CL -- The Sage Entrepreneurs - Part 1

A ship “The Empress of India” set sail from the then Yokohama harbour to Vancouver, Canada in 1893.

On the upper deck two Indian met during their morning and evening walks and became fast friends.  One was a young unknown monk and the other was a rich Parsi trader from Bombay.  The monk and the Parsi businessman agreed starting some industry, not in mere cotton or textile but in the core sector e.g. Cement or Steel or Chemicals would help India progress from the coils of Foreign Domination !

The monk told the would-be industrialist there were 2 aspects to industry- the manufacturing aspect and the knowledge science and to run the Steel furnaces, plant and mill.  An institute had to be built for imparting knowledge in Science and Technology to Indians as the British were eager to teach Literature and Arts but not science to Indians !  Both also felt if a country has to progress the poor people can only be uplifted vide indigenous Industry and not Foreign Charity or the imaginary Benevolence of Colonial Masters !!!

The two men were Jamshedji Tata and Swami Vivekananda !!! Jamshedji was visiting the Chicago World Fair and Swamiji continued onwards to his historic address at the Parliament of Religions, Chicago but the burning words of the visionary monk left an indelible impression on his listener’s mind !

Jamshedji Tata set up India’s first Steel Plant in Jamshedpur, a hydro electric power plant at Khandala near Mumbai and the Indian Institute of Science of Bangalore.  In 1898 five years later Jamshedji requested Swamiji to head his dream “Monastery of science where in a spirit of asceticism students would worship Science !”

Reluctalantly Swami Vivekanand had to turn down the offer as he was then pre-occupied with the Ramakrishna Mission and Math Organisation.  The first Indian Director of the Indian Institute of Science was the Nobel Laureate Dr. C.V. Raman !

“Imbued with an intensely patriotic and enlightened spirit, Jamshedji started India’s first Provident Fund Scheme, 8 hours working day, planned township for workmen including hospitals and schools !!

When Jamshedji was refused entry to a hotel in Bombay as he was a non European, he built the Taj Hotel in Apollo Bunder opposite the Gateway of India.  His sense of patriotic Indian ness had been outraged at the incident but  in his magnanimity he allowed Europeans entry to his Hotel ! When it opened it was the best in Asia ! In his search for excellence Jamshedji imported pipelines from Germany, water wheels from Switzerland, Generators from America, Electrical machinery from Dusseldorf, Chandeliers from Berlin, cast iron pillars from Paris etc.

When he wanted to start the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, the British Viceroy Curzon opposed it tooth and nail saying “How can Indians learn Science and Technology and where will you find students ?”

Contrast Curzon’s sayings with US President Obama’s constant exhortations to American Children “Indian students are very good in Maths and Science – Americans should study hard and catch up with the Indians !”

Curzon’s racial arrogance and White European supremacism only spurred Jamshedji onto greater determination !”

Jamshedji duputed Prof. Burjor Padishah to tour all the great Universities of Europe and USA and suggest a model for the Indian Institute of Science.  Prof. Burjor recommended the John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.

Nobel Laureate Sir William Ramsay, the inventor of neon, visited India at Mr. Tata’s invitation and recommended Bangalore as our ideal location vis-à-vis Mysore and Mumbai.  Mr. Tata said this will be a national monument & never tried to glorify his own name !

When the British Chairman of Indian Railways heard about Tata Steel he said “If Mr. Tata produces steel, I will eat up every pound of it !”

Despite such condescending attitudes and even Vice regal opposition Jamshedji’s dream projects – Tata Steel, Taj Hotel, Tata Power and Indian Institute of Science stand as magnificent monuments to his sagacity, planning, execution and team-building.

 This excellent Zoarastrian son of Mother India really lived up to the tenets of Humata, Hubhakta and H’varsta – Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Action !!!

 

Part 2 would be published on 22nd August on this blog site.

Ashesh Ghosh, FCA, CEO of RollPack Pvt. Ltd. is the author of this story. The next part would be published on 22nd August 2011. He lives in Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, with his wife and their son and daughter.

CL - stands for Creative Leadership

 

Wow! Ride on the Edge?

An intriguing Koan to crack:

 

Ride your horse along the edge of a sword; hide yourself in the middle of flames.

 

What on earth does that mean?

IOU - The Mantra of Wealth!

One day a young disciple came to his Guru with a very worried look on his face.

The Guru asked, "What happened? Why do you look so gloomy?"

The disciple replied, 'Oh, Guruji, there is one question that is weighing heavily on my mind.'

Curious, Guruji asked, 'What is that?'

With lot of hesitation in his voice the pupil narrated his problem, 'Well, I wanted to know the secret of earning wealth. My family is not very well off and I feel that time has come for me to help my family become wealthy enough and live life without much anxiety."

The Guruji broke into peels of laughter. 'Well then young man, now listen to this mantra that holds the secret of gaining wealth.' With this the Guruji unveiled the sacred mantra for success.

" As you know Saraswati and Lakhmi are two sisters. And you also know that while Saraswati stands for knowledge and wisdom Lakhmi stands for wealth. However, of the two sisters, Lakhmi is very jealous of Saraswati though Saraswati is the kind, forgiving and the gentle one. So here is the mantra. If you choose to love Lakhmi more than Saraswati, Saraswati won't mind that and let you be with Lakhmi. But then Lakhmi would soon desert you. But if you choose to love Saraswati much more than Lakhmi then Lakhmi would be very jealous and would constantly follow you and try to allure you all the while. Do keep taking her costly gift of wealth but don't desert Saraswati because once you have done that Lakhmi would desert you soon."

The disciple was more than happy to receive this sacred mantra before he left his Guruji's place with Saraswati clearly placed in his heart.

CL -- RIGMAROLE

One day Rabindra Nath Tagore was very upset. His wife was constantly pestering him to pay the electricity and the credit card bills. Tagore found he had no money left. Now what to do? He never worked for anyone. People were not ready to accept him as a poet, author nor an intellectual. But he has to run the household expenses. He decided that he will do a job as per his liking and capability.  He applied for the post of a “creative editor” in a giant engineering firm dealing with steel, automobiles, chemicals etc.

The giant engineering firm had a lot of in-house journals which were circulated among the employees so as to keep them abreast of the latest “visions”, “goals” and “ideals” of the company. Similarly for their “promos” of different products they needed a person with a creative talent who could coin in ‘catchy’ phrase lines which would appeal to the public, shareholders, connected even remotely with the Company.

Mrs. Renuka Agarwal, HR Head of the company was given the task of finding out a “creative editor” for the company. After doing her graduation she opted for a PGDM in HR from a reputed Management Institute. Immediately she got a job at an equally reputed steel company owned by an illiterate steel magnate. There were no stopping for her as she jumped from one company to another with the ease of a trapeze artist. The only thing worried her was her upper lip hair growth. 

Mrs. Agarwal handed over the whole job of hunting down a creative editor to an outside agency. They promptly gave ads in the job portals and waited for the applications to arrive. A huge number of applications were received by the company which included the application of Tagore also. Then they shortlisted the applications through a computer. Certain key words like creative writing, leadership qualities, essays, write ups were fed into the computer. The soft ware programs designed to scan the applications rejected the application of Tagore as his CV and covering letter did not had those key words. Tagore’s application was not thrown in to the dust bin but went straight into the recycle bin.

Tagore felt irritated. He headed to the company Headquarters and met one of the Directors with a copy of the application. The Director looked at him and the application. “So you have written poems and novels, can you show us some poems which have been published?” Say, how you call yourself a creative person? Tagore was dumb struck. He just murmured --- “Can I meet the Chairman of the Company?” The director grudgingly allowed him to go the Chairman’s chamber.

“See Mr. Tagore, how can I take you in my company when I see you have not done any formal education whereas the other applicants are highly educated with also a Management degree? You do not have any  leadership qualities nor did you participated in any “group activities” and you are trying to impress me in believing that you will open a “gurukul” type school some where in Bolpur. Have you done any financial management otherwise how will you manage a school and later a university? Mrs. Renuka Agarwal, our HR Head has also pointed out that you write disastrous poetry in your Face book. Look how smart is she? She had already done an Internet search about you. So Mr. Tagore I am sorry ……  

The cell phone of Rabindra Nath Tagore rings. The caller at the other end informs him his selection for the Nobel Prize in literature. Mr. Tagore ends the call and tells the Chairman --- “so you can select an army commissioned officer, he will be having leadership qualities and also creative skills in penetrating the enemy territory, best of luck Mr.Chairman”.

 

Sitendu De is the author of this post.

Disclaimer: This is not a real story. It is a satire only which is not intended to hurt anyone in particular.

CL is the short form for Creative Leadership.

WOW! - No Q: No A?

 A Koan:

A monk asked Master Yun-men: “What is the fundamental teaching in life?”

Yun-men: “No question, no answer.”

 

What does that mean?

IOU -- Answering through Questions

Sahadeva, the prince, was the youngest of the five brothers known in the grand Indian epic Mahabharata, as 'Pancha Pandavs' (5 sons of King Pandu). Collectively, the five brothers had five qualities of a perfect king -- honesty, strength, skill, beauty and wisdom.

Sahadeva was the wise one bestowed with a strange gift. By observing the present moment he immediately knew everything that had had happened in the past that created the present and what would happen in the future by studying the causal relationships within a phenomenon. He realized that one might predict the possibilities in the future if one cared to observe nature and reality very carefully.

But he was bound by a promise he made to Lord Krishna who instructed him, 'Never tell what you know to anyone voluntarily. And when a question is asked reply with a question."

Thus, even if he knew what was happening or going to happen he could neither able to tell people what he knew nor do anything to avert the inevitable.

So, for himself, Sahadeva waited for people to ask him the right question. People did ask him many questions -- but almost never the right ones. Hence he was always wistful and forlorn.

 

Moral:

This story gives us many important lessons.

1. The present moment is the most useful moment to understand what caused it and what might be the consequences in the future.

2. The ability to see reality can only be developed through the ability to question since proper questions have the power to lead us to the right answer.

3. Questioning is an important part in designing something new, solviing problems, finding why something happens so that wise decisons might be taken. Hence this art of questioning is useful for Innovation, Design Thinking, Systems Thinking and a whole lot of issues.

4. Wisdom can't be transferred, taught, shared or given to someone. One has to find it out for himself/herself through one's own doubts and questions.

5. There is a price to be paid for gaining wisdom. The vision a wise person sees is difficult to communicate and share with others. Hence a wise person is also a lonely person. 

6. However, a good leader/teacher initiatates learning in others to improve their performance by employing the skillful art of questioning.

CL - Design Kata

There was a recent and still on-going discussion on a Linkedin forum on "Pursue Design Kata" initiated by Paula Thornton, the owner of the Design Thinking group on Linkedin.

It tells very clearly what a 'kata' is. It is not a technique but a way of life for an organization to remain adaptive to constantly changing social and business environment.

In the video she refers to I wanted to portray this 'way of life' for an organization, which in this case shows a factory.

The case depicts the way in which people pursue a 'wicked problem' which in this case was that of a repetitive customer complaint. Wicked problems are not very easy to crack since these can't be defined and don't have very straightforward solutions or any single right answers.

Usually, in such cases industries try to resolve such problems by amending their 'check sheets' to include more inspections and precautions. Some of them would go a step further by simply reviewing and augmenting their existing systems without really finding out the real answers to the problem, which would generally call for a change in design -- of processes, products, design and existing practices much of which would be challenged especially the tacit assumptions that get woven into our daily work.

It is probably clear from viewing the video why finding answers to wicked problems, which every organization faces, are difficult to figure out. They are so because of the interdependent nature of various things that go into making and shipping of the products and services.The advantage of cracking such 'wicked' problem is enormous -- it opens up great opportunities to solve many problems and issues simulataneously.  I would like to compare solving such 'wicked' problems with the resonnance phenomenon -- we get the maximum work done for a small amount of effort.

Confidentiality terms prevent me from delving any deeper into this case. However, the educational intent and content, which form the worth of this video artifact have not been sacrificed or comprised with. Hopefully, it would not disappoint you in any way. Rather you may enjoy viewing a 'new way of life' in organizations that accept 'complexity' and 'chaos' as natural emergent phenomenon and visually determine the interactions between things and people that produce 'wicked' or 'vexing' problems so as to 'balance' their systems and continously amend their way of working for the benefit of the society at large. 

It helps organizations to be adaptive and innovative and at the same time helps them hone and maintain their creative leadership edge.

 

CL is the short form for Creative Leadership