For many of us, the way we see the world and our place in it is defined by the exposure we have had to people and places outside our home regions. Travel makes us wiser and more tolerant of difference. It broadens our knowledge and enriches our lives.

This section of the book contains stories that illustrate the international nature, or value, of Standard Chartered Bank. The most obvious international aspect of the Bank is the remarkable network of branches that make it possible to react to almost any business opportunity or crisis—anywhere in the world—at any time. There are branches of the Bank throughout Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Businesses buying goods from India to sell in Africa choose Standard Chartered Bank because it has local branches in either location.

A practical business value of being international is to be able to bridge geography with interconnected but independent local branches. But how does being an international institution impact the lives of employees? What is the more personal value or implication of being part of an international institution?

On a personal level, being international is about accommodating and celebrating diversity. It's about being enriched by contact with other peoples and other cultures. It's about communication and self knowledge.

Of all the people I spoke with, Shyamala Borkar understood the personal value of international better than anyone.

Borkar entered the room as if she were a ten year old girl excited to be sharing the gift of a new doll with her best friend. She told me she was nervous, but that she wanted to do whatever she could for ‘the values.' She kept repeating ‘the values,' ‘our core values,' ‘the Bank's values' and ‘people values.' She was the only person I met who put these core values ahead of herself. She even put them ahead of her job at the Bank. By that I mean that she talked more about the values than she talked about her job at the Bank.

I began to wonder why Borkar was so keen on international as a core value? She was sitting up against the boardroom table, her arms stretched out on the table in front of her, the fingers of her hands entwined. As she spoke I noticed her forearms. They looked very powerful. I remembered how she shook my hand. (She crushed it.) And she had tremendous energy. She seemed to glow with health and vitality.

I asked Borkar if she played any sports. She laughed. I wasn't sure if I'd insulted her or done something to offend. I explained that I only asked the question because she looked so fit and healthy. This time she laughed even harder. And louder. And then she told me she could bench press 125 kilograms. She explained that she had competed for India in the Asian Games at Sydney, Australia in 1992 and won the silver medal in power lifting with a total lift of 575 kilograms. (Just so you know, the breakdown of her total lift was: squat 210 kilograms, bench press 125 kilograms and dead lift 240 kilograms.) She had also won the Indian National Power Lifting Championship five years in a row—from 1989-1993. At the State level, she had been State Champion and a gold medallist for 12 years in a row. Wow!

I asked her if she still entered competitions. She said she used to spend six hours a day in the gym preparing for competitions. Her present job with the Bank made such a commitment impractical. She added that her mother had been sick for several years and had only recently passed away. She said she thought she might like to start lifting weights again soon. Why was international so important to Shyamala Borkar? International meant travelling to new places and meeting new people. It meant all the local, State, national and international competitions she had entered over the years for her sport. Until she travelled, she had no idea what the rest of the world was about. She didn't understand it. Worse still— she didn't much care. She didn't care because she had no reason to care.

As an athlete, competing in the rarefied world of women's weight lifting, she saw a world no one else in her family had ever experienced. It was a beautiful world full of friendly people from all parts of the world. When she returned home from a competition, she would put the medals out on the table and tell her mother stories about the events and how fierce her competitors had been. It was the most exciting time of her life.

Shyamala Borkar was excited about the Bank choosing international as a core value because she understood what international meant—at least what it meant to her. It had changed her life. It made it richer and fuller and more rewarding than she had ever imagined.

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She won the silver medal in power lifting
with a total lift of 575 kilograms.
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