Comments on: Indra Nooyi @ Columbia

By: anilsharma

anilsharma — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:15:07 +0000

heloo madam indra noiji goodday and congraculation for success (forbs listed 100 strong women) i pray to god for your health and every success and all thanks anil sharma 62lalbanglow arnya sch no 78 slice c sect. 5 ab road indore mp india ph 91-99933-49820pp anil_786xx@yahoo.com

By: chitra

chitra — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:19:25 +0000

I think she gave us a very simple yet poignant message which somehow seems to have been lost.

By: Not-the-Stereotype

Not-the-Stereotype — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:25:14 +0000

She was on dot – –”you need to step out of your narrow little world.”.

By: confounded brown

confounded brown — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 21:33:52 +0000

Nooyi has a right to say whatever she wants. If they wanted a scripted message they could have gotten Bush (not that he wouldn’t screw it up). She simply expressed herself, as herself, and I can’t believe there is so much whining about context. It makes perfect sense to talk to new grads on the importance of representing your newly minted degree to the world – its a reflection of you, your parents, your school, and your country – she just chose an analogy that people would remember (and probably “get”), rather than droning on for hours to a dead / asleep audience. At the end of the day, the guy who dissed the toilet, made the US look bad.

You can talk all you want about how “america isnt so bad that it has to be apologetic”… but its not a question of apologies, its a question of misrepresentation. You wouldn’t go to a job interview in a jeans / t-shirt, even if that’s who you are normally – you wear your best out of respect for your interviewer and the job, and to give off a positive image that shows that you actually care about the job you are interviewing for. It’s basic marketing. Despite however great a country is, it lives off the rest of the world, not in a vacuum. If a family member acted arrogantly/snobbishly towards other family members, regardless of however much good that family member has done, the rest of the family will not want to be near that family member.

At the end of the day, i’m willing to bet Nooyi is a fairly nice lady. I think that for people to criticize her for a comment that she made in a given context, is rather petty. Context. The world would be a better place if we took people’s good intentions into account on a day-to-day basis, they don’t always pave the way to hell. I’m not justifying the actions of those who created chaos/disaster from “good intentions” …I am however saying that its good to keep things in perspective …she hasnt killed anyone …only pointed out something. I don’t see people throwing things at the stage when Russell Peters makes fun of nationalities, ethnicities, religions, or colors. He’s an entertainer. Likewise, Nooyi was attempting to be light-heartedly entertaining about a serious topic – how americans behave in foreign countries reflects badly on them in the end, and this impacts their future. I think that there the people in that college audience use the F word much more frequently than she probably has in her lifetime.

The same speech in Africa, would have pissed them off too… she did afterall use the universal asian symbol for #2 (or is it #1?) to represent them. They would gladly take the middle finger over that position.

By: rebecca

rebecca — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 22:17:16 +0000

As a foreign born American who love this country with more if not a greater patriotism than the average citizen, I highly applaud Indra Nooyi’s speech.. In todays America, too much sensitivity and not enough sensibility is too common of a practice..Have we ever wondered why the countries we often try to help does not give us love back? If we strategically give as much sensitivity to as much as we give in planning (to whatever) to others cultures,tradition, et al.,the slogan of an Ugly American will no longer exist. Who in their right mind can be offended with such sensible, sensitive, and formost a straight forward if not also a humerous speech? We are sometimes too full of our selves, and as the kids will tell you, GET A LIFE!!!!

By: hasan

hasan — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 16:33:31 +0000

its satire nothing else

By: Mulan

Mulan — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 16:57:11 +0000

I think it is wrong to take her speech out of context. At the same time, she could have used a less controversial analogy to drive her point home.

By: panipuri

panipuri — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 19:36:49 +0000

If you cared to read the entire speech, you will realize the value in her words. An important point (that probably was lost in your large egos) was the necessity to respect all – irrespective of their background (continent). Every person has something to contribute (in global business). I think this is a very important & appropriate point for today’s business graduating class.

By: Darth

Darth — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:32:38 +0000

You can find a transcript of the speech via the following link

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2005/nf20050520_9852.htm

By: pravin

pravin — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 16:13:10 +0000

I actually happen to know the “Iron Lady from Chennai” living just 800 yards from her abode. In the global capital markets business, with corporate clients based in emerging counries, I probably travel overseas as much as she does, in economy class rather than the corporate gulf stream. Nevertheless I know first hand that the message she was trying to convey rather forcefully, of “global perceptions about the USA”, was factually correct, the speech not escaping the eagle eye of one Condi Rice. As a long time member of the RNC and the president’s club, knowing the power exercised by this administration, I salute her for her courage in making this delivery. But then, as an Indra, lord of the gods, she could do no less having ascended meteorically as she has with grit and determination.