Yesterday, on my way to work, the following happened. While
I was waiting for the elevator to come, the queue was getting built. Being in
India, the queue is not really a line, but more a apple-shaped accumulation of
people, that becomes a drain, once the elevator discloses which ‘gate’ it will
open next. One of the commuters surprisingly pressed the [down] button from the
ground floor, but maybe he had some business in the underground car park (yes
we do have some rare buildings with underground car park, such as my office).
On arrival of the up going elevator I am surprised to see this gentleman as the
first one inside the cabin, so I inform him that this elevator will go up, on
which he happily nods. So I ask him, why he would press [down] when he wants to
go up and he says, because the elevator comes ..! I was speechless for a few
seconds but having office and apartment on higher levels, I do have a genuine
interest for the elevator not to stop on each level for people who want to go
the opposite direction. So I decided to explain my point with elevator logic,
why he should better press the correct direction than the opposite one. The
gentlemen convincingly replies; Sir, believe me, I have tried it, it works many
times. I could not stop my brain to catch the quote by Mark Twain “Never argue
with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you
with experience.”
BUT in this moment I decided to write another article, to
share my experience in Just a normal day in India.
Later the same day I read the research article “Thought
Leadership: Retail & Consumer in India: Know the Hurdles”, which I would
highly recommend for none Indian residence or newcomers, as it explains on a
few condensed pages the challenges of doing business in India. Not surprisingly
the white paper comes to the conclusion that the areas of focus should be
Governance, Infrastructure, People, Culture & the Ecosystem and Disruption,
Strategy & Adaptation. In the first chapter I come to know that complicated
Taxation, Bureaucracy and Corruption build the hurdles to do business. Okaying
this stand, I complete my read to come to the conclusion, it all boils down to
the man in the elevator, pressing the [down] button when wanting to go up.
With other words, don’t try to understand (or even fight) why
the challenges are stubbornly staying over the years and decades in India, but try
to find efficient ways to deal with them.
Following the debate of the recent exit of Cyrus Mistry from
his post as chairman of Tata Sons, removed by nobody else than Mr Ratan Tata
himself (following the procedure of a listed company) I clearly see that we are
all in the same ‘boat’ and the smartest brains of the country do often not
agree with each other on how to approach the hurdles.
But one thing remains intact, despite of all difficulties to
do business in India, the opportunities appear bigger than ever. India seems to
be at the beginning of tipping point. What was called “The Industrial Revolution”
in other countries in past times, is forming the pioneer instinct amongst the
entrepreneurs, corporates and the entire society. This elevator is surely going
up, even if some are pressing [down] on the same journey.
It’s good to be a part of that, but never knowing where this
is going to take me!
India is buzzing! India is Incredible! Incredible India!
