Two Indian stories

Two great stories about India and Indians.

The first one describes the innovative approach of Dr Shetty in reducing the costs of open heart surgery and his plans to take his hospital to the Cayman islands so that Americans can fly over and get a surgery at one tenth the cost in the US. Mother Teresa's cardiac surgeon, Dr. Devi Shetty, keeps a photo of her on his desk that says "Hands that serve are more sacred than lips that pray." Shetty has kept that in mind, offering heart surgeries to those who couldn't afford them, but he's doing it with a business model that would make Henry Ford proud. The doctor has transformed Indian health care by opening huge hospitals (1,000 beds, compared to 160 on average in the U.S.) that offer procedures at sharply reduced prices. At his flagship hospital, an open-heart surgery costs about $2,000, while in the U.S., the surgery would cost between $20,000 and $100,000. And counterintuitively, the quality of care has increased, in part because doctors get more practice and specialize in just one or two types of surgery. Shetty plans to open four more "health cities" around India, and one in the Cayman Islands. More than 6 million Americans are expected to go overseas for affordable health care next year. And Dr Shetty plans to provide them an opportunity to do it at much lower costs than in the US.

The second story is about how Indian companies are now reaching world standards in terms of developing leaders. Fortune magazine selects the most successful businesses that know how to develop talent. Among the list of the ten best companies that develop leaders are such names as IBM, Proctor and Gamble, McKinsey, GE, McDonalds etc but they also include two Indian companies. The first one

ICICI BankHeadquarters: MumbaiRevenue: $7.4 billion*Employees: 36,335CEO: Chanda Kochhar
ICICI doesn't just have recruiters trolling for talent outside of the company; it also has 600 employees who act as talent scouts internally, identifying coworkers with leadership potential.
These internal recruiters tap 5,000 candidates a year, and a panel reviews a profile of each prospective leader and assigns a grade. Top -- or "A" and "B" -- employees complete a four-day residential training program with a set of structured exercises, guest speakers that include the CEO, and screenings of films such as "12 Angry Men." And throughout the year, the company brings in influential leaders such as management guru Ram Charan to share their expertise with the chosen employees. Another bonus: These trainees are the only employees who get company stock options.

The second one is Hindustan UnileverHeadquarters: MumbaiRevenue: $4.4 billion**Employees: 15,000CEO: Nitin Paranjpe
This consumer goods company likes to think of itself as a talent factory. And with more than 1,000 alumni sitting on boards globally, it can certainly make a strong case for that. The company uses what it calls a "70-20-10" model for developing its workforce: 70% of learning happens on the job, 20% through mentoring, and 10% through training and coursework. That's why employees go through a job rotation roughly every three years, bosses are measured on how well they coach their direct reports, and all employees take about a week's worth of leadership training and four e-learning courses every year. The company says that senior management spends 30% to 40% of its time grooming leaders.