Showing posts with label chetan bhagat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chetan bhagat. Show all posts

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Whether College Degree Matters in times of Internet ?

We have country wide discussion since last 2 days about the portfolio compatibility of HRD minister Smriti Irani.  This makes us thinking relevance of  education in life.  Are our formal degrees really critical for success in any field ? 

10th and 12th Standard results and parents are extremely concerned about the future of their child. Which course to select and what not. 

With so many options available and no clue about what each degree and work entails is the real problem of today. Children are not aware about what kind of work they will do in life with the degree they are opting at the age of 16 or 18. Parents are more clue less with multiple options available. Both children and parents are confused , worried and in the state of paranoia.

Therefore decision making abilities give way to explore what others are doing. Well what others are doing also is not based on any scientific research and aptitude of the students. Even aptitude varies student to student. Everyone is deciding on a gut feeling and according to the trend. Herd mentality is playing major role here. 

Parents must remember education and success are two different things. While our immediate Ex PM got the top job because of his higher education while present PM got the top job sheer by his determination and past track record and not education track record. We have examples of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg & DH Ambani all are non graduates and on the other hand Narayanamurthys of the world.  

In his book 'The Professional' wellknown author Subroto Bagchi writes "Our education system measure IQ just based on left brain and completely  ignoring right brain capacity. There are 8 other forms of intelligence like literary, musical, kinesthetic (sports persons posse this), interpersonal, intra personal, spatial (Navigational), naturalists and spiritual."  

Therefore what we do in life depends more upon what drives us and not what we learn during degree college. We have shining example of IIT & IIM A graduate but successful author Chetan Bhagat pursuing writing as a career. He is writing what he saw & learned from life during his student life and not what he formally learned from the books. 

Do not worry much about the degree as one can study whatever but DO WHAT YOU LIKE. Degree will make one aware about the world around us , it will help us interpret the world better. But as we grow we realise our interest and passion & so just follow that. 

We have many Engineers, MBAs and CAs and we also need many musicians, painters writers , film makers. It takes guts to get out of herd mentality and do something what you really savour - now or even after graduation.  Do not waste life in doing things what you don't like just because you did mistake in course section at the age of 16 o 18.

We are living in different times where degree is important but not sufficient for the success. Passion , determination & mission of doing something matter the most and mere degree cant give you that. 

In times of internet we can learn and study anything without formal degree but human skill like determination, interpersonal skills , intra personal skills , communication skills , physical fitness is what we need to learn in universities. I think biggest challenge of the new HRD minister is to bring these elements in our education system which is missing completely.

From MASS production to MASS customisation.

Monday, October 24, 2011

3 Idiots - 2 for Our Enterprises Too



Wishing all my readers & their family a very joyous , HAPPY and grand Diwali. 

Time to celebrate , enjoy  & introspect too. 

While watching movie 3 Idiots (i have lost count now , how many times i have watched this movie) last night , I could find new meaning and relate it to our professional and corporate life. We now have 3 Idiots for students to fall back upon while getting excessive pressures from professors and parents, but we also have pressure cooker kind of situation in our professional and corporate life also & post studies we spend our rest of the life working for corporations. What about that??

Like students life , Marks and Numbers rule corporate life too. Sales Targets and Bottom-line numbers. This unlike students life we have to under go along with our family responsibilities. Companies declare better out look and better targets quarter after quarter. Top and Bottom-line counts , that's all. 

What it takes to achieve the numbers is hardly of any significance. Environment awareness is spreading somewhat but what about human side of it ? Who care about employee happiness?? Superior and out of the way Customer Experience ?  Better vendor relationship ? better social responsibilities ? better environmental concerns? 

We measure sales , profit, eva , ebitda, eps, roi and hence we focus on improving the same and our success is measured based on these numbers. No measurement of qualitative parameters to achieve quantitative numbers , hence not measured and hardly given any  importance. We need stress free corporations and enterprises. We need to change our enterprise success parameters. Something grossly wrong is going on unnoticed.

Chetan Bhagat, Raju Hirani or Aamir Khan, or someone else , who will wake up to these realities and make another 3 Idiots -2 ????

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

2 Questions on my ( our ) Birthday

We face many new years in one year in INDIA. 

1st Jan ( Calender Year )
1st April ( Financial Year )
New Year ( Next day of Diwali - Hindu New Year )
Gudi Padwa  ( Local State New Year , in my case Maharashtra) 
Today ( In my case , and in your case yr respective actual birthday )

Advantage: Ever few months we can make new year resolutions and every few months we also review the same.  

I learned abt new ways to celebrate birthdays by following interesting ppl on Twitter: Author Chetan Bhagat took 300  less privileged children to the multiplex theatre for a movie, another gentleman spent time with senior citizen at one of the old age homes. Gr8 ideas.

Lets brain storm what better can be done on THE day?

Technology has made it easier to remember birthdays so I am getting many automated mails and many SMSs too. Just NOW got call from LIC for wishing me personally. 

I am still looking for Wow !!! er from all my service providers and all companies for whom I am a customer or a client. 

Therefore we have two questions: 

1) How do we celebrate our birthday - fruitfully /innovative-ly /non routine way?
2) How companies can wow!!! customers on their birthdays?

Pl share yr thoughts. Cheers.