Men of Steel

We love to travel.... to most sought after destinations, foreign locales, beautiful hill stations et all. But I believe 'the most difficult journey is the journey inward'. Men of Steel (MoS) is the result of my 'turning inward'. Some sort of an event that got triggered with 'WALTO'. I found MoS captivating and I am still thinking about what makes it so.

MoS is a collection of profiles done on the torch bearers of the India Inc., the remarkable men who lead (and are still leading) India into the era of global economy. Unlike other profiles, interviews, media reports etc. which are aired/published frequently, MoS captures the true man behing the successful business man. And it does it in a very succinct style without going overboard even once. Perhaps, MoS is the summary of the business barons of today's India.

I found the story on Sunil 'Bharati' Mittal very interesting. I wasn't aware that his genset business closed overnight due to government policy changes and the so called 'influence of the big boys'. The lesson I learnt is 'sometimes its good to hang on and wait for the tides to turn' (Sunil did so during hard times in his telecom venture). The question I face is how do I judge whether this is 'the sometime'.

The glimpse on conception of Infosys as a rebellion against bania owned business of that time and the transformation of very average and cerebrally detached Nandal Nilekani to the passionate business leader of today is sort of a fairy tale turned true.

It is interesting to know that Kumar Mangalam Birla transformed from boring to interesting and his policy of radical change is responsible for transforming the Birla legacy.

The revelation of Subhash Chandra's distinctive tuft of white hair which he developed overnight due to stress and tension when one of his partners stepped back from a deal during the final stage gives an inkling of turmoil and the capacity to survive through it is needed to be called 'man of steel'.

What struck me most in the story on Bikki Oberoi, is that way back in 60's and 70's Hilton declined to give the Oberoi (group of hotels) its brand name considering that it will depreciate Hilton's value, and in the post globalized mid 2000's Oberoi are associated with Hilton but are careful to not to associate Hilton brand for their ultra luxury hotels as this would undermine Oberoi's luxury brand image. Its truely a turn around story. India Inc. has indeed arrived.

I picked up the following three quotes (better termed as guiding principles) from the profile of Uday Kotak:
1. Concentrate on substance and not form;
2. Believe in the value system, not just in profits; and
3. Recognize the process over creativity

I really didn't feel much moved by the profiles on Nusli Wadia, Ratan Tata, and Vijjay Mallya. But what is common in most of these success cases is that all of them have had their shares of problems, challenges, fears, loneliness, desire to run-away at one or more stages of their lives. But they chose to persist. Most of them have fought against corruption and bureaucracy in this country and won over all odds. And most of them (except few) have risen from the ground.

A good read!

We are like that only

Simple language, data-driven inferences, examples from everyday Indian life, references to actual marketing cases, and continuous zoom-in/zoom-out is what makes 'We are like that only' (WALTO) a wonderfully enlightening read. It is a book for anyone (and not necessariliy a management student, marketer, consultant, business manager, strategist, or entrepreneur) who wants to understand the nuances of the consumer India.
Moving beyond the survey numbers about what we as Indian consumers consume, how much we consume, and how much we'll continue/evolve to consume in future, WALTO takes a deeper dive and explores what makes us 'us'. It is a marvellous work of research and cognition, a dissection attempt at unravelling the structure and functioning of the billion plus consumer India.
It is not only a point blank but also a bulls-eye shot to say that 'the Indian DNA is about continuity with change; it is about THIS as well as THAT; about cobbling together clever and low-cost solutions that are ingenious combinations and adaptations of products available in the market. It is true that the right question that the businesses should be asking is 'what should be my local, customized strategy for the Indian market?' rather than 'what is the size of market that India offers for my global strategy?' Contradictory to China, India is the market for long-term 'patient' investments and long-term harvesting.
WALTO has successfully segmented the conundrum that the Indian market is with Rich, Middle, and Low Income consumers respectively comprising 10%, 30% and 60% of Indian population. These segments, which contribute 34.1%, 36.1%, and 29.7% to national GDP, command 30.0%, 36.6%, and 34.4% consumption share of the soon-to-be Trillion $ economy. This market is complicated by extreme diversity in terms of cultures, geographies, education levels, technology penetration and various other factors. Indeed, a business trying to sell in India, is trying to attempt a market which is existing in 400 years simultaneously.
The view on the Bottom of Pyramid (BoP) consumers, rural markets, emerging womanism, and growingly young market, which is a market consisting of lots and lots of people consuming a little bit of each, adding up to a lot provides an inkling of the dormant but soon emerging opportunity. the key to this vault of opportunity is in finding answer to the question, 'what my target India is?' and then spinning around products, prices, distribution mechanisms, and promotion stategies.
It is for the global marketers to realize that India is the second biggest game in the world (after China), and the game has just begun!

just like that:
Being a technology enthusiast at heart appreciating the turnaround that technology has brought in the way we live and work, It is not possible to talk of the present day India, and keep ICE (IT, Communication, and Entertainment) wave out of discussion. WALTO has captured that well. Most of us are aware of the changes Technology revolution has brought in India. However, this is what I heard for the first time and am so much tempted to quote:
"Perhaps the most powerful impact of IT has been in reducing the percieved gap in power between the educated and the uneducated, and those in positions of power and those out of it. Narayana Murthy, Infosys Founder and Chairman, once told a wonderful story of how he found his low-income colleague, the peon in his office, going to an ATM to withdraw money. When he asked the peon why he chose the ATM over the teller, he replied that the ATM did not care if he withdrew Rs 20 or Rs 2000, or whether he was well dressed or not. The teller, on the other hand, did care."
Never before a market report seemed so captivating!
Happy reading :)

Atlas Shrugged

Most of my management classmates have read it. Most of my friends have too. I couldn't resist but grab a copy to see what makes 'Atlas Shrugged' the must read of all times. And, I could never repent doing that. Ayn Rand is a very seasoned author. Her fluidity, intelligence, narrative, and suspense keeps the reader bound and yearning for more. The more you read the more you want to. (naturally, I had many sleepless nights finishing it through.)

Although, John Galt is the creme-de-la-creme, but Dagny Taggart is my favourite character. I couldn't resist devoting an entire post to her.

There are many dimensions to Dagny Taggart’s persona. She is intelligent, ambitious, courageous, wise and sensitive. She displays great strength of character in her handling of Taggart Transcontinental (a private transportation company on the verge of collapse). The multiple shades of her persona make her very real.

Intelligence – Dagny, an engineer by education and business woman by profession, is sharply intelligent. Her intelligence reflects in her handling of crises which is faced by her business, her endeavours to retain the best talents of her organization, her decision to provide transportation services to Rearden metal industries. Its on the account of her intelligence that her father leaves her with the Taggart business legacy in spite of her elder brother vying for it.

Ambition – She is highly ambitious as she decides to pursue her career as a business woman when she always had the opportunity to settle with the most eligible elite suitors from the society and lead a wealthy life. However, she dreamt of running her father’s business and taking it to newer heights of success.

Courage – Dagny displays great courage when she decides to build new rail lines to support business in an area where no competitor dared to venture and make supplies to a fellow business which would have withered without her help and commitment. She fights with detrimental government (which ofcourse is being run by corrupt ministers bribed by her brother) policies which she understands are being made to make revenues on account of the hardwork of private businesses run by men and women of caliber. She also displays astonishing courage in going public about her love affair with Hank Rearden another successful businessman and man of will in wedlock with an undeserving and scheming woman.

Perseverance – Dagny has to fight not only the corrosive government policies which were abolishing market competition by containing the large businesses but also other threats being caused by the self proclaimed terminator of skilled man power resources –John Galt, who is on a crusade to end all profit making businesses of the world. It is noteworthy that John Galt is the person who is detrimental to Dagny’s business and also the final object of her affection. She was given the option to renunciate all and spend a comfortable life with john Galt in the other world order that he was creating with the help of the accomplished who’s who of the society. Still she decides to run her dying business and not give up against all the forces of the society.

Sensitivity – Dagny is a skilled business woman who takes the practical most decisions for her business. But in her personal life she is a very sensitive woman who had been in love with different men at different stages of life and had always love with same passion with which she ran her business.

Leadership – Her workforce respects her and trusts her decisions. She has great communication skills which further strengthen her leadership qualities. She is capable of being one with the down-trodden and labour class and effectively handles the elite also. It was due to her leadership qualities that the Taggart Transcontinental was the last business to sink in an economy where businesses were dying away everyday.

She is a perfect blend of qualities that make successful figures of the society. She sometimes takes harsh decisions but we can’t call her authoritarian. She does injustice to her brother for the health of business, but we can’t call her selfish. She sometimes manipulates her rivals with her charm but we can’t call her loose. She falls in love with different men at different stages but we can’t call her non-committal. She crashes her plane out of curiosity but we can’t call her frivolous.

In her best selling ‘Atlas shrugged’, Ayn Rand has created a woman with whom every modern woman can relate to.

A must read!