But first, I’m going to back up to our first leisure stop of our trip in Chicago, where we visited Nick’s Pizza in between flights. Nick’s Pizza is not your ordinary pizza place. With only two physical restaurants and after being in business for less than 10 years, Nick’s Pizza is one of those places where every employee absolutely loves to work there. And it shows. Their culture is one of pride, empowerment in helping make the company great, and one of giving generously back to the community. Just outside their entrance is this sign:

The strangest part is that this place turns out upwards of 3,000 pizzas every Friday night. And every person who works there will tell you how much they love it. These people are the culture of Nick’s, but that came first from Nick himself, who created a place that carried meaning for anyone who worked there. That meaning is one of making a difference. Every night, all the employees give feedback about what went well and what can be improved for the next night. And that difference has made over $9 million in sales per year. And as a company, their culture is one of pride for their work and the experience they provide to every Nick’s customer. (for more on their incredible story, read their Newsweek story from 2005.)

When we arrived in India after 27 hours of actual travel. After a few hours sleep, we met our good friends at ISHIR. Here, over just the first day we learned something very incredible about the Indian people. They value strong work ethic and strong personal relationships beyond anything you can imagine. Their desire to do well by others coupled with an intense drive for excellence in work makes for a very productive, emerging country. So productive that in New Delhi alone there are over 2,000 IT/technology-based outsourcing companies. 40% of Microsoft’s employees worldwide work in India. Cisco and IBM have over 70,000 employees each, and that is not uncommon.

Beyond just their work, they are amazing people as well. People who have strong family values, strong relationships with one another, and a strong sense of community. Even in a hierarchical society, those who do well financially are only concerned with meeting their basic financial needs. Beyond that, they contribute their time, energy and money to others less fortunate.

Indian people who are more well off not only own cars, they hire personal drivers. The roads here are the craziest experience you’ll ever see:

So far, we’ve been both rear ended in traffic and have seen a guy on a scooter get broadsided by a car. He wasn’t hurt, nor were we in our accident since nobody travels faster than 20 mph. But its still a harrowing experience. Traffic is like absolute chaos, but there is an order to it that is indescribable. And I’m happy to be in the back seat looking out than in the driver’s seat.

So much to say, so much to explain, but nothing in words can describe what its like to actually be here. And more than anything, we are seeing that culture is the embodiment of the collective values of people, whether that is a company, a country, or even just a few people making pizzas. What culture does your company promote?

For more pictures from our trip, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/TeamOpus/IndiaDay1