You bring an exceptional background that encompasses the best of both the industries i.e. academics and corporate world. Please share some of your experiences in these varied sectors with us.

The corporate world and the academic world may seem very different, but at the business level - both have more in common than being poles apart. The business model will be different say between a B-school / Education Institute and a FMCG company, but the challenges like competition, market share, brand equity, revenue, margins etc. are the same. In each industry (if I may say so) there has to be a great deal of focus on the customer – internal or external.  In the IBS scenario for example, we are providing a service – to our internal customers who are students and to the external customers, who are the organizations who recruit from us. Unless we provide a quality service, add value and look after the customer – like a commercial organization, our business is equally vulnerable to the laws of the market place.

 There is a dearth of entrepreneurial skill in India. Do you agree? If yes, what could be the responsible factors?
I have a different perspective on this.  We Indians as a nation have always survived on very little resources. The qualities that have kept us going are our ingenuity and innovation – using our local conditions. If we compare our brand of entrepreneurship with the Silicon Valley model as taught in business schools, one may agree with your statement. But as Prof. C.K. Prahalada says, the global “best practice” may not work for us – we have to find the “next practice”.

The “chaiwalla” is also an entrepreneur. In a nation where jobs are few & far between, the same chaiwallas & kirana shops not only feed their own families but provide employment to a large number of people. And this business model is replicated successfully millions of times – in the cities, towns and villages of India.  

I do not believe that there is a dearth of entrepreneurial skills in India – the issues are of scalability. Also, the “dearth of entrepreneurial skills in India” is a somewhat elitist view from the ivory towers of our premium educational institutes. They need to climb down to the grassroots level and discover the reality for themselves.

 Name the two most important qualities that helped you achieve your goals?
Firstly, to be able to walk away from the comfort zones, take risks & do something entirely new i.e, if not satisfied with something I have been doing. Secondly, an open mind and the willingness to learn & adopt new things.

 The IT and Information Industry, have made the world flat & small. What do you think the future holds for the management students of today?
Unprecedented opportunities and at the same time, intense competition. Today, the world has been flattened just for a relatively few people. In the near future, a huge proportion of the global population will come on-line and the flat world will provide them a platform to compete with the rest on equal terms. It will be a very crowded workplace indeed. Add to this – major issues like the environment, security, population growth etc. will pose unimaginable constraints on tomorrow’s organizations.
Tomorrow’s managers have to be prepared to change their career path multiple number of times in their working lives, to keep pace with the change. They have to go through the learning, unlearning & relearning cycle a number of times – just to stay at the same place. However, for people who can thrive in this environment and use it to their advantage, the rewards will be enormous.

Stress is an inevitable part of our daily lives. How do you deal with it, so as not to affect ones health?
Yes, we cannot wish away stress in our daily lives. Some extent of stress is perhaps good for the adrenaline rush that makes us do things we never thought possible.I personally think that the best way to deal with stress is to have a positive attitude, physical exercises / meditation and to have a good laugh with friends & family.For me, a walk in the morning or a few lengths in the pool, pranayama, a good book to read and a weekend with friends & family keeps stress at bay.
What is important in the management of stress is to be aware of the stress symptoms and make necessary lifestyle changes before it threatens someone’s health. Inability to recognize the symptoms early on can cause serious health problems like anxiety, depression and a host of other problems. With modern medicines, the chances of success in the management of stress related diseases are high, but most people do not ask for medical help and suffer in silence. This is because they are not aware that they are a victim of stress, as the diseases often do not have any physical symptoms.

If you had six months ahead with no financial obligations and no financial constraints, what would you do?

I actually did this for a year – after a long stint of 24 years of work in the IT industry. I was not finding the IT industry as exciting as it used to be, when it was considered the ‘Sunrise Industry’. This time I wanted to find out – what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had always wanted to travel, do some adventure sports and teach.
I spent 3 weeks in Italy & Sicily - travelling across the country. Florence was absolutely stunning. Travel to Palermo & the town of Corleone was a big thrill. I also completed a course in scuba diving at Havelock Island in the Andamans.
I was always interested in psychological counseling and this time I attended a course & got myself certified as a Myers Briggs (MBTI™) counsellor.
During my career earlier, I had enjoyed conducting workshops for customers and giving guest lectures at the B-schools. I wanted to find out if I still enjoyed doing this. So, I designed & ran two corporate programs – one on Mentoring & Coaching and the other one on Consulting Skills. They were a big hit and I ran 19 workshops for top companies in India and public courses at hotels. In addition, I lectured on IT subjects like Project management, ERP etc. at CSI, Management Institutes, Charitable Organizations, NGOs etc. mainly aimed at young people who do not have access to quality training at affordable prices.
It was an absolute exhilarating experience. The satisfaction it gave me to see the difference it made to the participants was a big reward by itself. I also got exposed to many fresh ideas and learnt a lot.
This experience also gave me a fairly good idea about the gaps in training / teaching practices in education, as compared to the corporate world. There are tremendous opportunities to improve and add value to the way we train students in educational institutions in India.
The time to do it is – now.
To have a platform with a very wide reach to do this, I joined IBS !

What is your philosophy of life?
Live life on your own terms & always try to help people who have been less fortunate in life.

Tell us about your family and how you spend your leisure time.
My immediate family comprises of my wife and our two daughters. My wife Vidisha, is a media person who is now involved in setting up an all women’s FM radio channel in India. When she has the time, she lectures on marketing communications. She also runs our training company “Knowledgemultiplier.com.