Social media is omnipresent, but its roots are from an offline world!

As a social being, man has a natural orientation to interact, love, befriend, associate and engage with other human beings in his/her circle. But, in the last few years, I have almost always noticed how people have deliberately chosen to disassociate on a personal basis, simply because of the advent of social media. The more hyper-connected we are digitally, the less connected we have ended up, socially.

There are tons of virtues in social media. It can connect so many things and people not thought of before. Nobody ever possibly imagined social media to become commercial entities running real businesses. But what social media completely misses, despite its virtues, is the sheer inability to replace the in-person connection i.e. the root of human's psyche. Maybe I am old school, but there is a certain charm that is experienced with in-person interaction, that almost remains unmatched to this day. 

When I was in school and college, the greatest joys of life were in the bonds of friendships that were forged on campus. This is not pre-historic, but part of recent history i.e. within the last 20+ years. Some of my greatest times in life, were in school and college. Back then, diversity in opinion was welcome. There was old world charm of deliberately spending quality time with friends talking about studies, life, girlfriends, relationships, career ambitions, dreams et al. Having lunch with each other was good fun. There was no app anywhere at the time either. 

Of course, it was not picture perfect and obviously friendships from that time had its ups and downs too, like with everything else. But, one forged wonderful memories based on real bonhomie, which till date, does not take too long to rekindle. There was hardly ever a discomforting public embarrassment that I remember, which is such a common thing on social media now. Equally, I remember many an instance, when many of us did not have the best of days, some of us experienced personal tragedies, and were physically present to lend a shoulder of support. In as much as social media can connect anyone, it will never have the ability to create such real bonds with people. E.g. what is this virtual, digital hug all about? I for one, have never gotten my head around it! ;)

Interestingly, the same generation that I grew up in, seamlessly migrated to the digital world. But, whenever there is the opportunity for an in-person interaction, we are equally at ease in putting down our gadgets, looking into one another's eyes, and talking to each other (instead of sending smileys!). Real, powerful, meaningful, and deep conversations. And the rest of the time, we continue to be connected digitally. What is uniquely distinct though, is that the digital conversations surprisingly hover around topics of mutual interest that has its roots from what we had framed 20+ years ago! Be it discussing cricket, or chatting about a other friends, or world views on education or politics, or plain banter. Thankfully, at least to my generation, social media has not destroyed a real conversation. Our roots are actually from the offline world!

There is a common, and notoriously mischievous phrase called WhatsApp University these days, which will transmit information faster than what the news channels can. But WhatsApp is an extension of precisely what we have all done offline for years i.e. to converse, to engage, and to stay connected. Social media is only taking off from that fundamental human trait, but has a structure and presentation which is perhaps different. There can be no WhatsApp, if nobody wants to be in touch with one another. 

But, what is it that the offline world has, which WhatsApp might never have? It is knowing the person behind the digital message. E.g. I have had the fortune of having intelligent, non-judgmental WhatsApp group chats with many of the same folks, all of whom, never had a phone on campus. Therefore, any opinion now cited on WhatsApp, is not judged. Simply because, the people receiving the WhatsApp message have known the sender in person, long before WhatsApp came along. That is the power of personal connectivity. No amount of digital connectivity is going to replace that!

The most impersonal thing that I find on social media is greeting a person on an occasion (birthday, wedding anniversary, or any other special day). A modern day birthday typically has a flood of WhatsApp or Facebook messages. Festivals have enough and more graphical designs to greet each other (impersonally!). When was the last time any of us received a WhatsApp or phone message starting with the words, Dear ___(your name), followed by the message? How many of these messages are a function of people genuinely remembering your birthday, and how many of those messages are a function of automated birthday reminders, is a moot question. These are so impersonal, almost robotic at times.

There are ways to tackle such robotic greetings! I have seen 3 of my most cherished friends who stay away from being impersonal/robotic. All 3 of them have done the same thing (none of them know the other!). One of them (a fabulously talented girl from Bangalore), switched off the birthday reminder feature on her Facebook account. The only people who greet her are the ones who genuinely remember the occasion. Similarly, she will never send me a forwarded message on WhatsApp, but we talk to each other over video for an hour+ easily, in every call. I was once boarding a flight on her birthday and had no way of calling her internationally then. It was the only occasion in my life I sent her a WhatsApp greeting and it was so odd! 

Or, my two other friends (both tall, charming, nice guys and C-level executives now), who do the exact same thing, but stay in touch wherever they are in the world. Even now when we meet, we have so many options to consider - go for a walk, board the local train and walk on Marine Drive, eat at our old neighbourhood eateries in Malleswaram, play badminton or watch cricket, have a long conversation etc - there is no gadget around at all! This is not a statement against social media, but it is an expression of how to retain personalised, real connect in a hyper-connected world. Having digital around is a bonus, but not a necessary condition to regale in the wonderful friendship that I have with all 3 of these fabulous people!

Of course, there are some characters who have conveniently ostracized me, despite being hyperactive online - per the alerts one gets due to common connections. But that ostracization is not because of social media, but more because of the intent of the person who chooses to disassociate. In these instances, the intention not to have a personal connection with somebody, overrides the ability of any social media that can help engage with others. I guess, social media will never find a replacement for this either i.e. human intent to disconnect or disengage. To that extent, human beings will still control the world!

It has been a fascinating ride from an offline world to a digital world. Interestingly, we are the last generation that even saw the offline world, a mere 20+ years ago. And many of us, though now fully adapted to digital, still appreciate our original association in an offline mode. Call it old school, but those are experiences that are genuinely cherished. Having a real conversation whilst sitting with a dear old friend at his/her house (or vice-versa), with a cup of tea in hand, or staying overnight to watch a late night cricket match together, or sitting in a train on a long journey with a friend with the deepest of conversations, are human experiences that can never ever be replaced. May it long continue, despite social media continuing to distract us, overpower us and trying to control our time.

The nonsense of comparisons

For as far back as I can remember, comparisons have been a part of my life. What is worse, I never actually knew that I was quite affected by it, till I decided never to be crushed by that force.

And what a force it was. Comparisons of exam scores of friends in school, comparisons of cousins who went abroad, and so on. It was an endless spree of comparisons, almost anywhere I went or anyone I met early on. Sadly, despite fully understanding the incredible power of comparisons to crush a person's psyche, I never did anything about it for a long time.  

Comparison no.1 - the earliest comparison that I experienced was people in the late '90s/early 2000's, telling me to move to the US. Nobody gave me a basis as to why I needed to go abroad when I was perfectly fine and happy at home. Nor did I analyse further. The closest to receiving any basis back then, was that my sister had married and moved to the US. So, it is only logical that I should get there too. It never occurred to anyone (or me) engaging in these comparisons, that my background, my interests, my professional profile, and indeed my stage in life at the time, was tremendously different from hers. I ended up applying to top US MBA programmes, only to discover that not one of them ever gave me an interview call.  I drowned in confidence. I despaired. I even didn't know what else to do. This US MBA was supposed to be the passport to a glorified life. Little did I realise, that my skills were never in doing those fancy MBAs. Hell, it was so bad that I left my Chartered Accountancy course, to go after the pipe dream of a US MBA, without ever analysing my own strengths. It took me a circuitous route to get into my own area (currently, internal audit), and in a different way I am happy I touched strategy, consulting, research and analysis and other areas before landing up in my own core domain. Lesson learnt - listen to advise, and ignore them if they have no basis (doesn't matter WHO is giving you that advise). 

Comparison no.2 - it is important to do well in life and become somebody. While this may sound tremendously motivating and inspiring, it is the tone in which this line is stated, that makes a difference. When done professionally, with the right intent and with the true spirit of excellence, I don't think anyone has a problem with such lines. But, when the same thing is stated with the subtleties of sarcasm, or is embedded with laces of comparison that you are a nobody, or has some level of underlying judgement that you are currently not good enough, the same line takes a complete different meaning. Sadly, for me, I faced the latter, from multiple people. It needed a tremendous amount of distilling of the intent of such advice to learn who meant well, and who didn't. Lesson learnt again - distil advise, but more importantly read tone of such advise correctly - not everyone means well.

Comparison no.3 - I did my ICWA and then my US CPA much later in life, when I was 35+. I never had an issue with it. My wife and parents motivated me more than I ever could ask for. I almost didn't have to do it, as I had the so-called good job in hand, was travelling countries, had an international assignment etc. Looks good from the outside, right? But, I was the only one on the planet who knew that I never should have written those US MBA exams in my 20s and only ever did it because of the nonsensical comparisons around me. I knew I always had wanted to do the top most accounting and finance professional qualifications out there. But the questions continued well into my 30s - why ICWA and CPA now? Isn't it late? What benefit will it give you? The people who compared, kept saying the same things, albeit in a more circumspect way, as I was now 35+ and supposedly adult. But, their underlying tone was as constant (and this time, discernible), as it was in the late '90s. Thankfully, this time, I did not bother listening to any advise. Lesson learnt - do things for the sheer passion of doing it, especially if the only certificate you ever want is the certificate to prove things to yourself and to keep your head high. Really, nothing else matters in professional life.

After all these experiences (there are many, many more), I am convinced that comparisons are the greatest bane to a person's confidence. What one person can do, is never a template for what any other person can do. The only possibility is for one to learn from the other, even if the other is better than oneself - absolutely nothing wrong with that. But, to deviate from the fundamentals of who you are, that too professionally, and listening to the nonsense of comparisons, will only work to one's detriment. I can only think of my idol, Rahul Dravid who said in an interview, 'It is easy to be dazzled by Tendulkar at the other end of the pitch and to see what he does, but one should not forget what one can do'. Or, as Harsha Bhogle famously said, 'I cannot do what Tendulkar does and he cannot do what I can do'. I am thankful I suffered the nonsense of comparisons in my 20s, and had time to fix it - more a necessity than anything else. Lessons learnt for life - listen to advice, but if it makes no sense, do not bother.

Talent dazzles, but faith sustains

The recent tragic death of the iconic footballer, Diego Maradona, is a huge loss for the sporting world. Of the many things that the great man did, the one standout attribute that is universally acknowledged, is the talent he had and displayed to the rest of us. I have been thinking about the following - what is it about talent that dazzles most of us to this degree? Why are we just awestruck when such phenomenal talent finds ways to express itself in whichever sphere it may relate to? I am not a psychologist or an expert analyst, but a few pointers come to mind. Let me start with some examples, and then illustrate my pointers.

Many of us have been dazzled by the sheer magical powers of a sportsperson displaying his or her skills in the middle of a sporting arena. Be it the famous Wimbledon final between John McEnroe vs Bjorn Borg, or the iconic Boris Becker shaking off traditions at the All England Club by diving around in Centre Court, or the magic of Sachin Tendulkar or the Sir IVA Richards on the cricket field - there are umpteen examples of how talent has dazzled us. There are more examples from other walks of life too - Harsha Bhogle (a classy cricket writer and a commentator who actually started the profession for people with non-cricketing background)), SPB (the most divine singer in the last 30 years who was not a trained singer) and so on.

Talent has a way of showing the rest of us the art of the possible. It has its own language which is unscripted and has no parallel. Talent also dazzles us because it shows us versions and expressions that are potentially not seen before, even if it is from the same field. E.g. a Gavaskar vs a Sehwag - both opening batsmen with different styles, and both effective in their own unique ways. 

The other thing about talent, is that it dazzles us with the incredible charm of seeing human ability in action. There is a lot of talent around, but it means nothing if not expressed and if not met with its counterpart i.e. Opportunity. It is only when talent is met with opportunity, can any of us even have a chance of seeing what talent can do. That is precisely where the breakdown happens and many a talent is lost to the world or is never seen. Imagine a world where sportsmen, musicians, writers, actors, dancers, people in creative arts, journalists, and many others that we have seen, had not gotten an opportunity. 

Talent clearly pushes doors open and creates ideas that were not seen before. It has a way of demanding opportunities to create new vistas. I am always reminded of the famous Indian newsmaker, Dr. Prannoy Roy, who struck such a chord when he launched world news in our TV rooms in India in 1989 - I am of course referring to the famous The World This Week on Friday nights. He was talented, and by his own admission, perhaps struggled to get an opportunity to showcase his talent. But, when the final outcome presented itself, we entered a world of 24 X 7 news channels. That is what talent can do - open frontiers that did not exist earlier.

Which leads me to another point. Talent is not restricted to the world of creative arts, sports, or such professions which lend itself to more expression than others. Talent exists everywhere and in every field. The absolute key, is for talent to chase opportunity with the faith that the marriage will sustain. Only when raw talents that are harnessed and sustained over a long periods of time, will the audiences will continue to be convinced. Expression of talent, therefore, almost needs a certain form of serenity, concentration, focus, practice and training. That is how perhaps, big names are made i.e. not just by the slew of advertisements that we see. One needs tremendous diligence behind the core talent, in order for conviction and repeated opportunities to set in. After all audiences do have short attention spans. 

One can think of so many examples where such sustained expression of one's talent has dazzled so many of u. And they are not the easiest stories, behind the flash. E.g. MS Dhoni, Viswanathan Anand, A.R. Rahman, the Bansals of Flipkart, Dr. Verghese Kurian (Amul), the fingers of Dr. Zakir Hussain, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Prakash Padukone, SPB, or radio jockeys, art museums, the masons who built the Taj Mahal, your class topper, the amazing professor who can simplify the most complex subject and make it engaging. After all, what will an ad man do, if the very core that is advertised, is not good enough?

Back in my high school, we had a motto that was ingrained into us - Faith and Toil. That is perhaps the root of how talents can emerge. And be remembered. It is almost a given that talent will diffuse after a point and one has to keep it alive with tremendous amount of effort and diligence. Sachin Tendulkar did that and show us how it is done. He fundamentally taught an entire nation what one can do with one's own talent. I guess they told us the same thing in my school, but I perhaps, didn't grasp its essence! ;)

Lastly, I am convinced that talent is one of the core pillars for the progress in this world. What would this world be, if not for new talent emerging in every generation and taking the world a tad forward? We would all be stuck in Stone Age, otherwise!

While Diego Maradona dazzled us with his skills on the football field, it is time for the world in 2020 to define, identify, and nurture the talents we need for the next century. COVID-19, will come and go. Some other disaster may strike us again, who knows. But, we should not stop dreaming of what talent,  faith and toil, can do for this planet. Talent eases us, pleases us, and even makes life pulsating and energetic. Perhaps, that is what we are missing right now. Let's keep the faith for a better tomorrow, as no epidemic or disaster can stop human talent, which is far more powerful than the enemy (whether known or unknown).

Just remember Maradona's talent, though it is sad that he is not with us anymore. But if what he showed us on the football field is anything to go by, here is still hope for a better tomorrow.

MS Dhoni - the art of the possible!

This is a timestamp that will be recorded for posterity - 1929 hours on the 15th of August 2020. At the potential peak of the COVID-19, and on India's 73rd Independence Day, an iconic cricketer, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (MSD) announced his retirement from international cricket. The mightiness of this extraordinary cricketer simply lies in the narrative he changed, both today and when he played for India. As a cricket fan, there are a few things that I learnt from MSD that indicated the art of the possible.

He changed the narrative in the initial days of his career itself, with his long hair, pulsating strokeplay lower down the batting order, only to be matched by extraordinary glove work behind the stumps. That combination alone had not been seen on a cricket field before. We never knew about anything called a helicopter shot before he played it, either! MSD  proved to us that being unorthodox, creating your own brand of cricket, and yet sticking to the high standards of the game are perfectly capable of co-existing with each other.

Needless to say, his iconic rise to global stardom from small town India is now part of cricketing folklore. That aspect of his great career alone, made many subsequent Indian cricketers and Indians from various walks of life to believe that their skills could also matter on the world stage. He taught us to dream, and to dream big for a better tomorrow, to be recognised for your skill and for who you are.  His hometown, Ranchi, which was considered an after-thought as a cricketing venue, got one of the greatest sporting facilities in the country and a pavilion named after MSD! Clear impact of the man and what he delivered as a cricketer!

In the context of the world entering the great financial crisis, in 2008-09, with many people losing hope, MSD offered hope. Simply because, he showed us the ability to bounce back. The Indian cricket team did not qualify for even the quarter-finals in the ICC World Cup in 2007 and that is considered a huge setback for the team of that time.  From that disappointment, the team went on to win the coveted trophy on that famous April night in 2011 in Mumbai. The photograph of MSD's supersonic six off the Sri Lankan bowler, Kulasekara will be etched in the Indian sporting memory forever. What is even more interesting is that MSD was hardly seen in the post-match celebrations and he left the stage for the other cricketing icon, Sachin Tendulkar, to own his moment. MSD, will be known for that winning strike, but he will be remembered even more for his leadership in Indian cricket, especially on that night. 

That's the endearing aspect of what MSD did. Yes, he was the captain of the Indian cricket team for nearly 6 years of his career. But, he never looked (from the outside) to be asserting himself on players, seemed to back many cricketers, created and gave small town boys the opportunity to express themselves on the world stage, and build a team that exhibited its skills well. And he was such a quiet man, per media reports. Which tells you a thing or two of how well he must have engaged with the team for them to believe that the decisions he took as a captain would be in their best interests: Another abject lesson of how leadership should be!

Interestingly, his first big win in the T-20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, was perhaps a pre-cursor of things to follow. The greatest evidence of that accomplishment was the emergence of the global brand called IPL. He was one of the key players who has changed the narrative for 20-20 cricket in the last 13 years. There are endless number of games when MSD kept us on the edge of our seats, in nail-biting finishes in IPL cricket! But what was even more impressive, was the way he was universally accepted by audiences all over India, even though everyone knew that he was the captain of the Chennai Super Kings team. Hardly have we seen a cricketer whose name is chanted in a cricket stadium, when you know that he is the opposition captain. MSD allowed us to celebrate him, as we were cheering our national cricket captain, even though he was playing IPL club cricket! Universal acceptance, is another great thing he taught us. 

I have often pondered, what is it that this incredible cricketer did, which many others with gifted backgrounds sometimes fail to do? While I have never had an opportunity to meet the great man, as a keen follower of cricket, I am convinced it is the sheer hunger to maximise his skills and find solutions to construct the art of winning, is what fundamentally made MSD reach where he did. And that, to my mind is an extraordinary lesson he gave us - find a solution with what one has and can utilize, to win, in any given circumstance.

Nowhere else is this hunger better manifested than in the title of the greatest 'finisher in limited overs cricket' that he earned. Realistically, before him, limited overs cricket did not have too many considerations for the art of winning games from impossible, and nearly losing positions, in a cricket match. Till the time MSD was at the crease, clearly, opposition captains and bowlers would never be able to estimate if they even had a chance of winning. Why and how MSD made them feel that way? That is where I believe the power of his mind to think of solutions to win a game, from any situation, was limitless. A lesson for many of us.

Obviously, as is well known, his temperament is increasingly taking on the flavour of becoming a great case study in psychology and management of emotional intelligence. We are all used to hearing EQ being more important than IQ, when one is at the highest level or at any given level in an organisation. In the case of MSD, to have played his brand of cricket with free expression and an uncluttered mind, with such extraordinary balance and poise, is truly a hard act to follow. It may well be in the realm of a psychological case study on how to stay calm, and maybe he could contribute to some pioneering research in that sphere alone!

In conclusion, MSD is a legacy that will stand the test of time and will be cited as a fantastic example of cricketing greatness. Future generations of cricketers will undoubtedly be advised about the MSD school of cricket, which is hard to replicate and incredibly unique. We must take a moment to recognise that we have in our midst a champion cricketer, who cascaded into our homes with a smile, led the country's cricket team to unimaginable heights, and showed us the merits of free expression of talent and poise. Difficult to get such a combination again. 

Thank you, MSD! You will be missed!

10 years in SAP!

It is a true landmark in my life as I complete 10 years in SAP. As cliched as it may sound, it has been a nice, long, memorable experience.

I came into SAP with the knowledge that it was the world's number 1 ERP company and that it was one of the leading companies in Germany. Part of that knowledge was based on my prior experience as an Industry Analyst where I wrote market reports on the Indian software industry and the performance of leading lights such as SAP. It was only after joining this technology major did I realize how little I knew about this entity from the outside.

My first foray into this gigantic German corporation was in the Competitive and Market Intelligence (CMI) team in India, within the overall Corporate Strategy group. That role gave me the first taste of what it means to be a Global Lead and to take ownership in every aspect of work that mattered to a global stakeholder group. In as much as it was about solid content and delivering quality performance, it was equally about understanding the dynamics of working in a global corporation. Performing on the job, understanding the company culture, picking up the organization dynamics, and learning to operate globally were all part of the job description in the initial years. Those lessons hold me in good stead to this day, and continue to evolve.

To put things in a business context, the SAP group revenues were €10B globally in FY 2007, with about 43,000 employees worldwide. The group is now €23.4B in revenues, with over 85,000 employees. The stock price on the day I joined was €38 and has reached €106 today. I guess that’s what it means to more than double the business! And it has changed complexion completely, as I explain further.

Over the last 10 years, there has been a massive transformation in the technology sector, of which SAP has been a major catalyst.  Be it the move from traditional on-premise to the cloud, or the more recent shift to digital and intelligent solutions, the market has expanded into areas that did not exist a decade ago. And to adapt, learn, grow and develop a series of career opportunities in such as fast-paced environment is a rare privilege.

In the last 10 years, I have been bestowed with opportunities that I thought were unthinkable earlier. This diversity in roles, the nature of the projects, the rich interaction with extremely senior executives in the technology industry, have offered me vast, enriching opportunities with new learning and growth. Not to mention a horizon that I did not have earlier. I quite simply did not know so much about the technology market a decade ago. And in a large measure, it is the quality of the people that reside here who have helped shape that knowledge capital over the years and continue to do so. More on that, in just a bit!

This was the place where I learnt the true meaning of the term ‘truly global’. I travelled to countries that I had only seen on the world map before. There were opportunities to work on projects with global leaders that you could otherwise never access, or who would never know of your existence. Other interesting experiences included changing portfolios and opportunities to learn new things every few years. Even within regular projects, one had a learning curve on various topics and new angles of analysis that have been intriguing and enriching at the same time.

More importantly, it has been nothing short of dazzling for me to interact and work with the some of the greatest talent in the world. Never in my life did I think that I would get to work with people from Germany, Singapore, China, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, UK, France, Netherlands, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and many other countries.  The sheer diversity in talent and the rich knowledge capital that resides with them, the interesting personalities, the amazing coffee corner and networking conversations, and the differences in cultures and backgrounds of people, have all made it tremendously worthwhile. These experiences have convinced me that in general, people wish well and hope for a better world.

There have been some unique personal experiences too. Once when the SAP General Manager of a global business met me for the first time at a Miami offsite and asked me if I was vegetarian (aboard a team boat cruise that had ~100 other people around vying for his time). I was spellbound! Or, another instance in Germany where another General Manager translated a German menu at a restaurant into English for me amidst 10 top executives. Or when that group's Chief of Staff took care of my transport in Germany personally in an Audi sports convertible (@180-200 kmph on the autobahn!). And during that same trip, I was given the rare opportunity to present on stage, my vision on what that business can do by 2020 – I was standing in front of leaders at a leadership offsite with seniors who had 30 years’ experience, at least! I was left speechless. Or, when a colleague dropped me back safely at the SAP guest house after a team dinner, when I didn’t have local transport at that hour (again in an Audi car @200 kmph, which was slower than the colleague’s regular speed of 240-260 kmph!). And many other such memories!

Sure, there have been challenges along the way. Many of them, in fact. Be it adapting to newer lands, or sitting through hard technology sessions with limited technical background, or to understanding roles, responsibilities and expectations of multi-cultural managers and adapting to their styles, etc. Such challenges are only to be expected in a 10-year journey, in any case. But, challenges have demonstrated that one can always bounce back. After all, there are no shortcuts in becoming and staying as the number 1 enterprise software company in the world.

SAP has been an identity, a culture, an endless ocean of learning opportunities, and a remarkably international group that has shaped my personality in many ways. I have learnt many things about myself – positive and negative. I learnt to experiment, to try, to learn from failures, to adapt, to learn about the world and its different cultures, to understand that one need not know it all and that there are many others who are far better in areas that I may not know anything about.

More than anything else, this German giant has genuinely taught me to try and be the best version of myself. Or, can possibly be. That goes far beyond anything that I will ever learn about any technology.

Thanks for the last decade, SAP! You have given me something to treasure forever. Look forward to greater times ahead!

The constant lessons from sport

Every time I experience something euphoric or good, I always think of how a sportsperson would feel upon winning a championship for their club or country or the team he/she is representing. It really must be an unparalleled joy to see victory and reap the benefits of hard work. Equally so, every time life puts me in my place, I turn to sport for inspiration and lessons. And even when things are going as per routine, I end up looking at sport to teach me the discipline in keeping normalcy going. 

Of course, my bias is towards the greatest sport I relate to i.e. cricket. But, I appreciate all other sports and the the lessons they offer. In all my growing years, I was mesmerised by the iconic impression that the cricket had on me. For many years, I watched it as just a game. But, in the late '90s and in the first decade of this century, I realised how much of what sportsmen go through could well relate to many of our lives.

While I have never been a sportsman worth mentioning (played street cricket, at best!), I have always wondered why I turn to this amazing phenomenon of human expression to help me in my life. What is it about sport that helps me continuously try and see parallels in my life? How is it that I look to sport, in my toughest of times, for inspiration? Perhaps it is the emotion of sport that helps one understand the emotion of success and failure in life. Or, perhaps it is the ability of sport to offer reason for success or failure. Maybe, it is the combined effect of emotion and reason, along with the circumstantial and hard facts, that illustrate why something in life happened, or did not happen? Or, maybe it is the mystical aspect of sport that can be translated into life itself i.e. some things can never be explained. I have thought about this for a long time and wanted to pen this down today.

Firstly, I am convinced that sport is a manifestation of life itself. The ups and downs of sport are a reflection of what many of us experience over our lifetime. But what I have come to appreciate the most, is the magic of temperament that sport teaches us. I personally do not know of any other university that teaches us the importance of temperament better. Be it in good times, or even more importantly, in bad times, it is the attitude and temperament demonstrated in various situations that differentiates our own interpretation or response to that situation. As we have seen, sport is about handling different scenarios - running well between wickets, getting the opposition out, scoring big runs, helping your team mate, practicing hours on end in the nets, working out in the gym, controlling life outside the ground, or acknowledging that the opponent is better than you on the day, and so on.

Secondly, as I was growing up in sublime Bangalore, I never realised that sport can be the greatest teacher possible. Sure enough, I learnt from human beings who were great teachers in school and college. And I grew up with friends who taught me a lot. But sport taught me things that transcended anything I ever learnt from a book or a person i.e. the importance of digging deep to improve one's skills, the art and science of practicing what one wants to be good at, the discipline and the commitment in not wavering from goals, the ability to see ambition as a far greater package of life that goes beyond monetary benefits, etc. It is the world's most fascinating university that has taught me life skills.

Thirdly, sport has taught me that tomorrow is another day. One needs to try harder than today in order to make the future better. This may mean working harder, or may mean sacrificing current times for a greater tomorrow. Sportsmen do this. All the time. The regimen of their lives is never fully understood, given the fanfare that is seen in the media. What is never shown are the long hours at the gym, or the strict diet, or the timeliness in their sleep patterns, or the overall discipline to become the best that they can be. While all that they do is not directly transferrable to everybody's life, I do believe that the ingredients that go into making a great sportsman are eminently usable in the pursuit of improving one's own life.

Fourthly, watching sport over time has taught me that the greatest of sportsmen have ambitions and dreams that go far beyond what their fans have of them. Having never been a sportsman, it may be hard to explain, but I understand the sentiment. I look no further than Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, or a Roger Federer, who demonstrated this in recent years. While Sachin was born to decorate the sport with his career, Rahul had to continuously prove his worth in order to succeed. Sachin once said that he never felt the pressure of expectations of a billion+ Indians when he played for India, because his own expectations of himself were far higher than the collective expectations of his fans. And Rahul, on another occasion said that he spent a long time in trying to be the best version of himself that he could be, on the cricketing field. What a way to think!

Fifthly, some things in life never really happen, despite our best efforts. Even there, sport teaches us to believe. It teaches us to constantly keep at it and to regularly believe that change will come. Improvement will happen. That the future will shift in our favour. That nothing really is permanent. What seems difficult today, may seem plausible tomorrow. The greatest education that sport has given me is to never let go. Keep trying till such time the doors open. It may take a long time to open, but if the effort and mindset are sincere, the doors will open. This is marvellously illustrated by what the great Indian opening batsman, Sunil Gavaskar, who once famously said, "If the doors don't open, score more runs and the break the door open such that the selectors are forced to select you to play for your country". This was in reference to cricketers playing first-class cricket and who harboured dreams of playing for the Indian national cricket team. Wise words!

Lastly, I was recently watching the story of that iconic gymnast from yesteryear, Nadia Comaneci, on YouTube. What a sublime story of raw talent reaching the greatest of sporting heights (a perfect 10 in gymnastics in the 1976 Montreal Olympics) at a young age, only to be followed by tremendous tests in her real life in later years. While I don't know the great champion, I am guessing that having been a sportswoman might very well have helped her cope with the many difficulties that she had to face later in life. I think sport has the ability to teach us that i.e. treat victory as a part of life, and ensure that one builds the heart and temperament to handle failure. Easier said than done!

Sure enough, sport is about winning. But, even more so, it is about excellence and maximising one's skills. I think almost all of us have the intent to do better and to excel in our area of our choosing. Sport has taught me why the dream of achieving excellence is a far more sustainable and fulfilling outcome, than just winning. We always remember hard fought victories of our favourite teams. We always recall great players who won games for their teams/countries when their backs were against the wall. Much of this, I think, is the process that has gone into building their skills i.e. achieving excellence. And the pursuit of that excellence will make all of us go through a series of successes and failures in our lives, just like sportsmen do. Undoubtedly, it will have phases of self-doubt, and incredible uncertainty along with periods of success that one may have thought was unattainable. But, what is incredibly critical, is that sport creates avenues for self-belief. And teaches us to stay balanced, come what may.

Sport is one of the greatest joys in our lives and is perhaps needed even more in modern times, where anything except winning is considered second-grade. What we need to remember is that, there is only one winner in sport, on a given day. But, the ones that do not win today, might have a chance of winning tomorrow if they learn the right lessons. That is what I choose to always remind myself about, come rain or sunshine. Thank you, sport! You are my greatest life coach!

Change in psyche - technology analyst to internal auditor

One of the big changes in my professional life happened on the first of July this year, when I changed from being a technology analyst to an internal auditor. It is a change that I imagined would happen at some point in my life and I am happy that it has happened. But, what I underestimated (in a positive way) was how my thinking could change, once my work profile changed. 

For starters, I have a background of a decade and a half looking at the external market as an industry analyst. Suddenly, I have the wonderful opportunity to do the exact opposite i.e. work as an internal auditor and look at the internal perspectives within a company. That is a radical shift and in fact needs an altogether different approach and thinking. As opposed to finding market opportunities earlier, I now need to think about how to improve things internally. Or, from looking at how a company can maximise an industry trend in my earlier job, to now looking at minimising risks. 

The opportunity to be an internal auditor is unique. It is one of those unique professions that provides an in-depth perspective into every aspect of a business and interface with executive management. The role, based on what I have understood in a week, is not only dramatically powerful but also incredibly useful to a company's inner workings. There is so much to learn, there is so much that one does not know in a new profession. And that's why I believe that my thinking is already changing, as I see the kinds of possibilities in this new profession. 

Sure, I am going to be challenged severely by veterans in internal audit. I am not the first to enter this profession, nor the last. But, the sheer challenge of learning something new, or of proving to myself that I can get out of my comfort zone and do something as well as I possibly can, is one of the most exhilarating professional feelings that I have experienced in a while.

In the last one week, I have learnt to see how my previous job is a wonderful starting point for this new job. To begin with, one has to understand the market realities before investigating how the company in question can improve. So, I have a solid starting point. And from that point on, as an internal auditor, I get to dig deep into various aspects of the internal workings of the company. 

I could not ask for a better combination than this to change my thinking. It's different, it’s a natural transition from external to internal roles, and hopefully provides a well-rounded perspective of both external and internal business conditions in a few years. 

It is amazing how thinking can change within 1 week of a new job, nay, a new profession in this case. Analyst to auditor may seem very radical at most times, but it makes far more sense to me now than it did a few years ago. Look forward to the journey!

The beauty of learning about the Bengali life

I have been lucky to meet, befriend and get to know a bit about the Bengali way of life. Over time, I have made some truly fascinating friends from the great city of Kolkata (prefer calling it Calcutta). Though I have had Bengali friends since school, it was only when I left home for my MBA and later in my working life that I got to know a lot about Bengalis. They are one of the most interesting creed of people that I have ever known. 

My first taste of Bengal was back in school at the famous K.C.Das restaurant in Bangalore. I still remember the few evenings when my dad used to bring back a pot full of rasagolla (I later on learnt that it is roshogolla!). Gradually, I picked up the other wonderful savouries that the Bengali had to offer, for desserts - mishti dohi being an all-time favourite. But, my interesting association with Bengalis went far beyond food. I got to meet some really interesting people from that part of the country.

The one thing that has stood out for me, always, is the sheer amount of time that Bengalis seem to have in their lives. I have never understood it, but, they just seem to have that much more time for everything in life. Time to study more. Time to discuss a topic more. Time to admire the charm of nature, a bit more. Time to immerse oneself into the depths of a subject. Time to remember the famous verses of a Tagore. Time to watch the timeless classics of Satyajit Ray, starting with Pather Panchali. Time to start talking about a subject in the evening and still talk about it well after dinner. It’s amazing, how they just seem to have that extra bit of time, compared to others. Maybe, I am biased, but that really has been my standout experience in all of my interactions with them.

The other unique thing about every Bengali that I have befriended, is their eyebrow. It is thick, period. And, all of them, without exception have thick eyebrows. Is it because of the amount of fish they eat? Or, is it because of anything else that they do, which others don't? The size of their eyebrows becomes even most pronounced when a brow is raised, or if there is a quizzical look, or if enter into a debate with you. That's the first thing that I observe about their facade.

Talking of facades, their women are so good-looking. Be it at C.R. Park in Delhi, or Park Street in Calcutta, or the Bengali community in my lovely city Bangalore, all the women that I have ever befriended just look stunning. Added to that is their intellectual horsepower, which makes it an even more engaging proposition. I think, that really seals the issue of the Bengali charm - the sheer combination of intellect combined with beauty. Over time, I have reached the conclusion that the Bengali woman knows that she is very, very good-looking and hence perhaps goes out of her way to look good.  

There are other things about the Bengali life that I have loved. The interiors of their houses are so tastefully done. There is always place for a classy gramophone, or a violin, or a guitar, or sitar. Most of them will ensure that there is some form of a library, or at least a bookcase to store/showcase some of the choicest books written in the history of mankind. Not to mention, the Bengali choice of colours - quite breathtakingly unique. There is always a brush of one colour interspersed with the other. For example, the sofa may be brown or purple, while the gramophone sitting alongside it will be shining golden with a Tagore record player soothing an audience on any given evening. 

Tagore reminds me of the other thing that I truly cherish about Bengalis, their interest and choice of music. It is quite amazing how they manage to learn that much about music of different kinds and also manage to build a collection based on their individual tastes. After all, it was the Bengali community that gave us a timeless legend called Kishore Kumar, who I am a very, very big fan of. A talent like no other, and a man who has a song for me, raised in the south of India, for every mood and occasion or situation of life. Genius!

Of course, in all my interactions with my wonderful Bengali friends, I have hardly heard them mention about a certain Sourav Ganguly or about the closely related priceless jewel, the Eden Gardens. That pride with them is a given, though, not all of them have talked to me about it. I experienced the sheer passion for these two truly iconic symbols of Bengal in 2008, when I visited Calcutta for the first time. The acres and acres of the cricketing maidans and the quality and competitiveness of club cricket there was an eye-opener. I had only heard about English county cricket, or at best, Mumbai league cricket being that competitive. But, I saw true passion for sport on the maidans of Calcutta. Those places are so well-maintained too. And for a person like me, having grown up in the south of India where information technology rules, I found it fascinating to see a universal adulation of that great ex-cricket captain of India and sport overall. He really is the prized sporting possession of Calcutta, and indeed, all of Bengal. It is understandable why. That man showed the entire country what it means to be aggressive - a trait that you generally would not associate with most Bengalis. 

Few things in Calcutta are as iconic as their famous yellow Ambassador taxis. It was an experience of a life for me to travel nearly 30 kilometers in one of those iconic vehicles during my trip to Calcutta in 2008. The vehicle has its own speed of movement, the drivers seem to enjoy owning one of Calcutta's pride, and there is always music playing in these vehicles. The driver can also be an engaging conversationalist. And the minute he realises that you are not local, he will start showing you Calcutta's famous landmarks. You needn't be a formal tourist to see that city. A normal taxi ride will do.

All in all, I have loved the Bengalis. Their celebration of the Durga Puja is a celebration like no other. But, my only grouse is, Bengalis don't easily seem to understand vegetarian, except a few. I was lucky with vegetarian food just once when two absolutely lovely Bengali girls from work, were kind enough to host me and made specific vegetarian food for me. However, I did not find vegetarian food easily when I visited Calcutta. Thank god, I knew about mishti dohi and roshogolla, before I landed there!

To all the lovely Bengali friends that I have, I just want to say one thing. Your culture and way of life has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. And I just love spending the time I did with you. As much as I like learning about new things and meeting new people, the charm of an evening spent with a Bengali friend is something to treasure. Like I said earlier, their taste, intellect and ability to hold a conversation, not to mention their good looks (not that it’s essential, but helps), has provided some terrific memories of terrific conversations. I can now say that I do know a few things more than roshogolla and mishti dohi...!

Professionals need to be good at professional networking

One of the most significant things that I have seen grow and quite literally go through the roof in the last few years, is the power of networking. It has grown manifold from its primitive form of casual conversations or its variants in the initial part of my career, to newer dimensions that were unthinkable earlier. 

People call networking different things or use different places to network such as coffee corners, Friday evening meet-ups, after hour parties, like-minded clubs, golf courses, alumni groups, or online (think LinkedIn). Networking is almost expected these days. But, the crux of networking is to put your name out there and be known for what you are and what you are good at. It’s a massive opportunity to build one's own brand and unique identity. 

The form of networking that is prevalent these days is well-suited to a human form of what I studied about products and services in MBA under the chapter 'branding' during my marketing class. Specifically, brand recall. If you are known by the people who matter, and have your name out there at the right place with the right people, the chances are that you will get your opportunities at the right time.

Nowadays, professionally selling oneself in a social setting seems to be a very powerful thing to engage in. The art of holding a drink correctly in the right hand, or using the semi-formal set up of being dressed in a coat without a tie and having casual conversations with the right people in a social setting, or talking about cricket and other things with people who matter, are way too common. I even know a person who does not drink or smoke, but goes to every major pub in India and meets people from all walks of life and discusses music with them. He is reasonably well-known and some of us were lucky to get free entries into some of the pubs he visited - completely due to his goodwill and grandstanding network with the pub owners! Now, this has nothing to do with professional networking, but, those are the kinds of newer dimensions of networking that I was referring to earlier.

Not to forget, all the time professional networkers are searching for the opportune time to present themselves and their skills. It does not come naturally to many people, but I have seen the attempt to be noticed in many a setting and it is amazing how many people try to be natural about it. Nothing wrong with that. But, I have always believed that one needs to be fundamentally good at something and have the ability to add value. That is the core. Networking has magnified the impact of getting dream roles by perfecting the art of casual conversation interspersed with serious professional interests. 

I actually even attended a session by the famous Indian entrepreneur-cum-socialite, Suhel Seth, as a part of a book launch a few years ago. After he launched the book, he only talked about how networking has helped him grow in his career. Agreed, he said that he had always been a brilliant debater since his school days, but those core skills along with his networking skills enabled him to make a name for himself in the Indian media.

One of the most simplistic forms of networking that I experienced a few years back, was when we had to take a good 3 months before deciding to hire somebody in our team. Following his interview (during those 3 months), that prospective candidate sent us emails which had industry reports that had content relevant to our work. Further, he also emailed us some specific market intelligence from publicly available sources and contextualised them a bit, for us (based on his judgment of the role, from his interview experience). That was a sure form of networking, long before he got the job. Of course, he got the job not only because he cleared the interviews, but very clearly, somebody somewhere noticed him even after the interviews. That is brand recall for sure (even though we were looking at other candidates).

Not for a moment am I suggesting that networking is a sure shot way of reaching great heights in a career. Absolutely not. One has to be good at something and deliver, nurture and grow the value of those primary skills in order for employers to continue to be bullish about one's credentials. To that extent, networking, without an inherent core, is never good enough. People will be found out, as networking can only get people a foot in the door. As I have heard in interviews with iconic cricketers', talent can only get you through for the first couple of years. After that, it is purely performance and hard work. It does appear that this logic is true for professional networking too i.e. without being good at something, and getting through via networking is a short-term solution in career management. It is advisable to become good at something or identify what one is naturally good at, and then go about networking with that core identity/skill.

Of course, being good at something and not letting people know about it i.e. without networking, seems to be incomplete, or even inadequate at times. We do live in a competitive world, after all.

Lastly, I am convinced that networking as a skill needs to be taught in leading business schools of the world, because, when graduates enter the business world and start scaling the corporate ladder, this is a skill that they end up having to learn on the job. Why not pre-empt it and teach them those real-world, necessary skills? But, never forget to teach them the core i.e. make them good at their areas of expertise - be it finance, operations, marketing, supply chain or strategy or any other stream of academic endeavour in a business environment (which is what I am exposed to). 

I wonder how I will view professional networking at the end of my career (still some years away!). Should be interesting to see how this skill evolves, in times to come.

Setbacks and learning are two sides of the same coin

For as long as I can remember, I used to hate setbacks in life. It used to make me wonder as to why God can be so unkind to human beings who mean well and wish to improve their lives. I used to literally go through extreme feelings of 'why me?', or, 'what did I do to deserve this?' And I had the exact same emotions and thoughts when bad things happened to people near and dear to me. 

Never did I think that setbacks are actually life's best companion to improve life, if combined with learning. Read on.

Some of the biggest mistakes that we make, especially when we are younger, is to consider failure or setbacks as the end of life. There have been umpteen times when I have gone into extreme depression or done aimless soul-searching, without always finding an answer to the failure that I was facing. That was mistake number 1 i.e. thinking of the setback in isolation. 

The other big mistake that one tends to make, is this world of constant comparison. It is the single most self-destructing characteristic for anybody's human psyche. That was mistake number 2, which is one's greatest enemy. We just forget that the capabilities of human beings differ, so do resources, or more importantly, discipline.

There are other wrong ways in dealing with setbacks in life. One, to think that it is the end of the world. Two, to find it hard to see a way out. Three, to just completely fail to consider alternatives that may be feasible. Four, the sheer unwillingness to consult closest comrades who may play a key role in advising you. Five, the inability to learn from the situation. And all this eventually resulting in just getting stuck. It is not easy. I am the last person to suggest that getting out of a mess in life is easy. One is battling life's practicality, along with one's own psyche. It's hard, really hard.

Over time, I have come to realise that the fundamental thing in tackling any setback in anybody's life, is in approach. While I don't know everybody in this world, I can definitely speak for myself. The biggest change in my mindset came during the years 2004-2010 (and occasionally after that), when I had to emerge and evolve from a personal catastrophe in my life (those who know me closely enough, know what I am referring to). During that phase, I really did think that it was the end of the world and I failed to think of things to consider, evaluate and diagnose things my own good. Life did seem unfair at that time. Life most certainly did seem unforgiving too. The world looked like it was the worst place to be in.

The big thing that I eventually came out with is that setbacks, personal disasters and failures have to be treated with less emotion (you can't avoid it), and more objectivity. It is easier said than done. And it is extremely hard for anybody who tends to be hard on oneself, as I usually am with myself. But, the key is to learn and learn fast. Time and tide wait for noone, as the saying goes. That is even more relevant in the context of self-healing. And the one thing I have learnt over time is that setbacks without applying the learning element, is a sure way to continue being in distress and pain. 

If we learn quickly from our mistakes, find a way not to repeat them and stop feeling inadequate about ourselves, just because we did something wrong or something really 'not-so-great' happened to us, we can rebuild. The degree of the impact of a setback/failure certainly varies from person to person and it is something that we cannot control. But, what we do control, is our approach to a setback. The ability to apply learning to a setback is in our control. The ability to learn and evaluate why something went wrong and what one should do to not to repeat that mistake (especially, if its something that could have been avoided) are the key things. Its like batting in cricket - if you get out to wild shots outside the off stump, and practice to leave the ball from the next match, you will reduce your chances of getting out. I suppose, that may seem too simplistic an example, but, it really is applicable to most of our lives.

Look at the number of initiatives in the world that are available to us these days to tackle failures/setbacks in life. We have mentors in most multi-national companies these days. We have self-help portals. Business schools teach students about emotional quotient in the corporate world. Psychologists are in various interview panels while hiring senior level candidates, these days. The Australian army, for example, does not recruit people for key battles/positions, if the candidate has not faced a severe failure/setback in life. Their contention is, if the person has not faced failure, he will not know what to do when he sees missiles coming at him in the battlefield. In the modern age, there are NGOs that help people tackle depression. Self-help groups are on the increase, right around the world. The subject, moral science in school, sadly continues to be treated with contempt. Perhaps, that is the one class that should be made mandatory in school. 

All this, to me, just points to one thing. Failure/setbacks, considered in isolation without introspection/learning, are irrelevant and meaningless. And having so many avenues these days to tackle setbacks just means one thing. We need help. But, to help these various fora to help us, we can start within us by helping ourselves first. There is no point in self-pitying anymore. The world and nobody has time for that. 

All that I mention so far, is historical. If I have to extend the syndrome of tackling failures in life to future generations, here's my take.

The modern day teenagers dare to dream and dream big. They do not understand or know the meaning of failure. The fact that something is not possible, does not resonate with them. That is the mindset of the modern era i.e. these kids of the digital age who are ready to take the world on. Nothing wrong with that. It is credit to the generation that the world has managed to build over the last 25-30 years - of dreaming big and fufilling one's deepest desires. 

But, I am equally convinced, however, that it is this new generation that needs to be taught the ability to handle failure. I will never hope or want anybody from the generation-next to fail (or anybody for that matter). But, I really do think, that this generation-next is the most vulnerable. They need to be taught the mechanisms to handle failure. 

Be it now or the year 2050 or 2100, man will progress and create means to build a better world. Current and future generations will continue to 'innovate and invest' in their ideas to create a world far different (and hopefully better!) from what mankind has seen till date. But, the other 'i' is always not as directly visible as the first two 'i's I mentioned above. And that is, 'introspection'. 

I am not trying to paint a sad picture of the future world, but only trying to illustrate why introspection and learning from failures in the future will be even more critical than it has been in the past. The challenges of the future are likely to be the types that we may have not even thought possible. That makes it even more critical to do all three things at once - dream big and execute on those dreams, generate ideas for the betterment of the world rather than just compete, and introspect from failures.

Perhaps, Thomas Alva Edison said it best, years ago, "I have not failed 10,000 times. I have found 10,000 ways of not doing it and just need 1 way to make the electric bulb'. If that is not introspection/learning from failures, I don't know what else is. History is full of such great people with such great failures. But, it is what they did with those failures that made them great.

I am convinced, failures/setbacks and learning, are two sides of the same coin.

Why some things are unique to America - or so, they claim!

Over the years, much has been touted about the great American dream. The country has been positioned so aggressively as the only place on the planet where people can live their dreams. It has rightfully been coined the land of opportunities. And so on.

Having visited this country over the last decade on short trips, and having lived here for a little over 6 months, I have some observations. 

There is no doubt that the U.S. has enabled and created life-changing experiences for people and generated opportunities for people to realise their dreams. Technology-driven innovation, futuristic thinking, incredible success of a capitalist model, an economy grounded on people's willingness and ability to take risks have all contributed to this country becoming the world's number 1 economy. 

The university system here of applying thought to various disciplines, rather than learn by rote, has been a singular differential from the rest of the world (that is more prone to churn out degrees, than invoke learning - perhaps arguable, but let's take that to be the case for the moment).

What is even more interesting is the phrase, 'when Wall Street sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold'. As much of an exaggeration as that may be, the fact that global markets look at the US indices for direction, in addition to the global standard of the U.S. dollar and its direction, have been other major influences of this country on the world. The largest companies in the world want to come here, invest and grow. The most ambitious of entrepreneurs do not believe that they have made it, unless they crack the code on the U.S. market.

Think about other things too. A casual statement such as, 'I am in the States', is assumed to refer to the United States, when it never is specified to be that way. That is the kind of universal domination of this country on the planet. They have managed to brand, market themselves very well, and those factors, along with the American ability to import talent and use it to their advantage has been nothing short of revolutionary.

But in all my travels here, there is the other element of life in America that has caught my attention too. The fact that not knowing your neighbour well, even if you live here all your life, is common. Assuming that the American way is the way in the rest of the world is a given, for most locals (unless they have travelled the earth). The general knowledge of the average Joe is incredibly poor - most people do not tend to do well in math and science here. 

There are a few zillion opposites here that I have never ceased to make me wonder, why it is so unique here. Take these cases of how the way of life in the U.S. is assumed to be the case in the rest of the world:

1. There is the stupid assumption that the minute people from another country walk through the turnstiles of the immigration counter and reach a car, they should know how to drive here. What the locals conveniently forget is there are other driving rules in other countries, and that every country in the world does not have a GPS to follow. Plus, people in other countries do tend to drive on the other side of the road.
2. Electric switch - In most of Asia at least (that's what I am familiar with), the electric switch is pushed down to put on the light, and pushed up to switch off. Here in the U.S., it is the opposite - and that is assumed to be known!
3. If you look at financial statements here, the assets are on the left of the page and the liabilities are on the right. The income is on the left, and the expenses are on the right. That is the exact opposite of how financial statements are done in most countries that follow the British system of accounting
4. Drinking water - it is so common for people to bend and drink water from a tap here. How very inconvenient that is! In most other countries, one normally has a glass right next to drinking water - at least in the standardised places such as an office or an airport. Not in the U.S. though.
5. Water fountain vs fountain - I will never forget this one! When I went to Central Park in New York City last month, I asked a local for directions to the place where the large fountain (that was shown in the YouTube videos) was. The person pointed me in one direction and I followed that path. I never found any fountain there, but only tap water. That's when I learnt, that I am supposed to say water fountain, so that I get to see the actual scenic fountain that I was looking for. Merely saying fountain is interpreted here as the fountain that emits drinking water!
6. The expression 'schedule' is pronounced as "shed-dule", in at least 7 countries that I know (U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore etc). Why is this word pronounced as "sked-dule" in the U.S.?
7. The electric socket here is 2-pin. In most of the other countries, it is 3-pin. I have always wondered why. The power is 110-watts. In Asia and Europe, its 220-watts. I wonder why, even more.
8. The driving experience in America is certainly wonderful, with fantastic roads and freeways, all under the watchful eyes of the law enforcement agencies. But, one does tend to feel sleepy while driving here (have checked with many people), as there are no traffic jams or people honking. Now, the way to save yourself from feeling sleepy while driving here, is to drink coffee. How unique is that? Isn't feeling sleepy more dangerous that navigating insane traffic?
9. Levels in a building - this has to rank as one of the most amusing differences here. When you enter a building, the ground floor is called first level, and the first floor is called the second level, and the second floor is the third level. How can anyone coming from any other part of the world ever know that? My first day in this office, about 6 months back, made me realise this the hard way, when I went to the wrong floor (er, level!).

There are other things in the U.S. that I have also found uniquely different. Why is it that anything that happens here is considered global? For instance, how can any ranking here be considered global? The Fortune 500 ranks U.S. companies that are headquartered in the U.S., and who operate in the U.S. and have their financial statements filed in the U.S. Yet, this ranking is considered as a global ranking. While I understand the global impact of these companies, it's quite illogical to assume that these are the only top 500 companies on the planet (to me, at least).

Or, for that matter, as an old friend in Asia told me, 'if you study in the U.S., do it in the best universities. Don't do in the 'most-famous' place in a neighbourhood, as it is not known elsewhere. The Americans have a way of thinking that their 'local' world, is equal to the world!'

For all the advancement and technology in the U.S. I continue to be staggered by the number of Americans who have not seen most parts of their own country. Ok, I just got here in my life and am subject to the immigration laws. So, it makes sense to see different places whilst I am here. But, many Americans that I have spoken to, have not seen the Niagara Falls, or the Grand Canyon etc. It is even more common for people in one coast of the country, not to have seen the other coast. Going to New York City, even for the locals here, is that great big dream in life and trying to make it big. The other option is the Silicon Valley. And between these two extremes, there is only Chicago, or the mid-west, which even the Americans refer to as 'fly-past' zone (fly from the east to the west coast and back).

Retiring in Florida is the most common trend in the U.S. Clearly, the tax breaks and lower cost of living are the star attractions. Which only lends itself to the theory that this country, for all its advancements, is a very, very, very expensive place to live in. Especially, in the big cities, where most of the jobs are and where most of the people congregate. Yet, for all the time that people work in these big cities, many of them are not able to travel around and see their own country. I suppose that could be true in other countries too, but, it is something of a surprise for locals here not to have seen many places in their life (in the context of the supreme purchasing power in this part of the world).

Perhaps, all this is best epitomised in what two people who are born and raised here, told me. One said, 'Americans don't care' and the second person told me,  'this is a very selfish bunch of people'.

I guess it's best to take the best out of everything in life, wherever we may be.

My first 15th August outside India

This is the first time in my life that I am not in India on our Independence Day. This is the first time that I am not driving around my favourite city, Bangalore, seeing the festivities of the national celebration reaching the last mile. This is the first time in my life that I am not buying the Indian national flag and keeping it proudly on the dashboard of my car, and then placing it on my desk at home, upon arrival. I miss home. Genuinely do.

Come to think of it, I have been out of the country for a mere 7 months. It does seem like a lifetime though. Perhaps, I was far too entrenched back home than I had realised, and the impact of uprooting the apple cart and moving abroad hit me much later. No regrets in doing that, whatsoever, professionally (only) speaking. 

But, these 7 months have been a revelation of a kind that I did not anticipate I would undergo to such a degree. I have come to recognise and understand myself far better than I ever did. I have come to respect my Indian identity so much more and understand how deeply-rooted I am with things back home.

Being a representative of my country in a foreign land is the one thing that I keep reminding myself about. Whatever I say or do, or don't say or don't do, can very well be a judgment by locals about what my country stands for. It may sound like a stretch, but I'd rather be cognizant of that possibility and hence be responsible about it. The pride of representing my nation in an alien land is an opportunity to show the world the right things that we stand for. I remember this, more than anything else, on this Independence Day.

In these 7 months, I suppose there have been multiple instances of being amazed by a whole new world, and equally so, times of wonderment of what I left back home. And at other times, about the possibilities ahead. To that extent, it clearly has been a mixed bag - speaking only one single language (English) everywhere I go, driving on the road with strict lane discipline, standing in a queue and waiting for my turn, getting used to the credit card culture, adapting to the immense levels of mechanisation and technology in everyday life (apps etc), not finding people on the street while driving, or  the unique driving culture of not honking, finding only cars and trucks on the road with the occasional biker around, going about setting up a new life in an alien land etc, have all ended up in contributing to my personality in ways that I may only fathom much later in life. Or, other things like being precise with things, punctual for every meeting (social or official), planning for and having a dress code for an occasion, using Google maps or GPS systems to find your way to a destination (irrespective of whether it is 10 minutes or 10 hours away from your origin), finding a way to be tremendously organized (lest face the wrath of the law of this land), are clear improvements from yesteryear. 

All these are experiences that would definitely stand me in good stead, as there is no social system of support in this new place. It is a case of finding out how to do something from scratch, and going about doing it in the most optimum way. Or, at least, the best way that I can figure out!

Not meaning to compare this experience with that of what I had in India. But, the world I come from, clearly had different things. Even if one didn't follow the rules, there was always a way out. Not having lane discipline and getting stuck in traffic for 3-4 hours at a stretch was so normal. Finding oodles of people on the road was a given. Saying, 'just 5 minutes' for anything and everything related to time was such a universal phenomenon. Honking to make your point on the road was actually, in hindsight, so much fun! Just asking people on the street the way to a particular place in the local language is something that is nothing short of divine! Finding multiple modes of transport (apart from just cars), especially that cursed vehicle the autorickshaw is a luxury that I did not expect to miss. And whatever else I may not find different, there is absolutely no cricket fever in the US - given the fanatical following of the game and my personal fanaticism for the game!

Much of these 7 months I guess are on the practical side of life. But, as is the human psyche, every place does have a deeper influence, and I am no exception. The thinking and approach to life of a capitalist economy and the people who have grown up in that world is single biggest factor that has influenced everything else here. The concept of living life, 'here and now', is just about the opposite of what we are taught back home i.e. plan and look for the future. College dropouts, start-ups, teenager-CEOs, speakers on leadership who are just about in their mid-20s, NFL, NBA and baseball (to the exclusion of every other sport, except tennis maybe) etc. For the studious folks, life is about Ivy League and million-dollar jobs with a sign-on bonus and international internship prior to their working life. I remember attending a guest lecture at the world-famous Wharton Business School and was stunned to see the universal congregation of competition and friendship in one place. Friends for life on one hand, and rivals on the other. It was a revelation, for sure. 

I suppose, many things from the US have already started creeping into the Indian psyche i.e. technology and start-ups, dreaming of securing education at top institutes only etc. But, that still is perhaps the preserve of a select few back home. For the vast majority of us in India, there isn't even money to get into a decent college, let alone thinking about dropping out of college. Acute poverty and illiteracy are the banes of our development. Those are the social and structural things that are fundamentally keeping us from realising our potential. It no longer is about the lack of money. India, in the modern age, can command money quite efficiently and effectively. It is about will and execution on the ground. It is about having forward-looking thinkers who need to run the show, rather than people who perhaps should consider calling time on their careers in policy making. 

Clearly, the great Indian dream coming good has been best personified in the last few days with the announcement of Sundar Pichai as the CEO of Google. Undoubtedly, a showcase moment for any Indian in any part of the world. The man has demonstrated the art of the possible to every Indian on the planet. Let's face it, Google is synonymous with the Internet. And to have an Indian at the helm of how the world runs online, is truly a proud thing for all of us. It is those kinds of dreams that we should all aspire to achieve, in whichever walk of life we may be. Those are the professional successes that our country should try to replicate. 

And, it is all rooted in its very root - education. We fix our education, we fix our future generations. I have only heard Presidents and Prime Ministers say this in various speeches, but, based on my own experience of living in this foreign country, I am now convinced about it. On this Independence Day, that should really be the core of what we do i.e. fix our education system.

On a different not, the best description of these 7 months in this foreign country is in what somebody very close to me said last month, 'the mention of Bangalore/India, makes your face light up with 40,000 watts, almost!" 

Happy Independence Day, India! Wherever I may be, home is where the heart is and you are the only place I will ever belong!!!

Why are Gujarati stocks going up?

After all the noise about the national elections for the first half of 2014, the government has slowly tried to do two things at once i.e. 'take decisions' and 'appear to take decisions', in the first few days after assuming office. 

Sure enough, we have a man from Gujarat, with very humble beginnings, has made it big to the national stage and is now the Prime Minister of India. His government is evidently trying to make all the right noises about policy, economic revival, resurrection of the job creation policies, leveraging technology and trying to run the government with the power of 'lean'.

But, what has caught my interest in the last 2 months is the manner in which almost every stock of every company that is headquartered in Gujarat has been going in only one direction in the last many months. And that direction, is a clear, decisive upward movement. I have wondered why.

Let me illustrate with a few examples of how the Gujarati stocks have move during the period 1 January, 2014 to 30 June, 2014:

• Arvind Mills is up 68%
• Adani Enterprises is up 69%
• Adani Ports is up 56%
• Adani Power is up 59%
• Axis Bank is up 48%
• ...etc

Before I proceed, let me add that I don't have any bias in selecting Gujarati companies starting with the alphabet A. It is just a random selection!

What I find very interesting is that, while many of the indices of which these companies are a part of may not have done as well as these stocks have, there is a clear Modi factor that has prevailed in the cases illustrated above. That only adds credence to the long-held theoretical belief that the stock market has a large part of market sentiment attached to it, irrespective of valuations, stock analysis and experts on television channels. And by the way, in the case of Axis Bank above, the bank is actually only registered in Gujarat, even though its corporate headquarters is in Mumbai!

The same experts that I refer to above, believe that there is more upside to the overall economy. I would only hazard a guess that many of these stocks from Gujarat will continue to have their upswing, irrespective of where the rest of the economy goes. It might just be worth it, if one were to buy into all these Gujarati-based stocks in the next 5 years of the current government! 

On a more serious note, if such political sentiment is what is required for India to progress, have a wonderful capital market, and continue to be the preferred destination for every foreign institutional investor, I have no problems with it. Progress is what we need in order for us to realise the so-called potential that we are perceived to have in this century. Hope we make the first steps to realising our great potential in the coming 5 years.