From the President's Desk

National President's Message: March 2010 02-Mar-2010

Dear friends,

We, at NHRDN, are in the process of creating self-reinforcing virtuous cycles where each new member multiplies the value and each institutional vehicle strengthens the openness and knowledge dissemination possibilities for mutual gain. Bob Metcafe, renowned for his invention of Ethernet, proposed the widely acclaimed Metcalfe’s Law, 1980:  the value of a network equals n squared (n x n), where n is the number of people in the network.  Any increase in the network size has a more than a proportionate increase in value to each other. David Putnam, the Harvard political scientist defines social capital, of the bonding and/or bridging kind, as the collective value of social networks and the inclinations from these networks to do things for each other, and can be measured by the extent of trust and reciprocity in a community between individuals, in both homogeneous and heterogeneous settings. Knowledge sharing from interactions rooted in experiential learning, connecting people in fast dissolving boundaries, and leading to actionable outcomes has been the ethos of our vision; we believe that every human being has the potential to do remarkable things.

We all recognize the import of the internet and its amazing ability to revolutionalize the way we operate. At NHRDN, we have chosen to use platforms for grass root action based on an incredible amalgam of experiential insights and experiences; members connected through innovative mediums and interactions enabled by best in class networking modes in a truly global platform for collaboration and virtual learning. In a world of increasing complexity, practicing managers recognize that analysis needs to transcend episodic states of understanding towards periodic reflections and on to a more determinative real time predictive modeling that enables us to work towards and deliver proactive outcomes. Michael Dertouzos’ , director at MIT’s lab and author of What Will Be, shared the insight that Information is Action,  and urged that we must view and value  information as a verb. When thinking and collaboration are significantly assisted by computer technology, you have a digital nervous system, noted Bill Gates in his Business@The Speed of Thought. We, at NHRDN, have endeavored to create a value proposition for members not inhibited by physical boundaries of space and distance.

Keeping with the times, the NHRDN has created a web presence (http://www.nationalhrd.org/) , built on the social networking platform Web2.0, that provides a rich and engaging virtual connect between all its members. Pankaj Bansal, who was entrusted with the task of harnessing the power of social networking for Delhi Chapter website back in 2006, was assigned the task of deploying it now on our national website. Our NHRDN website today allows members to connect and collaborate; non-members to become part of the network; provides on line payment gateways; offers nine HR centric communities for rich interaction; has blogs with experiential reflections on all aspects concerning people management; is a veritable gateway for dissemination of knowledge and information. The journey, we believe, has just begun and the more we reach out to each other by embracing this medium, the greater the exponential vale we create. Visit it as often as you can, and make it richer by your presence.

In line with harnessing the immense power of the internet we had also chosen to experiment with a live interactive format that can truly dissolve distances between members and provide for a format where presentations and knowledge sharing could be followed by an interactive session that provides a clear locus on generating actionable outcomes at your place of work. Last year, we inaugurated our virtual learning initiatives by launching the first Webinar, a web-based seminar, connecting people across 14 cities and 3 countries. Mohit Gandhi, our Executive Director, supported by Ankur Sethi, Program Manager for HR Talks, anchored this novel institutional vehicle and ensured it gained momentum. Over the year we have had a distinguished list of HR professionals who have volunteered to   share their rich insights, address specific issues that participants face at the work place and explore possibilities of resolution.  Today, a year down the line, the number of participants has breached the 500 mark and our webinars are enabling people in many countries, blurring all distances, to reach out through this medium and interact.

Series	Date	NHRD Network WEBINAR Theme	Speaker/Presenter
1.	09-Apr-09	Managing Turbulent Times – HR Response (Inaugural)	NS Rajan, E&Y Aquil Busrai, IBM India
2.	12-May-09	Compensation as a Strategic Tool in Talent Management	Bimal Rath, Nokia P. Senthil Kumar, Cairn Energy India
3.	26-Jun-09	Employee Engagement in Today's Business scenario	Anand Pillai, HCL Technologies L Selvam George, 5E serpraise
4.	29-Jul-09	Managing Multicultural Issues in HR Strategy	SY Siddiqui, Maruti Suzuki
5.	13-Aug-09	Transforming HR Through Technology	Aadesh Goyal, PeopleStrong Krish Shankar, Bharti Airtel
6.	10-Sep-09	Competency Management in organizations	P Dwarakanath, Max India
7.	08-Oct-09	Managing Next-Gen in your Workforce	S. Varadarajan, Quatrro BPO Solutions
8.	12-Nov-09	Measuring Training Effectiveness and ROI	Surajit Banerjee, Max Healthcare
9.	10-Dec-09	Building the Leadership DNA in Organizations	Prakash V Bhide, J K Organisation
10.	14-Jan-10	Applying Balanced Scorecard for HR function	Sonali Roychowdhury, P & G
11.	11-Feb-10	Proactive Employee Relations	Vinay Bassi, Onicra
12.	11-Mar-10	OD for Organizational Success	K. Ramkumar, ICICI Bank

Thomas Friedman celebrated changing paradigms around us by famously declaring that the world is flat. Consilience- the interconnectedness of sciences, convergence of technologies, and the amazing spirit of volunteerism displayed by our members together provide us a compelling range of possibilities that we have consciously chosen to explore and embrace.  Ever onwards!

Sincerely

N S Rajan

National President
NHRD Network

(NS Rajan)

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