Israel-Iran conflict

If indeed Iran does come to the negotiating table, it will need an assurance against military actions from other hostile nations, besides assurances on lifting of all sanctions against it, and allowing it to pursue nuclear programme for peaceful purposes, subject to regular IAEA inspections.

It's a great opportunity for both the US and Israel, to dangle such "irresistible carrots" in front of the Ayotallahs, and offer other "carrots" as well, to integrate Iran's economy with the world economy. This would boost not only Iran's economy through trade and investments, and also that of the world economy in general, chiefly through lower energy prices.

Yes, lot of internal reforms may also be needed in Iran, to make their governance more participatory and democratic, in their own interests.

Iran would need a "nuclear umbrella", which all permanent members of UNSC should guarantee, either individually or severally.

President Trump and PM Netanhayu, should make all efforts through back-channel diplomatic efforts, to effect such a " diplomatic coup".

History will be ever grateful to them, for such an amazing display of statesmanship.

Preventing Air disasters through AI

Perhaps, the best possible homage to the victims of the ill-fated Flight AI 171, would be to implement 'Total Quality Management', in all aspects related to both civil and military aviation.

Let's not forget the tragic chopper crash in December 2021, which claimed the lives of our then CDS General Bipin Rawat and other top ranking Defense officers. Poor visibility and bad weather could have been among main causes in this case, but then there could have been some mechanism to alert the pilots, to either abort the flight and return, or change the route to ensure safety for all.

Yes, a thorough investigation of the reasons behind the AI 171 tragedy is being carried out, and hopefully the report would be made public in due course. But then, such investigations have been carried out in the case of all air disasters, in both civil and military aviation, since past so may years.

Perhaps, both the Defense Ministry and DGCA should consider developing an AI based system with Agentic AI capabilities, in which all such inquiry reports are inputted. Besides, any defect faced by ground engineers during maintenance of the aircrafts, which may come in way of ensuring the key objective 'Total Quality Management', and problems faced by the pilots during the course of their flights, which hopefully may not lead to accidents, should also be inputted.

The Agentic AI system should be able to collate such inputs, and share the same along with it's suggestions, regarding the steps required to ensure smooth 'Total Quality Management', as well as the kind of assistance needed by the pilots to handle any emergency situation mid-air, to avoid such disasters.

The system should further be trained to share such outputs with the approved authorities in both Civil and Military aviation for the necessary immediate action, and perhaps, also share the same with the manufacturers of such aircrafts/jets, and for eliciting their support if required, in the 'Total Quality Management' of such flying machines.

Needless to add, such an AI system would need to be constantly updated, even if slightest issue is found regarding the aircrafts/jets, as well as feedbacks from the pilots post their flying experiences.

Above all, the pilots across the spectrum, need to be regularly exposed to refresher training, based on outputs of such a system.

Managing Human Resources in the age of AI etc

With increasing instances of AI assisting the recruiters, in shortlisting the right candidates for a particular position, one wonders if such systems are capable of gauging candidates beyond what has been mentioned in his/her CV?

Well, traditional school of thought in recruiting function is that, there has to be a match between man and the job on offer. No doubt about it. But at the same time, what is often overlooked is that, one's past experience is often a result of one's compulsions of taking up whatever comes in one's way, and not really of one's deliberate choices, especially in scenarios where job market is really tough.

Now, how to gauge the right fit between potential candidates, and the requirements of the job on offer? Should it be left to the AI systems, or should the HR/Hiring Managers take the trouble of undertaking microscopic scrutiny of all the CVs in front of them?

Well, if the AI systems being used are so well trained to spot the hidden potential of the candidate/s, and recommend their CVs to the HR/Hiring Managers, then undoubtedly, such systems are worth it any day, especially where for every single open position, there are hundreds of applicants, and recruiters are hard pressed for time. But, if not, then it should be a matter of concern, for even the CEO and ultimately the Board of Directors, as one wrong hire for a key position, can adversely impact the reputation and bottom line of the organization, so carefully cultivated over the years.

A related issue which merits attention is that, the corporate world is ever dynamic, and especially so during this age of "Fourth Industrial Revolution", marked by AI, robotics, and automation, which are evolving at a rapid pace, thereby threatening to reduce the "shelf-life" of even some top performers to few years. Under such a scenario, how would any organization expect to inculcate long-term loyalty from their top-performers, when no one is sure, how certain key job-profiles would evolve few years down the line, or whether would even be relevant few years later.

Here, it should be the shared responsibility of the senior management backed by the Board of Directors, to pay special attention to the nature of evolving technologies and their overall impact on key job profiles, followed by adequately motivating and assisting their Human Resources to continuously move up the learning curve. That, such a practice would have it's desired impact on both the top line and bottom line of the organization, is anyone's guess. 😊

Art of making a top brand and then ruining that very business

Satyam Computers, Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways, and now BluSmart Mobility, would make excellent case studies for Business school students, on "the art of making a top brand and then ruining that very business".

Two related subjects which be also be deliberated are that - are those CEOs who attain "superstar" status in the corporate world, one of the key risk factors for those very businesses, which have elevated them to such a status? What checks and balances need to be institutionalized, to ensure that they do not treat such businesses as their personal fiefdoms, and are truly committed to serve the interests of all their stakeholders, in a highly professional manner, taking into account the aspirations of all such stakeholders.

While the role of initial and subsequent financiers, Key Managerial Personnel, auditors, and the boards of such entities could face microscopic scrutiny as a post-mortem exercise, what should merit attention is - how could any reckless decision, with or without mala fide intention could be prevented, thereby saving the livelihoods of majority of the stakeholders, who may not have anything to fall back on immediately, when faced with such unfortunate circumstances.

Finally, there can be no doubt that a great brand will always have takers among investors and patrons, but are such "black events" in the corporate world not unmitigated disasters even for those aspiring promoters, who may have genuine intentions to raise funds, and attain a respectable name for their businesses and themselves, in the society at large? 😊

Something for the CEOs

 

CEOs need to realize that behind every 'Star Performer' in their respective organizations, there are their respective family members as well, who do everything possible at their end, so that such "Star Performers" are able to put in their best while at work.

It's time, due importance and possible and care is given to such family members as well, by such organizations, which are fortunate enough to have such great talent on their respective rolls.

Secondly, we need to redefine the concept of 'hard work'. Is it mere physical presence at workplace, or being connected via online technologies, for 'punishing' number of hours, or is it to be judged by the results delivered, and all other efforts made, irrespective of the number of hours put in?

Finally, CEO's also need to delve into another vital aspect, which has a direct bearing on the overall health of their respective organizations. And that is, are most of their human resources, if not all, really putting in their 100%, and have indeed 'unleashed their respective animal spirits' while at work, or are just ensuing, that their respective 'chins are above water', and are desperately looking for better opportunities elsewhere?

It's time, that such thoughts now find their way into corporate governance as well, because these ultimately impact the valuations of any organization, and their respective bottom-lines and share prices as well. 😊

Latest controversy involving the Adani conglomerate

Reference to the latest controversy involving the Adani conglomerate, according to some media reports, the core of the allegation is that some discoms refused to get into agreements with 'Solar Energy Company of India' (SECL), because the price that SECL had committed to 'Adani Green' and 'Azure Power', was above the market rates - and Adanis then, the US regulator alleges, bribed state officials to get them to sign the agreements with SECL. The US case is based on the premise that this is where the corruption happened, and this is what 'Adani Green' did not tell investors in America.

It is here that the focus needs to be on SECL, which should make a statement that, all dealings with the two entities were as per the established norms laid down for any dealing, and the same were duly audited by their statutory auditors. and were found to be above board. Secondly, the discoms in question too need to come out in the open, and state that the said agreements being referred to, were signed only after following the established norms and procedures, and were subsequently duly audited by their statutory auditors, and no question marks were raised.

Certainly, the records/documents to substantiate the same, would be privileged information and can be revealed only to the right authorities, but for now to calm nerves, such statements should not be delayed.

Then a key source for the evidence may well have been a cellphone notes, which was used to track details of the bribes offered and promised. These notes included the names of the states, the exact amount paid to officials, the amount of power discoms would purchase, the per megawatt rate for the bribe offered, title of government officials among other details.

It would be only appropriate that such details are shared with our authorities, for a parallel investigation.

Though indictment means a formal accusation and not a conviction, and it is hoped that the conglomerate would be given ample opportunity to present their defense, before the final verdict is delivered, yet in the interests of our "Infra Diplomacy", it would only be prudent for us to take due note of the same, and initiate the steps required to come out clean.

Some ideas for Trump 2.0 to 'Make America Great Again'

* Instead of going ahead with the proposed tariff hikes on imports, across the board, which can only lead to a disastrous cycle retaliation and counter retaliation, it would be better if Trump 2.0 identifies key imports, majorly contributing to the trade imbalance, and encourage local production of the same, keeping in mind the 'Law of Comparative Advantage'. Here, America Inc. could play a vital role by examining what all it would take to locally produce the same, keeping price-value equation at par if not better from what the US consumers are getting from imports at present. Besides, the Trump 2.0 could also identify those foreign companies, having major share in their exports to the US, and encourage them to set up manufacturing units in the US. Among the various incentives considered for them could include, a corporate tax structure, which is inversely proportional to the number of tax-payers they create within their US based entities, and allowing them to import basis raw materials from their home countries at negligible import duties,

* On inflation, identify key items in the basket of everyday consumption, besides of course gasoline, which have recorded significant rise in price levels in the past four years, with the root causes. Fix those causes to the extent feasible, to bring down the cost of living, even if it means increasing imports of some items to cater to the demand. Yes, increasing gasoline production to tame it's price has to be a short fix, but that in no way should compromise on their overall commitment to encourage sustainable energies, to battle the climate change. Both can go on in parallel, without having to burden the average consumer right away, with hefty costs of such a transition to clean energy,

* Ukraine - While the return of Crimea is to Ukraine is off the table for the US, the least what they can insist on, is return of the 20% of it's territories being held by Russia, ever since it invaded two years back. As a quid-pro-quo, US can give guarantees on behalf of NATO to Russia, that Ukraine will not be admitted within their fold, but that will not deny the NATO members to participate in post war reconstruction in Ukraine. Furthermore, Russia needs also needs to give 'iron-clad' guarantees, that no further invasion of any other sovereign country will take place from its soil,

* Middle East - Impress upon the Palestinian leadership to dump Hamas, and enable the return of the Israeli hostages being held captive for over a year, at the earliest. Side-by-side, compel Israel to accept the 'two nation' formula, by recognizing the 'State of Palestine'. With Iran, try to renegotiate a new peace deal, by which Iran reigns its proxies in the 'Axis of Resistance', and commits to upholding human rights and also pledges to be a responsible power, and gets off the sanctions.

India is uniquely poised to play a dependable interlocutor, in enabling the above. 😊