The inherent goodness of mankind - 2

The huge outpouring of emotions on my last day in the service of the heart of incredible India took its toll. Yes, despite the huge anticipation of an impending challenge that I always looked forward to,  I was drowned in the sea of love and emotions. And why not, the love and affection put on open display by almost everyone in my circle is enough to give pangs of pain to anyone, and I have always been by nature, a very emotional person.

Madhya Pradesh is a lovely state, inhabited by simple people and MPT, by hardworking and sincere men who lifted the organization from the abyss to everest and I sincerely hope they continue to rise further under bureaucrats whom I always admired and also loved.     

The outpouring of sentiments from men in the air also overwhelms me. Air Indians I am certain are also as good and God willing, perhaps a shade better than the ITDCians, MPTians and Railwaymen. This belief stems from my experience with one such guy who worked with me since the last six months and who is now going to plaster the MP sky with planes, albeit smaller ones. I believe there must be scores like him and that thought alone gives me confidence and courage.

HR is the crux, unfortunately most of us in the sarkari seva pay no heed to it and remain embroiled in the mundane. If everyone is able to realize his or her potential, there is no reason why organizations will not grow by leaps and bounds. The mere thought that all of us, at the core are one with the almighty makes me treat with utter disdain the artificially created divides, for I have often experienced great work being delivered by mortals unfortunately regarded low in the artificial hierarchies.

I often remember with great pride, the rise from abyss of men during the days ITDC was being hived off. The tremendous zeal that my men then displayed to pull the organization out of the red and compete with the best in the private sector often make my eyes swell with tear and pride.

Perhaps I have been lucky, having gotten so much love and respect in the past, and God willing this lucky streak shall continue. This I am absolutely certain will be the greatest test of all my beliefs and convictions, the strongest of which is the belief in the inherent goodness of mankind.

Amen!

On the move once again!

This time to head the beleaguered Air India, the erstwhile Maharajah of the nation with its trademark logo. The sheen has been lost but not the inner strength is my firm belief and this alone gives me the hope that the skies can be ruled once again. And it shall happen.

My diehard belief in the inherent goodness of men at large who have delivered while I have merely shown them the way is the reason for my optimism. My experience in running commercial enterprises is that leadership by apex management indeed remains the primary issue, while the mundane takes priority and that too in a reactive manner. Providing proactive leadership is the crux and playing on the front foot the easiest way to demonstrate the same is what I believe in.  

Heading Air India had always remained a dream, especially since I was shown the door after turning around Hotel Ashok Delhi and putting on the right track, the India Tourism Development Corporation, for since being turned around myself, the belief that a turnaround is indeed possible had festered inside me.

And now the moment of truth has indeed arrived. All my beliefs, and there are many would now be put to test and I will realize whether I was wrong or right. Yet I have to be right for I cannot afford the ignominy of defeat especially in my last tenure. My firm belief that will power is still the biggest power to overcome any obstacle and impeccable integrity and adherence to value systems the only way to perform miracles would now once again be put to test.

My stint at ITDC helped, for I witnessed a tremendous team-work amongst employees, something that till then was never considered possible. And when the team rises, as I pleasantly witnessed, a turnaround emerges. Yet hard work has to act as the major ingredient of the pie.

And Madhya Pradesh Tourism has been fun. With open support from the powers that be, the men at the corporation rose to the occasion to propel the state to the forefront of tourism in the country and the corporation, a perfect commercial enterprise.

A motorcycle advertisement where the rider blends with his bike and they become one has been one of my greatest inspirations. That is the crux, the CEO has to completely blend with the organization that he heads, almost like sugar in water and then the decisions that he takes would invariably tend to be right. Gut alone provides the right answers in commercial organizations, I have almost always realized.

Like always before I shall not fail this time also, perhaps my last innings in the service of the nation, is a promise that I have made to myself.

May God give me the strength!