Mr. Adil Dastoor has taken over as the CEO of Blitz Builders Ltd, popularly referred to as BB. The Head Office of this large construction company is located on the 15th floor of a skyscraper at Nariman Point in Mumbai. The CEO spends the first 3 days in understanding his new organization. He also takes an extensive round of his new office and personally meets each of the 87 employees who work in the Head Office.
On the fifth day, as he settles into his new job, he is informed by his secretary that Mr. Jaideep Limaye, the Chief Project Manager would like to see him for about 15 minutes. Mr. Dastoor agrees to meet him immediately and the following conversation takes place between the two.
Jaideep (hesitatingly): Sir, I was planning to have this conversation with your predecessor but he left rather abruptly and therefore I am approaching you. Actually, I am thinking of putting in my papers. Just wanted to inform you in advance.
Adil (somewhat surprised but calm): Oh! How long have you been with BB?
Jaideep (pursing his lips and smiling wryly): A little over 8 years. I have a total experience of 15 years in this line. I am an engineering graduate from Pilani.
Adil (admiringly): That’s great. But why do you want to leave? As I can see, you have had a steep career growth.
Jaideep (nodding and in a nervous tone): Yes, Sir. Thanks. Actually, I like this job but I can’t handle it anymore. I feel that I am being torn apart and may soon have a nervous breakdown or a heart attack.
Adil (very concerned): But why? Has something gone wrong? Would you like to share?
Jaideep (nodding and blinking): Yes, Sir. This job is too demanding and requires you to bribe at every step. As project manager, I have to deal with as many as 28 external parties, mostly Government and each one of them expects payments under the table. You name it, Sir. They are all corrupt, be it the electricity authorities, the water board, the forest department or the municipal corporation and so on. We have strict schedules and commitments to keep. These guys simply don’t give any approval or clearance without being greased. Even though my performance may have been excellent, it has taken a heavy toll of me. I am constantly anxious, rarely cheerful, have sleeping problems and spend no quality time with my wife and two small kids.
Adil (nodding gently): I understand. If you quit, do you have another job?
Jaideep: (shaking his head): Honestly, no Sir. I just want to take a month off and then look around. I’ll probably look for some peaceful design work, even if it means that I earn half as much. Peace of mind and a happy family life are far more important.
Adil: (in a positive tone): The world outside is no doubt very corrupt but if one believes that clean can succeed, there is a way out of all this. Most people think that without bribing nothing can run in this country but, believe me, if you have the strength of conviction and the inner resolve, you can succeed even in the dirtiest environment.
Jaideep: (somewhat agitated): Sir, pardon my saying so but you may not be fully aware of the construction sector. This business stinks. There is corruption at every step. You will learn very soon that even within our company, things are far from okay.
Adil (smiling and calm): Let me also share with you some of my life experiences. After doing my MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, I have worked for almost 40 years now. The last 16 years have been spent in the banking sector. About 5 years back, I took over as the CEO of Hindustan Development Banking Corporation or HDBC. When I joined I found that nothing was in order. The customers were dissatisfied, employees were demotivated, financial figures were dismal and Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) were mounting. The root cause was rampant corruption within the bank and in its dealings with the outside world. The first thing I did was to make a sweeping organizational change through which many of the corrupt officers were either thrown out or transferred. There was a lot of resistance initially. The Unions threatened to go on strike and the officers refused to cooperate. The Board of Directors also applied pressure on me to restore status quo. I stuck to my guns. Either my way or I quit. I told the Board that if the bank continued in the same way, it could face bankruptcy very soon. They understood and gave me time of 18 months. I used those months to clean up the whole system, implemented a strict Code of Ethics, modernized and automated most of the processes. Within two years thereafter, HDBC became the best bank in India and just before my retirement last month, it received the coveted award for the best performing bank in Asia. The management and the employees are so motivated today that at my farewell they promised me that they will make it the best bank in the world within the next five years.
Jaideep (in awe): Yes, I am aware of the fantastic turnaround of HDBC but never knew that it was primarily due to elimination of corrupt practices and introduction of good processes and technology. In fact, about 2 years back, I bought a few shares of the bank for Rs. 900/- apiece and today it’s above 2000/-. But, Sir, tell me, how did you eliminate the bribing of third parties you had to deal with?
Adil (in a soft and pleasant tone): We simply followed our Code of Ethics which included zero tolerance to corruption and zero harm to Environment. I refused to bribe anybody. We laid great emphasis on doing our work properly and systematically, digitally documented everything very carefully, obtained national and international certifications, wherever applicable, for our processes and, above all, looked after the welfare of our employees. The central focus of all our efforts and activities was invariably the customer whose satisfaction was of paramount importance to us. Tell me, Jaideep, do you have here a Code of Conduct or Ethics?
Jaideep (unsure and looking sideways): Well, there is some such document lying somewhere. But I have never read it. Actually, I doubt if anybody has read it. Before you mentioned it, I did not even know that this document is so important.
Adil (smiling knowingly): So, the future course of action is already set out. The Code has to be fished out, revamped and implemented.
Jaideep (inquisitively): Sir, but I still have my doubts. Let’s take an example of a problem I am currently facing. Our new residential complex at Kalyan is ready for handing over possession to our homebuyers. But we are not able to get the Completion Certificate (CC) from the Municipal Corporation because they are saying that our covered area is more than what is allowed. We have tried our best to convince them that our covered area is in fact 1.5% less than the permissible limit. They simply refuse to accept it and keep hinting that we need to grease their palms if we want this certificate. This is indeed nerve-racking and frustrating. What should we do in such a case?
Adil (pausing and thinking): First of all, never consider bribing as an option. In the situation you have explained, you need to hire out the services of a registered charted engineers firm. They should carry out the exact measurements at site. In case there are genuine shortcomings on our side, we should rectify them completely. If we have done our construction correctly, then this company should certify the same. With this certificate, we should approach the municipal authorities again and insist that the CC should be issued to us. Let the authorities verify the same and satisfy themselves. I am quite certain that this should work out. If even then someone stalls it in the expectation of a bribe, we will escalate the issue and even put in a RTI application.
Jaideep (impressed but still skeptic): Sir, but this will increase our costs. The cost of the Charted Engineers and consequent delay will lead to erosions of our margins and this will be objected to by our own finance department. We may have to pay compensation to the homebuyers for delays beyond three months of the stipulated handing-over schedule.
Adil (nodding in agreement): Yes, this can happen the first couple of times. But keep in mind that it is better to pay legitimate professional fees to the charted engineers than spend unaccounted money in paying bribes. You know it yourself how difficult and miserable it is to generate and maintain black money. Once we stop unethical practices, not just the municipalities but all other external agencies will get the clear message that only “Clean Business is our Business” and that they cannot expect any bribes from us. Gradually, but surely, they will start treating us accordingly. As an organization, we will be able to plan better and our employees will be able to focus entirely on their work and not on malpractices. Our project time schedules will adapt and adjust to our new business model and customers will stop suffering delays. The transition period could be painful but the outcome, I assure you, will be very positive. Jaideep, you yourself will feel like a much better person. You will become more cheerful, relationships will improve and family life will be happier.
Jaideep (visibly relieved and enthusiastic): Yes, I believe too. Once the stress of corruption is gone and honesty and integrity become our virtues, our work will no longer be a pain but a pleasure. Our passion and performance will increase in leaps and bounds.
Adil (smiling benevolently): Sure. And, Jaideep, would you not like to be part of the initiative which will bring about this change? Or, would you……still like to leave?
Jaideep (embarrassed but cheerful): No way, Sir. I would most certainly like to continue and really look forward to a new beginning. I am already feeling relieved and energetic.
Adil (stretching to shake Jaideep’s hand): Great. Together, we’ll make a winning team. To kick start it all, I’m calling a meeting of the senior management at 9 A.M. on Monday. Be there. I will launch our new method of doing business. It’ll be called the 4C Business Model. The 4Cs stand for “Clean, Compliant, Competent and Committed”.
Jaideep (standing up to leave): Sure, Sir. I’ll be there. Thank you for your time and have a nice weekend, Sir!
Adil (raising his right thumb): You too, Jaideep!
Author: Rajiv Sachdeva