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No regrets!
What’s the trait you value most about yourself?
Life should be full of events and not regrets. Even disappointments have to bring learning and open the opportunities for improvement.
I believe in making efforts to the best of my abilities. The success may not be in my hands but the honest and considered attempt is in my reach and I must not shy away from it.
In the 2003 movie ‘Chalte Chalte’, the protagonist Raj (played by Shah Rukh Khan), in his evergreen style had a dialogue saying that he would prefer to not want to spend the rest of his life regretting `if only’ in a famous sequence.
The essence is that human beings have desires and there is nothing wrong in desiring, as well. It is just that we don’t be mere desirous of something. A concerted effort must follow the same to realize the goal – personal or professional. Have a dream and accumulate the courage to turn it into reality.
Still, if anything remains unfulfilled, so be it.
No regrets!
A Day to Celebrate Freedom from Hunger, Diseases & Colonialism!
Today, we are celebrating 116th birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh, the great freedom fighter who is known for his fearless pursuit of revolutionary act and attained martyrdom at the age of 23 in 1931 along with Rajguru and Sukhdev for resisting the atrocities of the colonial British empire.
He was born in the village of Banga in Lyallpur district of undivided India (now Faisalabad, Pakistan). He was both a scholar and a revolutionary and left his mark through his writings for spreading revolutionary and equalitarian ideas.
September 28 is also remembered as the day when Alexander Fleming discovered ‘penicillin’, world’s first antibiotic, or bacteria-killer as we know it, which was reported in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology published in 1929.
Sir Alexander Fleming was the joint recipient of 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, with Ernst Boris Chain and Sir Howard Walter Florey for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases.
Just to add further, we observe this day as the Freedom from Hunger Day to increase awareness about global hunger and promote Freedom from Hunger’s empowerment of women around the world.
It would not be out of place to contextualize the welfare economics model of Amartya Sen, who was awarded 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics. Prof Sen is known for his assertion that famines do not occur in functioning democracies in his work ‘Democracy as Freedom’. He further explains that it is because democratic governments are engaged in electoral politics, they need to win elections and face public criticism which gives then enough incentives to undertake measures and policy interventions so as to avert catastrophes like famines, unlike colonial regimes. He had seen death of three (3) million people in colonial India’s 1943 famine of 1943 in Bengal, as a 9-year-old boy.
Today, while we prepare to sleep, let us resolve to do our bit to make the world free from hunger, diseases & colonial injustices.
Happy birthday Bhagat Singh! 🙏
Image from internet
Anything else you would like to add…
Delegate – to succeed!
What could you do more of?
The well-known time management strategy ‘The Eisenhower Principle’ specifies that if a task is urgent and not that important, it should be delegated. It simply means that ‘delegation’ is to be used as a strategy and not casually.
As practicing managers, we always face the daunting task of deciding whether to do the work ourselves or delegate it to someone else. If the situation is urgent as well as important, it is always better to complete it by self as this gives satisfaction and any course-correction can be done then and there.
Delegating any job does not mean the responsibility also gets delegated or the manager is absolved of its responsibility. Few of the learnings over a period can be listed as:
1. Keep the goal in focus: While the work may not be ‘important’ its correct execution is urgent. The manager must focus on the result and monitor closing while doing other assignments simultaneously.
2. Increases the efficiency: The team members contribute to the completion of job and thus we achieve more in less effort.
3. Enhances team bonding: It is essential that everyone remain at ease while in team. Doing urgent work works as cementing of ties among the teammates.
4. Reduces stress: Delegating a job and completing it in time helps reduce the stress of having an unfinished task at hand. Successful delegation of a task does help in preventing burnout among teammates.
5. Focus on strategic role: Delegation frees the available time for the managers to shift their attention to the long-term and strategic role the organization needs.
6. Tools for mentoring: Delegation can be used as one of the important ways of grooming and mentoring the next generation of managers.
7. Utilization of resources: A team would have members with varied interest and capabilities. It is utmost important for a manager to know the strengths and limitations of her teammates and delegate the job accordingly.
8. New perspective: Sometimes, bringing a new person to do a job also helps in widening the horizon of the managers themselves. There can be a ‘eureka’ moment in terms of process innovation. I have anecdotal experience of the same and vouch for this.
Anything you would like to add…
#teamwork #success #delegation #timemanagement
Be more polite as you grow in life!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Around a decade ago, I got into an argument with my superior over whether to follow an instruction which was strictly not in my area of responsibility. If i remember correctly, perhaps, it pertained to preparing a document which otherwise should have been prepared by another department. The difference of opinion led to a heated argument between the two of us and I got a very nuanced and polite response: “I will do it if you don’t, as I have committed to our superior.”
For a while, I felt like a victory. The moment later, I realized the blasphemous act I had just committed by not only not accepting to do the task but to raise my voice at the epitome of politeness the person he was. Realizing it, I went to his chamber where he started to prepare the document.
I apologized for my uncourteous demeanour and offered to finish the task as needed.
The piece of advice I received at that moment changed the course of my life thereafter. He said: “Be more polite as you grow in life.”
I will always remember that one incident and the lesson learned. I try to follow the advice of being polite as ‘universal truth’ and not pollute my mind with whatever success I got.
Easy Acceptance of Scientific Innovations Today 📢
We are in a world where every moment, innovation and changes are happening, and we are readily welcoming them. Though some apprehensions remain whenever a completely new domain is explored regarding the impact it may have on existing structures of society and humankind across geography. A student of Sociology is always in search of explanation for the behaviour human being s demonstrate.
We were skeptical when computers were introduced. We are still not very comfortable with cloning and other bio-research areas, and we are finding it difficult to cope with the fast advancement of generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). However, we also see general acceptance of such new technologies and ideas in society. The times of Galileo where people with contrarian views were punished have changed. Society at large is forthcoming and waiting for positive developments in science and technology.
Many scientific institutions, awards, societies etc. have contributed to this progression in the mindset of people and is always on the rise. Also, people are experiencing the fruits of technological innovations which adds to the easy adoption of similar developments like electricity, telecommunications, transportation etc.
Agriculture has also been a beneficiary of modern technology which has helped in meeting the food requirement of an increasing population. Still a lot more is required to be done and we hope to reach a day sooner when no one sleeps hungry. We remember Kingsley Davis, an American sociologist and demographer who coined the term ‘population explosion’ which needs to be tackled for more equitable society. Incidentally, it was him only who suggested four (4) factors making modern society accept the scientific innovations quicker than before. These factors are:
1. Society is no longer suspicious of change, and they believe in progress. Novel ideas are welcome.
2. Over a period, we are ensuring institutionalization of science which leads to it getting primacy and rewarding endeavors for people.
3. Increasing, we see scientific communities look for specialization. Earlier, one person used to be an expert in many fields. Now, we have many experts collaborating to achieve excellence in one domain. Super specializations are becoming common in niche educational fields.
4. Advancements in knowledge management tools and their deployment are enabling people to adopt better methods and means of communication (like email, cloud, mobiles etc.) which not only influences innovation but also aids in its diffusion.
Developing vaccine for Covid19 is one such example where general populace accepted the novel vaccine despite many rumours. Ignoring misinformation regarding 5G is another example where common people showed maturity and accepted technology with an open mind.
Anything you would like to add…
Life should be A ‘Musical’
What would your life be like without music?
In entertainment, a ‘musical’ is termed as a play or movie in which singing and dancing play an essential part. Life is also to be treated like this only.
William Shakespeare, an English playwright and poet, has beautifully expressed the nuances of the journey of a human being maneuvering the undulance of life in his poem ‘All The World’s A Stage’ in the act ‘As You Like It’.
Music is an important part of my life and its absence would leave a void in our existence. We use music to express our feelings and emotions. Music fills the gap and smoothens the flow of expressions, which cannot be achieved only with words and gestures.
This might be the reason why various (484 total) ‘ragas’ (a melodic framework for music) in Hindustani classical music are categorized according to the characteristics such as mood, season, and time. For example, raag ‘Madhuvanti’ is the raag for love. Similarly, raag ‘Malkauns’ which has a soothing and intoxicating effect, and the best time for this raga is late night. Legend is that when Lord Mahdev performed Tandav angrily, Goddess Parvati sang the raga ‘Malkauns’ to calm Him down.
The famous song ‘Gori Tera Gaon Bada Pyara…’ (Your village is very lovely, O Beloved!) of the 1976 movie ‘Chitchor’ is one of my all-time favorites.
The link of the song: https://youtu.be/sfg5iRZ6eAY?si=XZuc9g5nXBj-I4UR
What are some effective conflict resolution techniques for general managers? ✏️
Managers are basically desired to get the task managed by the people they work with. It is obvious to have conflicts in the workplace – be it between the colleagues, different departments, between customer-vendor and so on.
We are aware of the most common set of negotiation strategies in conflict resolution, known as the Thomas-Kilmann model.
Let us discuss the ‘ABCDE’ of the commonly used conflict management techniques by the business managers as deliberated below:
1. Accommodate: Many times, vendors comply with the demand of customer, thus accommodate the requirements if not significant in nature and ensure conflict does not arise.
2. Balance: Sometimes, it is important to give equal weightage to both the parties and both might be correct in their viewpoints. In such a situation, both parties compromise on their respective stand.
3. Compete: Not a very sought-after method, but managers use it to get the work done. It may result in one party giving up on its stand might not be a happy situation.
4. Defer: If a clear resolution is not in sight or the parties need time to cool off, avoiding any conflict for the time being is a better option. Critics can call this an Ostrich approach as well. Remember, we can cross the bridge when it comes.
5. Engage: A win-win situation wherein the conflicting parties resolve to achieve a bigger goal by collaborating. A reporting manager and her subordinate can collaborate to deliver faster results and get appreciation together.
What is your suggested technique?
🎯 I believe in Myself, Not in Your Opinions
Just came across a news article stating opinion of Nick Allan, CEO of firm Control Risks, reproduced as: “Companies considering India as an investment destination are concerned over long-term outlook of the India-China relationship, besides factors such as competitiveness, the Centre-state polity, societal conflicts, short-term infrastructure and skill availability.”
It reminded me of an anecdotal experience from around 2018 of a discussion with a company from an Asian country for a Product having application in Flue Gas Desulphurization. The company had a limited range of offerings. When asked for the sequence of product development, they said that it was in licensing arrangement (seems, gone sour later) with a European company. Incidentally, we had earlier received a firm denial from the same European company that they did not want to share the technology to anyone.
It is not uncommon for companies from Americas & Europe, the so-called ‘developed’ world, to remain skeptical about their partnerships especially regarding sharing technology with the companies from the global south countries. There may be reasons for such skepticisms, but I would like to state here that India does provide adequate platform to overseas companies for protecting their techno-commercial interests. Resolutions of Cairn Energy, Vodafone disputes and recent historic agreement between Air India and Boeing for 200 aircrafts, showcase India’s evolving regulatory framework and reemphasis for global trust on contracts with Indian businesses.
Recently, in a report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), India has moved up to 10th rank in terms of business environment for 2023-27, from the 14th rank in 2018-22. It is a continuous process and shall remain so for India’s transition to a mature market from emerging one.
India needs global investments to boost her manufacturing & technological industry for uplifting living standard of over 1.3 billion population -need of the hour -given the importance companies accord to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). United Nations’ chief has also said recently: “The SDGs need a global rescue plan.” Industrialized nations must do their part.
Nevertheless, it is also important that Indian companies must also join hands in exploring new advancements not only in terms of operations but also for the research and development. MOUs and Partnerships agreements entered by and among Indian Public Sector companies like BHEL, Coal India, ONGC, NLC, IGL, NTPC, NPCIL etc. to embark on a journey exploring applications of the emerging & critical technologies. ‘REVO’, is one such example wherein two Indian auto majors Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are collaborating for the development and production of Electric Vehicles (EV). UPI is our pride and hope to see the list growing bigger and better.
May Lord Ganesha’s blessings always be with us. Happy Vinayak Chaturthi!
Image: Braj Singh
Lessons learned while trying to foray into a new market ✏️
Incident 1: While undergoing orientation at a premier management institute, introduced myself as a BHEL official. First reaction was: ‘company that supplies Transformers’.
Incident 2: Presentation at a Cement manufacturer on Mills or Pulverizers. Reaction of the officials present was: Do you manufacture Mills? We know only about your HT Motors.
Incident 3: Discussion in the premises of a Steel giant on Coal Mills. The officers were curious how can our Mills give the required throughput and how? They knew only about our Mills operating in thermal power plants.
Incident 4: Discussion in the office of a senior official of a power generating company pleading for the case of wet grinding Mills based on the experience of dry griding. Reaction: You are doing very good just need to have partnership with an OEM with required credentials.
Incident 5: A reputed power generating company not accepting our proposed supplier saying it does not have experience in a particular application though the technology remains the same. After prolonged persuasion we could prove the suitability, though.
All the five (5) cases mentioned above happened to me while I was part of the team trying to explore diversification in business and applications for our established equipments and products. It is akin to the ‘stereotyping’ of certain characters, people, places etc. what we study in cultural studies, for any organization. Perception is important and we have to navigate our way through the same to germinate a new brand image in the market for easy acceptability.
Michael E. Porter in his masterpiece ‘Competitive Strategy’ defines five forces driving competition in industry shown in the featured image.
I faced another problem of potential buyers being so confident of our already established image other than what we wanted to show. They were happy with our same product functioning in another application, or another product employed to operate the product we wanted to re-introduce. That made me learn that winning customer confidence for any new offering is tough for any firm.
Further, new markets have different dynamics though the product is the same. Different set of guarantees, service and operating conditions, a bit of customization to suit specific needs of application/ customer, their experience with other offerings/people of the same organization.
Learnt that proper homework covering 5Ws and 1 H (Who, Why, What, When, Where & How) for the goods or service I am proposing, will add value to the proposal. Last-moment googly can also be bowled – be ready to recalibrate at short notice, too. Just meeting the needs may not suffice, we must exceed the expectations of our customers for a long-term relationship.
Anything you would like to add…
Planning for Financial Freedom
Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.
It always amazes me that there are various ways of attaining financial freedom which I was unaware of for long.
Nevertheless, it is important to follow the wise advice and plan whenever possible to invest, have that extra gig, mandatory savings, creating assets rather than liabilities, for a secured future.
As is said, wisdom is always in hindsight. Also, we know that it’s never too late to mend our ways.
We have examples of Robert Kiyosaki, Warren Buffett who are inspiration for people looking for financial freedom.
Let’s dream and hustle to achieve!
Rajesh Ranjan's Weblog 