Bridge the Gap in Society : Start where others end !!

To build a company, and that too a big one over 25 years, from a green field you go through each and every aspect of business and corporate growth, if you keep pegging yourself at it, despite several disappointments along the way. My story is similar. I have had plenty of shocks, ups and downs, successes, huge failures and all along the way, I was always convinced that my product and services will make a difference to my clients and society at large once it starts reaching them in adequate numbers. So, keep pegging. There were number of days in my life, when I felt that it will remain unfulfilled. Might as well give up. There were also days when I felt encouraged to keep going.

Life of an entrepreneur is never easy. People’s memory also is short lived. So, there is a need to share. I started writing blogs precisely for this reason. These are my personal thoughts. This is what is going through my mind now. This is how I want to deal with it and take it forward. All these are key stories to tell.

I have been misunderstood several times in my life by my family, colleagues, business associates and friends. Because mostly they either found what I was saying or doing is frivolous, will never happen, or it could at best be my fantasy. But to me, they were always REAL. I could see them in front of my eyes and I could see how it can make a difference to their lives. Once the solution is found, it needs to be processed, otherwise it will remain for a select few. These are very few instances where the lack of belief is predominant in the eyes of the consumer, as they don’t believe it is possible. So, you have to then also design and define the process clearly, demonstrating the innovative approach. So, now RnD comes in. Now it is INNOVATION. So, when I defined the concept of Software Finishing School(SFS), I had to define the process. Training in SFS follows following steps :

ACQUISITION………………………ABSORB…………………….MANAGE……………………..PERFORM

Once you follow these 4 steps, there is no way you will not have adequate knowledge to perform. So, I sat with my team and told them ‘Can you incorporate these 4 steps within the training program, so that my students after the program make some meaningful contribution to the society?’ Pickup any software language and see/check after the training program, can the student work on these 4 aspects? If they can, then they are ready for the Industry/Corporate world. Where did the source of innovation come from?

The entrepreneur in me had triggered that thought. Most of the training which was imparted in those days, did not make the student Manage and Perform on the software. At best, they simply had acquired the knowledge. But if they can’t Manage and Perform, it doesn’t help the business. Right? So, by putting these two aspects in the training program, we changed the entire eco-system of IT Training. Everyone benefitted. So, the concept of SFS took its roots there. But it was not at all easy to make these elements available for all trainees, so that it becomes a life changing thing for India in their quest to be global leaders in software development.

IT HAPPENNED.