Learning Outdoors

ALMOST TEN years ago, Jatinder Mohan had what he thought was a first-of-its-kind, one-in-a-million idea. He imagined taking training sessions for his corporate clients outside classrooms; at trek sites, camp bases and on riverbanks. They would unravel group dynamics, leadership skills, problem-solving abilities and so on, all in the great outdoors, devoid of any of the masks and facades so easily adopted in corporate settings.

Jatinder Mohan loves teaching and the outdoors, and has combined the two to educate people on their problem-solving potential 

Then the bubble burst and Jatin discovered he wasn't after all the first to have stumbled upon this idea. In fact, his idea was called "outbound training" (OBT) in management jargon. Friends thrust worksheets and notes upon him, detailing core concepts of OBT. Jatin left the safety of his training job to strike out on his own, forming People Skills Inc., with some valuable clients and lots of ideas largely untried in India.

"When I thought of this, I honestly didn't know it existed," explains Jatin. "Outbound training hadn't really arrived in India, and no one had thought of it as a medium of training." Although only 20 per cent of this training is in the outdoors, it is that per cent that is most effective, he says. 

"Different kinds of people come together for brief periods," says Jatin, "and my job as a trainer is to shake the carpet under their feet." Group sizes vary from six all the way up to 300 and exercises are often physically challenging: Jatin has rappelled, bungee jumped, and trekked through forests on exercises with his groups. They are often challenged to create objects from materials available around them — "make a boat or an aeroplane from this size paper," Jatin may say, while handing them paper very differently sized from what he used in the original; nevertheless they must standardise the finished product to his. 

Sometimes they are asked to make a raft out of the wood and twine available around them, which they must then use to actually cross a stretch of river. In such strenuous conditions, bad planning by the group can lead to delayed meals and extra exertion, thus fraying tempers and triggering fights. 

Coping with stress 

As a trainer who usually works alone, Jatin has had some challenging experiences with groups who have suddenly turned on him. It's a way of deflecting attention away from the problems within the group to a "common enemy", the "outsider", he explains. As a trainer, he needs to retain objectivity: "Don't take it personally, don't get too involved, don't get emotionally hassled," he emphasises. His wife Radhika Gupta who is his partner at work as well, says that Jatin's basic personality is one that isn't prone to huge stress; a big asset in this business. 

Jatin recalls being with one group where a minor exercise on a trek dragged on for eight hours as the group slowly fell apart, squabbling and disagreeing. Soon enough, they turned on him, claiming, in their frustration, that he was out to get them. He kept his cool, he remembers, offering to send for a car to take them back, but pointing out that it would take some time to reach and suggesting that they might want to think over their day and make a rational decision after they ate. 

"They ate and thought it over and then everything worked out," Jatin recalls. He emphasises that he is not meant to make a character judgment on the group; his role is merely one of facilitator, to get it to recognise its strengths and understand its own dynamics. 

As someone who loved the jungle right from early college, actively participating in WWF (World Wildlife Fund) activities and going on treks, this job with a few days of outdoor training every month is ideal in its combination of his two loves: teaching and the outdoors.

In its brand new office now, People Skills is looking to expand its scope of work. It wants to have a centre outside the city as well, as a base for the outdoor camps, where it can videotape the groups' functioning every day. The company is also looking to move into training young people and imparting basic skills to orphans who might then find jobs in the retail sector where People Skills already has valuable clients. 

Jatinder Mohan can be contacted on 98450-42512. 

HEMANGINI GUPTA