An event in life that has changed my way of thinking in a significant way...

There are many events that have changed my way of thinking in a significant way. I would like to mention one such instance that happened when I was working in the Sales & Marketing Division of Mahindra International Ltd, a Joint Venture company between Mahindra & Mahindra, the largest Utility Vehicles manufacturer in India, and International Trucks, USA. I was given the task of understanding the customer expectations of trucks that we were developing for the Indian and Asian markets. For that we had to interact with the truck drivers of various parts of India.

We traveled extensively to parts like Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad etc and interviewed the drivers, owners, small and large fleet owners, and other users from a wide range of industries like Cargo Movers, Petroleum, Frozen Foods, Couriers, Steel, Mining etc. I was very fortunate to have worked in a company that gave us a lot of freedom to learn from real life experience; a company which believed that making mistakes is not a sin.

I was of the impression that developing the most technologically advanced vehicles was the most important thing, and that we could do it sitting inside the company. We had many impressions and ideas that we thought would be so useful for the customers. But when we talked to the customers, especially the truck drivers and others, we were startled to hear that many things that we thought were important to them were not important. Likewise, many things we had ignored were given high importance by them.

In fact many of them, the so called illiterate and not-the-techno-savvy-types came up with great ideas and suggestions that they felt would help us make a better truck than that was available in the market. We realized that they knew much more than we about various trucks and the problems/complaints/defects associated with each company’s trucks, although they expressed those in their own colloquial terms. Many of them took us in their trucks and gave us a real feel of the problems during actual usage. Some of them had made some modifications to their trucks themselves, which was something many engineers in the company could not have even thought of, unless they faced it practically.

We brought along these suggestions back to the company, and our management was very eager to look at each of them very carefully. We had brain-storming sessions with the Research & Development (R&D) teams, and many of those suggestions were implemented. To cut costs, some of the features that the customers felt unimportant were dropped.

The above experience changed my entire view about the importance of customer feedback. I realized that customers are the most important part of a business, the process should start and end with the customers, i.e., we should develop the product keeping customers in mind; quality has to be ensured keeping customers in mind. Same was the case with after-sales-support, warranty policy, pricing, advertising, and every aspect of business. I realized that big ideas might actually come from even the so-called illiterate people. There is nothing that can compensate for the practical knowledge and experience that they had.

This experience changed my thinking significantly. It has taught me the great lesson that we need to listen to the feedback and suggestions of our customers-prospective and existing. We need to open our minds to criticism, complaints about our products because, in this flat and globalized world, constant innovation and improvement is a must. We should be ready to interact with all kinds of people, because, we never know who has a great idea. Since this experience, I make use of every opportunity to interact with as many people as possible.

An unforgettable experience from college life... "its never too late"

I would like to share an experience that I will, hopefully, never forget in my life. It happened when I was in my Engineering School, CUSAT doing my undergraduation. We had a very difficult course to do. It was Heat & Mass Transfer. The syllabus was tough and it was a subject newly introduced for our batch. Even the faculty could hardly complete teach just 3 out of the modules. Hence, when the exams drew nearer, we were completely in fix on how to prepare for the exams. We had no previous question papers to refer toNo one had a clear idea. And on the previous night of the exams, I found myself in a situation where I had completed just one module out of the 5 modules. Same was the case with most others.

We had only two options. One was to leave this exam and concentrate on the next exam that was scheduled to happen within 3 days. Among 25 of us, almost everyone opted to leave this exam, and only 3 of us - Hari. S. Nair, Vipin Viswas and me - decided to give it our best shot. We went to a separate place, with all books and laptops, and started learning each module very slowly, but in a thorough way. Each of us tried to learn a different module, and whenever we completed a topic, we shared that with the other two. During preparations, we three used to keep asking each other "whether we will be fools, or those who left". Coz, most of them had left the exams and had gone for a movie, and yet some others had started preparing for the next exam. Where we stupid enough to try to crack one of the most difficult subjects in our engineering course, just by studying at night ?

We didn’t sleep that night, and finally when it was morning, we had somehow gone through the 5 modules, covering just the most important topics, and topics that we thought were important. But our confidence was very low, but the sportsman spirit in us was very much alive. We decided to fight. No matter what the result is. All that mattered was that we tried. And we tried our best.

We wrote the exam, trying to solve as many questions as possible. I remember, I rewrote many answers for a single question, because midway an answer, I doubted if it was wrong. Finally, when the exam got over, we knew we had done our best. But we were still not confident about the results. Because, we were not at all sure whether our answers were right.

Finally the results came after a month, and we were jubilant. The three of us had passed. And we did not pass just by a small margin, we had scored above the average marks. Our marks were high compared to other students. Among the nearly 25 students that day, only we 3 had passed. Even the toppers (read North Indian Buji's) managed to get very low marks. We were very triumphant that day. The exhilaration was evident in our faces. We had written many exams where we had scored more, but this was much more special. This was a thumping victory of our willingness to try our best till the very end, and not give up. Whenever I face a difficult situation in my career or personal life, this incident comes to my mind. And I most often take the same decision, TO FIGHT LIKE A SPORTSMAN.

This experience has actually helped bond the friendship between the three of us. It has been nearly 1.5 yrs since we left college, but still whenever we meet, somewhere in between the chat this experience crops up. And whenever we see a junior leaving any exam, we earnestly ask him/her to fight like a bull... "its never too late"

A million dollars or knighthood: what would I choose and why?

This is a question I have thought many times in the recent past.... so I thought I ll enter the world of bloggin just by trying to scribble my thoughts here....

If faced with a tough choice, I would choose knighthood over a million dollars every time!

A knighthood is one of the highest titles an individual can hope to achieve. A knighthood cannot be bought with money, but represents an idea and a thought. It is an honour bestowed for good deeds or abstract qualities that represent the finest aspect of human endeavor. Anybody can get one million dollars through hard work, but knighthood is awarded only to a very select coterie.

A million dollars, also, I suppose, can win me a lot of things. Some of them would be worthwhile---such as philanthropic activities or charity works for the poor and the needy. I would still have some money to improve my own quality of life. I can probably invest it in profitable ventures to generate jobs and wealth.

But what I will not get with a million dollars are much, much more! Money is transitory. It would never achieve me the honour, prestige and freedom to make a limitless positive impact on society.

Knighthood would be the reward of an innovative idea that would help me to blaze a new trail, or lay out a path for coming generations. I can build on the recognition and try to do even better things. Knighthood may not directly provide me with the money I require for charity or a luxurious lifestyle. But with a title, I would be able to fight against evils in society such as corruption, bribery and inequalities. I would be able to persuade wealthy people to donate to the poor, provide education, and help people to enhance their skills.

Thus, both wealth and knighthood can help me to win limitless accolades, but knighthood would confer the extra edge that wealth can never buy.