//A musician that made a difference

A musician that made a difference

2017-07-31T23:23:26+00:00

Quality & Me

Subir shares his own personal efforts to work toward continuous improvement within his own community, among his friends and family.

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Books by Subir

The Power of LEO
The Ice Cream Maker
The Power of Design for Six
The Power of Six Sigma
Organization 21c

One of the most memorable days of my life was meeting my favorite musician, Pandit Ravi Shankar, the legendary Sitar Maestro.

Subir Chowdhury and Ravi Shankar

Nearly half a century earlier, George Harrison of The Beatles traveled to India to learn sitar from him. A friendship formed, and it reshaped aspects of The Beatles music. Likewise, Ravi’s music had a huge impact on my own life.

Ravi invited me to his home after reading one of my books; he wanted to discuss the concept of quality. We talked about his music, and our own passions. We were supposed to meet for half an hour, but ended up talking for 3 hours. He was kind to give me lots of music CDs, DVDs, and books as a parting gift.

In our conversation, he wanted to know what ‘quality’ means to me. I was surprised by his question and his eagerness to learn. I responded, “Quality to me is Ravi Shankar.”

He was pleasantly surprised by my response and asked me why. I told him, his music gives me joy when I am down; similarly when I am alone on my own, his music gives me spiritual feelings. His music made a difference for me. He is an inspiration to me.

He was so humbled by my answer, but then told me that he still did not compose ‘quality’ music. He said he was still working on it.

Within six months of our meeting, I watched with my family his last live performance in Long Beach, CA, where  he played the sitar with an oxygen tube attached to his nose. I vividly remember his promise to me about composing music of ‘quality.’

The difference he made to millions of people of my birthplace during the 1971 liberation war of Bangladesh, I will never forget.

Ravi Shankar is one of the reasons I encourage you to make a difference, and to be a difference in someone’s life.

Subir

P.S. My new book, The Difference: When Good Enough Isn’t Enough, comes out in February 2017. You can preorder it here.

Impact of Quality of Learning

Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are? Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence?

Recognizing Quality Innovation

In 2010, the Society of Automotive Engineers along with the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Foundation, established The Subir Chowdhury Medal of Quality Leadership. This award is designed to honor those in the mobility industry who demonstrate ability and talent to further innovation and broaden the impact of "quality" in mobility engineering, design and manufacture.

Making Choices

Subir reflects on his arrival into the United States with the promise of a job, only to find that the promise is broken. Practically penniless, Subir searches deep into his soul. Undefeated and undeterred, Subir pursues professors and department heads until he meets one who asks: You went to 20 departments, and now it is the 21st one; if I say no to you what you would do? Subir tells him, "I will go to the 22nd." This is Subir's story, not of conquest, but of perseverance in the face of making difficult choices.

Who made the difference in your life?

I recently attended an event that included bestselling authors, and wildly successful business entrepreneurs. But this one young man stole the show for me, and helped me understand what redefining success means.