Stay Focused On The Basics

I like travelling on Air India. It may sound strange to some of you, and I recognize when I talk about it, I'm in a minority.  J Many people have many grouses about travelling on Air India. But, I have come to terms with some of the things they cannot give and I'm quite happy with what I'm able to get from Air India – a comfortable seat, fair amount of leg room so that when the person in front of me reclines, he/she is not sitting in my lap. And I've always loved the food on Air India. It's served well, the service is so nice and I do enjoy the non-vegetarian fare.

But, in December 2015, Air India announced that on its shorter flights (less than 90 minutes) they would not serve non-veg food. While I was very disappointed, I thought that it might make sense on short flights for the staff not to have to ask each passenger their choice of veg or non-veg. it would be more efficient. So, I accepted that reluctantly, I must say. But last week, when they announced that on all domestic flights, they were going to take away non-veg, I felt very bad. One of the main reasons why I like Air India is the service and the food, and I felt that it was being taken away from me.

Thinking Out Of The Box

On my recent trip back from the US to India, we transited through Hong Kong. I decided to spend a day with a friend of mine and he came to pick us up at the airport. He is a wonderful person and we walked to his car as he was going to take us back to his house. I realized that we were walking towards this beautiful sleek Tesla Model S. I was intrigued not having seen one before at close quarters. It was such a sleek model. As we walked towards it, all of a sudden, the handles lit up and extended out. Prior to that, they were totally flush with the car. When we got in, they retracted again. As we began to drive into the city, there wasn't a sound in the car. I started asking him questions about the model and he said that it gave about 270 miles range on a full charge. It had a 17" high-definition touch screen right there in the front with a built-in web browser, Wi-Fi and Internet connection and even more. He said, "Would you like to see where all the Tesla cars in the world are?" He pulled up a screen and there they were; all the Teslas. You could just go to a particular city and see where every Tesla car was. And beyond that, to see where the charging stations were. Just a wonderful experience! We went into a mall later and were able to charge the car.

As I walked away from this experience, I thought about Elon Musk and the way in which he has revolutionized thinking, 'out of the box' thinking, in a short span of time. Look at him – University of Pennsylvania, Wharton's School of Business, then went to Stanford to do his PhD and lasted all of 2 days. He left there to pursue the dreams that he had. He has built an empire. Today, his net worth is $17.4 billion, at the age of 46. An enormous fortune, incredible wealth – just the ideas that have come from him have been mind-blowing.

Behavior Trumps Emotion

When you look at work places nowadays, there's a change that has come in the last decade where more attention is being paid to soft skills than some of the harder skills that we used to look at in terms of academic training and specific training that has gone into somebody's title. Nowadays there's a different perception of what it takes to make things work in the work place.

I remember almost a decade back, a good friend of mine bemoaning the fact that a lot of business schools were not spending enough time on a key aspect of what he felt was important in the work place – to be able to behave relationally. He was talking about the fact that not too much was emphasized in training individuals to work together as a team, to check how each personality worked with another personality.

Pitch Perfect

This last week I was travelling back from the US on the long haul 15-hour flight from Newark airport to Mumbai, direct. I had decided beforehand itself, that I would get my computer out and spend the time watching an old television series called 'Studio 60.' I like Aaron Sorkin and his writings and this was one of his old television shows. In that show, there was one episode, which caught my attention in terms of a thought to look ahead for Corporate Capsules. It was a scene with the network President, also the Chairman and a couple of executives. They were listening to two guys who were pitching a new sketch, or a show that they wanted the network to run.

I listened, fascinated, because they wrapped it up in just under five minutes. It was very succinct; they came right to the point. They handled the main thought behind the new show, how it would run, how they would get the program done in the right time frame, the audience that they were targeting and the potential viewership that would go up – all of that captured within a space of five minutes.

Self-Awareness --> Self-Improvement

Twenty-five years ago, I remember taking the Myers-Briggs Personality test. I vaguely remember that I was an INFJ at that time. I went through all the processing that goes with it, remember listening to the person who was trying to unpack it for me, understanding myself and some of the things that stood for being an INTJ, and all of that. Over the years, it has helped me understand myself. It has brought a sense of self-awareness to me. Then in 2003 I did another personality test called the DISC and that again helped me understand myself even more.

As I looked back on it, I realized that, while I was able to understand myself and what it meant, at that time I didn't do anything about some of the things I found out about myself in terms of strengths, weaknesses, understanding how I would be as a parent, or as a spouse. It was just self-awareness rather than any attempt at self-improvement.

Data Analytics is a buzzword these days. What you do with data is beginning to be important. Companies, especially, are realizing that you can mine for data, but unless you are able to take that data and start translating it into effective processes that will bring change and enhance the process or product, it's of no use. So they're doing that and more with huge budgets.  As Louis Columbus says in Forbes Tech, "Data analytics continues to accelerate as the most preferred solutions for gaining greater business insight and value from data, with this category increasing in importance 55% from a 2014 survey results." That's how important data analytics continues to be to companies.

Introductions - The Ins & Outs

Due to the nature of my work, I find myself in different places. And just before I am due to speak, I am introduced by somebody. Sometimes the nature of the introductions is interesting. There are some introductions that I am waiting for them to get over with because they seem to be so long and I am sure that the audience is already bored and I wish that the person would just stop and let me start speaking. There are some that are so pithy that they don't do anything; they just go like "And I'd like you to listen to Dr. Clements," or something like that. And then there are some that are so interesting that I think, "I can't wait to hear this person," until I realize that the person is me. And suddenly I'm filled with fear, wondering whether I can match the expectations that have been set up by the person doing the introductions.

All this to say that there are various types of introductions that I've heard. And yet, there's a point where you say that there are some things that need to be said in an introduction and others that can be left out. I had the privilege of being under two presidents at two universities that I studied in – Dr. David McKenna and Dr. Maxie Dunham. They were masters at introductions. I would wait to hear their introductions because they were so good. They would finish it within 60 seconds, but in those 60 seconds, they would create such a desire to listen to the speaker. They would not only be able to get you excited about the speaker, but they would also add something personal about the speaker that piqued your interest and made you want to sit at the edge of your seat and be eager to listen to the speaker. That's what introductions ought to do.

Character - A Leadership Essential

I'm not sure how many of you were on the call last week when I was talking about APIs or Application Program Interfaces. I'm going to piggyback off that for this talk, so just to mention what I did say. I was talking about APIs and the information glut that we have or are giving out each and every time we get on to different web sites or use different applications. We talked about how APIs are really apps that interface with each other and take information from one app so that companies can then offer various other services that they themselves don't have. We looked at how Expedia, Orbitz or MakeMyTrip are able to offer beyond flight data and bookings for which they really started out, but also now offer hotel bookings and even car rentals and train bookings as well.

All of them use these Application Program Interfaces to add these value services to clients. But along with that, we find that a huge amount of information, or personal information, is being passed on to these companies. They hold all this information. Last week we looked at the company Uber – their cabs have the information of where they picked us up, at what place of business they dropped us off, whether it was a social call, what time of the day it was, the location, the time duration that the cab was used, all of that – the information is available.

Bouncing Back

This morning I almost got carried away by an article that I was reading in the New Yorker about a man called Rick Rescorla. I was fascinated by his life story and if you get the chance, do read about him. He was the Vice President in charge of security at Morgan Stanley at their offices at the World Trade Center that came down in 9/11. Morgan Stanley had 40 floors at the World Trade Center with about 2,700 employees. When the planes hit, he was responsible for getting them out. He managed to get 2,700 of them out; only 7 people from Morgan Stanley died and Rick Rescorla was one of them. He died trying to go back to see if there were any more stragglers who hadn't yet made it; and he never made it out.

Just reading, not only about what happened on that day, but his life – he was a British soldier, fought in a couple of wars there, then left and came to the United States and got his citizenship. He joined the army, went to Vietnam and was very highly decorated. Most people, especially his colleagues in the units, remember him as a wonderful force of energy that wouldn't ever give up. He would take everything that came his way and still bounced back.

Towards the end, he had prostate cancer. He had to take painful injections in his stomach, yet would still go to work and get drills going because he believed that was what he needed to do. And that's what worked in getting all of the employees out. He would have these drills that would evacuate all these people. In one minute, everybody had to leave their desks and be on their way out. I was so captured by the resilience that was the hallmark of his life. He took everything that life threw at him and bounced back.

I FEEL IT IN MY GUT

by Dr. Cecil Clements (26th February 2013)

This morning I got hung up on the word 'intuition'. So often we talk about our hunches and gut feelings, 'I don't have the words to explain it but it's just a feeling that I have.' I realized that we don't give too much importance to feelings. In our world where hard data must back up facts and that's the way forward, if we have the right inputs from people, from surveys that are done, then that enables us to move forward. But to be in a position to say, "It's just my intuition," seems to be in a grey area.

Yet, intuition is a word that I hear so often, and by well-respected people. So I thought I would spend a little time researching intuition and that's the substance of the call this morning.

CHANGE! I’M LOVIN’ IT

by Dr. Cecil Clements (19th February 2013)

Almost 25 years ago, I was in a college that was going through change. It was part of a larger group of colleges and they had decided that this particular college needed to close and the students were going to be taken into other colleges, as this college was not doing too well. I remember this college president going to the board and making a strong case for keeping the college open – how thy could get more admissions, and so on. A couple of days later the board took a decision to close the college. And they asked him to handle that change, to make sure that students were transitioned out into other colleges, close down this college, sell the assets and finally sell the property. I was in the college for about 6 months during this time.

IF ONLY…

by Dr. Cecil Clements (18th December 2012)



As I’ve been looking at the year that’s running away from us, invariably one starts to think about the months that have gone by and along with that comes some amount of, “Oh, I wish I had done that.” Disappointments tend to creep in, resolutions begin to pop their heads up and say, “This is what you decided at the beginning of the year” and maybe it has or has not been kept.

I was reading an article by Daniel Gulati who says, ‘Disappointment Doesn’t Discriminate’. How true! Whether you are a CEO or just starting out in the corporate world, whether you are male or female, whether you are a graduate or not, rich or poor – it really doesn’t matter. Disappointment comes to all of us. And if we are just disappointed and are then able to move on, it’s fine. But what typically happens with disappointment is that it leads to regrets.

FROM THE CORNER OF MY EYE

by Dr. Cecil Clements (6th November 2012)


For many of us, we have seen our daughters, as they’ve gone into their early teens, how they have loved to play with their Barbie dolls. Barbie dolls have been around for so many years and have been such an integral part of a young girl’s play kit. Mattel brought out the Barbie and it was a huge success as they carved into a niche that girls needed as they got into their teens, to have a sophisticated doll.

WHY DID I DO THAT?

by Dr. Cecil Clements (30th October 2012)

Aditi was a first year student at Harvard Business School and she wasn’t looking forward to this particular lecture. As she sat in the classroom, heard the speaker being introduced, she struggled to maintain her composure. It was one of the most difficult lectures that she ever had to listen to or be a part of. The reason was this: the speaker was a man called Preet Bharara. He was the man who had prosecuted Rajat Gupta. The whole problem for Aditi was that Rajat Gupta was her father.

I DID IT. ADMIT IT.

by Dr. Cecil Clements (28th August 2012)

I hope it’s a good Tuesday morning for you here in Mumbai. As I sit in my office, it’s overcast and raining; looks like a dreary morning. But it’s a day still full of wonderful opportunities for each one of us.

I want to share with you this morning, something that’s been in the news the last couple of days and has to do with Apple and Samsung and the case that was going on about how Apple had sued Samsung, saying that they had stolen some of the techniques that they have in their own phones, like the pinching, the display, etc. The big news is that Apple won the case and there’s a $1 billion fine that needs to be paid by Samsung.

I FEEL FOR YOU

by Dr. Cecil Clements (21st August 2012)

For those of you who are from Mumbai and have been here for some time, you may remember that in the early 80s, there used to be a festival that happened annually called the Jazz Yatra. This festival held at the Rang Bhavan, drew jazz artists from all over the world. Over 2 or 3 days, they would meet and have a wonderful time of jazz music. In 1980, they decided to put together a 100-boys chorus and I was privileged to be a part of that. We had a wonderful conductor who not only got us to sing well, but also brought us into one unit. The way in which he connected with us was amazing. Years later, reminiscing about that event, I remember saying to someone, “We would have done anything or followed him anywhere.” That was the extent of the connection that he made with us in the span of the 4 or 5 days that we practiced for the event.

CAN I HELP?

by Dr. Cecil Clements (24th July 2012)

There’s this song that has been ringing in my head, written many years ago by Bobby Austin and Curt Sapaugh called ‘Try a Little Kindness’. The words go like this:

If you see your brother standing by the road,
With a heavy load from the seeds he sowed.
Or if you see your sister falling by the way;
You stop and say, “You’re going the wrong way.”

You’ve got to try a little kindness, show a little kindness,
And shine your light for every one to see.
Try a little kindness, then you’ll overlook the blindness
Of the narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded street.

‘START’ PRIORITIZING

by Dr. Cecil Clements (15th May 2012)

I want to share with you this morning on the whole issue of prioritizing.

William Gladstone says, “He is a wise man who wastes no energy on pursuits for which he is not fitted; and he is wiser still who, from among the things that he can do well, chooses and resolutely follows the best.” In other words, we are wise if we put our energy and pursuit into the things which are good for us and which we are suited for, and even wiser still if we are able to find out the things that we can do best among the things that we can do well and tenaciously follow those things.

I realize that sometimes it’s easier said than done, because we can get so caught up with the mundane and the trivial, that we forget the important things.

TRUST AND BE TRUSTED

by Dr. Cecil Clements (1st May 2012)

I was thinking about trust and how often we tell somebody ‘Just trust me’ or we have been told by somebody ‘Trust me, I know that this is right’ or ‘I know that this is good’. That’s a statement that either invites people to place a lot of trust in us or for us to put a lot of trust in the person who is inviting us to trust him or her. In corporate settings, the higher you go, the less you are able to articulate reasons as to why you would invite somebody to trust you. Very rarely are you able to say, “Here’s why I have to do something. I hope you understand because this is the reason I am doing it.” More often than not, the decision is taken and you hope that people will understand that it’s the right decision that was taken.

INTEGRITY: IS IT WHO I AM?

by Dr. Cecil Clements (27th March 2012)

This morning I want to share a deep thought that has been on my mind for some time. I keep seeing by-lines of different companies, signature tunes if you will, that say ‘People Do Come First’ or ‘Honesty is What We Stand For’. Then when you find that people don’t come first in the company, you begin to question everything that the company stands for.

So today I want to talk about integrity. Integrity is beginning to become a core value for a lot of companies. But I want to start by reading this story to you – a true story that happened in the late 1920s and it centers around a man called Al Capone. He was a gangster and one of his lawyers was a man called Easy Eddie who was one of the most efficient lawyers in the United States. Although the US government spent a fortune trying to put Al Capone in jail, Easy Eddie as he was known, always found a way to keep him out. Capone rewarded Eddie with a huge salary, luxuries, political power, everything. He had a house, a huge place in Chicago.

BE POSITIVE

by Dr. Cecil Clements (13th March 2012)

I was reading an article by Jay Schliefer, writing for ‘Society for Human Resource Management’ entitled ‘Workplace Negativity: Ways to Beat it’. The author started off by talking about Thomas Edison saying, “As Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he went through hundreds of designs that didn’t work. At one point, a reporter asked him, ‘Mr. Edison, aren’t you tired of failing?’ Edison wrote back, ‘Failing? Why! I’ve succeeded. I’ve discovered hundreds of ways how not to make a light bulb.’”