BACK IN THE SEVENTIES, when the pace of corporate life was slow and the average Indian executive rarely made an effort to keep abreast with the latest in management literature, Pramod Batra was an exception. An MBA from the University of Minnesota, batch of 1960, and a senior manager at Escorts, Batra not only read all the books - he created opportunities to disseminate his knowledge. "I started with our dealers," he says. "Then I expanded my target audience to managers as well. I decided to think of Escorts, not only as a job, but as a college where I could learn and teach. I conducted over 800 seminars and published 15 books while I was there."

When he retired in 1996, Batra was ready to be reborn as a management guru and Delhi’s corporates were happy to embrace him in the new avatar. Delivering his message in a lively mix of English, Hindi and Punjabi, Batra is now the star speaker of Think Inc - a company he founded and runs with son Vijay - and he’s extended his repertoire to include all-important subjects like ‘how to keep your wife happy’ and ‘how to enjoy it your grandchildren’. The 71 year old is a veritable Dr Feel-Good and says, "The focus of my programmes is on keeping a positive attitude. Other wise, there’s too much negativity in life."

Not everyone’s willing to wait till retirement to launch themselves as gurus. Pavan Choudary, for one, has embarked upon a parallel career even as he holds the position of CEO at Vygon India, a French medical devices company. A pharmaceutical science graduate from Sagar University and an MBA from Shimla, Choudary made the initial breakthrough when he wrote a book called The Rx Factor: Strategic Creativity in Pharmaceutical Marketing, while he was employed with Cadila. The book was a hit and he soon found himself  being invited as a speaker at numerous seminars - and loving it. "Ever since I was a child, I’ve had this

dream of being a guide, helping  people to become better, "

he says.

Choudary, 42, has now moved beyond pharma marketing to take on bigger topics. With the release of his latest book, When You Are Sinking Become A Submarine, earlier this year, he’s begun marketing himself as a leadership guru, with a web-site called starcoach. Weekdays see him at Vygon, but on weekends, he’s off addressing executives at companies like lFFCO, Blue Star and Dainik Bhaskar. "Practitioners like me have an edge over academic gurus, " he says. "After all, we’ve been soldiers on the corporate battlefield and know its realities. We’re like Dronacharya, who was a general as well as a teacher. "

Is India Inc likely to produce more Dronacharyas in the years to come? Avinash Narula, author of books like Customer Math and Customer Icebergs, is convinced the answer is ‘yes.’ "We’re getting more Americanised and America has always been big on motivational speakers, " he says. "Today, many senior Indian executives are writing books. They’ll go on to become speakers and the trend will escalate."

A graduate of Sri Ram College of Commerce, Narula worked in Escorts and Mahindra & Mahindra for ten years before he went off to the USA to do an MBA at the University of Illinois, where he was roped in to teach an under-graduate course. The experience changed him forever. "I got a great response from the students," he says. "It was such a rewarding experience that I decided it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life."

Back in Delhi, Narula took up a teaching assignment at Skyline Business School, even as he started his own advertising agency, called Merx Equity. He then began publishing his own books on customer satisfaction, which in turn  got him speaking assignments at Godfrey

Philips, Indian Oil, Maruti and Bharat Electronics. These days, the 54 year old marketing guru is working on his sixth book, on CRM, and says, "If my teaching career really took off, I’d gladly give it all my time. It’s a passion with me. When I’m teachmg, I forget everything else."

Unpretentious and earthy, Narula is one of those who has chosen to stick to his original specialisation rather than position himself as a philosopher-guru, which many in this field are tempted to do. Some would say it’s a wise decision, because marketing and sales have traditionally been the mainstay of motivational speakers world-wide. Salesmen, more than anyone else, need to stay upbeat and positive, which is why most marketing-led organisations feature motivational speakers at sales conferences.

New-age guru Santosh Babu got his first break into corporate training courtesy a Nestle sales conference. A psychology graduate from Calicut University, Babu started his career as a primary school teacher in Bhutan. Later, he gained experience as an environment education officer with the WWF and decided he could use this in corporate training. "The common link is the methodology," he says. "I don’t give lectures. My role is that of a facilitator. I don’t have any solutions, but I help the company’s own people in coming up with whole business plans. "

That’s actually a technique used by the best Harvard professors and Babu’s seven year old firm, Training Alternatives, has been a big hit, logging annual revenues up of Rs three crore. Employing former school and college teachers as facilitators, the firm counts  Sterlite, Microsoft and EMC among its clients. When we caught up with him, Babu was busy conducting a three day seminar for the management of Vazir Sultan Tobacco in Goa. "Nobody buys into motivational talks any more," he says. "My job is to get the most out of   people, by getting them to open up and 

participate in discussions."

Be that as it may, there’s still quite a market out there for the old fashioned pep talk. Ask Santosh Nair, founder of SMM-ART, who has built a Rs 4.6 crore business out of giving pep talks. And in the spirit of practising what he preaches, he’s very pepped up himself. "I am one of the most successful trainers in the country," he says. "I charge Rs two lakh for a programme and I’m booked for the rest of year. "

A commerce graduate from Hinduja College, Nair started his career as a salesman with Eureka Forbes ("I was the best salesman they ever had"), where he rose through the ranks to become regional sales chief, where his job was to inspire the young salesmen who formed his team. It was here that he realised he had a special talent. "People told me I had an ability to inspire," he says. "After listening to me, they wanted to go out and achieve something. I am more than a leader - I’m a role model. "

Ten years ago, Nair gave up sales and turned to training, full time. Today, the 43 year old’s client roster includes Asian Paints, Saint Gobain, Coke and Ford and he’s now launched a special series of inspirational seminars for entrepreneurs. Somewhere in-between, he enrolled for an MBA at the Narsee Monjee Institute Of Management Studies, but dropped out because "he couldn’t understand subjects like econometrics."

Nair has never felt his lack of academic qualifications to be a handicap. "I have upgraded myself on a continuing basis throughout my life," he says. "When people come to me saying they can’t reach office on time or they fight with colleagues or they can’t motivate their subordinates, I offer them practical solutions." .