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Serendipity

Serendipity is defined as, ” the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way” The word originated in 1754: coined by Horace Walpole, suggested by The Three Princes of Serendip, the title of a fairy tale, in which the heroes were always making discoveries, by accidents & sagacity, of things they were not in quest of. There are many many examples of serendipity aiding & abetting our lives. To exemplify, look at the discovery of penicillin. One of the first & still one of the most widely used antibiotic agents, derived from the Penicillium mold. In 1928 Alexander Fleming first observed that colonies of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus failed to grow in those areas of a culture that had been accidentally contaminated by the green mold Penicillium notatum. He isolated the mold, grew it in a fluid medium, & found that it produced a substance capable of killing many of the common bacteria that infect humans. Even today infection control is largely dependent on the serendipitous discovery of penicillin.

In my 67 long years, indeed a la Ulysses, ” much have I seen and known” …”Myself not least, but honour’d of them all” But today I sit in confession. Maybe I did not deserve the credit…it was serendipity at play; & I thought I should share some notable occurrences.

अब अपनी रूह के छालों का कुछ हिसाब करूँ,
मैं चाहता था चराग़ों को आफ़्ताब करूँ| ( Now let me take account of the wounds on my soul; My desire is to make the lamps as beautiful as the Sun)

When I look back on the events of my life there are a great many examples I can quote where events developed by chance in a beneficial way ( the classic definition of serendipity) But if I look on my life as Chapters, the whole Chapter associated with my 6 years in Atul is replete with serendipity. Let me explain how & why.

I was a Factory Personnel Manager in the Kalwa factory of Siemens, on Thane Belapur Road. Doing well career wise, as well as financially, after 10 years of service. Important job where I was making a difference. Unfortunately I made myself indispensable in Kalwa & so opportunities to grow in Siemens were passing me by. The last straw on the camel’s back was the promised deputation/training in HQ at Germany was given not once but thrice to people I felt were less deserving than me. Siemens then was golden cage & no one thought I would leave.

मुझे अब देख कर हँसती है दुनिया,
मैं सबके सामने रोने लगा था| ( Today the world looks at me & laughs; But I had started crying before all)

Along comes Serendipity & a consultant talked to me about an opportunity in Atul Products at Valsad. I interviewed, got selected as Asst. General Manager HRD. We went & saw the location and fell in love with the greenery & quality of living at the campus. I resigned & went to Atul, to the disgust of all my Bombaiyya friends. The day I went to join, Serendipity struck again. The GM HR & Admin had resigned just a week ago. So before joining, I was promoted!!! The MD told me I would take over as General Manager & head the Department!! I tried to tell I am ready to join as Asst. General Manager; see my work & then promote me. But Serendipity had struck!! I was given a higher title, higher grade, more compensation, bigger bungalow, bigger car all on my joining day!!!

Atul township gave us the best 6 years of our lives. Huge bungalow to live in & 3 mins commute from factory to house. All my free time I could spend with Rashmi, who was 6 months then. We had become parents 10 years after our marriage. So what one had hankered after, was served on a platter. Till Rashmi become 6 years of age, every day 515 pm to 730 pm, I was with her in the children’ park. Would Bombay & Siemens give me this luxury? Serendipity helped.

HMB the secretary allotted to me, was another signal from heaven that someone up there loved me. The bond he developed with my family was blessing personified!! Every day he would get fresh Mola Ganthiya for Rashmi to chew as she was teething. Giving her scooter rides when she grew up became part of his daily routine. Doctor visits for inoculation & minor sickness, we were always accompanied by him. HMB was so critical to our lives that Vinita used to say, you can travel when you want but then HMB must be in town. I got not a colleague but a brother & that relation continues even 25 years after I have left Atul. There are far too many such contacts to recollect individually. The Finance Head, the Company Doctor, the Legal Advisor all became family. As did the union leaders who are still in touch!!! The limit was our neighbors JMT & family, who would come on their own if they heard Rashmi crying, pick her up & take her to their house. They would feed her & then we were expected to go to their bungalow & have our dinner there, while the son and daughter regaled Rashmi. A confirmed Rum drinker like me had more Scotch in Atul than I have ever consumed before & after Atul. Happy & beneficial occurrences indeed, serendipity guiding our lives.

वो अब आईने धोता फिर रहा है,
उसे चेहरे पे शक होने लगा था| ( he is now washing the mirror; he was doubting his very face)

My team members especially MAB & MRC de facto took over the entire IR workload. Brilliant professionals in their own right, they had a hunger in their belly to prove themselves. I just had to let go & they picked up the ball and ran, made goals, made the department win. Frankly my contribution was just managing the periphery. The MD & other Directors had to be convinced by me. We had common union agreements for all companies on campus. So those MDs & Boards were my responsibility. Representing Atul with the Senior Union Leaders who were National & State level politicians and aligning our agenda with their demands was my role. But MAB and MRC made me a de facto “absentee landlord”. I had to just give directions & get out of their way. They delivered on the grunge work. And I basked in the glory. Serendipity? 101%

Still remember when we were recruiting a HR senior professional from StanChart the consultant told me ” Vikas it will be like riding a tiger. Are you sure you want to hire a threat for yourself?” I told him I am happiest when someone else does my job, then I can find something else to do. After 6 fabulous years at Atul, my Siemens HR Director came & invited me to re-join Siemens. I took that chance to come back to Mumbai, the mecca of professionals. Again a happy development that chance put in my lap, literally.

There are many other events & occurrences where I felt I lived a charmed existence in Atul. The friends I made in Atul are in my life even now & they play a most important role in my well-being even now. When I look back & think I did not want to join a family owned organization which had no brand value compared to Siemens way back in 1991, I see the strong hand of Serendipity at play. कालIय तस्मै नमः There was a time I used to feel proud of myself, as a great HR professional. Humility has taught me to thank Serendipity!!!

चुराता हूँ अब आँखें आइनों से,
ख़ुदा का सामना होने लगा था| विकास ( I now steal my eyes from the mirror; Coming face to Face with God: vikas)

PS all quotes are from Rahat Indori, first appearing my friend Shri Krishna Sharma’s blog आसमान धुनिए के छप्पर सा.English translations are my own. E&OE

PS2 My youngest sister says she likes only those of my blogs where I share stories. This one is full of them. Hope serendipity propels her to like this one.

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Parables & Stories from Vipassana

I went for my 4th Vipassana Meditation course in April 2022. What has always fascinated me is the oratory skill of SN Goenkaji & his ability to draw on stories, examples, parables from every religion under the sun, to drive home Vipassana concepts for his audience. Goenkaji does not want us to take anything on face value, on pure faith. He exhorts continuously that we must trust & believe ONLY our experience & sensory inputs. No ideological discussions, but only focus on your own experience. I had written in 2018 on what is vipassana and the underlying concepts. Those interested can check out the old blog at https://vikasshirodkar.blog/2018/11/07/vipassana/

Here I want to recollect some of the great stories & parables I heard which Goenkaji uses to elucidate his points & explain. So here goes:

#1) A rich man was enjoying his sumptuous lunch one day, when a Bhikshu came & cried out begging for alms. The rich man’s daughter-in-law, shouted from inside,” Maharaj, go elsewhere to beg. Here my father-in-law is himself eating stale/बासी food.” The Bhikshu went ahead, but the father-in-law was upset. He called his daughter-in-law and asked her “why did you say बासी भोजन/stale food? Here I am eating the choicest cuisine, rich with fruits & exotic vegetables, garnished with dry fruits. Why did you call it stale/बासी?”

The Daughter-in-law replied,” None of this is due to your own effort or earnings. You are eating off the earnings of your ancestors, you have contributed nothing. So is it not stale?”

My Learning: Have new thoughts and pull your own weight every day, Never live off past legacy.

#2) When Mohammad Paigamber started preaching, not everyone appreciated his teachings. Some were strongly opposed. One such person used to always disrupt Mohammad’s meetings & vitiate the atmosphere. Some of Mohammad’s followers used to feel very bad & they decided to confront the opponents to teach them a lesson. A meeting place was fixed. Soon the debate between the two sides turned acrimonious. When tempers rose further, it came down to physical fighting & a melee ensued.

Mohammad, seeing this, quietly left the place. His supporters sought him out later & asked why did he run away. Mohammad replied,” When the fight started, I saw the Farishtey/Angels flew away and left the room. Hence I too left!!”

My Learning: Peace and friendliness is godly; always stay on that side.

#3) An old woman once came to a Vipassana Camp set up in a rural environment. While coming, she got alongwith a cloth, draw-string bag/बटुवा. In that she was carrying 30 Rs her life’s earnings, an ornament/हार which she had got from her house & a small piece of sweetmeat/बरफी. One day, when she had gone for meditation, she found the bag/बटुवा missing from her residential quarter.

She became highly agitated & started crying loudly, beating her chest, moaning her loss. Others tried to control her & tell her she is disturbing others’ meditation but she was unconsolably crying out aloud. Every camp resident started searching high & low for the bag but it was nowhere to be found. She was wailing loudly about the loss of her money & ornament. So Goenkaji suggested taking a contribution from all. In place of her lost Rs 30, a total collection of 100 Rs was made and put before her. This was significantly more than her loss. But still she wailed & cried. “What about my ornament?” It was an heirloom, I was so attached to it” etc. The collected 100 Rs could have easily enabled her to buy a new ornament. But she continued to cry & repent her loss!

Finally someone saw that, a monkey on a nearby tree had the bag. Monkey had made of with it, seeing the colorful embroidery. The monkey had no use for the 30 Rs or the ornament. But it was merrily enjoying the sweetmeat/बरफी, sitting atop a tree. People chased the monkey with drums and sticks. Finally the monkey dropped the bag & made off with the sweet. The bag with money & ornament were returned to the old woman. Then only she stopped crying & focused on the vipassana teaching!!

My Learning: The concept of मैं/मेरा I & Mine is so deeply entrenched in us, that once it awakens, it does not allow us to look at anything else. Stay away from मैं/मेरा (I & Mine): many doors will open!

#4) There were 2 close friends: one was blind, the other handicapped. They used to beg for food & live together. One day the blind friend had a fever & could not walk. So the handicapped friend told him to rest & said he would go & beg for food & get some for his friend. While moving around the village, at one house, he was offered Kheer (sweet rice gruel). The guy had no utensil to take the kheer in, so he cupped his hands and the Kheer was poured in. He wanted to take the Kheer for his friend, but it started dripping from his cupped hands. So rather than waste it, he drank up the kheer. When he reached home he told his blind friend that he had got kheer, but could not carry it back for his friend since he had no utensil.

The blind friend had never eaten Kheer in his life and asked what is kheer? So the friend tried to explain ” It is white and sweet” The blind person knew what is sweet, but had no concept what is white. The friend told “White is like the crane” The blind friend had not seen a crane. So the friend caught a crane and gave it to the blind friend to feel & “see” what is a crane. The blind friend touched & felt the crane’s body & exclaimed ” I now understand. The kheer is twisted. तेरी खीर टेढ़ी है!!!”

My learning: Perception is important and if you do not perceive holistically, you may go on a total tangent & err terribly.

Trust you enjoyed these stories which have practical wisdom & learnings beyond compare. Next blog, I will tell you some more stories and parables from Vipassana course, which created deep learning for me

Bhavatu Savv Mangalam: vikibaba punter

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Zindagi….ik paheli (Life…an enigma)

जो उलझी थी कभी आदम के हाथों,
वो गुत्थी आज तक सुलझा रहा हूँ| (that which got entangled by the hands of Adam, even today I am trying to unravel that knot) Indeed Firaq Gorakhpuri said it rightly. From times immemorial, life has truly been an intractable puzzle. Generations before me, and people certainly much smarter than me, have tried to understand life and it’s conundrums. But the jury is still out. None are able to make sense of the constant twists and turns. While the What & the How are somewhat intelligible, the Why still eludes us and we are all the time wondering how to play the cards Life has dealt us.

The constant refrain is of wonder….wonder Why this is happening??? And Why is this happening to me???? The questions continue. Over a period we see the answers to the same question changes. Very similar to a roving spotlight that reveals more and more of the object as the spotlight moves. But try as we will, we never get to understand the whole picture, see the entire object, understand life in toto and what it entails!!!!

The whole experience is akin to the words of Adeem Hashmi who sings वो के ख़ुशबू की तरह फैला था मेरे चार सू,
मैं उसे महसूस कर सकता था छू सकता न था| (It was like a perfume that spread all around me; I could feel it but I could not touch it) That truly is the beauty of life. We are in the fish bowl. We are surrounded by the water. We sense and feel the water and all that it envelopes. We see the other fish…swimming, struggling, moving all around us. But we can only “spectate”. The “साक्षी भIव sakshi bhav” propounded by Hindu & Buddhist scriptures as the ideal mindset to be in, while in the world.

See everything as a spectator, do not involve, do not entangle. Much like the glob of mercury which changes shape even as you touch it, you can never hold the mercurial Life, as it will always shy away, transmute and tease you as you go closer. Grasping never lets you hold the sand of life. The particles are too thin. You must keep an open palm, not try to hold or grasp, but rather keep your self open to experience the sands of time and the grains of Life. They are free agents and will not be molded even as they shape you.

हम किस को दिखIते हैं शब-ए-फुरकत की उदासी

सब ख्वाब में थे रात को बेदार हम ही थे (To whom could I show the sadness of the night of separation? All were deep in their dreams and I alone was disturbed in the night). (Taashshuq Lakhnavi) Travails of the Life you face are indeed so personal that try as you will, you may never be able to get others to understand and live your pain. Possibly that is why Voltaire averred,:” Man is a social animal, but everywhere he is in chains”.

The chains, the walls around us, the constraints, the loneliness, the pain….all are real and tangible. To you. You are confined only by the walls you build yourself. And all this is creating & shaping your Life/experience. A signature experience. Living together, having the same roof, traversing the same path, experiencing the same friends…still we all lead very different lives. Even couples are independent logs floating down the same river, parallelly, but independently; together yet separate. So the faster we understand Firaq Gorakhpuri who tells the Powers that Be भरम तेरे सितम का खुल चुका है,
मैं तुझसे आज क्यों शर्मा रहा हूँ| We must quickly see through the irony, the mischievousness, the sheer tyranny of Life and living in the garb of joke, to be able to maintain our keel and dignity amidst buffeting storms and towering waves of the perfect storm that we call Life.

“About suffering they were never wrong,
The Old Masters: how well they understood…” begins the famous poem “Musee des Beaux Arts” by W H Auden. Some of you may know the poem by Auden, inspired by the painting by Breughel, of Icarus falling from the sky into the green water to his death. Poets and painters understand suffering, and the related phenomena: how others shy away, pretend not to notice, like the ploughman working his field, and the passengers aboard the delicate ship that sails calmly on. When a stupendous flight of Icarus to the Sun goes unnoticed, who indeed are we mere mortals?

What makes understanding & living Life difficult is our very human-ness. Being human we soon become enmeshed in all that surrounds us. We talk of My family, My child, My house, My Friends, My Company, and so on. As Firaq Gorakhpuri observes मुहब्बत अब मुहब्बत हो चली है,
तुझे कुछ भूलता-सा जा रहा हूँ| Being too close to the problem, our independent identity ceases. We soon become a part of the problem and so cannot find a solution, as we are as much a part of the problem, as we are a part of the solution. Identity fuses together. Try a simple experiment to understand what I am saying. Move a chair while standing independent of it. Easy? Now sit on the chair. Firmly, with both your feet on the ground. Can you move the chair now? The same chair is impossible to move now. Because you are too close to it. Only distance will help you take an objective stance. मुहब्बत हो चली है then independent POV is impossible. It is natural then that तुझे कुछ भूलता-सा जा रहा हूँ| The human condition and its dilemma is well captured by Adeem Hashmi’s couplet ये भी सब वीरानियाँ उस के जुदा होने से थीं, आँख धुँधलाई हुई थी, शहर धुँधलाया न था| (All the barrenness has come after separating from her; my eyes have got clouded but the city still surrounds me). However much you try, the situational reality remains the same and continues to haunt you.

Given this background and the negativity all around, I take heart in the words of Napoleon,” I am driven towards an end that I do not know. As I reach it, as I become unnecessary, an atom shall suffice to shatter me. Until then, all forces of humankind can do nothing to stop me”. Remember, the bigger they are, the harder they fall!!

सितारों से उलझता जा रहा हूँ,
शब-ए-फ़ुरक़त बहुत घबरा रहा हूँ|…...विकास

( I am fighting with the stars, as the night of separation comes close, I am afraid….vikas)

PS : Gratefully acknowledge Shri Krishna Sharmaji’s blog https://samaysakshi.in/blog which has been an inspiration for many of the sher quoted here

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The fascination of mountains

Mother Abess sings in Sound of Music: ” Climb every Mountain/ Ford every stream/ Follow every rainbow/Till you find your dream”. The Good Mother meant it as an inspiration to Maria to leave the Abbey and find purpose outside. But it is not by chance that the symbol of reaching out & doing something larger than yourself is a mountain!! The same song comes at the end of the movie when Von Trapp family has escaped the Nazi clutches and as a family are reaching Austria and freedom Again the same words ring true,” Climb every mountain” Possibly a signal of achievement & happiness. The climb speaks to our character, but the view, I think, speaks to our soul itself. Craig Lounsbrough reminds, ”Without mountains, we might find ourselves relieved that we can avoid the pain of the ascent, but we will forever miss the thrill of the summit. And in such a terribly scandalous trade-off, it is the absence of pain that becomes the thief of life.” 

I was fortunate recently to personally experience the mountains & the thrill they create as I spent 10 days in remote Himachal Pradesh, a place called Sholtu. Nearest airport Chandigarh, and 300 kms from there. Due to the mountainous terrain it was a 10 hour drive!!! But what a drive!!?? we crossed Solan, Shimla, Narkhanda, Theog, Kufri, Chail to reach the Kinnaur district where a hydro-electric power plant is situated on the Sutlej river. I came back with my heart full of memories & eyes full of some of the most amazing views of the hilly region, the rivers, the deep valleys and the snow capped peaks all around you as you maneuver hilly roads.

Mountains & valleys are not new to me being from the Konkan region in the Western Ghats. But up in Himachal the majesty & size of the mountains was something else altogether. Being surrounded by the Himalayan range, mountains over mountains of sheer black rock, with little or no vegetation was a breath taking sight. And then as you moved further north towards Sangla, Raksham & Chitkul…360 degree view of snow capped peaks, glaciers & deep, deep valleys with gushing water fed by melting glaciers. You get a live experience of why this is called Dev Bhumi!! If Gods had to descend from heavens, where else would they make their abode save and except in the lap of Himalayas!!

I stayed in a company officers’ mess which had very clean & decent accommodation. Nothing lavish, but functional. Thick Rajais & an heater and one survived the night only with the use of both together. Weather was unpredictable and varying. Nights were cold with temp dipping down to 2 & 3 degree C. Mornings was the luck of the draw. Sometimes bright & sunny. Sometimes overcast n cloudy. But always cold. Max temp I experienced there was 8 degrees. By evening it would turn totally overcast & there would be massive rain on some days. News travelled that there is heavy snowfall in the upper terrain. And/or there has been a landslide at this/that place, & roads are closed!! A daily change program which helped you understand the power of Mother Nature and how she holds you in her sway.

But what was always true was the crisp, clean air which struck you outside. It was most enjoyable to walk in the colony. Flower beds both side of the internal roads. One end of the property gave you stunning views of snow-capped mountains benignly looking down at you from their massive height. Other end of the colony had the Baspa river flowing parallel to the road. Gushing waters, pristine white, flowing amidst the stones & the sound of the water transporting you to a heaven one rarely experiences in Mumbai. A week after my return I still miss the clear blue skies and the clean, cold air waking up every cell in your body.

I had a free day in between my work & the local managers suggested I go to Chitkul, the last village in India, @ 11320 feet. Beyond this point entire area is controlled by the Army as you are quite close to the China border. If Reckong Peo & Sangla had impressed me, the 80 kms drive to Chitkul via Kuppa & Raksham gave me a feeling of having already reached heaven on earth. Temperatures dropped to near zero. Air rarified, one slightly struggled to get oxygen. Surrounded on all sides by snow capped mountain peaks, flowing glaciers, & the gushing river it was a marvelous experience. The velocity of the wind, humming, screaming, whistling all around you never made you forget that you are in a unique place of ultimate physical beauty. Tough terrain, but unforgettable, I was sad when it was time to leave Chitkul & come back to Sholtu.

This whole trip emphasized for me the main message of the mountains. Mountains teach you humility & to recognize how insignificant we are in front of nature. I truly understood what I had heard Tenzing Norgay’s grandson telling us : “What I learnt from my grandfather & my life in the Himalayas: You cannot climb any mountain. The Mountain must call you.”. That is why the Tibetans call Mt Everest by a special name, Chomolungma, means “Goddess Mother of the World”. John Muir captures it best, “Climb the mountains & get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, & the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of autumn.” 

Let me leave the readers with the most inspiring story I have heard about mountains & climbers. After a failed attempt to scale Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary came to the Base Camp & rested. Unable to sleep, he got up, came outside the tent. The winds & snow were blowing & swirling. He looked to the Everest standing tall in the background. And uttered his famous words, “I will come again & conquer you because as a mountain you can’t grow, but as a human, I can” That is the magic, the promise, the mystique of the mountains.

I for one will certainly go back to Himachal to marvel at the mountains. Again & again!!! I invite you too on this adventure : vikas

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Whose got the Appraisal?

It is MOST PROPHETIC that the blog on Performance Appraisals is getting published on April 1st….All Fools Day!! Appraisals are about making a fool or getting fooled!!

Am sure most of my readers have got appraised & received feedback in their careers. It is that time of the year!!! but tell me sincerely & truthfully How many of you were HAPPY with your appraisal? How many felt it was fair & correct? That you indeed got their legitimate due? That your Boss did “justice” to their efforts and contributions? My 34 years in HR & 9 Years in consulting have taught me time & again that no one is ever happy!!! Happy with Appraisal is a NULL SET!!

Even on the happenchance that you feel good with your feedback & rating, the joy lasts till you exit the Boss’ cabin : as soon you come to know that Falana got the same Rating (“How could he?”); Dhikana got a better salary increase (How could she? we all know her work in the whole year!!) & that Third Person got a promotion!!! ( My God! is management blind? Or are they appraising over drinks in a most casual manner? I should never trust the system”). Sounds familiar? Welcome to the Annual Appraisal Cycle.

Sometimes I feel this is one sure shot time when the entire employee strength is unhappy, across the length & breadth of the company!! Remember the Anna Karenina principle: all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way. Similarly each employee is upset for his/her own reason. Some HR heads have confessed to me that it takes nearly 2 months for employees to overcome their “appraisal depression” & get back to normalcy & team-working.

One part is to wrap your head around what the appraisal lottery got for you. After a while you do reconcile, as you know that nothing will change, now you have to wait another year. The more hurting part is to see others’ promotion, others’ increment. तेरी साड़ी मेरी साड़ी से सफेद कैसे ? as Lalitaji made famous in the iconic Surf ad years ago. It is not what you got or did not get, but what your colleague got that adds fuel to the fire raging inside.

The bleeding heart, the raging fire requires assuaging & you most naturally turn to your boss. And here you hear the most classic reply ringing from times immemorial in all such interactions,” Your appraisal is not in my hands” “I tried a lot for you, but the seniors did not agree”. “You know the Moderation Committee, some unknown people take decisions without knowing the details”. “I did my level best. But the process is set by people bigger than me. Can’t help”. “I argued a lot, took up multiple times & yet…Your final rating is not in my hands”. And if you insist on meeting the Boss’ Boss to press your case, his reply is also the same from years, ” We had recommended, but you know HR”.

Interestingly, the Bell Curve guideline, the appraisal system, the process of review, the appeals process, the Promotion Policy is all discussed in Senior Managers’ meetings. It has the tacit acceptance & consequent approval of all. It has always been so!! But as soon as an individual challenge comes, the solution is standard….Blame HR!! They do not appreciate what we go through. How we have to get work done. They sit in their offices & pontificate. Let them manage my department for once. All such discussions invariably succeed each Appraisal Cycle. Par-for-the-course?

Lalitaji had made a plea for समजदारी in her ad. But in the corporate world this समजदारी is a rare bird. Personal pressures, individual agenda, & relative equity rules the roost. I am never happy with the one piece of mithai in my thali. I am always more bothered by the two pieces in my neighbor’s thali or the fact that his mithai looks better than my plain white one. My happiness is determined by what you have got & not by what I have. This could be the general human condition, but it is never more exacerbated than at appraisal times!!

Maybe all this is normal & after so many years it is what an employee should expect & accept. But what I cannot get is my boss saying It is not in my hands. Then whose hands is it, pray? Through the year have worked for you. You gave me projects. You got me to work extra hours. You got the desired output from me. And you thanked & complimented me from time to time for my work & maintaining time-lines. But when it comes to the finish line, suddenly It is not in your hands!!?? I struggled, I worked & delivered for you. What if your style was my approach when you were giving me timelines & deliverables? At that time we were best friends & close colleagues, in the boat together. So now why try to push me off the boat? Why distance yourself from me? Why do I suddenly become an orphan?

Having worked in HR for 34 years I am quite used to being used as a whipping boy. After all we are the last mile! The blame accumulator!! But it’s high time the line leaders stood up & accepted that HR was never in the equation for 11 months of the year. So how come they become so important in the 12th month? Do they have the power & clout to change things which the line leaders are passionately pushing? Or are they just convenient pegs in the blame game of corporate appraisals cycle?

Having said this let me put down my conclusions:

  1. Bell Curve began purely as a budgeting exercise. While there are issues with the Bell Curve, no one has yet found a viable alternative.
  2. There is no simple solution to this issue. I have yet to come across a company in my 43 years HR experience, where employees are happy with appraisals & the compensation system
  3. Managers must learn to take responsibility both for their actions, as well as the corporate guidelines. They are senior leaders & telling their teams that I have no control does not behoove their status. Managers cannot shun accountability.
  4. Moderation Committees exist for a purpose. If no ratings from immediate supervisors are changed, then Moderation Committees are not fulfilling their purpose. Managers must understand & communicate that ratings & increments which go to Moderation Committees will change. That is the nature of the beast
  5. Employees must remember it is employment at will. If you are not happy, walk. Being a bleeding heart and cribbing, helps none.

Let me end with an advice I got from Khandekar who was Personnel Director in Siemens. He told us. ” Keep an updated CV in your top right hand drawer. Once in a while float it in market. You get a higher salary, higher title, just GO. You will be happy & the company will survive… If you don’t get another job, be happy with what you have. Put your head down & work”

Remember it is not the load that breaks you down, it is the way you carry it: vikas

PS: many thanks to my nephew Abhishek who challenged me with the “It’s not in my hands” line & motivated me to pen this blog

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Humility & Hubris

Merriam-Webster defines Hubris a exaggerated pride or self confidence e.g. a boxer who shouts “I am the greatest” even though he is about to be pummeled by a stronger opponent.

“Hubris” has its origins in Greek language. Greeks did not have a word for sin, but only a word for error; so hubris was used to describe a wrongful action against a divine order. The Persian king Xerxes is described by Herodotus trying to punish the Sea for destroying his bridge over Hellespont!! or the warrior King Ajax in Sophocles’ play tells Athena, the protectress & goddess of war, to help other warriors, as he himself did not need divine help!! Athena helped the other side & who do you think won?? Hubris led Ajax to defeat!!

Historically too we see examples of hubris . On the Battlefield of Waterloo 18/6/1815, Napoleon Bonaparte who was leading the French against the British under the command of the Duke of Wellington, assured his soldiers, “I tell you Wellington is a bad general, the English are bad soldiers; we will settle this matter by lunchtime.” Well, by the end of that day, Napoleon was defeated & that ended his rule as Emperor of France!!

100 years after Napoleon’s arrogant remark & defeat, on 15/4/1912, just before the Titanic was about to embark on its maiden journey, one passenger asked a ship’s agent for extra insurance on some valuables in her luggage. The agent replied, “Ridiculous. This boat’s unsinkable.” Titanic’s Captain Edward Smith himself was asked about the safety of the Titanic. He answered – “I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that.”

Even after the ship had struck the iceberg, a concerned passenger asked a sailor if they should do something about it. He replied, “Go back to bed. This ship is unsinkable.”. Built by professionals, run & operated by professionals the sinking of the “unsinkable” ship showed that uncertainty & unpredictability are forever lurking around the corner, invited into our lives by hubris.

Take the famous case of Shackleton’s South Pole expedition. Shackleton wrote a letter to Times which invited hardy sailors & adventurers to join his expedition. A more graphic, though phantasmagorical, version was an ad:

Folklore has it that 5000 men applied, men clamoring to take their chances on the icy southern continent. Those were the days when ships were made of wood & men were made of steel. The story has been told and retold, & the quote riffed on to no end. But though their harrowing expedition, & the achievements of Shackleton’s men were real, the ad, sadly, was a myth.

Move forward another 90 years; consider Enron. The e-mail that Kenneth Lay, thethen CEO, sent to his employees in 2001, declared, “Our performance has never been stronger, our business model has never been more robust. We have the finest organization in American business today.” That was less than four months before Enron filed for bankruptcy.

Finally an example from the recent times : a study analyzed trades in stocks done by 10,000 clients at a discount brokerage firm. They wanted to ascertain if frequent trading led to higher returns. They found that the purchased stocks underperformed the sold stocks by 5% over one year, & 8.6% over 2 years. In other words, the more active the retail investor, the less money they make. Investors with hubris are arrogant. They believe & then regret losses in the market.

The point is, if you are repeatedly successful, there’s a temptation to believe that you’re no longer subject to human fallibility. But the honest and harsh truth is that in a world that is continually changing, every right idea or strategy eventually becomes the wrong one. Today’s problems were yesterday’s solutions! and Today’s solutions will become mill-stones in future!! Euphemistically George Harrison reminds us, ” Yesterday, today was tomorrow and Tomorrow, today will be yesterday. Einstein warned that we cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that we used when we created them. We may not be able to solve all the problems, but those we can, we must. Past successes guarantee nothing for the future. In fact, Past success may blind your way to the future!! The most classic examples are Nokia and Kodak who were blinded by their success & soon found themselves run aground. So remain humble, look forward & keep moving on.


With an arrogant attitude, you cease paying attention to differing viewpoints. Confirmation bias takes its roots in your brain, & you screen out all the sounds that tell you how you’re wrong, & amplify those that tell you how you are right.

It’s important to beware of hubris. When it bites, it bites hard. Hubris is basically an overestimation of one’s own competence or capabilities. This is particularly true when the person is in a position of influence or power.

There is a Russian proverb,” It is not the Gods that burn our pots” We need to look within. And these scions of power rarely get open & direct feedback or even opposing points of view, as people around them are afraid to speak up.

It is only the leaders’ humility which will encourage team members to speak up. It is their duty to create psychological safety in the team & s/he must introspect.” What have I done in the past that makes people clam up & not give the bad news” Today the leader does not have all the answers. If teams do not speak up, we may be losing enormous value, new product/service ideas, or even early warnings of market threats. Only a humble leader will be open to get such important feedback from the ground.

Regrettably, the problem is that most leaders’ think it will never happen to me. (The Optimism Bias).

Let’s hope it doesn’t. But the thing about hubris is that you rarely think you have it until it’s already run an unhealthy portion of its course. Startup failure rates are a wake up call: 20% of new businesses fail within the first two years. 45% of startups don’t survive the fifth year, 65% of new startups fail during the first ten years, 75% of startups go out of business during the first 15 years. And yet, talk to a startup management team….they have the optimism bias & do not believe it can happen to them.

Staying humble will keep you from risking too much in a view of the future that may well turn out to be wrong. Don’t be blinded by hubris. Be better today than you were yesterday & be better tomorrow than you are today.

There are a few world leaders who have proved that Humility is the most important virtue in public life. When it comes to embracing humility, Gandhi was an epitome, spending his life serving the poorest of the poor. He said ‘one must become as humble as the dust before he can discover truth.’ Other classic examples include Azim Premji, largest shareholder of Wipro, who has often taken an auto-rickshaw home from the airport after a business trip abroad. , Mark Rutte PM of Netherlands goes to office daily on his bicycle & teaches in a school once a week. He was recently in news for himself mopping up coffee spilled by him, while walking into the Ministry of Health. Abdul Kalam was always humble despite all the privileges. Lt Governor Kiran Bedi shared a rare belonging of the former president – his worn-out chappals – on Twitter. She wrote: “These Chappals of Dr Kalam were in the suitcase of his last journey to Shillong. See how worn out they were and had even been repaired”.

Sushil Koirala Prime Minister of Nepal, was known for his frugal lifestyle. He claimed to have no property & only three cellphones, out of which one didn’t work! President of Malawi, Joyce Banda sold off the Presidential jet & the fleet of 60 Mercedes limousines to help her country’s falling economy. All the money that came from selling the plane went to feeding more than 1 million people!!! Karia Munda, ex-deputy speaker of our Lok Sabha, chose to live in a village without any protection, sustaining himself by growing his own vegetables. Examples abound. Each prove the veracity of the sentence, ” stoop to conquer”


A little humility can help one stay away from disaster. In today’s world of uncertainty humility helps you understand you cannot control everything. You are not afraid to ask for help and you understand your own faults & shortcomings. You respect the opinions & views of others. You admit your ignorance of some things & accept defeat; & work hard to become better!!

So friends, steer clear of hubris, however heady it maybe. Choose instead humility and stay the course.

Trees are broken in storms. Grasses survive, as they can bend: vikibaba

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Heaven and/or Hell ?

Being a misanthrope at heart, I always loved Sartre’s definition,” Hell is Other People”. Many a times I have lived in my imaginary Heaven where there is nobody except me on earth. A real Robinson Crusoe existence. But then the challenge starts. I want my daughter with me. I want my immediate family. I want this set of friends. These particular colleagues. These clients. This service provider. And this singer. This musician. This dramatist, etc. etc. ad infinitum. And very soon the world is populated all over again and you accept that you cannot really live alone. So possibly even Heaven is Other People.

One of the most mystical and widely speculated song of the Eagles in my hey-days was Hotel California; Don Henley sang,”

….Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy & my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night…
…And I was thinking to myself
“This could be Heaven or this could be Hell”
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor
I thought I heard them say

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here

Is this song not defining both Heaven as well as Hell? Unfortunately we are brought up to believe that there would be stark differences between Heaven & Hell. One would be shining, glowing, comforting….while the other would be desolate, difficult & cruel. But what The Eagles are helping us question is are there really such clear differences between Heaven & Hell? Or are they really identical twins difficult to differentiate? This could be Heaven This could be Hell. The Master Magician could hide one under His hat & bring out the other? can we make out which is which? Is it only our conditioning which paints such different imagery? Or are they the same?

It is NOT only Rock music but others too have raised this fundamental question. I recollect a oft-told tale where a new arrival asks St. Peters what is the difference between Heaven & Hell. Peters invites him to walk with him, see the difference. After some damp & dark corridors, they reach a Dining Hall with a huge wooden table …hundreds feet long & 5 feet wide. The table is creaking with the choicest food items from all cuisines. Big bowls over-laden with food & fruits dot the table. Hungry people are sitting on both sides of the table…all tied to the chairs. Their one arm shackled to the chair. Other arm is free to eat but there is large, long wooden spoon (4 feet long) firmly tied, such that people cannot bend their elbow. Seeing the delicious food they are still trying to eat. But since the elbow is immobile, with the large 4 feet spoon, they cannot reach their mouth. In their effort the food ladled on the spoon is falling all around, reaching no one’s mouth. St Peter tells the new inmate, ” This is Hell”. They cannot bear the agony and screams of hungry people who see delicious food laid out in front, yet they cannot eat!! 

They walk onwards to the next hall. Here the situation is the same. 40*5 table laden with delicacies, food overflowing in bowls in the middle, people tied to chairs both sides of the table, one free arm with a large wooden spoon. Though the elbow cant be bent, here the people are picking up food in the outsize spoon and feeding others, on the opposite side of the table. And the others are reciprocating. So all can eat. St Peters says “this is Heaven”. Point being Heaven and Hell are the same physically, but the behavior of the people makes a big difference. Difficulties are same but cooperation finds solutions. Heaven & Hell could merely be a matter of perspective. How you look at the situation you are in & how you cope? Is this not our experience many a time in our lives? When you replace “why is this happening to me” with “what is this trying to teach me?” everything shifts.

We have all heard the idiom: The Road to Hell is paved with good Intentions. Does it mean the Road to Heaven is paved with bad intentions? Obviously no. How you behave and What decisions you take are the factors that propel you forward: whether on road to Heaven or to Hell. I am reminded of a Zen story where a famous Samurai goes to the Master & asks him to explain: what is Heaven & What is Hell. The Master asks him to wait. The famous Samurai sits for the full day, reminding the Master intermittently that he is waiting. Still the Master tells him “Wait I will call you”. Towards evening, after a long wait of 7/8 hours the Master calls him. As the samurai is coming near, the Master starts berating him with the choicest bad words. Calls him a arrogant buffoon, an egoistic fool & what not. The long wait & the uncalled-for insulting behavior of the Master makes the Samurai angry. “Why are you saying all this?” he asks. “Because” , says the master, “you are a pompous over rated fool who serves no purpose. Am sure you are not even a good warrior & your sword is rusted from un-use. Even if an enemy comes in front of you, you will be unable to do anything”. Hurt & angry the Samurai draws his sword & rushes to behead the Master. To the drawn sword, the Master says, “ There open the gates of Hell”. In that instant the Samurai understands what the Master was doing. Apologetic for raising the sword on the Master, the Samurai falls at his feet to beg forgiveness. The Master with full equanimity says,” There open the Gates of Heaven”. Legend has it at that moment the Samurai was enlightened. So, How do we act? How do we react? our behavior determines Hell or Heaven.

Mark Twain is credited with the quip.” Heaven has better climate, but Hell has better Company.” A story goes that a person is arguing with God asking to be sent to Hell because “that is where all my friends will be”. Heaven may be totally mono-chromatic for some of the colorful denizens on this earth. The Law of Karma will set a certain course for you. It is up to you to decide how you will behave. Acts and Intentions will indeed cast a long shadow to lighten or darken the path ahead. Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, your actions & intentions, your karma & samskaras can make your time on earth enjoyable & heavenly or push you into hell-fire

To end with Hotel California’s last stanza ..

And she said “We are all just prisoners here, of our own device”
…Last thing I remember
I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
“Relax,” said the night man
“We are programmed to receive
You can check-out any time you like
But you can never leave!”

Make your Hell Heaven or your Heaven Hell. Choice is yours: vikas

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Ascetics, Exhausted, at Home

घर थकलेले सन्यासी

Marathi poet and writer Manik Godghate, popularly known as Kavi Grace, died in 2012 after a prolonged battle with throat cancer. Known for his writings that portrayed sorrows in human life with a mystical element & an out-of-the-world imagery, Grace was conferred the Sahitya Akademi Award. Some poets go from light to darkness; some others from darkness to light. But Grace befriended darkness, shaking hands with melancholy, reveling in anguish & chose to remain on the dark side of the moon & created experiences through his poems.

“I am free” said Kavi Grace, “but I am not available”. Sorrow, Darkness, Eventide & Negativity were his constant imagery. Calling himself दुखाचा महाकवि…The Epic Poet of Sorrow, Grace left an indelible mark on Marathi literature. Earlier I have talked of his poem ती गेली तेव्हा (When She Left) in which he has talked of the pain of losing his mother quite early. Today I will tell you about घर थकलेले सन्यासी. As you go through the poem, you will realize it talks about each one of us, who are world weary, and still travelling!!

घर थकलेले सन्यासी, हळू हळू भिंतही खचते
आईच्या डोळयामधले नक्षत्र मला आठवते

“Exhausted travelers, locked at home/ Slowly the walls also close in/ I remember the bright constellation, in my mother’s eyes”. Grace had a lonely childhood, having lost his mother very early. With his father constantly travelling, the solitude sparked poetry within Grace. But loneliness & pain never left him. In my own case, I had the fortune of having both my parents living till I was 57 years of age. But the loss is still painful. The feeling of being boxed in, of the walls around me closing in threateningly, was the same. The memory of the bright spark in my mother’s eyes.. pure glint, the soul sparkle, kept me going.

ती नव्हती संध्या मधुरा, रखरखते ऊनच होते
ढग ओढून संध्येवाणी, आभाळ घसरले होते

“It was not a soft, sweet evening, it was a harsh, dry sun
Per chance with the clouds’ cover, it felt like the sky had fallen” Sorrow and pain do not necessarily make their move onto you in the dark. They are bold enough to attack in broad daylight, under the fierce sun.

Remember the lovely way WH Auden in “Musée des Beaux Arts” taught us,

“About suffering they were never wrong,
The Old Masters: how well they understood
Its human position; how it takes place…
How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting
For the miraculous birth, there always must be
Children who did not specially want it to happen, … how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster…” To Grace his pain is momentous. To me, my loss & my failures are large, impactful. But does it make a difference? Does the world care? With every pain & loss do I become stronger? more hard-headed & hard-hearted? capable of bearing more as life goes on? Or do I collapse under the sky, which has fallen on me?

The way Godghate chose the nom-de-plume of “Kavi Grace” is most interesting. he was impressed with the acting prowess of Ingrid Bergman in the movie The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. Ingrid played a tenacious British woman who becomes a missionary & runs an inn for travelling merchants.. To describe Ingrid, a line from the movie: “She is in grace” inspired him. He took his name Kavi Grace from there & dedicated his first book of poems Sandhyaakalchya Kavita to Ingrid Bergman.

पक्षांची घरटी होती, ते झाड तोडले कोणी
एकेक ओंजळी मागे, असतेच झर्‍याचे पाणी

“There were birds’ nests, yet someone cut down that tree
Behind each handful of water, the spring peeks” I have seen & experienced the sheer unfairness of life. What should remain untouched & protected is often the first one to fall under the axe. A confidante of many years suddenly decides to move on & cuts you off from his life. Having worked most diligently on a project one sees results go awry & crumble before your eyes. Life is quite unpredictable & the race is often not to the swiftest. We all know many people more diligent & sincere than us, but have not got their due. Partiality and Inequity goes on. 

And yet there is that fundamental faith. The continuity of the river. Pure is always pure. In each one of us & in our actions, there is the microcosm of the Universe. While the philosophical position, that the flowing river is never the same all the time is true, it is equally true that there are certain commonalities, behaviors, thoughts that bind it all together. That is how the spring peeks behind each handful of water. It is changed & yet it is the same. It is different & yet it endures. The eternal hope that the birds will move to another tree & set up their nest there, is always heartening!!. One broken tree is not the end of the forest, if you look at it positively.

मी भिऊन अंधाराला, अडगळीत लपुनी जाई
ये हलके हलके मागे, त्या दरीतली वनराई

“Scared of the dark I hide in the surrounding mess
Yet the greenery of the valley, followed me slowly”

Whenever we are faced with problems, to withdraw & hide is our natural instinct. Throughout my life, I learnt to make this into a fine art. Never confront. Never go & resolve. Get into analysis paralysis mode. Prevaricate. That part of Arjuna’s dilemma is second nature to all of us. Why fight? all in front are my brethren & relatives. Why take the battle into their yard? Intellectualize. And do nothing!! One can always find reasons not to act. This way I continue to be in my cocoon, my comfort zone. Not accepting struggle is second nature to us now. We forget that ALL GROWTH requires us to get out of our comfort zone. Miracles happen only outside the comfort zone. I know this but I am scared. There is the fear of the unknown. मी भिऊन अंधाराला, अडगळीत लपुनी जाई!!

But life has its own rhythm. ये हलके हलके मागे, त्या दरीतली वनराई. Sadhguru puts it beautifully. In Mediocrity there is Comfort but no Growth. In Growth there is no Comfort, but there is Joy. You have to choose. Life is demanding. And it will prod you to take heart, all over again, however tired you are. Just like our King Robert the Bruce & the Spider taught us in our childhood…try, try again!!

King Bruce, after having been defeated at battle took refuge in a cave. During this battle, three of his four brothers were executed by the English, his sister was captured!! Still. taking inspiration from a mere spider, King Bruce came back and won the Battle of Bannockburn , even though his men were outnumbered ten to one. However much you hide, the greenery of the valley follows you slowly yet surely. So like Arjuna, Take your weapons and fight!!

Let me end with another tour-de-force from Kavi Grace:

मी महाकवी दुःखाचा, प्राचीन नदी परी खोल / दगडाचे माझ्या हाती, वेगाने होते फूल ( I am the epic poet of sorrow, As deep as the old river/ A Stone in my hand, rapidly becomes a flower)

So Keep the Faith, and Fight on: vikas

PS : enjoy Hridaynath Mangeshkar’s rendition of this poem at https://youtu.be/XPvYswSrGmY?si=nkGMgDp7EICJpUnK

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HRD Concave at NDDB, Anand

NDDB (www.nddb.coop) has been one of the initial clients for BasilHR (www.basilhr.com) when we started consultancy. My dear partner Ramchandra Rao knew Dr SS Gill the-then Head of Training & Development for National Dairy Development Board situated at Anand, Gujrat. Dr Gill gave us some training assignment and since then BasilHR has been regularly working with Gill and NDDB for various training and OD initiatives. Any new HR initiative Gill has discussed and involved us. So it was no surprise that Gill shared his desire to host an HRD Conclave at Anand for all the MDs & CEOs of Milk Cooperatives, Milk Producing companies, the subsidiary companies of NDDB spread all over India and the IRMA & NDDB employees based at Anand.

Dec 15th and 16th saw nearly 450 Dairy professionals and 100 plus students of IRMA attending the HRD conclave at the TKPatel Auditorium at Anand. Gill and his HR team got together in real earnest to make this a memorable event for every participant. The 2 days saw a galaxy of speakers addressing the packed gathering. We managed to get academics like TV Rao, Anup Singh & Sunil Shukla; practitioners & consultants of the stature of Anil Khandelwal, Vivek Paranjape, Aquil Busrai; & close friends of the HR community like Marcel Parker, Pramod Sadarjoshi & Alok Sheopurkar. Even an old dog like me (after having spent 42+ years in the field of HR) learnt some tricks. The speakers shared their experiences and learning. The event was stimulating & momentous. Besides being a Speaker myself, Gill asked me to summarize the main learnings from each speaker. For a change, I had to sit, in the first row, continuously in rapt attention and take copious notes so that I could do justice to the summarization I was charged with.

The learnings were so great that I realized on return they can be interesting input for every student and practitioner of management. We all know management is no pure theory, Body of management thought is the culling together of the rich experiences of practitioners who are further down the road than you are!! Hence I decided to pen this blog and share the main points made by each speaker. I hope you will find these pithy epithets of wisdom as energizing and motivating as I did while listening to them first hand. So here goes…

  1. Neemesh Shah, Chairman NDDB
    a. Great Organizations are made by people. Development of people is the main agenda.
    b. This Conclave will give you an external; Ouside-in perspective; What other organizations are doing.
    c. Lack of competent manpower will hinder innovation and employee satisfaction
  2. Anil Khandelwal ex Chairman, BoB
    a. NDDB itself is a great Institution so it is right that they are hosting the Conclave on building great institutions
    b. In today’s environment; anyone who has customers can disrupt your business
    c. Dare to be different. Have the courage to create a new future
  3. TV Rao, TVRao Learning Systems
    a. We need to invest in constant Self Renewal
    b. Between A & B, P is a point which may totally change your life
    c. We must always have Respect for People & lots of Perseverance
  4. Anup Singh, DG, Nirma University
    a. When you create a purpose, you are born again. eg Gandhi on return from Africa
    b. गियर बदलने के लिए टाइम चाहिए : Find Time to Act
    c. The movement must be from Deficiency to Sufficiency to Efficiency. From Aspiration to Imagination to Actualization
  5. Sunil Shukla, DG, Entrepreneurship Institute of India
    a. Knowledge & Skills can be taught but more imp is Aptitude & Attitude
    b. Be prepared for Risk Taking & develop Failure Tolerance
    c. Entrepreneurship is all about value creation
  6. Vivek Paranjape, Coach & Strategic Consultant
    a. Make a business case for Diversity and Inclusion in your organization
    b. Institution’s Culture needs to be worked on to ensure D&I takes roots
    c. Affirmative Action & D&I actually results in better business results as data shows
  7. Aquil Busrai, Consulting
    a. Give leadership to others around you
    b. Earn Respect: Do what is Right, not what is popular
    c. Employee Engagement earns money
  8. IRMA Prof.s Madhavi & Sushanta
    a. HRD is minimal in Coop, mainly Admin & transactional stuff gets done
    b. Lot to do, Huge Scope to make a difference
  9. Pramod Sadarjoshi, Cornerstone Consulting
    a. Transform while performing
    b. Exorcise 3 demons : Fear, Doubt & Worry
    c. Work with PACE : Problem Solving, Agility, Creativity, Empathy
  10. Alok Sheopurkar , Head HR HDFC AMC
    a. Culture must enable you to win in the market place
    b. Leaders must have grass root connect
    c. Leave a smile on the customer: Customer Service will help you win always
  11. SS Gill, DGM,NDDB
    a. Create your own “Why?” Define your purpose first
    b. Purpose will be achieved through people
    c. There are 3 Layers of Culture: Most fundamental : the way we do things here
  12. Marcel Parker, Chief Mentor, Quess Corporation
    a. Take responsibility for your career
    b. GROW model of coaching : Goals, Reality, Options, Will
    c. Benefits of Coaching
  13. Vikas Shirodkar, BasilHR
    a. Empower employees to drive an innovations and foster a consumer first mindset
    b. Road to innovation is not easy, requires courage from leaders & employees
    c. Never sell a brand, sell an experience

Am sure you will agree if we can imbibe even a modicum of these insights we will take giant strides ahead professionally. Enjoy the journey: vikas the seeker

PS: these are my notes, so humbly E&OE

PS2 : Thanks NDDB for the great learning experience

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Good & Evil

“Life is a festival only to the wise” said Emerson. So how would he have characterized the recently concluded Dashera? A festival that celebrates the victory of Good over Evil. Supposed to commemorate Lord Shri Ram’s win over Ravana. Ram was known as purushottam (the best amongst men). But Ravana also has his followers. In fact in some geographies Ravana is worshipped as the Hero & Ram as the aggressor. And yet every year we have a Ravana Dahan…burning of the effigy of Ravana. 24th Oct 2023 history was made at Delhi Ram Leela Grounds when first time in history a woman…Kangana Ranaut, a Bollywood actress, was given the privilege of shooting the arrow into the Ravana Effigy. But was Ravana really evil? Was Ram the epitome of correctness? Questions, Questions, Questions, all sans definitive answers!

I have always wondered what thoughts must have crossed Shri Ram’s mind when his Father announced a 14 years exile for him, just when he was about to ascend the throne. Obviously Ram had a control on his thoughts & emotions, so much so that he resisted all efforts by friends & brethren to dissuade him from going into the forest. There is no rancor towards the father, who sentenced him to exile, nor to the step-mother, who machinated this turn of events for own gain. With complete equanimity, Ram made preparations to leave the palace & stay in the forest. He goes to say good-bye to his wife and Sita retorts (as per Ga Di Madgulkar) निरोप कसला माझा घेता जेथे राघव तेथे सीता ( How can you say Goodbye to me, Wherever Ram is, Sita will be there). Lakshman the devoted younger brother, without questions decides to follow Ram & Sita into the forest to protect them.

But still, to me, the real Hero of this whole episode is Lakshman’s wife, Urmila. Though unsung and unknown, hers was the biggest sacrifice. Ram followed his father’s wish, Sita followed Ram and had his companionship; Lakshman followed Ram as he thought it is his duty. But what about Urmila? What had she done to deserve the separation from Lakshman? What would have gone through her mind when she saw Lakshman following Ram into the forest? How did she reconcile with her lonely fate and still retain devotion to Ram, Sita & her own husband Lakshman.

Buddha said.” All that we are is a result of what we have thought” He might as well have added, ” And all we shall become is a result of what we think now”. I am reminded of James Allen’s As a Man Thinketh: a self help book, published in 1903. It was described by Allen as “… dealing with the power of thought, and particularly with the use and application of thought to happy and beautiful issues.” A simple book, that all can easily grasp and follow its teaching, and put into practice the methods which it advises. It shows how, in his own thought-world, each man holds the key to every condition, good or bad, that enters into his life, and that, by working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts, he may remake his life, and transform his circumstances. While all this sounds logical & correct, how do we understand Urmila’s dilemma of living alone for 14 years? Or that of Lakshman? or Sita for that matter? Or of Ram? to say nothing of Dashrath who agreed to Kaikeyi’s demand. And what about Manthara, who put the evil thought into Kaikeyi’s mind to ask Dashrath to banish Ram to exile.

I am sure you have walked along the beach, where there are boisterous waves, especially in the East, in the Bay of Bengal. The waves are so large that they play with large logs. Wave after wave carry the log onto the shore. And then roll it back into the sea. The log is unresisting, & following the call of the waves. Sometimes, a huge wave sweeps the log onto the sand. The log may well feel,” I have come here all by myself. And I am going to lie here” But in a few minutes, a rush of water lifts it free again & carries it back into the sea. Is this not very similar to what our life is? Our life, Ram’s life, Sita’s life or even Urmila’s life. We all seem to be at the mercy of forces larger than us. Even lives of great ones seem to have little say in the way life deals with them. They are no different than the log being tossed by the sea. And the log can do nothing but cooperate with the inevitable. It is futile to try to control your future.

While it is futile to try to control your future, only thing which is in your control is to decide how to react to it. The dealing of the cards is beyond you. but you can still play the hand you are dealt with in the best possible manner. Ram accepted what was dealt to him & actually defended Dashrath & Kaikeyi’s decision. He accepted Sita accompanying him into the forest. He accepted the sacrifice of Lakshman. Rather than mope over what was lost, he coped with the change & found joy in his new situation. He sought to do whatever good he could do & contributed positivity and joy to all lives he touched within the forest.

Buddha left his palace in the search for Nirvana. He left his wife Yashodhara sleeping in their conjugal bed, and crept away in the middle of the night, in his quest. When he got enlightenment, Buddha spent his time teaching the Middle Path. There is an interesting story that he came wandering & teaching back to Kapilavastu & came face to face with Yashodhara. It is said his wife asked him did he have to abandon the wife & child and wander to be enlightened. And Buddha replied to Yashodhara ” No I could have got the same enlightenment staying & meditating in the Palace. But I know this now : after I have left wife & child, the royal Palace & wandered the world.” To me what this shows is that we all, including the Buddha or Ram, are fulfilling one’s own destiny & need to accept that we are logs being buffeted, in the sea of life. It is not for nothing that one of the names of Buddha is Tatha-agata ie “the one who has thus come”.

Interesting message I got was RAma & RAvan both have the same start but the end is decided by Karma. Ravan was advised to cease & desist by Bibhishan his brother as well as his wife Mandodari. But he was driven by waves of life. As also Ram or Sita for that matter All the Characters of every great Epic, whether it is Ramayana or Mahabharata or the Persian Kush Nama or the Greek Iliad or Odyssey are all replete with stories of fate & chance buffeting our iconic heroes & leaders in inexplicable ways. Finally, it is all about choices we make & the control we can exercise on our reactions.

Let me end again referring to GaDiMa’s Geet Ramayan

 दैवजात दुःखें भरतां दोष ना कुणाचा पराधीन आहे जगतीं पुत्र मानवाचा (Dukkha/Sorrow is fated., no one is to blame…The Son of Man is totally dependent on external forces)

Remember the Scout Motto: “Be Prepared”: vikibaba logger

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Films meri Jaan

For many, many years I used to watch least 1 movie a month, & that too on the large screen, in theaters! There have been many weeks when I have seen 2 & rarely even 3 films in a week!!! Fault was not mine. There were so many new releases and themes that one had to go & see. Before you de-bunk me, remember I stayed only in Hindi & English films; & shunned all regional genres, including Marathi my mother tongue. The movie bug has caught me deep & like an addict, a weekly fix was a must!!

Till Covid forced us to be at home, I had stayed away from all OTT platforms. My friends went on telling me the rich diversity & the talent showcased there. But I was afraid, if I started on Netflix and Prime, I would be continuously binge watching, just would not be able to stop. The fear came to roost in the Lockdown and compulsory home-basing & I was soon watching OTT 6/7 hours a day

Fortunately that is past now & I am now down to a “decent” 2/3 hours OTT watching per day> This also, by my wife’s reckoning, is 2 hours too much!!! ज़िन्दगी है, भूल कर ही राह मिलती है I

Last week & today, I watched a series on Prime viz Bambai meri Jaan & a movie on Netflix The Outfit, each of which want to tell you about. Both are violence based stories but with a huge difference. Bambai Meri Jaan is a Prime serial with 10 episodes Produced by Ritesh Sidhwani & Farhan Akhtar; while The Outfit is a 1hr 45 mins tight Hollywood crime story. Let me tell you the खासियत

Bambai meri Jaan is a period drama, telling the story of Bombay’s gangsters like Haji, Pathan, Anna of Dharavi fame & the rise of Dara Kadri ( D Company). Thinly veiled Haji Mastaan, Karim Lala, Anna Rajan Mudliar & Dawood Ibrahim. Kay Kay Menon plays a righteous cop from Ratnagiri, very value based & idealistic who wants to see all criminals behind bars. His zeal & un-corrupt policing lands him in many challenges & confrontations but also gets him into the eye of the Home Ministry, which is fed up with the nexus between crime & the local police. A Special Squad is formed & Ismail Kadri ( K K Menon) heads it. KK is shown as a loving father & family man wanting the best he can do for his children. But the meagre earnings & challenges facing a common cop come in the way, Haji & other gangsters also ensure he is trapped & suspended. Good men are not always rewarded in life or in films.

Despite multiple challenges KK tries to stay on the path of righteousness. Circumstances force him to compromise and he ends up working for the gangsters. But the real story begins there and traces the rise of his son Dara Ismail Kadri. Beginning with small thefts petty swindles, Dara becomes a गुंडा/goon to reckon with on the streets. Alarmed with Dara’s rapid strides on the road to criminality, his own father KK tries to get him arrested. But the police see an opportunity to create a challenger for Haji & his triumvirate. The series chronicles the progressive decline of morals for Dara & his emerging as the बेताज बादशाह of the Mumbai underworld.

Interleaved with events & episodes we have heard or read about (eg shooting of a prime witness inside the court, smuggling gold through taxi tyre/tubes, transporting gold by human “mules” through their stomachs and then recovering it from stools, the rise of the sister as a Don) Dara’s innovative thinking & his sheer courage is well etched through these & many events. Parallelly his family life & his unrequited love angle are shown beautifully.

For a Mumbaikar, this period drama beginning from 1946 to the late 80s is captured beautifully & raises many old memories. Being a Gangster story, it is replete with violence but does not tune off the viewer : it actually looks justified & in place. The character etched by Kay Kay Menon will haunt you for long time. His moral stance when there is lawlessness & corruption all around gets well contrasted by the simple Dara’s sharp decline into violence & corruption as his dreams and aspirations take over. Something for all of us to learn from.

All in all, a great series well produced and superbly presented. A KK Show all the way.

The 2nd story which impressed me for very very different reasons is The Outfit on Netflix. Understated, subtle & still a tour de force in terms of the theme & the acting. Again a gangster movie set in Chicago, it tells the story of a cutter who runs a bespoke tailoring firm. The whole action is his shop: tight like a play, set on a small stage. Just 5/6 main characters who present to us a story with twists & turns by the dozen. Nothing is what it seems and the story is directed by Graham Moore who is an awarded director. Tight script set in a limited space. but full of surprises galore. Though there are just 2 shootouts where blood is shown on screen, the underlying violence which is going on in the city has a strong backdrop to the action in the tailor’s shop.

A la Agatha Christie stories, no one is exactly what they are projecting & this interplay of truth and self-projection makes delightful viewing, keeping you totally on tenterhooks. The bespoke tailor has moved from Saville Row & his “propah” British mannerism are a delightful foil to the other gangsters’ and warlords’ loud behavior. The universal theme of one-upmanship & self-projection make the story very relatable & finally believable. Though the star cast had names that I at least could not recognize, they are all great professional actors who have put together a drama which you will remember for a long, long time.

After all the hurly-burly and murders in the movie, when the tailoring shop is up in flames, and the bespoke tailor is leaving the premises, his final words will serve all of us well in our lives. His words are: ” It is not perfect. You have to make peace with that. How? Well you sit at your board. You lay out your tools. And you start again” The tools may be your shears as a tailor. Or a gun as a gangster. But the message is…you must go on.

So both Bambai meri Jaan and The Outfit are violent movies But with a positive message for life.

All the best as you start again : vikas

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Remembering Mandela: epitome of Forgiveness

Nelson Mandela was Positivity & Forgiveness personified. Mandela trained as a lawyer & while working in Johannesburg after qualifying, he became involved in African nationalist politics, joining the ANC in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944. When apartheid was established in 1948 by the white-only government, the ANC committed themselves to overthrowing it. Mandela’s course was set.

During the 1950s, Mandela was arrested many times for seditious activities & was even unsuccessfully prosecuted for treason in 1956. He was initially committed to non violent protest, but he was influenced by Marxism &, in secret, joined the banned South African Communist Party. In 1961 he led a sabotage campaign against the government. “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but become an outlaw,” Mandela said. In 1962 he was arrested & sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the state.

Mandela and other inmates faced harsh conditions during his many years at Robben Island prison. Mandela is shown here during a return visit to his old Robben Island cell in 1994.

There is no love without forgiveness and there is no forgiveness without love. Nelson Mandela raised his voice against colonialism & was jailed for 27 years for his leadership of the Anti Apartheid movement. After his release he led the African National Congress & became the first Black President of South Africa. The close caucus of Black leaders surrounding Mandela reminded the ANC leadership of all the atrocities the Blacks had suffered through decades of racism & apartheid policies. They swore revenge and giving back to the Whites in the same measure what they had suffered for generations. Nelson Mandela stood up against them and propagated the Rainbow Culture & Rainbow nation theory : promising equality to all South Africans regardless of color, caste or creed. This is classic tale of forgiving and inclusion.

As an Anti Apartheid activist, with leanings to Communism, Mandela was tried by the White government. In the 1964 trial that convicted Mandela & his co-accused, & sent them to prison for life. He made a statement to the packed courthouse, which he repeated on his release in 1990, after 27 years in detention. “ I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic & free society in which all persons live together in harmony & with equal opportunities,” he said. “It is an ideal for which I hope to live for & to see realized. But, my Lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” What a pronouncement! What a stand!!! No rancor against those who incarcerated him for 27 years. Without blemish or anger, total forgiveness!!

The truth of the ancient Bantu adage umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (we are people through other people) often came to his mind. And he saw, perhaps clearer than most of his contemporaries, the inevitability of “mutual interdependence” in the human condition, that “the common ground is greater & more enduring than the differences that divide.” He did not argue for a turning back to a glorious African society of bygone times but called for a completely new kind of state, a multiethnic democracy without match, constituted by a manifold of cultures, all having equal rights.

The ANC leadership, reorganized when Mandela was released in 1990 & could officially take on command, consisted of a cross section of races, including seven Indians, seven “Coloureds,” and seven whites. Likewise, & in harmony with this, a broad cultural & political basis marked the government of 1994. Ministers of state were blacks, whites, Indians, Coloureds, Muslims, Christians, communists, liberals, conservatives. Three Indian Muslims, & two Hindus were in Mandela’s government. Never had such a cabinet been seen in Africa or elsewhere. The Sotho maxim “many rills make a big river” often was in Mandela’s mind.

We see how one man’s remarkable life reached its fulfillment & blossomed into a national vision. Inspired by myriad influences, taking the best from both his native heritage, from the example of foreign freedom movements, & even from the history & literature of his oppressors, Nelson Mandela forged a vision of humanity that encompasses all peoples & that sets the hallmark for the rest of the world. Speaking on his release Mandela said, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my hatred and bitterness behind, I’d still be in prison.”

When the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 1993 to Nelson R. Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk, it was pointed out that their achievement was made by “looking ahead to South African reconciliation instead of looking back at the deep wounds of the past.” The committee also observed that South Africa has been the very symbol of racially conditioned suppression, & hence the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime “points the way to the peaceful resolution of similar deep-rooted conflicts elsewhere in the world.”. In his Nobel Lecture, Mandela referred to the organic world-view expressed already in the manifesto of 1944, calling himself a mere representative of the millions of people across the globe who “recognized that an injury to one is an injury to all;” which is the essence of ubuntu philosophy, universally applied.

Mandela’s intellectual mentors were diverse and wide ranging. From Mahatma Gandhi & Nehru to Bertrand Russell, he owed an intellectual debt to many. Shakespeare was closely followed & taught at the Robben Island “University.” Free to study classical drama, the prisoners at Robben Island staged a more than two-thousand-year-old Greek tragedy, Antigone by Sophocles, in which earthly power is challenged with reference to a higher law. In that production, which was presented under lock and key, Mandela played the part of Creon, the tyrant. From the British philosopher Bertrand Russell, who had been jailed for his protests against nuclear weapons, Mandela had drawn the arguments of defiance, when conscience & civil laws do not agree. From the Russian novelist and idealist Lev Tolstoy, Mandela got similar support. At times, the prisoners also identified with the endless waiting of the protagonists in Samuel Beckett‘s play Waiting for Godot.

Another source of encouragement was the words of a Victorian English poet, William Ernest Henley (1849-1903).

Decade after decade, the unforgettable lines of the poem Invictus, “unconquerable,” were on Mandela’s lips:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

At Robben Island, Mandela recited this poem and taught other prisoners these defiant lines; reading such words “puts life in you”, Mandela said.

It is perhaps inevitable that the myth of Mandela obscured the man, & there’s not complete consensus on his achievements, but he remains one of the 21st centuries most enigmatic public figures. Let’s let him have the last word: “What counts is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”.

In today’s times, we all can well learn from remembering Mandela and Practicing his forgiveness and positivity: vikas

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Green HR

HRAI (HR Association of India) recently asked me to be in a panel discussion on Green HR. HRAI is led by some enthusiastic, young HR professionals. So when they reach out, I always agree. But one peculiar characteristic of HRAI is that they first sign you up for a talk/panel discussion & only much later, after you have accepted, they inform you the topic. Sometimes this can be disconcerting, as it was this time. On my own, I would never have said yes, to such a topic. Green HR?? What is that? Have I done anything in this area in my 40+ years of experience? Will I be able to add value to the listeners? Will my co panelists take me for a fool? ( which I am of course: but why make it public?)

Total self doubt clouded my mind. ( Sotto Voce: those who know me will tell you that is my तकले आम…. my signature tune… faced with anything new. I am a follower of Napoleon in that regard who advised : Train Hard, Fight Easy!!) so then I thought, I can prepare myself for the topic & that is what I did. With homework done, on that fateful day, I was confident & prepared. Though I am saying it myself, I think I was the best speaker on the topic that day. This was validated by many who attended the Panel Discussion & spoke to me after the event. Having done all the prep, I thought why let it go waste? Why not capture my thoughts in a blog, so that I can reach a wider audience? so here goes…hope this adds value to you, my readers.

So what is Green HR? The simple way to understand this is to ensure that every HR touchpoint must promote sustainable practices and increase the employee awareness on issues of sustainability. There is no gainsaying the importance of sustainability in today’s world. So this is HR taking an evangelist role for making sustainability top of the mind, through spreading awareness & engaging all employees in this important task. De facto, HR has to expand its traditional role to emerge as the chief supporter for the organization’s pursuit of sustainability. The first step in this journey is for HR to ensure that “environmental responsibility” becomes an integral part of the corporate mission statement. This will ensure that 1) it remains top-of-the-mind in all organizational initiatives & 2) it gets tracked regularly by the management for fulfilment. HR plays a key role by working towards participation of all organization members to create & keep the organization green.

In a way this is not a new concept. Green HR is not New Wine in Old Bottle; it is a NEW WINE in NEW BOTTLE. For long, organizations have been socially responsible to reduce the environmental impact of it’s operations. A path-breaking example would be Tushar Tanti building a totally Green Corporate HQ way back in 2009. A million square-feet of ground plus two levels in a 10.4 acre urban setting achieved a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum & Teri Griha 5 Star certification, with its annual energy generated on-site through photovoltaic panels and windmills. No other buildings have achieved this kind of cost efficiency. 92 % (4 MW) being consumed by the project is ‘sustainable energy’ making this a Zero Energy Project!

The refrain ,” Do not print this mail, unless absolutely necessary” was a green initiative ages ago. Relocation of factories from cities to remote locations were the sustainability governmental regulations willingly followed by companies like Asian Paints, Cadbury & J&J. The focus on energy usage & efforts to drive down consumption was not only economic need but also a green initiative. Alternate sources of energy championed by Thermax helped corporates to walk this path. Recycling and Waste Disposal in an environmental sensitive way, reducing water consumption and ensuring zero discharge plants achieved by Mahindra & Mahindra in their plants all show us the way. All such initiatives help achieve the Triple P objective: People; Profit & Planet!!! Following such Green HR practices, organizations can save money and at the same time reduce the carbon footprint to further sustainability goals.

The word Green HR also has long legacy. It was way back in 1996, Walter Wehrmeyer in his book aptly entitled “Greening People” first talked of Green HR viz. joint focus of sustainable use of resources and preserving the natural resources.

A host of practices have steadily grown up under this head of Green HR: Going Paperless; Energy Audits & action plans; Using Recycled Materials in offices and shopfloors; Walking, Cycling, Car Pools to reach workplace; Bring your Own Mug for coffee at office reducing plastic/paper/washing requirements; Flexible Work arrangements as we all experienced during Covid; Reducing Travel; Recruitment & Selection online; On Boarding, L&D and PMS online, Procurement only from Vendors who are into recycling… these are just a few examples which people are experimenting with. Setting up Employee Committees to generate more such ideas helps new thinking and also ensures involvement & buy-in of employees.

Such greening of policies & practices has significant benefits. To name a few obvious ones: Improved Communication & Collaboration; Increased Employee Engagement; Reduced Costs; Reduction in Carbon Footprint; & Reduced Costs of Operations. In India many organizations already have enacted such policies and are following such practices to reap business benefits. Notable amongst the early movers are: HCL Tech.; Idea Cellular; ITC; IndusInd Bank; Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Paper; Wipro; Suzlon; ONGC; & TCS , to name a few

Clearly this is an idea whose time has come. So implement for your organization & start reaping the benefits. And to my younger HR brethren: you are always looking for ways in which to move closer to the line of business in your company & to add value & make an impact:- Green HR is the way to go. You will become an important driver of business , cost and sustainability agenda creating a niche for yourself and ensuring a place on the strategy table.

Travel this interesting path to a greener future for yourself and your organization: vikas

PS: Remembering the song penned by the Bard (As You Like It):

Under the greenwood tree

Who loves to lie with me,

And turn his merry note

Unto the sweet bird’s throat,

Come hither, come hither, come hither:

            Here shall he see

            No enemy