Once Upon a Time – India

This work was submitted as an assignment for the credit completion of the course “Indian Financial and Business Models” at Shailesh J Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay.

 Introduction

 India is a melting pot of culture, peoples and various societies. The definition of India various from person to person and perspective to perspective. Having caught in the dichotomies present in this tolerant country, India is neither what it is made out to be nor what it is thought to be. The realms of reality are beyond comprehension of an ordinary mind. It involves some deep soul digging as well as facts and inferences put out by leading scholars of the outside world.

For far too long India has been ridiculed as a country where any financial, business and management model would fail because of its belief in karma, rebirth and caste^[1]. But seldom is written or known about how these three factors and many more additional ones were the ones that made India the greatest nation of all times from 1 AD to 1700 AD. History is as good as it is reported and the modern Indian academic, sociological and economic thinking^[1] was misguided by proponents of outside world who failed to understand the Indian way of working.

^[1]In 1983, Paul Bairoch, a Belgian economist, came out with his study of the world economy and his findings astounded the West. He said that in 1750 India’s share of world GDP was 24.5%, China’s 33%, but the combined share of Britain and the US was just 2%.

India’s share, Bairoch found, fell to 20% in 1800; to 18% in 1830; and finally crashed to 1.7% in 1900, while China’s crashed to 6.2% from 33%. In these 150 years, the combined share of Britain and the US rose to from 2% to over 41%. Bairoch shook the West by saying that in middle 19th century, the West had a lower standard of living than Asians (Indians and Chinese). The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], constituted a Development Institute Studies under Angus Maddisson, a great economic historian, to conduct a comprehensive research into economic history and the ulterior motive was to prove Bairoch wrong.

Angus Maddisson postulated, ‘If Bairoch is right, then much more of the backwardness of the third world presumably has to be explained by colonial exploitation’ and ‘much less of Europe’s advantage can be due to scientific precocity, centuries of slow accumulation, and organisational and financial superiority’. After two decades of hard work, Maddision published his studies titled ‘World Economic History – A Millennial Perspective in 2001’.

His study confirmed Bairoch’s study of 150 years and more, as Maddisson studied the entire 2000 years economic history. Maddisson showed that India was the leading economic power of the world from the 1st year of the first millennium till 1700 – with 32% share of world’s GDP in the first 1000 years and 28% to 24% in the second millennium till 1700.

China was second to India except in 1600 when China temporarily overtook India. India again overtook China in 1700. The global economic play was in the hands of India and China till 1830. Maddison confirmed that India fell only due to colonial exploitation. Now the Maddisson study, endorsed by OECD, is the most authentic economic history of the world.^[1]

Such has been the neglect on India’s prowess. But the sad state of affairs is that everything that India ever achieved has to be validated by someone from outside. As Gandhiji said, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

 Angus Maddison’s Research and Findings

 Angus Maddison’s works have assumed significance because for the first time that certain vital economic data for different countries and the world were provided. The GDP figures of the world and different countries/regions during 1 AD reveals clearly the predominance of the Indian economy. Indian economy denotes the economy of the undivided India as existed during 1 AD.

Table 1: World GDP (1 AD)

(million 1990 international $)

Year	1 AD
Total Western Europe	11,115
Eastern Europe	1,900
Former USSR	1,560
Total Western offshoots	468
Total Latin America	2,240
Japan	1,200
China	26,820
India	33,750
Other Asia	16,470
Total Asia (excluding Japan)	77,040
Africa	7,013
World	1,02,536

Source: Maddison, Angus, The World Economy – A Millennial Perspective, 1^st Indian Edition, Overseas Press (India) Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, 2003, p.261.

 Table 1 shows the total GDP of the world at $102.5 billion. India was the largest contributor to the global GDP at that time with $33.75 billion. China was following India with $26.82 billion. Africa’s contribution was $7.01 billion, while that of Japan was $1.2 billion.^[2]

Table 2: Percentage Share of countries/regions in World GDP (1 AD)

Year	1 AD
Total Western Europe	10.8
Eastern Europe	1.9
Former USSR	1.5
Total Western offshoots	0.5
Total Latin America	2.2
Japan	1.2
China	26.2
India	32.9
Other Asia	16.1
Total Asia (excluding Japan)	75.1
Africa	6.8
World	100

Source: Maddison, Angus, The World Economy – A Millennial Perspective, 1^st Indian Edition, Overseas Press (India) Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, 2003, p.263.

 Table 2 illustrates the predominant position of India in the international economy during the 1 AD. It shows that India’s share of the world was 32.9%. It means that India alone was contributing almost one-third of the global GDP, while all the countries in the rest of the world we jointly contributing the remaining two-thirds. China’s contribution during that period was 26.2%. India and China together were contributing 59.1% to the global economy. While the other countries in Asia were contributing 16.1%, Japan’s share was 1.2%. The total contribution of Asia including Japan was an astonishing 76.3%. While the total Western Europe was contributing 10.8%, Africa’s contribution was 6.8%. It is significant to note that India’s GDP was slightly more than three times of the GDP of the total Western Europe. No country or even geographical region was anywhere nearer to India, except China. Even when compared with China, India’s GDP was more than 125%.^[3]

Table 3: GDP of India and other countries/regions (1 AD to 1700)

(million 1990 international $)

Country	0	1000	1500	1600	1700
Austria			1414	2093	2483
Belguim			1225	1561	2288
Denmark			443	569	727
Finland			136	215	255
France			10912	15559	21180
Germany			8112	12432	13410
Italy			11550	14410	14630
Netherlands			716	2052	4009
Norway			192	304	450
Sweden			382	626	1231
Switzerland			482	880	1253
U.K.			2815	6007	10709
12 Countries Total			38379	56708	72625
Portugal			632	850	1708
Spain			4744	7416	7893
Others			590	981	1169
Total Western Europe	11115	10165	44345	65955	83395
Eastern Europe	1900	2600	6237	8743	10647
Former USSR	1560	2840	8475	11447	16222
United States			800	600	527
Other Western Offshoots			320	320	300
Total Western Offshoots	468	784	1120	920	827
Mexico			3188	1134	2558
Other Latin America			4100	2623	3813
Total Latin America	2240	4560	7288	3757	6371
Japan	1200	3188	7700	9620	15390
China	26820	26550	61800	96000	82800
India	33750	33750	60500	74250	90750
Total Asian Countries	16470	18630	31301	36725	40567
Total Asia (Excluding Japan)	77040	78930	153601	206975	214117
Africa	7013	13723	18400	22000	24400
World	102536	116790	247116	329417	371369

Source: Maddison, Angus, The World Economy – A Millennial Perspective, 1^st Indian Edition, Overseas Press (India) Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, 2003, p.261.

 Table 3 shows that while the GDP of India had remained the same in terms of dollar values for thousand years since 1 AD, there was a small decline in the case of China as well as the total Western Europe. Only the share of Africa had increased notably during this period. During 1500, while the GDP of India had increased to $60.5 billion, the GDP of China touched $61.8 billion. There are two notable developments in this period. One is for the first time in the previous two thousand years, India’s position as the number one economy was overtaken by another country, namely China. The other one is that for the first time in history, the UK and the US enter the GDP map of the world along with many other western countries. At that time, while the GDP of the UK was $2.81 billion, that of the US was $800 million. The data for the next two hundred years reveal that in 1700, India again becomes the number one country in terms of economic performance in the world. So the contemporary economic figures clearly reveal that India had remained as the premier economic power almost till 1700, with declines during 1500 and 1600.^[4]

Table 4: GDP Share of India and Other Countries/regions (1 AD to 1700)

Country	0	1000	1500	1600	1700
Austria			0.6	0.6	0.7
Belguim			0.5	0.5	0.6
Denmark			0.2	0.2	0.2
Finland			0.1	0.1	0.1
France			4.4	4.7	5.7
Germany			3.3	3.8	3.6
Italy			4.7	4.4	3.9
Netherlands			0.3	0.6	1.1
Norway			0.1	0.1	0.1
Sweden			0.2	0.2	0.3
Switzerland			0.2	0.3	0.3
U.K.			1.1	1.8	2.9
12 Countries Total			15.5	17.2	19.5
Portugal			0.3	0.3	0.5
Spain			1.9	2.1	2.2
Others			0.2	0.3	0.3
Total Western Europe	10.8	8.7	17.9	19.9	22.5
Eastern Europe	1.9	2.2	2.5	2.7	2.9
Former USSR	1.5	2.4	3.4	3.5	4.4
United States			0.3	0.2	0.1
Other Western Offshoots			0.1	0.1	0.1
Total Western Offshoots	0.5	0.7	0.5	0.3	0.2
Mexico			1.3	0.3	0.7
Other Latin America			1.7	0.8	1
Total Latin America	2.2	3.9	2.9	1.1	1.7
Japan	1.2	2.7	3.1	2.9	4.1
China	26.2	22.7	25	29.2	22.3
India	32.9	28.9	24.5	22.6	24.4
Total Asian Countries	16.1	16	12.7	11.2	10.9
Total Asia (Excluding Japan)	75.1	67.6	62.1	62.9	57.6
Africa	6.8	11.8	7.4	6.7	6.6
World	100	100	100	100	100

Source: Maddison, Angus, The World Economy – A Millennial Perspective, 1^st Indian Edition, Overseas Press (India) Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, 2003, p.263.

 Table 4 shows the share of global GDP for different countries for the first 1700 years in the previous 2000 years of world history. The position of India as the topmost economic power had continued uninterrupted, for the longest period during the last two millennia, till 1500. Even during 1500, China’s GDP was only more than 0.5% of India’s GDP. Such a high performance testifies that of the previous twenty centuries, without any competition from any other nation in the world. But, there is a real decline in 1600 and thereafter India regained her position as the top economic power in 1700, leading China by a margin of 2.1%. So it could be said that for about 80% of the time in history of previous two millennia, India was the premier economy. This is an excellent and unparalled performance in the history of the world.

During 1 AD to 1700, while the share of India in global GDP had declined from 32.9% to 24.4%, the share of China had declined from 26.2% to 22.3%. As a result, in the same period, the share of Asia had declined from 75.1% to 57.6%. But at the same time the share of the total Western Europe had increased during the above period from 10.8% to 22.5%. While the share of Africa had slightly decreased during the above period from 6.8% to 6.6%, Japan had increased its share from 1.2% to 4.1%. The share of increase for the total Western Europe is more from 1000 onwards. In fact, it was only this region that had gained the most during 1000 to 1700. The share of UK had shown an increase of 264% in just two centuries, between 1500 and 1700, with its actual share moving from 1.1% to 2.9%. This is a high increase for a country that first appeared in the global GDP map only in 1500. It is interesting to note that the share of the US had declined from 0.3% to 0.1% during 1500 to 1700. The share of India was the highest in the world in 1700, followed by China. There was an important development in economic history during this period. For the first time in history, the share of the total Western Europe was more than the share of China.^[5]

Table 5: GDP of different countries (1700 – 1950)

(million 1990 International $)

Year	1700	1820	1870	1913	1950
Austria	2483	4104	8419	23451	25702
Belgium	2288	4529	13746	32347	47190
Denmark	727	1470	3782	11670	29654
Finland	255	913	1999	6389	17051
France	21180	38434	72100	144489	220492
Germany	13410	26349	71429	237332	265354
Italy	14630	22535	41814	95487	164957
Netherlands	4009	4288	9952	24955	60642
Norway	450	1071	2485	6119	17838
Sweden	1231	3098	6927	17403	47269
Switzerland	1253	2342	5867	16483	42545
UK	10709	36232	100179	224618	347850
12 Countries Total	72625	145366	338699	840743	1286544
Portugal	1708	3175	4338	7467	17615
Spain	7893	12975	22295	45686	66792
Others	1169	2206	4891	12478	30600
Total Western Europe	83395	163722	370223	906374	1401551
Eastern Europe	10647	23146	45448	121559	185023
Former USSR	16222	37716	83646	232351	510243
USA	527	12548	98374	517383	1455916
Other Western Offshoots	300	941	13781	68249	179574
Total Western Offshoots	827	13489	112155	585632	1635490
Mexico	2558	5000	6214	25921	67368
Other Latin America	3813	9120	21683	95760	356188
Total Latin America	6379	14120	27897	121681	423556
Japan	15390	20739	25393	71653	160966
China	82800	228600	189740	241344	239903
India	90750	111417	134882	204241	222222
Other Asian Countries	40567	50486	72173	146999	362578
Total Asia (excluding Japan)	214117	390503	396795	592584	824703
Africa	24400	31010	40172	72948	194569
World	371369	694442	1101369	2704782	5336101

Source: Maddison, Angus, The World Economy – A Millennial Perspective, 1^st Indian Edition, Overseas Press (India) Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, 2003, p.261.

 During this period of 250 years, many significant changes had taken place in the world economy. The western countries became economically powerful. By 1820, China replaced India as the largest contributor to the global economy. Asia had to lose its long held supremacy as the economic powerhouse of the world. By 1913, the US became the largest contributor to the global economy.^[6]

Table 6: Share of different countries in World GDP (1700 – 1950)

(percent of world total)

Year	1700	1820	1870	1913	1950
Austria	0.7	0.6	0.8	0.9	0.5
Belgium	0.6	0.7	1.2	1.2	0.9
Denmark	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.6
Finland	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.3
France	5.7	5.5	6.5	5.3	4.1
Germany	3.6	3.8	6.5	8.8	5.0
Italy	3.9	3.2	3.8	3.5	3.1
Netherlands	1.1	0.6	0.9	0.9	1.1
Norway	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3
Sweden	0.3	0.4	0.6	0.6	0.9
Switzerland	0.3	0.3	0.5	0.6	0.8
UK	2.9	5.2	9.1	8.3	6.5
12 Countries Total	19.5	20.9	30.7	31.1	24.1
Portugal	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.3
Spain	2.2	1.9	2.0	1.7	1.3
Others	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.6
Total Western Europe	22.5	23.6	33.6	33.5	26.3
Eastern Europe	2.9	3.3	4.1	4.5	3.5
Former USSR	4.4	5.4	7.6	8.6	9.6
USA	0.1	1.8	8.9	19.1	27.3
Other Western Offshoots	0.1	0.1	1.3	2.5	3.4
Total Western Offshoots	0.2	1.9	10.2	21.7	30.6
Mexico	0.7	0.7	0.6	1.0	1.3
Other Latin America	1.0	1.3	2.0	3.5	6.7
Total Latin America	1.7	2.0	2.5	4.5	7.9
Japan	4.1	3.0	2.3	2.6	3.0
China	22.3	32.9	17.2	8.9	4.5
India	24.4	16.0	12.2	7.6	4.2
Other Asian Countries	10.9	7.3	6.6	5.4	6.8
Total Asia (excluding Japan)	57.6	56.2	36.0	21.9	15.5
Africa	6.6	4.5	3.6	2.7	3.6
World	100	100	100	100	100

Source: Maddison, Angus, The World Economy – A Millennial Perspective, 1^st Indian Edition, Overseas Press (India) Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, 2003, p.263.

 Table 6 shows that since 1700, the contribution of India to the global GDP had been continuously falling. As a result, within a period of just 120 years between 1700 and 1820, more than one-third of India’s economy was wiped out. By 1820, India’s GDP had declined to around 66% of what it was in 1700. India that remained the leader, far ahead of the others as an economic superpower since the ancient times, had to lose her long held premier status in 1820. Thereafter, the decline was steady, and in the next 130 years, nearly 75% of her economic worth of 1820 was again wiped out. In just 250 years about 83% of India’s economy was completely ruined. By 1950, India’s share of GDP became nearly one sixth of what it was in 1700. Even though China took over the position of India as the largest contributor in 1820, its share had also declined very fast. As a result, China’s contribution to the global GDP was 4.5% in 1950, just 0.3% more than that of India. The share of Asia declined to 15.5% from 57.6% in 250 years. By 1913, Asia had lost her status as the largest contributor of the world economy to the total Western Europe.^[7]

The contribution of the UK to the world economy in 1870 was 319% of what it was in 1700. Thereafter, the share of UK declined to 6.5% in 1950. The share of total Western Europe had increased from 22.5% to 26.3% during this period of 250 years. The US had emerged as the largest contributor in 1913 with a share of 19.1% and its contribution reached 27.3% in 1950. The biggest gainer during this period of 250 years was the US. The share of Africa had declined from 6.6% to 3.6% during the period. It is important to note that while the shares of traditional powers led by India and China had drastically declined, the shares of the Western nations led by Europe and later US had increased manifold.^[7]

Playing a big hand in destroying the Indian economy, the British exercised their policies by leeching on India for resources. Maddison notes that the policy of the East India Company regarding taxes. “The main objectives of the company were to enrich its officials and finance its exports from the tax revenues of the province instead of shipping bullion to India.”^[8] He also informs that the taxes collected from India were used to expand the British Empire. “The hard core of the Empire was India, with three quarters of its population. Indian taxation financed a large army under British control, which could be deployed to serve British objectives elsewhere in Asia, the Middle East and eventually in Europe.”^[9]

 Conclusion

 Before one is oblivious to these pieces of research and findings, India will remain as a third world country trying to achieve unrealistic goals. But as Indians, when one goes through Paul Bairoch’s and Angus Maddison’s research there is big paradigm shift in the way Indians see themselves. A lot of pride is restored and seeing India as a future economic giant is never going to be an impossible task. Indians can say to themselves that, “Been there, done that and it is only a matter of time before we pick ourselves up and work for the glory of the nation”. The slave mentality goes through a fillip and Indians are the new masters of the world. With a strong cultural setup where human relations are more important than anything else in the world, the day is not far when the indigenous economic model backed by the sociocultural setup is discussed and followed. That will lead Indians to glory and India will once again become the most prosperous nation in the world.

 Reference

 1. Gurumurthy S., ‘Boss, read the true history before speaking’, The New Indian Express, 6th April 2013.

 2. Kanagasabapathi P, Indian Models of Economy, Business and Management, 3^rd Edition, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2012, p. 8.

 3. Kanagasabapathi P, Indian Models of Economy, Business and Management, 3^rd Edition, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2012, p. 9.

 4. Kanagasabapathi P, Indian Models of Economy, Business and Management, 3^rd Edition, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2012, p. 31.

 5. Kanagasabapathi P, Indian Models of Economy, Business and Management, 3^rd Edition, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2012, p. 32-33.

 6. Kanagasabapathi P, Indian Models of Economy, Business and Management, 3^rd Edition, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2012, p. 37.

 7. Kanagasabapathi P, Indian Models of Economy, Business and Management, 3^rd Edition, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2012, p. 38-39.

 8. Kanagasabapathi P, Indian Models of Economy, Business and Management, 3^rd Edition, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2012, p. 44.

 9. Kanagasabapathi P, Indian Models of Economy, Business and Management, 3^rd Edition, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2012, p. 46.

 

Adios SOM

Staring at that point of oblivion of sprawling lake in front, one realizes that there comes a time, when you have to look back and smile for all that one has earned and lost. A few friends. A few enemies. A few setbacks. A few victories. A few quarrels. A few revolutions. Like food that’s served, if life was available on a platter, there would be no excitement at all. Let me tell you a story; it could be your story too.

Vito was nobody in the world. He didn’t know what to do with his life; yet he was a guy with dreams. He wasn’t a moron, but an oxymoron. Vito somehow got into SJMSOM. People who knew SJMSOM, called it SOM, and people who got to know of SJMSOM through Vito, called it SJSOM. It was July and it was raining CATs and JMETs in Mumbai. Vito got down at the Thane station. Montana Tony had already reached the hostel and updated on the SOM facebook page about the kick-ass hostel rooms to look forward to. Vito failed to read between the lines. The hostel turned out to be a kicked ass one. He met scores of people – seniors, batchmates, professors, fellow IITians, etc; people of different kinds – artists, management gurus, technical honchos, CxOs. All those were people whom he wanted to be, but never could be.

What followed was a unique experience that Vito would term as “rational attributes of an emotional self”. A lot of those MBA threats that one received from that random B-school friend had come true. Sleep was rare. To meet the EOD deadline, Vito skipped dinner on his birthday. Stubble became a Utopian concept and everyone were scared of those 8 people from SOM ’12. They formally called themselves – Corporate Relations Cell, but looked like Ramadhir Singh’s mob from GOW. Like the climax of GOW2, the Faizal Khan inside every individual wanted to spray thwarting bullets on them, but decided against when better sense prevailed. Dikshas, Continuums, Avenues, Club sessions, assignments, project ppts, announced quizzes, surprise quizzes, midterm exams, term exams, case studies, attendance shortages, labs, self-awareness, depression, frustration, summers preparations, career…the limit of the list tends to infinity. Vito’s first two terms were a reflection of the adage – “Back is on fire / you are in a quagmire”.

December came as a breather. It was time for Mood Indigo, which meant it was time for girls, girls and girls. But, doing an MBA made one ineligible to hit on any girl. To make that worse, Vito was doing his MBA from an IIT. His only solace was the city. Mumbai was better known as Bombay for those who fell in love with the city. Vito enjoyed every inch of the city’s measure with his small group of friends. Second semester began to end with double the amount of workload. But by then Vito had got used to it and didn’t have a clue of what whizzed by him. Through his Summer Internship, he had to travel 60 km every day. Very soon, without a thought of realization, Vito fell for the city and slowly transformed into a Bombaywalla. He appreciated the opportunities Bombay offered but couldn’t decipher her hurry. Shortly after his internship, he started sculpting the three pillars of his life. It read – “Readership, Relaxation and Friendship“, contrary to his school’s pillars of “Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship”. Something he finally learnt by the end of year one.

MBA year two started with a bang, giving way for the new. MIT was in the campus, there were new sets of people to interact with (read juniors), new professors from the industry and academia, new projects (a few fake ones too), swimming classes. Most importantly, it was time for long hair and a time when none would question the beard. Dikshas, Continuums, Avenues continued but they became a congregation of interaction between batches unlike what they used to be in the first year. Travelling to new places inside and outside the country, the year continued with lots of fun and frolic.

Vito, a strong socialist who hated communist ideas was transformed into a capitalist. He joined the MBA programme as a creative person, but ended up ceding to the 2-by-2 matrix of management thinking. He wished those metamorphic changes had never occurred. Eventually, insanity prevailed. Not everyone around him got what they deserved or wanted and finally it was Capitalism that prevailed. He hoped that better things were in store for SOM. Finally, Vito graduated from SOM as a satisfied person. He had got all he wanted, probably because he was at the right place, doing the right thing at the right time. Or probably because he believed that the harder he worked, the luckier he got. Either ways his good life’s clock ticked. Deep within himself he knew that he wouldn’t have learnt so many lessons about life if it wasn’t for SOM or IIT Bombay or the people around him, both friends and irrationals.

Adios Amigo!

 

What’s in a classroom anyway?

One year of MBA is over and life starts to kick back again. Second year has started and when I look back at the year that has passed, I have learnt a lot of important lessons whilst developing some habits which are now an inherent part of the person that I am.

 

1. Read

Read as if it is the first book that you have ever touched. Read as if there is no end to it. Read the best of the books prescribed by the best people you have ever met in your life. Since, one can’t live everyone’s experiences, read it as they write and live the characters that they describe. Personally, I am far away from completing the BBC top 100 books list, but as an MBA I have an Excel sheet that maintains the progress.

 

2. Watch
Watch the best of the world movies and documentaries. Suggestions galore, we are in the upward slope of the information age. Anything and everything is captured. Skim the best and watch them. If you haven’t finished the IMDB top 250, it is high time you started working on it. Go to theatres, plays, stand-up comedy shows. Visualize art as there is no end to it.

 

3. Travel

Travel to places you have never been before. Make excuses and visit those places. Don’t worry about the money because travelling teaches you how to travel far and deep, within yourself and out, while spending less. Explore the place that you are in, including the college library because you never know what strikes you and when.

 

4. Observe

One of my hobbies is to observe people. An important management lesson that I have learnt – Give people what they want and they will give you what you want. You can get what you want only when you give people what they want. You can give people what they want only when you know what they want. And you can know what they want only when you observe. No one is going to tell you explicitly. Observe and find it out. By sheer observation, you will differentiate between people inspire you, people who will kick beneath the belt, people who will even blow beneath the belt and people who will stand shoulder to shoulder and support you to the end.

 

5. You are not right always

Another important lesson that I had learnt was that you are not always right. There are more people who are more right than you are. Accept their perspective as there are always three perspectives to anything – yours, mine and ideal. Engineering teaches you how to be right and wrong; management will teach you how to be right and more right. Appreciate it.

 

6. Stand for what you believe in

Even if it supersedes the previous point, stand for what you believe in. Never be arrogant, but be polite and rational. Stand for what you believe in, even if you will end up making enemies. If you are convinced, persuade and convince others. Persuasion is another important weapon in the arsenal to fight the irrationals.

 

7. Commit mistakes

Commit as many mistakes as possible and learn from it. Experiment and keep experimenting. It’s always better to go wrong as many times as possible with the prototypes, than going wrong with the final product.

 

8. Deal with ambiguities

The world is filled with uncertain circumstances. Most of the times, you won’t get all the information to take a perfect decision because perfect decisions don’t exist. It is always a quality of retrospect. So, deal with ambiguities and take the best decision out of the alternatives that you have because life is a trade-off and one has to optimize it.

 

9. Criticism

I read somewhere that, a critic is a person who knows the way but doesn’t know how to drive a car. One profession that comes close to that description is a consultant. Mind you, in MBA every one is a consultant and everyone has opinions. Everyone has a right to their opinion and you have the right to accept or reject it. Dissect it and find the rationale in it. If you see some truth, gracefully accept it and credit that person. But the truth is that 99% of the criticisms that you would come across are made for the heck of it. Identify the best ones and then invest your time. Take criticisms to your head and praise to your heart and never the other way around.

 

10. Learn

Each of the aforementioned points will be worthless if you don’t learn anything. Keep learning. Envision, explore, experiment and experience. These four will keep you going as old habits die hard. It is applicable to good habits as well.

 

While I learnt most of them outside the classroom, the credits go to them who inspired me inside the classroom.