Why Modi speaks the way he does

Most of us get ideas, but how many of us have the ability to articulate them in simple words and put them in front of millions in a manner that inspires and creates hope?

Modi's philosophy, his ideas and his approach to solving complex problems has brought a whiff of fresh air to the Indian political arena and hope to the largest democracy in the world, raising the aspirations of millions.

He has changed the way people look at the political class, which, in the last almost 70 years of Independence, mostly had nothing new to offer.

People were fed up of a leadership which couldn't inspire confidence; they were sick and tired of the same dialogues repeated by the political class, minus results.

Also read - Modi is a different man today than the one I met ages ago

Needless to say, every political leader and party is constantly under public scrutiny and every sentiment and idea is under the scanner by the media, which loves to debate everything under the sun.

In such circumstances a leader/party needs to be surefooted, confident and, above all, gutsy to the core, which Modi is. He displays clarity of thought and speedy, decisive action.

Solutions: From outside the box or within it?

Out-of-the-box thinking is a management expression, which means to think differently or unconventionally.

People who view problems differently and are able to provide unique solutions rather than run-of-the-mill ones, are people who have creative minds.

As they say, "Necessity is the mother of invention."

In the solution-provider context, out-of-the-box thinkers are the real inventors. They may not invent a machine, but they do invent solutions.

Such people are not only creative but are also bold enough to challenge the status quo - one of the most sought after qualities of a good leader.

A good leader challenges the status quo when he believes that something different needs to be done to find solutions.

There may be very few political leaders in contemporary history who have demonstrated such clarity of thought as has Narendra Modi's. He thinks out of the box, uses common sense and presents simple yet workable solutions.

He applies his mind and heart with equal enthusiasm to problems that appear to be as elusive and big as black holes, as well as to those which appear to be child's play.

Inside-the-box thinkers, on the other hand, restrict their thought processes to conventional ways of looking at things.

They go by what has been done previously; following conventions, rulebooks and historically accepted guidelines to seek solutions - their mind is thus locked up in an imaginary box; hence they "think inside the box".

Leadership is all about thinking straight

Modi thinks on his feet and provides clear and precise solutions on the go. His head appears to be full of ideas and strategies to resolve the problems that India has been grappling with since Independence.

He demonstrates that he has it in him - always and every time. No one has been able to challenge, leave aside criticise, his strategic thinking. His philosophy, "Team India", is above board and hard-hitting.

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Unlike many speakers who often forget the power of saying something different to their audience, laying greater emphasis on tone and/or body language than on context and content, Modi delivers a different flavour every time to the audience, whether it be the public, a gathering of scientists or a collection of bureaucrats.

When orators like Modi, who are known to deliver spectacular speeches one after the other, come up on stage, TV or radio, the audience thinks, "Let us see what he has to say this time."

There is a sense of expectancy, a sense of anticipation, which builds excitement even before the speaker reaches the mike.

Narendra Modi demonstrates this ability to pull the rabbit out of the hat, almost every time. He is a thinker of a calibre that India has never seen in its contemporary history.

With his revolutionary thought process, which he beautifully articulates, he has touched millions of hearts.

Modi, as PM, has also applied his mind to all facets of governance and addressed problems that plague every segment of society, every sector of industry and every age group simultaneously.

The first thing he has done as prime minister is to create a culture of responsiveness, punctuality and discipline in the top brass.

Giving a speech to the secretaries to the government of India, he motivated them to take quick and prompt decisions. He even shared his mobile number with them and encouraged them to get in touch in case they faced any difficulty.

Addressing the bureaucrats on Civil Services Day, April 21, 2015, he urged them to strike a proper work-life balance.

He suggested that they spend time with their families and opined that to run such a big country, they needed to remain happy and fit.

Also read - Can BJP find its next Narendra Modi in Gujarat?

"How can you work if you wilt?" he asked.

He suggested that they identify ten top projects every year and these should be discussed as award-winning projects.

These should be seen by all and should become an opportunity to learn from. "The kind of policies you make, the good things you do for the country will be more important than having cars and bungalows. Your own children will also measure you on these parameters," he said.

In order to motivate the youth to join the civil services and attract maximum talent, he asked each civil servant to spare at least five days a year to teach in colleges and interact with students.

"Tell the youth what great work you are doing, what satisfaction you get out of this job, so that best talent comes to the civil services," he added.

He also came up with the novel idea of felicitating retired civil servants who attain 75 years of age. "We must learn from them," he said, "They are a great institutional memory, they have a lot of experiences." He then suggested an institutional knowledge bank.

Can we not make a system where right from a peon to a chief secretary everyone writes their own experiences, within two to five pages, at the time of retirement?

This will be a sharing of experience.

It is like preserving history. Each such sharing can be uploaded on the cloud and should remain for posterity. The organisation can benefit from this knowledge bank in a big way.

Illustrating his point he said, "The British built big guesthouses and circuit houses at a distance of every 20 kilometres. These were well-equipped and many had wood carvings and other facilities.

Do you know why these were placed at every 20 kilometres? Because in those days British officers travelled by elephant or horses, and they could travel only this much in a day. Such knowledge comes out of history."

Addressing his party members at the BJP MPs' workshop in New Delhi on April 19, 2015, he demonstrated another example of his out-of-the-box thinking.

When we come up with a scheme to give a gas cylinder to every poor person, even in the rural areas, people said, "But they don't have tables to place their gas burners on; the burner will be placed on the floor and the cylinder next to it. So how will they use gas for cooking?' and I said, "Dig a hole in the floor, place the gas cylinder in it and connect it to the burner on the floor!"

It's that simple.