Robin Hood is Ba(ra)ck!

Is Barack Obama the Robin Hood of our times? Look at this man, stuck in a world of capitalists, but doing his best to get the wealth distributed.

Sustainability is his mantra! Not because he is pitching for clean energy via wind turbines, solar panels only but for also asking the corporate to be more responsible towards the society and environment as well. Making them spend the moolah* they have raked in over the last 100 years!

His speech at the Jt. Session of Congress evoked a flurry of responses in all the news channels and business newspapers. All the capitalists of new India cloaked in the disguise of “entrepreneurs” crying foul! US capitalists dwarfed us Indian’s by getting their own Bobby in Washington DC to lead the clarion call within minutes of the president’s speech!

Capitalists fear him and I too am fearful. There is a difference though. I am afraid that the one sensible guy whom we have found after almost a century to champion the cause of common man might be “silenced”! I wish and pray for the well being of Obama and his family.

This article is an unconventional didactic exegesis! So, it’s going to be a long one. And also, let me warn you, if you are not an Obama fan, you might just want to drop off here or dig in and comment your rebuttal!

“The fact is, our economy did not fall into decline overnight. Nor did all of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or the stock market sank…we import more oil today than ever before…The cost of health care eats up more and more of our savings each year,…And though all of these challenges went unsolved, we still managed to spend more money and pile up more debt... we have lived through an era where too often short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity, where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election.”

How true? Didn’t we all know that Americans lived their life by the day? Is he wrong in coming out in public and admitting it? He just ripped off the band-aid buddy, nothing more!

“A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future… Regulations - were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway.”

Have you heard this from any of the banks who lent irresponsibly or the people who took them? No! Instead we were immersed in a usual US media blitz on “Subprime Mortgage crisis” – After all what can we expect from a country that calls its jails as “correction facilities” and killing innocent civilians as “collateral damage”. The common American was all along kept away from harsh realities by flooding him with such jargons which anyway the high school drop out wouldn’t understand. Their life was watched the world over as the biggest “True man show” ever! The Americans also were so gullible and at times I should say were high on grass!

“…they will be held accountable by me and the American people for every dollar they spend… I've appointed a proven and aggressive inspector general to ferret out any and all cases of waste and fraud…” which means nobody and nothing was ever held responsible in US. Some one said, “Nothing is guaranteed in the US but everybody gets a chance, but, not all get a chance in the UK, but once they do, it is guaranteed!” – So typical of the American lifestyle, which by the way they take pride in calling it “Our way of life” – what the heck! Here is a man who has never used this phrase! A man who criticizes with an open heart, the same “way of life” which has brought them to where they are today!

Read on, do you now wonder if Robin Hood is back?

“…It's a plan that won't help speculators or that neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope to afford, this time, CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks, or buy fancy drapes, or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over…”

“…It is time to put in place tough, new common-sense rules of the road so that our financial market rewards drive and innovation and punishes shortcuts and abuse…”

“…In order to save our children from a future of debt, we will also end the tax breaks for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans…”

And here comes the clincher!

“…I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders…”

I say, Robin Hood is Barack!

There are two things which I want to talk about, especially on the clincher. Obama is not against outsourcing. He suggests that any new technology / innovation done BY an American company, needs to happen in the US. This is fairly simple. He is willing to provide tax benefits for such firms and encourage them to utilize the resources of his country. In fact he is pitching to the big businesses to do work in the US and get rewarded as well for that.

Secondly, did you know that US business conglomerates are so big that their value is more than that of GDP of some of the nations put together and in certain cases equal to the GDP of some of the biggest developing nations? These businesses have moved from the US to cheaper cost of production locations and are charging a bomb from the other US businesses located in US. On top of that every year, these big companies, gross 300$ Billion from their “offshore” locations and take that money back into the US by paying a paltry 5% tax to the US Gov. In such scenarios, all he is suggesting is that he will not provide a tax heaven anymore and just pay the 35% corporate you are supposed to pay!

OK, incase you are the ‘Joe the plumber’, let me simplify it for you.

1. US companies (IBM, Accenture, Mc D, Pepsi, PWC, Mc Kinsey etc.,) had reached a saturation point in the US market.
2. The US Gov told the businesses, “You go out and start off your business in offshore locations, get more revenues and when you bring the money back into US, instead of paying 35% corporate tax, pay me just 5% tax. I will allow you to do this for a long, long time and you bring back wealth into America.”
3. These companies utilized the opportunities and ventured out.
4. When they realized the potential of countries like India (Services) and China (Manufacturing), they started shipping jobs to India and got a cost arbitrage and also utilize the tax haven in their country.
5. Double whammy** as they call it in US, Joe!

Now, for Indian “Ramu the IT guy”… I am sure you would have been immersed in the principle that offshore / onsite model, travels, free trade, global market, share market stories by now. Also, am pretty confident that you would have wanted to multiply your money and invested heavily in share markets! Suppose you had the shares of HLL (Hindustan Lever Ltd.,) which is a subsidiary of Unilever (UK). You would be glad that you invested in a multi-national company and since you are receiving dividends you would have become an advocate of free trade. If you carefully examine what the Unilever’s of the world are doing, you will realize that they are swindling money from your country (read India) mate!

Again, let me simplify it for you. It is day time robbery my friend! When HLL announces dividends, being the largest shareholder, Unilever (UK) gets money. It goes back to UK or if it were a US company it goes back to US. Poor Gov of the UK/US, in a move to encourage their so called entrepreneurs in a free trade practice, had announced that they can bring back the capital at 5% interest rate. Finally, the money lands in the company coffers and the CEO’s and top brass burp it away over champagne in a private jet somewhere in the south of Europe in a Mediterranean island with their girl friends! The point to note is that they are not investing enough money back into the country where they are consuming their resources from and also not paying appropriate taxes to their motherland as well! Double Whammy buddy!!

This guy Barack Obama, the US President, a sensible guy, finally, is not sticking up to his capitalist friends. He is talking about common sense and common people.

Look at the people whom he got inspiration from. Leonard Abess, a bank president from Miami who reportedly cashed out of his company, took a $60 million bonus, and gave it out to all 399 people who worked for him, plus another 72 who used to work for him, Greensburg, Kansas, a town that was completely destroyed by a tornado and its story of reconstruction, Ty'Sheoma Bethea, the young girl from that school he visited in Dillon, South Carolina who wrote a letter to his administration that she wants her school restored back!

He is trying hard to bring in the “Change” he promised. Unlike our Indian government he is not throwing “spare change” to the common man like farm loan waiver, fuel price cuts, some petty tax cuts, in the garb of stimulus plans. Our CEO’s and financial analysts need to wake up to the fact that he is the President of United States of America and not this planet!

I have confidence after listening to his speech that he will bring back the American economy to track! In his own words, in this very same speech says, he will restore faith in G 20 nations regarding American economy, “…for the world depends on us having a strong economy, just as our economy depends on the strength of the world's…”!

Let’s say “We want Change!” – Hail Barack - Robin Hood of our times and the true sustainability champion!

- Ciao

* Moolah – In Hindi translates to pile of cash/capital
** a twofold blow or setback (en.wiktionary.org/wiki/double_whammy)

Underdogs!

Underdogs never go under! Especially, every recession [economic, social and environmental] brings out an “underdog” and catapults them into the league of “top dog”!

Rajasthan Royals started off as the underdogs and went on to win the Indian Premier League (IPL 2008 season). 2008 culminated with two significant achievements from the underdog’s camp. India’s successful moon mission and Barack Obama!

Underdog theme continues to inspire every day. With AR Rehman being crowned as the Hollywood music king and lesser known crew from Slumdog Millionaire winning all the awards ever instituted in the international film circles, the underdogs have added another feather to their cap!

Well, who exactly is an underdog? There are few interesting theories on the phrase derivation of “underdogs” and “top dogs”, dating back to the 19^th century stories on wood-sawing and dog fights. The latest derivation claim in 20^th century relates to an article in the Sports Review on prize hunting or hunting dogs! Where ever it originated from, according to me, an underdog is the “Who’s so what?” and a top dog is the “Who is who”…

The audience loves underdogs in a competition. You know why? There are two reasons, and these reasons have evolved depending on the political, social and economic climate of the time and place.

Reason 1: The audience consider themselves the master and wants to see the underdog succumb to them to satiate their thirst for supremacy.

Remember the ancient Romans and their arena fights? Impoverished slaves used to fight the ultimate roman fighting machine (a knight) or a tiger. The slaves used to muster up even the last ounce of survival instinct to fight a losing battle and eventually succumb to the master!

Reason 2: The audience can actually empathize not just sympathize, with the underdog and roots for it to become the top dog!

The American Presidential election in 2008 is a classic example. People loved Barack Obama the underdog! The son of an African-American immigrant, father of 2 kids, who has struggled hard to be where he is, has no personal business affiliations, not just another candidate who claimed patriotism via war hysteria. The people of America could actually relate to him… because most of them had been there sometime or the other in their lives.

Apart from these reasons as to why any audience loves underdogs in a competition, there is an important element which an underdog brings on board. It is the “Power of possibility”! There is an ever lurking chance that the underdog might win and “upset” the party or as with changing times there is an immense possibility of crowning a new champion.

As it is rightly called the Champions league football tournament is a testimony to the fact that underdogs are interesting! The tournament has a complex structure and one can be rest assured that only a true champion can emerge out of it! The year was 2004, the year of underdogs; the 3 of the final 4 playing for the cup was lesser known clubs. FC Porto, Deportivo La Coruña, AS Monaco. The 4^th club was Chelsea. FC Porto won the cup! It was led by a then unknown man, José Mourinho! This underdog went on to become the top-dog in football circuit. He became a champion in his first season and a double premier league winner with the famous Chelsea football club, brand ambassador for Samsung mobile and the theme of many a best sellers capped by his authorized biography “Made in Portugal”. This champion is an inspiring example of the underdog to top dog story.

There are umpteen number of such stories that have been told so far and all have been massive hits at the box office and they will continue to be! Rocky, The mighty ducks, Waterboy, Dodgeball: A true underdog story, our very own Lagaan, Taare Zamin par, Slumdog Millionaire, just to list a few famous ones. Every movie went on to win Oscars or nominations at the least! In a website for film reviews, Anthony Chatfield a freelance writer notes, “Underdog themed stories will never die. They capture an aspect of everyday life that we all feel at one point or another - that desire to belong and be respected…” It is so true!

We can now understand why people love underdogs and the value addition they bring on board. But who creates these underdogs? I think it is just a state of mind. It is purely a perspective of the “who’s who” about “who’s so what”!

Rajasthan Royals, ISRO, Barack Obama, AR Rehman, the crew of Slumdog Millionaire, José Mourinho listed in this article were extraordinary bunch of people. They always had high quality content! Over a period of time, the “Who’s who” or pro’s become complacent and think that some entities in a competition both do not have the required talent or depth and hence don’t give a chance of winning! What they fail to understand is that it is actually the underdog who filters the ordinary from the extra-ordinary and brings out the true champion.

Given that this is a perspective issue and not an actual problem of being the underdog, is it cool to be an underdog? And importantly, how do you know if, you are an underdog?

In my opinion it is OK to be the underdog at times in a given system. During the process of working your way through the system, as an underdog, you have an advantage which no one has. Your innate talent mixed with the absence of “fear of failure” makes a charming cocktail, which, when served, rocks the system and catapults you to rock star status!

You realize that you are the underdog when people around you consistently say that you have the talent and you don’t have any fear of failure! So, how long do you remain an underdog? Not long… the moment you achieve certain goals within a system and get recognized you are no longer considered an underdog! A fear of failure sets in and inhibits one from experimenting. Then, how do you become a top dog?

Underdogs enhance a competition; they inspire and enable people to aspire, they present unlimited possibilities! The connotation of underdog might not be all that positive, but definitely it is not negative. To become a top dog, you need to shed your fear of failure. Continue to experiment and learn, never underestimate your competition as underdog, for, underdogs are not someone whom you ignore, but someone you watch out for. I love to quote great leaders and opinion makers. One such quote from Mahatma Gandhi is “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” To enhance yourself to be a top dog, draw inspiration from the underdogs!

So, next time you watch a movie or a game of football or if you are listening to sales pitch or evaluating a competition or interviewing prospective employees, look out for the underdog!

You might win yourself a champion!

- Ciao

Sea of Suspicion!

When I got married, my uncle gave me only a phrase of advice… he said, “the sea of suspicion has no shores”! The gravity of the statement did not hit me until recently when, again, I was moved by the common thread that connected few disparate incidents! The common thread was “suspicion”.

I set out on a journey to understand suspicion! The objective was to find out why do we suspect? Should we suspect at all? If so what to suspect and importantly when to stop?

I think it’s in our nature as humans to doubt anything and everything. Biblical character “The doubting Thomas” who doubted the resurrection of Christ himself is a typical example of how far we humans could go with suspicion! Now, if you say that you are a believer and have never doubted anything or anybody, please drop me a note, because, it is rarely in human kind we have had believers and I would be blessed to meet one!

Coming back to the story…

The root of suspicion is the inability to understand a particular item / person. When someone does not understand something/someone they become insecure and consequently feel guilty. And as Shakespeare says,” Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind”! The level of insecurity manifests in the magnitude of the action that follows, results of which could turn out to be either positive or negative.

If you look at it, we created a list of words to contextualize suspicion. “Doubt, misgiving, distrust, mistrust, disbelief, wariness, skeptic…” Instead of eliminating this concept ,we have encouraged it! This means that our society actually encouraged suspicion as a thought process. Usually a thought process drives creativity. When that creativity is channelized in the right way, we witness miracles. In effect, how creative we get with our suspicion and how well it is channelized, decides whether we become an inventor or an intruder. So, in essence, my take is that it is OK to suspect!

As noted earlier, there are no shores for the sea of suspicion! But we have seen that doubting is a natural instinct and is encouraged. Isn’t this a predicament to think about? Well, look at this example…

A closely knit family, were celebrating a big event one day! There were quite a few people who participated. The following day a member of the house figured out that they had lost precious jewelry. The family had suspected on one close relative – after some discussions they added the house maids also to the suspects list. With each round of deliberation, It became a laundry list of suspects featuring kith and kin resulting in heated arguments and heartaches.

Finally, the family decided to let go of the issue and make good for the lost jewelry. They did so because they did not want to name and shame someone (if it were a close relative) and also because they would not be able to deliver the harsh actions like a police complaint (if it turned out to be someone who was socially and economically weak).

However, the discussion on “suspects” left a bitter taste amongst the family members. Suspicion took a toll on the person who lost the jewelry and others affected by the incident so much so that they were not able to treat/look at the “suspects” the same way as before.

On the other hand, let us look at some situations where suspicion has helped! Had the explorers not suspected that the earth is round, we would not have found the Americas. Had John Nash not suspected Adam Smith’s economic wisdom we wouldn’t have “Nash’s equilibrium” which has changed the face of competition, trade negotiations, game theory etc. To close the loop, but for suspicion, Saint Thomas would have remained “Doubting Thomas” and not become “Saint Thomas the believer”!

Prescription for the predicament on suspicion raised earlier, and answers to the questions raised when I started this journey, lies in the wisdom of yore. “To be suspicious is not a fault. To be suspicious all the time without coming to a conclusion is the defect.” – Terence (a Roman dramatist).

Most of us cannot be “the believer” who knows “the truth” during one lifetime, so it is OK to suspect/doubt anything and everything. But, if we cannot action on the outcomes of a suspicion, we should not continue to be suspicious. When we feel that we are lost in suspicion about someone/something first thing we need to do is to seek to understand than be understood!

As they say, “when in doubt ask”!

- Ciao

It's different!

I am sure you would have heard this phrase “It’s different!” at least a gazillion times.

During the premier of a latest movie, a director was explaining how different the movie was from all other movies ever made. At least to my knowledge this is what every director has had to say for every movie that has ever been made. Also, if you notice, any product or service that is ever brought out to the market has claimed some differentiator or the other. Sometimes the public spat between competitors has gotten as ugly as the recent one between two health drinks (Complan and Horlicks).

This fixation to differentiate is not restricted to particular person, product/service or geography. This has got to do with everybody and everything! Is it really necessary that one should differentiate from other? Can’t we sell anything [be it ourselves or a product/service] without differentiating? Should we believe that “Winners don’t do different things, they do things differently…”? Is it a taboo to be similar?

I did read up quite a bit on this. The journey took me to fascinating pieces of wisdom ranging from the dictionary meaning of difference, to differential calculus, Aristotle, genetics, search for identity, Unique Selling Proposition (USP), psychology and philosophy. Had I not decided to stop and just pen down my thoughts, it would probably never have come to a logical conclusion!

Let me walk you through some instances; provide insights into the material which I read during this research and share my thoughts on this topic.

Need to differentiate: A phenomenon that has gained significance since the start of Neolithic era. It is driven by the two most important objectives of survival and creating an identity for oneself.

It is ingrained in our human DNA to differentiate. In a recent article published in the Science Daily on Dec 22^nd 2008, some Israeli scientists have discovered the gene responsible for differentiation.

It seems that, at a very early stage of human development, all cells of the embryo are identical, but are very flexible and carry within them the potential to become any tissue type, whether it be muscle, skin, liver or brain. This cell differentiation process begins at about the time that the embryo settles into the uterus. By activating a certain set of genes, the embryo can make muscle cells. By turning on a different set, these same immature cells can become liver. Other gene sets are responsible for additional tissues.

Though this discovery is very important for organ replacement and related medical advancements, it is quite intriguing to know that the differentiation process is very much part of our DNA.

Given that we need differentiation to be created and survive in the first place, let us see why we need to use differentiation as a technique to create an identity? Let us use some analytical tool say “Shame”!!!

Surprised? Read on…

This example is close to my heart. As an engineering student whenever, I used to attend inter college cultural and symposiums, I observed that the Arts and Science graduates were always the best when it came to cultural events like fashion shows, orchestra, singing, dancing, painting etc., I used to wonder as to why the engineering students lagged behind in this effort.

Unlike other parts of the world where people choose Arts and Science as a subject of study, in our part of the world, it is only by chance that they end up in Arts and Science at least a majority of them. So, it is a shame to be an arts and science graduate in Indian society which values children / students based only on their academic credentials only and nothing else.

In his book “Psychology of Shame”, Gershen Kaufman notes both positive and negative impacts of shame. In my opinion this case is a classic example of positive impact of shame. The quest for differentness / separateness amongst the arts and science graduates is amplified by the shame which was inflicted upon them. In their striving for separateness / differentness, the students acquired mastery / competence in other fields which showed up in the results of the cultural events thus helping them create an identity for themselves.

It was in this analysis; I understood that, the two factors behind “individuation” [or self differentiation] are (1) The need for separation / differentness and (2) Competence/ Mastery required in achieving the differentness.

Probably the understanding of this concept is what prompted Rosser Reeves to innovate and come up with the concept of Unique Selling Proposition (USP). He believed that if an advertisement / commercial brought out the “unique proposition” in a product / service, it could position the brand at a convenient point in consumer’s minds, enhance the sales, and even make consumers switch from other brands. Today, every other advertisement positions a product/service as unique, different!

These instances were sufficient enough for me to understand the need, significance and evolution and implementation of differentiation. Now, my question is, does differentiation create only positive responses? Doesn’t look like it…

I have also come across some strong arguments against creating differences and identity. Look at the major conflicts around the world. They are primarily based on human, regional, inter / intra religious and political differences. There are other benign conflicts as well in education, business, sports which engulf our lives when they touch us.

In the quest to differentiate, we create end up creating a world of differences. So what do we do? We start diversity training!!

Since Obama’s election to Presidency, there is a renewed focus on diversity! Every business, school and institution is working on imparting diversity training to its associates. However, diversity tolerance doesn’t come in a day. Laurie B Lippin co-author of the recently published book “Understanding Whiteness/Unraveling Racism” says…It takes a life time of training to appreciate diversity and differences. Firstly one needs to understand who they are and what their preferences are before they appreciate someone else different preference. John Kremer and Ian Schermbrucker renowned psychologists in a brilliant article say, “Yes, you can be forced to walk in someone else’s shoes, but when your abiding memory is simply that they are uncomfortable then the purpose of the exercise may be lost.”

Conflicts due to human differences have consumed so much resources and probably much more to level them.

As, we can see differentiators have created both excitement and contempt. Now that we have seen both sides of the coin, what is it that I feel about differentiation? In my opinion, it is necessary for an entity to create an identity. However, differentiation need not be the only way to accomplish it. We should not look at differentiation as a strategy to make up for our current situation or inherent flaws. We need to critically analyze at each stage in an initiative/self evolution as to if it absolutely necessary to differentiate, to achieve The Goal… as someone said, “In a struggle to create an identity we develop differences... in more ways than not it inhibits growth and we end up fighting the differences rather than really appreciating them and learning from them...”

Rosser Reeves the man who coined the term USP, himself believed that “It was a waste of money to claim uniqueness that doesn't exist…Money would be better spent building some kind of meaningful advantage into a product before launching a costly advertising campaign to promote it.”

In essence, a quality product or service, good intent/nature of people, sincerity in search for excellence and similar genuine efforts in all walks of life will definitely stand out and carve an identity for itself. Rather than spend our time and effort on creating differences and differentiators, we should use differentiators as a supplement to the uniqueness that we are, and of which we create.

Before embarking on this journey of discovery of differences, I sincerely did not expect that a simple word “difference” would have been so much discussed, researched and deliberated upon. Now that I have shared some thoughts for you to ponder, let me continue with my exploration. For those who thought this article is going to be nothing different than my earlier posts, I hope to have made a difference!

- Ciao