Public Sector blues

The fundamental problem with the public sector has always been the half-hearted nature of its formation and handling. The intent initially was fine as it was surmised that a business venture that the undertakings are, should be governed by the companies act and function as freely as the private companies with only the ownership being vested in the Government. Arms-length distance was obviously envisaged between the owner and the company as is generally the case even in the private sector, but unfortunately it has been followed more in breach.

What really emerged was far removed from what was envisaged. The original thought of allowing the public sector total autonomy that would lead to a performance comparable to the  private sector never really happened.  

Selection of the chief executive, a diligent exercise that continues almost a year for top of the line corporates is given the short shrift while selecting the head honcho for the public sector undertakings. And even the brief exercise undertaken for undertakings focuses only on sectoral knowledge rather than the leadership capabilities of the guy under consideration. The private sector that on the other hand is finicky while undergoing the process of selection, subsequently gives a very long rope for the selected guy to perform quite unlike the scenario on the other side where the head honcho lives under a shadow of mistrust from day one.

Over a period of time, many of the public sector enterprises emulated the complexity of the decision making processes and contractual mechanisms that already engulfed the sarkar, thereby seriously hampering their efficacy. Presence of over-zealous vigilance wings that regarded every act of deviation from the book as an act of malafide, also killed initiative and risk taking, something so vital for a commercial venture. This affected the working of a large number of public sector organizations that started piling up losses.

The fear of taking a wrong decision, wrong in hindsight of-course and then paying the price has engulfed the managements of the public sector, with attendant consequences. Many realized that the best way to avoid making mistakes was to avoid decision making.

The prevalent tendering system is indeed the bane of the nation. A system in which the process for purchase of bulk commodities is same as that for highly technical or creative items can never meet the requirements of emerging organizations. Often great ideas are espoused, but the enthusiasm wanes when discussions start around the tendering process to be followed for executing the great idea. Obviously there is a general tendency to play safe and that does not give the desired results.  

Another issue of concern plaguing the undertakings is the often misplaced notion of over-staffing, a notion that continues unabated despite the organization reaching a stage where rampant under-staffing starts affecting performance. Ad-hoc ban on recruitments, that once imposed are never revoked, invariably result in a drought of fresh ideas and also an aged workforce, a scenario conducive for a slow demise of the organization. 

The over-zealous participation of various agencies that remain removed from realities as well as delivery yet regard every move of others with suspicion and wait for an opportunity to pounce, has failed to reduce corruption or improve efficiency but has succeeded in curbing initiatives. How can a scenario in which individuals who have no stake in delivery sit on judgement even on routine decisions taken by people who are responsible and also accountable for delivery, be considered satisfactory. The safest path that emerges  is to merely indulge in the routine and not take bold initiatives and that is what has actually happened cutting across the public sector, something amply visible in the number of organizations that have become a drain on the nation.

Process constraints and an environment based on fear and mistrust have ensured failure of many undertakings. Either we proactively handle the obvious constraints and create an enabling environment or else disinvestment is the only practical remedy.

A simple complicated world

A simple complicated world

A world where we fail to realize that love is only about giving.

A world where it is indeed rare to witness a scenario in which one is not constrained by the prevailing environment, constrained in rising to his full potential.

How wrong we are in generally assuming that people need to be controlled, how wrong we are in considering almost everyone as inadequate unless proven otherwise. Is it not downright foolish to almost always don the head masters role?

We do not trust others, yet expect others to trust us. It is a vicious circle that keeps all of us entangled in a web of mutual mudslinging and blame throwing.

That even the most complex of issues in the most complicated of organizations have utterly simple solutions is something that we invariably lose sight of while we tend to veer towards finding complicated solutions to even the simplest of problems.

Our definitions of honesty are often warped for while we regard financial honesty as honesty, professional dishonesty ie not being true to our job, the organization and the nation is normally never regarded as being dishonest.

Remaining busy while in a government job is unfortunately considered synonymous with delivery, even appreciated by the unconcerned members of the society

The qualities of the heart are far superior to those of the head, yet is it not strange how often we believe otherwise?  

We live in a simple world made complicated by us.

Defining Integrity

The general lack of integrity is still a cause for concern, despite the focus on probity that we have fortunately witnessed in recent times. 

I am reminded of an incident more than a decade ago when a senior state level politician filed a motivated complaint, accusing me of dishonesty and seeking an enquiry to probe charges. A direct confrontation that followed set the matters right with doubts being raised on the politicos capability to even understand what honesty or integrity meant. The matter ended with a confession of the reasons behind the complaint followed by profuse apologies, apologies that the politico continued with for years.

And that set me thinking – why is it so easy to accuse someone of dishonesty, more so within the governmental setups, a scenario that is witnessed in the form of a plethora of vigilance cases, enquiries and charge sheets that engulf the environment. It is sad that even a deviation from a laid down norm or a mistake is regarded as malafide, a scenario suited to throttle initiatives.

It is not only about honesty. Honesty is truthfulness, integrity goes much further. While honesty is about acceptance of the truth in its absolute form always, integrity is about doing the right thing under all circumstances. Integrity therefore is also about an impeccable conduct and behavior for that is the right demeanor to possess.

Yet the blatant absence of it and why? During my over four decades of serving with the government, the majority of the officials I interacted with comprised of those who would do the right thing only if there was no pressure whatsoever from influential quarters to do otherwise. The silent minority who would do no wrong despite pressures also comprised of two categories, one who did no wrong and delivered, while the bulk did no wrong and also had no concern for delivery. The majority and the bulk of the minority, both lacked integrity.

The system unfortunately continues to regard everyone as devoid of honesty or integrity despite occasional signs of being proven otherwise. To that extent the legacy left by the british continues uninterrupted. 

The widely prevalent belief that regards check-posts as an appropriate deterrent for dishonest practices is also misplaced. The more the number of check-posts and those who police, the greater the ingenuity of those on the wrong side is my firm belief. If mere policing could reduce crime and corruption, the job was simply confined to increasing the number of policemen. Our rank inability to provide a corruption free society, a society where every interaction of the common man with the sarkari tantra is not laced with graft, despite the over powering presence of the watchdogs says it all. 

And why not, the society and the system generally lay no emphasis on the need for honesty and integrity. Never in my career spanning over four decades have I witnessed a forum called by my superior where issues related to honesty and integrity were discussed.

Trust deficit is a mild word, lack of trust is most appropriate. Yes a system that does not trust its own constituents can only propagate lack of integrity and that is what has happened. Viewing every action with suspicion has become the norm.

Inculcating integrity in the human resource has to be the numero uno priority for organizations as well as the society and putting this issue bang on the table would start the ball rolling.

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.

The kings shall rule........

………..always over the hearts and the subjects would happily do all that the kings desire.

One rules only with the heart and keeps the mind safely tucked away as that is how a successful reign would always be. And this advice is not only for the real kings, but for all those who command men and through them need to give results.

This holds good for all sectors, governmental and private.

Yes, as Gandhi said, it would always remain a mystery as to how someone could belittle his subordinates and feel good about it; practice this belittling daily and thereby achieving perfection in the art of disseminating unhappiness all around. You see such practitioners every day, cutting across sectors and state boundaries, practicing this art to the chagrin of many, and fortunately or unfortunately being easily identified by unhappy faces all around. They are mere bosses, not kings, and do not realize that bosses, people detest and kings they love.   

Even a raised eyebrow of a boss hurts, whereas a raised sword of someone we regard as king is calmly accepted, for the king rules from the heart and the boss, bosses from the mind. The heart is always superior to the mind, yet very few of us realize this fundamental and pass our lives in a state of perpetual unhappiness.

Life is to be led to its fullest and to its fullest it can be led only with happiness all around. Only a king lives this way and one need not be born to a royal family to be a king. He only needs to have a heart that he invariably turns to for advice and rules with, with the mind generally remaining oblivious to whatever is happening in the environment all around.

The quest of heart over mind shall continue and one who places the mind over the heart shall generally remain an unhappy soul, creating more unhappy souls whenever and wherever he interacts with others.

The finest and the most successful top guns have been those who have genuine love and affection for the men working under them. Such officials treat their men as their own men, with respect and compassion. The vagaries of rank are not allowed to come up in their relationship that they really cherish and would not allow to be wasted on petty issues. Ego is farthest from their persona, yet they can take a stand on the right issue, a stand that they would never compromise even at the cost of all that they cherish and hold dear. And they take full responsibility for all that is happening in their domain, without making any attempt to pass even an iota of responsibility to those who work for them. Such officials are kings in the real sense, their domain remains their kingdom. 

Bosses invariably fret over mundane issues, while the kings never miss the larger picture, even while appearing to be engrossed in the routine. And the perpetual attempt of the bosses to please their masters shall never be the style of a king for while a king may have a superior but never a master, nor does he regard someone as one.

How we miss kings in the environment we work, for it is there that we need them the most. The rank inability to get the best out of our men is a situation created by a lineage of bosses, who never had the gumption to be kings. Bosses, who aspired for a position for that is all that identified them, and who only regarded a position as a means of bringing about a positive change in their lives as well as that of their families, not the organization they work for and for whom a position was not a means to an end, but was an end in itself.

How we miss kings who can take a stand for what is right and not acquiesce to unholy demands just to avoid a fleeting inconvenience. How we miss kings who would not sell their soul for petty personal gains and realize that such deals are not really worth it. And how we miss kings who always flaunt their pen and never their tongue, a phenomenon witnessed far more often than desirable.

Where have we gone wrong, perhaps in the grooming of the youngsters in general and our own men in particular. We need to course correct and put value systems and the need to place the heart over mind at the forefront of the norms of the society and organizations.

It is time that the thoughts and deeds of great men like Vivekananda and Gandhi are widely disseminated so that they can be imbibed by a large section of the society.

Bringing such changes takes the toil and patience of decades. Are we ready, yes we have to be, for we need our officials to be kings, not a mere instrument for bossing over subordinates.

Signing Off

It is all the same everywhere

India Tourism Development Corporation, Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation, Air India and now Railways – what a journey it was that despite my constrained capabilities placed me as the head honcho of these great organizations.On the 31^st last, I departed the hallowed portals of the Rail Bhawan, a satisfied soul ready to relax in the sun and bask in the reflected glory that head honcho’s generally get regardless of their contribution. And the only thought at the moment of departure was gratitude for the mercy of the almighty who gave me different ways of serving this great nation of ours.

I feel forty, have the physical fitness of twenty and am actually sixty. Maybe I still have many years of slogging left in me, yet the intense desire to contribute to this wonderful nation of ours, and god willing and health permitting, this desire would keep me working regardless.

It has been a great learning, almost thirty nine years of it, with the diversity of the federal government, state government, a hotel company, a tourism company, an aviation company and the largest organization of the world, all providing a different and an exciting playfield. All of them were different as well the same. The outputs were different, yet the inputs were almost the same and why not. It is almost always about handling the three M’s within a defined time frame all synchronized to achieve the desired objective.

Air India was indeed the toughest nut to crack, not because it is of the toughness of the nut casing but because of the huge debt it piled up during its attempted nosedive into oblivion, a dive that could be successfully yet temporarily halted by bringing out the best of its men and also its machines. And at the root of the dive was always a management that was as distant from the ground as the moon is to the sun. The stark absence of a ground connect and a decision making process that would put to shame even the word “complexity”, together conspired to pull down an organization that in the past ruled the skies with impunity. I left the glory of the skies convinced that the airline still has in itself a lot that could propel it to emerge as the leader that it had always been till a decade back.

And the stint in the heart of Incredible India was not work but an affair, an emotional one at that. One tends to fall in love with the central indian state of Madhya Pradesh that was indeed crafted by the gods with tourism in mind. Yet the infrastructure and image foisted on me at the time of my arrival was at wide variance with what perhaps was the intent of the gods, who as some publicity campaigns loudly proclaimed had ensconced themselves in the southern state of Kerala as their own country. Realizing the difficulties in changing the place of lodging, we resolved to create a tourism eco-system that would enable the gods to take a holiday whenever they wished to. And so “the heart of incredible India was born” with the state grabbing the bulk of national tourism awards since then. And again it was all and only about getting the best out of the men who manned tourism.

Running ITDC, the largest hospitality and tourism company of its time, provided a thrill of another kind. Competing against highly successful chains like the Taj and ITC that too in the aftermath of the 9/11 and in the process attempting to pull the company out of the abyss it found itself in, was an immense challenge. The glamour of the hotels shadowed their real poverty borne out of years of losses and the long faces of the men manning the desks in the company reflected the tremendous amount of focus that the human resource had been craving for. Yet the company, especially the iconic Ashok Hotel slowly turned around despite being put on block and the downturn that the tourism sector had been witnessing those days. To the chagrin of many, the men pulled the company out of the pits and started walking erect once again.

And till recently the railways. It was a ballgame of another kind. The largest organization in the world that has a great attached to its name has been a victim of its own creation, its own highly capable but control centric bureaucracy almost choked the organization leading to unfortunate incidents, infrastructure deficit and a low public image. Its highly capable men were constricted by a machinery that made delivery, other than the routine of course, impossible. And the panacea was transformation, transforming the culture, processes and structure, a no mean task by any standards. Yet a beginning could be made by bringing focus and concern for the human resource, delegating authority and beginning to de-complicate the over complex machinery. Reinforcing the supremacy of deliverance over processes and that of the human resource over the other M’s, while at the same time stressing the need for honesty in all our dealings started making the difference, and hopefully this shall continue in the overall national interest.

I savored the journey as much as the fruits of it. Despite treacherously long work hours, the tremendous love and affection showered by employees of almost all strata kept me going right through.

My biggest learning during the journey has been that life is much bigger than everything else – a human soul is not to be wasted, discarded or pulled down. Getting the best out of your men is the only strategy that the top management should follow, rest the men would find out and implement. The established supremacy of the human resource over all other resources needs to be accepted.

That impeccable integrity is the most powerful ingredient that any organization aspiring for success should ingrain itself with was a thought that got reinforced repeatedly, with the realization that integrity cannot be a strategy, but has to become a way of life for the organization as a whole and also its constituents.

I learnt that it is not merely bad decisions that kill organizations, indecision is the most powerful sure and silent killer.

I realized that morale of the men and the pride they have in the organization is everything.

And the inability of the top management to stand up for what is right and correct what is wrong, is invariably the biggest malaise that organizations generally have.

It has been a tremendous journey and now as it comes to a close, my head bows down to all my men who indeed madeliving itselfworth the while.

Reforms is the Key

The widely prevalent belief that many organizations lack focus on delivery and need to work harder to bring about major improvements is borne out of the simple age old philosophy that hard work leads to higher output. The philosophy is not totally off the mark, except for the fact that it does not really differentiate between remaining busy and deliverance.

Remaining busy does not always imply delivery though delivery would invariably necessitate remaining busy. The fine line between the two needs appreciation borne out of experience.

All the organizations that I have been associated with in the capacity of a head honcho had people, almost the majority of them, who remained busy like hell and also took pride in that. They were, with exceptions of course, generally all good people with good intentions. Yet in their obsession with remaining or appearing to remain busy, the bigger picture was lost sight of and delving in the mundane occupied centre stage. Blaming peers, superiors, subordinates and also the constraints of the external environment for failures to adequately deliver, without realizing that an honest peek within, as Gautam Buddha said, would provide the real answers.

And therefore I often peeked within, looked for and fairly regularly found the right answers within easy reach and also easily implementable. And answers were generally the same regardless of the sector and its intrinsic technical or administrative complexities. And organizations in general behaved similarly to external stimuli.   

One of the biggest follies of organizations is adapting to an aggressive cycle of management, a cycle during which reprimands and extensive monitoring at various levels occupies centre stage almost all the time. A frenetic activity unfortunately and also incorrectly gets regarded as synonymous with delivery. This cycle assumes that subordinates do not know their jobs, are not to be trusted and are to be always kept on their toes for them to be able to deliver, in case deliverance is really aspired for, with trust being the biggest casualty, almost always.

Lack of clarity in how to please superiors remains another area of concern. Employees generally desire that superiors, as they have the maximum impact on the environment of the subordinates, should be happy and therefore they look for ways and means to keep them so. Kowtowing to whatever the superior says or does, generally appears to be the safest bet and therefore almost everyone at all times looks for opportunities to agree with superiors, even at the cost of what is right, or right for the organization. Rarely does one witness people having an opinion and standing up for what they think is right. 

The ridiculous extent to which the processes have been generally complicated even for mundane activities is sad and also damaging for organizations. And therefore the never ending quest for super outstanding people who can bend, twist or subvert the processes in order to deliver. This is at far variance with what one witnesses in developing countries where systems are based on trust and processes are simple enough to be handled by almost everyone.

Reforms therefore need to address all these basic issues.

Organisational culture is the first area to be looked at. Is it a culture built on sycophantic behaviour with frills being at the core of almost all our activities? Are people concerned about pleasing superiors or they are bothered about doing the right thing and delivering? Are the men happy or are the faces drooping? These are questions that need to be answered and then addressed. A no frills environment devoid of petty ego’s that encourages a fearless working environment indeed brings out the best in the human resource. We need to create an environment where our men can stand erect with pride and at the same time have humility and compassion towards their fellow human beings.

Reforms should also address the core issue of deliverance. The supremacy of deliverance over everything else except perhaps the human values needs to be grilled down the organisation. That men being mere mortals would make mistakes in the process of work needs to be appreciated. And the organisation should be invariably able to differentiate between a genuine mistake and a malafide. The men need to be proactively supported and cared for.

The processes need to be simplified, ideally to the level of one thumb impression per decision, but that may not be always possible. Yet a lot of simplifications is possible, almost always in every single organisation. And the easiest way to simplify is to delegate authority to the lowest functional levels. Yet letting go of authority is easier said than done and resistance and road blocks to this effort in the guise of concern for malpractices that may erupt if people are trusted, needs to be handled with an iron hand.

Reforming the structures should indeed come the last for what is a structure but a physical manifestation of the process. The structure exists for the processes and not the other way round. Ideal structures are like pyramids with a clearly defined apex in whom the supreme power vests, and the apex is not meant to personally exercise powers for everything under the sun, for that would bring the organisation to a grinding halt, but should liberally sprinkle power over the various tiers of functional authorities.

And lastly choosing the guy at the apex level. While a lot of requirements apparently come to mind, the one quality that really encompasses everything else is the courage to stand up, at the right time for what is right. Fearlessness needs to be at the core for the guy occupying the hottest seat.

Organisations shall flourish with a liberal sprinkling of reforms and a courageous guy at the apex level.