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𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵: 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗗𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 ♻
Today, India is discussing two (2) different news. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for offshore wind energy projects at a total outlay of Rs. 7453 Crores, including an outlay of Rs. 6853 Crores for installation and commissioning of 1 GW of offshore wind energy projects (500 MW each off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu), and grant of Rs. 600 Crores for up-gradation of two ports to meet logistics requirements for offshore wind energy projects. The successful commissioning of these offshore wind projects will produce renewable electricity of about 3.72 billion units annually, which will result in the annual reduction of 2.98 million tons of CO2 equivalent emission for a period of 25 years.
Earlier today, the Hon’ble PM inaugurated the new campus of Nalanda University at Rajgir in Bihar, close to its ancient remnants. He also planted a sapling as he inaugurated the campus. The inauguration ceremony was attended by several distinguished individuals, including heads of missions from 17 countries. The campus is designed as a ‘Net Zero’ Green Campus, making it self-sustaining with the help of solar plants, domestic and drinking water treatment plants, a water recycling plant for reusing wastewater, 100 acres of water bodies, and numerous other environment-friendly facilities.
The common thread in both the news illustrated above, is the focus on a bright future for the people – education and environment – technology being an enabler. Contemplating these events of hope, the sight of a thermal power plant emitting harmful gases to the environment flashed, captured while visiting the city of Jhansi, more than a decade ago on an official assignment. It again reminds us of an urgent need to take urgent steps to abate the harmful impacts of the pollution by fossil by implementing suitable De-SOx or FGD, Decarbonisation measures, etc.
Incidentally, June 18 is a day of remembrance for Jhansi (and Bharat), famous for being the princely state whose legendaryQueen Laxmi Bai, dressed as a man, got killed in the combat while leading the war for independence against the British empire 166 years ago. Some believe that the Rani (Queen) did not want the British forces to capture her body and told hermit to burn it. She, among others, inspired generations of freedom fighters whose resolute struggles led to India’s independence.
The contemporary challenges facing us are diverse, and we, the society and our leadership, must strive for a sustainable habitat, cleaner air, and healthy living conditions for progenies. This will be our real tribute the ‘Rani’ 👸
Credits to Owners
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👑 Leadership 🌟 – My 2 Cents
We often come across discussions about leadership skills among budding professionals. However, it is more critical for senior professionals as they do influence their juniors.
I would like to share my bit of understanding in this regard especially for professionals entering the public domain. Though my view is predominantly shaped and influenced as and for engineers, I believe the same would be apt for others as well. This is primarily because behavioural traits are profession agnostic to a large extent.
Taking the Ownership and exhibiting Empathy – are two (2) most important attributes for anyone to grow as a leader in their chosen field of life.
Owning the responsibility is foremost prerequisite to see and execute the tasks as envisaged. Ownership simply means taking the charge of the situation as and when it occurs and then the magic starts. It is always preferred that a professional ‘consistently exceeds the requirement of the job’ than assessed as someone who just ‘consistently meets the requirement of the job’ or even ‘sometimes exceeds the requirement of the job’ and accordingly gets evaluated in the performance appraisal. The urge to consistently exceed the requirement set forth would certainly come from the ownership trait.
Another equally important attribute is empathy i.e., the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. This brings to the fore the emotional quotient of the professionals in appreciating the other’s point of view. Once we are aware of the situation of our counterpart (be it junior, peer or superior; associate or customer, etc.), it becomes easier to converge and agree for action in order to achieve larger goal.
Ownership and empathy complement each other and reinforce the leadership skills and guide professionals in achieving success in their chosen career.
This post is in sheer appreciation for two of my valued colleagues who demonstrated the above-mentioned attributes in an assignment today.
Best wishes!! Vinit K Verma GIRIJESH PRASAD
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🏭 Peer Learning – A Critical Aspect in Learning Journey
🕯Learning is not just about certifications; it basically is about being better than before.
🕯An important aspect of the learning journey is ‘peer learning’ and it is equally relevant either in formal educational classes or training sessions.
🕯Adequate cohort strength and multi-faceted discussions, including on social media platforms like WhatsApp, bring opportunities for everyone to accumulate knowledge as much as possible.
🕯Various classwork or syndicate groups help to carry out various assignments during the program channelize the collective wisdom of the group for the benefit of everyone.
🕯In the post-Covid19 world, we see a hybrid/ blend of physical and virtual interventions. When planned meticulously, they leave no room for any regret concerning the delivery and grasp of the program topics.
Anything you like to add….
Winning with Ordinary Resources – A resolution for 2024! 🚵♀️
Traditional Resource Based View suggests Firm should build a Strategy on ‘Rare’ and ‘Valuable’ Resources for Competitive Advantage. Should a case not be made to build our company’s strategy around the ‘innovative’ use of quite ‘ordinary’ resources and not necessarily run behind acquiring the exceptional ones? Generally, an organizational set-up aims to utilize strategic resources to deliver at their level, whereas ordinary resources are leveraged to achieve the outcomes.
As per the typical bell curve of performance assessment, we find ~80% of resources would be categorized as ‘non-extraordinary’ but still needed and to be nurtured for achieving organizational goals.
Rahim’s couplet appreciates the importance of every resource in realizing our goal.
रहिमन देख बडिन को, लघु ना दीजिये डारि|
जहा काम आवे सुई, का करी है तरवारि||
In 2024, let us resolve to achieve success even with seemingly ordinary resources in our personal and professional journey.
Manager with the Team – A Fire Breathing Dragon 🐉
Indian team beat Australian team in World Cup Men’s Cricket match yesterday, October 8, 2023. It was a convincing win, and the scoreboard would illustrate it did see exciting moments the game is known for. It was no surprise, and the odds were equal for win or lose. More than a decade in history, a match against Australia used to be a big thing. We have read and heard several editorials and commentators that Indian team lacks the ‘Killer Instinct’ Australians were especially famous for.
The scenario changed with the legendary captain Sourav Ganguly – the ‘Dada’ of Indian cricket. He instilled a champion mentality, nurtured young talent, and transformed the Indian Cricket team in his captaincy into a formidable force to reckon with at the world stage. The Natwest Trophy Triumph of 2002 and Dada’s iconic T-shirt celebration at Lords against England team is recorded in history.
In a similar context, the biography on Elon Musk published in September ’23 mentions about non-suitability of Parag Agarwal as CEO of Twitter (now renamed as ‘X’). “What Twitter needs is a fire-breathing dragon and Parag is not that,” Elon Musk told Walter Isaacson after his meeting with Parag in March 2022. Musk termed Parag as “a really nice guy” and quipped that managers should not aim to be liked. We can debate on what a manager should be or not, leader versus manager traits, etc. It also depends on the organizational and cultural requirements and many other aspects of team building, survival & transformational needs, agency problem between executives and owners etc.
Whatever be the case, a manager with the team, must be A-Fire-Breathing-Dragon. In the mythological stories, a-fire-breathing-dragon has been a symbol of power, strength, good fortune, fear, & destruction. The dragons are believed to possess magical powers and they are revered in some cultures (Chinese) and feared in some (European). Irrespective of their place in cultural milieu of various geographies, the dragons are go-getter and possess the ‘killer-instinct’ we just talked about.
It is right that the managers need not aim to be liked; rather they are required to become an example of getting the things done for realizing the organizational objectives. Manager and the team are one in the pursuit of the goal.
Anything you may like to add…
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.
🎯 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…
🎀 Project Execution – A Teamwork 🤝
Project Management is about succeeding in various little areas to motivate the team and other stakeholders, keep the assigned tasks moving and managing all the unknowns and uncertainties for the project to reach fruition within budget and schedule.
A few important points to note about project management and the role of the Project Manager:
1. Time management: Make a schedule and adhere to it – keep it sacrosanct.
2. Prioritize: Have the right people, and prioritize the tasks as required.
3. Risk Management: Knowing the risk and managing it helps keep exigencies in check.
4. People Management: Leading and facilitating people who are performing tasks is important. Respect for teammates is essential for the ‘we’ feeling.
5. Clarity: A planned and organized project gets executed the way it is desired.
6. Resilient: Project management needs a quick, yet flexible approach in course correction, whenever needed.
7. Budget: Completing the project within the budget without compromising on quality.
8. Objective Assessment: Project Management team must assess the project critically and maintain objectivity in approach.
9. State-of-the-art Technology: Every team member must be updated in tools and processes being utilized for project execution. Technological challenges must be addressed as and when arise.
10. Communication: Required communication in terms of content and frequency is important.
11. Clear Mind: The responsibility of each team member is defined. Everyone is responsible for their deliverables. Keeping a calm demeanour helps in a positive approach to solutions rather than blaming others.
I would like to maintain; we must do project ‘Jaan laga ke’ (with full dedication) and not ‘Jaan de ke’ (mental or physical issues among teammates).
A Project Manager is the leader of the team, and she is known for the strength of her team.
G20 – One Earth, One Family, One Future – Bharat i.e., India
#SAARC#BIMSTEC#USAN#BRICS#SCO#ASEAN#NATO#WARSHAWPACT#OECD#G7#PCT#MGC#GCC#NAFTA#OPEC#AFRICANUNION#ANZUS#CIS#NORDICCOUNCIL#APEC#OIC#BSEC#UNITEDNATIONS#NSG#EU#G20 etc.
In all the above groups of countries representing either pollical or economic or military blocks, the G20 group, or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising of nineteen (19) sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the newest entrant, African Union (AU). The G20 group has the membership of almost all the other groups or has significant influence over other regional blocks and that’s why it is extremely important for the world. This block is composed of most of the world’s largest economies both industrialized and developing countries. It accounts for more than 75% of gross world product (GWP) and international trade, more than 60% of the global population and the world’s land area. Any act of a member G20 country can be a reference for another in any part of the world and it can have a multiplier effect.
Without going into the specific outcomes and declarations, the spectacle Bharat witnessed over a couple of days last week will be recorded in history. G20 India 2023 was the 18th summit to be held in New Delhi under India’s rotational presidency.
Moreover, the topics and deliberations on Biofuel Alliance, Emerging Critical Technology, Sustainability, global peace, international cooperation were in focus, and we hope to see significant investment in green energy for a better tomorrow. Another historic announcement by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen was of an ambitious plan to build an economic corridor linking Europe with the Middle East and India via rail and sea. The project was described as a “really big deal” by the US president, Joe Biden.
Lastly, the event also marked a special dinner invitation with the seal of the head of state, in the name ‘Bharat’, a welcome change, which invited a huge response from the people.
Rajesh Ranjan's Weblog 