We, 5 friends from diverse backgrounds, found a common ground to work on - Water Conservation. It's been quite sometime – about 6 months – that we all are trying to bring awareness on water crisis and water conservation in our locality. After a one-way communication of pamphlets distribution we are now embarking on an active participation of civil society through a seminar. The details of this seminar will find place in my blogs from now on till March 2010 when we plan to hold this seminar. Request you to go through a small snapshot on the subject below.

WATER is our LIFELINE: Save water before taps dry.

Scientists have recently identified Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan as acutely affected with groundwater depletion. The water level is going down every. Where water was available some 30 feet down the ground few years ago, it is now at 70 ~80 feet. It is time to realize our duty to take steps to conserve water and stop wasting this necessary gift of God. Remember, if we take steps immediately we may be able to survive or at least delay the big water crisis.
Easy tips to save water:
1. Use one bucket of water for bathing.
2. Fill water in a pot/mug for shaving, washing face etc. rather than using running tap.
3. Try to use bucket while washing your vehicles, instead of a pipe.
4. Switch off the water motor at the right time so as to avoid tank overflow.
5. If there is water left in your water bottle do not throw it away, pour it over some plants.
6. Check that there are no leaking taps. Get a plumber to seal all leakages.
7. Run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full. You can save a lot of water.
8. Wash your fruits and vegetables in a pan of water instead of running water from the tap and use the water again for plants or some other purpose.
9. Washing dark clothes in cold water saves both on water and energy while it helps your clothes to keep their colors.
10. When washing clothes, match the water level to the size of the load.
11. To save water and time, consider washing your face or brushing your teeth while in the shower.
12. Consider rain water harvesting when building a new house especially multifamily flats.

There may be many more ways to conserve water and you may have your own ways of saving it. Ultimately, the idea is to use water economically so that the amount of water we spend in a year can easily be used for two or more years.

Note: We are a group of friends who are concerned about water conservation just as you are. We would like to build awareness about it through like minded people. If you wish to volunteer in this cause please drop a mail of your interst at protectwater@rediffmail.com. As part of our initiative we wish to conduct a seminar on the role of civil society in water conservation. We will share more details about this seminar in coming weeks.

The positive side of recession 

Let me start with a ‘sorry’ to you. Why? Well, though the next few lines will talk about recession, they will take you little away from the actual stuff on the subject. By the way, I have an advance apology in the form of my blog title J

Those who have already found themselves engrossed in a book titled ‘Freakonomics’ would know the author’s freak way of reasoning various historical incidences, events and situations. Here is my little attempt to explain where else does the ‘Recession’ get reflected other than stock market, GDP predictions of the countries, unemployment rate, etc., which may or may not have caught your eyes. You are free to add to the list by commenting on this blog...

1) Ever wondered why all of a sudden you find more number of ads on the front page of leading newspapers? And that too of not so big brands. Two simple reasons – a) newspapers are losing their ad revenues as companies have axed their promotion budgets drastically, forcing the newspapers to offer their sexiest place (read front page) for ads quite often. They used to offer the same space selectively. And b) as big brands have already cut down their promo expenses they are not going for print promos in a big way, even if it be the discounted front page. This has resulted in more number of not-so-big brands going on the front page at nicely discounted rates. The bigger the size of an organization the larger the impact of global recession on it due to its stakes in more than a single country/sector. Hence, any big organization is saving every single penny to shun away any potential recession-hitch lurking in near future. Whereas, small companies may find it a right time to get blurb at a newly discounted rates. Not a bad idea. This would surely pay them off in the long run when the situation improves; though, at present also, with their already low prices, the small companies may wipe away customers of big players who charge a great moolah for their products or services.

2) I think the current economic recession should lead to more risk taking capability in entrepreneurs in India. Quite freaky? Hum, not really. With the saturating Indian job market (some argue it is only cosmetic) the freshers are forced to look up to either continuing education or starting their own venture. The second option is what people prefer if they have completed Management or higher education though a major section may still want to continue their search for a job. But the lack of job opportunities surely creates more number of entrepreneurs than when the jobs are easily available. Since people anyways have to start on their own, they do exhibit their not-so-far-found ability – risk taking. Once in their own business, these newly found entrepreneurs stake everything to make their business successful. And when the market situation improves these positively forced entrepreneurs would find themselves in a very comfortable position as they would have already seen the worst by then. This positive side of poor job market must be appreciated. By the way, do you see some link between the 1st and the 2nd point? Yes, you got it right. If not, then ask me and I will love to explain.

“Intellectuals, middle-class professionals and social activists to work in synergy on key development issues”

Get the facts, or the facts will get you. And when you get them, get them right, or they will get you wrong.

- Dr. Thomas Fuller

Let’s go straight to the facts of our society today. In today’s so called shining and growing India there is an ever increasing gulf between the two classes – the rich class and the poor class. And in between is the middle class, always trying hard to be classified as ‘rich class’ in the shortest possible time, with all its efforts focused on improving its own conditions. This self-serving attitude of the middle class and the intentional ignorance of the policy makers towards the poor or marginalized class, are continuously dragging this class to its worst conditions. The fact that middle-class forms the majority of the lot in the country, its contribution to the overall development of left-out issues, not only of marginalized class but its own class, becomes highly important. All the stages for the development issues are to be based on the significant application of middle-class’s resources, justly so because it will be the biggest beneficiary in the process of development of the key issues, with the involvement of other important sections of the society.

However, before going further on the issue of ‘Who contributes What?’ let’s first understand the Key Development Issues facing us today.

Key Development Issues:

The development issues of a nation may vary from country to country and are the result of various factors such as social structure, involvement of people in the decisions making process, short and long term history of the country, people’s outlook towards such development issues, etc.

The key development issues for India (read marginalized class in India) today are in the form of health, education, economy, politics and social. Furthermore, these development issues within India vary region wise and class wise.

Education:
Where education is a major development issue in rural India, the situation is not so bad in urban areas even though the cost of education in urban areas is ever increasing, more so because of the private sector participation which is making it further difficult for the poor and lower middle class to get their children educated in urban India. It is debatable that whether the participation of private sector is improving the quality of education or simply leading to the sale of degrees at a high price?

The problem of education is multi-faceted. On one hand we see the failure of the Primary Education System and the haplessness of the government to fix the problems of various education schemes destroyed by corruption. On the other we witness the onslaught of private sector on the higher education system by making the education ever costly. This way, the majority of people either fail in the beginning to find their feet in education because of low quality primary education or they get strangled by the soaring cost of higher education provided by private players, if at all they reach there.

The problem is not limited to this only. With the kind of poverty that faces India, people consider their children as source of income and get them employed in unskilled jobs at a very young age thereby depriving them of even the basic education.

Health:
Similarly, health has been a major issue of concern for India. According to WHO, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

India is a country which is facing the challenge from communicable diseases. Even the non-communicable diseases such as cancer and diabetes are increasing in India. Being the second largest country in terms of population, next only to China, India’s human health status is still not satisfactory when compared to China or any other developed country. The health scenario is further aggravated in the case of poor and marginalized population because of negligible access to the quality health care services, non-availability of proper drinking and sanitation facilities, etc.

Economy:
Another challenge for us is at the economic front. More than economic backwardness, the issue of skewed economic development in regions is leading to the real problems. Ever since the Indian economy has been opened for the global market it is growing with an impressive rate for reasons of cheap and quality manpower serving the global market, favorable government policies for different sectors, movement of global players to tap Indian resources, etc. However, when the sun of growth is shining on us it is also witnessing some horrible shadows of concern for all of us. The growth has been in patches, with some regions growing exponentially and some going down miserably, leading to an increasing economic discrepancy among the regions within India. Hence, the regions with the economic might are dictating their terms at the time of policy formulations to earn more favors to augment their growth further at the cost of the growth of not-well-to-do regions. If not addressed immediately, this issue may flare up and may lead to various political and social issues.

Indian economy has been known as an agricultural economy with agriculture sector being the highest contributor to the GDP of the country. However, this sector has not seen the advantageous policies comings its way from the government on the lines of what other growing sectors are getting. With highly fragmented agricultural lands in India and poor earnings, the farmers have always found it difficult to apply modern tools to improve their productivity, receive loans from financial institutions, paying off their expenses of water and electricity, further spiraling up their problems. I am sure not long time ago you would have heard about a farmer committing suicide as he did not have money to pay back his loan taken from the local money lenders. The recent step of the government to waive off the agriculture loans taken from the banks is highly welcome. However, the fact that the agriculture loans taken from the organized banks form only the miniscule part of the overall agriculture loans, makes this initiative look insufficient to solve this problem. Furthermore, waiving off the loans is not the solution to the problem. The solution lies in enhancing the productivity of the agriculture sector by coming up with enabling policies for this sector at the national as well as state level. This sector has been the back bone of Indian economy and we must not leave it aside because of the glitter of recently growing sectors. It doesn’t, however, mean that we should not give due importance to the new economy sectors because these are the sectors which will pave our way to ever growing success as an economy.

Politics:
India is a democratic country where the freedom to elect representatives is exercised by its people. However, this freedom, many a times, is annulled by the existence of a very tight compartment of choices. The political issues of the country could be divided into two perspectives – a) From the voters’ point of view, b) From the election candidates’ point of view.

a) It is well known that people in India do not always vote to elect somebody but to reject somebody. The anti-incumbency factor is perhaps one of the major factors which influence the decisions of the voters to vote for someone or not. With the lack of right candidates and political parties the problem is only aggravating. It is not surprising then the voters’ turnover is decreasing over the years since their interest in the whole political affair is diminishing as they do not find the right candidate to represent their cause. This makes the big parties and the powerful candidates win the elections whereas the already small number of genuine candidates loses for want of support.
b) Of late we have started hearing the importance of young political leaders and their induction in almost all political parties. It is, no doubt, a good sign. But just look at all the young political leaders that come to your mind and you would find that most of them are from the existing political families and not from the common masses. It looks as if the aging political leaders have found the mantra of “young and talented political leaders” an effective way of infusing their own family members in the mainstream politics without drawing the flakes from the common man for favoritism. However, the problem comes for the aspiring political leaders who find it difficult to first establish themselves and then get into a political party. The problem is only more severe if the first generation political leader wants to join the mainstream politics without being attached to any political party.

Politics is possibly the only profession which does not yield any earning unless you are elected as a representative. Because of the huge time involved in being elected as a representative in the current context of the country, people do not wish to join politics and rather go for other professions. Moreover, the not-so-good image of the politicians in general also influences good people to keep away from the politics. All these factors lead to the formation of a political class which consists of long time politicians, their kith and kin and newly inducted politicians with no different outlook to the issues. One of the agendas of this political class is to ensure that common man does not reach to the political power and surface the issues important to the common people. To address the issues of marginalized people it is only important that there is political representation from this section of the society.

Social:
The social problems of the marginalized class are in the form of lack of education opportunities, lack of medical care services, lack of proper transport and communication facilities, etc. These are more pronounced in the case of Muslims as more than 80% of the minorities (marginalized class) constitute Muslims and hence, any relevant social issues of the minorities in general will have direct and major impact on the Muslim population. The Sachar committee has presented these issues as cause of concern for Muslims in its report to the government.

With low or no level of above facilities at their disposal they find it difficult to compete with others in this increasingly competitive environment and gradually go back to their own shell. Unless a parity is brought about with respect to these issues, the marginalized class, especially the Muslims, will continue to live in their present deteriorated state which will only become worst.


The way out
The development issues for the marginalized classes in India, as discussed above, are many in numbers, too complex in their nature, too strong in their intensity and certainly need dynamic solutions to see the light of the day. One institution or one approach may not be sufficient to change the fortunes of the marginalized class which is marred by the continuous ignorance of the government towards their needs.

The involvement of key stakeholders such as intellectuals, professionals, social activists and the youth of the day, is to be effected sooner than later to combat any further deprivation of the marginalized class and reverse its poor state. Nevertheless, the whole process will take time to yield desired results and the stakeholders of this process will need to demonstrate patience and maturity as they will be standing up against the well established machineries which will always attempt at killing the voice of the marginalized, including any of its supporters.

The success of the mission will lie in effectively identifying the resources (including human resources) which form part of the existing establishments – government, bureaucrats, policy makers, ministries, etc. and utilizing them to reach out to the goal of brining marginalized class at par. The process will also involve diplomatic alliances with the already established institutions and organizations to build tactical pressures on different state machineries to perform their tasks with integrity.

Let’s look at the important approaches to bring about a change in the current poor state of the marginalized class.

1) Collaboration:
Indeed, one important step in controlling further deprivation of marginalized class will be in collaborating the efforts of key sections of the society. This will be a group of like-minded people drawn from various walks of life – intellectuals from different areas, practicing professionals of varied functions and NGOs including social activists. The agenda of this group will be to brainstorm on key development issues of marginalized class and address the same by way of collaborating with similar groups, building pressure on relevant departments, sensitizing the masses through media coverage, educating people about the issues, etc. The formation of this kind of a group will also help in looking at issues from different perspectives as the members of this group will come from different sections. More the perspectives better will be the handling of issues. Each member of the group will be responsible to bring awareness of important issues at individual level.

However, forming this group will not be an easy task. The first challenge will be to form the group itself, since not many people will be willing to associate with this cause owing to the sensitivity of this group’s functioning and perceived notions about it. At every stage there will be pressure from different sources to dismantle any kind of initiative of this nature as this will not only challenge the status quo in the government’s outlook towards the development requirements of the marginalized class but also push the government to come up with policies enabling the marginalized class to enjoy equal opportunities available to others.

Further points will be the consequence of the formation of this group and taken forward by it for shaping them appropriately.

2) Utilizing media
In a country like ours where freedom of expression has been enshrined in the constitution, media plays a very significant role in the formulation and modulation of policies and systems. However, to what an extent this freedom of expression is exercised by the media is debatable in the wake of heightened indirect pressure on them to tweak their stories to meet the specific requirements. We know how a particular private channel was targeted by the government for bringing uncensored stories post the Godhra riots.

So the challenge in front of this group will be to not only utilize the services of media but, much before that, also positively influence media to partner in this cause. One of the ways to do so will be by directly engaging the media personnel in this group and take their views on how to ensure media’s support. As mentioned earlier in this write up, the group has to be tactical in its approach in dealing with various challenges. Garnering the support of media and utilizing it, is one such challenge.

3) Educating people
Any kind of revolution requires support of masses – masses which are not located at one particular place or region but scattered all across. The irony today is that the down trodden people are not even aware of their level of living and their rights. In the absence of any awareness among people about their rights and responsibilities they are left with no other option but to accept what comes their way. This is exactly what is happening with the marginalized class, especially the Muslims. With a very low (or no) level of awareness among Muslims about their conditions (regarding various development issues) vis-à-vis other classes they do not raise their voice and continuously get trapped by the inferiority complex which further deteriorates their conditions.
Hence, it is important that the marginalized class, especially the Muslim, is made aware of its rights and privileges provided to it by the constitution of the country. This kind of awareness can be spread by holding seminars, lecture sessions, TV programs, nukkar natak, etc.

4) Identifying and networking with national, state and local agencies
There would surely be agencies which would be working on the issues of development for the marginalized class, at all levels in the country. Further, these agencies might be focusing on specific but different issues which, if brought together, will represent the collective and broad development issues for the marginalized class. The benefit lies in bringing such organizations or agencies at one platform at regular intervals to ensure exchange of ideas on various issues.

Moreover, a network of national, state and local level agencies will help in comprehending the issues at these three levels and addressing the same accordingly. This network will ensure quick communication of concerns across these three levels and the immediate support from each level to address the same. This network will also help in rolling out various programs for educating people about their rights and privileges as mentioned in the point number 3.

Concluding remarks
It is said in the Management that the best performance of an individual happens when he is under optimum pressure levels. The underlined word is different from “maximum”. The current conditions of marginalized class, particularly the Muslims, could be considered as either bad or worst, depending on how we look at them. My own view is that the conditions for this class are not worst, though they might be continuously deteriorating. This outlook will help me in at least one way. We have the optimum pressure to relinquish our apathy towards our conditions (since they are bad and not worst) as the situation has still not gone out of our hands. The pressure would have been “maximum” when we were left with nothing to change our fortunes.
This is, in fact, an opportunity for us to bring unity among various marginalized castes and religions by making them work for a common cause i.e. uplifting them. If achieved, this will present a successful model of people involvement in effecting national unity as the people would be working not for their religion but for a reason which is common to other religions as well. However, as mentioned above, this entire exercise will require great amount of patience, maturity, persistence and sacrifice from people involved in this mission.

The political psychology

Saturday being an off from office normally starts late for me. But today I had to get up at 4 am to catch a train for Aligarh for an official visit. The pleasant Lucknow Shatabdi (the best among all Shatabdis) provided me with a copy of Indian Express. With sinking eyes wishing to close and relax I took the copy from the attendant more as a courtsey than an interest to read. As I moved to slide the newspaper in the back side pocket of the front seat, my eyes caught a news line - "TATA's open letter to Bengal". Since, the recent news were full of Nano, TATA, Buddhadeb, Singur, Mamta, etc. etc. I thought of investing few minutes to read this news before slipping to the sleep.

Mr. Ratan Tata's message through the letter to the youth of Bengal was both hard and soft but in no way looked politically motivated as claimed by the Mamta camp, though Mr. Rata mentioned in his letter that Mr. Buddhadeb has made real efforts in bringing the investors back to the oldest industrial state of the country. Tomorrow if somebody from Mamta camp reads this blog of mine, he will certainly label me as a Buddhadeb supporter. That's the political psychology!

Calcutta is the oldest - probably the first - metro of the country and a city wherefrom the industrialization of the country started. Calcutta, and for that matter West Bengal, is also probably the only place in the country which sank to its darkest depths of industrial failure because of political motives. Why and how it all happened? One compelling reason is the omnipresent "politics of Vote Bank". Having industries made the State employ lacs of workers in various industries. This working class was in huge numbers and was the major target group of all political parties. Every party tried to woo this section of the society in the State in trying to gain their vote bank. The national parties were moderate in their approach whereas parties which sprang from within the state were very rigid and aggressive in their agenda. Parties like Congress and BJP were found to be in a conciliatory mode, trying to get benefits for the working class even as supporting the pro-business policies. This was purely to balance their political interests in other parts of the country where working class was minimal and industrial development was required with the support of business houses. However, parties like Trinamool Congress and even CPM with the regional interests started focusing entirely on working class with a motive of pushing the business houses to the wall to squeez out everything for working class. These parties have been looked upon as saviors of working class. With an overwhelming support from the working class these parties were almost always able to hammer the industries on various issues. So when a paisa is increased on any amenity to improve the facilities or simply to meet the increased cost, a strike is always on the card. But as somebody said that "business of business is business", industries started shifting their bases from WB or closing down their units as they found themselves more in strikes than in business. In the process lacs of workers either lost their jobs or settled for a petty, less paying, small time work. No denying then that the Saviors played the role of Destructors!

Mr. Ratan in his open letter to Bengal asked a very simple yet thoughtful question - “Would they like to support the present Government of Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to build a prosperous state or would they like to see the state consumed by the destructive political environment of confrontation, agitation, violence and lawlessness? Do they want education and jobs in the industrial and high-tech sectors or does the future generation see its future prosperity achieved on a ‘stay as we are’ basis?”

But Trinamool Congress wasted no time to dismiss the letter as politically motivated and written in consultation with CPM. How on earth people can cheat themselves!!!

Even if the letter is politically motivated I dont see a problem because for the prosperity of the state and looking into the future the CPM is changing its ideology slowly and gradually to bring back industries. The Nano factory was a silver lining and could have served as the best example of industrial return to the state. But alas, the vested interest killed a once in a hundred year opportunity to give back to the people of the state what they were first to develop and own - the industrialization.

I dont squarely blame the Trinamool Congress either. Politics is like business - Give people what they need the most and you will sell a lot. That's how the political agendas are made. In WB its the interest of working class, in J&K its the interest of Kashmiri people, in UP its the interest of Ram Janm Bhoomi / Babri Masjid, in Rajsthan its the reservation for a section of society, in Maharastra it is the Marathi interest, and the list goes on. The problem is not with the interests. The problem is when all energies are diverted in achieving these interests at the cost of real and important issues of education, poverty, development, human rights, healthcare, etc. I do appreciate that there are strong emotions attached with all the specific interests listed above but we must also understand that satiating emotional thirst is not going to fill our bellies.

If people of the country come out of their emotional state and look at issues more objectively then even the political parties will have to change their agendas from petty politics to real development issues. The psychology of politics starts from people and ends with people. Unless people change their mindset we cannot expect our political leaders change their as they also form part of the very society we all live in.

So to change the political psychology let's change our psychology first... May God give us strength.

Visit to ISB Interview Venue

Today started the ISB interview rounds at Delhi Venue. Since my office is adjacent to the commercial building where ISB has planned to have interviews, I wasted no time to pay visit to the venue and get some information from the students getting interviewed today. When I reached the venue I made myself comfortably sit in the reception. There are different panels to manage the interivew of good number of candidates in shortest possible time. One such panel was interviewing candidates in a room on the right hand side of the reception. I was able to see through the room since there was a glass wall with only thin opaque strips. The first candidate was looking very confident, so much so that he kept his stylish sunglasses on the table and in front of the panel and leaned back on the chair. God knows what was discussed with him? When he came out of the room I made my way behind him and introduced myself to him when he was waiting for the lift. Curiosity was on my face, and little nervousness on his. This nervousness may be due the panel's asking him to share a joke that he remembers. He obviously was under tremendous pressure, which he was trying to hide with his confidence during the interview, and requested the panel to let it go... I am now mugging some jokes;)

Similarly there were two more candidates whom i could spk to. The gist of the interview round is here:

1) There is an essay writing. But all the three candidates were not able to explain what exactly was the essay all about... They were all nervous.
2) All the questions were concentrated around the application. So be prepared to be asked anything on your application.
3) The interview was very cool. The panel was very friendly. People came out nervous simply because the interview was of ISB.
4) The panel finally asks if the candidate has some question to ask? Be ready with a good question as this may also impress the panel. Dont ask a question like "How ISB can help me attain my career goal?" becuase that would mean that you have not done your research on the institute properly.
Will share with you my own experience once I am done on 16th Oct.
All the best to all prospective ISBians.

ISB Interview Call

Dear Masroor,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been short listed for an interview by the ISB Admissions Committee.
The schedule is outlined below:
Date: 16-Oct-2008
Time: 15:20 Hours
Duration: 30 minutes approximately
Panel No: 1
City: New Delhi
Venue: Regus Level 4, Rectangle 1,Commercial complex D4, Saket, Newdelhi, Tel: 11 4051 4051
As part of the application process announced earlier, please forward soft copies (in pdf format) of your mark sheets/transcripts from your class X onwards to (There was a link which i have deleted for reasons of security)
latest by Monday, October 7, 2008.
You need to report 15 minutes before the scheduled interview time for another assessment, which precedes the interview.To confirm your attendance for the interview, please click here.
Note: If your mail client does not support hyper link execution, please copy and execute below url from browser. (There was a link which i have deleted for reasons of security)
We look forward to meeting you at the interview.
Office of Admissions & Financial Aid
Indian School of Business
Gachibowli
Hyderabad 500 032
Ph: +91 40 2318 7474
Fax: +91 40 2300 7099
www.isb.edu/pgp
This is for the first time that I am not having butterflies in my stomach given the importance of this interview. And I dont know why? But as the days pass I am sure the pressure of performance will mount on me... God save me from those last minute pangs and keep me cool, please. Amen. Summa Amen.
Yesterday I attended one of the mock interviews at Princeton. In their view my profile is very strong. . . I just need to manage some of my body language which at one point signalled my uncomfort with one of the questions. Coming from HR background I know that "how you speak" is equally important, or sometimes more important, than "what you speak". As one of the current students wrote to me, ISB has already made up their mind about me and they would just be validating that perception during the interview. It is my responsibility to reinforce that perception. And if the perception is otherwise then interview is an opportunity to change that perception. In a way a hard selling is required (We are first a salesman then any other professional as we always try to sell ourselves to our customers - doctors to patients, newspapers to readers, , candidates to interviewees, and the infinite list goes on)
Well, time to prepare and say GOOD BYE... Will inform about the interveiw once done. Till then keep visiting this page ;)

I just finished reading "Ten Commandents of Business Failure" by Donald R. Keough, the former President of Coca-cola. What an exciting account of his advices to leaders! Donald did a great job of putting complex messages in simple language - and that makes me trust him a lot because one of his commandments of business failure is "Sending Mixed Messages". You guys must read this book to know, at least, how much leaders must bend to touch the ground from their ever rising positions! I am due to attend one one-day workshop at HO at Mumbai tomorrow morning and had to reach here tonight. Since I had purchased 4 books at a go recently I thought of finishing the TCBF at Delhi before departing so that I can start my new book - Cold Steel. I was so eager to read Cold Steel that at one point I stopped reading TCBF and engrossed myself in this book. However, ratinality took over soon. I started reading TCBF to finish it as I did not want to carry two books with me to Mumbai. Well, I did finish it on time and rushed for the airport to catch the flight. Flight was generous enough to get delayed by one hour and I utlised this time to start my journey with Cold Steel.

But before I move on to say things about Cold Steel, as the rationality has just taken over, I would first give you an account of TCBF.

TCBF is a fabulous series of lessons on leadership, specifically. Its about how positively we keep pursuing negative paths without even knowing the consequences. If you are working in an organization you will get a feeling of dejavu in every chapter - every commandment - and will keep relating those commandments with so many actions you organization is taking or has taken. And believe you me, all these commandments are so simple to understand that you dont really need an ex-president of Coca-cola to tell you about them! But then who would read and respect these commandments if they come from me? Moreover, who would be able to give such a huge list of exmples for every commandment? It would actually require a person with extensive experience at different levels of the organization; and Don has that. Well, without wasting much time I will write down whatever I remember from this small yet impactful book. Since I dont carry book with me, I am giving you the commandment snapshots based on my memory and hence, the commandment serial mismatch from the way it is in the book is bound to occur.

C1 - Quit taking risk: Don says if you wish to fail in business, stop taking risk. He goes on to say that the ability to take risk among people goes down as they become successful. Leaders start enjoying the past successes and think taking any risk may erode their past success - fear. Nonetheless they lose in the process. Why? Because a huge bunch of other competitors who are willing to take risk (because they are new and have nothing to lose) start leading the way ultimately marooning these old successful chaps. (This reminds me of a saying "Success is a journey, not a destination" so you must keep on running and not stop to enjoy the destination reached so far). Don narrates the story of his own father who migrated to a new land and assumed a huge risk by not staying with a low paying job at a time when the job market was going through the gloomiest phase and there was no guarantee that the new place would provide any living to him. But his father took the risk and went on to become the most respected cattle merchandiser in the new land. Through out the book Donald has given number of examples from his father's style of working who was, in a way, his first management guru.

C2-Trusting outside experts/consultants: This one I liked the most. I actually have a strong disliking for the outside consultants who would come to you, ask few questions, know about your business from your colleagues, keep sending those mails across the company, have meetings in your conference halls at your cost, present something to you in a beautiful slide show to be presented by a high accent gentleman/woman, and tell you here are the loopholes and the wayouts! They will then take away a good moolah from you because they told you something which they heard from you all in different cabins and put that sutff together and made this cake by adding their jargons to everything possible they heard... Isnt that so stupid???

I am happy that Donald said this so that I have an authority to support my views. Don narrates the example of his own company as how they were fooled by an agency which kept on insisting, of course based on their own so called fool proof statistics, that the company must change the taste of the drink as people were eager to see a change. It did (though Donald himself was not convinced but had to bow down against those statistics) and heavily came down the customers on the new taste. People started writing criticism letters to Donald and other top leadership. But their agency kept on insisting that it is only momentary and the results will be great. However, sensing the mood of the public, the company came back with old drink and people again wrote letters to the leadersihp - this time praising them. This is how outside experts can fool you at your own price. So to fail you must take their advice.

Friends, since, it is too late and I want to attend the workshop 2moro with open eyes, I will come back to you soon with other commandments. Till then keep reading whatever is here...

Bye...