20 Most Admired Companies of the Year 2019

Volume 09 | Issue 03 | 2019

Most

Galt

& Compan y

Thirty Years of Superior Client Shareholder Returns

Editor’s Desk F How Brands Changed the Way We Shop

ew decades ago, the idea of “purpose” that inspired brand development and management, was a far cry. However, few prophetic companies including “Johnson and Johnson” were miles ahead of the curve by the high standards of inspired individual leadership. Still, it needed few more years for the business community to turn its attention to brand values.

It all happened when Steve Jobs recognized the power of brand values in driving brand awareness and loyalty.

After returning to Apple, Steve drew a parallel line between the company’s mission and brand values in his famous speech. The best part was, Jobs was one of the very few leaders who recognized that brand values can eventually drive customer’s decision making in addition to earning the customer’s trust.

dreams, not

However, most of the business owners eventually ignored the final part of the speech and they came up with half-baked solutions, which were mainly for the sake of competitors or the customers, not for the brand.

So, those half-baked brand values eventually ended up as meaningless, and were unable to bring the real change in the customer's mind and organizational culture.

products.

Now you may ask why I’m so bothered about the term “Brand Values”.

Great brands sells

One of the most important part of brand values is, it engage customers on a far deeper level. The best part is, rather than just forming a connection, it instills love and affection into the customer’s heart. On the emotional level, customers are often drawn to those brands, who offer certain feature and benefits over the others and whose products are future proof. Still, customers will never fulfill their needs until they feel safe. So, brand values eventually tell customers that it’s safe to move forward with the purchase. That’s how love and affection towards a brand gets formed and you know the drill, right? Love and affection goes beyond one time

purchases- it leads to multiple purchases in long term.

So, with great enthusiasm Insights Success has shortlisted, “20 Most Admired Companies of the Year, 2019”, who are working round the clock to change the way how businesses work.

As our cover story, we have Galt & Company, who works with Fortune 500 companies to develop the strategies and organizational capabilities that achieve and sustain superior shareholder returns over time. The organization brings the discipline of the capital market inside a corporation, impacting how strategic, resource allocation and performance management decisions are made.

Also while flipping the pages of the magazine, don’t forget to go through the CXOs and articles written by industry experts and our in house editorial team.

Let’s read!!

Kaustav Roy

Cover Story

08 Galt & Company T h i r t y Years o f Superior Client Shareholder Returns

Tech Outlook The Role o f Consultants f o r Every Business Stage

1 4

Tech-Know Insights W h a t a tech CEO can teach y o u r businessdigital? a bo u t

22

ARTICLE

Infrastructure Transformation

36 Editor’s Choice Entrepreneurship Going Beyond th e C o m f o r t o f Safety t o M a k e Larger Impact

A I M o v i n g Towards Transformation of Industries

CONTENTS 18

26

34

Assurance

Optimizt Technologies

Spark Energy

Min imizin g Risk and Maximizing He a lt h

Bearing Flagship in Technology Sectors

Comp etin g in t h e Transformation o f t h e Retail Gas & Electricity In du st ry

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M . Bansal Executive Editor Kaustav Roy

Managing Editor Anish Mi ll e r

Visualizer

Art & Design Director A m o l Kamble

David King

Assistant Editors Jenny Fernandes Rohit Chat urvedi Co-designer Associate Designer Poonam Mahajan Kushagra Gup ta

Senior Sales Manager Kshitij S

Business Development Manager Peter Collins

Marketing Manager John M a t t h e w

Sales Executives David, Kevin, Ma rk, Sagar Business Development Executives

Technical Head Jacob Smile

Steve, Joe, Alan, Sanket Digital Marketing Manager M a r r y D'Souza

Technical Specialist Adit ya

Research Analyst Frank Adams

SME-SMO Executive Prashant Chevale

Database Management Stella A n d r e w

Circulation Manager Robe rt B r o w n

Technology Consultant David Stokes

sales@insightssuccess.com September , 2019

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W e are also available o n : Copy ri ght Š 2 0 1 9 Insights Success, Al l rights reserved. The c ontent and images used in this magazine should no t be reproduc ed or tr ans m i tted i n any f o r m o r by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, w i t hout pr i or permission fr o m Insights Success.

Repri nt rights rem ai n solely w i t h Insights Success.

COVER STORY

Galt & Compan y Thirty Years of Superior Client Shareholder Returns

I

n an interview with Insights Success, Sco† Gillis, Lee Mergy, Joe Shalleck, Co-founders of Galt & Company, share valuable insights from the experiences they gained advising some of the world's largest and most successful corporations. Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between them and Insights Success: How do your services benefit your clients?

Galt & Company works with Fortune 500 companies to develop the strategies and organizational capabilities that achieve and sustain superior shareholder returns over time.

We bring the disciplines of the capital market inside a corporation, impacting how strategic, resource allocation and performance management decisions are made.

Each of our relationships begins with an in-depth understanding of where and why our client’s business is creating and consuming shareholder value, what strategies are currently being pursued, where resources are being allocated, how performance is being measured and managed and what management capabilities are in place.

From there, we focus on the highest value-at-stake strategic

issues and opportunities facing the company while we also put in place the organizational capabilities and disciplines that will be needed to execute against those opportunities and to sustain superior performance going forward.

Describe the experiences, achievements or lessons that have shaped the journey of Galt & Company.

Galt was founded on the belief that there is an explicit connection between performance in customer markets and capital markets; that shareholder value can be managed and that the ultimate measure of performance for any publicly traded company is the shareholder returns that company delivers over time relative to its industry peers.

We have learned that the biggest influence on a corporation's relative shareholder returns are the management standards and decision processes that are used to run the company. Companies that consistently deliver superior shareholder returns exhibit similar traits in these areas, namely they have Ÿ A clear and consistent definition of winning and ultimate measure of performance – constantly seeking

to outperform competitors and investor expectations

 A keen understanding of where and how they generate

customer value and how to monetize that differentiation in terms of cash flow and economic profit, which in turn drive their ability to reinvest and the shareholder value they create  Manage to an evergreen value-improvement agenda – focusing management time and attention on those things that will materially impact economic profit growth and shareholder value  Strategies and resources that are focused on growing share in profitable markets in which the company has, or can establish, a competitive advantage, while fixing or withdrawing resources from other markets or market segments  Aligned decision standards, processes and capabilities to effectively drive relentless management of profitable growth deep down into each business unit What according to you are the evident challenges in the industry?

The market for business strategy advice is particularly

opaque where advisory firm size and brand recognition are not well correlated with the actual results their clients realize. This places high value on the purchasers of advisory service to do their own, in-depth due diligence before trusting the advice they come to rely upon and paying the fees they will be charged. In addition, clients should require clear definition of what measurable results they should expect from their advisory relationship and the consequences of under or over-performance relative to that measure. Furthermore, clients should expect advisors to help strengthen client capabilities, not replace fundamental responsibilities of the management team.

What are the current trends that are driving the industry?

Changes in market structure and the drivers of competitive position have become quicker and more consequential than at any time over the last 30 years that we have been advising large corporations. Where once technologic advancements improved the efficiency of traditional business models, digitization is in many cases redefining a company's offer and leading to complete restructuring of the supply chain.

These changes are occurring with such speed that established competitors can become obsolete and enormous shareholder value can disappear in only a few years. This places a premium on:  Understanding how technology is changing customer needs and buying behavior, product/service offers and supply chains in a company's industry  Considering fundamental changes in where to participate and how to compete, not just incremental changes to current strategies  Insuring that digital innovations and technology investments have clear paths to commercialization and returns Where does Galt & Company envision itself in the long run and/or what are its future goals?

Galt has and will continue to pursue a consistent goal: to help the management of the world's leading corporations achieve and sustain superior performance in the customer and capital markets. Over the last 30 years, our partners have helped over 35 corporations pursue that shared objective, including companies like Caterpillar, Abbott Laboratories, Coca-Cola, Clorox, McCormick, Gillette, BB&T and others. We serve clients across the globe from offices in New, York, Chicago, London and Singapore.

Considering the rising number of competitors, how does Galt & Company stand out from its competitors?

Galt is the only advisory firm exclusively dedicated to helping large, multi-national corporations develop and implement the strategic and organizational changes

required to achieve and sustain superior shareholder returns. We have an unmatched track record of client results. On average, our clients have sustained total shareholder returns greater than 150% of their industry peers, oGen for 10 years or more aGer our engagements have ended. There is no other advisory firm with that track record or reputation among Fortune 500 chief executives.

About the Leaders Scott Gillis, Lee Mergy and Joe Shalleck are Co-Founders and Senior Managing Directors at Galt. For thirty years, they have been advising chief executives and board level management on the strategic, operating and organizational changes needed to deliver superior shareholder returns.

About the Company Galt & Company works with Fortune 500 chief executives and their management teams to develop the strategies and organizational capabilities that achieve and sustain superior shareholder returns. Galt brings the disciplines of the capital markets inside a corporation, impacting business strategies, resource allocation and performance management. The firm's clients sustain shareholder returns in the top quartile of their industry peers.

COVER STORY

“ “

Scott Gillis Cofounder

Galt brings the disciplines of the capital markets inside a corporation, impacting business strategies, resource

allocation and performance management.

Joe Shalleck Cofounder

“

Galt works with Fortune 500 chief executives and their management teams to develop the strategies and organizational capabilities that achieve and sustain superior shareholder returns.

Lee Mergy Cofounder

Galt’s clients sustain shareholder returns in the top quartile of their industry peers.

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Role

Consultants

of

for Every

Business

Stage

E

very business owner and executive comes to the realization and fear that they don’t know what they don’t know at some point in the game. To leap beyond this fundamental hurdle, wise leaders lean on experts to help fill in the gap.

Experts such as CPAs, attorneys, bankers, mentors, and consultants are routinely sought by successful business owners for guidance, advice, and support that can be promptly made effective. Gaps in business are essentially analyzed to determine the best, quickest, simplest, or most cost-effective solution, which is then developed and finally implemented by consultants in various niches every minute of the day.

Consulting is a big industry for a reason. Businesses have a high risk of failure. Failure is easy, and failure is hard. With the assistance of a consultant, businesses have a much better chance of survival. Let’s take a look at how consulting can work at every stage of a company.

Start-up / Pre-revenue This stage of a business is filled with passion and dreams. The owner is typically a technician within the industry breaking free from the constraints of their boss or is a dreamer of great things in general. Problems arise when the many components of running a business the right way interfere and bog down this solopreneur. Seemingly simple, but highly important, responsibilities such as accounting, operations, and marketing can quickly overwhelm and lead to failure.

Bringing in a consultant at this stage or prior to start up can save the solopreneur from a tremendous amount of stress. The consultant can walk the owner through the hurdles of business with ease and experience. Establishing systems, creating procedures, and building plans for sales and marketing will prepare the busy start-up for successful growth through to the small business phase.

14 | September | 2019

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Tech Outlook

About the Author April Salsbury, MBA is t h e o w n e r o f Salsbury & Co., a business management consulting firm.

A f t e r growing an organization f r o m 1 5 employees t o 1 0 0 employees and seven locations, including in te rna tiona l distrib u tio n and w o r k in g in legislation f o r in d ustry oversight and accreditation, she believed he r experience as a CEO and a “b uilde r” could help small business owners avoid certain hurdles and gain valuable insight.

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September | 2019 | 15

Mom & Pop Shop Mom & Pop Shops are what we refer to small businesses with 1-25 employees. This may be a small generational business or a growing start-up that is hiring friends and family to help get the job done. One day, the goals become too large and the owners take on more than they can handle in an effort to grow. What these owners don’t realize is that they need to have defined systems in place, along with communication, leadership, and a growth plan to move beyond Mom & Pop Shop status to Small Business status without suffering collapse.

Small Business The small business typically has 1-100 employees which may also include many family and friends. Some systems are in place, yet there lacks organization and communication leading the owner down a path of “too many chiefs” or not enough oversight. At this stage, business owners may discover they have a lot of people doing the same thing, no formal processes and a lot of fires to put out. Stress once again takes hold of the business owner in a way that may make them question closing shop and going back into the workforce.

Consulting at these stages require in-depth analysis of where the company currently exists on the spectrum and identifying gaps in the foundation of the organizational structure. Analysis will require a look at financial performance, operations workflow and processes, systems integration and utilization, human resources suite of knowledge and procedures, centralized standard operating procedures, marketing plans and strategy, and more.

Analyzing each component of the business will bring to light top layer and secondary issues that the consultant will prioritize to match urgency and effective organizational modeling for proper implementation. Business owners should expect this process to take some time, but in the end the business will operate like a well-oiled machine ready for growth.

human resources, systems integration with maximized utilization, and have a plan to move forward. These areas will experience ongoing expansion enhancement over time. Mid-size companies will start to departmentalize and create an executive team for improved oversight and strategy development. Problems Mid-size companies face are keeping everyone working toward the same goal, communication, effective leadership and management development, mergers and acquisitions, continuous improvement of systems and operational workflow and recruiting for longevity all while staying on top of their next strategic move and pacing change. Enterprises continue to refine and silo roles within the company; however they experience many of the same issues a mid-size company does.

At Mid-size and Enterprise level, Consultants are brought into a company on a project basis and will be focused on a niche of service. This is when the: Branding Consultant is brought in to develop a brand or revitalize a brand for a segment of the business; Lean Specialists are brought in to examine one segment of the manufacturing process; System Analyst is brought in to create functional APIs to connect the 25 soGware programs used by the company to prevent errors and reduce time wasted on duplicating entries; and possibly, Coaches are brought in to develop a mid-level management team.

There is a need and a place for Consultants at every stage of business, even before the first signs of failure. Bringing a Consultant into the company earlier in the process will make the transition to the next big step easier and the long-term outcome of the business much better. Although business owners may have a difficult time justifying the cost of consulting, especially if funds are limited, the desired end result has greater potential to be realized in a shorter timeframe. Companies that have successfully worked with consultants see the value of their work in the overall success of the business and oGen retain consultants for future projects.

Mid-size Business & Enterprise The Mid-size Business has successfully identified the needs of a growing business. Most companies of this size (101999 employees) and of the Enterprise size (1,000+ employees) have established policies and procedures,

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Minimizing Risk and Maximizing Health

A

s one of the largest and most awarded independent insurance brokerages in the U.S., Assurance is the premier, national insurance brokerage for clients and industry professionals. The company is an alternative to brokerages that sacrifice client services to meet profit demands, that institutionalize clients in a manner that negates personal relationships and accountability, and that marginalize and disengage top talent.

Assurance invests an industry-leading percentage of revenues back into the services its clients need to improve their businesses. It generates measurable client value by minimizing risk and maximizing health.

Additionally, it attracts and retains the best insurance professionals by rewarding their expertise, investing in their futures, and recognizing their contributions.

Assurance is currently the 35th largest insurance broker of U.S. business. It places over $1.5 billion in premiums annually for businesses and individuals and is staffed by over 500 of the brightest and most competitive people in the insurance industry.

In an interview with Insights Success, Tony Chimino, the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Assurance shares his insights on how Assurance creates value by minimizing risk and 18 | September | 2019

maximizing health for over 6,000 businesses and individuals across the country through a suite of insurance solutions.

Below are the highlights of the interview: How do you diversify your products and solutions in order to benefit your clients?

There are significant fixed and variable cost components that drive a client’s total cost of risk –whether it’s on the business insurance, employee benefits, financial, surety bonds or private insurance side. What makes Assurance unique is that we understand this concept and have integrated multiple service plaVorms into on cohesive unit. Our insurance professionals work in lockstep with other departments across the agency.

The service plaVorm provides clients with a handpicked team based on risk profile, as well as ensures best in class service, transactional expertise and a dedicated claims and safety advocates.

Key advantages include early risk identification, effective pre-and postclaims management, reduced claims and premium cost, robust wellness initiatives and benefits, as well as improved business processes.

Describe the experiences, achievements or lessons learnt that have shaped the journey of Assurance.

We’ve been fortunate over the years to have been recognized as a “Great Place to Work” by many national, local and insurance industry-specific publications. Our workplace culture has continually evolved, though we came by this recognition quite organically. It began with the ideology that an engaged workforce would produce better results for our clients.

We drove engagement with a focus on transparency, vision setting, career development and appreciation. And while those things wound up having the impact we’d hoped in terms of client satisfaction and performance, admittedly it has and continues to propel our organization in ways we never quite expected. Not the least of which is by helping us to continue to attract the best and brightest talent in our industry who desire a culture and environment not typically found in the insurance brokerage space.

What according to you are the evident challenges in the industry? As technology seeks to replace friction in nearly every industry imaginable, our brokerage world is certainly not immune. We must take care to credibly calculate the value we bring and the impact we make beyond merely the execution of services that require limited thinking. In addition, the changing regulatory landscape and rising healthcare costs continues to pressure our clients and so creative approaches are needed to drive www.insightssuccess.com solutions.

Minimizing Risk. Maximizing Health. These four words give us purpose, fire us up and challenge us every day.

This passion affords each Assurance employee the opportunity to profoundly impact the world.

Tony Chimino Chairm an & CE O

Considering the rising number of competitions, how does Assurance stand out from its competitors?

There’s been a disturbing trend over the last 15 years in the insurance brokerage industry: growth merely by acquisition, over-funded by debt. Now, the massive debt trend in our industry has resulted in numerous unintended consequences including the marginalization of production talent. As an independent and privately held insurance brokerage, we place value on our employees, we do not marginalize talent or treat our employees like a mere expense.

Where does Assurance envision itself in the long run and/or what are its future goals?

We believe we’re our clients’ best investment. We expect to stay true to our passion of minimizing risk and maximizing health through our long-term vision of "credibly calculating our services create $1 billion in value annually for clients."

This vision keeps us focused on improving the culture, productivity and bottom line of our clients, not of ourselves. Generally, if we maintain our growth trajectory, by 2025 we expect to have a physical presence in 5 major geographic markets across the United States and be among the very largest privately-owned and independent brokerages in the country.

Testimonials “We’ve been with Assurance since early 2006. Assurance www.insightssuccess.com

has provided effective guidance, unparalleled benchmarking, aggressive market representation, as well as superior customer-centric service. We value their expertise, loyalty, commitment to our industry and daily recognition that their service integrity is perpetual and necessary in today’s competitive environment. We not only recommend Assurance to our partners and peers; we promote them as a value add to our business model.” Labor Finders “We’ve had a working relationship with Assurance for over 15 years. They truly understand our business environment and the pressures the Senior Living industry puts upon us.

Assurance has saved us enormous amounts of premium costs over the years, while continuing to put our best interests first. We consider them as more than our insurance brokers; they’ve become our business partners and most importantly – our friends.” - Heritage Enterprises, Connie Hoselton, Executive Vice President Human Resources About the Leader Tony’s driving ideology for Assurance is a complete and dedicated focus on creating value for clients through minimizing risk and maximizing health. This includes a combination of business insurance, employee benefits and risk management improvements. Tony credits Assurance’s growth and success to hiring the most talented people in the insurance industry who are then recognized, rewarded and energized to make clients better.

September | 2019 | 19

A I

Moving Towards Transformation of Industries

I

n the recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed various industries and helped to perform better and achieve success in their respective arena. An ideal amalgamation of human intelligence and machines has proven that it can create wonders in the businesses. This attachment of human intellect with the machine assists businesses, to automate their day-to-day activities, to understand customer behaviors, to decrease work expenditures and to create occurrences on an individual level.

Therefore, business individuals need to keep a close eye on the latest developments occurring in AI industry. This information can be vital as they can utilize AI in areas where it can create profit for them.

There are various industries that are already utilizing AI in their respective business functions and are getting benefited. Following are some of the leading industries that have utilized AI as an instrument to optimize their operations: 1. Healthcare Healthcare sector has shown a positive response to assimilate AI in its field. That is the reason; Healthcare has received enormous funding to develop and execute AI. The modern day machine intelligence is assisting healthcare sector to examine medical data extracted from X-rays, CT scans and various other tests.

Segregation of this information is important as doctors go through the patient's history to check and diagnose illness.

Healthcare experts are dependent on their years of experience and prefabricated algorithms to acknowledge 22 | September | 2019

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Infrastructure Transformation the symptoms of an illness. However, sometimes they overlook and make mistakes unconsciously. A BBC report titled ‘AI Early Diagnosis Could Save Heart and Cancer Patient’ stated that nearly 20% of experienced doctors make mistakes while diagnosing patient’s illness. Therefore, this arduous as well as daunting task is certainly made easier by AI. There are famous examples of utilization of AI in healthcare sector. The Babylon AI doctor app avails speech recognition to interact with patients cross-examines carefully against its database and provides necessary treatment. Another interesting healthcare AI, Molly by Sense.ly -virtual nurse app- links patients to scientific recommendations and help, with the assistance of proprietary categorization engine pays attention to the patients and replies appropriate response to them. MicrosoG’s Hanover project utilizes machine comprehension with natural language processing to forecast productive cancer drug compatible to the patient.

2. Automobile and Logistics Automobile industry is witnessing crucial shiGs such as autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification and divided mobility. It is anticipated that the automobile industry will experience rise in economic growth by shiGing from conventional to disruptive technologies and unconventional business models.

On October 14 2015, Tesla announced that it is going to launch an autopilot car i.e. a car with self-driving capability.

The car is expected to drive itself from coast-to-coast with the help of autonomous navigation. Other car makers are aiming to implant AI services like Amazon’s Alexa. This will authorize passengers to self-command car technologies with the help of natural language voice orders.

German premium car maker Mercedes-Benz has deployed voice command personal assistant in CES show 2018 held in Las Vegas. Its arch business rival BMW followed the footsteps and decided to adopt Alexa and its assimilation into its handpicked BMW and mini automobiles. KIA Motors has also proclaimed that it is thinking about assimilating Google assistant in its cars.

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It is the need of the hour for any business to perform better in its services and increase profit as much as possible. It is expected that machine learning (ML) will empower systems to an extent that they will comprehend the data and utilize it to increase their performance. This is where AI comes into the picture. The association between AI and ML can create wonders in logistics, where time is a paramount entity.

September | 2019 | 23 The logistics sector gathers extensive data from diverse

delivery schedule but also predicts subsequent orders which gives logistics sector an advantage to utilize its resources effectively.

Interestingly, AI does not stop there. It assists in semiautonomous driver assistance, autonomous fleets for ride sharing, engine overseer and forecasting maintenance for automobiles.

Also, AI has been assisting logistics sector to construct supply chains beforehand with the help of advanced systems. This computer assistance in automobiles delivers goods in the efficient manner which is essential for the success of a logistics company. The forecasting helps logistics to avoid disastrous calamities such as difficult weather situations, traffic delays and many unexpected occurrences.

Virtual Assistant in the kitchen can also be utilized to handle kitchen machines.

Virtual Assistants such as Amazon Echo as well as Google Home incorporates ‘Routines’ attributes which allow these Virtual Assistants to carry out many tasks on a single command given by the user. This means a user can create a ‘Routine’ command which will instruct the Virtual Assistant to start multiple tasks it supposed to execute.

Industries are constantly trying to update themselves by adapting new technologies. AI is transforming industries and helping them to grow their businesses. It is going to advance into more sectors. It will help human beings to operate risky tasks, decode universal issues and take care of various human tasks. We can definitely anticipate a future where AI will be the new normal.

3. Marketing and Advertising Marketing sector has changed drastically over the years.

Customers anticipate for a personal experience and it is the need of the hour for marketing sector to change itself and adjust accordingly. They are required to leave the conventional methods of marketing and concentrate on enhancing their communication, execute demands as well as aspiration. This adaptation of AI is vital for marketing sector as reluctance to implement this new technology can lead to loss of business for the company.

AI assists marketers to find and forecast customer attitudes.

This precious information allows marketers to carry out impacVul keywords and communicate with consumers on a more personal level. Moreover, chatbots also help to execute this communication in a less expensive, effective and in a persistent way.

On top of it, AI generates ideas which are subdivided into many sub ideas. This way the risk of catering a sole idea is eliminated and various ideas can be catered according to customers and their preferences. Brands have started to acclimatize on this useful technology and are focusing on selected customers. Startups have also begun to apply AI with the help of AI automated personalization and compelling video content.

4. Virtual Assistant A Virtual Assistant can help you to handle smart home devices. This feature will allow you to administer door locks, lights, appliances and many smart home devices. There are Virtual Assistants available in the market, which show the capacity to function as an intercom. A user needs to place Virtual Assistants in every room to communicate with others. Amazon Echo’s ‘Drop In’ feature enables users to interact with each other from different rooms.

24 | September | Users can also utilize Virtual Assistants to shut down and 2019 start TV sets on compatible television models. In addition,

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Optimizt Technologies

I

Bearing Flagship in Technology Sectors

n an interview with Insights Success, Optimizt Technologies (OT) emphasizes on the contribution made by its impeccable team in order to bring difference in the customary business practices. With the edition "20 Most Admired Companies of the Year 2019", Insights Success admire such organization’s diligence to offer authentic solutions to its customers.

Improvement and Audits, specialize Corporate Trainings and Staffing Services. Using their expertise, they create unique and enduring synergies aligned to their clients’ business mission and goals.

OT’s vision is to become the most recognized, trusted and value-added technology partner globally by its Clients.

Below are the highlights of an interview: Give a brief overview of the company and its vision.

Optimizt Technologies (OT) is most recognized & trusted Engineering Service Provider (ESP) company established in year 2010. OT offers multi-disciplinary technology services that are tailored as per the client demand with Innovation to Integration and Implementation. OT serves diverse Industries such as Automobile, Aerospace, Civil Structures, Energy, FMCG, Off Highway Vehicles, Metro Rail, Process Industry (Oil & Gas) along with clients from Asian, European, and North American countries.

Due to its outstanding service quality and performance, worldwide renowned companies approach OT. It has also received prestigious International awards & recognitions for innovative & quality technology services and business excellence in year 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2019.

Its expertise lies in Engineering Product Design and Development, Mathematical Computation and Simulation, Application Development, Cloud Computing Services, Test Automation Services, Process

26 | September | 2019

How do you diversify your products and solutions in order to benefit your customers?

We want to diversify our offerings to consolidate our presence for existing market and clients. Then slowly we will expand our offerings to new geographical markets within next few years.

We will identify our value proposition, articulate it and back it up with evidence. We will focus on core skills, capabilities and achievements when determining our value proposition. Formulating business development strategy, building network and relationships, evaluation of resources will help us to grow during significant challenges in this market.

Onsite or nearshore business model has been developed for our existing clients which has brought more clarity and success in our business. Perfection in project management, well-defined processes, value-added services, strategic partnership and at last investment in resources has also helped us to succeed. Presently, we are focusing on reinforcing competencies for future technologies like IIoT, AI, Data Science, Cloud Services etc.

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Staying attuned with the company’s mission and vision, Jitendra has taken some steps for enhancing OT’s growth and building trust in employees and clients. These steps involve creating spark in the team, gap analysis and training, improving facilities, implementing quality processes and security systems etc.

”

Give a detailed explanation of the featured person’s influence towards the industry and the company.

Jitendra Jagtap is the Founder and CEO of Optimizt Technologies, having 14 years of experience in engineering design and research field along with project management. His role at OT is TechnoCommercial, which includes overseeing crossfunctional groups and defining new business strategies, identifying emerging technologies, new business prospects, key accomplices and OT’s branding.

Optimizt Technologies offers innovative and value added engineering & technology solutions to diverse businesses globally.

—Jitendra S. Jagtap

”

CEO

Jitendra has delivered hundreds of corporate training programs for MNCs from USA, Europe, India. Thousands of engineers are in his credit who are working all over world in the field of R&D today. Jitendra also has great influence as technical consultant to few Asian and European organizations operates in India.

Describe the experiences, achievements or lessons learnt that have shaped the journey of OPTIMIZT TECHNOLOGIES. In most professional services it is difficult for customers to judge quality until it’s too late and they face a potential catastrophe.

Having clear understanding of this fact, OT has developed long term strategy to win new businesses.

Initially focused on pilot projects and affordable pricing services, we have

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September | 2019 | 27

built strong confidence and trust in our clients.

Consistent investment in knowledge, resources, processes, strategy has helped us to shape OT as trusted partner for our clients. We learned good lesson that fuel your business by leadership, people and systems while value the time.

Within 9 years of business, we have been recognized globally for our services and expertise. Fortune 500 and globally listed world renowned companies are our clients today. We have received few International Awards in recognition of quality, commitment & innovation for our services. Though we feel proud today, we will continue to work tirelessly and persistently to grow our business globally to create employment and other society benefits.

What according to you are the evident challenges in the industry?

Challenges such as need for innovation, increasing competition, pricing aligned to client business metrics, short delivery models, retention of talent in budgeted cost are key challenges in todays industry. These compounding parameters are driving significant transformation, pushing professional services providers into a new era of services delivery.

Over the course of the next few years, we will see significant changes in the services engagement models.

To facilitate the change, managed services contracts for ESPs will need to move away from the traditional engagement models to demand more value and tighter service integration.

Where does OPTIMIZT TECHNOLOGIES envision itself in the long run and/or what are its future goals?

In upcoming years, OT’s strategy is to initiate marketing & operations in handpicked countries with select services in demand. building customer credibility, developing domain expertise and promoting the acceptability of the offshore concept. Along with this, company is planning to start operations in potential countries to provide nearshore services to new clients.

OT plans to build a brand image and wants to be recognized as a trusted partner in this market. By the mid of 2020, the company will be investing for resources in future technologies in its porVolio such as IIoT, AI, Data Science, Cloud Services etc.

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Its long-term goal is to develop smart methods & tools for engineering community to enhance learning efficiency. Then it will be offered at affordable price especially for economically poor students in Asia. OT is planning to establish Technology Research Centre with necessary facilities for engineering students where Industrial subject matter experts will be invited to guide these engineers of future.

Considering the rising number of competitions, how does OPTIMIZT TECHNOLOGIES stand out from its competitors?

Due to emerging technologies and market trends, there are significant changes in traditional engagement models to demand greater value and tighter service integration. Currently OT is also facing many challenges due to rising competition. On the bright side, rising competition is creating opportunities for OT to think, reinforce and fine tune business model for long run.

OT is now focusing on delivering technical excellence, custom business models aligned to client business needs. Along with this, company is predicting future technologies to add new services vertical in offerings and upholding professional pride and integrity.

Company is working tirelessly and ethically to ensure that values are added to every service it delivers. In order to do so, this India based company is going to leverage the massive pool of skilled workforces to deliver outstanding technology services.

Innovation, Integrity, Inspiration is the key parameters which OT focuses as part of business strategy to successfully stand out in future market.

Testimonies: Fortune 500 and globally listed companies like Johnson Controls, Emerson, Alfa Laval, Atlas Copco, Forbes Marshall, GE Oil & Gas, MAHLE, Henkel, HORIBA MIRA, Putzmeister, TCS, Tech Mahindra, PARI Robotics, Jindal Steel, TATA AutoComp, Godrej are few of its clients to whom it has been providing services. OT has successfully executed critical projects for USA’s top Electric Vehicle OEM, Europe’s leading Metro Rail Supplier, Japan’s leading Electric Drive supplier which was awarded by giant Indian IT companies as a strategic services partner.

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Pam Bateson CEO & Co-founder Thrive Partners

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Tech-Know Insights

What a tech CEO can teach your business about digital?

About the Pam Bateson is an expert Author

coach and mentor in business, training others to M a s t e rs l e v e l q u a l i fi c a t i o n s a n d supervising coaches. She has worked within the healthcare, retail, hotels, construction, media, agencies, education and public sector. She specialises in C o a c h i n g , M e n t o r i n g , E m p l o y e e Engagement, Change Management, L e a r n i n g a n d D ev e lo p m e n t a n d Organisational Design. She has worked with all levels in organisations from g r a d u a t e s to t h e C E O . S h e h a s de sign ed change pro grammes that connect projects, outcomes, training and coaching.

The performance outcomes have been outstanding. She is CEO and Cowww.insightssuccess.com founder at Thrive Partners.

P

am Bateson set up Thrive an on-demand coaching company, Partners, three years ago. In this article, she shares her point of view on how important humans are in a more digital world, what she’s learned as a tech CEO, and what this means when you’re looking to use tech in a way that’s both disruptive and works for customers. In October 2015, I gave up a successful career as a management consultant and coach to set up Thrive Partners. Lots of people thought I was crazy. I was approaching 50, with two children still at home. But for the decade running up to that decision, I’d been thinking about a better way to deliver coaching – supported by digital, to share more widely the coaching tools I’d used to help clients for many years.

This was the business I set out to build three years ago. Today, we’re working with 25 clients on five continents – delivering our own brand of on-demand coaching, backed with insights for the whole business. The learning curve has been steep – particularly for someone September | 2019didn’t | 31 who, by their own confession, have a lot of

experience in learning technology. So here, I wanted to share some of the things we’ve learned – and what it might mean for your business.

Dream big I didn’t really set out to build a business that would be considered disruptive, but my background as a lean engineer and coach did mean that we ripped up the rulebook when it came to the coaching industry. We scrapped the idea that you needed to meet face to face, and that sessions had to last an hour, or even two hours.

And we made it a lot easier for people to access a coach to answer the questions they had there and then – increasing access so people could chat to an expert within an hour.

Working with my co-founder, we then rebuilt the industry by asking the biggest questions we could imaging. What if we could make coaching available to whole organisations?

What if we could get listening as valued as speaking? And what if we could help organisations learn as quickly as individuals?

I found these questions irresistible: I wanted to do for coaching what Uber had done for getting a taxi, NeVlix had done for home entertainment, and Tinder had done for dating. It’s these big dreams that have galvanised our success in the last few years – and which has set us in the right direction for the future.

Build for modern users Despite big dreams, we’ve also made our fair share of mistakes! A lot of them mistakes happened when we took our attention away from our end customers. It sounds obvious to see it there on the page. But it can be easy to lose sight of the customers that matter most, especially when, as a tech CEO, sometime we get preoccupied with a shiny piece of new technology.

So, what to consider first when it comes to users? The main thing to bear in mind is that they expect experiences that are easy and fast to access – a shiG brought about by what we call the ‘Amazon Prime Mindset.’ In this era, clunky user experiences reduce the chances of uptake of services.

In short, if your technology can’t match or exceed the quality of digital experience people get in their everyday lives, then you’ll need to go back to the drawing board.

than just scale and facilitate coaching in global organisations; it would also mean we could spot trends and patterns within communities of users, in organisations or society at large. Just as carefully listening has a powerful and transformative role in one-to-one coaching conversations, carefully listening to and analysing anonymised version of the conversations we host has a powerful and transformative role within whole organisations.

The whole-system insights we produced has helped to make sales processes smoother, improved communications and created more opportunities for people to learn.

Keep it human With suicide being the biggest killer of men under 45, loneliness sweeping through developed economies in epidemic proportions and a third of all young people suffering from anxiety, I strongly believe that we have a duty to keep talking to each other as a society.

We believe that keeping the art of conversation alive in this digital age is essential; only humans can master creativity, empathy, humour and imagination in a way that’s compelling. Information is everywhere, so we’re using technology differently – to offer real human experiences at scale, at any time of the day, whenever our clients need a conversation, for everything you can’t Google.

And what of the future? Curiously, even the structures of artificial intelligence and machine learning look set to mimic human patterns. It’s still early days, but leaders in this space talk of ‘deep learning’ with AI – by layering up different tools that connect in the same way as our brain’s neural networks.

And so, the next three years?

My recent experiences have led us to ask even bigger questions than we did to begin with – which I suspect will lead to our next irresistible set of adventures! What if we could transform learning management systems into learning ecosystems? What if any community of learners could connect with any community of teachers? And what if a better understanding of outcomes from learning could help both individuals, organisations and society to thrive?

I for one believe there are exciting times ahead.

Create wins for the many So, if users come first – who else can we harness the power of technology for?

Our answer? Everyone else in the system.

Early on in the development of our MyThrive plaVorm, we 32 | September | realised that delivering digitally would enable us to do more 2019

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Spark Energy C ompeting in t h e Transformation o f t h e Retail Gas & Electricity Indu s try

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park Energy is an independent, competitive, retailer of gas & electricity. It was founded in 1999 as a start-up with today’s vision to ’Achieve sustainable profit growth through a lean organization focused on customer value’. The company serves more than 800,000 residential customer equivalents, and operates in all key states that are open for retail gas & electricity competition. Spark Energy currently operates in 19 states, plus the District of Columbia, where consumers can choose the company they want to serve their retail gas & electricity needs.

regulated cost-plus models aren’t inherently motivated to achieve.

Whether or not consumers are Spark Energy customers, they benefit in a competitive marketplace with the options of choice driven by innovation, product offerings and price.

Diversity in Offerings

History in Making

Spark Energy’s value proposition for consumers includes potential energy cost savings for consumers through a competitive market place; green, renewable and carbon neutral products; and stable and predictable energy costs. Consumers have options for both fixed and variable price contracts, and a range of unique value added products such as green energy, rewards programs, or protection plans.

According to Spark Energy, the process of taking a fully regulated industry to one that is open for competition and consumer choice is making history and something everyone who took part in making it happen can be extremely proud of. The company asserts that the future generations will read case studies about the transition of a regulated gas & electricity utility market to competition. It truly is history in the making not unlike what happened in the telecommunications industry that started transitioning back in the 1980’s.

A Dynamic Leader Nathan Kroeker is the President & CEO at Spark Energy. His impact on the gas & electricity industry is through his advocacy for competition. He believes that competition drives innovation and it intensifies a focus on better costs and creates value for consumers that 34 | September | 2019

Mr. Kroeker’s impact on the company is impressive, particularly in the company’s growth. With his leadership, the company went from private to public (SPKE) in 2014 and since that time the company has tripled in revenue, customer count, and earnings.

Overcoming Adversities The challenge in the states that are open for competition is breaking the inertia that regulated, incumbent

utilities have through their many, many, decades of being the customer’s only choice. There’s an education of consumers and an evolution that takes time to break that inertia. The additional challenges in the industry are clearing the barriers that exist to open up additional U.S. states for competition.

Innovation has not been realized at the rate that everyone expected, primarily due to the sharp drop in commodity prices earlier this decade. I believe we are starting to see this innovation now – not driven by high commodity prices, but rather an elevated consumer interest in technology and being good stewards of our resources for future generations.

The upside for consumers that can be realized through competition is limitless if not beholden to a strictly regulated model that provides no choices.

Future Aspirations Spark Energy’s aspirations in the longrun are declared in its vision. The people in the company are keenly focused on strategic initiatives that straddle the dimensions of creating customer value, delivering sustainable profit growth for shareholders, and achieving success through a high performing & lean team of people and partners. The team members’ www.insightssuccess.com

Spark provides b o t h residential and commercial customers w i t h alternatives t o t h e ir local u t i li t y f o r t h e ir natural gas and electricity supply needs.

collective set of behaviours, guided by Spark’s social contract, is the recipe that creates the company’s culture.

They are aligned in what the company has set out to accomplish in working together and being committed to doing the right things for the right reasons. Employee engagement throughout the organization is ultraimportant and will remain a key ingredient to the company’s success.

Quotes from Customers “I’ve been very satisfied with Spark Energy, and I know I can always count on you. Thank you, bye bye.”

“Contacting you today was very easy. I got through right away, and I was very pleased with the service. Thank you very much.”

“I love you all. Everyone is so wonderful to deal with on the phone. The rate I get per month is the lowest I’ve seen, and I would highly, highly recommend you, which I do, to all friends of mine.”

“This is John, and we love Spark Energy. The representative helped us with our questions today in an outstanding manner, and we’re just glad we’re part of the Spark Energy family. Thank you very much.”

“I love you guys, Spark. You’ve been there for me for all these many years. I really, really appreciate you. Your rates are fantastic, and I would not change you for any other electricity provider. Thank you very much Spark Energy. I love you, and I’ve been telling people about you and will continue to do so. Thank you.”

— Nathan Kroeker President & CEO

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Editor’s Choice

Entrepreneurship Going Beyond t h e C o m f o r t o f Safety t o M a k e Larger Impact

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ntrepreneurship is the process of starting a new business that adds some value to the world by solving some specific problems.

Entrepreneurship is the capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit. Entrepreneurship combined with land, labor, natural resources and capital can make a profit. Those who create these businesses are called entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial spirit is characterized by innovation and risk taking and is an essential part of a nation’s ability to succeed in constantly changing and increasingly competitive global market place.

Entrepreneurship in its truest form is all about identifying a gap in the market and creating a product which can fill that hole. Entrepreneurship is not solely about making money- it is also about changing and enriching the lives for better. It is about improving people’s lives through creation of products or launching services that makes the lives of people easy. If one’s business does not add value to the lives of people then it is unlikely to survive. The business that makes nothing but money can easily be considered as a poor business.

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Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs act as managers and oversee the launch and growth of an enterprise. It is a process by which either an individual or a team identifies a business opportunity and

acquires and deploys the necessary tools and resources required for its utilization.

Entrepreneurship is all about being ready to go beyond the comfort zone.

It is about defining success on one’s own terms and achieving it by one’s own process and methodology. It is also about thinking outside the box or thinking like there is no box. True entrepreneurial spirit is about seeing challenges as opportunities.

Entrepreneurs should be able to shake off depression, laziness and should jump into the flowing stream of hard work in order to achieve their dream.

True Entrepreneurs understand that they can’t be great at everything they do, but they know that they can be great at something. They focus on that particular something in which they are good at with laser like focus and they are passionate to deliver the best solutions in their chosen work.

Entrepreneurs create something new, something different that solves some problems or adds value to the world.

An entrepreneur is a person who is willing and able to convert a new idea or invention into a successful innovation. Entrepreneurial journey is not always so easy. As Elon Musk Quotes “Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.” Many people experience entrepreneurial journey as a rollercoaster ride filed with challenges and opportunities; ups and downs.

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perseverance through all such ups and downs. The journey may be filled with crest and troughs but the journey is worth taking.

Entrepreneurs understand that seduction of safety is much more dangerous than the perception of the risk. Therefore they take calculated risks based on market trends and market estimation. Where common people see the problems entrepreneurs see the opportunities.

Entrepreneurs are driven to create solutions to those problems.

Entrepreneurs are not the part of problems but entrepreneurs are people who want to be part of the solution to those problems.

Entrepreneurs are innately programme to create solutions to the existing problems.

Entrepreneurs roll up their sleeves every day and work hard to create solutions to the existing problems in the world in order to make profit as well as to enrich the lives of people.

They are in the game to make a difference and impact in the lives of people through offering solutions to some of the biggest problems. Money is secondary to them but making valuable contribution and adding value to the world is what they focus on.

They understand that money is just a byproduct of serving as many people as possible with full efficiency.

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Entrepreneurs plan their work and work their plan. Successful entrepreneurship requires entrepreneurs who take conscious, systematic, logical and thoughVul decisions. It is about thinking deliberately and acting on the conclusion of logical thought process.

Great entrepreneurs have the ability to think decisively even in indecisive environment also. Their conscience and intuition helps them to come up with some solutions that add glory to their business. Successful entrepreneurs are also very cautious of making use of the latest technology for creating more profitable solutions.

They know how to leverage everything to create glorious business that adds value to the larger portion of the world.

Entrepreneurs are here to make a valuable contribution to the world through their words and worthy actions; they just don’t want to occupy the space in the universe.

Entrepreneurs believe in making world a better place by creating something that customizes the lives of people for better. Great entrepreneurs walk their talk and talk their walk. Their lips and lives both make difference in the lives of people. They know that world rewards those who press on.

Entrepreneurship is about paying the price of dedication, commitment, sacrifices, hard work and putting heart

and soul into the business to create something different that makes lives of people easier. The words and actions of great entrepreneurs show that they know where they are going and the world has the habit of making room for such people.

Entrepreneurship is about knowing the way, going the way and showing the way. Entrepreneurs lead by example.

They use all the resources they have to make larger contribution to the world.

They think of changing the world through their skills, abilities, talents and making optimum utilization of all the resources they have.

Entrepreneurs build a strong network of people in their organization. The great entrepreneurs understand that one’s network determines one’s net worth. Therefore they choose smart and pragmatic people around them that are having the ability to come up with solutions to some of the toughest problems. They are very cautious of people they associate with.

Entrepreneurship is about building bridges of success instead of creating barriers to opportunity. It is about having talented people on-board to come up with great idea and to implement that idea to make a tangible difference in the lives of people.

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