The Secret of Success !

Several times different people from my kids to my colleagues to friends to acquaintances have posed this question, sometimes to me, more often to a group “What’s the secret of success ?”. And on most occasions there have been wise people who’ve given wise answers. Most of it revolving around, “Planning, Strategizing, Hard work, Commitment, …”.

And on the rare occasion, when I was cornered with this question, my simple and honest reply was, “No Idea”. (Fortunately, this was before Abhisek’s silly “No Idea” set of ads). Lately I’ve seen this question directly and indirectly asked and answered, with a similar set of parameters.

I’ve always had a completely different point of view on this subject. My simple answer to the question “What’s the secret of success ?” would be “Luck”.

Let me explain. In most areas, whether its academic or business there are 3 sets of people. The first which would roughly comprise 10 – 20 % would be the ones who either don’t give a damn or are challenged in some way in that field. 60 – 80% would be the average persons, who have minimal commitment and will work just as hard as is required to ensure that they are able to continue to have a job with a good review from their supervisors. And then there are the top 10 – 20% who are the achievers. These are highly committed and ambitious hardworking persons who are self motivated and drive. They are the ones who make things happen and contribute heavily to the success of the organizations they belong to.

Luck is what will determine the winners from this final group. All of them are extremely smart, work hard and have phenomenal commitment. There’s very little to differentiate one from the other. Yet some of these will be hugely successful and others will be either less successful or sometimes even unsuccessful. What differentiates one from the other is Luck. Getting the right opportunity, being at the right place at the right time, and sometimes even knowing the right person. None of this can be planned or scripted.

I’ve experienced success and failure at close quarters on several occasions. Both mine and others close to me. And the only common factor that distinguished one from the other seems to be “Luck”. There are occasions when we’ve come tantalizingly close to success after years of concentrated effort, and the old adage of “There’s many a slip between the cup and the lip”, has taken over. On other occasions, we’ve done relatively less and success or a sweet deal has traipsed its way in, with us having done very little.

The conclusion is not that it’s all about Luck and we need to leave it to our destiny. The right conclusion would be that to succeed you need to work very hard with a great deal of commitment and focus. But nit to be too disappointed if success doesn’t come quickly. Keep away with it. And ultimately, chance are that Lady Luck will catch up.

And so end wishing you “Best of Luck”.

All the Risk. All the Reward ?

The Anderson School of Business (UCLA) has a T-Shirt that says, “All the Risk, All the Reward”. I sometimes wonder about the truth of that statement. Especially in India. Whilst in the US, entrepreneurs, and especially successful entrepreneurs are hugely rewarded, in India that just does not seem to be the case.

The primary issue in India is the business environment. The complete system that has its basis in the British era, and revolves around making it extremely difficult to conduct business. And so that itself is the first stumbling block. If you want to appoint professionals to do the filings and other compliances, you face the issue of them being pretty expensive. And worse, on most occasions they don’t comply. As and when the issue comes up, they “Settle”.

The next challenge is employees. In India, we do not have a culture of risk taking employees. Most young people just want a safe and secure job with a salary as high as they can manage, with as little work content they can get away with. And so hiring becomes a huge challenge. You do manage to with great difficulty hire a few people. And being a start-up you train them and make them super competent, and you begin to get a feeling that something is finally moving.

And just as you’re about to throw your first party, to celebrate the coming of age of your new trainees, who are now competent, they put in their papers. They are now so well trained and so good, all of the big companies would love to have them. And the name itself is sufficient for them to leave. On many occasions, they aren’t even being paid more. And not to waste the event already planned, it becomes a farewell party. And so you’re now back to square one.

Your dream product is getting delayed. And by now you’re running a little short of money. Your funds are drying up. You’ve taken all the risk. You’ve burnt up your money. And the reward you’ve gotten for all of your pain is to know that the next time you have a great idea, you need to get it done in a place where the environment is more conducive to rewarding new and advanced forms of innovation. Be they services, products or solutions.

Just saying a system SUCKS does not help anyone. But doing something about it does. And one of the things I hope to do, is to try and make the environment more conducive for entrepreneurs, By having a fund that will not only act as a VC, but more important, make the environment conducive to focusing on making the business valuable as opposed to getting caught up in managing unproductive  administrative red tape.

US here I come – Reia

February 2010 was when Freia convinced (conned ?) us into letting her go to the US for a holiday alone. The day we saw her off at the airport and were driving back home, Reia checked / informed us that she would be going to the US alone (without Didi) next year. And lest we forget, she kept reminding us about what she claimed we had promised her throughout the year. And the one way to get Reia to do whatever we wanted, and which mainly revolved around studying all we had to do was say “Don’t you want to go to the US?”

On April 6th, Reia comes back from her last exam and calls me at office. The 1st question, “When can we go for my visa ?”. And I’m like, “But how were your exams ?”. “Good, but when can we go for my visa ?’. Knowing I wasn’t easily going to get out of this task, I set about doing it. For starters, there were no appointments for a visa. And when I told Reia, she coolly said, “Can you please try, 3 times a day, morning afternoon, and night.”. I did. And still had no luck.

And in all such situations, there’s just 1 person we all turn to. 007. Not James Bond, 007, but our very own, 007, Claudian. And just as James Bond never fails in a mission, neither does Claudian. The next day, he managed to get an interview 4 days later.

Reia’s interview was at 7.45. And we had to leave home at around 6.30. I thought we’d have a tough time waking Reia up. However at 6.15, she woke me up and was ready with all her papers well before 6.30. The interview had a couple of hiccups, such as Reia being thrown out and asked to come back with someone older. And having to stand in the long line all over. And wondering what the hell the wooden stick they gave her was for. And whether the visa interviewer was nice or not so nice. And …

Three days later, she got her visa for 10 years. And then promptly wrote to her Din uncle as to when was a convenient time to visit. 3 days later, no response. One more mail, this time verified by Freia to Don. Again, 3 days later, no response. A phone call, and a message left. No response. One more call. And one more message. Again no response. So Reia having crossed all other hurdles, finally stumbled and had no answer. Since she was just unable to get in touch with Don. A good lesson for the future, when in real life, its most time impossible to get in touch with someone you want to desperately connect with.

So Reia, philosphises. Anyways, I have a 10 year visa, so maybe next year. And in any case, next year, I’m going to Scotland. And I’ll visit the US as a tourist, and … That’s when Don finally calls. And says, “Oh, I never received your mails”. And you can come anytime, as long as you bring Simbu. But Simbu has no visa. And Mabel is even more excited than Simran. However, this time, no time is wasted, and 007 put on the job. And he delivers.

Both kids, Reia -15 and Simran – 10 are US bound. So tickets are being organized. So late in the dat, tickets are expensive. But fortunately, British Airways seems reasonable. And we ask the travel agent to go ahead and do the booking. And all is set. Till the travel agent gets back, 2 days before the flight, saying British Airways have cancelled the booking, as they fall under the “Unaccompanied Minors” category. And this category, requires a local pick-up and drop at any intermittent stop over more than 6 hours. And the London stopover on the way back is 8 hrs. The only person we know in London, is the Queen. Who unfortunately doesn’t know us. So that’s out.

In the meanwhile good old Air India is having its bi-annual strike. This time by the ex-Indian Airlines pilots. And so no one wants to fly that airline. So guess what. We get a very good deal for their direct Mumbai – New Jersey flight. And their on-line booking system was flawed. Unlike the other airline websites, it allowed us to book a “Young Adult” aged between 12 – 16 along with a child of under 10 years. And so, we did it.

It was an interesting sight to see Reia pushing the luggage trolley with the tiny Simran walking beside her. We were concerned. And they were super confident. Immigration wouldn’t let them through till an Air India official confirmed their boarding passes. And Air India staff, in their usual super efficiency took 30 minutes to do what should have taken 2 minutes. Fortunately for everybody, they made it to the flight, being amongst the last passengers to board. And all of us heaved a sigh of relief. Whilst across the Atlantic Frank and Don were saying under their breath, “Oh No.”

Tatkal – and miles to go …

The concept of Tatkal, which is availability of a government service out of turn, started way back in the 1990’s for telephones. The idea was that since government officials would charge a bribe to make things happen quicker, why not the government legitimize the process, and pocket the money. In any case, the applicant was willing to pay a premium to hasten the process. In the 2000’s, with the onset of private telecom companies and availability of telephones and mobiles in a day, this became irrelevant.

The Tatkal concept had also subsequently been introduced for railway tickets and passports. And these remain relevant even today. Freia, who had applied for a passport, wanted to go to the US in a week. And so decided to try and get her passport issued quickly using the Tatkal scheme.

http://passport.gov.in/cpv/TatkalScheme.htm

The website is quite nice and gives details of the Tatkal process. One of the requirements is to get a verification certificate from a Government Official above a certain rank, very clearly defined. Personnel of the Armed Forces qualify and so I checked with a friend who is a Captain in the Indian Navy, if he could give me a verification. This has to be in a format and on the letterhead of the official. He kindly agreed.

Freia and I met my friend and he has printed and completed 2 original copies of the verification certificate on his letterhead, with all of his contact details, official and personal. One of the requirements was to have a photocopy of the ID Card of the concerned official. My friend informed us that the service rules did not allow for them to photocopy their ID Cards. This made sense and I was sure that the passport office would know about it.

Freia along with Ivy went the next morning to the passport office. And stood in line. When their turn finally came, they were told that the ID card was a requirement. And if the service rules do not allow, then get the verification certificate from somebody else. The concerned officer was unwilling to even listen. Or direct towards someone who could or would.

Interestingly, the website states that minors do not require a police verification. And hence minors, do not need a verification certificate. Hence to begin with, the Tatkal form should have been accepted. Secondly, if you have a photo id and  other proof of residence, then you do not need the verification certificate from a Government official. Freia had all of these. The answer of the officer, “Everyone needs a verification certificate”.

Looks like the easy way or maybe the only way to get things done is through agents. Your guess to the reasons for this are as good as mine.

 

Ultimately since the timelines for Freia to go had passed, we decided to do what most of us Indians are used to. Wait patiently. We’ve tried writing to the officials on the address provided on the website but unfortunately have not got any reply of clarification. Most government officials complain that they are being inundated and harassed by RTI queries. If they have transparency, clarity and consistency with regards to their dealing with the normal citizen, then maybe citizens need to use RTI may significantly reduce. And all of us would be so much happier.

Getting a Passport – Nightmare ?

Freia’s passport had expired and she needed a new one. Now that she’s 16, she was told that she’s got to do everything herself. So she went online, completed the form, got an appointment around 10 days later and promptly forgot about it. Until 1 day before the appointment.

That’s when she started putting together the various documents needed. And realized she needed a notarized declaration. Getting a notary on a Saturday, who’d give the same before Sunday, seemed an impossibility. But she managed to find one nearby, who promised to give it on Sunday. And actually did.

The online form gave an appointment time of 12.45. However, everyone told us that the time means nothing and you need to get to the passport office as early as possible. Ideally 6 or 7. Heeding the well meant advise, Freia and I reached the passport office at 9. And stood in line. We checked with the passport office security, and they confirmed that yes, all needed to stand in the line.

At 9.45 they allowed people in, and got them to form 3 different lines. We, like everyone else were confused.  And like all good Indians speculated and came up with several reasons. The other lines were Tatkal or returnees, or VIP’s or … The 2 lines were sent in and then once again 2 more lines were being formed. That’s when we realized what was happening. They were sending people in, based on the appointment time. Which was very good. And the way it should be.

So Freia and I went to a nearby CCD (Café Coffee Day), a coffee shop, and ate sandwiches, drank coffee, read, worked and kept ourselves busy. Back at the passport office at 12.30, we were part of a very short line and then were allowed to queue outside the entrance. Around 25 – 30 minutes later, we were in the AC hall. And in a long line. To have the passport application scrutinized, and if found okay, submitted. The only sad part was that several counters were unmanned and one got the feeling that if the place was adequately staffed, the lines could have been a lot shorter.

Lunch was at 1.30 and so promptly at 1.30 p.m. all the staff disappeared. Freia managed to get a place to sit. Fortunately there was a CCD inside the office, and we could have some snacks that were reasonable. Price and taste. Although the time was 1.20 – 2, most of the staff came back only at around 2.15.

The hall was filled with people. Almost all very unhappy. They complained about the speed of the staff, the facilities, the time it took, and so on. Yes, all of it was true.

Nevertheless, I found a few things very ironic. Most of the people I’m willing to bet were worse offenders of time in their workplace. In terms of getting to office in time, and returning from the numerous lunch and tea breaks. In India, we seem to follow IST (Indian Standard Time) and are happy about it. Until, we’re the victims of IST. The second glaring irony, was that many of these exact same people would be visiting the US embassy. And spend larger amounts of time, in less friendly conditions. Yet, they would be talking about the American way being superior.

I’m by no stretch of imagination justifying the process or defending the system. It’s not as good as it could and should be. And needs improvement. And we need to help the process by appreciating the improvement in services, as compared a few years earlier. And giving constructive suggestions to make improvements.
I, for my part have sent in my suggestions to the Regional Passport Office, et al. When will you ?

Some TIPS for making your experience less frustrating

1. You should go to the passport office just 15 minutes before your appointment. Going early does not help.
   
2. Have 2 sets of photocopies of all your documents. Make sure you sign each of the photocopies.
   
3. Have originals of all the documents you are submitting.
   http://passport.gov.in/cpv/obtain.htm
   
4. They may say 1 proof or residence is necessary. At the counter they demand more documents. Keep 2 or 3 if you have them. More can’t hurt.
   
5. If possible, have all the people whose passports are being applied for. Even if they are children. It’s frustrating to have to come back, because 1 place was not signed.
   
6. Use the checklist on their website. It’s pretty comprehensive, except for the number of residence proof required.
   http://passport.gov.in/cpv/checklist.htm
   
7. Use the other centers to submit your passport. They are equally fast, and have shorter lines.
   http://passport.gov.in/mumbai.html#apply
   
8. Carry a book. Time passes a lot faster when you have something to do.
   
9. And Smile. 5 years ago was 100 times worse.