Protective gears - Part II

When I look at our behavior or attitude I sometimes wonder, is the new India really NEW for us to shed some of the protective gear! Because, unlike other nations which were wrecked in decades, we survived centuries of foreign rule and emerged gracefully after independence. This would not have been possible without the strong fabric of culture of protectionism! So, if we have to shed some of the protective gears, we better be sure that we are ready to do so!

After pondering for a long time I did conclude, YES, it is a new India and it is time for us to shed some protectionism and bring about a change in our business attitude!

Being a liberalized country with tax sops and an environment conducive to do business on a greater scale, we are poised to unleash the human capital and create large multi-national industrial power houses. We are on equal footing with the rest of the world. In fact I would go a step further to say that we are at an advantage on all the three fronts, culturally, technologically and economically to make India the best place to live on this planet!

Companies in the west spend enormous amount on diversity training. India, on the contrary, is already a multi cultural society and tolerance is our second nature. Our core values and the very existence of the concept of India as one nation in spite of the hundreds of languages we speak, the clothes we wear, the geographies we live in, is a testimony to our belief in diversity. If you extrapolate this thought, European Union in many ways is an attempt to create a ‘European: India’!

Technology has been our forte for centuries. A temple around the corner of your street, a mausoleum in the north, the centuries old irrigation canals which work perfectly fine even today, the weather forecast systems passed down the generation via vocal medium, Indian mathematics, astronomy and medical science are all something which we should be proud of. The foreign rule did hamper our innovation cycle, and we missed out on the opportunities during the industrial revolution.

If you observe carefully, the nations which were in action during the industrial revolution are the developed nations today. The IT revolution is the next big thing to have happened to human society after industrial revolution! The world around every one of us has changed since the IT revolution! We as a country are in the thick of things as far as the IT revolution is concerned and we should capitalize! The moment is upon us!

Our economic policies are getting better. It was bound with all the protectionism and protective gears to insulate a just born nation. However, as we have progressed over the last half a century, we now feel that some of these policies impede our growth than expedite. Otherwise, why would you think the Oxford / Cambridge educated conservative policy makers of this nation who in the first place, were instrumental in padding us with these protective measures are working hard to remove some of these un-necessary protective policies?

There is no point in just the system shedding its beliefs; there can be no real progress unless the individuals who make up the system shed some of their age old belief mechanisms!

So, what are the possible items that you could do…

• Ask the why instead of what
• Muster the courage to challenge if you think otherwise on a given topic.
• Treat people the way you expect to be treated and do expect the gesture to be reciprocated, if not, do express your concern.
• Create an identity for yourself and make sincere attempts to move away from the crutches of growth by association
• Feel free to have your own opinions and you can choose to disagree
• Do what you feel is the right thing to do instead of doing things just to please others

The above steps are not some prescription for assured success or achieving greatness in life! These steps will help every Indian to make significant progress in achieving his/her business potential in the new world order!

I was inspired by a huge inscription on the wall of a community hall, it read “Do your duty and expect desired results!” These were the words of Rajinikanth a superstar of Indian cinema who happens to be the owner of that community hall. This is from a man who has been there, seen it and done it! This new paradigm which has been unearthed will create a tectonic shift in our belief system and hence will drastically improve our personal and societal productivity!

You would be surprised to know that when you shed some of your protective gear, you get not only faster but also would not get hurt even if you fall down.

But, the usual Indian “but” – the case I have lobbied for is purely in relation to doing business whilst in the western world and US especially. So keep in mind that this rhetoric is a case in context and not a panacea.

Ciao

Sundar

Protective gears!

My generation in India has grown up smelling the air of new age entrepreneurship in a new invigorated, liberalized India. I have seen an individual grow his personal wealth from 0 to a billion $ in one generation and share it generously as well! This new country has given people like me the opportunity to compete on an equal footing in the new “flat world”.

However, my helmets, knee caps, arm guards, gloves and such numerous protective gears are slowing me down and in fact choking me!

What are these helmets, knee caps, arm guards, gloves? These are some elements of Indian societal set up! We have always been brought up with a sense of caution and boundaries. Some of boundaries were virtual and some physical.

Say, for example, we were always told, not to take risks, never to put all eggs in one basket, not to challenge beliefs, systems, elders, teachers, we were given a framework of family bondage where we have to put up with an annoying wife/husband even though the relationship is not mutually beneficial, to be obedient to our boss at the cost of us feeling unhappy about the situation, to be grounded to reality and never chase dreams, to save and not to spend, that identity comes from our association and not from self, to have a servile attitude to the king, boss, land lord or whoever it was whom we thought put the daily bread on our plate, to not to believe our colleagues but to believe the system, that getting endorsed especially by a foreigner is the paramount, to never fall out of ranks, to follow the crowd and not tread an unknown path, to please people rather than doing the right thing, to work within the system and its constraints, to leave the thinking / innovation / adventure to someone else, the list is endless! These gears were forced upon us over centuries through, stories, myths, ‘modified’ epics, poems and every possible means.

On a side note, when I think of adventures, I don’t know of any notable adventure sport or adventure club which existed in India (not in pockets and that too again performed by specialists) some 10 years ago! Think, think, think!

Also, I would want to take this opportunity to showcase a fundamental belief in majority India. “Do your duty and do not expect results!!” This belief is derived from Bhagavad Gita – one of the holy books of Indians.

Indians did a great deal of introspection throughout the ages. So if this particular interpretation/statement was made to help an individual to transcend from the materialistic world onto the world of universal truth, it makes sense!

However, in India people are advised to apply this belief on their day to day tasks. Why would someone want to do something in life without expecting desired results? This is the driver for creating a totally unproductive society.

Though, I do agree that these elements keep you safe and help you lead a long life! But, is that what life is about in rest of the world, especially the western world and specifically the US? No!! Absolutely not!

I get reminded of a commercial for a battery which depicts two old men in a wrestling arena, clasping on to each other and wrangling away softly at each other! Then the ad concludes with the caption, what’s life without power?

I am not able to run at the speed at which I can (personally and professionally), whilst in the US or western world because, either, some of these protective gears slow me down, or, even if I shed some of the gears, my colleague’s (fellow country men’s) protective gears hurt me whilst I run along with them. When I extrapolate this thought, I am sure; my country is also being slowed down by the sheer weight of such protective gears!

Imagine us leading a long life consistently protected by these gears!! Huh! Think of R.K. Lakshman’s iconic “Common man of India”. An old doddering, spectacled man with a mustache and a kitty of life savings. Ironically he has a smile all the time… which, especially, I just cannot fathom.

I feel totally dejected and weighed down by the protective gears, the very thought of such a depiction of the common man from India suffocates me!

It’s time to think of what we have and what we could do about it?

More in the sequel!

Ciao!

Sundar