society in two parts- one who are benefited by us and the others who are not benefited by us. It should be our endeavour to continually increase the count in the former group and reduce in the latter group. The logic for such a step can be easily seen from the fact that most of the countries today are democracies and it’s the numerically stronger group that decides the policies (at least on paper!). So, inclusive growth is no charity but a strategic move to cover up for the potential catastrophic losses in the future. It’s like buying insurance or going for hedging.

The time has come for all of us to embrace SD for our own benefits and long term survival.