Secrets of Achievements

What should one do during his or her lifetime? What should be the goals? How to achieve them? Should one really have goals? Should it be one goal or there should be many goals? Should there be one goal with many sub-goals? Should the goals keep changing from time to time?  Why should we talk about goals at all? Does it not complicate life?

There are millions who spend their lifetime without a goal. There are millions who do not even think of a goal because they have no time to think of one. There are also millions who have decided goals and work for achieving them. And in course of time achieve them with great efforts and continuous hard work. Such achievers are often recognised and felicitated by giving away awards and prizes. Associations and Organisations regularly identify achievers and recognise their efforts and contributions. These are joyous moments for the achievers as well as those who appreciate the achievers and their achievements. These recognitions often spur the achievers into doing even better in further pursuits. 

After receiving any such recognitions or awards, the achievers are asked a common question. What is the secret of your achievement? There may be many answers for this questions. Some achievers may try to answer them with words. Some others merely smile and let it pass. There are some others who find this as an opportunity and start waxing eloquently and make the questioner regret his asking the question. Many achievers answer with modesty and mention that this was all due to the effort and support of their team members. Some of them gracefully thank all those associated with the true achievement. 

How do these achievements come about? Is it due to the Essence or Substance of the achievers or due to the tools that were available to them? Was it their own effort or contributions of the team members? If it was due to their own team members, then why does it not happen to others who led the same team earlier or later? Why these achievements come to some repeatedly and even when they lead different teams at different times? These are interesting questions that beg for an answer.

Such questions are not recent in origin. These questions have been asked for thousands of years and answered as well. One may not concur with the answers and may wish them away as mere opinions. But the truth is that these questions have been asked and answered since ages. They were also answered in interesting manner as well.

*****

It is said that this question came up once in the royal court of King Bhojaraja of Dharanagara, present town of Dhar (near Indore) in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. There are many stories about Raja Bhoja and many disputes about his period. The complications come from the fact that there were many Kings with the same name over several centuries. The most famous Bhoja ruled from Dhar in the early 11th century (1010-1055 AD). He was a great patron of literature and fine arts. Among the many stories are mentions about the nine poets (Navamanis - Nine Jewels) including Poet Kalidasa. For the purpose of this discussion on achievements and achievers, we have to keep aside all these controversies and just go by the story.

Once when the royal court was in session, many courtiers appreciated the achievements of Bhoja. His taking good care of his state and subjects, and his being a patron of poets and artistes came for special mention. Raja Bhoja thanked them for all kind words and mentioned that all these achievements were possible due to the support and best wishes of his subjects and well-wishers. This led to the argument about the roles of tools and substance of the achiever in reaching the goals.

One poet stated that the achievements of Raja Bhoja was entirely due to his own efforts and substance. He gave the analogy of sage Agastya. "Agastya was born in a pot, lived among animals in the forest, ate root vegetables and led the life of a ascetic. Yet when confronted, he drank the mighty ocean by taking it in his hand! For the achievers, achievement comes from their own substance and not the tools!", he thunders in his verse in Sanskrit. क्रियासिद्धिः सत्वेभवति महातंनोपकरणे - Secret of Achievements is the achiever's own capacity and not from the tools, he mentions.

A second poet concurs with him and gives another analogy. He refers to Kamadeva or Cupid. "Kamadeva's bow is made of flowers, bees are its strings, the arrow he uses is the fickle and mercurial sight of women, his friend is the freezing moon and these are his fragile tools; he does not even have a body and yet he shakes and creates ripples in the whole world. His achievement comes purely from his own capacity and not these tools", he says.

Achievements come from the substance of the achiever and his efforts alone, not by the tools or team he gets, they argue. And it appears that settled the arguments then.

*****

Lack of tools or a weak team can be an excuse for poor achievement. Role of right tools or supporting competent team members can never be overemphasised. Even an expert cook cannot give the output of good food unless he is provided with good ingredients and right tools. At the same time the presence of the ingredients and excellent tools do not bring out the quality in the food prepared unless the cook is skilled in handling these items. Coaches may be in perfect condition; but they cannot move on their own. The speed at which they move depends on the engine; compare their speed when they are hauled by a steam engine, a diesel locomotive or a bullet train engine. The engine determines the degree of achievement for the same set of coaches. 

A right combination of the achiever's substance and matching tools is the real recipe for achievements. Both have their share of importance, yet leader makes a difference.

*****

Argument of the second poet mentioned above, giving the example of the Cupid is indeed very interesting. It reads thus:

धनुः पौष्पं मोर्वी मधुकरमयी 

चञ्चलद्रुशाम् कृशां कोणो बाणः  

सुहृदपि जरात्मा हिमकरः स्वयंचैकोनङ्गः 

सकल भुवनं व्याकुलयति 

क्रियसिद्दिः सत्वेभवति महताम् नोपकरणे 

Dhanuhpoushpam mourvee madhukaramayee

Chanchaladrushaam krushaam konobaanaha

Suhrudapi jaratmaa himakaraha Swayamchaikonangaha

Sakala bhuvanam vyakulayati

Kriyasiddihsatvebhavati mahataam nopakarane

Manmatha (Cupid) has a bow made of flowers with a string of bees, the arrow used is the fickle and crooked sight of women, has a freezing friend in the Moon and He Himself is without a body! and yet, he rules the whole world. Therefore, his achievement is only due his own capacity and not these tools he uses! Tools do not matter to the achievers; their achievement is derived from their own substance.

The words "Dhanuhpoushpam Mourvee Madhukaramayee" with which the above verse starts is the same as in the 6th sloka of "Soundarya Lahari" composed by the revered Guru, Adi Shankaracharya. This sloka in Soundarya Lahari also deals with the exploits of Cupid and how he derives his powers to shake the world from The Mother, who is the subject of devotion and prayer in Soundarya Lahari. The second poet referred above has probably taken the words from that prayer (assuming that he succeeded the Acharya in timeline, which is most likely) and modified it to settle the dispute about the essence of the achiever and the tools!

Legend has it that Manmatha has a bow of sugarcane or flowers and uses five flower arrows - Aravinda, Ashoka, Choota, Navamallika and Neelotpala (23rd sloka of Amarakosha says - Aravindamashokancha chootancha navamallika, neelotpalancha panchaite panchabanasya sayakaah - the flowers are Lotus, Ashoka, Mango, Jasmine and Blue water Lille  or Naidile). Here the crooked views of krushaangis (women with thin waistlines) has replaced the arrows of flowers. Does it really matter? Slight difference in the tools do not make a difference when we are dismissing the entire set of tools, lock, stock and barrel!

Art of Cricket to A-Z of Bradman

The small town where we lived in our childhood had two large playgrounds that belonged to the two High Schools, one run by the Town Municipality and the other by a Private Education Trust. They were the days without computers and mobiles, and naturally evenings were occupied in playing in these two big fields. There were another half a dozen medium and small grounds as well that belonged to other smaller schools. There was a great but healthy rivalry between the two high schools in various competitions, be it sports or other extra-curricular activities. The annual cricket match between the two high schools was an event that was eagerly looked forward to by all sports enthusiasts. Students from all over the taluk (tehsil) studied in these two schools. Many lived in hostels and some had private arrangements for pursuing their studies.

The town had a cricket group that played as a team only when an outside team was invited to play in the town. A blackboard kept on the previous day, in the town's main circle near the municipal office, used to announce the conduct of the match. Some of the elderly players in the team, mostly in their twenties and early thirties, had already finished their studies and were living in the nearby big city either for higher studies or employment. On the day of the match they would come together and assemble in the ground just before the match. The shortage of players to make up the final XI was managed by picking the deficit from among us youngsters. I was the official scorer for these unofficial matches. There was no remuneration for the official scorer, but the privilege of joining the participating teams for lunch was extended as a perk.

The eldest son of the town's transport operator was the team's captain. He was chosen as a captain for three reasons. That he was a good fast bowler was the first reason. He owned the playing kit was the second reason. He funded the expenses for the match and lunch was the third and more important reason. He was a fun loving young man and had contacts in the city for inviting other teams to come and play in our town. Though not practicing as a regular team, the winning record of the team was indeed satisfactory.

On one such match days, the captain had brought a copy of "The Art of Cricket" to the playground. The only source to see books for youngsters like us in those days were the school library or homes of teachers or local scholars. Books were prized possession and were never parted with. Borrowing books for school children like us was almost impossible. Don Bradman, a revered name then (as it is even today) was the author of the book. The book was passed around the elder members of the team. I got to touch the book when it was passed around. "The Art of Cricket" is actually a technical manual written by the Don himself and was originally published in the year 1958. The book was acclaimed as the best coaching book on cricket and holds its own high position even today, despite a plethora of books on cricket. The book has seen several revisions and editions and remains a popular book on the art of cricket.

I wanted to borrow the book and read it. The captain had already refused to give it to two of his elderly teammates. Asking him for the book appeared to be the toughest task at that time. I mustered courage and went to him in the restaurant during the lunch recess. My request was for getting the book for one day. He looked at me and asked me to sit down on the chair opposite to him.

"Are you in the same class as my younger brother Raju?"
"Yes, we are in the same class."
"How is he in his studies?"
"He is doing alright. Attends school regularly."
"He failed in Mathematics."
"He was more interested in sports last year. Now he is okay."
"I understand that you help him in his studies."
"Not much. I try to help the way I can."
"You know I do not give the book to anybody."
"I need for only one day. I will return it safely. I will keep it neat and clean."
"I will give it to you as a special case. Bur for only three days."

Two days were enough to read through the book. The book was returned with thanks well before the deadline.

*****

My niece visited her sister presently living in Australia. As a part of the sight seeing trips she visited Bradman Museum and International Cricket Hall of Fame in Bowral, New South Wales. Bowral town is 126 kilo meters from Sydney. While on the visit, she was kind to remember with my interest in cricket literature. She bought a book titled "The A-Z of Bradman". The first thing she did after landing in Bangalore was to meet me and handover the book. Such a nice gesture.

This book by Alan Eason is different from other books. The author studied Accountancy, but the book says he found words more interesting than figures. He started by contributed crossword puzzles to newspapers, covering a wide range of subjects. Sports and cricket got included and he used this background to present the Don from A to Z in this book. The book, spread over 440 pages gives all types of information about the Don arranged from A to Z. It contains information about his life, career in cricket and the many interesting personalities that were an integral part of his life. The book starts from Aberdeen seaport in Scotland, where the Don played his last match in Britain, and ends with with Zanetti Paul, the freelance artiste. For those who have not heard of Paul Zanetti, his cartoon of God asking for the Don's autograph on his arrival in Heaven after his death on 25th February 2001 appeared in many newspapers and summed up Don Bradman's popularity.

There are many interesting details in the book. Don Bradman averaged 101.39 before his last test innings. He needed four runs in the last innings to end with an average of 100 runs. He was astonishingly out for a second ball duck. Many things are said about the same. Some even went to the extent of saying that there were tears in his eyes as he faced the ball since he was ending his test career. He could not see the ball properly and got out, they said. But the don himself denied these opinions. In a television interview Ray Martin asked him " Do you laugh when you think, it is the most famous duck in cricket history?", Bradman replied "No, I don't laugh much about it, because I am very sorry that I made a duck, and I would have been glad if I had only made those four runs so I could finish with an average of 100". 

*****

In his "The Art Of Cricket", Don Bradman emphasises the importance of preparing physically and mentally for each cricket match, be it a club game or a test match. He deals at length on the choosing of proper gear like leg guards, gloves or a bat, or polishing the shoe and checking the nails on the boots. Things have changed a lot from the time of buying a bat and seasoning it with Linseed Oil. Modren bats are indeed different. Nevertheless, choosing the appropriate gear and checking their working before the match are as important today as in his playing days. Even slight carelessness in the preparation may turn out to be the end of what could be a great innings. This we see even today, when a batsman fails to ground his bat while taking a quick single or even while backing up at the bowler's end. Bradman's this lesson is equally applicable in every walk of life. Giving importance to minor details can be the boundary line between success and failure in any walk of life.

Fifty years is a long time indeed. "The Art Of Cricket" had to be borrowed for two days. "The A-Z Of Bradman" will be with me for much longer. Its reading pleasure can be savoured leisurely! There should certainly be many worthy lessons in it that can be used in future.

My Factory Is Closed

The elderly gentleman was waiting at the gate even before the bank branch was opened on that Monday morning, forty four years ago. He was in an agitated mood and quite different from his usual self. A regular visitor to the branch and always dignified in his behaviour and dealings, he was tense that morning. He grudgingly acknowledged our greetings that day. As we entered the branch after the doors were opened, he came and sat in the customers area outside the counter. He did not come into the banking hall even when our Assistant Manager requested him to come in. His demeanour indicated that he was unhappy with something. It appeared a storm was brewing. 

Branch Manager walked in and went to his cabin. He had barely sat down in his chair when the elderly gentleman rushed into cabin. We could not see what happened in the cabin because the cabin was a separate room and not a glass covered enclosure we have nowadays. His raised voice could be heard outside the Manager's room. "Your people have joined hands with my competitor. My raw material has been delivered to him and his factory is working extra shift. My factory is closed and my workers idle. My loss is his profit. You are a party to this. I will certainly do something about this", he shouted and walked away like a comet.  

Within a few minutes I was called into the Manager's cabin. Verification of some records and little discussion helped us into getting a clear picture of what was the real issue. The elderly gentleman had indeed a genuine grievance and his anger was well justified, though the cause was not intentional. The challenge now was to sort out the issue before the matter got out of hand and resulted in a serious complaint.

*****  

Indian exporters have to compete with their counterparts from countries in the neighbourhood like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Jordan etc. for selling their products in the international markets. This is all the more true in respect of readymade garment exports. They have three main challenges in pushing their products in the competitive market; price, quality and delivery schedules. Production costs are to be kept at the lowest, but quality cannot suffer. Delivery schedules have to be strictly met as a few days delay may result in the rejection of goods by the buyer in the fast-changing fashion market. Summer and winter wear requirements of Europe and Continental America also influence the market. Readymade garment units work on wafer thin margins and some incentives given by the government is often the saving grace for them. Managing such units is indeed a tough task. Fast turnover of labour is another problem area in running such units.

Indian garment trade contributes nearly 4% to the country's GDP. It provides 4.5 million jobs to tailors, transporters and traders. Nearly a fourth of the production is for the overseas markets. The total share in exports percentage-wise was nearly the same four decades ago.

As per the industry practice, buyers of such garments in overseas markets employ quality professionals and place them in the hub of such garment factories. These buyer's representatives decide on the quality of fabric and other material used in production. They visit cloth manufacturing units and specify the type of cloth to be used in making the garments. The export units have to buy the cloth from these factories alone for the making of garments. Ensuring continuous supply of fabric is a key component for keeping the workers engaged and meeting delivery schedules.

*****

The two readymade garment export units dealing with us were supplying to common buyers abroad. The materials used in production, nature and style of garments manufactured and delivery schedules were the same. Both were required to use a certain type of fabric manufactured in a factory located on the outskirts of Bombay (Mumbai). The manufacturing company insisted on payment for the material supplied through a settlement called "Documentary Credit" (popularly known as Letter of Credit or LC). Buyers bank was required to issue these LCs in favour of the supplier. Goods were being sent through "Approved Transport Operators". Such operators are not to deliver the goods at the destination unless the original MTR (Motor Transport Receipt) or popularly known as LR (Lorry Receipt) is produced at destination. Goods were loaded on the trucks at the producer's factory and sent to destination. Documents were produced by the seller to their bank in Mumbai and payment received from them. The bank would send the papers to the buyer's bank. Buyers were required to pay the amounts, receive documents and then take delivery of the goods from the transporter. This is how the work flowed and goods moved.

Though the system was supposed to work like this, there were problems for the buyers and transport operators in this system. Goods loaded on the trucks would reach the destination in 2 to 3 days. Truck operators had to unload the goods and store in their warehouses until the buyer produced the relative documents. This entailed unloading goods from the truck at destination and again loading for delivery at the buyer's factory. Valuable space was used up at warehouse as well as additional costs were incurred for loading, unloading and transport till the buyer's factory. Documents given to the bank would take about 10 days to reach the buyer through the bank's route. Postal delays were common. Couriers had not yet made their debut. At any rate holding trucks with load on them was impractical. Transporters made their money only when trucks were running on the road and not when idling at either ends of loading and delivery.

Transport operator and buyer had arrived at a simple formula for solving this issue. The truck would go directly to the buyer's factory from Mumbai. As the truck arrived, buyer would obtain the document number and come to the bank. Bank would give an authorisation to deliver the goods to the buyer in the absence of the documents that were yet to arrive from Mumbai. Both the transport operator and buyer were happy with this arrangement. Trucks got free in a few hours for their next journey and transport operator did not need to store the goods. Buyer got the goods quickly and without additional loading, unloading and transport costs. As regards bank, the risk was of payment by the buyer when the documents were received from the seller's bank. This was taken care by the buyers by placing adequate funds in their bank accounts when obtaining authorisation letters for delivery. Working was smooth and everyone was happy!

*****

On a Saturday, one of the trucks from Mumbai arrived at destination. The truck driver went to one of the factory by force of habit and goods were unloaded. The factory representative came to the bank, gave document number and took authorisation letter and disposed off the truck. The only problem was that it was a truck meant to go to the other factory. As the goods were identical, nobody observed the details of the consignment. One factory got the extra raw material while the other was starved of its rightful quota. This led to the angry visit of the elderly gentleman to the bank on Monday morning.

Rest of the story was indeed simple. The matter was dealt with between the two partners of the two firms. The younger son of the elderly gentleman, who was a partner of the firm with his father, mother and elder brother handled the issue deftly. The goods on the next truck meant for the other factory was diverted to the starved factory. As all other consignment details were the same, not much of give and take was required.

*****

The case of exchanged trucks taught us a very important lesson - be extra careful when the systems are short circuited. All things may appear in order and simple. Yet, there could be complications and unforeseen mishaps. It also taught another lesson - that a problem could be solved with understanding, maturity and give and take attitude.

Use, Misuse and Abuse of Powers

Lord Indra has gone away from Amaravati, the capital of the Devas. A small misunderstanding with Bruhaspati, the Guru and chief advisor of his clan had brought a chain of bad tidings. After a series of undesirable happenings he was forced to abandon his abode and spend his time sitting in the stem of a lotus in Maanasa Sarovar, a divine lake in the Himalayas. The Devas were left without their leader and captain. This was not acceptable in the order of things. They were constrained to find a temporary substitute. Finding a suitable alternative to Lord Indra was no easy task. The position carried so much of power and responsibilities with it that it was indeed impossible to search for one who filled the gap perfectly. He had to be strong, knowledgeable and capable of controlling and commanding the loyalty of the mighty stalwarts of the upper world. The bigger problem was not in finding a substitute; it was in ensuring that the substitute vacates his position when the original occupant returned in due course. 

An acceptable substitute was finally found in King Nahusha, who was the emperor of the middle world, the earth. This King was indeed a perfect fit; he had administrative experience and was a friend of the Devas. There was no possibility of his betraying the trust of the Devas and joining hand with the Asuras, the occupants of the lower world. King Nahusha believed in the rule of righteousness (Dharma), did not believe in sticking to the chair as a limpet, and ever willing to shoulder additional responsibilities of any nature for a good cause. He was not ambitious and yet not shirking in accepting additional duties. When approached to take over the post of Lord Indra, he agreed without much conditions. The only condition he placed was that he should be free to access any source and stream of knowledge he desired that enabled his efficient discharge of his duties. An agreement was reached on seat-sharing and he took over as Lord Indra till the time the original incumbent returned.

King Nahusha entrusted his kingdom on earth to his son King Yayati, and proceeded to the heavens with his wife Virijadevi. As he progressed in his duties, all his ministers and subjects were much impressed by his administrative skills and problem solving techniques. He was an expert in judicious use of the powers vested in him. Agni (Fire God) and Vayu (Wind God), the two senior most ministers started wondering why the previous Indra and they themselves were not aware of their own powers and had not thought of utilising those powers in solving the various issues confronting them. Guru Bruhaspati, who was now back as the chief advisor was also surprised by the way in which Nahusha was able to exercise the powers vested with Lord Indra. Guru Shukracharya, chief advisor of demons and an adversary of Bruhaspati was also dumbstruck at the administrative acumen shown by Nahusha. He was now a made a part of the advisory council of the upper world, which was not even dreamt in the rule of the regular Lord Indra.

Instead of holding on to the powerful chair as long as he could, Nahusha started his pursuit to find the original incumbent and restore the seat to him. He enquired as to the reason for Indra's exile. Having come to know that Indra was hiding to escape from a evil force, he marshalled all resources at his command to get rid of the evil force. That would make way for return of the original Indra.

He chided both Agni and Vayu for not solving this issue earlier. "You are both bestowed with abundant powers for facing such eventualities. Both of you can fall back on your Omnipotent powers (Vishwaroopa dharana) during an emergency and thereby destroying the evil force. Even Indra could have done this. All of you did not use the powers already vested in you. Instead, you were looking for outside force to solve this issue. Now I am commanding you. I am also giving you detailed instructions for action. Go ahead and get Lord Indra released. This is my order!", he thundered.

Agni and Vayu were now transformed by the realisation of their own hidden powers. They succeeded in destroying the evil force. Lord Indra was released. Nahusha did not worry about losing the throne on which he could have had a much longer tenure. The seat was restored to Lord Indra permanently. The Devas also learnt the secret of exercising powers vested in them efficiently and effectively. Exercising powers was totally different now and they were indebted to King Nahusha for this valuable lesson.

*****

We often hear the words use, misuse and abuse in the context of exercise of powers by various public authorities and private enterprise. Some are unable to exercise powers vested in them. There are others who misuse the powers given to them. There are many others who go much forward and abuse the powers that are given to them by gross exceeding of their contours. 

What do these three words actually mean? When does use of a power become misuse? When does that cross even that border and turnout to be abuse of powers? In the context of what is happening around us in these times, it is indeed time to understand the real import of these three phrases of use of powers, misuse of powers and abuse of powers.

The word "Use" is so common that it is defined as "Making use of" or "Put into use". It denotes positive exercise of powers as it ought to be. Not using of one's powers is indeed a failing in discharge of one's duties. Many functionaries at all levels fail to exercise their powers. Some are not even aware of their powers. Some others do not know how to use them. Many are afraid to use them! All of them have wonderful arguments justifying their positions. Nevertheless, they cause irreparable damage by not using their powers. The real tragedy is that not exercising powers takes a back seat due to misuse and abuse of powers in the surroundings.

The word "Misuse" denotes wrong or improper use of anything. It is use of power for a purpose other than what is prescribed by law or rules. It often goes unnoticed and may not be harmful to others. It may not even be treated as an omission. The nature of misuse is such that many authorities consider it as normal use and others also consider it as a normal or routine thing.

The word "Abuse" represents unrestrained exercise of one's powers and authority with intention. Here the person abusing the powers is well aware of the actions and their impact on others. It encroaches on the area of others and denies what is rightly due to others. The element of "Mens rea" associated with criminal jurisprudence is present here. Abuse often brings personal gratification to the person exercising powers or his associates. Arrogance is its hallmark and preparedness to further abuse the powers to meet the consequences its main feature. Abuse is immensely harmful to the society and the institutions that they represent.

*****

Devudu Narasimha Sastry (1895-1962), popularly known as Devudu, was a scholar par excellence and well known literary figure. He was known for his mastery in Sanskrit, English and Kannada literature. He was an actor, journalist and novelist as well. He was also associated with film world and stage plays. He was an expert in various facets of vedic knowledge and revered for his good qualities. His commentary on Mimamsa, "Mimamsa Darpana" is a highly acclaimed work in that field. He had the fantastic ability to bring out the hidden knowledge in ancient works through novels couched in simple language and yet profound in their meaning and impact. His trilogy of works "Mahabrahmana", "Mahakshatriya" and "Mahadarshana" are masterpieces and won critical acclaim and awards. His short novel "Mayura" deals with the life of King Mayuravrama of Kadamba dynasty. Mayura was made into a film with Dr Rajkumar in lead role. The film is very popular and is considered as a milestone in Kannada cinema as well as Rajkumar's career.

Devudu's novel "Mahakshatriya" deals with King Nahusha's life and his tenure as Lord Indra. Devudu has made some subtle changes in the original story from Mahabharata and transformed Nahusha into a great character. The various aspects of use, misuse and abuse of powers are dealt in this novel in a simple and yet effective way. It is a book that all those who exercise powers ought to read and appreciate, especially in the present times. 

Talent Crisis And Solutions

Banking industry all over the world is passing through tough times now. Indian banking industry is right now facing perhaps the biggest crisis in its history. A series of scams and huge defaults in the corporate sector coupled with unscientific loan waivers have pushed the industry to its worst phase. The banking system of a country which successfully withstood the banking crisis of 2008 is facing its most difficult test a decade later. Serious questions are being asked about necessity of continuing of Public Sector Banks. Certain developments in private sector banks are also posing serious threats. Bankers at all levels are passing through turbulent times. On the other side, there is abundant scope for growth in line with the growing economy of the country. Growth opportunities in resource mobilisation are constantly increasing with channelizing of savings from domestic sector and inflow of investment funds from abroad.  Financial inclusion targeting sections of the society who were left behind earlier is also contributing its mite here.  Expectations of higher growth in the economy are likely to drive credit growth further and provide channels for profitable credit dispensation, despite concerns of bad loans (NPAs).  Higher demand for credit from service sector and savings generated from “Generation Y” is contributing its share for growth of the economy and thereby BFSI sector.  Higher absorption of technology leading to development of innovative products coupled with upswing in use of alternate delivery channels (ADCs) would ensure the continuation of this trend for the next decade.

Amidst all these happenings, there is a major cause of concern for the BFSI industry.  Challenges on the financial front can be met with the available resources, innovation in technology and expanded product range. But needs on the human resources front requires a focused and revised strategy to remedy the crisis that has already set in and is threatening the very foundations of the industry.  This is an attempt to discusses the situation prevailing in the industry on this front and suggests alternative strategies for talent management in the banks.      

Overview

Social control over banks followed by nationalisation of major banks in 1969 and 1980 changed banking in India from “Class banking” to “Mass Banking”. Large branch expansion in the 1970s and early 1980s was a watershed in the Indian Banking Industry.  Priority sector lending and expansion in rural and unbanked areas necessitated opening of large number of branches in nooks and corners of the country. Banking operations were handled manually at that time and most of the operations were done by clerical and first level officers.  Entire operations were being done as per the directives of RBI and banks did not have any freedom to frame their own policies to develop and monitor different segments of banking. The manpower requirement was met by large scale recruitment of clerical and Probationary Officers. Basic knowledge of RBI and bank guidelines was the requirement for these posts.  There was hardly any need for additional skills or specialist employees. Even credit management was subject to “Selective Credit Controls” and “Credit Authorisation”. Mere recruitment of young men and women from the employment market was sufficient to meet the HR needs. As there was no additional skill requirement at higher levels, internal promotions took care of the requirement at the middle and higher levels as well. Internal training system of banks with apex training colleges supported by regional/zonal training centres met the needs of training and development of staff and officers.

Financial Sector reforms and advent of Globalisation and Liberalisation in 1991 marked the next major development in both business composition and HR processes. This brought in increased liberalisation and freedom to banks for formulating their own policies, products and strategies. Large scale computerisation and use of new technology changed the complexion of the industry and its contours. Introduction of “Core Banking Solutions” (CBS) and advent of new generation of private sector banks changed rules of the game.  Focus on the business front shifted from “Deposit Mobilisation” and “Priority Sector lending” to “Profitability”. Each branch was expected to be a profit centre and cost cutting became a major action point for banks. Increased use of CBS and other technology applications resulted in large scale redundancy of staff brought up on manual operations. These staff members, most of them past middle age, struggled to adapt to computerised environment. Recruited in the 1970s and 1980s, they were drawing high emoluments and were not involved in useful work. They could not take up the type of jobs that were generated by the new environment. Thus banks were forced to think in terms of “Golden Handshake” and “VRS schemes”. Staff members were encouraged to seek early retirement and a “Recruitment Holiday” replaced the basic HR function of recruitment and training.

The looming crisis     

The above developments were not only necessary but inevitable too. Stiff competition and stress on net interest margins were indeed forcing cost cuts. Staff expenses being one of the biggest non-interest demands naturally received due attention. But in the maze of profitability and cost-cutting one vital factor was missed; that of requirement of people with enhanced skills to run specialised areas of bank’s functions. Talent management was lost sight of; recruitment freeze took its toll and gradually shortage of skilled manpower started showing its impact. Banks tried to train some of the existing staff to man these specialised seats and met with limited success.

Early part of the last decade saw many more changes in the use of technology and addition of variety of products and services. Technology made large numbers of staff doing manual work redundant, but started creating many new roles requiring manpower with higher skills. Universal banking and providing a wide range of complex products and services needed highly skilled manpower. Ban on recruitment had reduced quantity of manpower. Now there was shortage of quality of manpower as well. A crisis was looming in the horizon.

Present scenario

Financial Inclusion has brought banking to a similar stage as it was during nationalisation. More and more branches are being opened in unbanked areas to cover every single person in the country with banking facility. All extension counters have been converted into full-fledged branches due to CBS advantage. There is a higher need for specialised branches to take care of international trade finance, hi-tech agriculture, investment banking and portfolio management and NRI banking. Risk management and technology management have become new focus areas. The shortage of staff created by a long recruitment holiday is showing its effects. Above all, large number of officers recruited in the 70s and 80s have retired or retiring. The vacuum in terms of numbers is confounded by vacuum in talent availability.

In order to fill the vacancies arising out of retirement of existing staff, recruitment has been speeded up. This has somewhat filled the gap of manpower requirement at lower levels. But they are too inexperienced to handle higher responsibilities. Faster promotions to higher levels have become the norm. Some banks could not find the required number of candidates to meet the targets for internal promotions even after relaxing eligibility norms in terms of length of service. Promoted officers are with inadequate experience. A yawning gap in requirements for managing positions and potential available in promotes has surfaced. Retirement of over 150,000 mid-level managers in the next three years is going to increase the problem manifold. There is a severe shortage of trained manpower at each level in middle management. This will extend to senior management level in a few years. This situation threatens the very foundations of sound management of banks in the coming years. This also has a significant impact on the productivity and quality of banking services to the clientele, many of whom are from the next generation. A hallmark of this generation is the expectation of quick and quality service and impatience to tolerate inefficiency. The situation requires drastic remedies and without any delay.

A part of this manpower gap is being filled by recruitment of specialist officers directly to middle level manager positions. Credit management, risk management and technical officers are thus recruited. These people are also to be trained in some degree of basic banking operations before they can effectively discharge their duties for their assigned special positions.

One possible solution to this crisis is providing intensive and focused training to these newly promoted and recruited middle level managers. Who should give them this type of focused training? Banks internal training system is unable to meet this need as senior trainers have themselves retired or retiring shortly. There is a shortage of skilled trainers and internal training programs tend to become stereotyped in such situations. Exposure of the middle level managers to interaction with similar workforce from other banks will bring a whiff of fresh air in the training dimensions. Cost of extending the training infrastructure is also an issue in the background of shortage of resources. Any extension of the training infrastructure would result in an unused capacity in a few years as the situation will reach a new equilibrium in the next five or six years.

Importance of middle management

Middle management professionals are the key functionaries of any institution. While the Generals plan a war and the foot soldiers fight it out, it is the Majors and Colonels that actually win the wars. Middle management cadre acts as the bridge between front line staff and customers. They are the key decision makers in the chain with front line staff on one side and policy makers at the other. Lending portfolio and recovery mechanism is the key to the profitability of any bank. Large volume of credit dispensation in banks takes place through “ELBs and VLBs”. These extra-large branches and very large branches are usually headed by AGMs and Chief Managers. These positions are endowed with substantial credit sanction powers, often ranging up to Rupees 10 crores to 20 crores. Higher corporate lending also takes place through such branches and monitoring health of such Borrowers accounts requires specialised skills. Similarly, these positions are crucial in administrative and corporate offices as well as all major implementation and monitoring is done by such officers. A quick action by banks now can retrieve the situation of shortage and skill deficiency and remedy it before these high positions are managed by junior and under equipped managers.   

The solution

The possible solutions for resolving the present “Talent management Crisis” in the BFSI industry revolves on the following key areas:    

• Preparing a blueprint of manpower requirement for the next 5 to 10 years, especially at the junior and middle management levels. Such plan should take into account projected requirement for expansion as well.
• Recruiting junior level (entry level) officers after identifying them and getting them trained by a reputed training agency/institution, on a no-cost basis.
• Meeting identified training requirements of existing staff without creating idle capacity in the internal training establishment.
• Providing exposure to the middle level managers already promoted and likely to be promoted shortly in training programs with similar managers from other banking institutions.
• Utilising the services of experienced training professionals and ex-industry trainers and leaders to bridge the trainer requirement gap.
• Tying up with a strategic training partner who provides bank-specific training, both in general banking and specialised functional areas. Short term training programs, say one to two weeks for middle level managers is the key to bridge the training gap.
• Retraining the managers put through such training at periodical interval to update skills and build confidence levels.
• Concentrating on core business activities and enlisting the support of a trusted partner for jointly managing the present talent crisis.
• Well established and reputed training institutions who have specialised in training manpower for banking industry have a vital role in supporting such initiatives. The global standard infrastructure, well-set training system coupled with experienced faculty meets the important requirements for conducting such programs. Programs may be tailor made for the requirements of each bank drawing from the extensive support of each bank.

Summary

The present “Talent Management Crisis” in banks can be met by aligning with a suitable strategic training partner who provides cost-effective and competitive model of training to both existing employees as well as ready-to-employ candidates on an on-going basis. Providing specialised re-training to middle level managers provides an effective core management team for the present and a pool of talent for meeting future top level management personnel thereafter.