How context matters

Sitting in a country that has a crazy history thanks to one extremely crazy man and his bunch of crazy people, I watch the frenzy of fellow Indians towards one man during the 2014 elections, I cannot not think how dangerous this sort of frenzy could become...

In the time I have spent in Germany, I have had a lot of exposure via different sources about its history. How it all started - it all made a lot of sense when it started and the world knows how it all eventually turned out. This is the history which many would like to forget but at the same time its important to remember so such things do not get repeated. 

India is the world's largest democracy. Our older generation went through a lot, fought hard to make the country one. It is also incidentally one of the young countries in the world. Agreed we are not where we could be and would like to be 1947 and hence. But in my opinion, the restless younger generation and those seeking the American dream in India are being a bit ignorant about facts that are important to be considered. 

• With events in 2008, it is quite clear that the American dream is not perfect. 
• The European model of a socialist flavored capitalism is also under a lot of stress. So in my eyes, there isn't any clear winner. 
• Unemployment is not a problem unique to India. It is even a problem in the developed world. Governments in the developed world are also struggling to find solutions for this. 
• A favorite comparison among many Indians is that to the progress made by China. Sure. All credits to China for their achievements. But they are not governed and ruled by the way we are. How would this bunch of youth in India feel if the Facebook and WhatsApp apps did not work on their smart phones? - Think we need to be careful what we wish for and not take our democracy for granted. 
• the governing years of the incumbent has definitely done a lot of harm to the country, but they were elected by the people of the country. So its not fair to project all those years as if they were ruled by some autocrats who refused to budge from their positions. The democratic process (however screwed it might have been) was followed all through.

I am all in favor of giving someone else a chance. 

Given the levels of transparency and corruption, I believe there is no way a common person will ever know the truth behind the riots in Gujrat. Yes, I also know that other parties are not clean of such acts. 

Horrible as it sounds, even if I choose to move on and give this person a chance to prove himself, I think it is important for all of us to be cautious. It is important to remind ourselves that ours is a large complex country with great disparities and one person wielding the stick isn't going to work. 

What India needs are large scale reforms in its policies. Which policies are priority? What changes are they standing for? E.g. 'Obamacare' was very talked about and known from the very beginning. 

Not much details are known about such topics and interestingly not many people are asking. In a talk show with this popular PM candidate, a woman, so enamored by this man that all she wanted to know what who his fashion designer is. Phew!! How would that affect her daily woes? 

I ask myself if I would have thought along these lines if I were not sitting in Germany - very aware of its past... sensing a weird, scary similarity of the rise of one man above his party and other parties...feeling uncomfortable. Uncomfortable because:

• ours is a parliamentary form of government, so it has always been electing a party over a person. In 2014 it doesn't seem so. 
• this person for some (including me) has a stamp of being a Hindu nationalist. I am a Hindu and I do not believe a diverse country like India can afford this
• this person talks about development in a very black and white manner with no emphasis on the sustainability aspects of them or the cost of such development. 
• the man has a reputation of having an authoritative style of leadership. Perception has it, that it worked in one state in the country. But the country is too diverse to be lead along the directions of one man and his definition of progress and development. (Even his own party members are not completely with him in some cases). Taking the entire nation forward in cooperation with warring local state governments is not an easy task. But there is no sense of humility about this humongous challenge. Instead it is arrogance that comes across as if the solutions are all lying in his desk...just waiting for the opportunity to come to power. 

The beauty of our democracy brought a complete newbie to become Chief Minister of our capital city. I hope the beauty of our democracy will also be sane enough to smell it when it is going in the wrong direction and not let one man rule supreme in our life. 

It is famously said, "a country gets the government it deserves." Huh! I wonder...

Points to ponder about

The youth of today want to live and work in big cities. Yes! I agree.
The priorities of young professionals is very different from that of a middle/senior. Often for young professionals, it is quicker, faster ways to make money, learn and grow.
Loyalty is not something on top of their mind at this point in time.

• So, in todays world, what role does loyalty play?

When professionals young/old, work in an environment with limitless opportunities around them (often big cities), it is unfair to keep them from exploring these opportunities. This means retention becomes a very big challenge for the talent development teams. Employee attrition will be high.

• So, can we stop complaining about the 'investments' made to train people and simply accept that they will leave regardless? Or do we now get bonds signed?
• What innovations are the talent development teams going to come up with retain the best talents? Because we all know that its the best talent that tends to leave first.

While people are increasingly moving to live and work in cities, many are doing to not by choice but because that's where the opportunities are. Sad but true. I learnt from my Chinese colleague that a middle class person cannot THINK/DREAM of owing an apartment in Shanghai in his lifetime.
Being from Bangalore, I know first hand the kind of urban sprawl happening - colleagues spend several hours on the roads stuck in traffic everyday to commute to office and back. Leaving no time for them to do anything else.
I know my friends and colleagues in Bangalore who are desperately trying to squeeze some time out and seeking that BALANCE in their life so the do not get enslaved to their jobs.
I can speak confidently about this situation in Bangalore but I wont be surprised if this is the case with most people who live and work in the big/mega cities of the emerging markets.
(Owing to the mess India is in currently, will we tend to loose out on this race despite having the youngest population?)

The youth that are today choosing to live and work in cities wont remain youth forever. Someday they will decide to 'settle' down and I know most often in this phase, the priorities tend to shift towards owing a house, raise kids, live close to the kids school, get time to spend with the family etc.
I am not sure how many cities in the world can really offer this (there may be some exceptions). (This is what I found pleasantly surprising and appreciative of Germany - people had the choice to live in smaller towns and yet have good job opportunities)

• So, what happens to the favourite 'work life balance' jargon that we keep hearing about at almost every employer of choice surveys?

I am surprised and disappointed that corporates have not found a way to successfully integrate the demographics of young and old more successfully. So much for diversity eh? Diversity isn't restricted to song and dance, food and clothes. It is meant to respect all aspects of differences without being judgemental about them.
 

Holistic policy making? (is that an oxymoron?)

Off late there has been a lot of news about Germany opening up to highly skilled Indian work force to address the skills gap in the country. In the last 4.5 years I have been in Germany, I have seen an increasing number of Indians relocating here.

Germany encourages these foreigners to learn the language and even offers ‘integration’ courses to learn more about the country and its culture. I highly appreciate these programs.

However, with my recent experiences with the German health system (which again relatively speaking is good), I wondered what about these systems becoming sensitive to the cultures and needs of these foreigners?

I use the word, ‘sensitize’ carefully because I do not expect whole systems to gain deep understanding of every different nationality that lives in Germany. But I do believe some basic level of sensitization (accepting diversity in the society) should go a long way.

• E.g. A sister in the University of Heidelberg Hospital (the best and most internationally diverse in Germany) will be able to find a vein in dark skin more easily without pricking me 4 times before she finally finds some blood. Only an experienced doctor gets it right the first time.

The health insurance company agrees to fund the expenses for the donor, including flight tickets, accommodation if required etc. Appreciate it. 

The kind of family orientation we have in India, there is no chance that just a patient and the donor will walk into a hospital to get a major surgery done on them. 

No an Insurance company need not spend for a big fat Indian family to fly over, however maybe some schemes/ some % can be worked out to HELP the immediate family (parents/spouse)?

A clear win-win for the German health system would be if along with opening doors for highly skilled work force of India, also sign up on collaborative health care with India (and other countries that bring tis work force). If the public health insurance system can fund for medical care anywhere in Europe, the only reason it doesn’t fund for medical care in India is because there is no official policy level agreement between the two countries.

• IMAGINE: German health officials ‘certify’ a few hospitals in every big city of India for their standard of healthcare and collaborates with them…. if this Indian work force living in Germany chooses, they can seek medical care (especially for big complicated issues) in their home country, get their family support, be in familiar environment…and be covered with the health insurance, it would be so much cheaper for the German system and satisfying for the patients.

As always, policy makers rarely think holistic. If only they did and explore possibilities, the world would indeed be more flat than it currently is.

Yes, I cannot help but think like a Design Thinker – even when I am sick. The world is full of ‘wicked problems’ to be solved and therefore full of opportunities.

Perception about 'difference'

I realized a cultural trait about fellow Indians during my last trip to India. In my view, (many) Indians cannot deal well with 'different' opinions and perspectives to things. They always seek agreement and in the process there is often a lot of conflict. Each person seeks reassurance that their opinion is the right one and in some situations, people can get rather offended when there is a lack of such reassurance.

I bumped into a neighbor of mine. On learning that V and I live in Germany, he broached the topic of the European economic situation and had a rather negative view of Germany's situation. We tried to tell him that Germany was the strongest economy, putting a lot of effort into the whole issue. However, he continued to push his view. Information from two people who live in Germany, who follow the economic situation and are far more updated about this than him were no reasons to even give our information some thought. Getting into a fact based discussion did not seem worth it. To cut the conversation short, V and I started nodding our heads in agreement and we saw a smile on his face. Reassured!


On another occasion, a family friend was extremely skeptical of the services available in UK for someone like himself who has had a knee surgery and had trouble walking. He was full of contempt of the western 'DIY' ways of living. This coming from someone who lives in India where 'accessibility' is a real problem, I tried to tell him, these scenarios are quite well taken care of in countries like UK. Airlines offer help, many public buildings have wheelchair access etc. I could tell my words were falling to deaf ears. 

In such occasions, people in India are often quick to question my nationalistic loyalties if I happen to say something good about the world outside of India :D (I feel sorry for such people)

Holding a different opinion or perspective is perceived as being disrespectful. Within family contexts, it is often hard for family members to fathom a scenario where there are differing opinions since the method of upbringing is supposed to ensure compliance and uniformity.

For me as an Indian, this cultural trait is very difficult to deal with because I see it as an oxymoronic situation - India as a country epitomizes diversity and secularism. One of the essential elements for diversity to survive is, an appreciation/acceptance/tolerance to differences.

Subconsciously, I may have traces of this Indian trait in me as well, however, having lived in different countries, interacting with people from different countries and different states within India, at a conscious level, I believe I am able to handle differences and most importantly, I do not expect everyone to agree to my views, I can respect a different opinion. I'm glad I can.