Case Study: Manjula Pooja Shroff
Primary source: Personal Interview
conducted on 24/5/14
1. What inspired you to do whatever you have
done for making a difference to others? What are the sources of
inspiration? (If you like you may
mention any one or two instances that changed your life and made you start something
new or something different that laid the foundation for your work).
One of the things that inspires people is their own life
experiences. Things that happened In their life and things that made an impact
while one was growing up are the factors that affect you’re the deepest and
stay with you for the longest time. While I was growing up, EDUCATION was not
an opportunity that I could have taken for granted which is possibly why I hold
education so dear to my heart. And I make tremendous effort to give it to as
many people as can and across as many cross sections possible.
I did not realize it earlier but I always believed that if I
STUDIED I could make something out of my life. And when I say that I almost did
not make it when it comes to education I mean this:
I come from a very conservative royal family in Orissa were
I was educated in a good school. A convent school. My mother lived in “parda”.
The reason a girl was educated was to make her more marketable in the marriage
market. So, very few people went to college and got higher education.
Girls were allowed education till 10th and then
were married of at a very young age. When this happened with my sister I
realized that this I not the kind of life I want to lead. I did not know that
education was my liberation but I knew that education higher than 10th
grade was important for me to become something in life.
My first battle was to do my under-graduation then later my
graduation. Thus when you cannot take things for granted you realize how
worthwhile they are. I had to make a few compromises like going to an all girl’s
college as it would have been blasphemous if a girl from my family went to a co-ed
school. This was also one of the inspirations for the career I chose.
I was fortunate that I found my calling very early in life.
Many people just life there life not knowing where to go. At times it’s ok.
Since the current generation is so spoilt for choices as there are so many
opportunities at their disposal. Thus, so much confusion as to what to do
arises. However, during my time there were not many choices left for me. Still
I was never confused. I knew what I wanted.
So I got my calling very early in life owing to how my life
had treated me. I never wanted to become a teacher or make a career in it. The
only aim I had was I wanted to build this ammunition inside me called
EDUCATION.
After my graduation I went to Delhi University to do study
computers ( PGDEC). There (D.U) the teachers and professors were not trained in
computers so I use to train them as well as study. So I was not a teacher pr
say but I was a reasonably good trainer. And in Delhi also I was not doing
education at all. I was doing industry; I was handling contracts, finance, real
estate etc.
However when I came to Ahmedabad I knew I had to do
something in education. There were so many high places of education here like
NID, PRL, IIM C.N Vidyalaya, CEPT etc. So in any field in education Ahmedabad
was leading. However when I started Delhi Public School around 2 decades ago,
contemporary education was not quite up to the mark. So that gap became very
stark for me and once I got into it I realized how much I enjoy education.
Moreover I consider myself more of an entrepreneur than an
educationist as I’m not and academic worm but I’m much more managerial, strategic
kind of a person. So I do have this business mindedness which I’m blending in
the field of education.
2. What are your suggestions for getting
inspiration to - recognise and draw talent and use it for doing simple things-
that may eventually become great things and make a difference in the lives of
others?
One of the things which I have done is building discipline. Whatever that is you do,
you do well. It’s not about what other people would say. Like they say, “the
character of a person is there in the dark, where there is no light, only you
by you. And whether you can be answerable to your yourself is what matters. It
is never about people. Whether I’m cycling, dancing, with my some, doing a
social event. I am completely there in that moment being completely disciplined
about it.
So there are two ways one can get inspired or motivated:
First, if people have an internal motivation. Were they are
lucky. But the question here is how do your derive that inspiration. Some are
born with that talent. So their starting point is easy and then when they
practice it becomes easier for them ( she gave the example to a talented sitar
player) to go to that road of excellence. So they have a key advantage these
talented people.
Second, you come from an area of discipline and physically
make your body persevere and then you are surely to reach the point of
excellence. (Here she gave the example of Karate Kid. Wherein the child reaches
excellence through sheer perseverance nurtured by his teacher).
So anything which we do we should acquire the discipline to
do that work day in and day out till the point you hit excellence in it. There
is no shortcut.
3. What do you consider as your own strong
points that helped you to accomplish whatever you have been able to? When did
you discover them? How? How did you cultivate them?
There are two perspectives here. One what PEOPLE says my
strong points are and another what I
think.
According to others
·
I’m a good leader. I carry my team with me. I
never insult or demean my subordinates nor do I let anyone else be rude to
them. In order to inspire people and empower them RESPECT and TRUST are the two
main factors. I genuinely respect and trust my team members and so the effect shoes.
I never distrust until I have a reason to. I care about their self respect.
·
I have been told that I am a visionary.
·
I am sticky. I must get the job done whatever
the situation. I am a task master
According to me
·
My ability to be detached. This lets me think
rationally and effectively. This allows me objectivity. So, I’m not a partial
person. I’m just focused on merit and work. I don’t get emotionally involved
·
I’m a multi tasker. I try to live in all the
components of the Wheel of Life. Be it career, social, emotional, spiritual all
of it. I try living a very wholesome life.
4. What in your opinion are some of the
qualities that people need to cultivate to make a difference to others?
Only one word: GIVING. And this givingness
does not come in the way of your career, social life etc. And there is a
certain understanding of giving were in the other person doesn’t feel inferior
while taking that help from you. Once you have understood this giving you can
imbibe it in charity or workplace anywhere. Social organizations like Visamo
Kids and Prerna work on this belief.
After the earthquake in 2001 when I had
come back home to my 2-year old son, who had been with the maid when the
earthquake had hit, I felt so much gratitude towards life that I threw myself
into social work. There are 4 stages of disaster management: Rescue, Restore,
Rehabilitation and Reconstruction. And without knowing I had been involved in
all the hours. And in the Rehabilitation stage I had built VISAMO (shelter in
Gujarati) for the homeless survivors. And later people requested me to continue
with the idea and use it for a cause. I then connected it with education for
underprivileged children and VISAMO KIDS was established.
5. What messages would you like to give for
others to be or to become an effective person?
I want to give three different kinds of
messages to three different groups of people
1)
YOUTH
As I had mentioned before, the youth today are spoilt for choices. As a
starting point I would like to say, they need to start focusing early in life.
That choice may not always be right. However it should be made nonetheless. I
feel it’s healthy that parents and children discuss the career options and make
a decisions keeping in mind the interest and expectations of both sides.
Children need to narrow down choices. But more importantly you need to build
discipline.
Going forward one has to have Integrity. Shortcuts may help you reach
your goal early but in the long term it has a lot of fallouts.
Lastly, I would like to say to the youth is to have VALUES. If character
is about being in the dark, values is what makes you. Family, Friends and
Finance, if these three are ruled by your values then I feel you can be very
effective in life.
2)
WOMEN
I feel women are very sacrificial. They feel that their entire life is about
sacrifice. As a daughter then as a wife, as a mother she sacrifices. I feel
love and sacrifice are two different things. Why should one quell one’s own
love and abilities to love their dear ones?
One should live for one self because if you do that you are happier and
in turn make other people around you happy. If you are unhappy and tired of all
the sacrifice you’ll feel drained then how you could make others happy.
So women can be effective if they take care of their inner self. I also
believe they should be financially independent.
3)
PROFESSIONALS
I have seen that people get very fixed in their approach and are not
flexible enough. They get caught in egos. This could me very detrimental. One
should keep the long aim in mind. “We have to give up the WAR to win the
BATTLE”. That’s how one carries a team and be effective.
As an entrepreneur I say this. There are opinions and facts. Facts are
alright but one also has to carry ones intuition with them. They should also
have the ability to stand alone.
Part
2: (to be commented after answering the
above questions)
Given below are some
qualities the author has observed from my earlier studies on effective people
in organizations. Please comment on these qualities or principles:
1.
They have a goal in life- small or big, or
mission or vision etc.
Very important. Having a goal keeps you focused.
2. They create Turning points that keep turning their life for good and take them
step by step
Agreed. You would have to take a stand for yourself. No one else would.
3.
They recognise their strengths and leverage
them.
Yes. How else would you get the drive?
4.
They identify their vulnerabilities and
manage them. For example some people have managed their temper to their advantage or introvert
nature for their growth etc
Again agreed .I really had a very bad temper but through meditation and
self help books I overcame it and I am doing better today.
5.
They think Positive and work with hope of
success. Each one
develops her/his own way of being positive.
Yes. Positivity is very important. Or else your mind becomes stale
6. They manage difficult times with perseverance
There is no substitute for hardwork
7.
Their Values are their greatest resource. Integrity and character are the most
important.
Yes. Integrity and Values are the essence of everyone’s character. They
are paramount to have.
8.
They manage their time. “The time is what God has given you. How much you never know. Live as
though it short and get the best by giving your best”.
As I want to enjoy all aspects of my life I make sure I manage my time
well. This helps me a lot to do be effective and efficient.
9.
They are compassionate and have an Integrative
mind set. It is integrative mind that succeeds and derives happiness. Divisive
minds are always unhappy.
True. Finding connections and using it for overall benefits is
important. However you have to let go also. For example if your are handling 40
projects. If few are failing you have to give up or else it would create a
blockage which other projects would have to bear.
The “R” in CALOREX stands for Raison d’être which means Humanistic
Approach.
10. They think of the last
day. Keep thinking of those who are not here. What have they carried with them
and what have they left behind. They decide what they want to carry with them
you and what you want to leave behind. They begin with their own
obituary.
It’s a practice we do in DPS in 11th and
12th grade wherein the students are told to write their own
obituary. This is done to make students realize that there are things in life
that are more important than money and other materialistic things.
I myself have never thought of it. But I do wonder
what I’m leaving behind. And I realize that it’s the work I’m leaving behind.
It is through my work that the world sees me.
Profile
Manjula Pooja Shroff is founder
chairperson of the Ahmedabad-based Calorx Group which comprises 14 Calorx
preschools, two DPS schools in Ahmedabad, eight K-12 Calorx Public schools
spread across Gujarat, Rajas-than and Maharashtra, as also Calorx Teachers
University, with an aggregate enrollment of 8,000 students instructed by 450
teachers.
An alumna of Utkal and Delhi
universities and IIM-Ahmedabad, Shroff moved to Ahmedabad after her marriage.
In 1996 she promoted the first Delhi Public School Society franchise school in
Gujarat — DPS, Ahmedabad, and for almost a decade thereafter, dedicated herself to
nurturing the fledgling school before promoting the IBO-affiliated Calorx
Global School, Ahmedabad in 2006.
An entrepreneur, she is regarded by many as the change agent
for schooling in the state of Gujarat. As Chairperson of Calorx, she has been
instrumental in founding and managing several premier schools Recipient of
several awards, among them, the prestigious Secular India Award from the
President of India, Shri Shankar Dayal Sharma & Woman of the year by
American Bibliography Society, North Carolina.
About CALOREX
Foundation
Their Vision,
Mission and Objectives are as follows:
Vision: Being the first choice for all
possible target groups in providing quality education.
Mission: Achieve excellence in K-12 education
through a sound vision, innovation, and professionalism in our various
endeavours.
Objective: Total development of our children
to create national assets and global citizens, with strong values of
dedication, devotion and compassion.
Calorx is name
synonymous with education par excellence. It believes in empowering children
helping them to succeed in all spheres of life. This is the reason why Calorx
has added new dimensions to its portfolio ensuring that it covers every segment
of the society. The organization has grown leaps and bounds over the span of 18
years. From a school to a university, the journey has been long but
accomplishing. Relentless pursuit of growth and innovation has helped us
surpass expectations creating new benchmarks in the field of education.
Calorx, is a
professionally managed autonomous institution focusing its activities on K-21
education since its inception in 1995.
Altus Learning,
which Mrs Shroff heads, is a professionally managed, education company based in
Gujarat that delivers education services in the P-12 segment to the Calorx
Group, which has been running K-12 schools and pre-schools for over 16 years.
With K-12 growing
at a phenomenal rate in India, Altus Learning is filling the professional gap
by providing management services to pre-schools and K-12 schools in areas of HR
& training, Systems & IT, Infrastructure development, academic research
and business development. Altus Learning is currently focusing in areas of Gujarat
but is also expanding its footprint across India and seeking opportunities in
the Asia Pacific region.
Kaizen's Equity
Private Limited's investment in Altus is a reiteration of the company's sound
processes and system based approach, that is transforming the Education sector
and bringing about more transparency and professionalism.
Milestones of CALOREX are as follows:
Calorx has been instrumental in starting the following
projects till date and still growing:
1996 - Delhi Public School, Bopal,
Ahmedabad. Co-educational, English medium, CBSE Affiliated.
2001 - Prerna caters
to dyslexic genius and conducts short term teacher training programs.
2002 - Visamo
Kids Foundation takes care of free education, shelter food and all
other facilities for underprivileged kids.
2006 - Mon
Calorx Global School, is Co-educational, K-12 International
Baccalaureate Organization. (IBO) school offering PYP, MYP, & DP.
2008 - Delhi
Public School East, Ahmedabad is Co-educational, English Medium
School With CBSE Affiliated
2008 - Calorx
Public School Mundra is Co-educational, English Medium School
With CBSE Affiliated
2009 - Calorx
Pre-Schools, taps the young toddlers/ pre scholars group in a playful,
stress free, easy learning methodology.
2009 - Calorx
Teachers University, established with a vision to be the Centre of
Excellence in Teachers Education.
2010 - Calorx
Public School Rajula, co-educational, English medium proposed CBSE
Affiliation.
2010 - Vocational
& Educational Development Institute is focused to provide
employable opportunities for underprivileged children in society by teaching
them to learn and earn.
2011 - Calorx
Public School, Ghatlodia is co-educational, English medium, CBSE
Affiliated.
2012 - Narmada
Calorx Public School, Bharuch is co-educational, English medium,
proposed CBSE Affiliation.
2013 -CGPL Calorx
Public School, co-educational English medium school.
2013 - Upcoming
Calorx Public School, Bhavnagar co-educational English medium school,
proposed CBSE Affiliation.
In all these undertaking Mrs Shroff has
played an instrumental role as the chairperson of CALOREX Foundation.
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