Have you ever thought why so many professionals of Indian origin are making it to the top of the global corporate? Mr. Ajay Banga, who has recently been nominated by the US President Mr. Joe Biden to head the World Bank, comes from the same long list of Indian-origin persons who have made it to the top of the corporate world. From Mr. Sundar Pichai at Google and Mr. Satya Nadella at Microsoft to Mr. Neal Mohan at YouTube, Mr. Arvind Krishna at IBM, Ms. Revathi Advaithi at Flex, Ms. Jayshree V. Ullal at Arista Networks and Ms. Leena Nair at Chanel, Indian-origin CEOs are leading some of the world’s most successful companies in a variety of sectors. Apart from those who hit headlines now and then with their anointment at the top echelons of a company, there are large number of Indians who have moved to the world stage and are making significant contribution to the global corporate world. This is not just a recent phenomenon. Who can forget those doctors and engineers who made their fortunes in the developed countries after getting their education from the otherwise much-cursed Indian education system?
Why I am reminding you of these successful Indians abroad is because there are some inspiring lessons for you in their collective success story. Firstly, it is not easy to compete at the international level. You have to face best of the talents from across the world. Still, it is not without reason that a growing number of Indians are able to beat their peers from various nationalities and come out with flying colours. After all, they have been groomed in an insanely tough competitive atmosphere in India. Since their childhood, they have faced innumerable competitions—from admission into schools to multiple board examinations to still tougher entrance tests to get into the higher education institutes. Who in the world can beat those who have achieved their place of pride after competing against millions of almost equally deserving candidates? Who in the world can beat those who have grown up eyeing 99.9 marks out of 100 in successive competitive examinations throughout their growing-up years! So, whenever you feel low as a result of intense competition you face, just think about the greater good this is doing to you to prepare for the future.
Secondly, Indians do not learn just what they learn in schools and colleges. The peculiar Indian circumstances and conditions that they grow up in serve them as an equally good, even better, educator. From facing difficulties in commuting to their schools and colleges to managing within smaller and chaotic spaces, from poor facilities to disappointing marks in exams, they face hurdles at every step of their early life and learn to take them as a challenge. In turn, all this makes them a much more hardened competitor. So, whenever you feel low because of your difficult circumstances, just think that these setbacks are a learning experience to face an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world in future.
Thirdly, after living and succeeding under extraordinary situations early in life, Indians inherently develop an intuitive trait of adaptability and creativity. They develop an uncanny single-mindedness in pursuit of their goals, and this too gives them an edge when they face higher levels of competition globally. Last but not least, the language prowess you get to acquire in Indian cultural milieu is something that gives you an additional competitive edge. No other country has adopted English as we, Indians, have. While people from other non-English nationalities typically think in their own language and act in English, Indians more often than not think and act in English. This also puts them ahead of their competition when they go global.
I will conclude by saying that the tough competition, chaotic conditions and many hurdles and setbacks you face while preparing for your examinations, all is a blessing in disguise. All this is preparing you to shine in tougher competitions you have to face in future.
With these words, I wish you greater success in all your endeavours.