Category Archives: Coaching

MBA @ Mother’s Business Academy ….. Mother’s Day Special !!

Mother's DayLong before ‘In Search of Excellence’ and ‘What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School’ became bestsellers. Much before I even knew about management education. A ‘Trustworthy’ practitioner of so many management concepts, as I was to realize later, was just flowing through her daily routine with grace.

This Mother’s Day, I reflect on 10 (in no particular order) Justplainandsimple™ observations about my mother …..

1. ‘Work Life Balance’, as an issue, was unheard of with her. My mother is a retired teacher. She would travel 20 km one way in public transport and still manage all household activities including cooking, ironing, keeping the house clean ….. and teaching me and my brother.

2. Transcending Self and with Immense Inner Strength, she is a Level 5 Leader, (builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility & professional will ~ Jim Collins) who would put family needs above her own, humbly and quietly.

3. Coaching and People Development come so naturally to her. So while she used to help me and my brother (she was a maths teacher) with our studies, her teachings in personal and professional development have been of immense help in shaping and grooming us. Not only that, her ‘Home Grown People Development’ Style is equally effective while training domestic help.

4. While it may not be the most appropriate usage of the term, she fully understands our needs and emotions as (internal) customers and offers solutions and customer experiences unmatched anywhere in the world.

5. With a soft heart, she can take ‘Tough Decisions’ for the good of the family, with equal ease.

6. There is never any task where she does not demonstrate evidence of ‘Execution Excellence’. Balanced meals for the family, arriving at her school on time, keeping the house spick and span, making sure all our requirements, be it school uniform, books etc. were fully met, ensuring 100% results of her students ….. everything achieved with clockwork precision, without an ‘Outlook calendar’.

7. She demonstrated Continuous Learning and Evolution. During her working life, alongwith her busy schedule, she completed two M.A. and one M.Com degrees. Where else could I gain such learnings !? As for our studies she taught us the importance of Practice, Practice, Practice …..

8. We were continually encouraged to have a Big Vision. Her faith and continuous encouragement always made me think (as, I guess all mothers do and believe) that I was the Best in The World ….. !!

9. With both parents working, we had a comfortable childhood financially. But still, managing finances and living according to family income was a challenge, especially till about two decades ago, which she managed with great elan.

10. Last, but not the least, she practiced and then preached the Values of Integrity, Ethics, Discipline, Humility, Empathy, Respect for All and above all ….. Faith in God !!

Maa Tujhe Salaam !! Salute You Mother !! Happy Mother’s Day …..

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I wish I could mentor more women …..

BCGPriyanka stood up and shared how she had gained so much confidence in the past six weeks. She is a young girl studying at Delhi’s Women Technical Institute, which she joined after class XII. About 70 girls had gone through a Selling Skills programme under ‘Light Up A Life’ initiative by Brisc Carr Group Inc., of which I am a member. The programme objective is ‘Helping Underprivileged and Underemployed Youth in India Achieve Sustainable Livelihood’.

I was at the WTI last week, to handover the certificates of completion. As I interacted with them, the girls spoke up one by one ….. what a difference the initiative had made to these young lives !! While they were learning vocational skills at this institute, the six weeks intervention acted like a catalyst that was to transform their personalities and prepare them to lead better personal and professional lives.

“We can face the world with a lot more confidence”. “We learned how to listen to and understand others’ needs”. “We know how to ask open ended probing questions”. “ We will be able to interact with our employers, friends and relatives better”. “We will be able to deal with our family issues more effectively”. They went on enthusiastically.

The display of India’s Women Power in the Republic Day parade today showed possibilities of what can be achieved if almost half of India, that is women, is equally empowered !!

While narrating her transformational story, one of the girls forgot the points she had diligently noted earlier. I took out my own scribbles from my coat pocket and showed her that even I had made notes to refer to for my talk to them later on and that she could also refer to her points. An amazing ease and calm dawned on her immediately. She reached out for her sheet of paper and rattled off all her thoughts.

Later on, while casually chatting with the girls, they said that they were nervous before the event, but our informal interaction made them feel at ease. I shared that before that interaction, even I was a bit tense as to how it will all roll out. With a roll of laughter that followed, I asked myself a Justplainandsimple™ question ….. “Who is helping whom here ?”. I was also gaining a sense of calm and confidence through the interaction with them !!

The way these girls had prepared and gone through the entire course was amazing. It reinforced my belief in the strength, grace and meticulous nature (among many other qualities) of the female gender. And there was so much for me to learn from and improve myself. Warren Buffet had once said that he was so successful because he competed with only half the population. Imagine the power that can be unleashed if India’s women are adequately educated and empowered. They will not only uplift their own families, but the entire society and the nation.

Most talks and meetings that I go for, I have my standard blue, grey, black, brown, white combination of colours to choose my clothes from. That day, I took out a combination of a ‘green’ jacket and sweater and a shirt with green stripes. The whole experience, I realized, was giving me a lot more joy, colour, brightness, confidence and fulfillment than probably for these young girls.

I have always told my daughter that ‘She is The Best’. That she should make herself capable enough to be able earn and lead a comfortable, healthy and happy life on her own. That she should speak up whenever and wherever needed. That Values are important. That the social programming of girls to be submissive is wrong ….. That day, I was able to share the same with so many more young girls

I could feel that my family had expanded ….. from being the boundary of my life it had expanded to include so many bright young souls ….. adding Grace to myself in the process !!

 

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Healthcare set ups that tripped ….. 1

TrippedThere is so much buzz surrounding healthcare today. And rightly so. Healthcare is on a growth path.

All eyes are focused on the healthcare success stories. For gaining valuable learnings and for valuation gains !!

Lost somewhere in the melee are stories of slips that can give equally significant insights.

Without disclosing the identity, here is one such case …..

A new unit, started slow and steady with one healthcare speciality and progressed well. Led by an enthusiastic entrepreneur, full of passion and ambition, ready to take risks. All the correct ingredients it seems.

The enthusiasm led to related diversification into other healthcare verticals.

Two years into this mode, growth started slowing down and profits started getting eroded.

Good brand equity, doctors, patient satisfaction, advertising spends, infrastructure ….. nothing seemed to be wrong.

Root cause analysis brought up a peculiar core issue, generally very difficult to accept by any business leader  ….. that the leader lacked the ability to handle multiple business operations.

Adaptive Thinking, Empowerment with Accountability, Execution Excellence, Networking and Executive Maturity were the development areas that the leader could have sought help in and built on, to Realise Business, Professional and Personal Potential.

More cases …..

 

 

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That which cannot be expressed by speech …..

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Painting by JPSingh

That which cannot be expressed by speech,

That by which speech is expressed.

Know That alone to be Brahman, not this –

this which (people) worship.

Kenopanishad I : 5

The Supreme God, Brahman, Atman is Consciousness which enlivens the organ of speech to speak. The Subject within which animates speech. It is not an object of speech. Speech cannot express Brahman. Brahman causes the organs of action to function, breathes life into them.

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