When Kalam doesn't cut it
Raju Narisetti -
Thursday, December 18, 2008 4:14 PM
In one of those typical company-wide emails that only IT people can send, one landed in my in box a little while ago, titled "How Can I Contribute in Saving Corporate Costs?"
The IT department has decided that sending me an excerpt from a speech, supposedly given by former Indian president and now major gadfly, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, titled "Be the change you want to see!" (which in my book is now clearly up there in recently overdone cliches) is the perfect way to try and make me conserve energy and money.
The excerpt is all about the savings that can be generated--in only the complicated PowerPoint way that Mr. Kalam is prone to--from everyone shutting down their PC. "So, before leaving office, take some time to shut down the PC and do some favour to the country and the organisation," ends the speech.
If IT dept at my company is serious about helping with cost cutting, they are perhaps better off asking one of the office assistants or the numerous office watchmen or elevator operators to switch the errant computers off, assuming switching off power to the floor is not an option. But, I digress.
This may be heresy but having read and heard Mr. Kalam for two years now, the Romantic Realist now finds much of what the former President says rather simplistic and often totally out of touch with any reality or execution/operational issues. Stuff like his speech that the Press Trust of India carried earlier today and I quote:
Kalam favours national campaign, UN task force to tackle terror
New Delhi: As the country debates how to tackle the increased spate of terror attacks, former President APJ Abdul Kalam today suggested the launch of a national campaign to eradicate terrorism. Kalam also favoured constitution of a special task force under the United Nations to tackle terrorism at the global level.
Participating in an idea exchange programme here, the former president said the national campaign should focus on eradicating poverty, education as well as making people aware of the perils of terrorism.Efforts should be made to guide people, specially the youth properly. Questioned as to what action should be taken by India to stop Pak-sponsored terrorism, he said, "The simple principle is that strength respects strength. "India becoming a nuclear power state was the right thing to do," he said."Terrorism is a nuisance, bad for humanity. When evil minds have come together then good minds cannot be watching."
The United Nations cannot be sitting and watching when such things are happening. "My suggestion is that let there be a United Nations force for counter-terrorism," he said. PTI
So, let me see. Terrorism is "a nuisance, bad for humanity"? And the out-of-box solutions being proposed by Mr Kalam: "A national campaign to eradicate terrorism" and "A United Nations task force to tackle terrorism."
This is the kind of Kool-Aid statesmenship in the guise of thought leadership that is being increasingly dished out by the likes of Mr. Kalam or former Infosys Chairman NR Narayana Murthy in India. And promptly recycled in the super spam that only IT departments can generate. Indeed, the email from my IT dept ends with this appeal to create more spam: "If you feel that this point is to be considered, forward this to all your friends."
What if we start contributing to "saving corporate costs" by getting rid of people who think up such nonsensical emails that then waste precious employee time?