Besides E.A, there was a diverse group of speakers who told us of their worlds – much like E.A did with leadership. The group included

• Dr. K. Siddique-e Rabbani (an amazingly brilliant man – the first ‘scientist’ I’ve met so far!)
• Mohammad Tauheed (one of the organizers of the event)
• Jishnu Brahmaputra (or Main Man, as the gaming world knows him)
• Iraj Islam (of NewsCred)
• Taslima Miji (CEO, Techmania)
• Ivy Huq Russel (of Maya)
• Khaled Mahmud (CEO, Headoffice)
• Cal Jahan (another organizer of the event).

A powerhouse group, no doubt, despite some of their stage-fright.

I won’t go into much details, but I do want to share a few of my favourite moments from E.A’s speech. Believe it or not, I already knew most of the things he spoke about, and yet I was blown away! I’m sure I can say the same for the other BBLT graduates present.

He began with a slow pace – he singled out an everyday problem, incorporating leadership into it.

“What kind of leadership is needed to move the work forward?” he asked, pausing before admitting it sounded a little heavy.

"Leadership is not person-centric, it is work centric."

“My name is Ejaj Ahmad, and I teach leadership at the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center, and I am here to share with you today the lessons that I have learnt and the insights that I have developed for the past three years from working with the brightest students of our country from diverse education, religious and socio-economic backgrounds.”

The perfect introduction, I’d say. Simple yet powerful – and most importantly, perfectly understandable.

Then, he moved onto some of the familiar leadership theories; well, familiar to BBLT graduates. Even then, he managed to show it to us from a different perspective, which was a refreshing touch. He grabbed everyone’s attention instantaneously, improvising some bits to connect with those present by adding value to the audience.

What struck me was how he referred to speeches by speakers before him, working their concepts into what he was trying to explain. A personal favourite was his contradiction to Iraj Islam’s speech on innovation:

“But innovation is also inefficient, because innovation has a high failure rate. You have to run experiments to innovate, you don’t just innovate the first time!”

This wasn’t the only captivating moment, though. You can now watch his talk at TEDxDhaka here.

If you want more, apply for BYLC’s second Youth Leadership Summit (YLS)! It will be held April 26-28, 2012. To apply, fill out this application by March 10, 2012. And no, this isn’t pure advertising – I genuinely enjoyed TEDxDhaka, and YLS 2011, and am definitely applying for YLS 2012!

Amiya Atahar, BBLT 3 Graduate

Images of starving children and adults are cliché, but the social and psychological impact of malnutrition on children is less visible.  And in reality, very few realize how stunted children become when they go through life hungry, without the necessities for growth or advancement. Persistent poverty, malnutrition, disease, unemployment and ignorance make their life an on-going struggle for survival. Low education levels and high offense rate in them contributes in enlisting Bangladesh as one of the least developed countries in the world.

But the community has potential – the people themselves and the community as a whole. Their lives are an ongoing crisis, but the crisis is best defined by the lack of opportunities. Academics and policymakers alike have concluded that the large number of children living in impoverished places could be a great asset to Bangladesh if given adequate, if not ample, opportunity.  They become, however, a liability when they have no opportunities and are faced with only bleak future. To build human capital in the community, we have to create a process which can manage incentives for the members of the community to reinvest what they earn and learn– that is the essence of leadership BBLT program fosters, helping people to find solutions to their own problems.

Given the status quo, empowering the most marginalized people, the pavement dwellers, to assert their rights should have ‘first call’ on society’s concerns, and indeed it has been society’s duty to protect them from any harm, insecurity, under-development and injustice. While the ‘call’ should be attended to by all concerned naturally, BBLT 8 participants, as the future leaders of the country, stretched their hands to help the community face their own problems in collaboration with SAJIDA Foundation by undertaking two different projects on both children and adults. They will provide “informal education” to the children to socialize with proper education and the other project on “employment generation” will focus on marking sustainable development by improving skills and capacity of the adult target members. The aim of the projects is to revitalize the community– but most importantly the investments are the community members themselves.

Ivdad Ahmed Khan Mojlish, director of youth leadership programs at BYLC, welcomed the participants and highlighted the main purpose of this event, namely to equip striving entrepreneurs with the skills and strategies to develop a business model for the upcoming GIST business competition. He introduced the instructors of the workshop, Saifur Rahman, CEO of Maayas Secutronics and Bijon Islam, financial analyst at Citibank, N.A. Both instructors are also strategy affiliates of BYLC.

Saifur Rahman spoke on technology-based entrepreneurship and shared the risks and challenges of starting his own business, especially as a fresh graduate. He gave a presentation on how to model a business from scratch and placedan emphasis how business ideas are generated. He explained seven steps in developing an idea: identify the problem, set goals, compile ideas, categorize ideas, filter ideas, modify ideas and lastly finalize the idea.

Mr. Rahman then addressed the importance of understanding the nature of an idea. This requires identifying whether it is evolutionary or revolutionary, and whether it is simple or a complex. Grouping the ideas into categories helps to develop the next steps of the plan. To elucidate the entire process, he conducted an interactive brainstorming activity and within few minutes, the audience generated fourteen business ideas.

A young entrepreneur’s most challenging phase is to secure funds for the start-up business. Mr. Rahman shared his personal experience of starting Maayas Secutronics, which is now one of the fastest growing electronic security solutions companies in Bangladesh. Since electronic security systems were a new concept in Bangladesh then, electronic parts which are rarely found in the country had to be imported. Mr. Rahman had to be prudent when approaching banks for financing. The business plan was presented to the bank just as any proposal for an electronic appliance supplier business but the originality of the idea drew much of the investment for his business.

During the open discussion round, Manik, a Buliding Bridges through Leadership Training (BBLT) 5 graduate, asked how the market has responded to Mr. Rahman’s innovative business especially since technology based security is a new concept in Bangladesh. The presenter then shared his enterprise’s business scheme. For example, he provides his customers the security service but not the product itself, thereby providing convenience and at the same time protecting his intellectual property.

Mr. Rahman encouraged the participants to think about social development and personal satisfaction while designing a model, rather than focusing only on monetary profit. He also emphasized that before jumping onto a single idea; one must conduct research and market analysis to enhance the success rate of the business. Mr. Rahman’s investment into research and development has been the greatest strength of his enterprise.

A remarkable idea is nothing unless it is presented in a way so that it attracts investors and assures its long term survival. An executive summary of a business plan report is an overview of the business idea and helps investors to make a decision. The first round selection of GIST’s “I Dare” competition will be based on the executive summary. Bijon Islam covered the technical aspect of writing executive summaries to help the aspiring entrepreneurs in the audience prepare a strong report.

According to Mr. Islam, an executive summary should briefly highlight the following components: strategy, potential, insight, competition, capability and resources. But one should focus on ‘strategy’, which greatly influences the reviewer’s decision. The report must address the following three areas: product/service, financial feasibility and the social benefit of the endeavor.

Mr. Islam stressed that the report be appealing and that the team think deeply about the product/ service they are planning to deliver. He pointed out three factors to consider when deciding on the product/service, namely the market, consumer insight and possible challenges. Since financing is the biggest obstacle in starting a new business, Mr. Islam suggested to keep the financial statements of the report simple by using one or two indicators like internal rate of return (IRR), sources of cash in-flow or net present value (NPV).

In addition, Mr. Islam encouraged the participants to develop a business plan approach based on human design model. He concluded his presentation by advising the participants to keep the report within five paragraphs and to present it in a way so that it is easy to visualize the business model in the real world.

At the end of the two-hour workshop, Mr. Mojlish encouraged the young participants to take part in this international business plan competition. He also invited them to approach BYLC and the instructors for any questions or assistance regarding the competition.

Those of you who have ever been to the Jahangir Nagar University know how vast its campus is. One building to another is a rickshaw distance of at least 10 minutes. I grabbed a rickshaw and shouted, “New Arts Building! Quick!” The rickshaw puller had one look at my face, and started paddling at breakneck speed. I reached the New Arts Building at 1:42 pm. I jumped off the rickshaw, don’t know what note I threw at him, and raced against time into the building. As I found and got inside room no. 214, my watch read 1:44 pm. In an exam of 1 hour, I was 14 minutes late. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and dug into my paper.

There’s not much left to tell. In an exam where over 24,000 students took part, I, using 46 minutes out of the allotted 60, stood 4^th in the merit list.

Why have I shared this story with you? To brag? To demean those who took the test alongside me? Nah. Read the story again. Is there any word there that tells you how I was feeling in those moments? When I was running from one end of the long corridors to another, hoping against hope that one of the number plates on the rooms would read 214, and neither did? When I was on the rickshaw, and had nothing else to do but to look at the seconds tickling by on my watch? No, there isn’t. Because that’s what I’m going to tell you now. And trust me or not, I didn’t feel tensed. I didn’t feel worried, and I didn’t feel restless.

Do you know what I was telling myself? There must be a reason for this to happen. I don’t know it yet, but I will, in no time. And when I will, I will feel lucky that it happened. So I just need to wait. Just wait and see what happens next. So I just played on with what was happening. And I didn’t feel unlucky, nor did I curse my fate. I knew in my heart, nothing’s wrong. I got only 46 minutes and the rest examinees got 60. But so what? I have less ammunition than my enemy; does that mean I have already lost the battle? No! It just means I have to fight harder, and make up for my lower hand. Which may be tough, but not impossible. And come on, if you want every single challenge in your life to be easy as a pie, you probably shouldn’t be reading my blogs.

Life isn’t a straight road. You can’t see what’s ahead before you reach the next turn. So just wait till the next turn comes before you get frightened of all the mud under your feet and stop walking. You might, and I assure you, you will, miss the wonderland that lies ahead. Take my case for example. I was 14 minutes late, and wasn’t it a blessing for me? Would I get the same euphoria that I got after the results, if I hadn’t been late? Would the same pride surge through my veins if I didn’t know in my heart that I beat about 24,000 students using 14 minutes less than them? And would I get this opportunity if I had lost my nerve then, and panicked, and failed to utilize the 46 minutes that I still had?

Nothing is wrong. Never. You just need to wait till it looks right.

Team Spondon gathered near Sajeda Foundation at 3 p.m. We prepared our survey design the night before and were ready to interview several candidates ranged between the ages 12 to 18. We expected to fill out around 30 forms but by the end of the day we managed only 5. There were only a handful of suitable interviewees and our team members immediately engaged the first few that walked through the door. The authorities from Sajeda Foundation tried their best to gather young people for the survey but few could be found. I personally could not find anyone for a long time. At one point I grew tired of waiting and I realised I needed to pray Asr. I left the room but was distracted by commotion. This young girl in her late teens was clearly agitated and refused to stay for the interview. The personnel assured her repeatedly that the survey will not take much time. She kept refusing; she said that her feet were hurting so much she could barely stand. She was limping on her right leg and was very restless. I knew in my mind what I had to do. I took her to the foundation’s medical office and asked to see her injuries. I never had any medical training but I knew she needed to rest her feet. She was both modest and frazzled. She kept saying ‘Na Apa, boshte hobena, thik asi Apa.’ Little by little she grew used to me. I asked her if she’d like some water. She was hesitant but I insisted. When she saw that it was a newly bought sealed bottle of mineral water she retaliated, ‘Na apa, eta apnar botol, ami ekhane centre thekei pani nibo shomossha nai apa.’ Yet when I opened the seal and handed her the bottle, she almost snatched it from my hands and drank with a greed I’ve never seen before. It took me some time to realise that she probably very rarely had access to fresh water and this tiny bottle of mineral water was a luxury she could not afford. By now she was settled. I asked for her name, everyone calls her Golapi. She is 18 years old, her mother died when she was young, her step mother tortures her. She ran away from home and lives on the streets of Karwan Bazaar. At night she scavenges for vegetables and sells them for a living. She says that she earns a good amount of money, enough for her to save. Whether or not she has other means of earning money is something I had to deduce. She hates her job because of the sexual harassment. One of the first questions she asked me was ‘Apni kon dhormer’. I said I’m a Muslim. She said ‘Apa ami kintu Hindu’. I asked her why it mattered. She said that Muslims and Hindus are always against each other. I assured her that it didn’t matter to me. She was married once, even pregnant, but she was childless so I assumed she had it aborted. Her biggest problem was not having a roof over her head. She asked me why I was conducting this survey. When I told her my purpose she said ‘Apa apni jetai koren, amader jonno ekta raate thakar bebostha koira diyen, jekhane mohilara raat katate pare’. She almost begged me for it. I was very bad at my job, tactless almost. When she asked me for a solution, I asked her why she didn’t remarry just so that she’d have a roof over her head and a protector against her harassers. She bit her tongue and pulled her ears ‘Ami shob korte raaji asi kintu biya ekhon kormuna’. She wanted to wait till she was financially independent. She was painfully vivid about her harassers. How they touch her, swear at her, shame her. All she wanted was to escape them. She would gladly take a job as a domestic servant; at least she’d have a place to sleep and bathe and would be provided with food. Somewhere near the end of the interview, she touched my feet and begged me to help her. I didn’t know what to do or say. She had the upper hand during the conversation. I was the weak and vulnerable one, I was helpless.
The interview ended, we went our separate ways. As I saw her leave, I had this guilt building up on me. I’ve heard of desperation, seen desperation but never this close. Now I’m faced with the task of helping young girls like her. The challenge is overwhelming but I hold a responsibility. It’s time to see how far I can go.