Wednesday, August 29, 2007
There's still hope...
Secularism comes naturally when geography and economics don't allow it to be any other way - like India where each state is practically a country of its own, foreign to its neighbour in language, culture, customs, food, clothes - there's no unifying factor, no common denominator for "being Indian." Yet, we've lived for centuries in mostly peaceful coexistence. Because of this diversity within our own land, we have learnt tolerance better than any other race in the world. Instances of bigotry have been fewer than you would expect in such a diverse nation with abysmal literacy and employment rates. Being "Third World" has helped to a large extent to make us more tolerant. Economic and societal compulsions force us to share limited space with different kinds of people. There is no money (or MasterCard) to buy ourselves a better life without our neighbours whom we might hate but cannot choose, so we learn to love our neighbours. We're still dependent on one another in more ways than people in more developed countries where money can get you into a better neighbourhood if you don't like your present one. This luxury decreases everybody's tolerance levels. Urban India hosts multitudes of rural immigrants who've flocked to cities in search of better lives. Away from their homes in an alien land, with no money or work, they turn to each other for support. When you don't have money, you don't care if you're a Bengali, a Kannadiga, a Malayali, or a Gujarati; what you are first is Poor, then you're Indian/secular poor Indian who is keeping our democracy alive. While the likes of me will blog about it from within the warm confines of my room, it's the secular poor Indian who is trudging to caste his vote to throw out non-performing elected reprsentatives and bring in new ones; they do it because they have more at stake than we do. To the middle-class Indian, it makes no difference who's ruling. To the poor secular Indian, it does, so while I blog about it, my fellow countrymen quietly walk the talk. That's why there's still hope...
Thursday, August 23, 2007
The Journal of the One-legged Hopper
I've just about had it with this city's traffic. I've found a new mode of transport. It's called the One-legged Hippity Hippity Hop. All you need is a pair of good legs.
No driving license, no parking hassles, no traffic lights - it's your ticket to anywhere anytime.
Monday August 16, 2007, 9:30 a.m.: I've just hopped into an air-conditioned office where the receptionist (a cross between Jennifer Aniston and Shilpa Shetty) gives me a head-to-foot once over. "I want to see your manager," I rasp breathlessly. She gets up, she's chewing gum, she's been poured into her clothes, and she never takes her eyes off me till she ducks around the corner and trills "There's a kangaroo in to see you."
Monday August 16, 2007, 5 p.m.: I'm hippitying to the grocery about half a kilometer away when a car zips past next to me, a window rolls down, and I'm showered with coins. "HEYYYYY!" I scream "Come back, come back. Look, look," I jump up and down with both legs and I thank God I can't see myself. I pick up the coins, count the change, and pocket it.
Tuesday August 17, 2007, 11 a.m.: I've hippited in to a gift shop. Everyone stares at my left leg which I've folded backwards 90 degrees at the knee and forgotten to lower. I decide to brazen it. I point at my legs and shrug and twitter. Everyone shrugs. No one twitters though.
Wednesday August 18, 2007, 9:45 a.m.: I'm in a mall. I've come to the parking lot and I put my legs down and sit down to rest. The security guy blows his whistle angrily at me. I get mad. I mime a steering wheel and back out in reverse humming "Here comes the bride" on the top of my lungs. Then, I shift gears, zoom in again, park, and jump out of my air car. "Happy?" I snarl. His whistle and jaw drop. I go back and lock my car.
Thursday August 19, 2007, 10:30 a.m.: I'm still hopping around in the cool mall, shifting legs every now and then. I get plenty of eyeballs and cat calls. I feel like a Babhi doll.
August 22, 2007, 9:30 a.m.: Oh, I think I missed 2 lunches and 2 dinners. This doesn't seem like such a good idea after all.
August 22, 2007, 5:30 p.m.: I'm in a shop looking for stilts...
No driving license, no parking hassles, no traffic lights - it's your ticket to anywhere anytime.
Monday August 16, 2007, 9:30 a.m.: I've just hopped into an air-conditioned office where the receptionist (a cross between Jennifer Aniston and Shilpa Shetty) gives me a head-to-foot once over. "I want to see your manager," I rasp breathlessly. She gets up, she's chewing gum, she's been poured into her clothes, and she never takes her eyes off me till she ducks around the corner and trills "There's a kangaroo in to see you."
Monday August 16, 2007, 5 p.m.: I'm hippitying to the grocery about half a kilometer away when a car zips past next to me, a window rolls down, and I'm showered with coins. "HEYYYYY!" I scream "Come back, come back. Look, look," I jump up and down with both legs and I thank God I can't see myself. I pick up the coins, count the change, and pocket it.
Tuesday August 17, 2007, 11 a.m.: I've hippited in to a gift shop. Everyone stares at my left leg which I've folded backwards 90 degrees at the knee and forgotten to lower. I decide to brazen it. I point at my legs and shrug and twitter. Everyone shrugs. No one twitters though.
Wednesday August 18, 2007, 9:45 a.m.: I'm in a mall. I've come to the parking lot and I put my legs down and sit down to rest. The security guy blows his whistle angrily at me. I get mad. I mime a steering wheel and back out in reverse humming "Here comes the bride" on the top of my lungs. Then, I shift gears, zoom in again, park, and jump out of my air car. "Happy?" I snarl. His whistle and jaw drop. I go back and lock my car.
Thursday August 19, 2007, 10:30 a.m.: I'm still hopping around in the cool mall, shifting legs every now and then. I get plenty of eyeballs and cat calls. I feel like a Babhi doll.
August 22, 2007, 9:30 a.m.: Oh, I think I missed 2 lunches and 2 dinners. This doesn't seem like such a good idea after all.
August 22, 2007, 5:30 p.m.: I'm in a shop looking for stilts...
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Whodunit (yawn)
What's so surprising about CIA's alleged edits to Wikipedia entries? If you start a free-for-all online encyclopedia that people anywhere can contribute to and edit, it's hardly news that they do. Virgil Griffith, the CalTech graduate who developed the tracker is a self-confessed hacker. I wonder if the spotlight is turned in the wrong direction. If there's any surprise in all this, it's that the CIA has the time to edit an entry which someone else can edit again before you can say 'Wikipedia.'
Other red-faced boys caught with their hands in the cookie jar include Fox News, The Vatican, Wal-Mart, BBC, US Congress members' offices, and Diebold (interesting name for a voting machine vendor). Yeah right. We never heard of spin doctors before now.
Other red-faced boys caught with their hands in the cookie jar include Fox News, The Vatican, Wal-Mart, BBC, US Congress members' offices, and Diebold (interesting name for a voting machine vendor). Yeah right. We never heard of spin doctors before now.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
BLOGPRINT - a contest for bloggers!
ATTENTION BLOGGERS WHO VISIT THIS BLOG
Sulekha.com in partnership with Penguin India introduces BLOGPRINT, a 6-month long contest starting August 1, 2007, and ending January 31, 2008. There are prizes to be won every week for 6 months. 52 of the best entries will be shortlisted to 25 by a jury. The 25 shortlists will get published in a Penguin book slated for a July 2008 release. Please log in to sulekha.com for details. Good luck! See you on sulekha!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Caveat emptor (or Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Other People's Happiness)
The India-US nuclear deal is a business deal, not a political one. Business deals are made with profits in mind. No one cares how you make the profit. Morals are for morons and rules are for fools. Even patriotism has no place in a business deal and if we're dealing with America Inc., we should be prepared to roll up our sleeves and dig in for a long night.
We cut a deal when we opened up the economy in 1991 because we had our backs to the wall - we couldn't get down any lower than we'd sunk and the only way up was if Indian and foreign private investors pulled us out of the frog well we had dug ourselves into which they thankfully did with aplomb. In 1991, that was the right thing to do, and it's done wonders for our economy (of course, it obliterated an entire class of people in the bargain, but who cares? We can't see them and we can't hear them anyway). More importantly, it's done wonders for 'being Indian.' It's not easy to command respect for intellect and we've won that from the world community. Most of all, it has made the double-faced "socialists" (at least the Nehruvian variety) completely irrelevant - they have now become a stupid joke that we're desperately trying to hide and forget. I still remember our shock when we first learned that foreign investment would be allowed in banks and the insurance sector. Today, foreign banks are in direct competition with our nationalized banks - an unthinkable thought even as recently as in the 80s. Banking has no doubt been transformed from what it used to be traditionally, but the customer is happy with the choice. This is true of every sector and all products. Competition is the only thing that will improve quality in products and in services. All fine till now.
What we perhaps should not have done is put all our eggs in one basket: that of America's. Not only did we put our eggs in, we've given away the basket for America to hold, and now God help us if she drops the basket. America is a brilliant economic success story, and she got that way by driving a hard bargain. Everything in America is driven by their business - includng their politics. America is a good economic partner to trade with as long as she's one of many trade partners. As a trade partner, America has simply thrown a whole lot of goods and services into economies around the world and then barged in right behind with her promise of a dream. For countries like India, used to decades of monopoly, lack of competitiveness or competition, and Mother Russia's "socialist" crap that was bandied about as God's word, a little thing like this sudden flood of quality goods into the market was enough to turn on the lights. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of other people's happiness won America instant friends and foes (of course, all of America's foes were her one time friends and vice-versa).
America will hawk her dreams to the highest bidder and you can't expect her to do business any other way. Remember Godfather? "It's nothing personal." But what happened to our caveat emptor? We are a young country, and there is plenty of opportunity for us to learn from the history of the world. We should've looked at other business partners too; we should've looked at other econmies that took this path before us and learnt our lessons well - we should've spread our risk.
I was watching a YouTube video of John Perkins, author of "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" speaking at the Veterans for Peace National Conference in Seattle last year. Perkins says America comprises 5% of the world's population, but they use 25% of the world's resources (twenty-five percent) and cause 30% of its pollution. To me, it's not shocking that America does this but that she gets away - that the rest of the world, the other 95% cannot tame a brat. We can't because we're too tied in with her.
Now for the nuke deal: So we let America in. Today, America's business stakes in India are very high, so she's stepping in to look after herself. All this talk of "strategic partnership" and a new world order is a lot of hogwash. Let's just suppose America was not in the Indian economy as much as she is today. Would she have signed a deal with us to ensure continuous energy supply to India? Of course not! Why would she? Why should she? America doesn't owe us a living but because we forgot our caveat emptor clause, now we owe her a living. Unfortnately, America lives life king size. And of course, there's a throw-in sideshow: Is there a better way of keeping India-China-Pakistan at each other's throats than to sign a civilian nuclear energy cooperation deal with India, supply arms to Pakistan, and create an exaggerated China label scare? ("Duck! The Chinese are coming! They have lead in their toys!")
We let America in. That's what we needed to do nearly 2 decades ago. We have to believe that what we did when we did it was the right thing to do. Now, we have to live with the consequences. There is no doubt that the deal benefits India in many ways. In fact, staying out of the non-proliferation treaty and getting a 30-year nuclear technology embargo revoked are in themselves no mean achievements. We've also retained our right to reprocess fuel for civilian use. It's not the bail-out that it's being made out to be by the Left (yes, the same jokers we're desperately trying to hide and forget). We have to face the fact that our energy demands will in the very near future outstrip supply and if that is allowed to happen, there is a real danger that the economy will tank, so this is a good deal for us too, but if we're looking for an even-handed deal, we're dealing with the wrong market...and the wrong goods. For those who are worried about hidden landmines, we know they will be there. All business deals have fine print. The question is whether we're worried about the author or the story. If it's the author that we're worried about, it's a little late in the day (only 20 years late). If it's the story, we shouldn't worry - afterall, pussyfooting around hidden landmines is an Indian art form.
We cut a deal when we opened up the economy in 1991 because we had our backs to the wall - we couldn't get down any lower than we'd sunk and the only way up was if Indian and foreign private investors pulled us out of the frog well we had dug ourselves into which they thankfully did with aplomb. In 1991, that was the right thing to do, and it's done wonders for our economy (of course, it obliterated an entire class of people in the bargain, but who cares? We can't see them and we can't hear them anyway). More importantly, it's done wonders for 'being Indian.' It's not easy to command respect for intellect and we've won that from the world community. Most of all, it has made the double-faced "socialists" (at least the Nehruvian variety) completely irrelevant - they have now become a stupid joke that we're desperately trying to hide and forget. I still remember our shock when we first learned that foreign investment would be allowed in banks and the insurance sector. Today, foreign banks are in direct competition with our nationalized banks - an unthinkable thought even as recently as in the 80s. Banking has no doubt been transformed from what it used to be traditionally, but the customer is happy with the choice. This is true of every sector and all products. Competition is the only thing that will improve quality in products and in services. All fine till now.
What we perhaps should not have done is put all our eggs in one basket: that of America's. Not only did we put our eggs in, we've given away the basket for America to hold, and now God help us if she drops the basket. America is a brilliant economic success story, and she got that way by driving a hard bargain. Everything in America is driven by their business - includng their politics. America is a good economic partner to trade with as long as she's one of many trade partners. As a trade partner, America has simply thrown a whole lot of goods and services into economies around the world and then barged in right behind with her promise of a dream. For countries like India, used to decades of monopoly, lack of competitiveness or competition, and Mother Russia's "socialist" crap that was bandied about as God's word, a little thing like this sudden flood of quality goods into the market was enough to turn on the lights. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of other people's happiness won America instant friends and foes (of course, all of America's foes were her one time friends and vice-versa).
America will hawk her dreams to the highest bidder and you can't expect her to do business any other way. Remember Godfather? "It's nothing personal." But what happened to our caveat emptor? We are a young country, and there is plenty of opportunity for us to learn from the history of the world. We should've looked at other business partners too; we should've looked at other econmies that took this path before us and learnt our lessons well - we should've spread our risk.
I was watching a YouTube video of John Perkins, author of "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" speaking at the Veterans for Peace National Conference in Seattle last year. Perkins says America comprises 5% of the world's population, but they use 25% of the world's resources (twenty-five percent) and cause 30% of its pollution. To me, it's not shocking that America does this but that she gets away - that the rest of the world, the other 95% cannot tame a brat. We can't because we're too tied in with her.
Now for the nuke deal: So we let America in. Today, America's business stakes in India are very high, so she's stepping in to look after herself. All this talk of "strategic partnership" and a new world order is a lot of hogwash. Let's just suppose America was not in the Indian economy as much as she is today. Would she have signed a deal with us to ensure continuous energy supply to India? Of course not! Why would she? Why should she? America doesn't owe us a living but because we forgot our caveat emptor clause, now we owe her a living. Unfortnately, America lives life king size. And of course, there's a throw-in sideshow: Is there a better way of keeping India-China-Pakistan at each other's throats than to sign a civilian nuclear energy cooperation deal with India, supply arms to Pakistan, and create an exaggerated China label scare? ("Duck! The Chinese are coming! They have lead in their toys!")
We let America in. That's what we needed to do nearly 2 decades ago. We have to believe that what we did when we did it was the right thing to do. Now, we have to live with the consequences. There is no doubt that the deal benefits India in many ways. In fact, staying out of the non-proliferation treaty and getting a 30-year nuclear technology embargo revoked are in themselves no mean achievements. We've also retained our right to reprocess fuel for civilian use. It's not the bail-out that it's being made out to be by the Left (yes, the same jokers we're desperately trying to hide and forget). We have to face the fact that our energy demands will in the very near future outstrip supply and if that is allowed to happen, there is a real danger that the economy will tank, so this is a good deal for us too, but if we're looking for an even-handed deal, we're dealing with the wrong market...and the wrong goods. For those who are worried about hidden landmines, we know they will be there. All business deals have fine print. The question is whether we're worried about the author or the story. If it's the author that we're worried about, it's a little late in the day (only 20 years late). If it's the story, we shouldn't worry - afterall, pussyfooting around hidden landmines is an Indian art form.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Living in a well-wired world
Unless a big fat Bollywood wedding happens sometime soon, we're unlikely to be rid of Sanjay Dutt's sorry plight being shoved down our resistant throats by TV channels, newspapers, and magazines. Haneef is a smart guy. He couldn't have picked a better time to land in India. Had he landed after Dutt's wave-and-swagger jail entry, the media would've by now thrust a microphone into his days-old daughter's face and had experts in their studios interpreting her gurgles. In their race to upstage one another, the visual media especially has managed to equate the sublime with the ridiculous: At 9 p.m. IST, all are equal. And every news item whether newsworthy or not, deserves a panel discussion with pro and anti issue panelists along with the hysterical anchor creating a screeching din which can set off a lively debate in your own drawing room where the family is eating in front of the TV and happens to be divided on the issue. Virtually everyone can now express themselves, be heard and read; you can record your antics on a camera and put yourself up for show; you can blog and be boqueted and/or brick-batted; you can read on any issue happening in any corner of the world, form an opinion, and mouth it. This is a freedom most of us are determined to enjoy (including yours truly) which has got people everywhere talking more than ever before but it really hasn't dulled our prejudices - the opportunity to know more hasn't necessarily made us more broad-minded or accepting of one another; we're just more aware now that there are more people than we suspected around us who we dislike and who dislike us and, horror of horrors, we can't do much about it. We've heard it said forever that communication promotes better understanding - there's very little evidence that this hypothesis is true; if there has ever been better understanding between peoples due to communication it's usually been to serve a specific purpose. If you and I can be mutually beneficial to each other in some way, we're more likely to cooperate and put up a pretence of understanding and accepting each other. The benefits of living in a well-wired world are plenty but the wires do short circuit frequently.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Dr. Wayne Dyer - 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace
I just finished reading Dr. Wayne Dyer's 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace. It's a good book to read - like most books on elusive concepts that human beings hanker after. If Dr. Dyer's success in his chosen field is any indication, it's evident that these secrets work. Here are his 10 secrets:
1. Have a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing.
2. Don't die with your music still in you.
3. You can't give away what you don't have.
4. Embrace silence.
5. Give up your personal history.
6. You can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it.
7. There are no justified resentments.
8. Treat yourself as if you already are what you'd like to be.
9. Treasure your divinity.
10. Wisdom is avoiding all thoughts that weaken you.
I enjoyed reading the book - Dr. Dyer has devouted a chapter to each of his secrets, but I'm not sure I came away feeling peaceful. If anything, I felt more restless than before I picked up this book because I can't really follow most of these; either I'm a real McCoy rotten apple of the human race or these formulas are hopelessly simplistic. I'm sure I don't want to die with my music still in me but that's hardly a secret; Thoreau said in the 19th century that most of us "lead lives of quiet desperation" which translates to the same thing. "There are no justified resentments"? Really? That's a hard one to swallow. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but this book threw up more questions for me than it answered. I think I should take the safe way out and "embrace silence."
1. Have a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing.
2. Don't die with your music still in you.
3. You can't give away what you don't have.
4. Embrace silence.
5. Give up your personal history.
6. You can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it.
7. There are no justified resentments.
8. Treat yourself as if you already are what you'd like to be.
9. Treasure your divinity.
10. Wisdom is avoiding all thoughts that weaken you.
I enjoyed reading the book - Dr. Dyer has devouted a chapter to each of his secrets, but I'm not sure I came away feeling peaceful. If anything, I felt more restless than before I picked up this book because I can't really follow most of these; either I'm a real McCoy rotten apple of the human race or these formulas are hopelessly simplistic. I'm sure I don't want to die with my music still in me but that's hardly a secret; Thoreau said in the 19th century that most of us "lead lives of quiet desperation" which translates to the same thing. "There are no justified resentments"? Really? That's a hard one to swallow. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but this book threw up more questions for me than it answered. I think I should take the safe way out and "embrace silence."
Friday, August 03, 2007
When Cultures Collide
In the Zulu language, there are 39 words for the colour green. A green leaf in the sun has a different word from a green leaf in the shade; a moist green leaf is different from a wet green which is different from a bone dry green which is different from green at a distance of 10 feet which is different from green at 10 feet with one eye closed...in English, there's just "green" with a few adjectives to describe its different shades. An Englishman therefore can never understand or experience "green" in the same way that a Zulu can. Our language defines our understanding of the world in more ways than we can consciously acknowledge because human beings think in their language. If people from different cultures cannot experience "green" in the same way, is it any wonder that so many nations of the world are at loggerheads? Wars - on battlefields, on sports fields, and in boardrooms - happen when cultures collide.
"When Cultures Collide" written by Richard D Lewis is a fascinating and absorbing read about the peoples of our world. In dynamically crafted language that is clever, fast-paced, and witty, Lewis documents how people dress, think, talk, act, and react to one another in different parts of the world. Spanning Latin America, the Arab countries, East and West Europe, the Balkans, the Nordic countries, America, Africa, Asia, and Australia, "When Cultures Collide" details in breathtaking richness and brevity, the customs, manners, morals, taboos, food habits, body language, values, thinking, listening, and communication patterns of this multi-cultural world. Its gripping pace makes "When Cultures Collide," the best non-fiction page-turner that I've ever read. Lewis subtitles his book 'Managing Successfully Across Cultures,' and his book is written mainly from a business perspective but it couldn't be more relevant in today's strife-ridden world where the closer we're thrown together, the further we seem to pull away from one another.
Throughout the book, cultures collide in delightfully comic ways with hyperbolic Americans, diplomatic Japanese, self-effacing Englishmen, no-nonense Germans, proud Arabs, and the self-absorbed French trying to get along inside and outside the boardroom.
How do the Germans and the Japanese, the Finns and the British, or the Chinese and the Italians strike a business deal when "for a German and a Finn, the truth is the truth. In Japan and Britain, it's alright if it doesn't rock the boat. In China, there is no absolute truth. In Italy, it is negotiable"? For the Japanese, honour is supreme - they should not lose face (and they shouldn't be seen to make you lose yours) - and that's more important than "truth" as a German sees it; a German will call a spade a spade but if an American uses that expression on him, he'll take it quite literally and probably look around the room for a gardening tool. An Italian thinks truth depends on the situation - if a lie serves your purpose, then that is the truth: it's better to be practical and get what you want than be "truthful" and stupid.
Different cultures respect different values. A punctual Swiss or a German will not be amused by the laid back, impulsive, improvising-by-the-minute Brazilian or Spaniard who will arrive at a cocktail party 2 hours after the appointed hour (with a friend, trying to conclude a deal they began last week). This wrecks the carefully planned Swiss or German timetable. The opportunistic, fast-talking American likes to cut a deal at the first meeting; Arabs, Russians, Japanese, and Chinese like to build personal trust before they build a business and will find Americans "who will forget your name the day after the deal is made" extremely rude and insulting.
The fatalistic Indian's karmic concept of time (if things don't happen at the appointed time, they eventually will...some time...maybe in another reincarnation), the "no-manual-for-correct-behaviour" Aussies, the Mexican's loquacious rhetoric, Danish congeniality, and the low-key Canadians - all jostle for space when cultures collide.
Richard Lewis' riveting study of human behaviour across the globe is recommended reading for anyone interested in being a global citizen; if you're not interested, you will be once you pick up this book.
"When Cultures Collide" written by Richard D Lewis is a fascinating and absorbing read about the peoples of our world. In dynamically crafted language that is clever, fast-paced, and witty, Lewis documents how people dress, think, talk, act, and react to one another in different parts of the world. Spanning Latin America, the Arab countries, East and West Europe, the Balkans, the Nordic countries, America, Africa, Asia, and Australia, "When Cultures Collide" details in breathtaking richness and brevity, the customs, manners, morals, taboos, food habits, body language, values, thinking, listening, and communication patterns of this multi-cultural world. Its gripping pace makes "When Cultures Collide," the best non-fiction page-turner that I've ever read. Lewis subtitles his book 'Managing Successfully Across Cultures,' and his book is written mainly from a business perspective but it couldn't be more relevant in today's strife-ridden world where the closer we're thrown together, the further we seem to pull away from one another.
Throughout the book, cultures collide in delightfully comic ways with hyperbolic Americans, diplomatic Japanese, self-effacing Englishmen, no-nonense Germans, proud Arabs, and the self-absorbed French trying to get along inside and outside the boardroom.
How do the Germans and the Japanese, the Finns and the British, or the Chinese and the Italians strike a business deal when "for a German and a Finn, the truth is the truth. In Japan and Britain, it's alright if it doesn't rock the boat. In China, there is no absolute truth. In Italy, it is negotiable"? For the Japanese, honour is supreme - they should not lose face (and they shouldn't be seen to make you lose yours) - and that's more important than "truth" as a German sees it; a German will call a spade a spade but if an American uses that expression on him, he'll take it quite literally and probably look around the room for a gardening tool. An Italian thinks truth depends on the situation - if a lie serves your purpose, then that is the truth: it's better to be practical and get what you want than be "truthful" and stupid.
Different cultures respect different values. A punctual Swiss or a German will not be amused by the laid back, impulsive, improvising-by-the-minute Brazilian or Spaniard who will arrive at a cocktail party 2 hours after the appointed hour (with a friend, trying to conclude a deal they began last week). This wrecks the carefully planned Swiss or German timetable. The opportunistic, fast-talking American likes to cut a deal at the first meeting; Arabs, Russians, Japanese, and Chinese like to build personal trust before they build a business and will find Americans "who will forget your name the day after the deal is made" extremely rude and insulting.
The fatalistic Indian's karmic concept of time (if things don't happen at the appointed time, they eventually will...some time...maybe in another reincarnation), the "no-manual-for-correct-behaviour" Aussies, the Mexican's loquacious rhetoric, Danish congeniality, and the low-key Canadians - all jostle for space when cultures collide.
Richard Lewis' riveting study of human behaviour across the globe is recommended reading for anyone interested in being a global citizen; if you're not interested, you will be once you pick up this book.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
ABHOSTTBBLO continues....
Autorickshaw - a 3-wheeler public transport buggy; 'autos' are the only motorized vehicles that can simulate a horse ride without a saddle in the Andes on a horse that's trying to get away from gun fire. Alien to human emotions, 90-degree angles, and the rule book, auto drivers perch at angles ranging from 45 to 65 degrees to give their carefully folded passengers a lively and unforgettable ride through urban India's it's-all-happening-here streets.
Peace of mind - a concept made scarce by George Bush, peace of mind is now the hottest selling topic for wannabe writers. Peace of mind is something you have until the moment you pick up a book on it. There's no absolute peace of mind - it just depends on who's trying to define it where. In Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of Africa, Pakistan, and the "West Bank," peace of mind means not getting killed; in the rest of the world, it means not knowing who's getting killed where; in America, peace of mind means killing everyone everywhere while skipping around the world with a goofy smile, a twinkle in your eye, and bombastic rhetoric. In Italy, it's watching someone at the lunch table being garrotted with a piano wire while licking pasta off your fingers and crying with the opera soprano. In the Arctic, no one knows or cares what peace or mind is which of course is true peace of mind.
Stock market - one of modern day's greatest mysteries, the stock market can take entire economies to the cleaners simply because it rained in Timbuktu while semi-paralyzed men in drenched shirts, loosened ties, and glazed eyes have fingernails for lunch and heart attacks for dinner trying to understand why the Dow Jones cannot behave as ordinary as it sounds.
Global warming - this new-age terrorist dumps ice and snow in deserts, dunks England's head in the swimming pool, unleashes winds that can transport Japan to China, and excites stock markets all over the world; has redefined "weapons of mass destruction" but has been unable to rearrange the molecules that make up George Bush.
Peace of mind - a concept made scarce by George Bush, peace of mind is now the hottest selling topic for wannabe writers. Peace of mind is something you have until the moment you pick up a book on it. There's no absolute peace of mind - it just depends on who's trying to define it where. In Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of Africa, Pakistan, and the "West Bank," peace of mind means not getting killed; in the rest of the world, it means not knowing who's getting killed where; in America, peace of mind means killing everyone everywhere while skipping around the world with a goofy smile, a twinkle in your eye, and bombastic rhetoric. In Italy, it's watching someone at the lunch table being garrotted with a piano wire while licking pasta off your fingers and crying with the opera soprano. In the Arctic, no one knows or cares what peace or mind is which of course is true peace of mind.
Stock market - one of modern day's greatest mysteries, the stock market can take entire economies to the cleaners simply because it rained in Timbuktu while semi-paralyzed men in drenched shirts, loosened ties, and glazed eyes have fingernails for lunch and heart attacks for dinner trying to understand why the Dow Jones cannot behave as ordinary as it sounds.
Global warming - this new-age terrorist dumps ice and snow in deserts, dunks England's head in the swimming pool, unleashes winds that can transport Japan to China, and excites stock markets all over the world; has redefined "weapons of mass destruction" but has been unable to rearrange the molecules that make up George Bush.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Maverick
When Ricardo Semler inheritted his father's company, Semco, the employees expected a dyed-in-the-wool Semler Senior clone who navigated his ship with absolute authority and control. Ricardo Semler turned every rule in the book on its head and finally threw out the rule book tself to make Brazil's Semco the world's most "unusual workplace" which has a 2000-long recruitment waiting list.
Semler's overhaul hinged on workplace democracy, a concept that is ad-libbed by most big organizations but is little more than hot air. In most immature companies, workplace democracy functions pretty much like Indian democracy: I'm the boss so regardless of how stupid I am in my head, you will do what I say. You're free to disagree but that's where your freedom ends. I give you the right to disagree and reserve the right to ignore you.
Semler's overhaul hinged on workplace democracy, a concept that is ad-libbed by most big organizations but is little more than hot air. In most immature companies, workplace democracy functions pretty much like Indian democracy: I'm the boss so regardless of how stupid I am in my head, you will do what I say. You're free to disagree but that's where your freedom ends. I give you the right to disagree and reserve the right to ignore you.
Semler started by talking to his employees and listening to them - really listening to them, forgetting for a moment that he is the boss - and then taking every single critical decision that he had to make, to a democratic vote by his employees. He trusted that his workers knew more than him because they actually worked. He also knew that for employees to trust him, HE had to trust THEM first. Building trust slowly, distributing decision making democratically, practising absolute transparency in every single department, and finally literally throwing away the verbose company manuals that dictate an employee's every breathing moment within company premises, Semler built an organization from which he could ultimately fire himself: He had so completely delegated decision making that most of his employees were jacks and masters of all trades having worked in many different Semco departments.
He never pretends the journey was easy. People mocked his vision, many were scared to empower their subordinates, some of his managers told him that the employees were not mature enough for such an experiment. Needeless to say, there were plenty of nay-sayers. Some ideas weren't as successful as he'd hoped but Semler tried them all; he jettisoned unsuitable baggage and hauled aboard those that could withstand the long haul. Ricardo Semler converted those he could; those he couldn't, he let them go and they ultimately found organizations that were more suited to their style of functioning in which they thrived.
Semler believes that true capitalism is true democracy. He is aware that workers are a company's biggest and almost only asset and every bit of profit the company makes belongs completely to the people who toil for it. Semco's profit sharing plan is devised by the employees - they decide who gets how much; employees set their own targets, their own bonuses, their own salaries and even have a say in choosing their bosses! Semco's books are completely open (and they don't have too many of them) and to show how serious Semler is about transparency, he has ensured that every single Semco employee down to the janitor knows how to read a balance sheet. Shunning cabins, hangers-on, ego massages, and other frills, Semler has ensured that he and his managers never lose touch with the people who make Semco what it is.
Semler realized early into his transformation exercise that managers typically dislike sharing information with the employees. This is true of most organizations. Supervisors feel their powers will somehow diminish if their subordinates know as much as they do. Semler's greatest challenge was to address this sense of insecurity among his managers. He did whatever was necessary to address the issue - talking to stubborn managers, convincing them to experiment with his ideas before rejecting them outright, converting some, hiring new thinkers, and throwing out those who didn't fit in.
The result is Semco, Brazil's most sought-after company by job seekers. Can there be a better tribute to an organization? Organizations must have the will and the vision to decide what their culture is going to be regardless of their size. Whether it has 10 employees or 10,000, the organization's culture cannot and should not change. For this to happen, employees must be involved and the only way to involve them is to simply involve them.
Semler says throughout his book how easy it is for big organizations to make a killing at the cost of their employees' health and happiness. These organizations typically follow a top-down heirarchy that always runs parallel to each other and never seems to meet at any point. They are inhabitted by people with different goals, different ideas, different interests. While this is desirable, Semler says it is absolutely imperative for everyone to be aligned at some point for the organization to grow in a healthy way. Unlike companies that obssess with all the trappings of democracy but never follow any real democracy though they constantly preach it, Semco walks the talk. Their idea of democracy is not limited to allowing employees to call their bosses by their first names and keeping their cabin doors open but discouraging anyone from walking through the doors by isolating themselves in their beloved cabins.
Organizations may argue that it is impossible to sustain Ricardo Semler's concept of worker empowerment as the organization grows. Semler has demonstrated that when it comes to using common sense and being a good employer, size doesn't really matter.
Ricardo Semler's "Maverick" is a must-read for all company bosses who are serious about workplace democracy.
Semler believes that true capitalism is true democracy. He is aware that workers are a company's biggest and almost only asset and every bit of profit the company makes belongs completely to the people who toil for it. Semco's profit sharing plan is devised by the employees - they decide who gets how much; employees set their own targets, their own bonuses, their own salaries and even have a say in choosing their bosses! Semco's books are completely open (and they don't have too many of them) and to show how serious Semler is about transparency, he has ensured that every single Semco employee down to the janitor knows how to read a balance sheet. Shunning cabins, hangers-on, ego massages, and other frills, Semler has ensured that he and his managers never lose touch with the people who make Semco what it is.
Semler realized early into his transformation exercise that managers typically dislike sharing information with the employees. This is true of most organizations. Supervisors feel their powers will somehow diminish if their subordinates know as much as they do. Semler's greatest challenge was to address this sense of insecurity among his managers. He did whatever was necessary to address the issue - talking to stubborn managers, convincing them to experiment with his ideas before rejecting them outright, converting some, hiring new thinkers, and throwing out those who didn't fit in.
The result is Semco, Brazil's most sought-after company by job seekers. Can there be a better tribute to an organization? Organizations must have the will and the vision to decide what their culture is going to be regardless of their size. Whether it has 10 employees or 10,000, the organization's culture cannot and should not change. For this to happen, employees must be involved and the only way to involve them is to simply involve them.
Semler says throughout his book how easy it is for big organizations to make a killing at the cost of their employees' health and happiness. These organizations typically follow a top-down heirarchy that always runs parallel to each other and never seems to meet at any point. They are inhabitted by people with different goals, different ideas, different interests. While this is desirable, Semler says it is absolutely imperative for everyone to be aligned at some point for the organization to grow in a healthy way. Unlike companies that obssess with all the trappings of democracy but never follow any real democracy though they constantly preach it, Semco walks the talk. Their idea of democracy is not limited to allowing employees to call their bosses by their first names and keeping their cabin doors open but discouraging anyone from walking through the doors by isolating themselves in their beloved cabins.
Organizations may argue that it is impossible to sustain Ricardo Semler's concept of worker empowerment as the organization grows. Semler has demonstrated that when it comes to using common sense and being a good employer, size doesn't really matter.
Ricardo Semler's "Maverick" is a must-read for all company bosses who are serious about workplace democracy.
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