WHAT I LEARNT FROM MY COMPETITOR(3)
The Existing System is My
Competition, the Lesson is to Frame an Alternative Policy“
Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister
CLAIM TO FAME: A chartered
accountant-turned politician who was first elected Member of Parliament in
1996, and who a year ago quit Shiv Sena to join BJP and become railway minister
THE LESSON: I don't look at
any individual as my com petitor. But, very often, an existing system becomes
your main competitor. The challenge does not come from any individual. The
system itself becomes your competition.
In the Railways, I have
studied the existing system and decided to move ahead with an alternative
policy. It's like this: I pursue a path; someone else pursues another path.
That's why we are
competitors. In economic parlance, the competition is all about acquiring
market share.
Earlier in railways, every
tender proposal was coming to the minister for clearance. And that's where (the
rail way) minister drew his powers from. I have dispensed with that power
completely. Now, no file regarding ten ders comes to my desk. My competition
was centralised tendering. My answer to it is no tendering at the minis ter's
level. The lesson I learnt was that I can't replicate the same system, but can
choose an alternative.
Not just in tendering,
there was centralisation in eve ry decision-making process earlier. I have del
egated almost all decision-making pow ers to officers at the level of general
managers. The lesson I learnt was that I would succeed if I decentralise the
processes.
Earlier, one (the minister)
dealt with personal issues such as trans fers, postings, promotions. I have
decided not to handle any such matters. These are now addressed in a
transparent process.
(As told to Shantanu Nandan
Sharma)
ETM27DEC15
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