Up in the air again

As promised, another piece on my sojourns in Western Africa. I left from Tema on 22^nd November at around 1’o clock in afternoon. Accra is around 30 – 40 minutes drive from Tema and the flight was at 4.30 pm. It was an Air Mali flight to Bamako, en-route to Dakar, capital of Senegal.

One of my friends back in Mumbai had given me specific task to get 2 packs of Ghana cocoa powder. I felt it was an easy task but locating the demanded brand was an arduous task. I had tried to locate it in the malls of Accra earlier but could not get. So while on the duty free shopping in Accra airport, I again tried to do window shopping and luckily got the brand desired. It cost around $14 for two packs. I was actually wondering what could be the difference between cocoa powder and cocaine.

I tried to locate my flight details on the monitor but could not find any flight to Dakar but the same flight number was to go to Monrovia. Since flight number was same, I checked with the lady on the counter. She confirmed that the flight will indeed go to Bamako. As mentioned in my earlier post, people do speak good English in Ghana, however it does have a peculiar accent, so even if the person answering you is confident of the answer, one is always slightly sceptical.

After waiting for 40 -45 minutes, we were told by a staffer that the incoming fight was delayed and as such the departure would be at 5.30 pm instead of 4.30 pm. To our question about our connecting flight from Bamako to Dakar, she casually remarked not to worry as there would be lot of passengers.

Finally the flight took off around 5.45 pm for Bamako hopping at Monrovia. Monrovia, I later on learnt was capital of yet another African country, Liberia. A fellow passenger told me that Liberia was distinguished to have first female president of Africa after it was caught in two civil wars in 1980. After a small halt at Monrovia, the plane left for Bamako.

Bamako is capital of Mali, a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria, Niger and Guinea besides some other small unheard of countries. Incidentally, Mali’s earlier name was French Sudan.

By the time we landed in Bamako, it was well over 10’o clock in the night and the flight time from Bamako to Dakar was 09.35. But since it seemed lots of passengers were to take the same flight, the air hostess sounded very reassuring. We disembarked and were immediately put on to a waiting coach and taken straight to the waiting plane on the tarmac. This was also an Air Mali flight but it was a bigger plane and it took off well after 10.30 pm. It was a two hour flight and we landed at around 1.00 am in Dakar.

After immigration clearance, I straight away went out of the airport building since I did not have any checked-in luggage. Outside, I could not help smiling as it was almost like landing in India at mid night. Scores of cab drivers almost circled me asking for taxi. When I firmly refused they dispersed and I started looking for my escort person. I did not locate any Indian and no one else seemed to be carrying placard of my name. Wondering what to do, a local person came to my rescue and offered me his cell phone. I dialled the number and found that the person coming to pick me up was almost near the airport and asked me to wait there only. The person who had lent his cell phone also hovered around and I quickly came to know the reason – he started asking for money immediately after my host reached there. My host tried to dissuade him but the guy was persistent and left only after he was paid some amount.

We left immediately for the guest house that was around 2 hour journey from Dakar. The guest house was near the main highway only. On way, I was told that Dakar was largely a French speaking city and rest of Senegal speaks Wolof. Senegal is predominantly an Islamic country with almost 90% of the population and rest are Christians.

The name Senegal comes from river Senegal that runs from east to north. Dakar is situated at the westernmost tip of the country. Just like Mali and scores of other African countries, Senegal was also colonized by French and got its independence only in 1960.

I generally found people in Senegal to be hard working especially women again as in Ghana. Once done with the work they dress up as if they have never worked in their entire life. Work culture is also collaborative with both the supervisors and workers engaged in discussions whenever the situation demanded. Almost all the supervisors were good in working knowledge of Wolof and as such never faced any issue related to most important aspect of communication. I also found Senegal public more religious and peace loving. It’s no wonder that unlike rest of Africa (well majority), Senegal never had a coup or any other sort of dictatorship. In fact the Republic has had peaceful elections ever since it became independent to elect successive Presidents to run the country.

I left Senegal on 27^th on my way back home. It was a gruelling 15hr via Addis Ababa. It took 10 hrs from Dakar to Addis Ababa and 5 hrs from Addis Ababa to Mumbai. I finally landed in Mumbai in the wee hours of Monday. Next Sri Lanka....

Up in the air

No it’s got nothing to do with the movie with the same title, this title comes from the single fact that I am actually “Up in the Air” flying from Addis Ababa to Accra. Unheard names and virtually cut off countries from the rest of the World - Ethiopia and Ghana.

Africa is probably the most unheard of continent and there is hardly any coverage by our TRP hungry media. Only exception has been Egypt that has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. How many of us have heard the name or know some details about countries like Niger, Benin, Liberia, Senegal – the list goes on. There are 16 countries that form West Africa.

So what kind of perception we have for Ethiopia – a country that is on the eastern side of African Continent and is perceived to be poverty struck and logically should not even have a good airline. When I landed at Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, I was trying to capture at least one picture so as to justify the perception. But No – I could not get even a single picture of starved kids and houses without a roof – even Mumbai could qualify for that with its picturesque Dharavi – Asia’s largest slum.

Point is, many a times our perception tends to take over data. Probably Africa is one live example of that.

Accra is the capital of Ghana and we landed at around 1 pm local time – 5.5 hrs behind India. I was the first one to clear the immigration and even got a glimpse of state of affairs in the country when the officer on the immigration counter asked for some money. Thanks to his accent and also thanks to my pretention of not understanding, I could walk out without paying anything. Later I learnt that the corruption here is quite rampant and money is demanded and taken openly.

We drove to Tema, a small town around 25 kms from Accra. The road that happened to be a toll way was well made and speed of the vehicles was a testimony to that. On the way, I could see lots of women sitting in road side kiosks selling bottled water or other eatables. On the toll plaza, there were quite a few of them selling from fruits to cold drinks oblivious to the summer heat and sweat. Another point that was hard not to notice is the athletic physique of most of the women and maybe that’s the reason of their ability to put in hard work.

Literacy & health seems to be an issue that is yet to merit attention it deserves. On the way I could spot countless churches but only one school. NIIT has already set up its base here and if no. of hoardings is an indication, it seems to be doing well.

Ghana does not seem to be producing anything on its own – it’s rich in Gold and I was told that gold processing is done abroad after gold dust is exported by big companies. So is the case of cashew nuts and almonds.

So are they lazy people – no they are certainly not, especially the women. May be it’s a case of exploitation and with active help from corrupt bureaucracy it seems to be the only way.

I saw lots of Chinese nationals. In fact the hotel I was staying was also owned by a group of Chinese businessmen. China Government, I was told is also providing aid to Ghana and in turn taking big contracts to develop the infrastructure here. This certainly seems to be the right approach for them, taught by Uncle Sam to get the money back in their country.

It’s an irony that in their own country they are still living like second grade citizens. In fact the Chinese guy who was a senior guy working in the hotel that I stayed did mention that I should take care of my belongings in the room as he does not trust any local person.

Incidentally Ghana is unique in being geographically closer to the centre of the world than any other country. Ghana’s per capita income is higher than the West African average. However Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance.

I stayed in Ghana for 5 days and then moved to Senegal from there. More on Senegal later.....

http://www.mantteva.com

The growing industrial unrest – a cause for serious concern

We all heard the recent news of Maruti Suzuki deciding to set up a plant outside Haryana in Gujarat. Maruti’s Manesar plant has been in the news for all the wrong reasons and so has been RICO Auto and Honda’s scooter & motorcycle plant that witnessed a bloody battle and Munjal Showa - strikes and labour unrest has plagued this belt.

The list continuous to grow longer and violent - Lalit Kishore Chaudhary, CEO of Graziano Transmissioni India, the Indian unit of an Italian auto component maker, near Delhi was clubbed to death by a group of 200 factory workers. Similarly, R S Roy, a senior HR Manager of Graphite India Limited was burnt to death by group of workers in Bolangir, Orissa.

Other incidents have not attracted as much attention. Consider these examples:

• In April, at Pantnagar in the state of Uttaranchal, workers of Swiss multinational Nestle went on strike after the management removed two probationers for unsatisfactory performance. The strike was called off after three weeks but the peace seems fragile. Pantnagar has been a beacon for several large companies, who have been attracted by a plethora of state-level incentives. According to business daily Business Standard, "Other managers said such incidents may have far-reaching consequences. If today it is Nestle, such strikes can knock at our doors also."

• At the Mahindra & Mahindra utility vehicles plant at Nashik, in Maharashtra, workers went on a 15-day strike in April. The apparent issue: the suspension of the trade union president who had allegedly threatened the chief security officer of the unit. The real issue: a delayed wage agreement.

• At Hyundai Motor India, subsidiary of the South Korean auto maker, workers went on a 18-day strike at the end of April to demand recognition of the employees' union. The company has debated moving the Tamil Nadu-based plant to Europe. (Most of the production is for export.)

• At tire maker MRF, the Arakkonam (Tamil Nadu) unit was closed for most of May. The main problem was rival unions clamoring for recognition.

• Another tire manufacturer, Apollo, Perambra, Kerala was locked out for more than two months after labour unrest in April this year.

• In December last year, 250,000 workers from 59 jute mills in West Bengal went on an 18-day strike over the issue of unpaid compensation. The agitation was called off after the mill owners agreed to pay to every worker.

Unions representing labour groups including coal workers, oil sector employees, bank staff and telecom workers have been demanding higher wages or protesting against proposed privatization. "There has been a bunching of labour unrest in the past few months," says Manish Sabharwal, chairman of TeamLease Services, a human resources services provider. Writing in The Economic Times, Tata Sons director R. Gopalakrishnan gives it an international perspective. "Managing worker dissatisfaction will be the next leadership challenge globally," he says.

Frankly speaking, today’s generation has forgotten if not unheard completely about Datta Samant and George Fernandes, who were responsible for closure of many textile units in Mumbai and what is now known as great railway strike of 1974 that led to imposition of emergency by Indira Gandhi. Also liberalisation in 1992 led to a growing private sector further fragmenting strong unions of a public sector.

The rise of knowledge industries like IT & ITES had also contributed to decline of Trade Unionism. Though there have been efforts to unionize IT employees, the Bangalore-based UNITES (Union for Information & Technology Enabled Services), for example they have not made much headway. Add to this the increase in outsourcing and reduced staff at the core companies. The result is that except for areas such as banking where the majority of banks are still government-owned there are very few powerful pan-India unions. The political parties have their trade union arms, of course -- the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) of the left and the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), for instance. But they have not moved with the times; they have been unable to woo younger workers.

So why and how things have taken this rather unexpected turn?

One major reason that comes into mind is a growing trend of hiring contractual or temporary workers. In order to curtail rising input costs, employers are compelled to hire less expensive contractual workers and since the rates of their wages and other benefits are far lesser as compared to those of permanent workers – this leads to a spark of unrest. Another reason is some of the employers taking undue advantage of lack of cohesiveness amongst workers and taking them for granting by suppressing them and not giving them their dues.

Irrespective of what the statistics published by Govt of India, it is increasingly becoming evident that the industrial peace set in nineties and till 2007 has been disturbed and it is time to have a relook at our colonial & archaic labour laws. Incidentally India has over 55 labour laws and over 100 state labour laws – time to have fewer but effective labour laws and not having laws like Equal Remuneration Act that has neither the clarity nor teeth to check inequality.

Am I motivated or Inspired?

Couple of weeks back, I was conducting a workshop with the senior management team of one of my clients. When I was being introduced, the host (in order to break the ice)asked this question to the participants: “So guys, how are you?” and he looked around for responses, majority reverted with monosyllables - “usual”, “fine”, ”great”, “ok” but one guy said he is feeling great as he would like to take away some useful inspirational tips.

Everyone clapped and I started the session but his response is still fresh in my mind - why the participant chose to say “inspiration(al)” rather than most commonly used “motivation(al)”

So here comes some questions and allow me to search for the appropriate answers - we seem to be using both these words as synonyms. Can we do that? What are the commonalities between these two? Can these be interchanged? Can inspiration lead to motivation or vice versa?

For getting closer to the answers, let’s examine what is the practical usage of these two words. As leaders we assume that our role is to motivate others to achieve something, to reach a desired goal, or produce something. Our main focus becomes getting people to “do things.” In a way, we as leaders provide a motive to take action.

On the other hand, “inspiration”, is all about mentoring and helping others to move toward their potential. Inspiration infuses others with life, energy and passion.

Now please have a look again at the italics in the above two paragraphs and you will be getting closer to the answers. While motivation is short term, inspiration is a long term tool to ensure continuous motivation.

That’s probably the reason, leaders who have mastered all the motivation techniques at times wonder why people still don’t seem fully alive at work and why they need to continually prod them along. On the contrary, inspiring leaders are “fascinated by human potential, excited by individual creativity and unwaveringly committed to holding others as grand and capable.”

Leaders who inspire have the ability to connect authentically with the hearts and minds of others in pursuit of some common goal. They get a kick out of watching people grow and develop and add huge value.

Inspirational Leaders “Show Up” We can easily recognize someone who is inspired by the way they “show up.” It feels good to be around them. They make their presence felt. It’s a wonderful feeling to be with someone who looks you straight in the eye and listens as if you were the only person in the world. One feels accepted, appreciated, understood and important in the presence of an inspirational leader. Ask yourself, “When am I my best self?” Is there a particular person who calls forward your best self? Are there some people who you feel especially good around? It’s no secret that when “we feel good - we do good”.

To conclude, inspiration and motivation have different connotation and both these words can’t be used as synonyms. Both belong to the same family though and can be used in series – meaning one can be inspired to feel motivated. In a way, inspiration can lead to motivation and probably a long lasting one…

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”

- Albert Schwitzer

The Human Resource angle in Bigg Boss Season 5

Well I could never watch Bigg Boss Season 5 while in India due to its late telecast and also because of the hectic schedules back in India. But once I was having some free time and mainly thanks to frequent heavy rains in Bangkok – I have been able to watch some episodes in my hotel room. Also a Bigg thanks to the excellent Wi-Fi in the cosy environment of my hotel room.

After watching few episodes, I began to think that this has been an excellent portrayal of human behavior in a controlled & disciplined (there is a jail marred with mosquitoes and without even a mattress for any in-disciplined inmate) environment. Something similar I had witnessed long ago while doing participating in a workshop conducted by ISABS (Indian Society of Applied Behavioral Sciences). Back then we were holed up inside a room amongst fellow 8 – 10 participants without any agenda and what transpired thereafter was amazing. One has to experience the same to believe what I am saying. Because having no agenda actually forces the real you to come on surface and say something that leads to reaction from others and so you shed all your masks and so would everyone else and towards the end of 6 days of grueling 8 – 10 hours a day, you would get feedback like getting yourself in the mirror like never before. Since there were no formal relationships so participants would not care a damn whether they are giving feedback to an MD or a CEO or a 50 years old very successful person but speak the truth and only truth. So that experience came live to me after watching few episodes of Bigg Boss season 5.

In this season (earlier once as well), the participants are staying together under one roof for 90 long days, unless they are evicted and the race is to stay the longest. All the routine chores are to be done by them, be it cleaning toilets, to cleaning utensils, cooking and cleaning the house to washing clothes everything. So one sees how people take on leadership positions, direct others to tasks as well as counsel them for their erratic behavior.

Another very important cumbersome task that I think only this season was introduced was to pedal a stationary rickshaw continuously for almost 96 hours. They had affixed a dynamo with a bulb so the idea was not to let the bulb unlit. Now how do you assign tasks so that this gruesome physical activity is continuously done without a single minute of break in the scorching sun was a fantastic idea.

Now we are not talking of professional athletes who can easily do cycling (even though stationery & without any load) for half an hour continuously – we are talking about girls & women (one of them has never worn anything else than a traditional ghagra ever in her life (Ms Gulabo from Rajasthan, who is at least 40 years of age) who have exercised but always in air conditioned gyms or only in the early mornings - Great effort.

It was fascinating to watch how the masks of the inmates drop one after another, who is shirking work and who is forthcoming to take on responsibilities. How those who would have never spoken ill of anyone start shouting to any atrocity by another person. How Shakti Kapoor tries to strike the right chord and manage to balance the atmosphere by his leadership style (he has been a captain elected for the second week too) as well as by his wit & humor.

May be some day I would try to use relevant video clippings for my training sessions…. So keep watching Bigg Boss Season 5 if you want to learn the intricacies of human behavior 'uncensored'.

First two months - Experiences & Learnings!

Dear all

First two months of being on my own are over on 30th Sept. I had kept a target of 90 days for me to establish my company and get few clients on board. By the grace of God I have got some good clients and God willing my Company, Mantteva would also go from strength to strength. In fact today, the website has also been launched

I have had the pleasure of having varied clientele, be it the product mix or Industry segment but have something in common - yes you guessed it right, Human Resource challenges. Be it challenges related to selection of right employees for issuing ESOPs not plagued by any biases to understanding cultural issues post takeover by current employer and taking the organization to a path in order to ensure a professional organisation in the making - it has been indeed a wonderful 60 days.

The amount of satisfaction one gets after suggesting a solution to some of the challenging situations is difficult to articulate. I have also been very lucky to get very accomodating and appreciative clientelle. HRD is a long drawn process and the lead time before one sees visible results varies anywhere from 6 months to 2 years depending upon the intervention, support system and the maturity level of the organisation. So one has to have some patience for visible results but zero tolerance for any non-conformity.

Some of the learnings for myself have been better time management, personal fitness despite being away from my tread for weeks and appreciation to stay connected through Skype.

Another significant learning has been introduction to Anthony Robbins

through his website, audio downloads and his video clips. Not to forget a 60 page report on my personal strengths and areas of improvements, thanks to a test for a SWOT analysis. I also heard him speak on "Cutting Edge" and his words made lot of sense to me as an individual and as an HR professional. I hope to see him in person and attend one of his workshops sometime in near future to enhance my own abilities as well as help my clients by adapting some of the learnings.

But that's going to wait for a while, meanwhile its time for my passion - Mantteva.

Take care and may God bless all.

New Journey - new ideas

Hi Folks, its been a while since I last blogged. Actually I had been busy contemplating being on my own.

Come to think of it, having put in 26 meaningful years of hardcore experience, one should atleast look at this choice seriously. So I thought about the same for some time and then took this calculated step of stepping on this different journey. I took this call towards the last week of May and on 1st June, I had decided.

I decided to be in HR, as that was my forte but also decided not to offer off the shelf products like ready made training modules. Instead I decided to pitch for diagnostic approach and then offering solutions (including training)to arrest the pain areas.

Getting the business is a different ball game, I learnt almost instantaneously. Some of the close associates from whom I had hopes galore were not so forthcoming and help was pouring in from unexpected corners. One of my old associate called up and told about a prospect who could be interested in what I had to offer. Similarly another colleague introduced me to another manufacturer who wanted me to control their in process rejection.

Well I am not a QC guy but fortunately in Federal Mogul, I was also looking after PPC for some time and had learnt the concepts of OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency) as well as got training on Seven Quality Tools and TIPS (Tips in Problem Solving). So all those learnings came in handy and I accepted this assignment.

Another client is asking for help in understanding and setting up their HR systems to take their existing production level to almost ten times.

So there has been lots and lots of thinking out of the box and unlearning some of the learnings and adapting new. However "time is of essence" is better learnt when one is dealing with multiple customers who are demanding and you have to not only quickly adapt yourself to the requirement but also provide solutions that are practical.

I guess it will be another 6 months before I can settle down or would it be always like this.... I am not too sure. But one thing is sure that I am excited and enjoying this new journey and also learnings new things each day... each hour...

I am sure I have the blessings from the Almighty and good wishes from all my friends.