The Hindu Business Line : Made in India and proud of it

The NSG (National Security Guard) and MARCOS (marine commandos) are the new brand ambassadors of India. While the politicians have been shooting their mouths off, the brave commandos have shot the terrorists. That is the difference between leadership and pseudo-leadership: results over rhetoric.

Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan , Havaldar Gajendra Singh and the 14 other bravehearts of the Mumbai Police have shown us the true meaning of duty, professionalism, courage and adhering to principles. That they had to lay down their lives in so doing is the greatest tragedy of all.

And don’t forget Karambir Kang, General Manager of the Taj Mahal Hotel who lost his wife and two young children during the assault on his beloved hotel. His attitude and determination to soldier on regardless demonstrates leadership worthy of emulation by all of us. There is also no doubt that all the other innocent victims have carried their own annals of personal bravery to the grave with them.

Amidst unspeakable pain India has at last found its real heroes!

Motivation is the fire that drives from within to achieve results. Leaders are people who light that fire first in themselves and then in people around them. When you are confronted with people whose motivation is as scary as that of the terrorists who held India hostage for nearly 57 hours from November 26, there is only one way to respond: bring in people with even stronger motivation, training and leadership. That is exactly why the MARCOS and NSG were deployed. And true to their reputation, they delivered, like they’ve done every time, countless times.

Secret of Minimal Casualties

In literally hundreds of operations conducted by the MARCOS and NSG they have suffered very, very few casualties. The NSG in fact has lost only four commandos till date; of these, two, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Havaldar Gajendra Singh died in the latest operation. The secret of minimal casualties with maximum results is the selection, training and preparation that these superheroes undertake.

The rejection rate for the NSG and MARCOS is almost 80 per cent of all applicants and candidates. That means only two out every 10 candidates actually qualifies to wear the coveted red MARCOS patch on his right sleeve (and equivalent for the NSG).

The training of MARCOS personnel is a two year torture ordeal. Obstacle courses, diving, paradropping, shooting, navigation, explosives, ninja-style hand-to-hand combat, silent killing techniques, you name it and they are trained in all of it. Not just training; they are experts in every one of these domains.

The NSG for example is trained to only take head shots in a combat situation. That means they aim only for the head of the enemy in two quick shots at a time: the so-called “double-tap” system.

It is, therefore, not surprising that one of the terrorists killed in the Oberoi Hotel had been shot in both eyes. These special forces commandos are trained to kill the enemy: plain and simple; no talk, no discussion; just kill without mercy. Their reaction time to a threat is as low as 0.26 second!

Best of the best

The result is that a MARCOS or NSG commando is simply the best of the best amongst warriors. Their training and the fact that they are wearing the uniform imbues them with rock-solid self-confidence born out of self-knowledge. They possess the ultimate organisational pride. They have transcended arrogance and a need for external validation or hype (unlike politicians or page 3 celebrities).

That is why we all saw them quietly come in, do their job lethally and then, equally quietly, melt away into the distance. If the media hadn’t hounded them, we would never have seen them close up on TV. It was really quite remarkable to see these heroes respond to the glare of publicity in the calmest, most underplayed manner. When one of the NSG commandos was being congratulated by an interviewer he simply said that “we were just doing our duty, nothing more!”

Two Types of Training

In sport, as in warfare, there are two kinds of training. One is the technique itself. For example, a tennis player practices his serve for hours. An NSG commando fires over 2,000 rounds in each practice session and over 14,000 rounds in a two month period of “alert status” ( http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Special-Forces/NSG.html ). Intense practice hones the technique and creates mastery.

But technical mastery falls apart if the fitness level does not match the requirements. Therefore, the second kind of training is intense fitness training; this is necessary to ensure the correct and optimal application of technique.

That is why the MARCOS and NSG commandos are put through marathon type runs in combat gear (apart from other fitness training) and then at the end of the run made to shoot targets with live ammunition with their buddies standing next to the targets!

That is also why top performers in sport train intensively for fitness apart from practising their disciplines.

Specifically, the approach to training must be two-pronged. Firstly, training in techniques, concepts and processes, hard skills and soft skills must be intensified. Secondly, comprehensive and systematic physical and mental-emotional fitness training must be introduced.

Supreme fitness improves mental strength and self-confidence. Only if the physical-emotional-mental fitness level of employees improves will the mastery of business processes and techniques be effective. And only if total fitness improves will effectiveness at the point of delivery of service improve.

The New Indian Super-brand

In today’s uncertain economic environment, this kind of training could well mean the difference between survival and bankruptcy. The key takeaway is that selection, training and clarity of results built on the foundation of outstanding leadership hold the key to delivery of results consistently. CEO’s must align their thought process and systems with the NSG-MARCOS model.

Without doubt NSG-MARCOS is the new Indian super-brand. What does it convey about the product? Quality, service, dedication till death and beyond, total success and nothing less, the best training and preparation in the world, guaranteed delivery every time, honesty and integrity unsurpassed, complete reliability and finally, leadership that is the stuff of legend. This is a super-brand made entirely in India. Let’s be proud of it, celebrate it, and live up to it!

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