Several years ago, while I was on a vacation in India, an incident happened that is now permanently etched in my brain. I can still visualize the scene, the noise, the smell, the heat and the crowds amidst which this incident happened.

In Chennai, whenever I travel alone to visit a friend or go to a temple, I ride the city bus. Though I used to drive in Chennai, numerous one-ways and the bustling traffic scares me nowadays. So I prefer my trusted companion of olden days, the city bus. As usual, it was crowded and I was standing inside. Suddenly someone in the front recognized me and shouted, “Hi! MD, how are you da?” There, a few feet in the front of the bus, was my friend who had studied with me from 6th to 10th at the public school in Mylapore. He was one of the “cool dudes” of that time; Kabadi champ, track and field champ and the leader our school scouts team. I used to envy him when he got to ride the famous Kapaleeswarar Koil Float (Theppam) on all the festival days since he was the lead scout in charge of crowd management.

I was excited to see him and I told him I was doing fine. He then asked me what I was doing and without much thought, I told him about my education, my job and my current vacation in India. Then it was my turn and I asked him what he was up to and how his life had been since school. He replied, “I am working as a peon ma, in a bank. I did not pursue much of studies. I wish I had studied like you and our other friends”. I was stupefied for a moment. My mind had unconsciously assumed that all my friends would have somehow studied and held good paying jobs. Though there is nothing demeaning being a peon, knowing his leadership and athletic skills, I expected him to be educated and working in better paying job. When I heard this from him, I did not know how to react, but somehow changed the topic into inquiring about his other best friends who he usually hung out with.

I kept thinking about this incident many times after that day. I realized the most diverse group of our friends would be our friends from our school years. Also, it is bound to be even more diverse if we studied in a public school as opposed to private schools such as DB or PSBB. At this stage in our lives, our current circle of friends converges into a homogenous group who has decent education and a good job. On the contrary, friends from our old public school would be in very different situations that we could not even imagine.

My daughter is now graduating from a public school and will soon be entering college. With my school life, college life and the years that have passed since then acting as hindsight, I can glimpse into the future of some of her friends and where their life would take them. Not everyone is choosing to enter into a four year college. Some are going to join the military at entry level. Some are going to pursue becoming a beautician or a massage therapist. Some even talk about directly starting to work as medical emergency assistant or a fire fighter. Though here in the USA such jobs are not as bad as being a peon in India, I am sure, twenty years from now, if my daughter happens to bump into some of her old friends from her school, she may have to face a similar moment. The choices we make everyday ultimately determine where we end up. I hope everyone has the capability and will to choose wisely and aim to improve their lives each day.

Updated 2 May 2009: Received some wisdom from twitterers – @Shogun1947 @priyraju @akumaran

Prolog

On my internal to company blog i had introduced a new idea a few months back – in the prolog section of every blog post, i provide a link to interesting posts i had read that week. To my surprise, this has become very popular. This is somewhat like the FTOTW (fine tastings of the week) series i used to run on this blog. I decided to try the same idea on this blog also.

FTOTW

First, A. Prem, one of Cognizant’s Social CRM experts, blogs regularly about Social CRM on his blog. He has a tremendous grasp of the subject. He writes one of the leading blogs inside the company as well.  Rachel Laudan, one of my food anthropology blog friends, lives and blogs from Mexico. She has some great updates on the Swine Flu epidemic.  Bob Sutton paraphrases Scott Berkun to explain how managers become a**holes. How Apple Cofounder Steve Wozniak gets things done.  Saraswathi, a former colleague, who now works in the social sector, had written a brilliant post on relationships a while back. must read.

Science  & Technology Careers in America

As someone who had lived in the USA for 10 years, i feel sad about the fact that American kids don’t take up science & technology careers as much as America needs them to.  The huge skills shortage that America faces is either filled by immigration or by outsourcing to other countries like India and China.

The stats from graduate programs and PhD programs also don’t bode that well. As of 2006, over 51% in grad programs in EE were foreign nationals and 71% in PhD programs were foreign. I don’t know how accurate these stats are. But the general perception in America is that Americans don’t like science & technology careers.

Paradise of Science

During our time in America, we used to wonder about, the kind of resources that are available to an American kid that Indian kids can not even dream. Every small city has a well-stocked library, a science center in the vicinity, several museums.

Even if one is a wee bit scientifically minded, there is plenty of resources to tap into.

By contrast, a city that plays host to over 6 MM people, Chennai, India does not have one well equipped museum or science center or library.

But Indian middle class kids, are taught right from when they are in the womb, that science  & technology careers are the be-all and end-all of living in this world.  Yes, this does create a large stereotypical population. But hey, how does that matter? When we want to find folks for science & technology jobs, we can find them easily without having to import them.

I am trying to find out, why American kids consider science & technology careers boring or geeky or nerdy or whatever?

What can be done to change this attitude of the American kids?

Epilog

If i am lucky, i may get to work in a project to improve American kids’ attitude towards science & technology careers. Please help me with your wisdom.

After the Beijing Olympics, the media has gone to town with small-town India. Suddenly, we seem to have discovered talent there! The population and infrastructure pressure on major metros has made industry discover tier-2 and tier-3 cities. This is still the story of urban India being played out. What Olympics or what industry would it take to ‘discover’ the villages? Gandhi said India lives in its villages. Nehru spoke of the Discovery of India. We are yet to discover it and this post is an attempt to be part of that journey.

Several years ago I was talking to the Vice-Principal of a ‘Public’ school located in north India. He announced with aplomb his deliverable as a teacher and educational administrator. He said, “You know we prepare the cream of India at my school!” I was perturbed that a senior teacher could display such snobbishness and stupidity! Snobbishness because he was clearly bragging about the wealthy character of the students at his school. Stupid because he had no clue about the history and character of the wider educational experience in India. So much for being a Vice-Principal.

There seems to be a widely-prevalent fallacy prevailing in middle-class circles that the ‘cream of India’ is being educated at ‘international’ and ‘public’ schools, as these terms are understood in our country. One would like to think that irrespective of their class character and geographical location, schools of all hues across the country are preparing the future generation of leaders and citizens of our nation. The parents mean well for their children but the assumptions on which their decisions are made are well off the mark. The first assumption is that the brand names of these schools would enable their children to climb up the career ladder in the future. A big brand with low marks does not get their wards anywhere; The second assumption is that because these are affluent schools, the quality of education offered is superior and their children would study better.

Year after Year when the 10th and 12th standard results are announced, less known and almost unknown schools seem to be the ones with the toppers. On the contrary, the environments of the so-called public/international schools promote degenerate habits and values that are bad for the children themselves. If the assumptions of parents are misplaced, what could be the driving forces that propel the parents to search for and uphold these institutions even if it’s at great cost to themselves and loss of achievement for their wards. The motivation is a kind of conspicous consumption in the educational market and a myopic vision of what constitutes success for the younger generation. What schools did some of the great achievers in India go to – let’s look at every field be it science or business or governance. The recent examples of APJ Abdul Kalam, Manmohan Singh(his early schooling) and the late Dhirubhai Ambani seem to belie the assumption that only public or international schools produce successful or eminent persons/leaders. Numerous would be the examples like these who have studied in ordinary institutions and by sheer grit and determination made their way to the top. Our parents, elders and so many of our nation-builders have been to very unassuming, ordinary and in fact rural institutions.

India is already a role-model to the world through its democracy, pluralism and its social welfare principles for the less fortunate. In our rhetoric to becoming a ‘superpower’ (whatever that is) we seem to want to ape the behaviour and consumption patterns of societies whose history is different from that of ours. The scandals that have hit the headlines in the recent past whether it is to do with boys circulating MMS images of their girlfriends or underage alcohol-induced hit-and-run cases all involve children belonging to the ‘creamy’ schools. There seems to be evidence that we might be producing in the years to come generation of spoilt brats who are more into consumerism at an early age clueless of either their parents labour in affording their education. I watch with consternation the behaviour of the Gen-Y (at least in the metros) and their day-to-day concerns and priorities. What makes for a successful school or an achieving student? It is not the school buildings nor the glitter of the uniforms nor the number of cars parked outside it. It is the care and concern shown by teachers; it is the well-rounded scheme of education with a good component of extra-curricular activities; it is the interest and time given by the parents to complement the efforts of the school in ensuring the achievement of their children. It is the tenacity and fortitude of the student to persist in their studies regardless of the meagre or absent resources. It is the availability of scholarships that would enable less well-off families to afford education.

Perhaps the urban mall-dependent Gen-Y is not to blame given the social environment all around with all the mdeia / resources at their disposal, the gadgets available and the negligence of their parents. It was heartening to see the positive response from several sections of Indian society to the movie ‘Taare Zameen Par’ in terms of the requisite change required in parents/teachers attitudes to children.

The key word here is ‘teachers’ – till date I recall with great reverence all those who taught me for the values and the perspectives they instilled in us. We had a great scholar President in Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan (Teachers Day on September 5 recently passed us by – celebrated in Radhakrishnan’s honour) but today’s pop/film star celebrities are the ones who inspire Gen-Y. Alas it is ‘Pokkiri’ in, Gandhi out! All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy indeed. So, what forms of recreation and extra-curricular development can we hope for our children? Imagination plays a great role in what the child can dream for him/herself, the family, community and nation. But in what direction this passion/imagination/talent? This imagination is fired not by inane films but by how the child’s mind is cultivated and moulded into being a responsible and empathetic global citizen. The role therefore that a teacher plays in cultivating a child’s mind cannot be understated.

One can’t stop individuals or groups from thinking that they constitute the cream. They are free to think that way. However, it would be a sad future if one were to think that the cream would emerge out of exclusive gated communities like public or international schools. In my view, every citizen who puts her/his shoulder to the wheel and contributes her/his might to the building of a strong nation represents the cream. Such citizens are the real elite or leaders. Those who think for themselves and transcend various prejudices are the cream irrespective of the social strata that they come from. They don’t have to have positions or designations to do their job well whether at work or at home as parents. The only difference with this cream of India is it performs its calling silently without making a noise about its role and contribution. They are the unsung heroes and heroines. If only we could provide equality of opportunity to our citizens with its attendant resources, it might well be that the rhetoric of India becoming a country to reckon with may no longer remain just rhetoric. It could well become a reality!

The cream therefore ladies and gentlemen is everywhere. Its just that the ‘Discovery of India’ by our intellegentsia is as yet very incomplete. I rest my case.

]]> http://www.sastwingees.org/2008/09/11/pray-where-is-the-cream-of-india/feed/ 42 http://www.sastwingees.org/2008/05/24/can-passion-be-taught-part3/ http://www.sastwingees.org/2008/05/24/can-passion-be-taught-part3/#comments Sat, 24 May 2008 08:45:22 +0000 Sukumar http://www.sastwingees.org/?p=530 Can passion be taught? – part 3 – the key is producing

Updated Oct 10, 2008 – Nirmala, a KM professional joined the conversation with several insights on her blog. Thanks for the link Nirmala.

Prolog:

Teaching passion is one of my favorite areas. I started thinking about this again because i felt we have not been able to package the superb discussion that this topic has generated. Lots of people contributed to the discussion, but the main sparks were – Larzini’s Viral Passion idea, Milind Sathe’s Trigger, Sujatha’s 3 categories of people, Priya Raju’s Big Picture , Ganesh’s Learnt Vs. Taught and finally Archana Raghuram’s passive passion.

That insightful comment of hers has been ringing in my head for a while now. A few days ago, the proverbial light bulb went off in my head.

3 levels of passion

Where does being passionate about something lead you? It makes you better in that chosen area and depending on the degree of passion you have, you can truly become a world-class expert in that area over time.   The light bulb moment occurred to me, when i realized the connection between expertise and passion.

1. No passion – you just like music or cricket or dance or whatever, but the liking is not strong enough to even be at the passive passion level. In this case, the expertise over time grows at a snail’s pace. This is the lower most trajectory in the diagram above.

2. Passionate Consumer - you are passionate about something – you have a strong/distinct liking for the topic. You start gaining expertise. This is the second trajectory in the middle. Expertise grows more rapidly over time compared to the no-passion category.  For instance, i am passionate about music, and due to that i know a bit about music. I could not call myself an expert, but i know enough to separate the wheat from the chaff.

From Larzini’s comment, you can say that people that are virally passionate are also at this level. They are passionate about something, they do produce, but not yet that passionate – thanks to the infectious passion of the leader or a friend or a trigger or a powerful goal/vision.

3. Passionate Producer – You are so passionate about something, that you actually start producing/practicing. If you are passionate about paintings you start painting etc. The act of doing something/producing something that can either be self-critiqued or critiqued by others creates a powerful feedback loop in your brain pushing you to a greater and greater degree of excellence in that topic.  This is the third trajectory in the diagram above which shows expertise growing much more rapidly.

How to become passionate?

If you integrate all the 3 categories, you can see that exposure to new topics can help build passion, immersing yourself in that activity can increase the passion to the 2nd level and starting to produce can take the passion to the next level.

Ambition can provide the fuel for passion. In the corporate context, setting a powerful goal or creating a powerful vision can be that fuel to create viral passion. In all 3 levels, associating oneself with passionate people can have a great impact. Even if you are an expert, associating with other passionate experts can increase your expertise further.

A sense of competition can help create powerful goals/visions. As long as the competition is healthy, competition is a great driving force.

Although, technically you can become an expert in anything you choose to apply your passion to, making sure you have the aptitude for the topic, is important. Again a wide-ranging exposure may help you determine the things that you have the natural flair for.

Career

Recently we did some surveys inside our company and we found that passionate bloggers and passionate musicians (our Euphony band that i talked about) are top performers in the company. Once you are a passionate producer in something, that rubs off on everything you do including your job. If you look at it from another point of view, you have figured out how to build world class expertise. So you can apply that ability to gaine expertise to your career.  Career progresses when your expertise in the job improves.

If you are a leader, you can use this insight to make your team passionate about any type of producing activity (may not be business related) and then transfer that passion onto the company’s business. Aside from this, also explain the big picture, ambitious goals/vision to light the fire.

It is this fire that can launch the rocket ship as indicated in the diagram above.

Conclusion

In sum, passion can be taught, scratch that, it can be learnt. And once you are passionate, success follows.

Epilog:

I am sure there are some gaps in this. What do you think?

Notes & References:

1. The diagram above is an attempt to summarize this post – inspired by Kathy Sierra – Creating Passionate Users.

2. How to become an expert

3. Why effort/practice is more important than talent.

4. Are you an expert? – Charlie Munger’s wisdom on the topic.

5. For a neuroscientific rationale for why feedback improves performance/expertise – ABC Theory.

6.  To be accurate, each of the 3 lines in the above diagram should be an S Curve. I chose straight lines for making the diagram simpler.

Milind Sathe (http://milindsathe.wordpress.com) has posted a phenomenal response to my question. Well done Milind. He quotes examples from his personal life on how he became passionate about Ghazals and Golfing and comes up with the concept of a trigger. The idea being that one’s passion needs to be kindled by a trigger. Where I disagreed with Milind is his assertion that passion can’t be taught.

I was talking to my niece Archana Mahadevan about this and she is of the opinion that it couldn’t be taught as well. She is smart and I respect her (she is joining Google and I’m proud of her). She recounted how she became passionate about advertising. Archana Raghuram is also of the view that it couldn’t be taught. But since I wouldn’t accept it, she has sort of agreed but not entirely I think.

Sujatha Manivasagam also seems to think that it couldn’t be taught. That set me thinking and I think it could be an issue of semantics. Would it help you all if I asked “can passion be learnt” instead of taught? In my mind, if you have learnt something you have certainly been taught. Maybe not in the strictest sense of having a real teacher and going to a class but you have been taught all the same. If you look at Milind’s examples or Archana’s aunt’s story it is clear that you can learn passion for a new subject and you most often learn to be passionate. Except possibly for child prodigies no one really is born with a passion for a topic.

We all learn it due to a trigger to borrow Milind’s idea. Now to answer Milind’s questions:
1. Can you be passionate about something you are not good at?

I am very passionate about public speaking, blogging/writing but I can’t say I’m good at these to the extent I’d like to be.

2. Can you be good at something but not be passionate about it?

I used to be good at math in college but I wasn’t passionate about it. I was passionate about physics. Up next, myself and Archana Raghuram explored the connection between ambition and passion.

Do you have to have ambition to be passionate? What is the connection? What do you all think?