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Below are five good quotes I came across recently.

1. The glue that holds all relationships together is trust, and trust is based on integrity.
2. Decisiveness is a characteristic of high-performing men and women. Almost any decision is better than no decision at all.
3. Character is the ability to follow through on a resolution long after the emotion with which it was made has passed.
4. Leaders are made, not born. You learn to become a leader by doing what other excellent leaders have done before you. You become proficient in your job or skill, and then you become proficient at understanding the motivations and behaviours of other people.

5. There are no prizes for average performance.

Sources: Internet, www.BrianTracy.com

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Benazir Bhutto announced in her death letter that her 19 year son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will succeed her as party chief. Naïve and younger than umpteen other leaders in Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal got the post because her dead mother said so. She herself is a child of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. I heard that there is no other leader in PPP that could fill Benazir’s shoes.

I wonder why Bilawal got to be the party chief and why there is no other leader in PPP that could fill the departed leader’s shoes. Was it because there’s no other leader that Bilawal occupied the post? Or was it because she wanted Bilawal to occupy the post that there is no other capable leader in the party?

A leader should build an organization with capable leadership team that recruits other able leaders. If the leader brings in sons and daughters and relatives, will others in the organization stay behind? This situation leads to what Guy Kawasaki calls a bozo explosion. Without capable leaders, a company, a country, a political party or any other organization, at some point, will be without a head. That’s a nightmare for the existence of the organization the leader wanted to build.

But if the leader secretly wants to bring her kith and kin to fill her own shoes, the leader will avoid building a great leadership team. I think that’s what had happened with BJP after Pramod Mahajan’s demise and Vajpayee’s old age, to Congress after Rajiv Gandhi’s death and now with PPP.

The leader has not done the job well if there is no ‘second rung’ to lead. In fact he or she should build a culture that mentors and produces leaders. Yet, in India, can we name one credible organization that is devoted to produce great leaders for the country?

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This is a sequel to my earlier post on interview with Irevna.

Two insights helped me in the above interview I mentioned in my previous post.

First, most interviews begin with the question, “tell me about yourself” – a lazy and smart interviewer’s question. I say lazy, because it is easy to ask. You can show up without looking at the interviewee’s resume and still ask this question confidently. And smart because it brings to bear several skills and preparation of the candidate.

“Tell me about yourself” is not “tell me your history.” It is disguised “Tell me, based on what you have done, why, I should I hire you?”

This question is a great opportunity because the canvass is yet to be painted. The structure of the painting is fully in YOUR control. It is not a dull “what is IRR” which needs a straight definition type answer.

But it’s a tough question too. You have to understand what the interviewer’s expectations are.

Most interviewers have expectations from an interviewee in the following categories, not necessarily in any order.

• Technical
• Interpersonal skills
• Communication skills
• Leadership skills
• Experience
• Qualifications etc.

Some of the above categories are more important than others. Which one is more important and which is not depends on the industry and the role for which interview is being conducted. A sales role may need more interpersonal and communication skills; a team leader may need greater leadership skills; and analytics role may need greater technical skills. For the role you have applied for, check out what the interviewer may be looking for.

Your answer to “tell me about yourself” should give a glimpse (not an essay but glimpse) of answers to priority items in the list above. After hearing your answer, interviewers should think… “hmm… this person may have what I am looking for. Let me explore further what this person said so I can confirm my hypothesis.” If you are able to do this, you have cracked it. You have shaped the interview.

What I said above assumes:

• You know about the role and made correct (or reasonable) assumptions about priorities
• You know about yourself (strengths, weaknesses etc. (not a laundry listing but a well thought out version) and have researched the company enough
• You have spent enough time creating instances of excellence of what the interviewers will be looking for (e.g. for a research role, credible research you have done)

The second, though not a big deal, helped me crack the group discussion. Unlike a typical GD topic, we were told that the group has to come up with a list of five things. Together—a unanimous list—not my own or not someone else’s. Don’t remember what the list should comprise. But the time was just 5 min or so. For a normal GD topic, which could be discussed endlessly, your ability to put across a few strong points count. However, for this topic, it’s your ability to channel the group’s opinion that counts. The sooner you can come to the list, the better. What helped me crack this GD was that I suggested that we go around in a circle and tell what my own list was. If it had duplicates across everyone, then that item automatically qualifies to be in the final list. I am usually against a democratic ‘merry go around’ approach for a GD. But for this one, it seemed right.

It worked. Only that at the end, we had to sort of compromise on one or two in the list so we could complete the list ‘unanimously’. Thankfully, others in the group and I were willing to do that for the interest of the GD and our interviews!

So, this GD brought into picture, analytical, structuring, and timekeeping skills.

I hope this post was useful for those giving interviews.

Useful links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ezFNrWMTlc

http://www.careerjournal.com/jobhunting/interviewing/20041104-hirsch.html

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I visited historic Warangal (ancient Orugallu) recently. And had a great time. The Orugallu Fort and Veyyi Stambhala Gudi (Thousand Pillar Temple) have history, architecture and sculpture and are probably among the best of Indian temples. Kakatiya dynasty, that ruled Andhra region from 750 AD – 1325 AD – for 575 years, still lives in the ruins of the fort and almost intact temple.

1000 Pillar Temple, Warangal from the front. Nandi is to the extreme left (not in picture). To the right is Surya’s shrine. The left side of the temple has Shiva’s shrine.

You can get a first hand of the dynasty’s taste for sculpture in Veyyi Stambhala Gudi or 1000 Pillar Temple. It has a catchy and apt name. Are there thousand pillars? Yes there are – of many varieties and sizes; some of them are even part of others! The pillars that support the central ‘Natya Mandapam’ (dance floor) are large and made of multiple blocks of stone.

The other catch is psychological. When you hear “Veyyi Stambalu” (thousand pillars) you imagine a farm of pillars. For my expectation, the temple was much smaller. More so because a mandapam (see left of the picture below), that contributes 400 of 1000 pillars, was dismantled by the Archeological Survey of India for reconstruction. Unlike pillars in other temples of India, pillars of the main temple, are tightly knit and form its walls and so don’t seem like there are 600 of them.

There’s the mandapa now dismantled. This picture was taken from behind the 1000 pillar temple, Warangal.

The temple is star shaped with three shrines devoted to Rudradeva (Shiva), Vishnu, and Surya (Sun). Interestingly, the third deity is not Brahma who is part of the Trinity of God [as in the Trinity (which consists of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) in Suchindrum] because the Kakatiyas worshipped Lord Shiva and Lord Surya and not so much Brahma. On the fourth side is Shiva’s vehicle, Nandi or Bull.

Nandi looking east (above). Carving on Nandi (below)

Unlike most temples in India that face east, 1000 pillar temple faces south. Because, the Kakatiyas, worshipers of Lord Shiva, wanted early morning sun rays to fall directly on Shiva Lingam. So, of the three shrines, Shiva’s shrine faces east and other shrines face south and west. On the fourth side is Nandi. Adding to the uniqueness, the Nandi in 1000 pillar temple looks east, unlike most Nandis in Indian temples that look west.

Between these four is the Natya Mandapam (dance floor) where dancers performed.

The guide who shared with me his knowledge about 1000 pillar temple, Warangal

More interesting is the architectural prowess of the Kakatiyas. Hearsay is that ASI, when it dismantled the Mandapam for reconstruction, found about 30 feet of sand and three wells below it! Unbelievable. This temple was built in 1163 AD and took 72 years to construct!

In addition to architecture, I loved the rich carvings and sculpture. You have to see it to believe it. The Nandi had on its back, a chain made of bells which seemed real. And the bull was life like.

Impressive Bull was a beginning. The 1000 pillar temple takes it to a whole new level. Enter the temple, you will see four magnificent pillars supporting the Natya Mandapam (dance floor). Each richly carved with exquisite designs. A pillar has multiple designs, 2 centimeters to about 30 centimeters, on the perimeter of circular pillar. They used designs of jewelry of the age. Chains, bangles, rings, crowns and the Kakatiya Dynasty’s symbol, Kalisam, can be seen one after another on each pillar. The design also had flowers finely carved. So fine, the sculptures carved gap between petals. A guide showed us such gaps by inserting a tiny stick into those holes. “This is how fine Kakatiya’s sculptures were.”

One of the main pillars in the 1000 pillar temple. You can see designs of chain, ring (ungaram), bangle and Kalisam at the bottom.

Kalisam, the symbol of Kakatiyas. You can see multiple tiny holes amplified by inserting a tiny stick into them.

Exquisite design on one of the pillars in 1000 pillar temple. The guide demonstrates how fine the sculpture is by inserting a tiny stick into a gap between two flowers.

The roof of the Natya Mandiram in 1000 pillar temple is a master piece in itself. It has Gayatri, the goddess of learning, and Chaturmukam (four faces) that guards against ill. In fact, the roof has 3 Chatur mukhas or 12 such faces in all.

Roof of the Natya Mandapam (Dance floor)

I have posted a few more pictures of the 1000 pillar temple. I hope you enjoy them. But seeing the real thing is an experience in itself. It taught me more about myself, from where I am and the about the legacy of my ancestors. Thanks so much for building such structures which could withstand the test of time and be there to show us who you were!

A parting thought. I discovered a great video on Kakatiyas called Mana Kakatiyulu (Our Kakatiyas) made by Dr. Ambati Srinivas Raju. A well researched documentary with video footage of all the temples and Sila Sasanas (stone inscriptions) detailing the history of Kakatiya Dynasty. If you are someone from Andhra or anyone from India, you will enjoy this video. Thankfully, they published their numbers if you want to contact them. +919849333795 or +91 9949568285. Get drenched in history!

More pictures of 1000 pillar temple

Some more! (Updated! Feb 23, ‘08)

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