Think Like An Indian

What do Ajay Banga (CEO of Mastercard), Vikram Pandit (CEO of Citigroup), Indra Nooyi (CEO of PepsiCo) all have in common?  They are Indian.  What else? They all came of age in a fluctuating global society with resource constraints, they knew it and their families prepared them for this reality.  ”Today’s generation of Indian managers grew up in a country that provided them with the experience so critical for today’s global boss,” writes Carla Power in Time’s Nov. 7th India’s Leading Export: CEOs.  

“Multiculturalism? Check.  Complex competitive environment? Check.  Resource constrained developing economy? You got that right… Data suggests Indians are scaling corporate heights in larger numbers than other groups.”    

Just a generation later, the Washington DC and Kosovar teenagers One World Youth Project works with are also coming of age in a constantly changing, increasingly globalized society with resource constraints and complex competitive and bureaucratic systems surrounding them.  What makes them different from the 14 year-old Bangas, Pandits and Nooyis? They don’t know the degree to which they are growing up in a globalized society and their families –as well as their schools — are not preparing them for this reality.

We live in a radically different world than the society and economy that surrounded my parents while they were in grade school.  Yet, my middle school 1990s curriculum –the topics covered and the skills emphasized– was very similar to that of my mother’s education in 1970s Florida.  My 90s social studies courses also resonated with my grandma’s 1950s education.  How can this be in a world where things are changing faster than the time it takes to update one’s Facebook status? The current curriculum does not reflect the reality of our changing, globalized world.  

Although education has not caught up, business has.  Let’s take Samsonite luggage advertising as an example. Pictured is a 1959 Samsonite advert.  Note that everyone is white.  They feel stable economically and have time to go to the beach.  Their bags are hard, large and heavy– they “say”: I’m on a vacation and I’m going to stay a while.  

Now, take this 2011 Samsonite advert.  Note the two men of ambiguous race.  Is that guy on the left black? Indian? Latino? Doesn’t really matter.  All three men are pictured in a resource-constrained almost post-apocalyptic scene, walking urban streets. Their reality seems unstable.  And the tagline spells it out for us, these men need to “Adapt to ANY job” and “Be ready for anywhere” —which, by the way, Samsonite has trademarked; clearly they see ‘being ready for anywhere’ as an increasingly useful phrase over the next decade.  

The world has changed.  Education has not.  And our youth, around the world, will suffer the consequences as they find themselves unprepared for the reality they face upon graduation. Education needs to adapt as fast as a corporate marketing team must to stay relevant to the changing mindset and needs of 21st century consumers. 

I’m heartened by the leading CEOs of our time not only representing the skills associated with effective global citizenship but also the ethics.  ”Research on top executives shows that South Asians… tend to be guided less by the bottom line than by a bigger goal.”, writes Power, “They think about what will not only benefit them but the greater good”… Hay Group’s leadership survey includes an inner-strength category, examining how morals and values affect leadership.  The only groups that scored as high on inner strength as Indian CEOs? Catholic nuns and monks.”   Youth, everywhere, need to learn how to think and do within this paradigm.  They need to be given the tools, experiential learning and support to become empowered, discerning and empathetic global citizens.