Do you think Indian Managers/Leaders running corporate are any different from so called Daily wage workers?
And when I say Managers/Leaders...I mean right upto CEO/Chairman....
A daily wage earner earns by the day..hence lives.. and most importantly works...by the day..so we know, he doesn't have to worry about grand plans..big picture...vision...Well in case of corporate types..we may not be earning by the day...but work by the day? ..well may not be...But by the month...???....ah some certainly...may be in certain roles..industries...companies...Not All roles/industries/companies of course....
Work by the Quarter??? ....well certainly, you can now have a sizable number of roles/industries/companies....
Work by the Year???....grins..ear to ear...do we have almost all roles/industries/companies now? ...
So live by the day..earn by the month (also partly year..bonuses etc..)..and work by the Year..This is it..
Before I start inviting frowns..angry reactions...let me set the context..
Why do you think "WhatsApp is an American baby" and not an Indian? Google anyone? Facebook? ...ok Apple? ...how can i miss Apple...Steve Jobs devotee that I am known to be...
Well now start jumping on your seats...and dig out every little Indian connection, these mighty companies might have...talk about, how their top team is all Indian..IIM/IIT of course...after all No company of any significance can ever be built without an IIT/IIM connection..right? ....and also talk about how Mark Zuckerberg or Jan Koum...or Warren Buffet...all of them eat out of their Indian Leaders hands...
I find it kind of funny...how quickly Indian media and business journalists of repute are able to put together so called "India connection" story..the moment any International deal of any significance is announced..while conveniently missing out on a Big issue...Why are we not creating these modern business wonders?
Well creating a USD 100 Bn company (read Facebook) on the Internet...which neither manufactures anything..nor gives any service.. requires something...Vision..
Creating a mobile application...with less than 100 employees...and being able to sell it in 5 years, for USD 19 Bn...means a lot...and certainly requires something...Vision..
So what are we doing...are we comfortable playing second fiddle...i guess so..
And what do we lack?
Engineering/Technology talent?..I think we have plenty...
Creativity...again..we may lack institutional structure to encourage creativity..but talent we have plenty.
Entrepreneurship...ah..there it is ..we certainly lack entrepreneurship culture..but then it is also a function of misplaced social/family values (social stigma with failed business ventures..typical parental middle class dream of son/daughter being a successful engineer/doctor/bureaucrat/academic etc )...and the fact that it emanates from a very weak social security system...Here I am again reminded of ..WhatsApp and Jan Koum..how he lived through state allowance for his mom and himself...What are the chances that Jan Koum would have called it quits if he was born in India and faced such survival crisis?...I will say pretty strong.. I am sure in Indian context, faced with such survival crisis he would have settled himself in a 9-6 job..How else could he have fed himself and his mother?... By that analogy i think..lot of Indian talent must be getting wasted playing second fiddle..may be third..fourth too...as you read this...
Vision...so back to where I started from..Vision is certainly not about working by the day..or month..or Year..in most cases, first casualty of sticking to your Vision is, short term results...with Indian Corporates and Managers aggressively chasing elusive Quarterly numbers, Vision is bound to be compromised..
I also find it quite amazing that how our entire business eco system is designed to reward short term results..
So you have most business managers jumping all over with latest Quarterly/Yearly results, claiming it to be a result of their grand strategy (of course only if it is better than last quarter/year....)...and often showing it off to prove how they have been better than their predecessor...i dare say, seldom, means to achieve those superlative short term results could be at the cost of long term interest of the organization. But who is watching?
It is indeed no rocket science to figure out what we need..A solid business idea..a sound business model to implement the idea..Hiring right people to execute...and faith that you have done earlier 3 steps right... then lots of Patience...patience from investors/shareholders...patience from Leaders...
Acclaimed Historian and writer Ramachandra Guha in his book "Makers of Modern India" explains his rational for exclusion/inclusion in the coveted list of individuals who shaped the Indian Republic. He makes an interesting distinction between "Pure Intellectuals", those who wrote and spoke but did not, in a meaningful social sense, act And "Pure Activists" those who were men of action but may not have been much of a thinker...so, he argues to exclude both categories and include Only "Thinker-Activist".
I am wondering if we could apply this criteria on business leaders...Leaders who are thinkers (Visionary) and also men of action...Thinker-Activist Business Leaders so to say...
So are these people creating modern day businesses such as Steve Jobs...Jan Koum...examples of Thinker-Activist leadership? ...Goes without saying success depends on so many more variables..but could this be the key which differentiates Men from Boys of the corporate world...?
Time to leave you thinking while I put aside my Thinking cap and switch on my Action mode...After all its Sunday..and I have so many household chores to take care of... :)
And when I say Managers/Leaders...I mean right upto CEO/Chairman....
A daily wage earner earns by the day..hence lives.. and most importantly works...by the day..so we know, he doesn't have to worry about grand plans..big picture...vision...Well in case of corporate types..we may not be earning by the day...but work by the day? ..well may not be...But by the month...???....ah some certainly...may be in certain roles..industries...companies...Not All roles/industries/companies of course....
Work by the Quarter??? ....well certainly, you can now have a sizable number of roles/industries/companies....
Work by the Year???....grins..ear to ear...do we have almost all roles/industries/companies now? ...
So live by the day..earn by the month (also partly year..bonuses etc..)..and work by the Year..This is it..
Before I start inviting frowns..angry reactions...let me set the context..
Why do you think "WhatsApp is an American baby" and not an Indian? Google anyone? Facebook? ...ok Apple? ...how can i miss Apple...Steve Jobs devotee that I am known to be...
Well now start jumping on your seats...and dig out every little Indian connection, these mighty companies might have...talk about, how their top team is all Indian..IIM/IIT of course...after all No company of any significance can ever be built without an IIT/IIM connection..right? ....and also talk about how Mark Zuckerberg or Jan Koum...or Warren Buffet...all of them eat out of their Indian Leaders hands...
I find it kind of funny...how quickly Indian media and business journalists of repute are able to put together so called "India connection" story..the moment any International deal of any significance is announced..while conveniently missing out on a Big issue...Why are we not creating these modern business wonders?
Well creating a USD 100 Bn company (read Facebook) on the Internet...which neither manufactures anything..nor gives any service.. requires something...Vision..
Creating a mobile application...with less than 100 employees...and being able to sell it in 5 years, for USD 19 Bn...means a lot...and certainly requires something...Vision..
So what are we doing...are we comfortable playing second fiddle...i guess so..
And what do we lack?
Engineering/Technology talent?..I think we have plenty...
Creativity...again..we may lack institutional structure to encourage creativity..but talent we have plenty.
Entrepreneurship...ah..there it is ..we certainly lack entrepreneurship culture..but then it is also a function of misplaced social/family values (social stigma with failed business ventures..typical parental middle class dream of son/daughter being a successful engineer/doctor/bureaucrat/academic etc )...and the fact that it emanates from a very weak social security system...Here I am again reminded of ..WhatsApp and Jan Koum..how he lived through state allowance for his mom and himself...What are the chances that Jan Koum would have called it quits if he was born in India and faced such survival crisis?...I will say pretty strong.. I am sure in Indian context, faced with such survival crisis he would have settled himself in a 9-6 job..How else could he have fed himself and his mother?... By that analogy i think..lot of Indian talent must be getting wasted playing second fiddle..may be third..fourth too...as you read this...
Vision...so back to where I started from..Vision is certainly not about working by the day..or month..or Year..in most cases, first casualty of sticking to your Vision is, short term results...with Indian Corporates and Managers aggressively chasing elusive Quarterly numbers, Vision is bound to be compromised..
I also find it quite amazing that how our entire business eco system is designed to reward short term results..
So you have most business managers jumping all over with latest Quarterly/Yearly results, claiming it to be a result of their grand strategy (of course only if it is better than last quarter/year....)...and often showing it off to prove how they have been better than their predecessor...i dare say, seldom, means to achieve those superlative short term results could be at the cost of long term interest of the organization. But who is watching?
It is indeed no rocket science to figure out what we need..A solid business idea..a sound business model to implement the idea..Hiring right people to execute...and faith that you have done earlier 3 steps right... then lots of Patience...patience from investors/shareholders...patience from Leaders...
Acclaimed Historian and writer Ramachandra Guha in his book "Makers of Modern India" explains his rational for exclusion/inclusion in the coveted list of individuals who shaped the Indian Republic. He makes an interesting distinction between "Pure Intellectuals", those who wrote and spoke but did not, in a meaningful social sense, act And "Pure Activists" those who were men of action but may not have been much of a thinker...so, he argues to exclude both categories and include Only "Thinker-Activist".
I am wondering if we could apply this criteria on business leaders...Leaders who are thinkers (Visionary) and also men of action...Thinker-Activist Business Leaders so to say...
So are these people creating modern day businesses such as Steve Jobs...Jan Koum...examples of Thinker-Activist leadership? ...Goes without saying success depends on so many more variables..but could this be the key which differentiates Men from Boys of the corporate world...?
Time to leave you thinking while I put aside my Thinking cap and switch on my Action mode...After all its Sunday..and I have so many household chores to take care of... :)
