Sky Walking

18.04.2010

Visited the AMPA SKYWALK Mall with my family. The Mall is truly a sky walk experience with a bridge hanging from the ceiling leading to PVR Cinemas and escalators criss-crossing everywhere. But, I dio wish the Air-conditioning would work.

The food court is spacious but due to lack of cooling it was stuffy. The food is reasonably pricedand tasty. There is a lot of variety in the cuisine right from Kerala Thattukada to Italian Pasta! They have a system of Food Card. You have to deposit multiples of Rs. 100 and top up a card that can be swiped at any of the counters. This, obviously saves time on cgiving change and the stall owners spend more time dealing wioth customers.

Outside, in the shopping area, the prices are too high. Easily one and half times Spencers or Fountain Plaza. The Star Bazaar in the basement is alright. But, it is not as good as the ambience and convenience of Big Bazaar or even Spencers.

Parking goes up to Nine levels. It is very convenient and user friendly.

On the whole, it was a pleasant evening.

Process Driven Approaches

17. 04. 2010

I conducted a programme on Supervisory Skills Development for the Management Study Centre. I stressed the need for Process Driven approaches in management as against Task Driven Approaches.

Process Driven Approaches are one-off or quick-fix. They rely purely on people and their abilities vis-à-vis the job or task. Process Driven approaches rely on planning and selection. They assume that people will be rotated from job to job and therefore ensure every member of the process Team can take up[ all roles at acceptable levels of performance.

Process Based Approaches facilitate learning, documentation and continuous improvement by feedback and corrective/preventive action.

The day was spent in activities and discussions that helped the participants to pick up the three crucial managerial skills like Listening, Delegation and Motivation.

Future-Proofing your Business--The Ram Charan Way

FIVE POINTS TO MAKE BUSINESS FUTUREPROOF

v Understand Customer Needs

v Have Determination to Serve those needs

v Find the people to create the right Social Engine to carry forward that determination

v Innovate

v Manage the external environment and create more leaders.

Rama Charan, Management Guru

(Source: Indian Management)

Saurus Cranes--Water Color on Thick Sheet

Donkey--Water Color on Thick Sheet

Reclining Leopard -- Water Color on Thick Sheet

Inspirational Leadership Through Video Clippings

On 23rd April I am presenting a lecture on Inspirational Leadership. I am planning to use Video Clippings from popular movies like Night at the Museum.

The Key Take-Aways from the Session could be

• Understanding the key principles of Inspirational Leadership
• Appreciating the Purpose Empowerment Praise (PEP) model bette

Globalization and Continuous Improvement

12.04.2010

One of our clients Avalon Technologies Limited celebrated its Tenth Anniversary. The function at the Park Sheraton had a host of dignitaries: the Consul Generals of USA and Japan as well as the current and formerDevelopment Commissioners of the MEPZ. The companies buyers from abroad were also represented on the dais.

The US Consulate General His Excellency Andrew T Simkin said in his speech that a forward looking company will look to Indian Markets and not only depend on exports to developed countries. He also defined Globalization as creating partnerships across the globe and working together for the benefit of the citizens of those countries.

Mr.Zen Barelka, Director Systech Corporation shared this anecdote about Edward Deming, the father of Modern Quality Management:

Edward Deming’s first job was at AT & T. The first manager who hired him said, “I am not hiring you because of what you are or what you are capable of doing. I am hiring you because I have the greatest confidence that you will improve yourself in the next year, and the year after that and in the years to come.”

Ethics Vs. Morals

This is a true story about an incident that happened in Bangalore. A man and a woman were employed in company, which had an office near Lal Bagh. They were very keen on enjoying each other’s company. One day they decided to bunk work in the afternoon and go to Lal Bagh. On the way the lady had an idea. Why not buy sweets to eat while in Lal Bagh. So they go to a busy sweet shop and buy a box of sweets. The shop owner packs it in a box and they carry it with them to the park. After spending a pleasant hour or two whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears, they decide to consume the sweets. On opening the package they discover it to be full of cash! They find a bundle of notes amounting to almost twenty-thousand rupees. The shop keeper had mistakenly wrapped his cash box instead of the sweet box!

The lady advocates the “Finders Keepers—Losers weepers” policy. But, better counsels prevail and at the insistence of the man, they go to the sweet shop and hand over the cash box. The owner is overjoyed and is all praise for their honesty. He rewards them for their effort and also says that he will call the press to report this extraordinary example of ethical behavior in this Kali Yug when dishonesty prevails! The couple refuse stoutly to be introduced by the press or to have their photo published. When the shopkeeper insists, the man whispers in his ear, “please don’t insist. Think of what will happen to us if my wife and her husband find out about this!”

Were these two people ethical or unethical?

They were ethical in public, but immoral in private.

Techniques for Breaking a Cartel

10.04.2010

I am in Bangalore for conducting a Public Programme on “Excellence in Negotiation Skills” for Management Study Centre.

The participants were a mix of senior and entry level managers. I concentrated on giving inputs on Body Language and control of emotions during Negotiation. One of the points that the group accepted as valid was that Negotiation requires an amount of histrionics or acting. We also understood that total honesty in Negotiation may sometimes be seen as being naïve. But once a bond of trust is built into the framework of the negotiation process, then we can be more frank with a view to arriving at a Win/Win formula.

The participants were all from Procurement or Purchase and as such our deliberations were on negotiations with Vendors. One of the issues was as to how to break a Vendor Cartel.

A cartel can be understood in this context as a group of producers, sellers, distributors, traders or service providers who, by agreement amongst themselves, limit, control or attempt to control the sale or price of goods or services.

The members of the cartel submit tenders for the same or similar prices and terms after an informal agreement amongst themselves. This price would, obviously, be way above the fair price. While cartelization is difficult in most goods due to ease of import substitution, in certain precision industrial goods, it is still possible to arm-twist a buyer.

A simple approach to break this method is to drive a small wedge into the solid block.I suggested that we should select a weaker member of the cartel and give him favorable treatment thus sowing seeds of doubt and suspicion into the minds of the group. After they are already greedy and avaricious people concerned more about personal gain than group loyalty.

Mr. Mallikarjun Reddy from BEML suggested a variation on this approach. His idea was to identify that supplier who has most to lose from not securing your business and place an order for the complete requirement on him at the tendered price; but insist that we will avail a ‘cash’ discount at the time of payment so that the price is now the fair price. Once the other members realize that they’ve been tricked, the whole cartel will crack and break down!

This lead the group to a contemplation of right and wrong, with the conclusion that all is fair in Love and Negotiation!

CSR--Need for an Exit Route

In the evening I attended the program on Corporate Social Responsibility conducted by the Hindustan Chamber of Commerce. I am on the CSR Committee and therefore attendance was a must. The speaker was Mr. Thomas T Abraham, Special Director—Corporate Communications with Ashok Leyland. He had a set of PowerPoint slides that analysed the key issues to be considered by Corporate Houses intended to make forays into CSR. He deplored the tendency of Company Management to treat CSR as a Photo Opportunity.

He suggested that CSR should be committed and sustained to do any good. He also, rightly pointed out the need for negotiating a clearly defined exit route before entering into community based CSR. He gave an example from his own experience whjile with MICO in Bangalore. MICO had taken over a project from “another company”. The earlier funder had conceived a project for rehabilitating cured lepers involved building houses for them. Their main sustenance came from their cattle so the beautifully designed houses provided for cattle shed in the rear. But after construction the community refused to move in. This was because the houses were on a slightly steep incline and the donees found it tough to take the cattle al the way up!

After MICO took over, they convinced the community to move helped them to rehabilitate and finally walked out after making the community a self sustaining one.

An interesting and informative talk.

Targeting, Budgeting and Goals

09.04.2010

It was a busy action packed day. In the morning between 9:30 Hrs to 13:00 Hrs I was at the Sea Farers Club addressing the HODs and top management of the PSTS Group on “Targeting and Budgeting.” I introduced them to the concept of a Profit Machine and how setting of Targets and adhering to Budgets is essential for ensuring that the Profit Machine works efficiently.

In the afternoon, I was at the Institue of Company Secretaries of India conducting a work shop for budding Company Secretaries on “Personality Development.” Instead of giving them direct inputs, we had activities and games. I took them through a few questions that promoted interaction and also enabled them to arrive at their own conclusions. The questions were:

Ø Do you have Goals?

Ø Are you Goal-focused?

Ø How do you relate with others?

Ø How do others relate with you?

Ø Are you a great Team Player?

Ø Are you ready for Leadership?

An Ounce of Practice

Almost everyone in this world wants to enjoy the fruits of success; especially the wealth, power and influence that success brings with it. But not everybody has the knowledge of or the courage to put into motion the series of activities that will take them there.

In figurative sense, everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die!

Invariably during training sessions, I come across people who dismiss the Seven Habits with a wave of their hand and a statement that they “know” them. Well, Knowing is good. It is the first step. Doing is better. Finally internalizing the knowledge and implementing the knowledge in our life is the true path to success.

In fact, I have met many “Seven Habits” certified trainers who have confessed that they find it difficult to practice the Habits that they Preach! I am not talking about those of us who are sincerely attempting to practice the Habits and have learnt many useful lessons on the journey of applying the learning from the Seven Habits in our lives.

I have found the following Five p[oints quite relevant in my path towards self-improvement:

· Share the Same Picture

· Choose the Right Response

· Have a Bias for Action

· Make Every Minute Count

· Leadership is a Role not a Designation

This is not an exotic concoction that seeks to satisfy the jaded tastes of a sybarite but a distillation of my own experiences in implementing the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in my life. These are but simple truths stated simply for those who value plain words and action. They are for those who accept that an ounce of practice is better than oceans of theory.

TULIP or not TULIP

Unit Linked Insurance Plans combine life cover with systematic investment into a balanced portfolio. As such they are good for younger investors who wish to accumulate a nest egg for the long run, without the bother of constant portfolio monitoring.

Recently ULIPs have produced a mixed bag of results. Due to recession, many of the Equity-focused ULIPs have performed very baqdly. What surprises me is when these Insurance Companies come back to the Client and ask him to “close” the existing ULIP as it is “not performing well.” Well, whose fault is that. More importantly, why should I entrust my hard earned money to the same jokers who mismanaged it once? Kotak Life Insurance is yet to give me a reply on this question.

Is Hinduism a World Religion?

This news item which was tucked away somewhere in the back page of Business Line dated 21^st March 2010 intrigues me. The researcher Joseph Henrich, an anthropologist at the university of British Colombia, Canada, from a study conducted in fifteen “small-scale societies” concludes that large industrialized societies where goods are exchanged for money and where there is “increased participation” in “world religions”, tend to be “nice to strangers.”

I don’t have any comments on the conclusion. Research on the net produced only re-writes of the BL news item. I look forward to reading more about the methodology and sample demography of this “study” before I can comment on the accuracy of its findings.

But after reading this news item, I started pondering on the word “world reliogion.” There is no information in the reports on this study as to what are the currently accepted and officially recognized “world religions.”

What is a religion?

Religion is a conceptual framework as to the supreme creator, sustainer, destroyer of the experienced universe a.k. a. God (with a capital G) and rules as to right behavior in public as well as private life.

A collection of these conceptual frameworks held together by certain tenuous links is prevalent in the Indian sub-continent and parts of Asia. This is currently called Hinduism. Though it is better understood as Dharma or the Code. Since this Code has subsisted since time immemorial, it is suggested that it may be termed “Sanatan Dharma.”

Is this bundle of belief systems and world views a “world religion” as understood by Robert Henrich. Or are we a small scale society?

It must be noted that this small scale society had trade links with Egypt even before Ancient Rome the progenitor of most western societies was even born. This society had evolved the following behavioral rules a s to strangers:

· Athtithi Deco Bhave – The stanger or guest is God!

· Vasudaiva Kudumpakam –The universe is but a single family.

Down south, the ancient Tamils of the Sangam age had clear concepts on how strangers were to be treated. These concepts that emphasize “being nice to strangers’ were being “practiced” in the sub continent around the time when in Ancient Briton being “nice to a stranger” meant killing him without torturing him!

Is Hinduism a World Religion?

If, World Religion, is understood as a conceptual construct that has the following characteristics,

1. A single infallible founder,
2. A broadly consistent dogma that is strictly enforced by social sanction or, in extreme cases, by municipal law,
3. Acceptance that it is the only correct version,

Then Hinduism does not qualify.

The Saptapadi

I was invited to her marriage by Pradheebha, a quixotic Company Secretary who is highly knowledgeable and sharp. She is plighting her troth with Venkat, a Lawyer. She had sent a unique invitation which gave a detailed explanation of the Sapthapadi or the Seven Steps that the bride takes with the groom. She had given a translation of the Mantras recited by the Groom while completing the seven steps. I am reproducing it below in the interest of sharing it.

I have also understood that when you take seven steps with some one you become a friend. A good marriage is not built by ritual. It is built by bonds of friendship and mutual understanding. If the ritual reinforces it then it is good. In this sense, and attempt to make the ritual meaningful is a laudable effort. I congratulate Pradheeba and sincerely pray to the Almighty for her marital happiness by quoting the Kural on Marriage:

If the married life possesses love and virtue, these will be respectively its charm and purpose. (Kural 5:5)

The domestic excellence of a wife is the is the true goodness of a marriage; and good children are the jewels of that goodness. (Kural 6:10)

About Conduits and Pipes

05.04.2010

I visited a pipe manufacturing factory today. Pipes are also called Conduits. Industrial pipes used in building sheds and other structures are called HR or CR Pipes. The pipes used in plunbing are G I Pipes. Seamless pipes are manufactured using extrusion technology from rods.

Steel Rolls are purchased from a steel plant and cut into rolls of thinner strips called Skelps. The skelps are then fed into a machine that curves and shaped. The curved pipes are directly fed into an Electric Resistant Welding Machine that automatically seals the seam inside. The Pipes are then cut into the required length and the external side is finished. Square pipes are formed by pressing the rounded and seamed pipes.

Not just a piece of Real Estate

I had the opportunity recentlyto visit the Research Park coming up under the aegis of IIT Madras. Situated on 11.42 acres of land adjacent to IIT Madras and accessible from the OMR, the Research Park which is conceived as an edifice with three towers (currently only one has come up) is an attempt to bring Business and Academia together. The nearness to IIT campus means the various design related questions can be put to the intellectual brains in IIT with ease. Many companies including Renault Nissan have set up their R&D wing here.

I met Dr. Sandhya Shekhar the CEO. When I asked her how IITM Research Park would differ from Tidel Park, she responded that “while Tidel Park is a piece of real estate, IITM Research Park is much more. It would be a place where the true intellectual capital of this country will be built.”

Another quote of hers that I liked is this:

“The need to ideate and innovate is an imperative today.”

Seven Stress-Busters

At my Rotary meeting today, a Chartered Accountant and Financial Advisor Mr. Srinivasa Raghavan spoke om Stress:

he has a concept called Simple Seven Steps for Stress Relief:

They are

• Laughter
• Clapping
• Jin Shin Jyutsu
• mudras
• Acupressure
• Praising others

I've forgotten the last one. May be I've got some wrong. He demonstrated the Mudras:

The Apana Mudra is held by bringing the Thumb and the Ring and Middle Finger together. The Prana Mudra by holding the Little Finger, Ring Finger and Middle Finger together. The Gyan Mudra by hoholding the Pointer and thumb together.

Though his claims for the efficacy of the measures is flimsy to say the least, he is, no doubt a powerful speaker with a lot of energy.

I visited his website www.happymentor.com which is well designed and user friendly.

Greedy Monkeys

Here is a passage from Superfreakonomics describing an Economics experiment conducted with Capuchin Monkeys who were introduced to the concept of money (i.e. something which has no intrinsic consumption value but can be exchanged for goods or services received from others) and their response to a gambling game:

This is a Capuchin Monkey! (Which one?) Guess!

The researcher ( Keith Chen) set up two gambling games. In the first, a capuchin was shown one grape and, dependent on a coin flip, either got only that grape or won a bonus grape as well. In the second game, the capuchin started out seeing two grapes, but if the coin flip went against him, the researchers took away one grape and the monkey got only one.

In both cases, the monkey got the same number of grapes on average. But the first gamble was framed as a potential gain while the second was framed as a potential loss.

How did the capuchins react?

Given that the monkeys aren’t very smart in the first place, you might assume that any gambling strategy was well beyond their capabilities. In that case, you’d expect them to prefer it when a researcher initially offered them two grapes instead of one. But precisely the opposite happened! Once the monkeys figured out that the two-grape researcher sometimes withheld the second grape and that the one-grape researcher sometimes added a bonus grape, the monkeys strongly preferred the one-grape researcher. A rational monkey wouldn’t have cared, but these irrational monkeys suffered from what psychologists call “loss aversion.” They behaved as if the pain from losing aa grape was greater than the pleasure from gaining one.

Up to now (i.e. before conducting this experiment), the monkeys (had) appeared to be as rational as humans in their use of money. But surely this last experiment showed the vast gulf that lay between monkey and man.

Or did it?

The fact is that similar experiments with human beings—day traders for instance—had found the same kind of irrational decisions at a nearly identical rate. The data generated by the capuchin monkeys, Chen says, ‘make them statistically indistinguishable from most stock-market investors.”

So the parallel between human beings and these tiny-brained, food-and-sex monkeys remained intact.

Greed

I really enjoyed this story about Greed I read in a news letter The Monthly Mint published by Mr. Palaniappan (Pal) a financial advisor and Portfolio management consultant who runs a broking firm called Chona Fainancial Services. I know him through Rotary:

A grandfather talking to his young grandson, tells the boy he has two wolves inside of him struggling with each other. The first is the wolf of peace, love and kindness. The other is fear, greed and hatred.

“Which wolf will win, grandfather?” asks the boy.

“Whichever one I feed.” Is the reply.

No need for Greed (Monthly Mint: March 2010)

Super Freakonomics

Just finished reading Super Freakanomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner. They have dished out their extremely readable yet highly erudite take not only on general economic issues but many aspects of “behavioral economics” as well.

Their views on Lab Experiments in Behavioral economics like “Ultimatum” and “Dictator” clearly show that such “controlled experiments rarely reveal the real picture. They rather advocate independent field observation and drawing inferences therefrom. While physical sciences have to rely and be based on “experiments” conducted in laboratories, to apply the same technique to social sciences would result in empty “findings” that merely confirm well known principles or create a new block of “Knowledge” that is not based on sound foundation. When such ‘experiments” are conducted and published by “experts” who have a reputation and a monetary need to maintain it, true search for knowledge, necessarily, has to take a back seat.

The chapter on Global Warming and simple approaches to control it are truly worth reading by every inhabitant of the planet before we start expending public money on Climatic issues.

A Famous Battle

A Famous Battle

A famous battle was fought here,

Two kings whose name is legend

Fought a battle exactly at this place;

Millions of soldiers died right here on this spot,

Horses, Elephants, Camels…they died too.

It was just before the harvest season,

The weight of the paddy bent the stalks double

And when the soldiers marched on it

The paddy was crushed into the ground.

Luckily, nobody went hungry

Because they had already been killed

by both the armies.

This lake was red from the blood that flowed that day

When

A famous battle was fought here,

Those villages there, all of them were burnt down.

Why? Peace-keeping they were told.

Historians say this battle was decisive.

Both the Kings claimed that they had won.