“Quality is the result of a carefully constructed cultural environment. It has to be the fabric of the organization, not part of the fabric.”

~Philip Crosby, Author and Businessman (1926-2001)

I totally agree with Mr.Crosby, quality is definitely a result of a carefully constructed cultural environment, or rather an overall environment, in which any employee works. One doesn’t need to be very smart to understand the implications of such a statement, after all organizations today are most definitely looking at the overall development of any individual rather than just technical, in whatever field they may be involved in.

To this one can pose the eternal question, what’s more important, integrity and loyalty, or skill ? I suppose a good mix of both. A week at Mindtree has shown me that one can actually be inspired to become someone who has the best of both worlds, skill and integrity. The people who we interact with everyday, who are there to help us grow and become better “minds” are the ones who are showing us how easy it is to become strong in all aspects of life.

Mr. Puneet Jaitley, an orator par excellence. A man of a slight stature, but one who could easily put Hercules to shame, his has an aura that few could match. We understood his worth the day he faced the toughest of questions at our induction. One could be anywhere (in this world maybe), and if you were to be a Mindtree mind, if nothing else, you could be rest assured of a very warm smile from this man if you were to meet him, or even walk past him. His oratory skills, well, could be compared to the best that one has gotten to hear in recent times, with a three hour session so well articulated, that one would never feel bored or even come close to hearing anything repeated. Mr. Jaitley, a man par excellence is the first example, of how one can inspire just by their presence and their style, at work and otherwise.

If any organization were to have people like him, the type who inspire by their presence, they also need people who need to reach out to us new inducts. Here one can see how well Mindtree has structured its staff so they reach out to us in the best of ways.

Mr. Nagan Gouda, the first of the lot who never spares an effort to reach out to us, an extremely friendly, approachable individual who made life so much better at Mindtree. A true ambassador at Mindtree, he has been instrumental in making us realize how lucky we have been, to be where we are today. One can have an apple and not know what to do with it, but with Mr. Gouda around, you can be rest assured, we’d know how to bake an apple pie. Mr. Gouda is one person who makes us realize how important we are to the organization, and how important the organization is to us. If he’s ever made us realize anything, its that the symbiotic relationship that we share can only become better !

Mr.Chadrashekhar P. Nair, the buck toothed man wonder at Mindtree, someone who is a breath of fresh air when you need one desperately. The fact of the matter is, if we don’t see him at any point through a day of training, everyone gets a tad restless, as if something rather important has gone missing. An effective communicator, he tried his level best to control us wild animals, but then when he fails, he tries to threaten us with various policies of Mindtree, which, well of course, were scary the first few times around, till the point we came to realize that these policies were something that were necessary and there was practically no reason for anyone to get scared of them. The “ACTUALLY” man, does his best to hold us together, and well of course, make us understand everything, in the “ACTUAL” sense of things. Jokes apart, he’s an individual who has made our lives much easier with his light hearted interaction.One person we can talk to about anything and everything under the sun.He's a true charmer.

All these people I’ve mentioned are from “people function”, which in the true Mindtree sense of things is the replacement for HR, because we in Mindtree do not believe in the terminology of Human Resource, we aren’t just resource, we’re People who function for the betterment of each other ! They are all fabulous in their own ways, and are inspirations in the true sense of the word. One can of course understand the ease at which I am now, that I can crack a joke or two at the expense of my seniors and not face repercussions for the rest of my life ( or so I hope !!)

No description of the people at Mindtree is enough without the mention of Sudha Ma’am, the one lady, who, for me at least, is a person I could go discuss everything in my life with. She’s that one person, who’s my mother away from home, my friend, my teacher and everything that comes with it. Yes, of course we’re all professionals, but I understand that it doesn’t hurt to have someone you can confide in around you. My mother would always run to help me whenever I needed her, I of course can never substitute her, but Sudha Ma’am has come into my mind as a close second to that figure. She seems to have been born with an inborn sense of humour, which I could expect from my closest friends, and her teaching impeccable. Her sense of humour deserves another mention, an individual who doesn’t speak much, but with one line could send people into peals of laughter. Ma’am life would not have been the same without you, the day you put that band aid on my hurt hand, you won more than my respect.

These are the only people we have had direct interaction with more than once.N the impact they've left on us is so strong..Nagan told us the other day,Mindtree is full of people with ordinary backgrounds and EXTRAordinary talent and skills.We,as fresh minds are so eager to meet and interact with each one of them..

Mindtree is my second home now. It is the one place where I find comfort, belonging and a sense of growth, I don’t see what else I could need, but I trust Mindtree to tell me that in the due course of time, and much more. Well,I so strongly hope they put me in people function because coding is not my cuppa......Is someone hearing me???????????????????????????????

PS:This is my personal blog and hence gives me the right to jot my opinions.
Waiting for the comments......