Why “not” Nepal?

Acumen Fund describes “patient capital” as not to seek high returns, but rather to jump-start the creation of enterprises that improve the ability of the poor to live with dignity.”

Ashu (Ashutosh Tiwari) and I are both fans of Acumen Fund. And we believe what we are doing in our group, “Entrepreneurs for Nepal”, complements their efforts by setting up a “patient systemic process” that helps in the effective implementations of “patient capital”. In our frequent brainstormings, we found ourselves always coming back to this central theme, “being patient, being persistent, and  building organizations with this combination of patience and persistence.”

A “patient systemic process” involves spending time patiently but persistently building systems in place in your organizations, into your career or into your businesses. In the context of Nepal, we have got to invest more time and energy into learning how to make  resilient  systems with processes built by patience but persistence. This means building system of processes in almost every end goal in your business/organization, whether it is  dividends, team-building, organizational growths,  profits or career growths.

Once you have processes in place, the system will be resilient.

Please post your comments in whynepal.com and continue the discussion in our facebook group, “Entrepreneurs for Nepal”

The business cost of avoiding confrontation in Nepal

A friend from the US living part-time and doing business in Nepal expressed frustration over our (Nepali) strong cultural desire to avoid confrontation in a professional relationship. Specifically, the steep business cost of this in-action. We discussed for some reasons behind this.

The graciousness of Nepalis is a double-edged sword. The Nepali hospitality is world-renowned but this can be problematic in international business culture. This is rooted in a Nepali tradition of treating visitors as ‘gods.’ People here go out of their way to make sure that a visitor’s experience is a good one. Nepali people don’t like to disappoint. It’s personal pride. But in business, if you don’t let me know that you are going to ‘disappoint’ me – i.e not delivering on time, not delivering on the quality i seek – then I will make promises that I can’t keep, losing face and disappointing others. This creates a domino effect on all my professional relationships. In business, brutal honesty of your short comings saves a lot of pain later on. In a lot of cultures, this is expected of you in business.

But a Nepali may not understand the true business cost of disappointing others. In other words, things not getting done correctly (with quality) or on time is not a big deal among Nepalis but is a BIG deal in the U.S. So why are we so afraid to avoid confrontation, and to avoid conflict?

Is it because of our culture that worships authority, hierarchy, and guests. This culture that taboos ‘questioning authority or displeasing guests’ leading to complications when trying to keep your professional commitments. While we  stress on the culture of “guests as god” relations, we unknowingly end up belittling our professional commitments. Do we have a conflict between our cultural and professional commitments. Many times I have come across this situation. We deny outright that there is a problem and we lie casually with reassurances to avoid the inevitable confrontation. This is our chaotic contradictory way to avoid confrontations.

To a foreigner wanting a professional relationship in Nepal, this is a contradiction.  On the one hand working with a Nepali earns you genuine care and respect, thus earning great personal relationship. On the other hand, their apparent dishonesty with you in terms of keeping up their professional commitments costs you your professional (and later personal) relationship with others,

Is it, that to preserve this status qua of our fabled “respect your authority and guests” philosophy, we may become a generation of conflict averse professionals who cannot keep up with our professional commitments. Do we really understand the business cost of disappointing others? In this flat world, we need to figure out a way to solve this sooner than later.

on a side-note : why “do Nepalis turn our heads sideways (as if we disagree) when agreeing completely with them! (it makes any foreigner go crazy).

would love to hear your opinions on whynepal.com

My car will not start. (the problem)

Why? – The battery is dead. (first why)

Why? – The alternator is not functioning. (second why)

Why? – The alternator belt has broken. (third why)

Why? – The alternator belt was well beyond its useful service life and has never been replaced. (fourth why)

Why? – I have not been maintaining my car according to the recommended service schedule. (fifth why, a root cause)

Another innovative way to figure out the roots of problems. The 5 Whys is a question-asking method used to explore the cause/effect relationships underlying a particular problem. Ultimately, the goal of applying the 5 Whys method is to determine a root cause of a defect or problem. Toyota Company used this during the evolution of their manufacturing methodologies. Link to the full Wikipedia article here.
Maybe use this in analyzing and finding the root of problems, even in our daily lives, much like how paraphrasing works to keep everyone understand each other.
What do you think? Where can you use this? Throw in your comments at whynepal.com

If your immediate goal is to make some good money in Nepal within a space of a few years, and you happen to be a well educated Nepali, I recommend you join an INGO (basically I include non profit International Non Governmental Organizations and multi lateral agencies in this category).

Do not start your own business. Do not work in private firms. Not even banks. It is much harder to meet this goal these ways.
Here are some of my arguments that you can take with a pinch of salt!

• You will earn at least two times more money in the same period in an INGO as you would in most private business in Kathmandu. (The rumor is you will earn much more)
• You will travel at least four times more. (on average)
• You generally work more hours per week in private institutions than the 5 day, 9 to 5 job in a INGO.
• You will have more holidays and free time working for an INGO than in a private business.
• And you have less of a chance of your boss breathing down the neck.
• Plus you have more exposure to international circles and networks (which comes handy in any career moves or further education).
• The pressures of working in an INGO is much relaxing than in a private business. (Almost to the point of boring, some of my friends quip)
• And your job security is much better. Since on a regular basis for a few years, I have seen more NGO’s and INGO’s vacancy advertisements in Nepal than any medium to big business has. I have hardly seen any of my friends in NGO sector find a problem finding another job in the NGO sector. Never seen a smoother job transition in any sector than the NGO sector.

So If your intention is to make some good money in Nepal immediately, Join the INGO business in Nepal.
And for those entrepreneurs amongst you, how about catering your products and services to the non profits -INGOs and multi lateral agencies. They are excellent customers with deeper pockets and more will to spend than most private firms in Kathmandu!