Ravi Venkatesan has headed some of the bluest of blue-chip companies in the Indian corporate sector. Erstwhile Chairman of Cummins India, he was later Chairman of Microsoft India, Bank of Baroda and co-Chairman of Infosys as well. His second book, What The Heck Do I Do With My Life? How To Flourish In Our Turbulent Times, is just out. In the book, Venkatesan says the world is going to undergo a metamorphosis like never before, driven by many factors, largely by technology. He makes the argument that this change, while being a great threat, will also throw up unprecedented opportunities for both individuals and societies. Venkatesan makes the case that successful adaptation in the new century requires a ‘paradigm shift’, a different mindset, new skills and new strategies. His theme is that one should be more responsible for one’s life, rather than expecting an organisation to take care of you. In this interview, Venkatesan answers questions on the theme of the book.
You say that in the near future we need to reframe our thinking away from jobs and employment to seeing ourselves as self-employed, and, if possible, as entrepreneurs. In the Indian context, as we live in many Indias, will everything be true? Many who will probably be lifers in a company, which will continue to operate in the traditional way, albeit more digital, and others who will work for themselves – in some sense, the gig economy is already here, isn’t it? Even in India.
What I say is that stable jobs will be something that will be relevant to fewer and fewer people. Sure, there are some who will still stay with an organisation, grow with it. But, generally given the extremely uncertain and turbulent environment, companies will have more flexible work arrangements with a stable core of permanent employees but using contractors, consultants, gig workers. They will also constantly have to drive up productivity which means steadily culling less productive employees. They will have to reorganise and transform, which again means convulsions for employees.
So, from an employee perspective it may feel like a game of musical chairs and one day the music stops and you won’t have a chair. So, good to prepare yourself for this - to see this as a game and play it as a game - and be prepared to be self-employed. Also, since we are living longer, we will need to be prepared for many more transitions and also for a day when no one wants to employ us because we are too old! This will happen to every one of us. So, as you say, the gig economy is already here for more and more of us. And that’s not a bad thing. Once you prepare yourself and get used to it, it can be much more liberating. You are more in control of your life, your time, what you do, who you do it with. It just is a whole new paradigm.
You talk about longevity and how people will start living even longer and, perhaps, 60 is not the age to retire. Longevity is scary in some sense. What if you haven’t saved enough for such a long life and for whatever medical treatment that is needed on that long journey? What of many who will not earn a pension? Do you see this as a geriatric crisis brewing?
You are right to be concerned. Living longer is not entirely good news. Society, governments, employers, educational institutions, individuals are all largely unprepared for the consequences of this. Very few people will have saved enough by say 60 or even 70 to be able to retire. Very few people have decent pensions. Our social safety nets have huge gaping holes. A health issue can easily be catastrophic. Many of us will both want to and need to work till we are well into our 70s but employers have a bias towards younger employees who bring fresh ideas, new skills and energy. So, unless you prepare well for this…learn to be self-employed, able to learn new skills and stay relevant, manage your health and other intangible assets, life can become very ‘brittle’ in the sense that relatively small shocks can break you. That’s one reason to read the book!
You say like any software you can reprogramme your beliefs and reshape your life? This is tough – does one require some element of mind training to change set ways?
Yes, this is indeed very tough but it is central to what we accomplish in life and our ability to be joyful. As Bill Gates said, ‘what you believe is what you achieve!” The first step is to realise the role that our mindset plays in our life - it determines everything including what we believe, how we define success, what we strive for, how we engage with others and the world, our capacity for happiness. Then you have to have a certain level of self-awareness to see how your mindset or beliefs or assumptions could be the cause of a unsatisfactory situation. This awareness is the first and most critical step. Then you have to practice practice practice to change your mindset. And once you change the way you see things, the things you see change.
You talk about four meta skills that will define the future: learning agility, entrepreneurship, soft skills and leadership. Is it possible to train youngsters for these skills or, as you say, these are skills forged in the real world through practical experiences?
This is a really good question. It is no different from learning swimming or cycling. While it is possible to impart some concepts in a classroom or online setting, all these skills can only be gained by application in the real world with feedback and coaching. I point out in particular, the role of ‘crucible experiences’- which are extremely uncomfortable new challenges – in accelerating our development of these skills.
This is a provocative question. You talk about living a portfolio life, since your mid-40s. Working on a few projects and also pursuing your passions. However, you come from a privileged background; you’ve been to the best schools such as IIT Bombay and Harvard and been at top corporations which perhaps could have allowed you to make such a decision. But, for the vast majority who are on the treadmill of life, these are probably difficult choices to make – to leave full-time employment and work in an unstructured way.
In my preface I did very explicitly bring this issue up - that many readers would be tempted to say, well it’s fine for Ravi to do and say all this given his good luck and dismiss what I am saying. But that would be missing the point. The point is that these changes are 21st century trends that are going to be forced upon many of us, whether we like it and are ready for it or not. So, we can be proactive in embracing these changes and flourishing or we can be dragged along reluctantly in which case life can be very hard. In any case, what I tell the reader is that it doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree with what I say so long as you think about these issues and become more aware and intentional about your life
Lastly, how would you describe your book, as a self-help one or a practical handbook of life?
I am not sure it is necessary to classify the book…but if I had to, I would like to think of it as a practical manual for flourishing in the 21st century.
REVIEW: What The Heck Do I Do With My Life? How To Flourish In Our Turbulent Times
By Ravi Venkatesan
Published : Rupa Publications
Pages: 203 Price: Rs 316