Tremendous potential of the HR

Human Resource is the key to revival, yet very rarely the same is understood or appreciated. And we search for solutions in strategies, high sounding words and solutions and often in power point presentations.

Slick power point presentations have caused the nation and its organizations much harm. Presentations conceptualized and made by young MBA’s while remaining fairly distant from ground realities, yet presented powerfully under a false shroud of conviction have the ability to take many for a ride. The boss, partaking of the presentation remains under an illusion of a time well spent, even though it is totally wasted.

The problem of an illusory ground connect especially at apex levels is for real. Unfortunately our society, already highly compartmentalized, differentiates between the lower and the upper echelons on an almost 24/7 basis, thereby preventing the much needed interaction that makes one aware of what is really happening.

The solutions touted therefore remain theoretical and fail to work. What remains constant are post mortems of why and where we went wrong.  Jet is one such example. With a debt that is apparently manageable if the organization is well run, one fails to understand why the organization went down under, if the management was capable and committed enough.

And so have been many other organizations, the national carrier being one of them. How can an organization be allowed to remain in reds continuously for over a decade since merger, a scenario that has resulted in the current debt trap, without real remedial measures being initiated the moment the dip became apparent.

I have witnessed the same everywhere, be it Madhya Pradesh tourism, ITDC, Railways or the National Carrier, all faced the ignominy that emerges out of inadequate top management. In all organizations, invariably the blame for shortcomings was laid at the altar of the field soldiers. On the other hand I have also witnessed though rarely, organizations rising from the ashes whenever a humane leadership played on the front foot.

We all know how we would like to be handled by those above us in the organizational hierarchy, yet we fail to apply the same when we handle those below us in the hierarchy. We are rough with those down below and extra polite with those above us, regardless of the merit of the argument being made and the subject being discussed.

The ability to stand up for what is right and to be able to correct what is wrong is amiss, almost always, everywhere. This quality is what defines an individual and all other traits are borne out of this singular attribute only. Everything else is secondary.

Let us all focus on the human resource, alleviate their grievances and suffering and get the best out of them. It is indeed almost impossible to comprehend me as to how much more we can get out of a charged motivated individual.

We need to believe in the tremendous potential of the human resource.

Madhya Pradesh - the heart and heartbeat of India

Back to where the heart is!

Tourism has again called me back in its wings. My fourth stint in the tourism sector began on the 8^th of January this year with the government of Madhya Pradesh as its Commissioner and Managing Director of Tourism. Being wanted is definitely a great feeling that I have been exulting in since the day of my arrival in the beautiful state that I believe has been crafted especially for the roving tourist.

And this return, perhaps the only case of its kind ever in the country where the services of a central services officer have been requisitioned by a state government for the third time, often makes me feel like a tourism expert and at times I start acting like one. Yet I pardon myself on such mistakes that I often commit, regarding myself as a tourism expert or a management guru and sometimes as a leading exponent of smoking beauties, the steam locomotives of yesteryears.

Yet in reality I am none of the above. The nation has a plethora of experts in the tourism and management fields, experts who are many notches above me and given the chance would make a much better contribution than me. Perhaps my expertise lies in converting an idea into reality remaining within the system that is perhaps designed for acts of non-deliverance. And this penchant for delivery is not tourism centric – it has been happening in almost all areas with ease.

The faith and trust that the government of the state has reposed in me is not at all an easy head load. The pressure for deliverance is mind boggling yet the positive and friendly vibes that emanate from almost all sections of the Vallabh Bhawan have ensured that no even an iota of tension is in the air. Heavy pressure but no tension and too much on the plate is perhaps a utopian scenario in a sarkari environment.

The state is indeed not only the heart but also the heartbeat of the nation. Almost in the centre of the nation with ease of access, moderate climate, beautiful landscape, simple people and an amazing variety and richness of tourist destinations, all go to make this state the essence of the republic. The job that way is relatively simple. The richness has to be showcased, basic infrastructure put in place, craft culture and cuisine packaged and showcased, events created and packaged, private sector facilitated to put in place tourist infrastructure, information widely and efficiently disseminated and above all professionalizing the state run tourism corporation, handling which is my primary charge.

And all this would be possible. After all a beautiful state that is so well governed besides being headed by an individual who has concern for human values at the core of his heart, has to excel in the business of tourism.

I also now realize that far more important than mere showcasing that most of the leading states are indulging in, is the need to put right things at the ground level. And this is where the state of Madhya Pradesh stands out in almost all areas especially tourism where the works at the ground level have outpaced their showcasing. This has also resulted in a groundswell of support from the general public as they witnessed what they never had earlier – things changing for the better at a very rapid pace.

And this pace is now going to continue. And why not – when work becomes fun can excellence be far behind?  

India - on the road to excellence

The launch of electronic visa for nationals of forty three countries yesterday is one of the brightest moments for the tourism industry of the country. That it will spur inbound tourism is not in doubt, but that it displays the intent of the new government to give a fillip to this so far almost neglected sector is the powerful message that comes across clearly. Railways and tourism, the two sectors that were on the radar of the ruling party even much before the last general elections now appear poised for a major upturn. The use of the word “appear” is because with governments it is always wise not to count chickens before one actually sees them hatching.

My stint in the federal ministry of tourism began with me wondering why we crave a national impact even before being able to do anything substantial about the city of Agra, often christened as the mecca of Indian tourism. Why this city still remains the epitome of civic mal-governance is what bothers me even at such moments that for all of us even remotely linked with the sector are moments of rejoicing.

The economic impact and the multiplier effect of tourism on the national economy has always been fairly well touted so far and why not – there are glaring examples of many national economies surviving on and also thriving on mere tourism. Yet our nation that has the finest and most diverse collection of destinations and climates, culture and heritage, lifestyles, cuisines and shopping has not been really successful in taking full advantage of its endowments. 

The reason really lies in our inability to let the private sector adequately delve in areas that directly impinge upon tourism. The reason also lies in lack of cleanliness almost across the national spectrum, our penchant to fleece and bureaucratic apathy to development. Perhaps the realization that a plethora of small steps if allowed to flourish are much more potent that grandiose plans that usually do not see the light of the day, needs to sink in deeper. And the almost surreptitious acceptance of the fact that governments have miserably failed in running their small tourism businesses combined with lofty proclamations of grand intent really does not make any sense to me.

Achieving excellence in whatever we do has to be the aim and the tourism sector offers us a big enough plate to do that.  It is one sector that does not really need major investments exclusively for itself but can thrive merely with commitment and intent is a reality that needs acceptance. Like tourists, the entire sector only needs to be facilitated with favourable policies and mind-sets. The introduction of electronic visa for increasing tourism and various other measures to facilitate economic growth are displaying the road ahead rather favorably.

What ails Indian tourism?

Tourism along with railways has always been a key focus area of the new prime minister even before he became one and it is now time that these sectors are actually harnessed for the national good. Unfortunately tourism, an activity of the masses has always been looked upon with an elitist undertone and therefore the sector rarely got the attention and the priority it rightfully deserved despite its unmatched multiplier effect and capacity for generating employment.

There has always been an ongoing debate over whether tourism is a state or a federal subject and voices to bring it on the concurrent list were always getting raised. Yet the fact remains that merely being on a list is not a guarantor of growth or development and what really matters are intentions and also the efforts to convert them into reality. During my earlier roller coaster stint in the federal ministry of tourism I always wondered whether merely putting Agra, the home of the Tajmahal in order should not be the starting point for setting right the entire gamut of tourism in the nation. Yet it was never to be as we always aspired to do something big while failing in achieving the small. 

Another issue that has always been on the top of my mind is whether the primary role of the tourism departments at the federal and state levels is tourism for the mandarins or tourism for the masses. For masses obviously it has to be, yet the tours beyond the confines of the shores have continued unabated, cutting across states and shades of governance. Our focus definitely needs to shift from beyond the shores to setting our own house in order and then zoom forward.

It is not merely about how many visitors we receive from beyond the shores. Tourism to my mind is more about enabling our countrymen to explore the richness of their own country, something that gets shrouded by the glimmer of what is regarded and worshipped as foreign stuff.

It is also of essence that the national perspective on tourism does not remain confined merely to figures both of foreign tourist arrivals and the home population moving within the country. Unfortunately the national mind-set is guided and also led by statistics, and therein lies the malaise. Even while remaining confined to statistics, the essential difference between the tourist, who is basically an explorer, and the traveller, who may be moving for many reasons needs to be   appreciated, though both form part of the tourism statistics that are regularly being churned out and touted by those who matter in the matter of tourism in the country.

Another fallacy is related to international advertising. Our sheer inability to appreciate that the bottleneck in so far as foreign tourist arrivals is concerned is not the inability to showcase but the  number of seats in the aircrafts plying between the homeland and the rest of the world. It is time to realize that advertising is not merely for increasing the numbers but also for improving the image perception and creating the desire to visit and it therefore has to be primarily driven by the Indian ethos, culture and achievements and not merely the numbers game.

And it is also about infrastructure. The much-needed basic tourist infrastructure is a dire necessity and merely releasing grants to the State Governments who permit only a trickle to reach the ground is not making the difference it actually should. The release of funds alone is an inadequate measure unless it results in an actual conversion and in its absence a pat on the back is not really in order. The emergence of a good monitoring and executing machinery is the desperate need of the hour.

The India Tourism Development Corporation is indeed the sad story of Indian tourism. An inherently profitable commercial organization also entrusted with the national mandate of development of tourism has been brought to seed by inept leadership provided by high ranking bureaucrats. Is it not really unfortunate that along with Air India, ITDC is also now regarded as the national symbol of sloth, inefficiency and corruption? Both these commercial monoliths could have given a tremendous push to the cause of tourism as well as travel within the country, something they did till professionalism remained at the core of their operations. Yet both can turnaround provided………

It is beyond doubt that tourism as an activity almost always happens on its own, without prodding from the governments, and that it helps local economies to grow at a pace much higher than in other sectors. Its employment potential as well as impact on economy many times over the investment in the sector have already received adequate national hype and now it warrants real inputs not merely rhetoric  from the governments. 

It is now time that the handling of tourism moves beyond the established clichés and it actually starts  driving local economies, besides giving a thrust to the re-emergence and positioning of ancient Indian heritage, art, culture and thought. It would indeed be futile to look at tourism without looking at all that the country stands for. The sectors encompassing tourism and culture are complimentary and a much higher natural synergy will now perhaps be achieved after the merger of the two ministries.

The role of the Government of India Tourist Offices, popularly known as GOITO’s that earlier formed the backbone of the national effort to give a thrust to tourism need a much deeper understanding and appreciation. Merely finding faults without suitably empowering them to function efficiently in a fast changing international scenario is causing more damage than good. Perhaps an injection of fundamentals of administration and management is the need of the hour. It is also necessary that the unfortunate state of affairs in which these offices and the men who man them stand castigated should cease once and for all. 

Lack of cleanliness and hygiene is also a bane of the tourism sector in the nation. Perhaps it is an issue related to the mind-set that is prevalent, yet there is no alternative to maintaining in a state of utmost cleanliness both our tourist destinations as well as places of human habitat in general. The recent clean india campaign marked a good beginning, yet the effort has lost steam midway or so it appears.

And make it easy for the private sector to invest. That the number of hotel rooms in the organized sector is far lower than that in the city state of Singapore indeed says it all. A multi-pronged strategy focussed on cleanliness, private sector participation, infrastructure development, promotional advertising and tourist facilitation would make all the difference in proper positioning of the country as a tourist friendly nation in its own national interest, is indeed the need of the hour.

Need to look beyond!

NEED TO LOOK BEYOND CLICHÉD APPROACH

Monday, 07 April 2014 | Ashwani Lohani | in Oped

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Tourism, which has been handled in a slip-shod fashion, needs to emerge as one of the focal sectors of the new dispensation at the Centre

The national perspective on tourism should not remain confined merely to figures of foreign tourist arrivals and the home population moving within the country. Unfortunately the mindset of the sector has been unable to rise above the jugglery of statistics, and therein lies the malaise. Even while remaining confined to statistics, the essential difference between the tourist, who is basically an explorer, and the traveller, who may be moving for many reasons, is not being appreciated, though both form part of the tourism statistics that are regularly being churned out and touted by those who matter in the matter of tourism in the country.

Another fallacy is related to promotional advertising. Our sheer inability to appreciate that the bottleneck in so far as foreign tourist arrivals is concerned, is not the inability to showcase but the excessive load factors on the flights plying between our country and the rest of the world. Advertising has to be primarily driven by Indian ethos, culture and achievements and not merely the number game.

And the third is about infrastructure. The much-needed basic tourist infrastructure is a physical necessity and merely dumping loads of money on hapless State Governments who permit only a trickle to reach the ground, is not going to help. The release of funds needs to be followed by proportionate conversion into hard reality, and without that happening, patting the back is not really in order. Perhaps the emergence of a good monitoring and executing machinery is the need of the hour.

The story of the (in)famous India Tourism Development Corporation says it all. An inherentlyprofitable business brought to seed by inept management is indeed the sad story of India’s tourism. Tourism development is the mandate, yet the corporation finds it difficult even to stand on its own feet and has emerged as perhaps the glaring national example of sloth, inefficiency and corruption. Now, matters seem to have improved. But almost a decade and a half ago, whenever I visited the Ministry of Environment and Forests, I wondered how a ministry that fails to maintain the environment within its headquarters can be expected to do justice to the environment of the country.

There is absolutely no doubt that tourism as an activity almost always happens on its own, without prodding from the Governments, and that it helps local economies to grow at a pace much higher than in other sectors. The employment potential as well as the multiplier effect of tourism have already received adequate hype. Tourism definitely needs to emerge as one of the focal sectors of the new dispensation at the Centre.

Emerge it shall, provided the new Government looks beyond the established clichés and takes necessary steps to enable tourism drive local economies, besides giving a thrust to the re-emergence and positioning of ancient Indian heritage, art, culture and thought.  It would indeed be a futile exercise to look at tourism without looking at all that the country stands for. The sectors encompassing tourism and culture are complimentary and a much higher natural synergy can be achieved by merging, once and for all the two separate ministries.

Tourist offices that earlier formed the backbone of the national effort to give a thrust to tourism need to be revitalised by suitable empowerment and injection of fundamentals of administration and management. The unfortunate state of affairs in which these offices and the men who man them stand castigated only because of the envious environment that foreign postings tend to create, should not be allowed to continue.

The focus on numbers has to go and the emphasis must be on setting the ground in order. Tourism can happen on its own, with timely facilitation by the Centre and State Governments.

Think Big Act Small

A simple mantra, yet almost never followed. Half hearted attempts at climbing lofty mountains when even crossing foothills is difficult, is an oft visible sight in sarkari territories especially railways.

The turnaround of the New Delhi Railway Station in time for the CWG was the culmination, not of a mega revival project but of a large number of small yet focussed action plans. And what a turnaround it was that made even the sceptical CAG take notice and record his appreciation in no uncertain terms. This simple turnaround with a massive impact could not happen earlier due to the dilemma that all my predecessors faced in light of the perpetual grand plan running in thousands of crores to give a world class look and feel to this station. A grand uncertainty over shadowing simple yet doable development plans for decades is an unacceptable scenario, a scenario that was accepted and justified at almost all functional and policy making levels in the railways. Sic.

Ambitious plans that generally fall flat on the ground, is the unfortunate ground reality of the sarkari sector in the country. That it is fashionable to talk about grand plans and pedestrian to talk about small matters is a trait that is rapidly taking us downhill.

My arrival in the state of Madhya Pradesh in mid 2004 as the head domo of tourism revived hopes even at the apex political levels. Everyone expected major changes almost immediately and hoping for an impressive response, the chief minister asked me about my plans. My plans were however confined merely to improving my chamber followed by the entire head office, the flagship hotel and then all other seventy odd properties and then only attempt something major. I was clear and hence could clarify to the chief minister that tourist destinations across the state would come on my radar only after setting my house in order, an exercise that would take around a year. The results that subsequently emerged exceeded all expectations and ultimately resulted in positioning the state as the numero uno in tourism.

We have to dream big, yet act small if the situation so warrants it. However the act should always be within the competence of the executive who is responsible for its execution. The reality is unfortunately otherwise. The people who occupy apex levels and are primarily meant to dream and provide leadership are so distant from the ground realities that neither, do they dream nor are they able to avoid becoming another roadblock. It is in the backdrop of this ground reality that it is necessary to instil in all sarkari executives a thought that doing something small is far better than not doing something great. This shall ensure that some things do happen and great plans on paper do not always over shadow small plans on the ground.

The learned man on the street!

Ask the man on the street, what ails the country, and he would know. Having been wedded to the tourism sector for a long time, almost everyone, I knew or met had a word of advice for me. How tourism can be made to prosper in the beautiful state of Madhya Pradesh, or in "Incredible India", everyone knew the answers. And now on the hot seat of DRM/Delhi, I am again swamped with intelligent people, people who know what is wrong and how to set it right, except that they do not have even the foggiest idea of what putting your backside on the hot seat entails.

The tragedy is that the credibility of the sarkari tantra in our motherland is abysmally low. And therefore the entire populace, who also have contributed to the chaos in no small measure, chose to bash the tantra at the slightest provocation.

What however really hurts is the feigned ignorance, not of the man on the street, but of the men who matter, with exceptions of course. It is really sad that we often confuse symptom with the disease, and the attempts therefore of trying to cure the symptom, not the disease are bound to fail resulting in repeated cycles of inventing the wheel ad infinitum.

There is no doubt that the sarkari tantra, across the country is a classic example of how tantra's should not be. Procedure orientation, knee jerk responses to symptoms, rampant corruption and sycophancy are its hallmarks. But for a change it was a nice feeling to witness the Government support to the chief executive of Air India in recent moments of crisis and when the gentleman who is trying to do his best needed the support. But such occasions are rare. Rather than supporting the chief executives, they are often made a scapegoat for pleasing the man on the street, who is amused no doubt, but rarely pleased.

who will do it

The recent Delhi tourism conclave concluded on the note that the recommendations of the conference should monitored by the body for implementation. The conference as usual saw generation of a lot of ideas by experts of various shades and hues. I was feeling pity for the organizer, the MD of the DTTDC who was the only one in the large gathering who had the responsibility for implementation. Rest all were free to generate ideas, rapidly.
That precisely is the problem of Hindustan, the country that has almost everyone full of ideas and suggestions, but has very few people who have the capability to convert an idea into a reality through the maze of a variety of rules and procedures. The situation is so complex that it almost borders on the hilarious.
Why is it so? Why have we made deliverance impossible in a country that almost begs its inhabitants for deliverance. For we have everything, a rich culture, a glorious past, unmatched legacy, brilliant people, but we do not have deliverance on the scale it should be witnessed.
And we accept the nonsense. We accept that the present way of doing things is sacrosanct and that deliverance is not. And so we have a complicated bureaucracy, almost the mother of all bureaucracies that is hell bent on complicating matters, by the day and gloating in its remaining maddeningly busy without even producing a lemon.
We have to accept that there is a problem in the way our country handles its problems, its deliverance. Our refusal to accept the same is the source of the problem. For if we dont even accept the existance of the problem, we shall never move even an inch in the direction of resolving it.

Public Sector stinks

My recent stay at Hotel Ashok was a disaster. Checked in in the mornig and checked out in the evening, due to complete failure of the airconditioning and generators. The beautiful suite room had turned into an oven by the evening. It was disgraceful, in fact the worst nightmare of a hotelier, the collapse of both the vital systems. There was a reason, large scale renovation, but the reason was not good enough. Airconditioning and electrical systems in a hotel are not meant to fail, despite whatever. And I moved into Hotel Samrat in the evening. Nothing much to write home about, but the hotel staff out of their love and affection for me and my family made the stay worthwhile.

ITDC is still a great organization with a large mandate "Development of tourism in India". Having headed ITDC in its hey days, albeit under the looming shadow of disinvestment, one of the worst things to have happenned to the corporation, I am still of the firm belief that the best days of ITDC are yet to come. ITDC can still, even now rise from the ashes and become the leader in the tourism scene of the nation.

If only it is handled like a commercial, not a bureaucratic organization and the CEO takes things head on, without bothering about the consequences. Perhaps I am wrong, for I was given the boot in December 2002, when I handled things head on and in the process rubbed the powers that be the wrong way, even though I was right and they were wrong.

And now we hear about the mess that is Air India. Again a classic example of bureaucratic mishandling of a commercial enterprise, rampant internal loot and weak CEO's. But such CEO's last their terms even though the organizaton does not.

God only can now help the public sector in this country.