SERVE MOTHER INDIA – A LESSON FOR NRIs

KARMA YOGI SHRI KVK RAJU – PART 4

After completing his Engineering in the Madras Institute of Technology, Shri KVK felt that unless a person acquired knowledge of the latest technology and practical experience in an area of specialisation he would not be able to deliver the goods in the best manner. He wanted to study in the United States which had great reputation for modern scientific knowledge and latest technology. He pursued higher studies in the Michigan State University and Minnesota University in the United States of America in the subjects of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering. Shri KVK took up a part time job in Olds Mobile factory in Lansing, Capital city of Michigan to finance his living expenses while studying.

Even at that time Shri KVK entertained ideas and plans of starting an industry to generate wealth and employment and be of some service to his countrymen. Shri KVK’s work experience both within the university and in industry while in America gave him valuable insight into industrial production practices and their work culture.

In spite of his agricultural background Shri KVK was determined to acquire technical expertise and experience so that he could serve his country by starting an industry. His slender means did not prevent him from entertaining the ambition of becoming an industrial entrepreneur. However he did not like to ape the western ways and fashions but to attempt something that would suit the Indian ethos and the essential requirements of his country. Given an opportunity he wanted to start an industry which would cater to the needs of the farmers, and modernize agriculture in his homeland.

What all INDIAN should note is that Shri KVK cherished a desire to return to his own country after finishing his studies abroad and serve the people by acquiring modern knowledge in the USA. In this respect he was unlike most of the US educated young men and young women of India who hanker after lucrative jobs in foreign countries and refuse to return to their motherland on some pretext or another. Even as a student in America Shri KVK used to advise his Indian friends to service their motherland after finishing their studies.

While most of his friends remained in US and Canada as NRIs or long time residents, Shri KVK chose to come back to India, prepared to face the umpteen problem and uncertainties of our country only to build South India’s largest conglomerate into Agri, Oil and Energy sector.

His is the only conglomerate in the private sector that is into all the sectors essential for sustained growth, self sufficiency and development of our country.

One should feel proud that not only Shri KVK Raju but also his generations have inherited the value to return to the motherland to serve the nation after their higher education abroad.

“Serving Society Through Industry” and “Serve Motherland” are the Mission fulfilled by Shri KVK which is a great value to be imbibed by all NRIs.

Source Prof IV Chalapathi Rao

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FRIENDS IN NEED

My whole office was bustling with activities. The Group Chairman is visiting our new Project Site. Everyone is full of activity preparing for the Chairman’s visit. Every second was precious and everyone wanted that to be put to the best use. None has a second to do anything other than preparing for Chairman’s visit.

It was late in the evening, many of my colleagues were still busy with their scheduled tasks, I had to leave the office to meet a few officials. I along with two of my colleagues Mr.Muruganantham and Mr.Vishwanath were about to board the car waiting for us.

The road was dark with no street lights. Ours being an approach road to beach is always a busy road with a lot of vehicular movement. Though the road is reasonably broad, one third of that is occupied by the open drainage on either side.

With limited options, the driver had parked the car in the left end of the road with just enough space for a kid from Somalia to enter the car.

The late evening was so dark that the meter deep open drainage would have clearly visible to an owl but definitely not to me. Without knowing the danger, I tried to step into the car only to plummet into the open drainage. Before I hit the bottom of the drainage I could hear the panic voice of my colleagues yelling for help.

I tried to get up in the drainage but the sludge did not allow me to get up. Immediately Mr.Muruganantham bent down to lend a helping hand and lifted me out of the malodorous drainage full of slush and mire. Within a minute I was out of the drainage carrying all sorts of filth with me and every part of my body insulated by the sludge.

When I was out of the drainage I could see the whole office in front of me. Mr.Vishwanath and Mr.Muruganantham took me to the office handholding me never minding the finished products and by products I was carrying from the drainage. The whole office came rushing to help me out. After enquiring of any external or internal injuries, one of my colleagues helped me remove my shoes and socks, another colleague gently removed all the contents in my portfolio bag filled with drainage water and other wastes generated by flora and fauna. Yet another colleague took care of my belongings- my purse, my cellphones, my wrist watch etc. In the meantime, the drive came running to me and apologised profusely for a mistake not of his.

I was gently taken to the wash room by two other colleagues. My bath for the next half an hour with Soap, dettol, shampoo could only remove partially the sludge in my body but by then the whole bathroom turned black and my dress unusable. My colleague Mr.Pratap rushed home and brought a T Shirt and a Lungi to wear. For the next one hour Mr.Jeyakanthan, Mr.Rajaram and other colleagues did everything to ensure that all important belongings in the bag and my personal belongings are properly cleaned notwithstanding the bad odour. My colleagues Mr.Vishwanath and Mr.Muruganantham took me to a hospital and gave me first aid and dropped me in my house to a great relief of my wife and children.

Friends in need are friends indeed. I joined this office just a fortnight back. The whole office spent more than two hours on me with less than 12 hours left for Chairman’s visit speaking volumes about our work culture. I thank my colleagues for the help and my stars for making me a member of this well knit family.

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AIM HIGH, THINK BIG & DO GOOD

Karma Yogi Shri KVK Raju – Part 3

Even from childhood days Shri KVK manifested spiritual learning. Perhaps it was part of heredity. He had an ardent desire to pursue spiritual values and apply them to industry.

He came in contact with Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University of Mount Abu. He was so impressed with their meditation – Raja Yoga – and other practices that he established a Centre on the Nagarjuna Hills which has become a centre of meditation.

It was Shri KVK’s dream that India should someday offer to the rest of the world management development programmes based on spirituality.

As Shri KVK firmly believed in our cultural heritage, he performed “Surya Namaskars”, one of the best of the yogic exercises of Indian origin. He also practised meditation. He chose to be a vegetarian, teetotaller and a non-smoker, and successfully persuaded many of his friends and workers to give up smoking and drinking. Shri KVK used to work till clock struck the midnight hour and start his day at 3 AM with meditation.

Whenever his colleagues went to see his, irrespective of the level, he used to get up from his seat, give them a warm hand-shake with both hands and go up to the door to see them off when they rose to leave. One could not but notice this virtue in posterity.

Once I had an opportunity to meet Group Chairman, Shri KS Raju in his office. Shri KS Raju was suffering from severe back pain and had just come to office after resting for a few days. When I entered his office, he stood up to greet me resisting the pain and agony with a smiling face. He shook hands with me and slowly sat down. Though I could notice the pain, he had a smiling face and a pleasant dialogue with me. Once our discussions were over, he once again stood up with a lot of pain to see me off. So strong was the value he imbibed from Shri KVK.

That is not all. I was a member of the Career development committee which was chaired by Shri Rahul Raju, Joint Managing Director. During one of the meetings, I was having a severe cold and cough. The conference hall was cold that aggravated my cough. Seeing me uneasy, Shri Rahul requested for switching off the A/c. After sometime it became stuffy nevertheless Shri Rahul continued the meeting for the next three hours without A/c. He suffered for three hours just to make his associate comfortable.

Whatever a great man does, it is followed by others. People go by the example set by him.

Above all KVK implicitly believed in the ideal of universal peace and religious harmony. He belonged to the true religion of humanism which cuts across all religious and sectarian differences. He felt that in the political and social context it is more important to celebrate “Knit India”.

Shri KVK’s life conveys a message to all, especially to the youth “have faith in your future and confidence in your activities. Aim High, think big- do good.

Source - Prof IV Chalapati Rao

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LOVE BEGETS LOVE

KARMA YOGI SHRI KVK RAJU – PART 2

Many of us would be fascinated to know how Shri KVK Raju a first generation entrepreneur managed to win the hearts of his employees to become a Demi god to them.

His mantra was simple :-
• Love begets love
• Trust attracts trust

He never exuded his power but made his demands sound more like gentle requests making his requirements abundantly clear.

Whatever he said and to whomsoever he said, he always said it with a bouquet of flowers. He knew that personal relations are as important as official relations. He was looked upon as a father figure by constantly looking after the employees’ welfare.

I am not aggrandizing by saying that Shri KVK’s personal services included admission of the workers’ children in schools, marriage of their sons and daughters and hospital care whenever they need it.

Shri KVK’s leadership style was democratic and participative. He functioned as a team member rather than an autocratic boss. He firmly believed that work is a way of life rather than a mere means of livelihood. The employees were encouraged to become share holders at a concession of easy instalments for deeper involvement of the employees.

Human relations were Shri KVK’s sphere. He possessed the common sense to understand the people sense. With accessibility and allure of good demeanour, Shri KVK was a stickler for order and discipline. When the neighbours were plagued with the usual menace of absenteeism, worker unrest, low productivity, strikes etc, he was able to maintain a high standard of discipline, which was not super-imposed from outside but voluntarily observed from within. He was aware that there was a greater compulsion in the leader’s personal example than in ruthless enforcement of a heavy handed discipline system. He demonstrated that it was possible to be loving and democratic and yet maintain authority and control.

Another diamond in his crown was his belief in the trusteeship concept of management, wealth should be held in trust, possession of wealth and ownership of property should be used for the good of the community. Shri KVK tried to adopt this idea and apply it to industry so that the difference between capital and labour shall be eliminated. He saw a great amount of success in his effort. He lead a simple life. Though he provided houses to his workmen, he did not have a house of his own and never lived in his own house.

Behind Shri KVK’s accomplishment lay a concoction of optimism, endurance, serenity, tenacity and fortitude. When the dense shadows darkened around him, morning shone in his hearts. The reason is that be believed that problems and crises can be converted into opportunities and so he did.

When a person’s mind vibrates at a high rate with impetus the resultant fervour, passion, zeal, zest and gusto is swelled to reach the minds of people within its radius and beyond, especially to those who are close to that person. Shri KVK’s motivation and buoyancy permeated every corner of the Organization and is felt even today.

Lessons for young technocrats from the life of Shri KVK Raju :-
• Love begets love
• Trust invites trust
• Personal relations are as important as business relations
• Work is a way of life and not a mere means of livelihood
• It is possible to be loving and democratic and yet maintain authority and control
• Serve the society you belong to
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KARMA YOGI – SHRI KVK RAJU - A CATALYST OF CHANGE

This is the first of the series of articles as narrated by Prof IV Chalapati Rao, about the life of Shri KVK Raju the founder of NAGARJUNA GROUP, South India’s Largest Conglomerate.

Kanumuri Venkata Krishnam Raju delectably known to his friends and the professional admirers as KVK, was a first generation technocrat and a entrepreneur. He scaled great heights by dint of his hard work, persistence, fortitude and vision from a very humble beginning to attain a paramount position as an industrialist. He broke new ground and blazed new trails to become a torch bearer and a beacon to many others to become entrepreneurs.

Hailing from a small hamlet and born in a traditionally agricultural family, Shri KVK rose to eminence to become one of the few self-luminous, self-propelled figures who lit up the industrial scene. By sheer force of his character and unremitting labour he established NAGARJUNA GROUP bringing his own State Andhra Pradesh into the spot light in the industrial world. He was a common man who achieved uncommon things.

Shri KVK faced hard times and led a life of utter simplicity and intense activity. Inspired by him no less than 42 entrepreneurs most of whom were under his tutelage came into industry.

Shri KVK’s had laudable objectives of generating employment, achieving material progress and upholding ethical standards in a co-ordinated manner each complementing and completing the other, and providing enduring value to all his business constituents, customers, employees, shareholders and the public. His ambition was to create wealth through industry and use it for the good of the nation.

Few industrialists make it to history during their own life time. What appeared as a miracle or mirage to lesser mortals seemed within reach to Shri KVK who was an incurable optimist. Many of his friends wondered that only a maverick would aspire to achieve exgtraordinary results with such slender means at his disposal. Moreover he started his industry rather late in his career when most of his contemporaries gave up because of the fact that the country was sailing in low financial waters, what with its huge international debt and the depleted state of foreign exchange. Besides, an entrepreneur had to face the problems of bureaucracy and red tape. Adding to this, his own people including elderly relatives were not in favour of his forsaking a comfortable and lucrative career in Union Carbide in search of “fresh fields and pastures new”.

Despite all these discouraging circumstances and every other adverse factor, he persisted in the passionate pursuit of his goal. Naturally this appeared to others as a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) or a wild cat venture. His conviction, indomitable courage and infinite patience saw his through all the obstacles and carried him through. The man who invested his provident fund as a capital astonishingly achieved success as one of the leading industrialists of the country.

No doubt Shi.KVK is an ordinary man with an extraordinary commitment.

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ADAPTION TO CORPORATE CULTURE

Have you ever noticed how we react to foreign visitors? We always welcome the foreigner who is alien to us. But we accept them only when we find that the foreigner adapts to our norms, our environment and our culture. If the foreigner is not adapting to the norms of the local environment we reject the alien.

This is true in case of Business also. A new executive or a consultant should first try to understand the culture of the Organization and adapt to the corporate culture and take the acceptance of the people. Sans this understanding, the chances for success of the new executive are trifle. Moreover the members of the culture would definitely reject the alien and will work against them.

Is there any thing wrong with the members of the culture rejecting the alien? NO.

The reason is that the employees, the employers, the stakeholders prefer the conformity in their culture. What is conformity? It is the environment where people would and could easily predict the actions and behavior of others and where a harmony prevails. This harmony arising out of the stable environment promotes self confidence and brings the best out of them. Moreover it brings stability and order to the Organization.

So if the new executive wants to change the culture, he should first of all understand the culture and get the acceptance of the members of the culture. How can you bring change when you are not accepted? Many of us have ideas but how effectively we implement the ideas is very important.

The executive should first of all understand that the culture evolves over a period of time and he should not aim at changing it overnight. There is a well know saying “the older the heritage, the more ingrained the culture is in its members.”

The new executive should bear in mind that changing the culture is just not meeting the deadline. Changing the culture involves people. Understanding the culture and bringing the desired changes in the culture is a management art.

Trying to bring changes without understanding the fabric of the culture has brought the demise of several executives. Trying to blame the culture without understanding that people do commit mistakes and people do have different perspectives itself would ruin the executive.

So every executive should be careful about the following: -
• Culture evolves over a period of time and trying to change it without understanding it is a blunder.

• Once you understand the culture, gain the acceptance of the people in the culture

• Understand the good things in the culture and appreciate it abundantly.

• If you find something needs to be changed in the culture, prepare a plan in discussion with the management and important stakeholder.

• Don’t set a deadline for changing the culture and try to meet the deadline. It would be disastrous or may not yield the desired results.

• Communicate more frequently emphasizing the need and importance of the change initiation.

• Gain the acceptance of the members of the culture for the change management and provide them with enough opportunities to internalize the desired changes.

• Monitor and evaluate the changes. Reward the change managers

• Celebrate the changes and involve the people in the festivity
• If you are determined to change the culture, you should be more determined to be patient.

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Beauty Dares Beasts

Miss Pakistan World Natasha Paracha has denounced the truce between Pakistan Government and the Taliban forces to implement Sharia laws in Swat Velley.

She has demonstrated the courage and guts the maile folks in Pakistan failed to do by taking up against the powerful radical forces.

Calling the implementation of Sharia laws beginning of the downfall of Pakistan, she said: "This act of compromise by the Pakistani government clearly shows that it is a failed nation. Taliban has no place in Pakistan and the people of Pakistan should kick them out. They are invaders and barbaric people."

While the armed forces are running away from the frontier, policemen are resigning or turning sympathisers of Taliban, people are afraid of opening their mouth and just follow Taliban rules, this beauty notwithstanding the dangerr Taliban can pose has challenged them. She deserves a pat on the back.

Pakistan has struck a deal with the devils and the devils would not rest until it draws the last blood from Pakistan.

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Pakistan defeated and surrenders meekly

Pakistan has surrendered to forces that are threat to the humanity and the civilization. Pakistan’s surrender to the Taliban forces is more disgraceful than its surrender to India in 1971. In 1971 India decimated Pakistan but today Pakistan warped to the radical forces in its own country.

The surrender commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. The whole world watched with concern, disbelief and uneasiness the massive victory rally organized in SWAT valley by Sufi Mohammed, the spiritual leader of Pakistan Taliban and his son in law “Radio” Fazullah. The rally was a clear indication of victory to Taliban forces over American forces and the Pakistani army which the Pakistan Government is refusing to accept. The fact is that Pakistan has lost control over the Frontier.

The world is outraged over Pakistan government's surrender to the Taliban knowing the threat Taliban pose to the world. The Taliban forces are just 200 Kms away from Pakistan’s capital Islamabad and are waiting at the doorsteps to capture Islamabad also. The world is worried that Taliban could take control of the nuclear weapons which would be a sure threat to the Western world.

Who is to blame for this? These forces were groomed by the very same people who now brand them as a serious threat. Islam communalism was exploited by The West to counter the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Under Zia-ul-Haq, the ISI armed and supported the Taliban, who then fought against Soviet and pro-Soviet forces. Zia-ul-Haq opened the doors for the Islamist takeover of Afghanistan. Once the Soviets were expelled, Afghanistan turned to civil war but West no longer showed any interest in Afganistan. But Zia-ul-Haq continued to fund and support the Taliban. As you sow, so you reap.

It is now the same Taliban that is asking for a pound of flesh from Islamabad. Pakistan sooner or later should concede because it has let these forces grow out of its control and now these forces has started controlling Pakistan.

While India has done nothing to encourage these radical forces, it has become a target and victim of the sell out. The terrorist organization has already threatened to attack the western cultural centers in India and this is just a beginning.

Taliban has chopped off Pakistan's Northern arm and would soon aim for its head. India has to view this seriously and our politicians should set aside the differences and counter this proactively instead of makiing reactive statements.

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FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS

The private sector banks and the multi national banks are not coming to the rescue of the MSME i.e. micro, small and medium enterprises.

The SMEs which are the backbone of our country are reeling under impact of global meltdown. Arranging funds has become next to impossible for the SMEs.

The Government from its side has already announced two stimulus packages to ease the situation. However not enough has been done by the private banks and the multinational banks to lend a helping hand to the deserving MSME community.

Commerce Secretary Mr.G K Pillai has rightly said that the private sector banks have been fair weather friends unlike public sector banks and went on to say "If they don't comply with RBI direction, at some point of time, the government will be forced to act,". But this has not fallen into the deaf ears of the private banks who feign corporate social responsibility.

It is really unfortunate that the Private Banks are abandoning the MSMEs in the need of the hour and letting down the Government and the RBI.

Nothing matters to these banks except a rosy Bottom line. These banks should definitely understand that it not possible for Public Sector Banks alone to fund the huge population of MSMEs and they are also equally responsible towards the society as a whole.

RBI now would understand the true colors of these Private Banks.

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EDUCATION @ UK

British Council is organizing a two day education exhibition in Taj Coromandel, Chennai which concludes today. Over a hundred representatives from more than sixty UK institutions participate in this exhibition. Education UK exhibitions bring you face to face with representatives from schools, colleges and universities who can tell you about their courses, admission requirements, facilities and services. I visited the exhibition yesterday evening. I was really taken aback to see more than 58 universities from a country which is less than one tenth of India's geographic area. The response was overwhelming and it attracted a lot of people who want to pursue their higher education overseas. The program was well organized. When we just entered the exhibition hall, the security outside reminded us 26/11 which has become indelible. Every stall had well informed personnel who could give the required information for every aspirant. Some of them did not have the courses the prospective student wanted and those students were properly guided to the Institution stalls which offered the courses. Seeing the crowd and the response to the exhibition, I felt that India is still not crippled by the global melt down fully and still there is a ray of hope amongst the students. To fully understand the benefits of this exhibition a person has to spend at least half a day in the exhibition. Moreover a seminar is organized on both days on Students Visas, Scholarships etc to educate the visitors. The exhibition starts at 10 AM and concludes at 7 PM sharp. When the organizers signaled the closure of the stall of visitors, it was sharp 7 PM. This exhibition is a must for all those who take their higher education overseas seriously.
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BAN ON SMOKING DESTINED TO SUCCEED

First of all, we are indebted to our Health Minister, Mr.Anbumani Ramadoss for taking the campaign against smoking unequivocally. "Don't smoke" is what the elders tell the younger people, the parents tell their children, teachers tell the students, good friends advise their smoking friends. Dr.Anbumani is performing the role of an elder, a parent, a good friend and a teacher in his campaign against smoking. He has spared none in this campaign. He has raised his voice against the celebrities, the politicians and the VIPs without any soft spot. He has gone to the extent of challenging court's decision lifting the ban on smoking in films. His initiative is just a beginning of the journey towards a society with healthy habits. We all should support his mission. We cry hoarse that our politicians are not honest, lack values etc etc. But here is a politician who is well educated, honest, with a very good value system. Let us support his initiatives irrespective of which party he belongs to, which caste he belongs to, from which region he is hailing from? He has also voiced his concern about the growing pub culture. The media is prompt in maligning his name as a supporter of the Manglore incident. Mr.Ramadoss definitely did not support the attack but on the other hand condemned the incident. This substantiates that he does not have the media support. Nevertheless, he is not going to give up nor his journey is going to end abruptly. He has already declared that he is going to take up ban on alcohol after the ban on smoking. This journey is just a beginning and would never end till it reaches the destination. The ban on smoking is destined to succeed and the ban on alcohol would follow the suit.

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I AM NOT ALONE

It is wee hours now. Just an hour past midnight. After completing my regular academic reading for my PMP examination, I was going through Con Coughlin's ebook Saddam-His Rise and Fall which I downloaded from scribd.com. I found the book to be melodramatic and decided to read the blogs I follow which includes Thinniam, Iyer-n-higher and Random Thoughts.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the post of Mr.NS Iyer which said "posted 50 minutes ago". I thought I am not alone. The post "That's Life" was quite absorbing. I enjoy the blogs of Mr.Iyer and Mr.K.Parthasarathi for two reasons, first every post is thoughtful and absorbing and second they hone my writing skills. I am lucky to have two Dronacharyas.

Coming back to what I want to say, I thought for a while and posted my comments which took almost 15 minutes. By the time I posted my comments there was another Post in Thinniam by Mr.T.S. Sridhar "Two news item" "posted 10 minutes ago" which reminded me that I am not alone.

By the time I post this, there may be a post in Random Thoughts. We are definitely well connected.

TRUE NATIONALISTS?

Today I was totally bemused and mystified after reading an article in the newspaper that ABVP men ransacked a missionary school in Bhopal protesting against an alleged insult to the National Anthem. On reading this article the reader would jump to a conclusion that these so called patriotic political outfits are guardians of India, its culture, its national flag, its national anthem, its father, its constitution etc. If you deduce so, you are wrong. After reading this article, I wanted to have a look at the home page of the so called custodians of India to see whether there is anything prominent in their homepage that symbolizes India or a patriot. First I started with the website of ABVP www.abvp.org. You would see a burning torch and an article "Gandhigiri cant curb terrorism?" which indirectly trounced the Gandhian values of tolerance and ahimsa. If you expect anything that symbolizes India, you would be disappointed. Then I visited the website of Shiv Sena http://www.shivsena.org/. It had the photo of a roaring tiger and the Thackeray's. It had nothing on India, no India map, no national flag, no Gandhiji photo. Sorry, they don't believe in non-violence. Then I visited the website of VHP http://www.vhp.org/. It had the OM Emblem, photo of Lord Rama and other Hindu Gods. Nothing to bewail. Then I visited the website of so called guardians of India http://www.rss.org/. I spent a lot of time to identify something that symbolizes India. Definitely something should be there because they talk so much about India, Indian culture, respecting Indian flag, akanda Bharath, so on and so forth. I could see the photograph of Sevaks marching with a Saffron flag. Photograph of a shaka, etc. I am still searching to see whether anything symbolizes India. Friends!!! Don't lose heart some day or other you would find one. Till then keep searching. Then I visited the website of Bajrangdal http://www.bajrangdal.org/. It had a prominent display of Trishuls and a Big OM symbol above that. I could definitely see a distorted Indian Map (by the way is it South India Map?) with Lord Hanuman with a mace on top of it. No national flag, No Mahatma, No Ashoka Pillar. Only Weapons that symbolizes a non-violent nation that won Olympic medals in wrestling, boxing and archery. Wow!!! Then went to the website of God of Big Things and the savior of India, BJP http://www.bjp.org/. I could see a big lotus photo, the photo of a gentleman turned politician Mr.ABB Ji, the photo of a man who called Mohammed Ali Jinnah a secularist waiting for the Prime Minister's chair desperately and photo of his friend waiting to pull him down. You would definitely agree with me that the Homepage is incomplete without the advertisement of the Autobiography of Mr.LK Advani title "My Country, My Life". Yes, I could find that. But what about the national flag? Sorry it is His Country and only Lotus is allowed. Then finally without any hope I visited the website of the people who are exploited for their vote bank http://www.iuml.com/. I could see the Green Flag with a Crescent on it symbolizing their religion. But what is quite interesting is that you can find the picture of the father of our nation displayed prominently which said "My Life is my Message". It also had a clip art which said "Against Terrorism" with a Dove carrying this message. I am not advocating anything. Of all the websites I visited today only the website of IUML carried something which symbolizes the non-violence, religious tolerance and ahimsa preached, followed and lived by Gandhiji.

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OH LORD !!! LEAD US

My First Corporate Learning

A couple of decades back, just after completing my graduation, I took my first employment with a big Company, a Company which was the most preferred employer for aspiring and talented young professionals and I was an exception. I was lucky enough to be there.

A few months later, I invited my colleagues home for a dinner, my invitation was accepted and came home my colleagues.

We were busy discussing everything that came to our mind, some wise and some otherwise. I was quite anxious. My colleagues were introduced to my mother and other members in our family. My mother offered them a typical South Indian filter coffee that made some of my colleagues our regular guests.

As we were discussing, my father returned home. This was the moment I was waiting for. I wanted to introduce all my colleagues to my father.

I started introducing my colleagues. While I was introducing one of my colleagues to my father, I introduced him as my subordinate. My father gave a gentle smile and a pat not so gentle on my back and told me “Talk to me before you go to bed”.

I could not see the discomfiture behind the smile. Why he asked me to talk to him was a conundrum to me.

After all my colleagues left, I approached my father who was engrossed by the book he was reading. I gently took his attention and he started with what he wanted to say keeping the book aside, “One thing you should learn early in your life - never ever introduce anyone as your subordinate. Superior-Subordinate is the hierarchy in the Organizational structure and that is not the relationship between the people. He is your colleague and that is the relationship”.

The message was abundantly clear. I realized that there was a lot of meaning in what my father said. That was the last time I introduced anyone as my subordinate.

A few months back, I had an opportunity to travel to Qatar along with a Senior Colleague, my Boss. He is quite a senior person, a member of the Company’s Board and a fatherly person to me. While he introduced me to his counterpart, he introduced me as his colleague heading Supply Chain. There are no words to explain the joy it gave.

I remembered my father who taught me the first corporate lesson, a lesson that I shall never unlearn.

Published for Msn.com

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Magnum Opus - Mr.Omkar Goswami on Maytas muddle

Lost balls in the high weeds - that is what one would say about "The People" in Satyam who decided the proposed transfer of $1.6 billion of Satyam’s cash to Maytas and Maytas Infrastructure. It would be a long row to hoe for Mr.Ramalinga Raju and his directors to gracefully come out of this imbroglio and till then they have to be on the carpet.

Those who advocate a good corporate governance by Indian Companies and those who follow Satyam Imbroglio must read the letter written by Mr.Omkar Goswami to Mr.Ramalinga Raju (the link is given below for those who have not read).
http://www.businessworld.in/index.php/Columns/For-Gods-Sake-Go.html

Mr.Omkar Goswami is standing tall by taking the responsibility of salvaging the reputation of Corporate India by writing this letter to Mr.Ramalinga Raju. The letter written with a lot of concern for Corporate Governance and fiduciary responsibility clearly demonstrates the commitment of Mr.Goswami as an advocate of Corporate Governance.

Good corporate governance is not just abiding by law but much beyond and the Satyam Imbroglio is an abject lesson for other Corporate.

Hats off Mr.Omkar Goswami - we are proud of you.

Published for msn.com

http://content.msn.co.in/MSNContribute/Story.aspx?PageID=acee15cb-ebc7-49e3-bbf2-b99f9ad26951