The Power of Inspiration

Some experiences in our life have the power to shape it forever. Here are two real life stories of people whose experiences in their early years left a permanent mark on their thinking and actions.

Vineet Nayar's Jalwa (charisma)

Thirty years ago, Vineet Nayar, vice chairman and CEO of HCL Technologies was a student of a new batch at XLRI. He and his batchmates had just settled in for the first day in class when 50 adivasis stormed into the classroom and ransacked it before vanishing into thin air. None of the students were hurt, but the professor, Father McGrath, lay in a pool of blood. Even as the students were recovering from their shock, Father McGrath rose to his feet and announced that it was a staged show. "I want you to write sit down and write about what you have just seen," he told them.

The event left an indelible stamp on the young Nayar. "If you want to say something say it in the Father McGrath way so that people never forget about it, or don't sat it at all,"  was the mantra he carried from the experience. Nayar had understood with blinding clarity, the power of communication and the learning went on to form the cornerstone of his leadership style. Today, whether it is the 88,000 employees of HCL Technologies, customers, vendors or the public at large, Nayar makes it a point to get his message across with energy and elan. For instance, at a recent employee conference, he shook a leg to the Bollywood number Tera Hi Jalwa with co-workers before announcing the numbers. Plus, he has eight internal networking platforms and four external ones through which he communicates to his world of employees and stakeholders. These include Meme, HCL's equivalent of  Facebook through which he interacts with 67, 000 employees and Twitter where he sends Tweets daily and has 9000 followers. Its as if Father McGrath is still maintaining a constant vigil on him!

Mashelkar's Aag (fire)

In the case of R.A. Mashelkar, former Director at National Chemical Labotatory at Pune, the inspiration came first from his mother. Mashelkar had a difficult childhood and his mother, who worked as a maidservant, could not support his college education. But she gave him the courage to face life in times of adversity and taught him how to stand tall and not give up on principles. With her inspiration,  he not only went on to to be a rank holder in the Matriculation examination, but also win many other laurels in public life. The other inspiration was his teacher, Principal Bhave. During an experiment on how to find the focal length of a convex mirror, he held the glass till the paper caught fire. Then he turned to young Mashelkar and told him that if he could focus his energies like that, he could burn anything. This two experiences became the cornerstone of his life philosophy and also his leadership style.

Among other things, Mashelkar's personal experience of ascendance from dire circumstances, shaped his thinking that there is no limit to human endurance and achievements except the limit you put on yourself. On the other hand, his experience of Professor Bhave's convex lens experiment, shaped his leadership style forever. It  convinced him of the power of concentration and focus, When he came to CSIR, which was a network of 38 laboratories, he saw that they were competing with each other and there was zero collaboration. His convex lens style of leadership led him to initiate several collaborating programmes, including one which had 19 labs working together. Mashlekar is now hailed as the man behind India’s scientific intellectual property rights (IPR) revolution, a visionary administrator, an inspirational orator and one of the most humble scientists of his times. His mantra; focus your energies and you can set the world on fire. 

Call to Action

Both Nayar and Mashelkar know who the architects of their life philosophy and leadership style are. Do you? If not, here is a set of questions to reflect on and make you to think:

• Think of all your greatest heroes and heroines, for some of us, as in the case of Mashelkar, it may be our parents, or it could be one of our teachers and it could even be an event.
• Who do you look for inspiration in your daily life?
• Who influences your work and your profession the most?
• Who is the front runner in being your role model?

I'll be happy to hear your experience!