Vision is more important than sight

The Midas Touch?

With campuses admeasuring almost 400 acres, 37 institutes, many of them acknowledged leaders in their fields, a budget in excess of 100 crores and an International University as the jewel in the crown, by common consent, Symbiosis has been a success story. What is the secret of this success? What magic formula has its founder Padma Shree Dr. S.B. Mujumdar discovered? Does he possess the legendary philosopher’s stone that transforms the simplest of organizations into world class ones? Is he a modern-day education alchemist?

For about four decades, I have observed Dr. S.B. Mujumdar, first as my father and during the last decade, as the senior colleague in the Symbiosis organization. Have I obtained any insight into his formula for success?

Imagination is More Important than Knowledge: Albert Einstein

What amazes me is his vision. Until a few years ago, he never went abroad. However, whenever I visited universities abroad, I was taken aback by the similarities between Symbiosis and the best of the overseas educational institutions. How did he manage to achieve this? He had never personally visited any developed country nor seen universities there. How then did he succeed in making Symbiosis equal to them, indeed in many cases, even surpass them?

When I queried him, he gave a cryptic answer. “Vision”, he said, “is more important than sight”. This may sound like one of those clever statements but a close scrutiny of the development of Symbiosis reveals a consistent pattern of being ahead of times. Three decades ago, no one had thought of starting an organization for the welfare of the overseas students. The world then was not the global village it is now. Indeed, the term which was used to describe students from other countries was “foreigners”, a term with negative implications. Today, educational organizations in India, indeed all over the world, are vying with one another to attract overseas students, children of non-resident Indians, and others. If that is not “vision” what is it?

The same applies to the English Language Teaching Institute (ELTIS), Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, which basically took over an unwanted programme of University of Pune, evening classes in law, Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS) for defense personnel and their dependents, Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research and others. In all these areas, Symbiosis was very much a trend-setter.

What is this “vision” phenomenon? I think it is the product of his keen intellect. He is an indefatigable seeker of knowledge, an avid reader and an eager listener to experts in various fields. Pursuit of knowledge is his second nature. His keen mind analyzes and systematizes the data he gathers and his imagination enables him to identify emerging trends and their social impact. It is not the vision of a mystic seer. It is the trained imagination of a scientist. There is a magnificent quotation from famous Irish thinker and dramatist George Bernard Shaw. Shaw said, “Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will”. I think this applies perfectly to my father’s approach to institution building.

Freedom of Operation

Symbiosis organizations are generally led by directors or, in some cases, principals. My father is the Founder & President, and currently, I am the Principal Director. There is an overall managing committee and each of the institutes has a standing or an advisory committee. This may sound like a complicated structure with a great deal of centralized control. The reality is quite different. In actual fact, the Directors, Principals and the Heads have complete freedom to operate in a manner they think fit. Each director has the freedom, and the responsibility, to ensure that his or her unit works to the highest possible standards consistent with Symbiosis culture. When I first joined my father in the Symbiosis administration, I would often wonder, the time he gave to people and listened to them patiently. I was young, new, and perhaps a bit overenthusiastic to “set things right”. New to nuances of administration, I felt that everything was too laissez faire, that there was hardly any control on the way institutional heads operated. I often felt irritated that he paid little heed to my suggestions for greater control over the affairs of institutions or to my observation that “things were terribly wrong”. He would give me ear, but not often his mind and that used to disappoint me. Today, after ten years in administration, I know better and realize how correct, and consistent with modern management theory, my father was. It is not just a question of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. He genuinely believed that once you appoint people as heads, they must be given the freedom to implement their ideas in a manner they think fit. He took great care to select the right people and then made them feel that the projects were their own babies. As I see it, this led to the directors devising innovative programs and unique ways of implementing them. Campus interviews, alumni associations, emphasise on soft skills, close interaction with industry and other potential employees, emphasise on bringing out high quality brochures, deliberate attention to students’ physical and psychological well-being are some of the features of the Symbiosis approach to educational management and have given Symbiosis a unique character. Many of these innovative practices would not have arisen if the directors did not have the freedom to devise fresh solutions to old problems.

A Listening Culture

A quality which fascinates me and something I am very fond of observing is the way he listens to people. Small or big, everyone has the freedom to meet him and present their ideas. Scores of employees come to him with their problems and demands, and even the humblest of them get his full attention. It is not often that he is able to solve the problem to their satisfaction, but he handles them beautifully. He is patient, allows them to say what they want, asks a few questions in a soothing voice and finally brings them around so that they see the reasonableness or otherwise, of their stand. Truly a master at work. No sentiments hurt but equally no ground surrendered. The message he gives is  that institutional good comes before individual benefit and I have rarely found anyone to whom it is not driven home.

Commitment to Quality

Uncompromising commitment to quality is perhaps the most salient feature of the Symbiosis approach to education. Whether it is the recruitment of director and heads, or faculty or staff or admission to various programs, there is no compromise on quality. Only the best come in, and on strict merit. When my father wants quality, he is never afraid to pay for it. I recall an incident when a highly qualified person with IIT qualifications was being interviewed. We were establishing a new discipline and wanted the best possible person to head it. We found the person very suitable but he demanded a salary way above what we normally offered. I was resigned to losing this person but my father instructed me to accept his terms since he was the best. His salary certainly did not fit into our “pay scales” but that is another unique characteristic of Symbiosis. We do have our pay scales but there is a flexibility to enable the best to come in. The approach is akin to that of the major corporations, who pay not according to some Procrustean bed of pay scales but according to merit and performance. In adopting this principle in an educational organization, my father, as often he is, was very much ahead of the times.

Emphasis on quality is reflected in all aspects of Symbiosis. Symbiosis buildings and campuses are amongst the most sophisticated and attractive locales. Visitors often comment on how the atmosphere is more like a corporate office. Interface staff such as receptionists, telephonists and others are trained to be professional and treat every visitor as a valued customer. We face some of the most stressful times at admission time every year. Something like 70,000 applicants appear for entrance examinations for 700 seats. The ratio is 1:1000! Only the best are admitted. But all are treated with care and sympathy.

Consultative Culture

There is a misconception that Symbiosis is what is called a one-man show, that my father is the all-in-all. It is, indeed, true that his stature ensures that his word is often the final word. However, it is necessary to know how he reaches his final word. When an issue comes up, extensive discussions are held and participants are encouraged to be as free and frank as possible. Given the fact that directors and others are eminent persons in their own right, they never hesitate to put their own views forward. Small or big, problems are discussed thoroughly and solutions thrashed out. It is after all this that my father forms his own solution and presents it. It is a studious response to a problem, not the quirk of an institutional head. Often the solution that emerges is different from what he would have liked but he is gracious enough to accept the decision of the majority. In general leaders are known to do what they feel is right; my father always does what all feel right!

Strong Values and Principles

Symbiosis is a value-driven and principled organization and it owes this approach entirely to my parents. From our childhood, my sister Swati and I grew up in a culture in which ethics and good moral behavior were dominant. It is well-known today how lucrative the education enterprise has become. During what we call the “admission season”, there are people who arrive with literally bags full of money and expensive gifts. We have trained our receptionists to discern and identify such persons in advance so that they have little chance of entering Symbiosis premises, let alone have access to my father or to me. The message that Symbiosis does not accept any capitation fees or donations to grant admissions is given loud and clear in all our advertisements and brochures.

Symbiosis has magnificent buildings and premises but my parents still live in the same two-bedroom apartment they built when my father taught at Fergusson College. They are still very down-to-earth and humble and humility is one quality we expect in everyone associated with Symbiosis. Everyone at Symbiosis is encouraged to consider themselves as members of family. That is one word which is dominant in the vocabulary of my parents. They value the concept of family and in that represents, in my view, the very best of the Indian culure. Vasudhaiva kutumbakam is not a mere slogan but something we have always practiced at home. In our childhood, out house was frequented by various people and students from various countries, who freely partook of our hospitality.

I remember an incident when Kumaramangalam Birla visited Symbiosis. As is our practice, we took him around the campus. He seemed impressed and commented favorably on the infrastructure. He seemed somewhat reticent however. I consoled myself by saying that after all someone of his stature must see grand buildings every day and what he saw at Symbiosis could hardly, for Kumaramangalam Birla, be a novelty. After a while, my mobile telephone rang. It was Shri. Birla. “Oh, you have reached home”, I said. The memory of what he said still sends a thrill through me. “ Vidya,” he said, “I do not think I am returning home. I feel that I am returning from home. At Symbiosis I did not feel like a visitor. All of you, Dr. Mujumdar, Mrs. Mujumdar, Swati, you, the Directors, the faculty, the staff, were so genuinely welcoming. I have been thinking. How nice it would be to be a member of the Symbiosis family”!

It is in this intensely family oriented culture that the uniqueness of Symbiosis lies. This is what motivates everyone at Symbiosis – from directors to office boys – to contribute their bite towards the development of Symbiosis.

When my father is asked the question, “What is the secret of Symbiosis’s success?”, he responds with characteristic humility and points out that his success is due entirely to the success of his students and to the faculty who ensure that students become successful in life. While he is quick to credit others for successes, he is the first one to accept blame for any failures.

Indian education is slowly but surely being globalized. There are fears that overseas universities would enter and usurp the education market. I believe that the unique management approach developed by my father would ensure that Indian organizations would not only successfully cope with the problem but themselves go abroad and capture fresh territories.

On Dada’s 75^th Birthday, I pray to God that he has good health and he continues to inspire all of us and that we may carry forward his dream and bring it to reality.