"No Problem"

I still fail to understand why people here say "No problem", when there are some seious problems just pointed out; plain, obvious, and very visible... It is the primary rejection of something inconvenient it looks like, almost denial of the reality.

The factory gets close to completion every day now, and the amount of follow-up required is increasing as detailes are generally neglected. One will have to keep in mind that the factory looks better than most homes in the area. It has 2 restrooms with 8 "pots" which is more than many of the workers communities have... The contrasts are again mind blowing, but it is an awesome thing to bring life to a next level of development!

They got the hang of it!

...when they understand what you really mean with "getting a quality job done" it goes pretty quick! It is so awesome to work with hard working, understanding people who are eager to learn. Though i have to be present on site in order to make it happen at 9:00am and 6:00pm it goes pretty smooth these days.

Christmas morning will be with pie and coffee and tea :-) under a real roof! when the deadlines are being reached.

As commented on the previous blog, the watchman is having an awesome time too. To give you the facts, the man is 40+, has 6 daughters and lives with his family in a shack (see yesterdays blog).

He is hired by a security company we contract in turn, to provide day and night presence on the construction site. We pay the security company USD 60.00 per month and they assumingly pay the gentleman less than that as a monthly salary. Not much... so we have offered our faithful security guard a fulltime job with our company as soon as we are operational on this site; he and his family can move from a hut to an apartment as we increase his pay to an above average Indian level.

With 6 daughters in India you will have to spend a lot in order to get them married to decent guys! As a company we have decided to help him, as he has some serious challenges facing him in the Indian context. Obviously he is a very happy man, having a brighter future ahead of him!

Speeding up the process!

Yes! the effect of last couple of days of explaining the basics are visible! Still it requires my presence on site, but the progress is awesome! Check out these links for a visual - Frank.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JvMZZVIX44

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBTsCjk3KG4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBTsCjk3KG4

Let's see what they have completed today :)

Time commitments

All the difficulties in a different and developing culture taken into account, I am glad there are basics that apply everywhere... like time. Time can be wasted or used anywhere in the world. Today I spent a full day explaining how to plan and take all the problems like lack of water, lack power supply, lack of skill and presence of labor force, etc into account.

It is amazing what an eyeopener it is to simply plan. The sides of the factory are being built while we speak and obviously we asked for a plan of action with the deadline as the first one on the list. Now, keep in mind we have not had a written time line since the start of the project. See last blog...

The planning goes not further than a few minutes, so when they say it will be ready in 5 to 10 days it is nothing more than a WAG (Wild Ass Guess). We had enough wags last year, so we sit with them to work out the details; we get it on paper for them. It works very well, though it feels like helping my own kids getting ready for the swimming pool!! The very basics have to be explained to people working as professionals.

Now, the power struggle is kept in high regards as a valid excuse. And it is true, even at our home we run our appliances 50% of the time on batteries in order to keep the power up.

So here we go again: “Sorry sir, no power"... Now we have this problem at least 2002 as far as we have experiences it, so you would think companies would come up with a solution for this. Anyway, we asked the guys: “what about a cordless, chargeable, drilling machine? "Too expensive sir, my company does not provide that."

So also a way out not to provide within the time line, verbally committed. Very frustrating, but not the end of it!

Tomorrow morning at 7:00am I am bringing them our battery operated drilling machines... Again, we have to supply the supplier with the equipment to enforce a commitment from him, or at least to have him in a position without excuse and, we can continue our planning!

Soon more...

Trust and Commitment

Construction company manager: "No problem sir, it will all be done!"
Me: "Awesome, and when do you think is will be ready this time? Last week you promised me it would be done today..."
Construction company manager: "Yes sir, very sorry sir, we had a slight problem in delivering the materials, but this time it will be done 110% guaranteed".
Me: "I trust you and to make sure you trust your work and skill, could you give that to me in writing?"
Construction company manager: "No, no, sir, I can not do that". "I could be in a big problem when I do not get it done in time!"

For some projects you have to be flexible, but for this one you have to be in liquid form! Words don't mean a whole lot and verbal commitments are more or less ideas. No wonder projects executed at this part of the word under Indian stretchable time cannot be completed in a few weeks. The focus is on the progress and development for now as we are instructing our people to grow in discipline and order in order to become trust worthy.

The structure is standing!

Frustration Ending

Well, finally then! After weeks of being extremely frustrated caused by the lack of diligence, delays, threats of stopping the project by the builder, we finally see progress in the right direction. The pictures show the corrections of the foundation and the rebuilding of the structure. Another month gone... November 12th has not been possible... well, we knew that. At least you have a clear pricture on the value of time in this part of the world...

Now it looks like the quality is going to be maintained, though it requires thorough follow-up and site visits at least once a day.

Nadine inspects the bolts :)... she is pretty sharp for her age and figured out by herself why the structure was incorrect!

This time the cross beams are perfect in place. All within +/-15 mm tolerance.

The construction company got what we meant with diligence and quality and planned to finish the task "as soon as possible". No confirmed deadlines as yet... that still is a bridge too far. Obviously we are more than happy the stuctrure is getting into place!

Correcting the foundation

The analogy is very catchy. In order to build to last, one needs a perfect foundation. When the template of the foundation is a little bit out of line the entire structure to be built is not as per design.

This is my life :). Getting the foundation right. In order to do this, you will need to dig-up the roots and plant again. The structure or pattern of the columns of the factory is off. The positions causing the problem have been removed in order to first create a perfect foundation first.

Our neighbors think we are crazy by putting so much effort in a part of the property you will not see anyway. The foundation is underground….why bother. Well, we do bother a lot and get it rectified now, in order to build something that will last.

Many of the serious problems in this part of the world are under ground, or under the table. Not directly visible, but with serious consequences above the surface.

In the meantime we continue to have the structure re-erected by November 12th… Planning, discipline-ing, hoping, praying, and being incredibly picky on the work executed. We enforce change on the construction company which is not appreciated at all. But in order to change the way of work and achieving quality from India we have to push, dictate, and expect a level of work which is from a level higher than people deliver at present. Quite a challenge, with a lot of cross-cultural fun as well.
Down the line people start appreciatign quality, cleanliness, and structure over chaos, dis-order and lack of meeting expectations and dirt. It's a mission to make a business successful in India, that's for sure.   

Quality takes time

Something beautiful never comes easy, is it? Last week we have been figuring out how to align the structure of the new factory with the universal ‘verticals and horizontals’. Since many of our workers believe that truth is personal and what is right for you may not be true for me, it was quite a challenge to convince them that the factory structure was really not erected according to design and drawing plans made earlier. There is at least one universal truth and that’s the plumb line. Finally last Saturday we went the head-office of the construction company in Mumbai and discussed the matter with the intention not leaving the office before a new deadline was committed to by the company management. Acknowledging their mistakes they would rectify the structure and set it up on the 12th of November. Now, please don’t call me a liar when this deadline is not kept; I just tell you what they told me. In India, when things are not important, you don’t call, even when you made an appointment or agreement. When it is really urgent you call every day, in order to keep the interest in your case up. In our case it is incredible urgent and so we call and email twice a day.

By the way, the structure has been dismantled and is being altered. At one corner the structure is 30cm (1.0ft) out of line… It took over 15 phone calls and a 9 hour drive (for a 1,5hr meeting) to have them acknowledge the mistake and take the correct action. Well… at least that’s what they have promised :).

Since quality matters for a perfectionist this is not an easy project. Once it’s done it will be a cool story. For now we have to press in and get it over with as soon as possible.

  

Happy New Year!!

Happy Diwali! In India we have the New Year today according to the Hindu calendar.

The first of the New Year in the middle of October is always a nice surprise. Last night the amount of fireworks set off was very impressive; like you live in a war zone...Fire works are a little bit different here.

It quite an experience to buy creative piece of fireworks that would NEVER be sold legally in the West. Here we have no restrictions in that area at all, and with that we had an amazing show last night.

As one of my American friends SMS’ed me last night that we would at least be arrested in the US with the amount of fireworks in the back of our cars…

In Holland we think it’s cool to get the better stuff from Belgium… here they make the best fireworks in the backyard for 10% of the European cost! and on top of that it's 100% legal!

Yesterday and today were holidays. Tomorrow morning at 9:00am it is going to be a surprise who will show up at work. Most of the time we have a few people who do not show up at our workplaces and add a couple of extra days to their holidays...without notice.

The common excuse for late deliveries (for that same reason) from our suppliers will be as follows: “My workers have not come back from their village and I don’t know when they will be back”.

Many people go back to their families living outside the urban setting and will travel for a few days. On an average it takes 2 weeks from today before all the projects are back to a normal planning. A less fortunate start of the New Year I would say, but here it is the way to go.

In general, the best time to start a project in India is a week or two AFTER Diwali, but NEVER few days before.
It’s like between Christmas and our New Year where business is often slow in the area of manufacturing (expect for Candle Making in our case).

The construction of the new factory and the corrections being done are also depending on the availability of workers.

From India we wish you a Happy Diwali!

Check- Check - Double Check

Checking details is in general not the norm in my daily environment. This means that I have to check, check and double check EVERYTHING :). Checking the values on a blood test or checking dimensional properties of a product sample or production. In general people care less which causes some serious challenges.

Coming from Holland where literally everything matters to India, where simply not everything matters is a mission in itself. The company that is responsible for the structure of our new location simply assemled the entire skeleton not bothering about the dimensional properties.

The structure is not plumb-line at all :( ... 200mm out of line. The response from the builder was even more shocking : "No problem Sir...don't worry".
Over here many things are "No Problem". I learnt that when people already say there is "No Problem" there is a problem for sure!!

So, I simply continue to check everything. Quality does not come automatically anywhere in the world. In an enviroment where people throw their garbage on the streets and 5% of the people uses a restroom inside a building.... you will need some additional quality measure systems in place. In order to improve the quality of life people have to change the way they think. Long and slow processes, but every first step in the right direction is one of progress!

Just keep checking :)

Building...

Look at that! The beauty of a team that carries on their work during my absence...while I was in bed, they constructed the next phase of the development. The building is in progress just like India at large: slow, but steady.
Most of the delivery times as we have learnt over the years have to be multiplied. That works as follows: When our supplier tells us it will take 3 to 4 weeks to deliver the materials that actually means 3 TIMES 4 weeks = 12 weeks :). This really helps a lot in having the reality, hopes and expectations all come together in the same time frame. It also eases out a lot of the frustrations for us and our customers.

Amazing how workers climb the pillars without making use of any safety devices... love it when things can be simply done without too much difficulties. That part of the entrepreneurial venture is pretty awesome!

You just don't wanna fall sick...

Dealing with Malaria

Being sick in India is the last thing you want to be. The quality of life at this part of the world is different and so is the health care system... sorry for the big gap between posts, but yes, i have been in bed for the last 3 weeks. Malaria was the diagnoses, when the doctor finally came. A day later than planned, since the local festivals caused the doctor's offices as well as some of the hospitals to be closed. I don't know what that looks like, but here they are able to close a hospital for a festival...amazing.
High fever, chills, and feeling terribly cold (with 29 degrees room temperature). I have been treated with medication and had to take lots of rest. Fever and shivering took all the energy...
I have another blood test tomorrow as the local hospital "messed up the last samples" according to the local doctor reading out the results. "By seeing these results you should not have been among the living", was the doctors conclusion. Very affirming that the test was wrong...since I was alive! Here you go to a very expensive and highy recommended hospital to find some reliable truth in healthcare and they mess up the tests... so we go another round of sampling and will know the outcome on Friday.
Health and care are words with different meanings here and are hard to find.
Now, keep in mind that Pune is a relatively well developed city in India, but as soon as you require more than just a pain killer you are faced with more of the real condition of the city.
Business has been going on the way it should. Was a good test if the people we work have developed in the right direction. It's an awesome team we work with and they have done a terrific job! I hope my health will return quickly so we can continue the adventure of exploring the possibilities in a land developing slowly, but steady!

Keep you posted - Frank

Longterm Perspectives

Outsourcing and Offshoring do not always give the quick results overseas companies expect. In order to make business work in India one will have to have a longterm perspective and a certain amount of perseverance. The possibilities have often been overwhelming as the markets within India function quite different from the west, and are very open for business. Down the line business is executed on the bases of relationships. Longterm perspectives and investing a lot of time in local relationships is crusial to the success of any cross cultural venture. Often not the quick-fix western customers are looking for in a time of recession, but for longterm sustainability a must. So, I will have another cup of chai and share a ten to eleven pm dinner!

The image shown is the new property we are developing to expand our operations. Will share more of the development in detail next time.

Indo-Dutch Mix

After 7 years in India it is very hard to see my Dutch upbringing in an objective cross-cultural perspective. Many of the Non-Indian people I work with often expect the Indian businessmen to fully understand where they come from and let me be Dutch: They Indians don't! They will do it their way as I would do business the Dutch way when i am in Rotterdam. The Knowledge Culture in the Netherlands does not go very far in India. Being 'right' here simply stays at with you and does not really change a lot in the relationship with your supplier or buyers in India.

I require a level of EQ that outshines our IQ in order to relate cross culturally in a very productive way. It is very interesting and offers a huge opportunity to make businesses work better in the global village. Just like one of our new customers mentioned Saturday: “During the last project with a large Indian company we all agreed on the specs and the deadlines, until the deadline date reached”. All of a sudden we had all kind of misunderstanding and a new deadline had to be established :)… this is the way it goes all the time.

Managing an entrepreneurial venture the Indian way will drive most Western managers absolutely crazy. The influx of foreign companies is India is on the rise and managing the Indian way becomes more of a requirement. As a Multinational company you HAVE to HAVE an India-plan ready to be executed, or this country with it's 1.1 billion potential customers will shop elsewhere. An amazing opportunity is right in front of us... now understanding the Indian system better.
As one of my friends puts it: “the Dutch take about 5 years to plan, calculate, and process and then complete the project in 1 year time. We plan only for 1 year and complete it in 5!”
(It is not about who is right or wrong… we simply work and enjoy life with them, and find a new way to work together, a little bit more planning, a little bit more chaotic and uncertain)… Down the line you do have to get your project completed, so: Let’s make this work!

"Yes" and "No"...

Coming from a country where 'Yes' means '100% Yes', it is amazing to be faced with a total different reality in Pune, India. The majority of our suppliers and local customers say 'Yes' to many of the requests put forth to them, but most of these sayings mean nothing more than 'I heard what you said'. 'Yes', as a reply from a relation here has to be followed by the question from my side: 'your 'Yes' containes which percentage of 'No'?' So by the time I've figured out that the 'Yes' was '100% No' I have wasted a lot of time... It is amazing what levels of frustration this causes, but at the same time an incredible opportunity when managed well. It is really cool to see to relationships being so different from the Western style, but at the same time by asking more questions solving some very basic misunderstanding.
'Yes' does not always mean 'Yes', and 'No' not always 'No'. If somebody asks you something here and you say 'No' they will ask again, thinking you means 'Yes', but you will only say that after a couple of "No's". I have seen large business deals being cancelled because of this simple misunderstanding... Before going to India to take part in one of the largest markets in the world today, I have to balance my Dutch and Indian culture very careful every day. Yes! the people we are employing and working with on a daily basis slowly, but steadily change. (Yes = 100% Yes works very efficiently :))

Click here for the RTL-Z Link

Just click the link for the full version of the news broadcast...
-Frank

Financial Crisis Global Opportunity

Yes, it is true. The financial crisis is not a global thing anymore. A lot of places in the world see their economies grow at rates others are just dreaming of. In India I see the growth topping 5% and so did our company over the last year. Expanding in our new location in the months to come we expect sales to cross our projections. India is HOT and very likely to be the next selling market for many international companies. What a great opportunity to launch your product or service in a billion peoples market. Now, there are some cross-cultural difficulties to overcome...we know a lot about that.
The Indian Business Culture is not always efficient and values differ from the ones we have been taught in the western parts of the world. 'In your face' corruption, bartering, quality understand...yes, that will be a bit of of a challenge. But as always, every challenge has interesting opportunities to constructively add to the quality of life, anywhere.
RTL-Z (Dutch national news channel) has been very curious about the development of my Indian company and send a reporter to do an interview...pretty cool!!
More business soon!

Business and community development

I think it is the opportunity every business has to make a difference beyond the workplace. After been working in India for 7 years, I know now that that is possible. Will tell you all about it!