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P r o l o g u e
Anuj Kothari
Editor
Heartiest Greetings!
We are happy that you hold in your hand the Commemorative Volume which
has been unveiled at the IMA's 23rd Management Conclave 2014. IMA is
celebrating 50 years of its existence; an excellence which few management
associations can match.
IMA Management Conclave is just one of the many products which IMA has
created to bring management best practices and global thinkers for the
betterment of industry leaders, middle management, management aspirants,
entrepreneurs, academia and students. Rendezvous - Dinner with CEO,
Management Development Programs, Indore Manager, etc.
Since the last IMA Management Conclave, Indore Manager has covered many
themes - Being ready for the next upswing, Being happy at work place, Family
run business, Being socially responsible and New age entrepreneurship.
This commemorative volume as always covers the IMA Management
Conclave theme. I am sure you will relish the articles and enrich yourselves
with the content.
Enjoy the read !!
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Content Page
IMA Profile
IMA Initiatives
Board Of Directors
Team IMA
Conclave Award Jury
IMA Chairman's Message
IMA President's Message
Conclave Chairman's Message
Speaker's Profile
Theme Perspectives
Theme Thoughts
Theme Champions
Theme Articles
Epilogue
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
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IMA Profile
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
IMA Initiatives
IMA Profile
IMA is a proactive, focused and one of the fastest growing non-profit
management associations of India with strong national and international
linkages. Established in 1963, it has a direct and indirect membership of
over 3500 members including corporate, entrepreneurs, professionals,
businessmen, academicians and students.
Working with a Vision: "To Be the Leader in Management Development
Movement" & Mission: "We Help To Raise the Bar Of Excellence For
Realizing The Leadership Potential Continuously", Indore Management
Association is affiliated to All India Management Association (AIMA) and
is the winner of "Best Local Management Association Award" for ten
consecutive years.
It is our primary objective to facilitate continuous growth & empowerment
of the emerging corporate world through leadership and management
development programmes and providing a platform for business meets,
management events which helps broaden the vision of the corporate and
the business world of India.
Our events and programs include:
• Annual Flagship Program- International Management Conclave
• The Rendezvous series- An Exclusive CEO Forum
• Executive and Manager Development Programmes
• Center of Excellence (COE)
• Quest for Leaders and Young Managers Competition
• Shaping Young Minds Program and India Brand Guru Quiz
• Talks and film show on Management related subjects
• Women Manager Forum
• HR Manager Forum
• Student Forum
• Publication- Our monthly magazine Indore Manager
Professional Development Programs
IMA organizes regular management executive/supervisory development & training
programmes, for all hierarchy of management. Leveraging and building competitive advantage
are the focus in IMA's management/executive development & training programmes.
Centre of Excellence
IMA established these centres with missionary zeal for sharing and learning, and inculcating
growth spirit. A team of people that promote collaboration and using best practices around a
specific focus area to drive business results.
Some of the focus areas are• Centre of Excellence for HR Professionals
• Centre of Excellence for Manufacturing Professionals
• Centre of Excellence for IT Professionals
• Centre of Excellence for Finance Professionals
• Centre of Excellence for Marketing Professionals
CEO Forum
We believe that success stories have the power to go where no business plan has ever been.
They can captivate the heart, stir the imagination and create the desire to act. Keeping that idea
in mind IMA has taken another unique initiative "Rendezvous - An Exclusive Series of CEO Meets"
which invites Business Leaders to share their learning, experiences & thoughts with the elite
professionals of the region. The series provides an opportunity to interact, ideate, debate,
deliberate with success icons from industry and business world to get insight of their success
story.
We capture the innovative, real world business acumen and guiding principles discovered
behind their most important business decisions and their career progression.
Public Meetings
To promote management awareness amongst the people at large.
IMA regularly organizes public meetings of professionals on topics of current interest and
managerial significance.
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Board of Directors
IMA Women's Forum
Chairman
The Indore Management Association's Women's Forum is an initiative for the women of Indore
region. We encourage participation from all fields, all levels and all roles, whether she be a
professional, entrepreneur or someone who is looking at starting new ventures. Any woman who
believes that she either has something to gain or something to offer is welcome to become a
member. Active participation in IMA's Women's Forum would be a great opportunity for every
member to keep herself updated.
Mr. Shiv Singh Mehta
IMA HR Forum
The Indore Management Association's Human Resources Forum is an initiative for most of the
HR fraternity of Indore region. We encourage participation from all companies. This means all
levels and all functions. Anyone who feels that they either have something to gain or something
to offer is welcome.
HR professionals (and anyone else interested in HR) need to have a mechanism for keeping up to
date with the latest developments in worldwide HR thinking. Actively participating in IMA's HR
Forum is one of the best opportunities in Indore region to keep current.
Publications
Managing Director, Kriti Industries Ltd.
Members
Mr. Sudhir Mehta
Managing Director, Pinnacle Industries Ltd.
Mr. G M Maheshwari
Advisor, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd.
Mr. Mahesh Sharma
CEO - Flexituff International Ltd.
Mr. Sunil Chordia
Managing Director, Rajratan Global Wires Ltd.
Mr. S.K. Mishra
Deputy Managing Director, State Bank of India
Mr. V.K. Agnihotri
IPS (Retd.) Former IG of Police
Mr. Vinay Chhajlani
CEO Webdunia.com
Mr. Manoj Fadnis
Chartered Accountant, Fadnis & Gupte
Dr. Sumer Singh
Principal, Daly College
Indore Manager is a monthly publication. Some of the sections are: 'Students Section' which
gives various articles and case studies from students of different institutes. Along with this, 'A
day in a life of a CEO' includes an interview of a CEO. A new initiative also included a 'Vacancy
Section' which gives vacancies from different organizations and serves as a medium of
connection between students and industry. Other regular features like 'Book Review', 'IMA
Activities', 'Tips', 'Health Section', 'Tit Bits, - are well liked by all its readers. Looking at the
increase in readership, we have provided a soft copy of the magazine on the IMA website.
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Team IMA
Conclave Core Committee
Management Committee
Mr. Shamit Dave
Mr. Shailesh Danani
Mr. Vijay Goyal
Mr. B P Inani
Hon. Secretary
Mr. Amit Bidasaria
Ms. Kavita Saluja
Mr. Bhanu Prakash Inani
Treasurer
Mr. Navin Khandelwal
Ms. Khushboo Vaidya
Mr. Praveen Agrawal
Joint Secretary
Mr. Sunil Chordia
Ms. Rewa Nandedkar
Mr. Navin Khandelwal
Budget Officer
Mr. Ranjan Mimani
Ms. Rachna Mittal Bansa
Mr. Subhash Mathur
Mr. Ujjwal Kheria
Mr. Praveen Agrawal
Mr. Arvind Pujari
Mr. Jay Vaidya
Mr. Sanjeev Sachdeva
Mr. Darpan Anand
Mr. Nitin Gami
Mr. Jagdish Verma
Mr. Gunjan Anand
Mr. Mahesh Sharma
Mr. Abhimanyu Baveja
Mr. Shiv Kumar
Capt. B.J. Singh
Prof. Kapil Kumar Suri
Mr. Vaibhav Agrawal
Ms. Rittu Grover
Mr. Abhishek Nandedkar
Mr. Rahul Jain
CA. Santosh Muchhal
Mr. Saurabh Mehta
Mr. Sandeep Atre
Mr. Ranjan Mimani
Mr. Anuj Kothari
Ms. Rachna Tiwari
Mr. Manish Dafria
Mr. Akhilesh Khandelwal
Ms. Harshita Tiwari
Mr. Rajesh Mittal
Mr. Sapan Shah
Mr. Jaspreet Jeet Singh
Mr. Akhilesh Khandelwal
Mr. Manish Dafria
Mr. Sanjay Malviya
Mr. Raman Singh Saluja
Mr. Dev Prakash Mehra
Mr. Utkarsh Trivedi
Mr. Devilal Purohit
Mr. Shamit Dave
President
Mr. Vijay Goyal
Vice President
Mr. Amit Bidasaria
Executive Council
Mr. Shamit Dave
Mr. Vijay Goyal
Mr. Amit Bidasaria
Mr. Bhanu Prakash Inani
Mr. Praveen Agrawal
Mr. Navin Khandelwal
Mr. Rakesh Jain
Mr. Shreyans Bhandari
Mr. Shailesh Danani
Mr. Utkarsh Trivedi
Mr. Shiv Kumar
Special Invitee
Mr. Saurabh Mehta
Mr. Alok Jain
Capt. B. J. Singh
Mr. Raman Singh Saluja
Mr. Subhash Mathur
Mr. Arvind Pujari
Mr. Abhimanyu Baveja
Mr. Alok Jain
Mr. Sapan Shah
Mr. Shreyans Bhandari
Mr. Raman Singh Saluja
Ms. Rittu Grover
Mr. Abhishek Nandedkar
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Conclave Award Jury
Editorial Committee
Editor
Mr. Anuj Kothari
Associate Editors
Mr. Sandeep Atre
Mrs. Rewa Nandedkar
Editorial Board
Mr. Mahesh Sharma
Mr. B.P. Inani
Ms. Yamini Karmarkar
Mr. Ranjan Mimani
IMA Secretariat
Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla
Chairman- Aditya Birla Group
Dr. Sumer Singh
Principal The Daly College, Indore
Mr. Shiv Singh Mehta
Director- Kriti Industries, Indore
Mr. Shamit Dave
Managing Director- Davesmen India Pvt. Ltd.
Dr. Rachna Tiwari
Ms. Harshita Tiwari
Mr. Jaspreet Jeet Singh
Mr. Sanjay Malviya
Mr. Dev Prakash Mehra
Mr. Devilal Purohit
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Chairman's Message
President's Message
Mr. Shiv Singh Mehta
Mr. Shamit Dave
Dear Business Leaders,
Leaders shape institutions which make a substantial difference to the community. Great leaders
build institutions, whereas others also called leaders merely use them. Leaders should be
passionate about their cause. The quality of inner leadership defines the leadership that would
emerge outward. For such a leadership to develop needs clarity of purpose, inner courage, strong will
and patience.
IMA is celebrating its Golden Jubilee. In 50 years Society, Economy and Business dynamics have
changed. Today business enterprises are increasingly being led by the younger generation. IMA's work
culture and environment has to be built relevant to and closer to their aspirations. This has to be done
while keeping the association deeply attached to it's core values.
Today's business ecosystem throws many challenges, opportunities and threats. We often talk about
right things but do not have the courage to walk the talk. During difficult situations we are often
required to choose between accelerated growth versus sound economic management model. At such
a time businesses have to be driven by competence but most importantly good ethics and by doing the
right thing.
In shaping any society role models play a critical role. Their actions provide a blue print for those of us
looking to maintain the balance between different and often conflicting set of values. It is crucial to
choose role models very carefully.
The speakers at International Management Conclave -2014 are distinguished and of a high calibre.
They will share thoughts and wisdom on the theme topic ' Leadership Now- Work the Talk'. During the
course of conclave we should sensitise ourselves to emerging issues, internalise them and act
decisively at our work place.
I extend my compliments to the Executive Committee and Convention Committee for their painstaking
efforts which has made this event possible year after year. I also extend my best wishes for the
success of functions.
You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.
It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. A true leader's legacy inspires others to
dream more, learn more, do more and become more.
As lifelong students of leadership, we are fascinated with the notion of what makes a leader. Why is it
that certain people seem to naturally inspire confidence, loyalty, and hard work, while others stumble,
again and again? It's a timeless question, and there's no simple answer. But we have come to believe
it has something to do with the different ways that people deal with adversity. True leadership is an
individual's ability to find meaning in negative events and to learn from even the most trying
circumstances.
Some leaders now see their job as just coming up with big and vague ideas and they treat
implementing them or even engaging in conversation and planning about the details of them, as mere
"management" works. The best leaders do something that might properly be called a mix of leadership
and management.
A man can only lead when others accept him as their leader through his actions. Leadership qualities
are not the qualities that enable people to attract followers, but those that enable them to do without
them. They include, at the very least, courage, endurance, patience, humor, flexibility, resourcefulness,
stubbornness, a keen sense of reality, relentless actions, the ability to keep a cool and clear head,
even when things are going badly and to do things right, and to make sure they actually get done.
True leaders, in short, do not make people into followers, but into other leaders.
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Conclave Chairman's Message
Mr. Amit Bidasaria
Speaker Profiles
Dr. Ram Charan
Amitabh Bachchan
Evolution is an organic process of change as well as growth and all organizations, countries, people’s lives
& events have their cycles of evolution. The periods of tiny steps, the periods of stagnation, the periods of
surge, the periods of reaching out, its precipice and then the inflection point where it all changes to get to the
next orbit of its growth and thereby starting its new journey of evolution.
IAnd all things that manage to survive long enough have to go through these cycles of evolution. As we come to
the 50th year of IMA's Life, we reflect back on the journey of how it has lived through its various cycles of
changes and perhaps as the 23rd International Management Conclave comes closer it seems everything in
this universe is conspiring to make it even more special - "The 50 years of celebration of life of IMA".
The conclave this year promises to be special in more ways than one. It reflects the theme that is very aptly
explained in its own journey - "Leadership Now- Work the Talk".
I, somehow cannot see a more relevant example than IMA to explain the theme topic this year. IMA has always
worked the talk in every aspect of its functioning.
In 1963, IMA was warped & wafted on the fabric of helping all local industries in polishing internal capability
and skill enablement within its Managerial, Executive and other Human Resource function. With the help of
experts and speakers from across the world coming and taking workshops and sessions. In the last 50 years,
IMA has facilitated more than 700 workshops and addressed more than 40000 people in various verticals of
organizations touched more than 50000 students through its various programmes.
Now sitting in the 21st century, this requirement of training seems more relevant. Of course, the medium and
content delivery platform has evolved along with the requirement of training and skill enhancement but the
bottom line is the same. We all need external forces in helping our organization in organic evolution through its
employees. And, IMA stands with all its might of 50 years of experience as Apex Body of Management in the
city of Indore.
IMA have also always believed that the growth of the city is through its people and there inherent ownership of
social and civic responsibilities. And we, at IMA along with its students like to acknowledge and appreciate the
generosity of all the people who have given time, and opened there purses to help us create some of the finest
programmes for the city or probably even on the national and international canvas. The leading example of which
is our INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE.
This time the eminent Speakers/Awardees in this Conclave will include -Dr. Ram Charan - Business Advisor,
Author & Speaker (IMA Lifetime Global Excellence Award), Mr. Amitabh Bachchan (IMA Lifetime Excellence Award
- The Legend), Mrs. Rajshree Birla - Director on the Board - Aditya Birla Group, Dr. Preetha Reddy - Managing
Director, Apollo Hospitals, Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal - Joint Managing Director, Hero MotoCorp, Mr. Mahesh Murthy Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Pinstorm, Dr. Christian Engel and other eminent thought leaders.
We wait for gracious presence till then…
Mrs. Rajshree Birla
Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal
Dr. Preetha Reddy
Mr. Kumar Iyer
Mr. Omar Abdullah
Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.)
Mr. Rakshit Tandon
Mr. Mahesh Murthy
Dr. Christian W. Engel
Swami Avdheshanand Giri
IMA INTERNATIONAL
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Dr. Ram Charan
Global Consultant
Dr. Ram Charan is a world-renowned business advisor, educator, author and
speaker and has been conferred with the IMA Lifetime Global Excellence Award.
He has been a consultant to top-notch companies like GE, MeadWestvaco, Bank of
America, DuPont, Novartis, EMC, 3M, Verizon, Tata Group, GMR, Grupo RBS and so
on. He is also on the boards of various companies like Hindalco, Emaar, Austin
Industries, Tyco Electronics, Fischer and Porter, etc.
An MBA and a doctorate from Harvard Business School, Dr. Ram Charan has served
on the faculties of Harvard and Northwestern University. He has taught for 30
consecutive years at GE's famous Crotonville Institute and has the rare ability to
distill meaningful from meaningless and transfer it to others in an effective way.
Dr. Ram Charan runs his business management consulting company under the
name Charan Associates, located in Dallas, TX. His company's annual revenue is of
$500,000 to $1 million and employs a staff of approximately 1 to 4. He is also on
the board for Austin Industries, SSA & Company (formerly Six Sigma Academy), and
TE Connectivity.
In November 2012, Dr. Ram Charan, along with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev guided
"Insight; the DNA of Success" a leadership program bringing together, for the first
time, the tools of professional and personal empowerment. Fortune magazine calls
him 'the most influential consultant alive'.
Dr. Ram Charan is an accomplished author too. Among his many books, Execution,
co-authored with Larry Bossidy, the former CEO of Honeywell, has been on the global
best-seller list.
Many reputed awards such as Champion of Workplace Learning and Performance
Award, the Bell Ringer Award and the Best Teacher Awards at Wharton and
Northwestern, etc. have been conferred upon him. He was also elected a Fellow of
the National Academy of Human Resources and named a Distinguished Fellow in
2005.
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Amitabh Bachchan
Legendary Filmstar
Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee, Mr.Amitabh Bachchan is undoubtedly
the greatest and most influential actor in the history of the Indian cinema and
has been conferred with the IMA Lifetime Excellence Award- THE LEGEND. Ruling
the hearts of millions of Indians, his journey into films that started four decades ago,
continues with the same glory even today as he mesmerizes audiences with his
incredible acting skills.
The trademark deep baritone voice, the tall brooding persona and intense eyes,
made Amitabh Bachchan the ideal "Angry Young Man" between the period 19751984. He added his own flamboyance and popularized the violent melodrama. He
proved his efficacy in both forms of the cine world - tragedies as well as comedies.
His most memorable performance was as the renegade against a harsh society in
the blockbuster Deewar.
Mr. Bachchan is also the most well-known face on the Indian television, acting in
numerous ads and having hosted the popular show Kaun Banega Crorepati.
His popularity transcends geographical boundaries. He was named actor of the
millennium in a BBC poll, ahead of luminaries like Charlie Chaplin and Marlon
Brando. He remains the first living Asian to have been modeled in wax at Madame
Tussauds Wax Museum, London. The French Director François Truffaut called him a
"one-man industry".
Mr. Amitabh Bachchan's stellar career has been decorated with many prestigious
awards such as 3 National Film Awards as Best Actor, a number of awards at
international film festivals and award ceremonies and fourteen Filmfare Awards. He
is the most-nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare, with 39
nominations overall. These truly indicates that there are no limits for this super-star!
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Mrs. Rajshree Birla
Director, Aditya Birla Group
Mrs. Rajashree Birla is a Director on the Board of all the major Aditya Birla Group
of Companies - Grasim, Hindalco, Aditya Birla Nuvo and UltraTech Cement Ltd.
She also serves as a Director on the Board of the Aditya Birla Group's International
Companies spanning Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Egypt.
As Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural
Development, the apex body responsible for development projects, Mrs. Rajashree
Birla oversees the Group's social and welfare driven work across 30 companies.
In the education sector, she stewards the Aditya Birla Scholarships to spawn leaders
for tomorrow, through fostering academic excellence at the premier IITs, BITs (Pilani)
and IIMs.
Under her stewardship, work such as reaching out to physically impaired people,
espousing social causes like widow remarriages and dowry-less marriages have
been carried out.
The Aditya Birla Group has enlarged its scope of activities, which she has been
spearheading, based on an intensive assessment of the needs of the communities.
These encompass innovative projects such as providing rural youth with a chance to
shape their future through sustainable employment schemes, education and
training, making safe drinking water easily accessible and women empowerment
programmes.
Mrs. Birla's able leadership won Hindalco, one of the Group Companies, the "FICCI
2001-2002" Award in recognition of the corporate initiatives the company has taken
in family welfare. Hindalco also won the "Corporate Social Responsiveness Award.
She was also conferred with the "Corporate Citizen Award" for making a qualitative
difference to the lives of the less privileged.
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Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal
Hero Group
Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal is the Joint Managing Director of Hero MotoCorp, the
world's largest motorcycle manufacturing company, and Chairman of Hero
Corporate Service, the Corporate Office for the Hero Group. He is also Chairman of
Hero TSC, amongst the largest BPO/Call Centre companies in the United Kingdom
and Managing Director of Hero Steels.
He headed the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as its President, India's premier
business association, for the year 2004-05, but has kept himself actively involved in
the Confederation's various programmes at strategic and intellectual levels. He
heads the national council for economic policy and has made very valued
contributions to the economic reform process in India. Currently, he is a member of
Prime Minister's Council on Trade & Industry that regularly briefs the Indian Prime
Minister on economic issues. He has given great inputs in the preparation of a
number of socio-economic reports, which involve skill development, vocational
training, CSR and tribal development.
Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal holds great repute in the education domain too and has the
honor of heading as President, educational institutes such as Dayanand Medical
College and Hospital, Ludhiana, and Ludhiana Sanskritik Samagam, an organisation
that promotes performing arts across North India. In addition, he is also a part of a
number of other social and philanthropic activities.
In recognition of his commendable work, 'India Today' - India's largest English News
magazine, selected him as one of the "Faces of the Millennium" for business.
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Dr. Preetha Reddy
Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited
Inspired and guided by her father, Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, the pioneer of corporatized
healthcare in India, Dr. Preetha Reddy joined Apollo Hospitals as Joint Managing
Director and later went on to become the Managing Director of the Group.
Dr. Preetha Reddy steers the operations of the Apollo Hospitals group and works in
close association with clinicians to help introduce contemporary protocols and
continually raise the bar for clinical outcomes. She also looks after the planning,
designing and funding of new projects of the Group. Keenly focused on Quality, she
institutionalized strict adherence to pre-determined standards in every area of
operations of the Group's hospitals.
With an aim to harness the growing mobile penetration in India, Dr. Preetha Reddy took
the initiative to partner with telecom providers with the result that Apollo Hospitals
pioneered m-health solutions in India. These revolutionary mobile healthcare
partnerships are set to transform the delivery of healthcare across India and will
accelerate Apollo Hospitals' vision of touching a billion lives.
Dr.Preetha works with industry bodies and the Government of India to advance policy
decisions on important healthcare issues. She had the honor of being invited by the
Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, to join the Indo-U.S. and IndoMalaysia CEOs Forum, think-tanks created to strengthen bilateral cooperation and
trade.
Working for the less fortunate is her way of showing concern and affection towards
them. One such touching example is SACHi (Save a Child's Heart Initiative) - an
endeavour to treat underprivileged children with congenital heart diseases. She has
also played a vital catalyst in facilitating prompt medical emergency response to
numerous calamities. She is the pioneer and chief architect of the TLC mantra, a pillar
of the Apollo way.
Dr. Preetha Reddy was ranked in the international list of "50 Most Powerful Women in
Business", by Fortune, and also in 'The Most Powerful Women in Business' List
compiled by Fortune. She has been in the Business Today's list of powerful business
women since 2006.
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Mr. Kumar Iyer
British Deputy High Commissioner
Mr. Kumar Iyer is the British Deputy High Commissioner for Western India, where
he is responsible for all aspects of diplomatic engagements. He is also the
Director General for UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) for the whole of India, a new top
level post, which has been specifically created to portray the increasing importance
of UK-India business ties. He has been a high-ranking official at the British Treasury
and the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit.
With an MPhil in Economics from Cambridge University, Mr. Kumar Iyer was a Bank
of England scholar and an undergraduate tutor in Microeconomics. He was also a
Kennedy Scholar and Teaching Fellow in International Capital Markets at Harvard
University.
Prior to the new assignment, Mr. Kumar Iyer joined the British government in 2008
as Deputy Director, Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. Later on he moved to the
Treasury, first as Deputy Director, Strategy, Planning & Budget, and then as Head of
Financial Sector Interventions. Before this, he was at the Boston Consulting Group
where he worked mainly in the Financial Services Practice and also for large
multinational media and retail clients.
Apart from this, Mr. Kumar Iyer has deep interest in cricket as well as chess.
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Mr. Omar Abdullah
Chief Minister, J&K
Mr. Omar Abdullah is an Indian Kashmiri politician and the scion of one of the
state's most prominent political family, the Abdullah family, who went on to
become the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mr. Omar Abdullah reflects the aspirations, hopes and yearnings of a young, vibrant
and dynamic India and the State of Jammu and Kashmir. His youthful vigour and
intuition, inspiring leadership and dynamism, are a picture-perfect reflection of
modern India.
He believes that the state, as the repository of power and authority, should always be
of and for the people, and, while working towards public good it should be the goal of
every public servant; including himself. He encapsulates these beliefs and has left
the imprimatur of his political philosophy on all domains of Government.
He catapulted into politics during the late nineties (1998). Mr. Abdullah was elected
to the twelfth Lok Sabha, the Lower House of the Indian Parliament, from the
Srinagar-Budgam Constituency. In the thirteenth Lok Sabha, he held important and
challenging ministerial portfolios at the Centre. He first served as Minister of State,
in the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, and then as Minister of State, in the
Ministry of External Affairs. Due to his impressive stint and tenure in both ministries,
he was elected to the fourteenth Lok Sabha too.
Being a passionate believer and staunch advocate of transparency, accountability
and responsibility in governance, Mr. Abdullah has pioneered and helped in
establishing institutions like the State Information Commission, the State
Accountability Commission and the Vigilance Commission.
Mr. Omar Abdullah has a strong inclination for sports and adventurous activities. He
loves outdoor sports like river rafting, tennis, skiing, scuba diving and moto cross
driving.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
31
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.)
Strategic Military Leader and Analyst
Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain has been a Strategic Military Leader and Analyst of a very
high stature, having honors such as PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM (BAR) and VSM (BAR) to
his name. Prior to his last assignment as Military Secretary of the Indian Army, he
commanded an Army Corps in Jammu and Kashmir.
He did his schooling from Sherwood College, Nainital, and thereafter proceeded to St.
Stephen's College, Delhi, where he received a B.A. (Honours) degree in History. He is an
alumnus of the Royal College of Defence Studies, London, and did his post graduation in
International Studies from King's College, University of London.
He was commissioned into the 4th Battalion, The Garhwal Rifles, from the Indian Military
Academy, Dehradun, and eventually had the opportunity to command the same
battalion. He participated in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, and took part in counter
insurgency operations in Punjab. He had the opportunity of serving the United Nations in
Mozambique, in the capacity of Colonel and later on in war torn Rwanda. As a Brigadier,
he served in Jammu and Kashmir as Commander, 12 Infantry Brigade, on the Line of
Control.
As General Officer Commanding (GOC) of XV Corps, he played a key role in bringing the
army closer to the common citizen. He conceived and operationalised the "Hearts
Doctrine" which focused on people as the centre of gravity in Kashmir. His unique and
innovative approach defined as "Playing Friend Not God" has been widely appreciated as
the new HR management mantra across domains in and outside the military.
Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain spoke exceptionally at the Global Town Hall organized by the
US based Ali Soufan Group and Qatar International Academy for Security Studies. This
event was simultaneously held at New York, Singapore, Dakar and Belfast. In Singapore,
he spoke on the subject ' Applying Counter Narratives in Conflict Stabilization : 'The Heart
is My Weapon Doctrine in Kashmir's Conflict Zone'.
He received his first civilian honor from Mr. Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India.
This was in recognition for his exceptional military leadership.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
33
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Mr. Rakshit Tandon
Consultant, Internet & Mobile Association of India
Mr. Rakshit Tandon commands great respect as an IAMAI consultant. An
authority on digital security, he has shared his expertise across various
international platforms.
He established his own consultancy service provider company by the name of TSP. It
is an amalgamation of youngsters, entrepreneurs, enterprising, innovative
personalities, which is poised for growth in the IT industry and exploration of its huge
potential.
Mr. Rakshit Tandon is an Advisor to the Cyber Crime Unit of the Uttar Pradesh Police
at Agra, an Authorised Faculty-Lecturer at the DR. B.R. Amedkar Police Academy Moradabad (U.P) and the Haryana Police Academy - Madhuvan, Karnal. He regularly
conducts Training Programs on Cyber Crime Investigation for Police Departments,
namely the Police Range at Kanpur, Lucknow STF (Special Task Force), Agra, Greater
Noida/ Meerut STF (Uttar Pradesh), Surat (Gujarat Police) and Gurgaon (Haryana).
His expert guidance has been instrumental in solving different Cyber Crime Cases
for the U.P and Harayna Police. He has conducted Security Workshops for Air Force
Warriors at Air force Stations in Agra, Allahabad and Bengaluru. He is presently
executing the "SAFE SURFING CAMPAIGN" conducting workshops and seminars on
'Cyber Threats to Children in the Digital World' for students, teachers and parents to
make them aware about the types of Cyber Crimes, Preventive Measures to be taken
while surfing the Internet, Information Technology Act and the Remedial Measures
that can be taken if one is victimized by cyber criminals. He also addresses the
problems of students who seek further guidance on the same issues through
www.rakshittandon.com.
Mr. Rakshit Tandon was invited to Germany and Luxembourg by the European
Commission as an Non European Expert and a Chief Panelist for the 'Safer Internet
Program of the European Union'. He was also one of the keynote speakers at a
conference by the Internet Society Nepal Chapter, conducted in Nepal.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
35
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Mr. Mahesh Murthy
Founder & CEO, Pinstorm
Mr. Mahesh Murthy represents the new breed of entrepreneurs who have taken
the off-beat and unconventional track to build their little empires.
He has funded 10 start-ups in India and three overseas. They include the likes of
Geodesic, Webdunia, EasyBuy, CareerLauncher, Tulleeho with Pinstorm being his
latest venture. Mr. Mahesh Murthy is the founder and CEO of this company, which
works for some of the most reputed companies, such as Airtel, ICICI Bank,
Sharekhan, Shell, CNN, Save The Children and Cafe Coffee Day. His able leadership
guided Pinstorm to become the leading search engine marketing firm in Asia and
also among the top five search marketing agencies by size in the world.
Apart from this, he co-founded, Seedfund with the backing of investors like Google
and Motorola to create and guide even more revolutionary companies.
Mr. Mahesh Murthy pens columns across various business publications and has
played the Donald Trump-equivalent role in an Indian rip-off of The Apprentice,
involving entrepreneurs and business plans.
He attributes his success to being "unreasonable" and "the conviction that the whole
world is wrong and that you are right. And, of course, some foolishness."
He is of the opinion that "No one knows anything. You can discover your own rules
and create your own playing field. It is better to move in business as an innovative,
naïve person rather than as a cautious and experienced person.
He has to his credit, international recognitions too, which include top awards at
Cannes and Promax.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
37
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Dr. Christian W. Engel
Dual Education College
Dr. Christian W. Engel is an MBA in Human Resource and a Ph.D. in Economics.
He is also in the governing bodies of reputed schools and colleges such as
Progenius, Poligenius and Edugenius.
He served Bundeswehr (the German army) as its First Lieutenant. Later on he
worked as the Board Assistant and Project Leader in the Human Resource
Department of Manor AG.
He holds elite positions in top-notch companies of Switzerland and Germany. Today,
Dr. Christian W. Engel is the owner and Manager of Kombrecht-Engel-Schule e.K., a
continuing education institute, headquartered in Ulm, Germany. He is also the
Managing Partner of Gemeinnutziges Institut fur Berfsbildung Dr. Engel GmbH (ifb)
in Germany.
In his capacity as a board member, he is an advisor to several state governments of
Germany - mainly Bavaria & Hessen. Apart from this, automobile majors of Germany
solicit his advice & guidance.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
39
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Swami Avdheshanand Giri
Swami Avdheshanand Giri Maharaj, Acharya Mahamandaleshwar of the Juna
Akhara, is a guru to thousands and an inspiration to millions. He has initiated
more than a hundred thousand sanyasins, transformed lives with his social
activities, and leads the Juna Akhara into the 21st century.
While at College, he actively took part in debates, composing and recitation of
poems and prayers. His heart beat for the poor and needy. He kept himself involved
in organizing and participating in relief camps for mitigating the hardship of flood
and famine victims, people suffering from contagious diseases and other physical
ailments.
One day, Avdheshanand Giri Maharaj quit his worldly life and left for the Himalayas in
search of Gyan and Satya. His guru Swami Avdhoot Prakash Maharaj mentored him
about Veda, other scriptures, yoga and cultivated the knowledge of Sanskrit.
Eventually he received his first formal initiation (Diksha) by observing complete
celibacy (Brahmacharya). He later on contacted Swami Satyamittranandji, founder of
Bharat Mata Temple, from whom he received initiation to enter a true monastic life.
After donning the ochre robes of a sanyasi, he learned how to make his life useful to
others. Later on, he realized that he needed to become an effective medium of
social reforms, which could be achieved through the transformation of individuals.
This led him to become a preacher of the philosophy of Hindu religion. His oratory
won him tremendous respect and love from the seekers of truth, around the globe.
He is of the firm belief that removal of illiteracy, economic backwardness and
inculcation of character-building measures endowed with the feeling of affinity for all
people and religions are of utmost importance for harmony and peace in society.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
41
LEA
DER
SHIP
NOW
-
SECTION
Abhishek Nandedkar
CEO Nandedkar Group
Abhimanyu Baveja
Plant Head, Tech Force
Composites Pvt. Ltd.
Theme Perspectives
I feel that in today scenario in India
where all sectors is business are going
through a rough phase the topic of
leadership has become a very important
word for all top management people in
each organization.
Today in each organization the top
challenges faced is the drop in the sales
and the retention of the existing
manpower. All the top managers have to
walk out there cabins and have to think
out of the box to show how they can
maintain the sales, and keep the
manpower motivated in their
organization. They also need to work on
how to sustain their organizations and
turnover in today’s current scenario
where there is a wait and watch for all
the business sectors.
"Power rests on the kind of knowledge one holds"
A Leader does exactly that, a leader is hungry for
knowledge, hungry to move forward just like a
warrior.
Leaders let their work do the talking, for their work
inspires, changes many lives. As it is important to
gain knowledge its equally important to perform, to
be energetic, to be a example so that others follow
the suit.
That's true quality of a leadership, Today's leaders
are no less than warriors, Titans of their own fields,
and they are a perfect example of work the talk. For
their work will be talked about with ages to come,
we still have some of the examples of work the talk ,
examples like Henry Ford, Jamshed Ji Tata, Steve
Jobs their work still talks although they have found
eternal peace.
B.P Inani
Managing Director,
Swan Finance Ltd.
When asked for my opinion on the
theme Leadership Now - Work the Talk,
the only thing that came to my mind was "The theme itself calls for action and not
thoughts….."
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
43
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
CA. Alok Jain
Managing Partner
B.M. Jain & Co.
Chartered Accountants
We have seen the global economy moving with a
lot of turbulence. The uncertainties may arise from
any corner of the world and will impact your business
in ways which a person could never think of.
In such times, the leadership needs to show the way
to rest by doing action and not just expecting others
to do some idealistic things. The leader is now
required to take hold of the things himself, and take
the troubled ship out of dangerous waters.
Unless such a leadership is demonstrated, it would
be difficult for the organizations to come out of the
difficult times.
While thinking about such leaders, some of the
names which come to mind are like : Mr. E
Sreedharan - Ex MD Delhi Metro, Mr. Narayan
Murthy - Infosys and Mr. Arvind Kejriwal - AAP Party
Delhi
Not to compare these gentlemen but each has
demonstrated some unique strengths.
Mr. E Shreedharan demonstrated that the
government organisations can perform and deliver
the best of the projects in case there is willpower to
act.
Mr. Narayana Murthy has come forward to keep the
company afloat and moving at the age of 66.
Mr. Arvind Kejriwal has demonstrated the strength
of fighting against the corrupt practices of the
politicians and stand against the same. Not only did
he stand himself, but prepared a team of people
who are ready to support the cause.
We will find many such examples in our vicinity and
we need to take inspirations from such leaders so
that we not just keep blaming others but do
something ourselves.
CA Navin Khandelwal
Director, Niraj Engineering Co. (P) Ltd.
Ever thought of falling in love
with your talk? Yes it is termed
"Work waala Ishq"
CA. Manish Dafria
Chartered Accountant
From Lord Rama to Mahatma Gandhi
to Nelson Mandela, one leadership
quality which is common amongst all
the great leaders is "Work the talk".
What distinguishes a great leader from
any other ordinary person is the ability
to visualize the future and then
converting that vision into action.
Vision without action is just a dream
and action without vision is only
shooting in the dark. A leader, who has
the capability of knitting together two
aspects, can create wonders for his
organization. "Work the talk" is nothing
but a simple idea which says that "plan
your acts and act your plans".
The profound answer to that
fundamental question lies our
Shaastras which highlights the
word KARMA, the essence of Life.
The only restaurant in the world
which will serve you LEADERSHIP
is the KARMA one.
KAL, AAJ aur KAL was, is and will
belong to those who have
UNIDIRECTIONALLY believed in
the phrase PRACTICE what you
PREACH. From Gandhiji, Amitabh,
Tendulkar and hopefully Kejriwal,
all have personified WORK THE
TALK! TALK and GO will make you
a LEADER but WORK THE TALK
and GO will make you IMMORTAL.
Still flirting with thoughts!! It's
time for ACTION! Lights and
Camera would follow!
Capt. BJ Singh
Chief Executive,
Absolute Training Solutions
True leaders have always "Walked" and now
rephrased "Worked" the Talk.
No leader can survive, let aside, lead by rhetoric
alone. All successful leaders have lead by
example.
Probably in the cyber noise that is deafening
today, the followers are not willing to follow a
leader who may merely be a 'byte'.
Therefore, in the present times when businesses
are more widely spread due to world business
scenario, when team members are, if not more,
then at-least as aware of the market initiatives,
global perspectives and business solutions and
strategies, as the leaders, the only reason they
would follow the leader today is if the leader "
Works the Talk".
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
45
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Dr. Rachna Tiwari
General Manager,
Indore Management Association
Talk to showcase what you have worked ….
(Using my democratic power through this
magazine by expressing the perspective of
Leadership, Work & Talks…)
Leadership is NOT a formula... There is NO
Direct or Inverse Ratio Proportion of Work
and Talk…. to demonstrate leadership today.
Some work quietly some with blast and both
are welcome in current scenario.
Today when the world is facing big crisis of
good leadership, everyone started claiming
to be a prospective one….. the crisis of Team
Members & Followers, which would be a
challenge to all self-claim leaders. If we need
the leadership of Krishna, we equally need a
good executive assistant like Arjun too.
Why not to Talk and only Work- Talking about
your leadership is not blowing your own
Triumph but "Branding & Showcasing
Yourself", which is perfectly okay. For an
example if Mr. Modi is loud in his Talks
because he has delivered. But that's not the
universally applicable formula. We can't
generalize one's success formula as twice a
day doze to others and creating clones and
fulfill the deficit of leadership. But one has
to design the own leadership DNA.
My Perspective is: - Thought Engineering is
key component for successful leadership
which always helps to talk & work accurately.
Dr. Sumer Singh
Principal, The Daly College
Leadership and success is a comprehensive
knitting together of a dream, planning for its
implementation, and executing the plan.
There are many leaders who are good at one or
even two parts of this three step process, but
there are a limited number who combine all three.
Unless a leader combines all three, a good idea
may be lost or a poor idea implemented well.
Equally important, unless all three steps are
shared with all stakeholders and members of the
team, the team will be unable to comprehend the
plan and so will not provide enthusiastic support
and buy into the thrust envisaged. It is therefore
that leader who is able to lead in all three steps,
and is able to carry his team with him, who will be
a role model to others.
Hence, I suspect the subtle shift in nomenclature.
Harshita Tiwari
Business Executive- IMA
World can only be griped by ACTION,
not just by Inspection. It’s the action
that shapes our reality; words are
empty without them. So, WALK ! WALK
! WALK ! Talk isn’t necessary.
Jay Vaidya
State Marketing Manager,
Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd.
Actions are the best interpreters of our
thoughts. Get up ! Go ! Work the Talk.
Praveen Agarwal
Director, Ad-manum Packagings Ltd.
Kavita Saluja
Director Gramco Infratech Pvt Ltd.
To accomplish great things, we must
not only act, but also dream; not only
plan, but also believe - working the talk is
all about putting action to your thoughts
and working towards the goal with
conviction, perseverance, integrity of
purpose and compassion. You may or
may not reach the goal totally undertake the journey with your heart is
what one should do. Work the talk to me
means, " believing in your efforts,
trusting your intution and executing with
sincerity". The honourable speaker and
the living legend are all a true testimony
to WORKING THE TALK.
There could not have been a better theme
than "Leadership Now - Work the Talk"
for IMA's 2014 conclave. Work the talk is
the need of the hour for businesses across
all product & service categories, across all
geographical locations, across all sizes, et
al. The turbulent times for all businesses
across the world warrants the need for
some serious action. It is time to practice,
not to preach. It is time to put words into
actions. It is only in such times that the true
competency of a business and the people
running the business is reflected. And the
same can only and only be done with
action, not just intention. We all are looking
forward to the conclave to learn from the
leaders of the industry how they implement
- work the talk."
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
47
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Shiv Kumar
President- Business
Development & Marketing
Mittal Corp Limited
Sapan Shah
Proprietor, Shah Marketing
Saurabh Singh Mehta
Director, Kriti Industries Ltd.
Leadership Now - Work the Talk, My
Perspective
Rahul Jain
Managing Director,
PSPL Advertising Pvt. Ltd.
While the conclave theme sounds more apt
today than ever, the truth is, it has never
been out of context- not for a single moment
even. The people who influenced me most
have not been preachers but practitioners- be
it religion, academics, family, society or
business. While leading my team, I always
remember this and try to share the same
chemistry with them.
I cannot remember in the recent past a
more turbulent time for the business &
economy, then what we are witnessing
currently. To steer any organization through
such difficult times, you need a leader who
is ready to lead by example.
When vision statements and mission
statements no longer seem to be the
guiding poles & when sales targets &
incentives fail to motivate sales teams to
reach their Goals, its in such times, that a
leader is required who is not just a coach,
but a team player, a commander, who is
willing to risk his own life on the live
battlefield!
It's a time for the leader to lead by example.
Innovation, Thinking out of the box,
Improvisation are all fancy terms that look
great in the board rooms & offices, but if a
leader is able to bring all or any of these in
to his organization with his actions, with
implementation of strategies, with doing
what is required, even when its not the most
popular thing to do, then I am sure he shall
be able to not only stay afloat, but grow his
organization even in this tough times…
The Indian markets are
extremely competitive and
challenging; especially for the
Small & Medium Enterprises. To
remain relevant, organizations
must deliver world class product
at the most competitive cost
within stipulated delivery
standards. Achieving this with
limitations in human and capital
resource, especially in Tier 2
cities and below is a challenge.
Overcoming this challenge
requires the entrepreneur to wear
multiple hats and bridge the
competency gaps in the
organization. For a work culture
imbued in mediocrity, one
demonstration of superior
leadership is by creating
'examples of excellence'.
Thereafter, creating an
environment of 'stretch' and 'selfdiscipline' to realize the vision,
with a clearly laid out actionable
'work plan', is the need of the
hour.
Leadership is the romance with today which decides
tomorrow.
Each and every action taken today by the leader in his
sphere of activity - Industry, Society, Politics or Spirituality
will be talked of when the leader is not walking as a
leader.
The time span of the talk about leadership of the
individual leader is decided by the work of the leader
done today when he / she is working as a leader but also
how it is perceived by those for whom he/she is working
as leader. There may be difference between the work done
and how it is perceived as well as the result.
Talk Time span is directly proportionate with value added
by the leadership when he had worked as leader and
therefore it is said "Work Talks".
Leadership does not get second chance to rewrite his
tomorrow as it is like driving a car where there is no
reverse gear and it moves only in forward direction.
There are few occasions in the history of industrial growth
where the leaders of the industry have a 2nd chance to
rewrite his work.
One example is Alfred Noble, the inventor of Dynamite,
who got 2nd chance to re-calibrate his work as "A Leader
of the Industry". His brother died and obituary published
in the print media showed Alfred Noble in bad light as
Inventor of Explosives meant for killing of human race.
Having read the obituary attributed to him, he re-directed
course of his Company / Life and wrote his own obituary to
be published after his death.
The Noble Prize came in existence.
Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys also has got a 2nd
chance to walk as a leader and the talk will be done after
he relinquishes the 2nd innings.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
49
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
CA. Subhash Mathur
Unit Head - Rosy Blue (India)
Private Limited
Shreyans Bhandari
Director, Jewellery
Company Pvt. Ltd.
There has to be a reason
why Fortune magazine calls
Dr. Ram Charan 'the most
influential consultant alive'.
The Team at IMA gives us the
best opportunities to listen,
interact and learn from such
renowned luminaries and
some of the most prominent
global personalities. I feel
privileged to be a part of this
organization.
Our theme of this year's
International Conclave,
'Leadership Now- Work the
Talk', will be the best spoken
and convened by our
esteemed speakers. It is a
need of the hour to
understand and implement
what they would share with
us especially in these
challenging times that lie in
front of us. It is up to us
individually to take the
learnings from the two day
conclave and more
importantly implement what
we learn at our workplace
and homes. That is when we
will 'Work the Talk'!
Working in an organization, as a Head there are so many
responsibilities. I receive complaints quite often that
"Management says they want change and have continuous
improvements but their actions do not match their words." This
clearly indicates that there is some lacuna in the leadership.
However, from the leader's perspective, I always feel as to "Why
do the employees do what I do and not what I tell them to
do?"The answer is very obvious. The employees look up to
their leader as their 'Role Model'. So as a leader then "Do I
really need to change, too?"And again the answer is a big YES,
as, actions speak louder than words. There is nothing more
powerful for employees in an organization than observing the
"action at our end". They expect action to begin from us, which
indeed should. The most important tip comes first: If you do
the first action well, the rest will follow more naturally. As
Mahatma Gandhi rightly said, "Become the change you wish to
see in the world." And, it will happen. Need of the hour is to
create organization's value, environment, culture, and in
current context I believe it is all very essential.
Few tips for effectively exercising "Work the Talk":
1. Become Model of the behavior you want to see from other.
2. If you make a rule or expect a change in system, follow it.
3. Act as part of the team and not as ostensible.
4. Reach people to help them to achieve goals timely.
5. Establish effective communication to build confidence and
commitment.
6. Hold strategic conversations with people to address
expectations.
While exercising action, ensure resources are efficiently
utilized because as the time is passing we are experiencing
shortage of resources; let it be man, machine or material. I
wish to quote a very good example on how limited resources
too can be utilized optimally. Once someone commented on
Gandhjii's torn dhoti. Hearing that, he went into the bathroom
and adjusted his dhoti a little bit, and then he asked the
person once again to point out the place from where it was
torn. The person could not locate the place from where Bapu's
dhoti was torn. Thus, rather than going for a new dhoti, he
wore the same torn one in such a way that it could be used
without any problem. Gandhiji always professed optimum
utilization of resources without wasting them and he practiced
it himself too. He, in true sense was a great leader who
symbolized "work the talk".
Ujjwal Kheria
West Zone Manager
Jupiter International
Leadership Now – Work The Talk : Its not
just a thought but the "Mantra" of modern
dynamic world for Performance, Success &
Sustainability.
Utkarsh S. Trivedi
Executive Director,
Neo Corp International Limited
Its the era where all are educated,
irrespective of their education-can we call
the internet era!?
When there is a plethora of information
available, a leader is the one who makes best
use of it and is on the edge of change,
adoptable and can ' sustain'. 'Working' is the
sustainability and ' Talking ' is the leadership.
Vinay Agnihotri
Director, IMA Board & Ex - IG of Police
Not too long ago we used to associate
lecturing with social, political or religious
leaders. During those days corporate
leaders were rather a quiet lot. Most people
believed that they should be only seen and
not heard. Things have changed in recent
times. The corporate leaders are not only
expected to make comments about social,
economic and political situations but also
focus on such complex matters as
'Motivation', 'Leadership', 'Operation
research', 'Managements Ethics' and '
communication skills'. They have to put in
practice, modern management concepts,
participative leadership and management
by objectives.
The concept of IMA management conclave
2014 - "Leadership now - Work the Talk", is
indeed very relevant and timely.
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IMA in 2013
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
55
LEA
DER
SHIP
NOW
-
SECTION
Aadarsh Rohira
Manager, HUL
Theme Thoughts
One of the very effective means of
Leadership is leadership by example
and to lead by example you must work the
talk. Leadership by essence is effective
when people genuinely look up to you for
guidance and direction. You gain credibility
in what you say only when you are
committed to do what you preach. One
cannot just talk big, make great plans and
expect people to follow. A quick look at the
characteristics of the great leaders will
support this fact. Why was Mahatma
Gandhi, a great leader?
Because he strictly followed the principles
he laid for others. He adhered to nonviolence even under extreme
circumstances. Taking another contrasting
example from today's corporate world - what
if your boss criticizes you for being late in
the office and then you find him being late
more often then you. There are very less
chances that you would trust your boss and
follow his lead. A leader cannot be a leader
only on paper; he or she must be able to
command it by his/her actions. In summary,
leadership doesn't depend on what you say,
how you say, or who you are, but only
depends on what you do.
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Aakriti Jain
Executive Director, Atul Suspension
and Fasteners Pvt. Ltd.
"The first responsibility of a leader is to
define reality.
The last is to say thank you. In between
the leader is a servant." -Max De Pree
Being a leader is all about sharing your
vision with your employees, letting them
participate and bring in ideas and getting
them involved enough so that they feel
responsible towards their jobs.
But the vision and first step towards the
goal is always of a leader. A good leader is
very passionate about his dream.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
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IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
Akshat Goyal
Anurag Agrawal
Ashutosh Atre
Director, Valiant Electricals Pvt. Ltd.
MD, Kuber Infracon Pvt Ltd.
Business Head, Equitas Micro Finance
It has become quite clear across the
sectors that the shelf life of talk be it
ideas or strategies is very limited. The
world has become so fast, competitive
and connected that if companies don't act
on their ideas someone else might and
take the opportunity away. Also the
dynamics of the market are changing so
fast that a strategy that is good now might
be a failure if not deployed in a short time.
This need for action in the real world has
found its way even in the corporate
culture. There was a time a good leader
was someone who could motivate the
employees with fancy talk and ideas, but
in todays world employees look upto a
leader who not only has great ideas, but
also goes a step ahead and lays out a plan
and even works on implementing those
ideas. Success is now defined purely on
how efficiently and quickly a idea was
deployed and made into a profitable
opportunity. So working on the what you
talk about is just not an option anymore it
is the only way to survive and succeed in
this enviournment and looking at the
times ahead this need to work on the talk
will become more relevant and important.
Entrepreneurship is 99% instincts, and 1% sheer
luck… Rest all are business processes!!!
Business now works at the speed of thoughts… and
thoughts as we know are wild imaginations of future
prediction we call 'VISION'. So often we find that the
original instincts are overshadowed by the commercial
requirements of the businessmen resulting into
deviation from the original idea. The deviation may be
followed, as sometimes the derived form comes out
better than the original idea, but more often or not it
occurs as a temporary benefit resulting into a disaster!
They may forget what you said, but they will
never forget how you made them feel.Carl W. Buechner.
The major reasons I find are lack of communication
and implementation of the same, resulting in the
unlocking of the link framed as vision and scattering of
all the individuals that constituted the organization;
trying to find out new 'deviations' for quick money,
instead of consolidating the original idea… Every
management phenomenon flows down from the top
level, and hence it becomes their responsibility to
practice the same before imposing on anybody else. I
would like the quote an example of my new venture
where I wanted the shelves of the 'risky' area to be
cleaned by the sales staff, and had a hurdle getting
that done for the first two days. And when I started
cleaning the same, a clear message was sent that
everybody including me, abide to the system! And a
system was inculcated!!! As they say, "Action speaks
louder than words."
Leadership is to be earned even if I am
leader of a team by virtue of designation in
the hierarchy. The best situation to be in is to
have acceptability from the team. The traits
and actions which can bring the acceptability
are domain knowledge, unbiased approach
and ensure meritocracy, encourage
difference of opinion, ability to see brighter
side, guarantee throughout participation and
work towards attainment of the goal.
I often feel that leadership is not a quality but
behavior of an individual which sets him
apart. Of late a term, 'aggressive', is
extensively used in praise to define
specifically the sales personals that are
responsible for delivering business numbers.
In my opinion it is a thoroughly
misunderstood term as none of its synonyms
has positive connotation and no one would
like to associate with them as their traits.
Having said that, doesn't mean that one
should always be accommodative on the cost
of deliverables. Leadership is not a popularity
contest; one can be assertive and gracious at
the same time. It is all about setting the
perception right, people will calibrate
accordingly.
Bhanu Pratap Singh
FMS, Delhi
To lead is to serve, nothing more and nothing
less. Often, leadership is interpreted as the
ability to command, a notion that is grossly
erroneous. Leadership is not about gathering
more followers; it is about creating more
leaders. It is participative, and not
authoritative. It is not only about knowing the
way or showing the way, it is also about going
the way.
In the day and age that we live in, the
obsession with power is immensely
overwhelming. Leaders of today, therefore,
need to take the onus to cultivate a culture of
participation. A culture in which every member
has a stake in the team, so as to give them a
sense of empowerment, and an environment
where their opinions don't just count, they
matter. Leaders ought to take the plunge into
the risky waters, when others are holding tight
to the safety of the shores.
An affable leader inevitably infuses a sense of
kinship and collectivism in the team. And that
is what contemporary leadership calls for. For
the world of today would rather have more
'Nelson Mandela's than 'Robert Mugabe's.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
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IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
CA Pankaj Kothari
Er. Ruby S. Malhotra
Life Coach
Executive Director,
Kailtech Test & Research Centre Pvt. Ltd.
Some persons are born with talent
to lead, sing, dance or write.
Others develop such talent over
years. How is it done? Leaders
choose to listen to gather
information, to critically think to
analyze it and give feedback, to
manage the resources with proper
planning and implementing, to
organize and delegate for better
performance, to facilitate the team
to function easily, to motivate
others to attain goals, to mentor
people succeed. People talk of
developing skills of listening, critical
thinking, planning and
implementing plans, organizing and
delegating, facilitating, motivating
and mentoring. Successful leaders
use 'power of choice' to work the
talk."
Dr. Pawan Kumar Singh
Professor, IIM Indore
In the midst of thick jungle of leadership
theories and concepts, a practitioner-leader
needs to identify one's own definition and
description of leadership which must be simple. It
may be called as 'private wisdom for public
welfare'. This self-evolved description of
leadership based on understanding and
experience should not act as sticky ground for the
leader but as a strong pivot around which work
would be woven with required degree of resilience.
Thus the first step towards leadership would be
talking with self, what leadership is about. The
next step would be to become the first and
foremost listener of the public talk on leadership
delivered by the self. Every speaker would get
interesting lessons if recorded speech on
leadership delivered by self is later on meditated
upon. The last step in this note is about listening
aptly to an accomplished leader. Listening the
leader makes one work-oriented, listening merely
the words spoken by the leader may make us only
pedantic.
There's an old saying about the
difference between a manager and a
leader: "Managers do things right.
Leaders do the right things."
When you're in a leadership position, then
you have a responsibility to lead your
team. The team looks to you for guidance,
inspiration and strength. And the best way
to lead them is with your own actions.
When you work the talk, you create a
picture of what's possible. People can
look at you and say, "Well, if he can do it, I
can do it too." It becomes easy for others
to follow you. The team is always willing to
follow the lead, because the people know
that the leader has always kept his word.
I feel that authoritarian or patriarchal
leadership has had its day. The advent of
new technologies means that employees
are now much more closely involved in
processes, that it's easier to delegate
responsibility and that you have many
more opportunities to generate
participation. As a leader today, if you
work the talk , you give yourself to your
team and show them the way, then, most
likely, they'll follow you wherever you take
them.
Gautam Joshi
Creative Director, Vigilance Publicity
Great political parties die, if they do not break
in to their manifestos. Great love stories die, if
they do not come up to the expectations. And
organization vanishes, if they do not perform up
to the expectations. The reason is very simple.
The words are meant to be kept. If not, things
start moving in to the wrong directions.
This is the time when hurdles are bigger and
market conditions are not favorable. One
needs to be with the basics. His efforts
should be louder than the words. The point is
very clear, that only those survive who
performs. And performance comes with the
action, not just with talks. So whatever your
plans are, this is time to work that out
immediately.
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IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Lalima Tiwari
Principal, Modern International School
Karn Mehta
Kedar Paranjape
IIM, Indore
Team Leader, Tata Technologies
"Leaders are the ones who have a
clear vision, can set the direction and
align others in that direction to
collective work towards fulfilling that
vision. Leader is the guiding force, it
becomes imperative of him to work at
the forefront and set examples and
standards for others to take a leaf out
of his book. Therefore leadership
comes by not just talking and
motivating people to work but also by
involving yourself in that work. Take for
example our political leaders; there is
no way one can win over crowd's heart
and mind space these days by just
making public rallies and promises.
“Leadership is all about building a
trustworthy relationship within the
team. Trust among the people you work
with. All team mates are unique & each
one has a potential to work exceptionally
well. The members are like a ship sailing
in an ocean, this ship cannot reach the
destination without a compass. This
compass guides the ship throughout the
journey. The success of the journey
depends on the promptness of the
compass.
Leaders have to get down on the road,
show their work first and involve
themselves along with the citizens and
create a participatory environment so
that everyone follows him. Similar is
the case within the business circle,
Leadership is inculcated in an
individual by making him work in
different roles and responsibilities
throughout the organization. World is
dynamic and so are the challenges
involved. Time demands leadership to
be more than just a mere talk. It
demands it to be "work the talk".
Kartik Mishra
CSC
Very well said that - "Leadership is not a title, it's a
behavior". The thing about being a leader is you have
to be consistent in character, performance, actions
and intentions. Even if the leader has very good
intentions, it is the action that counts. A leader has to
lead himself first, only then he will get a place to lead
other people. There are recent examples of people
choosing a new leader when their own did not meet
the expectations, whether they are 'Spiritual gurus' or
'Political Leaders', because they were not able to apply
what they preached.
People look up to their leaders, however, it is subjective
what the so called followers follow the leaders for?, but
deep inside, all of us look for goodness. Bring the
change, beat the odds, revolutionize, serve, stay
focused and persevere but everything with purity in the
heart, that's what this generation wants from the
leaders. In today's times the job of a leader is to put
smiles on people's faces while maintaining the dignity
of trust and faith people put in them.
Similarly the success of any group
depends on the leaders. Good leader is
one who brings best out of his team
members. This is only possible if the
followers have trust in their leader.
Followers look at leader for an absence
of self doubt. The fellow should always
feel comfort to discuss the problem &
leader should always listen to them.
People are capable & are enthusiastic to
work, but could be misguided easily. At
this stage leader has to play the role of
compass & synchronize the team efforts
towards the organizational goals.
Appreciation of the group is the
appreciation for the leaders & that
motivates them to perform & win."
A leader is a brilliant and luminous individual who
empowers people. He is a forefront of innovation
and excellence. Leader resonates to the analogy of
propeller and radar. Just as a plane or a boat would be
useless without its propeller and radar, a team and
organization is equally ineffective without a leader. A
leader enables team and organization to accelerate
towards new levels of success and results. A leader
takes his work seriously and strives hard to achieve
his goals. This requires him to maintain punctuality,
carry out orders correctly and create energy and
synergy among the team members. Recognition &
appreciation of a leader enhances his qualities to
reach where the Eagles dare.
OR
The attitude of leader is a constant visualization of
success. He has a technique of focusing his
energies towards the activities that will lead to the
accomplishment of the organization's goals. He has
a strategic plan and executes it through constant
communication. The leader does not depend on
luck. The cohesion, teamwork and training of the
people determine whether the organization
succeeds or fails.
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my
path."
A leader is a creative genius who is open to new
ideas and seeing different ways of doing things. A
leader is a brilliant and luminous individual who
empowers people. He is a forefront of innovation
and excellence.
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IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Manish Tanna
Natasha Pathak
Educator New Zealand
Manager, HR,
Altisource Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Leadership concepts change with
human evolution. When the masses
were a little more than beasts of
burden, the leader tended to be
autocratic - a task master. In the last
century, as societies across the globe
developed political systems
conducive to democracy and people
became more empowered, the
bureaucratic leaders were
prominent, who took the rule book as
the gospel truth and followed it to the
letter.
However, almost at the turn of the
millennium, the unthinkable
happened and people became
individuals - basking in the glory of a
new revolution that meant freedom
from repressive regimes, breaking of
the shackles of age old social beliefs,
emerging of new business models
including currencies without any
government. The leader today has to
be TRANSFORMATIONAL - one who
can ride the waves of change that are
becoming increasingly powerful and
also carry the team through the
transitional phase. A leader today
doesn't create followers she/he
creates new leaders.
Mridul Bansal
Manager, Symantec
The theme is extremely relevant! Even though I've
been out of India since a while but I've always kept
an eye on the developments back home! What
thrilled me most during recent times is the active
role of youth in the social revolution under Annaji's
leadership. As the events unfolded thereafter, it was
exciting to see the upsurge of a new political
movement with a new leader- Mr. Kejriwal. Although
it is early to comment on his leadership skills but I
feel his keenness to step into the political swamp
that nobody wishes to step into, but everybody likes
to criticize, made him a leader among the mass.
His talks and allegations wouldn't have made
impact had he not taken initiative to "work his
talks" against the current political system! And
from what I'm seeing right now the "janta" is
handling him a bigger role- to "work the talk" from
his controversial manifesto. Although he has a
long bumpy road to cover I still believe this will be
a defining moment where the public chose a
leader to see him work rather than simply talking
the talk. Certainly this generation no more falls
trap to words. "Cautiously chose your words, coz
you will have to act on them before you lead"!
“Leadership style is one of the most written and
spoken about topics in management forums.
My personal belief has been that one's leadership
style starts getting defined from the very first job
one takes up. It surely requires a conscious effort
to develop oneself as a leader. Over the last 8
years, I have been fortunate to work with a variety
of leaders with varied leadership styles.
Interestingly, I created a list of 'What not to do'
from all my leaders and those learnings have been
defining my leadership glossary. The biggest
differentiator between two successful
professionals is the leadership acumen which is
measured with the number of leaders. A leader
creates by inspiring others to work for shared
goals.
My personal leadership mantra is to lead people
in a way where I cease to exist and when the aims
are fulfilled, all they remember is that they did it
themselves. In the pursuit of fancy designations
and fat paycheck, I see young professionals
discounting the importance of experiential
learning which goes a long way in being a leader.
Unless we don't practice what we preach, it will be
difficult to go beyond designations and sustain
leadership. One doesn't set out to be a leader by
intent alone, one becomes a leader by acting on
the intent and walking the talk."
Neha Saksena
Copywriter, Purple Focus Pvt. Ltd.
Since time immemorial 'Leadership'
has been the key to drive change.
A key which has created a number of
historic moments. And a leader has
been the weight bearer for initiating and
instituting a different school of thought.
But with time, the form of leadership
has changed. And that's solely because
'time' defines the need of the hour.
Taking cue from that, we need to
understand that in today's mercurial
time, we don't need leaders who merely
talk but need the ones who also put
their talk into action. As in today's highly
competitive business world where
everybody is fighting tooth and nail to
grab a significant space for themselves,
a mere goodie talker will not be able to
generate results. Thus, today we need
leaders who can stand up to their word,
as without action no vision comes into
being.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
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IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Prof. Neetika Shrivastava,
Sanya Sachdev
Assistant Professor,
Sapient Institute of Management Studies
FMS, Delhi
It is most important for leaders to execute
what they plan to do and the most important
tool to execute the planning is communication.
"It is simply impossible to become a great leader
without being a great communicator." Leaders
create the vision, support the strategies, and are
the catalyst for developing the individual bench
strength to move the organization ahead. It
would be apt to say that our today's leaders are
Idea Generators. Bernard Baruch rightly points
out that, "The ability to express an Idea is as
important as the idea itself." In extension to the
same thought, I feel what is even more important
is to convert the Mere Idea Talk into Reality.
The success of every communication or Talk
depends on the believability of the person
speaking. A leader can become a credible
speaker only when his actions are well in line
with his delivered discourse. A Talk which
articulates the goals and objectives of the
organization will pave the way for healthy working
environment at every level within the
organization. Leaders have to communicate with
high sense of situational and contextual
awareness to the extent that their talk can be
practically applied when called for.
Present-day leaders have to be such that they
convert the spoken words into workable
realities….
Sanjay Khimesara
Chief Mentor, Arena Animation.
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the
way, and shows the way. ~ John Calvin
Maxwell
The theme of IMA's 2014 Conclave
'Leadership Now-Work the talk' is very
contextual in current scenario. Action is the
foundational key to all the success. I think
that Leadership is to lead the people, walk
behind them. Effective leadership is not just
about making speeches or being liked; it is
defined by results not attributes. In current
times there are challenges everywhere.
Organizations are facing challenges for
sustenance as well as growth. Growth could
come only from positive actions. Lot of people
know what to do, but few people actually do
what they know. Knowing is not enough! We
must take appropriate action. Our real
problem is not in our strength today, it is
rather the vital necessity of action today to
ensure our strength tomorrow. We at Arena
Geeta Bhawan always strive to contribute our
bit positively towards our vision.
I feel that Leadership is the capacity to
translate vision into reality by taking
responsibility without making excuses. We
must find remedy, not the faults.
Sarang Nandedkar
Leadership is a concept that has marked its
presence for ages. Its definition and scope have
changed or rather evolved over time and the latest
trick of the trade is 'Leading by Example' or as we
say 'Working the Talk'.
In simple terms it is said that managers do the
thing right and leaders do the right thing. Yet
today, in the competitive corporate world
managers are expected and prepared to lead and
lead by example; example being programmes like
TAS. So, who is a leader? I believe that in the
present scenario, with the growing popularity of
management education and increasing number of
management graduates, the actual question is
that who is recognized as a leader. Today when
the stakes are high and competition is fierce, we
all are a part of the race chasing success or the
fulfillment that follows. Leadership I believe is the
X-Factor that makes a person stand out in an
equally elite crowd. According to me this X-Factor
is taking all the stakeholders into consideration or
as we say in MBA jargon taking a 720 degree view.
Leadership is like technology; indispensable and
dynamic; it needs us to be on our toes and adapt
as per the times. The latest app is 'work the talk'
and we better have its updated version installed
into our systems. But let us not forget the humane
part which distinguishes men from machines and
compliment the app with a holistic view.
Manager-Public Relations, Tourism &
Development Global Vipassana PagodaMumbai
Leadership Now-Work the Talk:
Foremost quality of an effective leader is
his/her ethical foundation. Only through this is
he able to win the trust of his team. Once the
team trusts and believes the leader or
resonates with his goal-things could be
facilitated effectively without much hindrance.
It is an ardent need of the hour that leaders
realize that they are leaders only because of
the their team of associates. No leader would
be able to perform or achieve goals alone.
Effective leaders need to have excellent
interpersonal skills to keep their teams
motivated.
One cannot be a leader just by managing to
get high designations in a company, it’s more
to do with the energy with which he drives the
team through his strong conviction. I am very
fortunate to be mentored my some of my
bosses who can still inspire me with their
qualities. At the end of the day-your team
comprises of humans, who breathe, talk,
perceive, learn and imbibe. Recognizing their
characteristics and then developing them
further to realize their highest potential is
what a good leader does.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
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IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Shikhar Verma
Siddharth Purandare
Managing Director & CEO, Sajash Global
PMP Manager, Technology
Management Group, ICICI Bank Ltd
These are challenging times for the
corporate world, and as in all
challenging times, the need is for dynamic
leadership. Leadership that thinks outside
the box, that innovates, that drives change
not through elaborate plans & verbiage,
but through timely action.
In the rapidly changing environment of
today, with resource constraints,
increasingly complex markets & stagnant
growth, leaders will have to adopt a
Jugaad mindset. Indian leaders in all
spheres are well conversant with this
concept and now the rest of the world is
catching on as well. Jugaad is about doing
more with less, to see opportunity in
challenges, using disruptive innovation as
a strategic tool and, most importantly,
having flexibility & speed of action.
Global companies like Facebook, Google,
GE, PepsiCo, Philips, Haier etc and Indian
companies like Tata Group, Yes Bank,
Suzlon, Future Group etc have embraced
this concept and have achieved
spectacular results. Leaders elsewhere
should derive their own learning from
these success stories and imbibe Jugaad
in their respective organizations in order
to translate Talk into Work."
Siddharth Jain
Shweta Verma
Freelance Media Executive &
Creative Writer
The most profound quote on Leadership is only
three words long and sums up everything
leadership stands for - LEAD BY EXAMPLE. In
today's dynamic world, the spectrum of changes
seen in the corporate realm is unimaginable.
New concepts, ideas, innovations and buzzwords
are flying around thick and fast! Some take hold
and grow into a revolution - "Jugaad", Glocal etc,
and some fade into oblivion after a momentary
flash. In such an environment that is constantly
in a state of flux, the leaders - be it Team
Leaders, GMs or MDs, not only have to keep
themselves acutely aware of the constant
evolution within the corporate sector, they also
have to be open and flexible enough to adopt the
evolving mantras of business. Leaders, ideators
and innovators at all levels, in all sectors, not
only have to walk the talk to show they're
informed, they have to embody it. If leaders
everywhere just remember those three simple
words, growth and success are sure to follow
(pun intended!).
FMS, Delhi
"I said & they laughed…I did & they all
believed". In the new age management isn't
just about sounding smart or a battle for verbal
one-upmanship. The business world needs
more of Karamchands and less of Raichands.
Look at any business function...having an idea
or positing a solution is just half the job. The
other half or rather more than half, if you look at
it from revenue standpoint, is made up by the
implementers. To use social media jargon,
generating Hits and Likes has to be converted
into revenues.
Not satisfied... Look at India as an entity. The
framework we have, the promise of potential
we make, is amazing...And has always been so.
And yet, we all have a wry smile, even a slight
grimace when we think about what we have
actually been able to achieve. So what have we
been lacking? I believe that clarity in thinking
and Thought Leadership have to be
supplemented by consistency of action and
participative mentorship. I can continue with
examples but then, further words will only
dilute the message rather than letting it sink in.
In today's era the only constant is the
change! India's demographic dividend has
played a critical role in fuelling the growth of
India hence the current generation will be the
key contributor as well as beneficiary of this
growth.
Today’s Facebook generation leaders assume
basic responsibilities like agility, fostering the
culture of innovation/freedom and quickly
adapting to the ever changing landscape of
today’s businesses. In these excellent times (as
I believe there is no bad time to do right things)
there are many opportunities waiting to be
grabbed. Excellent communication skills with a
variety of people across the globe is the key,
the thin lines of personal and professional lives
are diminishing with the emergence of
alternate channels of communication like
whats app, facebook, etc. A leader must exhibit
the best possible usage of these channels to
communicate/transform the opportunities into
a profitable business case and evolve with the
emerging times.
Lastly I would like to share the quote by John
Quincy Adams which I feel is relevant to any
generation of leadership which says, "If your
actions inspire others to dream more, learn
more, do more and become more, you are a
leader! "
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LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
Sumeet Ponda
Mr. Vasant G. Sathe
Chairman, The Red Rose Group
Bhopal
Executive Director,
Pascal Ind Eqpts Manufacturing
and Consultancy Pvt ltd,
Leadership is all about leading
from the front. How else could he
motivate the team? That a leader
has to be a risk-taker is forgone
but in changing times when the
stakes are simply high, the leader
has also to be calculative and
street-wise. He has to be sensitive
enough to gauge the pulse of the
changing environment because in
today's times, moods prevalent,
are simply volatile. Every good
leader must be human enough to
share the credit of every success
with his team and yet brave
enough to take the brunt on his
own if the contrary happens. The
leader must be a good shockabsorber so that he can absorb
the vacuum created by the
absence of a team-member. At the
same time, must also make it
clear to all in the matrix that no
one is indispensable. All in all, a
good leader has to assume the
role of a trapeze artist and hold
hands at the right time and still
manage to win the applause.
Vishal Roday
Deputy Manager, BHEL
Theme : Work the talk
1. Leaders now no longer merely advice they have to do the same themselves.
Sumit Gupta
Technical Consultant,
Secure Key Technologies
"Who is a good driver? Safe, sensible, and the one who
follows the rules! Not really!! When it comes to
leadership, a Good driver is the one who communicates
with the traffic around and guides it to win-win path for
everyone. Same way a good leader is not the one who gets
the work done from people but who communicates with
people and drives their thinking to win-win path!
For working the talk, which means to produce results, a
leader has to get along with people and bring them
together synergistically. So, communication is at the heart
of leadership. Without that, leaders couldn't succeed or to
say correctly, a person without good communication can't
be a leader.
Today leadership is about two-way communication, that's
what we call 'conversation'. This is becoming more
challenging with globalization. Leadership needs to deal
with mulit-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-functional
environment where having an effective conversation is the
key to succeed. "
2. Parents ( especially mothers ) have to do
the same - their children get inspired by
what they do and react in similar waysFor eg. it is no longer ok to say throw
express workplace/home- the office
juniors/children immediately think it is
ok & start doing the same.
3. Leaders have to do this because many
juniors are very bad listeners and
learners - hence they imitate what the
boss does.
4. Politicians are also realizing this and
hence performers rather than glib
talkers and the movers and shakers are
finding themselves increasingly
marginalized.
5. This is going to increase rather than
decrease as communication gets more
general rather than specific - via the
social media - thus training is more
challenging as it has to be more
experiential !
Leadership is many things to people . To me, it's
about creativity , inclusion and courage.
Creativity to think of 'a way'. An idea ,a solution,
an approach . To improve upon what exists and to
envision what isn't yet. To this extent, knowledge
ability to think and wisdom does play a role. But
does that alone maketh a leader ? Nay. Only
didactics can make you a philosopher or a guide.
Not a leader. That is where inclusion comes into
picture. A leader has to include all his follower
into his goal, so that it becomes 'their' goal.
And he has to work with his followers towards it!
Gandhi was a leader. Aristotle, maybe not. And
how exactly you do that ? By example! By
practicing what you preach, by measuring up to
the exacting standards you prescribe. A matter of
courage no less. Something that sets great
leaders apart. Exhortations of a leader would lose
all impact if he himself doesn't follow it. A true
leader has to model the behavior he expects from
his team and set examples and benchmarks for
them . Only then he will see his team doing
wonders for him. As I have mentioned as an
example, we have seen this happening.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
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Nikhil Dubey
The author is a student of Development Studies and
associated with The Grameen Bank, Bangladesh).
Yashowardhan Kauns
Independent Film maker and
Commercial artist (Toronto, Canada)
I personally feel that the slogan "Work the Talk" is always practiced by
those who take their work seriously, be it a business person, an artist,
an employee or someone from any other walk of life. The rule applies to
all and not just the business community.
For those who take their work seriously and love it, the work always
speaks their thoughts / philosophy. It is never the other way round. A
good example would be some of the artists are not good speakers. When
it comes to express their thoughts, there is something odd / funny with
their speech or mannerisms. But when perform, they mesmerize.
The verbal jargon and fiery speeches have more of a "Mass" or
"Mediocre" impact. Or let’s put it this way that they matter when targeted
to a certain audience. But there too when it's a matter of final outcome,
the only thing that counts is the result.
Bottom line - Talk = The flesh & Practice = The soul."
The world's largest democracy which houses one of the most difficult political grounds to
compete upon is today thrilled with the success of a man. The future of Arvind Kejriwal and
his Aam Aadmi Party will be determined by the efforts he and his party put into in order to
realize the promises made by them to the people and that should not be predicted through a
plain speculation. However, Kejriwal's present picture gleefully reflects a common saying-"
Where there is a will, there is a way!" This is a wonderful example of how true leadership can
sustain a movement and ignite the change.
Leadership is not a copy-book term anymore. The caricature of a warrior leading his soldiers
on the battle ground or a black man roaring out loud in the land of whites to realize his 'dream'
may not suit our definitions of leadership today. This because the wheel of time has covered a
great distance and in a highly globalized world as ours, problems and crisis though not
eliminated by any margin have transformed themselves. We don't need leaders who can fight
a glorified war for their motherland but we require those who can prevent such mishaps. In a
world where division on the basis of race, caste and gender is being gradually replaced by a
division on the basis of classes of rich and poor we need leaders who aspire and labour to
bridge this divide.
Furthermore, apart from a few selected fields such as Military and Religion today we need
leaders in every field as all the fields are interwoven and the prosperity of a nation and further
the entire world would depend upon our aggregate performance in these numerous fields. The
world today is perplexed by a genuine limitation. This limitation is the absence of abundant
resources. At a time when everyone wants to secure a share in the pudding, crisis is bound to
happen. Nations are spending uncountable wealth just to showcase their military superiority,
firms are meticulously trying to generate unmatched profits at all costs, and Individuals aspire
to secure the best for them and their loved ones by all means. Today's leadership requires
individuals who can timely check the pace of the world for its good and regularly lubricate its
wheels. We need visionaries who can convert challenges into opportunities within a fraction of
a second.
Nevertheless, amidst these challenges we have ample signs of optimism. We have examples
from all the fields where individuals have come forward and fetched our attention towards their
brilliant innovations. Examples of individuals like Arvind Kejriwal in Politics and Sachin Bansal
and Binny Bansal in Entrepreneurship to name a few, have the capacity to act as a guiding
light for the future. What we need to keep in mind while trying to understand leadership today
is that in the world we live in, the role of a leader is not to rule but to enable. He/she need not
be a reactant in the positive reaction but rather a catalyst that facilitates.
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LEA
DER
SHIP
NOW
-
SECTION
Theme Champions
Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak
Dr. G. Venkataswamy
Ela Bhatt
Hari Bhartia
Harish Hande
Jyoti Naik
Nidhi Saxena
Rahul Bhatia
Sachin and Binny Bansal
Sanjit Roy
Sridhar Vembu
Tulsi Tanti
V. G. Siddhartha
Vineet Rai
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Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak
Dr. G. Venkataswamy
Sulabh International
Aravind Eye Hospitals
In 1967, 25 year old Bindeshwar Pathak had missed getting a First Class that would have landed
him a lecturer's job in a college. He tried being a school-teacher, a pay-roll clerk and even a street
by street salesman of his grandfather's bottles of proprietary home-cure mixture.
Deciding to get himself a Master's degree at Sagar University, MP, he boarded a train. At Hajipur, an
elderly family friend talked him out of his move and promised him a 'good job' instead, in the Gandhi
Centenary Committee. He got off the train and was led to Patna. The promised job wasn't quite there
nor did life settle down for him, but he believes that his lifelong commitment to scavenger liberation
through maintenance-free toilets began that day - the roots of the phenomenon called 'Sulabh
International'!
Today, he is the icon of sanitation and social reform who has made a difference in the lives of millions
of people. In fact, he has turned the pages of history where with his efforts the erstwhile untouchables
have been allowed by the society to intermingle with them, to live on par with them, dine with them
and offer prayers in the temples. One of the distinctive features of Pathak's work lies in the fact that
besides producing odor-free bio-gas, it also releases clean water rich in phosphorus and other
ingredients which are important constituents of organic manure. His sanitation movement ensures
cleanliness and prevents greenhouse gas emission.
Yet what separates him from others is his boundless love for the downtrodden that finds expression in
myriad and tangible ways. No wonder those who know him intimately swear that Dr. Pathak is born to
help the helpless!
Dr. G. Venkataswamy was born in 1918 in a small village in South India. He received his medical
degree from Stanley Medical College, Chennai, in 1944. He joined the Indian Army Medical Corps,
but had to retire in 1948 after developing severe rheumatoid arthritis - a disease that left his fingers
crippled. Despite his condition, he returned to medical school and earned a degree in ophthalmology.
With hard work and determination, Dr. G. Venkataswamy trained himself to hold a scalpel and perform
cataract surgery. In time, he personally performed over 100,000 successful eye surgeries.
Vision, inspiration and leadership, guided by the belief that service is a spiritual practice,
Dr. G. Venkataswamy helped set in motion an international crusade against needless blindness. In
1976, he founded the Aravind Eye Hospital, where he led the development of a self-sustaining model
of affordable eye care services designed to prevent and cure needless blindness among those
struggling in poverty. In 1978, Dr. G. Venkataswamy co-founded Seva Foundation, which set out on a
mission to support and expand this pioneering approach to affordable health care.
From its beginning in a rented house with 11 hospital beds, Arvind has grown to become a network of
hospitals with over 1750 beds, serving a population of more than 50 million. Every year, Arvind
performs over 200,000 eye surgeries and nearly 1.3 million outpatient services. Seva and Arvind
continue to work as partners, and Seva is now supporting the development of affordable eye care
services in Nepal, Tibet, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Tanzania and Guatemala.
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Ela Bhatt
Hari Bhartia
SEWA
Jubilant
India's microfinance success story owes much to Ela Bhatt's grit and social consciousness. Bhatt
is the founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) which provides microfinance
funding and entrepreneurial training to thousands of women across India.
Bhatt, a noted Gandhian, started SEWA in 1972, to support the large number of women working in
India's unorganized labor sector. From traditional garments and textiles to solar-powered bulbs and
lighting products, SEWA women have found entrepreneurial success through a diverse line of ventures.
SEWA supports more than 9,00,000 women in their business journeys through financing, publicity,
legal help and other social and justice-based issues.
Ela Bhatt has been awarded the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan and the Magsaysay Award, in
recognition of her contribution to women's economic and social empowerment in India. Her story is the
best example there is of small things making a huge difference. SEWA began by giving out small loans
to women to start their entrepreneurial journeys.
Today, it has led a revolution in microfinancing and even impacted India's regulations within the
unorganized sector, in favor of the countless self-employed women. Most importantly, SEWA has
taught women that anything is possible: it is possible to be a woman and succeed in a largely maledominated society, it is possible to grow large enterprises even if you start small, it is possible to do
good while doing well for yourself, and it is possible (and very beneficial) for women to support and
strengthen each other in their journey towards economic freedom and social well-being.
Hari Bhartia, Co-chairman and Managing Director of Jubilant Organosys, is the public face of the
company. His brooding eyes and salt-and-pepper beard often peep out of Page 3 columns.
Bhartia's wife, Kavita, is a designer and owns an up-market designer store called Ogaan. So he can't
always avoid being seen with the capital's fashion fraternity.
Hari S Bhartia, together with his brother Shyam, is co- founder of Jubilant Bhartia Group (valued at
over USD 3 billion). Jubilant Bhartia Group has three flagship Companies Jubilant Life Sciences,
Jubilant Industries and Jubilant FoodWorks publically listed on Indian Stock Exchange, while Jubilant
Energy NV is listed at AIM market of London Exchange. Jubilant FoodWorks, a Jubilant Bhartia group
company, is the master franchisee of Domino's Pizza and Dunkin' Donuts, for India.
Hari's role in institutional work includes his role in various capacities with Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT), Delhi and IIT Kanpur as Chairman of the Board of Governors. He is past president CII. He is currently Chairman of Indian Institute of Management (Raipur). He has also been a member
in several educational and science & technology programmes of Government of India. A Chemical
Engineering Graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Hari has been conferred
Distinguished Alumni award by Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in the year 2000.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
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Harish Hande
Jyoti Naik
SELCO
Lijjat Papad
Harish Hande, famously known as Mr. Sunshine is an Indian social entrepreneur who has lit up the
life of people living in rural areas of Gujarat and Karnataka. He, an IIT Kharagpur undergraduate,
co-founded SELCO India (Solar Electric Light Company India) in 1995, a social enterprise to eradicate
poverty by promoting sustainable technologies in rural India. Headquartered in Bengaluru, today
SELCO India has installed solar lighting systems in over 120,000 households. SELCO is currently
India's leading solar technology firm.
Hande after completing his undergraduate studies in Energy Engineering from IIT Kharagpur went to
U.S. to do his Master's and later PhD in Energy Engineering at University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Hande wanted to do research in large solar projects. In 1991, while doing his Master's, his professor at
the University of Massachusetts told him to study rural electrification in the Dominican Republic,
where he came across households using solar power paying small amounts of money. After this visit,
Harish Hande realized that he wanted to do something in the socioeconomic space and switched to
small solar. A group of friends, including SELCO co-founder Neville Williams, also helped him change
his mind.
Hande believes that the energy needs of a pani puri walla are very different from those of a paddy field
farmer. One requires a certain type of light and fuel on a daily basis, while the other requires it on an
annual basis. Yet, we continue to apply standardized procedures that have worked with the 1 million
haves, to the 5 million have-nots. It's the inefficient processes that cause losses, and solar power
bears the blame. SELCO helps lighting up by decentralizing the process and creating personalized
solutions based on people's different needs. Their simple but effective innovation has killed the fallacy
that solar energy is expensive and impractical.
Jyoti's as well as Lijjat Papad's journey is the quintessential "rags-to-riches" story; but it also
shows that hard work pays. She is inspiring for all the obvious reasons - for reaching out and
empowering women at the grassroots level, for turning a cottage industry into a national movement for
women and for proving that strong moral values and business ethics are invaluable even in today's
dog-eats-dog world.
Jyoti Naik joined Lijjat at the age of 12 to help out her mother in 1973. She gradually climbed the
ladder and became the President of this organization, which stands as a symbol of women's
empowerment by providing employment to over 30,000 women. Today, the organization that was
started by 7 women way back in 1959 with a modest loan of Rs.80, has become an entrepreneurial
success story with a turnover of several hundred crores.
Lijjat not only provides a source of income but also has a unique business model in place which
imparts a sense of equality and justice and serves to equip these women with dignity, self-reliance and
self-respect. For more than 50 years, Lijjat has stayed true to its core values and the management
holds fast to the belief that consistent good quality is of utmost importance.
Jyoti has often been recognized for her pioneering spirit and was conferred the Businesswoman of the
Year Award for Corporate Excellence by the Economic Times. Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad was
also awarded the Best Village Industry Institution in 2003 and Brand Power award in 2011.
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Nidhi Saxena
Rahul Bhatia
Karmic Lifesciences
IndiGo
‘Do not just think you are the one; just know you are the one.' These are the lines from the popular
movie, 'Matrix' and features on the Facebook page of Nidhi Saxena, Founder, President & CEO,
Karmic Lifesciences. Adept at envisioning and establishing new businesses from scratch, she founded
Karmic Lifesciences in 2005 and has built a robust customer base comprising several global pharma
and biotechnology companies as well as a scalable clinical operations and data management group in
India.
Saxena holds an MBA from SP Jain, Mumbai and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt from KPMG.
Referring herself as impatient, she says, "I was born impatient. I was a premature child of seven and a
half months and indeed I am not ready to wait!!!"
Saxena always wanted to be an entrepreneur. She explains, "Right from the beginning I have been
highly independent; I wanted to have a company of my own. None of my decisions was based on any
convention. I come from Allahabad, a small town. Most of my friends today are married. I have always
been different and I believe that is my strength."
She adds, "My parents were doctors and both of them were education oriented. They wanted me and
my brother to either do an IAS or MBA, and I did my MBA." She adds that it was very, very inborn to
start Karmic life sciences because as a child she was a bit of a rebel and thus decided to be an
entrepreneur after working for just six years.
InterGlobe Enterprises Managing Director Rahul Bhatia likes to keep a low profile, but his
business makes him visible all over India -- and, increasingly, the world. InterGlobe's domestic
airline IndiGo, with its two-tone blue livery and enviable on-time performance, has become a familiar,
favored brand.
Bhatia took what amounted to a leap of enterprise, if not faith, in launching the airline. He had behind
him a degree in electrical engineering from Canada, and a two-year stint at IBM, when he came back
to India to scale up the operations of Delhi Express. That was a small airline representation firm
started by his father Kapil Bhatia. Out of it grew Bhatia's InterGlobe Enterprises.
He knew where to look for expertise. For technology, he tied up with New York-based Cendant which
took a stake in InterGlobe Technologies -- a BPO and IT services firm specializing in travel,
transportation and hospitality. For the airline, Bhatia roped in former US Airways CEO Rakesh Gangwal
as partner for his solid credibility and global access. For his business jet venture he picked American
corporate jet maker Hawker-Beechcraft.
IndiGo is equally owned by Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal. The two first met in the corridors of
United Airlines' headquarters in Chicago in 1985, while Bhatia was handling some IT work for the
airline. Despite appearances, success for IndiGo has not come easy. An early advantage, however, was
the careful planning that Bhatia and Gangwal did before the airline started operations. People who
know Bhatia say he is obsessive about detail and quality. They describe how at first IndiGo's
executives, including staff at the check-in counters, air crew and sales and marketing staff were hired
only after Bhatia met each of them individually.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
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Sachin and Binny Bansal
Sanjit Roy
Flipkart
SWRC
In 2007, two twenty-something IIT, Delhi graduates quit their cushy jobs at Amazon to turn
entrepreneurs. The duo, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, weathered fierce parental
opposition to start up on their own, first attempting to build an online shopping comparison
engine, before turning their attention to e-commerce and Flipkart.
In the months and many sleepless nights that followed they agonized over the decision. The
Bansals discovered that they had to write and rewrite many rules of the game. Back in 2007, ecommerce was a fledgling opportunity and companies were struggling with poor internet
penetration, limited engineering skills and scratchy customer experience.
Beginning with book delivery and relying on creaky logistics of India Posts and private courier
companies, Flipkart has grossed millions in merchandise shipped and wants to set new
benchmarks with every passing year. Along the way, Flipkart has gone from an investor pariah to
darling, raising millions in funding and today is turning eager risk capital away.
Binny and Sachin crossed paths thrice before starting Flipkart. At school where they didn't know
each other well; later, at IIT Delhi, they came close and became good friends, as they were in the
same course; and, finally, at Amazon, where Binny joined in Jan 2007, a year after Sachin (who
joined in Jan 2006), and quit in a few months (Sep 2007) to start Flipkart.
In 1965, Roy was a young post graduate student from St Stephen's College, Delhi, when he
volunteered to spend the summer mapping 100 drought prone areas in famine-affected
Palamu District, of Jharkhand (earlier part of Bihar). Roy was never the same following this
experience and he made it his life's mission to fight poverty and inequality thereon. He founded
Social Works and Research Centre (SWRC) in 1972 to find ways to address rural poverty by using
new models and strategies.
His first initiative was to address the water situation by making the villagers self-sustainable by
setting up water pumps that were maintained by the villagers. These efforts through SWRC
morphed into Barefoot College. Roy through Barefoot College trains villagers to adopt solutions in
solar energy, water, education, health care, rural handicrafts, people's action, communication,
women's empowerment and wasteland development.
In 2010 Roy was recognized by TIME magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people
for training 3 million rural folk to be self-sufficient by providing them training, life skills and
making them literate. Roy, incidentally is married to Aruna Roy- the woman who made the Right to
Information Act a reality.
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Sridhar Vembu
Tulsi Tanti
Zoho
Suzlon
He is recognized by Forbes as the smartest unknown Indian entrepreneur! In this bustling crowd of
budding entrepreneurs and startups mushrooming all around the ecosystem, there are a few
entrepreneurs who get lost in the crowd, in spite of being really skilled at what they do. Sridhar Vembu,
though very less known and a name that hasn't made much of news, leads one of the most successful
startups of the country. The CEO of Zoho Corporation, the company that is known as the Google of
India.
An ex alumnus of IIT Chennai, Sridhar is credited for designing one of the first online cloud computing
office suites as a company. Soon after passing out, he started his entrepreneurial career by setting up
AdventNet with his two brothers and few friends. AdventNet has now advanced to be the giant tech
company called Zoho. Today Zoho serves numerous clients, including NASA, GE, Sony, Lufthansa, and
AOL.
While the base is in Chennai, the company is well known outside India. It has 6.5 million users for its
25-plus products such as an email application. It is adding nearly 150,000 new users every month, as
reported by Businessline. When asked about raising funds for the development projects in future,
Sridhar humbly denies it saying, "No need for it. We are profitable and can invest from internal
accruals." Undoubtedly, the company has been quite successful with its internal bootstrapping that
has helped it to invest $15 million in its Chennai facility.
At the time when he was managing the family textile business in Surat, the business was
languishing, mainly because electricity was extremely expensive for businesses and the
power grid was plagued with outages. It was a source of great annoyance for Tanti. In 1994, he
ordered two wind turbines from Danish manufacturer Vestas, essentially taking his factory off the
power grid.
Other business owners began showing an interest in his solution, prompting Tanti to wonder
whether he might be in the wrong business. Wasn't wind energy the real business of the future?
He discussed his ideas with his three brothers. Together they scraped together $600,000 in seed
capital, founded Suzlon Energy and moved to Pune, a city near Bombay in southwestern India.
There was only one problem. None of the four brothers, all engineers, knew anything about wind
energy. But as customers, they were all too familiar with the inadequacies of the industry. The
turbines were supplied by the manufacturer, installed by another company and maintained by a
third. By the time a turbine was up and running, the customer was often at his wits' end.
Tanti, realizing that a change was sorely needed, came up with the idea of offering a complete
package of wind energy services. Suzlon would simply handle everything. Customers would not
even have to install wind turbines on their own premises -- instead, a customer could buy a
turbine at a faraway wind farm and would then own that turbine's output. It was a concept that
would revolutionize the wind energy business. An idea well executed!
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
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V. G. Siddhartha
Vineet Rai
Café Coffee Day
Avishkaar
The Bengaluru brand that evokes the most immediate recall and recognition around the world may
be Infosys, but the Bengaluru brand that touches more lives inside the country has to be Cafe
Coffee Day. But, while everybody knows the story of N.R. Narayana Murthy & Co., CCD has had no such
luck. Its founder V.G. Siddhartha has been a bit of a recluse, letting his stores do all the talking.
The man who has had to work extra-hard to play down the benefits of his proximity to his famous
father-in-law, former chief minister S.M. Krishna, says he could have easily lived off the 350 acres of
coffee estate his family owned in Chikamagalur, but he wanted to start something on his own, to make
money on his own.
After doing his Masters he decided to join J. M. Financial Services (now J M Morgan Stanley) in
Mumbai as a management trainee/intern in trading on the Indian Stock Market under Mr. Mahendra
Kampani. After a two-year stint with J M Financial Services, when Siddhartha returned to Bangalore,
his father gave him a good amount of money to start any business of his choice.
Siddhartha promptly bought a stock market card for ` 30,000 with it, along with a company called Sivan
Securities - which was renamed in year 2000 as Way2wealth Securities Ltd with vision of set "new
standards in the retail financial services in India" and Venture Capital division came to be known as
'Global Technology Ventures (GTV)' as well as a site in the city in 1984 and turned it into a highly
successful investment banking and stock broking company. But it was his ambition with Coffee that
makes him one of the most inspirational figures in business.
Rai could be the most important man in the world of Indian social entrepreneurship at present. He
is founder and the CEO of India's first social venture firm Aavishkaar Venture Management Service
and also co-founder and chairman of Intellecap, a provider of business solutions for social enterprises.
His inspiration to start Aavishkaar came when he was the CEO of Grassroots Innovation Augmentation
Network (GIAN), an incubator for rural innovations and ventures.
Rai was a visionary, because when he started Aavishkaar in 2001 with a seed capital of ` 1 lakh, there
wasn't any precedent to investing in social enterprises. He has nurtured plenty of social enterprises by
investing in them including rang Sutra (art and craft producer), Vaatsalya Healthcare (an affordable
hospital chain based in semi-urban and rural areas) and Waterlife (affordable water solutions for the
poor). Besides making good investments, Rai had taken it upon himself to boost India's social
entrepreneurship ecosystem through a series of initiatives.
Through Intellecap, Rai is instrumental in organizing Sankalp-Unconvention Summit, Asia's largest
conference on social entrepreneurship. In recent years he helped kick-start India's first angel network
of high net worth individuals and institutional investors- Intellecap Impact Investment Network (I3N)
and India Impact Investor Council (IIIC) that is seeking to lay down the standards for impact investing in
India so that it doesn't befall the same fate of the microfinance industry during the 'Andhra crisis' in
2010.
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Interview
DR. RAM CHARAN
As one of the world's pre-eminent advisers to
CEOs and boards, Dr. Ram Charan has spent the
past 35 years on the road, watching hundreds of
executives deal with their toughest challenges.
He regularly shares the insights from his
experiences in speeches and the classroom and is
the author of several best-selling books. (His latest
books are Boards That Lead, which he cowrote with
Dennis Carey and Michael Useem, and Global Tilt.)
He has also published many popular articles,
including the HBR classic "Conquering a Culture of
Indecision" (April 2001), in which he addresses the
problem of organizational paralysis. In this edited
interview with HBR senior editor Melinda Merino, he
returns to the topic of decisions and talks about
what he's learned in three decades of helping
executives make them.
HBR: What has changed the most over the years
about how executives make decisions?
Getting to the right answer is tougher these days. It's
not just the greater number of variables to consider;
executives also need to make subjective
judgements about highly ambiguous factors that
are moving targets. The usual competitive analysis
doesn't work well when technology keeps erasing
industry boundaries and the pace of change is so
fast that you can't wait for things to stabilize.
So you're wrestling with more qualitative factors,
with no conventional methodology, under the real
threat that part of your business has peaked or
could become irrelevant. Meanwhile, enormous
opportunities that require big bets arise and vanish
quickly. And any decision you make will be judged in
the court of public opinion. You have to take into
account potential consequences for a range of
constituencies who may have no direct long-term
economic interest in the business-regulators,
shareholder activists, societal watchdogs, the
media. These conditions were beginning to emerge
10 years ago, but now they're dominant.
How are CEOs adapting?
The good ones know it takes more than analytics.
They take in a lot of information from many sources
and then crystallize a point of view. They sort and sift
the information and select the handful of factors
that matter most-usually no more than six-from the
myriad possibilities. That's what they'll base their
decision on. They cut through the complexity to get
to the heart of the matter, without getting
superficial. And they do it without losing sight of the
customer.
In the boardroom of a company whose most
profitable division was directly affected by Napster,
the online music service, the CEO and Directors
debated for roughly an hour about how to kill
Napster. After all the brouhaha, one quiet Director
made a simple but incisive comment: "No law is
going to prevent social change." He recognized that
the consumer was being liberated and the industry
was about to go through a radical shift.
What to Do If You'll Never Have All the Right
Information? And what happens once decision
makers narrow down the critical factors?
The most successful CEOs actually develop and
shape options in their minds. They reframe the
issue as part of a broader phenomenon, maybe
looking at it from the outside in and with a longer
time frame. Imagination and the ability to connect
diverse insights come into play.
They're also very good at making sure each option is
specific and concrete, taking their thinking from an
altitude of 50,000 feet down to 50 feet. With each
option, they ask, "If we were to go this way, what
would our success depend on?" Those are the
assumptions their decisions hinge on-the things
that will make the decision succeed or go bust. As
their thinking gels, they pose incisive questions, ask
for quantitative analyses, solicit more information
from inside and outside the company, and bounce
ideas off a small network of trusted people for a
dose of reality. From that they draw inferences and
thread ideas together to reach what they consider
the right solution.
How do you test a decision?
By thinking through as many second- and third-order
effects as you can. It's not just a matter of knowing
the expected ROI. If you decide to make a major
investment in country A, of course you'll want to
calculate the return, but you also have to
understand the community issues, the government
issues, and the likely reaction of competitorscurrent competitors; potential competitors; and
local competitors, who don't play by the same rules.
Many executives are learning the hard reality of
investing in the oil industry in Russia. Is it still worth
it? What are the second- and third-order
consequences for a financial services company if it
settles with regulators who want it to not just pay a
fine but also admit wrongdoing? Or if a company lets
an activist shareholder join the board?
Today most CEOs factor how investors will react into
their decisions, especially in transformative moves,
like the merger of Publicis and Omnicom. They also
devote a lot of energy to thinking about how the
board, and especially a few critical directors who
drive consensus, will respond.
Good executives don't let concerns about the
consequences make them indecisive, however. One
mid-western CEO was outperforming by a mile in the
late 1990s, when the top brass at Home Depot said
they wanted his company to supply theirs. Volume
would obviously go up, but selling to the retail
powerhouse would have several negative
consequences for the brand in the long run. The CEO
didn't think it was the right thing for his company and
said so. He had to wrestle with how the board and
investors would see it if the story went public-which
it did, with a negative spin-but that didn't stop him
from turning Home Depot down. His company did
suffer for a while from lower growth and a stock price
in the doldrums, but the CEO won the board's
support, and his strategy and long-term/short-term
trade-off were eventually proved right.
But regardless of how much you test decisions,
uncertainty is a fact of life. So in addition to having
the courage to make a big decision, you need the
fortitude to deal with unpleasant surprises. In mid2008, Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris made an
all-cash deal to acquire Rohm & Haas. He planned
to finance it with proceeds from a joint venture with
Kuwait's state-run Petrochemical Industries
Company. No one was expecting the global financial
crisis, and when it hit, the Kuwaitis wavered. In late
December-just two days before the deal was to go
through-they backed out, leaving Dow $6 billion
short of the cash it needed for the Rohm & Haas
transaction. The contract was ironclad, so Dow was
painted into a corner. Liveris had the experience and
resilience to find other sources of funding and save
the company.
So you have to deal with the unexpected. But don't
you also have to anticipate the future?
Yes. You need what I call perceptual acuity-the
ability to sense what is coming before the fog clears.
Ted Turner saw the possibility of 24-hour news
before anyone else did. All the ingredients were
there, but no others had connected them until he
created CNN. Like Turner, the best CEOs are
compulsively attuned to the external environment
and have a sixth sense that picks up anomalies and
detects early warning signals and opportunities.
The Three Keys to Making Better Decisions
A great example of this is Ivan Seidenberg's
investment in fiber optics as CEO of Verizon. It was a
huge and unpopular move at the time, but it was
informed by a deep understanding of the external
landscape and technology. Seidenberg had a
realistic view of where the market and competitors
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were going and saw that Verizon could not put video
on its network and run fast enough against the
competition. So he made a big bet.
Perceptual acuity, by the way, is in short supply. I can
think of five major companies that went under in the
past five years because the CEO couldn't see how, or
how fast, the game was changing.
How can perceptual acuity be improved?
You can't do it by sitting in your office and
meditating. Many complain that the top job is a
lonely one, but good CEOs are always meeting with
people, searching out information.
One CEO I know gets together with his critical people
for half a day every eight weeks to discuss what's
new and what's going on in the world. They don't
look only through the lens of their industry. They look
through a much wider lens, because some trends
that affect one industry impact others later. The
setting is informal, and outsiders often attend. It
gives everyone a chance to talk about signs of
change and decide which ones matter. Is our
strategy adequate for what's coming? Is this going to
be fantastic for us, or are we on the verge of
becoming obsolete? The meeting doesn't involve
200 PowerPoint slides or quantitative analysis. It's
about big ideas.
Another CEO meets four times a year with about four
other CEOs of large but noncompeting diverse
global companies. They examine the world from
multiple angles, looking for unstoppable trends, and
share their best thinking about how each could play
out. Then this CEO goes back to his own weekly
management meetings and throws out a bunch of
hand grenades to shake up people's thinking.
Two companies I know of ask outsiders to critique
strategy in their boards' strategy sessions. These
are spirited discussions that shed more light on the
hinge assumptions and the options being
considered. In one session the focus was on
pinpointing the risk in a certain strategy, but it came
out that the company was missing an important
opportunity. CEOs can lose credibility if risks come
to haunt them, but few get penalized for missing an
important opportunity.
Doesn't good judgement develop over long
periods of time?
Yes, that's why you have to find people early in their
careers-as young as their late twenties and early
thirties-who look for contradictions, oddities,
coincidences, and bends in the road. You want
people who can both think qualitatively and shape
ideas based on conflicting and limited information.
You can help executives develop those skills by
sending them to China, India, or somewhere else
where they have to learn how to deal with foreign
governments. Deb Henretta had spent her career at
P&G's Cincinnati headquarters when A.G. Lafley
sent her to Singapore for two years, and she ended
up staying for eight. Over those years she developed
the mental capacity to deal with 18 countries, to
make decisions based on unreliable and
incomplete information, and to sift out the sources
and variables that mattered. Ultimately, she was
asked to sit on a committee to develop Singapore's
10-year plan. She now reports directly to Lafley.
How do you know you're getting the right input,
especially when you're far removed from the
sources because of organizational layers or
geography?
You have to develop a nose for finding the right
sources and detecting distortion. You might know,
for example, that one of your direct reports is always
pessimistic, so you adjust for that. And you crosscheck information by consulting multiple sources
and people who are inclined to take different
viewpoints.
Many CEOs do not hesitate to go directly to sources
at the scene of the action or to tap informal social
networks. In India the government has been
loosening its hand on the economy over the past 18
years, but it's still pretty heavy and, in some cases,
very unpredictable. Decisions can be delayed for
years or even reversed. Executives in India do a lot of
sensing at casual weekend get-togethers. They
invest a significant amount of energy in being in the
bridge of information.
What about making decisions with your team?
If you're wise and not a know-it-all, you have a
spirited, candid dialogue with your team, and you
listen. Listening isn't just hearing; it requires the
willingness to entertain other viewpoints-especially
opposing ones. You extract the inner feelings of your
people, get them to explore the depth and breadth of
their thinking. But it's not a democracy. I've seen
some executives become prisoners of their direct
reports. They succumb to endless debate, or they
may just want to be liked. They lose time and respect.
If you're the CEO, you decide.
Why CEOs Need Courage?
Will people accept a decision they disagree with?
Of course you need to bring people along with you to
carry out the decision. You can begin by explaining
your reasoning. Strong leaders ask people to get on
board or depart honorably. The other side of the
equation is where the CEO makes little effort to
socialize the decision and loses the support of his or
her direct reports. I know three high-profile CEOs
who were asked to leave after the board was
approached by their subordinates.
Many CEOs talk with people informally one-on-one
to get their buy-in. With the board, they explain what
they see coming down the road and what actions
they might take six to 12 months ahead-for
example, the areas where they might be looking at
acquisitions and the potential targets they're
tracking.
What else separates brilliant decision makers
from average ones?
CEOs face countless decisions. The best executives
understand which ones they need to focus on and
which ones they can delegate. They also know when
to make a decision. And they've debated the risk of
not doing it. Any change in the landscape creates
opportunities for somebody. The decision to grab a
big opportunity can be destiny-changing. If you don't
do it, someone else will. Look at how Amazon, Apple,
and Google move ahead of everyone else.
EMC's CEO, Joe Tucci, grasped the opportunity in
virtualization when he visited a global customer. The
customer had asked EMC to support a new type of
software it planned to use: virtualization software,
which was made by a West Coast start-up named
VMware. On returning from his visit, Tucci walked
into EMC's engineering labs to chat with his team,
and to his surprise they too were using VMware's
virtualization software, fairly pervasively, and they
loved it. Without missing a beat, he called VMware's
CEO and a couple of its board members, then
quickly dispatched a team to California, saying,
"Don't come back until you seal the deal." A few big
players were already wooing this company, but EMC
jumped on the deal, snatching VMware, an industry
disrupter, out from under them. Surprisingly, many
of the biggest technology companies had
completely missed it.
What are the career-making decisions that CEOs
need to get right?
The obvious one involves strategy and competitive
advantage, and keeping them relevant when their
shelf life can be very short.
Annual strategic planning is an antiquated idea. You
can't wait for your normal planning cycle to change
your strategy. Shifts in the global financial system,
marketplace, and geopolitical and digital arenas
don't wait. When an early warning signal appears,
get your team on it right away. And you have to seize
opportunities as soon as they emerge, as Tucci did.
What other decisions does the CEO need to own?
Decisions about the mix of goals, resource
allocation, and people and the organization.
As a rule CEOs don't give enough attention to setting
goals. The greatest mistake they make is to look in
the rearview mirror at what they did last year or at
what their competition did. The brilliant decision
makers look at the runway ahead.
And what about resource allocation?
These decisions are big because some competitive
moves need disproportionate resources. When
resources are allocated from the bottom up instead
of from the top down, they get out of sync with what
the senior team is trying to accomplish. At many
companies the total cash investment in
acquisitions, R&D, and fixed assets has not earned
back its cost of capital after adjusting for the time
lag in realizing incremental benefits. That outcome
reflects the wrong allocation and/or ineffective
execution. Some activist shareholders are finding
gaps in CEO performance by doing this calculation.
Why are people decisions so hard to get right?
When I studied 82 CEOs who failed, I saw that the
most common reason for failure was putting the
wrong person in a job and then not dealing with the
mismatch. I've seen CEOs take staff people who are
in the succession pool because of their brilliance,
energy, and business acumen, and give them big
line jobs to test them. Then the CEOs get busy and
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lose sight that these inexperienced people are
killing the company. In one situation the person put
in charge of the largest division took the company
into a negative position in less than two years.
It's usually obvious who needs to go, and most of the
time CEOs know it in their gut but don't do anything.
It's hard to admit the error, or they have a
psychological bond with the person or think they can
coach him or her. Sometimes it's a matter of
misjudging performance, because they don't dig
into the causes.
Today most if not all industries are impacted by
digitization-mobile technology, big data, and the
like. It has a tremendous effect on which people are
more critical than others. One CEO of a large Indian
company has been bringing a lot of younger people
into senior jobs because of their digital experience.
It's been hard for him to bypass some long-serving
executives, but he had the spine to make those
decisions.
What's the challenge when it comes to decisions
about the organization?
In late 2010, GE CEO Jeff Immelt decided to give
country managers P&L responsibility for all of GE in
their countries and have them report to vice
chairman John Rice, who would be stationed in
Hong Kong. It was the first time a vice chair would be
based in an emerging market. It reflected the reality
that a lot of GE's growth will be coming from the
developing world, and the leaders have to be there.
As Keith Sherin, then GE's CFO, put it, "This is where
the growth is. We are shifting our center of gravity."
Such decisions might be unpopular and break a lot
of traditions, yet they set the future course of the
company.
What is the biggest misperception CEOs have
about executive decision making?
One is that they know it all. That they can figure it out
on their own.
A second is that if your decision doesn't work out,
your career is done. That's not true if you have
established credibility. Credibility of the CEO is the
number one thing. If you lose it-with your direct
reports, the board, key investors, the rest of the
company-then you are done.
The Importance of Being Credible With Your Board
and Investors
So you can't be a great decision maker without
credibility?
None of your decisions will be executed. Credibility
also helps you gain access to the right people, the
right information, investments, and support. In
some cases, it's what allows you to make the right
decision in the first place.
Verizon's directors concurred with Ivan
Seidenberg's decision to invest $23 billion over 10
years in fiber optic cable because he had built
credibility with the board over many years. It was a
highly controversial investment at the time, and
some investors were skeptical. The media and
competitors were especially harsh. But the senior
team had developed a deep understanding of what
was required and, led by Seidenberg, secured board
support.
Later, Seidenberg created a new entity combining
Verizon with Vodafone's U.S. wireless assets.
Verizon's 55% stake gave it managerial and
financial control. Again, many people thought the
joint venture wouldn't work, especially when the
dividend was suspended and the cash reinvested in
the business, but these decisions turned out to be
brilliant. Verizon has been able to expand its
national footprint and outperform against some
very tough competitors. Seidenberg's decisions
built a strong foundation that allowed the company
to achieve full ownership of the U.S. wireless
venture in September, giving Verizon great strategic
flexibility in the fast-moving global game.
Why did the board back those risky decisions?
Seidenberg had a very good record of delivering the
numbers and building the organizational muscle for
the new game. He developed a broad and strong
management team. But he also had demonstrated
that his ego was subordinated to his ambitions for
the company.
The first time was when Verizon merged with Bell
Atlantic, and he proposed that he take the number
two position and that Bell Atlantic CEO Ray Smith be
named number one. When Smith retired,
Seidenberg became CEO, but he gave up control
again to Chuck Lee in the subsequent merger with
GTE. Neither of those mergers was likely to get
consummated without such arrangements. He had
integrity-and a great habit of educating the board
about the external environment at every meeting.
The board always knew where he was going and that
he had an outstanding senior management team to
deliver on the plan.
What can't be taught?
You need the mental capability and tenacity to knit
your inferences into something meaningful, and the
imagination to think of new options. And you need
the courage to go on the offensive based on your
subjective judgments. You can't be a wimp-make
the tough calls.
Leadership Now:
WORK
THE
TALK
Mr. Jagdish Verma
IMA Mentor, Past Director
& Chairman iLead Group
Leadership is dynamic yet very basic at its core.
Leadership is at its best when it's "Leadership by
Example". If the leader exhibits the criteria
needed at a particular critical juncture to
succeed, it inspires the followers to evaluate the
same with faith and zeal and success is
guaranteed.
A talk remains a sermon igniting the mind of the
receiver. But if a leader, works the talk,
demonstrates the how with why, then it not only
ignites the mind but also fires up the zeal, the
passion, the commitment to perform and succeed
amongst the team. It is a great team builder.
Only when a leader works the talk, he personally
experiences the impediments in the way,
constantly rearranging or re-evolving action
strategies to overcome drawbacks to reach the
next milestone, thereby road mapping success
path to the ultimate good. All around us are
glittering examples of the Work the Talk success.
Israel a tiny nation with indomitable spirit,
surrounded by superior hostile forces, is surviving
and progressing because of working the talk ethic.
It does what it says and as such is respected all
around. Dubai, another tiny kingdom, an example
of outstanding business success having no oil, no
natural resources, no military might, is an oasis of
success, peace, prosperity by its working the talk
ethic. Steve Jobs, though called a maverick by
some, dreamt unusual always and worked the talk
to make it a success, generating innovation after
innovation, which made Apple the no.1 company in
the world.
Arvind Kejriwal, an example that may be
controversial for many, yet through his work the
talk ethic, in a span of six months, took part in
elections, became MLA, became CM and is now
seen by some as even the PM of tomorrow.
In all the above, the leader's faith in working the
talk and leading by example was prime in firing up
zeal in their followers to take up near impossible
tasks to succeed.
You also can be a global name as a successful
leader with work the talk ethic, if you pursue:
• A game-changer cause
• Clearly articulated vision
• Unwavering commitment to the cause
• Remain adaptable within your ethics
• Fire the zeal of your team as a leader by example
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Mr. Sanjay Gorana
General Manager &
Plant Head Cipla Ltd.
WORK
THE
TALKWork
the
TalkMindset & Essential Discipline for
Effective Leadership
Hundreds of premium management institutes,
lakhs of books, millions of scholars are studying
since centuries , about one topic i.e. leader &
leadership Still, no one has come up with a
single answer about what makes one a good
leader or what is a good leadership?
However, it has been confirmed that a good
leader has a set of discipline. One such
discipline is 'work the talk' or it can also be
called as 'discipline of execution’.
‘Work the talk' is not a management process , it
is a mindset. It is a behavior which can be learnt.
It is the mindset which gives abundance of selfconfidence to the leader & team member .It also
improves self -image. The people practicing
'work the talk' pump energy & inspire the team
members with a 'can do' spirit.
What does a person achieve from work the
talk?
The answer is 'Credibility’. Researches have
shown that irrespective of geographies, caste &
creed, type of organization, Credibility is
foundation of leadership. May it be leadership of
person, may it be leadership of services, may it
be leadership of product, Credibility is the core.
It is a known fact that if you don't believe in
his/her messenger you will not believe in
message.
A compelling vision is necessary for leadership,
however if the leader is not credible the vision
rests on weak foundation. Credibility is gained
when we 'work the talk or when we put our
knowledge in action. Leaders practicing work
the talk have a specific behaviour:
• They practice what they preach
• Their actions are consistent with their words
• They follow through on their promise
• They do what they say they will do
When leaders don't work the talk i.e don't set a
consistency between words & action, people will
feel the leader to be a hypocrite.
When leaders work the talk, i.e., people see
consistency between words & action, they will
more than willing to entrust them with their
livelihood & even their lives. Sometimes, in order
to become credible, years of hard work is
required, however , people practicing 'work the
talk' get instant credibility. For the young leaders
'work the talk' doesn't mean that one should
initiate the action when you are sure of success .
Even in case of failure, for young leaders, the
initiative taken to convert an idea into action will
genuinely be appreciated.
Albert Einstein had said, “One who has made no
mistakes in life, probably has never worked.”
One of the greatest management thinker Mr.
Ram Charan, says that a successful
organization needs three things:
• Good strategy
• Efficient people
• Discipline of execution
Strategy is the thought process to achieve goals
(i.e. what is being talked to achieve goals) ,
execution is action ( or work) to convert ideas in
reality , efficient people are those with
leadership quality, who convert strategy ( the
talk) into action ( work).
A leadership without discipline of execution is
incomplete & ineffective.
In my experience there is no better, way of
improving trustworthiness than 'work the talk';
So practice 'Work the talk' and adopt it as a
natural habit. With these thoughts, I sincerely
thank IMA for giving me this opportunity to share
my views.
I wish you all, best of luck in your journey as
leaders.
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Prof. Kapil Suri
Corporate Trainer
LEADERS TELL STORIES IN MANY
DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT THEY
MOSTLY TELL STORIES WITH
THEIR ACTIONS- WHAT THEY DO.
Legitimacy in leadership is possible only through visible leadership.
When a leader begins to behave in the way in which he/she wants others
to do, such a leader will be more likely to be modeled as exemplary.
Successful leaders of all kinds, all over the world have
an honest understanding of who they are, what they
know, and what they can do. Such leaders pave the
road to great leadership by proving beyond doubt that
they are worthy of being followed. Unfortunately,
many people in so-called leadership positions are not
true leaders. They may be managers, bosses,
administrators, department heads, bureaucrats and
technocrats but they are definitely, not leaders. On
the other hand, certain individuals among us who
contribute to society and bring out change in our
midst may be rightfully referred to as powerful
leaders in the real sense of the word. The leadership
they have set in motion is not that of position but of
action that precedes visible leadership.
LEADERSHIP STYLES
Effective leadership, irrespective of the approach or
style, is always an alignment of vision and values.
Even in visible leadership, the most effective leaders
are those who possess high vision and implement
high values in every step that take.
Whenever there is an alienation of vision and values
in an organization, it is almost often because of the
leader's inability to walk-the-talk and show a clear-cut
relation between vision and values. Depending on
the vision-value alignment and the level of clarity that
exits between the two, four styles of leadership are
known to emerge.
Low vision-low values: So-called leaders who fit into
this style are not very initiators for the fear of taking
risks. They are neither focused on the job nor on the
team and can be easily influenced. Due to a distinct
lack of clear principles, conviction or values, such
people are better off as followers than leaders.
Low vision-high values: Leaders who adhere to this
style are idealists who will go to great lengths to
impose their rigid values and strong convictions upon
the team. Their egoistic, reactive attitude displays a
marked insensitivity towards any resistance from
team members. Though such leaders are extremely
driven to perform, they are focused solely on the task
and do not care about the people who make up their
team.
High vision-low values: These leaders basically have
very low standards and will stoop too low to get things
done. Often portrayed as extremely driven and overambitious, such leaders display arrogance of the
worst kind and love to boast of the power they are
entitled to as leaders. They always see themselves
under a threat and since they have very few options to
reach their vision, such leaders ultimately destroy the
team spirit in an organization.
High vision-high values: These are the most effective
leaders among the four. Always open, proactive,
sensitive, humble and flexible, such leaders are the
ones who will walk-the-talk and succeed in finding
innovative solutions to counter ambiguity. They are
always confident with a process-driven positive
attitude and they build motivation into any team they
choose to be in. Leaders with high vision and high
values always create their own systems which in turn
benefit the entire organization.
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Given below are a few of the world's greatest
proponents of visible leadership.
Mahatma Gandhi: "We must become the change we
want to see", are the words of India's Father of the
Nation. Mahatma Gandhi spent most of his adult life
living what he preached to others. His commitment to
non-violent resistance to protest injustice on him won
an admirable crowd of followers. His visible
leadership created a picture of the possibilities that
India could be free from the clutches of the British
rule.
Jack Welch (General Electric): This legendary
businessman developed a whole new idea of a
"boundary-less organization" for GE. He promised to
listen to ideas from anyone in the company and
proved he was worth his word. Everyone, from the
lowest line workers to the senior managers, got his
attention whenever they had some new idea that
might make the company better. Jack Welch did not
just "talk", he "walked" and his team was always
willing to follow his lead.
E Sreedharan (Delhi Metro Corporation): Renowned
as the "Metro Man of India", Sreedharan, is the power
behind the success of the world-class Delhi Metro. As
the Managing Director of DMRC, Sreedharan took up
the Delhi Metro project under his wings and ensured
its successful completion well-ahead of schedule.
Even amidst bureaucracy and wide-spread
corruption, he relied on his high vision and higher
values to change the face of urban public transport in
the capital city.
Carlos Ghosn (Nissan): Carlos Ghosn, former CEO of
Michelin North America, was asked to lead this
Japanese firm with the mission to bring about change
and revive the Nissan brand.Ghosn had a middleeastern and Latin cultural background, with French
experiences. He was not well-versed in the Japanese
style of management. Many wondered if his
turnaround strategy would do more harm than good
for Nissan. However, under his leadership, Nissan
reported the best financial performance in the history
of the company, one year ahead of schedule. Ghosn's
visible leadership style and Change Management
Principle of consistency between what he thought,
said and did was a key factor in Nissan's success.
CONCLUSION
The power of a leader to create an organization's
values, environment, culture and actions is far more
intense than anyone can imagine. The best leaders
are those who create better leaders. They "walk-thetalk", motivate others to follow their vision and
achieve a set of goals in accordance with the mission
of the organization. In walking the talk, an important
first step is to understand why a leader wishes to
implement a change or improvement in his/her team
organization.
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
99
The power wielded by leaders in creating values,
culture and ethics within their circle of influence is
great but contingent upon their ability to lead the way
by actions rather than words.
In order to understand the concept better we conducted
a couple of Focus Groups on managerial effectiveness
within our organization - VE Commercial Vehicles. Not
surprisingly almost all panellists suggested that initiatives
and ideas most likely to succeed in the organization are
the ones in which the management is taking the most
visible interest. Further most of the panellists expressed
a need for middle management to practice more of what
they preached but went on to state that they perceived
the organization's top leadership displayed this
adequately. This and other points deliberated upon in the
Focus Groups reinforce the belief that walking the talk is
an important element of successful leadership.
Leadership Now:
WORK THE TALK
In the present dynamic business scenario it is imperative for
business leaders to foster a culture of 'Work (Walk) the Talk'.
This is one of the most powerful concepts in behavioural
sciences and a catalyst for the metamorphosis of many good
managers into good leaders.
On the basis of the findings of the Focus Groups we
propose a behavioural model - 'The Ethics - Excellence
Model'. In this model, we measured leaders on the two
dimensions of Ethics & Excellence which are meant to
shape the quality of leadership. We proposed that
Leadership is always an amalgamation of the ethical
standards followed by leaders and their pursuit for
excellence and that success or failure as a leader can
always be predicted by studying the interaction of the two
attributes.
On the Basis of our model we classified leaders in the
following classes
Type 1: Low Ethics, Low Excellence -These leaders
don't strive to reach new levels of performance, nor
do they display a drive to do things right. They are
reluctant to initiate new projects, lack focus on
processes as well as targets and are easily influenced
by others. In any organization these individuals are
misplaced as leaders and should be re-designated to
positions where leadership skills are not called for.
Type 2: Low Ethics, High Excellence -These leaders
have a high level of zest for achieving desired results
but little or no consideration for the means to the
achievement. They can be recognized by their
ambition and self-importance. They have unreal
threat perceptions which colour their relationship
with others. If left unbridled such leaders have the
potential to break the team spirit in any organization.
Type 3: High Ethics, Low Excellence -Leaders
belonging to this category are idealists who impose
their strong beliefs and sense of propriety to others.
These leaders are extremely rigid, unwilling to change
and intolerant of real or perceived criticism. An active
effort to move these leaders to the top-right quadrant
in the matrix should be made to harness their full
potential.
Type 4: High Ethics, High Excellence -Leaders in this
category are the most effective and efficient in any
organization. Marshalling all resources at their
disposal to meet targets with propriety is the hallmark
of their work. These leaders have the greatest
propensity to actually 'Work (Walk) the Talk'. Such
leaders form the core of our study. The following
attributes are ascribed to these leaders • Transparent & unequivocal decision making
• Visual leadership
• Openness to new ideas
• Delegation of responsibility
• Altruism in actions taken
• Development of a second line of command
'Work (Walk) the Talk' at Work - Thought Leadership
Some personalities from the contemporary world who
fit the idiom are E. Shreedharan (DMRC), Dr.Verghese
Kurien (Amul), Ratan Tata (Tata Sons) and Mahatma
Gandhi. The attributes of a Type 4 leader are also
evident in the CEO of VE Commercial Vehicle - Mr.
Vinod Agarwal who has led the organization to a new
summit of success.
Talk the WalkIn conclusion to our study we have touched upon the
concept of Work the Talk. This was a derived from the
employee expectation that leaders should be putting
'actions into words' rather than putting 'words into
actions'.We believe the leaders of tomorrow will have
to measure up to this parameter in order to lead their
organizations successfully and create value for all.
By- YMC winners
Mr. Prasoon Singh, Mr. Vijay Makhija, Mr. Sandeep Garg
INDORE MANAGER COMMEMORATIVE VOLUME - 2014
101
IMA INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT CONCLAVE
16TH & 17TH JANUARY 2014, INDORE, INDIA
LEADERSHIP NOW - WORK THE TALK
E p i l o g u e
To become a leader, you got to have 'heart of a poet, mind of a scientist and…hands
of a mason'!
In a world, where status quo is the most preferred status of being for most of the
people, some individuals have to rise above ordinariness and assume an unsolicited
responsibility to induce a change for better.
Irrespective of the domain - be it society, business, religion or nations - these
individuals have to take the front seat, putting at risk their comfort and security in all
psychological and sociological sense. They have to lead!
These individuals are the torch-bearers for all those who they represent and even for
the ones who resent them. Yet, amongst all the verbose and the daydreamers, they
have to give words an authenticity of actions; and give preaching a stronghold of
practice. They have to stir their own personalities and beliefs to create role -models
out of themselves. And for this they have to talk, work and…work the talk!
They aren't genius or the mavericks. They are simply idealists with a practitioner's
approach. They have a bias for implementing than 'merely ideating'. For them, job is
not over till the culmination is reached. Their satisfaction lies not in the self-sufficient
images they conceive but in creation of the concrete structures which are there to be
judged by others.
We meant to build this commemorative volume of Indore Manager as a tribute to
such leaders. And we very well know that this epilogue for all the words in the
preceding pages is a prologue for all the actions that are there to be done.
…And precisely there lies the success of it!
Associate Editors
Sandeep Atre
Rewa Nandedkar
Dr. Rachna Tiwari
Harshita Tiwari
…with special thanks to Dr. Rachna Tiwari and Harshita Tiwari and
all of the IMA Team for their direct and indirect contributions.

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