What gives India its edge?
I’ve just arrived in India this afternoon and was thinking about a comment I heard yesterday from my barber of all people!
He spent his early years living and working across various southern African countries and has spent the last 20+ years living in the UK. When I got my haircut yesterday, he said he had just come back from a short one week trip in India, the first time he had visited the country. His comment that struck me was “everyone is so industrious and hard working.” In particular, he thought this was very different from most other countries he had lived in. “Even the poorest are prepared to work hard and not just hold their hand out and expect to be given something”, he continued.
I can’t comment on his experiences of Africa and I am sure he is generalizing. There are bound to be plenty of hardworking, industrious people in African countries as well as a fair number of people in India that do not work hard. But, overall, I agree with his observation. India’s hard work attitude, it’s culture of education and the young age and size of it’s population will mean that most other countries will find it hard to compete.
PS. I have just seen a news report from the G20 conference. This probably won’t get reported in the western media but Manmohan Singh (Indian Prime Minister) view of the conference is that this is the first time the views of emerging countries were taken into account and he felt that power was beginning to shift to the larger emerging economies including a stronger say in the running of the IMF. I wonder if this financial crisis is not just cyclical but the beginning of a permanent structural change in the balance of power?
Diary of a globalization champion 
Hi Neal,
May be this mail will surprise you more than your barber’s comments. I do not belong to your industry or QSG. I was happy to share your small experience of a barber in your blog. Barber often talks and get apt attention from his customers. Also at such times customers also gives most attention in listening with moving his head to ease hair cutting without any disturbances and injury.
Hard working and hardly working are general behavioral pattern. We know Japanese work hard across cross section of society. But, it is nice to hear Indians work hard. I hope the barber is a Soyuth African, and his observations are primarily based on the experiences during his vacation. More so he has not explored the cross section of the country.
I stay in West Bengal and the work culture is definitely not that of in Gujarat. So also what is a struggle in North Eastern states due to low income levels, same is not the case in North India. India is a vast country and to manage for a common goal of work to the fullest for making a 2 full square meal is a extreme relative term. I know in Greece, particularly in Athens, the culture is to be lazy and easy going. Fault is not with the people but with the culture and affluence.
Find the work culture among government offices and private companies and among self employed personalities like farmers, skilled labourer etc. So it is a big debate on work hard or hardly work.
Thanks for your blog and take this comments as purely from an Indian perspective. Still India is going great in progress and prosperity. The urge to be in line with the best is extremely high among the people. High ambitions because basic needs are more or less fulfilled in terms of food, clothing, housing, incomes etc over last 60 years of independence.
Thanks for reading and comments, if any.
Regards
Asesh Datta