It might be true: people who come the first time will hate it or love it. You come never back again or you can’t resist to come back again and again. 

For me India is the country of contrasts, the one where you can find everything and often you are confronted with extremes. 

Probably, that’s why the learning curve is rather high – if you go there with open eyes and if you permit yourself to be exposed to all kind of situations in a very obvious, sharp, clear manner. 

You can go and see the negative things only. Find examples of what the Western media tells you. No problem to find what you look for. But this helps just to justify your own egocentric world view, not more, not less. If you are not open to change your mindset, to see what you do not expect it is better to stay at home. 

Go there with a positive focus

Find out in selfhelp groups in poor surroundings how leadership works, where  people in poor surroundings take the energy from, how they act successfully and who makes business. How processes and solutions work, even without the perfect strategy paper and modern design thinking first. The traffic in the cities is one of the first and most impressive examples on how impossible things become possible.  

I have never learned that much in leadership trainings, change management seminars and cost-intensive training sessions as I could understand here. Because India is challenging. You have to leave your comfort zone. It engages you rational-, but most of all emotional-wise.
Innovative thinking can grow if you think differently. That’s what is amazing: India offers a lot of different ways to look at things.  

   
I’m going to Bangalore first, then back to the tribals, visiting hospitals of the poor and the rich, talking to women leaders, social entrepreneurs… 

I’ll keep you informed what I will find on my way.