#transfomration

More stream sale stuff! Special thanks to KDynamo, Wesfox13 and Chanbaras

TOOT TOO, back aboard the mom TF train!! 

All these aprons aren’t gonna wear themselves!!

Sadhana Centre for Management & Leadership Development, (SCMLD) Pune

 Dear Sir,

This is to thank you for your kind acceptance of our invitation to address our seminar scheduled for 24th and 25th December 2011. The audience will consist of 250 plus students, 20-25 faculty members and a dozen invitees. The students consist of the ones pursuing year 1 of our programs and the ones who are almost completing the year 2 and are in placement season. Out of 180 students in this batch, 93 have already received offers of employment.

  With respect to our institute we enclose our C.V. format which every student has to fill up for his / her campus placement process. This we give them when they apply to us for admission and also after 6 months of their being with us after having a great detailed discussion on why all those parameters (in the C.V. format) and how one can utilize one’s time with us to acquire those qualities. We inculcate/ groom/ facilitate the just ordinary and ordinary students to emerge extra ordinary at work. Our admission notification enclosed herewith highlights our focus. As behaviors are expressions of mental patterns, beliefs, and habits, we put them through a daily regimen to “re- habituate” qualities which are essential for “performance” at “work”. Today employment is considered as work. We do not believe so. Work is work and there are plenty of it all around. Unfortunately “work-abled” (employables) are in short supply. Further, we want our students to be ready for any work as situation demands and organization’s purpose requires. This requires egolessness. Therefore we focus and measure-knowledge, doing aspects (execution/implementation), integrity/ authenticity, deadline orientation, and so on. May be due to many such innovations, IIM (A), Ravi J. Mathai Centre for Educational Innovation (RJMCEI) wrote a case study on our institute.

  However, in spite of whatever we do, our processes will not be complete without students developing some understanding of the various practical aspects of business and industry (at least rudimentary wisdom), which can come only from facing realities and / or going nearer to the reality. Hence we organize 8 seminars during the two years of one’s studentship with us and thereby each student gets an opportunity to listen to, interact and pick up a great amount of wisdom from 200 -240 practioners. Also we have factory visits, mandi visits, out of the box selling activity as “footpath vendors”, surveys, field assignments, short duration “Earning while learning” apprenticeship assignments and so on. 

  This seminar is one of such many attempts. Here we envisage you sharing your story with the audience- (1) personal as to how you came this far and at what cost of time, efforts, resources, constraints, circumstances, barriers, choice, choicelessness, failures, and so on, and (2) professional successes and failures - as to the business/profession you are in, its challenges and issues including economic, environmental (legal, administrative, bureaucratic, political), financial, market, marketing, employee performance and non-performance etc.  It will be excellent if you can also add as to (3) the problems you are facing now in terms of “the skill/ competency/ talent, performance gap” issues, and challenge viz-a-viz qualification, quality, functional skills, knowledge, attitude and behaviors of employees and its impact on business and its competitiveness, career success for employees themselves etc. You may also like to (4) dwell on the benefits and challenges if management graduates choose the SME sector organizations to make their careers. Students are starters on the path. We the ones travelled the path need to share the titbits of wisdom we gained so that their travel becomes that much easier if they have the curiosity to learn from the wiser. We do not expect any theoretical or conceptual presentation which we have already overloaded them with. You may like to take 25 minutes for your talk/ presentation. 10 minutes after that are for Q&A for two speakers jointly.

Once again, I express my gratitude for your kindness of being available to our students to help them emerge better informed. It is a great contribution.

With warm regards and thanking you,

Yours Sincerely

M. S. Pillai

(Founder Director, SCMLD)

Sadhana Centre for Management & Leadership Development (SCMLD) 

                                                                                                                We have the largest and biggest asset base in the world – the youth. But are we really preparing them for the opportunities being thrown up all around and in all areas of creating/offering goods and services? All concerned, from Prime Minister to planners & policymakers, Confederations & Chambers to CEOs and hirers are worried as to how to find right fit people and if found how to retain  them and if retained, how to get work and outcomes out of them. All are aware that the quality of Human Resource, Governance and Institutions and that of the legal, political & social systems are the pre – requisites for economic growth and progress. But where are we today in the context of today’s actions design and deliver the tomorrows we aspire for?

On the other side on campuses, and in multiplexes, restaurants & discos, cricket stadiums, film fare awards (all in cities) we find display of huge energy, enthusiasm, fun and ‘I don’t care’ kind of relationships and consumption – the youth expressions of today. In the rural side and in the underbellies of cities it is the opposite –denial, despair, deprivation, anxiety, helplessness, resentment, anger, confusion and hopelessness. However, for productive and serious economic activity in both urban and rural geographies, there is acute shortage of right people- the Human Resource of desired quality. The situation is that, those who want to work are lacking in skills. Those who claim to be educated (qualified) are attitudinally illiterate when it comes to work and delivery of outcomes. Exceptions are there but few. By exceptions organization/nation building is impossible. 

According to me, knowledge, skills, aptitude, attitude, habits, good health – physical, mental emotional, spiritual & social and enthusiasm & energy  appropriate to the context, place, time, people and their needs, make one right fit. This calls for pro-active macro and micro planning and implementation of dynamic and transformational HRD initiatives on a continuous basis.

However, our education system is ‘marks’ and knowing (information not knowledge) oriented. Parents expect that once the fee is paid it is the duty of the school, college or institute which is responsible to get their wards behaviourally changed educated (marks) and employed with maximum pay & comforts and least of difficulties. The students expect the institute/ and teachers put “knowledge” in their brains and skills in their hands and get them an employment with the “profile” they are looking for. The teachers think and behave as if they know everything that the students should know and keep lecturing. The business and industry “hunt” for the talent that once employed must “deliver” from the next day. They want the “charitable” “not for profit” institutions to supply them with “work ready” straight fit HR for them to make ‘profit’ out of them. Government as usual is “allocating” huge sums for skill development, higher education, school education and so on. Branded institutions arrogate and decide 100 %..... 97% in 10th, 12th etc or 99 percentile as cut off due to the shortages manufactured by the license permit raj in education sector.. Then we claim that India is blessed with “the huge population” dividend. What a pity and self deception? If simple qualities of listening, punctuality & commitment to deliver what is promised or agreed upon, are practised, implemented or enforced and if we are learners, our country will progress to a great extent. If we stop arguing and start doing, learning will happen and skills will develop at least over a period of time. India was known for its knowledge and skills.

All of us – parents, teachers, institutions – educational and business/industry/government all working together can only convert this population with unlimited energy and potential into a real asset base for dividends to be reaped by one and all. Parents and teachers in schools must consciously offer “formative” grooming & education. Higher and technical education institutions & faculty must provide “re-formative” education relevant to the context, time and need. Business and industry must take them and groom them further for specific purposes without looking for whether they would stay with them or not. In any case they will be with  ‘us  – India’ our country, being in any organization. With me or with them does not matter as long as they are productive in India or for India.

May be this is my utopia. But I love that utopia. Government, business, industry, society, religion etc are here to offer “goods and services” so that society, its members, nations and countries progress and live in peace, harmony & happiness, being healthy. In India focus is on employment, not work or serving. What is the way out and what we the institutes and organizations can do at our levels is the theme of the seminar. Government will do what it desires. But waiting for government to build talent for businesses and industry, will keep them waiting only.

In this context we look forward to your being with us and sharing your experience, insights, concerns and the way forward as you see it. You may like to discard whatever is written above. The above is only one view point. You are at liberty to have your views. We expect to listen and learn from your views and wisdom.

At SCMLD we are trying our best to turn out 150 -180 youngsters to be all terrain & all weather fit people, to perform. We have consciously selected them from lower strata of the society. We have in fact started special classes for “common sense” application. As regards positive attitudinal shift, we are almost successful in making it happen. Now focus is on logic, reason, common sense and intuition alongside our attempt at intellectual development.

With warm regards,

Yours Sincerely,

M.S.Pillai

Founder Director