NET NEUTRALITY VS. "SICKENING" INTERNET GAMES

From Internet news, I recently learned that  a series of suicides have been reported of school students in Mumbai, Dehradun, Pune, Bengal etc. who played the Internet game "Blue Whale Challenge". The most recent episode is that of Manoj C Manju, a school student in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala who hung himself to death around 15th August, 2017. 

I was terribly shocked when I discovered that this game entices young people into a 50-day series of "challenges" (i.e. performing daring & rash acts, in secret) that culminates in SUICIDE (the so-called "ultimate challenge"!) on the 50th day. The brainchild of Philipp Budeikin, an expelled Psychology student in Russia, it has directly caused 17 suicides in that country and is spreading all over the world. 

I'm sure many of my readers are already aware of the "Blue Whale Challenge".  While personal opinions may vary considerably, I found this "game" foul and sickening to say the very least! Further, it is demeaning to all human life since its author quite hatefully states (in Wikipedia) " ...  that his purpose was to 'clean' the society by pushing to suicide those he deemed as having no value". 

I think the principle that needs to be re-examined is Net Neutrality. In cases like suicide, that affects not only the doer but also his/her family (particularly one's mother, father and siblings), friends, colleagues and society in general (by setting a precedent for others to follow) we need to examine whether the Internet should be allowed to be "neutral" i.e. (i) whether those who ply "hate products", "kill-yourself ware", "dangerware" and the like should be allowed on the Internet at all & (ii) individuals who are not adults (like students) may decide to use them by themselves alone. 

I think when a family/ group is affected, as in the example above, we simply cannot afford to let the net be "neutral". We have to say a loud and clear "No". 

LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM THE TATAs IN BUSINESS

In our dealings with others, we cherish certain values like fair treatment, honesty, privacy & respect. When it comes to our dealings with a business, the situation is similar. In addition to the above values, we expect reliability, transparency, stability of price/ quality of products (or services), openness, responsiveness, demonstrated care for customers (for a sufficiently long period, maybe a few years) etc. from the business.

Now that's the ideal scenario to expect. And while many corporations strive to appear as customer-friendly, we all know the harsh reality that barely a handful of them really succeed. So, what separates "the men from the boys" in this game? 

If you ask me, quite simply, you need to win the hearts of your customers. And to do this, apart from being capable, you need to (i) believe with all your heart in & (ii) practise a set of healthy values patiently and without compromise (i.e. to show that you really do!).

All businesses try to attract customers by professing to be customer-centric - they make claims like "we always put the customer FIRST", "customer satisfaction is our obsession"  ... and other variations of this theme, but no one is fooled by mere claims or outward appearances. Before deciding, we customers want to know the true character of a business, what values it adheres to and will not compromise, no matter what and whether it is managed by idealistic novices or those who know how to survive in the real world and also cope with the dark sides of the business world.

The Tatas are one of the few business groups that have been successful in doing the above in India! And it didn't happen overnight for them, they've had to toil patiently for years before getting to victory.

Although the entire Tata family(*) starting with Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (who started a trading firm in 1868 which has evolved into the Tata group of today) is to be honoured for the excellent business values they follow, it was JRD Tata, chairman of Tata Sons for over half a century (1938-1991), I believe, who must be credited for inculcating, nurturing and actually practising these values in Tata companies. The hard work done under his leadership has convinced Indians beyond the shadow of any doubt that not only are the Tatas capable of doing big things, but also that they genuinely practise their values. 

The five major values followed by the Tata group (and are responsible for its success) are:

The importance of integrity in business can never be overemphasized. World over, names of people, business entities, professional organizations and the like that we trust are those that have been tested for their integrity and proven true. If you don't intend to last long in business, then values are of little use; but if you do, you simply cannot do without integrity. Therefore, their activities being capable of "withstanding the test of public scrutiny" is one of the topmost reasons for the success of the Tatas. The pursuit of "Excellence" draws the best employees to an employer. It is like a breath of pure, fresh air to work places that are stagnating. It inspires employees to do much, much more than they would otherwise! Another important result is that it makes the work experience enjoyable & satisfying, so that fewer employees will want to quit on grounds of job dissatisfaction. The practise of "Unity" means caring for employees, customers and partners so that these stakeholders can work together in a cohesive manner, for long years. Being responsible corporate and social citizens is like being a good neighbour. You care for the environment and will not, for example, irresponsibly dump your waste toxic chemicals in rivers and/ or the sea. Or pollute the air with poisonous gases from your factories. You need to be friendly with people in your neighbourhood so you engage in social activities to interact with them, or donate a public facility for their use (e.g. a sports stadium or a movie theatre) etc. Finally, the value "Pioneering" completes the "bill" of success! Pioneering  as per the Tatas means accepting new challenges and innovating as per need boldly. It will be driven by deep insights gained from continuously monitoring customer behaviour and preferences. Solutions will be deployed with agility to respond to needs in a time-effective manner.

In summary, it is the practise of these values that have put the Tatas at the top in India. They are so well entrenched today that unless they themselves commit the suicidal blunder of neglecting their values, or turn plain "lazy", they cannot be easily dislodged from the No.1 position they occupy in the Indian business world. 

These values have clearly demonstrated to Indian businesses what it takes to be a leader in the business realm and to last. Unfortunately, most Indian businesses are obsessed with profit generation (with little or no regard for values). Hence, few have adopted any of the above from the Tatas to date. Other businesses (who form the vast majority) have impressive earnings and assets but will never grow roots as deep as those of Tata Sons in India, unless they listen and change their values.

(*) Chairmen of Tata Sons Ltd. since inception are:  Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1868-1904), Sir Dorab Tata (1904-1932), Nowroji Saklatwala (1932-1938), JRD Tata (1938 - 1991), Ratan Tata (1991-2012), Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (2012-2016), Ratan Tata (2016-17), N Chandrasekaran (2017 onwards)