Time Lapsed Orchid Example
Twelve months ago the word “Globalization” was a dark word in my vocabulary. It was a word that caused a certain amount of intimidation, discomfort and one that no one in the US wanted to talk about. While every major company in the US began to develop globalization strategies, everyone around me avoided the topic due to the implication of lost jobs.
Six months ago, I came to realize something I knew right out of school but had long forgotten due to my own complacency. This realization is that each of us is a resource to our employer. Each resource is like a commodity and has a value that can go up or down based on demand. With our skills and through our actions, we drive revenue, avoid cost or, we innovate change to these ends. If we’re not doing something to this effect, we might as well be dead weight as far as our company‘s well being is concerned. Rumors began to float around that my organization might be globalizing and my fifteen years with the company felt threatened. It was shortly after this that I received an email invitation to a required class. Something snapped in me the day I attended a bank sponsored class called “Catalyst” and realized what reaction this “Catalyst” was designed to accelerate. Our company has always asked us to be “A Champion of Change”. Some associates take this seriously, some shrug it off as another cheerleader approach to promote spirit & policy acceptance. I’ve always been someone to embrace change and find value in it. When I attended the Catalyst class I had no idea where it would lead me and the reaction it would cause in the chemical equation of my life and career. Change can be good or bad, it’s all perspective and to be honest, each of us to some degree, have the ability to influence it. If you know the sun will be out, you can stay in, you can wear protection and go out, or you can blow off your options and get burned. The choices are often clouded by complacency and a sense of entitlement or ego but the fact is, these choices still exist and we need only to recognize and embrace them to have a positive influence.
Five months ago, I flew to Dallas Texas for a managers meeting to assist in planning a reorganization and start working on small scale strategy for globalization in my team as well as my peers teams. I found myself taking the lead in the operational model between the US and India and helping define policy for how the two would work together. It was exciting and while it still felt a bit taboo, the inclusion in something of this nature broke down the layer of complacency and entitlement and began to fuel a fire. This is a fire I still feel burning today and is one of passion for change and leadership. I’ve devoted my professional career to our company and making it successful, is something I want to be associated with.
Four months ago, I “Followed the Sun”. I boarded a plane for Hyderabad India. Four months… That’s a long time isn’t it. Four months is a large chunk of time to commit every hour of your life to for anything. I chose to take a big leap of faith in my life and step outside my comfort zone into a completely foreign country and culture. I left behind my family, my wife and my kids because I am a champion. It sounds a bit silly when I say it but the fact is, a global company means more jobs and more growth. More growth means more security and better returns. Better ROI means higher stock. Higher stock means collectively, we’ve done our jobs and are being recognized by our economic critics. Globalization needs champions. It’s not an easy topic to embrace but one that, like a rising sun, is inevitable. The champions in our company will stand up, drive productivity and lead us to success.
Fourteen days from today, I will board a plane and end my assignment here in India. I will now “Lead the Sun” back to the US and bring with it a new energy and commitment to my company.
I have Followed the Sun, now let it follow me.
As we lead our company into new horizons of growth and productivity, we embark on new adventures and have the challenge to build new relationships and teams. Our business model is now global and our standards for productivity and excellence now higher. Only time and our critics in the economy will measure our success and only together can we achieve it.
I have Followed the Sun, will you?
One year with out a vacation, four months without my family and two weeks left to contemplate the work I’ve yet to accomplish and how I will transition it. I know I’ve made a difference and I know you can as well. I challenge you to be a champion.
Best Regards,
Jason
[ 3 comments ] ( 45 views ) | permalink |
( 2.6 / 93 )- A business class ticket to India; $6,000 US Dollars
- Monthly Bill in a 4 star Indian hotel: $8,000 US Dollars
- Spending Diwali with your US friend & his family in India: Priceless!
One of the engineers that works for me in the states “Suresh Lankalapalli” is in India this month on vacation. Today is Diwali which is equivalent to Christmas in India and there are fireworks going off everywhere.
Hyderabad Fireworks
Suresh invited Mike and I to the family home where he grew up. We met his lovely wife “Antara” and a good portion of his large family.
Here is Suresh & Antara in Traditional Indian clothes
We shared about an hour of conversation on many topics and learned that Antara is a trained traditional dancer & model. We also found out that Suresh’s nephew “Pandu” and his niece “Keerthi” like to dance too. It wasn’t long before we moved out of the living room and into the family room to watch everyone take turns dancing to local music and cheering.
This was one of the best experiences Mike and I have had in India and really refreshed us on this long assignment.
Here are some fun pics & videos from today
Mike, Jason & Mr. Lankalapalli
Here is little “Pandu” Suresh’s Nephew
You may have to hit refresh on the page once these videos load.
Here is "Pandu" Dancing
Pandu Dancing
This is “Keerthi” Suresh’s Niece
Keerthi Dancing
This is “Antara” Suresh’s wife
Antara Dancing
[ 3 comments ] ( 32 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 25 )Every 2-3 weeks is a new experience for Mike and I. As new associates arrive in Hyderabad, we enjoy playing host and ensuring safe travels around the city. Today Mike and I took our local friends Jim and Shiela as well as our co-workers Pratik & Troy to Qutub Shahi Tombs (7 Tombs).
Here is a picture of today's group.
;)
The day was filled with typical site seeing and pictures of everyone next to everything. The one exception was a first for me in India. As we entered one of the tomb areas, 2 very cute little girls wondered over giggling. One of them looked at me with big eyes and said “Hello, May I Have A Kiss ”. I’m sure I had an ear to ear grin with embarrassment. This isn't typical behavior for Indian girls. My only response was to ask if they would like their picture taken. They giggled some more, posed for the shot then asked my name. They flirted a bit more then ran away giggling.
Here are my momentary fans
We saw these girls running around the tombs a few more times today as they asked Mike and the others for their names and got a kick out of the hat he was wearing.
[ 2 comments ] ( 25 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 22 )I can literally feel the final 5 weeks of my assignment slipping away. The extreme hours have been difficult and last week was no exception. I flew to Delhi and stayed in a subdivision called Gurgoan. Delhi certainly has a different look and feel from Hyderabad. Delhi being the capital city has a lot more money being injected by west and the Indian government. Commercial buildings are prevalent with multiple western corporation names labeled across the fascia of every building. Delhi feels more like a westernized city than I imagined would exist in India. Unfortunately the demands on my time while on this assignment made no exception during the Delhi trip and regrettably, I didn’t have an opportunity to explore the capital city at all.
I, along with my two partners in crime here (Mike and Gulshan) had to create organizational level presentations in 2 days (Saturday & Sunday), fly to Delhi on Monday, deliver 5 presentations between Tuesday & Wednesday, fly back to Hyderabad, then deliver an additional and final presentation. On Friday, when it was all over we closed out the week with a video interview for the US on our International Delivery Lead roles and the part we individually play. I had pulled another 60 hour week when the accounting was done and this doesn‘t bring to light the lack of sleep these schedules leave us with.
As my time in India grows shorter, I’m reminded of the many things I stand to lose when I leave. Among the most important to me are friendships. Mike and I have been like brothers on this trip and have only ventured out of the hotel separately on only a hand full of occasions. I keep thinking that going back to the states marks a return to familiarity and a winding down of my stress level but the $100 question is, “Does it really”. Mike made a joke yesterday that when I leave, 1000 people will be at the airport to wish me well. I don’t think that’s true but I have built a fair number of relationships in India and to potentially walk away forever saddens me.
I have a significant feeling that what was familiar prior to August 2007, will be new again and what used to be comfortable will require a significant adjustment period. I think these two aspects of a short to long term international assignment are what have caught me most by surprise. I contemplated many challenges before my journey, cultural as well as professional and these never made it on my list.
Of great excitement to me is that my relationship with my wife will be new again. I truly look forward to this and have already planned some fun & spicy experiences like Ballroom dancing lessons. As I’ve mentioned before, my daughter cries every day without fail. Regaining her trust and strengthening the bond between her, my son and I will be a primary objective in the first weeks back.
I also plan to continue writing in this blog for the first month after my return to allow those interested to understand the challenges and excitement of re-entry into the US.
[ 1 comment ] ( 11 views ) | permalink |
( 3.1 / 16 )Friday morning while eating breakfast, a man decided to sit with me across my table. He was older by about 20 years and I’m not sure if he intended to share the table for company or if he mistakenly sat with me. The Indian culture is so friendly I can’t discount either possibility. My friend Arun, who is one of the managers at the Taj Deccan, saw this and quickly scooted the man away and helped him to another table. It all happened so fast, that I never said a word. I was actually about to introduce myself and start a conversation with the man. I find that here in India, I’ve become much more interested in people, listening to their stories and learning about who they are. I feel bad about this observation because I realize just how jaded I’ve become toward relationships in the US. Looking back, I can see that this change happened in me around my late 20s as I had children and settled into a comfort zone that isolated, insulated and protected me from external pressures and judgment. As I built a home, I apparently built walls to protect it.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, 4 months away from my life has really allowed me to look inside and regain perspective. It’s allowed me to subconsciously re-examine who I am and be critical about life in the past, present and the future. This isn’t to say I feel like a horrible or bad person or that I don’t enjoy my life at home. Its just that we all have personality flaws and sometimes it takes something significant to recognize them and have the courage to make change.
Last night, I continued to feel ill and had a late and stressful Friday. At 10:30pm, after my last call, I went down stairs to get dinner and be away from the PC. Arun noticed I was alone again and stopped at my table. I needed the space as Gulshan is in Delhi and Mike was tired. He wanted to apologize for the man’s behavior from the morning. I explained to Arun that I wanted the man to stay so I we could chat. Arun smiled and said, “you are truly a unique individual“. He went on with kind words saying that I seem to greet everyone and he finds that I am much friendlier than their typical guest. I appreciated his compliment and recognize this recent change in my behavior. Arun then mentioned a new guest sitting around the corner and wondered if he could sit the guest with me for company. I agreed, and with in a few minutes, I met Evan.
Evan, is a woman from the UK who works in Saudi Arabia. She’s here for a week with her Fiancé who is a pilot for SpiceJet “one of India’s top rated airlines”. We talked for an hour and a half about travel, culture and work. It was fascinating and led me to this post.
Last week, Mike wrote about an observation we’ve had and that he and I have been talking about for weeks. In India, they commonly use the phrase “5 minutes sir”. This is a euphemism that takes some time to recognize. When you hear this in India it literally means “As soon as I can”. I shared this with Evan and she chuckled. She mentioned that in Saudi, they have a similar cultural euphemism. The locals will respond to a time bound request with “Inshala”. She also explained that literally translated it means “God Willing” or “In Gods Time”. We laughed about this for a good 5 minutes and shared related stories.
I was very happy to hear that this isn’t unique to India. Finding these cultural Easter eggs, learning from them and finding ways to adapt has been a challenge. It is however, a challenge I was sent here to overcome and pass the wisdom of how, on to my peers in the US.
So today, Mike and I were fitted for custom suits as we’ll again be Key Note speakers next week. We’re flying to Delhi, to a subdivision called Gurgon. We’ll be there to deliver a message about the organization we work for to many of our new associates. I look forward to meeting them, learning their stories and sharing more of them with you.
Please keep me in your thoughts as I continue to fight through what appears to be a weak immune system and “Inshala” you’ll see another update next week before next weekend.
[ 1 comment ] ( 8 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 17 )Back Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Calendar
