Volume V. Issue II. JUNE 2013
BEYOND BARRIERS Volume V Issue II
JUNE 2013
From the MD
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ear junctionites, Even as I write this, rain fury has left a huge trail of death and devastation in Uttarakhand. Millions have been rendered homeless and countless pilgrims, tourists and residents remain stranded. This is a national crisis of no small measure, and while the government and several non-profit organisations are working day in and day out, this is also the time our national conscience raises its head. mjunction has always stood by the Indian people, whether it was the tsunami and the Bihar floods and no exception will be made this time. I also urge all of you to do whatever little you can in your personal capacities as well. Even if you can make a difference to one person, your effort would have been well worth it.
SIDE WHAT ’S IN mj wins Responsible Supply Chain award Uttarakhand relief
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While on one hand we stand by our people in distress, on the other we do not seem to set much store by peace, which is borne out by the Global Peace Index in 2013, which was released recently by the Institute of Economics and Peace, a global thinktank which works on the relationship between economics, business and peace. The report has ranked India among the 25 least peaceful nations to live in. The country was placed 141 among 162 nations, having lost more than two lives a day — or a staggering 799 persons — to internal conflicts in 2012. Giving India company at the bottom of the heap are countries like Pakistan, Iraq, South Sudan and Afghanistan, which are traditionally perceived to be more violence-ridden. Iceland emerged as 2012’s most peaceful country in the index. The report of course also says that the number of deaths from internal conflicts in India has come down. However, it also refers to border skirmishes between India and its neighbours requiring a large military force and increased defence expenditure, which drags down India’s overall score. Whatever the case may be, perhaps we need to be more tolerant as a nation. In such tough times, we need to be very strong internally. And yes, we need to be positive and optimistic. I believe everything ends when negativity and pessimism creep in. As long as there is life, there is hope. And while we speak about positivity and hope, I believe dreams are also an integral part of hoping. So when I read about the so-called “ordinary” egg-seller girl from Kolkata climbing Mt. Everest, she no longer remained “ordinary” in my eyes. The sheer grit and determination which made her cling to her dream, her family which stood by her and contributed every penny of its savings and her so-called “ordinary” neighbours some of whom contributed as little
mj observes SHE week 4 Travelogue: Thai Splendour 6 Travelogue: Goa - Paradise on earth 7
ej convocation held 7 mj coal conference delves into key issues 8 Featured junctionites 9 Client speak 10
as Rs 50 – all of them make for a story that rises much above its ordinariness. I believe there is a little bit of that egg-seller girl in each and every one of us, only if we allow ourselves to dream and then pursue that dream. And perhaps that is the differentiator between simply existing and living. It is a dream which makes a life worthwhile. Meanwhile, we at mjunction held our Horizon 1 and Horizon 2 annual conferences. We took stock of the year gone by, identified our failures and the reasons and drew up a plan to move forward. We adopted McKinsey’s three-horizon model last year. One year down the line, I believe we are on the right path, with a separate set of approaches for each horizon. And that is why it also helped to have the conferences horizon-wise, so that there is a common set of objectives for everyone present there. Though the economic conditions are difficult, mjunction has always believed in holding out in such times and emerging a winner. I believe this approach will work well for us and I also believe that our targets and objectives will be well within our reach if each one of us knows what is expected of us and delivers accordingly. The first quarter has gone by and we look forward to a buoyant FY14. Most importantly, we look forward to meeting the target of $10 billion transaction value that we set for ourselves in our Vision statement co-created three years ago. We are well on our way to achieving this in this financial year before we give ourselves a new Vision, a new guiding light. May we all stick by each other in this journey. Good luck to all of us. Regards, Viresh Oberoi
Annual conferences Spot awards and new faces Mixed Bag mj contributes for Learning at mj
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Junctionites usher in Bengali new year Photo contest & Quiz Corner
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