Much underrated and given the go-by, habits of punctuality and courtesy are essential values that express respect and help build relationships and mark us as better human beings
Two countries I have loved visiting are Myanmar and Vietnam, the first because of its pristine natural beauty and plethora of Buddhist pagodas and the second because of its commitment to national pride and the values that many Vietnamese still hold dear to their heart. One of these values is punctuality.
I still recall my first business visit to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the late nineties to finalise a business partner for APTECH, the company I was leading at that time. We were to address a seminar in one of the cities where we had over 70 confirmed participants. With the seminar scheduled to start at six in the evening, I was beginning to feel truly stressed when at two minutes to the hour, there was not a soul in the room. When I turned to the organisers they just pointed to the clock and sure enough when the clock struck six the door opened and all the confirmed participants trooped in and took their seats and we were off to an on-time session.
The next three days saw us visit government offices and potential business partners and in every place if we reached five minutes early, the car driver would drive around the block and deposit us at the door to the office we were visiting at the exact time. The host would be waiting at the door to meet us and it was seen as a sign of disrespect to be even a minute early or late. Compare this to some cities in our country where the term “eightish” could mean any time before nine and I have actually started multi-client corporate seminars with less than 20 percent of the confirmed participants coming on time and quite a few even straggling in an hour or more late.
It’s not that every young person in the country has a problem of being on time; it’s very often the fault of leadership who do not emphasise the fact that coming late for anything shows a lack of courtesy to the host or the organiser of any session. In my own career, I have hardly ever been late for anything and even the fact that some folks senior to me have not shown similar commitment to time, I have never been deterred from staying true to my own value system in this regard. And any person who makes punctuality a habit will find many admirers.
It’s very often the fault of leadership who do not emphasise the fact that coming late for anything shows a lack of courtesy to the host or the organiser of any session
Two persons who are worth mentioning in this context are our own Prime Minister Narendra Modi and my first Managing Director, Kewal Krishan Nohria. I learnt from the latter the art of setting and completing 15-minute meetings. It ensures that everybody is focused and comes to the point and no time is lost in long preambles or endless discussions when decisions can be taken quickly and the way cleared for the next discussion.
A related value that most people think they demonstrate but many actually ignore is the need to be courteous to all. Deference and sometimes obsequious behaviour with people senior to one in the family or the company is all very well, but a truly good human being will never be discourteous to anyone in the vicinity.
Our own HR Chief at Zensar, Syed Azfar Hussain is the epitome of courtesy, starting even mails with a “How do you do” and never forgetting to ask even a driver how he is, before commencing discussion about the matter on hand. After all, what gives any of us the right to be rude or abrupt with any human being, however junior she is or which ever social strata he comes from? It has been truly said that there are two things that can never be taken back, a speeding arrow and the spoken word and it is always prudent to let only words of affection and praise pass through our lips rather than scorn or disapproval which leap to our mind and then to our tongue so often in everyday life!
This is one virtue which again some of our senior-most persons possess in abundance. My own boss for 15 years, Harsh Goenka has made it a practice to walk every visitor to the elevator outside his office whatever be the reason for the visit. Other seniors in the industry like Rahul Bajaj, Anand Mahindra and Anu Aga have the grace to never make any person who meets them feel that they are lower in status or any way compared to these well-known and respected leaders of our society.
Our Prime Minister himself, in spite of having one of the most punishing schedules that any person on the planet could possibly have, seems to have time for everything when he is at an event. The last time several of us - leaders of NASSCOM - met him, we were sure he would walk around and shake hands and leave, but he spent quality time with us, interacted with each member and willingly stayed on for a cup of tea with us and even joined in the occasional `selfie’. Such commitment to small but essential values is what makes us better human beings, everywhere and every time!
BY Ganesh Natarajan
