Brand and Culture in Bad Times…

Does one feel secure to engage with organizations that are in financial trouble? Does it feel safe to get high with brands who haven’t paid their crew in 45 days? Those were the question swirling in my mind as I boarded Jet Airways flight 9W3514 from Lucknow to Bengaluru on October 23.

As I fastened my seat belt for this ride, I was reminded of the fateful day - January 10, 2009. I was working for Satyam Computers and our CEO made a written confession of overstating earnings and profits and fudging books that became the headline on every newspaper and magazine and breaking news ticker on every digital media for months to come. The confession and following negative news and speculation not only tumbled the stock price, customer sentiments, but also infected 60,000 strong employees with paranoia of losing their jobs, not being paid and defaulting on their EMIs. In some cases, the fear doubled where both spouses or siblings worked together.

Though the situation for this airline with wasn’t any close to what we had gone through, nevertheless, their stock price was at a historical low, some vendors had withdrawn services over non-payment of dues and employees hadn’t been paid in over 45 days. Wow! Isn’t that enough to ruin investor confidence and dent employee morale?

As the cabin crew push the food trolleys down the aisle there were no signs of low morale, worries of over-due EMIs, or paranoia from finding another job. These folks were focused on serving their customers with warmth and showcasing their best hospitality despite going through financial turbulence.

In austere times the plasticware replaced silverware and a chocolate bar replaced desert, but still the dal-chawal was yum and cabin service was comforting including the announcements from the cockpit. My first bite brought back memories from a decade ago, when fear and distrust spreading like wildfire among employees and clients, thanks to 24/7 news channels and media. I was entrusted with the responsibility of identifying and collecting positive news about wins, project milestones and other achievements to reinstate customer confidence and rejuvenate employee morale. Till date this has been my toughest assignment – reinstating confidence and infusing positive vibes.

As I stepped off the aircraft, I recalled how none of the airline employees let their emotions come in their way of executing their responsibilities and provided superior customer service. They fiercely defended their brand pride and lived their values at a time when investors downgraded them, vendors denied them line of credit and some customers defected.

My experience from working for listed companies says employees are always at the receiving end. Their raises are given away to the shareholders as dividends. Nevertheless, in this case the employees stood by their brand. In a flight or fight world, we rarely see exhibition of such brand faith and loyalty. This clearly says something about the culture and values of the brand.

Jet Airways is a great case study for those studying brands, brand loyalty and employee engagement. Their financial trouble offers a great lesson in brand power and pride for CXOs. When investors lose faith, customers find alternatives, it is employees who keep the brand flying high. I hope Jet Airways will recognize this and reward their employees who stood beside them in tough times.

So, what’s my age?

My sojourns in the west wants me to refer “June-September” time frame as “Summer”, though my current location refers to it as “Monsoon”. Nevertheless, a lot of things happened this summer making it a memorable one in a long time.

When I look back at the summers from my school days I am reminded of Math and specifically algebra lessons. 30 years later, I saw an uncanny resemblance between my present and past. It inspired me to look beyond my immediate life and expand my vision and boundaries.

I cycled with a gentleman twice my age who regularly cycles 50 kms every day and on my return flight from Dubai I sat beside a youngster half my age who spent his summer teaching English to Syrian refugee children in Egypt.

So, my 2018 Summer = Y/2 + 2Z.

Can the emotions and inspiration be summarized by a mere algebra equation?

Equation 1: When I registered for the 40km timed cycling event organized by NEB spots, I thought it was just a time and distance relationship. But seldom did I realize I was going to meet some inspiring cyclists along the journey.

I was among the first batch cyclist who were able to convert their enthusiasm into pedal power without much transmission loss. Because of which I left behind a friend who came along with me for the event within in the first 500m. Though my intention was not to leave behind people, but the timed event reminded me of the proverb “time and tide wait for none”. Nevertheless, along the way I kept cheering my fellow cyclists and many youngsters who were exploring long distance cycling for the first time. And most of them were half my age that inspired me to develop another algebra equation.

So, If X is my age, then X = 2Z.

As I was starting my second lap I noticed an elderly gentleman on the other side of the track steadily pedaling towards the U-turn point. He wasn’t panting or puffing but wore a pleasant smile and made cameras and tongues go gaga over his enthusiasm and energy.

When I enquired about this elderly papa who turned cameras and onlookers into paparazzies my fellow cyclist told me he was an octogenarian and regularly participated at marathons and cycling events. Wow! This is someone who I want to meet and wannabe when I get to 80. He finished 40 kms 7 mins after me and I waited at the finish line to welcome him with a hug and cheer.

X = Y/2 (age)

X finishes 40 kms in 120 mins

Y finishes 40 kms in 127 mins

As soon as I shook hands with Mr. Bylahalli Raghunath Janardan, I confessed my admiration for him and enquired about the secret aphrodisiac he was taking. I quickly convinced one of those paparazzies to click a picture of us that I can use to remind me of my fitness goal.

 

Read his interview that appeared in the Deccan Chronicle from two years ago where he says his aim is to cycle the distance between moon and earth in his lifetime. By now he must have achieved that goal of 384,400 km.

Readers, Mr. Janardan picked up cycling at the age of 63 and covered 1900 kms every month. So, it is not late for you to get on the wheels and set your ambition.

Equation 2: We rarely get interesting co-passengers on long-haul flights. Most of the time fellow passengers either fall asleep or plug in their headsets to binge-watch airline entertainment as they get fed at their seats. This was the case during my first leg of the journey from San Francisco to Dubai. But on the second leg from Dubai to Bengaluru, I was on the aisle seat and I traveled next to a youngster returning from Egypt seated next to the window. He flashed a smile that said I’m ready to start a conversation, how about you? Our conversation revealed that he was not one of those selfie obsessed or binge-watching youngsters. And he wasn’t returning from a vacation in Egypt but returning back from a teaching internship. Wow!

I couldn’t mute the journalist in me and I fired question after question to understand the drive, purpose and determination behind this 21-year old.

Z= X/2

Abhishek is an MBA pursuant from Bellary. He spent the Egyptian Summer at Cairo teaching English to Syrian refugee kids. He traveled 60 kms by public transport 5 days a week to a camp site 2 hours away from the city. Temperatures got to 40 deg C in Cairo and he stayed in a hostel for 12 weeks with no modern comforts like air conditioning or washing machine. He appeared two shade darker from the pictures he showed me on his phone and more fluent in Arabic.

During the 3-hour flight, he reflected on the learnings, experiences and choked recollecting the last day at the camp site with the children. At his age, I boarded the aircraft to pursue my MS in the US and never thought about a teaching internship in Africa or elsewhere. I am sure this experience will go a long way in making Abhishek a Superman.

We are on the last day of September and here in Chennai it still feels like summer. And a fortnight ago, I grew a year older inspired by these two gentlemen.

So, now let’s test your algebra skills. From the two equations, can you guess my age?

July and Self-Discovery

July has always been a very eventful month in my life. I’ve had many challenges come my way and I’ve turned them into achievements and adding a new dimension to myself. And, surprisingly, all of the challenges have taken me beyond my comfort zone traveling down the path less travelled. Over the years I’ve managed to replace the traumatic images from July of 2011 with pleasant experience and achievements. Here is a quick look back at the last eight Julys of my life and how I turned myself from a cyclist to an athlete.

The first challenge

In July of 2011, I underwent a corrective heart surgery to reroute an anomalous pulmonary vein that eloped to the wrong side of my heart. Post-surgery, doctors advised me against lifting heavy weights or pushing my heart into extreme sports.

No guarantees for a quality job?        

Despite charging 2.2 lakhs for rerouting the rouge vein, Doctors at Manipal Hospital didn’t give me a year guarantee on the procedure. In October of 2011, I decided to test the quality of their job by cycling 55 kms in the Loire Valley, France. A year later, I cycled 120 kms at Acadia National Park celebrating my first anniversary with my friends Paul and Stephanie.

With no quality issues, I decided to purse cycling more seriously and kicked started the next phase of my journey by participating in the CRX Ride for World Heart Day cycling 45 kms from Adyar to Mahabalipuram.

Turning a sport into vacation

“A man on a thousand-mile walk has to forget his goal and say to himself every morning, 'Today I'm going to cover twenty-five miles and then rest up and sleep.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

In July of 2014, Stephanie and I trekked along the Austrian Alps (Salzkammergut) for a week covering over 200 kms in 5 days. The Salzkammergut stretches from the city of Salzburg (birth place of Mozart) eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains. We camped by turquoise water bodies and ascended the peaks of Alphs to visit the world’s oldest salt mine of the Habsburg Monarchy (A UNESCO World Heritage Site).

Intoxicated by nature, I furthered my explorations from foot to wheel. In July 2015, I cycled along the Atlantic Coast in Portugal from Lisbon to Faro in the South covering 500 kms and reaching the southernmost tip of Europe. Not only did I discover the beauty and the history of the coastline that once played a key role in slave trade, but also tested my commitment to the sport of cycling.

Exploring National Parks and wildlife

Sometimes, endurance is more psychological than physiological and my explorations in 2016 and 2017 equipped me survival skills to be vegetarian in a fish-eating nation and coexist with animals in wilderness.

In 2016, I teamed up with my colleague Balaji and my friend Vijay for another memorable expedition to explore Japan, a stunning Island country, home to Mount Fuji, Buddhism, Arashimaya Bamboo forest, Geishas, superfast bullet trains, Sushi and many more. Over two weeks days, we crisscrossed the Island nation of Japan on superfast trains and explored cities (Tokyo, Kyoto, etc.) on foot averaging 15-17km each day totaling to 200+ kms and losing 5 kilos in 15 days.

If Japan taught me survival skills in a predominantly pescatarian nation, South Africa taught me how explore the wilderness and have a close experience with a hungry lioness, face-off with male elephant in musth and being chased by a protective mother Rhino and her calf.  Paul and I ascended a kilometer-high Table Mountains of Cape town replacing my agoraphobia with panoramic views of the breathtaking coastline, intoxicating vineyards and lush Kristenbosch National Botanical Gardens.

Conquering horizontally

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” goes the African Proverb. Along with Shivaji, I joined a trekking group to explore hillocks and beaches of Gokarna and peaks of Karnataka (Tadindamol – 1.7km in height). Among the group of 20 hikers, I managed to reach the top ahead of the rest. Somewhere along the way I asked myself why not improve my lung power and start conquering the planet horizontally?

We both registered for Bengaluru10K and trained for 2 months to complete 5K in under 30 minutes and finished at 6^th and 12 positions respectively in the 35+ age category.

What’s for next July?

Scars are not signs of weakness, they are signs of survival and endurance. ― Rodney A. Winters

As I head back to my annual medical examination this month, I’ll proudly tell my physician how I turned myself from a cyclist to an athlete and lost 8 kilos. So, for the next July story, should I aim for 10K, Ironman challenge, Skydiving, bike to Ladakh or trek in the Himalayas? Who wants to partner with me for a self-discovery and self-transformation trip?

Goodbye Grandpa

There are some people who can predict their end and my maternal grandfather, Kadiramangalam KV Nataraja Iyer was one of them. Twenty years ago, while teaching me the basics of astrology, he shared the insights into the planets combination that will take away his breath. He also let me into secrets about my own life and accurately predicted my surgery, while many popular astrologers in the city denied or never saw it coming.  

Every time I informed him of my visit, he would be sitting in the verandah (thinnai) eagerly awaiting my arrival. He would fill the refrigerator with fruits, while my grandmother prepared lip smacking snacks. But this time the recliner was empty and I was welcomed by pin-drop silence. As I entered, I found him lifeless on the floor; both his thumbs and toe fingers were tied together to prevent rigor mortis. My cousins told me that he had breathing difficulty post dinner and his end was very peaceful; I could see that radiating in his face.

He had enormous wisdom and never required Robin Sharma’s “Who Will Cry When You Die” to guide his life journey. He networked with people like a sales guy and used his contacts to help people find employment, syndicate marriages and help families in distress. Wherever he visited, he would go around to meet relatives and friends and ensured he kept the relationship warm and cordial. Whenever there was a death in the village, he would be the first one to pay his respects. He would comfort the family and extend physically and material support to them. Many at times, when orphaned elderly died he would perform their funeral.

His deeds earned his so much goodwill that within 12 hours after his demise posters cropped up all over the village condoling his death.The landline kept ringing constantly and people expressed their sadness and recalled his qualities with gratitude. Those who came to pay respects be it his relatives, classmates or those benefited from his generosity fondly recalled his acts of kindness and compared him to Karna in Mahabaratha.

While the funeral rituals where happening, Panditji asked me for a dhoti to tie around my grandfather for his final journey. As I rushed to get a new one from my suitcase I was reminded of the clothes he stitched for me at National Tailors” at Mayavaram every summer vacation. He also got me my first dhoti and introduced me to Khadi.

Despite being a school dropout (discontinued at Grade 6), he opened multiple schools in neighboring villages and sat on management committees of colleges to ensure education was fair and free. He had a strong sense of financial intelligence that learnt through his life experience. He diversified his investments (gold, financial instruments, property) to manage risks. Every time a grand child was born, he would open savings schemes that would mature around the time the child was ready to get into college. Honestly, I’ve never seen someone who understood the value of money and relationships in life better than him.

I may have earned multiple degrees from around the world, but the lessons I learnt from him are precious and continue to guide me in life. He taught me how to write letters and the art of building relationships when I was young. Long before I joined MBA, he taught me the time value of money, importance of saving and introduced me to financial instruments like Kisan Vikas Patra and Insurance Policies. He also taught me value system, importance of being a custodian of culture and follower of tradition and how to make personal wealth useful to society and earn good karma. In short, he was someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart.     

His healthy lifestyle made him live for 86 years without any major ailments and illness. He rose early and went to bed early living true to the adage, "Early to rise, early to bed makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. He walked 5 miles every day to oversee his paddy fields and filled his diet with lot of fiber and little carbs.  

When I left the village house after his funeral, I conspicuously felt his absence. Usually, he would pack the boot of the car with vegetables and would walk to the temple at the end of the street to break a coconut to ensure our journey was safe. Today, the boot was empty, temple wore a deserted look and grandfather was not at the end of the street. As I drove away, I recollected his life lessons and promised to pick up the mantle from him and carry on his tradition of selflessly giving and serving people.

Of all the grandchildren, I spent maximum time with him and exposed myself to his wisdom and values. This eulogy has given me an opportunity to reflect on my years with him, express my gratitude and share my grief and learning with you.

The Queen of Indian Cinema Passes Away...

 

What is common between the King of Rock N’Roll Elvis Presley, six time Grammy-winning pop legend Whitney Houston, and India’s female superstar Padmashri Sridevi Kapoor? All three of them met their fate in a mysterious way in the bathrooms and tested positive for drugs and alcohol. For many of us who grew up hearing their music and watching their movies and modeled our lives after their success, this news came as a shocker leaving us in a whirlwind of denial, pain and disbelief. Are superstars fragile and less gutsy?

India’s Meryl Streep

Sridevi started her acting career at the age of 4 and went on to act in 300 movies in the last 50 years. As a childartist she acted in all South Indian languages and by the age of 13 (in 1976) she did a leading role in Mundru Mudicchu opposite to Kamal Hassan and Rajnikanth that got her more visibility and opportunities in South Indian Cinema.

 

At the age of 14 she worked with some of the best directors in Tamil Cinema including K. Balachander, Barathiraja and Balu Mahendra.  She won her first Filmfare Award in Tamil for 16 Vyathinile for playing a rural girl (Mayil) and at 18 she won Tamil Nadu State Award for her performance in Moondram Piram for essaying a girl suffering from amnesia. She is the only actress to have paired up maximum number of movies opposite Kamal Hassan (27 movies) after Sripriya. Also, Kamal is the only hero to have paired up with her in maximum movies.

 

She debuted in Hindi Cinema in 1979 while she was still a reigning queen of South Indian Cinema. It is her performance in Himmatwala opposite to Jeetendra that got her recognition and more opportunities. Soon she became a sought-after heroin and paired with all the superstars of Hindi cinema including Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Mithun Chakraborty, Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor and Amitab Bacchan. She was the only heroin to do half-dozen double roles and the only one to pair up with both Dharmendra and Sunny Doel (father and son).

 

Even in Bollywood, she worked with all the star directors including Ram Gopal Verma, Shekhar Kapur, Yash Chopra and Pankaj Parashar. Her dance in Naagina, imitation of Charlie Chaplin in Mr. India, to a twin role in Chaalbaaz all earned her accolades in the press including Filmfare awards.

 

Though she acted in all four south Indian languages, but it was Hindi cinema that catapulted her to becomes India’s female superstar. In 1996, she did Devaragam, a bi-lingual with Aravind Swamy and bade goodbye to Malayalam Cinema.

Her comeback

Sridevi stepped out of Indian cinema in 1997 to start a family and played her role as a dedicated wife and mother off the silver screen. After her comeback to cinema in 2012 she started taking up roles that mirrored real life issues and represented the struggle of a doting wife and a protective mother. In 2015, the Queen of Indian cinema came back to Kollywood as Queen Yavanarani and thrilled Tamil audience after a gap of 23 years.

In her comeback movie English Vinglish in Hindi she captivated audience with her performance as a middle-aged woman trying to learn English, earn respect of her family members and bring back the spark in her marriage. In her last movie Mom in 2017, she displayed intense emotions as a step mother trying to bond with her rebellious daughter and seeking justice when she gets raped.

If her marriage to Boney Kapoor was failing, couldn’t she have borrowed lessons from Sashi (English Vinglish) or if she had a difficult relationship with her daughters Jhanvi and Kushi, couldn’t Devaki (Mom) give her much wisdom and confidence? Wasn’t it time for her to be a protective mom to her daughters and guide them to be successful in their life? Why did Sridevi decide to call it quits?

The bathtub Hall of fame

Though she was a director’s delight, she was called a journalist’s nightmare. She was an intensely private person, who rarely spoke to media or shared about her life or her inspiration. As a result, journalists are now speculating her death and media is rife with rumors with possible theories.

Sridevi may have never copied another artist’s performance, but she did when she ended her life in the bathtub. It is hard to believe that an artist who carefully crafted her career and carelessly ended her life in a bathtub.

We still love and miss you Sridevi. Hopefully, Jhanvi will grow up to be more gutsy and brighter version of you.

 

 

Padman, a Bollywood cinema teaches lessons on Change Management

Though Mahatma Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but he never told us how difficult it is to bring about that change at an individual level. And recently, as I sat through a 150 minute-long Bollywood movie Padman, I realized how this is a brilliant example of a change management, how it can go awry and awkward, and also how change managers go through a horrible time implementing a change.

The protagonist, Lakshmi Chauhan essayed by Akshay Kumar is very sensitive to women’s needs and questions the age-old practice of quarantining women during periods. And, when he notices his newly married wife Gayathri use a soiled piece of cloth instead of a clean and hygienic sanitary pad, he tries to convince her to switch. Unfortunately, the steep price of sanitary pads thwarts his efforts to get Gayathri to switch. Soon, Lakshmi goes on to create a cheaper version of sanitary pad and becomes a self-appointed messiah for educating women to change. In a society where men talking about women’s periods is considered taboo, Lakshmi is meted with a strong opposition by the larger society, which eventually costs him his marriage.

Watch the movie trailer:

As a PROSCI certified, change management professional, this movie reminded of the famous 5-step ADKAR model we prescribe to clients for successfully implementing and managing change.

Why and where did Lakshmi fail in his effort?

• Firstly, he fails to understand the need to create Awareness highlighting the need for a change
• Secondly, though he strongly advocates the use of pads, he doesn’t go about seeding the Desire to change in women and explain “what’s in it for them”.
• Thirdly, he didn’t go about systematically sharing Knowledge on why they needed to switch. Also, he failed to use women change agents in a rural society where a male talking about menstruation hygiene and sanitary pads is considered taboo.
• Fourthly, he never analyzed why women resisted and villagers abhored his efforts. Moreover, he didn't measure their Ability to change and come up plans to diffuse resistance and recognize with Rewards/incentives to switch.
• Lastly, he was a self-appointed change manager and didn’t have a sponsor or village leaders to support him.

After being out casted by his mother and siblings, scorned by his in-laws and villagers, Lakshmi feels like a loser. His good intentions were misunderstood and he became a self-made villain sabotaging his relationships and ruining his marriage. Nevertheless, he doesn’t give up on his ambition to bring about change in the society.

A gentle breeze enters Lakshmi’s life through a sponsor, Pari essayed by Sonam Kapoor. From infusing confidence in him to motivating him to participate in a competition to get much needed capital and visibility and scale up his ambition, Pari turns into a sponsor and a change agent. She kills the taboo by getting women to educate their clan and empower them to be change ambassadors and entrepreneurs bringing success to Lakshmi’s ambition. Finally, her efforts get much needed recognition and visibility to Lakshmi and helps him clear his sullied image in his village and rebuild his relationship with his estranged wife and family.

Change management is not an easy profession and you can be a Superman if you carefully review Padman's mistakes and remember the key lessons including the importance of considering cultural aspects while implementing a change program and how to go about diffusing resistance. If you are a change manager, don’t miss watching this educational cinema and use it as a case study to sell change management to clients and prospects.