We The People?

28 Jan 2011  |  Business World 

Why is it that corruption has become such an intrinsic part of the Indian society and how we need to be honest and admit our role in the crime, as the people of this nation.

The name screamed at me from the pages of the newspaper, but I still could not believe my eyes! The most talked-about insider trading case in the US had claimed its latest victim in my good friend. Here was a person from one of the IITs who had done extremely well in the Bay Area, rising to an executive level position with a large tech company. I knew him, or so I thought! What would have made him risk all he's achieved, and do something like this? He, who could be described as a poster child of the great Indian Middle Class with his right education and right career breaks? What was his excuse for doing what he did? Why was he breaking the trust reposed by his colleagues, leaking out information for a few thousand dollars? But then, wait a minute! Why am I reacting like this, in a time and age when scams and sleaze have become daily news! What made me assume that I know how to spot the type of people who would, or would not, attempt to beat the system? Why did I demand and expect a different value system from a few? Did I really believe that the middle-class educated urban Indian was somehow not cut from the same cloth? Or was it a case of yet another myth getting demolished? The myth that people like you and me are not the ones who subvert the system for monetary gains! That it is always somebody else! It is always a different class, a different creed but not our types. Now the mirror was right in the front showing a very familiar face, making me come to terms with some very uncomfortable truths.



It is a fact that there is a lot of corruption in the private sector - something we are all loathe to talk about, because it belies all justifications. Just a few days back, one of my friends had told me about his first-hand experience of unearthing a scam in the BPO he was heading. The logistics manager had hired all the cabs from companies floated by his relatives at a higher-than-market rate. Then the other day I heard about how IS folks with large budgets were not averse to taking "gifts" for buying standard equipment from "chosen" dealers. Of course, the story of how the recruitment boom in IT industry spawned a whole host of shady recruitment firms, often run by the better halves of HR managers, is now old and done. Then there is the well-publicised case of auditors conniving with Raju at Satyam. These are our crème de la crème - the well-heeled, high-in-demand executives paid at the top end of the market by their employers.


Often enough we talk ad nauseam about corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. We curse the politicians but hardly have any hopes of them changing their ways, because we know that they need increasing amounts of cash to "buy" their votes. We secretly empathise with the bureaucrats saying that India pays its government servants very poorly when compared to, say, a Singapore. We accept that the cops on the road demand bribes because they had to pay money to get their jobs. But when it comes to well paid professionals who have got to where they have by leveraging the best education the country could provide at virtually zero cost, this argument breaks down. What would make them belie the trust that their employer place in them for monies, which most often they are perfectly capable of earning legitimately? Is it just greed? Or is it peer pressure? Is it the urgency to make it to the top? Or is it something else altogether?

Perhaps this is why the whole nation got shocked when the Niira Radia tapes came out. The country could not digest the fact that it was being fed fiction by some of its eminent TV and print journalists every morning. Was it for power or for money? Whatever it was, one more myth came crumbling down as we realised that the journalists were dancing to the same tune as our illustrious politicians, matching steps with them. And it doesn't end there. The judges are willing to play ball, and so are our defence officers, even Army Generals - the crown jewels of our nation. So, no class of professionals is now exempt from this scourge. It, today, encompasses the Madrasi as much as the Punjabi. The wives are teaming with husbands to rake in the moolah. It is well nigh impossible today to take ourselves out of the picture and act like we are holier than thou.

What does this all imply? Is it our Indian DNA? Are we born corrupt? Are we brought up to look the other way when deals are done under the table? I can't believe so. If anything, we are an older, and more morally inclined, civilisation than any other in the world. By the way, how do we define corruption? Is it taking bribes in cash and kind for out of turn favors? Is it insider trading - using information that you are privy to because of your position to reap unfair gains? Is using the services of an agent, knowing fully well that he is bribing to get your work done, okay? What about friends and families being rewarded with plum positions in public listed companies? How about Diwali gifts to the right people? Where do we draw the line? So here we are. Our thousands of years of civilisation and our treasure trove of ancient wisdom don't seem to have shown us the right path.

The biggest hit that we have taken is that most of our decision making, at a national level or at a personal level, are no longer driven by the best interests of those we serve, but by 'practical' considerations. We cannot enforce quality or demand SLAs when our contractor has paid us to give him work. We cannot demand that the builder give us what he has promised, when we have paid him a substantial part in black money. We do not trust our doctors any longer because we are not sure who has become a doctor through merit, and who has made it there by paying his way. We cannot expect retail investors to flock to the stock market when it is "owned" and "managed" by and for a few. In a multitude of ways, we see the "hidden agenda" playing out. Our small businesses will not use software because they do not want to disclose their number-2 accounts. Same reason the politician shuns e-Governance.

What is it that is ailing our society? We are intelligent enough to know the cost each one of us is paying but we are still refusing to put a stop to it. All of us know at least a handful of friends, acquaintances and relatives who are living beyond their means. But, secretly, we envy them for their street smartness. We do not condemn. Why? Can it be that we as a society do not believe that anybody can play straight and win? Is it a throwback to the years of servitude, that we do not know how to use our power and not abuse it? Is it insecurity, born out of scarce resources and severe competition from birth to death that drives us to grab what we can, means be damned? I'm truly at a loss and sometimes even wonder if my angst is more because I have not figured out how to play the game! What do you think? Why are we like this? Is it just a matter of putting fear in the hearts of people by policing more strictly? Or is it about all of us who are ready to pay, and/or look the other way?

Tell me what you think? Why are we doing this to ourselves? Can we be honest for a change, and admit that each one of us is a party to the crime?
 
It makes me wonder if this is the reason Gandhiji exhorted people to be the change they wanted to see.

Jump Off The Pyramid And Shoot For The Trampoline!

Why over 40 executives at the brink of career change should pursue their 'real' passion instead of looking for another job.


Last weekend, I happened to catch up with an old friend in the US who wanted my advice on landing his next job. Close to 40, he sounded lost and anxious. He had lost his job with a Fortune500 a year before, moved cities and joined another company in a similar role, which also lasted only a year. So here he was back to looking for a job in a bad market and the tiredness showed in his voice. This was a guy with the best credentials that one could ask for and a great performer in the right role. But today I could not hear the ring of confidence or enthusiasm that was his hallmark. Very sadly he had become yet another victim of the corporate pyramid which relentlessly throws out people in larger numbers at every stage.

A recent research article by Vivek Wadhwa talks about how even in the Silicon Valley, age bias is rampant. Bay area firms prefer young engineers and have no qualms about turning away the 40+ folks. They have their reasons - young engineers cost less and do more. New technologies and new business models are better understood by youngsters and so on… But where does it leave the oldies? Gone are the days when at 50, one could start preparing for retirement. It was okay in our parent's generation when life expectancy hovered in the 60s and most jobs paid a handsome pension to boot. We have grown up watching the older generation start winding down in their 50s. All they desired was to complete their pilgrimages and play the model caretaker role for grandkids. But today the reality is very different. Life expectancy is zooming past 75, and we see more and more people well into their 80s living a healthy life. What it means is that at 45 we still have more than half our career ahead of us, assuming that we started at 25. And in my opinion the 40s are truly the golden time for professionals. No worry of what parents would say about what you do with your career. No concern of having to buy the first house or car. Often enough, children are all set to move on and don't need your constant attention (in fact, they want you out of their life for sometime!). Added to all this, you have learnt a lot more and have a great Rolodex to tap in case you need help. Then, why is it that most of us, instead of looking to pursue our passion, still look for the next similar job in a familiar environment? Why do we try to hang on, unwilling to let go of the safety net of our comfort zone? Why do we pursue the corporate pyramid with a single-minded zeal without looking at other options knowing fully well that with the best effort we are still not guaranteed a spot at the top.

As and when we become the next victim of the eventuality, our reaction is to give up and hang up our boots with a feeling of resignation and martyrdom. What a loss! Today all around us we see people embarking on a new voyage when they are on the wrong side of the 50s, and making an even bigger success of it than the first time around. If Manmohan Singh had called it a day and taken to consulting roles like most of his peers did, he would never have realized what he would have missed! He embarked on a second career in the scary jungle of politics at age 59 in 1991. By then, he had build such a strong credential that nobody and no scandal could touch his reputation. He did not get in with a "let me try my luck" mind-set. He put his heart and soul in it, and pursued his second career with the same passion as his first one. Political wilderness after Congress lost, losing his Lok Sabha election, nothing deterred him. He has achieved what people who start and end their career in politics fail to get - the CEO's role for the country.


Perhaps Manmohan Singh was an outlier, skeptics would argue. But what about Nandan Nilekani, a poster child of our generation? Nandan at the ripe old age of 54, took it upon himself to move to New Delhi leaving family in Bangalore, to pursue his second career in Government. He could have taken an easy route like becoming an investor, or perhaps an armchair critique of how bad the country and its political class is. But he jumped in putting his name and neck on the block, looking every inch an entrepreneur with a new start-up!


All of us surely have hidden passions and forcefully subdued ideas. Otherwise, our country would never have produced the tons of engineers and MBAs that have become the envy of the world. I keep hearing people say that they would have loved to teach but for the salary. Our society has especially been harsh on creative folks. We have lost many a great painter, playwright and interior designer to the corporate world. Can they out themselves now and don a new Avatar? With their years of corporate experience, can they now think of creating a business out of directing and producing plays? Can they get enough friends to join them in it? And why not? The possibilities are endless and, believe it or not, so are the goodies for those who break out of their inertia. Following your heart and actually enjoying what you do can energize you like nothing can. Having fun while working would not be an oxymoron any more. Perhaps that is what makes the second career even more successful than the first one for most who venture out. Eric Schmidt stepped out of the comfort of being in large companies like Sun and Novell with thousands of customers, to join what was then a virtually unknown start-up, Google. That too as a part of the three-member management team with the founders who were actively involved in running the company with him. His compensation was $250K+bonus, far less than the $600K base he had at Novell and, perhaps, even Sun before that. But today, it is this decision that has defined him for posterity. In fact, the success rate seems to be favoring the 50's. Gurcharan Das is now known more widely for his penmanship than for his corporate career with P&G. Again somebody who voluntarily jumped off the corporate chakki to start afresh as a writer at 55.

So if you are wondering what advice I gave to my friend, you have the answers now. Don't look for another job, which will last till the next round of layoffs. Instead, pursue your real passion, unfettered by the concerns of youth. "Being 50 is the new 25" says a new research study commissioned by Benenden Healthcare, UK. How true! Ready to bounce off the Trampoline?