I once read that travelers will let anything upset them because they are so focused on the destination. While delays and changes to a journey never affect a pilgrim because the destination is of no importance, to them it’s all about the journey. As a road warrior I try to think of all my travels as a pilgrimage.
In January, I somehow ended up in India. How this all came to fruition? Really not sure. One week before I didn’t even know if I had a visa, next thing I knew I was in front of an intensely focused group of passionate individuals in Pune. The primary lesson I took away from my time there is that, resources in India are capable of enabling engagement delivery on a level yet to be ascertained. The teams there embody attributes that aren’t easy to find. They are driven, motivated, intelligent individuals yearning for new opportunities to continuous grow. On top of that, their commitment to their organizations are deeply rooted within a culture of achievement. The way I see it, if you’re not outsourcing there is no way to remain competitive in this market.
By now, one would think we learned a lesson from major players like IBM. In 2017, IBM outsourced over a third of their workforce employing more individuals in India than the U.S. After 21 consecutive quarters of revenue decline, they were able to significantly cut costs within their technology services. Following suit were companies like Oracle, Dell, Cisco, etc. (Goel, 2017). The pertinence of this major resource stream is not to be ignored.
As we incorporate more outsourcing we need to better enable and collaborate with our offshore friends. We tend to lose context during translation and expect the same output as an individual sitting by our sides on a day-to-day basis. By better leveraging their skills and incorporating them into the larger vision the quality of output will increase.
Overall, my travel to India though unexpected became a lesson well learned. Take the journey in strides and be ready to experience change.
“A journey becomes a pilgrimage as we discover, day by day, that the distance traveled is less important than the experience gained.” – Ernest Kurtz
Goel, V. (2017, September 28). IBM Now Has More Employees in India Than in the U.S. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/technology/ibm-india.html