Exam Time

Writing a paper and pencil exam. Without a word of preparation. Priceless.

Infosys encourages us to undertake a certification exam every 6 months. This exam can either be internal or external. You just accumulate more points when you take an external test.

By now, you know how we chai-buddies inspire each another as we consume awesome filter coffee and tea twice a day at Hatti-Kaapi. This is where crazy ideas are encouraged and exchanged. Some months ago, the brightest among our lot encouraged me to complete an external certification exam. After brief thought, I decided to listen to Mr. Bright and give it a twirl.

Another colleague handed over the exam material. It weighed 3 kg. Thrice I opened the first page only to fall asleep in 5 minutes. Next I glanced through the table of contents to fathom if I could 'reverse-engineer' the details. No luck there. I randomly picked pages for numerical problems. The 3 kg monster was pure theory.

4 months whirred by without a single word of preparation.

The exam day arrived last weekend. That morning, it took me 20 minutes to find two pencils, a sharpener and an eraser. There was no pencil box to put this stuff in, so Priya lent me a pouch that holds her cooling glasses. I also carried her old solar calculator from her B.Com days. The hall ticket was printed just 5 minutes before starting the car. When I finally took the test, answers were determined through logic gleaned from Calvin and Hobbes comic strips, 'strategic' sounding words, inky-pinky-ponky methods and pure coin tosses. In the past, I would spend the last 15 minutes of any exam in reviewing answers. This time, there was so such conflict. Masala Dosa at Adigas next door vs. 15 minutes for review? Coin tosses are not wasted on such obvious choices.

Looking back, I wouldn't have scripted this experience better. Lack of preparation for an exam was an unknown phenomenon for me until now. While never a topper, I would always finish near the top. Preparation was the key. (What choice - other than preparation - do you have when you belong to a traditional middle-class South Indian family where cousins get nothing less than multiple gold medals?) And now, with nothing to lose, the entire experience was such a rush of joy. Maybe that is why Anupam Kher's speech resonated so well last night.
 

So Mr. Bright, what's your next big idea?

Excellence

Infosys hosted its Annual Awards for Excellence (AFE) today. If there is ever a lesson you need on how a multi-country-multi-city-annual-corporate event must be conducted, this is it. Every step of the 2.5 hour event is amazingly choreographed, seamlessly integrated and flawlessly presented by Infoscions every step of the way.

 

All global Infosys locations participate simultaneously in the AFE. Hence, when award announcements are made for a project / unit that comprises of members working across several locations, the team members across these locations can walk up to the stage simultaneously to collect their awards. To me, it seems that we have not only pioneered the global delivery model but have also refined the global recognition model. The AFE celebrates the best of values that Infosys represents viz. Excellence.

 

We also invite an eminent personality as the Chief Guest for the AFE who represents excellence in his / her field of work. Anil Kumble has been here before and so has Barkha Dutt. Naseeruddin Shah was invited in 2010 while 2011 was the year of A.R. Rehman. Today, it was the versatile Anupam Kher.

 

When greats speak to you, what remain in your mind are their simple words and rustic wisdom. When you stop fearing failure, Mr. Kher said, you automatically start on a path to excellence. Learn to listen well and learn from others. And above all, an actor must always remember that he is no different than a carpenter. Both of them just execute things. But an actor lets things get to his head because he sees others write something about him. That reminded me so much about Naseeruddin Shah's speech about excellence a couple of years ago. We all start small. We just want to do the simple things right. Excellence comes much later.

 

Starting small. Listening. Staying true to yourself. Remaining grounded. That’s the path to excellence for you. How easy to remember. And how easily we forget….