Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders

© 2015 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in. This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Monday, 9 November 2026

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : Why Prioritize Investment In Human Capital?

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : Why Prioritize Investment In Human Capital?: Previously, people treated machines as superior to men. Currently, men are treated as superior to machines. Machines deliver goods at the...

Why Prioritize Investment In Human Capital?

Previously, people treated machines as superior to men. Currently, men are treated as superior to machines. Machines deliver goods at the push of a button. However, men cannot do the same. Human beings are different and difficult to manage, as they have different feelings, emotions, and egos. Organizations realized the value of human resources and began providing regular training to continuously develop their skills and abilities. With the rapid growth in technology, it has become tough to predict the needs of people. Hence, there is an urgent need to train and groom precious human resources to predict and meet the growing expectations of customers.

Imagine that one fine day, the key senior-most executive leaves the company for better pastures, leaving the company in the lurch. What will the company do? Will it shut the shop? The company should not become rudderless, right? It should not become like a ship without a captain.

As you cannot hand over the keys of your car to a person who does not know how to drive, you cannot hand over the reins of your company to a person who is not equipped with leadership qualifications and competencies. Therefore, we need to train and groom people as leaders before handing over the reins. Leadership development is the mantra for employees who have a high potential to take on corporate battles with confidence and mettle. Designing the right leadership development program is the key to successful leadership development to ensure desirable outcomes.

Learning leadership

Learning leadership involves both theoretical aspects and practical activities. You need to be equipped with the theoretical concepts to experiment in your real-life environment. Learn lessons from your experience. However, the theoretical concepts that you learn from various sources will help you to minimize mistakes, thus enhancing your success rate as an effective leader.

People learn about leadership from multiple sources, such as books, by observing leaders both inside and outside the workplace, and through trial-and-error methods. You can perfect your leadership skills by undergoing training programs, wherein you involve yourself in role-plays and practical activities through blended and experiential learning. Above all, you need to get your hands dirty to excel as an effective leader. Therefore, learning the ropes of leadership is easier said than done.

Leadership is a trainable skill and one that is transferable from one person to another. It is more of a behavioral skill that can be learned by experience and through proper training and grooming. There must be mentors who can share their experiences from time to time and walk the talk to fine-tune the mentees. In addition, there must be coaches who can interact with, question, and grill coachees to get the best out of them.

Recruit the right talent

Hire the talent with the right attitude. Recruit the people who failed and learned lessons in their lives, as they can add value to the organization through their previous experiences. This does not mean you should encourage all failures, but only those failures with varied experiences, as it demonstrates their tenacity and resilience. Adversity teaches several lessons. For instance, Lincoln excelled as a great leader as he underwent trials and tribulations throughout his life. It helped him to handle the crises within America as President, thereby retaining the unity of America, and fighting against slavery. At the same time, don’t base your recruitment on too great a focus on academic background alone, or the nature of the educational institution one hails from.

Home-growing leaders

Home-grown talent within is ideal, as such people are aware of the system, culture, and values. In addition, it encourages others to perform well when they see that the company is promoting the people within, and talented people are not tempted to leave the organization. However, in rare cases, it is essential to hire outsiders, as they bring in fresh knowledge, skills, abilities, and expertise, thus adding value to the organization. Unlike the talent within, they do not have preconceived notions. Besides, hiring is ideal when time is short and there is an urgent need for talent with specific skill sets, mindsets, and toolsets.

Home-grown talent is more cost-effective than hiring talent from outside. Research reveals that homegrown talent is more competent in facing challenges than externally hired talent, as in-house talent knows the ground realities and can easily anticipate and gear up to face challenges.

Even if you hire an outside leader with a stellar track record, it cannot guarantee you success, as what worked in the past might not work in the present or the future. In addition, a leader may be successful in a particular context, but not in all of them. For instance, Winston Churchill was successful as a leader during World War II, but not during peacetime.

Although there are deficiencies in the leadership talent within the company, it is still better to promote them, as a known devil is often better than an unknown angel. When you hire outside talent, your judgment might not be correct, and it takes time for the new talent to understand and appreciate the organizational culture and climate.

In the case of talent within the company, the strengths and weaknesses of the employees become clear through performance appraisals. Hence, it is ideal to encourage homegrown leaders.

To survive and succeed in the long term, it is always advisable to spot, groom, and promote talent within the company, rather than hiring from outside. It ultimately engenders employee loyalty and commitment, thus preserving the organizational culture, climate, and employee morale.

There is a strong need for companies to catch up with the current global pace of change

What the future might hold in store is anybody's guess, but having competent leaders to battle complexity and uncertainty is clearly within the control of most companies. We are currently moving towards a dynamic business environment that demands different and unique skill sets, mindsets, and tool sets from leaders.

The current global financial crisis and the recent eruption of corporate scandals show that there is a dearth of leadership talent and ethical leadership at the top. Hence, there is a need to emphasize ethics while developing leaders. To conclude, there is an urgent need to invest in people by conducting leadership development programs regularly.

Share if you care!

“Things You Don’t Know about Professor M. S. Rao” http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2015/10/things-you-dont-know-about-professor-m.html

Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html

Note: I had a brain hemorrhage. I was in bed for five months. My right hand has been numb and paralyzed. I am recovering. Thanks for empathizing with me. With gratitude. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFJrSRLHPUk&ab_channel=ProfessorM.S.Rao

Life is great!

Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.

Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants, India

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.-S.-Rao/e/B00MB63BKM

Vision 2030: https://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professormsrao

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See the Light in You: https://www.amazon.com/See-Light-You-Spiritual-Mindfulness/dp/1949003132

Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below. I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.

This nonprofit blog will share Professor M.S. Rao’s passion and vision to develop one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please do not cut articles from my blog; redistribute them via email or post them online. The use of this material is free, as long as the copyright is acknowledged and a reference or link is provided to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com. Without permission, this material may not be sold, published, or used to offer business services to third parties.

Thursday, 5 November 2026

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : Evaluating Soft Skills Training

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : Evaluating Soft Skills Training: Globally, there is unemployment due to a dearth of soft skills. The importance of soft skills is felt strongly across global educational ...

Evaluating Soft Skills Training

Globally, there is unemployment due to a dearth of soft skills. The importance of soft skills is felt strongly across global educational institutions to enhance employability and employment, and across global organizations to enhance productivity and performance.

Currently, there is inadequate research available on soft skills. There are several myths about soft skills since it is still an evolving discipline. It is mistaken for people skills, life skills, life management skills, and emotional intelligence, to name a few. Researchers, scholars, and educators find it hard to arrive at a universal definition of soft skills. They find it hard to create a standard curriculum. Additionally, there is an urgent need to explore tools and techniques for measuring soft skills to ensure effective training outcomes. Hence, it calls for intensive research to provide validity to this discipline.

What are soft skills?

Skills are usually divided into technical skills and general skills. Some of the general skills that are behavioral fall into the category of soft skills. Hence, soft skills are a collection of skills that are essential to survive and succeed in personal, professional, and social life. They are complementary to hard skills. Hard skills are also known as technical skills or domain skills. Soft skills can be described as the effective presentation of hard skills. Additionally, how you say it is as important as what you say. That means soft skills are equally important along with hard skills. Hard skills can be seen on your resume, while your soft skills can be observed in employment interviews. A judicious blend of hard and soft skills helps one become a successful professional and excel as an effective leader.

Soft versus hard skills

Soft skills are different from hard skills. Hard skills are technical skills and domain skills, while soft skills are non-domain skills. Hard skills are tangible that are measurable and quantifiable, while soft skills are intangible and cannot be easily measured and quantified. Hard skills are about what you speak, while soft skills are about how you speak with others. Soft skills are polite and pleasing ways of communicating with others, while hard skills are what you contribute in the workplace. Soft skills complement your hard skills. Precisely, soft skills are the presentation of your hard skills in the workplace. Soft skills are interpersonal skills, while hard skills are job-related skills. If hard skills are infrastructure, soft skills are superstructure. If hard skills are the foundation, soft skills are the cement. A judicious blend of both hard and soft skills is essential to achieve your professional success and fast-track your career.

You can find hard skills on a resume, while you can find soft skills during an employment interview. Hard skills get you an interview, while soft skills help you get your employment. Hence, both hard and soft skills are essential to get a job. After joining a job, soft skills help you survive in the workplace, while hard skills help you prove yourself professionally. Hence, blending both hard and hard skills is imperative in the workplace.

Soft versus hard skills―examples and illustrations

If you call someone physically handicapped, it is known as hard skills. Instead, if you call it physically challenged, it is known as soft skills. If you instruct smokers, 'Don't smoke’ is known as hard skills. Instead, if you communicate, 'thanks for not smoking', it is known as soft skills. If you talk about the 'generation gap', it is known as hard skills. In contrast, if you call it 'generational differences', it is known as soft skills. If you call them 'slow learners', it is known as hard skills. In contrast, if you call them 'differently-abled learners', it is known as soft skills. If you call 'problems' hard skills, it is known as hard skills, whereas if you call them 'challenges', it is known as soft skills. If you call 'weaknesses’, it is known as hard skills; if you call them 'concerns', it is known as soft skills. Succinctly, soft skills emphasize how you communicate, while hard skills emphasize what you communicate.

It is easy to measure hard skills, while it is hard to measure soft skills. It is easy to teach hard skills, while it is hard to teach soft skills. Usually, teachers teach hard skills while trainers train soft skills. Since soft skills are behavioral skills, it requires extra effort on the part of trainers to use various tools and techniques, including interaction, role-plays, active participation, and experiential learning, to bring out the desired behavioral changes in the participants.

How to acquire soft skills?

You can acquire soft skills by various means, including observation, reading, training, experience, and practice. Soft skills training equips you with skills, abilities, and knowledge. However, your interaction with others helps you acquire soft skills greatly. Since soft skills are behavioral skills, people must learn by trial and error, using their emotional intelligence and through flexibility and adaptability. You must be practical, realistic, and situational to acquire soft skills. Above all, you must learn from your failures to improve your behavior to gel well with others effectively.

You must develop emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills. You must observe and understand people and their behaviors. Travel to unknown destinations to understand people. Talk to them to get along with them. Understand their cultures and behaviors. Traveling teaches tolerance and improves soft skills. When you travel to unknown destinations and communicate in a non-native language, you will be able to improve your soft skills effectively.

Reading soft skills is one aspect, and applying them is another aspect. Attending workshops and training programs helps you understand what soft skills are and how you will be able to acquire them; such programs conduct role-plays to bring out behavioral improvement. Here are some tools and techniques to improve soft skills

Be self-aware.
Avoid preconceived notions.
Keep your body language positive.
Listen to the speaker carefully.
Make eye contact with the speaker and reciprocate positively.
Empathize with the speaker.
Be flexible.
Praise people lavishly.
Make the speaker feel important.
Accept criticism graciously.
Interact with different types of personalities who are introverted, extroverted, assertive, submissive, and aggressive.
Above all, be adaptable.

Since soft skills are behavioral skills, you can acquire soft skills through physical interaction and trial and error. You must take intrapersonal and interpersonal feedback regularly to improve your soft skills. Succinctly, be proactive, be a good listener, improve interpersonal skills, and build relationships to acquire soft skills.

Can soft skills be measured?

It is hard to measure soft skills, but easy to measure hard skills. Research shows that soft skills are harder to teach than hard skills. Additionally, it takes a lot of time and effort to equip oneself with soft skills rather than hard skills. However, matching the objectives of the soft skills training with the feedback received from the participants can help measure soft skills effectively. For instance, every training program has a set of objectives, and the program is rolled out to the participants accordingly. At the end of the training program, the participants are asked whether the training has met their objectives, aspirations, and expectations. Since soft skills training is behavioral, it is hard to measure. However, taking timely feedback at the end of the training session helps greatly achieve the training takeaways.

Meka's five-level model to measure soft skills

Evaluation is essential to understand the effectiveness of any training program. It helps understand how far the training has impacted the participants and improved their behavior and performance. Additionally, it helps assess the strengths and weaknesses of the program and the pulse of the participants to deliver the training program better next time. Here is an innovative Meka's five-level evaluation model to measure soft skills training:

Conduct the training needs analysis to identify the current skills gap in the participants.
List out core objectives clearly to deliver the training.
Execute the soft-skills training program meticulously as per the objectives.
Align deviations or distractions from the training program.
Measure the training takeaways from the participants through questionnaires and effective feedback.

Sample questions to measure soft skills training

Consider using the following few questions to measure a soft skills training program:

Did the soft skills training transfer the knowledge, skills, and abilities to the participants effectively?
Did the soft skills training improve the attitude and behavior of the participants successfully?
Is the training worth investing time, money, energy, and resources?
Are the training outcomes as per the training objectives? If not, identify and address the deviations or distractions.
List out the three soft skills training takeaways that can improve the attitude, change behavior, and polish the personality.

The concept of soft skills is an evolving domain

Unfortunately, people often take the significance of soft skills lightly. The concept of soft skills is an evolving domain that people must take seriously; people must be educated about them.

Whenever a new discipline surfaces, people resist and mostly don't respect it because there is no strong research to substantiate its relevance. However, over time, people start accepting and respecting the discipline. For example, many people initially did not take management as a discipline seriously and expressed their reservations. Today, management as a discipline is a reality, now having a sacred and respectable position like many other disciplines in the world. Similarly, soft skills will evolve as a discipline over time as more research is done. To summarize, a proportional mix of hard and soft skills helps me excel as a successful professional and leader. Soft skills provide a competitive edge in this cut-throat world. They are an asset to employees and add immense value to global organizations. To conclude, soft skills are essential for everyone, from janitors to chief executives, to achieve the desired outcomes.

Share if you care!

“Things You Don’t Know about Professor M. S. Rao” http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2015/10/things-you-dont-know-about-professor-m.html

Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html

Life is great!

Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.

Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants, India

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.-S.-Rao/e/B00MB63BKM

Vision 2030: https://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professormsrao

Substack: https://professormsrao.substack.com

X: http://twitter.com/professormsrao

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProfessorMSRao

Meta: https://www.facebook.com/Professor-MS-Rao-451516514937414

See the Light in You: https://www.amazon.com/See-Light-You-Spiritual-Mindfulness/dp/1949003132

Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below. I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.

Saturday, 31 October 2026

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : Why Craft the Perfect Morning Routine?

Professor M. S. Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders : Why Craft the Perfect Morning Routine? : What makes successful people different from unsuccessful people is their morning routine and great habits. Research shows that starting a...

Why Craft the Perfect Morning Routine?

What makes successful people different from unsuccessful people is their morning routine and great habits. Research shows that starting as an early bird is better than being a night owl. A healthy morning routine helps improve your productivity and performance. It cultivates healthy habits. There are innumerable advantages of being an early bird. You will be creative with loads of energy and enthusiasm. The entire day will be under your control. You can plan and execute your tasks effectively. You can kick up your energy to resolve challenges. You can replace your negative energy with positive energy. You will be able to focus on your tasks effectively. You can find creative solutions to complex problems. You will be able to break the most challenging tasks into smaller ones and execute and integrate them into a single entity.

Tools and Techniques to Set Your Morning Routine in Stone

How you start your day impacts the rest of your day enormously. Here are some tools and techniques to adopt early in the morning. Explore different routines through trial and error and finally stick with a routine that excites you every day. Make your bed every morning. When I joined the Indian Air Force, I cultivated the habit of making my bed. It created an outer order and inner calm. Drink lemon water early morning as it cleanses and stimulates your liver and kidneys. It prevents you from catching a cold. It keeps skin young, healthy, and glowing. Create something such as authoring a book or writing a blog post. Avoid your smartphone to check distractions. Distraction is the root of many challenges globally. People have a short attention span because of the rapid growth in technology. They are unable to focus on their important activities. Avoid social media especially checking emails in the morning. Get adequate sleep that is between 6 to 8 hours a day to enable you to recharge your body with fresh energy. Schedule everything. Meditate or do yoga every day. Eat breakfast that is rich in fats and protein. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

A Blueprint for Your Healthy Morning Routine

Here is a blueprint for your healthy morning routine. Recall your dreams. Expand your body after you wake up. Researchers at the University of British Columbia found that when athletes win a race, the more expansive their body language is, and when athletes lose a race, the more defeated their body language. Do breathing exercises, preferably box breathing or alpha breathing. Exercise early in the morning. Celebrities including Anna Wintour, Michelle Obama, Jennifer Aniston, Michelle Gass, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and Steve Reinemund exercise early in the morning. Write a journal every day. Figure out what the most important priorities are for the day and write a to-do list. Execute the tasks and tick off the things done successfully. Reflect a lot, take feedback, and express your gratitude at night for having a wonderful day. Here are some celebrities with their morning routines. Jane Austen would wake up and immediately play the piano, make breakfast with her family, then write. President Obama does his cardio and weight routine, followed by breakfast with his daughters. Arianna Huffington begins each day with yoga and meditation. Steve Jobs would contemplate this philosophical question: "If today were my last day on earth, what would I do differently?"

If you get up late, you will be disorganized and stressed out. To have control over your entire day, you must have a disciplined morning routine. The time you wake up from your bed determines the kind of person you will become in the future. Hence, rise early to have control over the rest of the day.

I am a Morning Man

I served in the Indian Air Force and became a morning man. Here is my morning routine. I wake up at 4:00 am every day. I express my gratitude to God for gifting me one more day to share my knowledge freely with the world. I drink lots of water that has been stored in a copper vessel overnight. I do neck exercises to strengthen my neck and do eye exercises to improve my vision as I wear spectacles. I brush my teeth, go to the washroom, and do free motion. I go to my laptop to write books and articles for 3-4 hours. I am highly creative and productive early in the morning. I write whatever comes to my mind on the topic that I decided on the previous night—my mind is fresh with peace and tranquility, as there is no noise in the early morning. I am blessed with a brilliant and beautiful wife, Padmavathy, who wakes up a little later and offers me dried fruits and nuts―almonds, dates, cashews, and pistachios. She offers me lemon water mixed with honey. She then gives me tea. My wife is an expert in making tea.

After breakfast, I proceed to the gym. I don't have a bicycle or a car, so I walk thirty minutes to the gym to work out. I do a heavy workout for an hour, as I am a fitness freak. I started going to the gym when I was fifteen years old with the dream of joining the Indian Air Force and serving my nation. I was passionate about serving my nation, and in the armed forces, physical fitness is essential. I was underweight with an asthma problem, but I gradually overcame my health issues and achieved physical fitness. I joined the Indian Air Force when I was 18 years old. I loved the life of wearing a uniform and serving my nation—it is an honor to serve one's country. While working out, I talk to one or two people and inspire them by identifying their personality traits. After my workout, I read the newspaper for 10-15 minutes in the gym. I then walk back home. That means I work out for an hour and walk for an hour every day. After I return home, I read the newspaper and jot down the important points.

In the evening, I remove unwanted and irrelevant information from my mind and the computer system. I plan what I must do the next day. I give commands to my subconscious mind repeatedly about my lifetime ambition to become the President of India. I am the creator in the early morning like Lord Brahma as I author books; up to the night I am the generator like Lord Vishnu as I acquire knowledge; and I am the destroyer like Lord Shiva in the night as I delete unwanted information and irrelevant individuals from my mind. Precisely, I play three roles in a day―Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva, the three Hindu Gods who are known as the creator, the generator, and the destroyer to make a difference in the world.

Have a Great Day!

When you want to acquire great habits, you must understand yourself first because awareness is the beginning of the transformation. When you control your morning, you control your entire day. Be disciplined and focused on your goals. Don't look at others because what worked for them may not work for you. To summarize, get up on time, figure out your priorities, execute them ruthlessly, and exercise every day to have a great day.

Share if you care!

“Things You Don’t Know about Professor M. S. Rao” http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2015/10/things-you-dont-know-about-professor-m.html

Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html