Just one rank away from becoming a Colonel, Lt. Col. Shyam (Retd.) took the big, bold step of jumping onto the corporate bandwagon without any reservation. The HR officer based in Pune seems to have soaked up the corporate spirit so well-if you go by the corporate jargon that slips so readily off his tongue and the unfettered enthusiasm that comes through. While he draws comparisons about life in the military and the corporate, the officer turned HR leader has valuable suggestions for those looking to make the mammoth transition...
"In India, veterans were initially hired only in security and admin roles. But now, the thought process has changed. Living in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world, the preference for veterans in mainstream roles like HR, operations, supply chain, purchasing etc. has increased. The time is not far where a veteran could become the CEO of a company"
Currently, I am working with Cummins India Limited as a Plant HR Leader, and am responsible for leading the HR function of two manufacturing plants. Cummins India Limited is the country’s leading manufacturer of diesel and natural gas engines and is one of the seven legal entities of the Cummins Group in India. Comprising of four business units - Engine, Power Systems, Components and Distribution, Cummins India Limited is also the largest entity of the Cummins Group in India. Cummins Inc. was founded in the year 1919 and this is our 100th year in existence.
I was commissioned into the Corps of Signals branch of the Indian Army, which manages communication and information system for the Indian Armed Forces. In the Armed Forces, as one grows in service, he/she gets assignments befitting performance. Additionally, due to the shortage of officers in the lower ranks (Captain and Major), one gets to exercise wider responsibilities at a young age. During my 14 years of service, I had held multiple profiles like managing core communication operations, training and development, general administration and human resource management.
It was a decision that we (my wife, who is also an army officer, and me) took during my tenth year of service. So, it was a joint decision. But for arriving at this decision, we had many days of introspection and discussion. We took opinions from family, our friends in the services, both retired and serving, and our well-wishers. Finally, the decision was ours to take. We had a lot of difference in opinion, but could finally arrive at a decision as time was running out. I must say that once we took the decision, there was no looking back.
As short service commission officers, we can serve for a maximum of 14 years and during the tenth year of service, one needs to decide to opt for a permanent commission or take an extension for four more years. I took the latter. In a way, it was a safe decision, where my wife continues to serve while I find my feet in the corporate world. On the other, it was a bold decision to change course from the military to the corporate, which to me was unchartered territory at that time. There were multiple reasons for arriving at this decision. The prime one being the education of my son. Due to frequent postings, we had to pack our bags every two to two and a half years. So literally, it was unsettling for my son. He was picking up cricket quite well and started loving the game. The second reason was separation from family. Since we both were serving Army officers, it was not possible to get postings together every time. Considering these facts, it was imperative that we arrive at the decision for one of us to leave the services.
I would say, without discipline, a business cannot be successful. Great companies have their value systems and leaders are expected to be aligned and stand by setting a personal example. At Cummins, expectations from the leaders are very well defined in terms of the ‘Eight Leadership Behaviour Model’. A leader is judged, not only in terms of result delivery but also in their alignment to the value system. So ‘What’ you achieve is as important as ‘How’ you achieve. Apart from these, they need to innovate and inspire as well. This cannot be possible without work ethics and discipline.
I see a lot of similarities rather than differences with respect to getting things done. However, the military requires a discipline of a different nature, which is not directly applicable in the corporate. For example, in the corporate, one can differ from his/her boss and can express it outright, while in the military, it is generally unthinkable. The nature of duty is such in the military that there is no scope for jumping hierarchy or out-rightly expressing differences with seniors. the “Regulations of the Army” lays down the expectations very clearly and all Army personnel are governed by the “Army Act”.
Nevertheless, for retired defense personnel, the corporate world would seem to be undisciplined at the beginning, mainly because in the world from which we come from, the discipline has a different connotation. So, once the decision is made to leave the services, there is a lot of unlearning to be done to be able to adjust to the corporate way of life. This should be one of our key points while undergoing the preparation for transition from the military to the corporate.
Coming to perks and remuneration, it depends on how well you negotiate (Laughs). Nevertheless, the military gives you certain perks that the corporate cannot match. At the same time, in the corporate, you have unlimited opportunities and scope for growth. For example, at Cummins, special emphasis is given to growth, not only in terms of remuneration but also in terms of profile. There are lots of examples where employees have shifted roles from HR to operations and to supply chain as well.
"For retired Defense personnel, the corporate world would seem to be undisciplined at the beginning, mainly because in the world from which we come from, discipline has a different connotation. So, once the decision is made to leave the services, there is lot of unlearning to be done to be able to adjust to the corporate way of life"
Competition is the essence of life. Competition among peers is universal and when one goes up the ladder, there are always limited seats at the top. Hence, it is very much essential to keep growing to avoid stagnation. to achieve growth, one needs to work hard and work smart as well. This is true in both the military and the corporate. It is a human tendency to be competitive and adopt ways and means to reach the top and the military is no different. The degree at which people play games may vary but it does exist in some form or the other. As corporate leaders, we can at least make sure that we do not indulge in politics in any form and teach our team members to refrain from it. It is also essential to teach them how to deal with it when they confront such a situation.
In the military, there is a common thread which connects all and we feel a sense of family. In corporate, relationships do not extend to personal life in general. Seniors taking ownership of juniors and peers ready to give their life for you is rare. However, there are exceptions in both.
Of late, corporate houses have started focusing on the aspect of work-life balance and it forms an important part of talent attraction and retention strategy. At Cummins for example, there is a special focus on this aspect. Providing employees more flexibility and technology, supporting family time and establishing open communication are some of the initiatives taken on this front.
In the Army, your work and life are intermingled, whether you want it or not. Serving in a regiment is like being in a big joint family. There is always something which keeps you busy. But once we understand this fact, life becomes easy in a way. I must say here that the Army is a leader driven organization and the tone and tempo is set by leaders in command. I have seen in my career that certain leaders give a lot of importance to work-life balance while some do not. Overall, work-life balance is not the main focus area.
Once the decision was made to leave the armed forces, I had set Big Hairy Audacious Goals (refers to a strategic business statement). to make the transition from the military to the corporate, you need those kinds of goals. I contemplated doing an Executive MBA from a reputed college through the GMAt route. But after consulting multiple friends who had made their transition before me, I ended up doing the Directorate General of Recruitment, Ministry of Defense sponsored management course from IIM, Indore. I can say now that it was one of the wisest decisions that I took at that point in time. I not only saved a fortune in terms of precious time and money but ended up in a dream job. I have achieved the initial goals that I had set and am on track to achieve the rest.
"In the Army, your work and life are intermingled, whether you want it or not. Serving in a regiment is like being in a big joint family. There is always something which keeps you busy. But once we understand this fact, life becomes easy in a way. I must say here that the Army is a leader-driven organization and the tone and tempo is set by leaders in command. I have seen in my career that certain leaders give a lot of importance to work-life balance while some do not"
Lt. Col. Shyam (Retd.) with his familyStability in life is a misnomer but one can always feel contented. I have realized that in life, it is necessary to have an aim. Having an aim gives you direction and clarity. I was contented then and am contented now. I feel proud that I have been able to keep up promises and my loved ones happy.
But yes, being in a place of your choice can give some amount of stability to your children in terms of education and in pursuing their interests and hobbies. This means a lot to them. I have spent my entire childhood in Chennai. I know the advantages of staying in one place for long. Nevertheless, there are disadvantages too. You will start hating change and any movement would make you insecure. When I went for my military training, that was the first time I was leaving home. Incidentally, the Officers training Academy, where I underwent training, is also in Chennai. But you are not allowed to visit home too often. In the beginning, I was very insecure and it took a long time for me to feel better.
In the Army, most of the officers and jawans tend to settle their spouse and children in one place, while they keep getting posted to different stations. In our case, since both of us were serving, one of us had to take that call. This brings us back to why I decided to leave the Army.
It was a well thought out decision involving my important stakeholders (family). Hence, there is only acceptance and no regret. When I look back, I am happy that the military taught me many important lessons and has given me the required tools to succeed and the attitude to sustain. I am eternally grateful to my peers and seniors, without whom my learning’s would not have been possible. From the beginning, I was not working for rank and when the time had come to take the decision, my next rank was the last thing on my mind.
I would not say that. We already share a great relationship and we feel fortunate that we are living a life together. We are happily married for 13 years now and are going stronger by the years. Since we both were serving Army officers, frequent separations brought us together. We knew the demands of our job and understood the work pressures of each other. What else does one need to lead a happy and contented life?
"The decision to leave the military should be a personal one. It depends on many conditions that are unique to every individual. But once we decide to leave, we must take the transition seriously… if you try to cut, copy and paste the story of someone else, however flashy it might be, it may not be sustainable in the long run. It is advisable to know your interests, preferences, long term plans etc."
In the Army, your day starts at 5 am in the morning and ends at around 8 pm in the night. The job that you do is physical training sessions with your troops, deal with day to day affairs of man management and keep your troops motivated and fit to carry out the tasks that the regiment is assigned to do. This keeps one busy all day, but we enjoyed what we did.
In the corporate, your day typically starts at 9 am. So, the mornings are at your disposal. The weekends are free and you have time to relax and recoup. In the job, there is no imminent pressure. For example, at Cummins, we take a lot of effort and initiative to maintain the right environment at work. In fact, caring for each other is part of our value system, among other things. Because of this, we have one of the most gender diverse workforces in comparison with any manufacturing company in India.
In a nutshell, there are a bunch of things that are unique to both the Army and the Corporate. There is a saying in my language that when you stand at your river shore, the opposite shore looks greener.
There are lots of things. Firstly, the art of respecting time. It is not only necessary to respect your time but to respect other people’s time too. Secondly, seeing the bigger picture. By doing so, you can give a sense of direction to your team and not lose the way. Thirdly, standing by your word and doing what you say. This will give you the reputation of being genuine. Apart from these three, there are a lot of elements that you can add like keeping your team’s need higher than your need, integrity in action and speech, and many more.
My transition story is something I wanted to share, as it might be of some help to other service personnel planning their transition in the future. As I already said, I had decided to leave the Army during my 10th year of service. I took an extension of four more years, which is enough time to prepare. But to be truthful, I did not get serious up to about two years. This was mainly because of my posting where I was too busy to think and make plans for my transition.
In the last two years, I could gather steam and started working towards making plans for my transition. Firstly, I did a lot of introspection in finding out who I was. This step is very important, because if you try to cut, copy and paste the story of someone else, however flashy it might be, it may not be sustainable in the long run. It is advisable to know your interests, preferences, long term plans etc. to start with, I was sure about one thing. That is, not to start a business venture of my own. I knew right away that I was not made for entrepreneurship at that point in time. Having known that, my preparation could narrow down a bit.
Secondly, I started reading a lot from books, internet and magazines about various transition stories and options available for a veteran in the corporate world. I came to know that it was necessary to choose the right stream with respect to your experience in the Army. Resources like “What Color is My Parachute” helped me in narrowing down to it.
Thirdly, the decision to do an Executive MBA or the Directorate General of Recruitment, Ministry of Defense sponsored Management Course was staring at me. There are equal reasons to support each. But considering the fact that the sponsored course can be done during your service, I decided to go for it. I must say that it was one of the wisest decisions at that point in time. IIM Indore is a great institution and our class was a mix of officers from all the three services, with experience ranging from 10 to 32 years. The pedagogy of the course was equivalent to an executive MBA and the collective wisdom of the class made me wiser. During the course, I volunteered to be part of the Placement Committee. The experience that I gained in being in the committee was something that no books or course can teach. We were a bunch of five officers who gave our heart and soul to placement activity and it paid off.
I must say here that there are certain resources/ networks which helped me in the transition, in particular, the Forces Network-a network of more than 4000+ serving and retired officers, military to corporate(M2C)-placement site for veterans, and LinkedIn. Apart from these, there are a lot of veterans in the corporate world who are ready and willing to guide and help in need.
"Without discipline, a business cannot be successful. Great companies have their value systems and leaders are expected to be aligned and stand by setting a personal example. At Cummins, expectations from the leaders are very well defined in terms of the ‘Eight Leadership Behaviour Model’. A leader is judged, not only in terms of result delivery but also in their alignment to the value system"
Yes. Retired military personnel will initially have the trust but your work will speak for who you are. It does not take much time to lose this trust. Having said that, there are certain qualities for which retired military personnel are hired. For example, integrity, loyalty, discipline, teamwork and the art of getting things done. In India, veterans were initially hired only in security and admin roles. But now, the thought process has changed. Living in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world, the preference for veterans in mainstream roles like HR, operations, supply chain, purchasing etc., has increased. The time is not far where a veteran could become the CEO of a company. In saying that, I have not considered those veterans who have started their own ventures and running them successfully.
The decision to leave the military should be a personal one. It depends on many conditions that are unique to every individual. But once we decide to leave, we must take the transition seriously. Especially short service commission officers who typically leave the services in their 10th and 14th year of service, in the age bracket of 33 to 38 years. They do not get their pension and must work through their way in the corporate world to maintain their standard of living. Permanent commission officers typically leave their service in their 21st year of service. They do get their pension but that would not suffice as their children are generally at an important phase in their life at this time. Hence, I would like to reiterate that the decision to leave the military to pick up a corporate job should be a personal one.
By Namrata Gulati Sapra
