Sabeer Bhatia on Bangalore and Indians

Thinking out of the box and teamwork is all you need to succeed, Sabeer Bhatia tells Ruma Singh

I work out everyday....

Every morning, wherever I am, I go for a run, do yoga, go to the gym. My day starts at 7 am with a workout. I get to work by 10.15, work till 7 pm. Luckily, much of my work is by email or phone. I love the golf course in Bangalore. If it didn’t exist, I probably wouldn’t visit! I feel claustrophobic here. The noise pollution is awful. We’re killing our parks for our own children. Indians don’t care beyond their homes, which are spick and span — they throw their garbage right outside. It’s true even in software development — this thinking of ‘self ’. People work for themselves. I tell my programmers, you must work as a team. If your teammate doesn’t succeed, you won’t. Indians looks only at marks, at IQ. But what you need is EQ — emotional quotient. Brilliance is an isolating individual characteristic. Indians must understand the concept of growing the pie. When you’re creating a new market, things should work not just for yourself, but your partners and rivals. Then business will grow for everyone and we’ll all benefit. But that thinking doesn’t exist yet. It’ll take time and markets will be lost.

I enjoy golf....

I started in Bangalore, on the army course. I understand the importance of academics, but not at the expense of sports. A healthy mind houses a healthy body. We have to create a society of thinkers. Why send kids for only quiz contests? They don’t need to learn by rote, they must learn to think outside the box. Initially, in the US, I took a course in philosophy. In the test, I got a D. I asked the professor why — “I read the books,” I said. “I’ve read them too,” he replied, “I wanted to know your opinion, not that you’d read them. That’s plagiarism.” That’s when it occurred to me that the purpose of education is to think beyond. It’s knowledge based on enquiry, not reading and reproducing. That’s only possible along with sports and extra-curricular activities. I don’t believe in nerds who play zero sports. Those guys won’t be the most successful in life. But you have to be good at academics, too. Don’t neglect it. Thank goodness parents allow kids to choose different careers like sports, art, and music these days. Earlier, it was, “Forget it, go study!” Being an army kid, I wasn’t afraid to leave home. It was a better opportunity, the best education available. It was an adventure for me. That’s why I’ve never been afraid of new things — I’ve adjusted to living both in India and the US.

It’s not all bad about Bangalore....

There have been plenty of positive changes too. There’s tremendous optimism, everyone has a job, is motivated. There’s a rise in consumerism. Everything’s available here now. On the down side, while the private sector is doing fantastically, the government sector is getting worse. The Indiranagar flyover hasn’t been completed in four years! In San Francisco’s Bay Area, they’ve retro-fitted the Bay Bridge — all 22 miles over the ocean in two years! They’ve worked all night, and haven’t blocked traffic even a day. Why can’t we do that? Bangaloreans must start putting pressure on the system. There must be more public awareness, and the media has a role to play. A newspaper in San Francisco ran photos of people responsible for work not getting done — like potholes. We too can get the guys responsible.

Being busy....

I’ve brought that on myself. I spent a year and a half relaxing, playing golf. Then I felt I missed out being in the thick of things. Now I have 5-6 projects in hand. There’s great fun in creating new products and services, and with the Internet, there’s no single individual with monopoly. A success story can spring from anywhere. It’s all about intellectual capital — organizing for the end consumer.

When I started, things weren’t so easy....

Now you can get a billion users in six months — that’s what’s truly exciting. Now people are selling millions of dollars worth of goods on the Internet — from books, shoes to rare diamonds. It’s all easy once you have a subscriber base. I’ve not done enough yet — there’s much more to do. Hotmail was big, but this year, I’ll be doing something even bigger. The trick is to solve problems for a few people, then it can work for many more. It’s encouraging that there’s a rush of companies coming up, and more being built. It bodes well for India. But we need a made-in-India product company that’s successful. I’m hoping I can help some of them become successful.

Marriage? Hopefully, it’ll happen this year....

My parents won’t decide. It’s my life, I have to live it. It’s a modern society. People are settling down later. I still have a lot of single friends. I come to Bangalore for work, to be with family and connect with friends. I love being amongst people, their warmth. I feel at home here. The chaos doesn’t bother me. If life there is surreal, life here’s a reality show. Everyone cares about everyone else, and things move forward in a slow eco-system.