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www.theleadershipreview.orgVOL.1 ISSUE 11, November 2015

FEATURES

Middle East Waiting for a Leader

COLUMNINTERVIEWCatastrophe Investing

Profiting from DisasterThe Collaborative Leader

Vishal Dhupar MD, Asia South, NVIDIA

Panimara’s Foot Soldiers of Freedom

Anna Hazare

Tyaaga, Enlightened Self-Interest and Leadership

The TransformationOf

Ralegan Siddhi

The Leadership Review | November 2015 | 3

Editorial

This is the Deepawali month, a festival that calls for celebrating the riches, the abundance, the prosperity. Unlike Holi, here the riches do not get hidden behind colours. Diyas of ghee

are lighted. Houses are painted. New clothes are bought. Gifts are exchanged. Desire of prosperity is expressed. Goddess of riches, Lakshmi, is invited. Aspirations are expressed unabashedly.

In line with this sentiment, we bring to you the story of a leader who brought prosperity to Ralegan Siddhi, a village that was drowning in despair. It is the first part of a two-part series exploring Anna Hazare, the modern day Gandhian as an emotionally intelligent leader.

P Sainath, former rural affairs editor with The Hindu, has also contributed an inspiring story of leadership from a small village in Orissa where villagers took over the court in defiance of the British Raj. Then, we have an article which, through the prism of wisdom traditions of India, explores tyaaga and enlightened self-interest as very important facet of leadership.

Vishal Dhupar, MD, South Asia, NVIDIA, in an interview, tells us about his collaborative approach to leadership. Ambika Vishwanath explores the leadership of past and present in the Middle-East and highlights the leadership gaps that need to filled to transform the region. Last but not the least, Joe Hopper’s column this time calls for catastrophe investing!

Happy reading!

R Rajeshwar UpadhyayaEditor-in-Chief


Contents Emotional Intelligence

Anna HazareThe Tranformation of Ralegan Siddhi- Sharad Mathur

www.theleadershipreview.org

Vol.1 Issue 11, November

Editor-in-chiefR Rajeshwar Upadhyaya

Head - Operations Sharad Mathur

Sr Sub-EditorKameshwar Upadhyaya

Sub-EditorsAbiramiChristina BirdKausambi MajumdarPraticha DubeyPriyanka RaviRajShekharShreysi BoseSthitipragnya DashTanvi Juwale

Design & GraphicsChetan Dubey

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

20

Feature

08

Exception is the Norm


25

35

Insight

Middle EastWaiting for a

Leader- Ambika Vishwanath

25

Book Review

Executive Presence- Sthitipragyna Dash

- P Sainath

42

Wisdom Tradition


37

Contents

Column

News ......................................................................................................................06 Social Media Buzz................................................................................. 18Leadership Program Itinerary............................................. 29 Ponder This ................................................................................................... 41 Upcoming Events................................................................................... 46Events In Focus ....................................................................................... 47

Regulars

Catastrophe Investing Profiting from Disaster

- Joseph A Hopper31


InterviewThe Collaborative

LeaderVishal Dhupar, Managing Director,

Asia South, NVIDIA in conversation with The Leadership

Review team15

India’s first indigenous nuclear submarine gears up for maiden sea

Many Indian artists and scientists return awards in protest of alleged ‘climate of intolerance’Many leading artists and scientists have returned their honours to the government in protest of what they have condemned as “growing intolerance” in the country following the murder of a well-known scholar and lynching of a Muslim man. The artists and scientists have accused the administration of Narendra Modi, the prime minister, of stoking Hindu nationalism and curtailing freedom of expression. The protests have escalated as he prepares for a high-profile visit to London where he will hold meetings at Downing Street, attend lunch with the Queen at Buckingham Palace and address an estimated 70,000 expatriate Indians at Wembley Stadium.

Prime minister’s cabinet allies have condemned this mass return of awards as a politically orchestrated campaign to discredit the prime minister. Many have also questioned this protest asking if there was no intolerance in the country before the Modi government and why the award-returners did not take a stand then.

India’s first indigenous nuclear submarine, INS Arihant is now finally all set to make its maiden foray into the wide-open sea. The 6,000 tonne vessel, with an 83MW pressurised light-water reactor at its core for propulsion, is slated to begin its sea trials off Visakhapatnam within the next few days. Parrikar, accompanied by the Maharashtra chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis and the chief of naval staff, Admiral RK Dhowan, said that all the six Scorpene submarines being built at the Mazagon Dock in collaboration with French firm DCNS will be ready to serve the nation by 2020. INS Arihant, or the ‘annihilator of enemies’, and its two under-construction follow-on vessels are the critical missing link in the country’s long-standing pursuit to have an operational nuclear weapons triad — the capability to fire nuclear warheads from land, air and sea.

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US intensifies air strikes on ISIS while its allies slip away

Facebook CEO visits to woo IndiaDuring his two-day trip to India, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised a host of things, including initiatives to provide better broadband connectivity through drones. Zuckerberg met with prime minister Narendra Modi and pledged his support to the latter’s ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign. India could be the first country in which Facebook deploys drones to provide broadband connectivity in remote and inaccessible areas! Zuckerberg has proposed a pilot project to bridge the digital divide during his meeting with communications and information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. According to people familiar with the discussions, the minister sought Facebook as a partner in the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) programme, which aims to connect 2.5 lakh village panchayats through high-speed broadband by 2017. Taking forward Facebook’s interaction with the Modi government, initiated this July by its COO Sheryl Sandberg, Zuckerberg reiterated Facebook’s interest in working with the government on providing health and education services to the people. Facebook will help create the Clean India Mobile App, which will be launched soon. This will give a strong impetus to the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Facebook boss told Modi.

While United States has shown commitment to intensify its air strikes on ISIS targets in Syria, its allies in the Middle-East no longer appear active in the campaign. It is interesting because in the early phase of the campaign, fighter planes of Arab nations flew side by side the American planes and were lauded for their efforts. The images of first woman fighter pilots of UAE and Saudi Prince Khaled bin Salman were published in most of the leading newspapers of the world and columns were filled with accolades for them. However, now the military muscle of the Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Jordon is engaged on the Yemen front in their fight against the Iran backed Houthi rebels. As the United States enters a critical phase of the war in Syria, ordering Special Operations troops to support rebel forces and sending two dozen attack planes to Turkey, the entire operations looks dominated by American efforts. This is something the Obama administration had been trying to avoid since the withdrawal of forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Emotional Intelligence

Anna Hazare The Transformation of Ralegan Siddhi ( (This article is the part one of a two part series

(Part one of a two part series)

The Leadership Review | November 2015| 8

Sharad Mathur


Having driven for almost four hours, I reached the ground zero of veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare’s sphere of

influence – Ralegan Siddhi. It was around lunch time and I stopped at a dhaaba (roadside restaurant) in the village which had an all women management. Behind this dhaaba, I could see the village high school campus which housed a full-fledged computer lab and boasted of CCTV cameras in its classrooms. At a distance there was a branch of Bank of Maharashtra, an ATM booth and a post office. The village was covered in greenery and at every 20m or so I could see a water harvesting structure. And yet, all the roads in the village were squeaky clean, well paved in tar and I could not find any potholes. There were no cows squatting on the roads either. Instead, I saw some sedans and SUVs parked outside some houses.

This did not match the mental image of an Indian village that Bollywood movies, news reports, and documentary films had painted in my head. So, just to be sure, I asked my hostess if this was indeed Ralegan Siddhi. Serving missal-paav (a snack popular in Maharashtra) she nodded and pointed at the portrait of Anna Hazare hanging onthe wall and said “He did it.” Later during the day, when I met Anna Hazare in the Yadav Baba temple, I tried to find out how.

Making of the Man

Making of the Man

Born in a small village Bhingar, Anna Hazare was named Baburao by his parents. He, along with his six younger siblings, had a very humble upbringing. When he was nine years old, his family moved to their ancestral village Ralegan Siddhi where he would bring about a transformation and assume the title of Anna (translates to elder brother). But before that he went through many tumultuous experiences, which made him wiser than his years.

Since there was no primary school in Ralegan Siddhi then, he was taken to Mumbai by his maternal uncle. “I went to Mumbai for higher studies after class five. My family was not very well to do. But I had my mother’s sanskaars (roughly translates to morals),“ remembers Hazare. However, not an affluent man himself, his uncle could support his education only till class seven. After that young Hazare, had to sell flowers near the Dadar railway station to survive and support his family. With tremendous self-confidence and inner strength, he grew his flower business and in some years he had two flower shops.

Another example of his self-confident ways also comes from his days in Mumbai where he noticed a gang of goons forcing poor tenants out of rented rooms on behest of landlords. He decided to help the poor tenants and formed an action group consisting of local youngsters. He recalls, “We went to them peacefully and asked them to stop harassing the poor people who are but only looking to put food on their plates. But it did not work. That’s when we told them that we will not hesitate in responding to them in their own language of force.” For a young man with no political connections it was a brave move. But it worked and the poor tenants were left alone.

Then came the fateful year of 1962, the year of Indo-China war, and an 18-year-old Hazare was drafted during the emergency military recruitment drives, despite not meeting the physical requirements.

Making of the Mahatma

During his stint in the military, Baburao was posted in Sikkim, Jammu-Kashmir, Rajasthan, Assam, Mizoram, some of them conflict zones. He survived a sneak attack by Naga rebels while


“We went to them peacefully and asked them to stop harassing the poor people who are but only looking to put food on their plates. But it did not work. That’s when we told them that we will not hesitate in responding to them in their own language of force.” For a young man with no political connections it was a brave move. But it worked and the poor tenants were left alone.



all others in the vehicle succumbed. Having seen poverty, struggle, and now death, Hazare often found himself contemplating about the meaning of life. Not finding conclusive answers, even the thought of suicide crossed his mind. I believe he did not commit suicide because the thought of it had not come from dejection, but from one of the answers he considered, and this nihilist answer did not appeal to him because at the root of this contemplation was the pursuit of personally relevant and meaning objectives for his life. And soon, he found a meaningful objective for his life in Swami Vivekananda’s ideas collated in his book “Call to the Youth for Nation Building”. Hazare remembers, “At the New Delhi railway station, I got my hands on this book by Swami Vivekananda and it changed my life. I realised that the purpose of my life was to serve others.”

This resolve to serve was strengthened during the 1965 Indo-Pak war which proved to be a turning point in Hazare’s life. He pointed towards an injury mark above his right eye and told me, “In 1965, in Khemkaran sector, there was an air-attack in which all my unit members gave the supreme sacrifice but I survived only with a minor injury. I was gifted a new life. It was my punarjanma (reincarnation). So, I decided to dedicate it in the service of the society and the country. What better way was there for it than serving to reduce the suffering of its poor?” Naturally so; he already saw serving the poor as a worthy objective in his life. He was not alien to the fact that his emotional unrest was rooted in him not being able to defeat the poverty he witnessed while growing up. Life threatening incidences and the inspiring words of Vivekananda only made it much clearer to him.

He resolved not to get married because he believed that while taking care of the family, he would have little time for his new-found purpose in life. He is in his late seventies now, has not set foot in his ancestral house in the last 40 years. He lives in the Yadav Baba temple and his worldly possessions include bedding, a plate, and few cotton clothes. He embodies tyaaga.

Ralegan Siddhi: A Place in Dire Straits

Pre-1975 Ralegan Siddhi was a village suffering from the tribulations of modernity without actually experiencing any of its fruits.

Indiscriminate use of natural resources, soil depletion, water run-off and recurring draught were resulting in low agricultural produce. Now Digging of wells was of no recourse as there was no water even at the depths of 400m. With every failed crop, grip of poverty over the village tightened. Almost all the villagers were farmers and 70% of them lived below the poverty line. A village of farmers failed to meet even one-third of its food requirements. When people themselves did not have enough to eat, rearing the livestock was a distant proposition. Moneylenders were growing strong and poor farmers stuck in perpetually increasing debt, were losing their land.

The landless farmers had to resort to breaking quarry stones outside the village or migrate to the cities to work as daily wage labourers. Earning from both these sources was just not enough for the families which on an average had 7-8 members. That is when some villagers discovered illicit liquor trade as a lucrative career option. Soon there were 40 odd illicit liquor dens in Ralegan Siddhi. With these liquor dens came the problem of alcoholism, which brought about vandalism, street brawls, theft, and violence against women. Even in this gloomy scenario, untouchability was still being practiced in the village. Dalits (translates to downtrodden) were not allowed to draw water from the village well, were asked to sit separately at village meetings, and were the last ones to be served food.

There was a primary school in the village, which village children did not attend regularly. Cleanliness was absent from almost all parts of the village and diseases related to unsanitary conditions were prevalent. Infant mortality rate was very high and people had to take loan for hospital expenses. Daughters still needed to be wedded and it added to the mountain

He pointed towards an injury mark above his right eye and told me, “In 1965, in Khemkaran sector, there was an air-attack in which all my unit members gave the supreme sacrifice but I survived only with a minor injury. I was gifted a new life. It was my punarjanma (reincarnation). So, I decided to dedicate it in the service of the society and the country.”


of loan whose weight farmers were carrying. Government schemes were not reaching the poor and corruption was prevalent.

“When I was in the military, during holidays, I used to come back to village to see my village in dire straits. I used to spend most of the time at the devi’s (goddess’) temple outside the village. In those short trips I could not do much. Moreover, with no other source of income other than my military service, I did not want to become a burden on my family. So, I served from 1965 to 1975, till the time I became eligible for voluntary retirement with government pension,” says Hazare.

Return of the Prodigal Son

After retiring from the military, he returned to his village with his provident fund and gratuity money, a sum of Rs. 22,000. He did not go to his house. He went to the debilitated Yadav Baba temple and spent all his money on the renovation of the temple. “They saw me spending my own money on the temple and they were shocked. They were more shocked when I did not ask them for their money.” To a largely Hindu population of the village, this was an evidence of Hazare’s concern for the community and the sincerity of his dedication to contribute to the village. This moved the villagers, more so the elderly and religious.

The villagers started coming to the temple, which no longer looked like a haunted site. With villagers coming in, discussions around the village problems also started happening and the Yadav Baba temple started becoming the community center for the village. Since the villagers were poor could not help with money for the development of this new found community center but they wanted to help. Recognising, understanding, and appreciating how the villagers felt, Hazare

introduced the idea of shramdaan (donating of one’s labour or efforts) which would transform the village in coming years. More importantly, it was the beginning of a relationship that was characterised by trust and compassion. “They saw what I wore. What I ate. Where I lived. What I did. That’s how trust was inspired. Once they started trusting me, they were open to listening to me,” says Hazare.

The Wheel of Transformatio

Nashabandi (Alcohol Ban)

After he had established trust with the villagers, he first sought to faddress the problem of alcoholism and illicit liquor in the village. Without this, no reforms could be sustained. However, Hazare knew people engaged in illicit liquor trade because there was virtually no alternative available to them for earning their daily bread. Hazare knew it was not going to be an easy task. “People in their elements are selfish. One can talk to them about the samaaj (society), the country, and how we need to change them together but it is of no use. They are more interested in what is in it for them. They do not need the sermons of enlightenment. They need to know how to put food on their plate,” says Hazare. Demonstrating his understanding of this perspective and remaining respectful of the community’s feelings, Hazare urged them to give up the liquor trade with a promise of alternate livelihood. Tarun Mandal, originally constituting 25 dedicated young men, highly passionate about

“They saw me spending my own money on the temple and they were shocked. They were more shocked when I did not ask them for their money.” To a largely Hindu population of the village, this was an evidence of Hazare’s concern for the community and the sincerity of his dedication to contribute to the village.


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the work Hazare was doing, was instrumental in convincing the villagers. The agreement to stop the illicit liquor trade was made in the temple premises, thus giving it a religious sanctity. In next three months, most illicit liquor dens were closed. Those who opposed this were ‘convinced’ to toe the line by the community making Water available.

Making Water Available

Fulfilling his promise, Hazare helped the villagers get seasonal jobs in government’s rural development programmes and many of them were also inspired to join the army. However, to make this predominantly agrarian village prosperous, he knew it was vital to solve the problem of paucity of water. The first step towards it was construction of nalla bunds (open drains bunds), through shramdaan, which would stop the soil runoff and aid in water percolation. At the same time, a state government sponsored project was started in the village which included nalla bunding, contour bunding and land shaping for soil conservation. Like any government project, it was marred by corruption and lack of accountability. Resisting his impulse to complain or protest against the officials involved, he devised a unique solution to this problem in which emotions were running high. Villagers were desperate and situation could have escalated and impacted the project negatively. He mobilised the villagers to do shramdaan for the project to increase its efficiency and while at it, monitor the project to ensure that all the technical specifications were adhered to while constructing

tanks and bunds. And the same arrangement worked with the renovation of the percolation tank which was done with the zilla parishad (district council) officials. Now, the villagers were not the passive beneficiaries but were active participants in government projects. All the able-bodied villagers contributed one day of shramdaan every fortnight to plant trees and other community work. The frequency increased when the labour for government projects was required.

The ground water levels had increased but farmers could not afford to build wells in their fields. The solution to that was formation of cooperative societies in which a group of farmers with adjoining fields would dig a community well.

Since, Ralegan Siddhi is a draught prone area, draught occurred every two to three years, often consecutively. A big step towards ensuring sufficient water for irrigation, even during draught, was to lift water from the Kukadi canal which passed three km away from the village. It was not the first attempt at setting up a lift irrigation system on the Kukadi canal. Hundred such attempts had failed earlier. However, a hopeful and resilient Anna Hazare went about it anyway with a positive outlook. A cooperative society from the village Krishna Pani Purvatha Society took a loan from Bank of Maharashtra and villagers did shramdaan as with every development project. This worked because Hazare recognized the need for objectivity as emotions or personal bias can wreck havoc in collective efforts. He made it work by setting up

The Leadership Review | November 2015| 12 Back to the Content Page

a functional administrative system and enforcing the rules with transparency. The committee of directors for the cooperative changed every three years and accounts were presented in the Annual General Meeting. Water and electricity charges were fixed as per the government norms.

All payments were to be made to the bank directly. To avoid water wastage, farmers needed to state demand of water in advance and if they failed to do that, they had to pay double the rate.

Now since water was available even in the summers, farmers were able to get two crops every year and the income from one crop rose to Rs. 35,000-40,000 per acre from Rs. 10,000 per acre in the absence of lift canal. “In a village where people did not have food on their own plates, 200-250 trucks full of onion and fresh vegetables started going out to the market,” Hazare proudly tells me.

Social Reforms

Anna Hazare’s model of transformation, has essentially been driven with the philosophy of ‘one for all and all for one’. Setting up of grain banks which were the insurance against crop failure and draught ensured that no one in the village ever slept hungry or had to borrow money to buy food grains. He mobilised the villagers to contribute in cash and kind for building Sant Nilobaray Vidyalaya (high school) which focuses on character building, physical fitness, and religious morals along with academics. The school got recognition from the Zilla Parishad after a struggle which included Hazare sitting on fast until death. Education has helped improve the standard of living in the village as many young men have joined armed forces and other government functions.

Community toilets were built and villagers took it upon themselves to keep the village clean. The village health center began to function well with the support and involvement of the villagers. With better hygiene and medical facilities available, maternal mortality cases became extinct and infant mortality rate came down to 27.42 per 1000 live births, much lower than the national average.

Through the efforts of Tarun Mandal community marriages became a norm and dalits were brought in the mainstream. Hazare inspired the villagers to do shramdaan and build houses for dalits near the temple; they no longer lived in the outskirts. They were now the members of Tarun Mandal and gram panchayat. They participated in community marriages. They were the part of the team that would cook and serve the food in the village temple during community gatherings. Ralegan Siddhi was transformed.

(The next part of the series will focus on Anna Hazare’s fight against corruption, his activism, and the leadership he provided to the India Against Corruption movement).


Community toilets were built and villagers took it upon themselves to keep the village clean. The village health center began to function well with the support and involvement of the villagers. With better hygiene and medical facilities available, maternal mortality cases became extinct infant mortality rate came down to 27.42 per 1000 live births, much lower than the national average.


Interview

The Leadership Review | November 2015 |15

The Collaborative LeaderVishal Dhupar, MD, NVIDIA India in conversation

with The Leadership Review team.As the Managing Director of NVIDIA India, Vishal Dhupar has been pivotal in fostering key part-nerships with the ecosystem to accelerate the growth and adoption of GPU technology in India.


What was your mandate when you took over the reins of NVIDIA India?

I had a fairly straightforward mandate – to accelerate the business and to make NVIDIA gain a recall value within the Indian ecosystem. So, my first realisation was to make NVIDIA appear much bigger in a consolidated stand, away from its then distributed mode of functioning.

How did you do that?

The first thing we did was draw a big picture for everyone and ensure each team member understood his/her role, i.e. mutually exclusive and yet collaborative for the team to succeed. We ensured the communication among us increased substantially both via formal and informal platforms.

Was there some resistance to this in the beginning?

Every change at its core has its own set of resistances and this was no different for us. In fact, the resistance here was more implicit than explicit.

How did you overcome this?

As an exponent of change management, I do understand human behaviours, especially during major change surrounding them. It became imperative that I continuously speak to them about how this change is going to be better for them. More importantly, it will help them realise their aspirations of growth.

Our plans were created on a three-year horizon to expand the business of the organisation and at the same time ensure prosperity of each individual.

How did you drive your people to double the business in three years’ time?

With the team, together we decided that the acceleration of our business should outstrip the industry’s average growth of 8 or 10 percent. We decided that we should work towards doubling our business in 3 years. The boldness of our thinking, ability to challenge the status quo and the power of our action gave the team the confidence that our business could accelerate and give us planned growth. This indeed became our driving force.

After these three years, how did you ensure that this new way of doing things becomes institutionalised in the DNA of the way you work?

I went to each line of the business, understood their nuances, and communicated that together we need to dream bigger and achieve success where we have no fear of failure. Our longer journey is built on tangible milestones which act as factors of success that demonstrate our performance is moving in the right direction. We are committed to excel as a team at an unprecedented pace.

What was your go-to market strategy?

NVIDIA is at the right place; at the right time. The 3 most important drivers for IT adoption in India are: large young population, thriving middle class, and adoption of technology. This provides us a huge platform of over 160 million people which are a direct target market for us. Thus our strategy has always been based on coverage of the market, awareness among the user, and focussing on partnerships.

Was there any part of the business that didn’t succeed as much as you had planned?

It’s interesting that you are asking such a question, in fact, our plans on gaming didn’t pan out as originally visualised. Gaming in India was treated as a taboo. Thus Indian parents discouraged children to indulge in digital games. In view of this, our strategy was to position our products for both education and gaming needs. However, the results were a shadow of our plans. Having realised that we were not making headway, we as a team took a pause and introspected the reasons for slow growth. Having understood the root-cause of the challenge, we applied international learning to our local problem and course corrected us to ensure that we were back in

As an exponent of change management, I do understand human behaviours, especially during major change surrounding them. It became imperative that I continuously speak to them about how this change is going to be better for them. More importantly, it will help them realise their aspirations of growth.

The Leadership Review | November 2015| 16 Back to the Content Page

the rhythm.

How did you identify and prioritise opportunities in India?

NVIDIA has always looked at solving computing challenges from the lens of visual computing.

We apply the following three paradigms while undertaking any challenge: Is this a visual computing problem? Is this a hard problem that can bring joy to the user of this technology? Can the solutions to these problems be monetised in the long run?

Can you give me an example of it?

Mobile gaming is a classic example to this question on how we take the gamer from a playing on desktop to playing on TV from their couch to playing on their handhelds while on the move. This is a classical visual computing problem that technology companies struggle to resolve on account of the latency challenge in this kind of application. This is where NVIDIA excels and makes a huge impact on the needs off a gamer who wishes to enjoy gaming experience on the device of their choice through the day.

You said you focus on building partnerships as a part of your strategy. How did you create a network of partners?

The main ingredient of growth is partnership. We believe in our partners and work with them to synergise to their competencies. All our programs are designed to create a win-win situation for the partner and us together. Our partners enjoy working with us as it accelerates their business and helps them to provide greater value to their customer base.

What did you do to strengthen these partnerships?

Our first attempt was to understand our partners. We did this by putting ourselves in their shoes and contemplated on ‘WIFM’ – what’s in for me? Thereby, we created a joint work value proposition, where partners could gain stickiness via solutions and services built on our technology.

Which skills have been crucial in the way you have led NVIDIA in India?

I’m a firm believer that everybody in a

leadership position should don two hats, one of a manager and the other of a coach. In addition, every phase of your life gives you subtle life experiences and lessons which are imperative to learn from and incorporate in the way you lead. For example, while I manage

the business by numbers and metrics, I coach people by creating an open environment in which one can discuss, share, learn and therefore implement this knowledge and prosper.

What comprises successful behaviour at NVIDIA?

As a team here, we are extremely focussed. With the opportunities that are available, our charter is to basically stay committed, listen a lot, nurture our relationships, be accountable, be willing to challenge the status quo and we take more steps to move towards our journey of the bigger picture.


I’m a firm believer that everybody in a leadership position should don two hats, one of a manager and the other of a coach. In addition, every phase of your life gives you subtle life experiences and lessons which are imperative to learn from and incorporate in the way you lead.


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#MarchForIndia, which was organised to highlight that India is tolerant, saw a sea of people turning out in its

support. It however, did not remain untouched by

controversy.


Insight

A few years ago I was on a panel moderated by a former foreign minister of Sweden. After the panel

session was over, he invited me and another panel member for tea, and the three of us walked to a coffee shop nearby. The other panel member was at that time a serving member of parliament from an African country and I was in esteemed company. During tea, over discussions where I gained much knowledge from two veterans of the political space, we promised to meet the next day at the train station to catch a train to the airport and our next destinations. As promised, I found the two men waiting for me at the train station and we travelled together in second class to the airport and then parted ways.

What was most remarkable about my time with them, apart from the conversation and all that I learnt, was that I could never have imagined this happening in many parts of the world, where I would travel by train with a serving MP and a former minister, unescorted and unencumbered. Such occurrences are not unusual in Europe or other developed nations and even in many countries in Africa, but they certainly are in many parts of the world, including India, most of the Middle East or the Gulf nations. It is the humility of leaders such as these, who have transformed their countries, and created political spaces where elected and appointed officials serve their nation without expecting that the nation serves them. The state of nations around the

Ambika Vishwanath


Middle East Waiting for a Leader



world indicates that countries with men and women such as these fare higher on all political and social indices, than countries where politicians and government servants expect to be revered.

Decisive Leadership of Sadat and BeginIn 1978-79, three such diverse and strong willed heads of state came together and created a legacy that has withstood severe tests. They were President Sadat of Egypt, Prime Minister Begin of Israel and U.S. President Carter; together they worked on the famous Camp David Accords, which lead to a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. At war since 1948, the treaty in a nutshell, resulted in withdrawal of Israeli troops from Sinai and normalisation of relations between the two countries. The treaty has survived subsequent changes in leadership in both countries, harsh criticism from their neighbours, terrorist attacks and an assassination, internal threats and a revolution. Agreed upon by two men who were far from perfect, the treaty nevertheless depicts the will of leaders who demonstrated vision and courage.

Clarity of vision and courage are perhaps some of the most important traits of a leader, especially one who wishes to change the course of life, be it their own or their surroundings. History is replete with such transformational leaders, from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King, from Anwar Sadat to Nelson Mandela and Kemal Attaturk to Pope Francis. Many were

not leaders in the traditional sense but they all demonstrated core attributes of what broadly defines a transformational leader. Leadership theories tell us that a truly transformation leader is one who moves from creating an inspiring vision for the future, clearly articulates such a vision and builds strong relationships with people around them to deliver the vision. They do not merely dictate what needs to be done but involve those around them in the process.

People also need the courage to follow through on their vision, wisdom to be

able to overcome any and all obstacles, and most importantly the willingness and ability to grow other leaders around them. Such attributes or character traits are what separate good leaders from the truly transformational ones. Perhaps the men I named would have all failed against such high benchmarks, but their lasting legacies tell us otherwise. Though admittedly the jury is still out on Pope Francis, but I am hopeful.

In 1978, President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin, despite their vast differences and an ocean of religious beliefs that separated them, decided that working with President Carter and taking the first difficult step towards peace in the Middle East was worth the effort. Sadat paid for those efforts with his life. Today, the greater Middle East region is in a state that these men would never have imagined. Not only is there terrorism and violence like never before, the region has refugees growing by the millions, history that is being destroyed


In 1978-79, three such diverse and strong willed heads of state came together and created a legacy that has withstood severe tests. They were President Sadat of Egypt, Prime Minister Begin of Israel and U.S. President Carter; together they worked on the famous Camp David Accords, which lead to a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. At war since 1948, the treaty in a nutshell, resulted in withdrawal of Israeli troops from Sinai and normalisation of relations between the two countries.


as I write, a culture that will soon cease to exist, and a host of political leaders that

have become adept at the blame game. The governments in the region, both Arab and others, have failed to build societies based on freedom, good governance and respect for human dignity. They have allowed mistrust and hatred to grow, where any positive overture is seen with a negative lens.

Reccep Erdogan – A Promising Leader Who Fell ShortIn 2002, an enigmatic new leader with a grand vision swept the elections in Turkey and the newly formed Justice and Development Party or the AK Party formed the government. This enigmatic new leader entered the political space with a clear new dream of a resurgent Turkey, one that would lead the region and be a force to reckon with. For a country ridden with corruption and power-hungry elite, Reccep Erdogan and his band of wise was a welcome change. He quickly blurred the lines between the establishment and the people, and focused on real development including education, water, and energy. Slowly but surely, corruption across the country was weeded out, the economy grew at over 10-14% well into his second term in office, the neglected

rural parts of the country were brought into the mainstream and the world began wooing Turkey. He advocated religious freedom as a personal choice and it seemed that he had managed to find the perfect balance between a predominantly Islamic nation that was secular and a republic. What is noteworthy is that he did not do all of this alone, he empowered governors and mayors, gave power to his ministers and advisors so that collectively they could transform the country. The advisors around him and the wise men and women who gave into to his vision were from across different spectres, where Erdogan and the other co-founders of the AK Party realised the value of having perspectives from all spheres. In Turkey, on several occasions, I have been in the company of serving high ranking government servants and elected officials, who move about in public transportation without an entourage and serve their country with dignity and humility.

For almost a decade, Erdogan and the top leadership of AK Party were heralded as the force that would transform not only Turkey and its relationship with its neighbours, but the entire region as well. Other Islamic nations attempted to recreate the magic of the AK Party and bring in similar principles into their system of governance. There was new hope that old problems could be solved and new relationships in the region would erase old hate. But unfortunately, the trappings of power began to overcome the then Prime Minister of Turkey and he began to behave like a dictator. Civil liberties were curbed and the media was silenced. The old guard and sincere advisors from the party began leaving and were replaced by yes men. The enigmatic leader and the party began losing the idealism it started out with, taking away the hope it once promised. Erdogan had shifted from a transformational leader to a transactional one.

Hassan al-Banna and Failings of the Muslim BrotherhoodLeadership that transforms and brings about real change is difficult to sustain, and great belief and strength is required to stay true to ones original vision. This is true for leaders that we may or may not agree


For a country ridden with corruption and power-hungry elite, Reccep Erdogan and his band of wise was a welcome change. He quickly blurred the lines between the establishment and the people, and focused on real development including education, water, and energy.


with. One of the great change makers in the modern Middle East was Hassan al-Banna, the founder of Muslim Brotherhood. While adding him to the list of transformational leaders might seem controversial, he was undoubtedly a visionary and leader to millions in pre-independent Egypt. Founded in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood was his vision of a religious society based on justice and equality as defined by the Quran, and protection of the average Egyptian from foreign dominance and the tyranny of the royalty. He advocated the creation of inclusive social systems, schools, hospitals and other institutions that were not provided by the state and succeeded in bringing millions into the Brotherhood. The organisation grew rapidly, and in less than two decades had over two million members. He effectively used pre-existing social networks and groups to spread his messages, tackling issues of colonialism and nationalism, the need for public health and sanitation, better management of resources and nature and social inequality. Though al-Banna was ultimately murdered in 1949, he has been a great influence on modern Islamic thought and the growth of the Muslim Brotherhood. However, it seems that the principles that al-Banna founded the Brotherhood on have been lost and the organisation has failed to produce another great leader and visionary. Today, it is embroiled in violence and infraction and has moved far away from the justice and hope it once gave millions.

There is much to learn from the failures of those who have walked before us, and even those whom we might not always agree with. There is also much to learn from the mistakes of great leaders and the collapse of organisations.

Middle East – Waiting for a LeaderThe region needs risk-takers and visionaries, communicators and courageous leaders who will bring people together for a better future. The transformation of the Middle East as a region and as individual countries can only happen with brave new leaders, men and women who have the courage to battle the odds and take the first steps towards change. These are not necessarily the heads of states or revolutionaries, but people like Prince Hassan of Jordan, who for years has

advocated for a better future. He has gone beyond mere messages of social justice, a green economy and an equal society, and is attempting to translate his vision into concrete action with the creation of strong institutes and organisations in his own country. There is hope that the new leadership in Iran and Egypt, the royal families of Qatar and the UAE who have tentatively embraced change, may lead the way in a different style of rule and law in their countries, one that is inclusive and genuinely benefits their citizens and societies.

Transformational leaders and change makers cannot act alone and need the support of the people around them. Had the Egyptian President had greater support in his country and in the region following the peace treaty with Israel, the Middle East might have taken a very different turn. Just as societies need change makers and visionaries, it also needs people to support these men and women who are the risk-takers.

There is no shortage of ideas and dreams in the Middle East, especially with the harsh realities and violence of today, and there is no dearth of great men and women who try everyday to change the course of their lives and their surroundings. But for these men and women to rise above and become great leaders, who can change the course of history, they need a little more vision and a lot more courage, and a generous amount of humility. A tall order perhaps, but not impossible, as history has shown us. Only then will countries in the Middle East be truly transformed into great societies that last across generations.

Ambika Vishwanath is a Middle East specialist and an independent consultant working with governments in Europe and the Middle East.


Founded in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood was his vision of a religious society based on justice and equality as defined by the Quran, and protection of the average Egyptian from foreign dominance and the tyranny of the royalty.




Exception is the norm - P Sainath

When poor Odiya villagers took over and tried to run the Sambalpur court

T h e s t a m b h o r p i l l a r h o n o u r i n g t h e 3 2 ‘o f f i c i a l l y r e c o r d e d ’ f r e e d o m f i g h t e r s o f P a n i m a r a .

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Take back all these petitions and tear them up,” said Chamaru. “They are not valid. This court will not entertain them.”

He was really beginning to enjoy being a magistrate.

It was August 1942 and the country was in ferment. The court in Sambalpur certainly was. Chamaru Parida and his comrades had just captured it. Chamaru had declared himself the judge. Jitendra Pradhan was his orderly. Purnachandra Pradhan had opted to be a peshkar or court clerk.

The capture of the court was part of their contribution to the Quit India movement.

“These petitions are addressed to the Raj,”

Chamaru told the astonished gathering at the court. “We live in free India. If you want these cases considered, take them back. Re-do your petitions. Address them to Mahatma Gandhi and we’ll give them due attention.”

Sixty years later, almost to the day, Chamaru still tells the story with delight. He is now 91 years old and Jitendra, 81, is seated beside him. Purnachandra, though, is no more. They still live in Panimara village in Odisha’s Bargarh district. At the height of the freedom struggle, this village sent a surprising number of its sons and daughters to battle. The records show that in 1942 alone, 32 people from here went to prison. Seven of them are still alive, including Chamaru and Jitendra.

At one point, nearly every family here had sent out a satyagrahi. It was a village that vexed the Raj. Its unity seemed unshakeable and its determination grew to be legendary.

Those confronting the Raj were poor, unlettered peasants and smallholders struggling to make ends meet. Most remain that way.

Never mind that the history books make almost no mention of them. Or that they might even be forgotten in most of Odisha itself. In Bargarh, this is still Freedom Village. Very few, if anygained personally from their struggle. Certainly not in terms of rewards, posts or careers. But they took the risk. These were

people who fought for India’s Independence.

These were the foot soldiers of freedom, barefoot ones at that. Nobody here ever had shoes to wear, anyway.

“The police in the court were baffled,” chuckles Chamaru. “They were not quite sure about what to do. When they tried arresting us, I said, ‘I am the magistrate. You take orders from me. If you are Indians, obey me. If you are British, go back to your own country’.”

The police then went to the real magistrate who was in his residence that day. “The magistrate refused to sign orders for our arrest because the police had no names on the warrants,” says Jitendra Pradhan. “The police returned and sought our names. We refused to tell them who we were,” he added.

A bewildered police squad went to the collector of Sambalpur. He, apparently finding the farce

S e a t e d l e f t t o r i g h t D a y a n i d h i N a y a k , 8 1 , C h a m u r u P a r i d a , 9 1 , J i t e n d r a P r a d h a n , 8 1 , a n d ( b e h i n d ) M u d a n B h a i , 8 0 , f o u r o f s e v e n f r e e d o m

f i g h t e r s o f P a n i m a r a v i l l a g e s t i l l a l i v e .

The police then went to the real magistrate who was in his residence that day. “The magistrate refused to sign orders for our arrest because the police had no names on the warrants,” says Jitendra Pradhan. “The police returned and sought our names. We refused to tell them who we were,” he added.

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tiring, told them to simply put in some names and call the fellows A, B and C and fill in the forms accordingly. So the police did that, and they were arrested as criminals A, B and C.

It remained a trying day for the police though. “At the prison,” laughs Chamaru, “the warden would not accept us. An argument raged between him and the police. The warden asked them: ‘Do you think I am stupid? What will happen if these fellows escape or abscond tomorrow? Will I report that A, B and C have escaped? A fine idiot I would look, doing that’. He was adamant.”

After hours of haggling, the police got prison security to accept the men. “It was when we were produced before the court that the farce reached its peak,” says Jitendra. “The embarrassed orderly had to shout ‘A, haazir ho! B, haazir ho! C, haazir ho!’ (A, B and C, present yourselves). And the court then dealt with us.”

The system avenged itself for the embarrassment. They were given six months rigorous imprisonment and sent to a prison for

criminals. “Normally, they would have sent us to those places where they held their political prisoners,” says Chamaru. “But this was the height of agitation. And anyway, the police were always cruel and vindictive,” he informs.

“There was no bridge across the Mahanadi those days. They had to take us in a boat. They knew we had courted arrest and had no intentions of escaping. Yet, they tied our hands and we were tied to each other. If the boat had capsized – and such things happened frequently – we stood no chance. We would all have died.”

“The police went after our families, too. Once, I was in jail and had also been sentenced to a fine of Rs. 30 (A huge sum in a time when they earned two annas worth of grain working the whole day: PS). They went to collect the fine from my mother. ‘Pay or he’ll get a bigger sentence’,” they warned.

“My mother said: ‘He’s not my son; he’s the son of this village. He cares more for this village than for me’. They still pressed her. She said, ’All the youth of this village are my sons. Will I pay for all those in jail?’” says Chamaru.

The police were frustrated. “They said: `Well, give us something we can show as a seizure. A sickle or something’. She simply said: `We don’t have a sickle’. And she began to collect gobar pani and told them she intended cleaning the place where they were standing so as to purify it. Would they please leave?” They did.

* * *

While the courtroom farce was on, Squad Two of Panimara’s satyagrahis got busy. “Our task was to capture the Sambalpur market and destroy British goods,” says Dayanidhi Nayak. “He is Chamaru’s nephew and I looked up to him for leadership. My mother died in childbirth and I was brought up by Chamaru.”

Dayanidhi himself was just about 11 when he had the first of his run-ins with the Raj. By 1942, at 21, he was practically a seasoned fighter. Now at 81, Dayanidhi recalls every detail of those days with clarity.

“There was tremendous anti-British feeling. The attempts by the Raj to intimidate us made it stronger. They had their armed troops

A t t h e t e m p l e , t h e l a s t f i g h t e r s i n P a n i r a m a .

“There was no bridge across the Mahanadi those days. They had to take us in a boat. They knew we had courted arrest and had no intentions of escaping. Yet, they tied our hands and we were tied to each other. If the boat had capsized – and such things happened frequently – we stood no chance. We would all have died.”

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surround the village more than once, and conduct flag marches. Just to scare us. It didn’t work,” he remembers.

The anti-Raj feeling cut across all lines, from landless workers to school teachers. The teachers were with the movement. They did not resign, they just didn’t work. And they had a great excuse. They said: `How can we give them our resignations? We don’t recognise the British’. So they went on, not working!

“We were an even more cut-off village in those days. Because of arrests and crackdowns, Congress activists didn’t come for some days. That meant we had no news of the outside world. That’s how it was in August 1942.” So, the village sent out people to learn about what was going on. “That’s how this phase of action began. I was with Squad Two,” he adds.

All five people in the group were very young. First, they went to Congressman Fakira Behera’s house in Sambalpur where they were given flowers and an arm band saying ’Do or Die’. The group then marched to the marketplace with lots of school children and others running alongside.

“At the marketplace, we read out the Quit India call. There were over 30 armed police personnel who arrested us the moment we read the call.

“Here, too, there was confusion and they immediately let some of us go,” he laughs.

Why?

“Oh well, it was ridiculous for them to arrest and tie up 11-year-olds. So those of us who were under 12, were let off. But two little ones, Jugeshwar Jena and Inderjeet Pradhan, would not leave. They wanted to remain with the group and had to be persuaded to go. The rest of us were sent to Bargarh jail. Dibya Sunder Sahu, Prabhakara Sahu and I went on to serve nine months there,” says Dayanidhi.

* * *

Madan Bhoi, 80, still sings a fine song in a clear voice. “It’s the song that the third group from our village sang as we marched to the Congress office in Sambalpur.” The British had sealed that office citing seditious activity.

Squad Three’s aim was to liberate the sealed Congress office.

“My parents had died while I was very young. The uncle and aunt I lived with didn’t care much for me. They grew alarmed when I attended Congress meetings. When I tried to join the satyagrahis, they locked me in a room. I pretended to repent and reform. They let me out. I went to the fields as if to work, with

my hoe, basket and the rest. From the fields I went off to the Bargarh satyagraha,” He joined 13 others from the village there, ready for the march to Sambalpur. Bhoi didn’t even have a shirt of any kind, let alone khadi. Though Gandhi had been arrested on August 9, news of it reached this village days later. That was when this plan of sending three or four squads of protestors out to Sambalpur came up.

“The first batch had been arrested on August 22. We were arrested on August 23. The policedid not even take us to court fearing the kind of embarrassment they’d been subjected to by Chamaru and his friends. We were never allowed to reach the Congress office. We went straight to jail,” says Bhoi.

Panimara was now notorious. “We were widely known,” says Bhoi with some pride, “as the badmash gaon (rogue village).”

(This article originally appeared in The Hindu Sunday Magazine on October 20, 2002. We have published it with permission. For more stories by P Sainath, please visit www.ruralindiaonline.org.)

P Sainath is the Founding Editor of People’s Archive of Rural India and former Rural Affairs Editor of The Hindu. He won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in the year 2007.


“The first batch had been arrested on August 22. We were arrested on August 23. The police did not even take us to court fearing the kind of embarrassment they’d been subjected to by Chamaru and his friends. We were never allowed to reach the Congress office. We went straight to jail”.


Lead

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Strategies November 16 to 18 November, 2015

ISB, Hyderabad Campus

This programme on digital marketing will equip the participants with tools and techniques to do a SWOT analysis of their organisation’s digital marketing strategy to come up with an improved strategy. It is specifically targeted at professionals and leaders in the marketing and strategy domain. It will also be appropriate for professionals involved in executing digital marketing and are responsible for identifying new digital initiatives for their organisation. This would include those seeking insights, trends and strategies to grow.

The programme fee is Rs. 85,000. For further details contact [email protected].

Global Securities MarketNovember 17 to 19 November, 2015

IIM, Bangalore

The idea of this programme is to expose the participants to different aspects of the markets and products that are traded in the markets as well as expose them to market functioning and inter-linkages that exist. It commences with a broad overview of Financial Markets, Institutions and Instruments in order to ensure that participants are brought to the same knowledge plane to facilitate easier absorption of subsequent concepts and issues. This programme covers the entire gamut of securities products and the structural aspects of the markets in which such securities are traded. It shall also cover the structure of modern securities markets, details of the trading mechanism in such markets as well as the mechanics of information flow in the financial markets.

The programme fee is Rs. 65,000. For further details contact [email protected].

The Leadership Review | November 2015|29 Back to the Content Page

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Competitive StrategyNovember 18 to November 20, 2015

INSEAD, Fontainebleau

This intensive three-day programme that will equip participants with practical knowledge, along with new skills and tools, to turn strategic ideas into actions for their business. By examining the best practices of some of the world’s most successful

The key benefits from the programme are improving strategic thinking, focusing on actions, sharpening of competitive skills, confidence to change the strategic management of an organisation, fine-tuning intuition and applying practical tools to break into new competitive markets. Participants will learn the latest strategic concepts and tools, seek to change the way they manage by blending rigorous strategic logic with a ‘view from the trenches’, and network with a diverse and dynamic group of international peers.

The programme fee is €6,750. For further details contact [email protected].

Mergers, Acquisitions and RestructuringDecember 14 to 19 December, 2015

IIM, Ahmadabad

This programme is designed for top management personnel who are responsible for charting company growth strategies and senior executives with identified roles in strategy formulation and implementation, business development and finance. The target participants may have business unit, corporate or group level responsibilities.

In the Mergers, Acquisitions, and Restructuring (MAR) programme, the participants will acquire a repertoire of proven management strategies and financial analysis skills to lead the MAR function in trying times. Through a series of real-life examples, they will learn to identify, plan, and successfully execute corporate mergers and restructuring. They will get a clearer idea of the methods for creating value through acquisitions.

The programme fee is Rs. 1,00,000. For further details contact [email protected].

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Joseph A Hopper

Joseph A Hopper

Column

Catastrophe Investing

Profiting from DisastersBack to the Content Page


On a chilly morning in mid-September, a news blurb made the rounds. It claimed that pollution levels from Volkswagen

cars registered higher on the road than in laboratory emissions tests. At first glance, this seemed like just another run-of-the-mill recall incident. VW shares were down about 6%, not really enough to deserve a second glance.

Yet over the next couple of weeks, all hell broke loose. Shares (in this case the American Depository Receipt listed on the NYSE) fell 40% to settle around $23 (from $38, the day the EPA notice came out). At this price, VW was trading at fire sale prices! What a great opportunity to grab shares, an investor might wonder. But many questions remained; how much will the fine turn out to be? How will management defend their actions? They had accepted guilt, which seemed like a good sign. But could other brands and models also be affected? VW has about $35b in cash and sports marquee brands like Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini, Ducati, Maserati, SCANIA and others. Even in a worst-case scenario like liquidation, would the individual brands fetch more than this? Will customers ever forgive them? And given that VW is such a large employer in Germany with 600,000 odd employees, will the government go out of their way to support the company?

Could Volkswagen redeem itself?

Exploiting Companies in their Hourof Need?

It would be fiendish to view any crisis (whether natural or human-induced) with anything other than a deep sense of sadness and loss. But in the financial world, catastrophes

are neither to be resented nor revered. They must be accepted exactly as they are.

Once we cross this mental hurdle, we quickly begin discover that catastrophes often represent

the best time to invest. The same forces that make it seem like ‘the ship is sinking’ are in fact what makes it so prudent to take bold bets.

“The best thing that happens to us is when a great company gets into temporary trouble…We want to buy them when they’re on the operating table.”

- Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway

Recessions, tragedies, revolutions and the like result in immense loss of life, property and livelihood. Such extreme events bring about a sense of sadness in the air, muffling all sounds of laughter and silencing any views of optimism. You may have experienced this feeling when the World Trade Towers were brought down in 2001, when Southeast Asia was hit by a rogue tsunami in 2006, or when a powerful quake devastated Japan in 2012. While such events are taking place, it seemed like nothing will ever be the same again. And it won’t, especially for the ones who are directly affected.

Post destruction, the human spirit yearns to resurrect, to rebuild. Some participate directly, by sending aid and relief. But it is not just the physical and human infrastructure that has been devastated. Financial institutions and markets, once solid and secure, lie badly shaken. Trust is nowhere to be found. Without a solid financial backbone, no broader economic recovery can ever take shape.

One key way to participate in the effort of rebuilding is by purchasing the financial securities of the most-hit regions, sectors and companies.

Extreme events bring about a sense of sadness in the air, muffling all sounds of laughter and silencing any views of optimism. You may have experienced this feeling when the World Trade Towers were brought down in 2001, when Southeast Asia was hit by a rogue tsunami in 2006, or when a powerful quake devastated Japan in 2012.

Vo l u n t e e r s p a i n t i n g C o m m u n i t y C e n t e r a f t e r t h e d e s t r u c t u v e e a r t h q u a ke i n J a p a n

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A show of solidarity not only contributes to overall stability but also signals support to others waiting on the sidelines. Investments at precisely the right time can turn the tide of sentiment and bring other participants back into the market just as support is needed. “When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.”- John F. Kennedy Given enough critical votes of support, the markets and economy can indeed be resurrected. Most of the upside of this ‘future resurrection’ however, tends to get captured shortly thereafter. Take for example the Japan quake of 2011 and the World Trade Tower tragedy of 2001 (see graphs below). Almost all the loss in the respective index was recovered within one month of the disaster even though the actual recovery took many years:

A show of solidarity not only contributes to overall stability but also signals support to others waiting on the sidelines. Investments at precisely the right time can turn the tide of sentiment and bring other participants back into the market just as support is needed.

“When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” - John F. Kennedy

Given enough critical votes of support, the markets and economy can indeed be resurrected. Most of the upside of this ‘future resurrection’ however, tends to get captured shortly thereafter. Take for example the Japan quake of 2011 and the World Trade

Tower tragedy of 2001 (see graphs above). Almost all the loss in the respective index was recovered within one month of the disaster even though the actual recovery took many years.

According to efficient market theorists, this window of opportunity (however brief) should never exist. After all, markets like the Japanese Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange are broad and deep. They feature many participating investors and traders who are both knowledgeable and sharp enough to spot such opportunities.

As per this well-established theory, financial markets tend to reward investors strictly based on their willingness to bear risk. If you wish to generate higher returns you must



necessarily take on higher volatility. With this risk comes the likelihood of losses. If you are strong enough to withstand taking losses again and again, financial markets will eventually reward you with a commensurate increase in your overall portfolio’s return.

In other words, systematically generating higher-than-average returns for a given level of risk should not actually be possible. Not only is the individual investor betting directly against the best brains in the industry, they are also pitted against comprehensive algorithms and artificial intelligence embedded into programs that trade securities based on selective triggers.

Hence, an investor must possess at least one advantage over others to earn higher returns in the market. But ordinary investors rarely ever enjoy an informational advantage (faster access to data that others), nor can they hope to compete against the sheer computational power of supercomputers running algorithms designed by PhDs. The common man simply doesn’t stand a chance.

But an individual investor can train herself to command a psychological edge. The emerging field of Behavioral Finance acknowledges that indeed, most investors are rational and therefore financial markets are efficient most of the time. But in extreme circumstances, investors tend to over-react. This gets amplified in catastrophes where fear spreads like contagion from one to the other, thereby creating opportunities to generate exceptional returns.

“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.” - Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway

A similar tendency to over-react occurs in scandals and company-specific catastrophes. Some immediately come to mind such as Satyam (2009), Nestle (Maggi, 2015), Financial Technologies (NSEL scandal, 2013), Lehman Brothers (2008) and Enron (2001) in the US, British Petroleum (Oil Spill, 2010) in the UK, and Volkswagen (2015) in Germany, and many others in all parts of the world. Not every incident is an opportunity, but some surely were. Below is a table of stock returns for each of the above over various horizons.

Note that 12-month returns for the survivors are far superior (on average) to ordinary market returns. Of

course, this table also illustrates the level of short-term volatility that an individual investor must be prepared to stomach. A sceptical mind would tend to question why intelligent and savvy financial institutions are willing to wait in the wings, permitting individual investors to profit from such windows of opportunity.

Even though financial institutions and investment management outfits are driven by profit, they are ultimately run by people. In times of crisis, it can seem much more important to save one’s neck and not look bad, rather than dispassionately assessing the situation and taking what seems to be the logical decision. Everyone is fearful of looking bad when his portfolio contains a Satyam or a Nestle or an Enron.

A l l r e t u r n s , w h e r e m e n t i o n e d , a r e c o m p u t e d f r o m t h e p o i n t j u s t a f t e r t h e i n i t i a l d r o p . I n s o m e c a s e s , t h e i n i t i a l d r o p t o o k a f e w w e e k s t o f u l l y m a n i f e s t .

1 S a t y a m m e r g e d w i t h Te c h M a h i n d r a t o f o r m M a h i n d r a S a t y a m

2 F S S A I n o t i f i e d N e s t l e t o r e m o v e M a g g i f r o m s h e l v e s o n J u n e 8 t h , 2 0 1 5 . T h e r e t u r n s a r e c a l c u l a t e d w i t h r e s p e c t t o ( w r t ) t h a t d a t e .

Company Initial D op 1-month returns 3-month returns

12-month returns

Satyam -88% 100% 95% 365%

Nestle2 -21% 10% 7% Too early to know

Financial -78% -10% 11% 63%

Lehman Brothers

-92% -100% -100% -100%

Enron -5% -7% -28% -65%

British Petroleum

-55% 32% 30% 52%

Even though financial institutions and investment management outfits are driven by profit, they are ultimately run by people. In times of crisis, it can seem much more important to save one’s neck and not look bad, rather than dispassionately assessing the situation and taking what seems to be the logical decision. Everyone is fearful of looking bad when his portfolio contains a Satyam or a Nestle or an Enron.



If word gets out, heads turn in the hallways and chatter follows. Clients demand explanations, and the situation can turn ugly. Investment managers prefer to retain popular stocks in their portfolio (whereby returns will surely remain average) rather than stick out their necks to vouch for something unpopular and scandal-ridden. Ergo, it’s an opportunity for individual investors.

Avoiding Lost Causes

If you find yourself contemplating investment in a crisis-stricken company, first try to gauge the odds of losing everything though total bankruptcy. This could occur because of ballooning costs related to the tragedy, or due to customers abandoning the brand altogether. But most often it relates to regulatory/political fallout. This binary “zero-or-one” kind of prediction determines the bulk of the risk you assume by investing.

In other words, try to assess the degree to which the interests of all stakeholders are aligned towards a speedy recovery. This includes customers, employees, management, suppliers, shareholders, bondholders, regulators and civic bodies. Each stakeholder has his own unique motivations and driving forces. Lose sight of these at your peril!

On one end of this spectrum are the natural calamities which affect businesses adversely. It’s no one’s fault that a hurricane hit a town with an oil

refinery, thereby impairing inventory and stalling operations for many weeks. Nor is anyone to blame when an earthquake strikes a steel factory, causing very expensive maintenance downtime. Even when such events are not insured against, it is not uncommon for the local town, state or even central government to provide re-development aid or low-cost loans. It’s easy to see that the interests of all stakeholders are aligned. There will be a few quarters of reduced production and consequently sales, but over time, things will return to normal. BP oil spill (somewhat debatable) falls under this.

The other end of this spectrum might be a situation like falsifying records, siphoning off cash, or lying about permits, etc. In such a case, the regulatory authority might decide that the world would be better off without such a company, and will do everything in its power to obliterate it. Financial Technologies underwent such a treatment from 2012 to 2014 where it was systematically demolished. If any one key stakeholder truly wants the company gone, its chances of survival are indeed dim. Enron, Financial Technologies, and Lehman fall under this. An exception is Satyam where there was indisputable fraud yet which was bailed out through an acquisition.

Here, good judgment must come into play. Uber, for example, has been needling regulators for years, and has accumulated a remarkable track record of sidestepping them. One tactic is to temporarily subsidise cab fare, winning customer goodwill and

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applying the political pressure right back. Then again, these same aggrieved regulators may strike at a moment of weakness or some future downturn in consumer sentiments towards the company.

Deciphering Borderline Cases

For catastrophes in between these two extremes, there is a fair chance that the company may survive. For such situations, an investor must estimate the extent to which such a company will regain its former glory. If the catastrophe is not severe enough, the company bounces right back to where it started from.

It may take the form of:

● Too-big-to-fail players or institutions (Citibank)● Big brands with plenty of customer goodwill (Nestle)● Economic stalwarts whose collapse would rippleback devastatingly through their supply chains (with luck, Volkswagen)

Ironically, the crisis may even serve to jolt the management out of complacency, and suddenly begin to take tough decisions that they might otherwise have avoided. Examples include selling non-core assets, cutting wasteful costs and reaching out to fresh customers. Hence, the disruptive nature of the crisis can serve to unlock significant shareholder value that might otherwise never be realised.

Avoiding Pi� alls

Try to minimise your risks in such circumstances by watching out for common mistakes like:

● Investing more than you can safely afford to lose● Recovery costs may escalate manifold (Exxoncleanup)● Consumer pushback may spread unexpectedly toother brands/product lines● Forced selling can take place when a market crashtrips margin calls and squeezes short positions, irrespective of the price● Investing in industries that you do not clearlyunderstand. Someone with little knowledge of the financial sector, for example, would do well to steer clear of bank shares no matter how tempting the crisis● Later disclosures may prove things to be muchworse than originally anticipated (Satyam)

A “barbell strategy” is prudent, wherein you invest the bulk of your portfolio in highly liquid and less

risky assets like treasury bonds and index funds. Then you can feel confident taking calculated bets with your discretionary funds in hopes of earning outsized returns, while preserving the bulk of your capital.

In Summary

An individual investor will do well to patiently wait for the right catastrophe. Not only will they help stabilise markets and rebuild, but also potentially reap disproportionate profits. But remember, there will be a lot of discomfort during the initial months after the catastrophe - the price of the shares may gyrate massively.

The key is to be alert until you spot one that fits the bill, and remain patient during the recovery period.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. It has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Past performance is not indicative of future potential, and any changes in underlying assumptions may have a material effect on investment results. Hence do not rely on this information to make a financial or investment decision. Neither the authors nor publishers of The Leadership Review Magazine accept any liability for any error or omission on this web site or for any resulting loss or damage suffered by the recipient or any other person.

Joseph A Hopper is Director-India at the Theory of Constraints Institute and Dean at Sunstone Business School, India’s largest management certification for technology professionals. He has co-authored this article with Aniket Khera who is a co-founder of Willow Investment Management, LLC, a New York based boutique asset management firm specialising in investing in listed securities in India. He also teaches Finance and Economics related courses at Sunstone Business School and is an active early-stage investor.

Ironically, the crisis may even serve to jolt the management out of complacency, and suddenly begin to take tough decisions that they might otherwise have avoided. Examples include selling non-core assets, cutting wasteful costs and reaching out to fresh customers. Hence, the disruptive nature of the crisis can serve to unlock significant shareholder value that might otherwise never be realised.



Sharad MathurWisdom Tradition



Vajra, the mythical weapon of the god-king Indra is one of the most potent weapons described in the Hindu mythology. It has been depicted in

the Puranas as a weapon that is indestructible like a diamond and destructive like a thunderbolt. Both of these are not the reasons why it finds its place on the Param Vir Chakra, the highest military decoration of India. It gets inscribed on the Param Vir Chakra because it symbolises valour and self-sacrifice for a greater cause.

According to the legend, asura (roughly translated to demon) King Vritra had a divine boon which gave him immunity against any weapon made of wood or metal. With all the powerful heavenly weapons of little threat to him, he easily captured the devaloka (heavens) and ousted Indra, the king of devas (gods). He did not stop at that and captured all the water in the world, to scorch out every possible threat to his eternal reign of the devaloka. Losing all hope of regaining heaven, the gods, led by Indra, went to

seek lord Vishnu’s help who directed them to sage Dadhichi from whose bones alone could a weapon be forged which could kill Vritra. This is where it got interesting, as Indra had earlier be-headed Dadhichi because the latter had taught Brahmvidya (skill of reviving dead people) to Ashwini Kumar twins,

the doctors of the gods. Even though Dadhichi was brought back to life by the Ashwini Kumars, Indra was hesitant to ask for the bones of the man he had once be-headed. To his surprise though, Dadhichi heard him calmly and agreed to give up his life to save the creation. He, through a yogic exercise, released the life force from his body and the gods fashioned multiple weapons from his body, including the Vajra. It was carved out of Dadhichi’s spine. Where else could they find the potency of a weapon like Vajra!

Through the valour and self-sacrifice of Dadhichi, Indra defeated Vritra and good triumphed over evil. He left the physical world, attained Moksha (state of being one with the God) and inspired the Param Vir Chakra.

The Idea of Tyaaga

Dadhichi did not think twice before giving up his life to help Indra, the one who had previously beheaded him. Why would anyone do that? What was in it for him?

I would argue that the ‘what was in it for him’ is a wrong question as the worldview in which this myth originated was not an individualistic world-view with a primacy of self. In traditionally agrarian societies, collectivist sentiment has always been a survival mechanism. Sacrificing one’s own immediate gratification for the greater good of the group has been an expected behaviour. If your neighbour’s field is flooded this year, you will give a share from your produce. This is your accident insurance policy in case next year your field gets flooded. You know for sure it will be flooded, scorched or raided in the foreseeable future. You have no control over the rains, the sun, the winds, the fire and some of them find their place in the pantheon of your gods. You can pray to Indra, Odin, Zeus, Surya, Apollo, Ra, Ameterasu and the others, but you can count only on your Samaj, a group of people with tacit agreement to back each other, when the going gets tough. And for you to be able to count on your Samaj, you have to at times prioritise the collective interest above your own. At times you have to sacrifice your interest for the greater good as you are but a part of the whole. This is the spirit of tyaaga.

The Tradition of Indian Asceticism and Leadership

When Gandhi returned to India in the year 1915, many powerful and influential individuals from the Indian National Congress were already providing leadership to the Indian freedom movement. And yet, by 1920


If your neighbour’s field is flooded this year, you will give a share from your produce. This is your accident insurance policy in case next year your field gets flooded. You have no control over the rains, the sun, the winds, the fire and some of them find their place in the pantheon of your gods. You can pray to Indra, Odin, Zeus, Surya, Apollo, Ra, Ameterasu and the others, but you can count only on your Samaj, a group of people with tacit agreement to back each other, when the going gets tough.


he had become the face of the Indian freedom movement with a mass support that heavyweights like Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Moti Lal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, Jawaharlal Nehru, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel could never garner. What explains this?

For starters, Gandhi did not talk about swarajya, He talked about Ram-rajya. He did not have an office, he had an ashram. He did not wear a silk kurta, he wore a cotton dhoti. He renounced worldly possessions to help his people. This act of renouncing, his tyaaga, transformed him from being a Jan-Neta (mass leader) to a Mahatma (sage). And a Mahatma was to be followed. A long tradition of Indian ascetics consisting of Buddha, Mahavira, Sankara, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Dayananda Saraswati, and Vivekananda demanded so.

Even today, the image of Mahatma and the idea of tyaaga still find resonance among the Indian masses. Greatest of minds in the country needed a septuagenarian who operates out of a temple in Ralegan Siddhi to get the masses involved in the greatest anti-corruption struggle India has ever seen. It was Anna Hazare who got the popular support behind India Against Corruption movement. In an interview with me, Anna Hazare listed tyaaga as one of the core aspects of Indian leadership. He said, “When you want to grow a crop, you need to give the mother earth some seed grains first.”

Tyaaga and Enlightened Self-Interest

It is not pragmatic for every leader to live the life of renunciation like Gandhi or Hazare did, or make the ultimate sacrifice like Dadhichi. What can we do?

The first part of the chapter 18 of Srimad Bhagwad Gita explores the idea of tyaaga in practice. Krishna describes three types of tyaagas to Arjuna – tamasika tyaaga, rajasika tyaaga, and sattvika tyaaga. The first two are where one renounces the worldly affairs for ignorance and fear of strain respectively. Krishna explains the third one, satvika tyaaga, in the Verse nine of this chapter as performing of one’s action with a sense of duty without an attachment to the fruits one would receive. It stands for ignoring immediate gratification and doing the right thing which is for the greater good. It is the awareness that your self-interest is eventually located in the interest of the samaaj or society you live in. This is the spirit of enlightened self-interest and is not so difficult to practice, or is it?

What is Enlightened Self-Interest?

Merriam Webster dictionary defines enlightened self-interest as “behaviour based on awareness that what is in the public interest is eventually in the interest of all individuals and groups”. However, to practice enlightened self-interest, it is important to see it differently from philanthropy which the same dictionary defines as “the practice of giving money and time to help make life better for other people”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his recent address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) invoked Gandhi to transform all the international partnerships in the spirit of enlightened self-interest. He slipped a little there, for the quote he attributed to Gandhi – “One must care about the world one will not see” – was actually Bertrand Russel’s. However, in no uncertain terms he reiterated India’s position vis-a-vis financial help the developed world should provide towards development and environment issues to the developing world. The rationale is simple, in his words, “As we see now, distance is no insulation from challenges. And, they can rise from the shadows of conflict and privations from distant lands.” The message was loud and clear; you must help us not because you are rich philanthropic noble men but because helping us is in your own long term interest.

Philanthropy has a sense of grandiosity, as it is a giver-centric activity where the one who ‘gives’ is the bigger man. It comes from the Greek word philanthropia which means love, kindness, and benevolence to the mankind, from great men and gods. On the other hand, when you are acting in enlightened self-interest, you are not doing it for anyone else, but yourself.

Practicing Enlig tened Self Interest

In today’s post-industrialised era, where threats of global warming, global economic meltdown, and global terrorism loom large, working with a sense of enlightened self-interest is fast becoming an imperative for the global leaders. Developed


Gandhi did not talk about swarajya, He talked about Ram-rajya. He did not have an office, he had an ashram. He did not wear a silk kurta, he wore a cotton dhoti. He renounced worldly possessions to help his people. This act of renouncing, his tyaaga, transformed him from being a Jan-Neta (mass leader) to a Mahatma (sage).


European nations, led by Germany, have granted safe and legal access to 64,193 Syrian refugees via the UNHCR programmes for resettlement and other forms of admission. German chancellor Angela Merkel has received a lot of flak for this but making this tough decision of taking in the refugees is in the enlightened self-interest of these European nations. Yes, it will be a burden in the short run but will prove

to be an asset in the long run, given the aging population in these countries. Leaders can shape the industry they operate in by acting in

the spirit of enlightened self-interest. French oil and gas giant Total, headquartered in France, redefined the norms of the energy sector because it is in their enlightened self-interest. When major players like BP are winding up their renewable energy businesses after investing billions of dollars with virtually no return, Total has invested heavily in the renewable energy

players like SunPower and Amyris. At best, it will help them reap the fruits if these renewable energy companies do well without having to actually dabble in the renewable business. At worst they will lose money. But they have shown the way to the other super-rich oil and gas majors to go about renewable energy business and have given humanity another chance when it will run out of fossil fuel.

Sergey Brin of Google endorsed the Project Loon at Google X Laboratories because it was the right thing to do and let its revenue model evolve over the period of time. This project is helping remote and rural areas of the world to access internet by creating a network of balloons travelling high up in the atmosphere, which will transmit internet signal to a special antenna attached to the buildings below. More people on the internet will mean more potential users for Google, which ultimately will mean more revenue.

Leaders can act in enlightened self-interest while growing their organisations. Filip Vandenbergh, managing director of Atlas Copco India Limited, tried to accept all the invitations his employees extended to him. Being approachable and participating in his employees’ family events helped him understand the very people he had to lead in a foreign country. Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments, gave a great raise to his employees by giving up 90% of his salary. Common sense dictates that his any time soon. Ricardo Semlar, after inheriting Brazilian manufacturing major Semco, focused on empowering the workers to decide their work hours and pay levels. His idea of participative management set his company on a path to double digit growth for 14 straight years. Jamsetji Tata, the Founder of the Tata group, and his sons Dorabji and Ratanji donated much of their personal wealth to the trusts they created for they felt responsible for the greater good of India and its people. Today, 66% of Tata Group shares are controlled by these trusts and by the virtue of this, 66% of all the profits that Tata Group companies post is spent on social welfare. This is why brand Tata enjoys goodwill like no other Indian or multi-national organisation in India.


French oil and gas giant Total, headquartered in France, redefined the norms of the energy sector because it is in their enlightened self-interest. When major players like BP are winding up their renewable energy businesses after investing billions of dollars with virtually no return, Total has invested heavily in the renewable energy players like SunPower and Amyris.

J a m s e t j i Ta t a


Pond

er Th

is If you don’t build your dream, somebody else will hire you to help them build theirs.

Dhirubhai Ambani

The strong live and the weak die. There is some bloodshed, and out of it emerges a much leaner industry, which tends to survive.

Ratan Tata

We call it infectious impatience. That’s his hallmark and we are trying to inculcate it in the entire organisation. Infectious impatience. So that things not only get done but get done in double quick time.

Mukesh Ambani

When people can see which direction the leaders are going in, it becomes easier to motivate them.

Lakshmi Mittal

Identify new opportunities by focusing on the weak signals. Amplifying these signals and leveraging the opportunities that emerge from them offer businesses the ability to continuously reinvent themselves. This is what I call the Next Practice.

Shiv Nadar

Be passionate and bold. Always keep learning. You stop doing useful things if you don’t learn. So the last part to me is the key, especially if you have had some initial success. It becomes even more critical that you have the learning ‘bit’ always switched on.

Satya Nadella

The immaterial life force of an organisation, as distinct from all its material resources, is their strategy. I believe most organisations fail because a less-than-vital strategy inside them makes them susceptible to the inimical conditions outside them.

Rajiv Bajaj

I think a leader has many roles to play. So, you know, one role is that of incubating talent; the other is that of being a strategist. It’s a very interesting job I’ve got.

Kumar Mangalam Birla

The Gita has taught me to be courageous, and to take on challenges and face them upfront.

Ajay Piramal

If I were to attribute any single reason to such success as I have achieved, I would say that success would not have been possible without a sustained belief that what I did or attempted to do would serve the needs and interests of our country and our people and that I was a trustee of such interests.

JRD Tata


Book Review Sthitip agya Dash

mExecutive PresenceThe Missing Link Between Merit and Success


Executive Presence is a combination of qualities that communicate what one is in charge of or deserves to be. It isn’t about how one performs

but is a measure of image: how much one is able to signal to others that he/she is a star material. Sylvia Hewlett’s book “Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Merit and Success” outlines how one can build a personal brand that makes a compelling impact. From the findings of a Center for Talent (CTI) study she led, involving 4,000 college-educated professionals and 268 senior executives from 14 different sectors in the USA, Hewlett concludes that to excel one needs gravitas (how you act), communication (how you speak), and your appearance (how you look). These three combined constitute your Executive Presence. Though we are brilliant at achieving targets, we fail

to recognise the power of Executive Presence which accounts for 30% of the reasons why we get a job or a promotion. Hewlett’s findings suggest that women ascribe more importance to performance at the cost of the image, which often hinders them from being considered as leadership material. This is despite examples of great women leaders like Christane Lagarde, Indira Gandhi, Hillary Clinton, Benazeer Bhutto, Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook) and Angelina Jolie, who command tremendous Executive Presence.

She argues that making brilliant presentations, meeting deadlines or achieving targets are just not enough. Executive Presence is needed for one to get ahead no matter which profession they belong to,


whether she is a musician, an economist, a CEO, a politician or an actor. It can help convert hard earned merit into rewards and career progression.

The book is populated with a plethora of anecdotes and true stories and imparts practical advice. Hewlett has tabulated the blunders that might hamper one’s Executive Presence and has suggested practical doable tactics to help one succeed.

Gravitas

Out of the three universal dimensions of Executive Presence, gravitas is the most important aspect. Hewlett writes, “Without it, you simply won’t be perceived as a leader, no matter what your title or level of authority, no matter how well you dress or speak. Gravitas is what signals to the world you’re made of the right stuff and can be entrusted with serious responsibility”. The top six aspects of gravitas picked by senior executives in the survey are:

• Confidence, poise and grace under fi e: Hewlett defines it as self-confidence which enables you to stay calm in high-pressure situations, an attribute that is highly valued by leaders. This allows you to maintain your credibility under high pressure situations.

• Being forceful and tough/ Showing decisiveness/Showing teeth: This is being assertive with your decisions, not bending down, being forceful and stern, and making bold decisions.

• Integrity and speaking the truth: Having the abilityto speak the truth and maintain high levels of honesty is highly valued amongst leaders.

• Emotional intelligence: Emotional intelligence hasbecome an increasingly valuable trait since businesses are becoming global and diverse. Working with diverse set of customers, motivating and inspiring them can only be done by stepping in their shoes, making Emotional Intelligence vital.

• Reputation and standing: Holding a good reputationand commanding respect by virtue of one’s presence and performance is an integral and important part of your gravitas.

• Vision and charisma: A vision which can besubstantiated with a lot of data, in other words a measured vision is what people are looking for.

The topmost pick is confidence and grace under fire, handling extreme pressure. Definitely not an easy trait

to learn but Hewlett argues, “You can fake it until you make it.” Hewlett says we want leaders who can keep their promises, keep their cool, show compassion and courage in making the tough calls and can handle high pressure situations.

During her study, most respondents felt Nelson Mandela was one world leader with immense levels of gravitas. He was seen as the one with extraordinary force of vision and in his journey, he had earned an amazing ability to understand the power of symbolism, which helped him connect with others on a very personal level. His retaining of the white Afrikaners employed by the previous apartheid regime is an example of such symbolism. It was the first step to turn South Africa into a rainbow nation.

Results of Hewlett’s study indicated that women are at a disadvantage while showing teeth or authority. A man may be considered to be a strong leader while doing so but when a woman does the same, she is seen as either too bossy or a bitch. Hewlett says that women often deal very well with this disadvantage by sugar coating their toughness. She advises that women should not respond to this disadvantage by muting their opinions but deal with it by using their charm, warmth and even humor.

The newly prized trait, as Hewlett calls it, is the Emotional Intelligence where men fall behind women.

Hewlett gives a list of blunders which goes completely against one’s gravitas.

• Sexual impropriety is one blunder that would getyou written off.

• Being distant in a bubble or being profoundlyinsensitive to people around will definitely damages your gravitas.

• Having an inflated ego and being a bully gets youout.

• Making fun of one’s color or racial insensitivity jokesis a big gravitas killer.

Nelson Mandela was seen as the one with extraordinary force of vision and in his journey, he had earned an amazing ability to understand the power of symbolism, which helped him connect with others on a very personal level. His retaining of the white Afrikaners employed by the previous apartheid regime is an example of such symbolism. It was the first step to turn South Africa into a rainbow nation.


• Lying and covering up will also destroy yourgravitas.

Hewlett suggests that showing humility and confidence and surrounding yourself by people whose skills you don’t possess, will help you enhance your gravitas.

Communication

Hewlett argues that no matter whether you’re a junior or a senior, you are always in the process of presenting and performing. She says communication is often times the ice breaker. It is the way in. In order to be heard in this fast moving world where attention spans are short, it is very important to be brisk with our communication. She says, “Whether it’s a quick email to your boss or a casual comment you make to a colleague in the hallway, you’re conveying who you are and what authority is your due.” The ability to discard notes and speak as if it were a mini TED talk enhances the impact of what you have to say. Communicating in an extemporaneous way, adding elements of being concise and compelling also add great value.

The study results suggest that women find it harder to be extemporaneous as compared to men. But women are great in the manner of telling stories, revealing a part of their own vulnerabilities which impacts greatly as they connect much better to their audiences.

The top communication traits identified by the senior executives in the study are as follows:

• Concise, compelling speaking style: Withshort attention spans, the ability to speak extemporaneously and being to the point is a must.

• Ability to command a room by establishing

an eye contact with the people: Commanding a room or a space can be achieved by being attentive and through eye contact with every single individual in the room.

• Ensuring forcefulness and asserti eness:Knowing the arch of what you are saying, using the method of story-telling and revealing a part of yourself so as to help others relate with you is a great way of communicating.

• Sense of humor: Ability to banter to captivatethe attention spans of the audiences is valuable too.

• Body language and posture: It is thebackground of what you speak. A stooped shoulder and shabby body language will hamper the way one communicates.

She also recommends being conscious of how you express yourself: rid yourself of the Australian question intonation where you end declarative sentences on a higher note and avoid verbal tics like saying ’you know’. She cites her own example of how she swapped her Welsh accent for a BBC world service style voice. She advocates voice modulation techniques to control the shrillness of tone. Her research shows that women and men with optimally pleasing voices win over best jobs and earn best salaries. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, is an example of how to communicate effectively in her TED talk, which is one of the most watched TED talks. Sharing personal examples, relatable stories exuded a sense of connect with the audiences.

Following are the communication blunders one needs to guard against:

• Constant device checking, whether phonesor gadgets is considered to be extremely discourteous.

• Breathlessness and trembling while speaking isconsidered to be very negative.

• Crying, rambling and being redundant issomething that makes your communication banal.

• Lack of voice modulations and high pitchedshrill voices upset the audience. Keeping an obvious control on the voice is very important to be heard.


Hewlett argues that no matter whether you’re a junior or a senior, you are always in the process of presenting and performing. She says communication is often times the ice breaker. It is the way in. In order to be heard in this fast moving world where attention spans are short, it is very important to be brisk with our communication. She says, “Whether it’s a quick email to your boss or a casual comment you make to a colleague in the hallway, you’re conveying who you are and what authority is your due.”


• Over reliance on notes and props creates abarrier between you and the audience while communicating.

• Foot tapping and doodling or fidgeting is seen asa very negative trait.

• Failure to establish proper eye contact is a bigblunder while communicating.

Hewlett suggests that being extemporaneous, doing away with power point slides and notes, establishing eye contact and using stories will grab the attention of the audience. “Stories, not bullet points, are what grab and hold an audience... They give a human face to the hard facts,” she says.

Appearance

Hewlett in her research finds that appearance is valued a lot less by professionals as compared to gravitas and communication. From their responses, something that stood out was that they look out for

how fit one looks. In this new age culture of long working hours and demanding scenes, the ability to withstand stress and climb stairs without puffing and panting is valued greatly.

The top Appearance traits are as follows:

• Grooming and polished: Being appropriate inthe way you appear by sensing the culture in the organisation is essential as it creates an impression of the image that you carry.

• Toned and fi : To look like one who can take thepressure and show resilience in this demanding work climate is valued greatly by leaders. Showing the resilience, exhibiting that you can take hardships is highly valued.

• Sophisti ated clothing and flai : Dressing inaccordance to the code which the job demands and being in sync with the work environment is very essential.

• Youthful and vigorous appearance: Being goodlooking and having a good appearance is important but not as much compared to the above listed traits. Interestingly, her survey respondents listed a lot more look based blunders for the women as compared to that of men. If there is excess makeup or too little make up, bitten nails or grey roots; it all hampers their image with their bosses. For men, a toupee is a terrible thing but they still get away with

being more bedraggled. Hewlett says that casual

work culture is far trickier for women to navigate than the formal.

Interestingly, her survey respondents listed a lot more look based blunders for the women as compared to that of men. If there is excess makeup or too little make up, bitten nails or grey roots; it all hampers their image with their bosses. For men, a toupee is a terrible thing but they still get away with being more bedraggled. Hewlett says that casual work culture is far trickier for women to navigate than the formal. “In the ad industry and Silicon Valley, everyone says they don’t care about dress codes, but it’s not true. There’s a way to look like a rock star — and it is very male,” she says. “In Silicon Valley, that look for men is like you spent 10 hours last night at a hackathon. But the nerdy, hoodie, slumpy thing doesn’t work well for women.” She points to Facebook investor meetings before its IPO, where Mark Zuckerberg wore a hoodie and Sheryl Sandberg a suit.


Hewlett suggests that being extemporaneous, doing away with power point slides and notes, establishing eye contact and using stories will grab the attention of the audience. “Stories, not bullet points, are what grab and hold an audience... They give a human face to the hard facts,” she says.



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The event was attended by over 300 individuals comprising of representatives of top corporate houses, senior IPS, IRS and IAS officers, and a community of passionate veterans. Parag Agarwal began the day by briefing the audience about what Ideas on India is, how it started and where it aspires to go in the future. Vinod Tawde, Minister of Education, Government of Maharashtra, in his keynote address stated that it was important for schools to go beyond books and impart education that was relevant. This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Maroof Raza, with the minister and two top security professionals of India, Mr. Pramoud Rao, MD, Zicom and Mr. Gautam Goradia, MD, Com-Sur who deliberated on emerging education patterns and dilated on safety and security of children in schools. The panelists argued that aptitude and skills deserve as much importance as books and exams and children need to be evaluated on the basis of their overall personality, not question and answers alone.

H.E. Lt. Gen A.K. Singh, the Lt. Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry, emphasised the crucial importance and role of the Indian Army in India’s policy framework and strategic architecture and commended it for its role in nation building. Dileep Padgaonkar, the renowned journalist, reiterated that India will have to draw down from her history and reinvent herself to establish her place alongside the world’s super powers while the very popular strategic expert Maroof Raza roared that India will have to elbow and nudge her way to the top of the pile, instead of just waiting for the honour to be bestowed upon her. TLR’s Editor-in-Chief, Rajeshwar Upadhyaya, gave a fascinating insight into the Indian thought process and a world view in shaping the Idea of India. Earlier, Tobby Simon in a very analytical and lucid speech had cautioned everyone on the crucial need for cyber awareness to protect India. The indomitable Arnab Goswami delivered a passionate speech on the role of the media. Out of the box thinking and the ability to walk down uncharted territories was the only way forward, felt Raghu Raman, the former CEO of NATGRID and current President - Risk, Security & New Ventures, RIL.

Ideas on IndiaP a n e l d i s c u s s i o n w i t h V i n o d Tw a d e , P r a m o u d R a o a n d G a u t a m G o r a d i a

m o d e r a t e d b y M a r o o f R a z a


The Leadership Review | November 2015|| 48

Seminar on Tax Deducted At Source Under Income Tax Act, 1961 (TDS)

The seminar on tax deducted at source under Income Tax Act, 1961 was conducted by the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Mumbai. The seminar focused on sections 194 and 195 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The primary objective was to widen the scope of knowledge of the participants on various key aspects such as direction remuneration, commission, royalty and rent TDS on capital asset. The focus further extended to making the participants aware about the effects of violation of such provisions in order to minimise hardships arising from defaults.

The seminar on Venture Capital and Private Equity Opportunity for SMEs was conducted by SME Development Chamber of India on the October 30, 2015 at the Peninsula Grand Hotel in Mumbai. The event gave a complete overview of the various kinds of investment opportunities available for small and medium and enterprises starting from angel funding, venture capital to private equity funding. As the session progressed, insights about legal and regulatory issues for raising PE funds, viable business plans to attract private equity investment, the future role of VC in the industrial and manufacturing sector, what to look for in your VC and streamlining finance for SMEs, driving India economic growth through entrepreneurship and the role of VC/PE for transforming SMEs into emerging corporate were shared. Towards the second half, Chandrakant Salunkhe, Founder and President, SME Chamber of India, spoke about his team’s constant endeavours to support the country’s startup sector. Towards the end, various participants belonging to different SMEs were given an opportunity to pitch their products and services to VCs and PE fund managers for funding and investment purposes.

Venture Capital and Private Equity Opportunity for SMEs

P a n e l i s t s r e l e a s i n g T D S i n f o r m a t i o n b o o k l e t a t t h e e v e n t


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