Mediocrity...

The bane of today's corporate world


An ex-colleague and a  friend, Arup Sengupta, started a conversation recently, on Facebook, on the need to develop skill sets, around Transactional Analysis and NLP, amongst in-class trainers. While many of our friends added comments on the agreeing to the same, but in no time the conversation-thread moved towards the need of BootCamps which are BootCamps in word & spirit; no mollycuddling, but hardcore break-the-horse-and-make-a-stallion kind of BootCamp.

Someone even defined BootCamps as 'cardboard houses so that the trainers sound-the-part without any conviction'. This someone, Kapil Kant Kaul (hereon refered to as K3), also stated a stark truth about the mom-n-pop-stores kind of training companies, that the problem starts when these training companies, with their greater affinity to bottom lines look for trainers who are like onions; can be thrown in any recipe but unable to be a complete recipe in itself.

Well, I agree with K3, and somewhere we are responsible as well. We allowed that to happen under our nose, and like a child who closes her eyes and thinks that the world is calm & quite as nothing can be seen, we closed our eyes as well. These training outfits and trainers operate on the epitome of rehash of content; walk into any of these companies or take a peek into any of these trainers' hard-disk, and you would find 'generations of universal slides with only a different company logo', and as K3 states, that the skillset is only defined by how much can be crammed in a day of presentation and that is followed by a 'vomit' both literally and figuratively in a training session. This phenomenon is seen rampant across India, and while there are some exceptional trainers and training professionals and CLOs, they are outnumbered by these not-did-well-in-sales-and-hence-into-training trainers and training outfit owners... as my friend, Rajat says, 'there are people who live these behavioral models without having being 'certified', and there are more who live life vice-versa'.

I must commend K3 to bring out the bitter truth about cats & dogs... mediocre trainers inform, good trainers share and great trainers inspire; unless the trainer lives those values, authenticity and conviction may never come in. Training ought to be a profession of people who are passionate about actualization, both self and transcendental and not a last resort of burnt-out salesmen to get a regular paycheck.

As bitter the truth is, one needs to take an accommodative view... or should we not!!!

Rajat offers a pragmatic view, and while I agree with him, my understanding of 'mediocrity' gets shaped with what he says in the thread; and this is how it goes...

...and just like in any other profession, there is a range of performers, from passe to the excellent, also in training, there are training companies dealing with knowledge and basic transactions for the masses, there are a few 'evolved' training companies doing work around leadership, transformation, and OD, and, then there is the Aastha Channel (akin to the GOD Channel on cable); just like every sales person cannot be a CEO (of course, one can dream to be one!!!), similarly, every trainer may not evolve to be as inspirational trainer (again, one can aspire to be one!!!)

I do agree that the biggest killer is 'mediocrity', but lately, I have realised that 'mediocrity' also ensures that there is no stress. So, one of the questions that I ask trainers nowadays is whether they want to be good or they want to be superlative. I have seen a lot of excellent facilitators who have remained good and have allowed their round wheels become square wheels as the context changed, and this is my understanding of the initial indicators of mediocrity 'seeping in'; someone, who thinks s/he knows everything, and stops questioning & learning... or being questioned.

So, the question I ask, time to time, is whether its OK to remain mediocre; as no one is aware and hence, no one asks. And as no one is aware, I continue to make people believe that my 'this' current state is superlative. True-To-Heart, 'superlative' is a state, of which there is no single definition, but, many an indicators; the strongest one being, the want & ability to listen without barriers and learn; and to be OK to be questioned & challenged; and to fail.

Somewhere in the thread, one of my earlier supervisors, Rohit, talked about a certain set of trainers as the 'last of the breed'; are they really extinct!!! Well, it might be true, if we refuse to change & bend and be ahead of the pack. I also believe that there are quite a few facilitators or wannabe facilitators who can actually be superlative, and there are many facilitators who have become superlative, and I hope they continue to remain; and continue to encourage others.



Next is What!
(not Samsung)


First - A common-interest society is being formed to get the relevant executive and non-executive people in the fold.

Second - Standards for Roleholders at all L&D professionals, including specialists within the profession, and for all levels... They are in the pipeline.

Third - A 'College of Learning' is on its way.



I hope that my quest for words to capsulate my experience from my-war-of-two-decades-against-mediocrity, does not leave readers confused; India needs a transformation in the way our facilitators operate; but, no one is to blame, let's own up the fact that we all were together when Caesar was being stabbed...

Let's start anew!

Olivier Madel-Felicite's Gift to make us Better Leaders

10 question to make you a better leader...



1- What matters most?

The good news is, there's no right or wrong answer. Yet, what was most important a year or two ago may not be the driving force in the business or in your life today. Press the reset button and, together with your leadership team, clarify priorities and commit to keeping them in focus.



2- What is one "problem" I can turn into an opportunity?

No need for rose-colored glasses — just view a current challenge through a lens of opportunity. Think about past successes in the business and figure out how to apply those skills to the issue at hand. You grow by building on strengths, not "fixing" weaknesses.



3- What do employees need to hear from me?

Be careful about sending the message that you need people to hear. Think from your employees' point of view — if they don't feel understood, they won't listen to you anyway — and resist the urge to tell them how they "should" think or feel. Remember that inspiration doesn't come only from motivational speeches to the masses. It should happen more informally, too.



4- What is our customers' greatest pain?

Be relentless about knowing and meeting that need. Skip the complicated surveys. Instead, pick up the phone and ask. Listen and understand first — then get busy offering solutions.



5- What new business relationships will I pursue?

New opportunities come from new relationships. Inside and outside your industry, seek out opportunities where there is potential for mutual benefit — not just "what's in it for me?" Remember, too, that even in these boom days of social media, significant business relationships begin with real dialogue — not a tweet.



6- How will I be more strategic?

Skip the SWOT exercise. Strategic planning isn't an event — it's a discipline. Get serious about setting direction, always starting with a big-picture view of the possibilities. Resist the urge to discuss and deal with tactics until you're clear on what you want to accomplish. Even then, don't check strategy off your list — put it into daily practice.



7- How can I make swift yet smart decisions?

Now more than ever, you can't afford to overanalyze. Clear the clutter — the "mind clutter" that plagues even the best leaders — and make way for swift, smart decision-making. Hint: Slow down your thinking during the planning process, so you can make faster and better decisions later.



8- How will I recognize success?

You won't know if the business is on the right path if you haven't determined some key markers or indicators. What's more, not all measures of success are quantitative, so consider how you'll know when a result "feels right."



9- What is my biggest fear, and how will I face it?

Name it – and claim it. If you don't, it can be damaging, even deadly, to you and the business. After all, what you resist, you empower. Own your fear — before it owns you — and decide how you'll confront it.



10- What leadership skill can—and should—I get better at?

Fact is, your personal effectiveness affects the success of the business. Pick the leadership skill that most needs your attention—listening, coaching, or problem solving, perhaps—and commit to improvement. Small changes really can make a big difference. Just ask your team and others on the receiving end.


Don't be afraid to answer these questions honestly and openly; the goal is help you with the last one. Infact, if you have responded to the first 9, you would've anyways built an understanding around the leadership skills that you need to build.

Important: As a Leaders or wannabe leaders, you shouldn't be afraid of revealing your fears our doubts as you reach for new goals because it shows employees it's OK to struggle when striving for change.

Development in Kharghar

Kharghar, and in fact Navi Mumbai, is emerging as the 'killer' response for the chaos of Mumbai!

We have been staying in Navi Mumbai since the summer of 2004. Till about 2 years back, when I joined my current employer, we had hardly visited Mumbai as we would find most of our requirements fulfilled by Navi Mumbai itself. And today, but for my employer, some of our friends, and the airport, we really don't have the need to go to Mumbai. One may also attribute this to our needs getting fulfilled here; and while there are a lot of things to do on the island, but they are not on the top of our list of priorities.


Growth in Navi Mumbai - Today & Tomorrow

Starting from the landmark 'Siemens' building Navi Mumbai has grown leaps & bounds since.While a lot has happened, yet there is a humongous lot which is yet to be done. A lot of talk is in the air to make Mumbai, the Shanghai of India; good thought, but I am convinced that it will not be Mumbai, but Navi Mumbai which will steal the crown. Watch out, Mumbai!!!

In the first two years of our stay, there had been a lot of smoke & gas, but no fire. In the past three years, Navi Mumbai has gotten into canter mode. With Greater Mumbai (MahaMumbai) SEZ coming up, the New Airport near Kharghar, the Bollywood Hills project in Kharghar, a world-class Golf Academy in Kharghar, a Central Park in Kharghar, beautifully designed railway stations spread all over Navi Mumbai, integrated railway stations such as the one coming up in Seawoods, 3 metro-lines, India's largest ISKCON temple in Kharghar, the Sewri-Nhava Transharbour Link, the Urban Haat in Belapur (modelled in the lines of Dilli Haat), this is surely going to be an interesting place to live and  bring up my son... and your children. Please do take a look at the links, and feel free to contribute more links.

I personally feel that the Parsik Hills project should now be reinitiated with vigor; and how about getting the likes of ISB & IIM here. In the first para I had written about my priorities; well, I would like to qualify 'priorities'. The flexibility that I offer to my 'priorities' is directly proportional to the 'pain' in travelling / driving in Mumbai, and its a bane. So, what happens if we have a theatres playing Naseeruddin, amphitheatres flooded with Yanni's music & classical dance extravaganza by Hema Malini, book-reading by William Dalrymple, art galleries hosting Hussain, culture centres showing Akira Kurosawa's work, art centre teaching Origami etc etc etc... in Navi Mumbai!!! Well, in that case all of the above would gain priority in my 'list of priorities'; just that, I hope, that traffic doesn't become a bane here!!!


Areas of Improvement

We want a lot, but we should not forget that with developments come newer issues. What is important is that we forsee them and keep their remedy as a part of our plan. So, where all do we need to improve, and plan for 30years from today.

While a lot has to be done in terms of our 'attitude', let us go ahead and do our bit in terms of keeping the place clean, following traffic rules, making the place culture-sponsoring and also build profitable & sustainable communities out of the villages that dot the entire Navi Mumbai space. Technology is catching up in Navi Mumbai, but we need to have this place hot-wired into a wi-fi environment.

The Times of India's 2nd Jan edition had asked a question... "Do you think the Navi Mumbai roads are more accident-prone? If yes what you would suggest to make the city roads safe for commuting?". I responded to it (http://bit.ly/8GDzf8), but by the time I finished writing, I realised that so much could be done.

WE have to make living in Navi Mumbai safer for us and our children.



Links to Checkout...

Cidco plot for Kharghar film park fetches Rs 1,530 crore (http://bit.ly/7EBWTX)
1st phase of Navi Mumbai airport by 2013 (http://bit.ly/4WMy8w)
ISKCON's Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohanji Temple, spread over eight acres of land that will be more than just a temple (http://iskconkharghar.com/)
CIDCO's Navi Mumbai festival begins on 23/Jan/2010 (http://bit.ly/4rFV0Z)
Kharghar park to open doors next week to the 1st Phase of the Central Park (http://bit.ly/8itMfq)