Basrah Diaries

As I lay on my bed in Block 2-Room 11, in the campat khor al zubair, a distant memory came rushing in ..seemingly out of nowhere. But while the analysis of why it came could wait, I thought it best to pen the memory itself. Kenneth Charles Ryan (KC Ryan).. Ex quarterback for univ notre dame now salesman extraordinaire for spx contech ( pronounced contetch by kartik) . He used to be the main man for our business with Daimler Chrysler. We would visit the chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills , Michigan- that really elegant north detroit suburb. The office was out of this planet for a car maker. Sleek as hell- futuristic with the then in vogue gangster car strewn randomly across the corridoor. I forget the name ( PT Cruiser? ). I had wanted one but could never get beyond the predictable and pragmatic toyota corolla. My first as well as second car- need to tell the story about the demise of my first car. ( btw, now I drive a beautiful and german Audi Q7 SUV).  I looked forward to these...

Leadership has to be value based and not normative- as complexity increases, rule books cannot be all encompassing and cannot keep up with the rate of exponential change. Therefore you need values and emanating from those values are the ethical considerations which are part and parcel of your interiority- that has to be the guiding force- and to me it is the only way forward. Which then means that leaders need to be compassionate people and not power hungry megalomaniacs- which is a change from the last century- and you see the tech industry already reflecting what I feel is a larger impending phenomenon.    Where Indians in particular, but all developing countries within a democratic set up in general have a leg up over their counterparts is that these folks have had first-hand experience dealing with inequality and systematic macro-inequities all their life. Therefore if you find someone within this mix with the right values, chances are that they are the real deal. It is ba...

Where Ability is only superseded by credibility and reliability Where Actions speak louder than words Where Values always trump Affiliations Where one’s    Personal Brand obviates ostentatious marketing campaign Where Peer pressure expedites collaboration instead of petulance Where Leaders are able to read between the slides Where true Talent is delivered from sub-optimal survival tactics Where Dignity and Respect is guarded by Soldiers, not Sentinels Where hr departments are largely a force of good Into that heaven of Freedom, my father Let my company awake

After a weekend where I did not feel relaxed and it was visible to the wife as well, here I am back on the road to khor al zubair. And I am wondering where do I go from here? I want to exit but still feel like there is one last punch remaining in me. An opportunity where I can give these naysayers something to remember. I played PKs rant back in my head almost in a continuous loop- and then began my beautifully framed repartees- well considered and well articulated coming back at him- except I was talking to myself in my backyard with a smoke in my hand. And this was obviously not the first time I reacted this way when jerked around by power. I often wanted to punch back at power- but failed every time- the dominance hierarchy that has been ingrained in our genes for 300 million years of life ( it exists even in crustaceans) kept making me shrink and bring forth considerations of fear- that I - and by extension those in my care- could somehow be harmed if I spoke my mind to power. ...

The trap of second comings They say that the second coming is never quite the same as the first- and the incandescence of the first time in any successful endeavour is a tough act to follow. Parallels particularly present themselves from the rock music industry where there is a band that brilliantly bursts into the scene and produces some magic on their first album- never to quite repeat that ever again. Infact , our own bangla band in Singapore was a bit like that. In 2011 no one expected much from a pot pourri of amateurs that were only marginally bengali or even Indian to begin with but who took the stage innocuously at 9.30 pm on Nabami Night. What followed were some high quality renditions of familiar band songs. It left many people in the audience in awe- not just entertained. Bengalis are notoriously squeamish about offering any praise in matters beyond their ken. Music was one of those subjects where they , generally speaking, could be said to profess some degree of knowledge t...

Ridiculous call with Paul Kalsbeek Write the story in detail…. (Exchange of pleasantries) Fe I: Well I had applied to the gm-1 roles but they were announced weeks ago therefore I know I did not make the cut . I would have thought I may have some opportunity within the entire space of MSC-because if not MSC then what? P: (suddenly tensing up) I am picking up an undertone that says Shell owes you a job- now that is a dangerous thing. If that is what you are thinking, it is really dangerous I: not sure why you are picking that up. No one owes me anything- all I meant was I think I have a compelling case for a role in MSC. It is an area of strength not just for the experience of my current role but also my previous experiences which dovetail together to form what I would say a unique narrative in support of my candidature. And given my experience, education and track record you cannot blame me for thinking that I am a deserving candidate surely. P: ( reverting to details of the Oman interv...