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CONTENTS
EDITOR Gp Capt R Vijayakumar ﴾Retd﴿, VSM
READERSHIP OUTREACH Gp Capt Dr R Venkataraman ﴾Retd﴿
Sundar R Vakeeswari M DESIGN D Rajaram, Tayub Refai MADRAS MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Management Center, New No.240 Pathari Road, ﴾Off Anna Salai﴿, Chennai 600 006 Ph:044‐2829 1133 / Email:mma@mmachennai.org | mandate@mmachennai.org | www.facebook.com/mmachennai
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EDITORIAL
Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM
Let change prevail...
N
ow, Omicron has added an element of
the pandemic roller-coaster, but in 2022 we must act
uncertainty to the global economy. But when it
just wisely and quickly to enact strategies that will lead
comes to emerging markets, the unanimous
us into a better future. We are indeed delighted at the
view is that the prospect remains bright. India’s GDP
appointment of Dr V Anantha Nageswaran as the Chief
rebound (from the previous year’s pandemic contraction)
Economic Advisor for India’s Finance Minister. An
does not necessarily mean than an economic recovery
outstanding economist, he will surely provide the recipe
is underway; our economy was slowing well before
for high growth, reviving investments and containing
Covid! The Government’s challenge is to not only ensure a revival of growth but also make sure that it is broadbased. Only then the real incomes of most Indians can
rise. It will require policies that facilitate employment generation and increase the real income of a worker. We need to begin the process of structural reforms to undo the damage done to the large majority of informal
Leaders should use all their resources to generate awareness and push reforms that are aimed at keeping the skill‐sets of the
workers and enterprises. The labour market remains
workforce up to the mark. It is
disrupted like never before, and some of the changes
critical for leaders to work with
might prove permanent. Many workers are wondering
everyone and create a
whether their jobs are even worth it.
mechanism that encourages
The policies we choose now will have consequences
innovation and adaptability.
for decades to come. We may have brought an end to BUSINESS MANDATE
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the budget gap. We have had the privilege of Dr Anantha
and leave the rest to the invisible hand of the market. In
Nageswaran addressing the members of MMA last
this context, MMA – KAS organized a conclave on the
month during the conclave on the theme “Participative
theme,
Leadership”. An article on the thought provoking
Transformation.”
address is published in this issue with an embedded
address by Mr P R Ramesh, Former Chairman, Deloitte,
video. Enjoy reading the inspiring address on “The Traits
is published in this issue with embedded video; please
of Great Leaders" by our CEA.
click to read on and get inspired!
Change is the only constant
Back to school
“Robust
Public The
Policy
for
thought-provoking
Business keynote
As the proverb goes change is the only constant. The
Over 200 million children have lost at least two
field of technology has been evolving at a rapid pace that
years and we risk having a ‘learning lost’ generation.
many of us find it tough to keep up. It is rightly
After a long gap, schools have finally opened their gates
predicted that the post-pandemic era is going to witness
to enthusiastic learners. With in-person learning in place,
a shift in global dynamics. The heads of state and
classrooms are going to brim again with the chatter of
corporate executives will have to evolve and rework their
students. Offline learning although familiar also comes
strategies. Leaders should use all their resources to
with post-pandemic demands. Students and teachers
generate awareness and push reforms that are aimed at
need to take care of themselves and should not drop
keeping the skill-sets of the workforce up to the mark.
their guard. We strongly believe that educational space
It is critical for leaders to work with everyone and create
provides the best opportunity for promoting these
a
and
lessons among children to foster a strong sense of
adaptability. It is the endeavour of MMA to carefully
responsibility in society. The MMA CSR initiative
conceptualise and curate its programmes to meet the
supported by ACSYS Investments and Super Auto
aspirations and expectations of our stakeholders. In this
Forge would focus on these areas to ensure students are
context, we organised a number of conclaves / seminars
provided with the best possible educational experience.
in December 2021 on varied themes for the benefit of
The future of in-person learning in schools is bound to
our members and management professionals. The
be bright and highly satisfying. There is hope because
recording of these high profile events is available for
there are remarkable people unseen, unnamed but
your viewing.
holding the world together and moving it.
mechanism
that
encourages
innovation
Indian economy & reforms
Air India back in the Tata Group hangar
The state in India is not large relative to the size of
The Air India deal made all happy. This was the
the country, but still it spreads itself aggressively in
toughest company to divest. A loss-making venture and
doing many things. It fundamentally lacks the capacity
a debt of over Rs. 60,000 crores was a deterrent for any
to do all things well, ending up with poor governance
potential buyer. But Air India has some of the best
and delivery of essential public services. Hence, it is
aircrafts and routes. Tata’s prevailed and paid just Rs.
critical to strengthen state capability to do those things
18,000 cores including cash of Rs. 2,700 crores only. It
well, whether it is for delivering public services such as
was a home-coming for the Tatas: The government was
education, healthcare, infrastructure development, law
happy to get the company off its hands. The Rs. 42,000
and order or enacting regulation to protect the
crores debt was transferred to a special purpose vehicle.
environment. In that light it would be better to focus on
Everyone wins. The entire story must serve as a lesson
a few key reforms, strengthen state capacity for reforms
for the management of other public sector companies
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—how undertakings large and small should not be
investments in January 2022! Record funds amid
allowed to go sick. The travel space now is crowded with
downturn in global markets signals sustained investor
many private airlines. It is up to the Tatas to ensure that
interest. I strongly believe that it is a show of
passengers can reminisce the Air India of the good old
continuation of the long term investors belief in the
days.
Indian tech capability and success. We are indeed delighted to present the article on the event organized
Budget 2022
under the start-up series - Mr V Shankar in conversation
India completes 75 years as an Independent nation this August. The Finance Minister will present the annual budget of the Union against this backdrop. There is a lesson to be taken from the past 75 years. The Indian economy has broken free from many of its old structural constraints. The Finance Minister will present the new Union Budget at a time when the economy is recovering from the Covid shock. The recovery in domestic demand is still uneven, inflationary pressures are building up, global economy is preparing for higher interest rates and crude oil prices are close to their highest level in seven years. Budget 2022 will obviously focus on these challenges.
diversity
on the theme “Chai Kings - Rising from the Ashes”.
The Russia‐Ukraine crisis As tensions heighten between Russia and Ukraine, Moscow is gambling a stand-off with the West. In this context, two major questions are of particular concern. Is Mr Putin rational? And can he be deterred? It is probably also wrong to suggest that Mr Putin cannot feel threatened by NATO because it would never invade Russia. A strong NATO with more members, especially in the East, would make Mr Putin look and feel more constrained, hence Mr Putin’s anti-NATO demands shouldn’t be seen as a sheer manipulation. May be NATO could have signalled earlier that the membership of
Women in leadership roles Gender
with Mr Jahabar Sadique, Co-Founder & CEO, Chai Kings,
across
the
Indian
start-up
ecosystem narrowed only a little in 2021 even as start-
Ukraine was unlikely. Let statesmanship prevail and hope for the peace!
ups managed to raise record funds at high valuation
Wishing our readers once gain a brighter 2022
during the year. A recent report showed that about 70%
—raising a toast to those who adapt and change forever
start-ups in the country have less than 20% women in
during the New Normal.
leadership roles. While gender diversity in start-ups and tech has started to get a lot more attention lately, it continues to be a challenge. In this context, we are
As always, we would be happy to hear your views, comments and suggestions.
delighted to present to you in this issue an article on the theme “Gender Diversity & Inclusive Board Room” based on the thought proving address by Dr Amarnath Ananthanarayanan, Managing Director, The Sanmar Group - Corporate Division during the Conclave on the theme
“Robust
Public
Policy
for
Business
Transformation”. We are also delighted to know that start-ups inc have begun 2022 with a bang: over 3.5 billion dollar BUSINESS MANDATE
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History has taught us repeatedly that leadership need not be limited to only those with authority or position. The New Normal has gone a step further in removing the prejudices associated with traditional leadership traits and has shown us a new way forward. Dr V Anantha Nageswaran, Former Dean, IFMR Business School & KREA University, shares his insights on the traits of great leaders.
B
ased on my own experience, I came up with a
overarching broad purpose of the organization that is
simple definition for leadership: It is an
clear to everybody, but beyond that the specifics will
opportunity to shape and influence a group’s
be determined by having the right set of people. You
thoughts,
actions
(small
or
big
organisations,
simply have to make sure that they are motivated and
institutions, commercial or social, a nation or at the
have the framework to operate to the best of their
global level), attitudes and attributes for achieving
abilities; in fact, they already have the intrinsic
common/collective outcomes. You can also create a
motivation and ability, so don't have to treat them like
successful group and be a successful leader of activities
school children, guiding them and shaping their
that may not pass the ethical or moral test. We are not
behavior using positive and negative incentives and
considering them.
reinforcements. That's not necessary.
Who first, what next
Self‐awareness
Jim Collins, author of the book 'Good to Great,’ tells
Next, what are the key attributes of a leader? If I
us that one doesn't need to have a goal and then
have to summarise many attributes into one word, it
assemble the good people. Instead, you assemble the
would be self-awareness. You must be aware of who
right set of people and they will take the organization
you are, what you are doing and why you are doing. We
in the direction that is both feasible and desirable. So
are all very good at clinically dissecting other people's
the ‘who’ part comes before the ‘what’. That may sound
attributes, but we don't bring the same sort of rigour
counterintuitive.
have
to ourselves. If you are self-aware and understand your
succeeded make sure that they have the right people
words—including the unspoken ones—your thoughts,
to decide the right targets and goals. There will be an
your reactions to different people, then you can evolve
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Many
organizations
that
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other attributes as well, such as confidence or
mission, your goals and their goals. Good leaders don't
commitment to a mission. Confidence also goes hand-
try to bury the differences under the carpet. They
in-hand with self-assurance and ability to take
confront them. They resolve them. So do not avoid
decisions. If you think you are a very self-confident and
conflicts. Somebody who brings up a conflicting
positive person, you don't need to learn from anybody.
thought into the open and be willing to discuss with
The more confident you are, the less insecure you will
you is far more trustworthy than one who simply
be about receiving and taking criticisms. It is an
avoids discussing conflicts to present an impression of
insecure mind that basically resists criticisms and
false harmony. In the ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective
reacts with negativity. Observe how your body reacts when you receive a criticism. Observe how your muscles tighten. Observe yourself. Then you will be able to modulate your reaction to the criticism. It is not
Self‐belief does not mean
as if successful leaders don't fail, they do. Failure is
excessive optimism. In fact, the
part and parcel of the journey. The important thing is
latter is not a pre‐requisite for
how you bounce back.
the former. People always think that it's good to be optimistic.
Embrace conflict Widen
your
circle
of
influence
by
turning
disagreements into collaboration. Good leaders embrace
Optimism should not mean denial of reality.
conflicts. They don't avoid or shun conflicts. A conflict situation enables you to clarify the organizational BUSINESS MANDATE
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Optimism may delude you into overestimating your capabilities and underestimating the power of your opponents—be it in the corporate world or in a sporting context.
suggests that they are stronger than you are, take that into consideration and prepare. Optimism may delude you
into
overestimating
your
capabilities
and
underestimating the power of your opponents—be it in the corporate world or in a sporting context. Scottsdale, in his infinite wisdom, says: • Retain faith that you will prevail in the end regardless of the difficulties and at the same time confront the most brutal facts of your
People,’ Stephen Covey mentions that good leaders tackle the most difficult problems first. Resolving conflicts is one of them.
current reality, whatever they may be. • Being in denial is not a feature of successful or great leadership • Over-emphasis on positive thinking is harmful in the long-run and can lead to delusion,
Optimism and Scottsdale’s wisdom
despair, shock and depression, if things don't
What are the important caveats that we have to keep in mind? Self-belief does not mean excessive optimism. In fact, the latter is not a pre-requisite for the former. People always think that it's good to be optimistic. Optimism should not mean denial of reality. One of the biggest gains of modern era is emphasis on the power of positive thinking. Everything in life has to be in balance. Your optimistic thinking should be grounded in reality. That is the story of James Scottsdale, a Vietnam War prisoner, who survived immense torture. In fact, he inflicted torture on himself to avoid being interrogated by his captors. Yet, he was one of the very few who emerged alive from the Vietnam POW camps. When asked, "Who are the people who didn't survive the torture?" he said, "The optimists. Because they always expected that something would turn up next day and they would be freed from the prison. When that didn't materialize, they got deflated." In other words, optimism should not be in opposition to the realistic assessment of your odds. Optimism should not mean that you take your opponents lightly. If your opponents are formidable, if the form book 12
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materialize. It is a very important learning because of the difficult situations that we face today. For example, with the pandemic, accept the reality. We should continue to engage in interaction and do what we have to do, but accept the reality that we are facing great uncertainty than before. There are times when the uncertainty band is much wider and sometimes narrower. Incorporate that into planning. In a corporate setup, it would mean creating a greater slack for yourself and greater working capital requirements. You have to accept that there are times when you have to negotiate a rough period.
Obesity is a bigger pandemic Do not confuse positive thinking and the thinking that you shall eventually prevail. We all want India to become a very powerful economic nation, but we also have to understand that we face much greater challenges than other countries. Some of those countries became democratic after they became prosperous. We became democratic before we became
BUSINESS MANDATE
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People think that investments, capital formation, productivity and people's literacy drive
humility: • Never being boastful or welcoming of public
economic growth. What about
praise
health? Throughout history,
• Working with calm determination
nations' evolutions have been
• Emphasizing a standard of excellence over ability to inspire through charisma
driven by pandemics.
• Using personal ambition to make the company great rather than aiming for personal success
prosperous. We all talk of the demographic boom in
• Looking inward when things go wrong instead
India. How many of you have taken the time to look at the national Family Health Survey number five that
of at others, external factors, or bad luck • Remember,
humble
leaders
are
more
came out recently? What is the biggest pandemic in
concerned with what is right than being right.’
India? Not the Coronavirus; Obesity is the biggest
• Being underestimated by others is no bad
pandemic! The proportion of people whose BMI is above 25 in India, both for women and men, is even higher than in developed countries and it is shocking!
thing! Bhagwat Gita says that you are only entitled to the duties but not to the fruits of the action. That is
We have to confront the reality of what it means
somewhat an incorrect interpretation of that sloka
for India's economic growth. The potential growth of a
because you don't undertake any action without having
country depends on the health and well-being of its
a purpose or an eventual goal in mind. What the Lord
population. People think that investments, capital
is telling Arjuna is to not associate one’s ego with the
formation, productivity and people's literacy drive
outcome. You should be motivated by the common
economic growth. What about health? Throughout
good, but detach yourself from the outcome. That is
history, nations' evolutions have been driven by
the message of that sloka.
pandemics. Obesity is a pandemic. We all have a goal that India has to become an economically prosperous nation, but we also need to be aware of the challenges and recognize them.
What is professional will? • Doing what must be done, no matter how difficult • Giving credit for your company’s success to
Level 5 leadership
others, to external factors, and to good luck,
Jim Collins talks about Level 5 leadership. He says that Level 5 leaders combine two important attributes —professional will and personal humility. When they want to attribute success, they look out of the window.
instead of your own actions • Generating
great managers who then progress to become great
in
the
company’s
outcomes • Taking actions to ensure that the company will endure beyond your tenure
When attributing responsibility for failures, they look into the mirror. That is one of the important traits of
excellence
A great leader eventually makes himself or herself dispensable.
leaders. Here are other aspects of their personal BUSINESS MANDATE
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If things work only when you are there and the
Great leaders do these small things right. They give
roof collapses after you leave the place, then you have
importance to the other
not been a great leader. Institutionalizing the changes and a culture that does well when you are around is the
person's priorities and anxieties.
hallmark of great leaders. They ensure that success is
It is a free world.
attributable to the culture and organizational ethos that they leave behind. personalize many things. The common cause is more
The Kohli Slip
important. So think about these small things in which
Communication must be firm, clear, total, truthful and prompt. We have stories of how Johnson & Johnson handled the Tylenol crisis. Very recently, we saw how BCCI handled poorly their dropping of Virat Kohli as the captain of the Indian one-day cricket team. While BCCI said that they communicated the decision, Kohli denied it. This is not something that characterizes professional organizations. BCCI has rights to change the captain but it is better to do so cleanly, correctly and communicate ex-ante, give the person a sense of importance, acknowledge his or her contribution to the cause until then and make them feel that they understand your decision. They may not accept it even then due to ego but, at least, they will be able to
we react; they will define whether you are a great leader or an ordinary person.
J&J and BP Stories The Tylenol experience of Johnson & Johnson is a case study in business schools in communicating very clearly and accepting responsibility upfront, rather than harking back on technicalities. They did not say, “We are not responsible. It is the packaging that went wrong. It is due to the storage processes or mishandling by our distributors.” They didn't go into any of this. They said, “It's our product that ultimately goes into people's body. Therefore, we will take responsibility. We will fix the issues later. Responsibility is ours.”
understand. Many times when an employee leaves an
This is an example of looking at the mirror when
organization, ask yourself, "How do you make them
things go wrong. The exact opposite is British
feel?" Do you make them feel very bad? Do you make
Petroleum’s handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. So
it tough for them to leave or do you make them feel in
you have two case studies. You have to read both. If
such a way that they are making the right decision in
you want to know how not to handle, how to
leaving the organization. Do not take their departure
prevaricate, how to deny, how to engage in lies and how
as a personal rejection or a slap on your ego.
to evade responsibility, then you look at the British
Great leaders do these small things right. They give importance to the other person's priorities and anxieties. It is a free world. A person leaving your
Petroleum case study of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. If you want to understand how to handle it the right way, read the Tylenol case of Johnson & Johnson.
organisation is just as somebody else leaving some
Of course, pharma companies are today earning a
other organization to come and join you. It works both
bad name considering the way the pandemic is being
ways. There's nothing personal about it. You are playing
handled.
a role; he or she is playing a role. That's all. Do not BUSINESS MANDATE
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That's a different story. Even Johnson & Johnson's
When the fear of losing your power takes over the
culture may not have endured for 40 years. In today's
behavioural controls of your
context, we come across stories of clotting, etc., with J&J vaccines in the US. That shows how even great
leadership, you will stop being
organizations at some point lose the very culture that
a leader and start being a ruler.
got them a positive name.
Just in case
ancient Greek word that also includes taking pleasure
For taking responsibility and looking at the mirror,
out of humiliating others and even encompasses a
the best example is General Dwight Eisenhower. He
connotation of sexual conquest and exploitation.
ordered the Allied troops to land in Normandy coast
Hubris, according to the Greeks, is an insult to humility
and take on the Germans by surprise. The mission, of
and epitomizes insolence of the Gods.
course, became a spectacular success and eventually
There is a point at which all the special treatment
led to the end of the World War 2, but he also had
and pampering can contort and pervert your leadership.
prepared a letter, just in case the mission didn't
Left unchecked, it can inflate your ego to the point that
succeed. He had drafted the letter and wanted to
you shift from leading for the good of others to leading
announce to the country in case the mission failed. The
to acquire more for yourself. It is at this point that the
letter simply said, 'The troops, the Air Force and the
opportunity to apply an influence for the benefit of
Navy did all the bravery and devotion to duty could do.
others is eclipsed by the fear of losing all that you have
If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine
gained for yourself, including all the special treatment
alone.' Thankfully for the world, he didn't have to use
that you get. When the fear of losing your power takes
it.
over the behavioural controls of your leadership, you will stop being a leader and start being a ruler. Both are
Defining hubris
two different things. The website gives a long list of
The opposite of great leadership is the word
14 symptoms of hubris, as if it's a medical condition.
‘hubris.’ There is a website called the Daedalus Trust. Daedalus and his son Icaraus are Greek mythological characters. Icarus flew very close to the Sun with the
Some of them are: • A messianic way of talking and a tendency to exaltation in speech and manner.
wings given by his father and got himself burnt. The website of the Daedalus Trust has now become
• A tendency to allow their ‘broad vision,’
thehubrishub.com. Daedalus Trust was started by Lord
especially their conviction about the moral
David Cohen, who is a psychiatrist by profession and
rectitude of a proposed course of action, to
who became the British government's foreign secretary.
obviate the need to consider other aspects of
He describes hubris not as a sort of an arrogant state
it, such as its practicality, cost and the
of mind but as a medical condition. What is hubris? The
possibility of unwanted outcomes.
simplest definition is dangerous overconfidence. The word has additional nuance complexities. It is an
Ask yourself in small groups: Do you go out and talk? Do you become progressively isolated?
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How open is your cabin? How open are you to
complications. If you permit me, I suggest the following
meeting people and seeking feedback, either directly
things...” Now, think of the team leader sitting in the
or indirectly? How often do you cross check yourself
chair. Everybody else has said that your idea is
with others’ point of view? These are all the ways of
fantastic. And one person stands up and says that it
finding out if you are isolating yourself or keeping
could be problematic. Listening to such a message is
yourself open to others’ influences.
not easy either. Your body doesn't accept that. We are hard coded for conformity and to receive only
Leadership from Thirukural
affirmative messages. So that is why I said, you have to
Three couplets from the Tamil poetry ‘Thirukural’
have self-awareness. You have to go out of your way to
all convey the same meaning and they are very apt
encourage people to speak up in meetings and to be
leadership lessons.
able to receive such words.
• Somebody who is capable of surrounding himself with people who are better than himself (or herself), will be more powerful
The final denouement • The leader must be good at decision making under uncertainty and taking responsibility
than anybody else. If you have confidence in yourself, you will then surround yourself with people who are better than yourself. That gives you the greatest power. • If you are surrounded by people who can
for failures. • Manage by exception. Don't sweat the small stuff. Don't get into too much of details. • Do not be the only person who makes all the calls. Let others make the calls, make
actually poke criticism at you, you can't be destroyed. • If you don't have such people (who can poke
mistakes and learn. • Empower and let good people get on with it. It creates a sense of ownership in the people
criticism at you) around you, you don't need
towards the common cause.
external enemies. You are your own enemy.
Make yourself dispensable in all this. When we say
This is the converse of the second one. You need to have Devil's Advocates. You need to have somebody who can point out to you what you're doing is wrong. Even among friends, you must have somebody who can talk to you and point out your wrongs. But these are not easy to do. Try speaking up in a room with everybody saying one point of view and
attribute success to others and failure to yourself, also, remember to attribute success to luck. We all attribute failures to bad luck, but we never attribute success to good luck. Chance plays a very important role in all of our lives. That's why we often say, ‘Success has many parents; failure is an orphan.’
you want to share a different point of view. Your body
To sum up, the traits of successful leaders are:
will resist. Because, we are social animals. We seek
self-awareness, commitment to a cause, personal
conformity. We want to belong to a group in a meeting.
humility, professional will and an ability to leave behind
Similarly, imagine if somebody stands up and says, in
an enduring cultural organization, eventually making
front of others, “Sir, the action that you're proposing
yourself dispensable.
may not work well.
It has got the following BUSINESS MANDATE
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MMA in partnership with KAS organised a Start‐up Series event on “Chai Kings ‐ Rising from the Ashes!” Mr V Shankar, Founder CAMS & Director, ACSYS Investments Pvt Ltd., was in conversa‐ tion with Mr Jahabar Sadique, Co‐Founder & CEO, Chai Kings.
S
hankar: As with every other techie, you started your
We started off with a lot of franchisee businesses.
life coding but very soon moved to the business side
A good thing about that was we learned a lot of things.
and shortly became an entrepreneur. Chai Kings is, I
If we had started the brand at that point, we might have
guess, your fourth or fifth iteration at entrepreneurship. You
failed. We had such big brands like Toni and Guy, Green
have over 50 outlets now and are rapidly aiming to reach
Trends and Subway—all of them taught us how to run
100 outlets. What drove you from a steady salary, no
a business. They all had the frameworks done. We did
surprises sort of job into entrepreneurship? What were the
that for about four years. That gave us confidence to
first challenges you faced?
start our own brand.
Jahabar: We moved from a regular working job to
When we decided to do our own brand Chai Kings,
entrepreneurship for very silly reasons. We—my partner
the initial issues that we had were never anticipated by
Balaji and I—were working together almost for about
us. For instance, nobody was willing to let their places
12 years. Every now and then there was a little bit of
on rent for us. We went neatly dressed, travelled in nice
discussion about starting something of our own, though
cars and told them, “We are going to open a chai shop.”
we had zero knowledge about what business and
It didn't sync with them.
entrepreneurship were all about. We wanted to get away from the mundane job of doing the same thing day in and out. We thought if we could start a business, we could take our vacations whenever we wanted and be our own boss. Such sort of silly things drove us towards entrepreneurship!
The kind of jobs and profile we had and our aspiration to start a tea shop did not go hand in hand. That was a huge disconnect initially. We had to convince them that it would really go well. We would tell them our blueprint and how the shops would be five years down the line. That was early days, till we
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had 10 to 12 outlets. Now we get calls all over.
to give a Starbucks kind of an environment or give them
Wherever there is a small 400, 500 square feet shop,
a hundred Chai options to choose from, if we didn’t do
people think of us and ask if we want to rent that space
all that and keep it simple for the customer, then it
to start Chai Kings there.
could always work. Since we had plans to go outside Chennai, Chai was our preferred name.
How did the thought of Chai Kings occur to you? How did you address the customer perception of serving tea in more stylish way?
We opened four stores at a stretch in three months. Balaji and I were always in the stores. Whoever walked into the store would always say that they also had this idea to start a similar shop. I think people were very
Before Chai Kings, we thought we could do a small,
hesitant about starting a tea shop because of social
non-vegetarian restaurant. That's how we started. Since
reasons or maybe they thought that it might not work
a restaurant would be capital intensive, we thought of
out because people sell tea at Rs 8 in local tea shops
starting a coffee shop and our discussions led to chai
and that it might not work out economically, and that
shop. Once we decided to go for chai, for one and half
if it is priced at Rs 50 like in Starbucks, then it will not
years, we did a market study.
be a mass product.
To our surprise, there were a lot of brands up north
So positioning the product was the difficult thing
and a lot of brands outside India as well. We knew what
maybe for the first time entrepreneurs. Since we there
would work in Chennai. All our discussions led us to
in the market, we were able to figure out that this might
believe that if we could position the product at the right
work. That made us come up with the product.
price, give them the right ambience, not overdoing it 22
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What was the initial customer reaction? Were they happy with it or thrilled? When did you decide on scaling up?
The initial customer reactions were very, very promising, but then there was very less walk-ins into
Five years back, people were not really able to relate the
the shops, predominantly because people were not able
name Chai King to a tea shop.
to relate to the shop and the product. We've always seen tea shops with a boiler outside, a guy standing
Then Swiggy and Zomato
and making tea. We gave a small space for customers
happened.
to walk in and there is a counter for billing and a counter to collect the tea. The kitchen is not visible to the customer. Five years back, people were not really able to relate the name Chai King to a tea shop. Then Swiggy and Zomato happened. In 2016, they moved into Chennai
of that was completely new to us. Yet, even before we
and we already had our cardboard flask ready. It helped
started, we knew this was the route we'd go as we've
us to take the product to about 10 km surrounding our
seen other companies take this road. Franchising or
shops. It also gave us the confidence that this was going
debt option was not a viable option to scale. We knew
to work.
we had to have a working model and a working product in hand. We did six outlets in total. Before that, I met
Three months down the line, the product received very good feedback. Nobody was complaining. There were repeated walk-ins. We almost knew all the customers coming into our shop. We had to figure out how the financials would work. From there to now, the numbers have multiplied.
a couple of investors to see what kind of questions they would ask me. All of them were small time investors. I just met them to figure out their mentality. One of my friends who's into fundraising introduced me to a person called Piyush in Chennai Angels. I met him sometime in November 2017. He liked the product and
Even before we started, we allocated some funds
the brand. He put me on to Chennai Angels. I sent the
for this venture. We put aside some amount and were
pitch deck and presented to Chennai Angels by end of
determined to make it work. We couldn't afford to lose
2017. The room was full of guys between 40 and 50
our complete life savings.
plus. All of them were entrepreneurs and who have seen it all. I was scared. I pitched for about 15 to 20 minutes. There were questions for about 10 to 15
Let's move to 2018 when you decided that you needed some
minutes. Very simple questions and to the point. I
fresh capital and you decided to pitch to angel investors.
answered them and went out. There were two or three
Tell me about the pitch process. How did you convince
pitches that day. I was waiting outside. One gentleman
them?
came out and said that my presentation went really well
Venture funding, angel investors and valuation—All
and there was a lot of interesting discussion. That person is none other than you, Shankar! I knew about
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23 FEB 2022
The customer behavior was the most encouraging part for us
We had funds in the account at the start of lockdown, as we had raised funds by end of 2019 to do a total of 55 outlets. We had done only 45 and we had
during Covid. When the
some money in the bank. So finance was not a concern
authorities allowed the
at that point, but then we knew that growth was going
takeaways, we could see huge
to be shunted for at least about a year. And if we didn't
walk‐ins to the shops. That was
take any drastic measures, we might lose all the money
a big morale booster for us.
in the bank. We had to do a lot of cost-cutting measures in terms of manpower, food costs and pricing. We also wanted to raise some more money from
you only after enquiring with others! I went back home. They came back and told us they liked the product. We asked for 1.5 Cr but it got over subscribed to 2.1 crores. Valuation and all that were discussed later but we were really happy with the way the entire process happened.
Chennai Angels. So we went back and told them of our requirement and we could raise one round of 1.6 crores, so that we were safe at least for another one and half years, even if the lockdown continued for a prolonged period. Everywhere, people were running away, going back home. We did not sack our people because once things opened up, it would be difficult to go and hire anybody. We need people who are trained
From 2018 to 2020, things were humming along. You had money in the bank and were adding stores. Then the entire
with us. Up to 60% of our kitchen staff are from North East,
country came to a halt on March 24th. Tell us what went
mainly Assam. Another 40 to 50% are local staff who
through your head when that announcement of lockdown
manage the counters. During the lockdown, most of
came on TV.
the locals went home but those from North East stayed
Complete chaos. Just before the lockdown came, we opened three stores at a stretch in Coimbatore. We came to Chennai and the next day was the lockdown. We didn't know what to do. We left everything and made sure that everybody was safe. Even after three weeks down the line, nothing was very clear.
with us. We have given quarters to our staff. Even before Covid, we ran a culture that people will be taken care of by the company. We just had to make sure they were all safe and didn't get Covid. The customer behavior was the most encouraging part for us during Covid. When the authorities allowed the takeaways, we could see huge walk-ins to the shops. That was a big morale booster for us.
Tell us first about the period from April to September 2020. How did it impact your finances and how did you organize the finances? How did it impact the morale of the team? How
Did the hygiene factor become important at that point
did you keep them going? Lastly, how was the customer
relative to normal chai shop?
behavior? 24
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There is a little bit of infighting
between Swiggy and Zomato but then, they have their own market shares. We also have a market share and we have become slightly bigger now. So it has evened out. It is working out for us and for them too.
There's only one change we did. Majority of them
evening 4 and 7. With Zomato and Swiggy, we do
liked the glass cup that we served. We had to stop that
between 100 and 150 orders a day. When we started
as sharing cup could be contagious, if it was not
off in 2016, it took us time to understand the model.
cleaned properly. Apart from that, we put all safety and
We were getting orders. Money was coming in but it
hygiene measures in place. By July-August, we could
was going out as well. We had to really work out what
see more customers. They preferred us because they
the pricing had to be, because there was a huge amount
thought we were more hygienic.
of 25% going out as aggregator fee. Then there is discount that we have to offer on the
How did you manage the online part of your business and the costs associated with the platform and the unit
platform to attract customers. Our online and offline pricing are completely different. Our online pricing is slightly hiked but we also need to make sure that we
economics of that segment?
don't really hike it up so much that we scare away the
Online aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato are
customer. So that was the difficult part. Once we got
definitely an advantage for companies like us. For well-
that cracked and figured out the food costs, the
established brands like Saravana Bhavan, it may not be
discount that we could offer and aggregator fee, then
a big plus. For us, only because of them, in the initial
this model really worked wonders for us. Our 50% of
days we became popular faster. Otherwise, it would
revenue
have taken much more time. Initially we started out
approximately about 1.5 crores a month from Swiggy
with a few delivery staff in our outlets but we could do
and Zomato. That is a big number for any business. We
a maximum of about 15 deliveries each, between
really had to work hard for that.
BUSINESS MANDATE
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from
online
orders.
We
get
25 FEB 2022
But there are brands that struggle without a store and having only a cloud kitchen.
A lot of other factors also helped us because when we came in, there was nobody else in the market who
They're struggling very badly to
could give them hundred orders per store. So that
generate orders. It's not
meant there was a stiff competition between Zomato,
working out for everybody.
Swiggy and Uber. Now, Uber is gone. There is a little bit of infighting between Swiggy and Zomato but then, they have their own market shares. We also have a
completely co-exist. We cannot bet on one and lose the
market share and we have become slightly bigger now.
other.
So it has evened out. It is working out for us and for them too. Will on-premise dining be preferred for specialty restaurants like Thai restaurant or Mexican restaurant? For restaurant chains that want to expand, is cloud kitchen the way
Can you explain to people what a cloud kitchen is?
Everything is same with a cloud kitchen. We will
forward?
prepare the product and send it the customer either as
Everyone have got their own strategy. For example,
takeaways or online orders. A customer cannot walk in
there is Rebel Foods, which has got about 10 brands
and have tea or coffee in the shop. It's just a kitchen,
with them. They don't have a single store. It is working
a small shop. We normally take a first floor property
wonders for them and they are able to generate
where the customer wouldn't walk in. We just dispatch
revenue, but they are heavily funded as well. But there
online orders from that. With cloud kitchen, we cut
are brands that struggle without a store and having
down our investment by about 60 to 70% and just do
only a cloud kitchen. They're struggling very badly to
the kitchen part. We don't do the customer area, nor
generate orders. It's not working out for everybody.
the interiors, seating or furniture. All of that is
Whoever can get the balance of both online and offline
completely removed. Your investment is safe and you
worlds will really click.
almost get about 50% of the business through the online platforms. What is your short message for entrepreneurs?
In the field of entertainment, OTT and home theatres have sort of become mainstream. People are happy with that. What is going to be the balance between online delivery and on-premise dining?
You need to have a really good support system. My partner is my pillar of strength. It's good to have someone to talk to, to understand, to reflect what you think about, discuss things and take it forward. For some people, the support system is the family. For
Online platforms are going to be there and they're
some, it is their partners and for some, it's their
going to only grow from here. In our shops, I can
investors. You can't build the support system during a
accommodate only about 150 customers between 4 and
difficult time. You have to build it along, even as you
7 pm, by rotation. Both online and offline can
build your business from scratch.
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BUSINESS MANDATE
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27 FEB 2022
Does leadership affect a company's performance? K.Kumar, Partner & Industries Leader, Deloitte, shares insights from Deloitte's study on the significance of the CEO’s role in influencing company performance. Deloitte conducted a study of a select few Nifty 50 companies ﴾as listed on June 2021﴿ that experienced CEO transitions over the past 1.5 decades since 2005.
E
very
organization
leadership
not quite fit in, like public sector companies that do
transitions in its lifetime, each of which can
not have the same objectives as private CEOs have. We
have
also had one or two companies that did not have CEO
far-reaching
undergoes implications
for
the
company’s business and financial performance. Deloitte
changes at all. We eliminated that.
researched select few Nifty 50 companies that experienced CEO transitions over the past 15 years to understand just how significant a relationship between leadership change and company performance is and what sets the outperforming leaders apart. The research indicated the vital role boards play in selecting the right candidate, managing the change, and laying the groundwork for new leaders.
We also looked at CEO tenure of at least three years. The hypothesis that we had was that it takes three years for a CEO to demonstrate performance. After we eliminated all of that, we had 49 CEO transitions and 25 companies fitted into our definition. We
broadly
broke
them
into
services
manufacturing. In Services, we included everything
We researched Nifty 50 companies for the period from 2005 to 2020. We deliberately stopped it before
When we drilled down further,
the pandemic as everything changed with the pandemic
we were able to see that 80% of
setting in. The study did not require us to have this
the CEO transitions were in
year's data but the track record of companies and CEOs
some sense planned. Therefore,
over longer periods of time. Therefore, stopping at 2020 was not a big issue for us.
28
companies, by and large, had time for succession.
We also looked at eliminating companies that did
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and
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from Banks to IT services to Telecom and, in manufacturing, everything from consumer business to chemicals and so on. CEO transitions that took place in the last 15 years
observation was the top
happened due to the below four main reasons:
companies in India seems to
• CEO Retired / Contract expired (43%)
place a lot of premium on
• Resignation / Removed (20%)
experience and age profile.
• Transferred / Promoted (23%) • Promoter
stepped
down
and
One very interesting
brought
a
professional CEO (14%)
In our entire sample set of 49 CEOs, there were only three women CEOs, indicating the need for diversity and inclusion. That should concern us and we have to do something about that. When we drilled down further, we were able to see that 80% of the CEO transitions were in some sense planned. Therefore, companies, by and large, had time for succession.
if there was a causal effect. This is a topic we'll pick up another time.
Age and Experience Matter One very interesting observation was the top companies in India seems to place a lot of premium on experience and age profile. (See Fig 9 of the report) The median age of new CEO in the manufacturing industries
Global Events
is about 56 years and of service CEOs is about 49 years.
There seems to be a tendency to have CEO transitions
immediately
after
global
events—for
example, in 2009 on the back of the global financial crisis; in 2013, when we saw the taper tantrum and, in 2016, the election noise that came out of the US, Brexit and so on. We did not try and take those events to see
This is India specific and sort of counterintuitive. This is not happening around the world. We somehow think that youngsters are becoming CEOs. It's probably not the case in India. Parag Agarwal would not have made it to the CEO had he looked for a job. He wisely stayed with his company and made it big.
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Two relatively young individuals who are 40 to 44 that made it to the CEOs were not from service companies but from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies.
Two, it reflects in the performance of the company, the quality of governance and their ability to set expectations. Since we compared companies across multiple sectors, we did not just look at the percentage increase
Tenure
in stock prices. We took four measures of performance:
We also looked at how much tenures the companies
1. Relative to Respective Index: An increase in
give their CEOs. About 50% of the CEOs have less than
stock prices is always going to be measured
five years. If you add CEOs who have had much shorter
with reference to the industry index. You can
tenures, it's almost 61- 62 percent, where the tenure is
have a banking company growing at 12% in
about five years or far less. In fact, this is being skewed
premium. But if the banking index is growing
a little bit by banking, which gives fairly long innings
at
to their CEOs. IT gives the shortest tenures. One can
underperforming. But a chemical company
understand manufacturing CEO tenures are short
growing at 6% would be an outperformer if
simply because they get into their jobs when they are
the relative index is growing at 5%.
near 56. (See Fig 6 of the report)
13%,
they
would
be
seen
as
2.By what percentage is the incumbent CEO
We left the demographics out of the way. Let us
performing better? We can have a CEO who is
now look at how the CEOs performed. We looked at
performing very well, but I would call him an
stock performance as the indicator of performance for
outperformer if he or she is able to perform
two reasons. One, everybody understands this and it is
better than his predecessor. So by what
fairly transparent, at least for the Nifty 50 companies.
percentage is the incumbent CEO performing
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What also came out as a bit of a shock was that 80% of the time, a CEO who succeeded one who was sacked or who resigned, ended up being a laggard or a modest performer.
better than the predecessor was the second parameter that we tried to track.
Modest performers do not necessarily erode value. They add some premium but, in comparison with the
3.Premium over the Index: How much of
first two categories, they were not generating that kind
premium am I able to deliver over and above
of a premium growth. That's really why we ended up
the index? If the index is at 10%, if I am able to
having four groups of CEOs.
deliver a premium of 40%, I would be considered a better performer than someone who delivers only a 10% -12% premium over the index.
delivering the premium? We did not want a situation where a CEO performs and delivers high premium in year one and nothing in year two, average in year three and so on. We eliminated that concentration bias by adding a weight to consistency in performance.
laggards. They underperformed the index or the predecessor or they were not able to consistently perform or they were not able to add sufficient premium. Leaving out laggards, the others were able to build a premium from something like -0.67 to close to 12% but if you look at the high performer and stalwart
Four Clusters of CEOs
groups, they were able to build a performance of up to
We ended up getting four clusters and called them: • Stalwart CEOs or really high performing CEOs
• Laggard CEOs
tended to be high performers or stalwarts. They were rest. Roughly half of them, 45 percent of the CEOs were
The last measure was how consistently am I
• Modest performing CEOs
Out of the 49 CEOs that we looked at, 12 of them able to add significant amount of performance over the
Consistency
• High performer CEOs
How did they look like? (See Fig 8 of the report).
22%, which is roughly twice that of what the average peer group is able to do. Therefore, you can have a situation where irrespective of the industry, you can have CEOs performing at much higher levels than their peer group.
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High‐performing CEOs tend to peak much later in their careers. Stalwarts tend to peak in 4.6 years and they tend to grow their share price for 4.8 eight years.
That is an important lesson. We broke this down even
performers 3.5 years. 84% of the CEOs came from
further to see what causes high performance with the
within the organisation. All the stalwarts came from
CEOs.
within. This is not to suggest that outsiders cannot be successful CEOs but it's an interesting fact. Should
Shocking Reality
CEOs come from within or without, should they be aged
What also came out as a bit of a shock was that 80% of the time, a CEO who succeeded one who was sacked or who resigned, ended up being a laggard or a modest
or young are contentious topics.
How Do They Peak?
performer. It was funny and therefore, we started
High-performing CEOs tend to peak much later in
looking at what role did the company and the board
their careers. Stalwarts tend to peak in 4.6 years and
have in setting up these CEOs for success.
they tend to grow their share price for 4.8 eight years.
We had about 12 high performers or outperformers who can substantially better the industry and peer group in terms of the premium and the shareholder reward that they can generate. It is interesting that high performers tended to be of a slightly older age profile.
It's not as if they did not perform better than the peer group. In the beginning, they were performing better than the peer group in any case, but they continue to perform at a much higher level, for a much longer time. Their tenure tended to be about six years or so.
I have nothing against young or old and I'm not
Out of the six years, for about five years, they tend
suggesting that this is how we should do things in the
to have increasingly high performance, on a year-on-
future. We seem to have a tendency to look at slightly
year basis, which is fantastic. If you look at the
more experienced ones, like the older people.
laggards, they tend to peak in six months’ time. They
The other thing that we noticed was that high performers tend to have a much longer tenure. Stalwarts tend to be CEOs for 6.5 years and modest 32
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come in and outperform the industry. Even if they underperform, that underperformance peaks in six months’ time after which, they either flat out or get
BUSINESS MANDATE
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into decline. The modest performers tend to peak out
succeeding CEO. What we found out was the succeeding
in two years and they are able to increase share prices
CEOs or the new CEOs are able to do two things. One,
for about a year and eight months or so, whereas the
they not only focus on internal efficiencies and cost
laggards are able to increase their share prices for 2.6
cutting and things like that. They are able to, even in
years. Boards get impatient when share prices do not
the first year, focus on things like premiumisation.
increase.
They are able to think about scale, market growth and
The CEO being an outstanding performer has a huge impact for the shareholders because they not only outperform but outperform for long periods of time, increasing shareholder value.
overseas expansion. So, not being single dimensional, but being able to address both internal efficiencies and external market customers is a big advantage. The second thing which came out very clearly was that many of the topics that we saw in the previous
Differentiators
CEO's tenure and the new CEO's tenure happened to be
What differentiates between the outperforming
common, which means the successful CEOs are able to
CEOs and others? We looked at the management
take forward some of the best things that worked with
discussions of the stalwart companies and the high
the previous CEO.
performing companies to see if there are consistent messages coming out in the management discussions during the previous CEO's tenure and the succeeding CEO's tenure, particularly with reference to the
There is a tendency of some CEOs to come and sweep the table clean and then bring in new ideas, whereas the best performing CEOs are able to identify and take forward what worked in the past. In that
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33 FEB 2022
sense, they are able to hit the ground running. There is
you can have a CEO peaking in five years or
tremendous amount of continuity and the fact that
towards the end of the tenure. It becomes the
many of them also happen to be insiders seem to help
job of the board to ensure that they set clear
this. It tells us that good CEOs do not require a lot of
time frames and performance expectations to
startup time.
the CEO. You can pressurize the CEO to perform in a very short time. He or she will
They are not overly focused on the margins. They
probably do that; but you probably are in
are able to look at leveraging return on equity and
danger of being left with a laggard, who will
marketplace performance. It is not just a P&L
never be able to perform on a growing basis,
performance that they focus on, but also on the broader
over the rest of his or her tenure. Therefore
health of the balance sheet.
how the board is able to set the CEO for
Takeaways for the Boards
success is very important in ensuring smooth transition or building a strong pipeline.
• Look at how strong your leadership is. It is not just identifying an individual. How are you
• The amount of premium that companies were
preparing this individual to be a successful
able to build when they had more than two
CEO? Many boards do not think of this as
CEO transitions was half of the premium that
their primary task but we recently presented
the companies were able to build when they
this to a bunch of very senior independent
had only two transitions. Therefore, even a
directors and chairs of boards. They said that
single extra CEO transition brings down your
they consider being responsible for the
ability
leadership pipeline is the most important
Therefore the submission to the boards would
thing in their world. If you do not have a
be: don't get trigger-happy. Give the CEO the
process of developing your future leaders,
opportunity, set the right expectations and
then you are making a big mistake.
right time frames. The more frequent changes
to
build
marketplace
you make, the lesser is their ability to
• People do not well understand how boards can
generate shareholder value.
help CEOs transition into their roles very smoothly, particularly when you have CEOs
• It seems like the CEO transitions peak when
who come from outside. The best CEOs are
there is a global event. The boards must
able to win because they are able to ensure
ensure that these events are factored into the
continuity of strategies and policies. If you do
performance expectations of CEOs.
not, as a board, help CEOs transition, help
• Finally, the picture of women CEOs is very
him or her with understanding of what has
bleak. We see only 3 out of 49 as women CEOs
worked well in the past and not allow things
even in top 50 Nifty companies. Boards must
to change every three years in an abrupt
work seriously to change this scenario to
fashion, then you can have a CEO who can
ensure diversity and inclusion.
deliver high value to the shareholders. • You can have a CEO peaking in six months or 34
FEB 2022
premium.
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35 FEB 2022
Business transformation of the innovation ecosystem is not only inevitable but also a highly complex and uncertain process. The way to facilitate transformation with policies has become a topic of common concern for academia and policymakers.
W
e need public policy to ensure stability. We
sufficient to meet the man's needs or desire. That's the
need public policy if we want to change or
power of exponential and that's what we see now. This
transform. We need public policy to adapt
is apart from the Covid effect, which businesses and
or react to change. In all these three situations, public
commerce are facing. We will continue to be in a world
policy becomes very critical; its absence or a wrong
that is volatile, uncertain, ambiguous and fast-changing
public policy can lead to disaster as we have seen in
exponentially. Forget about differences in generations.
many instances. It is an understatement to say that we
That's the pace of change and development happening.
are in a world that is transforming exponentially on all
In his book, ‘The Law of Accelerating Returns,’ Ray
fronts. A simple illustration of ‘exponential’ is the story
Kurzweil did the math and found that we are going to
of the chessboard that may you recall.
experience 20,000 years of technological change over
The man who designed the chessboard presented it to the king. The king saw it and was so impressed that he said, “Ask what you want.”
the next 100 years.
Built for stability, not disruption Our biggest companies and government agencies
The man said, “I only require one grain of rice on
were designed for another century for purposes of
the first square of the chessboard; twice that on the
safety and stability—built to last as the saying goes.
second square, twice that on the third and so on.” The
They were built to withstand rapid radical change but
king said, “Oh, is that all what you want?” He ordered
not the exponential change, which we are seeing today.
that to be fulfilled, not realizing that when you double
That is why, according to Yale’s Richard Foster, 40% of
64 times, you will reach a fancy figure of one
today's Fortune 500 companies will be gone in 10 years,
quintillion. The entire granary in the kingdom was not
replaced by the most part by big upstarts who are not
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heard of before. This is true of regulations and public
one doesn't introspect. One must identify the trends
policy too. Their shelf life is significantly limited and
and patterns and all that is happening around. What is
will soon become outdated. These need to be
gradual today can become exponential tomorrow but
contemporary. A leading author predicted that in 10
the most important thing is determining the elements
years from now, you may perhaps need a license to
which contribute to the success today. Why am I
possess a human operated car. During my younger
successful? Why is my business successful? Why is my
days, we needed a license for a radio and a transistor;
profession successful? Why am I wanted? Why are we
for a bicycle and a bullock cart. That was the policy in
in existence? What are those elements which contribute
those days. As things changed, today you don't need a
to your success today? That is the analysis which often
license for a mobile or any other wireless gadget.
people fail to do.
If you look at the graveyards of companies, there
The next step is to evaluate if those elements will
you will find all those businesses which did not
continue in future. We need to apply the same test for
recognize and adapt to change; those businesses that
all the regulations and public policies. Will this continue
did not read the tea leaves or smell the coffee brewing
in future? If not, what does it mean for your
and which did not adjust their sails to the wind. This
businesses? The corporate strategy work is not just
is true of professions too.
about improving profits. It's about understanding the tea leaves; looking at what elements contributed to the
Introspect and evaluate
success. Particularly, those businesses which are
My first message to businesses is to introspect,
exposed to or impacted, whether favourably or
which they often don't do. When things are going well,
unfavourably by regulations need to focus even more
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on public policy and ask: Will this be forever? What are those changes which are likely to happen? What are the
I remember the time—before
changes which should happen? Businesses need to
the Narasimha Rao government
identify who their competitor is. For Toyota, it is not
came in the 90s—when you had
General Motors. It may be Tesla or Google.
to import goods and services using an import license. The
End of exclusivity era
business that thrived in those
If you are in a space where you are exclusive
days were canalising agencies.
—whether as a profession or a business—like a
When regulations got
chartered accountant who is the only person authorized
dismantled, those businesses
to audit or somebody else who is the only person
disappeared completely.
authorized to represent before tax authorities or a particular business which is the only business licensed to do a certain thing, remember that those businesses and professions are under threat. You have to realize
disrupted. It required a revisiting and reshaping of
that exclusivity cannot continue forever. It is equally important that regulated businesses which are protected are also highly vulnerable. I remember the time—before the Narasimha Rao government came in the 90s—when you had to import goods and services using an import license. The business that thrived in those days were canalising agencies. When regulations got dismantled, those businesses disappeared completely.
looking
and that it is a law which is cast in stone. We have seen what has happened in the farmers' agitation recently.
Not a mere buzz word The second important thing is the fourth industrial revolution. It is a congruence of the physical world, the revolutionizing businesses. It's revolutionizing the
This is what I mean by evaluating the current and
proceed on the basis that a particular law has come in
digital world and the biological world and it is
Not cast in stone systems
public policy. This can happen to anything. Don't
at
everything,
including
regulations and public policy around us. Let us look at some of the areas where public policy plays a key role
world. Everybody will be impacted by it. No profession is exempt from it. But what is happening is that the change is so rapid that the society's systems and laws are not keeping pace with it.
and will continue to play a key role. Take the first one,
That is where public policy plays a key role. We
which is about trade agreements—the economic
suddenly saw the Ubers and Olas coming in. The yellow
boundaries. You would recall that when Donald Trump
and black taxi drivers started waking up. Everybody
came in, overnight he started dismantling trade
started waking up and pressed for regulations around
agreements, reneging on all the trade agreements. That
the drivers and pricing mechanisms. This is a classic
means that all those who were relying on those
example of a business model which arose first and then
agreements as being cast in stone were suddenly
the society started waking up to say that they need
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policy initiatives that are required? Look at education.
The question in all of these is, will you be reactive? Will you be proactive? Do you need focus on public policy? What are the
The other day Byju’s announced that they would raise 4 billion. What does it mean? What happens to the brick-and-mortar schools? What happens to the education policy? What changes are required in the way
areas that you need to focus?
online education is to be conducted? Do we need
How do you shape public
regulations
policy? How do you shape
Cryptocurrency is being widely discussed today. These
regulations?
are just some illustrations.
and
public
policy
initiatives?
The three who can shape it Public policy can be shaped by three sets of people public policy and regulatory changes. The question is
—the Government; the businesses; and the users or
—shouldn't we be looking at all of these, including the
those who are impacted. Advocacy and shaping of
impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution, climate change,
public policy has become a key agenda item for
ESG and diversity? These will not only transform our
businesses.
businesses but we will also have public policy that will impact the businesses.
Let's look at some of the businesses which have been impacted very recently by a lot of these changes.
We need to have public policies in the areas of
NBFCs
were
suddenly
impacted
by
RBI’s
new
autonomous vehicles, labour laws, non-tariff barriers
regulations in terms of how provisioning should be
which are coming up and alternate dispute resolution
done, particularly in the case of restructured loans. For
(ADR). Our courts are clogged and increasingly, there
RTPs (Related party transactions), SEBI has come up
is a talk of alternative dispute resolution. We need
with a document and a new set of rules. Corporates
public policy mandating ADR so that we can de-clog
are grappling with it. The question in all of these is, will
the judicial system. Businesses have started looking at
you be reactive? Will you be proactive? Do you need
their contracts to see if alternate dispute resolution
focus on public policy? What are the areas that you
with a conciliation or arbitration clause can be built
need to focus? How do you shape public policy? How
into their contracts rather than pursuing a protracted
do you shape regulations? For more than a decade,
litigation. New business models are coming up like the
telecom companies were battling the interpretation of
emergence of Ola, Uber and AirBnB. With the growth
a regulation on spectrum charges. Finally, all of them
of the technology companies like Google or Facebook,
had to cough up thousands of crores of rupees. Had
the world is now waking up and realizing the power
they worked on public policy initiatives in terms of
which they have over all of us, especially with the data
getting the definitions upright or right upfront, perhaps
they possess. There is talk of antitrust rules and if they
the pain would have been considerably lesser. The same
should they be allowed to continue in the same way.
situation will be faced by automobile companies in terms of pollution or the electric vehicle policy. Credit
With increasing cybersecurity threats, what are the
card companies were suddenly disrupted when RBI
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came down heavily and barred them from issuing new
with the 2013 bill, which became an act. At least, there
credit cards because they had not complied with certain
was a lot of debate and there have been numerous
requirements.
amendments thereafter.
Overnight,
their
businesses
were
disrupted.
Nail the root cause
Drive the agenda
The point is, if you have to shape public policy and
So to conclude, businesses should drive this
are able to shape regulations appropriately, you need
agenda. And how should they drive this? First, they
to first identify what the problem is. See what change
should have a responsible person or a department
is required and why it is required. The second most
which continuously monitors the developments and
important thing to do is a root cause analysis. Often,
prepares the roadmap for action. In your business, if
we think of a particular remedy which is, more often
you do not have a person in charge of public policy or
than not, wrong because we haven't done a root cause
regulation, you will be history soon because you'll only
analysis of the problem. Third, identify potential
be reactive and not proactive. The second is, businesses
solutions and determine the right solution. The fourth
and professions should actively work with industry and
is to have a very clear view of the outcome of the
professional bodies as a collective voice.
regulation or public policy. It may be fashionable
The third and most important aspect is that an industry body, business body and professional body must try and have a seat at the table where policy and regulations are shaped. The fourth, identify and connect with influencers. There are many experts in the field who the government and others go to for advice in terms of shaping regulations. Businesses and professions should connect with such influencers.
sometimes to say we need a certain type of voting pattern for independent directors or for related party transactions. But what is the outcome you're seeking to achieve and how? Outcome determination before a public policy or regulation is finalised is, in my view, very critical.
Have futuristic boards Lastly, let me come to the role of the boards. The
Listen to and also use social media and other
boards play a very critical role. I believe the role and
channels to ensure that your voice is heard. Most
the board agenda has to change. It has to change from
importantly, be proactive and not reactive. Whilst we
focussing on the past and performance, to focussing
talk of public policy and regulations, I am passionate
on the future. Boards have to be forward looking. They
that there needs to be a balance. You can't have over-
must see what the future is going to be. How do we
regulation. At the same time, you must ensure there is
prepare or adapt for the future? What enabling
a free market. Today, we are seeing a trend where
legislation is required? What transformation is
regulations are more knee jerk in nature. Regulations
required? What public policy changes are required?
are introduced without doing enough work. Maybe, it is because of a lack of early inputs in shaping the regulations. In the case of Companies Act 2013, there were multiple parliamentary committees, finally ending 40
FEB 2022
As Henry Ford said, "If you continue to do what you are doing, you will continue to get what you are getting."
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The need for an inclusive and diversified culture in an organization is indispensable. In India, the Companies Act 2013 and SEBI regulations mandate the presence of at least one woman on the Board of Directors in certain companies. Many Indian companies have taken only symbolic actions to evade penalty. What are the probable solutions to increase the effectiveness of D & I initiatives? Excerpts from the address by Dr Amarnath Ananthanarayanan in the Special Session on D & I.
T
he role of the board is to provide direction to
aspects as well. 50% to 70% of retail consumer demand
the ship, steady the ship and when issues come
comes from women. If they don't have a place in the
up, it must do course-correction. They don't
board, you will probably never get their perspectives
get into day-to-day operations or set targets. They set
to address your consumers. McKinsey and Grant
the direction and make sure the team achieves it. Why
Thornton studies have shown that companies which
should the board be gender sensitive? Why should there
have women in the board tend to do better than those
be gender diversity? First, obviously to get different
that have all-male managed boards. Credit Suisse
perspectives. Women are sympathetic. There are other
reported that share prices of women-led companies are much higher. Many studies have shown that there is a higher rupee value or dollar value of having women on the board.
There are two aspects: one is
The glass ceiling and glass wall
diversity, which is getting
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The challenges that women face can be categorized
women a seat on the board
into two: the glass ceiling and the glass wall. The glass
table. The other is inclusion,
ceiling is a sort of roof or benchmark beyond which
which is making sure they have
women may not get promoted or move higher in an
a say in the things. Why is there
organization and more so, up to the board level. That
a lack of inclusiveness,
is because of gender stereotypes. We generally have a
especially at the board level?
masculine corporate culture. The glass ceiling is easy to fix by changing our mindset. BUSINESS MANDATE
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The other thing which is not so easy to fix and will
getting women a seat on the board table. The other is
take some time is what is called the glass wall. Women
inclusion, which is making sure they have a say in the
are in senior level positions in organizations; they are
things. Why is there a lack of inclusiveness, especially
pretty much in HR, Finance, Legal or other primarily
at the board level? One is the unconscious bias. There
support functions. But there are exceptions. If they
may be one woman and seven or eight other men in the
have to reach the board level, they need to have a
board who know each other for 20 or 30 years, who
rounded perspective, working across an organization,
would have played golf or tennis together and would
rather than being put in certain functional silos.
have gone to concerts together. They may go out for a party and not include the woman, not because they
Labour to labour
want to exclude the woman but it is natural for them
The other challenge they face is when they return
to go partying. They may have informal chats and close
from labour (maternity) to labour force. This is a fact
some board related matters and the woman may not
of life and you have to face it. What organizations can
be involved. To overcome this unconscious bias,
do is to facilitate with changes like flexible working
training has to be given to make sure that people reach
hours, working from home and a lot of other solutions.
out to women.
Women can't run away from family commitments. My mother was a working mom and the breadwinner when she got married. Once I was born, she called it quits, to take care of me.
The second thing is a more serious and a bigger problem, which is the conscious bias. The regulatory quota may be filled but women board members are deliberately not allowed to speak nor placed in
There are two aspects: one is diversity, which is
important committees. This is where the impact of the
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regulatory controls and legal framework can come in
You may have old‐school and new school thoughts and
to help us out.
conflicts can affect
Quotas
performance. For instance, in Norway, they brought a
The next question is, should there be quotas for women at the board levels? The plus point is, it helps
regulation that 30% of the
women to break the glass ceiling and get a seat in the
board members need to be
board. Once the woman member goes to the board and
women, for listed companies.
performs, it can change perceptions about women, not
Lots of companies delisted or
necessarily within the board but across the boards of
became unlisted companies.
companies, as many of the board members are there in other boards as well. Women as role models can inspire other women to emulate them, just like P V
just happen. Even with quota or reservations, various
Sindhu and Saina Nehwal could do in badminton. If
studies reveal that wage parity across genders and
women are able to get to the top of the board, other
women moving to higher levels in the organization are
women will realise that they too can run the race. It
not really happening. To make quotas sustainable, we
encourages people. It makes them work hard and take
have to make sure that you have proper evaluation and
the extra rigour to succeed.
criteria to ensure that women get on the board on the
What are the flip sides of the quota system? With
basis of their credentials and not just because of being
any quota, the stigma of incompetence can come in and
a woman, more so, from a long-term perspective. In the
others may say, 'You are here because you are a woman;
short term, quotas can help.
it's not that you're good enough to be here.'
D&I: The Indian Scene
The other thing is, there could be splits in the boards which could affect board performance. You may have old-school and new school thoughts and conflicts can affect performance. For instance, in Norway, they
Coming to the Indian scenario, two things were driving D&I and these came rather slowly. One, in 1979, the United Nations held a conference in which it wanted to promote equality for women.
brought a regulation that 30% of the board members need to be women, for listed companies. Lots of companies delisted or became unlisted companies.
Two, the Constitution of India, in 2013 proposed that for certain kinds of companies, there should be a woman board member. In 2015, SEBI ruled that the top
The golden skirt
500 listed companies need to have one woman as an
One more problem which I see slightly in India but
independent director. In 2020, this was increased to
more outside is what is called the golden skirt
cover the top 1000 companies listed on the stock
phenomenon. This refers to a few women who are very
exchange. This is a regulatory thing that happened in
well qualified but they are the ones in all the boards.
India. With nomination or quotas, the change happens
With this, the dispersion or the trickling down does not
slowly. With the requirement of just one woman on the
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board, the critical mass required to make a change happen, is not generated. For example, in Germany, 40%
When it comes to inclusiveness,
of the board members need to be women. While the
the conscious bias prevents
India quota system is a step in the right direction, it
women directors finding their
has not really addressed the problem of the critical
place in important committees
mass.
like the audit committee. No doubt, a woman director on the
Jugaad
board is a good step. Now,
Let's look at the reality. There is something called
there is some positive
as jugaad, which India is very good at. There are huge
movement and we are able to
positives from it. During these times of Covid, jugaad
see some green shoots.
made a huge difference. Also, it has negatives. In India, when the regulation for woman director came, a lot of family members suddenly became board members. Many women on the boards are around 30 years of age.
of the board.
There's nothing wrong in being on a board at 30. A lot of startups are like that. But if you are in a more mature
• Women directors must find a place in
manufacturing industry with a 50-year history and with
important
committees
like
the
audit
other board members with 30 plus years of experience,
committee and remuneration committee. Can
having someone 30 year old is always questionable.
we make sure that one of the members is clearly a woman? There are things that we can
When it comes to inclusiveness, the conscious bias
do from a regulatory perspective to make sure
prevents women directors finding their place in
that women not just get to the board but they
important committees like the audit committee. No doubt, a woman director on the board is a good step.
actually have a say in things. • The glass wall by which people get stuck to
Now, there is some positive movement and we are able
various functionalities needs to be broken. No
to see some green shoots. But again, avoiding
regulator
inclusiveness and the stigma that someone is there on the board just because of regulations are still real in
can
do
this.
People
in
the
organizations must make it happen. • We really need to look at post maternity
India. You can't be a rubber stamp for someone else.
evaluation to see what happens once people come back from maternity.
The potential solutions?
• We have to sensitize employees.
From a legal or regulatory perspective, how can we
• Creating quotas for women drives both the
give more teeth to make that gender diversity and inclusiveness happen?
men and women away from the organization, which is not a positive outcome. We must
• Instead of one person as a woman director, we can specify the requirement as a percentage BUSINESS MANDATE
make sure that women are doing good job and get their due respect.
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45 FEB 2022
The GE way
that people enter at certain levels. We can follow
I have spent a decade or so in GE, which was really good at Diversity and Inclusion. The processes and practices which GE still follow are very good. They had something called GE Women's Network which gives all women an opportunity to get mentored or trained and to prepare themselves for the next role. After I left GE, I was in Bangalore during 2010-11 running an insurance
something similar but it needs to be clear that women get to the board because she is good and not just because of a quota. Normally, many women directors get appointed due to personal acquaintance and contacts and without any real headhunting. We need to move out of that and follow normal HR practices in appointing women directors.
company. GE still called me to one of their annual GE
Finally, apart from regulations, we need to address
Women’s Network and asked me to speak about various
the question of mindset. Unless we are willing to
things that are happening in my organization, so they
change our mindset, nothing is going to change. Instead
can also learn from it. It's a very nice platform to share
of waiting for the targets to be set based on regulations,
best practices and learnings. We have to retool to
organizations need to have voluntary diversity targets.
rescale. There has to be some criteria for women
entering the boards. RBI has a policy for making sure
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MMA‐KAS and WBF ﴾Women Business Forum﴿ organised an online talk by Prof Anuradha Narasimhan, Professor of Practice, DS School of Entrepreneurship. Ms Mythili Chandrasekar, Consumer Behaviour and Brand Strategy Enthusiast chaired the session.
B
randing is what I have always loved doing. It is both an art and a science. It uses both sides of the brain, making one a more holistic person.
brain is not as compartmentalized to do that.
Dismantling the myths
We all have a slightly mistaken impression that career
Branding for me is very simple. It's like branding
growth is a straight, vertical line and the sharper the
applied to Good Day biscuits, Coca-Cola, Facebook,
slope of the line, the better it is. But it cannot be one
Google and all the brands that you know. Why can't
straight line. I plan to have a 40-year career. I think of
the same principles be applied to me? I am a brand. I
career as a journey. Sometimes the slope of the line will
may not be as well-known a brand, but in my circle,
be very sharp, which means that there is growth. At
people know me. People think that personal branding
other times, you will be along the journey.
is like being manipulative and that you will become an
Growth is not defined by somebody else. There are times when you did not get what the world might think of as horizontal growth, which means you did not get a promotion but you might have grown personally. You
Life is not about going from a manager to a managing director or chairperson of the board. That's a vertical journey. But I want to talk about the winding journey that we all take. Our professional and personal lives are intertwined. We cannot separate them. The 48
become images of themselves that they are not. That doesn't work. They also think that personal branding is vanity. They wonder how people can speak about themselves
could have picked up a new hobby.
FEB 2022
image of yourself, which you are not. Brands don't
all the time. But trust me, if you don't think about yourself, how are other people going to think about you? Branding comes with some baggage. But it is not being manipulative and it is not vanity. None of that is true.
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For me, personal branding for career growth is to
Nike doesn't have to tell us what Nike does. That's the
try and become the best version of my own self. I don't
'who am I?' part. As you have your personal journey,
want to be anybody else. I want to be myself and over
you must decide for yourself what you will stand for.
time, I want to be the best version. Branding boils
Over time, everybody who is a recipient of ‘you’ as a
down to two things: Who am I? and Why buy me?
brand will become familiar with it. One of the most admired brands across the world is Coca-Cola. Do
Good Day vs. Nutrichoice
people buy coke because of price or faith or something
'Why buy me?' is a proposition. When I worked for
else? We will never know the answer. In marketing,
Britannia, we launched Nutrichoice biscuits. People
there are multiple right answers. Coke is a beverage
didn't know what it was. So we had to explain to them
that provides refreshment for the body, mind and spirit
that it's a healthy biscuit, good for diabetics; one
better than everybody else does. That's very long hand.
serving of the biscuit is a hundred calories and that it
The shorthand is that Coke tells you that it opens
will help to regulate sugar level as they go through the
happiness and that you can't beat the feeling. It's not
day. But for Good Day biscuits, we didn't have to say
just about the taste. It's about the feeling that you get.
anything. The consumer knows a Good Day or Milk
They have just found different expressions for it. If you
Bikis. The homemakers tell me that if they have guests
ask people why they buy coke, they will not be able to
and if they don't have Good Day, they don't know what
answer. They may say, "I buy it because I like it." This
to do. So they have Good Day at home, all the time.
is an example of how the 'why by me?' has been
At the start of a brand journey, we need to explain what the brand does, like we did for Nutrichoice. Over time, all the values get imbued into the brand itself.
completely forgotten. Just think of some brand that you like in your mind. It doesn't have to be one of the global brands. Most of us use Google, Amazon,
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Microsoft, Facebook or one of the Facebook products
energy that you bring to the table. You can build from
like Instagram or WhatsApp.
who you are." This is just one example of what we want to be known for, versus, how the world recognises us.
Implicit and explicit needs When you start a brand, you talk about the
NeedScope: Personality and archetype
functional benefits- what it does. Then you go to
There is a tool called NeedScope to find out
identity needs. For example, we associate Facebook with
personality and archetype. We have used this in
moms, dads and grandmothers and Instagram with
marketing to build brands. On the right hand side of
young, cool people.
the personality chart (Figure 2), along the horizontal
Then we go to emotional needs, which is what the world rides on. Since I was doing a lot of work on branding, I defined my brand function as, 'Be of Use.' These are my words. They are neither right nor wrong. I want to help people. But the world sees me differently.
axis, we have Individuality and Dominance. On the left hand side, we have Group and Affiliative behavior. On the top of the vertical axis, we have outward directed or extroverted and on the bottom, we have inward directed or introverted.
I've gone through 20 years of my career being called
One thing about this whole chart is that there are
'enthu cutlet.' I kept fighting that for a long time. I told
no good words or bad words. They are just words. An
a manager of mine in my first few years of working that
introvert is as good as an extrovert. Introversion comes
I bring so much more and I'm not just enthusiastic. I
with a lot of benefits. There are people who are
am intelligent, quantitatively inclined, logical, novel and
extroverted and more individualistic than belonging to
all that. But he said, "I do all that and everybody can
a group. That makes them bold and dynamic and
do. What you do differently is the enthusiasm and
equally independent.
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There are people who are
individualistic and introverted. They are focused,
There is nothing negative about networking or personal
competent and controlled. Good Day is about group,
branding. So my first request
affiliative, being together, friendly, open. There are
to you is, believe that you can
brands in the fun loving, carefree, spontaneous space.
be a brand and you can be of
The colours in the chart are chosen and not incidental. If you pick blue, it is about competence and control. If
use in your career and your life.
you look for the Blue Colour in the Archetype chart
So that's the first part.
given in Figure 2, the words suggest that you are an expert and a saint.
networking as a skill and they have used Heidi to
In the red quadrant, which is bold, dynamic and independent, the words are rebel and warrior. I have wanted to be in the blue space, but ended up coming across as either the warrior or the free spirit. That's my personality type or my needs type. So think about yourself. It is very difficult to plot your own self. You will find that you can plot your friend faster than plotting yourself. So pick a word that you relate to most and that's how you would like to be and usually are. Find out what drives you. I'm somewhere between
illustrate the case. I asked her about the negative connotations that people have about networking. She said, "I don't care. I need people and I like to meet people. I walk into a gathering—a party, a professional or personal gathering and decide to make two friends that day. If there are a hundred people, I can't give my attention to all of them. So I will make two people either friends or good acquaintances. I go about and do that."
dynamic and lively. Remember that nothing in life is
That adds to what I said earlier that there is
one single point. You will realize that you are strong.
nothing negative about networking or personal
That strength of yours can extend to being caring. Your
branding. So my first request to you is, believe that
personality type is somewhere going from strong to
you can be a brand and you can be of use in your career
caring. So this is just a tool to understand who you are
and your life. So that's the first part.
and who you would like to be. I must tell you that in my career journey, I'm hugely competitive. It is not that I have chosen the easy part. What I have chosen is where I want to compete. None of this tells you that life is going to be easy. It is not intended to be. The key is what you want to make out of life.
The second part is that there are many tools available. The first tool that we discussed is to understand yourself. Then have conversations. It can be with yourself or with friends. Find out what is it that drives you and your motivators.
Calling a spade, a bloody shovel?
Two friends a day The start to personal branding is belief. I recently interviewed Heidi Roizen, who is one of the biggest networkers. She's a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley today after having run her own tech company for a long time. There's a Harvard Business case study about
The next is to find out your strengths and opportunities. I have spent a long time trying to correct my weaknesses. Once, my manager told me at my annual appraisal, "Anu. It's very good to call a spade, a spade. I'm glad that you are honest about it. But do you
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have to call it a bloody shovel?" I have a way of being
yourself. Everybody else is already taken. That doesn't
aggressive and it is a real thing. I've spent an entire
mean that I can't change myself. It just means that I
lifetime trying to curb my tongue. I realized that when
have to find the reasons why I should change.
I tried to do that, I missed out on volunteering and doing things which I would otherwise be happy doing.
Speak up for yourself
So I came to a conclusion that you can't always be
For any meeting or talk, I do not go unprepared. I
working on your weaknesses. Rather, you should work
have gone into annual appraisals with notebooks. My
more on your strengths.
team members would come in and ask me what I have
I would recommend a wonderful book called, 'First break all the rules,' written by Marcus Buckingham. There's a follow-up book to that called, 'Now Discover Your strengths.' It helps you understand that you can't be always handling weaknesses. Don't start your career only looking at your weaknesses. Look at your strengths and decide what works best for you. Focus on strengths and worry less about others. It can be your own mother, father or your immediate family. When you always think about what others think about you, you never think enough about yourself. You have to change that balance.
Women have been conditioned to think about what others will think of us. I also came to know of the 2040-60 rule. It says that at 20, you care what everyone is thinking about you. At 40, you don't give a damn what people are thinking about you. At 60, you realize that no one is thinking about you. You have to develop language and expressions exactly as brand Good Day or Coke has a certain way of speaking. What is the way that is right for you? The Lodestar what you should focus on is consistency and authenticity. If you have to pick one of the two, it will be authenticity. I maybe a moody person. That's absolutely fine. Think that today is my day to be out and do wonderful stuff. You may not feel like that tomorrow. No problem. You don't have to be consistent. You just have to be authentic. Be 52
head. You need to tell me what you think you have done. What could you have done better than others? Tell me why you did what you did and why you're the best person for this job and therefore, why you need a promotion, an increment or whatever. If you are not going to put forward your case, nobody else is going to do that to you." In life, everything is not black and white. There are 50 shades of grey in between. Be relevant and differentiate yourself. Standing out is more important than blending in, especially at the start of your career.
Branding can’t fix you
The 20‐40‐60 rule
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to tell them. I reply to them, "Don't leave it all in my
The best teams are those that have diverse people. There will be somebody who will be good at numbers and somebody who is good in language. Look at what one brings to the table in every meeting. It doesn't matter whether I'm the most senior person or the most junior person in the meeting. Various people bring in various skills and the best that team leaders can do is to recognize that. Crafting a brand takes time. I'm still discovering myself. Just like advertising can't fix a poor product, personal branding can't fix the flaws in a person. The face that you put out to the world has to be the same person that you are. Be authentic. When everything is aligned, magic happens. My currency for the world is energy and I have discovered my magic from my energy.
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Mythili Chandrasekar: I loved what you said about career,
daughter who just won Miss Universe contest must have had a lot
that it is not a vertical line. Sometimes you're stuck in one
coaching. Any coaching is good as long as it is coaching and not a
place. Sometimes you make a lateral move. Sometimes, you
make‐over because you can't be somebody else, except for a short
take a U-turn.
period of me, just like on camera.
Yes. Some mes it happens because you choose it that way and
Mythili: You have to build on something that's authen c. I have
maybe because circumstances were like that. What is important
learnt that some of this projec on is related to what you want to
is that you must make the most of where you are and plan for
be. For example, at some point in my career, when I was based in
where your next point is going to be.
Chennai and working with clients in other ci es, I told myself that
How did you change your career from CEO of Britannia to teaching entrepreneurship? How did it happen?
clients should know me before I walked into their offices. I started wri ng ar cles and looked for speaking opportuni es. It was hard work. A er three or four years, I got media visibility and it
I was VP—Marke ng in Britannia and I loved my job. The next job
benefi ed me both inside and outside the company. So, all the
was CEO of Britannia. Mentally, I realised that I liked branding
projec on goes back to what are you trying to achieve.
work. I had a team of 30, 40 young people whom I loved mee ng. I didn't want to be standing up in front of board mee ngs and
How can we develop growth mindset?
presen ng growth charts. That was not my cup of tea. What I liked
There are many ways to get to a growth mindset. You can be very
most was hanging out with young people. Of course, I worked
compe
hard for it. I started a PhD and I am ge ng close to finishing it.
is very consumer focused. All that he wanted to do was deliver
The job at IIT came along the way.
the best thing to the consumer. In all the conversa ons about the
Dr Lata Rajagopalan ﴾Member, IAICS﴿: You said that the projected image has to be as close as possible to reality. More than just projecting a personality, should there not be a transformation?
ve, someone like me. I have worked with a person who
brand, it was not about whether ‘A brand’ was be er than ‘B brand’. His concern was: Am I doing my best to my consumer? That is service mentality. You can get growth mindset by being outwardly driven or inwardly driven. The third way of ge ng to a growth mindset is by serving people. That is a wonderful growth
Projec on is important because without projec on, like a tree
mindset that many young people have today. They want to save
that fell in the forest, people wouldn't even know you. It is not
the planet and help each other.
about transforma on. The language by which your skill comes across to everybody is important. It can be visual language too. We now hear from most places in the world about personal PR agents and image managers. What is your opinion of this concept?
How do we attract people? Is it by brand, professionalism, professional acumen or our competency?
I don't want to split hair between professionalism and branding. Professionalism is your branding. You may want to be known as professional. Power to you! I want to be known as the fun person
Anu: Firstly, I am my image manager. If somebody were to teach
in every mee ng. That's my goal.
me this, I don't have a problem. I must sure Ravinder Kaur's BUSINESS MANDATE
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There is nothing negative about networking or personal branding. So my first request to you is, believe that you can be a brand and you can be of use in your career and your life.
In Indian companies, people value hard work more than
and I need to change my outlook. How do I react to this
personal branding. What do you think about it?
situation?
Well. Hard work is your personal branding. But that alone is not
If you are not an introvert and your manager brands you as
sufficient because everyone will be working hard. Think of what
introvert, then you need to speak to him. If you are an introvert,
differen ates you, in addi on to the hard work.
then see how it is coming in the way you work. One common
What are the tools that you used for self-development?
misunderstanding that all of us have is that the best sales people are extroverts. Actually, some of the best sales people are
The first tool I learned was to focus on my strengths and not to
introverts. There are two types of selling ‐ hun ng and farming.
work endlessly on my weaknesses. The second, I evaluate myself
Hunters are the people who go out and get you new accounts.
every year at a personal level. Whatever I have achieved in this
They are o en extroverts. Farmers are the ones who build long‐
world is very important to me. I also want to know how many new
term rela onship and make those same accounts grow bigger and
people I met and influenced this year. Now I am in IIT and I want
bigger. They are introverts.
to be amongst the top 10 rated facul es out of 800 facul es. That's my objec ve. I do targets every year and share with my husband. You can have your goals and share it with your family or friend, as it suits you.
How can we get noticed in a group? How can we share our opinion without irritating others?
If you have a desire to be interes ng, you need experiences to tell
Being intelligent or interesting—which is more important for personal branding?
stories. I've been to all the 29 States of India and I can tell how a Chai (Tea) in Chennai is different from that in Gujarat. I have many stories to tell. Experiences are what give you stories to tell.
Anu: I am a marke ng person and for me, interes ng is more important than intelligence. Stand out, rather than blend in. That doesn't mean that intelligence can't be your angle to being
How do you start a conversation with unknown members in a group?
interes ng.
It is very easy to start a conversa on. Everybody is happy to talk
Mythili: 'Interes ng' is all about having stories to tell. On top of
about themselves. So don't walk in and talk about yourself. You
your intelligence, you can add variety, be interes ng and be a story teller.
walk in and ask about them. Everybody in this world in dying to tell you about themselves. Also, do a bit of homework and try to know something about that person. That will be an easy star ng
My manager advises me all the time that I'm an introvert 54
FEB 2022
point for the conversa on.
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How can we build trust in this VUCA world?
You have to differen ate. Just like with computer languages, you
VUCA world is all about uncertainty. You have to build your
have to keep pace with what is happening at that me and you have to rework on your 'why buy me?' at different mes.
authen city and consistency to be trusted.
How important is networking in branding?
What has changed in branding in the last 10 years?
Earlier, we had to tell people about the brand and then they would find it and experience it. In today's world, they experience the brand without even being told. Nobody told you anything about WhatsApp or Google. They have become very important persons in the world. The biggest difference that I see is that now consumers are part of and even decide the brand journey.
It is hugely important—be it for personal branding or for building a network. Just like in the startup world, you have to be constantly pitching. Your next job may come from somebody in your network. Maybe, your ini al job might come from campus placement. But a er that, it comes from your networks. You also get valida on and inspira on from networking. What is the point of having a personal brand if I don't have a network to influence or impact
How can we sustain our personal branding?
with it? The size of the network is your choice.
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