Delta of Aspiration over Affordability (DAA): A Positive Driver of Socio-Economic Development

Human beings are genetically wired to aspire more than what one can afford. This delta between aspiration and affordability (called DAA, for the purpose of this blog post) is something that causes stress and distress as well as progress and prosperity. People who achieve wisdom and equanimity at an early age are able to understand the positive and negative consequences of such a delta and are able to minimize it largely through a moderation of aspirations. People who achieve growth and prosperity at an early age believe in keeping this delta real and challenging so that they can continue to work towards better living standards. This management of delta tends to be a largely individual matter but great leaders have made, and continue to make, helpful efforts to take the concepts of delta management to the masses. Individuals and leaders, when aligned in their appreciation of DAA, support wealth creation of higher order.

Great sages and philosophers have, from their early years of life, understood the impact of delta on human sorrows and joys. Many of their teachings, therefore, emphasise the need to be less materialistic and more frugal in the approach to life. Even emperors and kings driven to conquests by greed had eventually understood the need for egalitarianism to prevail over capitalism. Modern economies have a different paradigm to contend with. Burgeoning population requires more jobs which means it requires more products and services. This, in turn, requires more investment and more consumption. Even if humans learn to understand philosophically the need to compress the delta of aspiration and affordability with moderation of expectations, the human race is now economically wired to widen the gap with acceleration of expectations. Leaders of corporations and nations can contribute enormously to socio-economic development by leveraging DAA.

Aspiration drivers

Aspiration, in a positive sense, is driven singly or jointly (in any combination) by three factors: knowledge, comparison and capitalism. When one understands what products and services can do to improve life, and seeks to possess them for such reason, knowledge is in play, driving aspiration. When one compares oneself with others possessing products and utilizing services that one does not, one may seek to have them too. In this case, comparison (or benchmarking) drives aspiration. When one is driven by a desire to create and deliver products and services for others to consume, and create wealth in the process, one may be seen to be driven by capitalism. When these three factors operate in combination the drive for aspiration gets accentuated. To manage one’s aspirations in a constructive manner, one has to develop an understanding of which of the factors and in what combination are driving the aspiration.

Aspiration driven by capitalism or comparisons alone will be ineffectual and stressful. Knowledge is an essential driver for aspiration to be converted into achievement. However, only knowledge without a drive for wealth creation would not fulfil potential. Aspirations tend to be often driven by comparisons which may not be bad at all. The race to be among top performers is, in fact, majorly driven by comparisons. However, only when comparisons are fuelled by knowledge and capitalism, aspirations work out to be good for society. Aspirations would be well merited and most effectively converted into achievements when they are driven by a combination of knowledge, comparison and capitalism. Aspirations would be most sustainable when they are also backed by certain degree of introversion; aspiring to develop knowledge to next levels, making comparisons more meaningful and making capitalism work for broader society. 

Achievement enablers

Besides aspiration itself (without which one would not know what to achieve by design), there are three enablers of achievement. These are: competency, collaboration and communication. Intellectual capital and practice based one’s specialization develops unique competencies in people. Competencies make people sought after for their skills and expected contributions to organizations. Competencies, however, require two other factors to translate themselves into achievements: collaboration and communication. Both these factors are indispensable not only for team working but also for individual contribution. An interactive trainer, for example, tends to be not merely competent in his domain but also have the ability to collaborate with his audience and add greater value through multilateral communication.

Typical educational and work systems emphasize individual performance through grades (while in college) and through ratings (while at work). Despite the emphasis on team work, the deeply embedded grading and rating systems act as barriers to development of collaboration and communication. The jettisoning of performance ratings by a few large corporations in recent times is a step in the right direction. The real transformation would, however, occur when achievement is built into all kinds of activities, from daily throughput to annual revenue. Newspaper publishing is a thoughtful example of how every department can achieve something unique and creative on a daily basis, creating a lasting attachment with the readers. Whether it is layout setting, headline making, cartooning, editorial, crossword puzzle or open page, a newspaper of repute knows how to make achievement a daily routine for everyone connected with the newspaper.

Aspiration-affordability delta

Clearly, in a society where aspirations are set high and achievements seek to keep pace with aspirations, despite affordability constraints, progress is possible. India now has several aspirations; from Swachh Bharat to Make in India, and from smart cities to high speed rails. The delta of aspiration over affordability may look formidable, given the billions of dollars of investments required for each of the initiatives and the current levels of resource spend and low achievements in infrastructure building. However, it is the large delta of aspiration over affordability that serves as the driver of superior growth. This works in two ways. Firstly, the higher the aspirations, the greater is the responsibility for achievement. Secondly, even the highest aspirations are achievable if they are unitized and micronized to daily achievement level. At a national level, such aspirations cannot be the responsibility of the Union Government alone; States and people need to collaborate too. Crowd-funding of ideas to qualify as ‘smart cities’ is an example of how aspirations can be channelled in unison across the nation.

At individual level too, the delta of aspiration over affordability drives progress. Students from weaker sections tend to emerge as strong academic achievers when they set for themselves high aspirations. Late former President Dr Abdul Kalam has been a great example of soaring aspirations leading to sterling achievements, overcoming the economic constraints and traditional social systems. Indeed, there have always been several successful leaders who can trace their origins to humble beginnings. The delta of aspiration over achievement never ceases to exist even after certain levels of achievement. The achievers can continue to deploy it to propel themselves to higher trajectories and/or provide the needed emotional and economic support to others to overcome their own deltas. When successful persons participate in activities of social responsibility, they tend to take social aspirations and achievements to higher levels. Clinton Foundation and Gates Foundation, for example, have been demonstrating how private initiatives of this nature can support social equity.

Aspirational planning

Planning is the foundational step for growth. Conventional wisdom of planning in India has been that planning has to be consistent with resources that can be generated. Successive Planning Commissions in India had done a highly responsible job of guiding India’s growth. Many feel that India’s post-independence preoccupation with socialism, licensing and controls was responsible for India’s slow growth. The real reason could lie in the planning model that was moderated growth plans to stay within the resource constraints rather than aspiring to soar beyond them. There are two elements in setting the aspirations. The first is the scale, and the second is the time. Aspirations that are driven by higher scale in smaller timeframes are the most challenging to achieve but also are the most satisfying for the society. Aspirations that have a sound socio-economic logic would be able to generate resources and commitments despite the seemingly large delta of aspiration over achievement.

India’s Pradhan Mantri Jana Dhana Yojana is an example of what aspirational planning can achieve. Announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first Independence Day speech on August 15, 2014, and launched on August 28, 2014, Jana Dhana Yojana could achieve a mammoth 18 crore new accounts in just an year with deposits exceeding RS 22,000 crore (USD 3.3 billion), which is indeed an exceptional achievement as the scheme was targeted at economically weaker sections of the society. It is not surprising, therefore, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his recent US visit, took enormous pride in citing Jana Dhana Yojana as an example how India could make things to work exceptionally fast if the Nation put its heart into it. Taking this example as a cue, India at a national level, corporations at enterprise level and the public at individual level must jettison other forms of guided and constrained planning in favour of aspirational planning. This is the only way by which India can take a quantum jump into a future of superlative growth without getting weighed down by concerns of affordability.

Posted by Dr CB Rao on October 9, 2015  

Indian National Development Icons: Inspirations for Quantum Leaps in Socio-Economic Growth

Over the last one year, India has received favourable global attention as an attractive emerging market, potential world-class manufacturing hub and likely global economic powerhouse. Despite certain missed expectations on big-bang reforms, global investors continue to retain faith in the India story. Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ theme and the initiatives by various States to unveil new industrial policies and promote ease of doing business have contributed to a new air of expectation. While an uncertain monsoon, large debt levels and poor corporate earnings have recently taken a toll on the Indian stock markets (making India the worst performing emerging market this year) there is no panic yet. There is, on the other hand, optimism that India would clock a higher growth rate of 7.5 percent in 2015-16, psychologically boosted by the fact that India has crossed China in GDP growth rate the past quarter.

Being on an economic roller-coaster is not new to India. The amplitude of travel has been, however, increasing due to increasing global linkages. Various sectors that are linked to global trends (oil and gas, metals and minerals, shipping and construction, for example) besides debt dependent, rate sensitive and monsoon sensitive sectors (infrastructure, banks, FMCG) are particularly impacted. National economic policy must take care of the short term pressures and announce policy prescriptions that are creative and serve as “instant motivators”. The new Telangana Industrial Policy, for example, made a creative commitment on Right to Clearance of entrepreneurs and industrialists applying for setting up industries. Policies certainly would not only improve investor sentiment but also lay solid pathways to industrial progress. Given India’s industrial maturity thus far and developmental imperatives for the future, this blog post provides a new paradigm of National Icons as a reinforcing concept.

National icons

Icon is defined as a famous person or thing that people admire and see as a symbol of a particular idea, way of life, etc. Nations have iconic symbols. India has such iconic symbols that act as the National Identity Elements of India. These symbols are intrinsic to the Indian identity and heritage. Indians of all demographics and backgrounds across the world are proud of these National Symbols as they infuse a sense of pride and patriotism in every Indian’s heart. These are India’s National Flag (the Horizontal Tricolour with Wheel), National Anthem (Jana-gana-mana), National Song (Vande Mataram), State Emblem (Four Lions), National Bird (Peacock), National Animal (Tiger) and National Flower (Lotus), National Tree (Banyan), National River (Ganga), National Aquatic Animal (River Dolphin), National Fruit (Mango) and National Calendar (Saka Era).

National icons typically emerge from a glorious past and an exciting present to inspire and unite all Indians. They serve as reminders of the identity in functions and events, reinforcing the feeling of oneness. Companies have typically, for long, developed their individual symbols and logos to inspire homogeneity and focus, and promote an enduring connect with the customers and public at large. India has been creative in developing various thematic symbols for various initiatives from time to time; and so do international organizations. India’s recent Make in India Lion oriented icon is an inspiration for the campaign. As India gears up to achieve further global growth as an international economic powerhouse it would be appropriate to conceptualize certain national development icons to inspire aligned thoughts, expressions and actions for a glorious socio-economic future for India.

Key drivers

India’s socio-economic development will be driven by a balanced growth of a number of social and economic sectors. While agriculture, industry and services would be three core economic sectors, social and industrial infrastructure would be a key enabler as well as a key driver. In fact, the interdependence and interlinkages of various sectors makes it difficult to sequence, let alone prioritize, one over the other. Some sectors are well developed while some are yet to mature in India. In some cases, development is relatively comprehensive (steel, automobile and pharmaceutical manufacture, for example) but in some cases it is patchy (education, healthcare and housing, for example).

Given that everything develops everything else (provided a balanced development process is followed), it would be appropriate to choose certain icons which can inspire India to be proud of the progress thus far and the potentialities that need to be mastered in future. This blog post presents a framework of ten such national development icons. Some of these reflect certain matured capability of which the country can be rightly proud of while the balance are essential aspirations bolstered be certain isolated successes. It is not claimed that these are the most representative ones but these are certainly inspirational as developmental icons. These have powerful developmental force and can create cascading development impact across the socio-economic firmament.

1. National Product Icon – Automobile

India has a huge portfolio of industrial and consumer products that are domestically produced. Amongst all, no industry has achieved the level of dramatic transformation that the automobile industry has achieved. From an output of just 250,000 vehicles of all types, including a miniscule 30,000 annually of three dated cars in the 1970s, the industry has grown in scale and scope tremendously (100 fold increase!) to emerge as the sixth largest in the world with an output of 25 million vehicles annually. The industry is able to design its own new vehicles in India as evidenced by Tata Nano and Renault-Nissan Kwid. The industry is capable of becoming the third largest in the world by 2020. Automobile is truly a national product icon for India, demonstrating what the country can accomplish.

2. National Development Icon – Bullet Train

India has the world’s largest rail network. Though a government owned institution, the Indian Railways it has been able to run itself independently as if it were a corporation. Indian Railways with a network of 7,172 stations, 115,000 kms of track length over a route length of 65,000 kms, carrying annually 8.4 billion passengers and 1 billion tonnes of freight. Indian Railways is not only the lifeline of India with such a huge pan-Indian network but is an ecosystem by itself with an employment of 1.3 million and several welfare institutions such as schools and hospitals as well as housing colonies. Yet, Indian Railways needs to urgently move to the next trajectory of rail technology which is bullet trains. Bullet trains or high speed trains capable of travelling at or above 400 kmph (as in Japan, Europe or China) can dramatically transform the socio-economic status of India. 

3. National Globalization Icon – Smart Device

India had a woeful record in telephone connectivity even by the 1970s and 1980s. Today, however, India is the fastest growing market for smart phones. Over 1 billion cell phone connections exist in India, far outstripping landline connections of 28 million. With the integration of connectivity and computing as well as education and entertainment, and emergence of indigenous phone manufacturers, smart phones, or more broadly the entire range of smart devices including tablets, phablets and laptops, could be the new icon of India’s globalization. Along with hardware, Indian software may participate with a range of application supports. If scale and scope, and integration of hardware and software influence global leadership, the smart device could well be India’s National globalization icon. 

 

4. National Energy Icon – Power Plant

India is criticised for its woeful performance in the power sector; power, in terms of availability and cost, is identified as one of the critical bottlenecks for India’s industrialization. That said, India is one of the few countries which has a mix of all kinds of power plants, thermal (coal, oil and gas), hydro, nuclear and renewable power plants. The total power output is nearly 300,000 MW but has a huge gap to be met. Power projects apart from road projects are some of the most stalled or delayed infrastructure projects in India. As an aspirational icon, power plant will be seen over the next few years as one would accelerate India’s socio-economic development with an equal focus on energy for residential and industrial purposes. The Ultra Mega Power Projects and Renewable Energy projects would be seen as new icons of economic power for India.

5. National Security Icon – Housing

Housing is one of the fundamental needs of security for any society. India presents a very patchy and paradoxical picture in terms of housing. Some reports suggest that in certain metro areas lakhs of apartments are remaining unsold even as the demand for affordable urban houses has been facing a demand gap of a few million units. Lack of proper housing with protective structural elements is the major pain point in all of rural and most urban areas. Housing being the fundamental need and also being the most important employment provider as well as trigger for a number of industries (such as steel, cement, construction materials and paints as well as interior fit-outs), ‘housing for all’ which is a Modi Government’s Mission is an aspiration for India as a whole.

6. National Welfare Icon – Healthcare

Every society owes to itself the duty of health and wellness of every individual. India despite its rich heritage of Ayurveda and Yoga is ironically facing some of the most disabling healthcare challenges in the world, including proliferation of diabetes and other metabolic disorders, besides infectious and cancerous diseases. The hospital and doctor network as well as access to emergency services are patchy while the aged and independent have no healthcare insurance that is worthy of mention. The country has just one doctor for 2000 people while the density of hospital beds per 10000 population is just 9 against global average of 30 and a range of 60 to 150 in the developed Asian countries. The availability of medical technicians and technologists as well as nurses and paramedical staff is also woefully low. Indian doctors and surgeons, however, have demonstrated the ability to conduct complex surgical operations and be globally competitive. This capability requires a universal coverage within India. Healthcare, therefore, will need to be the National Welfare icon in India.  

7. National Equity Icon – Education

Come May and June, India would be in the exciting phase of amazing results from school final examinations and the excruciating phase of seeking admissions in schools and colleges. Statistics apart, it is touching to come across cases of students making the highest grades despite the handicaps of underdeveloped geographies and schools, and constraints of poverty and non-affordability. Education is the fundamental driver of equity and equality in India and has helped people from indigent sections move up in terms of high positions in administration, business and industry. India is a globally competitive powerhouse in the education sector with 1.4 million schools and 35,000 higher education institutes, Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, National Institutes of Technology and several other specialized institutes. India has the capability to globalize its educational competencies even more. Education will, however, be the most potent instrument of establishing social equity in India with appropriate policy support.  

8. National Competitiveness Icon – Space Mission

If there is one sector that has gained reached astronomical heights (literally!) despite being in public sector in India it is the space sector. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been in the forefront of building and operating satellites, satellite launching rockets and satellite launching stations in India. It has not only put several satellites in orbits but recently joined the exclusive club of developed nations that has sent a satellite to Mars (Mangalyaan Mission). ISRO has the infrastructure to put its space technology for India’s industrial and economic development requirements (including communication and weather forecasting) and the ability to support the space programs of other emerging nations. India’s space mission would remain an icon of India’s national competitiveness.

9. National Sustenance Icon – Agriculture

India is still an agrarian economy. If it were not so, despite the industrial sophistication the Reserve Bank of India and the Stock Markets would not have adversely reacted to forecasts of deficient monsoon this year. With nearly two thirds of India’s population dependent on agriculture, it is clear that national sustenance is closely dependent on agricultural output. Many feel that China is ahead of India only due to massive manufacturing scope and productivity. On the other hand, agricultural buoyancy seems to have been supporting Chinese economy to a greater degree than is visible. According to a study, China has bettered India in terms of farm output (twice over), agricultural area (515 versus 179 million hectares), crop yields (double the level), capital formation (thrice over), per capita agricultural supplies (twice over), and so on. Raising farm productivity and rural prosperity would be vital for the overall Indian economy. Agriculture would continue to be India national sustenance icon.

10. National Innovation Icon – Design and Development

Innovation is first time discovery. Innovation leads to novel designs and developments. Design and development is the intellectual driver of industrialization. Given the diversified industrial capabilities acquired so far and the huge pool of scientific and technical talent base with a very young demographics, India has the greatest chance to innovate across the arenas. Instead of merely adopting and adapting overseas designs, India’s huge scientific and technical manpower should be leveraged to set up design studios for Indian industry and global industry as well. If the industry and governments put their heart, soul and investments into innovation, new product development can be an iconic part of India’s development. Starting with early stage design and development immediately, India can become a global innovation hub eventually. India’s innovation can straddle both process and product aspects. Only when India has achieved a global recognition in innovation, the fullest potential of Indian talent could be seen to be fulfilled. Design and development needs to be firmly positioned as India’s national innovation icon.

Iconic identity

Icons bring pride and ownership and inspire common identity. If the fullest industrial, social and economic progress in terms of the above 10 sectors becomes iconic, India would emerge as a truly global icon of equitable development. There is huge work to be done but India is capable of delivering on such iconic identity.

Posted by Dr CB Rao on July 4, 2015 

Multi-polar Strategic Management for Unlimited Growth: The “Scale-up with Start-up” Model for India

Theories of strategy and execution are replete with exhortations of how focus and specialization help deliver growth and value to corporations. There are, of course, several examples of companies trying to do too much by way of diversification and achieving too little by way of sustainability. Such eventuality is almost akin to one individual being inadequate as a hero for all occasions and events. This criticism of doing more for achieving less is often made against Indian firms which have a strong urge for growth and an almost obsessive compulsion to get into any field which happens to be the flavor of the season. Such critics point to the example of Apple which has a leadership position with a focus on just five product lines and only one or two products in each product line, even cumulatively over a period. The implication obviously is that by focusing so sharply and executing so perfectly, a firm can achieve industry leading growth.

Apple, however, is an exception rather than the rule. One has at the other end of the spectrum 3M which believes in a continuous flow of innovative products every year. Professor Michael Porter tries to tackle the conundrum by hypothesizing that once we define an industry we operate in, there could be a slew of generic strategy options that the firms in the industry can successfully pursue. He says that diversified firms can be as successful as focused firms. However, even Porter does not answer if unlimited growth is indeed possible for any firm and a law of diminishing returns from excessive expansion or diversification does exist as a hard fact of industrial economics. Many business leaders opt for either cocooned specialization or wild diversification without applying appropriate logic. This blog post proposes that multi-polar strategic management which pursues multiple business lines is possible, and is indeed relevant for India, if a ‘scale-up with start-up’ model is adopted.

Limits to growth

There are certainly limits to growth but there also exist limitless options for growth, especially in India. Natural resources in the planet are finite; be it land space, ores and minerals, oil and gas or water and vegetation. These determine the limits to growth. At the same time, there are natural resources that are abundantly or seasonally available be it solar power, rain water, natural winds and there are usable resources than can be recycled, including all man-made products. By focusing on which resource can be prudently leveraged human ingenuity can continue to push the limits to growth at progressively higher levels. Over the years, alternative materials and products have been discovered, adapted and commercialized. The emergence of shale gas an alternative to conventional crude oil and solar power as an alternative power source are just two examples. 

Steering clear of the nature’s limits to growth, there are various other limits to growth that operate through disingenuous corporate or human behavior. The first is aspiring to grow without understanding economic, demographic and technological fundamentals which generate the basic demand. The second is seeking to grow without having the patience to last through an economic cycle. The third is pursuing growth without a sustainable competitive position within the industry. The fourth is pursuing growth in an industry which is already well catered to by several firms. The fifth, of course, is a risk-averse organizational culture. The fifth factor is important because all growth entails risk and the risk taking ability of an organization determines the gearing for growth. The sixth factor is one of leadership myopia with leaders failing to see a broader vision and accordingly failing to develop multiple leaders who can establish and scale up multiple businesses,   

Opportunities for growth

In an emerging market like India, opportunities for growth far outweigh limits to growth. The very basic needs of infrastructure of various sectors (transport, housing, education, water, sanitation, power, water, oil, healthcare, banking and food, to name a few) are enough to trigger mammoth growth in infrastructure and a host of downstream industries. If we add to this the desirable goal of getting these to international service standards, the growth opportunities would be even higher. An economic environment that supports growth is all that is required because unlike Japan or US, India has a huge domestic market that needs to be satisfied while providing more affordable products and services for other global markets. India’s own growth story, however halted it may have been at the Hindu rate of sub-5 percent growth, illustrates this fact.

In a growth paradigm, nothing succeeds like success. India’s first industrial revolution, in the post-independence period of 1950s and 1960s, of heavy industries and massive river dams has created the first profile of a middle class that can be benefitted by economic development. The later stage green revolution of the 1970s and 1980s brought some uplift to the rural population even though it was skewed in favour of the landed class. India’s Information Technology boom of late 1990s and early 2000s, post-economic liberalization, has created a whole new youthful middle class with significant purchasing power and a capability to stimulate the growth of various sectors such as housing, automobiles, consumer durables, consumer goods and apparel. Social and economic infrastructure development from now on would provide an even more powerful and more multipronged opportunities for growth in India between 2015 and 2030, by the end of which period India should be the third largest economy of the world.

Growth deliverers

The Government of India with its belief in a public sector led self-reliant socialist economy delivered the first wave of growth. A more agrarian oriented Government with the goal of food self-sufficiency delivered the second wave of growth. A largely private sector led information technology revolution that moved from a start-up scale to a globalized scale delivered the third wave of growth. The prospective infrastructure led growth wave would now require a powerful combination of the big business houses, established public and private sector corporations and intellectual think-tanks to deliver epoch making growth, progressively by 2030. The concern in the current scenario, however, is that the big, established entities seem to have lost the flair and passion to grow adventurously and aggressively as they did only a few years ago (just to recall a few examples, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra and L&T at a company level and Ambanis, Hindujas, Jindals, Dhoots and Birlas at a business house level set scorching paces of growth from the 1970s in spite of the licensing limitations of the period).

    

In addition, a host of public sector companies expanded and diversified aggressively all through the 1960s to the 1990s while certain government wings provided growth impetuses significantly during the same period; for example, SAIL, BHEL, ONGC, GAIL and IOC as companies, and oil, power, banking, steel and space as sectors. Growth in this context connotes not merely increase in revenue but scaling up of new product lines and business lines as well. In contrast to India’s own past performance and the current air of global expectancy on India, all of the entities seem to have lost the mojo to grow through diversification. It is worrisome if the mantra of focus continuously articulated by management gurus has resulted in the current cautious approach. With the unveiling of new initiatives such as NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transformation of India) by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, hopefully the impetus would return. However, large corporations, whether private, public; and Indian-owned or foreign-owned, and business houses must start owning up leadership perspectives that enable multi-directional business growth. 

Diversity beckons

India is a land of development opportunities. There is no reason why Tatas need to be content with just one aviation initiative; the group by itself can initiate and compete for a number of other infrastructure projects too. In collaboration with other related groups like Shapoorji & Pallonji, Tatas can form a collaborative alliance to tackle the challenges of resources for infrastructure development while leveraging the capabilities of existing group entities. When Ratan Tata can bet on e-commerce initiatives through personal investments, there is no reason why Tata group cannot bet on e-commerce. There is also no reason why Indian software giants cannot diversify into electronic hardware. The only reason that can be attributed for such big groups not being as entrepreneurial as they should be is the management logic that focus alone would pay at a standalone corporate level, and core and non-core distinctions must be made at group levels.

There is another school of thought that says that being ‘asset light’ makes better economic sense. That may be true for developed nations but India needs productive assets to generate wealth creating activities. India needs to create huge capacities in multiple areas to lead development. Banking and financing paradigms must be restructured to encourage asset heavy investments that are long term value generators. Banks must be allowed to capitalize with cheaper foreign capital and backload the repayments and interest payments from the Indian infrastructural investments. Among the established Groups, probably Virgin Group of Richard Branson is a role model for entrepreneurial diversification of large scale enterprises. Virgin venturing into commercial spaceflight is an example. The only tenable argument for large companies and groups being non-entrepreneurial is that their structures and processes no longer allow the nimble-footed competency which a new start-up activity demands.

Start-up to scale-up

India is in the throes of a start-up culture. More graduates of premier institutions are willing to opt for start-up careers. Directors of Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management are of the view that the shift towards start-up culture is what the country needs. A closer look at where the start-up culture is shaping up points to services and e-commerce sectors than anywhere else. It seems to be another needless flight of technical talent to areas less warranted. Over and above that, infrastructure is hardly the domain in which individual start-ups can gain a toehold, let alone grow. If India is to be infrastructure-endowed there is no alternative to big groups and big companies launching their own infrastructure start-up units. The need for infrastructure start-ups is dictated by the need to combine entrepreneurial spirit (which only a start-up organization can provide) with infrastructure financing (which only big business can provide).   

India’s own tryst with some of the biggest infrastructure successes proves the point that when large establishments start up big infrastructure projects with entrepreneurial leadership and processes there is a greater chance of successful infrastructure development. Konkan Railways, Delhi Metro Rail, Mumbai Metro Rail, IRCTC, Airport projects in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai are examples. Many times, some of these projects are cited as successes of privatization. The real reason for their success, however, is the power of big business combining with a start-up entrepreneurial culture to start small, and scale up rapidly. There are 500 top companies in India with annual revenues upwards of Rs 1500 crore, and reaching as high as Rs 500,000 crore, covering both public and private sectors. If each of these companies, on an average, establishes 10 infrastructure start-up companies, thus totaling 5000 start-ups in total, and progressively scale up with their resources, India’s infrastructure would be dramatically upgraded.

Posted by Dr CB Rao on January 3, 2015

Self-actualization by One’s Self for Oneself: An Enlightened Process for the Elusive Goal

Self-actualization is defined as the process of using one’s skills and abilities and achieving as much as one can possibly achieve. Spiritual texts as well as management theories advocate a person living a completely fulfilled life. Management texts require a person to direct his or her efforts to generate material wealth for consumer satisfaction while spiritual texts require a person to redirect his or her self to attain salvation as the ultimate fulfillment. The best part of one’s years, even by spiritualism, are to be utilized by a person to develop his or her capabilities, and generate livelihood for his or her family, and in the process also contribute to society and generate wealth for the nation. It is important for one to, therefore, actualize oneself prior to seeking salvation.   

It is generally assumed that self-actualization is dependent on only skills and competencies as well as knowledge and experience. These are considered necessary for one to progress in career and become what one is completely capable of in professional life. These are, however, merely tools that need to be understood in their perspective and used appropriately in one’s process of self-actualization. The key is that one has to familiarize with oneself, prior to hoping to actualize oneself. Self-actualization is dependent on ten aspects of one’s self, namely, self-awareness, self-appraisal, self-confidence, self-control, self-development, self-discipline, self-expression, self-improvement, self-motivation, and self-respect.  These ten approaches together constitute an enlightened process to achieve the typically elusive goal of self-actualization, as discussed below.

Self-awareness

Self-awareness reflects the knowledge and understanding of one’s character and capabilities. People possess capabilities and attributes that play a role in how they contribute to their organizations but they also often face gaps and deficiencies with respect to their particular organizational and environmental contexts. Lack of awareness of strengths lead to sub-optimized or diffident efforts while lack of awareness of the gaps leads to misdirected or self-opinionated efforts; neither of this leading to self-actualization. Self-awareness is the basic foundation on which the superstructure of self-actualization can be built. There are several tools and methodologies to understand oneself but none of these would be useful unless one has the openness of the mind and heart to conduct an honest self-appraisal.

Self-appraisal

Self-appraisal is the act or ability of judging one’s own capabilities, attitudes, work and performance, among others. Self-appraisal needs to be honest, clinical and objective but also practical and empathetic. Self-appraisal should not lead to either narcissism or denial. Self-appraisal requires, as a starting point, goals that are owned by the individual based on his or her capabilities and aptitudes. The process of self-appraisal itself requires a keen observation of what the environment requires of one, how others are matching up to the requirements, and how one is performing against these myriad requirements and variables. Self-appraisal is not only an analytical capability but also a behavioral attribute. The personality attribute that enables an honest self-appraisal is self-confidence. 

Self-confidence

Self-confidence is the belief in oneself and one’s abilities. Self-confidence is based on a clear understanding of one’s self-worth. Self-confidence needs to be a personalized, finely ingrained characteristic that draws reinforcement from one’s strengths but does not border on egoism or arrogance. Self-confidence enables a person not to be distracted by the vicissitudes of the short term and instead focus on the long term goals of self-actualization. Self-confidence enables a person to focus on what needs to be done to achieve goals, and not be complacent or shaken by the successes or failures, respectively, of the past. Self-confidence is a synergistic characteristic that spreads cheer and strength in teams and organizations. Together with the other nine characteristics, self-confidence is probably the most profound characteristic of an enduring leader. Self-confidence requires significant self-control.

Self-control

Self-control is the ability to remain calm and composed, and not show one’s emotions despite internal or external triggers. Human being is an emotional being. Organizations and societies, being agglomerations of individuals of diverse backgrounds and aspirations, are bound to cause multiple triggers that bring out both positive and negative emotions in human beings. As members of disciplined organizations and societies, all individuals must practice self-control as an attribute that promotes and institutionalizes discipline. The ability to self-control is also dependent on an ability to self-correct whenever an unacceptable variation is detected. Self-control does not mean an unemotional or robotic state; rather it requires an ability to display emotions to the extent required to perfect processes and performance.         

Self-development

Self-development is the process by which a person’s character and abilities are developed. Self-development does not mean development of oneself wholly by oneself. It must be construed as the development of self by oneself as well as with others’ inputs. Many leaders are self-made. They truly experience their living, absorbing learning inputs all through and developing themselves in the process. They are also cognizant of their responsibility of developing others along with their own development. The moment learning stops development stops and progress also halts. Continuous self-development is essential for self-realization and self-actualization. Self-development is both intra-curricular and extra-curricular. Many progressive institutes offer structured programs of extra-curricular development for their students. Organizations could make extra-curricular learning a part of the regular training and development initiatives.

Self-discipline

Self-discipline is the ability of a person to stay on the right course despite exceptional challenges, obstacles, temptations or inducements. Mahatma Gandhi is the ultimate example of self-discipline who never swerved from the path of non-violence and the goal of winning independence for India despite the autocratic alien rule. Self-discipline is always preferable to imposed discipline. As Gandhi’s leadership demonstrates, his principles of simplicity and discipline inspired millions to transform their behaviors and lives to support the Indian independence movement.  Self-discipline helps one institutionalize ethics, values and conduct in organizations and societies. Self-discipline, when it becomes an organizational and social ethic, enables focus, compliance, quality, safety, productivity and, in short, all the metrics of competitiveness that can make India a great power.

Self-expression

Self-expression is the expression of one’s thoughts and feelings without fear or favor but with responsibility and accountability. The benchmark of a vibrant organization is the ability to pool together different viewpoints, discuss and analyze and accept the best views. Individuals who have the ability to express their thoughts and feelings in a positive and constructive way help the spread of knowledge in an organization and also gain the stature to be analysts and spokespersons. Constructive self-expression not only reflects leadership but also helps the individual set the bar of public scrutiny higher. Self-expression must be a sustainable experience associated with a person rather than an emotive unpredictable occurrence.  Self-expression must be calibrated, contextual and analytical to be impactful.  

Self-improvement

Self-improvement is the process by which a person improves one’s knowledge, character and status, largely through one’s own efforts. A scientist’s experiments constitute a classic example of how a person can improve one’s ideas and knowledge by repeated and analytical application of knowledge. Self-improvement is more arduous and challenging than learning from others. The advantage of self-improvement is that the person can have a whole spectrum of people to observe, interact and learn from. Self-improvement is also a process in which serendipity plays a surprising but useful role in discovery of new facts and expanding the boundaries of knowledge. Scientific and technological professionals can, in fact, achieve a lot by focusing on self-improvement as an integral part of their day to day routine.  

Self-motivation

Self-motivation is the ability of a person to motivate himself, or herself, to work hard and excel, relying on internal drive without depending on external encouragement. Motivation is the process of making somebody do something that is especially hard and challenging. While motivating others is difficult, motivating oneself is even more challenging. Yet, on closer analysis, all motivation eventually has to be self-driven. While there are several motivational theories, tools and techniques, and there are also trainers for motivating people, the real urge for motivation has to come from within. Those who set up self-actualization as a goal for themselves and practice the various self-help principles discussed herein are likely to be self-motivated.  

Self-respect

Self-respect is the ability to judge what is right and wrong and thus have the ability to take pride in that what one does says or does is right and good. The process of self-actualization in a materialistic world is truly challenging, given that an individual is a mere player who cannot write his or her own script. Equally, the path is beset by more obstacles than reinforcements. The individual’s professional compass has to be his constant companion, telling him what is right and wrong on a real time basis, in the journey of self-actualization. The acumen to distinguish the right from the wrong, the strength to take the right calls on the right things, and the gumption to do the right things in the right way together build the stature of an individual on the path of self-actualization.

Self-actualization, elusive but achievable

The ten principles of self-awareness, self-appraisal, self-confidence, self-control, self-development, self-discipline, self-expression, self-improvement, self-motivation, and self-respect form a virtuous set of principles that can help an individual attain self-actualization. However, oftentimes the journey of self-actualization tends to be daunting and overwhelming, with the goal remaining elusive. As one, for example, enhances his or her self-awareness and embarks upon self-improvement, the bar for self-actualization is automatically set higher. It is this process of higher goal-setting that is tied to the concept of greater self-worth that could make the goal of self-actualization elusive. It is good for the individual and the society to keep aspiring for higher goals for the most part of one’s active life, and then switch on the even more esoteric but more fulfilling goal of self-actualization through spiritual salvation.

Posted by Dr CB Rao on April 21, 2013  

 

 

Safety and Security for Women: India’s Greatest Social Challenge

The brutal gang rape and assault on a 23 year old young lady in a moving bus in the night of December 16, 2012 in New Delhi has caused deep anguish and distress to every right thinking Indian. With her passing away in Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore in the morning of December 29, the hope that she would return to active life as a crusader against the scourge of rape in India has been whiffed away. While India has had the unfortunate history of many sexual assaults on hapless women, the latest incident is shocking for its heinousness, bestiality and savageness. Shaken by the public outrage, Government of India (GoI) has constituted a Commission of Inquiry into the incident and a three member Committee to overhaul the laws. The one-person Commission, to be headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice Usha Mehra, will also suggest measures to make Delhi and NCR safer for women. The three-member Committee under the former Supreme Court Chief Justice J S Verma would look, among others, into the possibility of rewriting the laws relating to aggravated sexual assault and enhancing penalty for it.

There have been several spontaneous suggestions from the public and political leaders on ways and measures to stop such atrocities. Several individuals and organizations have suggested death sentence as a deterrent for such heinous crimes. At a tactical and operational level, more intensive night time patrolling, provision of GPS for buses, elimination of tinting on windows of automobiles, more police stations manned by women, special protection for women on the move in the night times, screening of drivers and cleaners for criminal record, fast track courts to try perpetrators of assaults on women, early closure of night time movie halls and pubs, community protection, special protection by employers, formation of self-help groups and several other suggestions have been made. Even as this incident has stirred the nation’s conscience, there has been a flow of news on continued incidence of assaults on women from various towns, cities and states without any letup. This makes one wonder whether such assaults on women, sexual and/or otherwise, do not reflect a widespread and deeply entrenched social scourge in India.

Social paradox

India has had a long and hoary tradition of according the pride of place for womanhood in making homes and building society. The Indian scriptures and folklore advocate and encourage the concept of protection for womenfolk. Great emphasis is laid on the responsibilities of a man in protecting a lady, as a father, brother, husband or son. In overt ways, India has also been one of the very few countries which encouraged physical reservation of space for women in commuting, excusive schools and colleges for women, reservations or preferential allotments for girls in education etc. The families and girl children have also risen to the occasion and achieved high levels in studies, and equality in certain professions such as banking, medicine, nursing, information technology and so on. The educated female of India is today able to work on her own and travel independently in India and abroad.

Despite this apparent progress, the typical girl child or the mature lady continues to be highly vulnerable to the mischief, and bestiality, of the Indian male. Girl students and working women find public commuting a daily curse, given the harassment they are subjected to. Working late nights in fulfilment of academic and professional pursuits carries unpredictable risks. Being alone at home in the nights brings additional risks to the lady caretakers of the house. The family may protect a girl or a lady (even that seems to be under threat in certain cases) but the neighbourhood community or the broader society seems to have little concern, and even appears to harbour a distinct disdain, for the so called weaker gender. While this trend is blamed on the patriarchal and male dominated nature of the Indian society on one hand and the liberal winds of westernization, the real causes may run a lot deeper.

Discipline as a foundation

The Indian society is badly in need of a fundamental fix, in terms of discipline. The old generations were brought up with a thorough grounding on the essential values of life from the famed scriptures and religious teachings. The sayings of great Swamis like Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Sri Vivekananda, and exemplification by great leaders like Gandhiji and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, just to quote a few names, were inspirational. The social mores and cultural events encouraged discipline and respected womanhood. People, by and large, respected rule of law and feared the consequences of non-compliance. Today’s situation is in abject contrast to the erstwhile disciplined living. The unbridled openness of the society, collapse of the joint families, rampant consumerism and irrational ostentation have destroyed the foundations of discipline, and respect for rules on which the Indian society had been built for centuries. 

The fundamental need is to restore discipline and compliance as the bedrock of a reformed Indian society. In a milieu where the working families have no time of their own to teach the children or have no space for their elders to assume the responsibility, pre-school day care centres and schools have to assume the responsibility of incorporating lessons from all religions that respect and protect womanhood. Every institution has to establish fundamental rules that discipline the members to respect the womenfolk. From villages to cities, disciplined living has to become a cultural anchor. The fact that women are moving into economic independence does not mean that the old traditions of treating womenfolk with respect in public places and in private homes need to be dispensed with. Institutions have to be rated and ranked for their commitment to disciplinary teachings. Families also must patronize institutions for their disciplined way of functioning rather than for glossy IIT admission rankings.    

Positioning as a reinforcement

While a reinforcement of the foundations of discipline are extremely important, it is equally necessary to promote womanhood in a positive light in all public forums. Over the years, the advertising channels and movie houses have badly slid down in terms of depicting the womanhood. In an age where women are proving, time and again, that they are intellectually and economically second to none, such forums sadly project women as objects of desire certain times. It is important that the finer elements of living, including the sentiments of joint living, are restored in the public media. Movies which depict positive values have even in recent times seen good commercial appeal, indicating that it is still possible to bring out the basic human values.

The other reinforcement potentially is to enable more massive employment of womenfolk in various avocations. By all social and economic indicators, the position of the lady of the house as the builder of the home, and in a broader sense as the builder of the society, needs reinforcement. This is a task which requires the women to also participate and cooperate as a community network. In several parts of the country, religious and community festivals provide the right backdrop for the respectful position that the womenfolk command in the society. India has seen massive campaigns in the past for specific causes, for example family planning, AIDS/HIV control and tourism. It is time for a massive campaign to highlight the need to respect and protect the girl child and the woman. 

In the ultimate analysis, an educated population and an employed society offer additional protection for the reestablishment of the protective moorings of the Indian male and the protected nature of the Indian female. Right education that is relevant for India must have a fine blend of Western liberalization and Oriental conservatism. Right employment that is relevant for India must provide for appropriate levels of protection for the ladies in employment.  Equality and equity for men and women in all walks of life must continue to be accompanied by special dispensation relevant for women in India.   

Safety and security as a mission

While the fundamental and reinforcement fixes advocated herein would provide long term alleviation, the several tactical and operational measures that have been put across in the media, some of which have been reiterated and supplemented in this blog post, need urgent execution. It is to be hoped that the six people and any other persons involved directly or indirectly in the murderous sexual assault are dispensed deterrent punishment and that the Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Usha Mehra and the Committee headed by Justice J S Verma would complete their respective works expeditiously and come up with a string of measures and statute changes that restore the glory of the Indian woman. While the entire nation grieves for the horrendous suffering the brave lady had to bear as a person over the last few days and prays for the departed soul to rest in peace, it is to be fervently sought that the collective anguish and determination of the governments and the society would bring in changes that once for all eliminate social scourge of the assault on the womanhood. 

Posted by Dr CB Rao on December 29, 2012