MMA Business Mandate - September 2020

VOL. XXXXVI NO.3

SEPTEMBER 2020

CONTENTS The New Normal in Governance Arun Maira

Governance: The German Perspective Post‐Pandemic World and India

Managing in Difficult Times

S Gurumurthy

V Anand

Marching Ahead: The Next Frontier

Peter Rimmele

Women Leader Series: Gayathri Suresh

Post‐Retirement Life YVL Pandit

Leadership Lessons from Working in a Partnership Satyanarayan Ramamurthy I'm Not Creative R Sridhar

12 Key Management Areas to Focus on G D Sharma

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

Fighting back, one step at a time...

O

n August 22, Chennai celebrated “Madras Day.”

sentiment. IPL has the potential to capitalize consumer

Still, it is not too late in wishing all citizens of

sentiments and drive consumption. Multiple businesses are

Namma Chennai on Madras’ 373rd founding day!

eyeing a turnaround on the back of the Twenty 20 Cricket

We, at the Madras Management Association, are proud being

tournament, which is set to begin on 19th September in UAE.

part of this glorious city’s history and heritage. I am sure that

Brands are piggybacking on advertising, hoping to kick­start

the day is not far when Namma Chennai will spring back

consumer spending and consumption cycle.

—united in the famed “Chennai Spirit”—and trounce the pandemic!

The festival season & IPL

There is also a big opportunity for companies to invest in areas they wish they could have paid more attention to before the crisis. There is also an opportunity for sectors to emerge

The festival season is here, and we are still in the midst of the crisis. This is definitely not something any one of us could have imagined at the beginning of the year. In any case, festivals are occasions to be thankful, so let’s spread the joy of giving and sharing with loved ones, making the day special for everyone. The crisis may have given rise to uncertainties, but it has also created opportunities for sectors to emerge and grow. It is also the first time IPL season will coincide with the

Indian entrepreneurs are one of the country’s strongest natural endowments.

They are the backbone of our country. Now is the time for entrepreneurs to unleash their creativity and nimbleness, because the future of the economy depends on their success.

festival season, and this is expected to further lift consumer

SEPTEMBER

2020

3

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

and grow. Indian entrepreneurs are one of the country’s

services. We have one NGO for every 400 Citizens in India!

strongest natural endowments. They are the backbone of our

Most of them may be poorly run. However, there is little doubt

country. Now is the time for entrepreneurs to unleash their

that the non­profit sector plays a huge role in the economy. It

creativity and nimbleness, because the future of the economy

needs better regulation, enlightened leadership and greater

depends on their success.

professionalization to deliver health, social and economic

In this issue, we are presenting a number of inspiring articles by outstanding thought leaders on the pandemic and

outcomes. We must focus on making them more responsible, productive and less obstructive.

on how we could take advantage of the crisis and convert it

In this context, MMA organised an online event on 28th

into an opportunity. Please read and enrich yourself. The icing

August on how NGOs and corporates can build sustainable

on the cake is an event by MMA on Cricket with popular

relationship and the role of government for their success.

cricketers on 15th September 2020; you may want to watch it

Great insights were shared by thought leaders from the

live.

government, corporates and NGOs (Click here to watch the recording.)

The digital push The pandemic has also caused a fundamental change in human­human interactions, expectations and behaviours. In the new scenario, companies and organisations would necessarily need to review and redesign operational flows and operating models. It has re­defined how digital platforms can

The digital magazine of MMA has been curated and brought to you with embedded videos with the state­of­the­ art digital technology. Do read these interesting, simple yet brilliant articles if you are looking for a different kind of insights during these difficult times.

be used in supporting continuity in businesses / activities

If you have already read our earlier issues I wanted to

through and beyond the crisis. Digital technology has changed

thank you, and request you to leave me a review if you enjoyed

our relationship with one another and with the larger world.

it!

It has changed our relationship with our own selves, the single most important shift brought about by Digital Empowerment!

In this context, MMA has adapted to a number of Digital Transformation initiatives, which include enhanced digital communication, MMA App, a­state­of­the­art website with engaging content, intensive social activities of both pre­ and post­events, a digital library where members could access e­ books and e­magazines, archives of all MMA programs, articles, audio book and MMA digital Business Mandate with embedded videos. One more such initiative is a web portal… please read on and enjoy.

On NGOs The number of non­profit organisations is growing dramatically because of a huge demand for public good and 4

SEPTEMBER

2020

If you haven’t yet read it, do check it out—click here to proceed.

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

5

SEPTEMBER

2020

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

W

hen we analyze the

detail that the World Order will change

ideology. China became a preferred

impact of Covid­19, we

forever, but he has not said how it will

destination for the US. At that time

need to juxtapose the

change, or if it will change for the better

itself, China objected to the concept of

state of affairs of the world as of now

or worse, or from which Order it will

one nation and two systems and

with that of Spanish flu pandemic era.

change. The present state of affairs

targeted Taiwan, just like it did to Hong

For instance, trade has grown by 65

requires a huge introspection by the US

Kong recently. The US had almost given

times since the Spanish flu. The migrant

and the West—the latter, even now

up on Taiwan. You can see what

population then was 72 million; now it

holds the key. The transatlantic alliance

happens when a top nation betrays its

is 248 million. The world has become

is very critical; it must play a key role in

own partners to seek personal benefits

more integrated now; human beings,

the transition of the world order to a

for itself. Thanks to the intervention of

nations and national policies have got

new order, but the alliance is in serious

the US Congress in 1983, Taiwan

integrated, and so the expected impact

trouble.

became an independent nation. Today,

—good or bad—is bound to be beyond the expected capacity of any nation.

The current world order emerged out of the Cold War, an ideological

In an integrated world, any crisis

conflict between free market capitalistic

becomes contagious; more so, the Covid

and democratic countries on one side

pandemic. It is a global crisis that

and communist and socialist countries

nations are trying to handle. This is the

on the other. The US emerged as the key

time when all nations must come

decision­maker, and in the process, they

together to redress the situation, but

tried to control Asia but got into

unfortunately, nations are falling apart.

problem in Vietnam. Its economy got affected and the US dollar could not be

Globalization, a flawed concept

protected by its gold. To come out of the

The root cause of many of the global

Vietnam War situation, the US had to

problems

self­centered

associate with China and for which, the

approach of the US and the West that

peace deal was brokered by Pakistan,

promoted a Marxist economy in a Free

which suddenly became relevant.

was

the

Market—an oxymoron—in the form of globalization. Why did they do that?

China gets a new life

One needs to understand the past errors

The deal helped China immensely,

to think of present solutions. When The

because between 1967 and 70, it had lost

Foreign Policy journal interviewed 12

67 million people to hunger. The urge of

experts, ten of them have said that

China to come out of poverty and that of

globalization as it exists now and that

US to come out of Vietnam War gave

was celebrated for over a quarter

birth to the current world order. This

century, will cease to exist or will

order was made only for the balance of

retreat. Henry Kissinger has written in

power and without principles or

Taiwan is a very important source of technology for the US.

The present state of affairs requires a huge introspection by the US and the West—the latter, even now holds the key.

Soviet collapse & misplaced euphoria After the Soviet collapse, the West in euphoria declared the ‘victory of the West over the Rest and that it is the best for the rest to follow the West.’ In extreme depression and euphoria, one must never take a decision. But what happened? They constituted the entire WTO without wider consultations—they did not even consult India which represents one­sixth of the humanity.

China became part of the rule setting SEPTEMBER

2020

6

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

WTO. So, even before Covid, the world order had begun to change. Covid is in fact expediting the changes.

In 2017 itself, the US and EU Trade Representatives filed reports in their respective governments that WTO will become irrelevant unless we are able to force China to be transparent. How can a Marxist nation be made transparent?

It has an ideology: to spread Communism throughout the world.

China is an autocratic, non­transparent nation run on a model of oligarchy team and India had to accept the rules.

multinational factories wanted to enjoy

where no single person or entity calls

They had Marxist policies and market

the fruits of the Chinese labour. The US

the shots and, therefore, no one is

economics. India followed democratic

thought that its financial power will help

accountable.

politics with socialist economics. The

it to control the economic power.

world did not look at India because it

Unfortunately, the real economic power

China beyond China

had democracy and thought it was not

shifted to China post 2001 (WTC attack)

In 2014, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping

stable. China had stability because it did

and even more after 2008, when the

visited India and he had planned to

not have democracy.

financial meltdown happened.

enter into many agreements and strategic defence pacts with India,

We can understand that China cannot be controlled by one government. China is beyond China’s control.

In 2001, China was admitted to the WTO; in 2002, Human Rights Watch came out with a statement that the labour laws passed in China would never have been passed in any other country. The labour in China had no voice.

7

The

US

SEPTEMBER

2020

and

Western

The Trump phenomenon

similar to the defence pact China had

The 2008 financial crisis proved to the

with Russia. He landed in India on the

US that mere financial supremacy

17th September; on the 18th, i.e., the

without economic supremacy, which it

very next day, PLA invaded Ladakh, just

had surrendered to China, is not

like it did now. As a result, he had to

enough; but by that time, things had

drop out of all the planned agreements

gone too far. This led to the ‘Trump

—the peace treaty, the border solution,

phenomenon.’ Trump did not evolve as

etc. He went back and sacked those

a mere individual. He evolved against all

army people responsible for the fiasco.

the past misdeeds of the American

Thus, we can understand that China

governments,

cannot

starting

from

the

be

controlled

by

one

unprincipled post­Cold War order. The

government. China is beyond China’s

Trump phenomenon is no more

control.

Republican. Even the Democratic Party

WTO in 2019 declared that China is

supports the US move to withdraw from

not a market economy but still it is part

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

of WTO because it is part of the global economy. Again, this is an oxymoron.

The mistakes the world powers committed in the past are now hitting back at them. Today, China has real financial power and America, only phony financial power.

The US has now declared that its interests will prevail over WTO. So the very instrument created for increasing trade and prosperity is being killed. This stand may be moderated, if Trump goes out of power. But it is not going to change fundamentally. Covid is thus a context and cause for the huge shift that is taking place in the world order.

US and China—the two huge powers controlled the world for the last 50 years. In the new order, which may see order or disorder, all democratic and liberal democratic nations will be pitched against autocratic nations; globalization will cease to exist. Liberal democracies too may lose steam. The Central and East European countries are willing to walk out of liberal democracy in their own national interest, because of civilisational and historic reasons.

India: The gold lining The US and the West made a blunder in

up. The last elections witnessed 69%

been proved wrong. Marginalisation of

voting percentage. We have been

India has dominated the post­Cold War

moving up from 40% to 69%. A high

order.

percentage of minorities, SCs and OBCs vote in India. The educated people vote

The post‐covid order

in lesser number. We have a firm and

Experts have pointed out that the post­

bottom spread economy. India is

Covid world will be less open, less

therefore a safe bet.

prosperous and less free. Businesses will

undermining India’s abilities, perceiving

The Foreign Policy journal has said

it to be a weak nation and putting all

that India is the only silver lining or the

their eggs in the basket of China. India’s

gold lining in the world. Look at the

stability was always doubted. In liberal

contrast. All that was perceived about

democracies, the voting percentage has

India has been proved wrong. Similarly,

come down, whereas in India, it is going

all that was perceived about China has

8

SEPTEMBER

2020

be less profitable but more stable. The global supply chain was an unstable idea. Unless the world shared a common polity, stable supply chain is not feasible. 54% of the world has dictatorship and 46% of the world is

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

There cannot be a common philosophy for the whole world

If the world thinks it is India’s responsibility to handle China, they are wrong. India can well align with China and that will be more profitable for India.

The future supply chains will not depend on whether it is cheap to buy; rather, it will depend on whether it is safe to buy. From cheapness to safety, there will be a paradigm shift.

Cooperation will be between countries that trust each other.

under electoral democracy. India is 17%

harmonious philosophy which will link

and the West 14% of the electoral

these countries from inside. China’s

democracy.

empire building instinct is still intact

The West thought that they were high­class democracy, India as a low­ class democracy and ranked other

and its skirmishes in Ladakh region are more to distract India from focussing on its growth.

democracies still lower, instead of

For China, India is an impediment

proclaiming that dictatorship is the

to its global ambitions. China’s game is

worst.

to condition the mind of India. 30 to

India is the only hope for democracy in the world. The world is now realising the importance of India.

India is needed by the world now more than India needs the world. India’s

40% of the government time, business time and policy makers’ time will be spent on how to handle China. That is how Doklam issue started and now Ladakh is going on.

India’s Atmanirbhar is a step in the right direction. It is not autarky. Every nation has to work with a set of nations, if not the whole world. India was once leading the economic and trade engines of the world.

In 2005, G20 nations met in Beijing and declared that each nation must have its own economic policies and there is no one­size­fit­all model. In 2008, the World Bank echoed the same and went back

on

its

earlier

policy

of

recommending the same approach for all nations. There cannot be a common philosophy for the whole world. But

biggest strength is its democracy and it

China will try to exploit the

what is important is that there has to be

is not its weakness. India is the least

polarized polity in India and try to

a common understanding based on

integrated of all the nations. We can still

undermine the present government

certain essential values, which only a

survive, in a sense, without the totality

which is the biggest hope for India and

democracy can provide. The West and

of the world.

the democratic world.

India must align to take on the might of China. Covid has delivered a powerful

The world will leap from an

If the world thinks it is India’s

unprincipled world order to a principled

responsibility to handle China, they are

message

world order based on democracy on the

wrong. India can well align with China

unmeasured integration in the world. It

one hand and autocracy on the other.

and that will be more profitable for

will be chosen, perhaps region­wise.  

that

there

cannot

be

India. In its own interest and that of the Keeping India in check

world, the West must work for an

China is a product of confrontation

alliance of democracy.

—within and outside. There is no

S Gurumurthy, is a chartered accountant, columnist, political and economic ana‐ lyst, and editor, Thuglak.

SEPTEMBER

2020

9

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

SEPTEMBER

2020

10

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

I

n chess, I have often faced difficult

euphoria and emotional turmoil. We

for three weeks in Poland and was about

and tricky situations. I remember

have to identify when these things hit us

to come back to Germany for playing my

some crisis moments from my

and have the discipline to note down, so

second club match. While we were there,

career. In 1994, I was on my way to

that the next time these emotions come

worrying signs started coming up one

qualify for the world championship. In

up, our warning signals will go off.

by one. Italy and Spain were heavily

one of the knock­out matches, after five

That’s how we learn. This is a lesson

affected. These were countries which we

games, I was leading my opponent by

from my personal failure.

thought had excellent health care

two points with three games to go.

This year, we are experiencing

Essentially, I had to lose two out of these

something that none of us have faced

three, so as not to win it. I started to

before and certainly not on this scale.

relax a little bit. I lost the sixth game and

This is literally the definition of Force

told myself that the situation was still

Majeure.

under control. I did not focus properly.

I lost the seventh game as well and the

Clubbing two club matches

match went into tie­break. I lost that

In February, I innocently got on a flight

too.

and went to Germany. The plan was to

I learnt from that experience that it

play one club match, stay there for three

is very important never to be

weeks and play another club match.

complacent and never to relax till you

Instead of flying back to India between

Those warning signals…

Difficult moments are the ideal time to reflect, to objectively analyse ourselves and think what we really need to do, and

Long wait for tomorrow I called Lufthansa to fly back. They said, “Today’s flight is cancelled; May be tomorrow?” The answer was the same on many days that followed. I was stuck in Germany. It has been an extremely interesting learning experience. We can learn from situations just as much as

commentary for a chess tournament,

nervous when I am about to win. It is

wrapped up in your pocket.

called everyone and cancelled the event.

fortunate that I agreed to do some

as I have become older, I am even more

and another thing to have the game

Germany. On the 13th, my team captain

our own personal experiences. I was

have the point in your bag. These days,

one thing to be almost there in a game

system. On March 10, I arrived in

Difficult moments are the ideal time to reflect, to objectively analyse ourselves and think what we really need to do, and to improve systematically.

which was a new development for me.

I agreed because I had to do something while in Germany and the assignment came in handy. It went on till the end of the month. My return flight date shifted to April 5.

The tournament I was doing commentary got cancelled half­way. The reason they kicked off the tournament

to improve systematically. In chess, we evaluate ourselves after every game—the

these matches, I had an idea of clubbing

was because they had all participants

mistakes we committed and the things

these two matches and bridging them

and enough doctors with a high player

we did right—and work on them.

with a training session in Poland and

to doctor ratio, so everyone, including

Sometimes, there are broader patterns;

returning to India after the second club

me, could be safe till the end. Russian

there are psychological weaknesses

match was over.

airspace was closed halfway and no one

which I have revealed: impatience, 11

SEPTEMBER

2020

I played the first club event, trained

could go back home. They had to shut

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

overboard with that. Within the town, I was able to go out. I took advantage of that and did a lot of physical training.

Twin quarantines back home Then we found out that there were going to be some Vande Bharat flights, to return home. That called for quite a bit of planning to make a flight booking by filling all sorts of forms. It was nice to see the people evolving. For instance, the

Indian

embassy

in

Berlin

understood that simply putting a website where people can’t ask any the tournament.

I began to suspect that this year was

probably the only logical thing I could

questions does not work. They started

have done at that stage.

adapting

and

communicated

to

going to be different and unlike any

Online chess started booming. In

other year. I had plans to play a big

April and May, every website reported

Every now and then, there would be

tournament in April in Germany. I was

three to four times the normal level of

WhatsApp rumours about a flight and

scheduled to play in Azerbaijan, Paris,

traffic. All events moved to online. No

the embassy would issue clarification,

Amsterdam and the US. Suddenly, the

one knew when all these would end. I

‘No, that’s not going to happen.’ I was

whole thing disappeared.

decided to rehearse and practice things

ready to travel to any city in India.

It looked clear to me that I might

that would be valid for any possible

Finally, I got my flight to Bengaluru on

not take a flight out of Germany in April.

future and useful to me no matter where

May 27 after three and half months in

Though flights landed in Germany

and when I play. I learnt about online

Germany. I spent one week in

bringing passengers stranded in India,

games, Pawn endgame; Rook endgame;

Bengaluru, quarantined.

they were not taking any of us back.

Sicilian defence and so on.

They flew empty back home. I found

individuals and through Twitter.

Then I took a flight to Chennai

Most economies were severely

wearing all PPEs. I got back home and

affected. It was impossible for all of us

was in home quarantine for a week in

to make any plans, whichever sector we Sharpen the saw

Chennai. I was confined to my bedroom

were in. The only thing we could do was

I tried to learn something new. I looked

and my meals would be kept outside. On

to work on the skills that we need. I did

at my chess, practicing some languages

June 14, I could enter the normal

a bit of that.

situation, in the sense that I could be at

myself with a lot of time.

and read subjects that I had not read —all these self­improvement stuff.

Given that we don’t know what kind of world we are going to return to, this was 12

SEPTEMBER

2020

I was very lucky to be in Germany which had a relatively mild lockdown.

home with my family. Outside, the world continued with chaos.

They had strict regulations which everyone followed and they didn’t go

Getting ready, square by square

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

When I play chess, I always get a dominant impression about the exact moment that I am ready for an event.

This mental preparedness would gradually build up in stages. For instance, when I get into the car for the airport, something clicks. When I am in the plane, when I arrive at the hotel, when I go to the opening ceremony where they draw lots, when I meet other players—at every stage something clicks and I gain complete concentration; I know, for sure, that the tournament has started.

I accepted an online tournament last month. Till two minutes before the event began, it just didn’t feel real. It felt like it was happening to someone else, somewhere else. I could not get ready for it. I am used to seeing players wandering about and looking at the boards; I would look at the spectators.

All these cues are missing in online mode but we are still forced to operate from home.

I lost the online game and, after the result was known, my son opened the door and wandered in. He was very happy to give me advice that he used to

something

get so many times, “Appa (Dad). You’ve

interacting or seeing your opponent. It

to practise this opening better; you’ve to

doesn’t really feel serious. I guess we’ll

Pandemic & the chess computer

concentrate. I think you’re getting too

get better with this. I need to

The pandemic reminds me of playing

distracted.”

manufacture artificial cues and how can

against the chess computer. When I play

That was nice and touching but it

I do that? Twenty minutes before a

against another human, I can read his

hit me on something: How do you

game starts, I have to look at puzzles, do

face and he can read mine for cues. Even

concentrate at home? There is

something that warms me up or play

when a passer­by glances, there may be

training games. This is the beginning of

some information. If I defend my

unreal,

about

never

the curve.

SEPTEMBER

2020

16

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

position with three accurate moves, then

us at a lower rate so that it can infect

may change fundamentally. The ratio of

I know by the fourth move, my

more people. It is just pure evolution. It

offline to online may not be 80: 20. It

opponent is getting slightly discouraged.

is a kind of enemy that requires us to

may become 40: 60. All we can do is to

I feel good having made a couple of

have a certain discipline.

take the precautions that we’ve been

positive moves. The opponent reacts to everything we do.

When you play with the chess computer,

you

taking and be patient till we come out of Inspiring leadership

lose

that

sense

completely. You don’t have any idea what it thinks; nothing you do impacts it in any way. The Corona virus reminds me of that.

People have noticed that countries led by women have done much better than many other countries. There are several factors. I watched many addresses, while in Germany, by Angela Merkel, German Chancellor. One consistent pattern struck me. She never made fun

the pandemic.

I feel sad to watch my son’s school year disappear. He used to have friends and social interaction. We have to tell him that the alternative is horrible. We need to be optimistic and come out of this crisis alive.

The first time I started playing with

of the virus or never tried to entertain

Even in chess, I don’t know what

computer, long back, I realised no one

the audience. There was honesty and

world I should get ready for. My wish

would pat you on the back or give a

frankness. “This is what we are facing.

list in January would have been

positive

The

There are so many cases I have heard of.

completely different—essentially, spend

computer opponent is very different and

This is what the top institutes, the

more time with family. Now we’ve got

will not allow you to relax. Only at the

experts are saying,” She would explain.

all the time to spend with our family and

feedback;

nothing.

end, you will know if you have done the right thing. It’s hard but the computer does not care. It is the same with the virus. All it is interested in is infecting more and more people. It’s even killing

All we can do is to take the precautions that we’ve been taking and be patient till we come out of the pandemic.

She gave one particular example,

it’s not easy either.

which I liked a lot. She said, “If the Ro

Just as a defeat in a game of chess

—the infection rate—is 1.1, then our

forces you to look at every alternative,

hospitals can cope. If it is 1.2, our

something like this crisis makes us to

hospitals will break down in June. If it

look at all aspects of our life. May be,

is 1.3, they will be down in April.” Good

success is not the only measure. You can

leadership is being honest with your

find out what the priorities are, what is

audience, acknowledging scientific facts.

important and what is not important.

There is a lesson there. Many world

I used to tell people, “I don’t think

leaders did not manage to convey this

I can survive more than a month

way and they did not get the required

without air travel.” I have taken one

response either.

international flight in the last seven months. I used to think that a lot of

17

SEPTEMBER

2020

Uncertain future moves

things are important. Now I have found

We are all in this for the long haul. I

out that many are not that much of deal

don’t know what the future will look

breakers. This is a good chance to reflect

like. I don’t know if the mixture of

and get ready for the future. Stay safe

online chess and offline will change. It

and all the best. 

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

18

SEPTEMBER

2020

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

ARUN MAIRA

was going up and down as we pressed

ASEAN countries, BRICs countries, and

the accelerator, just like an RPM meter,

all the other countries in the

to help us make judgments about the

subcontinent. For every unit of growth,

ver the last 15 to 20 years, we

money that we could invest in stock

we were destroying the environment

in India were travelling along

market investments. Using these two

more, creating less jobs and having

happily, living in the fastest

meters, we thought that that we

reduced income growth than even Nepal

growing free market democracy in the

understood how everyone was doing.

and Bangladesh and certainly much less

world. Our growth rates were just short

May be, it was some indication about

than many other countries that we

of China's but ahead of all other large

how the people in the bus were doing

would like to compare ourselves with.

countries in the world. Many of us were

but not about the vast majority of our

on this bus of growth. We had our safety

countrymen, who were not inside this

17 SDGs to be tracked

belts on and the bus was moving fast,

bus. They fell off the bus when the

We have to rethink as to how we govern

sometimes slowly, but nonetheless

economic growth story stopped.

social and economic systems not just in

O

moving well.

When I was in the Planning

We were doing well and enjoying

Commission as a member, we invited

the ride: We were even being served

organizations—think tanks around the

French wine and Swiss cheese! Then,

world—to help us consider how well

the bus suddenly stopped. We were

India was doing with respect to not just

surprised to see people falling off the

the economic growth, but also the care

bus; they had been riding on the bus

of the environment as well as the

rooftop, clinging on to this bus of

inclusion of the billion people of India

economic growth. We weren't even

in the economic growth. Scientifically,

aware of them!

this was called the SEDA framework: the Sustainable Economic Development

Two meters on the dashboard

Assessment framework. It pointed out

What the passengers (inside the bus)

that India fared the worst amongst all

and those driving the bus (the

of them was the GDP meter. We wanted it to keep rising from one trillion dollar to two trillion dollars, and make it five trillion dollars by pressing the accelerator. The other instrument that some of us looked at was, what I call the RPM meter—the Stock Market meter, which showed us how the stock market

sustainable development goals (SDGs) have shown the world a few years ago that we need to pay attention to 17 instruments—not just the GDP or the Stock Market instrument. It is very difficult to pay attention to 17 instruments at one time. This is the challenge that we have with global governance today. The Covid crisis has also shown us what is wrong with our present government and expert­led models of improving systems. We are at this moment paying a lot of attention, as we need to, to prevent the medical

government) were looking at were two instruments on the control panel. One

India, but in the whole world. The

problem from becoming worse and to

We are getting better and better at knowing more and more about less and less.

finding solutions to the medical problem, one of which is physical distancing to prevent the spread of the pandemic. That is the right solution that our doctors have pointed out to us. The consequence of this good solution has been that other systems are breaking down. Our people, while being SEPTEMBER

2020

19

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

together to create life. The European Enlightenment—the first enlightenment in the 17th Century—broke knowledge into parts, into silos, specialized disciplines, in which one got to know more and more about less and less.

Since Newton's time, 30 to 40 specializations have been developed in Physics. Then, we have Biology and Chemistry, each broken up into parts.

In Social Sciences, even within Economics, we have so many schools, and there are so many other social prevented from dying from Covid, are

Need to unfocus

sciences. We are getting better and

dying due to other illnesses for which

We are used to managing by focusing

better at knowing more and more about

they cannot get treatment since all

and dealing with the problem very

less and less.

resources are diverted towards the care

efficiently, but now we need to unfocus.

of people infected with Covid. With the

We need to look at many things

stopping of the economy, people are

together. As humans, we don't know at

beginning to die due to starvation; they

the moment how to govern complex

don't have income to buy food.

systems. Einstein said very famously

Solutions, therefore, must look at all

that when one is confronted with a crisis

aspects of a system.

—an insoluble big problem—then, trying

Secondly, we must also look at the

to solve it by pressing harder on the very

future consequence of our actions.

method which might have caused the

Reducing the effort in disease

problem, is madness. When we think

prevention has caused schools to close.

about what we need in the future, let’s

All over the world, alarm bells are

not keep thinking of just government.

ringing about the effect of interrupting

We have to think of governance. What

children's education and how that is

we see now is evidence of the clash of

going to impact their lives in the future.

the scientific way of thinking and the

So crisis solutions in one part of the

natural way of being.

system can damage other parts too. It can also damage the health of the whole system and this is the challenge we have in management.

20

SEPTEMBER

More and more about less and less Science is a way of thinking; nature is a way of being. Scientific thinking breaks reality into parts; nature brings things

2020

Narrow domestic walls To use the expression of Rabindranath Tagore, a poet and a philosopher who was the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize, we could be ‘breaking up the

It comes again to our misconceived approach of managing large complex systems with strong central governments and large scale, centralised, private sector and NGO organizations. They take power away from people

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

SEPTEMBER

2020

21

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

world into fragments by narrow

in parts of our country. So the scientific

way of thinking, which has been

domestic walls,’ by our thoughts and

approach about doing the same thing in

overpowering woman's way of thinking

actions. The walls have come up not

a large scale, with standardization, kills

for centuries now. We have to change

only between people in societies but

the beauty of complex systems and the

from trying to impose formal methods

between scientific disciplines too.

way they sustain themselves.

like management systems to overpower

Nature brings people and things together, creating life. We need new ‘enlightenment,’ because we suffer from not only the Covid crisis but also ecological and civilisational crises. We need to come, as Tagore said, to a situation ‘where the clear stream of reason flows and it is not lost in the dreary desert sand of dead habits’ and outdated thoughts.

One of the first well­known examples in scientific management of nature relates to forestry. In Germany, a same type of trees was planted in rows, applying

scientific

methods

to

improving them and counting them

Scientific population management

organic and informal systems, which

is about taking the best man and the

people use to earn their livelihood and

best woman and letting them to

manage their own communities. This is

procreate and then put their children

a crisis we have in India right now,

into special nurseries where they are fed

where, we denigrate the large informal

the best food, so they will grow into

sector that we have and stigmatize it. We

superior men and superior women. This

look down upon it even though that

method of spreading what we consider

sector has, in it, a great resilience.

the best and forgetting the rest destroys

People with very little resource and

the civilization and nature too.

support from the formal system sustain

We have to change this paradigm.

We have to change from the mechanical

The changing global order

way of organizing things (which is

Even before Covid, globalization was

overpowering nature) to the natural

breaking up. Countries have been

way, following it in organizing our own

reacting to the global system of trade

society. We have to change from man's

management because their people were

easily. We introduced management

losing jobs and their incomes were being

methods of improving productivity in nature. Our forests survive because they have variety in them—different types of trees, bushes and grass. They work together and sustain the whole forest; the Amazon is not managed by the scientific ways of man. In scientific agriculture, we plant one type of crop in a big field, use machines and appropriate fertilizers and pesticides for that crop to improve productivity. But as we have learnt in our own country, with wheat and paddy, by using uniform crop practices we destroy the soil and even change the local weather pattern 22

SEPTEMBER

2020

themselves in the informal sector.

destroyed for the benefit of allowing

Even before Covid, globalization was breaking up. Countries have been reacting to the global system of trade management because their people were losing jobs and their incomes were being destroyed for the benefit of allowing trade of goods and money to flow around the world

trade of goods and money to flow around the world. Of course, more recently, geopolitical tensions have been breaking up the global order. In Covid, physical realities have broken the flow of products around the global supply chains. This is not going to change in a hurry. We have to stop now and think more about local rather than global solutions. This is the realization that we have come to, in the world today, seeing the complex problems of inequity of social systems, destruction of soil and

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

forest, water contamination and so on.

When the capital migrates…

The spinning wheel—the symbol

We can’t apply uniform solutions for

So here we are—back to the people in

I come to Gandhiji again. His Chakra,

water contamination or forests. All

the bus and many people outside the

the spinning wheel, was a symbol. It was

systems come together locally and

bus. Many of us inside the bus were

a vision of enterprise by the people,

create a local reality. So if you have to

beneficiaries of the form of globalization

producing things for the people, and

solve and improve on all the indicators

prevalent at the turn of the millennium,

which were also owned by the people.

of the SDGs, then the people of Kerala

in which those who had capital kept

We need deep democracy that is

must find their solutions for their

investing and increased their returns

government by the people, of the people

society, their environment and their

further. By this system of free flow of

and for the people.We have a conceptual

health systems as they are now doing.

capital, the wealthy kept growing faster

crisis in governing complex and

The people of Tamil Nadu must find

and faster. Therefore, the distance

dynamic social systems. Again, to quote

their own. The situation of Kerala

between those who have wealth and

Einstein: “We can't keep applying the

cannot be the solution for Himachal

those who can only work and get income

same institutional ideas and hope to

Pradesh, Nagaland or the desert lands

from work, has increased so high in the

solve civilisational and ecological

in the Thar Desert. It comes again to our

last 30 years. Probably 50 people in the

problems that we don't know how to

misconceived approach of managing

world today own as much wealth as half

solve today.” We create more problems

large complex systems with strong

of humanity. This is unsustainable and

by keeping on applying our present ways

central governments and large scale,

unethical. Globalization has been

of getting things done. We need to

centralised, private sector and NGO

making life easier for migrant capital to

rethink how we manage and govern

organizations. They take power away

go wherever it liked, but we've been

business enterprises as well as cities and

from people; we must object to it on

making it very hard for migrant workers

countries. 

both scientific and ethical grounds. We

who cannot even find a home anywhere.

need local system solutions, developed

We need new forms of business

and implemented by communities, to

enterprises. As teachers of management

global systemic problems of health,

and managers, we must develop

livelihoods and care of the environment.

enterprises in which workers will create

We must change the theory of change.

the wealth for themselves and not, by

We should not be looking to scale up a

their work, create wealth only for

standard solution everywhere, but we

remote investors, many of whom don't

should scale up the ability of people

even know where their wealth is being

everywhere to find their own solutions

invested. For them, the enterprise is a

in their own communities. This was

just a stock market ticker. The condition

Gandhiji's way of giving freedom to the

of people working in it is not of much

people, to make people the masters of

concern to them.

Mr Arun Maira, thought leader, author, and former member of Planning Commission of India and former India Chairman of Boston Consulting Group.

their own lives, their own communities and their own solutions.

SEPTEMBER

2020

23

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

24

SEPTEMBER

2020

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

A

round the world, the corona

impossible to obtain certain services

acquainted with. While Bavaria took a

crisis has changed civil

without a personal appointment, but

hard­line­approach, which led to the

services. In one sense it has

now, e­governance has rendered this

police patrolling public places to ensure

made them change along similar lines as

possible in a breathtakingly short

social distancing, Berlin was reluctant

our service economies, which have had

amount of time. From tax­returns to

to sign off on similar measures. Two

to embrace digitisation and alternative

retirement money to unemployment

weeks ago, the city saw a 10,000 strong

workplace

the

benefits, a range of services has now

march against anti­Covid­policies. The

pandemic has also given civil services

been digitised, at least for the time

crowd disregarded every regulation,

and government structures on all levels

being.

from social distancing to wearing masks

regulations.

But

As they say, if radical change is

in private to the showing of Nazi­

Perhaps the most important change

effected long enough, it becomes

symbols. The police finally ordered the

has been the shift towards home office.

permanent. It becomes our "New

dispersal of the demonstration on the

Wherever this is technically feasible, it

Normal".

unprecedented powers.

has been introduced.

Germany has acquired the dubious reputation of being overly cautious when it comes to innovation. But Covid­19 has forced our hand in this regard and surprisingly, the new solutions have proven

effective.

All

levels

of

government have introduced new work regulations along those lines.

in home office mode, while the foreign ministry works shift­wise. The state of Saarland in western Germany has introduced wide­ranging technical support to create an effective working environment at home. Down at the local many

city

and

There is also another side to it all. The corona crisis heralds the return of the forceful state. Coercive force is a foundation of the modern state. In Germany as also in the wider western world, we have tried to unravel this connection and to mitigate the states’

There is also another side to it all. The corona crisis heralds the return of the forceful state.

Coercive force is a foundation of the modern state.

coercive tendencies.

The federal government is entirely

level,

Power and police under Covid

county

bureaucracies have also switched to home office. The southern city of Ulm is sharing its new experiences through a blog, highlighting the fact that we are treading on unchartered territory here.

Earlier, it was believed to be

Over the past 50 years or so, the police, for example, have changed from a violent instrument to upholding order by force into a civil service to provide safety, security and the rule of law for everybody. Now, our civil service has once again been endowed with the task of surveillance and enforcing conformity for the sake of our health rather than

ground that public security could no longer be guaranteed. The result is that Germany is now debating a very difficult topic: The powers of the state in contrast to the responsibility of the individual. Is our health and safety a greater good than our freedom of expression?

our security. In Germany, the specifics

Undoubtedly, the corona crisis has

of this vary from state to state, as those

forced the state to make deep intrusions

policing

the

into civil life, but the measures have so

responsibility of the federal states, a

far been carried by majority support.

situation Indians are undoubtedly well

The German government has been at

duties

fall

into

SEPTEMBER

2020

25

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

pains to be strong but not an enforcer.

hard­fought gains of the majority.

Angela Merkel has gone to great lengths

Multiple states, Berlin included, have

Civil service prospers under the

to explain that ours was not a curfew

now reacted to lax adherence to rules

pandemic. While this is probably our

but rather "contact restrictions".

and open flaunting of advice, and made

best and only answer to the current

The German government is willing

the police enforce more hurtful fines

crisis, we should always remain vigilant.

to do what is necessary but unwilling to

against not wearing masks on public

Because what is true for the very few

do what might be useful but excessive.

transport. But the debate has only just

advantages of this pandemic, might be

begun and will stay with us for some

even truer for its many repercussions;

years to come.

and I reiterate: If radical change is

When laxity leads to irresponsibility...

But believing in the responsibility of

assume in liberal democracies.

the

affected long enough, it becomes

people becomes problematic if the

government is expanding and taking

permanent. It might become our “New

irresponsibility of some threatens the

over responsibilities it does not usually

Normal”. 

To

combat

the

crisis,

Now, becoming a member or renewing your membership is easy.

Click Now!

Have a query? Let us know: mma@mmachennai.org

26

SEPTEMBER

2020

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

SEPTEMBER

2020

27

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

T

oday, the corporation is the

Chairman (or leader) whose salary is

most recognized form of doing

often a fraction of what a similar leader

business, especially with its

in a global corporation of similar size or

strong focus on global direction and

profitability gets paid. They are also

unity of purpose and the ability to use

constantly adapting to changing market

limited liability as a weapon to take

conditions, finding opportunities in new

significant risks. However, in knowledge

areas, and pruning areas which do not

intensive industries—like investment

see strong customer demand.

banking, audit, tax, legal, consulting and

Partnerships

pose

Partnerships pose interesting opportunities and challenges in leadership and management.

interesting

engineering services—partnership has

opportunities

been the chosen organizational form for

leadership and management. I would

a very long time, and it continues to

like to highlight the key lessons I have

remain even now.

learnt in my 25 years of working in

Autonomy

Some of these professions impose

various leadership positions within a

Partnerships

significant personal liability on the

partnership environment. I hope this

entrepreneurial drive, and this is

practitioners (e.g. Audit), and pooling

will be helpful to those of you who are

possible because of the high level of

of these individual risks allows partners

joining similar firms or setting up

autonomy. The word ‘partner’ connotes

to grow their practice while still

partnerships

ownership, and the promise of

adhering to their statutory obligations.

industries.

Some of these partnerships have now evolved

into

Limited

Liability

Partnerships (LLPs) as allowed under their legal and regulatory framework, but in terms of the way they are run, they are still very much run as partnerships. Some of them, especially investment banks and some consulting

and

in

ownership will only be delivered if the

key lessons which I explore in detail

in their decision making and a link

below:

between effort and reward. Well­run

— Autonomy is the elixir which allows partnerships to thrive — Consensus is central to growth — Surface and resolve conflicts for

better

— Recruit and integrate people who will fit, not necessarily stars — Benchmark to improve, not explain

have been around for close to 175 years.

— Build your trust balance sheet

Globally, they are often built as global

— Give professionals the social

networks with low corporate overheads, a very flat structure, and a Global 28

SEPTEMBER

2020

partnerships use autonomy to great effect by harnessing high levels of energy from their partners. One of the key challenges for leaders is on setting

and harmony

to achieve more flexibility in the capital

the largest Fortune 500 companies, and

significant

individual feels a high level of autonomy

relationships

(especially the Big Four) have outlasted

require

I distill my experiences into some

firms, have become listed as companies,

some of the oldest partnerships

in

knowledge­driven

effectively

structure. It is interesting to note that

challenges

status they deserve

the guard­rails in risk taking such that autonomy is not stifled; because once autonomy is curbed, it takes enormous effort to re­ignite it.

I was exhilarated by the autonomy in my early years as a partner in a professional services firm, building a practice. Interestingly my experience in Pond’s in the early 1990s was no different, as it had created a bunch of intrapreneurs. How do you nurture or

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

feed this autonomy? By building trust with your fellow partners. And how do you build trust with your partners? By delivering on promises. How do you deliver on your promises? By knowing your clients and what they will spend in a year.

Building a portfolio becomes important because you will have businesses which are in different stages of maturity—this ensures that the overall portfolio can both allow for returns and provide for investments – without having to draw on the broader partnership. Many people who join professional firms think like executives

Professionals who blame the environment rather than take charge of their destiny are unlikely to grow—they will definitely have a role as an employee, but it requires a self‐starter to become a partner.

—they expect someone (shareholders) to stump up the money for investment before showing some results; there are no

other

shareholders

in

the

partnership, and your fellow partners will bear the pain if something happens.

My experience over the years as partnerships change character and grow is that while the form of decision making (business case meetings and levels of approvals) changes, the essence is often built on the trust the leaders have with the individuals concerned.

Often times, partners fret at the forms and processes required, but lose sight of the bigger picture—in a large firm, procedures exist for a reason. If partners focus their energies on the core issues and not on the administrative processes, they will get the necessary support and

retain the trust of the leaders.

advantage in a partnership.

Professionals who blame the environment rather than take charge of their destiny are unlikely to grow—they will definitely have a role as an employee, but it requires a self­starter to become a partner. Someone who waits for or takes orders is unlikely to step up as a leader. The flip side of this

Consensus A key aspect of a partnership is that the shareholders (owners) are also the managers of the enterprise; therefore, aligning individual and collective interest is very important. I share below some of my experiences over the years:

is that most partnership environments

Higher purpose

offer

to

One of my roles was building greater

professionals to shape their careers. So

partnership alignment around the

being proactive in planning your career

Firm’s higher purpose and this was

journey can become a source of great

hugely rewarding. Significant efforts

considerable

flexibility

SEPTEMBER

2020

29

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

of teamwork.

My experience with securing buy‐in even from the most junior partners has shown that the broad ownership of the decisions changes the commitment these individuals have to the Firm

Conflict resolution Managing conflict is very important in a partnership, but even more so in environments like South East Asia where dissent is often hidden. It is, therefore, important to surface the

were expended in helping partners

even from the most junior partners has

define their own `personal purpose’ and

shown that the broad ownership of the

then communicate it with their teams.

decisions changes the commitment

This also resulted in significant

these individuals have to the Firm, and

improvement in partner and staff

they build pride in the Firm’s actions

engagement scores that had been falling

and stand by the decision in difficult

for a few years. A Harvard Business

times.

Review article (How an Accounting Firm Convinced Its Employees They

dissent and then actively resolve it, rather

than

assume

that—when

someone does not speak up on an agenda —their silence is assent. This will be particularly

helpful

in

securing

commitments of the often silent majority to effectively execute key

Leading in regional roles

decisions.

In my career, I have been asked to take

One of the important areas where

on several regional leadership roles,

dissent needs to be handled sensitively

where I have had to lead more senior

is in the partnership admission process.

and experienced partners from other

Often, there are disagreements about

large offices like Australia, Japan and

whether candidates are partnership­

Goal alignment, especially around the

China. My approach to getting their

worthy, and emotional factors play a

pace of growth, is an important area

support in key decisions is to help them

part in these opinions. Managing these

where consensus among the partners is

succeed in their roles, often by bringing

processes with the right combination of

required as it is one of the central

business

large

fact­based persuasion and empathy will

decisions most partnerships have to

international clients whom they did not

enable the partnership to resolve

make. Some partners who have worked

have access to, or by using niche areas

conflict in this important process

hard on their way up want to `enjoy the

of expertise where we, in Singapore,

effectively.

good life’. Carrying this group is

have built great depth and can help

important if you want effective strategy

them sell into their clients.

Could Change the World, by Bruce N. Pfau, October 2015) documents our journey in detail.

Alignment in goals

execution. How growth is achieved is

to

them

from

Leadership contests need not be zero­sum games. A senior partner

In summary, building consensus

contest means that there will be winners

with your fellow partners is central to

and losers. In a corporate, the loser

growth

the

leaves for other places, but in a

partnership. It is less difficult than it

partnership we have to work hard to

Buy­in

seems if it is focused on helping partners

keep the losers motivated and engaged,

My experience with securing buy­in

articulate their own purpose and goals

as the business and relationships built

as well as achieve them in the true spirit

are valuable to the Firm and need

another important aspect which requires consensus—for example, entry into adjacent or even unrelated areas.

30

SEPTEMBER

2020

and

harmony

in

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

significant nurturing. In fact, the losers get the most important available jobs

Time and again, I have learnt that it is not about chasing stars but rather finding professionals who are both team players and whose talent is portable and can be leveraged by the Firm.

and have to work hand in glove with the winners so that the Firm stays together and grows from strength to strength.

Recruitment and integration One of the biggest learnings for me as a partner has been in recruiting senior

compensation and rewards, choices are

says: “Suckers try to win arguments;

talent and integrating them into the

important and require significant

non­suckers try to win.”

Firm. Time and again, I have learnt that

deliberation:

A few key lessons that I have found

it is not about chasing stars but rather

— Do we reward based on

finding professionals who are both team

seniority or performance?

players and whose talent is portable and

— How much cash do you pay

can be leveraged by the Firm. My

out and what do you hold back for investment and future

intuitive experience in this regard over

needs?

the last two decades was validated when

— What is the mix of individual,

I read the work of Harvard Professor

team

and

overall

firm

Boris Groysberg (Chasing Stars, The

performance in a partner’s

Myth of Talent and the Portability of

pay?

Performance, Princeton University Press) with much interest.

Each partnership will have to find its own answers for the above, but needs

very useful in this regard are: — In a partnership, the pressure is to perform—not to explain —because it hurts our pockets directly; — We need to use market feedback

(especially

clients

and

from

business

associates) not to explain why we are not doing well, but to get to the root of the problems and solve them;

One important area where I have

to keep in mind the principles of

— Given that we hire so many

spent considerable personal energy over

simplicity, motivational impact and

senior professionals, we need

the years is in integrating senior hires.

equity.

to constantly learn from their

Sharing with them the values and ethos of the Firm, and the choices we have made will inform their decisions for the better. It also brings them closer to the partnership, which is best described as a family. The most satisfying aspect of building people for me is the sense of legacy we leave behind when we retire from the Firm; this makes us work harder to leave the Firm in a better place than where we found it.

In the area of partnership

best practices, and improve ourselves, not defend our own

Benchmarking In a partnership environment, unlike in a corporate, partners have to explain their performance to themselves because

openness to new ideas is what has made for the long term survival of such partnerships; — I have had the privilege of working with partners from a

found it very beneficial to not find

range of other cultures, and

elaborate

poor

we need to learn from these

performance, but rather focus on how

cultures, as we build a better

explanations keep

the

because

consequences. In this regard, I have

can

face

practices,

raw

we

they

past

for

improving

our

performance. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Firm; and — The best metric to know if our business is moving in the right SEPTEMBER

2020

31

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

direction is to monitor our

understanding which can be

equity. That journey to equity

market share of talent. If our

avoided;

is important and needs to be

people are leaving for our

— Building physical assets (like

competitors, they are doing

real estate) and taking on debt

— Increasingly, staff roles like

something better than we are

can strain the trust between

Finance, HR and IT require

and we need to fix it.

the current partners, as well as

deep specialists as Firms

create inter­generational trust

become larger and more

Trust

communicated credibly.

issues, so these decisions must

complex. The conundrum

A partnership is a family you adopt

be carefully thought through;

facing partnerships is how to

yourself into, and every interaction and

and

give these professionals (who

decision is an opportunity to build your

— Partners

trust balance sheet with your fellow partners.

— In a time­starved world, we need

to

make

interactions

social

with

our

colleagues and clients count in

showing

vulner­

ability and asking for help in

same

key areas should not be seen

‘Partners’.

as weak; instead this should

— With

social

status

increasing

as

seniority,

be encouraged as it is a sure

partners often are forced to

way to build trust among each

abandon client roles for

other.

largely internal management roles. This often results in

a way that they see us helping

Social status

them

Peter Drucker, who coined the word

market, and more importantly

`knowledge worker,’ understood it well

losing empathy for their fellow

when he said that for knowledge

partners; this can be avoided

workers social status was paramount.

with

make

their

lives

simpler; — In interacting with colleagues across geographies, it is good to leave money on the table

them losing touch with the

and not optimize your short­

Partnerships offer one of the best role

term outcome to the last

models for creating social status for

dollar, as that will strengthen

knowledge workers. In this regard, the

the long term relationships;

title `Partner’ connotes to the outside

— Different units within the

world that someone has arrived, and

same geography view the world differently, and so you need to understand others’ perspective

in

order

to

therefore, gets professionals working really hard to get there. Some learnings

— You start building your equity

them. For example, the

the day you join, regardless of

commitments an auditor and

how junior you are. You need

a

consultant

to make it count, and not

make with regard to a

think that you are too far away

financial target may convey

from the goal.

management

and

this

opportunity SEPTEMBER

2020

creates for

an mis­

— Often partners are admitted as non­equity

some

client

facing

responsibilities.

— With increasing complexity in the market, leaders have to work harder than their fellow partners, and should not view leadership as a resting spot before their retirement (where their reports do the work and they enjoy the fruits). The best firms are the ones

for me over the years:

communicate effectively with

different levels of certainty,

32

are non­revenue earning) the

or

salaried

partners and then move to

where the infectious energy and effort of the leaders inspires the rest of the Firm to excel. 

Satyanarayan Ramamurthy, Partner, Head of Infrastructure, Govt. and Healthcare, KPMG Singapore

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

34

SEPTEMBER

2020

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

M

any people have a self­

Creative people we admire

Rahman entered the scene. He

limiting belief. Ask them if

Who are the creative people we admire

offered a totally different brand

they

and what do we admire in them?

of music and became a legend.

are

creative

—although they wish to be creative—the

• Actor Sivaji Ganesan rose to fame

answer would often be, ‘No.’ The fact is

by his expression and dialogue

that all of us are indeed creative. In

delivery. He was very different

these difficult times, it is our creativity

from other famous actors at that

that will help us face the challenges, and empower us to come out victorious.

Let me ask you to draw a triangle on a piece of paper.

Done?

Now check your response.

Most of us would have drawn an equilateral triangle. Very few would have drawn a triangle which is standing on its side. And less than 10% would have drawn an upside down triangle.

The reason? We think that the first one is the right way of drawing a triangle. And that is the only way. Why try anything else then? Now, try

time. From a new entrant, he became a legend.

• Cho Ramaswamy was an actor, comedian, lawyer, politician and journalist. The manner in which he wrote political articles in his magazine

‘Thuglak’

was

completely different.

• Mandolin

Srinivas

became

famous by adopting a western instrument to play carnatic music.

• Actor Kamal Haasan’s claim to fame was the manner in which he acted, danced and delivered dialogues.

• Director K Balachander shifted from stage plays to directing fielding two youngsters –Kamal

(IX) to the number 6 with just one

Haasan and Rajinikanth. The way

additional line.... SIX is one right

he made movies and directed

answer. The letter ‘S’ is a line but we

them was completely different

don’t consider it so, as we assume that a

from that of other directors of his

Another answer could be I X 6, which as a multiplication gives the value of 6.

film

song

Kannadasan,

writers

Vaali

and

Vairamuthu have been unique in their styles.

• The approach film directors Gautam

Menon

and

Mani

Ratnam follow are completely different.

• M S Subbulakshmi delivered Carnatic music like others, but the tinge of piety and devotion elevated

her

music

to

time.

• Music Director M S Viswanathan delivered

music

that

was

• Carnatic Musician T M Krishna has been different from others in the way he experiments with varied styles of music.

• Shankar Mahadevan brought a huge difference to playback singing.

• Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were unique in their own ways.

In essence, the people we admire have not just been creative; they also found out a way to be relevant

different from the one offered by

Here we have added 6, which is also a

his predecessors. Then came

line. The point that I want to make is

music director Ilayaraja who was

this: Most of the time, our creativity is

also different, offering ethnic,

curtailed by our own assumptions, and

folklore type of genre. When

our compulsion to be always ‘right.’

people thought that there was

a

completely different level.

movies. And he took a risk by

converting the Roman letter for nine

line should always be a straight line.

• Tamil

nothing more to achieve, A R

SEPTEMBER

2020

35

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

IDEA & creativity

Abandon the beaten path

+

In essence, the people we admire have

multiplication (10 x 10) or division

An idea is a prescription for action. An

not just been creative; they also found

(500/5). If there are 20 students in the

idea has an active verb and a noun.

out a way to be relevant yet different.

class, there can be multiple right

Creativity is all about creating a

Thinking, demonstrating and delivering

answers. The ability of leadership is to

difference. Each of us must fish for ideas

differently became an important point

generate as many right answers as

and we should not be satisfied with the

in the lives of the creative people we

possible.

first right answer. We must give

admire. The ability to use their core strength and differentiate their offering from others is an extremely important

35),

subtraction

(120­20),

When I did a corporate workshop, one of the participants showed me a

ourselves a creative license which has no expiry date.

photo he took of the Eiffel Tower in

Magic happens outside our comfort

Paris. He had shot it from the bottom of

zone. Bill Gates once said, “I choose a

the tower, rather than in the usual way

lazy person to do a hard job, because a

As Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is

it is shown in the picture post cards.

lazy person will find an easy way to do

doing the same thing over and over

When I asked him the reason, he said he

it.”

factor in all the creative people that we admire.

again and expecting different results.” was tired of the standard view, and that Management guru C K Prahlad says,

the enormity of the tower came better

“You can’t be marginally different and

from a bottom angle. That is exactly

expect to do big things. You have to be

what thinking differently is all about,

radically different.” We must be bold in

which is stepping out of the crease,

our thinking and dare to move away

rather than limiting to be safe inside the

from the beaten path.

crease.

identity and do not want to be lost in the crowd. Steve Jobs said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone

friends from varied backgrounds.

Tell them that you are working on an XYZ project and ask them what they would have done if they were in your position. Capture their commenting on what they say.

do not put efforts to tap that creativity. each other. We have our individual

1) Phone a friend: Dial at least five

responses without arguing or

We all are inherently creative but We neither want to be xerox copies of

Tips to become creative

This is a very powerful technique

“You can’t be marginally different and expect to do big things. You have to be radically different.”

and there is a good chance that you may get at least ten different ideas.

2) Out­of­the­box ideas: We often hear about this term, but nobody has defined a box. Here is a

else’s life.”

definition for a box. Imagine you Obsession with the right answer The obsession to think of only one right answer for any problem is a huge barrier to creativity. For instance, in a school, if students are asked how they can arrive

are inside a room that has no doors, windows or ceiling. There are 6 ft high walls on all four sides.

Outside this room, there is another similar room, but with 12 ft high walls, and filled with all your

at the number 100, they may come up

‘Assumptions.’ Outside of this

with the answer using addition (Ex: 65

room, there is one more similar

36

SEPTEMBER

2020

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

SEPTEMBER

2020

37

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

impact) is fill­ins and can be used as starters. In Q2, where effort is high but impact is Low, is for ‘Hard Slogs’ or ‘Thankless tasks.’ We need to avoid this quadrant. In Q3 (low effort and high impact), we have ‘quick wins’ and in Q4 (high effort and high impact), we have ‘Major Projects.’ Q3 and Q4 are favourable quadrants. With this, you can prioritise your actions.

room, but with 24 ft walls, and

character might suggest? Eg:

filled with your ‘Logic.’ If you can

Mr Bean. The actor said that he

manage to cross all these walls, i.e,

always thinks like a nine­year­

if you overcome your assumptions

old anarchist kid.

and your logic, either by digging an

underground

tunnel

d)

Nandan Nilekani, the father of

or

‘Aadhaar card’ suggest?

jumping above through aerial route, then you are outside the

e)

box.

3) Generate

many

ideas,

f)

challenging all the assumptions.

4) Write a wish list: If your wishes

What might someone like

g)

anymore. Once we get a good idea, we

What might Mukesh Ambani, ‘a

must make a business case and get a

person of big ideas’ do?

sponsor or investor to take the idea

What might yoga guru Baba

forward. It is our passion and

Ramdev suggest?

commitment that will provide traction

What should we continue to do

to our ideas.

which we are doing well?

could come true, what would your

Thinking differently is not a choice

One final thought: We are ALL

wish list look like? What ideas do

h)

What could we be doing better?

these wishes suggest?

i)

What should we start doing?

creative. We have come fitted with this

(One that which we are not

powerful engine. It will be a shame if we

doing)

don't go beyond the first and second

What should we stop doing?

gear of such a powerful vehicle and

(One

enjoy the exhilaration of that power. 

5) Use provocative questions to think differently. Here are some provocative questions: a) What would you attempt to do if you knew that you could not

that

is

unhelpful/

ineffective) 6) Focus on the intersection of

fail? b) What if you appeal to the heart instead of the head? In

‘Things that matter’ and ‘Things that you can control.’

business, you need logic;

7) Use the action priority. Impact

however, to generate ideas,

versus Effort matrix to plot all the

you can use your heart.

ideas that you have generated.

c) Ask what ideas your favourite 38

j)

SEPTEMBER

2020

Quadrant 1 (Low effort and low

R Sridhar. Innovation Facilitator/Coach, Author and Speaker.

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

Our “self‐worth” is determined in our own minds by our job and the position. reason for this is that most of us define who we are by our jobs, our organisation and the title we hold. Our “self­worth” is determined in our own minds by our job and the position. As Hyrum Smith, author of the book “Purposeful Retirement” says in the book: If I based my value on my job and my job goes away, my value as a human goes away with it. This leads to big trouble. This leads to unhappiness, isolation, depression, and eventually death.

He gives the example of a senior officer in US Army: “After 38 years of service, now a full colonel, he was told to retire. He didn’t want to go. The military was his life. He felt as though “Retirement is no longer an end. It’s a new season to live purposefully.” ~ Hyrum Smith, Author of “Purposeful Retirement”

or CAs, may choose to retire to take a

ost people who are

Some others may be forced to retire

working

an

involuntarily due to organisational

organisation as employees

restructuring, acquisition or other

M

in

at whatever level, will retire at some

break from their profession and have more time to pursue other interests.

reasons.

stage in their lives; it could be at the age

Irrespective of how a person comes

of 58 or 60 or 65. Many people, who are

to retire, it is a major transition in that

self­employed like entrepreneurs or

person’s life. The impact of that

professionals such as doctors, lawyers

transition can be dramatic. The main

he was being kicked out, and he died six months later.”

We tend to define ourselves by our jobs, and when that is gone, there is a vacuum.

How can you make sure that life post retirement, i.e., the “second innings” is satisfying, happy and meaningful? This requires careful planning even while one is employed or SEPTEMBER

2020

39

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

working full time. In fact, in many

leverage networks you may have built

cases, the planning has to start as early

over the years.

as early 40s.

Engaging in activities that you are deeply interested in, that require you to

Four pillars There are four pillars for building a happy and meaningful life

use your talents, that help develop or utilise network of relationships and

post retirement:

serve the community, is the most

•

Purpose

purposeful way of leading a retired life.

•

Financial stability

•

Physical fitness

Financial stability

•

Mental health

In order to pursue a purposeful life, you

All four are extremely important

should be free from financial worries.

and interlinked. If one is missing it can

Your finances at the time of retirement,

have a negative impact on the others

should enable you to lead a quality of

and on overall well­being. All of these

life that you desire and you are

need to be thought through and planned

comfortable with. For this, your

as early as possible in your career and

financial planning must start very early

definitely by the time you reach 50s.

in the working life. A financial planner and investment advisor’s help would be

Purpose

needed to develop a good financial plan,

You need to have a vision or broad

taking into account expected income

goal(s) for what you want to be doing

and expenses over the years and

post retirement. Where are you going to

arriving at a savings and investment

direct your energies, in what set of

plan that would leave you with sufficient

activities and to what purpose. It could

resources at the time of retirement.

be related to the work you are already

Revisiting and revising the financial

doing or it could be an area that you are

plan every few years would be required.

deeply interested in but could not pursue during work life. Ideally, it

Physical fitness

should be an activity or set of activities,

Huge amount of research has been done

that would require you to engage your

about the effect of physical activities,

talents, capabilities and energy. If these

particularly fitness related activities on

serve the community, the society, in any

health. There is a strong positive

form, either as charity work or for

relationship between physical fitness

monetary benefit, then all the better.

and longevity. Being physically active

These activities should also help you to

slows down the aging process and also

build connections with people or

keeps a person mentally agile.

40

SEPTEMBER

2020

You need to have a vision or broad goal(s) for what you want to be doing post retirement.

Exercise in any form, be it sports, gym, running, yoga or Tai Chi, supported with a good healthy diet would be required for physical fitness.

Recent studies have shown that sleep is also an essential ingredient and many young people ignore this. Sleep is when the body and the mind repair and rejuvenate. So, it is important to get the right amount (between six to eight hours) of good quality sleep.

Pursuit of physical fitness should be a life­long goal and should start at a very young age and continue well into old age.

Mental health As you age, the cognitive function of the brain deteriorates. It was once thought that slowing down and deterioration of mental faculties are an inevitable outcome of the aging process.

However, recent studies have shown that this is not true and not only is it possible to remain mentally sharp but also one can reverse the decline of cognitive capabilities. Neuroplasticity and neurogenesis are fascinating areas of study of the neurons that are subject

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

the healthiest at age 80

of latest research. In order to arrest or

Close relationships and engagement with the community play a critical role in keeping us young and healthy as we age.

reverse decline of mental faculties, you

Therefore, for your post retirement

can practice specific exercises such as

life, it is extremely important to develop

mindfulness, meditation and also learn

and

skills such as new languages or develop

relationships. A number of studies in

new hobbies. These become more

positive psychology have important

important as you get into the 50s and in

lessons to offer as you think of

later years. Close relationships and

retirement. Dr. Martin Seligman,

engagement with the community play a

considered to be the father of positive

As you approach retirement, it

critical role in keeping us young and

psychology, categorises our lives into

would be good to explore opportunities

healthy as we age.

three groups:

where you can contribute through your

Harvard Adult Development Study,

•

one of the most prominent studies, which over 80 years has tracked the lives of 700 American men, studying their

professional

lives,

family

maintain

strong,

close

Pleasant Life: where we

talents and abilities. For example, MMA

pursue all good things in life

offers excellent opportunities for

such as food, entertainment,

professionals to contribute to the

relaxation etc.

•

Engaged Life: where we engage in activities that utilise

relationships, health, financial and a

our interests and talents such

number of other parameters.

as photography, adventure

The most important findings of this research study are: 1. Good relationships keep us happier and healthier.

2. Social connections are really important and loneliness kills.

People who are more socially connected to family, to friends

•

management / business community and society at large through various avenues.

In conclusion, while you are still in

travels, painting etc.

your 50s, it would be good to prepare

Purposeful Life: where we

for the second innings, i.e., post­

utilise our talents and abilities in serving or engaging with the community / society.

His research shows that people who engaged in Purposeful Life had the highest life satisfaction.

retirement life by focusing on the four pillars—Purpose, Financial Stability, Physical Fitness and Mental Health —that can help you build a very satisfying, happy, purposeful life. 

and to community are happier, physically healthier, and live longer.

3. It is not just the number of friends or relationships that count; it is the quality of those relationships that matter.

4. Good relationships protect not just our bodies but our brains as well.

5. Those who were most satisfied in their relationships at 50, were SEPTEMBER

2020

41

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

MMA in association with Global Adjustments Foundation and KAS organised an exclusive online Fireside chat event for women on the occasion of Independence Day 2020 on the theme “Marching Ahead: The Next Normal” on 13 August 2020.

T

he objective of the two­hour

•

you through difficult times.

event featuring two Special Sessions was to provide

•

mind during COVID­19, so that they can navigate and prepare for the next

How

to

have

difficult

conversations and ask for

women with guidance and practical resources on topics that are on top of the

Clarifying values that guide

things that you need.

•

Staying true to yourself and what it entails.

•

normal.

Helpful approaches to address ‘new normal’ challenges.

The theme of Special Session­I was “Advocating for yourself and others.”

Life and work have changed fundamentally

during

Covid­19.

Dr Ranjini Manian, Founder Chairperson,

“In the next normal, women have to speak up unconditionally,” pointed out Dr Ranjini Manian, the moderator, and asked the speakers to share their personal experience in ‘speaking up.’

Anu Hassan said she was a people­ pleaser all along till she reached her mid­thirties when she realized that

Adjustments

things were not quite right and felt that

Foundation, moderated the panel

she had to take care of herself. She

discussion. The other speakers on the

started speaking up for what she wanted

panel were:

to do and it made a marked difference

Ms Kamini Shah, CFO­

in her approach to life. There was a sea

Therefore, our goals may need to change

Strategic Sales & Geographies,

change in her personality.

too. What strategies help in overcoming

Wipro Ltd

some of the challenges that the new

•

Global

Speaker

•

normal brings? The discussion points •

included: 42

SEPTEMBER

2020

Ms Maria Goretti, Author, Chef

“You cannot share from an empty

and Television Host, Mumbai

cup,” she said and added that her

Ms Anu Hassan, Actress,

change helped her to take very good care

Entrepreneur and Motivational

of her parents in their last days, without

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

feeling burdened in any way. “That is the

I was not independent. It is a different

Ranjini Manian patted all the three

biggest advantage of having advocated

thing to stand in front of a camera as a

panellists for driving home the point,

for myself ten years ago,” she said.

TV host but personally, I used to be very

“First advocate for yourself before

Kamini Shah felt she was very lucky

shy and petrified. I stood up and went

advocating for others.”

in her growing up years in terms of the

ahead with my study. For the first time

On Work from Home (WFH),

opportunities that came her way. “I am

in my life, I walked out of my comfort

Kamini said it was very chaotic initially.

in a family that has four daughters. My

zone. I am glad I took the decision. It

“The privacy of my space is getting

father made sure that all of us had equal

changed my life for the better,” shared

invaded in WFH,” she said and added

opportunities,” she said. But after

Maria.

that companies expect employees to be

marriage and her first child, everyone in her joint family and friends advised her to quit her job. She was very clear that she wanted to pursue her career. Her husband was very co­operative and together they could convince the family members. “Now I am very happy I stood up then and advocated for myself,” said Kamini.

Maria Goretti said that in 2011 when her daughter was three years, she got an opportunity to go out for three months to study. Everyone discouraged her. “I have never travelled on my own.

available all the time in the WFH model.

There is a work time and I am accountable for that time. There are times that belong to me as an employee. The organisation should help me in that respect and it will benefit both men and women.

She stressed the importance of having a

~ Kamini Shah

management for any support. Get a

work structure.

“There is a work time and I am accountable for that time. There are times that belong to me as an employee.

The organisation should help me in that respect and it will benefit both men and women. Be clear in what you can do and what you cannot; Speak to the mentor and don’t micro­manage,” was the advice of Kamini.

Anu Hassan said that perfection is SEPTEMBER

2020

43

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

Maria patted Ranjini Manian for the ‘Champion­Woman’ programme she has been conducting through her NGO and empowering several women. She mentioned that only after a lot of self­ damage, women accept the fact that ‘it’s okay to say no.’

Ranjini Manian drove home the fact that only 20% of our girls who graduate are in the workforce while it is 80% with the boys who graduate. This inequality is due to many reasons, the prominent one being, that many women are not able to work after getting married. “No one asks a boy how he will manage the work and family after getting married.

These are the things that we take up in the Life Leadership Programme through our NGO,” she said.

In the rapid fire round, the panellists were quick on their feet.

What did Maria have to advocate

“Women set a high bar for themselves—to be a super mom, super wife and so on, and complicate their life."

for her husband Arshad Warsi? “OMG.

~ Anu Hasan

response.

No clue!” was her quick­witted

What did Anu Hassan advocate for all the other members in her famous

not a requisite. “Women set a high bar

areas. Anu also pointed out that women

for themselves—to be a super mom,

usually toggle between silence and

super wife and so on, and complicate

violence. “We are usually silent and

“I just had to tell them that they are

their life. It is okay to ask for help. If

don’t advocate for ourselves; but when

other Hasans and that I’m not the same

men have a problem, they share that

things go out of control, we lose our

as they are. I have always lived with this

with their friends and ask for advice. But

calm and explode. After we explode, we

comparison. They do what they do well

women feel uncomfortable in sharing

regret and once again become silent.

and I do what I do well,” said Anu.

and asking for help.” She batted for

There is no stage in­between,” she said

women to network and reach out for

humorously.

support, especially in their professional 44

SEPTEMBER

2020

Hassan family?

Which country in her experience was difficult to advocate for India?

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

“South Eastern countries like

What words of wisdom will the

can’t be influenced by us, takes a long

Bangladesh were very difficult to deal

panellists share with their 25 year­old

time to realise. Internalising this fact

with; in spite of our similarities, they are

self on how to cope with an

and working on things that I can control

very different from us,” replied Kamini.

unprecedented situation, if they were to

has helped me to reduce my stress,”

meet them?

responded Wilfried Aulbur.

The theme of Special Session­II

“In any situation, we can only tackle

Wilfried also said that focussing on

day by day. When we take one step at a

a large goal makes us stressed. Instead,

time,

be

we should break that goal into small

While the pandemic has disrupted

conquered. Everyone has their quota of

achievable steps. On managing stress

life as we know it, many of us are

stress. Even a KG child has its own

during Covid times, he advocated for

struggling to come to terms with the

challenges. Tools like Mindfulness and

‘small victories.’ This is an ideal

new reality. This session provided

Self­Awareness can help us maintain the

opportunity for us to spend time with

practical tips to manage stress and

right perspective,” opined Vani Kola.

our family members and we should

reduce its impact. It touched upon:

She added that ‘fear of something, at a

make good use of it. “Do some exercise;

Finding opportunities for self­

particular moment’ is what causes

learn some new skill. Each small victory

care

stress. Later on, the situation passes and

will boost your confidence,” he said.

was “Managing Stress in next normal”

• •

Practicing

patience

and

compassion on yourself and Practical

mountains

can

fear too may go away.

“In my younger days, financial

others •

most

tips

for

your

wellbeing Ms Shvetha Jaishankar, former moderated

the

panel

discussion. The other speakers on the panel were: •

Dr Ranjini Manian, Founder Chairperson,

Global

Adjustments Foundation •

Ms Vani Kola, Founder & MD, Kalaari Capital

•

Mr

Wilfried

Aulbur,

Sr

Partner and Global Head, Roland Berger and Former MD, Mercedes Benz India Ranjini Manian took the online participants through a short guided mindfulness meditation.

load in the current WFH scenario?

security was my biggest worry.

“If you leave out the large cash­rich

Understanding that only certain things

companies, in most other cases, there

are in our control and a lot many factors

are pay­cuts and job losses. This leads

Femina Miss India International and Author,

How can women balance their work

to a lot of financial stress at home. We

"There are so many expectations from women today. They must be bold enough to tell others in their family, office or social circles that they can do only what they can do."

may not have power over the problems

~ Vani Kola

compromise on their ‘Me­Time,’ she

that cause the stress but we have control over the solutions. There are so many expectations from women today. They must be bold enough to tell others in their family, office or social circles that they can do only what they can do,” replied Vani Kola. Women should not advocated.

Wilfried suggested that employers should create an environment where their employees do not end up with burn­out syndrome. They should give SEPTEMBER

2020

45

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

an opportunity for the employees to

listed:

1.

Get your priorities right.

2.

Sometimes bad things happen to good people. You must understand that such things are driven by the environment.

Therefore, you need resilience.

3.

This is not going to be the last crisis that we all will face. Many more will follow. The economic impact of Covid is going to be larger than what we face today.

We need to take this as a warning shot to re­evaluate our life.

Shvetha Jaishankar said that her

kids are under the age of six. “I tell them

“Remember, we are not ‘Human Doings’ but we are ‘Human Beings.’ So be calm, he happy and be peaceful, to be stress‐free." ~ Ranjini Manian

about the importance of grandparents.

I take them through a simple meditation routine, which we do as a family. But for this pandemic, I wouldn’t have initiated my children into this practice and perhaps would have postponed the idea.

I play them images of beautiful

come out unscathed from this serious,

1.

pandemic situation and with as less impact as possible.

Bringing out the commonality

2.

There must be caution but it

pictures depict. But children intuitively

Value small things in life and

3.

about this experience?

Vani replied that it depends on the age of the children. “Mine are young adults. I tell them the below,” she 2020

4.

gravitate towards natural beauty and I can see them relaxed,” she said.

Ranjini Manian cautioned that we

them.

can’t just keep on doing things.

Be sensitive to others and check

“Remember, we are not ‘Human Doings’

in on them, so as to have better

but we are ‘Human Beings.’ So be calm,

relationship.

What should we teach our children

SEPTEMBER

don’t know many of the places these

week my gratitude journal with

for women.

46

which will affect your life.

have gratitude. I share once a

Shvetha Jaishankar hoped that this in generating more ‘Leadership Roles’

landscapes from around the world. I

must be balanced.

between what Vani and Wilfred shared, Covid­19 will lead to a ‘Quality shift’ and

Don’t entertain fear and doubt

If you can put things in a broader perspective, the here and now of the situations diminishes in gravitas.

Wilfried suggested the below as

advice for children:

be happy and be peaceful, to be stress­ free. For everyone, BE is important,” she said and explained the acronym BE—B stands for Begin the day with meditation and E for End the day with a gratitude journal. 

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

RAMYAA RAMESH

with the confidence her superiors vested in her, she began to chase her dreams.

G

Today her ability, her capacity to face all problems with ayathri

Suresh

is

the

quintessential

determination and her courage has helped Gayathri Suresh

entrepreneur, a woman who refused to stay

forge ahead in her field. She shares her mantra for success

confined within the secure portals of a well

—from her educational beginnings to her present achieve­

paying job. A chartered accountant by profession, she ran

ments.

through an entire gamut of jobs as she moved from Audit to FMCG, IT, and Banking, finally finding her niche in a start­

If becoming a chartered accountant was a career

up—a professional journey that spanned over 26 years. She

goal from the beginning, how did you prepare for it?

always knew that she wanted to do something exciting, and

I completed my B.Com from Ethiraj College and then decided SEPTEMBER

2020

47

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

to do my Chartered Accountancy. I completed my articleship

different problems and solutions; in the process, you have

with PriceWaterhouse. I passed my CA exams in my very first

exposure to varied issues. It is this that made my career choice

attempt in 1990 and plunged immediately into my career as

exciting to me.

a Chartered Accountant.

What was your first job?

As I had completed my articleship with PWC, I automatically chose to continue working there once I had become a full­ fledged Chartered Accountant.

What inspired you into taking on a career in the world of finance?

My uncle was a Chartered Accountant in Hindustan Unilever, Mumbai, in the 70s, and I was quite inspired by him and

I thrive on instability and chaos. I had the role of management accounting in Pond’s where I came into contact with different businesses. I worked in various businesses in Pond’s, including at Ootacamund. All this added to my varied experiences, helping me learn about different businesses across a cross­section of industries. I had similar exposure in my stint with HUL. I was part of the export division—rice, dalda, carpets and marine businesses (fisheries)—all these greatly added to my knowledge. I could say that all this led to a process of self­realization. I discovered that I loved getting into the details of the business more than the finance of it!

choose to follow in his footsteps. CA became my chosen profession.

Would you give us more insight into your career progression?

My time at PwC was a ‘beauty of routine’. The multinational environment was a drastic change in culture and initially ‘lots of fun’. PwC was given the task of looking into different scams, specifically the Harshad Mehta scam in 1992. I was part of the

A break in an individual’s career is her choice, but before taking a break, she has to be very clear on the reasons for the break. She must ask herself why she needs to take the break and the length of time that would make it meaningful.

scam audit team and it taught me many lessons. But while my experience at PwC was extremely enriching, I slowly stopped enjoying the routine of my job. I had two requirements at that point in my life—I wanted to work in Chennai and I wanted a job which will excite me.

In 1993, I got both my wishes. My uncle suggested that I

Then in 2002 a major turn came in my career. Due to personal reasons, I decided to move to a young and emerging sector. I took up the role of Head of Legal, Secretarial and Investor Relations in SIFY, a rapidly growing Internet service provider.

apply to Pond’s which was headquartered in Chennai at that point of time and I got that job. Moving from PwC, which is

What made you take a decision to move from

an auditing firm, to a multinational company was invigorating

Management Audit to Legal, Secretarial and

to say the least. It was a total cultural change but I adjusted

Investor Relations?

to the change very easily. In 1998, Ponds merged with Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) and I suddenly found myself as a part of a larger corporate organization.

I always felt that Audit is a field where you come across 48

SEPTEMBER

2020

Honestly, I went to the interview thinking I was giving an interview for General Manager Finance. The panel of interviewers felt that I would be an asset to the company in the role of Legal, Secretarial and Investor Relations. They

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

seemed very confident that I could do the work very well. I love to be challenged into learning something new. It was all so exciting to me. So I decided to make this career change into a new field and try this new job. I always believe that no matter what I do, I need to give my best. Trust me, the three­and­a­ half years that I worked at SIFY were the great years of my professional life! The crowd there was very young and I had the pleasure of doing something exciting every year.

Unfortunately, in 2006, when the management started to leave the company, I decided to do the same. During this time, a colleague of mine referred me to Standard Chartered Bank. It was destiny.

I joined Standard Chartered’s BPO as Financial Controller. The CEO during my interview had mentioned that I would get an opportunity as CFO after three years, but I never thought much about it.

During 2010, there was an internal job watch position of CFO. I did not give it much thought and continued with my work. My functional boss in Singapore insisted that I apply for this role and I did. I became the CFO of Standard Chartered Scope International in 2010. I later on became the Global CFO in 2012, taking care of Malaysia and China.

The company continued to grow and the head count increased to15,000; this was when I had the opportunity to be in the management committee since in 2010 and a part of this exciting journey. I would attribute a lot of my successes

Yes, elderly care was a passion that I shared with two of my

to having had the best of bosses—bosses who had faith in me

friends. I had seen first­hand the struggles the elderly face and

and made me want to excel. 2016 brought in some more

how dependant they become as they age. This led to the birth

changes. The demands of my personal life were also changing

of Sakhi4life in 2019. My personal life was now stable and we

—my mother passed away and my mother­in­law was

decided to start a new venture in 2019. It is still young, but

diagnosed with lung cancer. My priorities were very clear and,

has started off very well and is growing.

in 2016, I decided to quit my job with the bank and take charge of home matters for the next three years.

So the startup company the next big change in your career?

Sakhi4 is a venture which focuses on the older generation?

What made you start something so uniquely different?

I have always grown up around elderly people, whether it was my grandparents, parents, in­laws, uncles or aunts. I

SEPTEMBER

2020

49

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

even one woman is extremely fulfilling.

Your career has been long and diverse. Would you have done anything differently? Changed anything?

Not at all! My career has been varied, and I have had the pleasure of working with different industries and different people. I would not change a single thing!

What do you think are the major hurdles for women to reach their full potential?

Women should think ‘We can do it.’ If a woman has any questions or doubts, she must ask for clarification, or people will assume that she does not need it. If a woman has any found my loved ones who had been so full of energy and life

requirement, she must put it forward even if it means she does

in their younger days growing quite helpless as they became

not get what she has asked for.

older. They literally stopped socializing after a point of time.

I had to face the fact that as my parents grow older, they need us more and more. We founded Sakhi4Life to provide support and companionship for aging parents, a way by which we spend time with them.

You have seen so much in your career. What do you think is your most valued achievement?

The mentorship program for women managers during my Standard Chartered days, of course!

In the management team I was at times the sole lady but also the senior most. An added advantage was that I was part of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Committee for four years, from 2012 to 2016. This made the women in my organization trust the system and talk about their problems at workplace.

woman was by itself a vindication to me. Harassment at work is a big issue and to be able to make a difference in the life of SEPTEMBER

I did not have family support for one­and­half years, but I got a lot of help from others around me. It is very important to assign tasks and get the work done. Balancing work and personal life will then become very easy if women learn to ask for help.

What is your advice for women who want to take a career break and also to those who want to come back after a career break?

A break in an individual’s career is her choice, but before taking a break, she has to be very clear on the reasons for the break. She must ask herself why she needs to take the break and the length of time that would make it meaningful.

Therefore, before taking the break, clarity of thought is very essential and a plan for getting back to her career should

To be able to prove the allegations and provide justice to

50

Be open about talking to others.

2020

also be in place. It is very important that she realizes that she should not go back to the same role that she was not happy with before the break.

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

her break, read up on current changes that are happening—it does not mean current events, but changes that are happening in her own field of expertise. When questions are asked during the interview, she needs to have the right answer. So, she needs to equip herself very intelligently.

How is the next few decades going to be for you?

I want to concentrate on the new venture. I want to make Sakhi4life commercially viable and not be seen as an NGO. I want people to understand the concept. I want this to become an industry by itself. Old people should get the best of both worlds, and I want to be a part of this drive.

After I achieve this in Chennai, I want to expand. Go beyond Chennai. Move into towns and cities where we are needed. But we first need to make this concept successful.  How does she equip herself to move to a different path in her career?

Ramyaa Ramesh, author, had interviewed Gayathri Suresh for this series.

The secret is to keep learning. She must do a course during

SEPTEMBER

2020

51

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

need to address for continuity and sustainability: 1. The leadership walk‐the‐talk role model Leaders have to fold up their sleeves and be there. They must insist on alacrity in execution to ensure business continuity, while showing empathy in employee­ related issues. Employee concerns must be addressed with understanding to make them feel reassured, that they are taken care of. A leading Indian company dealing in paints, varnishes and coatings has taken a contrarian view by increasing the pay for their employees in a gesture to boost confidence and morale. “We are not in the hire­and­fire business, and as a mature brand, have reassured employees that we are all together in this“, the MD stated.

2. Leverage technology, particularly digitalisation I read with interest a caption in front of a leading PSU bank—Corona Se Daro Na, Digital Karo Na! Virtual is the new reality. A leading manufacturer of lead­ acid batteries connects with all its 15,000+ employees dispersed across the (This is the second and concluding part of the article focussing on responding to challenges posed by COVID.)

T

he crisis caused by COVID­19 is

deeply

unsettling,

particularly to businesses.

Entrepreneurs and corporates have to 52

SEPTEMBER

2020

ensure business continuity even as

shop­floor, sales and service outlets, and

reports suggest that about 50% of the

the corporate office through the digital

businesses are not certain about staying

platform. Throughout 2019 we grappled

afloat beyond the next 2­3 Quarters. In

with disruption ushered in by the need

the previous article, we looked at six

to digitise, and now we are happily

major focus areas to bring business and

embracing this technology. Going digital

the organisation back on track. Here are

is the right way to integrate and

the next six key areas that businesses

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

harmonise business processes, bringing

across the country have moved to the

made available to assist employees

all employees, vendors, suppliers,

work­from­home model to keep services

address burnouts. More than ever,

contractors,

other

uninterrupted during the lockdown.

Employee Assistance Programs are

stakeholders onto one platform. To

Experts say some companies are likely

making a lot more sense in today’s

quote

company:

to move to WFH permanently. A recent

times, and they are here to stay too.

“Workplaces need to become a platform

Gartner survey of over 300 CXOs

for employees, individual contributors,

projected that 5% of workforce will

4. Social and community connect: Key

managers, leaders, and business heads

become permanent WFH employees

element in business sustainability

to do what they need to do with a suite

after the pandemic.

There is a need to look far beyond CSR.

a

bankers Tata

and

Group

of products, providing tools for induction, learning, collaboration, or experimenting something new, available 24/7, all at one place.”

It is reported that of this WFH workforce in India, about 2.5 million are women. There are about 70 lakh employable women waiting on the wings. The number of applications from women job seekers rose to 50% in

According to Indian press reports, about two‐thirds of the 4.3 million IT‐ITES workforce across the country have moved to the work‐from‐home model

March 2020 compared to a month earlier, according to a report.

A suitable business will continue on for decades. It is very important, therefore, that a business is run on sound ethical, economic/financial, managerial and humane

principles

and

values.

Businesses have to be inclusive, collaborative and responsible. The triple bottom­line—Profits, People & Planet —is now recognised as a means of

CEOs and HR heads say the current

measuring

responsible

corporate

work­from­home environment, which

performance.

saves cost and enhances productivity,

capitalism

could turn into a level playing field for

companies have to devise their CSR

women who have been making career

policies around social themes with

compromises due to child care, elder

maximum impact and highest relevance.

care, and other familial commitments.

Public gaze and attention is getting

But WFH has its downside as well:

closer and critical, and social media is

3. Work from home ﴾WFH﴿ is here to

social distancing, social isolation, stress

playing a pronounced role in reach and

stay!

and anxiety to over­deliver in a bid to

speed of access to information.

Rather than wishing WFH away, it is

preserve one’s job; unstructured,

Businesses must therefore exercise a

prudent to accept this as the new norm.

unscheduled and long hours of work;

heightened sensitivity and sharpened

Many top technology­driven companies

lack

from

surveillance to respond to emergencies

have decided to adopt WFH as a

subordinates; self­regulation and sub­

and crisis with agility, empathy and a

permanent mode of work. An Indian IT

optimal productivity. The line between

practical approach. In these COVID

bellwether has referred WFH as

work­life and family­life is blurring.

times, outreach initiatives, CSR, and

Borderless Workplaces. According to

Companies

instituting

Community Connect programs of

Indian press reports, about two­thirds

measures to monitor login and logout

companies have to add significant value

of the 4.3 million IT­ITES workforce

times; productivity metrics are also

to supplement the efforts of local

of

accountability

are

now

With

stakeholder

becoming

mainstay,

showing up positively, and help lines are SEPTEMBER

2020

53

Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence

governments. Businesses must co­create

5. Human resource management:

6. Way forward

new relationships and linkages with

Warriors and saviours

The Chairman of a business group that

society and community. Continuous

The HR function in these times has

I worked with often used to say that

traction

through

come out shining, and is at the centre of

even a CEO will not have all the answers

monitoring, dip­stick and fine­tuning of

enabling organisations manage the

all the time. Therefore,

community­connect programs and

complexity due to pandemic, and to

schemes.

ensure business continuity. The HR

collaborative

approach

function has demonstrated the skill­set

needed

harness

of a saviour and the attitude of the

collective wisdom in the

warrior, as a professional colleague puts

organisation;

is

necessary

Another critical factor is that migrant labour has a large share in contract employment in every state of the country. This is a very high­impact challenge for companies that are helplessly dependant on contract labour for their day­to­day operations. And, this is not confined only to the manufacturing sector. IT and services sector also has large numbers in their workforce. There are a few lessons to take away from good practices, such as the one adopted by a leading OEM

it. HR has ushered in the quick adoption of

company­wide

learning

•

•

Employee

is the

we have to read all the signs, signals

and

undoubtedly the data, to make sense of what needs to be

platforms; accelerating the digitisation instituting

to

trends,

and

development initiatives through e­ mission;

an inclusive, involved and

done; •

we must focus on less in order

Assistance Programs and helplines for

to get more impact on the

employees to connect; institutionalising

ground;

programs for health, safety and

•

we

must

keep

everyone

engaged and focussed in order

wellbeing; and facilitating quick

to find new directions and

embrace of WFH.

frontiers;

manufacturer in South India. From the

Going forward, the role and scope

beginning, they have pursued a policy of

of HR function is bound to change for

employing local labour for all their

the better. Areas of focus for the HR

To quote Rahm Emanuel: “You

operations. They encourage a ‘sons of

leader in the emerging times will be

never let a serious crisis go to waste.

soil’ policy and have invested in

—Bringing in organisation culture and

And what I mean by that is it's an

identifying the right talent and trained

values; capability building; change

opportunity to do things you think you

them adequately in all the required

management; organisation and work re­

could not do before. Let’s make the best

vocational trades. As a result they have

design; adapting/accepting the gig­

of this crisis". 

not had to face the agony that every

economy model for workforce planning;

other employer encounters with the

increasing participation of women in

migrant labour returning to their home

employment; increasing exposure to

states, giving rise to a vacuum. An

shared services model (which is set to

inclusive and collaborative approach,

grow due to cost, efficiency and

which is over­arching and long­term, is

productivity norms getting re­defined);

required in workforce planning of the

adopting digitisation in all HR

enterprise.

processes; and HR analytics.

54

SEPTEMBER

2020

•

pivotal thinking will lead us to new possibilities.

(Author is a class‐topper from the 1979 batch of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a Senior HR Professional with over 40 years’ corporate, consulting, mentoring and teaching experience. He can be reached at ‐ beelinehr@gmail.com)

Click on the page to enter.

Attributions School psd created by freepik ‐ www.freepik.com Gold photo created by bedneyimages ‐ www.freepik.com Red photo created by www.slon.pics ‐ www.freepik.com Flyer vector created by macrovector ‐ www.freepik.com