NSM 2010 THEME

In 2010 we came together and so we were able to sustain during this rough phase of the economic recession. The funda of ‘Power of One’ proved right because we fought together against all the evils of recession and whenever we felt low we kept saying……

 

 

“Aal Izz Well…”

 

or

 

 

“We Shall Overcome”

 

 

I know it sounds filmy but we can still think of it.

 

Thanks,

Amit

 

Amit Chauhan

District Manager, - Higher Education

Andhra Pradesh.

Mobile  No. 9392606863

 

 

Visit us at: http://www.pearsoned.co.in

 

__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4881 (20100219) __________

The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

http://www.eset.com

NSM 2010 Theme

NSM 2010 Theme

How about 'Think Big, Sell Solutions!'

Vikesh
Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel

Theme for the NSM

KAIZEN (which means constant improvement)

How often have we complained about our surroundings and the problems we face in our daily life? I know that I do, quite often whether it is about the traffic or power cuts or…the list seems endless. Sometimes though, we get a reality check and realize that our lives are truly abundant.




January 26 of this year was one such opportunity. A chance conversation with a friend revealed that she has been invited to attend the Rebublic Day parade at a school in a village called Surana, 30 kilometers from Jaipur. It seemed like a chance to not just visit this school but also visit a village, which I confess was a first for me.



Accordingly, we had set off around 7:30 am from Gurgaon. Unfortunately, the fog and terrible traffic jams meant we reached around noon. The function was over but the children were still hanging about the school. We were immediately surrounded by hordes of children, the teachers, some parents, and even the village goats. With a visible sense of pride, they took us to see their classrooms (a grand total of nine small rooms) and their computer centre. My friend, who runs an NGO, had taken an old PC and that was installed in the centre and some of the children proceeded to sit around just staring at it, while the rest followed us around. Getting photographed was pretty popular and so was being able to see their image on the camera screen.



While the rooms were small and most of them sit on the floor and study struggling with the limited resources of their life, their ambitions are unlimited. “Kuch achcha karna hai,” and “Adhayapak banna hai bade hoke” were the two most popular refrains.

Suddenly, I was really glad that I work for a company that published textbooks and realized (yet again) how petty some of our so-called troubles are in reality.

J

Travels with a donkey

One of the things I love about my job is the variety of experiences it offers me. Although I grumble about the amount I have to travel, each trip is an experience, and hopefully moves our agenda forward. My wife and son have reconciled themselves to my occasional presence. The dogs still look a bit confused.

Last week I travelled through rural UP, along with Khozem and Joanne from our ELT practice in New York. We were examining ways of delivering low cost education to rural children. I have some fantastic pictures which I will try posting later.

This week I was in Phoenix, Arizona for a meeting of Will Ethridge's senior executives. It is truly astonishing how rapidly the company is changing. And Marjorie made a telling point about what value means in our business - it is delivered by helping each student make progress.

Today I am in London, discussing priorities for our Edexcel business.

And next week I will be meeting international schools in Bombay, as well as meeting a major retail chain of book stores.

I think I really am blessed to have a job which offers such a range of business opportunities, and the chance to perhaps make a difference.

And with all of this travel going on, I missed most of the World Book Fair, although I did keep track of our progress by email with Nikhil giving me updates and Madhur sending me pictures. What did you all think of the book fair? Any views you might want to share?

A box of chocolates for the best new post over the next two weeks.

Vivek Govil
Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel

Breaking the Silence

I'm sorry, I have been off the air for a long while. I thought I would do a summary of 2009, but then figured maybe this isn't the place to do it. However, I would like to say thank you to every one of you for your efforts - I think we have set ourselves up for sustained, long term growth. And from whatever competitive information I can get, I think we continue to overtake the venerable names in Indian publishing.

In 2009, I travelled like crazy, I think Rajni counted about 40 trips in the year. Each trip has its own little stories, but I thought I'd share one from my recent trip to Calcutta: on the coach from the aircraft to the terminal, a young man got up and gave me his seat! I now realise that I have achieved that milestone of looking like a senior citizen. Perhaps I should act more like one too!

Vivek Govil

Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel

Shuttle Tales

It’s been three months since I hopped on to the Pearson Express and here is the travelogue…
The day usually starts with a scramble. My stop is the Dabur Chowk and to reach that point, I navigate through shared autos, rickshaws, buses, two-way lanes, all the while trying to stay out of range of the hawkers and cops who are determined to block the way.

The first week of my shuttling experience was spent trying out different routes. So, we went on the Patparganj—Anand Vihar—Dabur—Vasundhara—Indirapuram—knowledge boulevard route. One trip meant crossing the Shipra Mall light and the driver had just made the left when the bus scraped against a car. The bus with its passengers, the car and its driver were fine, but the cop who showed up mysteriously was not. He was determined to “investigate” and it was only when all the passengers started arguing, that he let us go. Curiously, our bus driver stopped taking that particular road after that day. Several permutations and combinations later, we have figured out a way to reach the office by 9:30 am (and sometimes earlier). And we have all worked out our own way of prepping for the commute.

 So, it could involve listening

Or checking messages:

And sometimes, just heaving a sigh of relief at managing to get people off board!

On getting results

On Saturday I went for my guitar class, and was told that the results of our exams had been posted. On the notice board a sheet of names with their scores had been posted.

I scanned the names, first seeing my son, who got a distinction in his debut level drums. And then, further down, Vivek Govil, 83/100, passed with merit!

Am I relieved? Of course. Am I showing off just a bit? You betcha!


Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel

Download complete……..

Finally the download is complete and we have received the photographs of the Kolkata launch of Impressions. All in all, it was a splendid affair with all the ingredients of a perfect blockbuster. The show was packaged with a powerful presentation by Mr Richard Cooper who brought to the board his years of experience in training academics, HR managers and senior management in the corporate sector across the globe, as well as trainees in the UN.

Richard Cooper addressing Principals at the launch…

The evening started with Prashant welcoming the guests and introducing the speaker before handing the microphone over to Naveen who showcased Pearson’s vision for education in India.

Naveen Rajlani at the podium…                                                    


Diyasree took off from there and presented some of the innovative products from Pearson, including interesting stuff like E-books and Dynamic Question Bank as well as Online Support Material for Longman Active Science & Maths. The response was heart-warming as principals of some of the city’s best schools were seen nodding their heads in appreciation of the new ideas. There was a sense of awe as teachers realised that if question papers could be generated in a matter of thirty seconds or less, then they could focus their energies on bringing creative inputs to the classroom and reinventing their teaching methods rather than being weighed down by the monotony of writing out question papers.

An august gathering…


And then it was time for the star trainer to take over. Richard conducted a delightful session in which innovative ideas were interwoven with some interesting videos and hilarious anecdotes.

During the presentation…

An attentive audience…

Interacting with the teachers…


As Richard narrated incidents from his experience of dealing with people from different countries where English is treated as a second language, an hour and thirty minutes passed in the blink of an eye. In the end, we were left with a feeling of immense satisfaction, as our guests applauded the event which had given them a truly global perspective to English Language Teaching.

Madhumita Seal (author of the Primers) with Mr Cooper…

Madhumita Seal and Supriya Bhattacharya (author of Impressions) after the launch…

A thank-you note…

And last, but not least…the team that put together the show…

On failing tests

“Still in the office?” is what I heard Vamanan say from the other side when I received his call last evening, when I was just about to shut down my computer. And then for a couple of seconds, we both laughed heartily at his joke. Once I hung up after having conversations about a certain project, I realized how truly virtual my life had become. Just the other day, a friend quipped on how long a commute it is for me to my workplace!

 

When people in my family heard about this arrangement called “work from home”, they couldn’t help but react sceptically. I remember how Amar had explained elaborately how difficult it is for Indians to take to this fairly new concept of working from home, and what problems one might face while in India. Let alone powercuts, and inquisitive and gossipy neighbours, disciplining the self could be a big problem. When I packed my bags and came back to Kolkata, I kept all his warnings in mind. The first few days were spent in explaining the “concept” to friends, neighbours and family members. I could see bubbles popping out of their heads—“Poor girl! She must have been fired! The market is in such a bad shape…it leaves people with no other option but to lie about what they do! What work can she possibly do while staying at home all day?!”—while they seemed to be in total agreement with me that it’s quite a novel and effective way of getting work done. I could even see my mother becoming defensive about me when inquisitive neighbours asked her about what her daughter did. She knows it’s quite a new concept in India, and having been faced with quizzical expressions from extended-family members, she knew better what to do—promptly she would say, “Oh she has been transferred to Kolkata!” “Transfer” is a concept more easily relatable by people around, and it worked brilliantly!

 

Last week, I had to go to meet an author at his place. For the first twenty minutes, I had to explain what I am really doing out here. I realized that there have been so many books I have worked on all this while, without having met the author even once that proving myself was never an issue. The mails we sent off from the official addresses were proofs enough. They never had to allow me into their personal spaces, so things were pretty comfortable! When I rang the bell at my author’s place, I knew I would have to take these mental tests to prove I am the editor from Pearson Education, who is working on his book. The other factor that has always worked against me in such cases is the fact that I look younger than what I really am! And such elderly, learned and erudite authors often have issues trusting such seemingly young editors with their manuscripts. So I had dressed up in a sari to ensure I at least looked mature. Amar’s advice keeps echoing in my head in such situations: “Don’t start giggling!” That’s one more part of me that works against me when I have to prove myself. People who giggle too often are seldom taken seriously! So here I was, standing outside an author’s door, wearing a sari, and a very grim expression, with my hands folded in a “namaskar” pose!

 

“Tumi to chhelemanush he!” (You are such a kid!), my author said as he opened the door. Well, I failed my first test there. All efforts of pretension in vain! Next, maintaining my grim expression, I handed over my visiting card to him, to add some authenticity to my identity. He took it from my hand, read it carefully, and stared at me questioningly. “But this says you are from Pearson Education, Noida? What’s the deal? Where do you work from? From Kolkata or from Noida? And if from Kolkata, HOW?” So I fail my second test! Still grim, but polite, I go back to explaining all that work-from-home is about!

 

By the end of our meeting, he seemed quite satisfied. Before he closed the door behind me, he said, smiling, “Eto chhelemanush hoye, eto bhalo kaj korchho! Besh bhalo laglo!” (Even though you are such a kid, you are working so competently! I feel good!) So I passed. I figured one way or the other, it is not all that bad to fail a couple of tests initially to get some appreciation at the end!