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Time is of the Essence

I’m not sure what happened, but time has a way of sneaking and then speeding by you. In May, I was looking forward to spending time back home in Denver.  In July, I came back to Mumbai and the next thing I know, it’s September.  During that time, I finished my last graduate class in India, started my new term as the board president of an international school (volunteer), traveled to Vietnam to attend a governance conference, and now preparing to travel to Washington University in St Louis (WashU) to complete the joint Executive MBA program with Indian Institute of Technology Bombay(IITB) in October.

hari-in-action

Hari Sankaran, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), succinctly stated 3 points that leaders must act upon for professional (and personal) success when he spoke to our batch (Note: In India, business schools use the term batch vs cohorts like the US).

  • People don’t know what they want – It is up to you to decipher what they want and need.
  • Congruence of leadership – The leadership team must all be aligned or face barriers and impediments along the way
  • Time is of the essence – You must act and take advantage of the opportunities given

When I first started my journey in India, I was focused on traveling and applying what I learned from graduate school.  Little did I know was that was not really what I wanted.

Point 1 – What I realized I wanted was the ability to make a positive impact through strategic thinking, collaboration, and implementation in a multi-national environment. I have been fortunate to be able to give back through volunteerism.

Point 2 – Without the support of my family, the international school community, and WashU and IITB, I would not have been able to shape concepts and lead the decision making process effectively.  Without this unified team, I would have struggled significantly.

Point 3 – “Paralysis analysis”.  You have to act and put yourself out there. To me, luck is not a result but rather preparing yourself to take advantage of an opportunity that presents itself.  I did not intend to become the board president but going back to school helped me prepare for this honor when it presented itself.

So simple yet so hard to execute properly.  Sometimes it’s trial and error. Other times, it is “luck”.  By knowing what questions to ask, how to build consensus, and when to act is the difference between struggle or success.  So far, so good – I cannot complain of my results.

lobsang-pendha

Talk about “luck” – I was able to meet Lobsang Pendha, one of the Dalia Lama’s senior leaders in Vietnam.

 

A Little Randomness Goes A Long Way

Last week, I heard my phone buzz notifying me that I had a text. It was early in the morning, and I will not respond until I completed my “beauty rest”.  However, instead of sleeping in (my family was back in Colorado as I had to come back to India early to attend grad school classes), I was wide awake at 5:30 AM.  The texts were from a group chat of my friend sharing his trip to Boston as he was wrapping up his day.  Another friend then asked what I was doing up so early and when my family was coming back. Once I told him I’m a pseudo bachelor for another week, he just said, “I’m coming over…I’ll show you mornings in Mumbai…”

Powai chi stand

If I was back home, I probably would have argued that I’m not going out that early, and I would see him another time. But, I realized he was on to something. We both needed to get out and do something different to give us a mental break – from his daily work “grind” to my established morning routine. 15 minutes later, he picked me up and went directly to a local chi (tea) stand. It’s like the local barbershop where you can find out everything that is going on in your neighborhood.  It was surprisingly busy as typically, Indians are not morning people.

 

Afterwards, off to the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay to explore more of the campus. Since he was raised on campus (his mother is a professor), he showed me new areas including the Padmavati Devi temple and its chakra as well as views from atop a hill – it was also a good thing we were there after 6 AM since panthers have their own work schedule…

Padmavati Devi Temple Gate PNG Padmavati Devi Temple png Chakra png

It was definitely rejuvenating to see something new and more importantly, enjoy the company of others.  We all get in a rut. Sometimes you feel trapped.  But I urge you to break free from life’s routines and do something random.  It can be small things like meeting a friend you haven’t seen in a while for lunch to life changing by moving ½ way around the world to India. Whatever it is, do something new. You’ll either love it or know you’ll never do that again.  But the point is to “do” and take control of what you can control…your mindset and actions.

Panther sign png
So thank you, Ravi Vishnu, for teaching me a life lesson at 5:30 AM.

Summer Self-Reflection

As I look back in the last 1 ½ years, it’s been a tremendous personal and professional growth. I’m about to complete my joint Executive MBA from the Washington University in St Louis and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and am the Board President for the upcoming school year at an international school in Mumbai.  I would have never predicted how this opportunity to live in India would re-shape and re-vitalize my life. Spending a few weeks back in the US, it feels good to “re-charge”, eat comfort foods, and see my friends again. It’s like I never Colorado open spaceleft, but it’s a little different. I feel and think differently and definitely appreciate the small things in life I used to take for granted – life is slower, choices are plentiful (I forgot how overwhelming going to the local grocery store can be), and there is space – lots of it!

 

With July 4 around the corner, I feel thankful that as an American, we have access to anything and everything we need and then some…But, it’s still not same. I do miss seeing the global nature of Mumbai (Indian, British, Japanese, Koreans, etc.) and sometimes the craziness, a love-hate between something uniquely powerful but equally maddening.  In the end, I wouldn’t trade it for anything and look forward to our last scheduled year in Mumbai to make the most of it.  It’s hard to convey this perspective if you haven’t experienced it but you become a better person for it.  Who knows what the future may bring and as they say in India, “Anything is possible”.  It certainly is.

Diwali Celebration

(Diwali celebration in Mumbai)

 

Hiking through Simplicity

Last month, my family had the opportunity to hike in Sikkim, India located in northeast Himalayas mountain range bordering Nepal and Bhutan.  We spent 4 nights exploring the countryside, residing in Home Stays, and hiking (from Pelling to Yuksam).  Electrical load sharing is common in this region – available a couple of hours a day at random times.  Though you can receive a 3G signal for internet through your cell phone, wifi is uncommon.  But, once your phone dies, you have to wait until electricity is available which can be a while.  You lose connection with the world but start to appreciate the “simple life”.

Home Stay Family

Food tastes better. Maybe it’s because hiking makes you hungrier, or it’s because you appreciate how much harder it is to cook without electricity.  Your body clock aligns with sunrise and sunset – after all, you can’t do much without light, and a candle can only provide so much of it.  You wake up refreshed from a good night sleep – no interruptions from the cell phone, just pure rest. Looking out of the window, you realize how amazing the mountains look instead of rushing to start your morning.  You re-appreciate what you take for granted.  Coming from Colorado, I saw the Rocky Mountains every day, but I didn’t really pay attention to it.  After living abroad and living in a different subcontinent, I appreciate the moment.

IMG_0964        River

Fast forward two weeks later, and I’m back in Mumbai setting up a panel discussion in an event hosted by Washington University in St. Louis and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.  We invited speakers from both universities, with collaboration from the American School of Bombay, to moderate and bring industry expertise from their global community to expound upon leadership and educational needs under the context of India’s initiative “Make In India” as the country evolves from a developing nation.  I reflected and marveled how in just a short time ago, I was hiking in the Himalayas with limited communication to being in the center of global dialog – examining India’s educational culture of risk aversion to developing leaders who can address unknown unknowns.

IIT-WashU-ASB Panelists

The panel discussion was a huge success stimulating intellectual curiosity on how the country’s educational foundation should transition to meet leadership challenges as India advances to an industrial economy.

With so many complexities, I definitely appreciate simplicity. I just know to never take it for granted.

Hillside

The Quest for the Dengue Fever Vaccination

Last month, I took my kids on an African safari in Kenya where we had the time of our lives. Who can imagine the beauty of the nature at her finest. We saw the Big 5 (buffalo, elephant, lion, rhinoceros, and leopard) and even had a friendly encounter with a giraffe. At ~17 feet tall, you realize how insignificant you become pretty quick.

Kenya

Though Kenya was truly an epic adventure, the adventure began as I didn’t realize vaccination requirements – not to enter Kenya but to re-enter India! India requires individuals coming from Kenya to be vaccinated against Dengue Fever/Yellow Fever. With less than a week to our departure, I was worried not about the shots but the fact I needed to go to an Indian government-run hospital to obtain the vaccination certificate for the family.
The Adventure Begins
Calling the medical center for additional details was of no use. No one answered or the phone number listed on the website was incorrect. Either way, the only way to get answers was to travel to the center. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a guard and administrator who promptly told me that they were done for the day (at 2 PM) and to come back at 8:30 AM on the next day for registration followed by vaccination starting at 10 AM. I prepped the kids for the upcoming day (e.g. no complaining) and proceeded to show up the next morning to find a long line already formed. It turns out that at 8:30 AM, the line forms to sequentially register at 10 AM with vaccinations beginning at 11 AM. This begs a lot of questions that begin with why… If I asked why, I would go crazy so I stopped asking why in India which my local friends confirmed is the only way to survive in India’s bureaucracy.

Waiting
It’s a good thing we were #29, 30, and 31 since we were able to sit down on some cushioned chairs. The rest were standing and wandering in and out. Luckily there was a “line officer” keeping track of the sequential order or it would have been Armageddon. At 10, the registration begins where we had to fill out a paper ledger – name, passport number, birth date, etc. No such thing as electronic registration prior. One person to write the info, one person to collect money, and one other to keep an eye of what’s going on…I’m just happy to register at this point as I know we will get vaccinated sometime that day…

Shots!
At 11 AM, a queue was formed to take the first 30 patients for vaccinations. As luck would have it, my son is #31. Thankfully, the officials counted him as 30 ½ and let him come up. We go up a set a stairs to another waiting room and proceed to fill out an Indian vaccination form. They didn’t trust us to register but trust us to fill out the vaccination certification… Ladies were called first in assembly line fashion. Then the men. Like a car assembly plant, we walked up to the doctor, raised our sleeve, cleaned the arm, and then got stuck – the most efficient process of the day (15 in about a min).
Aftermath
So after almost 4 hours and wondering what was going on most of the time, we got our vaccination certificates and can be allowed to re-enter India from our safari. The irony? The only time we were asked to present vaccination proof was at the Kenyan Airline counter as we were leaving Kenya. India immigration didn’t even ask…big sigh…
What did I learn?
• There is no sense of urgency to create an efficient system – patients are stuck to the whims of bureaucracy.
• Patience is really a virtue.
• Equality – It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, the system treats everybody equally. Note: There is LOTS of room for improvement.
• After currency conversion, the cost of the vaccination was $5 per shot. Hmmm…maybe Government run hospitals are a good idea.
• After enduring 4 hours for a vaccination that should take no more than 30 min (from entry to exit), I think not.

Seeing America in India

After living in Mumbai for a year, you can point out obvious things that are different than back home. But, you’d be surprise to learn how similar these two countries are.  Let’s start with the obvious.

Movies

Americans. Indians. It doesn’t matter who. We both love our movies and movie stars. In fact, you can see fans waiting outside Shahrukh Khan’s (Brad Pitt counterpart) house waiting to see a glimpse of him in Bandra.  Here’s a couple of movie stars I met during my Executive MBA sessions with Jackie Shroff (Bruce Willis counterpart) and John Abraham (think of a young Sylvester Stallone).

John Abraham     Jackie Shroff

American “can do” vs Indian “jugaad”

It’s been the fabric of the American DNA to never admit defeat and to fight against all odds to accomplish the impossible – mass transportation infrastructure, man on the moon, etc. Like the US, jugaad exemplifies the same American spirit with a slight twist – frugal innovation or hustle at work.  India has sent a Mars orbiter, Mangalyaan, for a fraction of the cost of NASA’s missions to Mars.

 

Food, Family, and Fun

Americans love get-togethers for weekend bar-b-q, Super Bowl parties, or whatever the occasion may be. Typically, these parties range from small (2-4) to large (~40).  In India, there’s always a holiday, wedding, or special occasion where the small (~40) ranges to large (1000+).  For Gampati, a Hindu festival celebrating Lord Ganesh, there are countless families, friends, and communities celebrating at the same time together.  American like to celebrate. Indian like to celebrate with everybody.

Diwali

Christina invited to celebrate honoring Lord Ganesh from a friendly family.

Outside of Marriott

Makar Sankranti (Hindu festival honoring Lord Shiva)

Efficiency

Who doesn’t like efficiency? America prides itself on being both efficient and effective. For the most part, that is true. However, India has America beat on this one.

Dabbawallahs:  These gentlemen pick up lunch made from your house, coordinate logistics at a meeting point, and then deliver lunch to the spouse so the lunch is warm and fresh – not sitting in the bag from the night before or early in the morning. After lunch, the tiffin box (lunch container) gets picked up and returned to the house. Two amazing facts: 1) Most of these gentlemen are illiterate. 2) Of the daily 6 million deliveries, there’s only 1 mistake made. Talk about efficiency.

 

Dabbawallahs

India’s Evolution

Make In India 2       Make In India 1

Two weeks ago (Feb 14 – 18), Prime Minister Narenda Modi kicked off the first ever Make in India event showcasing India’s manufacturing talents. We all know the reputation of India’s IT services, but it was impressive to see this line up such as Asia’s largest dump truck made by BEML weighing 335 tons. I’m 6’1” and you see how my friend (and classmate) Dr. A.S. Prasad and I are dwarfed by this monster truck.
BEML Truck                  Prasad and Brian - Standing by BEML Truck

You can search and read more about this event, but I just wanted to share my Indian experiences how India is “turning the corner”. Before coming to India, I basically knew 3 Indian facts: Taj Mahal, 1.2 billion people, and Tandoori chicken. After a year living here, India has changed my perspectives. Indian businesses are thriving and entering a new phase, evolving from a services based economy to their industrial hub goals. You read about it in the newspapers, but there is an aura/energy of transformation that you have to “feel” that is similar to the US dot com upswing. Don’t get me wrong, there are still bureaucratic challenges to overcome, but that feeling of optimism is overwhelming.

Having Prime Minister Modi start these festivities was quite apropos. He grew up from humble beginnings helping his father sell chai (tea) to train passengers, rising to become the Chief Minister in the State of Gujarat (equivalent to a US state governor) from 2001-20014, and then Prime Minister in 2014. Likewise, since the liberation of economic policies in the 1990s, India has experienced tremendous growth to become the seventh largest economy by nominal GDP, third largest by purchasing power parity and ultimately becoming the fastest-growing major economy in the world – a very bright future indeed.

Surviving India’s Traffic

Our friends and family all believe we moved on up like the Jefferson’s to the East Side (I just dated myself, but I remember watching reruns as a kid) as we have drivers to transport us around the city. We get the following:

  • It can’t be that bad…
  • You’re so lucky…
  • Be courageous and live like the locals…

Well, we’ve traveled quite a bit, 26 countries, so we thought we can start driving ourselves once we get the hang of it. Well, take a look for yourselves. We opted not to drive.

Mumbai Traffic

This is a 4 way intersection – no traffic signal, no stop sign, no crosswalk.  I’m moving from right to left.

Here’s a quick video of what traffic is like. We are used to the cars, buses, trucks, autorickshaws, mopeds, motorcycles, bicycles, people, and animals (dogs, horses, camels – up north, sheep – up north) sharing/surviving the road together.

Only in India

image description
Inaugural Executive MBA class between Washington University in St. Louis and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay 

This is my Executive MBA class which I was fortunate to be selected.  We arrived in Mumbai on Jan 7, 2014, and my joint business school interview occurred on Jan 10, 2014.  In between those 4 days, we enrolled our children at an international school, spent 2 days searching for a place to live, and getting the courage to cross the street (I thought I could handle any type of traffic after living in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Seoul, and Washington DC…I was wrong).   My class is dynamic and very interactive, expressing their experiences and ideas in a wide range of industries such as IT services, agriculture, manufacturing, and aerospace to name a few. For me, this is the best part of the program – learning first-hand of their business and cultural experiences which they warmly welcomed me with.

To share some Indian insights, I have borrowed from David Letterman’s Top 10 List and compiled some unique experiences that can be found “Only in India…”

Number 10 – Traffic is very congested in India and the use of the car horn is applied liberally.  Actually, I believe honking is a form of echo location.  Whether you are 5 ft or 50 ft away, honking is mandatory.

Number 9 – Does “yes” mean “no”?  No one ever says “no”.  How can I tell if “yes” means “yes”?

Number 8 – Seeing the locals’ reaction when saying “Mujhe ullu mat banao” when the situation calls for it. Translated, it means “Don’t take me for a fool”. It’s a Mumbaikar term meant for local use. So when a foreigner says it, it adds a new dimension to the meaning.

Number 7 – Scratching my head when my neighbor complained that the shoe rack outside of my flat caused the hallway to be dirty…I’m pretty sure my shoes are not the root cause…

Number 6 – A small city means less than 1,000,000 people.

Number 5 – A wedding attended by 400 people is considered “very small”.

Number 4 – I thought my family’s “island time” in Hawaii was relaxed…India is even more relaxed -always add at least 2 hours (or 2 days) to a start/delivery time…

Number 3 – There are bad monkeys here. Lock your possessions (especially food), or they will disappear.

Number 2 – You think you are “ballin” (living a good life) until you realize you didn’t have an elephant at your wedding.

Number 1 – Everybody is a cricket coach! The US cannot compare to the passion of the fans here. In fact, when India played Pakistan in the World Cup last year, the entire country shut down.

Welcome to My Blog

Welcome to my blog. My name is Brian AiChang, and I created this to blog to provide a window to my journey in India, travels throughout the region, and leadership aspirations when this chapter ends and the next one begins.

I am an American supporting my wife’s expat assignment from Denver, Colorado. This was an unexpected move as my wife shared the news for the first time when she picked me up at the Mumbai airport terminal at the end of her business trip in September 2014. What was supposed to be a vacation turned into unofficial house hunting trip since we did not receive official approval. By the way, that approval came two weeks later when we returned back home. We viewed it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow both professionally and personally. Needless to say, our children now understand how fortunate we are and appreciate cultural differences.

I plan to post when I experience something new and exciting which is often. Everyday is an adventure ranging from fascination and wonder to What?!

With the multitude of religions, languages, and people, India is a country that cannot be described by reading a book or watching TV, but rather a country that you must “feel”.  India has taught our family many lessons and provided both professional and personal growth for which we are forever grateful.

If you have questions or a topic you want me to address, please leave a comment below. I look forward to connecting with you!

Delhi Wedding Family Photo