Wanderings of an Inspired Mind

A Walk to Remember

2011-09-03T08:15:00.000+05:30

As we walked down the avenue lined with stately Ashoka trees that formed the Southern entrance to the Lodi Garden, or the Lady Willingdon Park, as the sign on the main entrance indicates, the surreal early morning atmosphere coupled with the presence of one of the authorities on Indic history and culture, we knew that we were in for an experience that would last a lifetime. Slow and sluggish were our initial movements, still shaking off the last vestiges of sleep, as we reached the tomb of Mohammad Shah, and crowded around Ms. Sobti , and were regaled with tales of wonder about this last king of the Sayyids, a dynasty both short-lived and immortal in its impact on the centuries to follow.

Moving on through the beautifully landscaped gardens filled with magnificent flora brought together from places as far and wide as Cuba in the West and Australia in the East, we reached the latest of its numerous monuments, the Greenhouse, designed in 1961 by renowned architect Joseph Allen Stein, an example of minimalist architecture at its practical best. It was here that our illustrious guide told us of the story of the gardens themselves, and how the British converted the erstwhile necropolis of Delhi into one of the greatest cities of the world and the host to its largest urban oasis.

Soon, we were at the magnificent Bada Gumbad, a Lodi period gateway-like structure with beautiful stucco work adorning the walls of the mosque and the “khwaab gaah”, or the site of dreams (a colloquialism referring to a bedroom or, in this particular case, a guest house), within. Directly opposite stood the wondrous Sheesh Mahal, an impressive mausoleum for much of Sikander Lodi’s family inlaid with intricate reliefs of red, blue and gold that have survived the ravages of time.

But, the best was for the last. As we walked over the seven arched bridge of Akbar towards the tomb of Sultan Sikander Lodi himself, each of us was struck by sheer impregnability of the structure, resembling more a citadel than a cenotaph. It was this sight that sparked a realization that the Lodi’s had ruled in the bloodiest of times, when houses of the dead served not only as markers for those long gone, but as sanctuaries where many a noble would make his last stand, defiant in the face of the invading horde and sacrificing themselves, if only to protect what remained of their honour as warriors true.

As we made to depart, I realized that this trip had been the fulfilment of a lingering regret that I had had since school ended over six years ago, that of never having attended a class by Ms. Beeba Sobti. And while this had been just a slice of what could have been a fascinating and memorable year during my school days, it left the heart gladdened, and the mind eager, looking forward to the next class with the master.

Alexander, Darius, and the God-King Paradigm

2011-03-31T09:34:00.001+05:30

The History of Alexander by Quintus Curtius Rufus, the surviving manuscripts of which are widely regarded as one of the definitive works on the life and times of Alexander the Great, lends an interesting character to the natures of the opposing forces in the drama, whether it be the inexorable Macedonian armies under Alexander, or the mighty Persian Empire of Darius III. But what is truly fascinating is how each faction presents itself as a foil to its leader, changing and morphing to reflect his persona in a mirror of a million faces.

From the moment the campaign begins, Alexander personifies the quintessential noble warrior-king, firm yet just, displaying the impetuosity of his youth in leading his cavalry squadron into the thick of every battle, yet generally showing discipline, restraint, and coldly calculating the next course of action. He is shown to treat his men like brothers, listening to their praises and criticisms with equal measure and respect. In particular, he is shown to have accorded greatest love and respect to his Companions, known as the Hetairoi, often taking great pains to ensure their well-being even at expense to his own. In addition, his most praiseworthy trait is said to have been his respect for his enemies, particularly those of high station, along with the admiration and adoption of those traits and practices that he deemed to be the best in them.

In a sharp contrast, Darius III, God-King of the Persian Empire, is shown to possess an arrogant and dismissive nature, rarely, if ever, considering the advice of his followers, and showing utter disdain for Alexander when he first makes himself known as a challenger. He is also shown to possess a highly ethnocentric attitude, rejecting the adoption of battle tactics similar to those adopted by the Macedonian armies simply because he regarded them to be beneath him. But in spite of these characteristics, his men display an unswerving loyalty and divine reverence for him in proportion to his status as a God-King, with most refusing to betray him even upon the pain of death. This was very different from the status that Alexander enjoyed as a King of Macedon, with his person, as well as those regarded as his closest, being the subject of numerous politically driven assassination attempts during the initial phases of his campaign.

Changes to the status quo, however, began occurring soon after Alexander’s awe-inspiring victories at the Grannicus and the Issus. The first was Darius, having to swallow the pain of multiple emphatic defeats at the hands of a numerically inferior army and being forced to acknowledge Alexander as a King of equal standing, both of which contributed greatly to the dissolution of the aura of divine invincibility around him. Alexander, on the other hand, due to his victories, his ambition to match the deeds of Heracles and Father Liber as conquerors of the world, as well as his significant good fortune, became increasingly convinced of his own divinity, something that was reinforced by the Oracle of Zeus-Ammon at Siwa acknowledging him as his son. While the reason for this particular act has been much debated by historians, there are no doubts as to its fallout, the first being the coronation of Alexander as the undisputed Pharaoh of Egypt, and the second being a noticeable shift in his character towards that of the God-King paradigm.

This shift was further accelerated by his observance and fascination for the regard accorded to Darius by his subjects, as well as their opulence and ostentatious customs when it came to dealing with those of royal blood. Wishing for the whole world to acknowledge him as, at the very least, possessing divine blood, he began to enforce these customs upon his own armies as well, an act that they did not go down with them. Barring opposition to the practices themselves, the Macedonian armies seemed abhorrent of the idea of a man becoming a God in his own life-time, something that they strongly believed was the privilege of posterity to decide, and not their own. But the seed had taken firm root, and was to cause him more pain than he could ever have imagined.

On the other hand, as the campaign progressed, Darius began to lose more and more of his self assurance, fleeing from battle at Gaugamela at the first sign of personal danger, and losing the support of some of his more trusted Satraps in the face of the magnanimity shown by Alexander to those who did not oppose him. Interestingly enough, the humiliation of multiple defeats at the hands of his foe, dented his sense of arrogant sense of self-worth enough for him to start heeding the advice of some of his generals, no matter how bitter it sounded. His declaration of Alexander as his heir apparent served both as his final acceptance of defeat as well as his descent into the realm of mortals, with his most powerful generals finally realising the humanity of their fallen God and his throne, treacherously assassinating him and claiming it for their own.

With the demise of the God-King, Alexander stepped in to fill his shoes, and began to lose much of what had brought him to that point, especially his incredible self restraint and discipline, the last vestiges of which went up in flames with wine doused walls of Persepolis. Along with them went much of his sense of justice, and was replaced instead by a penchant for Bacchanalian debauchery, and an arrogance coupled with a divine anger that took the lives of Cleitus, Parmenion, and Callisthenes, men, nay brothers, to whom he owed his life and much of his success until then. Traces of the Alexander of old sometimes returned, such as when he dealt with Porus at the Hydaspes, but he was subsumed by a being of excess, twisting and perverting the beliefs of Macedonian and Persian alike into a parody of themselves that left trails of murder and destruction in their wake. His armies, once regarded and treasured as family, became little more than mercenaries, keeping their peace while there was gold to be had, but being quick to voice dissent at his changed practices, despite being eager to partake of the greater rewards that these often created. The mutinous behaviour of his soldiers finally forced Alexander to turn his juggernaut away from the heart of India, and back towards his homeland.

But what was truly a cause for concern were the numerous assassination attempts against Alexander during the last legs of his campaign. No longer bids to claim political power, these were desperate acts of free men reacting to the oppression of their king, one who had once embraced them like brothers, but now made them prostrate themselves even in greeting. His subsequent and untimely death during this journey has often been attributed to a result of one such attempt, or possibly of disease born out of his own excesses. Whatever the cause, his acts during his last days reeked of one steeped in hubris, and while his death destroyed one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen, it appears to have been the lesser evil to that of his survival and continuance as a God on the earth.

Why was it, however, that the Persians and Egyptians accepted the rule of mortal Gods? Was it something within each of these entire dynasties of men that successfully ruled as such for over two millennia that Alexander, one of the few to be bestowed the title Magni, lacked? Or perhaps it was simply the weight of tradition and even religion, reinforced by the passage of centuries of custom, burdening these peoples, the absence of which caused the Macedonian and Greek peoples to reject his claims to divinity outright. A lack of cognizance for this particular aspect of human nature could have been Alexander’s greatest folly, and proved itself to be the source of his eventual fall.

It could be hypothesized that had he left an heir and, more importantly, a system capable of ensuring the survival of his empire beyond his own lifetime, his successors, in a bid to claim political power and divinity for themselves, would surely have instituted divine honours in his favour, a practice that, for a time, succeeded in the hands of the first Caesars, until its spectacular failure under the infamous Caligula who, once again, attempted to become a living God to a people who were not ready to accept it.

The legacy of Alexander has often been given due credit for shaping the world as we know it. But in there remains a tale of caution unparalleled in history, that only those born to be Gods could lay claim to the mantle of the divine, for else even the greatest of mortals would be doomed to fail in their endeavour to claim it in their own lifetimes.

The Anatomy of an Online Marketing Campaign

2011-03-27T11:38:00.001+05:30

World over, marketers are increasingly focusing their attentions on tapping the potential of the internet as a tool to achieve substantial market penetration in a far more effective manner, both in terms of cost as well as reach, than conventional modes of communicating value. This is also indicative of a paradigm shift in marketing, with the online campaign often integrating all aspects of a standard marketing drive with a direct distribution channel, something that is greatly beyond the scope from the traditional role online media has played in serving simply as an agent to increase what marketers term top of mind association with a particular product.

On analysis, most such successful campaigns can be seen to have three common components, each of which, in fulfilling its own individual role, complements and enhances the whole. The first part is the product website. Serving as the principal and one-stop source of information about the product, the website often contains data on the product, its benefits, features and variants, sources for support software and after-sales service, a link to the direct distribution channel for immediate purchase, and some information on the company itself. An increasing trend these days is to create individual websites, as opposed to sub-sites of a larger company website, for products, possibly in an effort to make them as distinct and easily accessible as possible. Also, the increased penetration of broadband technology has ensured that these websites are usually rich in multimedia content, highlighting product demos, advertisements, and, in some cases, user-created feedback videos.

The second part, something that it shares in common with traditional marketing campaigns, is the advertisement. Additionally, these are also observed in two distinct formats. The first is the conventional video advertisement, aired through multimedia platforms such as Youtube, and are usually used to highlight augmented product features along with the brand personality, something that has proven eminently successful in the cases of Apple and Vodafone. Often produced by advertising powerhouses such as Ogilvy & Mather, these videos are usually the fulcrum of the campaign, and their acceptance by the market is generally considered to be the litmus test for the success and sustainability of any such enterprise.

The other format of online advertisements, and the one that arguably could be considered to be a support to the previous one, is the small textual advertisement that finds itself on various websites, either in the form of pop-ups or hyperlinked images. It is important to note that while these advertisements are usually the least successful in actual terms of click through conversion, they are nevertheless required to maintain a consistent presence on websites low on outside multimedia content but high on unique hits like various sports websites and popular blogs.

The third component of a successful online campaign, and the one that is increasingly becoming the most crucial aspect in achieving a high degree of market penetration, is the viral component. While the efficacy of viral marketing has been much debated over the past couple of years, it needs to be seen as a single component of a larger marketing plan, that aims, principally, at creating a greater degree of top of mind association through proliferation and visibility, but communicates only a very limited part of the value promise itself. Primarily geared towards harnessing the potential of social networks such as the highly popular Facebook, viral content is based on the principle of user customized advertisements.

This principle essentially deals with addressing the esteem needs of the target market through the creation of images and videos that can be personalized by users to insert names and images of their own choosing to replace those of the models in the original creation in order to achieve a limited form of celebrity or brand association. While an extremely potent tool in any effort to achieve top of mind association, the success of the viral content is heavily dependent on the creativity of the manner in which augmented product features and/or brand personality are highlighted, the ease of customization and, most importantly, the visual attractiveness of the customized content. The last factor, as the champions of highly successful viral campaigns at Nikon and Apple will affirm, is the sole reason for a campaign to truly become viral, as the attractiveness of the final user customized content is what will encourage an increasing number of people to share and customize for themselves as well.

It can thus be seen that the success and sustainability of any online marketing campaign depends upon a combination these three elements, a combination that can be viewed in the form of a pyramid, with the first two components forming and providing strength to the foundation of the campaign, and the third, the viral component, forming the apex, the height of which can be considered a determinant of how far the product campaign can penetrate into the target market. It can also be seen that the absence of any of the two foundation elements destabilizes the pyramid, while the lack of a viral component severely limits the campaigns ability to penetrate beyond levels that can be achieved through conventional formats.

An excellent example of a firm that conducted a highly successful online marketing campaign is that of Apple for its iPod range of products. The website was designed to perfection, giving all the required product and support information, coupled with reams of multimedia content emphasizing the brand identity associated with the product. The advertisements, mostly made available online through various video streaming services, served as an extremely effective and innovative mode of communicating the brand personality and product value, while at the same time reinforcing the premium and exclusive nature of the product. But what truly created a buzz for the product was the viral campaign launched by Apple, creating dozens of easily customizable silhouetted images of people perceived to be a part of the stereotypically “cool crowd” wearing the distinct white earphones of the iPod. These images soon spread through the numerous web-communities, with each community customizing the images to appeal to their own sensibilities. This resulted in a level of market penetration, in terms of brand recall and top of mind association, that the marketers at Apple could not even have imagined. The success of the campaign also brought to light the sheer impact that a well-designed viral campaign could have on an integrated online marketing effort.

It is imperative to note that even the most well designed campaigns, like any other traditional marketing endeavour, may be rendered a complete failure due to an inability of the product to fulfil the value promise, or to match competitive forces. A case in point here is that of the Tata Nano. A campaign that well and truly integrated all the above components in appropriate measures, and even including the distribution channel to the extent that it was actually possible to book the car online, was considered an utter failure due to issues with the actual product being unable to match the value promise communicated by the firm.

However, aside from this particular caveat which all such endeavours are subject to, online campaigns have displayed the potential to far outstrip the traditional marketing campaign format, in terms of the penetration, cost effectiveness, and the sustainability of the campaign.

Paganism and the Worship of Man

2011-03-15T03:46:00.001+05:30

Paganism has often evoked images of elaborate rituals and nature worship, of sacrifices made to implacable deities of stone, and of cultures living only as memories in papyrus and earth. But scratch the surface, and one is brought to face a faith transcending nations, one that placed firm belief in the strength of the hearts, minds, and limbs of men, and challenged them to never stop in their quest for perfection.

One need only look as far as the gods to affirm this. Built in the image of men, the gods represented perfection of the human form and, more significantly, were often portrayed as paragons of arts that men attempted to master, be it archery, weaving, or the creation of music. Of greater import, perhaps, was the belief that no man could ascend unto godhood, and could never lay claim to the betterment of them, thus creating an insurmountable and fluid barrier of perfection that men were always striving to achieve, but never could surpass. The story of Arachne, of a human who, in pride of her skill at the loom, challenges Athena, goddess of weaving, to a contest of skill, the outcome of which is for Arachne to be cursed to forever exist in the form of a spider as penance for her crime of hubris, is one of many tales in myth, especially that having Hellenic origins, meant to serve as warnings to those that would believe that they had reached a state of perfection.

But such beliefs, far from dissuading, only served to inspire men to ceaselessly strive to be the best at whatever they could, even if it be the art of thievery. It can also be conceived that the intense competitive spirit that such values inculcated possibly laid the foundations for contests of skill such as the Olympic Games, ones that far superseded petty individual rivalries and aimed instead at finding the best among men.

It is also imperative to note that this philosophy lent itself to higher degree of individuality, with the perception of the individual often determining the nature of their gods, and unconsciously imbibing within each of these deities the qualities and extent of skill towards which they themselves strove and regarded as the pinnacle of achievement.

This manner of thought, however, is one that proved to be have been untenable, often encouraging men to partake in strife and conflict, and claiming divine punishment in the afterlife for a perceived mediocrity in thought and in action. The potential for conflict became even more apparent through the deification and worship of “heroes”, men who were venerated due to their considerable martial prowess, and were far greater in number than those deified from other spheres of skill and ability. It is highly plausible that such beliefs played their part in the creation of increasingly militaristic societies, such as those in Sparta and in Scandinavia, that often clashed with others in an effort to display martial supremacy.

These tendencies towards conflict were further highlighted through the emergence of counter-religions in the form of Christianity and others of similar mind, patterns of belief that strove to minimize conflict and placed greater emphasis on rewards post-human rather than material gain through the creations of codes of existence serving to promote harmony between individuals and the growth of humanity as a whole.

Morality, and the concepts of good and evil, viewed until then as relative points on scales individual to each person, came to be defined and codified, creating, in essence, a common platform to judge the deeds and thoughts of men, a judgement that was instrumental to their fate in the afterlife. Thusly the ways of men came to be dictated by the words of God, words that tempered heart and mind, and set humanity on a path to the attainment of Paradise for the soul.

The transition from the veneration of men to the worship of a faceless and omnipotent God could then be considered the philosophical turning point ending the age of men as individuals, and marking the beginning of the age of man as the collective.

Interestingly enough, the Renaissance period, remembered as one of the greatest periods of human enlightenment in history, was characterised by large sections of the intelligentsia embracing their Pagan roots, an event that would have had a not insignificant influence on the generation of the concept of the Renaissance man, a concept that was primarily a reaffirmation in the strength of men as capable of great achievement irrespective of what were deemed God given talents.

And were they not correct? We have moved mountains, trapped the lightning, and have laid foot in the heavens. Should we not remember that the gods were made in our image, and that we can do anything? In this age of rationality and hyper-achievement, perhaps we just might, and once again bear witness to a time of men.

Talent Management: A New Frontier?

2011-03-13T08:59:00.001+05:30

In their seminal work The War for Talent, McKinsey and Co. coined a name for the latest battleground for seizing competitive advantage amongst companies, that of the acquisition and retention of the best talent available, through any means necessary. At the time, the Dotcom Bubble was in its growth stage, attracting any and everybody from the investment banks and the management consultancies to their small offices and big dreams. The bursting of the bubble has changed nothing, in effect, it has actually made the war for talent even worse. This erosion of the best and brightest from firms regarded as bastions of the best talent pools resulted in an unprecedented empowerment of talent, enabling a paradigm shift from loyalist to more mercenary tendencies, as well as throwing most conventional management theory into a tizzy.

The quest for competitive advantage has often been likened to a war without weapons, no holds barred and without mercy. In this vein, it is not uncommon to see managerial cadres within companies quoting military manuals like the Art of War and De Re Militari as a priest would the Bible. And this is where the War for Talent has confounded both theorists and practitioners. For each such work generally makes one assumption: that the army is loyal, and only the morale of the troops is to be maintained to ensure the highest performance on the field. No one anticipated such a scenario where the troops and in some cases, even the generals themselves, would desert the army for a more lucrative option on the side of a rival. Nothing reinforces this point more than the case of Shikha Sharma, who left ICICI to head Axis Bank in 2009 after losing out to Chanda Kochhar in the race to become the new MD of ICICI. While this particular case is an extreme, the migration of middle management from one firm to another, often taking their project teams with them, is a very real and proliferating problem, causing major losses to firms, especially in terms of investments on training of the fled talent.

It is for this reason that Human Resources, essentially a support department, is now undergoing a transition to Talent Management, a strategic form focusing on functional integration that is taking an increasingly prominent role in forming and, at times, even dictating competitive strategy for firms. But this is unfamiliar territory, with most managers left at a loss due to the absence of precedent, both in literature, as well as in practice, of tactics and methods that can achieve a significant degree of success in stemming this particular tide. Most are, as of now, improvising and, at the same time, putting more and more effort into research into suitable models and practices that can be adopted by firms in order to retain the best of their talent and simultaneously preventing an unnecessary bloating of organizational structures.

It is imperative, however, that in making this transition, firms do not forget the emphasis on the alignment with the company strategy, an emphasis that should serve to ensure that only the “right” people inhabit the firm, a classification that does not necessarily include the “best” available talent and should also result in a not insignificant streamlining of firms in terms of their human capital base. IBM, in particular, has gone a long way in developing a basic framework highlighting the various aspects of such a process, placing the maximum emphasis on “best-fit” practices, a method of managing the available talent pool by mapping them on a performance-potential curve, thus serving to objectively identify both the present as well as the future worth of the employee to the firm. This form of mapping also serves a dual purpose of determining the appropriate course of action the management, whether it be in the form of additional training, role switching, or simply an increase in the individual’s compensation.

Apart from this, firms are concentrating considerable effort, through conventional practices derived from extensive studies on organisational behaviour, on creating an environment and culture conducive to the the promotion and, more importantly, the retention of a highly efficient and satisfied talent pool.

Interestingly enough, the war for talent has had a fascinating side effect in the empowerment of the employee, putting them in a position, for the first time, to dictate terms to their superiors as well as creating a considerable reduction in the power of the employer over the “right” employee. Communism has long since been declared a failure but perhaps we are well on the way to achieving what one may consider a capitalist version of Marx’s Dictatorship of the Proletariat.

The Death of the Hero

2011-03-12T21:32:00.001+05:30

Modern fantasy literature has long been regarded as the domain of the archetypal '”hero”, the paragon of self-sacrifice and honour, noble of heart, and always ready to take up arms for the sake of the “good” fight and answer the cry for justice. But the times, as Dylan said, are a changing.

And in the van of this change stands George R.R. Martin, author of the critically acclaimed Song of Ice and Fire series and one among a host of authors determined to make fantasy grittier, darker, and, as they say, more “realistic”. But how is it that they are going about achieving this?

The first, and most easily noticeable method, is the degradation of the language itself, filling each of these tomes with innumerable scatological references and swears, something that can arguably be claimed to be more representative of common speech than the archaic high style adopted by Tolkein in his Lord of the Rings and other works that form his Middle Earth legendarium.

Another is the emphasis on horror and gore, with the reader often made to experience scenes of death and torture in exquisite detail, one that often fascinates as much as horrifies. Scenes of war and battle have become even more gruesome, with their violence and sheer brutality becoming even more apparent. But this is not without precedent. The Lord of the Rings had the terrifying Shelob’s Lair, while the Iliad is often noted for the explicit descriptions of death through spear, sword, and arrow. The difference, however, lies in their treatment. Tolkein hints at the terror, and Homer took a more matter-of-fact view, quoting things as they were. Martin and Co. however, take the reader into the heart of the field, and often into the mind of one best positioned to witness the carnage and the horror first hand.

The most significant change, however, is the loss of the “hero”, with men of black and white giving way to varying shades of grey, in thought, in morality, and in deed. Motivations have changed, with even knights in shining armour often being characterised as murderers and looters, twisting the romantic ideal chivalry into what can only be termed as a grim perversion of itself. Interestingly enough, the character “villain” has gone the same way, with the persona of evil replaced by a mere viewpoint, at times more noble and good than the “hero” himself, serving to antagonise the aims and goals of the protagonist.

So, Aragorn and Gandalf have made way for Jaime and Tyrion Lannister, beings that have in them the capability to both shock and awe, one through his prowess as a warrior and his incestuous relationships, while the other through his not inconsiderable cunning and penchant for cruelty. It can be argued that it is these traits that make these characters more believable and identifiable, but their distortion of nobility and justice is a hurt deeply felt.

Looking at it from another perspective, fantasy literature is shifting from titanic battles between abstract concepts and ideologies of good and evil, into conflicts of a more personal and relative nature. This is a development that is at once both a gain as well as a detriment to the genre, with its role shifting from that of a commentator on the nature of human beliefs to that of a mirror reflecting the heights, the depths, and all that lies between, of the human condition.

For good or for bad, the “hero” lies now on his deathbed, his nihilistic successor ready to claim his throne. Perhaps someday, the “hero” will return, but until then, we mourn his passing.

Can McKinsey be Trusted?

2011-03-06T04:46:00.003+05:30

While the recent SEC allegations of insider trading against former McKinsey & Co. MD Rajat Gupta have yet to be shown to hold water, their very presence raises a very critical question of ethics against not only the man and the firm, but also against the very nature of the business itself. McKinsey & Co., like a host of other such firms, belongs to the league of management consultants, firms which have made it their business to advise others on how to take the next step forward, based on analyses of data that is often highly sensitive as well as confidential.

And it is the misuse of this highly sensitive and confidential data by those privy to it that is present at the root of the billion dollar controversy that threatens to shake the very foundations of one of the oldest and most respected global advisory firms. So the question becomes, who is to blame? Is it the man, or is it the firm that raised him? Or could it be that the industry itself is to blame, empowering and existing in the hope that ethics would prevent misuse of said power?

Interestingly enough, it is McKinsey & Co. that is best known for its strict adherence to the confidentiality agreement it signs with it s clients, with information being limited to the participating team members only. And even more interesting is that the individual in question is one who is a true product of the McKinsey system, rising through the hierarchy and leading the firm for ten years. It is this point, in particular, that makes this case truly disturbing. And irrespective of the verdict itself, there remains a chance that this incident is symptomatic of a greater rot within the company, coming into the limelight only because of its magnitude and scope. And therein lies the danger for companies trusting these firms with their vital information, information that, even unwittingly, can be used to cause irreparable damage.

So where lies the road ahead for McKinsey? Their credibility has been seriously damaged, and the only way out appears to be a tightening of their already strict confidentiality policies, as well as, if one were to paraphrase Sir Humphrey, an emphasis on discretion throughout the ranks. While things have not reached that stage yet, the possibility of an external audit of their practices is not inconceivable and may end up being the last recourse in an attempt to regain its standing.

But to return to the earlier question, is the issue of the dangers of too much knowledge not the conundrum faced by all those privy, be it the psychiatrist who aims to understand us by piecing together every little aspect of our lives, or even Google, collect any byte of data they can in order to provide us with more personalized service? And each and every one of them understands one thing, that their credibility is built not only on the quality of service, but on a sound foundation of trust.

What is important for McKinsey & Co. and, by extension, all others considered its peers now is to revisit that foundation and reinforce it, in spirit and in practice, doing whatever is possible to prevent another such incident from occurring. For trust has been lost, that much is certain. And it must work hard to regain it.

The Leaders We Deserve

2011-03-01T19:06:00.001+05:30

The world today stands in a familiar place, teetering on the edge of chaos. The Middle East is in flames following the uprising in Egypt, Europe and India languish in the throes of scandals facing its leaders, and all the while the world threatens to fall, once more, into the pit of recession from which it was trying to claw its way out. But what common thread unites these disparate stories? One and one alone: a failure of leadership.

That such incidents are becoming increasingly rampant throughout the world, be it on the political, corporate, or even the sporting stage, is not one that should surprise us, for it is we, the people, who have granted power to those unfit to wield it. What then, is our recourse? To follow the path of tradition, and simply replace the present lot with those of opposite leanings? To do what has been done through time immemorial, and remain forever trapped in this cycle of self destruction?

The world is a different place from the one our forefathers knew. To paraphrase Friedman, the Earth is now a flatter place, with advancements in communication technology serving to break barriers and allow information to flow like never before. Attitudes have changed, tolerance has increased, and divisions once set in stone now soften. Who heralds this change if not the vox populi, with power growing ever potent? And yet, the voice stands silent in the sins of its leaders, each act threatening to destroy all the new age stands for. The question then, is why do we empower such men? Why do we remain mute in the face of their misdeeds?

Perhaps this is one tradition we are unwilling to shed, to be led by men who will do the deed, the men who will produce the results, irrespective of the means they follow. But this tradition, most of all, must be discarded. We stand on the shoulders of giants, looking unto the vastness of history, and it tells of one thing, that leaders are but a reflection of those that follow, of those that would raise them on high to sway the world around them.

What then, is our reflection? We prize freedom, yet the genocidal tyrant reigns, sitting alone upon his golden throne. We cherish ethics, yet the corrupt politician remains, greased palms making wheels turn. No more. It is the age of the enlightened being, one that has the knowledge of the world at his beck and call, one whose voice can be heard across the globe, one for whom reason has meaning. It is this being that shall lead the world. We have but to look within, and we shall find him. For some, he still slumbers. But the cry for justice can no longer be suppressed, and soon he shall awaken in all of us.

We must realize that we are the future. We are the leaders and the followers, each serving to shape the collective in his own image. It is we who decide what to cherish, and what to reject. It is we who decide whom to cherish, and whom to reject. Let us make our choice then, to make a stand, to rise up and become the leaders we need, the leaders we deserve. Egypt shows the way, we have but to follow.

On Milton’s Conception of God

2011-02-23T01:58:00.002+05:30

In what is by and large regarded to be one of the greatest works of English literature, John Milton makes the incredible claim of attempting to understand the mind of God.

Paradise Lost paints a picture of an entity that is both omnipotent and omniscient, and yet, remarkably human. From the moment of Satan’s fall, to the banishment of Adam and Eve from Paradise, Milton’s God runs through a gamut of emotions one would normally expect from the Lord of Olympus straight out of the tales of Homer. And this is what begs the question that when Milton spoke of God, which God did he speak of? Was it the God of Abraham, the one who delivered his people from Pharaoh? Or was it the God that Jesus named Father, who sent his only Son to save humanity?

While the Son, a being visible only in the New Testament, plays an important role in the first part of the book, God appears to be more the vengeful deity of Old, unleashing the thunder and lightning upon Satan and his band of errant rebels, damning them to an existence far beyond the eyes of mortal ken. This persona further manifests itself in his rage at Adam and Eve for falling prey to corruption, and at Satan once more, for the act of the corruption itself, the price of which is a demonstration of poetic justice to rival only the fate of the betrayers in Dante’s Inferno.

But what is of significance are the other aspects of God, those that set Him apart from He who sent the plagues unto Egypt. The pride of the Father, joyous in the knowledge that the Son shall willingly go forth and sacrifice himself to save humanity, is an account that simultaneously uplifts the heart and yet shows a more human side of the deity, one that feels love and affection for all His creations. Of even greater import, however, is the frustration at the failures of His children, be it Satan in his fall, or Adam in his; a frustration that is worsened by the omniscience that grants Him foreknowledge of everything that ever was, is, and will be. It is interesting to note that Adam, upon awaiting judgement, questions this very frustration, an emotion that he reasons to be found unwanted in the heart of a being both omniscient and omnipotent.

And so we return once more to our question: who is Milton’s God? Perhaps his God is made in his own image, a reflection of the times where a scholar and a man of power bore witness to such chaos and upheaval that even his considerable knowledge and might could do little to restore what he perceived to be his Paradise on Earth, and acted in the only way he could, through retribution.

It is this thought that makes one wonder as to whether Milton, if he were born today, would conceive God to be the same, or would He, once more, be a reflection of an age, one that has come to question His existence like none before.

Lenin, Stalin and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe

2011-01-13T11:28:00.001+05:30

I recently read an interesting book titled 'Lenin, Stalin and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe' by Robert Gellately. Apparently, the title of this work was the source of much controversy, with the collectivisation of the saintly Lenin with the more satanic personages of Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, a fact that the author himself mentions in his introduction. But far from being a mere publicity stunt, the author quite clearly justifies Lenin's presence not only amongst them, but puts forth a very, very valid case for his being at their head. If all his (very credible) research is to be believed, then the blame for World War II can be placed squarely on the shoulders of one man, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin. Not Hitler, not Stalin, not the Japanese or the imperialist powers, but Lenin. A far cry from the contemporary image we have of the father of the Revolution, the visage that Gellately brings to light is that of a ruthless schemer driven by an insatiable appetite for power and an unparalleled obsession with creating what he termed a 'dictatorship of the Proletariat'.

It is even more interesting to note that Gellately further postulates that Hitler arose in opposition to Lenin, with his Nazi Party gaining political power by preying upon the fear of Communism that fraught much of the German populace. But why would a country already in such a dystopian state fear something that could possibly prove to be their saviour? Why would they make the proverbial deal with the devil, when it was clear that it would lead to their utter ruin? Was it because they still regarded Russian withdrawal as the reason they lost the Great War? That may have played a part, but the truth may have lain with the events that had unfolded in Russia after the Revolution.

The October Revolution brought to power a group of people so hell-bent on cementing their authority and philosophy over the populace that they discarded all semblances of humanity when it came to dealing with opposition, be it members of the aristocracy, or simple farmers attempting to eke out a living in the Russian hinterlands. And all of this, under Lenin. A man whose penchant for ruthlessness was so great that Germany chose Hitler and the Nazis to save them from the Communist scourge.

But why, then, is Joseph Stalin seen as the Russian Hitler? According to Gellately, Stalin, Lenin’s protégé, was but a pretender, doing his best to live up to the mantle that his mentor had cast about his shoulders. And after his death, the Bolsheviks, seeking to distance themselves from his excesses, sought to identify themselves instead with his predecessor, the man who laid the foundation for the Soviet Union, Lenin. Through propaganda, they succeeded in remaking the image of their founder into that of a saint, one whose legacy lives on till today. Truly fascinating.

A Soldier's Love

2009-03-24T00:15:00.001+05:30

As I see you walk in the night
Under the moon shining so bright,
My soul seems to be aglow
Even though my shoulders be bowed low,

For a moment so brief
I am no longer a man content with his fief,
My heart burns with a desire
To be the one who holds you tighter,

For a short time I am granted a glimpse of Heaven's fire
Before it leaves me to once again face Hell's ire,
For a soldier is this unknown lover of thine
Fighting a war begun by deeds other than mine,

Every morn with comrades to the field I go
By even I return, leaving many in death's throe,
Each day I dance with death
Yet I am still filled with life's breath,

Many a man would curse my plate
But I consider most blessed my fate,
As I see you walk in the night
Under the moon shining so bright.

Caesar Remembered

2009-03-24T00:14:00.002+05:30

Tell us the tale, O mighty Tiberius,
Of thy glorious son, the divine Julius,
Descendant of Venus, scion of Mars,
Many a foe he sent to Pluto's doors.

For wherever he went, alongside went victory,
Every land was but veni, vidi, vici,
At Gergovia he challenged the Lord of Gaul,
The world still trembles at mighty Vercingetorix's fall.

None could stand in his way,
Not Scipio Africanus, nor invincible Pompeii,
Rest he did not even a single day,
Until Europe all was under his sway.

To each battle he would lead his ne'er defeated band,
His fearsome blade agleam in his mighty hand,
The pinnacle of a Calibian's art,
Forged in the blood from a lion's noble heart.

From the Avenger himself it was a gift,
To Take life with a movement so swift,
Never in its use did he show any thrift,
When the end came many were left a widow bereft.

Beyond greatness was this father of mine,
In his light did the eagle shine,
Long and loud was Rome's joyous cheer,
Whenever she saw her favourite son draw near.

Yet still were Brutus and Cassius dissatisfied,
Rome wept on that fateful day of March's ide,
Stab him did the conspirators five times three,
But for all our tears we could not move Heaven's decree.

As he lay there, in the throes of death,
We swore to take from the conspirators, life's precious breath,
And an eternity will pass before we forget the last he would ever say,
The damning of a betrayer,"Et tu, Brute".

Lament for a Hero

2009-03-24T00:02:00.000+05:30

Where is thy spear now, o mighty son of Peleus,
Where is the sword that bloodied the banks of the Scamandrius,
Long and hard you fought below Ilium's wall,
Yet live you did not, to see its fall.

Glory eternal was yours,
O pride of the scions of Danaus,
Reared by Chiron, Lord of Pelion,
You beset your foes like a hungry lion.

Striking fear into their heart,
Though they be protected by many a God's art,
The fires of heaven 'tws that drove you,
To slay many a warrior so true.

Memnon felled, mighty Hector laid low,
Yet even Vulcan's gift stopp'd not that fateful arrow from Paris' bow,
Quenching a light that was a flash so brief,
And leaving many a Dardan's breast heaving with relief.

For the Goddess-born was descended to Erebus,
To join his beloved comrades, Nestor's son and Patroclus,
Mourn for you, did the Danaan host and the sons of Atreus,
And to their war brought thine own offspring, young Neoptolemus.

The spoils were theirs, immortality yours,
To live as long as humanity endures,
Yet till this day we mourn,
Mighty Achilles, where have you gone?

Democracy, Pakistan and the Army

2009-03-12T19:24:00.002+05:30

The region enclosed by the nation of Pakistan has changed considerably over the past 61 years to presently include its original provinces of Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan and the NWFP along with its newer acquisitions, the FATA, Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas, the latter two of which are termed by India as Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). All of these territorial accessions can be accorded to the aggressive foreign policy followed by the Pakistani government from 1947-71, thanks, in part, to the slew of military leaders who have oftentimes wielded more power than the Prime Minister himself.

But this policy of aggression has not always been to Pakistan’s benefit. The 1971 war with India over its support to Bangladeshi freedom fighters resulted in the breaking away of East Pakistan into the country of Bangladesh, along with Indian conquest of large portions of Kashmir, Punjab and Sind. While the lands conquered by India were magnanimously returned as part of the 1972 Shimla Agreement, the policy of Pakistan, particularly towards India, underwent a sea change. All threats of open aggression were scrapped and a proxy war began, first in the Punjab for the Khalistan rebellion and then in Kashmir, where their so-called freedom fighters are engaging in terrorist acts to this day.

The Kargil conflict in 1999 and the 2002 standoff with India did cause some trouble on their eastern front, but, thanks to a vehement denial of involvement in the first case and American pressure in the second, a semblance of peace was maintained in the region, one which had been going from strength to strength in the last six years. Even the military government that had come to power after the events at Kargil was deposed and democracy, at least apparently, held sway in Pakistan, with the newly elected government claiming that India was never an enemy. Trouble, however, was brewing. With most terror attacks being linked to agencies operating out of Pakistan, increasing international pressure was being put on the new government to take real action against these groups. Not to be forgotten was the insurgency taking place on the western front, caused by the revival of old tensions and the creation of new ones in the Waziristan area (otherwise known as the FATA) by the Taliban remnant that had fled war-torn Afghanistan, and which seemed to regard the Pakistani government, both under General Musharraf as well as the newly elected democratic one, as puppets in the hands of the United States of America.

The insurgency in the west has assumed dangerous proportions, with groups based in that area targeting locations in Pakistan itself for their strikes, the most notable of them being the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the devastating attack on the Marriott in Islamabad. To top it off, these attacks seem to have boosted the courage of the eastern counterparts of these groups, who have, at the least, contributed to the spate of attacks in prominent Indian cities, all of which came to a head on 26th November in Mumbai. Within days of the attack, it was traced to Pakistan, which, bowing before American pressure, accepted the blame and promised to support the investigation to the hilt along with banning all the various agencies implicated. Sadly, hours later, the top brass of the Pakistan army showed who was really in charge and forced the government to toe their line, absolving themselves of all blame, denying both the existence and the crime of the terrorists, both dead and alive, and, of course, shifting world focus to a possible war with the India over a supposed threat from the Indian side to take a personal hand in removing the existence of the terror groups from the face of the planet. If the situation had not been so serious, it would have been quite amusing to see the whole lot of them, from Asif Ali Zardari to Nawaz Sharif, suddenly begin dancing to the Army’s tune. Sadly, the situation was very serious, and the extent of the Army’s influence revealed exactly how much of a farce the democratic government was.

But, the real question here is, why does the army continue to wield so much power despite removal of the military dictator from the Presidency and the installment of a democratically elected government in its place?

The blame, this author feels, lies not on the head of a single person, or even the head of a single organization, but on all the actors who have shaped the country’s policies over the years. The Army brass would, of course, be loath to lose the power that they have wielded for so long. Much has already been said on the role the Army’s clandestine intelligence branch, the ISI, has played in maintaining tensions, both within and without the state. To make matters worse, the American government has done little besides firing the occasional missile into suspected Taliban bases in the North-West Frontier. Whether these missiles have eliminated their targets is unknown, but they have served to further destabilize the region and make the conditions even more adverse for the emergence and growth of a true democracy in Pakistan.

To top things off, the reaction of the Indian government in the wake of the recent Mumbai attacks has been nothing less than magnificent, with the foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee leading the pack of people shooting their mouths off on the prospect of military action against Pakistan. This has been coupled with the rest of the government firmly rejecting any case for the creation of a theatre of war between the two nations. Such irresponsible leadership across the border, aided and abetted by a sensationalist media, has forced the government to toe the Army’s line just to keep morale up in the country. An interesting event that occurred recently was that the main insurgents in the Waziristan area, the very ones that claimed the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as their own, fully backed the Army and promised it the support of all its cadres in the event of a war with India. While an interesting event if viewed independently, it becomes even more interesting when considered with the fact that this statement was made within hours of General Kayani first making a statement on the possibility of a war with India. This incident clearly hints at the presence of links, and powerful ones at that, between sections of the Army and the leaders of the Waziristan insurgency, people who, by all rights, should have been at each other’s throats considering their present circumstances. But what is it that this nexus implies? The only conclusion that one can draw from its presence is that the Army, backed by extremist elements loath to relinquish their power, has been trying to keep tensions up inside the country so that the newly appointed democratic government will find it very difficult to gain a secure platform for governance in the country.

Based on the current situation, the future of Pakistan seems bleak. With the power of the extremist elements increasing, the nation seems to be headed down a path which leads only to partition and complete extremist military rule similar to what the Taliban was in Afghanistan. But who can tell what the future holds in store for the nation, for there is the United States to be considered. They are not ones to stand idly by while one of their allies, who is also a neighbor to a country they are increasingly courting as a counter-balance to China in Asia, disintegrates completely. And who knows, maybe in this case they might approach the situation with the scalpel it needs, not the bludgeon that usually accompanies American interference. But, until then the onus lies both upon the people of Pakistan as well as the government of India to support the cause of democracy in the nation. A quick resolution to the Kashmir issue would help, possibly by making the de facto Line of Control the de jure international border. Resumption of commercial and sporting ties with India would greatly boost both the morale of the country as well as its economy. But most important of all, the government of Pakistan as well as the more moderate colleges of the Islamic clergy must play a great role in removing the influence of the extremist factions from the education of the nation’s youth. That one small step has the potential to be the giant leap that democracy needs to truly exist in the nation. The road ahead is difficult for Pakistan, and fraught with much danger, but, for their own sake, they must persevere, or else, the future that awaits them appears quite bleak.