Learning India

Making sense of the subcontinent

Filed Under: #PowerPlays, #TimeIsEternal, Parent Leadership, Podcast

Episode 3: Rohan and Shannon Prabhakar

Podcast

I often envy my Indian friends who come from family businesses. Their fathers and grandfathers have put in the hard work to carve out a niche and set up an established company. It’s not that it’s an easy position, but it seems great to have that kind of upbringing, heritage, and opportunity.

But it’s nearly impossible to break into the inner circle of that sort of family business…

Unless you marry into it.

 

Here is the story of Rohan and Shannon. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: #IndiasNotIndia, #PowerPlays, #See1See100, #ThinSkinned, #TimeIsEternal, On the Job

34 Tips for Training in India

Young Man in Session

At home, you’re a pro. You are the subject matter expert, the go-to person. You regularly run trainings for your colleagues, or maybe you are a professional trainer. You get the room warmed up quickly, you are funny, you flow, you delight the audience, and you always get great feedback.

But now you are training in India for the first time. No one laughs at your jokes. Everything feels tense. Some participants seem combative. No one is getting the concepts. Your ‘flow’ never seems to show up.

It’s a trainer’s worst nightmare. You covered the material, but you suspect that everyone might hate you, and you are pretty sure the training didn’t make a difference. You feel like the whole day (and maybe the whole trip) was a waste.

 

34 Tips for Training in India

Whether it’s technical training, updating your India office on new tax laws, or even soft skills, there are certain ways you need to adapt your training style. Here are 34 tips I’ve compiled about how to make the most out of your training in India. [Read more…]

Filed Under: #PowerPlays, #TimeIsEternal, Politics

Why is Amma in Jail?

If you follow Indian news, you may have seen that the (former) Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa, is currently in jail after being convicted of corruption charges. Here’s an overview of the case and what we can learn from it.

 

Who is Jayalalithaa?

Jayalalitha

Jayalalithaa, often referred to as ‘Amma’ (mother), started off as an actress in South Indian cinema, appearing in more than 140 films. Her political career began in the 1980s, closely associated with the then-Chief Minister and semi-divine MGR, head of the Tamil political party known as the AIADMK. After MGR’s death in 1987, Jayalalithaa positioned herself as his successor, challenging MGR’s wife for power over the party. She eventually won the confidence of the party and the public and became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the first time in 1991. [Read more…]

Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #PowerPlays, #TimeIsEternal, Parent Leadership

The Most Important Quality When Working for a Parent Leader

Image of Clock Tower

…is loyalty.

And the most important way your Parent Leader will evaluate your loyalty is…

availability.

You get no awards in India for having great time management. You get no praise for submitting weekly reports on all your tasks. No one will mention you at a celebration if you manage to save an hour a day by not checking email until noon. Time is not something that can be spreadsheeted.

The only truly important question about time in India is:

Were you there in the Moment of Need?

What is the Moment of Need? It’s the moment when your boss or your team members are freaking out because something has gone terribly wrong and the world might end.

The assessment of your loyalty is most dependent on how completely you are available in the Moment of Need.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #PowerPlays, #See1See100, #ThinSkinned, #TimeIsEternal, On the Job

Don’t waste your short-term trip to India!

short term trip to india

 

About the time you start packing your bags for your trip to India, the question dawns on you.

What am I doing?

Maybe it’s clear for you. You are training some colleagues. You are finding some suppliers. You are volunteering. You are choosing a vendor. You are attending a conference. (Do make sure you have the right visa for each of these!)

However, when you return and start unpacking your bags, you might suddenly realize the trip wasn’t as obviously successful as you thought it was. No one seems to be doing the things you trained them on. No one is replying to your repeated emails. All the processes you put in place seem to be falling apart.

You are left with a few pictures and a sinking feeling in your stomach that the trip was wasted. [Read more…]

Filed Under: #TimeIsEternal, Mark Twain

Mark Twain on Why Hindus don’t accept foreign gods

Mark Twain India Following the Equator

Click here for all of the Mark Twain Selections on India.

 

“India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.” Mark Twain

 

As I researched India, I would occasionally come across nice quotes like this one from Mark Twain. I love reading Twain, but could not figure out in which book he gave all these quotes.

I finally discovered “Following the Equator”, which is his journal from a speaking tour he did around the world in 1897.

This week, I’ll post a few excerpts from his book that I particularly liked. Later, I’ll give a full review for anyone interested.

The first excerpt is a story told to Twain on a boat by a missionary to India about some of the challenges he faced. While the missionary’s context is a religious one, I think anyone can find a good application.  

I hope you enjoy it! NM

 

[Taken from The Complete Works of Mark Twain: Following the Equator, Volume 2, Harper and Brothers: New York, 1925.]

 

“At home, people wonder why Christianity does not make faster progress in India. They hear that the Indians believe easily, and that they have a natural trust in miracles and give them a hospitable reception. Then they argue like this: since the Indian believes easily, place Christianity before them and they must believe; confirm its truths by the biblical miracles, and they will no longer doubt. The natural deduction is, that as Christianity makes but indifferent progress in India, the fault is with us: we are not fortunate in presenting the doctrines and the miracles.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: #PowerPlays, #TimeIsEternal, On the Job

Giving an Introduction in India

Giving an Introduction in India

Quick! You are attending an event with an eminent speaker, and your colleague suddenly comes over to you and asks you to give the introduction. You’ve never heard of the speaker before, but your colleague gives you three printed pages highlighting the speaker’s career. What do you do when it is your turn to speak?

A.) Read aloud all three pages line by line in their entirety

B.) Scan through the pages and deliver a one-minute summary, picking out the most relevant information

C.) Choose one or two parts of the speaker’s profile about which you can share a story to establish a person connection with the speaker, and tell everyone why they should listen
[Read more…]

Filed Under: #CustomerIsAlwaysThere, #TimeIsEternal, Daily Living

What India Wants from You

What India wants dgrobinson

Just 5 minutes Madam

Kindly be on line

Can you adjust a little?

You should lower your expectations

It will be just 5 more minutes

Would you like some tea coffee?

It’s better if you do it this way

We are all the same, no?

Forget about yesterday

Can you move a bit more?

Only 5 more minutes

The first quote was not inclusive of these additional charges

Forget about the future

I think you are liking it here, no?

It will be a few more days

Please have a seat

Can you adjust a little more?

Sir, please wait 2 minutes

Let me check on that and get back to you

See, India is a very nice place, yes?

You should lower your standards a little bit

Please give up

It will be just 2 minutes

Anything else I can assist you with?

Oh, and then there is the deposit which you must pay

You are liking Indian food, yes?

More tea coffee?

Just 1 minute…

 

Photo Credit: dgrobinson on Flickr

 

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© Neil A. Miller, LearningIndia.in, and Madras Media Marketing LLC 2013-2015. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.
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