The arbitrage game is over....

All Indian companies have been playing the arbitrage game since the 1980s. These companies talk of going up the value chain, of having kicked the arbitrage game, etc. But, they are still steeped in it. Otherwise, why would they still hire in our colleges for ready-to-code experts? And in such large numbers….

The recent announcement by Infosys that it will be hiring 10,000 people in the US is being widely reported as a move to please President Trump and his administration. Whilst Infy says that it supports the idea of more American jobs, it also mentions the truth somewhere else. It talks of rapidly changing technology and the need to be closer to customers.

Technology has always been changing. There has always been a need to be closer to customers. There was always need for empathy. So, nothing new. What is new is that the change in technology is now more towards Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Digital, Analytics and Data Sciences. Machines are doing more of the work that humans were doing hitherto. This has resulted in significant skill set and business model changes. The education systems in Europe and US lend themselves to better meet the needs of the new age rather than the rote learning systems in India. The need now is more of Leaders…original thinkers…empathetic thinkers…design thinkers….and at scale. The need is more of people who are better at self-learning. Universities in US and Europe do not get students who are ready-to-use coders in languages like Java and C++. They prepare students who can learn and unlearn rapidly. That is the need of the hour.

However, Indian corporates cannot accept this bitter truth at this point in time. They have been too steeped in making money without realizing that the age of arbitrage has long passed over and new technologies need new skill sets. They have not pro-actively worked with Universities in India to demand a change in syllabus. We still teach what is relevant for the 1990s and the early 2000s. Our students are equipped for technologies of the past. It will take us years to catch up to build such skill sets at scale and in good quality. The US and European Universities are years ahead of us. However, demographics are not in favour of US and Europe. So, they will have to import talent from countries like India. Indians will now study in US and European Universities and get hired by the likes of Infosys in scale, not in India, but in various countries.

Indian corporates will be forced to hire in US and Europe. It is different that Rightist Governments in these geographies are pushing companies to hire locally. However, it suits Indian companies really well. Billings will be higher given changes in need for skill sets. So, Indian companies can afford to hire from across the world.

The question arises if Infosys can hire 10,000 in the US over the next 2 to 3 years. I am quite sure they can. There are thousands of computer engineers landing up in the US to study. They need to be hired and trained differently to make them useful to the new Digital Economy. Will it be a struggle? Absolutely yes. However, it can happen. Just imagine engineers from across the world learning at the Infosys Institute in Mysore…learning how to navigate this Digital World. And with teachers from across the world. That day is not far away and our corporates and schools have no choice but to change.

Brahma and Brahmos - The Leadership Deficit

We have only seen wars for centuries now. There have always been Kings (read Leaders) who have had unbridled ambitions - to conquer and win what is not theirs - be that land, be that other forms of wealth, be that women. Such Leaders - Alexander, Napoleon, Chandragupta, Asoka, Babur, Akbar, Robert Clive, etc have always been celebrated by us. These are people who caused the deaths of thousands of humans and yet we see them as great Leaders. Then the 2 World Wars and, more recently, the relentless wars across different parts of this world.

These leaders were then supplemented by unscrupulous business persons. From small traders to East India Company to now the Multinationals, humans have caused havoc on this planet and unleashed the worst kind of behaviour on themselves and other creatures.

Spiritual Leaders appeared but whatever they preached was turned in to "code", made in to religion and, today, this has become the biggest business opportunity in the world.  This world lacks genuine leaders - people who can just speak the truth, leaders who can help, leaders who can give, leaders who genuinely have concern for all fellow creatures - be that human or any other species.

There is a huge need for love, healing, tolerance, giving and a human race that is not driven by greed and such unbridled ambition. Bringing this to the corporate world, we really need leaders who are kind and compassionate. We have enough of them who believe they are right and will do everything or anything to meet the next quarter numbers/results.  We need leaders who are kind, not right. How can we make this happen? It needs a different set of Leaders to get the next generation of Leaders ready. We need a new Takshashila, a new Nalanda, a new Oxford, a new Harvard, a new MIT...new Institutions that inculcate values that are not what they are today. Values that help youngsters understand that true Leadership strength lies inside each of us and not outside. We need Leaders who are deeply spiritual, not driven by religion. For example, if each of us understand that half our lungs are in the tree outside, will we cut down that tree? If we understand that we need marine life to preserve the oceans, will be do such wanton hunting down of those creatures? That artificial fattening animals before they are slaughtered for meat in order to increase productivity is backfiring on all of us. We need Leaders who will bring to book corporates and other leaders who are driven by greed.

We are 7 billion on this earth now. We were around 1.6 billion in 1900. Have grown over 4 times in 117 years but the earth and its resources are the same. We have been resourceful and exploited the earth and the creatures that live on it. However, we have not been mindful in our relentless chase for control over resources. We have cheated, bribed, taken bribes, lied, killed, maimed, etc...all on our way to what we call success.

The Leadership Qualities that companies are recruiting for now include leading to serve, building value for shareholders, building relationships, collaboration, personal courage, having a vision, etc.... however, all these end with "Maximisation of shareholder wealth" that was a maxim floated by American Thought Leaders back in the 1930s. This maxim has long lost its significance. Instead of maximizing stakeholder wealth, we must focus on shareholders wealth. Leaders are rewarded to focus on shareholders. Obviously, there is a lack of focus on other stakeholders. Profits are important but if they become the only goal, we swing to extremes in terms of behaviours. Whatever, we say, corporates are now measured in these terms. The "Street" is interested only in "Top Line and Bottom Line".

If we want new Leadership, the values we are driven by have to be different. These cannot be "profit at any cost". As Gus Speth says, "I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address those problems. But, I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy...and to deal with those, we need a spiritual and cultural transformation. And, we scientists don't know how to do that."

The Lord Brahma, the Creator (as per Hindu Belief), must be wondering why the Brahmos Missile, a cruise missile and a destroyer, is named after him. Well, it is not - it is named after two rivers, the Brahmaputra and the Moskva...and, He does not seem to know that His creation uses His name to destroy.