Comments on: It’s All About Expectations

By: bhooma

bhooma — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:05:34 +0000

Hi Anand..this is probably a year later but I moved back for an important and a happy reason. Albeit having fun and being peaceful at the family front I am facing a hit on the wall situation at the professional side. I am also ready to give more time to myself to get seasoned. Do you plan to revisit this blog entry of urs having spent almost a yr since u moved back??

By: heman

heman — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:32:59 +0000

Guys… who is calling you back to India… dont come back and struggle here… if you dont come back we will also struggle less…. if you want to come back come on Indian terms we have not changed ………. else stay back where you are …. you are not invited back… we are going well without you too….

By: JK @ Boston

JK @ Boston — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:26:55 +0000

Very well articulated what I & probably many objective minded have been thinking & talking realistically! Godspeed in your transition & endeavours in India & elsewhere too…Cheers, JK @ Boston??

By: adanie2

adanie2 — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:46:06 +0000

Hi Subra,Thanks for sharing your experience and sorry for this delayed response. Would be great to keep in touch and compare notes. You can email me at anand.daniel@gmail.com.-Anand

By: Ketan

Ketan — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:18:48 +0000

Someone once said to me, "watch your expectations, forsatisfaction is merely the quotient of your perceived achievements over your expectations"

By: Sweta

Sweta — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:14:32 +0000

Sunil,There is no such thing as "easy" in this transition. I 100% agree with what Subra says. I moved back 1.5 years ago and I completely agree with the struggle and inefficiencies faced in the day to day life. You just have to put your efficiency standards in the US and create new ones in India. There is a COMPLETELY different way of dealing with people here. And I mean people at ALL levels. You always feel like you are at the receiving end even IF you spend a lot of money to get a task done. So my 2 cents to anyone who thinks the transition to India will be somewhat "easy" — FORGET IT. IT will NOT be easy with a US mindset for sure. There is just one exception to this, if you parents already run a mid-big size business and you are joining them, then yes, it’ll be relatively easy. But for most of us who want to start from scratch, It’s SUPER difficult from all perspectives. Esp financially, because having a quality life at low income is NOT an option in Metros in India at all.On the note of "when to get back", there is no right answer. You get back when you are ready to put in 200% of struggle in all directions. It’s like having a first baby. You never know the struggles and challanges and joys your baby brings you until you actually have one, but what makes you a good parent is the "willingness to adapt the change and grow with it" This is exactly like that. You are never 100% prepared for the transition, you just have to have the will for it and by "you" I mean, "everyone" in your family who’s moving with you. 🙂

By: Sunil Robert

Sunil Robert — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:18:18 +0000

Interesting perspective. I struggle with this question always. When I do get back, how easy will it be? Trade off’s Thanks for sharing….Sunil

By: Subra

Subra — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:04:04 +0000

I returned to India little over a year ago after having been in the US for over a decade. I worked for an American MNC for a few months before starting a venture. I do deal with the Indian bureaucratic system day in and day out as the govt is the only sector that is spending right now. Having run this company for a year and after having successfully executed few projects for the government, I should say that its not rocket science to deal with the way things are back at home. The key is understanding the system and dealing with it appropriately, without trying to fight the system. You can’t do business the American way here and its certainly not easy to do business in India. India still works on "influence" . If you don’t know the right people it is difficult to get thing done even for personal stuff. For example, getting your kid into school OR finding a doctor who is not going to con you, etc. And there are tons of small things like this that takes your focus out of your real life. There is absolutely no professionalism or efficiency in your daily life in India.There are a few things where you may not want to set the expectation according to the local norms. For example, for me putting my kids in a "0 Sigma" school will never be an option. To match up with the American schooling approach, you will be forced to choose a school that is on right of the "+2 Sigma" border and that comes at a significant cost. The romance of India dies down fairly fast. It then comes down to this – Choice. From a financial perspective, it makes sense to work in a country where I would be able to generate a higher IRR. I think the US wins hands down in this regard, not to mention the better quality of life in the US. But now, if you are moving back to India to run your own venture and not work for some random MNC, all bets are off. The growth and opportunity are certainly here, if you are willing to deal with everything else.

By: Anand

Anand — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:41:30 +0000

Hi Anand???. This is a very good one. One thing I can find is that all you guys love both the nations and want the best of both like a kid does???. I think this is not an Issue really but it???s just getting used to a kind of living. If you think it???s really an issue then expecting it in our generation is quite impossible.I got some American friends in the Middle East who are facing the same kind of problems in moving back to the US. The funny part is that they feel that the US is not good enough to move back from the gulf region??? which I consider it as deserted place. So I???m sure your expectations are more valid and genuine??? Keep writing.