What is success and what makes you successful….

The achievers of big things and successes in life are not seen early. It takes time for the shine to show. Maybe it takes 20+ years, after a formal educational is completed. The complex achievements in life, work and science & technology, are a result of many things beyond academics. Academic success is hinges on who teaches you, how much interest you have in the subject, how you study for the exams and how much additional coaching you took.

However there is some bigger dimension that is linked to this topic of success that one normally misses out.

Each person is successful in his own way considering the background he comes from and the challenges he has to overcome. Measuring success is difficult. It could mean different levels of achievements for different people. Also, success cannot be measured basis one parameter. It could mean getting achieving academic excellence, public acclaim, wealth generated, people and communities served, scientific or engineering breakthroughs achieved, major sporting achievements, lives improved, skills transferred, and major problems overcome – personal or otherwise.

Having said that, still let us list and number the aspects that help you make really big achievements like …..

1. Achievements in life happen when you overcome multiple difficulties beyond your control. These challenges could be basic like accomplishing day to day work tasks, facing monetary issues, and issues connected with your family. Moreover, you have to be in the right place at the right time as they say. You need to be where the action is. A lot depends on the opportunities you get. .

2. One has to realize that success needs intelligent & smart work, not just hard work, good networking, political diplomacy, handling failures, managing people, associating with the right organizations and within that being with the correct people for your success, who need not be the best people around.

3.Important also is ethics, demeanor, honesty, the desire to serve the community and keeping aside personal gains and power capture. Being conscientious and morally right is certainly a great trait. All this is knowing that we are living in an imperfect world hit by wrong people and a not so honest world.

Lets analyze the core issues that develop the qualities mentioned in the above 3 points.

Point 1 characteristics are definitely connected with your luck and stars, e.g. where you were born, were your parents well educated, did you get the right schooling and good teachers, even motivation and words of advice from near and dear ones (seniors). This generally will lead to an above average success in whatever you do. Generally, a large portion, ( approx. 60 percent) of achievers have the privilege of these characteristics.

Point 2 characteristics include items like timely guidance and tips from experts to help you choose a correct path /a well-planned career . Your personality helps you sail through difficult situations, team building abilities and in maintaining good interpersonal relationships. Your mental frame of mind is absolutely important to tackle problems which are not connected with the crux of your work. All these come in as a help/ guidance from others. Approx. 30 percent of achievers fall in this category, but they achieve far better things than those in 1.

Point 3: No book, coach or website will ever teach you the last point 3 . The last point 3 is the most important aspect for success of major and long term achievements. These attributes shape your approach to life and even your thinking and efforts. Where do they get built or developed? Here is where we go back to our school and school days where the influence of great people shapes your mind- say over 10 years between the age period 8-18. This shaping lasts the longest though done much earlier on. Who is responsible for these- the values imbibed in you? They are your teachers, your parents, your friend circle, a great neighborhood and your extended family members — all of whom could have been great human beings. Not your books, nor your academic achievements contribute here. With these attributes even the good can become extraordinary. These are the qualities in you that helped you in a much longer term to produce something extraordinary, such as creating a great business organization or running a big nation properly or in creating a Sachin Tendulkar. Mind you, we are not talking of monetary success only. Only 5-10 percent people fall in this category, but they achieve something really outstanding. These achievers have perhaps all the attributes of 1 & 2 but luckily had the added support of point 3. They were mentored excellently.

This point 3 also sums up why there are great doctors who work without the intention of money and those doctors and others promote a highly lucrative medical business charging exorbitant amounts. This also is the reason why competent and intelligent government officers choose to fight or to ignore the corruption around them. It also results in those joining the armed forces for serving the nation and those seeking to be a part of a corrupted work environment.

This also tells the exact reason why seemingly simple and “average” school pass outs succeed extensively many years later in life. Actually, these are the type 3 achievers. They need not have been the best, but turnout to be the best. They seemed average then, but had been groomed differently when they were much younger.

All said and done, in all 3 cases, success is not completely dependent on your own abilities. It also involves the abilities of some other people you met. In case you have not been very successful, don’t regret anything. ( India’s 70 percent population unfortunately does not fit in any of the three categories, they are so deprived of proper education, guidance and mentoring.) If you are in the last 5 percent, again thank your stars for the ecosystem you had in your formative years. Young people and also parents should understand that there are many things in life to be lived for beyond being “achievers”. That if done, you are successful.

Thanks and best regards

Dinesh Bandiwadekar

Mob:  7400490117

Are you from the Meta generation?

We have heard of the Millenials, Generation X and Baby Boomers. More recently there is Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Except for a few nomenclatures, most don’t sound very convincing. Of course all refer to different periods of birth and people can be identified by their current age, but there is one Generation that people have missed out. And that one  is without any age restriction and is perhaps is longest lived generation in the modern technological context – I call it the Meta Generation or Gen Meta, and the individual – Metan.

Just a brief about the recent generations……Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are people born between 1981 and 1996.  Millennials are often described as adaptive and creative, and are motivated by sharing gifts, creative work, and making an impact on others. So they say.

Generation X, or Gen X, is the demographic cohort of people born between 1965 and 1980, following the Baby Boomers and preceding the Millennials.

The Baby Boomer generation, also known as boomers, includes people born between 1946 and 1964. I guess this was the right time to have many kids as things were affordable and most families had 2 to 3 kids, and perhaps hence the name.

Much earlier were the following generations, but which are not inconsequential now as you will read further.

• Lost Generation – 1883-1900. ( Don’t know why called that way, but we will try to find out )
• Greatest Generation – 1901-1927. ( They worked hard, started the second industrial revolution and fought the WW1 and again set things in place for latter generations )
• Silent Generation – 1928-1945. ( These guys were the silent sufferers with the long term effects of WW1 & WW 2 on them also of a long term depression )

My META Generation spans across  Generation Z, the Millennials, The Gen X and even partly the Baby boomers. Not all people in each category fall into the Meta Category. But the Metans now account for much of the population now in each generation. The traits and characteristics of the Metans are same across the board & also irrespective of their ages.  You can consider Meta as a subset of all the 4 generations. So a Meta could be borne anywhere between  1950  to 2024 and later too. Any new generations to be added will for sure add to the subsets.

The Meta generation is a generation evolved by the internet ( ‘”affected” would be a wrong word to use here ), the social media and multiple web tools and Apps. Whether they do any harm or good is not going to be discussed here. But the META generation is here to stay and quietly their clan increases YOY. They don’t trouble anyone in real life, (may be they do in reel life ) and they are generally devoted to the virtual world. Devoted would be the right word and not “lost”. Metans use the net for synonyms carefully that’s why I am careful.  If there is any major issue like hatred, animosity and jealousy, it is all virtual –like  in complex online games .  To describe the METANs , you do not need AI or the Meta Description Generator. But each Meta person would like to have his own Meta Tag Generator. But sometimes the Meta is actually not a Meta according to him/ her but a soul in transition from reality to the virtual.

You can never blame a Metan for anything, because you may be looking at the Virtual Him/Her. He or she is not the real HIM / HER . They identify themselves by this Tag on their profiles. They don’t look down on what asset they have ( no pun intended ), but are happy with their public acceptance of their profile, whether it is HIM/HER/or anything else. You have to like a METAN

Typically a Meta/ Metan can be identified by:

– Continuously being on the mobile, 

-Their life is defined by what they like of others and what others like of theirs. The item to be liked / disliked is generally a small post of 5 lines which maybe inconsequential or not make much sense to the Non-Metans.  

-It generally does not matter to Metans as to what is the fact/ fiction/ reality- as long as that get accepted in the social world. There are less personal opinions, but more generally accepted opinions.

-Metans  spend time on FB, Insta, Twitter, Linkedin  and other apps

– Metans don’t want to push their ideas much as it would be out of the rules of their generation, but they are very generous in sharing a lot of information, though all which was shared much earlier and for many times. It is not to be read as Metans don’t have original ideas or thinking, but the generosity of  sharing other person’s ideas is mind boggling and takes away their own time to think. Their intelligent mind understands a post or a write up just by reading the first line, and that’s enough to decide whether that post deserves a like, a thumbs down, a forward or a share or simply a delete.

-Metans do not buy a newspaper, they edit it, they cut it and reprocess it.

-Metans don’t trouble anyone with their ideas on difficult issues like a war such as that between  Ukraine –Russia and Isreal- Palestine. They say that such things would be avoided  if all including politicians  immersed into ‘’meta-bolism’’. Metabolism replicates the harsh reality in the virtual world and solves all issues with a few quick clicks. Example of that  would be if Putin and Zelensky has been busy online playing ‘’BOMB-BOMB’’ OR ‘’MISSILE TO MISSILE’’ games, they would have never entered into a real war. Metans sincerely believe that Governments in many countries have failed to keep internet rates low and the signal reach is also grossly limited. This is the reason why some people step outside the Meta zone and create trouble.  

-Metans have a difficult future as many things threaten to take over their serious work. Automatic metadata generation tools which are machine learning based, may  take over the identity and soon many Metan clones or duplicates will be actually communicating  on their behalf spreading false and data structured thinking on their behalf- superior to their thinking. Imagine wrong messages getting forwarded which are not in sync with one’s ‘’original’’ thinking. No No,-Metans will not let that happen.

-Though they live in two worlds- virtual & reality, Metans do worry about the reality. But they are also politically cautious. Each Metan  when he wakes in the morning, even if has to jump to the loo badly,  will first quickly check if the US President or the Indian Prime minister has sent any message for him.

-Metan families are peace loving for obvious reasons, as there is no time to fight, and each one carries his weapon all the time (even during dinner time), which keeps him sedated, secluded and a happy member of his family.

-Metans don’t complicate the economy and their own life either, just as the Millenials, Baby Boomers and Gen did. They don’t see  the need to buy a second home, go on international holidays and buy expensive cars. All these can be achieved virtually with high technology powered by technology. I think this really practical thinking. How to be happy, has to be learnt from the Metans.  Metans fully justify the meaning of Being COOL. Soon you will have digital spouses, same sex virtual marriages and children and homes, all purchased lying on the couch. In case you do not like anyone, you can simple delete them or click on the divorce button.

-Metans wake up with their mobile in hand, eat, drink and live with FB and Instagram posts as starters and Tweets for dessert. They love to cook using the internet information but then it is their moral duty to ensure online apps and tools work well, so the final click is for Zomato Swiggy. The sign of a perfect Metan is his work habits -work hard till his mobile phone falls off his hands and he falls asleep after the hard day’s grind on his weapon.

On a serious note we have to accept that each generation is shaped by the contemporary social and economic climate. Generations change about every 25 years, and the entire cycle starts anew every 100 years. Now lets go back to the first generation mentioned earlier – The LOST Generation (1883-1900). With Metans, life has come a full circle. However try to figure out which generation is really the lost one

Management by Indecision

Management by Indecision ( This may sound humourous to some, but is a serious subject matter )

There are many styles of management -e.g. Management by Objectives, Management by collaboration, management by delegation, autocratic management, etc, but Management by Indecision is perhaps the most successful way of managing. Unfortunately it is not a well understood and not a well rated method. However, this is perhaps the most common way of management in many countries, including India- perhaps this is what only experienced professionals will realize. So I have decided to do a PhD in it.

Also to clarify, a lot of people mistakenly assume that Management by Procrastination (MBP) is same as Management by Indecision, but there is a difference between the two. Indecisiveness is a feature / trait that is well ingrained in managers who are not procrastinators. Many procrastinators often take a late decision, but most “indecisionist managers” don’t take a decision, though they do not procrastinate. Procrastination is a science that is sometimes linked to certain traits of your brain, but Indecision is an art of ‘not taking a decision’ despite knowing the obvious to be done. However, in most cases the final outcome is the same or better than if a decision was taken in time.

A lot of companies actually do well by not taking firm decisions. On another note, in most organizations, decisions taken are bad as the quality of decision makers is not up to the mark. Thus, it is better that they implement ‘adequate indecisiveness standards’ and thus maintain quality. ISO 900X /2040 is under the process of development for Indecision methods but they have not yet started as they are indecisive about the number to be assigned. The year of completion is however planned most optimistically.

Having clarified the difference between two important but confusing styles, I will now move on to elaborating the ‘management by indecision’ styles and also try to give some examples. The utility of ‘management by indecision’ ( MBID ) is the maximum in achieving goals that are not well defined and objectives that are not certain to be implemented. MBID strategises ‘non action’ into ‘action oriented dynamic traction’ that scientifically correlates & calculates the quantum of delay that is needed for a correct resolution before changing into a decisive mode. This decisive mode need not be the one for implementation/ actual decision- and this is what is the core of the ‘subtle art of indecisiveness’ and is practised very nicely by veteran indecisionists.

MPID practise is somewhat like the Iron Dome of Israel Army which in most cases destroys enemy missiles mid-air if they were to fall on habitable area and let’s go of missiles if they were to land on farms or deserted land. Only if excessive missiles land up, the Iron Drome is likely to fail. However, the failure rate of MPID system is almost nil, as the well trained hierarchy ensures very little indecision to be taken by upper levels of management. The filter system of indecisions helps in segregation of issues of less indecisiveness, high indecisiveness and crucial indecisiveness – which by itself takes time for segregation. By then, if any issue does manage to break the MPID Iron Drome – ( MPIDID ), the long and strategic time span in which it is escalated, ensures the issue or problem deflates itself or dissolves by itself fully.

Self realization by the affected stakeholder(s) that management is doing the RCA ( root cause analysis ) and hence a long term plan that is strategic to the solution, is yet to evolve. Hence the much appreciated delay. Unfortunately, the ‘ Non Conformist’ decision makers don’t realise and accept that a solution was not required in the first place.

MBID is effectively practised by senior management functionaries that are well paid by the top management who wants to keep the final indecision making to themselves and at times want to take all the credit. The senior managers for their own safety, practise MBID looking at the past history of indecisions in the organization. Of late, AI tools are being developed for fine tuning MBID approaches, but AI programmers complain that the intricacies of working under the directions of established indecisionists do not give the clarity of the way forward and the return for investments in AI, and hence the progress is slow. The words, ‘expedite’, ‘ramp up’, etc. are perhaps not in the dictionary of the learned indecisionists.

Please do not write off MBID thinking that it is for light humour and that is an indefinite and temporary phenomenon. In fact the strength of MBID lies in its clarity of thought and determination of executing its own innate complex strength. Hopefully that itself will take forward this method of management.

MBID encompasses some of the finest management techniques like MBO, Management by Collaboration and others. Examples. -when the Objective itself is Indecision, which other techniques than MPID are more feasible? Also, MPID encompasses the goodness of collaboration too, as it is easier to be ‘indecisive as a group’ or ‘as a committee’ created to be indecisive. “More the merrier” is an apt phrase for MBID practitioners. MBID is a new learning for L&D practitioners too. MPID practitioners are real team players when they allow and wait endlessly for their superiors to take a call and vice-versa. “There is always a next month”, says Dr. Forever Wait, a leading Psychiatrist & a Professor at the University of Nothingham.

MBID helps in creating revenue for various stakeholders that are lucky to be a part of this innovative approach. Well timed delays help in improving product and service quality with the additional time it demands from the stakeholders. It also creates additional income for various stakeholders who continue to work with seriousness on adding their thought processes to the product or service.

MBID practised well by senior managers helps juniors to study and discuss the ‘indecision parametrics’ in office in their free time and migrate to a new level of thinking that will eventually help the overall MBID approach and that can be propogated by the board or by the C-level indecisionists.

MBID is not a new phenomenon. It has been practised for decades. It has in most cases benefitted the practitioners of MBID and the businesses that use it. It brings a balance to organizations and businesses which make impulsive decisions. Research shows that companies practising MBID have automatically taken correct decisions as time helped them to further strategize or plan the delay. Employees have also lasted longer in such organisations as they kept work pending longer in view of the decisions not made Management is also indecisive about whether to let go these employees or not. MPID thus reduces employee attrition levels.

Just as the concept of HR Business Partner clarifies that all other HR persons are not connected with business in any form and could be just process specialists not connected with understanding of the business, the same way the ‘visionary’ HR heads feel that ‘MPID Business Partner’ could be a post that should be created – atleast as a showpiece ( and not like its ”genuinely intelligent” counterpart- The Business HR ) . It is fortunately not yet finalized and it is in the I.D. stage ( Indecision stage.) It may not go through as most senior MPID professionals and CIDO’s ( this is a CXO position ) believe that in an organization everyone should have the I.D. abilities in them, and they should not glorify one or few persons that are intrinsic to indecisiveness. MPID is a win-win for all.

I would like to know if you understand my concept of Management by Indecision. Do comment only if you are indecisive about it.

Written by Dinesh Bandiwadekar

( Dedicate this long write up to your bosses & colleagues if they genuinely deserve it. I can assure you that there are many around )

MENTORING AND SHARING A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE FOR INDIA’S PROGRESS

Dinesh Bandiwadekar- ( Director -Persona Skill Development Institute & The Engineers Forum )

What is experience ?

Experience is the learning and  the time spent on solving life’s numerous problems and issues at work, at home, in society,  in business,  in offices,also on the roads, the time spent on  problems and experience  of self, friends and aquaintances and their  families.  These issues or problems can be man made, natural or unnatural . These problems could have been created by tough competition, incorrect business decisions, business or personal rivalries,  bad  economic situations,  jealousy, ego, hatred, immaturity, false pride, or even by misreporting/ manipulation . All these aspects involve  dealing with a number of situations, people and personalities, knowing legal and social formalities,and learning from the interaction. All these things contribute to  different level of experience.

It is obvious that those who did not get or take right advise in life are the ones who lose a lot. That is so because you learn many things in life from your own experience or experiences of others. Getting invaluable advise sometimes is really free and one should look for advise from experienced people. A lot of people don’t have the avenues to get to interact with experienced people, while a lot of people don’t take the benefit of the experienced people easily available to them.

To understand the problem and a possible root cause and its analysis too , one needs an experinced person to study and review it as a third party and offer a solution based on past experiences or similar situations observed elsewhere. 

Work experience and life’s experience complement each other.  Actually one can contribute to work in a much better fashion if he has been through number of situations in life. There are specific work experiences that demand specific knowledge, not necessarily specialised knowledge. These specific work  experiences are more of skills, and those that can be sourced from many persons, but overall life’s experiences  are a different story – they are real time experiences – business/ company related or life related where a lot of time has already being spent.

 Age is an aspect that co-relates with experience. In most cases aged people possess more experience. A large part of experience  is generic and applicable to a number of situations that affect one’s life in a major manner.  A highly experienced person could be a great contributor in multiple situations as he has been through a lot of situations in life. He has been through ups and downs of life, has seen rise and fall of people on many occassions and has been a close observer of many serious things that can happen in life. 

What is Mentoring ?

Always take the benefit of experience, specially of the people who are willing to share their experience. Those willing to share their experiences in any field are mentors.  Mentoring is an art and science but more so its the magnanimity of  heart that is the core requirement of mentoring. A mentor is one who is  willing to share a huge amount of knowlege that he has acquired with a lot of effort. Needless to say, all experienced persons are not mentors.

India needs mentoring to be taken on a very serious note. Why ? Because the emphasis of businesses is on hiring a huge young population that comes in at a very economical cost but with very less experience. To train these people there are a lot of highly experienced mentors available at a  low cost. ‘One to one’ or ‘one to many’  mentoring is very economical, effective and highly focussed way of transferring practical skills and work experiences and  not just theoretical knowledge. At times what you learn from a mentor is something that you will never learn at an University.  Many companies with  very young leadership actually lack the depth that experienced employees bring in, but the same can be contributed by experienced mentors by focussed methods . Mentors are consultants on a personal basis and can improve effectiveness of key employees. The younger, dynamic,  agile and more computer savvy staff can work much better with a small number of mentors with them.

Always take the help of a guide or mentor or the help of an experienced  person in life. It’s like you spending a huge amount of time yourselves in learning for free and learning from expensive mistakes of others too .

An experienced person helps you to take wonderful decisions that affect you in your life, work and other situations. His own experience comes from situations that he has undergone in his job and career, experiences with relatives and friends, experiences in health of self and others, experiences in survival and success in marraige, in  financing, experience of having watched birth, growth, life and  death in close quarters and specially  rise and fall in work, business and family  life. He has been through friendship, trust, betrayal, denial and appreciation and rejection too. He has seen wonderful people, competent people and super humans and also less fortunate people who don’t have many things in life.  He has seen even crooked people too. He has seen different styles of management. He is years or decades ahead of you in the field of experiencing “life” per se. These are many things that knowledge, degrees, IQ, computer skills, cannot compensate or compete with.  

The Need of the Hour for India:

Companies and corporates must take help of experienced mentors to train their young staff. The mentors  can also work part time and keep themselves occupied in their latter years of life is another benefit. Mentors need to be used properly and guided in the process to train younger staff. Companies through their HR departments must take up initiatives to start in house and outsourced mentoring for mutual benefit, in an organised manner. 

Several platforms need to be created to link great mentors to immediate requirements,specially on the non corporate or individual front. BYST ( https://byst.org.in ) is one really great platform in association with CII- more focussed on Grampruners and the underprivileged to set up businesses.It is one of the best things to happen for the Indian youth. 

The subject of mentoring needs to be treated with a unique  vision and taken upon a very wide scale- on specialised  areas of work  and for basic too-Paid & Unpaid  . Mentors are great advisors with a great heart.  Utilise them to the core for the country’s growth. Great mentors will not part with your trade secrets, they will enhance your knowledge. Great mentors don’t insist that all ideas be implemented and don’t come with egos, and taking/ implementing advise is optional. However if we make the process of mentoring more  systematic, huge experience will transfer from the experienced to the younger staff at very low cost, but that itself will create a huge volume and revenues in business. Retired people live everywhere and are accessible to companies and individuals in smaller cities and towns in India which need them badly. If the plan is executed well, it will bring down educational costs in a big way, specially for practical education and knowledge sharing.

A huge wealth of experience is going waste in India. In fact many can mentor internationally and bring in revenue for the country. Mentoring young people in becoming entrepreneurs in specific fields needs talented and  experienced mentors. The young people don’t know whom to reach out to and how to reach out.  Mentors who are not always  computer savvy themselves do not know how to market themselves. Mentoring  has applications in all fields of work. A typical mentors’ mentoring window is about 15 years, after which he becomes too old or loses his energy due to age. Typically mentoring should start when you are 45, and go on till 65. A mentor has also to keep his knowledge level updated.  A mentor should be frank, to the point and not beat around the bush and should be able to tell a mentee that he is wrong at times. 

Increasing life spans and ”post retirement semi / un-productive years” are resulting in a great loss to the country. Mentoring can be at various levels, it need not be only from highly educated people. Many areas need experienced people with hands on complex skills and practical experience, and  academic certifications are  not the criteria. Mentoring can be a long term assignment (preferred by companies for its staff ), can have  Short term orientation too, and Question/ item based resolution mentoring. All are chargeable

Do consider mentoring as a serious field of work after you are 45- it could  become a great hobby/ passion / profession.  All the best.

Dinesh Bandiwadekar / 7400490117  ( dinesh@TheEngineersForum.in )

BYST Mentor

TOLLYGUNGE AGRAGAMI V/S GEORGE TELEGRAPH

TOLLYGUNGE AGRAGAMI V/S GEORGE TELEGRAPH

If you seriously wonder what these two names are, then you are not aware of two things…the old Bengal football scenario and the power of imagination. The power of imagination specially w.r.t. generating happiness. Happiness that is getting extinct and misunderstood despite having a number of gadgets like TV, mobile phones, and internet toys like YouTube and Zoom etc. Confused further ?

Let me take you to the 1970s when I was in school, to give an explanation about this topic.

The Calcutta Super League games played at the various club stadiums is where I am taking you. That was also the time when Doordarshan was aired for 6 hours only and sports took a back seat. Football had no right to exist as  decided by everyone when cricket existed.

At 4.15 pm All India Radio would broadcast a running commentary of the entire match played that day in Calcutta. The clubs that played had some great names like Mohun  Bagan, Mohd. Sporting, East Bengal etc and some were names that were difficult to understand as to whether they were football clubs, local clubs or companies. Wari AC, George Telegraph, Tollygunge Agragami were some of them. Only later I realised how magnanimous All India Radio was to broadcast these matches.

There always used to be a huge roar in the background when these matches were played. The stadiums of these clubs at the Maidan were always packed, whichever team and whosoever was playing. I used to run home from school to reach in time at 4.15 pm to switch on my small transistor so that I would not miss any moment of these matches.

These matches were sacrosanct to me. I was a die hard fan of football and the commentary was my lifeline to the National game of Bengal, Goa and Kerala. Why AIR never broadcasted matches between Dempo and Sesa Goa was a question no one could answer.  So, The Calcutta League was like the world’s no. 1 tournament for me. Forget watching, the names like Liverpool and Manchester City were unknown to me for many understandable reasons.

The radio commentary would start with Partho Das passing the ball to Prosenjit Sen and then Biswajit Sarkar intercepting improperly the pass that was meant for Amornath Chaterjee, and  Biswajit shooting the ball 10 feet above the crossbar. Goalkeeper Ornab Bhowmick had no role to play whatsoever. Yet the crowd cheered the “unfootball” like kick,  as if it was the ultimate excitement.

I used to listen to each moment of the match with great imagination of the action, assuming that it was a fantastic match played between two great teams under tremendous backing of the crowd. It was perhaps 1976 and a B&W EcTV costed Rs 4500, more than 1.5 times my dad’s monthly salary and was out of reach to many die hard fans like me. I wished the small transistor had a small TV screen in which I could really see the action rather than imagining it. All along for a couple of years I “imagined” the games played  “professionally” by great club players. 

It was fun to be part of the game and I knew every Bengali name in the only sport that existed. I also knew we  played a 1-4-2-4 formation which the world had already moved on from. I could tell which position Gautam Sengupta played for George Telegraph. I presume that was a company making Telex machines when they were not playing football. Just like how Tatas also made steel at nearby Jamshedpur.   I always got my kick out of the commentators explaining the moves and again finally listening to Prosenjit Bose sending the ball 5 feet left of the goal post-even if the goal was wide open. And I thought it was such a great game being played.

I would have loved to meet the commentators who were actually doing a great job for AIR and for themselves. Years later I realised that they were hyping up the game so much that blind spectators like me had started imagining fantastic strategic moves on the field by Wari AC players against East Bengal, when in reality they were simple passes intercepted by opponents. “Hats off” to the commentators who never let any game sound boring. I guess they saved their jobs too that way. Maybe they were then the Asst. Managers  working in MNCs showing off their “presentation skills”, the same way equivalent VPs now present their  PPT’s. There wasn’t an MS Office then.

In retrospect,  I pat my back even today , for imagining a wonderful football game in action based solely on the commentary heard. My positive imagination made me enjoy every game played as a great tussle, when possibly it was not, as most players were tired and humble office workers who had rushed to the maidan for their unpaid game by the slowest tram. But I am sure they enjoyed playing the game and hence were there, the same way I enjoyed listening ( imagining) it. 

Forty years later in life during my first visit to Kolkata, I made it a point to visit the maidans and the stadiums. I also went to the Tollygunge area to look at the club Tollygunge Agragami assuming I will see a Houston Astrodome type of stadium , but all  I found was a grass-less ground with a goal post only on one side and a few wooden benches and a club shed. It must have been the original club.

Today I see people enjoying Tottenham Hotspurs v/s Manchester United, world cup matches and the European league. The game now is really a  very fast paced game and one has to watch with complete focus on your 46 inch TV sets. But I remember enjoying my game better than them on my small transistor, criticising Bhaskar Bannerji sending the ball 15 feet above the open goal crossbar. 

I think joy and happiness has nothing to do with possessions like TVs and mobile’s if you can imagine something great happening without it actually happening. Hats off again  to those commentators who could whip up excitement out of nothing interesting and keep simple blokes like me satisfied for having “seen” another match, with hot “kande pohe” cooked by my mom to eat, having come back hungry from school. No need for Zomato and KFC fries either.

NextGens, keep life simple and happy. Don’t complicate it with loans and phones and 2nd homes and plots. To enjoy and be happy, just get your transistor with you and your imagination power. That needs a lot of IQ too, by the way.

…..Dedicated to the 1960s generation and the sporting fans of 1970s, and ofcourse to the City of Joy…..now you know how much depth that title has.

Written by Dinesh Bandiwadekar 

dinesh.bandiwadekar@gmail.com 9619545460

Reverse counting is a fine exercise

                                        

As a child I was advised by one of my teachers that counting reverse, i.e. 100,99,88, and so on, was a great exercise to improve your ability to concentrate and focus. There are extensions of that exercise, like skip counting i.e. 100, 98, 96, and so on. When it becomes more mathematically complex, it actually stretches your ability to focus and calculate as well. Try it out. That was during student days. Of late I know than that the overall effect of reverse counting has far reaching positive implications in latter part of life as well.

Forward counting is what we all do, all the time. Planning, estimating, predicting, figuring out our worth down the years, and being happy by living in the future under the pretext that all the forward counting  calculations are going to help.

Reverse counting can begin when you think forward counting might stop. Actually not. Really speaking reverse counting must start when forward counting slows down. Typically when you have counted till 50, you may actually start counting backwards from 70 or 75.  Example  45,46,47,48,49,50,51 etc. is followed by……70,69,68,67 and so on……I think most mature people should understand what I am saying…. Saying this with personal experiences, not necessarily with the Covid-19 situation in mind.

I have a friend whose mobile desktop  says L 10 to 15 . I kept wondering what that meant for many months. It also had something in smaller letters W 3 to 5 which I ignored or did not notice earlier..

When you reach your fifties, you think there is still too much of a time to achieve something even more. Of course. With solid experience and professional knowledge and contacts to back up, you could plan even for the next 3 decades. That’s very theoretical.  Reverse counting can begin there. Start with 75 and count back.

Possibly 66,65,64: have you met all your friends, as some may stop counting soon, whichever direction.

69,68,67: Did you share you knowledge and time with younger  generations? Have you mentored at least 20 people by that time? If you were a master of something, have your mentees achieved something solid by now and perhaps have started reverse counting themselves?

58,57,56: Did you enjoy the drinks you missed or food you liked always? Have you read the books and poems that you wanted to read, but did not have the time  while you counted forward?  Have you listened to the songs and seen the movies you missed. Are you done with more or less all your loans?

Oh, there are some many things you can and must do as a responsibility to society and your near and dear ones. But prior to that, before losing track of the numbers more serious reverse counting is as follows:

53,52,51: Do you have your nominations and life policies in place? Does your spouse know the numbers and where the original policies are?

56,55,54: Do you have a proper will in place / trust in place? Are your joint account logins and  passwords safely shared ?  Have you started ignoring things that you could not for years- at work or at home ? Its not giving up, its letting someone take charge, much younger. Its leadership.

Really speaking  reverse counting can extend your forward counting in a very special manner. Actually the friends desktop reminded him:  Look, just about 10 to 15 years of a proper life span is left and just a maximum of 3 to 5 years of work is possible. A most practical reminder.

If you are hurt by this reading, or don’t agree please excuse and go ahead counting forward. If you like it or agree, forward the message, don’t only count forward.

Dinesh Bandiwadekar  9619545460 / dinesh.bandiwadekar@gmail.com

Making Higher Education Available for all at a decent cost- such a pressing need.

Recently I saw a movie titled Hillbilly Elegy, which was launched on Netflix in November 2020. Perhaps the only reason why I chose to watch  it  was that the name was kind of weird to me and that made me checkout what that movie was. I did not have any inclination as to what would be in store while watching the movie, at least going by the name.

The movie has a wide range of reviews, and was negatively received by critics -many of them rating it as bad on multiple fronts like screenplay and storytelling. However I think watching it was a great learning experience. I personally would rate the movie as excellent in the social context- for any country for that matter, not just the U.S..

Hillbilly Elegy is based on the 2016 memoir of the same name by a person named J. D. Vance. The film stars Glenn Close, Amy Adams, Gabriel Basso, Haley Bennett, Freida Pinto, Bo Hopkins, and Owen Asztalos, and follows J D Vance the Yale law student who makes it to the prestigious school after a huge effort, overcoming obstacles all the way- economic and social .

I guess, as Indians one must watch this movie too- though it is an American one in a specific American setting. The movie focusses on issues with the economic and social state of the people living in the hills of  Kentucky. The story is a personal memoir no doubt, and signifies many things connected with that setting. Of great relevance to me, ( which many reviewers have not seen through & beyond the natural ) is the important learning that – unless you  make higher education compulsory, cheap or free, and accessible- your country is not going to progress.

Hillbilly Elegy –what does it mean?  Hillbilly means a person from a mountainous area of                        the U.S. who has a simple way of life and is considered  be slightly different/ stupid by people living in towns and cities.  Elegy means a poem of serious reflection.

A real life story of  1980s and 90s, “J.D” Vance struggles through many serious problems during his days as a young boy, and later as a college student and even later when he has to take up a job. He even joins the U.S. Marines to fight in Iraq to fund his education in his home country. All the time, his progress is impacted by the problems that his mother and other members of his family face, back in the hills.

What is the underlying essence of the movie? :- Higher Education should be treated almost as a right, and can never be made exorbitant  for the masses.  If you have an economy of USD 20 trillion, and a population of 330 million, ( as in the USA ) you are short of a work force at all levels. And if you do not educate a growing young population who finds the education costs/ tuitions / fees  etc. extremely expensive- you are doing a great injustice to them. Many talented young Americans do not make it to University only because they cannot afford it.  Plus you make your own education standards very high and entry into colleges and Universities a challenge.   What’s next?  People from other countries ( with a much cheaper and easier education system- read “manipulated”) come into your colleges, specially after their Bachelor’s degree  as they can afford the costs. ( Mind you, there are millions of families across the world who can afford American university costs.) They then take away a huge number of jobs that you are creating because of your strong economy and your own innovativeness. The millions of young people who were talented from your own country ( read “USA” ) lose out thus in their education and later in opportunities despite your strong and large economy.

What ever strife that  has been shown in the movie, in essence is linked to income of individuals, which in turn is linked with education- may be of their earlier generations. For decades education has been expensive and that has taken  away the charm and hopes of the poor.  A degree is important, and a professional one more so, for a proper job and income.  Some countries like the USA need to realise that fast. What the capitalist educators and also young educated people  do need to know is that real education & knowledge too in most cases commences with your first job and working experience, rather than the 3 to 4 years your spend in college. If you make college education inaccessible and difficult for the masses, then they are not going to take it to the next stage- which is good work, good jobs and a decent income.

The internet and on line education is however changing the concept of higher education very fast. What now matters is also how we manage, recognise and validate on-line education and degrees- so that a huge number of  intelligent and deserving candidates like “J D” do not miss out on good life in the USA- like how his earlier generations in the hills did. The hills in the movie  are also comparable to rural India geographically and economically in general.

India too needs to keep this in mind. Since education and  college degrees all these years were affordable, millions got educated. Then they got jobs and started working in companies which did work for western economies or more developed nations, in areas such as software, engineering, IT/  ITES etc. Then many got posted in developed economies. But the start of all this was due to a low cost education- government aided or cheaper private education institutes. Now it is any government’s responsibility to keep higher education costs cheaper and ensure more and more people learn.  Also to note is that we must not ignore / marginalise our  ITI’s while scaling up our IITs. The back bone of a strong and meaningful economy is strengthening our work force at all levels of the work spectrum- something which seems to be have been forgotten in our race for getting recognised as born intelligent  people.

The other fallout of an uneducated or less educated people on a mass scale,  are protests and rallies by millions who do not even understand what they are protesting for- but that’s another story altogether.

On a soft ending note, in the movie, you have an Indian girl named Usha, played by Freida Pinto who pacifies and guides “J D” her American boyfriend into achieving his ambitions. Now India everywhere- work and the social front both?

dinesh.bandiwadekar@gmail.com

https://technology5378.wordpress.com

More about the Memoir by JD Vance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillbilly_Elegy

More about the Netflix original https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillbilly_Elegy_(film)

Beirut to Mumbai- There is no algorithm for leadership

Both Beirut and Mumbai went through similar situations in August 2020

BEIRUT:  The recent blast in Beirut brings to the fore some major issues how leadership really  matters.  

Having worked with many Lebanese managers during my stay in UAE/Dubai, I have  great respect for the people of this tiny country, specially for their talent at work,  their drive in achieving things, their ability to convince people as great salesmen and marketers with their exposure to Arabic, English and French languages, their place in the entertainment business in the Arabic world,  their style and fashion, their food, and  their  overall zest for life -…… All despite the troubled past of 50 years, which started  with a long ranging civil war in the 70s.  Lebanon has an ancient civilisation that is a mix of Christian, Muslim, a Jewish population and has  a very cosmopolitan approach and a western orientation, being at the cross roads of Europe and West Asia. Over a period of several decades , no doubt Islamic terrorist organisations slowly captured Lebanon. Christians were fast eliminated from running the country. 

Its financial power and stability through the 1950s and 1960s earned Lebanon the moniker of “Switzerland of the East”, while its capital, Beirut, attracted so many tourists that it was known as “the Paris of the Middle East”. However, the most competent Lebanese are not in Lebanon and  are well settled and great business people outside their country, spread across the world.  In fact most of the companies / investments in the Middle East are owned by Lebanese businessmen and businesswomen, who are extremely talented, charming, educated, knowledgeable and specialists in different trades though as an expatriate population they are a small minority in the Gulf compared to Indians, Pakistanis, Egyptians and Filipinos.

So what happened with this country in the last 6 to 7 decades? – this country is on the brink of a financial disaster, bankruptcy and political turmoil and  economic desperation.

Many people claim it was the take over of the country by Islamist fundamentalists backed by regional terror groups and funding. Whatever that is and whoever was in power,  it’s all about leadership which failed over a LONG period of time. That  is also  true of many other countries of the Middle East and the Levant. You may be a great specialist, but if you do not have the ability to lead or you do not have a leader in place to take you through many issues and circumstances carefully, your skills   may not matter to the extent they should , to you and to your country.

For the Lebanese, leaving their own motherland,  culture, and family to go to other locations must have been a very difficult thing. A whole bunch of talented people left the country over the last 50 years and will still do,  making it lose  invaluable GDP that they would have created within . The countries of Middle East, and West Asia had leaders who were not really leaders but destabilisers,  fighters and trouble mongers. Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Palestine, Algeria, Morocco, you name it.

What really matters for all forms of organisation is Leadership, not exactly subject knowledge. The crucial aspect of leadership is evident at all levels, and overall  success is largely a factor of leadership and not expertise  or specialisation, always.  People that are not team players and team leaders can be extremely troublesome. Lebanon and a few other countries of West Asia had leaders ( read rulers )  who were not leaders.

After a particular time of evolving of anything, leadership skills matter the most. Finance, Administration, Marketing, Engineering, IT skills or whatever skills can be bought, traded, exchanged and purchased – online or off line ! Governance however has to come from within and cannot be bought. Desire to succeed as a team matters more than anything. The team then could be a Country, a Company or a Club.

The blast in Beirut occurred  due to thousands of tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate stored in one location over many years, right within the port of Beirut which is in the heart of the city. Such an absurdity. It had engineers who designed the silos, chemists who did the tests, safety experts who filed multiple reports whichever way, it had all senior government officials over the years knowing the issue, the port authority well aware of the tremendous hazard that they were carrying, but for many years no one took the initiative to remove it to another location, export it if it was not required, investigate why such a large quantum was brought in. And know what ?….it was bang next to the entire grain storage of Lebanon. No one had the drive to solve the problem and find a workable solution. Lebanon for sure had experts within and outside the country who  could have sorted the problem. 

A large part of the blast is linked to an inefficient and irresponsible government that was run by autocratic rulers and their relatives and friends.  A proactive top in multiple departments of Government and the ministers would have ensured such an absurd storage was never done and if done, still moved it out to a desert area which is so much available. No one took the lead. I am sure all would have been knowing the facts – it’s such a small country and everything happens in the small city of Beirut. Yet.

MUMBAI :  One big learning of the SSR / CBI /Maharashtra Police case is that in any operation or organisation, leadership is the key to everything. On the job skills are very important, but if there is a twisted leadership at the top which does not allow the work to be done in an efficient and honest manner, all the talent down the line could go waste.

The talent down the line need not be the best available, but the best can be exploited from an average talent if the leadership is excellent. That’s what a leader is. He or she guides average people to deliver results if it is a huge work, beyond the purview of a few people to accomplish. Team work and leadership make a big difference to delivery. Specific skills which are people oriented can never be replaced, but an entire working system can be enhanced by a good leader. An experienced person, knowledgeable and with an ability to drive things matters. He need not be, and cannot be an expert in multiple functions.

Mumbai police down the line is/ was the same all over the years. The beat cop never changed or can change on his own.  Ditto for CBI and the government at the centre.  However why a huge force like the Mumbai police  failed  to do its job despite having a good past record? After all a lot of forensic investigation etc. was to be delegated to experts. It failed as the directions from top were convoluted, distorted and corrupted. The same Mumbai police which was a respected force till some time back cannot suddenly deteriorate. A huge police organization at  the ground level which worked 16 to 18 hours a day during Covid times, could not be a bad force.

CBI on the other hand came with clear directions to solve a case. Leadership and directions was different. There was some different kind of leader behind the organisation.

If India keeps relying on a talent that gets short listed due to a written exam and interview conducted when you are 24 years old and then you give full powers all the time to people for the next 35 years till they retire at 58, you have trouble at hand. Holding decorated positions and tags and fancy titles is one thing and continued delivery of results is another. More secure you are, less efficient is your work. More secure you are from outside competition, more passive will be your approach to work. It’s like absolute power which corrupts absolutely.

We have number of senior bureaucrats and police officers who collude with a dishonest system as they have nothing to lose, due to a very safe job or employment security. In fact they become more secure when they collaborate with politicians, otherwise they will keep getting transferred ( at the most). This nexus between administration and politicians is what is bringing the country down slowly. Are there not several top bureaucrats who can jointly stand and object to wrong doings?  It is only the private parties like Republic TV and Times Now and a few others which can keep a control on a non performing bureaucracy. Because, if you do not regularly deliver in a private enterprise, you need to give  up  on your assignments/ work or employment. 

Our perception of looking at excellence through examinations and academics is slowly taking a toll on us. 75 years of independence and we have many states still struggling to create jobs for its people. They still have the same methods of governance and selection of top officers as followed by other states. Perhaps they never had proper leaders to drive things. Just what is slowly happening in many states of India is what happened to Lebanon. That country had immense talent down the line which left the country. India has 1000 times more, so we have to be more careful to harness. Ability to extract the best from a work force matters than what is your specific ability. That is real leadership. We are really lacking enough leaders for a country of our size.

Unless we change leadership parameters and job security issues of government functionaries, after 75 years as a country, we can expect thousands of small, medium and large scams and huge lapses in governance for years to come and corruption at all levels in almost the entire government machinery- all which go unnoticed though they are very rampant. They get ignored as they were not murder cases worth discussing. No TV channel or the fourth estate can tackle the magnitude of the problem we have. 

The issue for the state and country is now really only of governance and not exactly about law,  finding loopholes and nailing the truth. It’s how really you manage from top that really matters. The  others follow a great leader. This applies to everything – your extended family, your society where you live, your sports club, your political party, your company or business and yes, your country too. The least you could do is not let corrupt, inefficient, incompetent, extremely secure ( or even insecure) and inexperienced people lead you. It is a slow time bomb. 50 years were too long for a small country like Lebanon to get into deep trouble. 75 years have been too slow a learning for India-  but the bomb is tacking. Good governance is crucial, every speciality  automatically does its job after that.

Written by: Dinesh Bandiwadekar dinesh.bandiwadekar@gmail.com Mob: 9619545460

Kenny Rogers ( 1938- 2020 ) …………my idol in life.

If you see the above live radio program clip ( 2.5 min ),  you will understand how the singer gets an entire audience to sing, in small groups and then all together. They are his old fans no doubt and  they know the song, but making someone participate and feel involved in a live program this way is awesome, and see the fantastic way he does that. Also do note the mesmerised audience. 

There are many great singers, but  the greatest ones have a different  story or song to tell. Kenny Rogers died recently at age 81, and a golden chapter in country music came to an end. 

I have been listening to Kenny Rogers, the country music legend since the time I was in college. I recorded his songs on a cassette player when  the internet  did not exist and when digital audio audio files were not available. I  had all the lyrics of his songs written down.

All songs in country music have a story to tell,  and some of his fantastic songs had wonderful subject matters too.  His silken voice was out of the world.  His stage presence just awesome. 

For those who do not know much about country music and it’s beats and the storyline concept of its songs,  just Google Kenny Rogers and listen to  The Gambler, The Coward of the County, and a few others.. One of the most memorable is ISLANDS IN THE STREAM with Dolly Parton, who was  a great friend throughout his life.                                                                    ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQW7I62TNOw )       

Definitely he had a profound impact on my way of looking at my life and my personal issues,  and I am sure he has influenced millions of others too.

What I learned from Kenny Rogers’ persona and songs/ lyrics were some important lessons in life.  Whatever you do,  has to be in the benefit of people and public good. As the short clip indicates, he was simply excellent in getting people together. Narrowed down to a basic life  of an ordinary mortal like me, it translated for me subconsciously  into team building being a very important area of life, sharing knowledge and experiences -whether at the work place or in homes or within extended family groups or friends.  This seems simple elements of life, but unfortunately these qualities  are not taught in schools and college, at least in India. You learn these only from people.

Singers and song writers and sportsmen make great leaders, few people realise that. They create a harmonious blend between skill and ability on one side and transparency and team work on the other. Leaders hence are great team builders, motivators, orators, and communicators  and most film and song producers, musicians and singers are great team players or leaders themselves.  And yes, Kenny worked actively till he was 78, travelling around USA and the world. An inspiration to Keep Walking for all of us.

Kenny had extremely humble origins ( his father was a carpenter ), but created  a colossal wealth over his lifetime. I feel he would not have even bothered how much it was, just like the line in his song THE GAMBLER…. “there’s time enough for counting when the dealing  is done”.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hx4gdlfamo&list=RD7hx4gdlfamo&start_radio=1&t=0 )

As mentioned earlier as regards the messages in country music songs, do not miss the message in the above one-

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em (when to hold ’em)
Know when to fold ’em (when to fold ’em)
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you’re sittin’ at the table
There’ll be time enough for countin’
When the dealin’s done

Lead your life well, and do a great job- others will count for you.

Hats of to you Kenny Rogers,  for influencing my life though you didn’t know me.

Dinesh Bandiwadekar ( dinesh.bandiwadekar@gmail.com / 9619545460 )  

Further reading

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Rogers