India as a benchmark of good business

I longed to return to India – truly a land of splendor and magnificence.

Early this month, a group of over 30 persons traveled to Rajasthan on a marvelous journey organized by Asia Society. We saw the most splendid palaces preserved over time by the desert. We dined to music on Jagmandir Island sitting on the lake of Udaipur, part of the Fateh Prakash Palace built by the Maharaja Udai Singh (1537-1572), the private domain of Maharanas past. We climbed to the top of Amber Fort in the pink city of Jaipur on elephants, and had an experience of the days of the Raj playing an elephant polo match organized just for us at the Rambagh Polo grounds.

We were welcomed warmly to the home of His Highness, the Maharajah of Jaipur, fondly known as "Bubbles" because so much champagne was brought out to welcome his birth. We were inspired by the enlightened spirit of the philosopher King Akbar, the Mughal ruler (1556-1605), who built Fatehpur Sikri, and who believed in maximum tolerance for all religions. We felt the ultimate memorial to the love of the Mughal Prince Khurram (Shah Jehan) for his beloved Mumtaz Mahal in the beauty of the gardens, the exquisite carvings, and the dignity of the Taj Mahal (completed 1648). We stayed in the luxury of the Oberoi Hotels – awed by the Udaivillas in Udaipur. We were enchanted day by day, night by night, by the music, the contrasts, the food, the shopping, the service, the amazing tourism potential of this country.

We met the most marvelous people, and were inspired by their dedication to their pursuits. Among them was businessman O.P. Jain who founded the Museum of Everyday Art to promote the preservation of everyday crafts. We also met Aman Nath, a renaissance man/businessman/author/retailer/restorer of old forts, palaces and houses with historic architecture made into a chain of hotels called Neemrana.

We were hosted to the home of Bina Modi, who has put her time and resources to reviving the art of embroidery through fashion. We were guided by Dr. Mukul Pandya, a doctor of humanities with a degree from Sorbonne, who spoke with insight and excitement and had such a warm heart even when we were late.

There were many other aspects I learned from India. We were in the midst of the election campaign period yet we heard no one speak to us negatively about his or her country. We found this so impressive that we agreed among ourselves not to indulge in criticism of our country to others. I noticed that the people we met including the taxi drivers, the service personnel were educated and proud of their country. I overheard a waiter very eloquently explaining the essence of a classical song called India On My Mind to one of our members with pride.

We also experienced their "one-pointedness." At dinner one night, one of our young hosts asked a member of our group what the Philippine’s competitive advantage is. Unprepared for this question, no one could answer.

One ventured, "Manufacturing?"

"Absolutely not! Not with China, you have no hope."

Irritated by his arrogance, another member said, "Well, Filipinos are really very special because we are truly nice people!"

This incident drove home a point for me. Firstly, we do not all have a clear understanding of our country’s selling proposition, what competitive advantage we are honing, and what each and every Filipino from taxi driver, to market vendor, to businessman should do to contribute to it.

For example I saw banners all over the markets that said, "Knowledge is our future" and "Learning math and science brings financial freedom." Indian children must have at least 12 years of math to graduate, a deep foundation to support India’s selling proposition as the IT capital of the world.

Secondly, we need not become irritated and distracted by even the most arrogant. As a reaction, it is tempting to find comfort by comparing ourselves against the worst of India – the poverty all around, the myriad of problems brought about by their huge population. Arrogance is a strategy I often see from competitors. Instead, we must stay detached and focused on the many things we can learn from this great country. We must visit India to benchmark our IT and outsourcing efforts against theirs. We should study their educational system to learn where we excel and how we can improve ours.

We must learn how they inspired their IT workers decades ago to work abroad to learn and network and to return to India. We should be inspired by the pride and single-mindedness that is evident everywhere. After all, we share the same English-speaking heritage. If India can stay focused and excel in the IT and software industry, so can we.

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