Role of Business Administration in Partisan Politics -Dr Ajay Kumar

MP,Dr Ajay Kumar,in his first visit to Xlri Jamshedpur this year, also the first after his being a MP instilled sheer confidence and self-awareness among the budding managers .He started the evening with a full house of 150 odd audience at the stipulated time of 7 pm sharp. His pivotal message to the students and which was subsequently the theme was -- to be ‘socially and politically’ active. Even if not contending in an election , being part of a socially active issue like Anna Hazares’ , being articulate in writing petitions ,taking part in candle light marches contributes to the global political cause , thus having the potential this butterfly’ wing flapping to cause a tsunami of social change. This also helps to be connected with all the ubiquitous social environment and its gradual transformation or better , being the change it self .This might also someday champion the distant cause of cracking the political animal of election , as was in his case.
It is very important to be Goal oriented and sensitive to people around, their issues and their day to day problems, he added. It is not audacious anymore to think ‘out of the box ‘ to be event planner or resource manager of a political party as a role in post MBA engagement. Creative thinking at least.On another note,he also added that simplest generosity really helps the society ,being lucky the umpteenth time to reach these coveted positions in career we should be sensitive towards social causes and voluntarily take up noble causes like sponsoring a child , creating a family fund for charity or even some social volunteering for an NGO .These helps , in a bigger way to liberalize from commercial aspect of social grid.

He also depicted his long journey as a talented young Doctor at Jipmer, after he got through 1st attempt this medical seat to joining Indian Foreign Service. He cracked IPS and joined Patna as an assistant SP.During one accident he was shot in the thigh and nearly lost his leg, a surgeon at a nearby district hospital saved his leg by freezing it in ice.These varied experiences brought him closer to the masses , whose cause he is adeptly championing today. He later joined Tata Sons in Mumbai and after that he moved up with many different roles to being a CEO of Max Neeman.Finally he contested the election here at Jamshedpur with limited resources and came out with flying colors .He talked about leadership in every sphere and accepted that he has donned many roles which helped his structured thinking adding to part of being what he is today.
As an MP he is actively steering for solar lighting initiative in 1500 villages around Jamshedpur.He stressed for better medical facilities and depicted how a badly effected patient of squamous cell carcinoma during a ‘dharna’ spurred his holistic impetus to work for the desolates.
Finally ,he gave multiple incidences of how his daunting friends topped all his smarter classmates and became head of Adobe India , how passion drove Harsha Bhogle (his senior) to be one of the most successful commentators and how his ‘not so smart’ friend became one of the most successful Doctor Shantanu Narayan practicing in Usa.
As he concluded ,we gave him a standing ovation, which of course he deserved from every angle. By his structured yet spontaneous speech he was really able to touch upon many hearts ,flooded with spirit , altruism in the truest sense and vibrantly positive energy.It really showed the true mettle of a successful Doctor , turned
IPS ,turned CEO turned MP , all in a single lifetime ! Dr. Kumar , all the good luck to you.

Leadership Lessons, In Uniform!

Hosting CEO’s and having them talk about Leadership and challenges with MBA Grads is not uncommon in business schools. The leaders share their experiences and enlighten the students about various topics that range across Human Resource Management, Strategy, work-life balance and life in general. However, to have a highly decorated Lieutenant General from the Indian Army, dissect the concepts of leadership and tear apart the notions held by the students about corporate leadership, is definitely not a common happening!

XLRI Jamshedpur, proudly played host to Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command, Indian Army. A recipient of the Ati Vishisht Sewa Medal, Yudh Seva Medal and the Vishisht Seva medal, the Lieutenant General is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and has had a long, distinguished and meritorious career. The session was attended by Professors and students from the General Management Program, Business Management and Human Resource Management programs, the three flagship programs of XLRI.

Photography by Sandeep Kashyap

The Lt. General was in a particularly reflective mood and began by telling the students about his role model Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, and reminiscing about a speech given by the Field Marshal during a parade of which the Lt. General was a part of. Interestingly, the Lt. General followed by highlighting the current “Age of Turbulence” (referring to rising unemployment, poor economic conditions and the like). The emphasis was on “fighting the fog of war”, a metaphor to the shakiness of the turbulent times, through six leadership mantras.

The talk progressed to discussing about the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (abbreviated to VUCA) environment that was further complicated by the lack of emphasis on a long term vision in the corporate offices. Through his past experiences in the famous Kargil and Tiger Hills, he provided valuable insights and helped emphasize the importance of leaders understanding and effectively managing their teams.

Photography by Sandeep Kashyap

Citing numerous examples and anecdotes, the Lt. General sent a strong signal on the importance of having a long term vision that looked beyond just profits and revenues. He also drove home the points on the far reaching benefits of training people and having a skilled workforce.

Photography by Sandeep Kashyap

The Lt. General concluded his speech by expanding on the 6 leadership mantras namely Compelling Vision, Character, Competency, Communication Skills, Innovation and being Technology Savvy. It is but human nature to warm to somebody with whom we can relate, his humility was palpable in his final quote “A leader is all because of teams”. And there was as much food for thought for all of us after the address as there was admiration for the man!