Business Mandate (October 2020)

VOL. XXXXVI NO.4

OCTOBER 2020

CONTENTS

CHINA: Business, Technology & Economy in 2020

The Art & Power of Nudging M S Narayan

Partnerships in the Age of Covid Panel Discussion

Transforming India & Indian Businesses Pradeep Deshpande

Women Leader Series: Policing in Covid Times & Beyond

Lakshmi Venkatachalam

Panel Discussion

EDITOR Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM EDITORIAL SUPPORT Gp Capt Dr R Venkataraman (Retd) LAYOUT EXECUTIVE D Rajaram

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

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

EDITORIAL

Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM

Time to Look at Innovation, Health & Women Entrepreneurship

T

he “Winners”, during a crisis, get a few things right:

restrictions, a few companies are able to gain advantage. A

They protect and even reinvent the core of their

shock like Covid­19 can bring about lasting changes in

activities with agility; they trim fat and add muscle.

consumer behaviour; and those firms that are quick enough

MMA too has undergone a transformative change with the

to spot consumer changes, have already modified their

conduct of its activities. I firmly believe that the impression

business models to reflect them. They are not reluctant to

that India has reached the Corona peak in September suffers

make investments in innovation to reap rich dividend. The

from fallacy of inference. The conclusion is based on limited

market research firm, Nielsen, said it recorded 1897 product

inputs; the number may rise again, with all our shambolic

launches in the health and hygiene portfolio since March 2020

systems and amusing statistics. It is a pity that our shifting strategies are based on mathematical models of a limited theoretical frame. The MMA Committee has taken a conscious decision to wait for few more days before we could take a call on offline activities at MMA. But not to worry, the Covid­19 experience has indeed turned out to be a long­term gain for MMA to present outstanding events with the participation of speakers and viewers from around the world.

Covid has been a wake­up call for India. It will be quite some time before we understand the full impact of the

The market research firm, Nielsen, said it recorded 1897 product launches in the health and hygiene portfolio since March 2020 compared to 102 in the previous six months’ period till February 2020.

Companies and individuals, however, need to be cautious about how consumer demand shapes up for most innovations once the pandemic subsides.

pandemic. Even during severe economic downturns and OCTOBER 2020

5

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

compared to 102 in the previous six months’ period till

The International Heart Day was observed on 29th September,

February 2020. Companies and individuals, however, need

and it has come as a reminder that it is more important than

to be cautious about how consumer demand shapes up for

ever to pay due attention to our health, and in particular, to

most innovations once the pandemic subsides.

our heart. Another issue increasingly becoming a cause of concern is mental health. More so, in India, given our poor

CavinKare‐MMA Chinikrishnan Innovation Awards

awareness and stigma associated with mental illnesses and

Innovation leads to progress. It has propelled India to a higher

inadequate health infrastructure, we strongly believe that the

plane. We are now in the top 50 league in the Global

first step towards solving this lies in enabling mental health

Innovation index. We are indeed privileged to play a small

literacy among stakeholders. MMA is organizing a series of

role in catalysing people responsible for stunning innovations.

lectures by outstanding thought leaders in association with

In this context, I am delighted to share with you that the

Buddhi Clinic, NHRD and KAS.

CavinKare­MMA Chinikrishnan Innovation Awards Function is scheduled to be telecast on a national television channel at

The legend is gone, but his legacy will live on…

06.00 pm on 10th October 2020.

Fans around the world mourn the demise of one of India’s

We strongly believe that for innovative products to

greatest playback singers of all time, lovingly called SPB by

succeed in India, we must address the pain points of the

all. One keeps wondering why is it that millions feel that they

majority who are poor. Late Mr Chinnikrishnan, the father of

have lost one of their family members and what is it that

Mr C K R, too believed that for products or services to scale

differentiated him from other great singers. A true leader

they need to innovate along with the end­user or customer.

displays humility in success, remains humane in approach,

Most importantly innovations need to be affordable, scalable

and always appreciates team members. This is what has earned

and sustainable. The award is our way to encourage small scale

him legions of fans.

industries. Please do watch the telecast and get inspired.

MMA is fortunate to have hosted him for an event to pay tribute to late MSV. I still remember that during this event his

For women entrepreneurs

eyes always expressed only kindness and admiration for all

The only one challenge that every women entrepreneur faces

the achievement of others. As a tribute to late SPB we present

too often from parents, friends and even spouse: Doing

to you the talk by him to the Members of MMA from our

something about it! But the spirit with which they have taken

archives—Watch SPB share his experiences and relive his

it is what matters. When women go out there to change the

greatness by clicking the link here.

narrative, the journey is excruciatingly difficult but the reward is extraordinarily satisfying. In this context, MMA launched a new initiative—guided by Mr V Balaraman, Past President, MMA—with the forming of “MMA Women Business Council” to showcase women achievers and their incredible feats. Listen to Ms Zia Hajeebhoy share her inspiring story of entrepreneurship.

Of health...

6

OCTOBER 2020

Thank you so much for reading—and all the very best for managing whatever the rest 2020 has in store for us!

They think big and want to be number one... They are, in general, implementers of technology, not particularly inventors; and they are not ashamed about that. suitable technologies, factories and opportunities.

China is a very large country, three times the size of India. The population is almost similar. They have one common language—except for two or three of the far­flung provinces—which helped in bringing and keeping them together. The unemployment is very low at 1.7% and youth unemployment is remarkably low. India has something like 23%.

The few good things that they did I have lived in Hong Kong and China for

and a lot of support from some of the

started from 1978. Premier Deng

a little more than 10 years. I have been

developed countries nearby. The

Xiaoping brought in a sharp focus. He

very much interested in their culture

Northeast provinces like Heilongjiang

tried to open the country and develop it.

and made a lot of good friends and

and Liaoning were adopted by Japan.

In 1978 when he took over, there were

business associates. I have tried to learn

Places like Shandong got support from

88% of people below poverty line and

a lot from them.

Korea. Fujian was adopted by Taiwan

today they are at 1.7%. Life expectancy

If we look at the map of China, we

and Guangdong by Hong Kong. Thus,

from 1978 to now has improved by

can understand how the transformation

the strong influence came from these

about 10 years. Infant mortality has

happened with the State's own interest

neighbouring countries and brought in

come down from 53 per thousand to 8

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

per thousand, and literacy also

Along with Deng Xiaoping, there was

factories—400 of them owned by China.

improved to 96%. The State provides

another economic mind—Zhu Rongji,

The road from Shanghai to Myanmar is

free education up to class 9. Labour

who contributed a lot to where they

so well developed that fabric is able to

force participation by women is 60%,

have reached today and how they think

reach from the textile mills in Eastern

whereas in India it is about 25%. That

now. Government policies are in place

China to the border of Myanmar in 10

means the State has provided jobs,

to create self­sufficiency, stability and

days. Also, Myanmar is one of the

income, healthcare and education.

continuity. That is the bigger approach.

countries where the important Mekong

China’s economic liberalism is a

They have something called the

transformation story of 40 years. In

‘whole nation system’ which started as

1980, their GDP was less than India’s.

a system to support sports and develop

Today they are at about 14 trillion and

a number of world­class athletes. There

India is at 3.2 trillion. China is a global

is also another parallel system for

River flows. Water, of course, is a resource of the future. China has a lot of interest in Pakistan and Myanmar for these reasons. Pakistan gives them access to the Gwadar port and has river water up north.

China has made a lot of developments and inroads into Myanmar, to an extent that Myanmar is like another province of China. In Myanmar, there are 600 garment factories—400 of them owned by China

China has developed infrastructure extremely well—power, roads, railways, ports and communication. They think big and want to be number one. Even within their sub­systems, they aspire to be number one. They are, in general, implementers of technology, not

trading power. They are trading at

education. Some of their best minds are

particularly inventors; and they are not

4,600 billion dollars with 54% exports.

grown in special universities and

ashamed about that.

India’s trade is about 844 billion.

military universities and are developed

The people want to be safe and

China's trade with India is about 100

for serving the country. China has global

respected. They are a collective lot and

billion dollars. For them, we are not a

ambitions. You take the Belt and Road

do not stand up as individuals. They

very big trading partner. But for us, they

Initiative, which is a big Silk Road kind

work as a team. They look up to the

are important because we import 75

of movement to connect countries from

government, and the government unites

billion dollars of products from them.

China to Asia, Africa, Europe and

them. They cannot perform without a

China has tweaked RMB to USD very

Australia.

leader. They are good at working as

opportunistically and intelligently, and

China has made a lot of inroads into

tries to maintain parity where imports

Africa because Africa has a lot of

and exports are both supported. In

minerals. They are not there in Africa to

Guangxi and Renqing

essence, China is a very interesting mix

make textile garments. China has made

Guangxi and Renqing are two important

of Confucian tradition, communist

a lot of developments and inroads into

concepts. Guangxi means relationship.

orthodoxy and super capitalism!

Myanmar, to an extent that Myanmar is

They are very particular about personal

like another province of China. In

and business relationships. Vendors try

Myanmar, there are 600 garment

to support each other. Even if there is a

How do the Chinese think?

10

OCTOBER 2020

teams.

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

minor accident on the road, drivers get

From Three Gorges to the Great

down, exchange cigarettes and start

Railway: The Han penchant for

making relationships!

greatness

People have ‘hope’ as poverty has been removed. For them, Apple and Amazon are not the happiest places to work. China’s story is somewhat like that. Happiness is not the important thing. It's about being successful and their nation being an important

2,000 gigawatts and 25% of that is coming from new energy. They have the vision

to

identify

new

energy

opportunities like solar, wind and nuclear. They set up and commissioned the Three Gorges hydroelectric power plant, which is one of the wonders of

country!

They

focus

on

setting

up

infrastructure projects and identify potential industries like steel, mining, cement,

automobiles,

aluminium,

fertilizers, machine tools, armaments and food. As time progresses, they are willing to re­calibrate the list of potential industries and add artificial intelligence,

drones,

e­commerce,

electric vehicles, robotics and space. So firstly, they identify the right industries and then the government supports them

They

invest

first,

start

developments and course­correct later.

It is not uncommon for the pollution control board people to go to the factories with chain and padlock and lock it up. They shut down all the small dyeing units and revised their standards for water pollution, several years after developing the industry.

In general, their approach is to finish projects ‘on­time,’ if possible to finish ahead of schedule.

OCTOBER 2020

modern

engineering

world

with

generating capacity of 22.5 GW. It took them 14 years working 24 x 7. They helped in resettling some of the villagers. It has also helped them to control the flooding problem. China adds additional power every year by the same amount which Spain consumes in a year.

Let us take semiconductors. They have a goal to meet 70% of their own needs locally by 2025. In April 2018, when America decided to ban ZTE, Xi

with land and tax subsidies.

12

In power, their installed capacity is

Jinping arranged a meeting with his industry leaders within a month—in May 2018 itself. They have 139,000 kms of railway lines; almost double that of India’s.

They executed the Qinghai to Tibet train project covering 1400 kilometres –with 1000 metres of the stretch set up at altitudes of more than 4,000 meters, overcoming lots of challenges and yet, completing it one year early!

Then they set up a train system

The people want to be safe and respected. They are a collective lot and do not stand up as individuals. They work as a team. They look up to the government, and the government unites them.

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

through Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to

are very important part of the Chinese

from USA. Once China decided to

Europe, and it is functional. A lot of my

system. They have labour incentives.

embrace the world, USA decided to

produce is going by train from China to

The workers and staff have a lot of

embrace China and trade was going to

Germany and Spain now.

respect. Among the business units

be a big opportunity. For instance, the

Recently China had the foresight to

within an enterprise, there are profit

entire city of Chongqing is modelled on

seize the opportunity to set up the Tesla

centres and profit sharing. The unions

Chicago. Everything is big like

Gigafactory. It took them just 18 months

are generally passive. They don’t believe

McDonald and Kentucky. They like the

to

to

in gossip but only work. The

big scale concept. The banks favour the

commissioning and start of production.

government does a good job on skill

bigger and stronger companies.

This is an entirely American investment

development using many vocational

Let's take the example of Midea and

project. They were able to change their

training schools. People are getting

Galanz, two Chinese home appliance

mind and did not wrangle about the

more tech savvy. In the global

companies. Midea makes washing

factory being half­Chinese and half­

Innovation Index, they are at 14,

machines and Galanz, vacuum cleaners.

American.

Vietnam at 42 and India is at 48.

They reached the peak in that category,

go

from

land

approval

When we decided to go in for 3D

then Midea decided to make vacuum

They are agile and think in very

designing, we invested in two licenses

cleaners and Galanz decided to make

innovative ways

for India, 2 for China office and 2 for

washing machines. They just went with

They develop ecosystems in clusters. We

Vietnam office. But one of my Chinese

the proposal, got their approvals and

also have clusters in India, like Tiruppur

suppliers called Ningbo Kashion bought

loans and got into production.

and Surat in the textile industry. When

50 licenses! That is the way they go­­

we talk of Chinese clusters, they have

The Canton Fair is an amazing fair

with muscle, scale and power. The

the

and

held in Guangdong. It is held two times

government and banks support them.

ecosystem of all the vendors and all the

a year, in three phases because of the

They are agile and think in very

sub­assemblies available around. So this

number of products they have to cover.

innovative ways.

It is a place where businesses get really

complete

infrastructure

is the difference. The government

My garment sample room in

transacted and huge orders are closed.

Hangzhou make samples in about six

I went in and walked around Canton

working days and we courier it out to

Fair for the first time. I went to a booth

Zara in Spain. What did my Chinese

and picked up a garment. I looked at it

To cite an example, in January

competitor do? He moved his sample

and made some remarks. The next day,

2005, the global textile quota was about

room to Spain, just outside Zara. I could

I was back in my office and I saw that

to be abolished, and the world was going

not beat him on that. These are some

the same product which I had seen in

to become a level playing field and

interesting things our competitors do

the fair was sent to me. I did not ask for

China was expected to boom. Around

and we learn from them.

it. This is their initiative. They know

provides a lot of incentives by means of tax rebates. In India, we call them as duty drawback.

February 2005, the Indian government

how to promote and develop business!

withdrew duty drawbacks! These kinds

When it comes to thinking of business

of signals can often be very confusing to

development…

the industry. Speed, agility and support

The inspiration for size came to them

14

OCTOBER 2020

For those who cannot go to Canton Fair, there are places like the Shanghai­

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

Mart which is a 365 days­a­year

one with 100,000 pieces capaciThey

anomalies exist and one keeps

exhibition. It is one huge mall where

always get the benefit of doubt due to

wondering how they manage to do that.

suppliers from all over China have their

their scale.

Subcontract is a way of life. They

stalls, all the time. There is the Yiwu City

They have already gone ahead to

don't think anything wrong about it.

consumer product wholesale market. It

develop base line on the electric vehicle

They take it for granted. They don't

is an amazing place and a Disneyland for

batteries. Two of their companies are in

always ask for permission. Subcontract

the consumer products business. There

the top five–CATL and BYD. A number

is something you have to live with if

are huge malls all around the city—one

of other Korean and Japanese

you're producing or sourcing from

mall is only for stuffed toys, one for

companies are also producing in China.

China. The factories are profit centres

footwear, and one for household plastics

I believe they struggle in a couple of areas. They have a culture of cost‐ cutting in the factories and there is a rampant problem of counterfeiting

and they decide whether to do in­house Of the 'counterfeit’ mindset &

or subcontract. They think it is cheaper

subcontracting

to buy outside. This is not only for

I believe they struggle in a couple of

apparel but many other engineering

areas. They have a culture of cost­

industries too.

cutting in the factories and there is a rampant problem of counterfeiting.

The mysterious ‘shadow factories’ &

There is also a problem which some

the 'third shift'

people call as ‘quality fade’. The quality

There are ‘shadow factories’ in China.

of products starts declining over a

They project at the front a factory as the

period of time. One has to patrol a lot to

face to the client and behind them are

achieve the quality standard. This I

other factories, which don't always

and so on. You can go there and buy one

believe is because of their mindset of

follow all the compliances and laws of

piece or 600,000 pieces. That is how

frugality. They believe that one should

the land.

they

not spend too much and they look if

When faced with quotas or

something can be cut down to a cheaper

restrictions on the amount of export

level. Not always do they take approvals

from China, they wriggle out by moving

and permission for that change!

the goods to Singapore, Cambodia or

think

of

their

business

development.

In terms of capacity and delivery, the factories are so large. To traverse from Line No.1 to Line No. 20 of a T­

The counterfeit business is also

Dubai, repack, re­document and re­

Shirt factory, we need golf carts! Why

because of their mindset. They feel,

export. Then, we have the famous

does scale and size matter? Let's take a

“Why should only some people have

China's third shift philosophy. If they

customer like Uniqlo. They have got an

Louis Vuitton bags?” They go around

get an order for Hugo Boss shirts, in two

order for 100,000 pieces. They know

copying Louis Vuitton because that

shifts, they will make Hugo Boss and, in

that things may go wrong in the pre­

doesn't need any marketing. They have

the third shift, they will make a precise

production or planning. When it comes

Land Wind car which is a direct copy of

copy and these will be sold in other

to the crunch, who will catch up with the

a Range Rover. It was launched almost

outlets. Where they falter are in the

delivery faster? The factory with 1000

at the same time when the Range Rover

areas of product integrity. German

pieces per day capacity in India or the

was launched. These interesting

engineers from Bosch once walked OCTOBER 2020

15

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

around a factory in China looking at the

humanely acceptable or not? I raised the

Partnership (CPTPP) with Canada and

ball bearings. They were so experienced

question to ETI (Ethical Trading

Australia has come through. Free trade

and by the hand­feel of the bearings

Initiative) in the UK and they said, “No,

agreements are very important to boost

found out that something was wrong.

Sorry. We cannot approve and you

the business.

When questioned, the supervisor

better pull back.”

We have to benchmark and improve

scratched his head and said that they are

China is often blamed for ‘dumping’

our ease of doing business. All the

made in another factory. The infant

because of their mass production. One

parameters on ease of doing business

milk powder case was very famous. The

has to be very careful about IP issues

are very relevant and directly contribute

milk powder had melamine plastic

with them.

to the growth of Indian industry. We

components which were added to

should partner with Taiwan and

increase the protein content of the

Can India do a China?

Singapore for electronics to move away

powder. It does not just happen by

Can India become as big as China? They

from our dependence on China. We

default; it has something to do with the

started reforms in 1978 and we in 1991.

import about 66% of our electronic

culture.

We are now at $3.2 Trillion GDP and

products from China.

I had placed an order for shirts and

they are $14 trillion. 15 years back,

when I went for inspection, nothing was

China was at 3 trillion. So we are 15

going on in the factory. When asked

years behind them. As time progresses,

about my order, they said they are made

maybe we will ramp up. It is not about

in another place called Anhui. At Anhui,

trying to be as big as China but trying to

I saw that every house in a village was

have our own position in global

making my shirts!

business. I feel that we must give economy the primacy and which I

We should take Koreans and Japanese as our mentors. Wherever the Koreans and Japanese have gone, they have developed the industries very well.

Japanese bring in the quality angle while Koreans bring discipline into business. We have to make world­class quality and execution our brand!

Jianyu Gongchang and the question

believe is not being given. We should

of ethics

cast a vision for 2047, when our country

We have to set a time plan for self­

My Quality Controller once went to a

will be 100 years old. We should be

reliance. We can't say that we will stop

factory for inspection. They replied that

forward­looking. Our policy should not

importing from China from tomorrow.

the job had been subcontracted. As my

be two steps forward and one step

We have to sharpen the saw in terms of

QC insisted on inspection, with a lot of

backward. Government should try to lay

skills, competencies and logistics

reluctance, he was taken to a state

the carpets out, offer incentives, remove

infrastructure. We should try to develop

prison. Their state prisons referred to as

the barriers, lower operating costs and

Northeast India where there is a lot of

Jianyu Gongchang have a lot of

try to make the factories thrive. We

potential. That will also help us in

workshops not only for tailoring but

should pitch for FTAs like Vietnam.

keeping these states closely bonded with

also engineering and other industries.

Vietnam was working on free trade

us. We have to maintain our software­

My QC brought back samples. They

agreements with USA and Europe. Their

as­a­service (SaaS) leadership and Start­

were pretty good. But something

Europe FTA has come through. Their

up leadership. We have to be assertive.

bothered me.

Comprehensive

Progressive

We should try to be a little more

Trans­Pacific

powerful. Chinese people respect that. 

Is prison factory production 16

OCTOBER 2020

Agreement

and for

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

China's rise was not limited to just export oriented factories and shiny new physical in‐ frastructure. It made startling shifts in power relations too. sprees of Western Nations including Spain where I am sitting right now.

During the seven years that I spent in China, I worked in three capacities —initially as a teacher; I was teaching news writing in English. Subsequently, I was an advisor to the CII. Overlapping with that, I worked as a journalist, eventually becoming the China Bureau Chief for The Hindu newspaper.

At that time, I was the only Chinese speaking Indian foreign correspondent based in China, which I always found amazing, considering that together we

I had written a lot about the challenges

2009 and this was really an epochal

of Indian businesses and also tried to

time in the country's opening up. China

unpack the complex reasons behind

had just joined the World Trade

China’s success in driving itself and

Organization in 2001 and Beijing had

transforming itself from a bit of an

won the bid to host the 2008 Olympic

Although Indians remain obsessed

agricultural backwater into the kind of

Games. So there was really a kind of

with China, there was very little

manufacturing

visceral energy that was palpable across

investment in trying to understand or

the country in those years.

learn about it as evidenced by the fact

and

infrastructure

superpower that it has become. I have often said that the Yiwu City Market was more spectacular and amazing and jaw­dropping than the Forbidden City.

China's rise was not limited to just export oriented factories and the kind of shiny new physical infrastructure

At least 90% of the world's

either, indicating one of the most

Christmas trees and ornaments were

startling shifts in power relations.

being manufactured in and around

Beijing had also begun to emerge as the

Yiwu and being sold there. Similarly

globe's chief creditor and it had

80% of the world's zips and buttons,

accumulated the world's largest foreign

plush toys, even Ganesha and Krishna

currency reserves. Particularly after

statues were made there.

2008,

I lived in China between 2002 and 18

OCTOBER 2020

formed a third of the world's population and were very important part of the geostrategic picture.

that there were so few journalists stationed over there. When I moved to China in 2002, like most Indians, I knew very little about it. There had been a long diplomatic freeze between the countries and there were no direct flights. Between 2002 and 2008, the growth was really exponential.

My first impressions of the country

financing

were about scale. The size really hits you

powerhouse, financing the spending

—the roads and the buildings. This was

it

became

a

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

not only true of modern China but true

itinerant vendors that would pass by

nothing at all that we could learn from

throughout the history of China. For

there. People addressed each other in

them. I travelled the length and breadth

example, the Forbidden City was huge.

familial terms just as they do in India.

of China and visited about 25 Chinese

We saw it replicated during the

When quizzed on their perception of

provinces during the years I lived over

Communist period as well. They relied

India, they would talk of India as a

there. I went looking for poverty and

on this kind of gargantuanism with size

Buddhist country.

was taken to a village in Ningxia, which

and heft as a symbol of authority. It has

A certain demographic people had

is one of the poorest provinces in China.

translated into the modern and

been watching Hindi movies that were

I met two old couples who were

contemporary times too.

massive hits from the 1950s and 60s

supposed to be really poor. They lived in

through to the 1980s. They would even

a room, had a motor cycle, fans and a

dance to the songs from the movie

refrigerator. Looking at the consumer

‘Awaara.’

products definitions in India, they were

The rhythm in Hutongs As I lived in the city and learned Chinese, I ended up living a very local

very firmly middle class. This was

life. Unlike a lot of expats, I did not live

Some would comment on our

in the suburbs. I lived in the Hutongs

population and suggest that we should

(narrow lane in Beijing) and spent a lot

have ‘one­child’ policy. Once I asked an

of time with the working­class Chinese

old bicycle repairman for his views on

Prelude to Covid‐19

people. I learned quite soon that a lot of

India. He didn’t open. After a lot of

I began my reporting career writing

the stereotypes we had about the

prodding, he said that India’s telecom

about a strange new virus that had

Chinese as being inscrutable, unfriendly

policy is quite advanced, people have

begun over the winter of 2002 and

and inhospitable were completely

choice in choosing the operator and the

which the Chinese government was

wrong. They laughed readily, had a great

tariffs are low. I was blown away by that

covering up. That was a novel kind of

sense of humour and were very much

—the fact that this guy had that kind of

corona virus. That's how I began my

into teasing people and teasing me as an

knowledge, but I think it was also a

China journey and we seem to have

Indian as well.

reflection of the broadening out of

come full circle today!

They were rustic and easy to approach. Like in India, people

coverage that they were getting about India.

supposed to be like the deepest poverty that you could find in a village in China!

I think that China has learned a lot of lessons from 2002­2003 in managing

welcomed you very effortlessly into their

In India too, we had very little

the present outbreak. South Korea,

homes. Lower down the socio­economic

knowledge about China and when I

Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam have been

order, people were more open.

asked the reverse question in India, I

relatively successful in how they have

would get the full spectrum between

handled the corona virus as opposed to

Pride and Prejudice.

Europe. We can trace the epochal

If you took a bus into the countryside, people would share their eggs and oranges and nuts with you just

There were people who either

change after Xi Jinping came to power

like people would, on a train in India.

believed everything was so amazing in

in 2011­ 2012.The China of today and

There was a sort of rhythm of everyday

China and we should emulate it in every

the trajectory it has taken is quite

life in the hutongs. That was again very

way or people who thought that China

different from the one I would have

familiar to an Indian. You had one to ten

was the biggest enemy and there was

predicted 10 years ago.  OCTOBER 2020

19

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

The ‘mandate of heaven’ also shares the platform with other philosophies and values of China... This is the basis of the underlying belief system of the Chinese people.

Professor Vijay Govindarajan. This flagship program is offered for about five large US based multinational companies and one British company, which is Rolls­Royce.

I started picking up a liking for China. I could connect a lot of dots from the past to the present. Incidentally, ethnography is my speciality and that's the reason why Tuck School absorbed me into their programs. I started seeing different aspects of China, largely from I am primarily an educator. I used to

of the ancient travellers of China came

run Indology programs for American

to India and vice versa; and these were

and British based museums and also for

so compelling on me. I decided to go to

educators who teach about India. I had

China. In 2008, I landed in Beijing.

this big apathy for China like most Indians. I had one long stint in the Nalanda archaeological site in Bihar. My guide, an elderly person, always used to tell me that I should see the beautiful Chinese Museum which was being constructed by the Chinese.

The map that led to China

I was there for a BMW foundation and a CII meeting. Then I took off and I spent about a couple of weeks in the region of Zhengzhou. That is where I could really learn about China’s glorious past, the Chinese people and their backgrounds, cultural moorings and why they think the way they think today.

an American lens, but also from working on developing leaders who were yelling in pain about doing business in China.

I also went through the transition of China with Xi Jinping coming in and the metamorphosis of China happening.

Experiential learning was my specialty.

My job involves taking people and putting them for half a day in a small little Communist Party office in a village, then bringing them out and having conversations with them.

One fine day, he took me to the Chinese

I went all the way to Kashgar which

Museum and what struck me was the

is in the extreme west of China. I

What I learned is that in China, there is

huge map of China. I looked at the

travelled extensively and that was my

a deal between the rulers and the

Xinjiang province in the West of China

passion. From 2005, I have been

subjects. This deal was made some time

and thought about the connection

running a Global Leadership 2030

in 600 BC. It is known as the ‘Mandate

between India and China through the

Program for the Tuck Executive

of Heaven.’ They don't necessarily

West, the pathways through which some

Education in which I am a partner of

believe in gods and goddesses, but they

20

OCTOBER 2020

The deal

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

do have a notion of a heaven.

emperor is gone and the rebel hero

authoritarian rule. It is not a

Metaphorically, let us assume that the

becomes a new emperor, a new dynasty

dictatorship as when Mao Zedong ruled.

heaven is like the ocean and the earth is

starts off and people follow the new

Subsequently, there have been a series

the only ship in the ocean. The emperor

dynasty.

of well­planned successions in China,

has the mandate of the heaven to steer

This cycle has been going on. The

which do not exist in any other

the ship in a way that there is harmony

last cycle in China was broken in the

communist country. Xi Jinping has

at all times.

‘century of humiliation’ as Chinese call

taken that away. As long as he is

Then there are subjects in the ship

it, when westerners for the very first

winning, one cannot argue. It is also

and their responsibility is to serve the

time came into China and ruled for

very difficult to say that the people have

emperor and follow him. This deal has

about 100 years. For Chinese, it is all

not given him the mandate. Of course,

helped China sail in the past. The

right, if the problem is within China.

there is unrest going on in Hong Kong.

‘mandate of the heaven’ says that

Now the Chinese Communist Party

subjects have the rights to rebel but they

(CCP) has this deal with the people of

better be sure because the emperor's axe

China is a country which believes in

China. The ‘mandate of heaven’ also

could fall on their neck. It also tells the

meritocracy, which is very important for

shares the platform with other

emperor that it is his responsibility to

them. This is not imposed by the

philosophies and values of China, like

lead in righteousness and if he does not

government or Chinese Communist

the Confucian and Taoist values. This is

deliver, there's going to be a rebellion.

Party. Meritocracy is something which

the basis of the underlying belief system

came to China way back from the 12th

of the Chinese people.

century.

The ‘mandate of the heaven’ also

Merit all the way

tells that from time to time the heaven

China is an authoritarian state, but

will give clues to the people when

You need to very good. You need to

that doesn't mean that the people are

righteousness is being defiled. Those

have excelled in school not only in your

unhappy there. People are proud of their

clues are diseases, earthquakes, natural

studies, but also in games and extra­

culture and they have managed to

calamities and foreign enemies ganging

curricular activities. Then you get a

maintain this heritage in all these years.

up and trying to break the fort and come

ticket to the Communist party. You are

With this as a mooring, you can drop

into the country. This might sound very

judged and rated as you pass out from

down to present­day China.

school, college and in the party affairs.

much like a fantasy, but this has been in

Xi Jinping has a vision that no

Only if you are good in all these things,

other country has in the world today.

you can climb up the party ladder. You

In China, there were many

His vision is to deliver China as the

can imagine the people who are sitting

dynasties which came up and went

number one country in the world. That

right on top in the politburo of China

down. Every time a dynasty came up, it

vision is backed with the traditional

—the seven member committee who are

was because there was a rebellion. It

Chinese values. This is the single most

reporting to Xi Jinping. They are highly

starts from the intellectual circles. There

important differentiator between China

qualified and very capable people who

are wise people who start voicing up and

and any other country and it percolates

have risen up the ranks.

eventually there are people who take up

down into everything else.

vogue in China.

arms. When the civil war ends, the

22

OCTOBER 2020

China

is

a

bureaucratic,

If as a CEO of a company, you end up in one of the cities in China

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

discussing with a local Communist Party

vision of saying that they had to come

When we talk about freedom, there

office about doing a joint venture with

out of the ‘century of humiliation’ and

are three kinds—the personal freedom,

the semiconductor factory in China, you

become the best. The roles were very

political

better be sure that the person sitting

clear; the commitment to the party and

freedom. Soviet Union and most of the

there is amongst the best CEOs in the

to the Communist Party Chief was also

Communist Bloc countries started with

semiconductor industry.

clear. But the mission was all a series of

political freedom, which is not possible

experiments.

without personal freedom. Then they

There is no inheritance in China.

What I mean is that in India, we had a legacy from the British. They left us a ‘work­in­progress’ sort of administrative system. But for China, there was nothing like that. When they got the country, it was a clean slate development. They had to learn everything. So they had this grand

freedom

and

economic

allowed markets to take care of Decentralised China 85% of the total spend of China is done by the local governments. The central government or the federal government spends only about 15%. Even in the most developed economies, the rate would be something like 50­50 at best.

economic freedom.

Most of them failed, or so say most authors. In China, they never gave personal freedom and political freedom.

The freedom they gave is economic freedom. And, this is the kind of a competitor we are actually up against. 

The ‘mandate of heaven’ also shares the platform with other philosophies and values of China... This is the basis of the underlying belief system of the Chinese people. recruited a number of Chinese staff and sales managers. We supplied fabric to a number

of

Chinese

garment

manufacturers who used to ship the garments over to USA and Europe.

Coming to the Chinese staff, one of the most important aspects that I noticed was their total focus on quality and productivity. Compared to an Indian staff member, they were not as quick in grasping things. They took a lot more time and needed hand­holding.

I will share my experience working with

two decades back and one more recently

Chinese people, competing with and

between 2015 and 2018. I set up from

supplying to Chinese companies. My

scratch the Asia­Pacific regional office

experience is in two parts—one is about

for Arvind Mills in Hong Kong. I

24

OCTOBER 2020

But once they understood the process and requirements, they could do the same thing again and again. I could close my eyes and trust my staff with the shipping documents, bank documents,

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

invoices and any operational aspects.

would deliver something to the

they would work very hard to learn

There would be absolutely no fault.

customer, they would do it. One of my

English so that their teacher need not

Their productivity was two to three

biggest challenges in leading the team

lose her face.

times what I used to observe back in

of sales personnel was to be able to

With respect to competition, they

India.

make sure that the backend team in

do not have a profit motive but market

India meant what they had committed Face value

share is very important. They work

to the customer. It was a hard time

The second important aspect I noticed

backwards from the selling price while

retaining the sales people because they

is a basic philosophy in China called the

we normally work on cost plus profit

would not want to lose face with the

‘face concept’. What it means is that: “I

model. Therefore, competing with

customers. If once or twice the

cannot lose my face in front of either a

Chinese in manufacturing is especially

deliveries got delayed, they would just

customer or somebody superior.” They

very difficult.

leave the company. This was their

will go to any level to make sure that

mindset.

their ‘face’ is protected.

Chinese customers expect us to be extremely agile and nimble. The

My wife worked as a teacher in

I noticed this very strongly with my

commitment made to them should be

Hong Kong teaching English to Chinese

sales team. If they promised that they

met and they follow up closely. Promises

school children. They used to say that

must be delivered, come what may. 

OCTOBER 2020

25

What should we do to attract Apple and Samsung to India?

Mr Venky Nagan: When I drive down in Hanoi and go past the Samsung factory, I find it humongous. It is really a giant factory that provides employment to around 20,000

Will the supply chain move away from China?

people. The question is—will our policies change every few

What is the impact of an adverse US­China

years?

relation?

Mr Balaraman, Past President, MMA: Mahesh told

Mr Venky: Many are scared by the tensions in US­China

me that in China, the government makes sure that the entire

relationship. But they feel that things can change in

value chain is competitive.

November. So they adopt a wait and watch approach. They

Mr Mahesh: In China, the entire value network is important. They are into many fields—Electronics, PCBs,

look at other options but after going through all the pros and cons, they still find China as the best option.

Semiconductors, Wafers, Fablabs and so on. They probably

Ms Pallavi: There has been thinking in China in

don’t have raw materials. In India, we can only get contract

preparation for this scenario. They may challenge the entire

manufacturers like Foxconn to set up shops. The

world. Whether they have miscalculated their strength or

government gives incentives and capital subsidy. As

not, will be known only in the next few years.

components are not made here, China can possibly create

How do you view the strength of India’s history of

roadblocks in our getting the components.

democracy versus China’s authoritarian rule?

Due to the failure of globalisation, many companies that

Ms Pallavi: India has a safety valve in democracy. In

have established their entire value chain in China feel they

China, things can change only by revolution. There is no

are stuck. Now, if we go on an audacious scale by having the

question mark on the future of India as a country. Transition

entire value chain here, countries will not want to risk now.

of power can be China’s Achilles heel. But I don’t think there

For them, it will be shifting the problem from China to India.

will be a revolution in the near future. They have developed

Maybe, we should tie up with other countries like Malaysia

domestic markets. They say that the Communist Party is an

and Singapore so that we can assure the big players that they

elephant riding a bicycle. An economic slowdown can be a

are not putting all their eggs in one basket. Because of the

serious challenge for them.

trade war between US and China, many companies who have set up their factories in China are anxious. They begin to realise that they have to work with pockets of excellence like India in spite of changing governments and policy issues.

Ms Pallavi: Countries like Japan want to diversify away from China but they do not prefer India. They prefer Vietnam or even Bangladesh. This is because of the policy changes in India. For India to emerge as an alternative, they have to convince the manufacturers a lot but I think it is difficult.

Mr Balaraman: I know that many Chinese workers have lost their jobs in the recent slowdown and they are moving to their villages. There are huge empty buildings in the cities.

Mr Mahesh: Xi Jinping and the Communist Party have promised to deliver to their people. The people of China do not know what is happening in the world other than what is told to them by the Chinese media. So, there may not be a major shift in the near future. 

M S NARAYAN

are ads on TV and even reminder letters.

value of future benefit in favour of

They send this kit out once every two

immediate gratification. In the same

years. It takes maybe 10 to 15 minutes

way, we intend to join the gym but it is

ecent insights into how

to take this free test. Yet, for the last 10

always something we will do tomorrow

people think impact all of us.

years, I have put these kits aside, fully

—and tomorrow never comes.

Governments

and

intending to, yet never actually getting

organisations use these insights to push

around to do the test. I am not alone

Jumping to conclusions

us to certain decisions, often for our

—58% of Australians don’t send the test

If you are asked the following question:

benefit and perhaps, sometimes, not

kit back. Why don’t sensible people do

A bat and ball together cost $1.10. The

with our best interests at heart. M S

sensible things that could potentially

bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How

Narayan, Principal Advisor­Gateway,

save their lives?

much does the ball cost?

R

Sydney, Australia, explores the factors at play in “Think, Think, Nudge, Nudge,” a talk organized under the Pond’s veteran series at MMA. When you turn 50 in Australia, you get a bowel cancer test kit, free of cost, from the government. The kit comes with a letter that says, “Every week, 80 Australians die of bowel cancer. With early detection, 90% of bowel cancers can be successfully treated.” And there

Many of us jump to the conclusion Dessert choices

that the ball costs 10 cents—and we are

If you were deciding next week’s dessert

not alone. Around half of Princeton

today, would you choose chocolate or

graduates gave this (wrong) answer

fruit? 74% people opted for fruit in a test

when this test was run. If this question

that was run in 1998 (Read and van

were to be asked in a Class X exam,

Leeuwen). But when the same question

students would have given the correct

was tweaked and asked: If you were

answer as 5 cents. But when asked

deciding tonight’s dessert, would you

outside of a formal test, many people

choose chocolate or fruit? Most people

instinctively jump to an answer. We go

opted for chocolate. Clearly, we know

for the simple, obvious choices.

what is good for us. But we discount the

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

Leveraging the understanding of human behaviour If we can recognise human behavioural patterns, we may be able to develop highly adaptive and effective programs, and find ways to overcome our cognitive limitations. This knowledge can be of great value to designers of public policy, such

as

me.

It

requires

an

understanding of some of the theoretical frameworks that acknowledge that people are not always rational and recognize what possibly can be done to Understanding how people behave is

Professor at the University of Chicago,

key

won the Infosys Prize in 2018). In this

Policy makers need to understand how

book, the authors looked at how our

Not always the best choice

people actually behave, which is not

mental capacities are consumed by

In 1738, Daniel Bernoulli hypothesised

always rational. For example, our

conflicting demands. They tested the IQ

that people maximise utility in making

behaviour is not directed towards an

of farmers in India before and after

choices. For 200 years, this was taken

objective

overcome this failing.

but

our

harvest and found that IQ was

as a ‘given’ by economists. Then in the

representation

or

significantly lower pre­harvest (when

1950s, Herbert Simon, who was to win

construct of the world. We may be afraid

they were cash strapped) than post­

the Nobel Prize in Economics many

of flying, even though objectively it is

harvest. Similarly, in the UK, a group of

years later, argued that people do not

the safest mode of transport. We also

people were told that they had to spend

necessarily maximise utility because of

overestimate our mental capacities or

1000 Pounds on car repairs the next

limitations in knowledge, social and

bandwidth. When we text or answer the

day. Just contemplating this expense

personal connections. They are often

phone while driving, even if it is hands­

resulted in a 13­14 point drop in IQ

happy with less than optimum solutions

free, our peripheral vision and reaction

—almost as if they had stayed awake all

—i.e., finding an acceptable solution

time are affected as much as if we were

night.

even if it doesn’t maximise benefits.

real

idiosyncratic

world

legally intoxicated.

Thinking about the fact that we may or may not have money affects our

Scarcity affects mental capacity

mental capacity and decision making. It

In the 2013 book called ‘Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much,’ Mullainathan and Shafique came to some

stunning

conclusions.

(Incidentally, Prof Mullainathan, now a 30

OCTOBER 2020

Simon introduced economists to terms such as “bounded rationality” and “satisficing”.

may be that people are not poor because

Cass R Sunstein and Richard H

they make foolish choices; rather, it may

Thaler wrote an article in The New

be poverty that consumes mental

Yorker, (Dec 2016) titled, ‘The two

resources and leads people to make bad

friends who changed how we think

choices.

about how we think.’ They were

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

When dealing with complex

think irrationally. If we can identify the

Amos Tversky who published a paper in

problems,

use

patterns in which people think

1979 which disrupted the world of

heuristics or mental shortcuts

irrationally, then we can design choices

referring to Daniel Kahneman and

Economics by outlining what they called Prospect Theory. According to this theory: •

people

to transform complex matters into simpler ones, to make decisions.

Daniel Kahneman won the Nobel

Losses mean more than gains.

better decisions.

the very popular best seller, ‘Thinking

principles. For example, nudging was

Fast and Slow’, which many people

never to be about compulsion, reducing

would have read. His 38 minute Nobel

freedom of choice or significantly

People make decisions based

Prize acceptance speech is well worth

changing economic incentives. It was

on the potential value of losses

listening to.

not about forcing people to do

than the joy we get from gaining $20.

something they didn’t want to do.

and gains rather than the final Nudge Theory

Instead, nudges should be easy to avoid.

matter

Richard H Thaler and Cass R Sunstein

The theory was put forward as an ethical

—people care more about

wrote the bestselling book, “Nudge,” in

way of simply helping people to make

2008. They took Kahneman and

better decisions, for their good, by using

Tversky’s concepts and built on them,

knowledge of the mental shortcuts or

packaging them attractively and

heuristics that people use to make

accessibly.

decisions.

outcome.

Reference

points

what they gain or lose depending on what they start with •

understanding and help them make

The theory established some

get from losing $20 is greater

•

that will take advantage of this

Prize for Economics in 2002. He wrote

This means that the pain we

•

•

People tend to underestimate high

probabilities

and

See

some

examples

small

The idea behind Nudge Theory is

comparing Traditional and Nudge

probabilities. If something has

that people can be “nudged” to think

approaches to addressing an issue in the

properly and make better choices by

table on this page. The authors called

offering them choices that are designed

nudge theory ‘Libertarian Paternalism.’

to help them do so. We know that people

Of course, while there was a degree of

overestimate only

1%

chance

of

a

happening, people think that it has a 5 to 10% chance and they behave accordingly.

Some examples comparing Traditional and Nudge approaches to addressing an issue

OCTOBER 2020

31

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

•

Loss aversion

•

Self­control strategies

•

Availability

•

Spotlight effect

•

Optimism/overconfidence

•

Temptation

•

Priming

•

Conforming/following

the

herd •

Language and signage design

There are, of course, others.

Growing global interest David Cameron, former Prime Minister of England, after reading ‘Nudge,’ reportedly became a fan of the book. He set up a ‘Behavioural Insights Team (BIT)’ aka ‘Nudge Unit’ in 2010 with an annual budget of GBP 500,000. The BIT team was challenged to produce a ten­ fold return on operating cost in two years, failing which the unit would be shut down. The team coopted Richard Thaler (2017 Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences and co­author of Nudge Theory) to be an advisor and saved 22 times its running costs.

This success led to BITs being formed in many countries. Google searches on ‘Nudge Theory’ continue to paternalism, it was still consciously

that has not always been the case, as we

about preserving liberty and allowing

shall see later.

grow year after year, which shows the ongoing interest in these ideas.

In 2017, OECD published 100 case

people to make their own choices. In their construct, ‘nudge theory’ was

Common mental short cuts

studies from 202 countries across the

aimed at making the community better,

In addition to the examples of anchoring

world highlighting success stories from

not a mechanism for commercial

and status quo discussed above, there

the BITs. In 2018, the World Bank

exploitation

are many other such heuristics or

published a study on Behavioural

mental shortcuts, including:

Development Economics identifying

or

government

manipulation. In practice, of course, 32

OCTOBER 2020

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

global leaders in this area.

.... the experiment ran for just five weeks, and cost very little. And just changing around 15 words on a web page ended up potentially saving many lives.

Success stories from around the world In the UK, the BIT team increased tax receipts by 200 million Pounds a year.

They achieved this by sending an initial letter to the defaulter saying something along the lines of, “90% of the people

just changing around 15 words on a web

road, people were nudged to

have paid their tax on time. We note

page ended up potentially saving many

stay in their lane.

that you have not. Can you please pay by

lives.

•

The ‘Keep Singapore Clean’ campaign is another example

this date?” Many responded. Another

In Tokyo train stations, there was

letter said “Nine out of ten people in

reportedly an 84% reduction in suicide

your local area pay their tax on time.

Government nudging people

attempts when they installed ‘Blue’ LED

to do the right thing using

You are in the minority…”And so, with

lights above train station platforms, a

publicity, and social pressure.

a series of letters, they nudged people to

low­cost alternative to sliding barriers.

“follow the herd”—and comply.

The blue lights reportedly have a

Enrolling organ donors was another

soothing effect on the mind. This idea

big success of the BIT in the UK. The

has since been adopted elsewhere in the

Nudge Unit was able to increase the

world too.

number of people registered as organ donors by 96,000 a year. How did they achieve this? The ‘Nudge unit’ created nine different versions of the landing page where people had to go to renew

•

the speed limit. In a 25 mph zone area, those who exceed

limit are eligible to go into a

Marking of lines on the road

lottery to win a share of the

to demarcate lanes and ensure

fines. The result: The average

lane discipline is an example

speed of vehicles in this site

of a ‘nudge.’ It is the single device in the world. There are

read, “Three people a day die because

many stories on how it came

there are not enough organ donors.”

into being. One story is that a

version, which was based on the

to nudge people into obeying

those who drive within this

slightly different wording. One version

If so, please help others.” This last

In Stockholm, ‘speed camera lottery’ signs were introduced

Here a nudge, there a nudge

most effective road safety

organ transplant, would you have one?

•

the speed limit are fined and

their car registrations. Each version had

Another version said, “If you needed an

of behaviour change by a

lady doctor in California, Dr Jane McCarroll who narrowly escaped being run over by a truck coming in the opposite direction,

decided

to

‘reciprocity’ heuristic, was the most

something

about

effective in getting people to agree to be

painted a line in the middle of

organ donors. The experiment ran for

the road herself. By artificially

just five weeks, and cost very little. And

reducing the width of the

it

do and

dropped from 32 mph to 25 mph.

•

Smaller plates in a hotel buffet reduced food wastage by 22%

•

To reduce cigarette littering, a campaign was run themed, “Think inside the box. Vote with your cigarette butt. Who is the best player in the world – Ronaldo or Messi?” For each player, there was a box into which cigarette butts could be deposited to “vote”. This led to a 74% reduction in cigarette OCTOBER 2020

35

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

•

•

littering.

by taking the stairs is a nudge.

to charity. Compared to the first group,

Similar, fun­driven, concepts

In another famous nudge, at

there was appreciable reduction in fuel

were devised to encourage

Odenplan

station

savings delivered by the second and

people to dispose of chewing

Stockholm,

stairs

gums in designated spaces

modified in such a way that

and waste in segregated

when people walked on the

“Lemonade,” a disruptor in the

boxes.

steps, musical note were

insurance industry in the US employs

In a behavioural test done in

produced. This led to a 66%

on its rolls a world leading behavioural

India on car drivers, a button

increase in the use of stairs.

economist as Chief Behavioural Officer.

was introduced to encourage a

Such musical stairs have

reduction in honking. Every

spread to Milan, Melbourne,

time a driver honked, a red

Istanbul, KL and Auckland.

light would flash and would

Fun can obviously change

keep flashing annoyingly until

behaviour.

manually switched off. There

•

were

third group.

Lemonade makes use of AI and behavioural insights. For example, when people are asked to fill a form, if they are asked to sign at the top rather than at the end, they are more likely to be

was a 61% reduction in

Nudges in business

honest in their declarations and less

indiscrete honking.

Virgin Atlantic was able to save 6828

likely to lie. Lemonade uses techniques

In Copenhagen, authorities

metric tons of fuel by nudging their

such as this. They are even referred by

provided waste bins and made

captains. A test was run by behavioural

them highly visible. They also

some as ‘The Tesla of the Insurance

scientists on pilots, who were divided

industry.” While this may be hype, they

into three groups. The first group was

are definitely a business to watch out

told that fuel consumption during the

for.

painted

green

coloured

footsteps that led to the waste bins, thus nudging people to use the bins and resulting in a •

in

trip would be monitored. The second

46% reduction in litter

group was given a target consumption

Nudging and marketing

Reminding people to use the

figure; the third group was given a

Marketers

steps instead of escalators by

target and told that if they beat the

unknowingly used nudges for years; for

painting the calories burned

target, a certain sum would be donated

example, by comparing in advertising

have

Fundamental differences between nudging and traditional marketing

36

OCTOBER 2020

knowingly

or

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

OCTOBER 2020

37

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

What next for Behavioural Insights

Nudging can also be used in ways that are not necessarily in people’s interest. For example, the UK proposed a new campaign—trying to get people back to work in offices rather than from home during the Covid 19 pandemic.

﴾BI﴿?

•

innovation adoption suggests that there could be a trough after seeing a peak of positive results

credibility, trust and influence are all

subscription with the cost of a chocolate

important factors.

sundae; or the cost of an Ikea coffee maker with the cost of parking.

Other examples are a service

and

inflated

expectations from BI. •

the daily cost of a newspaper

Gartner’s ‘Hype Cycle’ of

However, while in some countries

BI

units

have

harvested the low hanging fruit, there is still considerable

Also, one size does not fit all. A

scope in other countries to do

nudge that works in one context may

the same. At the same time, advanced BI units such as in

not succeed in another

Australia are working on

provider who offers different plans for

complex issues like gender

availing a service, identifies one of them

The dark side of nudge theory

as the most popular plan, thus

Nudging can also be used in ways that

anchoring and nudging people to make

are not necessarily in people’s interest.

that choice; and the use of price framing

For example, the UK proposed a new

scope for nudge techniques to

i.e., pricing at 599 rather than 600; or

campaign—trying to get people back to

be employed by governments

giving people a welcome gift for signing

work in offices rather than from home

and business.

up for a service. These are all nudges.

during the Covid 19 pandemic. The message says, in effect, “If you don’t go

Designing a nudge

back to work, the manager may forget

How do you design a nudge? It’s quite simple conceptually:

This was to counter the overwhelming

First: Frame the problem.

Next: Design experiments and run randomised and controlled trials.

Third: Interpret results.

Finally: Implement

It is important to be trusted when nudging. People are more open to being nudged if they have positive feelings

38

the

nudger.

OCTOBER 2020

•

•

is: “Yes, every day and in many ways.” Are you aware of this?

Are you happy to be nudged?

•

Likeability,

you

designed

your

nudges? Have you considered behavioural

accounts and fake news in social media

very difficult to get out of.

Are you a nudger? If so, how have

negative content on people’s emotional

make it is easy to join or sign up and

Are you being nudged? The answer, if you think about it,

Facebook did clandestine tests in

encounter ‘sludge’ where organisations

There is still considerable

I leave you with these closing thoughts:

from home.

that constantly nudge us. Finally, we

domestic

Closing thoughts

preference of people to continue to work

India to see the impact of positive and

and

violence.

well­being. We are familiar with fake

Cautions and observations

toward

you and you might risk losing your job.”

inequality

insights

in

designing these nudges?

•

Should you consider adding nudging to your tool kit? 

PANELISTS

S

ection 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 along with the

•

Social business projects

Companies CSR Rules, 2014 makes it mandatory for

•

Contribution to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and

mentioned under Sub Section 1 of Section 135 to comply with and these are: • •

•

Employment enhancing vocational skills

•

Contribution to technology incubators located within approved academic institutions

Companies with net worth of Rs 500 crores or

•

more;

These are similar to the 17 sustainable goals of the UN

Companies with turnover of Rs 1000 crores or more;

•

other such State and Central funds

certain companies who fulfill the criteria as

Companies with Net Profit of Rs 5 crore or more during any financial year.

These companies shall be required to constitute a CSR

Rural development projects.

and the ‘triple bottom line,’ which takes into account profit for the society and environment apart from profit to the company.

Anu Oza: How did Boomika Trust respond to Covid?

committee of the Board. They shall ensure that at least 2%

Aruna: Floods and earthquakes are very frequent in India.

of the average net profit of three immediately preceding

The NGOs are the first responders in a disaster. We can split

financial years would be spent on CSR activities every year.

our action into three phases, which we call the 3Rs—Rescue

Activities allowed under CSR:

phase, Relief phase and Rehabilitation phase. The rescue

•

Promotion of education

phase is best left to experts. Civil society has rescued people

•

Eradication of extreme hunger and poverty

during Gujarat earthquake, Kerala floods and Chennai floods.

•

Gender equity and women empowerment

As an NGO, we manage rescue by helpline, geo tagging people

•

Reducing child mortality and improving maternal

and connecting them with the government.

health •

Combating disease

•

Environmental sustainability

All disasters are characterized by the need for food security. NGOs have a constraint as they receive project­

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

migrant labour crisis followed.

We created a project called, ‘Food First’ which included delivery of cooked food and rations. Even NGOs who were not tuned to do these activities stepped in, generating local funds. Over the last few years, the response of non­profit organisations to crises has been exemplary. They have been able to identify the needs and ensure last­mile connectivity. In essence, though we didn’t understand the pandemic, our first response was in ensuring food security for

Over the last few years, the response of non‐profit organisations to crises has been exemplary. They have been able to identify the needs and ensure last‐mile connectivity.

the people and in supporting the Tamil Nadu government which did a great job by opening up the rations. Those who didn’t have ration cards were helped by the civil society and NGOs like us.

Anu: So, in a crisis, we need to see

denominated funds and they are not free to use them for disaster relief. Because of their DNA to reach out, they cannot stay away from a disaster either. So NGOs take donations from civil society for natural disasters; some are able to get corporate donations. In the rehabilitation phase, only the government and some of the larger NGOs play a role while the others are not involved in this phase.

Regarding Covid­19, we were only reading about it and not seriously bothered. Only when our Prime Minister declared a lockdown on the night of March 24, we realised the magnitude of this crisis and disaster. It was difficult to hit the ground running because of the fear of infections.

Normally disasters are geography­specific and time specific, unlike Covid. We had to move straight to the relief

under which phase it falls into and respond. In any crisis, people need funds and food. Therefore NGOs need to be embedded in communities and they also need to partner with the government to see that people don’t go hungry. Can you give us some idea, from a corporate angle, how Covid funding and CSR funding are managed and share some of the key learnings?

Shyam: Many companies distributed PPEs, sanitizers, ventilators, ICU beds, medical equipment and dry rations for migrant labour. Many reached out to migrant labour through food cooked in their company canteens. There were three broad approaches to funding by the companies: a)

budget were used. b)

mode. We initiated a helpline for senior citizens and this was supported by remote volunteers. The larger crisis broke out when the daily wage earners did not get paid and soon the

Provisions available in the company’s 2019­2020 Some of the companies created a special fund over and above the CSR funds for Covid.

c)

Others utilised the funds from the current year’s CSR budget.

OCTOBER 2020

41

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

Many companies also contributed to the Prime Minister’s

5000 to 6000 people. That was their way of providing rescue

Relief fund—PM Cares. As per reports, Rs 15,000 crore is the

and relief by cooking. Medicines came sans frontiers. IBM

annual CSR spend with 3,000 crore coming from PSUs and

offered to come up with software to help people identify the

12,000 crore from the private sector. Of this, about 5000 to

dead, upload their details and perform the last rites. That is

6000 crores went to PM Cares. The rest were marked for the

the power of partnerships.

company’s CSR activities. With 25 to 30% CSR funds of

The 17th SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) of the

companies going to Covid relief, how do companies plan for

UN (United Nations) is about how we develop partnerships

other CSR activities during this year?

for the other 16 SDGs to happen. In the ‘Rescue’ phase, the

1)

The flagship CSR activities of companies are not significantly reduced.

2)

New projects and those that do not align with the

government has to take the lead.

The Disaster Management (NDM) Act 2005 came into

companies’ vision for CSR will be under scrutiny.

being because of the 2004 Tsunami. The PM heads the

These will be either delayed or withdrawn.

Disaster Management Authority. The government provides

Anu: What is the reach of government and NGOs? How can

the structure for various organisations to collaborate and

we improve collaboration between the government and

without any of them feeling intimidated. Capacity building

NGOs?

is one of the objectives of NDM Act 2005. We lack seriously

Vivek: A government is a system, and like a rudder, it

in capacity and need to focus on this, going forward.

controls the movement of its various constituents. The

Anu: So, you have to go the extra­mile to be a partner even

government and non­governmental organisations form a

if you are not necessarily seen as a partner. We need to build

dichotomy. It doesn’t need a crisis for them to come together

capacity working in tandem, right from the beginning

and collaborate. NGOs have a higher trust quotient compared

rather waiting for a disaster to strike, for everyone to pull

to some of the government organisations. I was

together. What kinds of capacities are needed in the short

commissioner­in­charge of Tsunami relief in Nagapattinam

term?

in 2004 after Tsunami struck on Dec 26 of that year. 6000

Shyam: Skilling is one area we need to focus on. For

people died in the area where I worked.

instance, healthcare frontline workers are now in great

It was a shocking sight then in Nagapattinam. When I

demand. We have to skill people for the right sectors that are

entered the town, I saw a vegetable vendor carrying three

needed to tackle the Covid crisis. Because of loss of livelihood,

dead children in his vegetable cart. We started with rescue,

many girl children will be denied the opportunity of getting

which was predominantly done by the government. Many of

higher education. The education programs have to be tweaked

the government staff had also lost their family members in

to support girl children. Healthcare infrastructure and

the tragedy. India’s concept of Vasudeva Kudumbam, i.e.,

implements like ventilators need attention. Similarly, electric

‘The world is one family,’ is something that we should be

crematoriums are the need of the hour. The existing CSR

proud of. A large convoy of trucks came from Punjab and all

projects have to be tweaked to factor in the current realities

that they asked for was space. I gave them a school which was

from Covid. Next is the use of digital in fields like education

not functioning. They had brought everything from Punjab

and medicine. Companies can leverage the existing public

right from cooking utensils and materials for dishes like

infrastructure and work together with the government. Some

masala, atta and even salt. Every day, they cooked food for

of the existing hospitals have to be made Covid­ready. One

42

OCTOBER 2020

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

project which can combine all the above is addressing child

police have data on the migrants. We approached the district

malnutrition. Healthcare workers can be used to measure

SP. In less than 24 hours, he sent us data of migrant labour

the weight of children using a weighing scale and track other

in various zones under his control like where the clusters are;

parameters that reflect the health condition. They can feed

and, which industries they were working for.

the data in an app. Data about the vulnerable population can

There were 18,000 of them. Thus we knew the

come from the government.

population that we were addressing. The SP also provided

Aruna: Strategic partnership is very important. Between

space for our team to store and sort the materials. He brought

the government and NGOs, there was a six degree separation.

us volunteers from police to support us and help us in

We have closed the gap to three degrees now. I am not sure

packing. The police team made it so seamless for us. They

of the exact reason for this gap, if it is a trust deficit or a threat

also provided us trucks to deliver the relief materials. They

perception. But that apart, we have had some brilliant

stood shoulder­to­shoulder with our volunteers to see that

experiences in working with the government.

there was orderliness and that social distance was

We worked together with the government to reach out

maintained.

to the migrant labour in Thiruvallur district. We created

The government has the foundation. NGOs have to step

larger ration kits that suited their kind of eating habits. The

in with their empathy and they bring a different perspective

OCTOBER 2020

43

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

to the game. NGOs do not merely look at numbers of people

play a defining role in the new normal. We need to build

for distributing materials but they consider in terms of

capacities for the work that will be important in the new

empowering the people.

normal. The work place has now changed dramatically with

We were able to pick up the phone and talk to several

‘work from home’ (WFH) being adopted widely. What will

IAS officers. Again, when the labourers had to be sent home,

be the work force like, how much of automation will be there,

GCC—Greater Chennai Corporation—provided us the data.

what will be the work ethics? All these have to be identified.

We used our tech volunteers in this. We worked together

Many things existed even before Covid but we are utilising

with the police. It was a very happy marriage. NGOs now

them now more. For instance, Zoom existed before Covid

have to build on the trust gained during this crisis and the

but we now use it extensively.

government also has to raise it veil. In the last few years, we

Anu: Let me sum up what we have discussed so far. NGOs

have not moved in the SDG ranking. Currently, NGO spend

can use the understanding of the CSR Act and use certain

is only 6% of the government spend. We have to co­create

immediate relief provisions; NGOs and Government can

projects. The corporates must think in terms of creating

proactively take partnership stance right from the beginning.

‘Impact Funds’ instead of aiming for mere philanthropy. The

Companies are likely to look at things like skilling in relevant

benefits must be 10X.

sectors; they now focus on Covid related programs in the

Vivek: There is a significant linkage between growth and

short term followed by their flagship programs. There are

poverty. Because of growth, poverty has been reduced by

several examples of Government­NGO partnerships in many

half. Rural poverty has come down from 50 to 25% and

disaster situations and there is enormous potential for

urban poverty from 31 to 14%. As there is a sharp decline in

cooperation. There is scope for the corporates too, to make

growth thanks to Covid, naturally it will impact poverty too.

different choices for CSR activities, depending upon the

The work, work place, work ethics and work force will

Subscribe now to stay ahead.

funds that they have. 

Subscribe

Enjoy access to audio‐visual content and insightful articles from thought‐leaders, industry veterans and visionaries.

OCTOBER 2020

45

PANELISTS

W

hen the Covid crisis struck India, at a

investigation? How much manpower can the government

moment’s notice, our police force swung into

provide to the police?”

action and came to the rescue of the

He highlighted the shortage of manpower as a major

government by maintaining order on the roads, taking care

problem for the police. “Out of two million police personnel

of citizen’s safety, standing behind the health workers and

in India, more than 75,000 go for para­military duty and

doing a commendable job in combating the pandemic,” said

roughly a million are available for protecting the common

Mr Raghavan. He praised the Indian police for grabbing the

man,” Mr Raghavan said. He lamented that in India, people

opportunity presented to them and proving that they are a

expect the government to do everything and indicated there

force to reckon with.

is plenty of scope for NGOs and Private Sector to chip in and

“In the days of my career, the police approaching the

strengthen the resources of the police.

private sector for support was stigmatised. Today, fortunately, the situation has changed. Recently, I am told,

Multiple responsibilities

the Maharashtra government quickly and generously

“Even though the police are the first responders for any

accorded permission to the state police to seek support from

public crisis, our police are woefully understaffed and heavily

the private sector for their efforts in managing the

overworked,” said Mr D Sivanandhan. “Since 1945 to 1947,

pandemic,” said Mr R K Raghavan.

36.000 police personnel have been killed and they have

He however raised certain pertinent questions. “Were our police equipped to handle the situation? Is it fair to expect them to carry out so many tasks and execute varied instructions like, for instance, enforcing closing down of shops at different times on different days and which led to the unfortunate Sathankulam episode that is under CBI

made the supreme sacrifice of laying down their lives in upholding their responsibility. Over 74,500 have so far been affected by Covid. More than 435 have died in fighting the pandemic, with Maharashtra accounting for 50%,” he stated.

On the roles that police play, he said, “They take care of

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

law and order, crime control, crime detection, management

implementation falls on the police. On the one

of traffic during normal times and special festivals, VIP

hand, there is shortage of manpower. On the other

movement, pandemic management and so on.”

hand, the duties keep on increasing. Therefore, the government should do a detailed cost­benefit

From peak fitness to depression…

Mr Sivanandhan elaborated the reasons for police personnel

analysis before implementing new social laws.

•

through a separate wing or consider the

ending up with depression. “We recruit the best candidates

requirement of additional manpower to the police

with the best physique for the police force. But by the time they turn 30, they wade through multiple problems like

The government can think of enforcing social laws

when implementing new laws.

•

The government can include ‘’reaching out to the

having to work for 12 to 14 hours per day, irregular food

police” under the permissible list of activities to

habits, lack of leave or rest and unlimited stress. There are

qualify for the 2% mandatory CSR spend of

no rest rooms for women police while they are on outdoor

companies, through a proper mechanism. This

activities. The police have an endless list of bosses including

could

their superiors, bureaucrats, Press, TV, Politicians, Courts and Commissions. Anybody can pull them up. They have no right to form a trade union or any association. According to

include

activities

like

providing

infrastructure, technology, equipment and health facilities to the police. This will lead to the police getting lot of support from private sector.

a study, many police have died between the age of 37 and 41 from stress induced illnesses.”

Thanks to the effects of Covid, there will be a spurt in property and credit card related crimes, cybercrimes and chain snatching incidents. Many crimes will be committed using smart­phone or technology as a tool, warned Mr Sivanandhan and indicated that the public must exercise great vigil.

His suggested a number of steps to strengthen the police

Were our police equipped to handle the situation? Is it fair to expect them to carry out so many tasks and execute varied instructions like, for instance, enforcing closing down of shops at different times on different days... How much manpower can the government provide to the police?

force: •

Police have to upgrade technology.

•

The Police Act 1861 has not been revised so far.

Amendments have to be made to the Act, to

• •

Mr Sivanandhan quoted from his experience of

reflect the current situation.

providing 30 state­of­the art gyms for the police in

Non­essential arrests should stop. This will free

Maharashtra when he served as DGP there with the project

the police of considerable work load.

undertaken completely with the public support. We say,

The physical fitness of the police personnel needs to be improved through SIP– Systematic Investment (in Health) Programs.

“Doctor, Heal Thyself.” The police too as Defenders must defend themselves, he said.

Dr Meeran Chadha Borwankar pointed out that we did

•

The police should focus on ‘Team Building.’

•

Whenever new social laws are promulgated, like

not remember the police before Covid and wondered if we

banning of smoking in public places, the onus for

would forget their role after the Covid days. According to

48

OCTOBER 2020

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

with the police. “Now, police use their vehicles to take the accused persons to the courts. These can be avoided by switching to virtual mode. We need to scale up e­courts where trials can be done online and evidence can be presented on e­ platforms. For prison inmates, we should provide timely medical support using tele­medicine. By these measures, we can greatly strengthen our police force,” she said. research, she said that on an average, the police work for 14 hours a day and for 365 days in a year.

The Epidemic Act 1897 is now being used by our governments to manage the pandemic but its provisions are

In the Q&A Session, the panellists answered a variety of questions.

Do our all­women police stations serve their purpose?

not known to many of us, she said. She argued that the 30%

Dr Meeran: It is now realised that the all­women police

vacancy in the police force all across India must be

station is not a great idea, considering the ground realities.

highlighted and quickly remedied. “It may be shocking but

Instead of having a limited number of all­women police

the finding from a survey is that 37% of the police are

stations, all police stations should have on their rolls, women

demoralised and would not want to work in the department,

police, along with men.

given an option,” she said.

How does our police force compare with their counterparts in other countries?

Academia must research on policing Dr Meeran said that all police personnel undergo 6 to 9 months of rigorous training on recruitment. But, only 6% of them go through in­service refresher training. She appealed to organisations like MMA and ORF to collaborate with the police to develop case studies and train the constabulary on life skills, so they can stay motivated. She suggested that our academia should do extensive research

Dr Meeran: I did an internship under Fulbright Hubert H Humphrey Fellowship program and interacted for a year in the US with the police there and later for four months with the police of Australia. Based on my experience, I rate our Indian police as more disciplined despite their numerous challenges and that they carry out a much wider spectrum of duties and without any overtime.

on policing and criminal justice system in India and suggest

Have we captured the lessons from the pandemic?

improvements which can be taken up for implementation.

Mr Sivanandhan: Many of the lessons are converted as

“At present, there is very little research done in these areas,”

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and these are now

she remarked.

available in states like Telengana and Maharashtra.

Dr Meeran pitched for upgrading technology available

If there is another major spike in Covid, are our police OCTOBER 2020

49

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

prepared?

How can we deal with the VIP culture with the VIPs

Mr Sivanandhan: Covid came without any warning, yet

expecting special treatment in our country?

our police have so far handled it admirably well. In Mumbai,

The panellists pointed out that today thanks to public

they have created facilities for 75,000 beds. The outbreak in

awareness, media campaigns and social media impact, many

Dharavi was handled very well, and handling of Dharavi has

VIPs shun special treatment. They are concerned that if

now become a model for United Nations. So, there is no

someone takes a photo of them demanding or being given

doubt that the police can handle any future spikes too.

special treatment and posts it in social media, it will affect

How can we change the mindset of our people to follow

them adversely. Mr Raghavan singled out the impartial role

Covid precautions without fail?

played by CISF deployed in airports. They treat everyone on

The panellists felt that we need to run more awareness

a same footing and they have set an ideal example, he said.

programs, because, if we are not aware of the rules of the

What role can the Retired IPS Officers associations play in

game, then we are going to lose more lives.

the current situation?

How can we improve the public experience of dealing with

Mr Raghavan: They have very limited role to play as they

the police?

have no authority. I may be hauled over the coals for saying

Mr Raghavan: If systems are designed in such a way that there will be less face­to­face contacts with the police, then it will lead to a better experience and efficiency. In that case,

so. But that is the reality. At the same time, there have been individual bright spots from the retired officers like Mr Julio Ribeiro, who are able to create an impact.

complaints can be filed online with proper supporting

The police, having gained an invaluable experience in

documents, which in turn can be converted to a FIR. But for

handling the pandemic, should document the experience;

this to happen on a scale, the police stations should have the

and create enough training materials and literature from the

best connectivity possible. They should be given top priority

Covid lessons to train future police recruits and for posterity.

because police stations are, in fact, a symbol of governance.

If you don’t learn lessons, half­the battle is lost. 

50

OCTOBER 2020

RAMYAA RAMESH

T

he

career

of

Lakshmi

Venkatachalam is riveting and fascinating, especially her

uncanny

ability

to

embrace

opportunities that comes her way. It is not easy to forge a career in the US, especially when one does not graduate out of a university there; Lakshmi seems to have managed it very effectively.

It would be interesting to follow the journey of this typical ‘Mylaporian’ girl who did her schooling in Rosary Matriculation and then completed her B.Com in Ethiraj College. She later completed MBA and ICWA and was all set for a great career in India with her first job at Pond’s. It was a job that was doubly exciting for her—as it was in Chennai itself, a city that was her greatest love.

But matters of the heart took priority. Marriage to her classmate, who wanted to pursue his career in the US, took her to Silicon Valley, California. A finance and operations career in an all­ tech Silicon Valley seemed a difficult prospect for young Lakshmi as she began her career search. However, she believed in herself and has strived hard to see herself as a Vice President in the $40 billion technology giant, Oracle Corporation today.

“Believe in yourself, work hard, do

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

your best and you will be successful,” summer internship at Pond’s. I ended

to connect remote villages to ensure

she says with conviction. “It was not all

up getting my final placement in the

information on crops, illnesses, and

that difficult to decide what I would do

same company and that too in my

natural calamities was circulated so that

after my B.Com. I love numbers—I

hometown Chennai, an icing on the

the villagers could be better prepared,”

relate to them and understand the story

cake! It was my dream job; the most

she said.

they tell me. With my father being a

coveted place to work for and I was

Chartered Accountant, doing CA seemed

ecstatic to land this opportunity. Now,

The crossing

a natural choice. However, the challenge

as I look back, age just does not matter

Lakshmi met her husband in IIM (B), an

of getting into an IIM led me to take

as long as you enjoy doing what you are

engineer at heart, who went on to the US

CAT. Luckily, I got calls from both IIM

doing, but I was 21 when I got my job

for his grad studies and wanted to stay

Bangalore and Calcutta and I decided to

offer and it was an incredible

there. Marriage in 1997 took her literally

accept Bangalore as it was closer to

achievement for me at that time!” said

kicking and screaming to the shores of

home!”

Lakshmi. She believed Pond’s was home

the United States.

—a company that challenged her,

“We set up home in the Silicon

The lure of Chennai

pushed her, and also cared for her at the

Valley where almost everyone was a

“My new adventure of an MBA excited

same time. She joined the company as a

‘techie’ and very few really understood

me but I faced the rude shock of having

management trainee, and for 18

what finance and operations were,” she

to live away from home. I spent my first

months, she worked across various

said. “I would remember my initial

six months figuring out how to get home

functions and locations.

months in the US as one of the worst

every weekend. I found myself on

“One of the most interesting

periods of my life in terms of my career.

projects for me was working around the

I still remember sitting in a coffee shop

villages of Etah, UP, as part of our social

with a recruiter who looked at my

responsibility assignment. There were

resume and said, ‘If you get a temporary

villages with no electricity, yes, in 1994.

job paying even $20, I would be very

We spent our days interacting with

surprised.’ I went home extremely

villagers,

grassroot

dejected that day. My husband probably

problems and helping find solutions.

remembers the day even more vividly

Organizing child immunization camps,

for the amount of grief he got! I realized

Over the years, she learnt that

talking to the women about health

two things, a job rejection or failure is

everything is a transitionary phase and

issues or addressing cattle care—we did

not the end of your life. One failure does

one will go through many difficult

it all. The village doctor even indulged

not evaluate you, you just need to get up

phases in life and evolve to become a

me and allowed me to inject medicines

and keep going.”

stronger person.

for a buffalo. As part of a project, my

Brindhavan Express or Bangalore Mail more often than I was on campus. I learnt a lot of management principles during the two years in B­school, but I also learnt the important lesson of how to live by myself, knowing that home and Chennai were not far away,” said Lakshmi.

A dream job in a company that was ‘home’

fellow management trainee and I designed a walkie­talkie network across the villages. It was the pre­mobile phone

“I was extremely excited to do my 52

understanding

OCTOBER 2020

era and it was considered the best way

At the right time, right place “Is everything orchestrated? I wonder at times. I was in a temple one day when I heard someone calling out my name.

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

It turned out to be a senior from school.

management processes. We just took

She told me that Bearing Point

over the entire finance operations and

Consulting was recruiting. I expressed

helped prevent insolvency and brought

interest, and thanks to her referral, I

the company to a cash positive state.

found my first job four months after I

We also set up e­commerce stores for

moved to the US,” she said.

companies, because the Internet had

This

first

job

of

hers

in

management consulting helped shape

gained prominence and was opening new channels for them.”

her in many ways. She, along with her

Though work was very interesting

team, working directly with CXOs, was

and exhilarating, after four years of

looking to solve problems that were

constant travel, and waking up some

cross­organizational and sometimes

mornings wondering where she was,

global. It trained the mind to quickly

Lakshmi decided it was time for a

filter down to the problem and make the

change.

changes required. She travelled from one end of the country to another and

My time in a startup

was exposed to multiple industries and

Change came in the form of an opening

cultures.

with a startup called Veloz Global

While most of her projects were interesting, a few stood out. She

“My first project was for a company that sold musical instruments and was looking for a plan to expand their stores across the country. We made a proposal for the probable locations based on census data, demographic and economic profiles of the areas. We also set up complex mathematical models that stock

holding

and

transportation costs and optimized warehouse locations. Another project was for a food co­op that made canned food. Though very popular and successful, they were on the verge of bankruptcy

due

to

poor

workflow automation solutions.

“It was local, a known team and an

enthusiastically spoke about them.

minimized

Solutions, which focused on creating

cash

opportunity for a stint that could make it big! We were less than 20 employees and I had the opportunity to do everything from process design to office space hunting to hiring to VC presentations. The founder and I have continued to share a great personal and professional bond—but I learned that I was not best suited for a start­up life.”

Lakshmi went on to explain. It was also the time when her son was born and she decided to take a year’s break.

Career after a break “When I was ready to go back to full­ time work, I started the job search OCTOBER 2020

53

process. It was deja vu all over again.

After several rounds of interviews, I was close to joining Infosys in the US when I received a call from a recruiter

about 40 to 250+ in a year and it is a key

exceptional people. And for you to

contributor to our consulting capacity

succeed, do your best and do better than

globally. It was new, challenging and

your best the next day!”

very gratifying for me personally. And of course, the attraction of visiting India

The best is yet to come…

and working with teams there cannot be

“My biggest achievement? That is yet to

missed. Having worked both in India

come. I cannot look back and think of a

and in the US, I was able to balance both

single achievement and say that it has

work cultures well. The work I did and

been the most important and valuable.

the lessons I learnt from my consultancy

I believe that at every stage we set a goal

days also came to my rescue. I have been

and achieving that goal seems like the

deeply involved in multiple acquisitions

biggest challenge at that point in time.

The Oracle sayeth...

and have integrated them into our

Then you realize there is a next step that

“Oracle is where I have spent more than

business. Every acquisition brought

you want to reach.” she says. So, what is

14 years of my career. I was part of the

unique needs and challenges which

Lakshmi’s next big goal—to become a

core team that managed the acquisition

required equally unique solutions.”

COO of a global company.

one day. I did not make much of it initially but on his persistence, I went to attend the interview at Portal Software and ended up with an offer letter. It was meant to be,” she said. It laid the foundation to her career with Oracle; Portal was acquired by Oracle in 2006.

and the integration of Portal into Oracle

Recently, she has taken on a new

As a woman who had the ability to

initially and this helped me build key

role in Oracle. As Vice President of

dream big, take up challenges as they

relationships within the company. I

Operations for the Communications

come without being overwhelmed by

work with a wonderful bunch of people

Applications Business Unit, she heads

them, we have bigger hopes for this

and have had progressive opportunities

end­to­end

including

Chennai girl—that she joins the ranks of

with global exposure. I understand how

strategic planning, sales, engineering

Indian­born CEOs of global companies!

the company works and have a deep

and consulting operations and learning.

Best Wishes, Lakshmi! 

network that sets me up for growth and success. In terms of assignments, I ran operations for the consulting business and as part of that, I got to build an offshore delivery center across four cities in India. We grew the team from

operations.

“I am often asked if there are differences between working in the US vs. India or in different companies. Probably, yes.

But the fundamental truth remains that all successful companies in any country are driven by strong processes and

Ramyaa Ramesh, author, had interviewed Lakshmi Venkatachalam for this series.

I

am inspired to write this column for Business Mandate after witnessing the resounding success

of the recent presentation of Ritesh Andre, Spokesperson for Mumbai Dabbawalas, and our associate Raja Atmamayan, Vice President, ASCENT Transformation Ventures, Coimbatore.

MMA reported that two thousand viewers tuned in for a Sunday session and many provided positive feedback on the session. It is hoped that viewers would consider making a donation to the Dabbawalas. MMA is to be felicitated and thanked for this success.

The viewers learned in the presentation

that

exemplary

performance is possible when and only when the level of internal excellence is high. In the case of Dabbawalas, theirs is a Six Sigma operation and the Dabbawalas are Varkaris, intensely devoted to customers and whom they consider as God. Internal excellence and emotional excellence are two sides of the same coin. When emotional excellence rises, the level of internal excellence too will rise.

Pursuit of high levels of emotional excellence is a well­posed scientific problem. Emotions can be measured, and the process with which to enhance

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

emotional excellence is meditation, or

of emotional excellence will bring a

itself has provided ample evidence

more generally yoga, known for

myriad of additional benefits. They

of such creation. One famous

thousands of years. Since emotions can

include:

example from Tamil Nadu is S.

be measured, progress can be audited.

As evidence on the need for emotional excellence, Gallup published a survey of a large number of business units across many industries in 2004

• Health and wellness. Negative emotions lead to stress, a root cause of many serious illnesses including cancer. Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn has shown that high levels of stress shorten telomeres

finding that there were more than 22

(the protective caps at the ends of

million workers—in the United States

our chromosomes) and accelerate

alone—who were extremely negative or

aging. Medical researchers have

"actively disengaged." This rampant

also

negativity was costing the US economy

lengthens telomeres and slows

between $250 and $300 billion every year in lost productivity alone. Gallup estimated that when workplace injury,

shown

that

meditation

aging.

• Leadership. Harvard Business Review has carried numerous Researchers reported in HBR that

were added, the cost could exceed $1

intuition and self­awareness are

trillion, annually. In fact, they found

critical components of leadership.

that negativity appeared to have spiked

Intuition is immediate cognition

across the world in recent years.

without the benefit of the five

Emotions Survey, BBC said people around the world were angry, stressed

senses and the rational mind. Yogic processes can enhance intuition to a point it becomes possible to do numerous

tasks

blind­folded,

and worried. Gallup interviewed

provided training is given at a

150,000 people in 140 countries for

young age. For adults, meditation is

their 2019 Global Emotions Report and

a route to enhanced intuition.

found that a third of them were stressed while one in five experienced sadness or anger. In this survey, the United States was 39th most positive country and India ranked 93rd. Clearly, negativity is a serious issue for India Inc., as well.

• Less discord and violence.

Improved

interpersonal

relationships, less discord and violence are natural consequences of higher levels of emotional excellence.

• Creativity

and

Negativity and negative emotions

innovativeness. Pursuit of higher

are synonymous. Negative emotions

levels of emotional excellence is a

lead to stress while positivity attenuates stress. Successful pursuit of higher levels 56

OCTOBER 2020

graduate,

Ramanujan

would

formulate complex mathematical theorems and their proofs without knowing the steps in between. He told his mentor, G. H. Hardy at Cambridge,

creation

happened

when he connected to the source via a prayer to his Goddess.

Progress in America Ancient India is the home of emotional excellence, but you would find it interesting that America is recognizing

reports on emotional intelligence.

illness, turnover, absences and fraud

Reporting on Gallup’s 2019 Global

Ramanujan. Barely a high school

pathway to connect to the source where all creation happens. India

Emotional intelligence is an intellectual inquiry to fundamentally understand the importance of emotions within oneself and in others, and it indicates the capacity to be aware of one’s own emotions and intuit the feelings of others with obvious implications for decision‐making.

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

its importance independent of any

Intelligence: “In 2002, UNESCO began

intelligence by itself cannot bring about

scriptures.

a world­wide initiative to promote social

the required positive changes from

In 1990, University of New

and emotional learning (SEL), sending

within.

Hampshire psychologist, John D. Mayer

a statement to ministries of education

Emotional excellence, the term I

and his friend and a fellow psychologist,

in 140 countries.” He writes that he was

have coined, is the wherewithal of how

Peter Salovey, now President of Yale,

most gratified to note that tens of

to bring about the required positive

coined

“Emotional

thousands of schools worldwide offered

changes from within and there is only

Intelligence”. By then, the importance

children SEL. He says that in the United

one way to achieve this feat and it is

of IQ was well­known globally but the

States, many districts and even entire

through meditation, or more generally,

profound implications of emotional

states currently make SEL a curricular

yoga. No amount of training, rules,

intelligence or EQ (emotional quotient)

requirement mandating that just as

regulations, and policies, top­notch

had not yet been understood in the

students must attain a certain level of

quality initiatives, nor intellectual

West.

competence in math and language, so

pursuits will cut the mustard.

the

term

Emotional intelligence is an intellectual inquiry to fundamentally

too should they master these essential skills for living.

The

Alarmed by the aggressive pursuits of China, India Inc., appears to be

Business

making concerted efforts to wean

within oneself and in others, and it

Roundtable released a New Statement

companies away from China to India.

indicates the capacity to be aware of

redefining the purpose of a corporation

There is also a reported effort at

one’s own emotions and intuit the

in 2019. The 181 CEOs of some of the

Government reforms. Pursuit of

feelings of others with obvious

largest companies in the world who

external and internal excellence is

implications for decision­making.

signed the New Statement, committed

essential for the success of these

to lead their companies for the benefit

initiatives. 

understand the importance of emotions

Relatedly, Daniel Goleman first published the best­seller, Emotional Intelligence in 1995. That book sold four million copies and was on the New York Times best­seller list for a year­and­a­ half. According to HBR, Goleman’s articles on emotional intelligence are some of the most enduring in their publication.

Goleman says in his HBR article, “IQ and technical skills are important but emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership.”

Goleman goes on to say in his tenth anniversary edition of Emotional

of

prestigious

all

stakeholders­suppliers,

employees, customers, communities and shareholders, away from the shareholders­first ideology. A little reflection should convince the reader that enhancing internal excellence is the only route for one group of stakeholders to work for the benefit of all stakeholders.

The progress Americans have made in realizing the importance of emotional intelligence is laudable. However, as important as an intellectual inquiry to fundamentally

understand

the

Pradeep B. Deshpande is Professor Emeritus and a former Chair of the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Louisville. He is also President of Six Sigma and Advanced Controls, Inc.

importance of emotions, emotional OCTOBER 2020

57

Click on the page to enter.