CAREER


It is a turbulent world. A world of change and chaos. I see that old solutions, which I had successfully applied to problems 40 years ago, are no longer suitable for the same problems. This is compounded by the fact that even the basic nature of many problems has changed. Hark back to the old...

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Long revered as the ‘simple’ middle-class, super-success story, the Murthys of Infosys are perhaps perplexed at why social media (with often leads the mainstream media coverage) seems to explode at their comments these days. This time around, it was NR Narayana Murthy’s ‘request’ that India’s...

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I have greatly admired and learnt a lot from Charles Vance, who wrote Manager Today, Executive Tomorrow. One of the 10 principles he propounds in his book is that ‘from birth to death you are alone’. You may have parents to help you up to a point; you may have your spouse and children to help...

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IANS 30 October 2023
Infosys founder Narayana Murthy's advice to youngsters in India, urging them to work 70 hours a week, has sparked sharp reactions from founders and leaders who said that while extended working hours can boost productivity, a balanced approach is equally necessary.   During a podcast,...

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IANS 27 October 2023
Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, in a conversation with Padma Shri Awardee and Chairman of Aarin Capital, T.V. Mohandas Pai on the first episode of 3one4 Capital's podcast 'The Record', said that if India wants to compete with developed economies that have made remarkable progress in...

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If there is one problem that is probably common to the whole world, it is that the number of listeners is dwindling—not on TV, and podcasts, but in personal interactions. Most of us rush to comment or voice an opinion and criticise; and only a few have the patience to wait and listen. This...

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Please note that I have said ‘bad’ ragging, not all ragging.   I believe that ragging does have value, provided it is carried out the right way.    I certainly do not condone the type of ragging we have been reading about, in which a young boy is abused in such an inhuman...

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Knowing how far you can go too far, in familiarity, can mean different things in different cultures. There was the big ‘goof up’ made by president Johnson of the USA, when he bowed low (he was very tall) to kiss the queen of Thailand on the cheek. This is never done in Thailand. The ‘face’ is...

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“Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) produces world-class chief executive officers (CEOs)”.   I disagree.   IITs don’t “produce” CEOs—it processes them, just like a gold mine doesn’t produce gold, it merely processes the ore that contains gold.    Yes, IITs teach...

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IANS 03 August 2023
The university grant commission (UGC) on Wednesday declared 20 universities, including eight based in Delhi, as fake.   Last year, UGC had declared 21 universities as fake.   UGC stated that these institutions are not authorised to grant any degrees to students and alerted the...

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There are many times in corporate life—and even outside it—when you have to be (or seem to be) cruel to others, or unkind, or thoughtless, or lacking in etiquette, in order to be kind to yourself. There are situations that arise, where one has to put one’s foot down, or else everyone will...

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Sharing an apartment leads to the discovery of hitherto unknown traits in people.   The third person in our apartment, apart from Swapan-da and me, was KR, also a PhD student. He was very affable, jovial and helpful. But, over time, cracks began to appear in his veneer.   At...

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More about the Indian standard time (IST) schedules that we kept… The psychology department at the university wanted people for conducting experiments on sleep. Great job – go in at 8am, sleep for six-seven hours, and leave—US$50 per day (an enormous sum those days when the minimum wage was...

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Naresh quit his assistant vice-president (AVP) position in Citibank to head up retail in a new bank being set up in Dubai.   On his first morning at work, he was greeted by the vice-chairman (VC), who was in charge of the bank project.   “Congratulations and welcome, Naresh. ...

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No, I am not claiming to be an expert in American psychology. I am just sharing my own perception of the way Americans think.   After my previous article, a reader commended me on my “jugaad” method of getting A-s with minimum “majoori”. In a way, it implied that I (together with...

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The news keeps coming in. Two large slabs fell from the tenth floor of a building under construction in Mumbai, and killed two people who were having a chat on the street below. A road caved in and was the cause of vehicular accidents in which some people died. And the list goes on. And one...

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The first master in business administration (MBA) lecture I attended was a revelation.   People were lolling around in their seats, some in shorts and T-shirts, girls in halters, and a lot of coffee cups... so different from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT...

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I was on a panel to interview candidates for a senior position in a large corporate house. There were two others – Mr Prabhu from finance and Mr Suresh from administration—both directors of the company. We had just begun with the fourth candidate out of the seven candidates who had been...

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The US will begin processing student visa applications for the Fall Session with the first batch of appointments available from mid-May.   "Attention students! In mid-May, the US Mission to India will open the first batch of appointments for the upcoming student visa season," the US...

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In May 2021, Phil Kotler celebrated his 90th birthday. In February 2023, he was awarded the lifetime achievement award at the Rise World Summit, organised in India (this must have been the umpteenth achievement award he would have received, over the past few decades). My path crossed Kotler’s...

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