The "Learning Ethic" of the East
Stuart Crainer's article "Ideas men of India are the new superstars" in the London Times makes an interesting point: a new generation of business thinkers is emerging from India.
Why is this happening now?
As I said in the article, “I remember when I got my job at Tuck 20 years ago I was the first Indian faculty member. Now it’s not unusual to see 20 per cent of faculty with Indian roots and connection.”
But why is this flowering of ideas happening now?
On a personal level, I ask myself: "What is it that made me passionate about learning and ideas in my childhood?"
The positive experience that influenced me spanned the majority of my childhood and early adult years. I grew up in the small town of Annamalainagar in southern India. My grandfather was a very religious man, but more importantly, he was an intellectual. Before he moved to Annamalainagar, he was an advisor for the Maharajah of Mysore.
Every weekend early in the morning, my grandfather would leave our home to share ideas with an informal and ever-changing group of children. There was but one common denominator among these children: they were extremely poor and underprivileged. Sitting under a banyan tree in the center of town, my grandfather would spend hours coaching them—helping with schoolwork, planting seeds of inspiration, encouraging higher goals, and wanting them to succeed. Even though we were Brahmins belonging to the upper caste, my grandfather did not see his activities as being unusual. He believed in the good in all people and had a genuine respect for the individual.
At the time, I too didn’t understand why he was giving so much of himself. As a child, I found his behavior an inconvenience because we couldn’t eat lunch until he returned home!
I didn’t begin to appreciate the value of what he was doing until I was in my teens. Many of the children he had inspired had grown to be successful in a variety of professions. They came home just to thank him.
As I grew older, my grandfather’s work inspired me as well. Without his influence, I may not have had the courage and confidence I needed to leave the security and prestige of a top company to search for and fulfill my own ambitions.
My grandfather also shaped the way I work with corporations today. His mission in life was to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
To ensure I have the greatest opportunity for positive impact, there are four questions I continually ask myself.
First, am I passionate about what I am doing? I find that passion is contagious and is extremely powerful in influencing others.
Second, am I learning— becoming different and growing intellectually? In retrospect, I know my grandfather learned as much from his young students as they learned from him, and that learning kept him motivated and fully engaged.
Third, am I altering the aspirations of others, helping them to set their sights higher than they previously envisioned? I believe aspirations provide a guide-wire for our goals. The higher the goals, the higher are the subsequent accomplishments.
And, finally, I ask, do I respect the corporations and executives I work with? Genuine respect is a crucial source of influence, a concept my grandfather understood.
I think there is a cultural aspect to learning as well. In India learning is viewed as sacred tradition, and I believe there is a strong "learning ethic" woven through our culture and lives.
I am beginning to see this "learning ethic" much in the same way as I view the "work ethic" of the early Protestants. In part it explains the devotion of my grandfather to his students, and it explains why his actions shape my thinking to this very day.