Rahul: How an electrifying moment generated a compassionate leader in manufacturing

When Rahul was eight years old, he had an electrifying epiphany. 

“During the summers, my cousins and I would go to our grandma’s house in India. Our schools always assigned a summer project, and one of my older cousins decided to build a small-scale wind turbine for his,” Rahul says.

His cousin bought all the parts, set up the system and created a generator. When it was completed, curiosity got the best of Rahul — a mischievous eight-year-old who couldn’t help himself.

“[My cousin] had the turbine connected to a 9-volt DC battery which let it spin at a certain speed,” Rahul says. “I was thinking, ‘I know the electrical outlet is 240 volts, so if I connected it to that, it should spin even faster. Maybe it will become a helicopter or something.”

Rahul connected the turbine, and immediately it shorted out with sparks, “because you cannot plug a DC motor into an AC wall outlet,” he says. “So I destroyed his whole project a few weeks before he had to return to school and present it.” To this day, Rahul is embarrassed by what he did, but that literal spark initiated an internal spark for him to learn more about what had happened. 

Today, one can find Rahul working with electrolyzer products as the Project Manager for Future Manufacturing at Cummins Inc..

“Project management is a bit less predictable than my other roles as a design engineer or on the quality team,” he says. “I usually come into work thinking of five things I will accomplish for the day, and that always changes.”

Rahul thrives on finding redundant or repetitive work and creating systems to automate it. However, the main part of his job involves understanding risks, escalating issues, managing chaos and, “being okay with knowing you're not going to do everything on your to-do list,” he says.

Rahul’s team is cross-continental, spanning Belgium, Canada and the U.S. It’s also cross-functional, working  with design (mechanical, electrical, process), purchasing, manufacturing, finance and the test team. Additionally, he collaborates  with teams made up of people from Cummins-acquired companies. With so many cultures and functions working together, Rahul has learned the importance of crystal-clear communication. 

He learned the value of communication early in his life — growing up in Saudi Arabia at an international compound with people from nearly 80 different countries. Later, Rahul attended a boarding school with students from 30 or 40 nationalities. 

“What affected me growing up was that people are the way they are because of some past life experience. It's really easy to judge someone for being who they are without having that context,” he says. That’s where empathy comes in. Can we attribute this conclusion o Rahul?

Having curiosity and empathy is key at a place like Cummins where there is so much diversity.

“I just look around, and there are people from different values and ideals. Even if you don't want to have diversity, you'll be exposed to it [at Cummins] — and then you start realizing the value of diversity. You start to ask what you can change about yourself, how you can adapt or communicate better with other people,” Rahul says.

The Cummins culture of diversity and inclusion is one of the main reasons Rahul accepted his initial job offer. He was also enamored with the Every Employee, Every Community (EEEC) program. Through this program, every employee can participate in community service throughout the year. 

When Rahul was an intern at Cummins, his manager asked to meet offsite rather than at the office one day. They ended up spending the day at a domestic violence shelter in Columbus, Indiana, rebuilding their fence. Rahul keeps that memory close to his heart — even after so many years.

“That was such an impactful experience,” he says. “Cummins, as a company, we really do live our values. Whatever community we work in is better because we’re there. We’re not takers. We leave things behind for people to flourish in those communities. In a world of ruthless capitalism, [EEEC] feels authentic and aligns with my personal beliefs and values.”

Now Rahul looks forward to EEEC days and is organizing opportunities for his team to work with Courage Kenny, an organization that modifies toys to be more accessible for disabled children.

“The fact that Cummins lives its values is just amazing,” Rahul says. “I did not expect a company in this day and age to do that. That’s one of the reasons I’m still here six years later. There are so many companies that work in renewable energy. But Cummins is helping the community and thinks about its global impact. It’s why I love working here.” 

Rahul is figuring out how to combine business and compassion as he pursues his MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. He sees the contrast between a capitalistic world where companies try to maximize their utility and profit, and the conversation around the social or environmental impact a company should have. 

“I'm interested in how we make those impacts more tangible — more realistic,” he says. “How do we ensure that when we make business decisions, we consider the negative externalities that go with those decisions?” 

Business strategy is Rahul’s sweet spot at the moment. “I’m trying to understand the ambiguity and the complexities of the world so I can create persuasive strategies for businesses to follow that aren't just good for the customers, shareholders and directors, but also for the planet and the community in which the business exists.” 

Considering work outcomes from all points of view — particularly that of the customer — is how Rahul has created some of the most impactful moments of his career thus far.  

When he was a design engineer for Cummins, Rahul added a door feature to a consumer product that makes it easier for customers to change engine belts in an RV. Before Rahul’s design, if an RV engine belt needed to be replaced, the entire product had to be removed from the RV, which could take six to eight hours of service work to replace a belt that cost $20. 

Because of the labor required to make the changes, the replacement cost for the customer or warranty team was $1,200. This didn’t sit right with Rahul because this belt was a typical service item. By adding a door that allowed easy access to the belt, the cost to the customer and warranty team was reduced by 80%. Rahul’s door can be retrofitted to older products as well.

“Sometimes it’s hard as an engineer, when you’re disconnected from the end customer, to think of things through their perspective and understand their pain,” he says. “To me, it’s just a service item that needs a door. But to them, imagine a customer going to a national park in an RV with their family, and suddenly their generator breaks. It’s hard to get a service person to meet them in the middle of nowhere to replace a belt, so for them it means a canceled trip to bring the RV back to a service station. So it's more than just $1,200. It could be a ruined family vacation. We forget, when we are chasing numbers, that there's a human being behind everything. Being compassionate allows us to make the world more livable.”