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.
Comments
Learning is certainly a great Indian ethic. But when it comes to MBA, most Indian aspirants seem to be flocking at it because thats usually the only gateway to penetrate the higher management of Indian companies (or atleast, thats the picture Indian psyche has). Thats usually the only option after they have reached the 'dead-end' of engineering career. Gurcharan Das has other views in this article: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1464192.cms
Posted by: KM | May 21, 2006 04:40 PM
This has been an influencing post, but i have few doubts, working as a consultant who joined recently how relevant are your tenants for people like me. Let me explain this better, for eg how can I influence someone or alter others aspirations from what am i doing irrespective of the job i am presently working, i guess your comments will be true for someone who has a legacy of experience behind and whom people will like to emulate. hope to get some response for this thanking you,
K.Praveen kumar
Posted by: Praveen kumar | May 22, 2006 03:56 AM
Dear Prof Vijay Govindarajan,
Very well-written article. In fact, I have mentioned earlier in my blog ‘Art & Science of Management’ about the Thinkers 50 (2005) ranking produced by Suntop Media in association with the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD ranking the best minds in business, management, strategy & leadership. I was so exultant to note four famous minds on leadership & strategy (including yourself) and I must say all of you have done INDIA proud.
To draw parallels to your thought, let me not forget to mention the SUPER-SIX NOBEL Laureates India has produced in the last 90 years or so (6 in 90 may not be a great number but I truly believe, the best is yet to come & it is only the beginning since if you may keenly observe, you will notice that the last 4 NOBEL Laureates - Dr. Hargobind Khurana, Mother Teresa, Prof. S. Chandrasekhar & Prof. Amartya Sen were produced in a span of 30 years as compared to the first 2 Laureates - Rabindranath Tagore & Prof. C. V. Raman, who were shaped in a span of 55 years.
Indian minds are truly remarkable. Infact, Bill Gates was often quoted saying “…after the Chinese , South Indians are the smartest people in the world”. We have great minds from India leading several corporations, distinguished doctors, super scientists, brilliant strategists et al doing splendid things time & again and proving to the world repeatedly that Indians are the smartest people in the planet.
Lastly, I must mention that CBS’ highly regarded ‘60-Minutes’, the most widely watched program in the US, told its audience of more than 10 million viewers that “IIT MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT UNIVERSITY YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF” – Don’t you think it is absolutely amazing for a country that houses HARVARD, WHARTON, YALE, CORNELL, KELLOGGS, MIT, PRINCETON, CAL-TECH etc to forthrightly proclaim IITs are the Best!?
Well, I must conclude by saying that but for all you people (early migrants to the USA and ROW) Indians wouldn’t be recognized as much as we are being recognized today…You have been the epitome of a far-fetched brand-building exercise for the rest of us to follow suit & uphold the image and institution as set forth by our elders & mentors. Thank you. We are forever indebted to you.
Posted by: K.Sriram | May 27, 2006 01:19 AM
Dear Sir,
i have some basic specific queries for organizations on Idea generation & Innovation, would like to know your insights!
"KM-Idea/Innovation"
1) We all talk about Idea generation, but are we clear on a issue or a topic on what idea can be generated if a formal structure has to be built. i.e. first need to know on what ideas can be generated.
2) Should management decide the topic/issue and communicate across organization and ask people to submit there ideas with defined time period.
3) How to effectively start or build strategy to foster people to submit their ideas and take part in brainstorming or meeting to get common conclusion on Ideas. This is the major concern where people don’t come for meetings for such activities and not intend to participate or contribute or share. How to market the concept of idea generation and make it more popular and correlate under KM.
4) I guess incentives would work but till what extend.
Regards
jeevan
Posted by: jeevan kamble | June 2, 2006 02:35 PM
What CBS, Fox, CNN, Bill Gates and other say is not important. Take a look at CalTech on wikipedia, truly awe-inspiring. 32 Nobel Prizes. The entire silicon valley (thousands of companies like Intel and such) are started by the alumni of CalTech. Now, lets compare that with what the IITs hae produced. All of them combined. Or in fact, all of India vs CalTech.
There are things known as facts to substantiate the claims made. What the media or some guy tells needs to be backed up with facts.
Warmest Regards,
JP.
Posted by: JP | July 29, 2006 07:32 AM
Note: Continuing my previous reply to K. Sriram
On the Nobel Prize statistic:
1. Of the 4 people you mentioned, one is not Indian and the rest got their Nobel Prizes out of India. Now, that is 2 in 55 years compared to zero now. In fact, the earlier generation had a much higher intellectual caliber.
2. Nobel Prize is not indicative of anything. Is the ability to lead companies or write some theories and get prizes the only indicator of merit? Why don't we compare leadership and strategy all across? Lets take sports, Olympics - this requires a diffferent kind of leadership and strategy. Now, compare the statistics.
Next, let us revisit what you said..
"I must mention that CBS’ highly regarded ‘60-Minutes’, the most widely watched program in the US, told its audience of more than 10 million viewers that “IIT MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT UNIVERSITY YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF"
There is no correlation between how highly-regarded a show is, how widely-watched it is, how many audience it has to what it says. The truth claims have to be established independently, unless you establish a correlation. So, we can safely ignore all those superfluous words. Which puts the onus on IITs and you to show us how important it is.
Warmest Regards,
JP.
Posted by: JP | July 29, 2006 07:46 AM
Very true.We can learn well only from a person we respect.Thanks for the insight
Posted by: Manu M.R | November 3, 2006 06:12 AM
Dear Prof Govindarajan,
Thought provoking, and triggered me off on your words..."At the time, I too didn’t understand why he was giving so much of himself...."
Your then perspective of your grandfather spending so much time and energy with no immediate visible returns and your inconvenience, as a child, is so very endearing.
Your four questions are so relevant. I enjoyed re-reading as much as the first time. As an executive coach and corporate person, this is what I think everyday too. But you have articulated it so well, thank you for sharing.
Regards,
Sujitha
Posted by: Sujitha Karnad | April 26, 2008 11:17 PM