Kanvi desai flopped on her bed and sent her mother Meghna a WhatsApp message: “Am home. And guess what? Rhea is back! Could I please, please, have her over this weekend?”Kanvi and Rhea were in Class 11, and Rhea had gone to Singapore on a sports exchange programme and hence got to attend her host’s school. Kanvi couldn’t stop talking about Rhea’s experiences: “It seems the teacher asked a student what is the simplest form of sugar, and he did not know. But the teacher was not upset. She made him reach the answer ‘glucose’, by just quizzing him; she even clued him from Master Chef!”Kanvi said she now knew about glucose, just listening to Rhea. But as she observed, “ If it was in my school, and I had said I don’t know, first I would have got a glare, then there would have been no discussion, then some smarty pants kid would have stood up and said Glucose and I would have felt lousy and my ma’am would have told me see how clever she is and I would have felt lousier.”Meghna felt sorry for students like her daughter. We are taking away the step ladder approach to learning, the joy and exploration of learning. While learning has to be an amazing journey, we are in a hurry to reach and, hence, we drag them to arrive sooner because it suits us...That evening, Meghna, an associate director at Bright & Thakur (B&T), met Principal Achyut Manek at the Sprinter’s Track, where she went jogging. “We want readymade answers from them, that is why our exams ask objective questions,” she told Manek, who had been managing the educational trust for the Morro Group for many years. Their net worth evaluation was done by B&T, that was how their acquaintance went back in time.Recently, Manek had helped Morro take over the running of ABC School and was appointed the Principal.“The teachers are also in a hurry to perform and elicit performance according to template, because it is all about targets,” she told him. “The children will learn nothing even if they end up knowing a lot. I wonder about the kind of management pool getting built. Our system is not developing the right software in them.”Meghna had seen that whatever the books taught did not convert to knowledge. The kids were nothing but a bag of data. For instance, Kasi, her son in Class 10, had a unit test question last week — ‘How high is the blast furnace at the Bokaro plant and how wide?’ Kasi had some numbers in his head, which he threw right in but he had no idea what a blast furnace was, or WHY it was so huge. In fact, he did not even think it was ‘so huge’. The book said ‘big’ so Kasi agreed it was big. And somewhere in his head he was not connecting that Bokaro uses coal as both raw material and fuel! What amazed her was that with all the brouhaha over the cancellation of coal mining blocks by the Supreme Court, there had been no discussion in the class! “How could you not have discussed it!” she asked the class teacher at the Parent Teacher Interaction. “This is the moment in their life to raise a sound debate on power and ethics! And this is best raised by a dispassionate teacher than a cloying parent! You could have talked about systems, truthfulness and fair play and that it applies at all times in life, no matter what your age or status!”Meghna had grown up in Bokaro and knew coal like Kasi knew the Ambience Mall. She had asked him, “Do you know why it needs so much coking coal? Do you know that the blast furnace needs a whole year to shut down? Kasi’s “wowwwwww”, lasted 10 full seconds.Meghna: Standing tall at a height of 41 metres, and 12 metres wide, it was our pride, India’s symbol of self-reliance, of her scientific journey… There were no cranes to reach that height. So capacity was built to make 10 cranes of that height…Will you believe it? And do you know, there are five like that? That is where the coal production of Jharia goes!Back at the PTI. Principal Manek who had been actively listening to the Class 10 parents, took Meghna aside as she said, “And the textbook says all that steel is used for the manufacture of engineering goods...? School students will identify better with cars and washing machines, won’t they?Manek: I agree. But kids are smart, they pick up all this quite fast.Vivek Sinha, Meghna’s colleague, also had a daughter in Class 10. Seeing him walk their way, Manek hailed to him. Manek, who had known them since their work with Morro Group, took them to his office. He enjoyed a good debate on education.As Vivek sat down, Meghna said, “Seriously, there is too much to be crammed. Schools are deliberately creating a difficulty level to make the Board exams look that much more daunting! Instead of teaching 100 things, teach 60; at least the students will internalise them well!"Read Analysis By: Rashmi ChandraRead Analysis By: Gautama G. break-page-break“For example, the steel plant story is done to death, cramming the chapter with inane details. But the plot itself is lost! For each of the 17 integrated plants, the child has to learn where each one gets coal, manganese, limestone, water and electricity from! Why? The names of some of these are the smallest of small coal mines, Mr Manek, which don’t matter! Would it not serve if they leave it at Chhota Nagpur belt or Jharkand? If the child encounters Jharkand so many times, he will retain that Jharkand is so rich in raw materials. Isn’t that more important? But the textbook talks about Jharia, Palamo, Dugda... and the student is not associating it with Jharkand, the state!“Then again, and this is my point: I wanted to hear Kasi saying, ‘Oh, Jharkhand is a rich state, then why is Jharkand backward?’ But Kasi has no news on Jharkand’s economy. When you have resource rich states with corresponding poor standard of living, how come you do not debate this in class? I think this is very critical for developing the ability to connect issues. Don’t you think this conversation needs to happen?Manek: We try, we really do! But when you put it that way, I do see how thought-building can be encouraged. But to be fair, development is covered in Economics...Meghna: But who will link geography and natural resources to economics for the student? You need to do that for that inner coin to drop! The expectation is for them to memorise ‘Palamo and Dugda’, I see; ‘Jharkand’ is not your focus!Manek: Help me understand. What is the difficulty you see in the way these are being taught?Meghna: Students are not thinking with agility, seamlessly. They are thinking in silos. They are seeing Iron and Steel as Geography and Development as Economics. They are not seeing an integrated picture of the region. It is not about who gets limestone from where, but who grows as a result of what natural resources! Do they have this knowledge? No. Do we want them to have it? Yes! You must train them to integrate information!Vivek: Or the case where a child who scored 98 per cent in Class 12 exams hadn’t realised that “infrastructure” which she studied in economics was the same as “sadak, bijli, pani”. She had crammed it and got full marks! We discovered this after we hired her!See, schools get them to ‘learn the dots’, not ‘connect the dots’. The first improves memory but connecting the dots improves ‘judgement’ and managers need ‘judgement’ the most. Judgement gets supported by emotional and social IQ which strengthens through getting challenged and winning and losing the challenges.Meghna: Therefore, an essay that elicits a comment from a teacher: ‘Good content, can improve,’ means nothing to the student. If Kanvi’s essay is a B and Rhea’s is A, then Kanvi needs to know what she needs to do to take that B to an A.Manek: But when you are hiring a CEO, do you look at CBSE results? How is all this connected to producing better managers, since you say that schooling must build great foundations for a good manager to grow...Vivek: The entire system threatens to produce a future that is both emotionally and intellectually challenged. Let me address the intellect first. The ability to make connections. To link data A and data B to produce information C. For instance, for one of our starch producing clients , one key area on which business continuity depends is supply of corn 12 months of the year. But for close to five months in a year, only Bihar can supply corn to whole of India since only Bihar has a winter corn crop. But then again, those are the very months when Bihar is also peaking in coal supply to whole of India. This makes securing rail wagon supply a huge challenge for all starch producers. The client field agent cracked the disadvantage by leveraging the coal carrying wagons, and negotiated with Railway officials and coal agents for first right on all spare capacities! So, the same coal wagons carry corn alongside, marrying Geography with Economics!Manek: Come on! These things are learnt on the ground!Vivek: Sure, they will learn on the ground, but only if the student is trained to think cause and effect, to link one sector advantages with gains for another, ... these are skills that are planted early in life. This is intellectual agility, which has to happen at school. The time to perform is not at MBA, but in school.Manek: And schools are blocking this ability in students?Meghna: They are not actively encouraging this potential. First of all, by testing the students more on facts than strategic thinking, you are not training them to have inner debates. Objective questions are about right and wrong. Life in organisations falls in the grey zone where there is no right or wrong; your decisions have to be optimum. Does our schooling system hone this skill in students?Why is IB seen as a better programme? Because the emphasis is on thinking. IB is not based on multiple choice questions, but questions that make you think, cogitate, reason. The 10 years in school builds the software for learning in general, and can affect your problem-solving capability as a manager, that’s my point.Vivek: If anything, the multiple choice system weakens ability to understand contexts and interrelatedness.Manek: Such as your starch selling field agent?Vivek: Let’s see. Class 10 Civics discusses the Mandal Commission. I told my daughter all about caste, OBC, etc. But the question at the exam was: Who was the joint secretary who signed the Mandal Commission notification? Really? Three marks? This is what I mean. But the system wants to train them in easy choice questions! Read Analysis By: Rashmi ChandraRead Analysis By: Gautama G. break-page-breakMeghna: Consequently, no emotional intelligence development.Manek (now alerted): What do you see that I do not?Meghna: Ok, recall the ‘I Hear You’ sessions for the senior school, where kids aired their feelings? But there was no time for all this piffle-paffle, as your senior school advisor put it. So, it was thrown out but the counsellor, obviously made of sterner stuff, wanted it, as it helped kids unburden and gave clues to understanding their world better. To demonstrate this, she held one IHY meet, and the outcome was stunning. The students talked and talked — from school workload, to tuition, to home, to studies and worried parents, about not having any time to heal and reorganise and take stock... or for laughter even! That it was one large wave for three relentless years — planning, studying, applications, exams; that neither parents nor teachers seemed to care, the attitude being, ‘what’s got to be done has got to be done, so stop whining...’Teachers focused on school grades, performance and statistics of achievements, and school image. Parents on ‘you have to get into the best college!’ There was a no companionship…Even the play field was about performance, ‘You need to show performance sports on your CV!’Vivek: Even their summers; my daughter wears a stricken look!Meghna: These are teenagers, an important age where new values are entering their mind, so much to grapple with, but instead of dealing with it with the natural joy of teenage, they are yoked to performance anxiety, because there is so much to do all the time, back to back. They go to bed tired, they wake up tired...no let up!Vivek: Development of emotions implies developing the skills to manage it. Such as anger. Such as boredom. Such as frustration. Such as disappointment. Discussion helps challenge their concepts and constructs. Hence, hanging out with friends is valuable for redefining emotions. Instead, they spike, they have tantrums because friendship is only virtual! Today they live and talk social media, often in full public gaze, because they don’t give a damn, which has its own consequences. Plus, sleep deprivation as they are up till late texting. Relationships are mostly superficial and often sour over the internet, being virtual; and as the ads say ‘WhatsApp pe goodbye bol diya’... Relationships need negotiating. But these young have a disconnect. Emotional connect is mechanical. They are never able to have an experiential friendship!Meghna: So, is shaping a person and his character important, or is sharpening his abilities of problem solving, etc? Does an organisation benefit more from people who display perseverance, morality, respect for others, integrity, objectivity or from analytical capability, IT knowledge?What is the pyramid of priorities for the education system that we – sitting on this side of schooling, perceive as important? That is the question!”To be continued...Meera Seth(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 01-12-2014)
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As a consultant who examines strategy, structure, systems, and way-forwards for organisations, one is also privy to the kind of minds needed to make organisation management meaningful and successful. A lot of this needs building at the school level and the shaping of the wet putty is really a function of how content and subjects are taught to integrate into raw material for thinking.Across organisations, there seems a lament that there is something wanting in today’s education. The case throws light on what the system seems to be suffering from. Some of the fundamental issues, as I see them, are the following syndromes. Pixels And Not The Picture SyndromeMeghna’s lament to the Principal about too much information to be crammed, about factoids stuffed down the throat of her child who is in Class 10, hits the nail on the head of what seems to be going on. It’s the pixilation syndrome. The system has pushed the student too close to the image, so that the entire subject is blurred and the big picture itself is lost, while the student chokes over the unnecessary detail.Meghna’s son Kasi (confused amid a host of facts and data) has gathered knowledge but is yet not knowledgeable enough to connect the dots and do critical thinking to ask, ‘How come Jharkhand — so rich in natural resources — is at the bottom of the GDP pack? If the state has a large share of OBC and tribes, then how has the historical and political context impacted its development?If Kasi is not asking the right questions, it is clearly because he is not assessed on this critical thinking. He is not expected to ‘join the dots’. Curiosity-leading-to-creativity seems to have no value. The result is a generation of young adults lacking in critical, strategic, and lateral thinking, in cross-sector analysis, in innovation and in asking questions that challenge thinking.Drawing BridgesWhat is further lacking are the ‘bridges’ — that connect what is in the textbooks to what is current and relevant to the world. This needs to be an integral part of the curriculum and not relegated to odd school debates. It would imply overhauling the evaluation system. Committing time and resources in school to discussing and connecting world events to the fundamentals in the books. High school students need to have the understanding of infrastructure and transport (textbook topics) alongside issues of sustainability and alternative energy, the importance of nuclear access, and WTO outcomes, etc., so that the studenthood is where thinking begins.An organisation is far more enriched by an employee who has been taught to think and question, and who knows how to make ‘facts’ go a longer way to answering more of the ‘Why and Why Not’ questions.Jungle gym versus silos syndrome: Education is like a jungle gym. All subjects and content are inter-linked to create the climbing framework of ‘knowledge’. However, today education is imparted in silos with a linear predetermined (non-negotiable) approach to the top. Finding new ways to climb to the top of the jungle gym with agility and creativity is given no weightage in school.Filling The Pail SyndromeThe thoughts shared by Meghna and Vivek at the end reveal a serious malaise. The student today, during his 12 years, tumbles down a list of to-dos. No time for assimilation and real brain nutrition. Bereft of creative thinking and wisdom, he arrives at a corporate set-up with an inability to work without structures and instructions, feeling lost and unfocused when dealing with long-term strategic issues, and incapable of choosing planning over performance.Possible solutions will emanate from rethinking the philosophy and structuring of the school curriculum. Less is more — schools must reduce and remove irrelevant content. This will free up students’ time for learning skills, for critical analysis and creative solutions, for original thinking.Education at school must teach students to connect the dots. Schools must discuss with the education board the rearrangement and reengineering of the evaluation system to one that rewards and hones knowledge and skills that matter.The writer. Rashmi Chandra, is the founder partner of Intrim Business Associates, a management and consulting firm focussing on strategy and public policy(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 01-12-2014)
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Much of schooling is about covering the syllabus. This means that some information is to be explained, some formulae studied and some problems solved. It seems to be tacitly assumed that studying the subject in this manner will automatically connect students to other realms. In this direction, some interdisciplinary stuff is thrown in. Disciplines are the pillars of schools, subjects with fuzzy boundaries. Disciplines involve expertise and experts who take pride in their respective disciplines. But then, the stuff of life does not respect man-made boundaries between subjects.How does one teach students that whatever the subjects they study, they need to lift their heads above the given and scan the horizons of life, like someone reaching a hilltop for an overview? If private schools are embedded in disciplines, it is probably worse in government schools. None are required to stretch beyond.How does one communicate that in looking far and simultaneously at the near details of the context, one understands something far more?Agreed, these things cannot be ‘taught’ like formulae or information. But schooling and life have always been about the play of what is spoken, insisted upon on the one hand and what is communicated on the other. That which is communicated — the real stuff — does not need words, and permeates classrooms and campuses, the interactions with headhunters, successful role models, visits to organisations and factories. Teaching is about templates and targets, much like the real world. The lessons taught contain bland stories, of questions asked by scientists and philosophers. The discoveries overshadow the real narrative of struggles, uncertainties and persistence, often against difficult odds. Rewards and recognition come with the end result, not the struggles and questions. Results are most valued by society; all else is unimportant. Therefore, the education we ‘impart’ is bland, colourless and ineffective, turning out rewards seekers. Schools have not learnt to communicate that rewards matter little, that living a life that rises up to meet challenges is far more worthy.Our century demands the stamina for multiple drafts, many versions, of any work. In short, at work, everything can be improved, even the iPhone. Individuals need to make efforts to participate in the creation of viable solutions. Participation is co-creation. The shift away from rewards to intelligent participation is a hard one for schools and educational institutions. Having praised students who shone with the expected answers till yesterday, the educator needs to shift to valuing each opinion and thought, not knowing which one when polished will yield a special nugget.To my mind, the Indian educational system, now, is in a state of introspection and will soon have to decide if schooling is about encouraging questioning or thinking or about mere repetition, about demanding persistence or about getting it right the first time, about just textbooks or about news, TED talks and discussions.In short, schools need to decide if schooling is about distributing pre-digested pellets of disconnected information or about inviting students to participate in the eternal debates and those raging around us now.Some examples of these are:• Who has rights over resources, the tribal communities or the government in Delhi or a state capital?• What do we call development? Are there alternative views on the subject?• Are punishments and rewards the only motivating factors in our life? If so, why?• Does fairness matter?• Do ethics matter?• Do advertisements invite our intelligent consideration or merely sell an idea, a product?The present system breeds consumers, not active participants. This design is unfortunately completely engineered by corporations, the very same ones who lament the loss of original thinking in the gene pool of fresh students.Is our society willing to rethink the location of a citizen, who is not just a patriotic consumer, but a vibrant creative participant? Unless we do this, we get what we ask for! The writer, Gautama G, is Director- Secretary, The Chennai Education Centre, KFI, Pathashaala& Outreach since 2006. He was principal of The School KFI for over 18 years(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 01-12-2014)
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Atul vaidya sat in a conference room before the interview panel at Wisdom Foods, stunned by their tone, manner and now what they were telling him. Atul was the head of supply chain at Artemis Retail Holdings whose CEO, Harish Vittal, had asked him to resign. Atul had tried to understand his reasons but Harish had dodged him offensively. Atul had begun to look for a change. The Wisdom Foods interview panel had just told Atul that they had checked back at Artemis; “It seems there is a financial discrepancy involving you...” the panel said. Hot under the collar, his heart pounding in unexpressed anger, Atul sat in his car, staring into space for a very long time, waiting for the waves of humiliation to die out. He was in no position to drive till then. When he reached Artemis, Atul walked straight to the office of Rassal Baig, the HR head. Atul: So, what is it, am I leaving or am I being sacked? And if I am being sacked, what is the reason? Ten days ago Harish told me I was not serving his purpose, I was inefficient... but now I have committed fraud? What is this! Please clear my name. When an agitated Atul had left his room, Rassal sat back to think. There was a very tiresome pattern evolving. A pattern with tiresome people doing tiresome things, thinking tiresome thoughts and speaking tiresome words. Harish was desperate, it seemed to him... What is the kind of person I am dealing with in Harish? What am I missing? Two days ago, Artemis President Madhur Bhaskar had just justified to Rassal that Atul had done a grave wrong two years ago. A wrong he had heard about after two years from a person who had been there all along carrying the story in his head and not choosing to share it with the organisation which had a right to know! Worse. Madhur had not asked Harish why he had chosen this glorious day to reveal a dark secret. What had happened to cause him to open a locked door after two whole years? Rassal had been very confused. He respected Madhur as a friend and President; but professionally, he was very confused. Madhur would not press for investigation by HR saying it was Harish’s call, leaving it to HR to drum up a script to tell Atul. Then a note arrived from Madhur’s office: “Going by the financial breaches, I stand by Harish’s decision to ask Atul to go. Please initiate modalities and complete this by end of week. But do tell Atul he must clear out today.” Rassal called Madhur, wishing to appeal to his sense of fairplay. “Madhur, I am concerned about our attitude to systems and process.” Madhur: What process now, Rassal? It is a financial fraud!Rassal: Exactly. What do we know about the fraud? If your concern for money is so great, as you told me yesterday, how come you are not asking for facts? How far does this fraud go? Can one man perpetrate a fraud? If he can then it means our systems are faulty and it can happen again, isn’t that so? Madhur, there is a larger organisation to consider. If more people are involved in the fraud, then we need to know how far and wide the rot spreads.Madhur: Leave that to me. I will take care... I have heard you. When Rassal returned from lunch, Thelma, his secretary, walked in and shutting the door, said, “News has got around that Atul has been sacked. Everyone is very disturbed and disbelieving for the rumours also say that he has been framed in a fraud...” Rassal was deeply upset. This is exactly what he feared would happen. Rassal felt pushed to the wall. Once it was everyone else; now his mind was chattering repeatedly, asking, “Why are you unable to do anything, Mr Baig?” Rassal was disturbed by the change he was sensing in his relationship with Madhur and Harish. Nay, in his estimate of the relationship.... The trust quotient was now going south. All too soon he was being forced to search his heart for many answers. That was when he called his coach and mentor Cyrus Aibara and asked for a meeting. Cut straight to meeting... Rassal (after briefing Aibara): I feel confused at many levels...I do not want to alienate the President, but this absence of proof is also bothering me. I am now questioning my own role, my capability... I look after the quality of people who come in; hence, I am also responsible for knowing if anyone in the company is culpable of moral breach. If Atul has been penalised for something only two people are saying he has done, and there is no proof, how do I justify it? Not just to the employees but to myself as the head of HR? Can the CEO sack a senior or other manager without any proof of misdemeanour? Is the CEO’s ego above probity? Madhur would like me to stop pressing for proof. My need for proof is not because I doubt Harish or Madhur; I ask for proof to document moves that HR makes. I have enjoyed working with Madhur and think well of him, but this time I am very confused, Mr Aibara. Aibara: What is the real concern you have here? Why is it important for you to have the proof ? If you were the President, what would you tell Rassal the HR head about this situation?Rassal: I would first address Harish and say, Atul came to us from a good organisation, and you, Harish, brought him in as he is your friend. Hence you should know if he is capable of fraud! If not, how did you bring him into Artemis? I believe there is a fundamental DNA and that is unmistakeable... Then again, if this fraud was committed two years ago, why was there no sharing with HR or the President? This, I need to know. Which brings me to your first question. My real concern is I fear there is a certain casualness to managing Artemis. Madhur’s ‘allow the CEO his ego...’ I felt was misplaced. I believe employee dignity rides far above the CEO’s ego, and if that ego must be respected then he must have a track record of respecting employees... Aibara: And there is not, such a track record? So, is your concern that the President should be more involved in the decision-making process and ask for proof?Rassal: On matters that impact organisational ethics, principles, processes, I feel the President should prevail in case the CEO commits breach. Here the CEO does not want to hand the case to HR as I have requested and the President feels I must not push too hard. Aibara: Do think, what might you say or do to influence the President to take more interest in this case? Why is this important to you?Rassal: Because it concerns fairplay. I feel Atul is being victimised because the CEO now has an agenda; a JV, then a new Ops head, and now a new designation for the Ops head. And this new guy comes from the same company with with Harish has plans to collaborate for developing store brands. ... they are all adding up too neatly! As for influencing the President, I tried to make him see that process was critical. That is the only ‘influencing’ that is relevant anyway... See, in the beginning, not once did I doubt Harish. I was only startled that he made a change to the organisation structure when I was away for a week. If Madhur had placed process above the CEO’s ego, Artemis would be a better place... Aibara: You have been at Artemis some seven years, yes? In your experience of leadership in the past at Artemis, this “casual approach” is it apparent or a perception? Does is it happen across the board or only in certain quarters and in certain cases?Rassal: No... it’s apparent. By and large, we follow rules... I am beginning to see more of the casual approach with Harish. He is a high stakes player. Madhur trusts him immensely. Yes, he has done great work for Artemis... but this collaboration with Gevore... then hiring an ex-Gevore guy, then wanting to please him to get the Gevore tie-up... is unpleasant. Harish is driving his own agenda it seems... And all this, I feel, is tied to sacking Atul. It has angered me.Aibara: And generally people feel valued at Artemis?Rassal: I think so, yes.Aibara: Please tell me, what is it that you really want to achieve in this situation, Rassal? And why?a) I want to know what is the fraud that Harish is alluding to. So many rumours, it is affecting everyday work. At Teffer, where I previously worked, there never would have been any room for hearsay. Even the tiniest discrepancy is documented, that is how Teffer USA will have it! Ah, yes, and b) I want Atul’s dignity restored. I think he is a decent guy and he is just mild mannered, does not have the dandy that is common among B-school grads... Incidentally, Atul had an interview somewhere; and Harish botched it up. Look, I want Artemis to be an organisation that is clean in every respect... that really sums it up... You know, it is common knowledge that Madhur and I were at St Stephens together. So, there is an expectation that I should be able to probe with Madhur why Atul’s case was not investigated. Read Analysis By A.V.K. MohanRead Analysis By Matangi Gowrishankar break-page-break Aibara thought for a while, staring into the distance... if people in general felt valued at Artemis, then this situation did seem to be an aberration. Aibara: I recognise that you feel a loss of power — yet this matter seems to rankle because you feel a lack of fairplay. So, my question is: what are you willing to do to make things right? What options do you have to generate the conversations that really matter. Do you feel able to reverse the decision to sack Atul? Rassal: My recourse is to Harish and Madhur, that’s it. They run the business. I now wonder if HR really stands for very much in their scheme of things. Likely, it is just a hiring facility that ensures government rules, and a department where the broom closet is located so they can get rid of inconvenient managers. Then, he cautioned himself and said, “What am I willing to do? I think I have exercised all options. But I thank you very much. I needed to be clear that I am not led by ego... You know how it is... Thank you, Mr Aibara. Our chat helped me a lot.” Rassal felt a great sense of clarity as he drove back to work. He switched on his mobile phone and saw a flurry of messages from Harish. Rassal called Thelma and told her to let Harish know he was returning in 35 minutes. As he entered, Atul met him to hand his tag and swipe key. It was not how Rassal wanted this to end... On the other side were 215 employees many of whom were asking him via e-mails, what did Atul do? In fact, they were asking him, how do we trust you? Who will take up for us? The chat with Aibara had sorted out his head. Rassal decided to appeal once again, albeit differently. He met with the CEO and the President in Madhur’s office. Harish was telling Madhur, “ This is not a school where you try and rebuild relationships. I know he has done it and I would rather you trusted my word than his.”Rassal: Look , by all means we should ask Atul to leave if we are clear why we are doing so. But asking him to leave just because CEO and President concur may not be enough to establish fairness. It is not about Atul. It is about our brand, our reputation. Talent brand is hugely dependant on how we handle such situations. This is a great moment of truth. If Atul’s guilt is proven through a fair process of HR being involved and independent opinion provided by HR without any pressure, that will, in fact, make our brand strong; that no one including the head of supply chain is exempt from scrutiny when it comes to matters of integrity. But if it is not, then we will have a huge negative impact. I am not challenging the facts of the case, I am challenging the process. Due process should have HR as a part of the enquiry process, as a third party. Sacking is akin to death penalty, and must be resorted only in the rarest of rare cases. May I suggest that we step back and take a collective call. Since you disagree with me, may I suggest we speak to a board member on this and take his view? I will respect the board’s decision as final. Madhur was taken aback. He did not expect this. “Isn’t that really too drastic a measure,” he asked. Rassal looked at Harish and saw him laughing as he talked on his phone. What a curious situation it was! Harish would not reveal what had happened, Madhur would not compel him to file proof, yet Madhur wanted Atul to go with dignity and comfort (“Pay him all his dues and anything else he needs to be comfortable for three months”)! It was this trend in decision making that was bothering him. Rassal: If he has committed a fraud, sack him, don’t give him the option to leave. But if you choose to let him go, are you right in stymieing Atul’s interview at Wisdom Foods? Without clear answers, I am extremely uncomfortable. Rassal left the room to return to his office. He pondered over all that was going on. I can quit and be done with all this. But Artemis will remain valueless. I must be sensible... Back in Madhur’s office, Harish was saying, “I thought Rassal was an old friend of yours and you could have his flexibility, in a way...” And just then, Rassal walked in and placed two letters on the table. “One is my resignation, the other is a letter I have written to Wisdom Foods clearing Atul’s name,” he told Madhur and Harish. “Here is the deal,” added Rassal. “I stay if:a) You will validate my letter to Wisdom clearing Atul’s name.b) Hereafter, no sacking, appointing or changeing the organisation structure without HR’s involvement.” And tapping his resignation with his forefinger, he moved it closer to a startled Madhur. Then, he left. Harish knew the choice was clear. if Rassal quit, speculation would be conclusive. Madhur’s protest hung loose; he had never expected Rassal to do this... Read Analysis By A.V.K. MohanRead Analysis By Matangi Gowrishankar (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 03-11-2014)
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A curious turn of events is in full flow at Artemis. The bungling of Atul Vaidya’s case is as clear as the daylight. There seems to be total confusion as to why Madhur Bhaskar, as the head of the institution, is finding himself so helpless. A two-year-old case, a revamp without his knowledge, Atul being asked to go and then the world thinking that Atul was involved in a financial fraud! And the final straw comes from an old classmate, colleague and Head of HR Rassal Baig, who literally holds the gun to his head. Madhur can’t find himself more cornered than this. And he has to take full responsibility for the turn of events. Fundamentally, there are three things that seem to have gone totally out of control at Artemis: failure of collective leadership, rational decision-making process and checks and balances on authority and responsibility metrics. Rassal did have a choice: to sidestep the real issue and do crisis management or confront. He was wise to have chosen the difficult path. Sometimes outside coaches or mentors can play an unbiased role and help clear the mind. Madhur should consider himself lucky to have Rassal as his custodian of human capital. Else, overtime the current tide would have subsided and the erosion of Artemis’s culture would have been certain. Madhur’s inactions and certainly some actions like leaving important decisions without any rationale to his trusted lieutenant Harish Vittal, the CEO, have set the downward spiral into top spin. But by some stroke of fortune, Madhur is being given the last leash through Rassal’s sense of rightdoing. And for his own good and for the good of Artemis, he should immediately seize the opportunity and unleash a series of actions that can stem the tide. It’s going to be a good long struggle for Madhur, but it is worth the effort as he would not only get to address the symptoms but also the causes. By all means, Harish will fight his way through to the last to protect his ground and position. In the process, many demons will tumble out of the closet. But Madhur has to prepare himself to navigate Artemis out of this. The good news is he has Rassal who stood like a rock. In their long research and interesting book, Hard Facts, Dangerous Half Truths and Total Nonsense, authors Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton point out that unlike popular belief and much publicised superman leaders where leadership solely rests on the shoulders of a single individual, it is often collective. That differentiates great organisations from average ones. Madhur has enough reasons to worry on that account as to why his No. 2 man, Harish, seems to be off handle so much and in such a tangent. Like Rassal, Harish needs to introspect on his intent, approach and style. He should realise that if he wants to continue on the success path of his career, he needs a total re-evaluation. Else, his effectiveness and his reputation will suffer immensely. There are many such real events that occur in the world of business. Sometimes good leadership is proactive to ensure good governance and controls. But there are equal number of times when events such as the ones at Artemis unfold. It is in such moments of distress that good leadership emerges. Madhur and Harish have such an opportunity. Seven years into the journey, they have that responsibility. At the heart of such change is invoking the good old practice of rational decision making and clarity around roles and responsibilities. I am sure Madhur would know that the issue is not Atul and his future. Individuals come and go. The real issue is: What is this fraud all about? Who are the actors and non-actors in this drama? Why did it take so long to uncover this? Why was it not highlighted to Madhur as the head of the institution? Why was Harish evasive of answers to the tough questions? From experience, we all know that when you go down digging that path, you will get to uncover many more issues that weren’t obvious in the beginning. I am reminded of Machiavelli: “It’s easy to convince people of something but hard to keep them convinced.” Madhur is closely watched by all his people. The war is out in the open. What he chooses to do or not do will surely impact the future of Artemis in a big way and it will be harder to keep his people convinced. The writer was till recently Executive VP & Global Head of HR at EXL Service (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 03-11-2014)
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All professionals face this dilemma of doing what is right versus doing that which is convenient. Intuitively, I feel that each of the senior leadership team would have faced this dilemma as they made their decisions and we know that each coped with it in a fundamentally different way. I believe that ethics and integrity at all levels and, more so, at senior levels is more about a mindset and belief system than a stated ideal. A commitment to doing what is right needs to be all pervasive. The biggest enemy that stands in the way of this is hubris. Hubris prevents us from openly examining our thought process — it stills that inner voice and manages to justify any action and decision that we make. I like the approach Rassal Baig, the HR head, has taken in this matter. He was clearly troubled by the situation, and initial thoughts were around fairness, inclusion or exclusion and perhaps how he will be perceived in the organisation if this decision was to go through. Yet, it wasn’t until he had the courage to speak to his coach that he began to get clarity. This is what galvanises him into the action that he believes to be right. The conversation with the coach helped Rassal sift through his personal motivations, explore how this is impacting his ability to influence the organisation and, above all, be clear about his goals. The coach helped Rassal understand how to use his sense of “powerlessness” to understand his own motivations and his commitment of being fair to Atul Vaidya. Had Rassal not had the conversation with the coach, he may not have had the courage to confront himself, the others and done great disservice to himself by having lost his own self-respect. Organisations that encourage the use of coaches especially in areas to enhance leadership performance, enable them to work with their limitations in an objective and fundamental way and thereby build sustainable capability. While there is a belief that the immediate line manager should also be an effective coach — imagine what would have happened in this case! An emerging field of work, Neuroleadership, clearly links the brain’s preoccupation with survival (fight-flight-freeze) to the quality of decision making. Within this, there is a whole field of coaching based on the principles of neuroscience. Some key elements of neuroscience as it relates to our lives is that in the interest of simplification, the brain hard wires learning and experience into predictable ways of responding to situations. We know that once we have hard wired our behaviours for success, it is very difficult to change. The piece of good news though is that the brain’s ability to create new wiring is much easier than we think. With the right motivation, the brain’s ability to adopt new behaviours and act on them enables us to make progress. This is what an effective coach does by encouraging the ‘coachee’ to explore new avenues of thinking. A master coach will reduce the effects of an emotional (threat) response by moving the person towards certainty and clarity — and motivate them to take the right action. Rassal wrestled with the full range of emotions and thoughts. In his heart, he knew what he needed to do, and in that short discussion with the coach, he found the courage to move into action. It is entirely possible that Rassal would have reached the same conclusion without the coaching conversation. However, had he resigned as an emotional response, he may not have been able to generate the real conversation that he wanted to have with his colleagues. The conversation with the coach helped him traverse a huge distance. He moved to a place that he was really concerned about — the need to be fair and honest with Atul and preserve his dignity. Clearly, Harish, the CEO, needs to examine his motivations around respect for people and personal gains. As the saying goes, be careful who you kick on your way up, because you don’t know who you will meet on your way down! It is not apparent how Madhur Bhaskar, the company president, will deal with his dilemma, Maybe a conversation with Aibara will help! The writer is Head of Capability Development for the downstream business of BP, the global MNC. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the view of the company (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 03-11-2014)
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Rassal Baig was surprised to see an e-mail from the CEO marked to All. He had been away for just a week and Harish Vittal, the CEO, had announced a critical change in reporting relationships at Artemis Retail Holdings, where Rassal was head of HR. Just as he was studying the new organisation structure, Atul Vaidya, head of supply chain, knocked on his open door and entered. Rassal had not a chance to assimilate the organisation chart but had spotted Atul’s name crossed out and shifted; and, here was Atul already. “Hey, Atul, do come. I have just returned from Chennai and there is a mountain of e-mails I see.” Atul: I want to talk to you about why I have been fired.Rassal (extremely taken aback): Fired? How can that be... I don’t understand! Rassal reported to the President, Madhur Bhaskar. In fact, he and Madhur had been at IIM a year apart and it was he who had hired Rassal, nay, poached him from Teffer India, where he was a senior HR manager. They made a great team when Artemis, a vast retail chain, was launched eight years ago. Today, Artemis had 1,620 people on its rolls and 27 outlets in north and west India. Until then, Rassal had been merely a friendly advisor who came by in the evenings after work to hang out and suggest ways forward. In short, there was no HR until Rassal joined them. One of the architects of the early days had been Atul. He had been a strong force, a crucial resource in the formative months. In the entry-strategy think tank, he may not have counted for much, but he had verily been the power engine that had bound all ideas and thoughts together and ensured they were met, working relentlessly till Artemis lifted off. Atul had been a senior sales executive with a large beverage company. His boss had been an extremely vindictive human being, and because she, his boss, had swung some huge wins for the company, the HR was shifty footed about pulling her up, let alone calling for an arbitration. Unable to deal with a foul-mouthed boss who was also vengeful, Atul had resigned. Luckily for him, he had run into Harish in the lobby of his building during his notice period and Harish had even rebuked him sharply. “How can you quit without another job on hand!” And Atul had replied the working had to be joyful; if not, he did not care about working. “I will be fine. I have a good reputation in the market. I will pick up another job...” Soon after, Harish called him and told him about Artemis and Atul joined Artemis as Head of Supply Chain. It was an important position. Such a relationship forged eight years ago went awry. Last week, when Rassal was away for a SAP workshop in Puducherry, an unusual event took place. Ashwin Goel, who had joined a month ago as VP, Operations, was made Atul’s boss. Harish had created a layer between himself and Atul so that supply chain would now report to the Operations head. Atul, who had always reported to the CEO, felt humiliated. When he confronted Harish about this, he had responded that he could not answer every little question: “Organisations have a plan and a structure and a method. I don’t think we can share them all with everyone!” His tone had surprised Atul. Harish and he were buddies from IIT. Realising that something was amiss, Atul had backed off. But then, that was Atul; he backed off in the face of bad behaviour. It was his nature. Rassal told Atul he would find out the story and get back, saying no more, no less. It was a curious position being an HR head. You fought without fighting.... Rassal walked across the floor to Harish’s office. “So, tell me about Ashwin Goel. I come back to see a mail from you about a change in reporting relationships. He has been here less than a month,” he asked.Read Analysis By: A.V.K. MohanRead Analysis By: Y.V.Verma Harish was only too happy to talk about Ashwin. “Good guy, has gained a lot of width from Gevore Enterprises (his last company). And having been in technology, his depth is good... between you and me, we may be partnering Gevore in a JV to start manufacturing premium specialty store brands...” Rassal: Very nice. Happy to hear all this. But in the light of Ashwin being from Gevore, won’t it become tricky for him when this JV happens?Harish: Ok, granted there is going to be an embarrassing moment, but we expect to overcome that in one meeting and a handshake. These things happen in life; somebody leaves you, joins another, then you do business with that another... kya karein! In a year, we merge operations... so Ashwin is here as a prelude to all that and if all goes well, he takes over as Director Operations. Rassal looked at him, a trifle surprised. So much had been strategised and planned without his knowledge. “So, is that why you have suggested to Atul that he should leave?”Harish: Is that what he told you? I did not ‘suggest’, no; I asked him to go.Rassal: Harish, these things need to go through HR. You cannot ask him to go just like that. There are methods, processes. This is a formal organisation...Harish: Arre yaar! Ok, so I have told you now. You take care of it. Rassal: Harish, please understand, the hiring and removal of people cannot be based on whim.Harish: Whim?! He is not good for the job!Rassal: And this man Ashwin, he is good for the role of Director Operations? Who decided on that job function first of all? You have gone and created a whole new level that was not there in the organisation chart!Harish: As CEO, I get to take decisions that are good for the business!Rassal: And you must, please. Point is, Artemis has an organisation structure, a formal document, approved by the Board. If you are creating a new function, a new role, we have to examine where and how it fits. Because we cannot create a designation or a title that overlaps with other functionaries. It will cause chaos. And I am not even talking about demoralisation yet. A new level means it is a new job class, has to fit in with the compensation structure.Harish: But we have hired him with your blessings, my dear friend!Rassal: We hired him as VP Operations, to perform as VP Operations, to take over a certain set of functions and to report to you. Supply Chain was clearly a separate function. Now, you have a plan to make him Director Ops — which is different... actually very different, and having Atul report to him was also not envisaged, for Atul’s role comes directly under you. Harish: What is wrong with that? These are organisational exigencies. Rassal: When Atul is made to report to Ashwin instead of you, then he is being distanced from you by one whole level. This needs a lot of dialogue with Atul, else it can be construed as a demotion and there would be chances of Atul quitting. Harish: But in the light of the fact that I have already asked him to go, all this is academic, isn’t it? Ok, I do not have the mental space now to go on with this. I have a meeting at 10:00 and need to prepare. Let’s do this some other time. Rassal nodded and left, but he knew Harish was not likely to brook any debate on a decision he had already made. That afternoon, Rassal had a presentation for the company president, Madhur Bhaskar. He was the first to arrive. Seizing the moment, he asked him if he knew about the changes in the CEO’s department and Bhaskar said he had seen an e-mail that announced all the changes. But Bhaskar was disturbed that Rassal had not known about the changes. So, he called Harish and asked him to join them immediately, “before the others come in,” added Bhaskar. As Harish arrived, Bhaskar said, “Atul is senior management, what made you make this change?”Harish: Some things have come to my notice. I am not too pleased with what I am seeing.Rassal: What? This is new. I would have liked to see a note from you detailing what these things are! It is a question of the whole organisation! Madhur: Harish, it is always best to keep HR involved in hirings and firings. There are serious legal angles to avoid, my friend. If you feel unhappy with what has come to your notice, hand over the case to HR and allow them to investigate. That will be a fair thing to do.Harish: I have not done anything that is lacking in morals. Nor have I victimised anyone or done anything for personal gain. Kindly respect my decision and that I know what is good for the business. I am running the everyday management of Artemis. Surely I know... Harish was angry now; Rassal had not wanted things to come to this pass. Rassal: I am sorry you feel devalued because I question your move. Atul could be feeling devalued too and I am concerned for him, as he has been a) demoted and b) now also sacked.Harish: No! I have not sacked him. I have asked him to find another job .Madhur: You are playing with semantics, my dear chap. You have told him you don’t need him and he may want to know why, as much as I want to know too. Read Analysis By: A.V.K. MohanRead Analysis By: Y.V.Verma Then again, if you don’t involve HR, then, how are you going to manage the implications of this change? Everything requires change management. Especially when you make changes to structure. A lot of communication needs to be done, to both Atul and Ashwin as well as to the entire organisation. Rassal: A lot goes on behind the organisation chart, Harish. Jobs need description, reporting relationships have to be optimised, jobs cannot overlap, there also cannot be two masters for a given function. Jobs cannot be duplicated... And I will add, taking a unilateral decision without involving HR — a neutral party — has the risk of a bias. How does one know that Ashwin is better than Atul or the logic for making this change? Is it capability, is it to accomplish any strategy, is it to message to Atul to leave the organisation? HR has no axe to grind other than fair play. How will HR explain all this to a manager? Harish, I know how hard you work at the business and I never doubt your integrity, although my questioning you may seem like that. Think about this — you hired me so that the business acquires structure, shape, systems... if process is not followed by the CEO, then everyone will start making changes without a glance at propriety! Then, how do we ensure governance? Changes to structure should ideally be done by HR. Of course, you can recommend and we will check it for propriety...” Harish was not happy with this turn of events, but he agreed to go by the President’s judgement.When Harish left the room, Madhur looked at Rassal and said, “Don’t push too hard. Your response is a trifle aggressive. I do not suggest that approach. It has to be influencing, empowering. Don’t establish position or power. Rassal, CEOs get to have ego and one has to manage that tactfully, if the end objective is to establish fairness in the organisation. It is not about ‘who’, it is about ‘’what’’. The next day Harish’s secretary sent a note detailing the reasons for asking Atul to leave.He has not been dialoguing with team, tends to be unilateral in deciding. Has been alienating team members. His book keeping is sketchy; he has never shown any desire to set it right. His discussions with vendors and franchisees has been abrasive, authoritarian. Elfa Enterprises, for example, have felt very humiliated because Atul rejected their packaging, calling it tacky. Elfa has been in the market for 75 years!Rassal felt these were vague reasons and did not warrant sacking the head of supply chain. He then decided it was only fair to ask Atul to explain each of these. Atul presented his defence on each with concrete evidence on each — from mail threads, documentation, etc., to prove that Harish’s allegations were baseless, that Elfa’s quality was demeaning. Then Harish changed his tune. He said for a long time Atul had been appointing transporters and other vendors who were not evaluated but were personally known to him, many of whom were of suspicious backgrounds. This was a very serious allegation. “Harish, in that case we must document the allegations to show a) That such invitation to vendors was made with an ulterior motive and cunning; b) Was made at the instance of Atul; That he had sought to gain from such appointments; d) That, in fact, no evaluation of competitive quotes, etc., was done. This was when Harish lost his temper. “What is with you? You are suspecting my motives, are you not? Do you realise I am No. 2 in the organisation. You suspect me?”Rassal: No, I don’t suspect you nor am I casting any aspersions on your intentions. Harish, please understand; sometimes we perceive a criminal intention but, in fact, it may not be so. Whatever it be, we need proof to drive against the employee. If we do not have proof, we cannot do a thing. All I want is proof so that I have a decent script to speak to Atul. Rassal sent a mail to Madhur since he was away in London, to say that the case did not carry weight, that he did not see serious threats and hence not grounds for sacking a senior manager. The following day, Madhur called him. “Ok, there seems to be more than meets the eye. Harish has shared with me that the real reason is that Atul was involved in some financial misdemeanor, which cost us several crores. This is serious. Look, if it is morals, ethics, others can handle it. No problem. But if it is money, I don’t brook any nonsense. The choice is clear. Atul goes.” To be continued...Meera Seth(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 20-10-2014)
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