More Chicken than people in the world!!!

The last one week has been filled with events in the business and political arena that have startled any normal human thinking brain. Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer’s decision to pull back the ‘work from home’ policy and Wharton’s decision to cancel Narendra Modi’s address at the Wharton India Conference being two of them. There is definitely one thing established when we witness the outcry let loose by these events - there are more chicken than people in the world!!!!!

The fundamental for any school or educational institute (especially a B-School) is to provide to its students a platform of diverse thoughts and perspectives.  Subsequent to that, would be to encourage students to listen to the idea, understand its fundamental character, study decisions taken and forecast the impending, and debate the possible implications (considered or not) within the context in which the idea was born. An absence of any of the 2 ingredients – diversity and context/ framework -  gives rise to a mob mentality. One witnesses a crowd hysteria that in more ways than one plays out like songs from an IPod running on a shuffle mode.!  Ramdom thoughts played out attempting to slam a revolving door!

Many have questioned Marissa’s decision on pulling back the ‘work from home’ policy at Yahoo. Her decision has sparked off a debate on whether it was a wise decision, the relevance of the policy itself, and of course, on her ability to lead Yahoo through tough times. Does it take an IQ more than a double digit to realize that none of these are at play when the organisation (Yahoo) is at the brink of a shut down and that Innovation and Collaboration is the only way out?

“And for the rest of us who occasionally have to stay at home for the cable guy, please use your best judgment in the spirit of collaboration. Yahoo isn’t just about your day-to-day job, it is about the interactions and experiences that are possible in our offices”.

Strong, candid words expecting people to THINK! The quality and relevance of the decision and the conviction with which it was rendered is definitely deserving of praise!  Marissa Mayer’s leadership seems reflective of the magical art of alchemy! Like an alchemist, she is defining and re-defining Yahoo’s activities as comprising an art and science of transformation and transmutation. She is leveraging basic ideas, ordinary human beings, and classic organisation structures to turn the Yahoo image into gold. Let’s get back to the drawing board, get our heads together, and get the blue print out!!!! If this is not a powerful metaphor for basic management principles and effective leadership, then we need to revisit the curriculum in our management schools.

Now, compare the language of this email to the official statement put out by Wharton! It’s like watching a game of chess and twister at the same time.  Like a game of chess, there can be only 2 players at the max. And as in Twister, there is no limit to how many can play. The players are required to put themselves in unlikely or precarious positions, eventually causing someone to fall.  No prizes here for recognizing who is playing which game!!!

Wharton – a premier biz school, with its vision to produce graduates who would become ‘pillars of the state, whether in private or public life’ has failed miserably in living up to it. For many years, I studied in a well-known Institute in India, where I witnessed active debates on core issues that plague our nation – at a social and political level. There were many a times when I didn’t agree with what was being debated, the premise on which it was debated, and plenty a time when I was against it. It was a debate nonetheless. It doesn’t matter whether you agree or not. What’s important is that you hear it. Listening doesn’t imply acceptance. As Voltaire said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it.” What I believe in, when voiced, needs to be substantiated, logically and rationally. And to believe in something, and be convinced about it, one needs to necessarily listen to both sides (if not all) of the argument. The essence of leadership is building the courage to speak up and displaying the consideration to listen- both of which Wharton has failed miserably at - “There go my people. I must find out where they are going, so I can lead them.”

Moreso, a premier business school invited an individual to speak at their conference. The invitation was made public. And in 24hours, rescinded, again publicly! BECAUSE there was a public outcry within the Wharton campus questioning the decision on inviting Mr Modi!!!!  

“However, as a responsible student body within the Univ of Pennsylvania, we must consider the impact on multiple stakeholders in our ecosystem. Even as we stand by our decision to invite him, we believe that this course of action would be the most appropriate in light of the reactions of the multiple stakeholders involved”… so says the official statement released on March 3, 2013.

It’s baffling to think that a biz school wishes to stay on neutral ground and is shocking to see it defend its stance in a language that defines ‘political correctness’ and ‘arcane empathy’ towards the invitee. A classic game of twister!

Whatever be the circumstances of the actions taken by either Marissa or Wharton, there are definitely two lessons learned here:

a)      Dear Marissa… thank you for teaching me that “The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg and not smashing it!”

b)      Dear Wharton….You can do better than this! “I did not become a vegetarian for my health. I did it for the health of the chickens.”… IS just NOT good enough!