|
Executive Interviews: Interview with Vivekanadan on Bottom of the Pyramid
November 2008
-
By Prema Ramachandran
Vivekanadan Former CEO of South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies 
I understand that after such a long
tenure with SIFFS you have recently
quit your post as CEO. What are
your plans for the future?
My plans are to set up a new national
organization that will promote the
development of fishing communities
and make fisheries sustainable in
India. This will necessarily be an
NGO rather than a federation or
people's organization. It will work
closely with federations and people's
organizations. However, it has to get
the attention of all key stakeholders in
the
|
|
fisheries(Govt, industry,
scientific institutions, NGOs and
people's organizations) if it has to be
effective. It will therefore develop a
good interface with all concerned and
also muscle into a vacant space—
coordination of the actors. This will
not be through an official mandate,
but through the quality of the work
and the articulation of common
interest Does your leaving SIFFS mean
that there is little more to be done on
that front under the SIFFS banner?
SIFFS has a long way to go in
fulfilling its mandate in South India.
It is just that I did not feel that my
continuation would have been good
and also I wished to use my learning
in SIFFS for the benefit of the entire
fishing community of India. This is
also the reason that I (and hopefully
the new organization) will keep close
contact with SIFFS and support each
other. From a student of IRMA, you have
now become one of the Board of
Governors. What advice would you
give to the aspiring rural managers?
The most important advice for any
aspiring ruralmanager is to be clear in
your mind what you want to do in
life. You must have coherent goals in
life. If you want to make a lot of
money, then be clear about it. If you
really want to contribute to rural
development, you must be ready for
struggle and have the willingness to
face the long haul. You can always
say to yourself, I am willing to take
only so much risk, after that I prefer
the safety of an established organization and good pay. Better to
be honest to yourself and your peers.
One can always contribute to society
in any capacity. Often students have conflicting goals
and are unable to prioritize them.
This leads to poor job choices and a
lot of heartburn. Wherever you are and whatever job
you do, keep adding to your
understanding and knowledge. Every
additional year should see your value
(not necessarily in salary terms, but
intrinsically) go up more than the
mere addition of one year's
experience. My advice to rural managers is not
very specific or relevant only to them.
However, there are a lot more
dilemmas facing a ruralmanager than
other professionals.
1.
Base of the Pyramid Protocol Case Study
2. ICMR
Case Collection
3.
Case Study Volumes
|
The Interview was conducted by Prema Ramachandran, Faculty, IBS, Mumbai. This Interview was originally published in Effective Executive, IUP, January
2008. Copyright © January 2008, IBSCDC
No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or distributed, stored in a retrieval
system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or medium electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the permission of IBSCDC. |
