Sachin - Epitome of Indian Mindset

At least one thing I can predict correctly now a days: "How much Sachin is going to score!!!". Logic is simple! If he is out of form(as they say in cricket) and any pressure situation, he is not going to score more than 20. If he is in form, then this creates an opportunity for him to loose his form. He would score maximum 30-40. When he is in form and there is no pressure, then you would see the Best of Sachin and who doesn't love that!!!

This is him, the greatest player of Cricket, who doesn't like to be under pressure. If he is in, then he is going to screw up. Where is it coming from exactly? As one of my close friend, Deba says, this is a cultural issue. I am not sure though, but it may have some connection. It's about lacking positive attitude towards somebody's own work. We do well when everything is right around us. Life can't be that simple always. We get to come out of this typical Indian mindset and prove our strengths to the world. The only way to do is to expose the team as much possible to such situations and let them know that repercussions of not playing well would be as bad as loosing a position in team for next 10 matches or any weird punishment that you could think of!!!

Indian Cricket Team! Show me your guts, guys!!!

Why don't we compete with ourselves

There are two ways to become successful. One line of thought says: “Do something radically different”. Second line of thought says: “Focus on your strength”.

“Do something radically different”: Google, Orkut are examples of such model. Google changed the face of internet through its path breaking innovation of “Search Engine”. Orkut in no time won the mind of million people through it’s innovative way to connect people. But the point is such examples are scarce. Probably one out of 1000 such cases succeeds.

Second line of thought, which I am a strong proponent of: “Focus on your strength”. Actually this is a sustainable approach in long term. Can you imagine: Sachin Tendulkar was sent back from MRF Pace Foundation since his performance as a bowler was unsatisfactory? Well that’s the truth. But the same guy came out to be one of the most prominent bats-man the world has ever seen. The idea to drive home is: Once you are aware of your strength, keep working on it, success will come to you eventually.

Sony is a good example. What do they do to sustain in the market? They know that their sound quality is one of the best. They focus on that, keep improving it everyday. Essentially they try to beat the competition before even it appears. To put it other way, they compete with their own products of past and try to beat them next time.

This is a good learning for Indian IT Industry. They should have taken steps to beat the MNCs before even they open their shops in India.

I am Second, that’s why I am trying harder

Sachin Tendulkar and IBM …

“Sachin Tendulkar!” How many teams could really afford not to have a player like him? A cricketer by profession, he has made a big difference in the life of people on and off the field. People feel happy when he scores 100; get disappointed when he doesn’t perform. Why do people talk so much about him? Why do they want him to perform every time? Well the answer is simple: People Love him. He is a cricket icon. People feel proud to associate themselves in someway with him (e.g. He comes to play on the filed in front of my house, I know his brother’s uncle etc etc). Now let us consider “IBM!” Probably 10% of people who are familiar with this company would know its full form. But how does it matter? Customers feel proud to say that they do business with IBM. That is a sense of achievement for them.

Be it IBM or Sachin, the basic premises is that they are both big brands. They don’t have to blow their trumpets in front of anybody. Teams/Customers would walk onto them and they can always charge a premium for their brand. It’s difficult for anybody to take their positions.

Michel Clarke and Indian IT….

Now let’s take another player! Michel Clarke from Australian team. He is not a genius like Sachin, but he is an awesome prospective for Australia. He plays well almost every other one-day match. He knows one fact for sure that unless he performs well, he will be out. There is no “Michel Clarke Brand”. Couple of bad days at field is enough to throw him out. Poor guy! I think this is the reason why he gives his best every time he comes to the field. He tries to establish his brand.

In that way Indian IT brand is similar to Michel Clarke. Couple of bad projects, the deal is over. That’s why we must try to perform best every time we work for a customer. We don’t want to give him any opportunity to think twice for next deal. We need to be aware of the fact that in the due course of our project, we are building a brand for our company. It is the responsibility of the company to make their employees aware of their own brand and instigate in them the habit of taking actions that will increase its brand value in front of the customers.

Now I believe the saying: ”I am Second, that’s why I am trying harder.” . That’s what we are doing, right???