Genome of the Wild Lilies

Recently, I was at a client’s workshop, when this probing question came up. How do we enjoy so much commitment amidst our engineers? What values drive them to adapt a client’s culture, appreciate their needs? What training instill this spirit? What is that sets you apart? Your Key Differentiators?

In other words, what’s your DNA?

We looked at each other. It was not the first time this has happened. Been part of several discussions, from branding to pre-sales, to nail this ‘obvious’. And it is ironical, quite appalling that an outsider should trigger introspection. Of course, one can sugarcoat technical ‘differentiators’ that hardly sound different or rant about a remote hometown that offers little alternatives but it would be cliched!

So I had to ask myself again. What is the soul of this institution? Was it is to be realized in the vision and goals of an organization. Ought it to be found in the dreams of its founding fathers? If nothing exists, why did my clients keep harping on the commitment and values seen? Surely, there was something, not stereotype but so damn right about us, something, which was never taught. 

It felt interesting to root out the distinctions, and their reasons.

We do not come through as a passionate aggressive fun loving community. We hardly kick-ass in  any celebration and ‘demo’. On the contrary, we appear meek, at best nerdy and conservative. People who have left us swear we were different. Outsiders are quick to spot that most people are knowledgeable, have walked the talk. It is fact; we despise ‘thallu’, this propensity to talk strategy. We talk less, grudgingly do more. The chilling facade of professionalism never took roots. Was it the mallu attitude or the ‘engineering stuff’ we claim we do, to blame for all this. Or the lack of vision and leadership in conceiving a mechanism to think global. Any serious institution (say, GE’s Crotonville) spends a fortune in consciously building its leaders and identity.

Or…can Identity just ‘evolve’...like the wild lilies in wild abandon.

The most obvious differentiation has been one of (1) single ethnicity. It is and always has been a mallu company. The de facto lingo has been Malayalam. We speak and think Malayalam. In my opinion, pretty much everyone grossly underestimates this simple fact. When you have everyone from the same cultural setting, several ‘Impossibles’ become possible. The connection or communication is in another realm. Levels of productivity soar. So much more the ‘eda-poda’ camaraderie brings. The Mallu mindset is deeply closeted like any ethnic group. We have our own dark jokes, role plays, politics that break the trappings of conventional professionalism. It is not a punch line to say that we are family or flat organization. And unconsciously, we have come to fall in love with the unprofessional-ism of it all. People lack business etiquette but work with their heart. Such trust can be achieved in family business and product companies perhaps, but it is unheard of, in service industry. In fact, I was not surprised with a Japanese client's observation on this correlation of high productivity vis-a-vis native language.

We were perhaps one of the first institutions (2) to have invested faith in both graduates and diploma holders in equal measure. Motives differ but the foresight resulted in an inflow of raw indigenous native talent from humble beginnings and an earthliness that reset all sophistication of IT glamour. An interesting fall out of less exposure has not only triggered trepidation and aversion to risk-taking in career but also kindled a genuine gratitude for the opportunities given to redefine ones’ lives and their dependent families. Many have come to value this job, their first perhaps, as, not just another job. These are subtle undercurrents that drive commitment and appreciation.

But the subtlest of all distinctions (3) has been a favorite find. We 'cherry-pick' our fellow brethren. The majority that makes it to this institution, come in through campus. The recruitment apparatus and educational institutions have remained the same for the past 20 years. The interview panels have remained the same for the last 20 years. I have perhaps, myself, recruited over 200 into this community. Now, think about what really happens when hand-picking is done. However objective one hopes and strives to be, one tends to pick the ‘Ones’ one likes or impresses or identifies with. In other words, you pick 'alikes'; minds that think alike, where aspirations, feelings and above all, values, resonate. And imagine, this has been happening surreptitiously for the last 20 years. Isn't that genes work to pass on traits and identity? Unknowingly, we have been building a perfect pedigree.

Thus, we have come to understand, why we stick, why we love ourselves and our brethren. Of course, there is the inertia to blame but it’s the same everywhere. Better pay, better opportunities do exist but we have grown up among our peers and elders for so long. People whom we respect and appreciate for being around for us for so long. For whatever unknown reasons the subconscious hide, 'institutionalized' would be too heartless a conclusion to make. Probably, it is this simple informal family feeling that generates a commitment and affinity towards a greater existence and meaning. After all, a software engineer is a social being too.

There you have it. (1) Mallus....(2) Down-to-earth Mallus (it gets worse)…(3) Hand-picked down-to-earth Mallus....That’s the closest you get to, in achieving resonance. The only failure, has been the lack of conscious effort to recognize, nurture and cherish it.

That's the invisible DNA of this great institution. We live in interesting times, though. To borrow Dickens…It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…