What is charismatic leadership? You just cannot stand up in a crowd, say
that I am charismatic and become its leader. So, how does anybody become
a charismatic leader? Looks, skin color, oratory skills, family lineage,
style, etc are some of the words which come to mind

Looks and skin color work but only to a limited extent. Family lineage
would make you a charismatic leader amongst a worthless set of people.
Oratory skills are essential for a charismatic leader. For it to
instantaneously connect with the people their convictions should be
emphasized, fears allayed, hopes fostered and most importantly play to the
gallery. For all these to culminate in a powerful talk, the leader should
be well informed of his audience profile. Just waxing eloquently on the
growth in capital markets, infrastructure, etc amongst a group of drought
hit peasants, you are liable to be stoned.

Style is a combination of voice, body language and dress. You cannot
address an army going to war in a saint like voice. Your voice should be
aggressive and words should be screaming for the enemy blood. Body
language reveals what the carefully planned words hide. It is impossible
for a teacher to inspire his students, if he himself yawns during the
class. There cannot be a better example on importance of dress than
Gandhiji who could easily connect with the masses because of his dress
sense. Why else do you think uniform is given utmost importance in
organizations which want people to achieve a single goal? A contemporary
example of the ultimate style package is Laloo Prasad Yadav. He has all
the style in the world that is required to mesmerize his target audience.

For a leader’s charisma to sustain over a long period of time, he should
be well organized, know the pulse of his audience and most importantly
deliver on his promises.

Balu AM

The BCCI through its revolutionary IPL League has recently raked in nearly $724 million from franchise bids alone, and adding income from media, has fetched it nearly $1.75 billion (a whopping Rs 7,000 crore) for a 44 day event, feature one sporting discipline and a handful of cricketers.

Large business houses, celebrities, high-networth individuals have come forward with huge sums of money to bid for team franchises – all with the aim to increase their brand visibility and create larger than life public images.

Let us for a moment imagine what Rs. 7000 crore could do for our country – for the number of under nourished, poor, terminally ill children - for the increasing number of unemployed youth - towards increasing literacy levels in our country – towards improvement of citizen services – towards enabling the masses…..the list could go on and on.

I’m sure if we all put our heads together – we can come up with properties that our businessmen & celebrities can adopt – properties which will give them much more satisfaction, long-term visibility – while creating a much needed philanthropist movement.

Its been a commonplace to hear people talking about India still buried deep under the aftereffects of the centuries of foreign rule and oppression. The immediate question snakes up its head is that what is it we really need to be independent? Whats the true sense of independence? Is it political sovereignty, allowing us to govern our country through our ways end to end all along our borders? Is it the freedom to express ourselves, choose our religion, decide our occupation?

     All said and done, what we often completely miss out or drag down to the bottom of our list of independence parameters is Energy sufficiency. The most well known personality who could actually envision this most important factor for India’s development, its freedom from depending on others for meeting out its Energy needs, is Dr. Abdul Kalam. He envisages India’s energy self sufficiency by 2020 for it to be a developed and the strongest nation of world. A recent statement by Mr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, India on being left with no alternative than to hike the prices of petroleum and products emulates the fact that India is now on the verge of a critical situation where in India stands to jeopardize its economic structure trying to make Oil and Petroleum affordable for its citizens.  There are a numerous other instances where India stands helpless in terms of energy needs.

But wait.. this no where implies that India is in its most deplorable states of Energy requirements. What we need next is to become leaders in energy research and be the forerunners of utilizing Alternative energy sources. Its time we stand up and prove our mettle in terms of energy independence. Its a known fact that dollars and pounds are being poured in west for energy related innovations. We need similar incentives in India to push our researchers, entrepreneurs and public to take steps to lead India to the forefront and make it a Energy Superpower. Its quite evident that the middle east is always engaged in war over its energy resources control.

     Yes! its time to realize, if we can control energy resources, we can control the World! 

Aniket Baheti, IIT Madras

This friend of mine is being liked by everyone in the office. He is a strategist and a group head by designation. I noticed that he finds time to go and speak to at least one person from each department on a daily basis. The topic of his discussions where never gossip, but productive topics and also topics where he could appreciate others. The best thing was that he was a good listener, because of which he always used to get ideas that he could put into practice.

In a way he was becoming popular within the office. People sought his attention and intervention. He knew almost everyone from the 500 member strong team. It was easier for him to implement his ideas within the office. He had memberships in different groups/clubs and used to attend seminars at esteemed organizations like Kobe University, Japan.

Observing him, I realized that it is important to be in touch with as many people as we can, irrespective of the spectrum/department they work with. I realized interacting with the same colleagues’ (alone) everyday won’t increase your exposure; however, working on a committee with new people gives you an opportunity to make new contacts.

If many of us decide to act and decide to be in touch with each other with an open mind for ideas, think of the impact it can have on the organization we work with. The impact will be huge; there is no doubt about it.

One can get humungous ideas from interacting with many people and by actively listening to them. Take up a leadership position within a task force and volunteer to lead a project. Behave like a leader and be a Leader. It also gives you the opportunity to show your talent and skills to people who matter within the organization.

I remember a famous line from a great Telugu author Gurajada Apparao. He quoted “ Desham ante matti kaadoi, Desham ante Manushuloe” (This is in Telugu). In English, “Country doesn’t mean vast lands, but it means the people residing on the land.”
We see many people fighting for the land today, but a few years back, hardly a century before, land was abundant. It waited for a proper farmer to plough it. When a skilled farmer came in, it used to prosper and produce surplus. This is the story of the land. But what is the story of a Nation..

Begging for the job…
Our Past!!!
Approach us for work…
Our Present!!!
Beg for job to be done only by us…
Our Future!!!