ABCeMag

This is the signing-off issue.Every 1st and 16th of eachmonth, we have been meetingwithout fail.Journey up to this 70th issuehas been exciting, interesting,demanding and extremelyfulfilling.We have tried to live up to ourtag line “Alag tewar, AlagFlavour” with full gusto andspirit.All good and bad things mustend.We are closing this eMag at itspeak. We are grateful to over10,000 recipients, contributorsand supporters.Looking forward to meet yousoon in another format…

Indians are amongst the top HAPPYPEOPLE in the world.After series of depressive findingson education and slowing economyfronts, this report does reflect thesilver lining.Is this the person on the streets inIndia alone who is happy or doesthe figure reflect the moods ofpeople engaged in Academia,Business and Consulting? We don’thave the data. Well, lets rejoice inthe spirit at least.Lets hope HAPPINESS rubs theworld too in the right way.Countries have started flexingmuscles which does not sound goodfor Nations, people and ofcourseABC.

Cricket is not the only domainwhere India is being hit badly.Last issue we talked about theeducational standards and at thetime of editing this edition, wecome across another dishearteningreport on the environmental front.India ranks lowly at 125 on theenvironment index.Year after year why do we acceptourselves to be a nation oflaggards? Why is mediocrity deeplyingrained in our cultural milieu?What are we doing about it?Raising questions is surely easy.Working together to find solutionsand act on them is not easier. ‘NaySayers’ abound in our nation ofplentiful divergence.

We have a major wakeup call as perthe newspapers:India ranked second last among the73 countries that participated in theProgramme for InternationalStudent Assessment (PISA),conducted annually to evaluateeducation systems worldwide by theOECD (Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development)Secretariat. The survey is based ontwo-hour tests that half a millionstudents are put through.We are 200 points behind globaltopper.The pride of India, the passionatelyrics “Saare Jahan Se Achhaa,Hindustan Hamara…”, countingDoctors, Software professionals etc.given to the western world, does takea serious jolt, if people who matter arelistening.

Here are some editorialpredictions for 2012, with punintended,:• Most of us will remain part ofABC• Most of us will talk a lot indrawing room andconferences about what ishappening in India butpersonally won’t do anything.• Most of us will read less,digest lesser yet talk more andproclaim better about theknowledge that we possess.• Most of us will still fall behindin the IT adoption. Internetwill still be used for emailingand milder social networking.• Most of us will talk a lot aboutnetworking but will realizethat ‘networking is notworking’.Rest of us will still be following‘Alag Tewar, Alag Flavour’…

Weather changing…Industry sneezing…Indian billionaires wheezing…Global business squeezing…Overall scenario teasing…2011 almost fleeting…Time for consultants andaspiring consultants to pullsocks, look inwards, re-energize and re-invigorate.This issues re-touches theprofession once again.

Few days back, whilefacilitating a conference, Iheard a Chinese delegateappreciate the calibre ofIndians to debate. Back inoffice, I am still pondering thefiner positives of debatingendlessly. The latest being:Opening FDI in retail –economic opportunity or apolitical threat.The real challenge is ‘whendoes the paralysis by analysisstop and action begins?’A new era is round the cornerfor ABC to act decisively,positively and differently,keeping the larger nationalfabric intact.

Some one said, “Thoughtflows in terms of stories –stories about events, storiesabout people, and storiesabout intentions andachievements. The bestteachers are the beststorytellers. We learn in theform of stories.”Consultants too are storycreators and tellers. They usetheir past success stories as athreshold and help clientselevate their performanceand value. Academia is thepreparatory ground andBusiness the trueKurukshetra. The ABCblending drives together…

The festival season is over,the spirit of festivitiesremain…corporates seem tohave made their moolahamidst chants of sectoralslowing down, governmentin-decisiveness, rising prices,pending telecom policy…andabove all, the arrival of the 7billionth kid ushering in thenervous joy of impendingdemographic dividends orexplosive scarcities. TheChallenges before Academia,Business and Consulting keepincreasing…

Losing an inspiring icon is tough.A walk on his talk is tougher.Words to express are notenough, the man was made ofdifferent stuff.Dedicating the 61st issue ofABCeMag to Steve Jobs. Heknew how to delimit excellence.