Imagining Nandan Nilekani
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Image: Mallikarjun Katakol for Forbes India
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Name: Nandan Nilekani
Profile: Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India
His toolkit: Strong analytics, Ability to step back from the problem and look at it from another person’s view, Networking, Re-evaluating priorities and focus
Nandan, welcome to the Zen Garden. Where have you come from?
I was born in Bangalore and lived there until the age of 12. My father used to work for the Minerva Mills. But soon he had to leave town because his company ran into difficulties. It was taken over by the National Textile Corporation. I was sent to my uncle’s farm in Dharwad. He was a radical humanist and a follower of M.N. Roy. I was there with him through my SSLC [tenth standard exams]. Then I spent two years at the Karnataka College doing PUC [twelfth standard exams]. From there I went to IIT, Mumbai. In the process, I became independent at a very young age. Secondly, I made a transition from a city to a small town. Because, in 1966 Dharwad was a very small town and the cultural shift for me was sharp. At my uncle’s home, I was transported to an environment of discussion and debate. There was reading and discussion on politics, society, development and such larger issues. These started influencing me even before I realised.
I think the shift from Bangalore to Dharwad, from the factory to the farm was like deconstructing yourself. A lot of people fall short of their potential because they have inherent difficulty deconstructing themselves. Deconstruction is the ability to press a “reset” button at periodic intervals.
Never thought of it like that but now that you say it, it is so true! I think in many instances I have pressed my “reset” button. From Bangalore to Dharwad and when I went from Dharwad to the IIT and then on to my professional career — it was another reset button and now this work is the latest reset in my life. So, I think my early experience gave me the self-confidence that I could go into a different environment and pull it off; that I can press the reset button.
When did you first realise your capability to do so?
It was when I landed up at the IIT. Going to the IIT was a huge thing. The guys who got in were from big cities. Academically, I didn’t do too well. But, socially I did very well — I became the General Secretary, I networked well. That was the second time when I went into an unknown situation and was able to come to the top of the heap in some sense. After that I realised that I could walk into a completely new, completely unknown environment and figure the game out. I realised I had some sort of skill and that actually freed me up completely. I felt free.
If we took Nandan Nilekani apart and looked at the parts closely, what would they tell us?
One thing is that I play for the long haul. I have a huge capacity to postpone gratification. I think that is very critical if you want any substantive rewards. People are generally impatient for the rewards of what they are doing. The second is really the Dharmik thing, which is focus on what you do and that your rewards will be your by-product. I have done it all the time. Whenever I have just focussed with full commitment, the rewards have happened. I have never asked for anything but it all comes to me.
Have you ever felt that life is about to destabilise you?
Yes, it has happened to me many times. Each time, I knew I am at the precipice, I have simply hunkered down, I have set myself to rethink everything and then I have gone back to make sense of what I am doing, to reflect on what has gone wrong here, how did I mess it up, then how do I solve the short-term problem of getting back my stability and then the long-term need of not repeating the mistake.
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