Rajat Gupta and David Petraeus: Birds of a feather?

Both are brainy. Both are brilliant strategists. Both were stars, one in the corporate firmament and the other in the military firmament. Both rose and rose to the stratosphere from plebeian childhoods. Both were role models that inspired people all over the world. Around sixty years of age, both appeared to be destined for even greater heights.  

Neither Gupta nor Petraeus took a single false step in their illustrious careers. Then both fell dramatically from grace when they were at the pinnacle of international reputation. One was brought down by a financial scandal and the other by a sex scandal. Are they then like you and me, slave to the same frailties as you and I are? We would have thought, along with Maslow, that once a person’s main needs - for food, sex, security, achievement - are met, he would focus on self actualisation and reputation.  Both Gupta and Petraeus had met all these needs. What is it then about sex and greed that snare such extraordinary achievers with a solid reputation?

Perhaps we are making a wrong assumption when we say that Gupta was brought down by greed and Petraeus by sex. Greed and sex do play a role in this tragedy, but a minor one. The main cause is quite different, but it is the same for both Gupta and Petraeus.

What is it? The clue lies in the fact that neither of these two heroes was investigated by any agency; investigations into other people's wrongdoings stumbled into these two. They were above suspicion. Suspecting them of any wrongdoing was as silly as wondering whether the Pope was practising black magic. Such feeling of super safety led to complacency, to hubris. The trouble with hubris is that it dulls the afflicted persons’ nerves. They don't take the usual precautions that you and I do because they don't feel the need.

We don't know why Rajat Gupta gave highly sensitive confidential information to his friend Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon Hedge Fund and who initiated the cycle of transactions. But as Gupa was floating in a super safe zone, it is not difficult to imagine him doing a small favour to his friend without worrying about the possibility of being found out.

We don't know how the extramarital affair between Petraeus and his adoring biographer Paula Broadwell started and who took the initiative. But it is not difficult to imagine the war hero in such an exalted position throwing caution to the winds; there was no way anyone would suspect him of anything improper. You don't need to look around before undressing in your own bedroom.

Reluctance to do what they did would probably have been perceived as an unacceptable sign of weakness in both the cases. Perhaps people afflicted by hubris are like you and me when we are in an inebriated state - pretty easy to be persuaded to do silly things.

Photo Credit: Rajat Gupta (The Guardian, UK); David Petraeus (Vanity Fair)

Are health drinks wrecking our kids?

I am not a nutritionist. So I will not make any claims. But, as a member of the “mango people,” I would like to raise a few questions. I wonder if we have been persuaded too easily by manufacturers of health drinks for small children.

We all know that deficiencies in certain nutrients and vitamins can cause havoc. As children we learned how scurvy, caused by deficiency in vitamin C, killed hundreds of sailors on long voyages that started in the fifteenth century. We know that deficiencies in protein, iodine, and iron cause deaths and disabilities that can be prevented with the help of supplements. We also agree that for most of us, including our children, the best source of these nutrients is a balanced diet.

Yet, those of us who can easily afford to give our children a balanced diet are the ones who reach out for supplements. There is a very good reason why we do it. We are intensely aware of the impact of vitamin and nutrient deficiencies on our children's physical and mental growth. So at the first sign of a child not eating what we consider to be a balanced diet, we get worried and give them manufactured products that claim to contain all the essential nutrients that children need to grow well and to become smart. Even when they eat pretty well, we invest in these supplements. We don't want our children to fall behind their peers who are given these supplements. We believe that as educated parents aware of the critical role played by these nutrients, we are doing the right thing for our kids.

But are we? Or are we pushing the children into a vicious circle from which there is no escape? Do these very supplements prevent the children from eating a balanced diet? Why should the body process raw and cooked food for nutrients when it has been pampered with ready-made supplements? Are we guilty of not giving the body a chance to look after itself? Have we been taken for a ride by advertisers of health drinks and supplements?

Photocredit: http://www.istockphoto.com/

A Trojan Horse

I love walking. I don't mind forgoing my morning cup of coffee, but not the half-hour of brisk walking. So when the student organiser of INSIGHT 2012 (IIMA’s marketing research fair that attracts several thousand Ahmedabadis) asked me if I could join a walkathon he was organising as part of the fair, I readily said yes. Because this year’s INSIGHT was on the last Sunday of September, it coincided with the World Heart Day, he added, and therefore the objective of the walkathon was to spread awareness about keeping the heart healthy. Excellent, I thought.

The walkathon was at an inconvenient time for me. However, I put aside other things and arrived at the venue five minutes ahead of the announced start. There was a small crowd, but hardly any IIMA students, faculty, or support staff among them although the walkathon would start from the campus.

Everyone was wearing a T-shirt that prominently displayed a local hospital’s name and logo along with IIMA’s. I was offered one. I declined. I didn't want to be a mobile hoarding for a hospital. Then placards were handed out. They also carried the hospital’s name and logo prominently along with a health tip. By now I realised that instead of a brisk walk with an element of competition thrown in, what I was going to take part in was a slow procession through a city road to raise public awareness about that particular hospital rather than about the heart and the need to keep it healthy. The strangers in promotional T-shirts appeared to be from that hospital.

About ten minutes after the walkathon was supposed to start, the chief cardiac surgeon of that hospital spoke. It was followed by a speech by a municipal corporator. At that point I excused myself and came away.

Walking home, I asked myself whether I was being too unrealistic. The hospital must have given the INSIGHT organisers several hundred thousand rupees to be the main sponsor and to have an opportunity to be seen by the thousands of Ahmedabadis who would throng the venue later in the day. The walkathon was a small part of that promotional effort. Why not? He who pays the piper calls the tune. Sponsors give money in exchange for publicity. That's what all sponsors do, right? Even the so-called Corporate Social Responsibility activities have the same objective.

I don't have any objection to organisations buying publicity. If, however, I didn't want to be a pawn in that game, why did I readily agree to take part in the walkathon? The simple answer is that the student organiser had framed the walking event as part of INSIGHT and intended to raise awareness about World Heart Day. The student didn't lie. But he gave me a partial story, the part that was attractive. It was a Trojan Horse. I can't blame the student because I should have asked questions before accepting the invitation. I realised that such framing of issues often leads us to commitments that we cannot easily get out of.

Photo Credit: http://www.istockphoto.com/

Lessons in persuasion from a heinous crime

Sajjad Mughal’s overwhelming ambition: make love to Pallavi Purkayastha. He is a young (22), under-educated Kashmiri working as a watchman at Himalayan Heights, an upscale block of flats in Wadala, Mumbai. A graduate of the National Law School Pune, she (25) is a legal adviser. She has been staying with her partner Avik Sengupta in a flat on the sixteenth floor for a little under a year.

He tries to please her and befriend her, generously offering any special services that she might need. She spurns his repeated offers. Faced with such stony behaviour most men would give up the chase especially when the social distance between them is so great. Not Sajjad. He observes her routine and her live-in partner’s. He discovers that Avik often comes home well past midnight.

To achieve his objective, Sajjad must enter Pallavi’s flat when she's alone. He should not attract anyone's attention. That means he cannot force his way in. She must open the door and welcome him in. So he searches for some service that she asks him to render in the flat.

He figures out that if power goes off in her flat, she will seek someone's help. Once he senses an opportunity, Sajjad finds out from the electrician where the trip switches are and identifies the one that controls the power supply to Pallavi’s flat.

One night he switches off power supply to her flat. She telephones Avik, who is still at work. On his advice she asks the watchman on duty– Sajjad – to get an electrician. He does. A couple of hours later he switches off the power supply again. This time the electrician, accompanied by Sajjad, asks Pallavi to disconnect all heavy appliances to prevent any further tripping at night. Meanwhile Sajjad quietly steals the key to the main door and leaves the room with the electrician. He returns after 1 AM, opens the door to the flat, and enters, determined to rape her in the short window of opportunity available to him.

Pallavi is fast asleep; he tries to force himself upon her. She proves to be tough. She resists valiantly. Brustrated, Sajjad pulls out his knife and stabs her wildly before running away. She dies well before Avik’s return.

This is a horrible crime against an innocent woman. It deserves to be condemned by everyone without any reservations. Let us, however, glean a few lessons in persuasion from the unfortunate incident. Sajjad tried ingratiation first. A very powerful tactic, it failed in this case. Perhaps he appeared too eager, alarmingly eager, and that turned Pallvi off. But without giving up, he observed the target closely to identify her needs and chinks in her armour. Do we study our targets systematically when we plan our difficult persuasion acts?

Sajjad was in too much of a hurry; that took him quickly from the beautiful thought of seduction to the ugly plan of rape and ultimately to the horror of murder. That's another lesson in persuasion for us. Hurry kills.

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Acknowledgement: The account of the murder and the events leading up to it have been picked up from various newspapers, mainly The Times of India. Pallavi's photograph is taken from www.ndtv.com.