#ChaosBeatsLogic Archives - Learning India

Neil Miller March 29, 2016 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, Transportation

What To Do If You Are In A Car Accident in India

Editor’s note: Dear Mom and Dad, the kids are ok. Everything I learned here happened a long time ago, so no need to worry.

This is one of those articles you don’t read until it’s too late.

Driving in India is dangerous. More road fatalities occurred in India in 2013 than in Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria, the US, Russia, and Pakistan combined. (Those countries ranked numbers 3-8 respectively. China was #1.)

However, based on the rules of driving in India, you might actually be surprised at how few accidents you get in. I drove in India for several years before I had my first official accident. Here is what you need to know. [Read more…]

Neil Miller October 12, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, Into India, Transportation

Do you speak Air Horn?

My dad liked to play this joke growing up. When we were driving and he saw someone he didn’t know doing some yard work outside, he would roll down his window, honk the horn and wave. Being a small mid-western town, people would usually wave back, assuming they knew the ‘honkee’. Dad thought this was hilarious. (Like most fathers, Dad’s jokes were really only funny to him.)

His trick worked because in my culture, a horn honking meant only one of two things. 1) I am six inches away from hitting your car, or 2) Hello, I know you.

In fact, when I was back in the US for about two months, I heard someone honk a horn a total of four times over sixty days, and two of those were at me for my poor driving skills.

Here in India the horn is, shall we say, more loquacious?

Here is a handy guide for understanding the meanings of the Indian horn.

The Single

Short, subtle, proper. Used by passive drivers to calmly communicate unimportant information to neighboring cars.

Possible meanings include: [Read more…]

Neil Miller August 5, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, On the Job, Parent Leadership

Why is it so important to have something today that you didn’t have yesterday?

There are times when someone says something so perfectly that you can’t get it out of your head.

I was chatting over email with a French friend who had lived in India for a few years about his experiences. His insights hit me so much that I asked him if I could share his thoughts with everyone. He asked to remain anonymous, but I think you will get a lot from reading his thoughts here. I’ve put in bold some of the things that jumped out at me.

What are some of the frequent challenges you faced while working in India?

Working with India was both very challenging and very rewarding. I sometimes felt that I wasn’t on the same planet while in India; so many things are different culturally, socially and even intellectually.

A frequent challenge was to explain a point of view to people who have a different benchmark in their mind. For instance, my parent company was always trying to look forward. Whatever is done is done, and we must look ahead, plan, forecast and build what will be done tomorrow and there after.

In India, my colleagues were always looking backwards, checking what had been done, correcting it, checking again after some time, and perhaps correcting it again. Planning was really difficult for them; they argued that reality can be so different from your expectations that it is useless to plan anything. [Read more…]

Neil Miller July 27, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #GreyIsWhite, Be Prepared

Indian FRRO Registration Overview

One common rite of passage for long-term outsiders in India is a trip (or trips) to the FRRO. It is probably too much of India to throw on a newcomer, but many must visit within the first 14 days. Here is an overview of what the Indian FRRO is and why FRRO Registration might be important for you.

What is the FRRO?

The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) handles all the services related to foreigners living in India.

Do I have to register?

It depends on your visa and how long you plan on being in India. Your printed Indian visa may mention if you need to register and under what terms. If your visa says you must register, then you should. Otherwise, you can follow these guidelines:

Category 1 (Need to Register): If you are on an Employment, Student, Research, Project, or Medical (and attendant) visa, you must register regardless of the length of your stay (provided the visa is valid for at least 180 days).

Category 2 (Maybe Register): If you are on a Business, Entry, or Journalist visa, you must register if you plan on making one continuous stay for more than 180 days OR wish to extend your validity.

Category 3 (No Register): Foreign Diplomats and OCI cardholders do not need to register. Tourist visas are not valid for a single visit of more than 180 days, and therefore do not need to register.

Failing to register is illegal and can get you in big trouble when you try to leave the country (up to 5 years in prison and a fine upwards of Rs. 10,000). [Read more…]

Neil Miller June 8, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #PowerPlays, #TimeIsEternal, On the Job, Podcast

Episode 9: Amar Vyas

Sometimes it’s nice to know you aren’t the only one…

When you come to India for the first time, you may wonder if you are the only one who notices the massive differences: the cows on the road, the work culture, the late night dinners. Is it ok to point them out? Can you laugh about them or is that taboo?

It’s always nice when someone else confirms that things are different, hard, and great.

Today’s Working With India podcast is with Amar Vyas. His name has been on a few of the latest posts (NRI: Now Returned to India and the Oterap Principle) and this is a chance to hear more from him.

I really enjoyed this conversation because it comes from someone who understands the inside and the outside.

Amar will share about:

The huge social risk of going to a town and not visiting family there
His initial irritants at moving back to India such as not getting any voicemails
A livable response to working with India’s working class
Why you might want to think twice before ignoring that call from a colleague on a Sunday
Why patience in India is the best skill you can have

Here are some of the links mentioned in the podcast:

The Return to India Club: r2iclubforums.com
Amar’s book on Amazon: Amazon.in or Amazon.com
Amar’s author website: Amarvyas.in

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Amar Vyas May 25, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #CustomerIsAlwaysThere, Daily Living, On the Job

The 80/20 Rule in India

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Amar Vyas, the author of NRI: Now, Returned to India

The Pareto Principle, commonly known as the 80:20 rule, says, “for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.” This principle applies to most parts of the world.

But not to India.

In my experience, 20% of the work takes up 80% of your time here. The Pareto principle in India should be referred to as the Oterap principle (that’s Pareto reversed). Not surprisingly, this 20% of work is dependent on others: plumbers, electricians, or maybe even your tax consultant.

Let me give you an example. [Read more…]

Neil Miller May 11, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #PowerPlays, #See1See100, Book Reviews

Book Review: Now, Returned to India

There is one group of people with whom I always hit it off. In the airport, at a business meeting, or at my favorite South Indian restaurant – you get that feeling that you are living the same life with a different cast of characters.

Who are they? Returned NRIs. Indians who have spent some years living and working abroad and have resettled in India. Whether it is their global outlook, their similar stories, or their traditional values, I get so connected to them that I have to remind myself that I am not one of them.

Amar Vyas’ book NRI: Now, Returned to India is a nice read that will quickly immerse you in the pressing topics facing returning NRIs. It is a narrative book, loosely (if not strongly) based on real events from the author’s life. It grabs your attention without being too pedantic (like this blog), and is comically believable. [Read more…]

Neil Miller March 30, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #GreyIsWhite, #IndiasNotIndia, Team Management

The True Secret to Motivating Indian Teams

Janelle felt like she was having one of those dreams where no matter how hard you try to run, you can’t go any faster.

Her team of six HR professionals was attempting to process all the yearly employee evaluations within three weeks. Knowing how sizable a challenge this would be, Janelle clearly set out a plan for how many evaluations would need to be processed per day to meet their goal. She talked about how if they exceed the target, it would create a little more work now but would far outweigh the stress that would happen if they fell behind.

One week in, they were already behind. Janelle adjusted the required target, and talked about how the rest of the company was depending on them completing on time and that some people’s promotions and salaries were on the line.

In the middle of the second week, one team member asked for a day’s leave because a close relative was ill. Thinking her team would perform better if they felt that she was sympathetic, she agreed to the leave.

At the start of the last week, they were still far behind and the possibility of finishing seemed hopeless. Another team member asked for leave to go on a holiday he had planned a few months before and for which he had already booked the tickets. Janelle was furious and said, “No more leave for anyone until we get all these reports processed!”. She turned into a very strict disciplinarian, started monitoring how many minutes people took for lunch breaks, and forced them all to stay late every day until it was done. [Read more…]