Mr O. P. Bhatt, Chairman, State Bank of India
My dear Colleagues,
As you are undoubtedly aware, our Bank has undergone a lot of changes over the last 2 years. The efforts put in by us over these 2 years have borne fruit in the form of building a better Bank; in many ways, a Bank that is a matter of pride for us and a matter of envy for our competitors. But I believe, and believe truly, that as yet, we have only scratched the surface of our potential. There is so much more that we can and must do. We should get more impetus, energy and joy by realizing the fact that crores of people in the country, our customers and others with whom we interact, our colleagues or the senior members of our family who are now retired, are becoming happy because of what we have done, and what we are doing. Moved and encouraged by this, I have been thinking about the next step that can help us carry forward this Change for more than 2 years.
This has led to the conception of “Project Citizen-SBI”. The formulation of this Project has taken a very long time to build up – more than a year and a half. It is fairly well researched. We have gone to branches, we have talked to people, talked to customers, tried to understand the systems and processes of the Bank - what makes them tick, what are the pain points and where are the flash points I have interacted with a lot of people both inside and outside the Bank. I have talked to educationalists, consultants, and management experts. I have also talked to religious and spiritual leaders. This program is a result of all that effort, put together in a comprehensive form for assimilation by all of us, to help us discover new truths and insights and to give us joy and energy, as we go about our daily work.
There is enough empirical evidence to establish that in a higher state of realization, people perform differently. We can become better human beings. We work with more energy, our values shift, our focus shifts and our attitudes shift – all for the better. This happens when we operate from, what we are calling a ‘Citizen state of mind’. This ‘Citizen state of mind’ can be achieved by practising enlightened self interest (expansion of self) and consciously seeking deeper fulfillment through one’s duties and responsibilities. Marrying this ideal with the context of our roles in State Bank of India, which involves numerous interfaces with colleagues and customers alike, has led us to the concept of Project Citizen-SBI.
This programme is here not just because it is good for the Bank. It is primarily here because it is good for us, for all of us – it is good for me, for my colleagues, for my friends, for everybody I know. If it is good for me in shifting my consciousness and energising me, then it will automatically be beneficial for everyone I come in contact with. It will also be good for my work and family environment. It will also benefit the Bank. But that is secondary. The whole purpose is to draw from our own wisdom traditions, derived from our country, our culture and our families. This wisdom is available in abundance but is scattered here and there and it is upto us, to consciously use this wisdom for our own and collective good.
So the focus is not so much what will happen to the Bank as an entity. The focus of this Project is to transform the Bank into a platform that provides inner fulfillment to its employees and tries to transform the community around us by going beyond institutional and personal success.
I request all of you to actively participate in this initiative and help make it a resounding success.
With regards,
Yours sincerely
(O. P. Bhatt)
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