Why Things Don't Change for the Better

 We live in a world where power is concentrated in the hands of a few- monarchies were a good example. Now, many countries have democracy. But the common man/woman has very little say in governance priorities, once elections are over. 

For instance, potholes on our roads. Many governments later, the Indian roads are full of them. The nexus between the builders of these, and the ones who award contracts and monitor quality (?) is strong and unbreakable.

Policies that encourage people or institutions to do their best should be a given. Yet, we have regulations that stifle, rather than encourage. Perhaps the quintessential Babu or bureaucrat is to be blamed for some of these.

But as members of society, civic sense is also a culprit why we have a lot of filth on the roads, or in public spaces. Or why we don't come on time anywhere, or why we don't do our job as well as we could/should.

Multiple reasons, therefore, why things remain as they are. Mobile phones and technology gives you an illusion that they are better, but are they, really? It's a moot point. 

A sense of humour does help one survive, though. Nurture that..

The Big B - Bureaucracy

 The world over, bureaucracy rules, though politicians come and go. Over in Britain, we have had TV series that lampooned their bureaucrats and politicians. Most countries have their own versions of it.

Occasionally, they do some good. Mostly, they hinder any chance of benefiting a common citizen. Our license raj before 1991, in India, was infamous. You needed permission to manufacture anything, from a safety pin, to a rocket. That kept Indian entrepreneurs in check- and uncompetitive for decades.

Now, we have a friendlier version, but it's still way too complicated. Go to any govt. department, and you will see. Hopefully, you won't have to, but that's a pipe dream for some.

It's usually self-perpetuating. The recent Income Tax change may help some tax payers escape the big circus that they go through to pay (or not) their taxes. Hopefully.

Research Shows- 4

 My research shows that there are people who feel entitled in all walks of life.

First, are politicians at all levels. Few exceptions.

Bureaucrats, sometimes even more. Few exceptions.

Corporates high up in the hierarchy. With social media on the loose, sometimes even lower down the hierarchy. Not just in India. 

Academics who think they have killed it, but haven't. Lots of them around, if you look for them.

Students from rockstar colleges - read IIMs. There is an inverse correlation with the ranking of the college, in many cases.

Employers with no empathy, for whom employees are cogs in the profit-earning wheel. Both in academia and the corporates.

Employees who think the company/organisation revolves around them. It might not, except for a day or two.

Promoters-popularly known as Lalas in India, who micromanage stuff and run all good things into the ground, sometimes over decades, sometimes a lot faster.

 

Managing Egos= Managing People?

 Yes, most of the time, these are the same thing. 

That is one reason why flattery works in a lot of places. Bosses, for example are usually happy to hear good things about themselves. King's courtiers knew this very well, in the days when monarchy was prevalent everywhere.

It is a rare person who is immune to praise- deserved or undeserved. I am not recommending this route to get ahead, but maybe awareness of it may still be useful. Even otherwise, you can get things done if you recognise that people have egos- sometimes, bloated egos and the easiest way is to play along and get that satisfied.

Government servants in monopolistic situations are a good example, because they can block any initiative or request, unless egos are massaged. Well, that is sometimes given other names, but like Shakespeare said, the name is not very relevant. So, recognise and work around it if you face a monopoly of power. 

One Mistake, and....

 ..everyone else pays the price. How often do you see this happen? Typically, it happens in bureaucracy, but in corporates and other organisations also, and more frequently than we think. The origins of most restrictive rules lie in this mentality. To punish a vast majority that may be innocent, for the fault of a small minority.

With the bureaucracy which is a faceless entity, it is easier to understand why it happens. Because they can, and it takes a lot of effort to only target wrong-doers. But in other types of organisations, why does it happen so often? Could be the lack of will to confront the wrong-doer. Also to give an illusion of control, maybe.

But the effect it has on the law-abiding right-doers (for lack of a better word) is that it kills their enthusiasm for good. Look around you, and you will find several examples around.

Leaders, in particular, need to be wary and avoid this trap. If you wish to keep the good guys motivated.

Governance Made Simple

 In school, we were asked to write essays such as "If I Became President/Prime Minister/Chief Minister.." etc. where you could write about your childish fantasies, and be happy. I am no longer a child, and I am not writing an essay. Just bear with me. This is one and only one Mantra for Successful Governance, in my view. Ok, we'll call it Customer or Citizen-oriented Governance, maybe.

The Mantra is just this- Keep it Simple. Air Deccan used to have a slogan- Simplifly. I would recommend the same. For instance, why need people to go stand in line? Most government services can be home-delivered, if there is a will. A small additional charge is cheaper than wasting a citizen's time, energy and effort in finding which office to go to, and waiting endlessly with file pushers and gatekeepers looking for excuses to delay everything. If we want to progress from being a third-world country to a First rate one, an opportunity is in governance. Singapore has shown the way in many ways. 

Visa processes exemplify this in another sphere. I will henceforth only travel to countries that have a paperless visa not requiring a visit to the Consulates, or have a visa on arrival. Why should I subject myself to red tape and multiple visits to their consulates? They are not pretty tourist attractions, after all. 

Anyway, I think I have made my point. Let's exit red tape, bureaucracy, and meaningless paperwork which are all relics of the past- or should be, anyway.

The Worst Inventions

As promised, here are my top ten.

The tie. One which you 'get in the neck'. Comes in the way of necking, too. :)

The mobile phone- this takes the cake in making us inefficient and the service companies rich. Remember we survived before it came along?

TV channels 24x7- I concede there are some good shows on it, but by and large, they make little sense.

Bureaucracy- at its heart, a heartless creature.

Paneer- kills creativity in cooking. Look at the typical menu of a restaurant offering "North-Indian" food.

Treadmill- why not just walk? Or run?

Three-wheeler. It's neither here nor there. Two, or four is alright.

International Days of anything. Irritating, and unnecessary.

The Budget Day for a country. Hype rather than substance, except the 1991 one that liberalised our industry from the stranglehold it used to be in. Policy can be modified any day, not just on Feb 28th.

Rules- many are thoughtless, and either can't or won't be followed.

Passports and passport size photos- how did Huen Tsang come to India/ Who took his pic? I can't recognise my own pic of this kind!

Republic Day- My Dream India

My dream India would have-

no starvation deaths

no child mortality

no infanticide-rather, birth control used wisely

equal opportunity for boys and girls

no discrimination

no dowry

no stupidity on TV (I am afraid many, many channels would have to shut down)

no immigration check (this would need cooperation of the rest of the world)

a limit on corporate income ( at a reasonably high limit), with the rest going into social upliftment or poverty alleviation managed by reputed NGOs or special purpose organisations

capital punishment for people who build bad roads

airports functioning in every tier 2 town, with easy licensing, low taxes

passport and RTO offices being outsourced to customer-friendly organisations

low paying jobs (irrespective of educational qualifications) for anyone who wants them, with chances to upgrade skills and progress higher-much higher (parallel to this, an organisation to invent useful jobs in different sectors)

easy starts for entrepreneurs