The bus to my Cambridge college arrived on time, stopped right at the bus stop, lowered our footboards for people to disembark, and we all boarded in one file after each passenger had exited. This reminded me that Vinod Dham, the father of Intel's Pentium chip, told author Chidananda Rajghatta: "In India, a public transport bus never stops at a bus stop. It is always full, and so the driver is either earlier or later." Stops several yards away, only to evacuate passengers who are already overflowing. So, to board the bus, you're prepared to walk 50 meters on either side and maybe even a foot on the footboard of the bus. Grab a finger. Then you come to America, and what do you see? The bus arrives on time, it's almost empty, the driver even lowers the footboard to let you in. Life is a piece of cake.
This best explains to me why many companies, especially in tech, are headed by Indian CEOs. The broad metaphor of Indian traffic, perhaps the most chaotic in the world, explains this phenomenon even better. Traffic in India teaches you to follow the rules, but to work around obstacles when you encounter them (eg, a moving buffalo). It teaches you to account for unforeseen events at all times and there is always an alternate route to reach your destination. It teaches you to multi-task instead of working sequentially. Traffic humbles you and accepts the variety of vehicles on the road – cars, two- and three-wheelers, carts, cycles, bullock carts, and even the occasional 'black swan' elephant.
Thus, I was not surprised when I learned that the majority of immigrant CEOs in the US are of Indian origin, dominated by technology. While they can be citizens from anywhere, most are first generation Indians who grew up with value systems in India. Some of the reasons for this are obvious, such as the knowledge of English and the distorted education system of India. But there are others non-obvious, and here are five reasons why I believe India (and Indian traffic) has molded so many Indian CEOs:
Namrata: Rajghatta writes about how Satya Nadella began his first email to employees after becoming the CEO of Microsoft with "Today is a very humble day for me". His personal family situation taught him humility; An Indian upbringing too. Humility leads to loyalty, a job for life and one's company with most Indians having been brought up to think of a respected second family. It fosters consensus building and collaboration, and you don't think of yourself as the alpha leader, which is a very common Western CEO trait.
Gentleness and family: Entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa once told the BBC (bbc.in/3VjFdrZ) that "men like Nadella and Sundar Pichai bring a certain amount of attentiveness, reflection and a decent culture" which makes them one of the top jobs in tech. Makes you an ideal candidate. , especially at a time when Big Tech has to answer a lot of questions from governments and society. Joint families invest in parenting education and instill tolerance and kindness when they grew up in an unequal society.
On having a Plan B: "No other country in the world 'trains' so many citizens in such a gladiatorial manner as India does," writes R Gopalakrishnan of Tata Sons. There is always a plan B, "if suddenly there is no electricity, or the water runs out". Things never went smoothly in India and rarely a logical process is followed, so one is always prepared. At a time when uncertain events like COVID or global warming are affecting us, these innate skills matter a lot.
Concept of Time: In Indian mythology, time is circular, not linear. There are no binaries, we live in shades of gray. Thus, work replaces leisure, there is no work-life sequence, and the two need to be integrated. The past is not gone, it can come back. These uncertain times, when technology is developing at an indiscriminate pace and work is changing forever, favor this kind of thinking among corporate leaders.
Finally, unity in diversity: Indians grew up with 22 official languages, religions, countless castes and sub-castes. In a work culture that embraces diversity, this background is useful. Indians grew up in a democratic society with free institutions and a free press, in a society that "strives to be equitable despite deep inequalities".
As the world increasingly begins to reflect traffic in India – usually unpredictable, complex and chaotic – growing with it gives Nadella, Pichai and Agarwal of the planet an almost unfair advantage to rule the world of Big Tech .
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