End Govt Monopoly on Admin Decisions/Governance

One of the best ways to bring fast and effective governance to people would be by engaging in more open public participation in legislation and execution of key decisions especially those related to governance. This not only keeps the government on toes by keeping it under a true public check but also builds on the talent of individuals outside the government machinery. Moreover, the consensus building that the process would enable will be unprecedented.

The information revolution has made it possible to do this now then ever before. Linux and Mozilla are examples of two famous software that were developed from “crowd sourcing”. Nokia, Apple and Microsoft have websites that invite people to contribute applications that run on their device/OS.

Implementation
The government just needs to make ad-hoc panels like the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) to include various stakeholders and to come up with solutions with in deadlines. The deliberations of the group should be put on a website for public participation. And this step will bring power truly to the governed!

Only Downside – People who get left out might hinder in decision making process as no doubt there will be some people who will be adversely affected. But then these can be accommodated too by providing some minimum period in legislations and support.

Wishful Thinking?
The best part is that I don’t think that it is completely new idea for India. We have written our own constitution through such an exercise by getting people from all walks of life to participate.
The constitution was not written by a group of people specifically asked to write it, but, by an open assembly of intellectuals and representatives. The process has been more open than any other since.

Moreover, the intent has been there and Governments in principle have been advocating decentralisation of power. There has been a thrust to get the panchayati institutions run on the ground and empower municipalities. Alas, these ideas have seen maximum action on paper only.

Finally, its an idea whose time has come. Obama during his candidacy advocated the need for an open Government and criticed Bush era secrecy.
He started boldly by appointing a CTO for his administration and coming up with the agenda for his Government in this regard: White House Press Release

However the idea is facing problems in getting implemented. A

A recent report by Judicial Watch charges the administration of not doing enough to put its word into deed.
“Obama’s administration hasn’t become any more open since his Inauguration. He has placed great importance on FOIA, but his administration has already failed time and time again to provide information to the American people. What happened to his completely transparent transition process, or his campaign promise to post bills online for the public to see a full five days before signing? The 1,100 page Economic Stimulus Bill was made public for only thirteen hours before being voted on.”
The entire article can be viewed here

Coming back to India I think it is going to be a tough road because of two reasons:
It brings the power directly to people and make executive and legislature a funnel for the ideas; a follower of the people. This will be quiet a remarkable and uncomfortable change for them as they have traditionally seen themselves as the lordships who decide and lead but not follow.

Second and more fundamental is the increasing intolerance that one generally sees on fresh ideas and new interpretation of events. The irony is that the people who run the largest democracy in the world are autocratic within their party and outside. Congress, BJP and Left have all moved to a closed group where they harp on old ideas and look to guidance from the party high command/politburo. When only a few people can always be correct, and idol worship is prominent – there is a slim chance for an open participation.

Business Models and Industry

I am of the view that there are certain fundamentals in an industry that allow a certain business model to flourish. By industry, i do not mean only the industrial process but the wider competition that a company faces in the market.

To give two analogies – an air conditioner company and a coffee chain both sell a commodity. They have to distinguish themselves on the brand recall and the service they provide to the consumers. So, these companies have to become service oriented or value-add oriented.

Second, a lot of the companies that face stiff competition in the market in terms of price and quality differentiation earn profit from consumables – mobile companies in Europe expensive airtime/subsidized phone sets., hp/canon subsidized printers/expensive ink, bottled water filter, dish TV etc.

I think the arguments need to be fleshed out in detail. but i believe that a certain orientation of competitive forces in the industry allow us to have certain business models. I understand that nowadays companies follow multiple business models to maximise revenues the most public example that comes to my mind is airtel.Then, we have companies which change business models when they enter a new market. The most prominent model i recall is GE in healthcare.
So, what exactly is it that drives a certain business model in a certain market.

Dehyphenating India and Pakistan

Really interesting article from Shekhar Gupta, Chief Editor, Indian Express.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-new-project-pakistan/499501/

Working in Teams/Organisation

One has to suppress oneself to other’s temperament or working style to do work in teams and get along with people. At times, one feels very strongly about certain things, or wants things to be done in a particular way, however, in the interest of overall output one must allow people to experiment and come with new ways of working.

The oe thing that one should avoid is receding ground to a bully or tolerating arrogance and sloppy work. A bully should be handled as a bully. And arrogance should be squarely dealt with at the first instance.

This is no doubt an normal case scenario, crisis scenario definitely needs situational leadership and people are required to implement strategy as directed.

Another connected point that I have been thinking about is the dress code and other formalities companies use while interacting with each other. Reflexively and Objectively, I think that dress codes are not required. One should be smartly turned out but wearing formals every day to work is important. The culture is reinforced by the quality of interaction of people in the company and not by the superficial dress code. However, I think having a dress code is a least painful position to ensure people are turnedout smartly in the office. But still dont like wearing neckties on shirts..

Project Management and Delegation

It is always fascinating to see the ability of some organisations/people to execute things in a perfect manner. The skill to execute strategy is by far the most important skill that has to be acquired. At a personal level, it requires Discipline, Dedication and Determination. In teams the goal has to be achieved by taking the team along on all these parameters along with ensuring that it remains motivated and the individual members grow- i.e. quiet acute personnel management.

Delegation is the basic current that runs the team and probably is the most important aspect that a project managers should look at.

Usually, delegation is seen as a tool to either offload tedious work or something that the person delegating the assignment is not interested in doing. The assumption is that it will help the individual gain productive time. However, while working in teams, it is never the goal.The goal is to finish the project in budget with a motivated and happy team.

Actually, delegation should be to offer interesting stretch goals to the team members. The most tedious work needs to be kept for oneself along with project management. This is the best way to finish tasks fast and as desired, because it is highly likely that the work you offload and are not interested in doing, your team member does not like to do it as well. This makes it really tough to get the tasks finished as desired.

How do you contribute to the nation/society?

This is a question that has been baffling me and I assume a number of people through decades.

Last year, Abhishek Gupta, my friend from college who studied at Upenn afterwards, posed this question to P Chidambram after the Wharton lecture. Chidambram asked him to join politics. He rationalised that Indian politics needs good and educated people like him. He said Abhishek should see that all is not wrong with politics and educated and clean people like Mr. Chidambram himself are able to get better of the dirty politics. I must definitely say that this did enthuse us to look at politics as a long term career but didnt really convince us.

Over the time now I realise that Mr. Chidambram gave a very narrow way to go about contributing to the nation. It is simply not possible that everyone has the same aptitude to go out and play the dirty game. Moreover, the way to contribute should be broad enough and inclusive. Restricting it to joining politics is bound to keep a lot of people away. There should be room for everyone to contribute.

JRD Tata once said that he wanted to join politics after hearing speeches of Nehru at Bombay but decided not to as it was not he could be good at. He wanted to contribute where he could make a difference rather than joining the agitrators in jail. The key lies right there.

It is in pursuing excellence throughout your life. It should be simply excelling and being the best at your chosen profession.

One cannot think of a situation where JRD Tata, Narayan Murthy would have not been involved in their profession. These people contributed immensely to the nation by excelling in their chosen fields. Same goes for many people from different fields – Dr. Trehan, Vinod Dham, Amartya Sen, Rajat Gupta, Satyajit Ray, Raj Kapoor, and so on.

The best part is that now is an age where intellect and capacity to excel is being given a lot of premium. Mr. Chidambram himself is a distinguished lawyer and has realised the fruit of convergence. So has his colleagues Mr. Tharoor and Mr. Sibal. But the top most honours definitely go Nandan Nilenkani to go straight from being the Chairman of Infosys to being a cabinet minister in the union govt. This trend is going to continue as people want to see progress and are looking for leaders who can manage the show and understand the nuances rather than simply agitating on streets.

Life altering indeed .