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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
Of leadership, innovation & emerging markets… MMA All‐India Management Students Convention: A Remarkable Success
I
Mind', receiving the prestigious trophy and a cash prize of Rs. 1.00 Lakh.
t brings me immense pleasure to share with you that
the
Management
Students
In this edition, we are privileged to present the
Convention,
transcript of the inaugural address by Dr. K V Ramani,
organized by MMA on October 4th, 2023, at the IIT
Vice Chancellor of Sai University, and the thought-
Research Park Auditorium, was an overwhelming
provoking valedictory address by Mr. Ravi Viswanathan,
success. The event was attended in person by over 1000
Managing Director of TVS Supply Chain Solutions, and
students and a staggering 20,000 viewers online. The
also the insights shared by Mr. S V Nathan, Partner at
convention featured a galaxy of eminent speakers who
Deloitte, as he expounded on the theme "Leadership
captivated the audience with their insights. The
for Inclusive Success," with an embedded video.
pinnacle of the event was the highly anticipated grand finale of 'Chanakya: The Master Mind' competition.
Our sincere gratitude extends to the multitude of students and management institutions for their
Among the 5000 talented students, the ten
enthusiastic participation and to the sponsors for their
shortlisted finalists showcased their prowess in a series
unwavering support. Special appreciation goes to
of rigorous tests, culminating in a nail-biting final
Mr. P Elango, the Convention Chairman, and the
round. The deserving winner, Ms. Deeksha from IIM
Managing Committee Members for their invaluable
Lucknow, was crowned as the 'Chanakya: The Master
contributions to the success of the convention.
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The Prime Minister’s announcement at the IOC
the Jaws of death and misery. Israel expected to ground attack against the Hamas would test the degree to which
session in Mumbai that India
Iran and Hezbollah are committed to the Palestinian
will “Leave no stone unturned”
group and Palestinian cause. The war between Russia
in its bid to host the 2036
and Ukraine has already sent the world into chaos. Now, with this new conflict, the world in going to encounter
Olympic Games has removed
an increase in rifts which is a serious threat to global
whatever doubt there might
peace.
have been about India’s
In this context, to understand the complex issues and geopolitical impact, MMA is organising a discussion
ambition to host the modern
on the theme “Gaza Demystified” on 08 November 2023
world’s biggest sporting
at MMA Management Centre. Eminent thought leaders
extravaganza.
would share their insights on this complex issue and please do make time to watch this important discussion
Continuing our commitment to fostering a culture of innovation, the upcoming 10th edition of the Dr. KCG Verghese Endowment Lecture will be delivered by Mr. Velusamy R, President of Automotive Technology and Product Development & Member of the Group Executive Board at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. He will shed light on the theme "Innovation in Emerging Markets." I extend a warm invitation to all members to join us at the lecture and witness the insights of one of the brightest minds in the field of innovation.
The Prime Minister’s announcement at the IOC session in Mumbai that India will “Leave no stone unturned” in its bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games has removed whatever doubt there might have been about India’s ambition to host the modern world’s biggest sporting extravaganza. Thirteen years is not a long time. Even if you want to bid for the games, you presentable to bid for the games. Let’s follow the
Hamas’ lightning, brutal and simultaneous attack on several locations in Israel on 07 October 2023 stunned Israel and the international community. It is unfortunate that both Israeli Government and Hamas know that they cannot achieve their respective goals. Hamas is conscious that the state of Israel can never be destroyed or “Pushed into the Sea” as they claim. Israel equally knows that the ideology behind Hamas cannot be eliminated, nor can Hamas as an entity. Thus both the sides are irresponsibly pushing ordinary citizen into 6
India is ready to host Olympic Games 2036!
have to start working from now to make yourself
Hamas attack on Israel
NOVEMBER 2023
in person or watch it live - Click to view the invitation.
famous Olympic Motto: “Faster, Higher and Stronger” for an effort to achieve success and also grow in our economic front to achieve the objective.
Cricket World Cup 2023: Lessons Beyond the Field Forty-eight years have passed since the inception of the quadrennial ODI World Cup, where the West Indies once reigned as the dominant team. However, in the current tournament, their absence reflects the considerable transformation since the inaugural World Cup in 1975. Presently, six out of the ten teams exhibit
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a balanced competition, while the remaining four
The CEO's role has transcended merely steering a company; it
possess the potential to cause upsets. The challenge of
now encompasses adapting to
determining the four semi-finalists through a roundrobin league across ten venues in a vast country of ten
the evolving business
teams and forty-five games will undoubtedly test
environment, fostering
adaptability.
innovation, and driving
As the World Cup is in progress, the incredible
sustained growth.
diversity of pitches and varied conditions promise a tournament where anything can happen. It’s an event flavoured with versatility, necessitating captains and
governance. Today, the focus is on transforming boards
coaches to think swiftly and strategically on their feet.
into sources of competitive advantage within the
The game of Cricket unfolds not just as a sports spectacle but also as a repository of management
current VUCA environment characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
lessons waiting to be learned. The strategic decisions,
It's crucial to recognize that every board possesses
adaptability, and the unyielding spirit displayed on the
a unique identity and grapples with complex issues,
field offer invaluable insights applicable off the field as
whether in publicly traded companies or privately held
well.
entities. The contemporary board transcends being a
In this context, MMA is organizing two significant events: "Cricket World Cup 2023 – Management Lessons
mere regulatory necessity; it stands as a strategic asset for the company, offering a genuine competitive edge.
for Success" on November 6, 2023, and "Leadership
In line with this perspective, MMA hosted a
Lessons from the World Cup" on November 21, 2023,
discussion on the theme of the book "Inside the
post the finals, aiming to benefit our members. Join us
Boardroom - How Behaviour Trumps Rationality," co-
and gain insights from your favourite cricketers and
authored by R. Gopalakrishnan and Tulsi Jayakumar,
passionate fans to understand the nuances of the game
featuring prominent corporate leaders. I am pleased to
and draw inspiration.
present the transcript of this distinctive discussion in this issue, catering to the benefit of our members. I
Click to view the invitation.
encourage you to delve into this insightful content and
Improving Board Room Effectiveness for Competitive Advantage
view the video recording of the discussion.
The board holds the potential to serve as a strategic asset for any company by emphasizing a formula
The Evolving Role of CEOs for Sustained Growth CEOs today are consistently driven by the
and
imperative need to enhance their organizations and the
conduct. Traditionally, boards have concentrated on
inherent hunger to thrive in a constantly evolving
compliance and regulatory adherence, with recent
landscape. Unlike any generation before them, today's
emphasis placed on transparency and corporate
CEOs embody traits of passion, agility, humility, and a
encompassing
contest,
clarity,
composition,
relentless pursuit of continuous learning. The pursuit BUSINESS MANDATE
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of growth is an unceasing journey that demands
event is designed to honour the unstoppable spirit of
perpetual evolution for remaining competitive and
women and provide a platform for them to showcase
amplifying business performance and profits.
their remarkable achievements, as well as share the
The CEO's role has transcended merely steering a
invaluable lessons they've learned on their journey.
company; it now encompasses adapting to the evolving
Mark your calendars to join us at this unique event,
business environment, fostering innovation, and driving
'Empowering Women – Breaking Boundaries and
sustained growth. The dynamic nature of markets and
Embracing Strengths,' scheduled for 6:00 PM on
technology necessitates CEOs to be agile and proactive
Thursday, November 23, at MMA Management Centre
in steering their companies towards sustainable
you can also watch it live.
success.
A word of caution?
In light of this, MMA recently organized two distinctive discussions, focusing on the themes of the books
"Just
Aspire:
Entrepreneurship,
and
Notes the
on
Future"
Technology, and
"Busted:
Debunking Management Myths with Logic, Experience, and Curiosity." The speakers shared invaluable insights,
The stock markets have been mostly steady this year but were jolted recently from the uncertainty around the ongoing Israel – Hamas War. It fell for six consecutive days. A deeper correction is possible and experts stress on the importance of asset allocation.
offering perspectives that are both thought-provoking
It is imperative for investors not to panic and
and insightful. I am pleased to present articles on these
navigate the current volatility to protect their interest.
discussions for your reading pleasure, which I'm certain will inspire you. I encourage you to delve into the depth of knowledge shared in these discussions and watch the accompanying videos for a more enriching
As always, we would be happy to hear your views, comments and suggestions. Happy reading!
experience.
Women Empowerment The time has come for women to rise and contribute towards making the world a better place. In line with this vision, MMA is organizing a discussion aimed at exploring the multifaceted journey of women in overcoming stereotypes and limitations, while simultaneously celebrating their unique strengths. This
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MMA organised a discussion on the theme of the book "Inside the Boardroom ‐ How Behaviour Trumps Rationality,” authored by Mr R Gopalakrishnan, Author; Corporate Advisor & Former Executive Director, Tata Sons Ltd. Mr Vijay Sankar, Chairman, The Sanmar Group and Mr Lakshminarayanan Duraiswamy, Hony Treasurer, MMA & Managing Director, Sundaram Home Finance Ltd were in conversation with the author.
M
r R Gopalakrishnan: We generally see only one
that company will behave in a certain way. Somebody
side of a board and that side is the rules
else may set up a company to do some larger good for
regulations. The other side is human
humanity. I am not just referring to the Tatas. Recently,
behavior which manifests itself in everything. This does
I met Mr Azim Premji and asked him, “When did it
not apply only to boardroom of a company but also, it
strike you that you must be philanthropic?” He said,
applies to clubs, gymkhanas and housing societies. The
“Within two years of my father's passing away, I came
human motivations are not dissimilar. That's the first
back to India. To be honest, I didn't think I should be
point I want to make.
Amos Tversky and Daniel
philanthropic. I wanted to do Wipro for some other
Kahneman said twenty five years ago, that we are
larger cause. It was very unclear to me what that larger
studying too much quantitative economics but there is
cause was.” Today, his foundation is worth 240,000
a behavioral side economics and that gave birth to the
crores. That's quite a lot of achievement.
whole science or art of behavioral economics. We are prising
open the
boardrooms.
We
box
of human behaviour
hope
that
knowledge
in
seeking
professional institutions will take this further and build a body of knowledge on the subject.
Niti
means
what they lack is governance. It's not the fault of the
following
everybody who has tried himself or herself as a director, including myself. I've been a director now for 37 years
prescriptive, but there's very little spoken on the niyat,
on about 25 companies. I've seen it in India, Sri Lanka,
which is the real intent. Somebody can set up a
Middle East and England. Apart from the cultural
company aiming to become a unicorn in five years and
differences, there are some commonalities.
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rules.
the large majority are well intentioned good people. But
the
14
means
good entrepreneurs. A few of them maybe oddballs but
chairman or the promoter but it is the fault of
In Sanskrit, we have words called niyam and niti. Niyam
India needs more such businesses. We have very
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The second question that comes up is: Can we do
directors. Tata finance would not have come into the
something about the governance? We have defined what
public domain if Ratan Tata had not blown the whistle
is called a Prodromal test. It is about how to interpret
on his own company.
the advanced signals that you're getting when you're a director of a company. The behavior of the people around the table gives you an indication of how people's minds are working. If you get a score of more than 12 out of 15, it means that's a dangerous company. Below five is probably okay. I have applied this prodromal test to several institutions I have been associated with and where I was competent to grade. Whether my grading is right or wrong can be debated. I can tell you that it is like a rough instrument but it works. You can't take every single number, extrapolate it and do correlation,
We have also described a new concept called ‘the fly on the wall.’ The fly on the wall is an independent person who can hold a behavioral mirror to the face of the directors. I've done such an assignment for two companies. I cannot describe myself as having done a great job. But I think it helped a little bit. A mirror can’t make you more beautiful than you are. But it can tell you where you're not beautiful. Then you can apply makeup or change your hairstyle or do whatever you have to do.
regression analysis. But it works. If we get a score of 13 out of 15 which is a danger signal, what do I do about it as an independent director? We have developed a 7D process which covers areas from discovery to departure, with measured steps in between. CG Power would not have been brought to book if the whistleblower weren't the independent
Mr Vijay Shankar: Should not the prodromal test be the first thing that an independent director should do?
Mr. Gopalakrishnan: Yes, but I don't think they do. I can't speak for all the independent directors. But for many people, it's prestigious to be a director of a company. There's nothing wrong with that. But then,
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after the scam has been uncovered, people say, ‘I could
When we got into a mess, we
see something. The dark clouds were there.’ When the
found ways to get out of it. You
wind was cool and gusty and yet you failed to take your
must discriminate between
umbrella for your walk, what can be done?
things that have an ethical overtone and things that are
Mr Lakshminarayanan: When there are early warning signals that you could see, is it also possible that a new director who's has just joined the board is overawed by the rest of the personalities in the boardroom and chooses to remain quiet?
totally professional.
Mr Gopalakrishnan: It's a possibility. All of us are
I'm giving another anecdote which is in the public
human beings. This is not to cast aspersions on them.
domain. Back in 2000 or 2001, there was a discussion
When I joined the board of Tata sons, the people who
whether we should go for CDMA technology or GSM
were sitting around the boardroom were Nani Palkivala,
Technology. The chairman was in favor of CDMA. I am
Ratan Tata and Darbari Seth…Do you think my voice
not a telecom expert. After the debate is over, I came
was clear? But that's not an excuse for you not to
out and talked to one or of two my colleagues and
express a concern, if it has come to you. That
sought their opinion on going for CDMA versus GSM. I
distinction is very important.
understood
We talk of several biases. A new director, especially a lone woman director, feels isolated. I'll give you an example, where I did share my opinion and succeeded. Tata Play used to be Tata Sky. A proposal on the Tata Sons board came up that we would tie up with Murdoch and set up a joint venture. The proposal was that we will not put the Tata name on it. We will call it Sky. Everybody around the table said that the proposal looked good and that we should not put the Tata name
that
technologically
CDMA
more
is
supposed
sophisticated,
but
to
be
not
so
widespread (like the Sanskrit language) and GSM is widespread (like the Hindi). I found the right time and did talk to the Chairman on the need to go for GSM but I did not succeed. I never said that we made the wrong decision and that's why we were in a mess. When we got into a mess, we found ways to get out of it. You must discriminate between things that have an ethical overtone and things that are totally professional.
on it. I come from branding background. I said this is going to 300 million TV sets in the country. If you don't put Tata name on this, how will you brand Tata? Some debate happened. Luckily, in the Tata board, they were very open. If you see Tata Play at the bottom right hand corner of every DTH box, I think I had a little role in
Mr Vijay Shankar: We have promoter-led companies. We need to change the regulations. The definition has to be changed and banks should not ask for personal guarantee of a promoter. It's my view that the promoter concept is dead in India. We have non-promoter-led companies too. How is the governance different between these?
that. What I have learnt is that we must learn to
Mr Gopalakrishnan: No other country in the world
disagree agreeably. To disagree agreeably is a skill. It's
has a concept of a promoter, other than India. We had
more important than learning LODR and such other
the managing agency system and that was abolished
things.
around 1961. Then this concept of a promoter came, BUSINESS MANDATE
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A perfectly normal guy who has advanced to the position of
chap, whom you used to know 15 years ago. None of us is free of it. This is not a commentary
CEO or ED or VP, has some
on other people. If you stay in that job too long, the
behavioral aberrations, like
brain damage becomes permanent. My experience and
every human being. Over a
observation is that in the first five years, a new CEO is
period of time, he suffers brain
trying to find and understand his role. Things are a bit
damage.
unfamiliar. He wants to be successful. The next five years, he wants to take some actions and leave his imprint in the company. After ten years, he starts to
but it became a monster. The promoter thinks the
have declining increments. I'm certainly not in favor of
company is his, which is rubbish. It's not his company.
legislation on the tenure but creating awareness is
I once pointed to the chairman of a cement company in
important.
Calcutta who openly said, “This is my company. I'm running this company and target to hand it over to my son and my son will do the same for his son.” I told him, “I beg to defer. If your son is competent, I have no problem. But it's not your company. You're only 61% and 39% somebody else.” The moment you take 1% of public money, it's not your company.
Mr Vijay Shankar: The Companies Act 2013 and the SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015 have led to improvement in corporate governance. Without them, I don't think we would have seen the improvement and corporate governance standards that we have seen in India.
Mr Gopalakrishnan: You make a very valid point and I agree with you. I hope I didn't give the impression that I'm against laws. In our old physics lesson, we learnt
Mr Lakshminarayanan: One of the biggest challenges that corporate India is dealing with is succession planning. It's more so in promoter-led companies. Will 10 years be probably the right tenure for a CEO or should you leave it to the wisdom of the board? If there is a professional CEO who's good enough to continue, should we relax the rules? What's your view on this?
about a necessary condition but which is not sufficient.
Mr Gopalakrishnan: It is a complex issue. I'm
Mr Gopalakrishnan: A failure can be the ancestor of
respectful of alternate views. But I can only express
a fraud. When there's a genuine failure and if you're
what I have found to be a good practice. You have to
willing to admit it's a failure, then you don't go to the
understand what happens to a guy who has been made
next generation. But very often, leaders are not willing
a CEO. A perfectly normal guy who has advanced to the
to admit a failure. To correct that failure, they do
position of CEO or ED or VP, has some behavioral
another one, which fails even bigger and sooner it
aberrations, like every human being. Over a period of
becomes a fraud. We saw it in the case of Satyam.
time, he suffers brain damage. By brain damage, I mean
Admitting a failure is not a sign of weakness. We all
that person loses empathy, the ability to listen to
make mistakes and you can't have business and
people. He loses reality. When he retires, just like losing
entrepreneurship without failure.
That's my view with laws.
Mr Lakshminarayanan: How can you distinguish between corporate failures and corporate frauds?
the magnetic field, he becomes a nice, humble, sweet 18
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Mr Vijay Shankar: The institutional advisory service firms are getting more active in India. Any comments or thoughts on that, because I guess that brings a whole new dimension into how companies are run.
Just like a director has to be wise and do his due diligence before joining a company, an
Mr Gopalakrishnan: It's a good thing that we have
investor also must do the
domestic financial institutional advisory services. They
same.
are developing and the fact that a 2% shareholder can bring the whole company down is interesting. The board governs the company; the CEO runs the company; the chairman of the board manages the board. They are mutually accountable to each other and to institutional advisories or even financial institutions who ask relevant questions. But unfortunately, we have not matured and it is still work in process. I have seen institutional members of boards who have played a very deep and solid role and have high regard for them.
You can have a debate on this for a long time. But it brings out the nuances. A lot of Westerners will say, “Oh. It’s human life. We can't just ignore it.” But one Indian said, “Outside my house, every day, I find a lot of such people. I'll never reach my office if I try to stop and help everybody.” You can see how the context has determined how people think about it. There are stories and cases that can be built up.
Could you share some practical strategies or tools that board members and executives can use to incorporate behavior insights into their decision making process?
Mr Gopalakrishnan: I don't have a straight answer for that. I have been trying to prevail on the Institute of Directors
and
Company
Secretaries
and
made
presentations to them on the need to have a substantive module on boardroom behavior. I found a lot of wisdom and solace from the Puranas. There must be case studies on behaviours. There is a case study of an investment banker in New York, who at 45, had a three bedroom apartment opposite Central Park, a pretty wife and lovely children. His company, for some reason, thought he should go to an outbound leadership program and they go to Nepal to climb some mountain. On the way, he finds a Sadhu lying in the snow, naked and almost dying. He gets into a moral dilemma.
In the startup world, people who provide funds wield disproportionate influence. What can we do to help these entrepreneurs who get pushed?
Mr Gopalakrishnan: I don't know the answer. This does not apply only to startups but also it applies to grownups. We can sit and preach about what training we should give to the hedge fund or the Angel fund or the venture capital fund. But that would take us away from the goals of what is within our help. Just like a director has to be wise and do his due diligence before joining a company, an investor also must do the same. An investor knows that if he invests in ten companies, maybe three will come right, if he is lucky. Seven will go wrong. When you're in the jungle, don't expect to meet a gentle panther.
‘Should I stay back and help the Sadhu or should I carry on my mission?’ This case is being taught in Harvard.
Can you comment on women on boards and any specific advice for women directors?
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Mr Gopalakrishnan: I don't know if I have any intelligent comment to make on it. I genuinely believe I was also a great skeptic, 10 years ago. But over the years, I have found that women have a different way of looking at the same thing. You can get more women on your board, not just one because some law says it. Make them feel more self-assured. Men get very hostile when they have to do many things at the same time. Men work on mental maps while women work on mental compasses. The toughest job in the world is to be a mother and women do that effortlessly.
men versus women?
Mr Gopalakrishnan: When I went to Saudi Arabia as a chairman of the company for the first time in my career, I had the experience of 16 nationalities working in my company. There were English, Indians, French, Dutch and Arabs. I requested Unilever to sponsor me to a program in INSEAD in Paris on how to manage diversity. It taught me a lot of good lessons. But slicing and dicing diversity to infinitesimal components is selfdestructive, as you might see what is going on in our public space right now. Diversity has to be in broad clusters.
How can we look at diversity in a broader senses-rather than
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MMA‐KAS in partnership with Raintree Media and Harper Collins organised an event on the theme of the book, “Busted: Debunking Management Myths With Logic, Experience and Curiosity.” Sandhya Medonica, co‐author of the book anchored the discussions. Others who took part in the discussions were Mr Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman, Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd and Mr Peter De Jager –both co‐authors of the book; Mr P Ravichandran, President, Danfoss Industries; and Ms Meera Nair, Independent Director, DBS Bank India Ltd. .
M
r. Ashok Soota: We come across multiple
and look at you can manage them well. You must strive
myths in our communication, like culture
at all times to be a good human being.
eats strategy for breakfast; fail fast, fail
cheap and so on. These are like truisms and aphorisms, which cause me a lot of irritation or annoyance. If taken at face value, it could lead into erroneous management
Ms. Sandhya: Fail fast, fail cheap. What is your opinion on that? Mr. Ashok Soota: It originated in Silicon Valley. There, money is easy to come by. There's also an approach of
decision making. One of the myths is of saying that a company is over led and under managed. The other one is that we are over managed and under led. How do myths like these come around? The so called management gurus and writers who keep writing on topics like these created them. Leaders must create a vision and show people the path ahead. So many organizations go down
saying, ‘If we start something, let's not blow up too much money. If required, we need to move away from it without blowing up a lot. Therefore, we will take this thing of failing fast and falling cheap.’ To me, that's absurd, I don't think you should ever start a company thinking that is going to fail. You have to start a company with the intent that it will become profitable.
the drain, because they do not have good management.
You will ultimately be able to give an exit to your
To me, both leadership and management are two sides
stakeholders. Now, in order to do that, there is only one
of a coin. You can't do one without the other. You must
prerequisite. Apart from having a strategy which keeps
be a good leader and a good manager. You must have
evolving, you need to be clear about how much cash
an alignment with the vision. You have to be very clear
you're going to need, till you break even. One very good
about your processes and the rhythms of your business
example is the dotcom boom. In India alone, out of 100
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companies, 98 or 99 went bust. At Mindtree, we not just survived. We re-strategized and went on to do a record breaking IPO. The key to all this is that we had enough cash.
Ms. Sandhya: What about ‘being lonely at the top?’ Mr Soota: I've now been a CEO of a company for more than 40 years. I can't say I've never felt lonely. So that's one starting point. I put this into two groups. One,
Ms. Sandhya: There is a myth that PowerPoint type
the buck stops with the CEO, and therefore you feel
presentations are the most boring thing. Can you
you're isolated. You have to take the flak when things
explain?
go wrong. You also get a lot of credit, when you take
Mr De Jager: Most of the PowerPoint presentations take the same form. There'll be a white background and there'll be several lines of text. The presenter will start presenting in a monotone for four hours and they will bore you to tears. But that's just a bad use of a wonderful tool. We communicate with images, right
those decisions. Secondly, if you do your decision making in a participated way, it doesn't matter if you take the flak when things go wrong. The whole organization thought that it was a good decision but it didn't work out. You will be comfortable in that process and will never feel lonely at the top.
from 50,000 years ago. A picture is worth 1000 words.
The other aspect is the distance between the leader
If you create a PowerPoint with images to communicate
or the CEO and the rest of the organization. If you're
your ideas, then you can say a tremendous amount in
living in an ivory tower, you would certainly feel lonely.
a very short period of time. You can focus your
If you think of your team as your extended family,
attention on communicating the content, rather than
involve them, genuinely care for them and you're
reading off the screen. I consider PowerPoint to be the
building their careers, what you will get in return is tons
best way to communicate complicated ideas.
of goodwill. You get the love and affection. So it's an BUSINESS MANDATE
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23 NOVEMBER 2023
Myths are narratives, which are
asked their managers to fire the bottom 10% of the department, every year, no matter how good they are.
stubborn and which are
That is catastrophically insane. If you fire good people,
memorable. They leave an ever
just because they're hitting this magical number, then
lasting impact.
you're creating a hostile environment for your people. People are not numbers; you need to treat people like
~ Ms Meera Nair
people. Ms Meera Nair: George Bernard Shaw comes to my mind. He had said, a golden rule is not a golden rule.
opportunity to give and it's an opportunity to get back. I keep meeting people who've been working with me as a part of my team over the last 40 years. They come back and tell me, “We remember this particular thing, which we learnt from you or which we participated with you and made it happen.” So I can’t think of being lonely at the top. Ms. Sandhya: Peter, A very controversial myth that you busted which Jack Welch made famous is, fire the bottom 10%. What is your view?
Such contradictions exist in different aspects of our life. For instance, in every truth, the opposite is also true. Ignorance is bliss versus Knowledge is power. There is no such thing as free lunch which contradicts that the best things in life are free. We need to acknowledge and explore about these contradictions, and use them in the right context. Myths are narratives, which are stubborn and which are memorable. They leave an ever lasting impact. I will take one myth from my experience, which is- culture eats strategy for breakfast. I was a part of the founding
Mr. De Jager: Jack Welch is a very famous business
team
of
National
Commodities
and
Derivatives
person. He has proven that he absolutely knows what
Exchange in 2003. Till 2003, the commodity trading
he's talking about. In one of his books, he points out
industry in India was largely unorganized. There were
that a certain portion of your employees will be your
few dominant players and it was not transparent. The
top performers, the ones who go above and beyond the
objective of creating the exchange was to offer
call of duty. He's put a number on it around 20%. He
transparent
then says that about 70% of your organization will be
management of agricultural and other commodities.
the ones who are delivering to your requirements. They're doing the job day in and day out. They're reliable, they're your core and then he said there will be somewhere around 10% of the organization who are underperformers.
but that doesn't have punch and hype to it. So he made
for
price
risk
Given this industry context, the management felt that they should create a culture which was open and transparent. Importance was given primarily to integrity, open communication, and education of not organization to be successful, both culture and strategy are equally important.
it simple. He said fire the bottom 10%. Some organizations unfortunately, took that literally and 24
mechanisms
only the employees, but also the customers. For any
Now he could have said, fire the under performers,
NOVEMBER 2023
trading
BUSINESS MANDATE
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Culture is the DNA of the
Mr. Ravichandran: I come from a manufacturing
company. We don't make too
sector. There's been a lot of talk about ‘fail fast, fail
many changes to the culture,
cheap.’ Around 1999, we acquired a startup company,
but we make some adaptations
which was headquartered in Melbourne and relocated
based on how the environment
to Toronto. This company had oil free technology. In
changes.
the air conditioning business, ‘oil-free’ was something unheard of, because oil is one of the lubricating forces in a chiller. We believed that this was going to be the future of compressor technology. We picked up the startup on a 50:50 joint venture basis.
~ Mr. Ravichandran
The biggest challenge we're facing is the belief that people resist change. No, they don't. They resist being
The product took 10 years to get out to the market.
changed. You can get your people to desire a change
We had enough cash in the reserves to fuel the business
and there are techniques for doing that. You cannot
and our founder believed in the technology. Today, the
hold them back. If you believe that people will always
world is talking about ESG and this product is 99%
resist change, you will not be able to move them
circular and 99% of the parts are recyclable. If we simply
forward.
went by the myth of fail fast, fail cheap, today we wouldn't be leading the market with this technology.
Mr. Ashok Soota: Michel Porter says that the essence of strategy is choosing what not to do. His reasoning is
‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast,’ largely comes
that there has to be a trade off and that you can't do
from Ford Motors. Culture is the DNA of the company.
everything. I don't agree with this at all. Like a venture
We don't make too many changes to the culture, but we
capitalist, I will say that if you have a good idea, then
make some adaptations based on how the environment
you have to find a means of funding it. Secondly, you
changes. Strategy is very different and it is how you
don't necessarily have to face trade-offs. The errors of
adapt to the external world. You need both to be
omission may be much larger and much more expensive
combined if you want to execute perfectly. In my
than the errors of commission. You may not even know
organization, even after 90 years, the values the
what you have lost. When Bill Gates was asked, “What
founder had established stay relevant. We have three
is the biggest mistake you made in your life?” he said,
behaviours as our guidelines and they are: Do what
“I didn't do Android.” He was the guy who owned the
matters most for your customers;. Every employee
operating system work. He realized years later that he
should run the business like their own; Think about the
missed that opportunity.
company first before you think about the business and yourself.
Now, we're in an intensely hyper competitive world. Everybody's got to have a stake in everybody else's
Ms. Sandhya: Which of the myths you busted
place. Otherwise, you don't know when they will come
present the most pressing challenge for industry
and wipe you out. For many years, Google completely
practitioners today?
dominated search, yet Microsoft never let go. They were
Mr. De Jager: My background is change management.
hanging on. Suddenly a new change of technology, the Generative AI, has made them another major player in
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25 NOVEMBER 2023
The founders have a particular mindset about delivering
Ms. Sandhya: Do you reexamine your beliefs and
something new to the market.
assumptions? Does it cause you to change any of your
Yet, they may not have the
beliefs?
ability to run a large company.
Mr. Ravichandran: Yes. For example, they say that
They're the creative force, the
people leave because of their bosses. That's not true. People leave for several other reasons.
early adopters...
Ms. Sandhya: What is management in a nutshell?
~ Mr. De Jager
Mr. De Jager: Managers maintain the status quo and the space. So you've got to keep your options open. The third angle, which is relevant today, is that we're developing our businesses which run off platforms. The platform brings the buyer and the seller together. In that context, you can do much more than you could have thought of doing in the past. So Porter’s statement
leaders change the status quo. Ms. Sandhya: Tell us about a myth that annoys you the most? Mr. Ashok Soota: This is about ‘hiring people smarter than you.’ It's too simplistic and doesn't take into account things like multiple intelligences.
does not stand the test of time. Ms. Sandhya: Meera, you're a board member and a
Ms. Sandhya: What is the difference between leadership and management?
management consultant. What are the red flags for Mr. Ravichandran: Leadership is setting the direction
Indian companies while scaling up? Ms. Meera: In my view, the founding team is the biggest asset for a startup and it can also be the biggest liability. They must have vision, passion, the mindset, and the capability. Second is the financial sustainability of the startup and the funding capabilities of the organization. Third is talent retention and talent
for the company, making people believe in the purpose of the company and to really articulate that to the organisation. Managing is empowering people, providing them with enough resources and the opportunity to realise their full potential. Whether you want to be a good leader or manager, you need curiosity, empathy and humility.
availability. Mr. De Jager: The founders have a particular mindset
Ms. Sandhya: Tell us about a common management myth that you come across.
about delivering something new to the market. Yet, they may not have the ability to run a large company. They're
Ms.
Meera:
‘People
leave
people
but
not
the creative force, the early adopters, the innovators,
organizations.’ I was the executive coach of a senior
but they're not the ones who can manage the growth of
woman leader. She was reporting to the CEO. Three
a company. Those are different skill sets. To expect the
years after her joining, a new CEO took over. He was
original founder, to be able to take it all through the
autocratic. He would humiliate her, be judgmental, be
entire cycle, is asking for too much.
critical and would make fun of her in public. She was quite annoyed by the whole situation and wanted to
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leave the organization. Later, she discovered that
to build an organization where there's a lot of
though she was very well qualified and experienced, she
psychological safety for speaking up.
was taken at a lower pay scale as compared to her peers. She was also denied a promotion. The company bragged about diversity, inclusion and equality but in reality, they were not practicing it. Now the question is: Who is to be blamed-The leadership or the company’s
Management practices can vary significantly across industries and cultures. How do you account for this diversity, while offering universal principles for debunking management myths?
Mr. De Jager: Companies are different. We often hear
culture? Ms. Sandhya: Would you like to comment on any other myth?
about best practices. But the fact is that there is no single best practice that every organisation can use. Every snowflake is different as is every best practice.
Mr. Ashok Soota: Let me take this one: ‘If it ain't broke, don't fix it.’ The world is changing so rapidly and if you wait for things to go wrong, before you begin to fix things, then you're going to be well swept out of
How can we balance the wisdom gained from experience and the need for innovation and adaptability in management?
business very soon. You have to be proactive. You have
Ms. Meera: Constantly update your knowledge, your
to go and break it, if required. Question the status quo.
skill set and understanding of what is happening out there, so you don't feel that you're old and experienced. While experience is the best teacher, keep an open mind and a desire to learn.
Q&A
Mr. De Jager: One of the most underutilised resources is the business associations that exist in the world. If you want to know what is happening in your industry, join an industry association. Volunteer and
How can we develop a culture of questioning established practices within the organization?
Mr. Ashok Soota: environment,
which
There has to be an open encourages
such
questions.
become an integral part of it. You will meet people, network and gain from the experience of others – both successes and failures. It is cheap and powerful. My career started by being part of associations.
Certainly, there has to be no fear. In all the companies that I have run, we have regular communication sessions. We keep emphasizing to everybody, that there are no holds barred, they can ask any question they
What is your view on the saying, ‘Disrupt before you get disrupted?’
want and we will answer it. You must establish that
Mr. Ashok Soota: Today, change is coming from so
rhythm and belief and everybody must realise that if
many new technologies. New business models are
they ask a difficult question, they are not going to get
evolving. The internet is creating new business models.
punished, but maybe rewarded for it.
If you don't start disrupting, for sure, you're going to
Mr. Ravichandran: The leadership must make sure
get disrupted.
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MMA organized a discussion on the theme of book "Just Aspire: Notes on Technology, Entrepreneurship and the Future,” authored by Dr Ajai Chowdhry, Co Founder ‐ HCL. Mr. M M Murugappan, Chairman, Carborundum Universal Limited delivered the opening remarks. Excerpts from the conversation Ms Sushila Ravindranath, Journalist & Author, had with Dr Ajai Chowdhry.
S
ushila Ravindranath: Now everybody's talking
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: I started my journey towards
about AI and ChatGPT. What is your take on
investing in startups about 11-12 years ago, when I
that?
joined an organization called Indian Angel Network.
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: Well. Artificial intelligence has been around for a very long time and it didn't come to mainstream till ChatGPT happened. If you look at the utilization of AI around us, the first pieces that appeared were things like Siri on Apple. ChatGPT has really changed everything. There was thinking that by 2045, the computer will overtake the human brain. If that happens, then we can say that singularity is
This is a network that had 100 plus members. Today it has 600 odd members, located all over the world. We invest in startups in a very big way. Close to 10,000 applications come to us every year. We shortlist 250 and from that 250, we pick up 30-40 to invest in. I have been personally investing in a lot of these companies. Till now, I've invested in about 70 odd startups. I also mentor some of them.
achieved. But with ChatGPT, I think this could be
What do I look for when I see a startup? The first
achieved much earlier. With all these technologies, there
most critical aspect for me is the founding team. They
is also the possibility of increasing our lifespan.
must have fire in the belly and a clear indication of what
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: You are an investor as well. What do you look for when you're investing in something?
they want to do and how they will achieve it. Do they have the right mix of talent? The next important point is their idea. Is it unique and can it stand apart from rest of the world? I do not invest large sums of money
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29 NOVEMBER 2023
in one or two companies. I spread my risk and invest
to have startups in their portfolio. In Indian Angel
into 60 or 70 companies. I get a very good return
Network, our IRR is around 39%.
because out of 10 that I invest, maybe one or two will give me the right return. Sometimes, I have received 40X, 80X and 120X returns. That takes care of the ones that fail. Typically, I invest between 5 and 10 lakhs in
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: How are these startups? How do you rate their ideas? Are people coming up with revolutionary ideas? How are people evolving? Dr Ajai Chowdhry: Out of 10 proposals that I see, six
each company. I do not invest more than that. Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: Are the number of people wanting go with startup ideas increasing?
or eight maybe me-too variety. But the rest are very interesting and different. Those are the ones I look at. But sometimes, even with me-too ideas, if they have a
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: The interest in startups has
differentiated model of execution, then definitely it
become phenomenally high now. When we started about
makes sense. Flipkart was pretty much a copy of
11-12 years ago, we used to see startups only from
Amazon. But they came up with cash on delivery and
major metros. Now we see startups from every part of
that differentiated them.
the country. There is a culture that's getting developed. There is knowledge among people and support available for startups. A number of incubation centers have come
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: Is it getting increasingly difficult to differentiate one from the other?
up all over the country. Many angels are now investing.
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: It's definitely possible because at
HNIs are investing into startups. Till about five years
the end of the day, it's all about execution. You may
ago, nobody really thought that this is another way of
have a terrific idea, but if you don't have proper
investing your wealth and getting returns. Today, a
execution, you run into trouble. A lot of tech guys who
startup model is very well proven and everybody wants
are setting up companies believe whatever they produce
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will get sold. It doesn't happen that way. You need to
sell. This is something that I'm very particular about
When we started, there were
every company that I invest into and I tell the CEO, “You
just 100 computers in the
should know how to sell.”
country. That's why we saw a huge market, with 600 million
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: How did the entire IT revolution happen? You saw it firsthand and you were
people in the country.
part of it. Dr Ajai Chowdhry: When we started, there were just 100 computers in the country. That's why we saw a huge market, with 600 million people in the country.
about using computers. How did you break that?
At that time, there were very few other companies in the country. The numbers that were being sold were small. The objective of starting HCL initially was not just selling computers, but to sell the concept of why we should buy a computer. That's how we started. We became leaders, because we created the market. There were so many myths at that time. We were one of those companies that believed in advertising. We had full page ads in newspapers. We broke the myth that computers are difficult to use. Our campaign said that even a typist
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: In large government organizations, there was a huge opposition from their unions. For example, Life Insurance Corporation was very keen to buy computers, but their unions were not allowing. We came up with a strategy and said, “We will not give you a computer. We will give you an advanced ledger posting machine.” We converted our computer, ripped out some features and it could do only one application. We changed the brand from HCL 8C to advanced ledger boosting machines. It got accepted.
can operate it. Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: Did you have to go and
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: Did you have to make changes in other large organisations as well?
train the people on how to use it? Dr Ajai Chowdhry: When we started to deliver computers, we were also writing the software for the customer. Not only were we giving the product, but also the full solution. As we went deeper and deeper into the market, we realised that not many people existed, who could use a computer or not many knew how to operate the computer. It became a cost for us. From a cost center, we converted it to a profit center. Some of
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: People thought that computers were very expensive to use. We taught our salespersons to carry an ROI calculator, sit with the customers and tell them in how many years they would be able to get the return on the investment. We would calculate the benefits from reduction in inventory, receivables etc. That helped us to convince customers in the beginning. Then once the process started, there was no stopping it.
the founders of HCL created NIIT. That's how Rajendra Singh Pawar and V K Thadani created the NIIT and made
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: You're one of the few people who went into software.
it a profit center. Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: There was a big mind block
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31 NOVEMBER 2023
In PCs, we did a lot of
that would have meant because of the government's
innovation and differentiated
intransigence?
our product all the time. We
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: Close to 15 to 20 years. Many
had domestic competition and
years ago, I wrote that we should be in semiconductors. We just didn't take that. We also missed the bus in the
later on global competition,
China plus one. Ten years ago, there was a big
when in 1995, the government
discussion going on among many global companies that
announced the opening up
they must spread their risks away from China. Then China plus one became a major story. Who became plus
through WTO.
one? It was Vietnam as they were so smart. They created a fantastic infrastructure. They had a highway, which would connect their port directly to the city of Shenzen
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: I will tell you one secret. Every
in China in 12 hours. You could pick up your
software company was born out of a hardware
components from the manufacturer and send it out in
company. HCL software was born out of HCL hardware.
three days. That's the kind of infrastructure that is
Wipro was born out of Wipro hardware. All founders of
required for an electronics industry, which still doesn't
Infosys used to work for Patni Computers, which was
exist in India. Our logistics costs are too high.
a big name in hardware. TCS was Tata Burroughs and it was a hardware company. Burroughs gave the first software contract to Tatas. The history of software is
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: Is anybody thinking about it?
not known to many people. But it is a reality that the
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: Oh, yes. There is a new logistics
leading software companies came from hardware
policy. Gati Shakti has come around. I hope, with that,
companies.
the percentage cost of logistics will come down from
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: You have been part of many path-breaking revolutions. Tell us about them. Dr Ajai Chowdhry: The first one obviously, was the PC revolution. In PCs, we did a lot of innovation and differentiated our product all the time. We had domestic competition and later on global competition,
double digits to single digit. That itself will be quite an improvement. But it needs to be very carefully evaluated. India has phenomenal opportunities in not just making electronics, but repairing for the world. Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: That's interesting. Can you tell us more about repairs?
when in 1995, the government announced the opening
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: 12-14 years ago, in HCL, we
up through WTO. We had to be prepared. I had written
created a factory for repairs. This was created to repair
a paper with the Dr. Seshagiri on how, as a country, we
Nokia phones, component level upwards. We were
should plan to move when WTO hits the country, but
distributing Nokia products in India and created the
the government did not adopt it. As a result, many SMEs
whole Nokia market. On repairs, Nokia insisted that the
in electronics died.
phones received must go out immediately after repairs
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: How many years of setback 32
NOVEMBER 2023
or else, they must be scrapped. We gave them an offer
BUSINESS MANDATE
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to repair the phones and set up the repairs factory in Noida. 400 people worked in that factory, three shifts a day. Amazingly, we were so successful that Nokia replicated it all over the world. If India wants to become the repair capital of the world, the opportunity size is $20 billion a year.
My colleague and co-founder Arjun Malhotra was an alumni of IIT Kharagpur. He went and told them, “We are a bunch of young engineers and just starting out. If you help us to get started, we promise to deliver to you.” He made the first sale and sent me and every
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: We are always told that
other sales person a copy of that order. I picked it up, went to IIT Madras and sold six of them. That's how the
abroad, they don't want to repair their phones. Dr Ajai Chowdhry: It's not just phones. It could be an oscilloscope. We can repair anything. We can bring them to India and send them back after repairs. The government has started looking at it very seriously. They've done an experiment with an electronics manufacturing company and a service company in Bangalore for three months, along with the customs people. The customs regulations have to be tailored to move goods in and out very fast. We hope that in the next three to four months, we will open up this big market, as India has got so many technicians all over the country and we can genuinely create a large repair capability.
business started. Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: You also had a major client in Coimbatore. How did that work? Dr Ajai Chowdhry: The whole south was very conservative in those days. Now, it has totally changed. But once we opened up the market, the adoption was phenomenal. As a matter of fact, South became the number one entity for us. We were competing with DCM, where we worked earlier. A salesman from DCM used to follow me wherever I used to go. I went to Coimbatore and he followed me there. We both made a pitch for the same customer- Premier Mills which is a large organization. We went in and got the deal. That's
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: Tell us about how you launched HCL. It was a dream. It was a vision. How did you do it?
history. From that day till now, my first customer is a very good friend of mine. Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: How did you bring down
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: As I said, we had only 100 computers in the country. The microprocessor was just making its appearance. We created products around microprocessors. The first product that we created was a scientific engineering computer and it was called Micro 2200. It was meant for engineers and scientists. I started HCL in Pantheon Road, Chennai. The product was still being developed when salespeople fanned out all over the country with a beautiful brochure, and they were taught how to sell a product with a brochure. No product
salesmanship.
existed
then.
And
that's
ultimate
the Nokia phone price and yet make it profitable? Dr Ajai Chowdhry: We got into the telecom industry in the 90s when the government opened up for licenses in the country. We applied and got the Chennai license. Our partner was Singapore telecom. After having won the license, they backed out, because of their commitments in China. They didn't want to enter India at that stage. Of course, later on, they bought into Bharti at a much higher cost. So we had to drop our telecom business. But as were convinced that the telecom business was going to be huge in India, we wanted to
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33 NOVEMBER 2023
be somewhere in that market. We tried out Motorola for about eight months and it didn't work well for us. Then we got into Nokia, initially with pagers and later on, we picked up their phone. It cost around 16,000 rupees then. We did exactly what we did for computers-forming
to 80% market share. Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: Did you think at that time that every Indian was going to have a cell phone in his or her hand?
an association. We created an association for the
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: Not really. It was too early to
telephone business called the ICA, through which, we
think. We knew that the market was going to be huge.
approached the government for favourable policies in
Ms. Sushila Ravindranath: As you have played a major
terms of duties and tariff. We calculated and showed to them that numbers would dramatically rise and they
role in India's electronics strategy, how should we go forward now?
would get more revenue, if they actually reduced the Dr Ajai Chowdhry: I am an adviser to the India
tariff.
Semiconductor Mission. They have come up with very When Nokia team met me, I told them, “If you really want to do business in India, your pricing has to be totally different for India. You can't run the European pricing in India. That is what Oracle and Intel does in India.” I suggested Rs 9900 as the price of the phone. After three weeks of discussions, they came back and said ‘yes.’ The market responded in a big way. The next time we met to celebrate the success of our 9900 pricing, I said, our next price point should be Rs 6600.
good policy and the incentives that India is giving are many times higher than anywhere in the world. If the US gives 30% of capex for setting up a semiconductor plant, India gives 50% and states are adding another 20%. As 70% of the capex is being taken care of by the government, they are very choosy and want to make sure that the business plan of anyone who comes in has to be good. In the next three to four years, we should have at least three to four semiconductor foundries;
All over the world, Nokia used to sell phones with
five to six packaging units; and 100 to 200 design
the service provider. We asked them to discontinue that
companies. If we want to design products, we need to
model and they agreed to that. We created a
have design companies and an R&D center, which is
distribution capability in the country, which was
now missing.
completely unique. We followed the model that Hindustan Lever used for selling soaps. We picked up a re-distributor model and through the distributors, who knew the local market, we created the market. We had around 100 redistributors - people who had sold all kinds of FMCG products. They had the funds and knew how to run the market and collect from the dealers. From 90 to 100 redistributors, we went to 110,000 redistribution points of sale. Nokia did great marketing and we influenced their advertising in India to resonate with the local people. We went from zero 34
NOVEMBER 2023
We have done large amount of electronics manufacturing but the value addition in the country is very low. We have become a country of traders. We need to completely change that and we need people who can design products, make products, so we can become a product nation. That is the way the software industry has moved from services to product. That's where the value is. In products, the margins are 50 to 60%. Even in our services business, the margins are now falling, because it's becoming a commodity in many areas. We have given a lot of inputs to AICTE on how to create
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B.Tech students with product capability. This has to be a very long journey. It may take us 10 to 15 years, but
Would you think that any Indian electronics or semiconductor company could grow into such a size that they could form part of the nifty 50?
we can easily replace 20 to 30% of what China does Dr Ajai Chowdhry: A lot of my HCL people would
today.
agree that our decision to close down hardware 12 years ago was a big mistake. If we had not closed down the hardware, we would have been one of the champions,
Q&A
challenging the world in electronic hardware. Today, there are opportunities for many Indian champions to emerge in electronics. The policy also should be tailored
In the wake of AI, ML and Industry 4.0, how far is India prepared technologically to become a superpower –industrially and economically?
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: It's work in progress. In AI, we have a large capability but we are still behind the US in numbers. I have been involved in Industry 4.0. It's still very early days for India. As we are very good in computing, our adaption to Industry 4.0 will be fast.
towards that. One of the suggestions that I have given to the government is that we must do demand aggregation. If somebody in India designs and makes a product, give them 50% of the business and encourage them to create Indian champions, which is what China did. This is something that the government has started to think. Recently, when the government had to give an order for BSNL 4G stack, they asked Indian companies to do
There is a criticism that through the PLI scheme that we do, we do mainly assembling here.
a trial run in one city. 14 startups got together with a
Dr Ajai Chowdhry: The government’s idea is to create
stack. They did this test successfully in Chandigarh and
scale and enable large investments in manufacturing
they were the only successful people. The government
and thus create large number of jobs. That's the way
took a very aggressive decision to place an order for
they started. But after three years of operating a PLI
23,000 crores on them. What it does to them is that they
scheme, they should have added value addition as a
can become as competitive as Nokia and Ericsson in this
requirement, which they did not. This is being corrected
market. In the US, DARPA used to give a challenge to
in the schemes which are now launched. Recently, two
startups to make a product. The same model has been
PLI schemes have come out. One is the telecom PLI
tried in India to a smaller extent called iDEX, in the
scheme, which gives incentives if you design in India
ministry of defense. This is something we as a country
and the IT hardware scheme where they encourage
must do, if we want to create an industry. India
buying components from India. As the government has
entrusted the task of developing the Covid vaccine to
given a commitment to investors that the policy would
two private players, which was never heard of in our
be in force for five years, they are unable to change
history. The world today acknowledges that without
midway.
India, they would never have overcome COVID.
company called Tejas Networks and they created a 4G
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FICCI FLO, Chennai in association with AGNI & MMA organized a discussion on the theme, “Touch the Sky & Beyond...” on 15 September 2023 at MMA Management Center, Chennai. The distinguished speakers who participated were: Ms Jennifer Arul ‐ Media Personality; Ms Dr Srimathy Kesan‐ Founder and CEO Space Kidz India and Ms Muthamilselvi Narayanan ‐ Japanese Interpreter, Trainer ﴾Freelancer﴿ & Everest Summiter. The discussions were moderated by Sqn Ldr Unni Nair ﴾Retd﴿ – Chief Facilitator, Excel Group. .
S
qn Ldr Unni Nair: Ms. Jennifer, it's been a very long
Nowadays, as we watch TV, we ask ourselves, “Are
journey for you in the media. When you look
we hearing the truth? Or should we look somewhere
back, what is your take on your career?
underneath for the truth?” That's pathetic, and it hurts
Ms Jennifer Arul: The first review I ever got in the media was from a critic who said that I had a pseudo
me a lot. As a viewer, you should question what you hear and see on the screen or read in the newspapers.
Oxonian accent. The media today has changed a great
Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: We want to talk about the incident
deal. Journalists nowadays have to be extremely careful
with British Airways. You always displayed courage
about what they say and the results of their words.
whether you were in the media or elsewhere. It probably
When I was very active in the media, it was a joy for me,
came from the upbringing that you had. Can you share
because at NDTV, we said exactly what we wanted to
with us the British Airways incident?
say, irrespective of the topic. I remember once during election coverage, I was in a session sitting with Prannoy Roy and the then election commissioner, T. N. Seshan, in the studio. On the counting of votes, Seshan said that whatever was happening in Chennai, was happening at the center in Delhi too. I said, “I'm really sorry, Sir, but that's not happening. I'm right here.” I remember that my boss, Pranoy Roy, said, “We need to believe her.” I think that is the greatest honour that you can get as a journalist. If somebody says that they believe what you say, that is credibility.
Ms Jennifer Arul: I did what I was supposed to do. All of us have some moments in our lives that are terrifying. We often don't go back to them and just want to put them in the past. I did have my moments - four minutes of horror, just horror. I was very young at that time. I was an air hostess with British Airways. Many, many years ago, we had a terrible accident outside of London Airport. The airplane took off, and the engine dropped off. The whole plane was already burning. The fire continued in the wings. By some miracle from
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We did what we were trained to touch your bag.” He put it back. Saving so many people
do. Our training clicked in just like that. We were able to guide
in such a short time was something unbelievable. As I think of it, my flesh creeps. The engine had
the people who started
fallen. There was fire streaming in. The plastic windows
climbing over the seats. It was
were melting. None of the crew gave us instructions to evacuate or to do anything with the passengers. We did
just panic.
not know what we were going to do. But with this other British guy who was with me, it became an instinctive
above, it was able to land. As the wheels touched the tarmac of Heathrow Airport, all three engines exploded.
thing. We did what we were trained to do. Our training clicked in just like that. We were able to guide the
I remember as if it was yesterday. I couldn't see. I
people who started climbing over the seats. It was just
couldn't breathe. There was a British guy alongside me,
panic. The whole plane was dark. Five of the people on
and we were trying to save people. People were
board died that day. My friend, a British girl, was trying
screaming, and there was total panic. We were able to
to rescue a child, and she died. At the end of it, we were
save 119 people in 120 seconds. A lot of people on that
given awards for bravery. Even now, I hate flying, and
plane were trying to get their luggage from the
yet, I have spent most of my life in airplanes, whether
overhead rack. I was a young woman, and I don't know
it was for my work, holidays, or whatever it was.
where I got the courage from. I kept saying, “Don't take your bag. Leave it, leave it.” There was one man who said, “Shut up.” I looked at him and shouted, “Sir, don't 38
NOVEMBER 2023
Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: I was in air traffic control. I have seen planes exploding on the runway when I was on the watch. Like you said, the training kicks in. The second
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time, I did my skydiving, it was an emergency. I have no clue as to how I was so calm and did the right things.
It had a little shop called the
What do you have to say to the people who are in the
"honesty shop." The children in
media now? These days, we see only horrifying news.
that school went to that sweet
We don't see anything good happening. Ms Jennifer Arul: You're
right.
shop. They took sweets out of a These
days,
bottle. Nobody manned the
unfortunately, everything is about murder, rape, air crash, or some politician getting up to some trick
shop, yet the children put one
somewhere else. It's just terrible. But that's what sells.
rupee or two rupees there.
That's where the money comes in. Those are the channels that get a lot of ads. This is a huge problem. The day Americans went into Afghanistan, the whole news bulletin was about the invasion of Afghanistan. As the last story, Pranoy Roy turned and said, “I have now a very interesting little story from our reporter who's down in Tirunelveli.” That was me. I was in Tirunelveli, and I found a story of a beautiful little school there. It had a little shop called the "honesty shop." The children in that school went to that sweet shop. They took sweets out of a bottle. Nobody manned the shop, yet the children put one rupee or two rupees
us on the shoot and had pressed the wrong button on the tape recorder and had erased my entire interview. For the first time in my life, I behaved unprofessionally. I cried on the phone to Field Marshal Manekshaw begging of him. And he said, “Okay. I know what it means. Come to my home tomorrow at four o'clock in the morning; I'm leaving for Coimbatore at six o'clock. I will give you the interview.” That is the most amazing thing somebody could do for you.
there. They never ever cheated. Those children never
I went to his home at four o'clock in the morning.
took more than they should take. Dr. Roy said, “After
That gentleman put on his uniform, came down to his
all that horror of Afghanistan, we have this beautiful
hotel room, and gave me the bulk of that interview.
story, which shows that there is some good left in this
From Doordarshan’s point of view, it was an interview
world.”
that had received the most number of views.
Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: You had a chance to meet with so many people. How was your experience of meeting Field
Manekshaw was the most wonderful person. He was one man who said there will be a CDS one day in our country. He predicted it and it has happened.
Marshal Sam Manekshaw? Ms Jennifer Arul: He was a darling, an absolute darling. It took me nine months to get him to agree to the interview. I spent the whole day interviewing him
Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: As a media person, how do you see India being looked at by other nations? Is there a change?
in his home in Kothagiri. When we went back to the
Ms Jennifer Arul: Definitely, there is a change. I
hotel we were staying in, one of our young sound
belong now to an international organization called The
engineers tried to impress his young wife who was with
Media Project that's based out of Los Angeles. Based on
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It is no longer possible to get away with inequal treatment to women in our communication.
here. His secretary met me the previous day and asked, “What are you going to ask the Prince?” I said, “I will ask him anything I wish, but tell him I am not interested in Prince Charles and Diana's love affairs. I am not
There's more and more of
interested in their marriage. I am here as a professional,
advertiser awareness.
and I cannot disclose to you what I am going to ask.” I have never disclosed to anybody what I was going to
the Manipur situation, they ask me, “Is it true that your media is controlled?” I can only say that the media is trying to cover it as best they can. We are not being
ask them in my career. I have always said, “I will ask you only something that you're familiar with and comfortable with.” Simple as that and nothing else.
viewed as a very honest media. It's not for a lack of
The problem is that the media is not unified.
people who want to tell the truth. That's what makes it
There's so much competition in the media about who
really sad.
gets their story first. Will television get it first? Will the
Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: What is your advice for the students who aspire for a media career? Ms Jennifer Arul: Media is not a smooth sailing thing. It's a tough, demanding profession to be in. You've got to have a passion for it. If you don't have the passion, you might as well stay at home. A lot of people who
radio get it, or will the newspaper get it first? This has become a big problem. Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: Now, let us move on to Dr. Srimathi Kesan, Founder-CEO of Space Kidz India. Was the NCC responsible for taking you from art subjects into the field of rockets?
come for interviews think that media people get the
Ms Srimathy: Yes, it did. I was married off at 18. In
best seats on the plane, in the theaters, and the
fact, General K V Krishna recommended that I must get
restaurants. The media profession is not about that. It
into the armed forces. But my father handed over my
is about the stories you bring to people. That's the main
wedding invite on the same day. We moved to Chennai
thing. If you have the passion to be a journalist, then
for my wedding. I was a paratrooper, enjoying the
you're going to be good at it. If you're just doing it for
beauty of the sky as I dived. I kept talking to the moon
fun, then it's not for you.
that someday I would be going to be there. That took
I had lots of very good moments in the media. I would say the best moment was probably doing an interview with Jayalalitha. When we got the interview, she asked me very pointedly, “What questions are you going to ask me?” I said, “Ms. Jayalalitha, nothing that you won't be able to answer.” Flattery gets you somewhere. She said, “All right. That's fine. Go ahead.”
me there, and today I'm here talking about sending satellites. Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: Take us through your Gulab Jamun satellite. Ms Srimathy: The gulab jamun-sized satellite that we named KalamSat went up on a NASA rocket and it's back here. It all started with a gulab jamun. In 2015, we
I had the privilege of interviewing Prince Edward on
wanted to get into the space industry where private
the royal yacht Britannia, which was in our harbour
space players were not accepted. It was predominantly
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the government agency –the ISRO, and even ISRO had
About 80,000 people from
only about two or three launches in a year. A huge
across the globe participated,
rocket costs 750 to 800 crores. Imagine anyone agreeing
and we were chosen. The
to send a gulab jamun-sized satellite into such a big
Director of the Colorado Space
rocket, and if anything conks, that's it. That's the reason they did not encourage private players or students to
Grant Consortium went gaga
be a part of it.
over the fact that it was built by
But then I took that bold step of bringing in and
Indian children.
building a team. We gave a beautiful presentation to a top scientist. He was so impressed by the presentation,
~ Ms Srimathy
and he said, “Can I meet your team?” I said, “Of course. You can meet my team.” My team was 9th, 11th, and 12th-grade students. He was shocked. He looked at me
100-gram satellite will be called a Femto category
and said, “It's nice. But what do you think about the
satellite. I agreed that's a good idea but wondered who
space industry? It's good that you're doing something
would take us on board. It required a lot of testing. We
like this, but don't do it anymore. Send these children
threw it to the universe. That's when the universe
back to school and college. Let them finish their
conspired. Within the next three days, NASA announced
graduation and post-graduation, and then come back
a competition. About 80,000 people from across the
here. We will be supportive, and we can do something
globe participated, and we were chosen. The Director
in the space industry.”
of the Colorado Space Grant Consortium went gaga over the fact that it was built by Indian children. He called
The instincts within me said, ‘no taking back, no pulling back.’ We tweaked our concept. Instead of sending a satellite in a rocket, we sent it in a balloon. That was super successful. We got a lot of accolades.
me and asked, “Dr. Kesan, are you sure there's nobody behind this?” When I said, “There's nobody, no scientists behind this. It's only the children with us,” he was so thrilled.
We wanted to celebrate the success of sending our first satellite. The children started banging the table and
Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: You also did a phenomenal thing
said, “We want gulab jamun now.” My lead scientist
of bringing a team of 750 girls from 75 villages. Can
Shahrukh looked at the gulab jamun and started
you speak about that?
admiring it. I was so irritated and told him, “I made the
Ms Srimathy: On the eve of the 75th Anniversary of
sweet. Can you just eat it, rather than describing it?”
Indian Independence, we wanted to pay tribute to our
He said, “No Ma'am. Instead of building a huge satellite,
nation. What else would it be other than doing
can we build a gulab jamun-sized satellite?” Our
something with rural India in STEM? That's a great myth
pockets were very tight. We needed one or two lakh
till today. So I thought that this is one place where we
dollars to launch a satellite, and it costs more to build
definitely need to elevate the status of girls. We got 75
one.
payloads built by 75 rural schools spread across Jammu
We thought about it. A 3.5 or 4 centimeter-sized,
and Kashmir to Kanyakumari and involving every State
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and Union Territory. We named it AzadiSat.
moon. We will have rural children working on that
Everything was going well until I became sick and
project.
went into the ICU. I was on the ventilator, and our
Ms Jennifer Arul : As a woman, have you faced any
dreams were almost crashing. I had sent the proposal
sort of discrimination within your sphere of activity?
to ISRO director, and he called me when I was in the ICU. It was very difficult to talk with the mask on. He sensed it and said, “What, am I hearing some hospital noise? Where are you?” I told him that I was in the ICU on the ventilator. He said, “Damn. Put the phone down. What are you talking about? Just come out of the hospital, and then we can do this.” That dream became
Ms Srimathy: Until this date, I'm the only Indian woman who's running an organization like this. The Prime Minister quoted my name in ‘Mann ki Baat.’ Yet, when there is a panel discussion on space, I see only men figuring there. Maybe because, I'm not a space engineer. What we have done and achieved is multifold.
a reality. After about two weeks, I was out of the
Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: I was a member of the Airforce
hospital and started talking to all the schools. What was
Adventure group, and my skydiving guru was the
painful was that some schools were skeptical about
director. At that time, an Air Force team went on a
involving girls in such projects and said that girls study
mission to Everest, and we lost the team leader. From
only to be married off. Many schools which were
the team’s accounts, I know how it feels to summit and
interested did not have any internet facility and laptops.
how arduous it is. Now, let’s hear from Muthamilselvi
We had to send laptops and dongles to them. Those
Narayanan the story of her conquering Mount Everest.
principals were in tears when the project really
She also holds records for climbing down a mountain
materialized.
in The Himachal blindfolded and that too, taking her daughter with her.
Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: What is your next aim? Ms Srimathy: Four of our satellites are now in orbits. They were all built by students between 18 and 24 years of age. We have a powerful future. I've been given the ambassador status to the top three research space centers - NASA, European Space Agency and the Moscow GCTC. I always feel why we spend so much going there when we have so much in abundance here. I seek the help of so many people to build a space research park, a miniature version of NASA in India. I met the Honorable Prime Minister and many Chief Ministers. Everybody gets so excited about the project, but subsequently things fall apart, and they forget. Our ultimate vision is to build a space research park here, where the last child of the country gets a hands-on experience of space. Our next mission is to go to the 42
NOVEMBER 2023
Ms Muthamilselvi: I am from Virudhunagar. My dad had a hotel in Chennai. So we settled in Chennai. I set the world record for climbing down a mountain blindfolded, in support of women’s cause. I also tried to emulate Veera Mangai (The Bold Woman) Velu Nachiar, hearing about her story and the fact that her tableaux was denied a display in the Republic Day parade. I rode like Velu Nachiar on horseback, shooting arrows and scored 87 points, which was a record. I had set records, but each was for some specific cause. Now I wanted to achieve something for myself, and that is how the Everest thing happened. I am a Japanese interpreter. By nature, I like challenges and choose the most difficult tasks. I derive joy in accomplishing such challenging tasks.
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Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: Tell us about your most
challenging moments in the Everest expedition.
Yet, I kept up my spirits and together with my guide,
Ms Muthamilselvi: When I was trekking in the
reached the summit in the
Himalayas, my guide and I reached Camp 4. The other co-climbers were going ahead. It was -45 degrees
noon. I was the first person to
Celsius, and there was heavy wind. My guide is a very
summit in the afternoon and
good person. On that day, because of his hard work, he
return safely.
became very tired and suggested that we should abort the mission and climb down. I didn’t agree with his view and insisted that we must reach the summit. He rested
~ Ms Muthamilselvi
for two hours, and I stayed put with him. I started crying as my oxygen limit was running out. I had promised the Tamil Nadu government that I would
summit, and by the time I reached Camp 2, my oxygen
return successfully after reaching the summit, as the
ran out. I put on my rope, enabled the safety lock, and
first woman from Tamil Nadu. Just as I was thinking, a
sat down. I knew I would die. But, at the least, my body
group dropped a dead girl in front of me. That was so
would be taken home. At that time, a 19-year-old boy
demoralizing. Yet, I kept up my spirits and together
from Mexico, by the name of Andrew, who was coming
with my guide, reached the summit in the noon. I was
down, saw my condition and vowed that he would save
the first person to summit in the afternoon and return
me. He gave me his oxygen, and after 15 minutes, he
safely. Normally, they summit only in the night hours.
swooned and fell down. We started sharing our oxygen
Another incident that I recall is during my ascent; we had a stopover in Camp 2. There, as I put on my head torch and looked around in the night, I saw a hundred odd dead bodies. Some of them might be 7 or 8 years old. My heart started racing. I was worried about my children and doubted if I would return. One of my teammates, an inspector from Maharashtra, ran out of oxygen. I gave him oxygen from my reserve and saved him. Within an hour, my oxygen ran out. Now, another person helped me. Shortly thereafter, he went into a coma. One more person became snow-blinded.
in turns and somehow rushed our way back. Sqn Ldr Unni Nair: What are your success secrets, and what are some of your future plans? Ms Muthamilselvi: I have a clear goal of who I want to be, and I am obsessed with achieving that goal. I am so focused. My children look up to me as a brave woman. Never give up is my mantra. I recently climbed Kilimanjaro in 5 days, though it was planned for seven days. It was very strenuous. I developed chest pain and severe vomiting. After the summit, we were advised to rest, but within one day, I descended. As for my plans,
When I reached the summit, I was dismayed by the
I want to scale one peak a month in each of the 7
depth of the mountain that I had to climb down. I had
continents. I have already completed three continents.
just one hour oxygen reserve, but my guide had told
Next on the list are Mount Kosciuszko in Australia,
me that it would take at least two hours to climb down.
Aconcagua in Argentina, and Antarctica.
Yet, I took a risk, with the satisfaction of reaching the BUSINESS MANDATE
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In today's rapidly evolving world,sustainability has become more than just a buzzword; it has become a necessity for businesses to thrive in the long run. The theme of the MMA All‐India Management Students Convention 2023 was, "Innovate for a Responsible Tomorrow". This convention provided key perspectives on "Innovate to Sustain" and shared insights on the emerging trends around sustainability. It focussed on Technology, Environment, Social and Governance ﴾T‐ESG﴿ aspects.
Shaping the Sustainable Future: A Decade of Corporate Responsibility and ESG Evolution
Forum a decade back highlighted the top three risks as asset prices, de-globalization, and oil price spikes. However, today, the top three risks are climate action failure, extreme weather, and biodiversity – something that was unheard of a decade ago. Risk perceptions have undergone a sea change during this decade, with eight out of the top 10 global risks now related to environmental and social factors.
ESG is the Talk of the Day
Ms Apurba Mitra Partner‐ESG, KPMG, India
F
In
or those of us who have been working in the field of corporate sustainability for several decades, it's a privilege to be here at this
particular time. Looking back a decade or two, we can realise just how far we've come in terms of corporate governance and other stakeholders becoming more responsible, sustainable, and value-driven. The world was very different not even a few decades ago. The Global Risk Report released by the World Economic
recent
years,
sustainability
and
ESG
(Environmental, Social, and Governance) issues have become mainstream topics in boardroom discussions across companies. When I began my career, only a handful of companies were investing in ESG, primarily focusing on disclosure and reporting, as well as some clean energy projects due to the potential financial benefits. Today, we are moving beyond these early stages. While there is still a long way to go, as a society, we have become more aware of these issues,
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45 NOVEMBER 2023
groundbreaking regulation, as it was the first time any
country had introduced a CSR mandate. Since then,
Each country is developing
positive developments have occurred not only in India
regulations and frameworks to
but
address these challenges,
sustainability is continually evolving, and companies
worldwide.
The
regulatory
landscape
for
are now grappling with a range of new issues that they
including India's Business
may not yet be well-equipped to handle.
Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting ﴾BRSR﴿, the EU's
A Defining Decade Nevertheless, this is an exciting time, as this decade
Corporate Sustainability
is a defining decade. It is crucial in deciding whether
Reporting Directive ﴾CSRD﴿, and
we can stay on our temperature pathways, thereby avoiding irreversible damage to our planet and society.
the European Green Deal
Science demands rapid and urgent transformation in every sector of the economy-the way we produce, the
acknowledging them and working together as a global
way we live, the way we communicate, the way that we
community to address them. The role of regulation has
function- to meet our sustainability goals. To achieve
been and continues to be a major driver.
sustainability, we must find ways to decouple economic
I remember when corporate social responsibility (CSR) was first introduced in India within the
growth from environmental degradation and excessive resource use. That is the need of the hour.
framework of the Companies Act in 2013. It was a 46
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This calls for achieving material efficiency, energy
primarily assessed based on profit. A number of rating
efficiency, and resource efficiency to a degree we have
agencies have mushroomed which compare one
never achieved before. We must harness and store clean
company with the other.
energy on a scale we have not done in the past. Innovations like hydrogen and carbon capture and
Towards a Green Premium
storage, although currently economically challenging,
Demographics are changing, and so are consumer
are critical to the decarbonisation transition but are not
preferences. Millennials, in particular, have a growing
economically
Unprecedented
demand for sustainable and climate-friendly alternative
transformations are needed across all sectors and that
products. This shift may lead to a green premium – a
is what science mandates. Sustainability also depends
price difference between green and conventional
on influencing individual behavior, changing our
products. In areas like textiles, there is a price
lifestyles, consumption patterns, dietary choices, waste
differential that exists between cloth made of
management, and more.
sustainable cotton and conventional cotton. But for a
available
today.
lot of building blocks of our economy like Cement, Steel
Accountability for the Value Chain Each country is developing
and fertilisers, we must be able to build the price
regulations and
differential. Such a premium presents opportunities for
frameworks to address these challenges, including
innovation
India's Business Responsibility and Sustainability
investments in green products.
Reporting (BRSR), the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the European Green Deal. These regulations are aimed at forcing companies to consider not only their direct operations but also the entire value chain, including their supply chain partners. Companies are being held accountable for their indirect impacts on supply chain partners, both upstream and downstream.
and
potentially
higher
returns
on
At the same time, geopolitics plays a role, as witnessed during supply chain shocks related to international conflicts. Companies are working to create resilient supply chains capable of surviving these shocks. They are also making strategic choices to engage supply chain partners who align with their own ESG vision. Companies today are not just responsible for their direct impacts but are held accountable for the
However, while regulation plays a significant role,
impact they have across the entire value chain, both
the momentum for change is not solely driven by legal
upstream and downstream. This is an emerging
requirements. On the voluntary side, over one-third of
challenge – how to engage with supply chain partners
the largest publicly traded companies have already set
to ensure alignment with ESG objectives. Furthermore,
Net Zero targets. More than 200 Indian companies have
access to finance is increasingly dependent on a
committed to their net-zero goals. Investors are also
company's ESG performance. Other factors, such as
exerting pressure on companies, and they are now
employee retention, show that millennials prefer
evaluated based on various parameters, such as worker
working for organizations with a strong commitment
well-being, biodiversity conservation, climate change
to sustainability. Having a solid foundation in ESG and
efforts, and human rights. This shift reflects a
incorporating it within the organization's culture can
significant change from the past when companies were
lead to significant gains.
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Need for Balance
leveraging artificial intelligence and the Internet of
Nonetheless, achieving sustainability goals is easier said than done. It involves navigating multiple, sometimes conflicting, development imperatives such as energy security, economic growth, food and water security, biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction, and more. Prioritising these imperatives while achieving economic growth and environmental and social sustainability, is a challenge. For instance, transitioning to clean energy sources while addressing the impact on coal-dependent communities is a complex task.
Things to optimize processes and enhance energy efficiency.
Even
in
agriculture,
remote
sensing
technology and AI are proving to be critical enablers, offering timely and actionable insights to farmers and agribusinesses. For instance, AI is enabling precision agriculture, guiding farmers to use just the right amount of inputs to increase yield and reduce costs, contributing to sustainability. We're already collecting real-time data in agriculture using drones, embracing innovations that make the world more sustainable.
Similarly, we must find out how we can transition to
In the industrial sector, numerous startups have
electric vehicles without impacting the traditional
emerged, focusing on automation, IoT, AI, machine
automotive value chains and employment. Decisions
learning, or sensor-based systems that capture real-time
regarding land use, for agriculture or renewable energy
data, allowing companies to optimize processes,
installations, are challenging. Manufacturing sectors
utilities, and reduce downtime through predictive
must keep pace with technological advancements,
maintenance. The concept of digital twins is emerging,
especially in clean energy. A balance must be struck
offering a real-time visual representation of operations
between bold clean energy targets and ensuring that
or assets, crucial in a world where operations are
growth in technology exports is not the sole story for
becoming increasingly complex and data-driven.
every technology sector.
The realm of smart building management systems
In today's world, it's crucial to take a holistic and
is also making strides, optimizing ambient air
sustainable approach that encompasses not just a few
conditions and energy consumption while enabling
parameters but the entire spectrum of the economy,
remote facility management. These innovations are
society, and nature. This presents one of the biggest
essential because they align with what science demands:
challenges today. One of the solutions at our disposal
a transformation to stay on the right temperature
is digitization and technology. Companies worldwide
pathways that can help us avert the devastating impacts
are
of climate change and protect the vulnerable sections
expanding
their
data
analytics
capabilities,
harnessing the power of machine learning, data mining, and what we refer to as big data. You might have heard the phrase that "data is the new gold," which holds true in today's context.
experiences of the past decade and contribute to are defining times, and you, as young visionaries and
Digital technology plays a pivotal role in this transformation. Many manufacturing industries are 48
As young individuals, I hope you learn from the carving a more sustainable path for the future. These
Technology –The Key Enabler
NOVEMBER 2023
of society worldwide.
future decision-makers, have a unique opportunity to innovate, create a lasting impact, and make a significant contribution to the world.
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
Innovate for Tomorrow: Embracing Responsibility and Sustainability in Manage ment
America. You are the opinion leaders, thought leaders, and change-makers of tomorrow. Our generation is passing the torch of awareness of ESG practices to your generation, and you will carry the responsibility of implementing them. Innovation, by definition, signifies progress and moving forward. Without innovation, we will not witness any meaningful change.
Responsibility Next comes responsibility. How do you define Mr K V Ramani
responsibility, and how do you define tomorrow? In the
Founder and Chancellor, SAI University
context of sustainability, responsibility entails leaving
M
anagement is all about managing people, materials, money, and time. These are the four dimensions of management that I
learned in my early years, and I believe they remain relevant. However, the entire paradigm of management
the world in a better state than when we arrived. It's about contributing to making our planet more sustainable during our lifetime, in every sense. The underlying message is to innovate and contribute to a more sustainable planet for future generations.
has evolved. I want to emphasize that management is
Innovation is essential as it removes obstacles for
no longer confined to overseeing these four dimensions:
future generations. Innovation is about doing things
people, materials, money, and time. It extends beyond
better, faster, and more cost-effectively. It also involves
these dimensions into new frontiers, particularly in the
using natural resources more efficiently because we
context of sustainability and responsible innovation. As
understand that these resources are finite. The concept
emerging young managers, who are the leaders of
of "net zero" is central to sustainability. It aims to
tomorrow, you will face the challenge of innovating for
ensure that we leave the Earth with as many natural
a responsible future. The three key words, namely
resources as we can reproduce, ultimately reaching a
Innovate, Responsible and Future contain significant
net-zero balance. As an example, my university, which
meaning.
I founded, has operated for three years as a net-zero campus. Our entire 103-acre campus is powered by
Innovation
solar energy, and we've implemented comprehensive
Innovation encompasses various connotations
waste management systems. It serves as a model for
because, without innovation, we would continue
green and sustainable practices. If each of us takes on
performing the same tasks today and in the days to
the responsibility of sustainability, we can collectively
come. As part of India's population of youth, you belong
make
to a group of over 50 million next-generation Indians,
sustainability is not always taken as seriously as it
making us the world's largest population of young
should be. Governments and corporations worldwide
individuals. The youth population of India today
often preach sustainability but don't practice it.
surpasses the entire population of the United States of
Sustainability is frequently deferred to the future rather
BUSINESS MANDATE
a
fountainhead of excellence
significant
difference.
Unfortunately,
49 NOVEMBER 2023
than addressed today.
environment. These are the challenges that humankind faces. We acknowledge the issues and are becoming
Development vs. Sustainability
increasingly aware of them, but we have yet to find
In the business world, we've seen instances where
comprehensive solutions. We must recognize the
economic development and sustainability clash. For
responsibility to ensure that the planet is not destroyed
example, the growth of the IT industry created
and that natural resources are not depleted during our
significant employment opportunities in India, but it
lifetime. We should leave the world in a better state than
also had environmental consequences. Every computer
when we arrived.
consumes energy, which comes from sources that harm the environment. However, the IT sector has innovated to balance economic development with sustainability.
Innovate for a Green Tomorrow Innovation
is
the
key
to
addressing
these
While it has generated numerous jobs, it has also
challenges. Without innovation, we cannot progress.
focused on making the planet greener and more
Innovation is the mother of success, and it has led to
sustainable. There is a trade-off between business and
the technological advancements we enjoy today. But
sustainability, as well as between employment and
innovation also comes with a cost. We must create an
sustainability. We need to strike a balance to achieve
innovative atmosphere that promotes sustainability.
both goals simultaneously.
Sustainability must be integrated into every new
In the quest to conquer outer space, we've created debris and pollution, which threatens the sustainability
project. Entrepreneurship combined with innovation is the
of space itself. We must balance our exploration of
catalyst
other planets and the protection of our space
innovation to the marketplace, benefiting individuals,
50
NOVEMBER 2023
BUSINESS MANDATE
for
fountainhead of excellence
progress.
Entrepreneurship
brings
corporations, and society as a whole. This combination is the cornerstone of progress and innovation is the future of humankind. In conclusion, we have a responsibility to promote sustainability and innovation. We must ensure that we leave this planet in a better state than when we arrived. Sustainability is essential, and innovation is the key to achieving a more sustainable environment. I leave you with a simple message: Innovate for tomorrow. Otherwise, we will perish.
grown tremendously.
Incremental vs. Disruptive Innovation I represent the supply chain industry, and, in many ways, I'm a significant beneficiary of this growth. Whether it's manufacturing or services, I see enormous development and opportunities in India. The theme for this year’s convention is very fitting because it's all about innovation for the future. Technovation drives many aspects of our world. I remember the late Professor Clayton Christensen from Harvard Business School,
Innovate, Transform, Thrive: India's Journey Towards a HighTech Future
who
wrote
extensively
on
innovation,
distinguishing between disruptive innovation and incremental innovation. Disruptive innovation doesn't happen every day; it occurs occasionally, disrupting industries, ecosystems, and our daily routines, creating tremendous growth momentum. India's IT outsourcing industry, for instance, disrupted the service delivery methodology in global information technology by introducing the concept of remote offshore work, boosting efficiency multiple
Mr Ravi Viswanathan
times and offering services at a significantly lower cost,
Managing Director, TVS Supply Chain Solutions
which qualified as a disruptive innovation. Companies
I
ndia is standing out like a beacon. In the midst of a lot of economic chaos, there is this one shining light showing tremendous economic prosperity.
More importantly, I think the economic activity one sees in this country is just amazing. You are entering India with enormous potential and an incredible amount of economic activity is happening in the country postCOVID, aiming to recover and achieve a 6% GDP growth. We have the opportunity to reach a double-digit GDP, leading us to our destined position of leadership in the next decade. We are excelling in various industries. If I look back to where we were just a decade ago and where we stand today, the country's infrastructure has
in the IT sector continue to engage in incremental innovation daily, improving processes, technology solutions, and adopting new technologies to benefit end customers. This type of incremental innovation is essential for an organization's growth and can be considered a hygiene practice, while disruptive innovation is often a stroke of genius.
When Steps did not Count Therefore, organizations must invest in incremental innovation continuously, encouraging initiatives like hackathons to invite young minds to rethink processes, find efficiencies, and explore new ideas for doing things faster, better, and more efficiently. I recall a hackathon
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51 NOVEMBER 2023
we organized 15 years ago in my previous company,
What's exciting is the simplicity of the interface.
where a young participant proposed a novel idea for a
Whether you're buying a tender coconut or paying for
phone app to measure daily step count. At that time,
services, it's the same interface. My 86-year-old mother
we dismissed it as a strange concept, not realizing the
uses her phone to pay the telephone bill every month
future potential. Yet today, almost everyone has a
via UPI. It's incredible what this has accomplished, and
device that tracks steps and calories burned, illustrating
it's a prime example of disruptive innovation. We can
the power of differential thinking and the impact of
expect to see more innovations like this in India, and
youth. Innovation is about thinking differently and
India will lead in this area. As management students,
utilizing that creativity.
this is what you should embrace.
From an organizational perspective, we should foster innovation continually. Moving back to disruptive innovation, India is currently at the forefront of it. India's digital payment infrastructure has completely disrupted payment systems, not only within India but globally. The QR code has become so prevalent that you can use your phone to pay for a variety of services and goods, from a tender coconut vendor to a plumber. You can buy groceries, pay hotel bills and purchase luxury items in a mall—all via UPI. It's a groundbreaking disruption that many initially underestimated.
52
NOVEMBER 2023
Innovations in Supply Chain In my industry too, we're witnessing substantial disruptions in the global supply chain. In India, similar to the digital payment infrastructure, we now have a digital
supply
chain
infrastructure.
Significant
investments in road infrastructure have been made across the country, dramatically reducing transit times. GST has streamlined the process further. We can now track shipments in real time and access information from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways through our systems. We now have the capability to tap
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
into
the
Vahan
database,
providing
real-time
This capability allows us to
information on vehicle fitness, driver ratings, and more.
predict delivery times with
This allows us to engage with our partners in a more
greater accuracy, ensuring that
proactive manner.
materials are available to our
Today, all the Fastag stations across the country are
customers in a more
accessible through an API interface. Our application tracks every vehicle that passes through these Fastag
predictable manner. This, in
stations. For example, if you consider the Delhi-Chennai
turn, enhances the efficiency of
route with its 50 or even 100 Fastag toll plazas, we can
the manufacturing sector.
precisely determine between which two Fastag stations our trucks are located. This capability allows us to predict delivery times with greater accuracy, ensuring that materials are available to our customers in a more
significant problem as it hindered bike assembly. We
predictable manner. This, in turn, enhances the
implemented Visual Computing Technology, which is
efficiency of the manufacturing sector. There's a
a camera-based system that carefully examines each
significant amount of opportunity and digital disruption
part included in a kit, ensuring that the correct parts
occurring in our space right now, and it's all unfolding
are included 100% of the time. Within just six months
here in India. Each one of us is actively participating in
of deployment, we managed to reduce errors to 0%. This
this ongoing disruption.
meant that every CKD (Complete Knock Down) kit shipped was free from errors. This highlights how
Visual Computing Technology
incremental innovation occurs within the workforce employee
daily. We need systems and processes in place to
community, we have 18,000 employees globally. We
capture these innovative ideas and transform them into
convert their inputs into opportunities to enhance our
opportunities to better serve our customers.
In
terms
of
engaging
with
our
customer services. Let me provide two examples. We work closely with several two-wheeler manufacturers
Smart Way to Deliver Smart Meters
in the country. For one manufacturer, we manage their
I'd like to share another example from our
entire CKD (Complete Knock Down) kits, which they
operations in the UK. We are involved in delivering
export to dealers outside of India.
smart meters to utility sector customers, allowing their
When we took over the operations, one of the ideas that a young person brought up in the field was to address a common issue. There were parts for different models of bikes that appeared very similar to the naked eye, but they had subtle differences. These subtle variations were leading to errors, resulting in incorrect inventory sent to dealers overseas. This posed a
field engineers to deploy these meters daily. Typically, a technician completes five or six smart meter installations in a day. The process involved the technician receiving a daily work order, going to the office, collecting all the necessary materials from the warehouse, loading them into their vehicle, and driving to the installation sites. In the evening, they returned any surplus materials to the warehouse.
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53 NOVEMBER 2023
Our UK team proposed a simple idea: eliminate the need for technicians to come to the office altogether. They suggested sending us the work orders, allowing
trained in forklift and reach truck operations.
Learning is a Necessity
us to prepare all the smart meters. We installed digital
I'm a big cricket fan, and with the World Cup
locks in the technicians' vehicles and operated at night,
around, I follow Ravi Ashwin, one of the world's top
placing seven or eight kits, depending on the work
spinners. Recently, he posted a thought-provoking
orders, in their trunks. We also collected any materials
message on Instagram which goes like this: The capacity
to be returned from the previous day and transported
to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; but the
them back to the warehouse for refurbishing. The next
willingness to learn is a choice. Despite being
morning, the technician could check their phone and
considered one of the best, he visits the National Cricket
see the eight orders and addresses they needed to visit.
Academy to sharpen his skills.
They already had the kits in their trunk. This small change
significantly
increased
productivity
and
efficiency, enabling technicians to complete seven or eight
installations
daily.
This
exemplifies
how
incremental innovation enhances efficiency. Therefore, technovation is crucial and should be embraced by every organization.
He emphasized the importance of the willingness to learn as a choice. This choice is before all of us, and it's essential to embrace learning throughout our journey. My 86 year old mother serves as an example; At 84, she learned how to use a cell phone to be selfsufficient and pay her own telephone bills. The willingness to learn isn't just a choice anymore; it's a necessity. We don't have the option to let it go. You
Need for Skilling You can't avoid the role of technology; it must be at the core of every business. I work for the TVS Mobility Group, and we take pride in being a company
must ensure that you have the willingness to learn, a choice that's entirely within your control. To
conclude,
technology
is
inevitable,
and
that generates profit for a purpose. Our purpose is to
technology-led innovation will shape our future. India
give back to the community. Prior to TVS, I worked in
is at the forefront of technological disruption across
the Tata Group, another organization dedicated to
various industries. We've made significant investments
giving back to the community through initiatives like
in infrastructure, and our economic indicators are
hospitals, schools, skilling and retraining programs, and
promising. You're graduating at a time of exceptional
employment generation. TVS Supply Chain Solutions is
opportunities.
no different.
Your focus should be on executing exceptionally
We operate a skilling school outside of Chennai,
well and ensuring incremental innovation daily. In my
where we work with villagers to provide training in
nearly 40 years of working with two remarkable groups,
warehouse operations. The school resembles a driving
the Tata Group and the TVS Group, I've learned the
school, with lanes for young people to get certified in
importance of adaptability. Practices will change every
operating forklifts and reach trucks. What's most
day, but principles should remain unwavering.
gratifying is the strong diversity and inclusivity, with 12 young girls being part of this training program, 54
NOVEMBER 2023
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
Unconventional Journeys: Three Inspiring Stories of Success through Attitude and Oppor tunity
important.” In that moment, I learned something about this gentleman. Then he looked at me and said, “Sir, if you don't mind, can I meet you tomorrow?” That was his polite way of saying, “I have to get on with my job. Please move out from here.” I said, “You can meet me 10 o'clock tomorrow,” and left the place.
Bragging about 36% At 10 am, the next day, he came and knocked my door. “May I come in, Sir?” I asked him to come in and S V Nathan
be seated. It was a pretty large room. The first question
Partner, Deloitte India
that I asked him was, “What is your background?” “I
Y
have done my MBA” and named a School of
ears ago, I was General Manager (Human Resources) in an Indian company. I had just moved from a British multinational. I had
schooled in one of the finest institutions in the countryXLRI and I was feeling very proud of myself. Although I'm about five foot, I always thought I was an Amitabh Bachchan. It was the first week in my job. I was working a little late till about 10 o'clock at night. As I stepped
Management. “I've never heard of such a school,” said I. “How will you hear about it, Sir? In about a year after I joined, they closed in that place.” He was laughing at himself. I continued, “You seem be very happy about it. Tell me, what was your undergraduate course?” “B.A. History,” He sounded as if he had just won the Nobel Peace Prize.
out of my cabin, I found in the far corner of my office,
Hearing the name of his college, I realised it was
there was some singing going on. At 10, people don't
one of those colleges, where students who could not
sing. They all want to be at home. But this guy was
get admitted in other colleges, would seek refuge in. I
working and singing. He was a very tall guy, almost six
now asked him, “What was your percentage?” He said,
foot.
“36% Sir,” again sounding so happy, as if he had got
I went up to him and asked him, “Hey, what are you
96%.
doing?” He was doing something called cyclo-styling.
When I grilled him, “Why are you so happy with just
Many may not know what is cyclo-styling. It’s a copying
36% marks?” he said, “If they didn't give me 36, they
machine that was widely used before Xerox came. He
had to suffer me for one more year. So they cleared me
said, “I'm making payroll slips.” “Payroll slips!” I
and here I am.” In all this, I recognised that sitting in
quipped, perhaps sounding judgmental about his job.
front of me, was a very interesting gentleman and I
He picked it up and said, “Aren’t you happy about my
quite liked this guy. Despite all his achievements or the
making payroll slips? It’s a very important job. If there
lack of it, he was a person that I could relate to. I was a
is one extra zero, somebody is extremely happy about
topper in my class, a gold medalist. It's very difficult
the compensation. One zero less, somebody is very
for me to stand second. I was speaking to somebody
unhappy. Therefore the job that I'm doing is very
who was a 36%. But he was so full of himself.
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
55 NOVEMBER 2023
The Best Bet
is five levels senior to the job that I'm doing. Won’t you
At that moment, there was a call, “Mr. Nathan, I'm calling from Bombay. I have been looking for a Regional Manager (Human Resources) for the last six months and you have not given me even a single guy. I told him, “I've been in my job only for a week.” “I don't care,” he said, “I want somebody by the end of the day.” In that instant, I said, “I have a man who is the very best. But you must be nice to him. He's my best bet.” The man at the other end said, “Fine, no problem.”
get into trouble if somebody comes and asks you?” I said, “Who can ask me? I'm the boss. It's okay.” I took a chance. I forgot all about this guy. It turned out that it is one of the best decisions I've ever made in my entire life. Fast forward. I have no idea what happened to this gentleman.
Annoyed with Miami Trips About a year ago, I got a call. The person on the other end says “Mr. Nathan. I'm really annoyed that my
I kept the phone down, looked at the gentleman
company is asking me to go to Miami, for the third year
sitting in front of me and asked him, “Do you think you
running, all expenses paid for me and my wife. They
can go to Bombay and take on the job as a Regional HR
choose the top 0.001% performers in the world and
Manager?” He said, “Oh yes.” Then I asked him the last
bring them to Miami. Miami is a nice beach resort.”
question. “Do you know Hindi?” He said, “Thoda,
“Then, why are you annoyed with that?” He replied,
thoda.” (Little, little). It generally meant that he had no
“Can’t they find a better place than Miami? How about
clue. Anyway, I liked this guy, and told him, “Okay, off
Switzerland?” I said, “You should ask your management.
you go and take on this new role.” Before he left, he
But don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Go and enjoy
asked me one question, “You asked me a number of
yourself.” I put the phone down and I was smiling to
questions. I'm going to ask you a question. Do you know
myself.
that I'm just a payroll clerk? This job you now suggest 56
NOVEMBER 2023
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
Almost 18 years ago, this gentleman who makes fun of going to Miami for the third time, was a payroll
The best stenographers in the
clerk. I will never forget, Mahi- Mahender Reddy, who
country are from South India.
is an amazing gentleman. He was a Director of Human
Most of them are from Chennai.
Resources, the highest one could get in the country in
They migrated from Chennai to
one of the top most multinationals that had come to town. He was there for a fair number of years. He taught
Calcutta or Bombay or Delhi
me a lesson. It's not the education that we get. But what
and did exceedingly well in
do we do with the education that we get is more
their lives.
important.
Story No.2: The HR Odyssey of a Stenographer I was in Hyderabad. I wanted a stenographer. This is a job that has gone into extinction today. A stenographer takes notes in Pitman’s shorthand of the dictation that he/she gets, types and edits that. The best stenographers in the country are from South India.
you as a steno but I'll make sure that in 18 months, you're out of the job.” He got worried. I reassured him, “Don’t worry. I will move you out to some other job.” 18 months later, I moved him to operations.
Most of them are from Chennai. They migrated from
Time passed. Ten years later, he comes home on a
Chennai to Calcutta or Bombay or Delhi and did
Sunday morning, when you least expect visitors. He
exceedingly well in their lives.
says, “Sir, I want to resign from this company. And you
My team said they considered three people from Chennai and shortlisted two of them. “What about the third guy?” I asked and they said, “He is very short and plump.” I said, “Don't make these remarks. It's not right. You should look at the talent and not at the person. So bring him to me.”
must bless me.” I sounded upset and said, “You want to resign from this company for all the good things this company has done for you!” “No Sir. You have been very, very kind. The company has done a lot for me but I would like to leave. Before you change your mind, would you please read this letter?” He gave me a letter and it reads, “Dear Mr. So and
The Winner on Hand
So. We are pleased to welcome you on board as General
The moment I started speaking to him, I realized
Manager (Human Resources).” That company happened
that I had a winner on my hands. In 15 minutes, I could
to be a multinational. Today, Mr Nagaraj is the Vice
make out that this person sitting in front of me was an
President- Human Resources of that same multinational
outstanding professional. He had all of what we had
in Hyderabad. It's an amazing story. He scored 86% in
wanted on his resume. He had done B.SC Physics from
physics and look at what happened to him much later.
a college of repute but failed to mention his marks.
It doesn't really matter what you do with your
When I asked him his percentage, he said, “86%.” It was
percentages. It's what you do with what you want to do
such a high mark in those days. Yet, for 20 years of his
on the job.
life, he had been a stenographer. I told him, “I will take BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
57 NOVEMBER 2023
Story No 3: The Gym Instructor’s Journey Let me go back to one of the companies that I was working.. I was the Head of Human Resources. This was a company called Sterling Holiday Resorts. I had moved from a company, which chose only the best. When I joined Sterling Holidays, I couldn’t find anybody with a background from any of the top notch colleges. But they did something that no company would ever do. They chose people very carefully for their attitude. This story is all about that attitude. If you're looking at success, the most essential part of what you should be focusing on is attitude.
working and it's fine. The bill will be at your door. But don't worry about it. It's not something which is very high. Enjoy your day. Thank you very much. Thank you for staying with Sterling Holidays.” He gives a big smile and then he walks away.
Rs 2000 is not enough I happened to be in Kodai resort on that day and heard about the story in the morning. I was swept off my feet. I called up the resort manager and said, “We got to do something about this. We must recognize this man. Let's do that.” That evening, we organized a very special event inviting all the staff. In front of all the
The Sinking Car
staff, I presented him a very nice handwritten
I was in Kodaikanal. We have Sterling Resorts at Kodai. It so happened that one night, somebody in an inebriated condition, drove his small Maruti 800 car so close to the lake, that it almost sank into the lake. It was almost midnight. He came to the reception. There was
appreciation note. But more importantly, I gave him a cheque of rupees 2000, which was a lot of money then. We had organized a very special dinner. I thought he would be very happy. But he looked at me, thanked me and walked away.
a person who was nearly asleep. The man who was
Then later, he came up to me and said, “Sir, I just
drunk says, “Listen, I think my car is going to drown.
want to tell you, that I am highly thankful of what
Can you help me?” There is nobody around. The
you've given me, but this is not enough.” I was shocked
receptionist comes out, looks all around and he finds
and asked him, “Rs 2000 is not enough! Doesn’t it hold
that there is a light in the gymnasium. In the gym, he
any value for you?” “No Sir. 2000 is a lot of money. But
finds a person doing workouts with weights in his
that's not what I want. I want a career. I don't want to
hands.
end up as a gym instructor all my life.”
The receptionist explains the problem of the
I asked him, “What are you willing to do for it?”
customer to the person in the gym and asks him, “Can
“Whatever you tell me. Can you find a way of having me
you help?” He immediately says, “Of course.” He gets
on your team, perhaps even as your assistant. I just
out, puts on some clothes, calls four or five of his mates
want to be with you.” I said, “Fine.” This gentleman
who are in the kitchen sleeping. They run out, drag the
tagged with me for a few years. During those years, he
car out, take it to a garage, make sure that the garage
did correspondence course and finished his B.Com.
operator opens up the engine and get it cleaned of all
Then
the mess and have it ready. At 7.30 the next morning,
Administration, again through correspondence. He did
he meets the guest with a cup of coffee and presents to
well. Many things happened and I lost sight of him and
him his car keys. He tells the guest, “Sir. Your car is
he lost sight of me.
58
NOVEMBER 2023
he
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
enrolled
into
Master's
in
Business
As always, the one that I really love are those
These are the three stories. A payroll clerk, a
telephone calls. I got a telephone call one day just
stenographer and a gym instructor.. The story of Mahi,
before Covid and it said, “Sir, I need your counsel. I
Nagaraj and Venkatesh. The story of attitude, staying
have got two job offers from two retail chains. You
in the moment and doing the best of whatever you can
must help me decide which one I should go for.” I asked
do. Amazing guys they all are. All you need for success
the person who called me a lot of rhetorical questions
are three things. One: Do you have the passion? Two:
and discussed his strengths, goals and such other
Will you do what it takes to get to the top, whatever it
things. After a few minutes of our discussions, he had
is? Three: Will you look at adversity or anything which
decided on one particular job offer. He went for it.
is painful, in the eye and say, “I shall yet win.” This is
Today, Venkatesh is the retail chain’s Vice President
what all these three people did. That's how you lead a
(Human Resources) and who was many years ago, a gym
life. That's how you succeed and this is what I have
instructor.
learnt.
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