Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Feeling Inspired

Today I needed some inspiration. It started out as one of those days when I found myself spinning my wheels, faced with threats to my organisation’s financial health as a result of some contract changes. I then thought about my uncle and the iconic business he set up and grew over 25 years (while he was at its helm) to be a forerunner for tutorial colleges in India. Sadly, I had news from home recently that the business he had set up had been taken over by creditors. These are different times. Technology has changed the terms of engagement and outcomes of business. Most are only as good as their operational efficiencies and it is hard to tell if this outcome could have been avoided with him still running it. However, it gave me a moment of pause to ponder over the achievements of an extraordinary man who was a visionary and micromanager all rolled into one. Starting out as a cartoonist, he started his business at age 50 and over the next 40 years it went on to represent the tutorial college for entrance into the elite schools of India. Aptly named Brilliant Tutorials with a logo that sported the hat worn at graduation, it sold hope to hundreds of thousands of young folks, where only a small fraction actually made it to the schools but the rest came out with confidence, knowledge and problem solving skills that they would use throughout their lives. I took the course, while briefly flirting with the idea of an engineering degree! In any event, Periappa (or Dad’s brother) was and will always remain my role model. He coined all the ad copy for his relentless ads plastered all over India’s top newspapers and hand- picked the professors who would create curricula and exams and teach all the courses. Many retired professors thought this a worthy avocation and so it was a win-win all around. During his tenure at the business he faced competition from copycats, since imitation is the best form of flattery, and pressure to constantly innovate. It was the beginning of the computer era and hence of revoluntionary change. He started the first computer skills training schools in India. I recalled today that he never stopped learning, trying and innovating well into his seventies. He demonstrated tenacity in his pursuit of excellence and never shied away from a challenge. Inspired by his memory, I put on my best face and set out today . Fortunately there was much to be optimistic about as it day ended and it may have had a lot to do with how I approached it.