It’s apparent by the dozens of ‘mail forwards,’ that happiness is much in demand. The stakes seem to go up by the day with ‘forwards’ stating tangible values as the outcome. Well, who doesn’t want a million, especially when it could come after a few clicks – keying in names from the friend’s list. A new job? It’s not surprising that ‘forwards’ reflecting ‘new jobs’ have been on the rise as the downturn had rendered many jobless. Any mail promising something even remotely close to a job would certainly entice the jobless and hence the rise in such forwards. ‘Forwards’ have become a priority for many - my friends and relatives categorize them as important, urgent etc. They can’t be blamed. When you’re in a sticky wicket – you tend to reach out to even the most impertinent of stuffs. And, when there’s a tinge of a intimidation in the ‘forward,’ there is desperation and hence it goes to the ‘urgent’ mails. On many occasions I have myself opened ‘forwards’ that blaringly stated – ‘if you don’t forward this to 10 friends in the next 10 seconds, your boss will call you aside to share a bad news.’ Do I take a chance?

These days I ignore most of the forwards and try to stay focused on what I want. It’s a lesson I learnt from a friend who was desperate to get clients for his new consulting business. He went through a rough patch especially in the first few months when the recession set in. However, his undying passion and perseverance in following up with prospective clients; long wait at several coffee shops across the town clearly reflected a promising future for the business. He is now a jet-setting consultant but still trying to push clients for the next appointment. When asked the secret of his success and that too in a short time, he said, ‘what you focus is what you get?’ That for me was a powerful statement with multiple connotations. Ever since that day, it was easy for me to overlook enticing mails – be it job offers or a million for just forwarding.

Coming back to the forwards reflecting happiness – if one is genuinely focused on creating happiness to 10 others – am certain it’s just a call away or worse a personalized e-mail away. Remember the days when we were deprived of such instant communication tools, the days when we wrote long letters to friends? We were always trying to establish a connect, which would provide an emotional high, right? Why can’t we recreate such ‘happiness’ with instant communication tools? Every time I call my Mom, she says don’t forget to call on Sunday evening thinking that am busy and can set aside time only on Sundays for her. Well, these days I call her at least twice a week. One interesting change has been the change in the structure of our relationship network – from a two-way, expectation-free network, our relationship is turning out to be unidirectional and purely driven by profit motives. It is so because one ‘expects’ something back from the relationship being established. The moment one ‘expects’ something from a relationship, there will arise a critical yardstick called satisfaction. Knowingly or unknowingly one prioritizes activities to carry on the relationship, based on the ‘expectation’ and the ‘satisfaction’ derived from the same. Happiness is thus only a possible outcome.

As the authors of The Go Giver says, When you base your relationships – in business or anywhere else in your life – on who owes who what, that’s not being a friend. That’s being a creditor. The authors further state that “Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.” For me, it’s all about being invested in people, it’s all about ensuring the person next to me is happy.

Value Add

India has been witness to organizational transformations and business model innovations. Pepsi, the beverages major says that it will tailor the company’ global model to suit Indian markets. IBM, has been stressing its unique approach to India by ‘lowering its center of gravity.’ As companies rev up to emerge successfully on the other side of the down-turn, many seem to be changing their business models while trying to be as close as possible to where the action takes place – the market. More and more of these organizations are scampering towards reviewing their own values and culture while simultaneously attempting to adapt to the dynamic local markets, India for instance. It is obvious that only those organizations that are nimble and flexible will thrive as they experience unusual and challenging market scenarios. How can a successful company operating in a mature market in the US and replicate the same operating model in a remote village in India? The answer to this lies in the success of shampoo sachets introduced in villages across India by a small firm in Chennai, India. The company, through this initiative changed the existing landscape for shampoos.

How did CavinKare disrupt the market with shampoo sachets? Simple, it understood the market better than the gorillas of the industry. Its employees gave an insight that transformed the company’s fortune. As organizations transform their business model, it is imperative for the employees to change their working model as well. What are the necessary competencies required for the future? Well, the obvious answer would be deep domain expertise that ensure the power to leverage insight as well as foresight. Take the example of IBM. The company leveraged its global ‘Steel expertise’ to develop a template that can be put to use in markets when the demand picks up. It had the foresight that Indian steel manufacturers would adopt the template two years before they actually did. However, it’s common knowledge that there is a dearth for such specialists. Even if they’re available, it’s at a premium.

Such specialists come with unmatched and unbridled passion that organizations find it tough aligning them to their culture. What is the solution? One way to overcome this would be to let employees work part-time – allow them to undertake whatever they are passionate about for the rest of the time. Organizations can align their business goals with employee’s personal goals and derive utmost benefit. There should of course be some alignment of objectives. For instance, a journalist who would like to focus on the NGO’s can possibly pass on intelligence in leveraging the NGO’s for building a targeted information network.

A finance executive who passionately believed in contributing to the society relinquished her plum job to focus on mobilizing funds for a school for the under privileged. Her firm later allowed her to follow her dream but engaged her with the company on a part-time basis. While she could network with the firm’s clients for funds towards the under-privileged, the firm benefitted from her expertise and also the NGO’s client base. As organizations re-visit their values and culture, employees should do the same. It’s time to follow the heart. The finance executive re-joined the firm because she knew the association would be mutually beneficial and that her expertise in the firm could uplift a part of the society.

As Rosabeth Moss Kanter writes, People search more broadly, see more opportunities, and generate more ideas if they are encouraged to think about the world and not just about their function. If they look closely at society, not just as a market abstraction but as a collection of fellow humans with needs worthy of attention, they see that there is always room for improvement. "Better" is always a moving target. When people feel their ideas will contribute to serving society, beyond the quest for revenues and profits, there is an additional motivational boost to focus on new solutions, not just pushing more of what they already know. They care about solving the problem because it is connected with their values, and they are willing to keep working until the problem is solved, not just until they have a product to throw over the transom.

Network now.

Three months back I met Mosses, a friend who lost his job due to the downturn. It was a surprise why he lost his job. After all, two weeks before our meeting, he was regarded as a key performer, someone integral to the organization's long term plans. Alas, a day can bring in unforeseen and dramatic changes. Mosses was aghast but guess what - it lasted just for a day. He leveraged his expansive network spanning various social networks to seek another permanent job. The response according to him was overwhelming.He was in fact finding it tough to say no to many of them.

Well, the point is that we have come a long way since the days of inland letters, trunk calls and even emails. It just takes a few clicks to activate ones 'network.' More importantly, it is simpler, cost effective and real time. It can be customized to individual needs - one way networking, two ways or multiple ways. In essence, the network can be leveraged to suit ones intended benefits - a reason why Networking hitherto restricted to the extroverts has many takers today. It's kiddish says a successful senior executive, while discussing benefits of the ubiquitous social network. That's when I take the example of Mosses who could seamlessly transition to a new job because of his network. Competition is implausible irrespective of the field, and the market one is in. What one is today need not necessarily remain so. Remember, there is a need to develop a competitive advantage for self more than ever. While firms big and small communicate their competitive differentiators for garnering market share, why not individuals? The task has in fact become imperative. The power of networking help individuals to strongly communicate their differentiators.

Variety is the spice of life

Dad put in over 20 years at Tata Tea and when he finally managed to pull himself out of the comfort zone, he felt he missed out on a lot of learning, which could have been assimilated from outside. Ever since that conversation, I've been in pursuit of variety - for want of better exposure. When companies seek diversity to foster creative thinking, why can't employees adopt the same strategy - i.e, seek diverse employers to accumulate 'best practices'? Nothing wrong, I would say, if one has a sound objective while pursuing variety.A friend of mine recently decided to move on from an MNC consultancy after putting in two years.His chat with me clearly pointed out something significant - in work, as in love, one has to follow his/her heart. As mentioned in my earlier posts, it's important to focus on what matters most as a person. It enables one derive utmost satisfaction from a value perspective - monetarily and otherwise. Why? As one spends time pursuing personal goals that are closely aligned with professional ones, leveraging capabilities inherent or assimilated, one feels that the time is being spent intelligently. In my friend's case - his focus was on social media, his personal interest lie in the same and so does his capabilities.

There are couple of points that one could introspect on:

a. Brand equity - Is brand equity of an employer a priority? There is a phase in ones career, when big labels make a difference. Learning here might not be substantial but from a career perspective - it provides the necessary impetus.

b. Nature of job - There are people who are driven by freedom to do what they want, something intellectually stimulates drives them, challenge is a stimulant. What matters is doing what interests them with enough autonomy. Place of work is not a priority.

c. Security - These are people who have learnt to adapt to a particular atmosphere, developed an ecosystem with people that time and again repose faith in them. They grow at their own pace with the belief that growth is rapid and in synch with industry. These are typically those in PSUs and old economy companies. They hate job hopping and hoppers.

d. Rewards - With increasing peer pressure, there are people who jump in search of monetary rewards. Serious employers will be skeptical in hiring these folks as their CV resembles that of a 'pole vaulter.'

As for me, am continuously in search of challenges that will enable me assimilate 'best practices.'

Can anyone manage time?

Time is very subjective. For instance, a working professional is constantly chasing a deadline – that’s time for him. A house wife is waiting for the next episode of a serial – the wait is time for her. For a kid – time is always revolving around games. Everyone wants time. But for what? Everyone wants time to do what they want and be satisfied. ‘Oh! I have absolutely no time’ is a common expression, isn’t it? What are they actually complaining of? Did ‘time’ decide to give them a slip? Or, was it a mismanagement of activities? We all know time waits for no one - yet time is always the villain.

My son is supposed to watch television in the morning only when he finish his breakfast. However, by the time he manages to gulp everything down, it is time for school. You can imagine the cacophony one has to undergo, when a four year old misses his favourite ‘Looney tunes’ show. Well, there is no point discussing ‘time management’ with him but just urge him to focus on what he’s doing and finish it faster. Chew the food faster and refrain from pestering his kid sister, for instance. The point here is no one can manage time but everyone can manage the activities, tasks they undertake. Does it mean one has to multi-task and be efficient in doing it? Not really. One will be giving too little attention to too many things while multi tasking and more importantly - fail to do anything well. Like how my son missed his favourite show.

Time is subjective and is measured mostly in terms of satisfaction. A working professional will be satisfied only when his tasks for the day is complete – and to his satisfaction. What one should hence do to ‘manage time’ and to generate satisfaction is to identify the tasks that will create the most value and focus on those. By prioritizing value over the number of tasks; focusing on the things that really matter, one will increase the quality of work and obviously the value one extend. Am worried my son will find more value in watching television than the breakfast he is served.

Remember, time = satisfaction. No wonder then it’s said that a busy person is one who finds time for everything.

'Uncertain' lessons

I’ve been a victim of uncertain times. And, as a person notorious for snap decisions – my social medium is filled with posts reflecting uncertainty. It’s after all an established phenomenon that when the future is uncertain, functioning in the present becomes challenging. Obviously, I need to vent my frustration somehow. The good thing is that my network has friends who understand my situation and instill confidence. Then there is this quest towards optimism that enables me to assimilate positive thoughts. The last couple of days have been continuous learning despite the overwhelming negativity.

So, here’s the learning. According to ‘Human Motivation,’ a book by David McClelland, a Harvard psychology professor, Everyone is driven by three things – a) achievement (the desire to compete against increasingly challenging goals), b) affiliation (the desire to be liked/loved) and c) Power - the desire for influence and respect for yourself and the desire to empower others; to offer them influence and respect. The author states that people will remain motivated and engaged if they have the opportunity to do the above.

So, what am I doing? Am trying my best to engage myself with whatever work I have, get connected and try and influence those who need to be…From an organization perspective, employers should realize that people become political when uncertainty spreads, which could be unfavourable especially during challenging times.

Office is my home, err...is it?

It was one of those usual conversations between colleagues in the office but it raised questions about triggering assumptions based on earlier conversations and then ultimately leading to distrust amongst employees. While the parties sat together to try and resolve the matter, I made a gentle exit with the thought that it was just a case of social interactions getting complex. A little later, an ex-colleague called to say that he is throwing in the towel at his present job. He feels insecurity is ruling over everyday tasks. There is no word of appreciation, absolutely no care from his employer. Undoubtedly, he despises the very thought of heading for work, I could surmise. Yet another casualty of the downturn – how could I help him? Thought, I should spend some time to get more clarity on the situation, I reached out to him.

My doubts were proven right. While my friend was expecting the organization to cheer him up even when the going was extremely tough, he seemed to have been left to fend on his own. With the employee spending close to 12 hours in office, it is but natural to expect ‘care’ from his employer. A quick look at news reports generated in the recent past indicate that organizations are increasingly focusing on growth at the expense of employees instrumental in driving this growth. As someone said, human brain is a social organ. Its physiological and neurological reactions are directly and profoundly shaped by social interactions. A challenge at a professional level might evoke the same response as a challenge at the personal level as the distinction is blurring today.

According to a research done at University of California at Los Angeles, it was found that although a job is often regarded as a purely economic transaction, in which people exchange their labor for financial compensation, the brain experiences the workplace first and foremost as a social system. When people feel betrayed or unrecognized at work — for example, when they are reprimanded, given an assignment that seems unworthy, or told to take a pay cut — they experience it as a neural impulse, as powerful and painful as a blow to the head. Most people who work in companies learn to rationalize or temper their reactions; they “suck it up,” as the common parlance puts it. But they also limit their commitment and engagement. They become purely transactional employees, reluctant to give more of themselves to the company, because the social context stands in their way.

On the other hand when leaders take initiatives to understand their people, make them feel good, clearly communicate what’s expected from employees, give latitude to make decisions, support people’s efforts to build good relationships, and treat the whole organization fairly, it prompts a reward response. Others in the organization become more effective, more open to ideas, and more creative. They notice the kind of information that passes them by when fear or resentment makes it difficult to focus their attention. They are less susceptible to burnout because they are able to manage their stress. They feel intrinsically rewarded.

An organization is today more like an employee’s home where he fosters certainty, each and everyone is treated fairly, caring is a given, and where freedom is not a choice. Every leader or employer should keep in mind that ‘home is where the heart is.’ Where is your employees heart?

What’s common between Ford’s Model T and India’s IT service companies?

US - Henry Ford's 1908 Model T—the first mass-produced and affordable car—sparked the growth of highways, suburbs, and the middle class. Ripples from the Model T were enormous. With the cars came a nation that traveled more than ever before, that moved away from home that built an elaborate road system. The Model T also ended up spurring the growth of America's middle class. Since assembly line work was so tedious, Ford found it impossible to keep workers. So he boosted wages to at least $5 a day--significantly higher than what other manufacturing workers were making at the time.

India - IT services, outsourced by US companies, triggers development. The proliferation of IT and BPO companies empowered thousands of youngsters with substantial amount of disposable income. The burgeoning IT services industry simultaneous improved complementary sectors like travel and transport, real-estate, catering etc. With demand for job-ready technical professionals outstripping supply, wages of Indian IT professionals goes up significantly. It's hard to find any other piece of technology that had a greater impact than Model T Fords did in the 20th century. In their own way, they helped promote the growth of suburbs, distant shopping centers, freeways. It's hard to imagine now how they changed people's lives. It's quite common to hear parents of software engineers in India state something similar.

The Model T, which had only been made in black (suited for a speedy assembly line) since 1914, was eventually offered in other colors, but it was too late. In 1927, Ford stopped producing them. Late 2007 witnessed watershed events in IT outsourcing with US subprime. Continued focus and reliance on US companies for outsourcing projects has dented IT companies in India with several layoffs and conservative forecast of revenue guidance.

Ford may have dreamed up the first car for the masses, but he didn't realize that he had also created a new, more demanding consumer who would soon be searching for the next model and the newest look. Ford's biggest competitors, General Motors and Chrysler, adapted his revolutionary production methods, but they went a step further and began offering new styles, colors, and features. American companies like Accenture, IBM, HP etc are replicating India's outsourcing model but at a scale that's beyond cost arbitrage and relying more on intellectual arbitrage being leveraged across the world.

The Bridge that connects globalization and localization

The IT-led globalization, which has been propelling India's growth, has certainly taken a beating owing to recession in US. Did we see it coming? Of course we did. How do we get out of the rut then? Well, before we actually delve into possible solutions for future course, let's see how we benefited from the onset of IT-led globalization? At the outset, the low-wage workers entered the global economy -- initially through their involvement in export production and eventually evolving as a new class of consumers.  Secondly, the proposition benefited rich nations of the developed world -- where consumers expanded their standard of living by buying low-cost, high-quality goods from poor countries and where workers were to gain from being involved in the production of more sophisticated products exported to increasingly prosperous developing economies. 

The first benefit is hard to dispute. India's standard of living, for example, has more than doubled during the past 15 years. The problem is with the second benefit. A sense of economic insecurity is creeping rapidly up the occupational hierarchy -- from software programmers and engineers to medical and legal professionals -- a palpable sense of shock is spreading rapidly into the knowledge-worker occupations that have long been shielded from economic adversity. This loss of confidence in the second benefit of globalization has led countries to swing from the theoretical promises of globalization to the self-interest of individual countries -- in essence, "localization."

What India is witnessing today is perhaps a result of the onslaught of localization. Wages could go up and corporate profits could come under pressure.  Moreover, localization could also spell heightened risks of protectionism -- especially if the global economy slows and unemployment starts to rise. In this scenario, localization could ultimately give rise to accelerating inflation, higher interest rates, greater volatility in financial market etc.  And, of course, the protectionist ramifications of localization could prove equally challenging for the beneficiaries of globalization's first win -- dynamic new companies in the developing world and the employment growth they generate.

No wonder then that we see companies making local announcements on the lines of investing in India for India. With a huge population of youth, India is a promising market and global companies don't want India to slip into a protectionist mode. Consider this, Generic Electric announced its focus on localized medical equipment for India; Philips stressed on localized products for India; IBM said it will lower center of gravity in India. An increasing number of companies are focusing on responding to local needs, languages and cultures to deliver variety of high quality goods and services, thus offering consumers more choices and better quality. For these companies, localization is not an option, it is an imperative. An examination of the revenues of just 2006 Global Fortune 500 companies that is known to be actively localizing their products or services yields annual total revenues of approximately $5.9 trillion (with profits of $365 billion).

Huh! So, what is in store for us? For starters, the phenomenon opens a window of opportunity for India as a country. As a leading CEO of a global PR consultancy puts it, transnationals need to make their brands relevant in ways that are faithful to the core attributes of the brand, yet flexible enough to accommodate diverse trading patterns, differing consumer tastes and behavior, and a variety of businesses, media and political cultures. The real challenge for PR is to help organizations bridge that which is global and that which is local. Unfortunately, there is no magic template for doing this. What there is, instead, is a steadily growing body of wisdom that comes from doing it, day in and day out, in numerous markets around the world.

People like us have been involved in doing such things day in and day out and the potential for us is enormous. Let's work towards building more bridges…

Digitization and globalization

When I see the world from a technology perspective - am tempted to ask - is globalization a result of digitization? Well, that's not really what I would want to write about though as am sure several management luminaries would have shed enough light on the same. Not many organizations have an innovation DNA and not many of us have the adaptability DNA. And, this has become an imperative in today's digitized, globalized world. An increasing number of organizations are focusing on faster-innovation-to-market so as to generate competitive advantage. And, as these organizations propel themselves forward, employees unable to adapt to the changing landscape are left behind. What's also true is that in most cases it's the key resources that would be left behind leading to what management experts call reverse salient. It's upon the employees and more importantly the organizations to seamlessly move together. If any one fails, the growth of the organization would be at the expense of losing key resources that provide ammunition at regular intervals – like a rocket launch.

India win T20; enable globalization of cricket

Pakistan was on the verge of a sensational victory and Misbah-Ul-Haq, an unlikely hero. Alas, he didn't know there is a malayali in every corner of the world. The T20 tournament couldn't have been better what with the grand finale seeing two arch rivals battling it out in and out of the field. The brief version is set to take on the cricketing world by storm with a slew of leagues on the anvil. The first of its tournament had all the necessary embellishments - dance, music and masti. Countries vying to host the next one will certainly include more add-ons, package it effectively for a wider audience including non-cricket playing nations as well. After all, T20 is set to feature in Olympics.

Towards better valuation

"Whether a brand identity lasts or not, what we relentlessly pursue is better valuation" - statement from a brand definer, which when tweaked up a little made relevance to the human endeavor - quest for prominence. Guess, it has a lot to do with the increasingly flatenning world. The result of such an endeavor slowly unravelled when I flipped through the Business Standard today. India Inc gained momentum in M&As - signing two deals a day on an average. A whopping 62 M&A deals valued at $3.37 bn were announced in August, against 59 deals worth about $0.94 bn in July, according to data compiled by Grant Thornton. Well, a collective effort of a nation towards development, pursuing better valuation.

Cut to the FMCG sector in India. AC Nielsen has identified 24 categories in the personal grooming space growing at a rapid pace. The 'feel good' category, which include perfumes, body washes, perfumes, after shave lotion is experiencing high double digit growth. Companies like HUL, Dabur and Marico are making a killing with young Indians increasingly investing in looking good. With the competition in every field increasing, unique differentiator is an imperative. While organizations in India are pursuing competitive differentiators, even individuals are working towards the same - a distinct fragrance, to begin with.

Step up PR efforts for India

India's image building exercise seem to be not as far reaching as it should be with the enormous success the country has had in offshoring of IT Services. People from Spain, France, Italy and Denmark thought India topped the list of poor countries whereas Sigaporeans and Japanese perceived India as a modern nation, high on development and technology. This is according to a study by Synovate, an international research agency. Interestingly the study doesn't feature perception from America or for that matter England. Well, these are markets where Indian companies have made a mark when it comes to visibility. With competition increasingly becoming intense in US and UK, companies are slowly developing marketing strategies for other markets that include Spain, Italy and France - all developed nations. Hopefully, the perception will change remarkably in the days to come when the manufacturing and IT firms from India spread their presence.

It would also be interesting to delve into the respondents profile of this particular survey. Any business savvy profesional or for that matter anyone aspiring to be succesful in this increasingly flat world will know the potential about India and its promise. The positive take away is that there are two brands (if I may call them so) strongly associated with India - The Taj and Mahathma Gandhi. India could leverage the success of these two brands to build its image across the world.

Threat of backward integration

Ras Weigner is a happy man today. Bangalored two years back, Weigner clawed back into the IT world with the conviction of ousting offshore outsourcers. The 29 year old has now equipped himself with a business degree to supplement his IT skills and 5 years of experience. An analyst with the IT department of a large corporation, Weigner’s task is to offset the onslaught of offshore workers, especially their move beyond the IT department.

Weigner might be a sole warrior but he is certainly masterminding a disruption. The information technology industry is set to witness watershed events in the near future. As in every industry, disruption will shake up the hitherto stable and continuously growing phenomenon, offshore outsourcing. With the vast majority of companies involved in offshoring focused on initiatives primarily aimed at sustaining current business, mostly by venturing into new niches and markets, the impending threat of backward integration from the customer is overlooked.

A recent report in CIO.com stated a non-profit organization, involved in sending work offshore, now gearing up to compete with Indian offshorers in all spheres viz., cost, efficiency, responsiveness, productivity and quality. The said organization is reportedly targeting a CMMI level certification, which will enable it to showcase clearly the quality, responsiveness and productivity of the in-house IT department to the business heads, thereby offering enough parameters for comparisons with offshore outsourcers. What have they done? A project management team to coordinate all midsize and large development projects to improve on-time performance plus an architecture group to standardize systems and applications to reduce costs and increase productivity. In short, all that an offshore outsourcing firm offers.

Businesses are now more aware of offshoring and its impact. With the market perhaps at a certain level of maturity, companies are emphasizing on managing outcomes than managing operations, they are stressing on realizing business value than cost. Makes perfect sense for IT professionals in India – well, who doesn’t want to move up the value chain? With IT getting closer to the business person (than the CIO/CTO), the need for professionals with business and technology acumen is increasingly becoming an imperative. And, a large chunk of the work will have to be executed onsite for want of thorough market knowledge and understanding of business processes. While the Indian companies are initiating this transition by leveraging the now established coding skills and entrenched relationship with customers, the CIOs on the other side are fortifying their department to compete with the offshorers.


CIOs are nurturing a new breed of programmers. These are teams proficient in dexterously troubleshooting information related inefficiencies in order to enable senior managers to substitute automated monitoring for direct control. Usually, such jobs are not outsourced and even if it is, IT department has the competitive advantage over outsourcers on costs (assuming work’s done by a local person onsite because the nature of work is such), know-how (how does it work internally? Consultants rarely know) and motivation (the passion to go the extra mile is absent).

By creating a set of standard methodologies across the organization to increase productivity, enhance delivery times and to improve quality coupled with a team equipped with analysis, design and collaboration capabilities, the CIOs have begun a new game. Reduced to mere implementers of air-tight projects, offshorers are precariously positioned and gradually will be gobbled up by organizations outsourcing.

Well, it isn’t cricket in the US anymore. Offshorers better learn baseball and American Football.

Basic Instinct

Kevin Pett strolled into one of the busiest malls in Bangalore with a two fold objective. One, to buy a sherwani for the impending wedding of his sister-in-law, and two, to check out "god's creative marvels" that's loitering the mall. Turning to his left once inside the mall, he followed his instincts to check the "creative marvels." His brain knew his quest for the beautiful creatures and constantly send signals to his body to turn at the right places and park itself wherever appropriate - like retrieving right information from the right server at the right time. Information on Demand, in short. Well, when it came to spotting, sieving and savouring the beauties, all Kevin had to do was follow the signals emitted by the brain.

What if the shop selling Sherwani knew Kevin's taste or his instincts? Intriguing, it may sound, but it's possible now. With an integrated supply chain they can get really early indications of consumer trends. They can do real-time trend analysis, data analysis on what customers are shopping for. The analysis gives them up-to-the-minute insight into buying trends. For instance, it can discover people's color preferences for clothes earlier than it could by just looking at data from a few specific stores. Consumers' buying behaviors over all the stores are tracked in real time, and the data is analyzed to predict future trends. In essence, the store can deliver what Kevin want before he knew he wanted it.

Reverse Salient to impede India’s progress in IT

Reverse Salient to impede India’s progress in IT

IT’s happening

Post the opening of its markets several years ago, India has progressed from being an outsourcing destination with a business model primarily based on cheap labour to one based on intellectual arbitrage. Along with the burgeoning IT outsourcing market came the rapid strides of development in telecom, healthcare, education and manufacturing. Today, India isn’t just about cheap coders; it is an integral part of the global supply chains. While the IT Services sector has been expanding its footprints at a scorching pace, it has also caused a ripple effect of growth in other sectors as well leading to the emergence of a consumer class that is larger than the total population of US. The substantial investments pouring into the country towards various sectors reflect how bullish the world market is towards India.
Sustaining the growth
Milestone growth in FDI inflows during 2006-07. As of April-October, FDI flows touched $6.1 billion compared to $2.6 billion during the first eight months of the previous fiscal.The days have been bright hitherto. However, the unprecedented and unmatched growth seems to have overtaken India’s developmental process. India, as several reports suggests is bursting in its seams as issues pertaining to infrastructure and availability of quality human resources increase by the day. There was a time, in the distant past, when development took simple forms – tractors replacing bullock-carts, mobile phones reaching more people than land phones, cable television over satellite, e-mails gaining prominence etc. But development gets more complicated as it advances. The simple forms become more elaborate, and they begin to merge into ever more complex systems. Today, a lot of the developments undertaken form components of such large and complex systems, and its success can hinge as much on other components of the systems as on their own specific developmental qualities.Today, it has become imperative to not only understand the systems but develop foresight on how they're likely to evolve and how such an evolution can be leveraged to gain advantage.
Well, it is certainly difficult to develop foresight. However, the concept of “reverse salient,” can be effectively put to use to understand developments, the various components forming the developmental process, the larger ecosystem under which the development takes place and the repercussions of the ecosystem formation. The concept of “reverse salient,” is borrowed from military jargon, where it refers to a section of an advancing force that falls behind the front and hence slows the progress of the attack. All developments evolve in a similar fashion with advancement hampered by reverse salient that occurs in the developmental process, some components of it or in the larger ecosystem.

Losing Edge

The proliferation of tier II and tier III IT companies in India have resulted in IT Services/ offshoring getting commoditized. With cost undercutting prevalent, Tier I IT companies are required to play the game differently and in came the strategy of scale-game. Companies are now ramping up operations by thousands of employees per week. Is India game for this? Well, a sneak-peek at the attrition levels of Tier I players reflect that all’s not well. The reverse salient here is that in a scale game, knowledge inventorying is overlooked, which will cost the company dear. With intellectual capital forming an integral part of any IT services company, retention of employees is a necessity as it enables institutionalizing processes, skills and knowledge. Hence, until and unless a company has a robust employee retention strategy in place, it is better to refrain from scaling up. Why not play the specialist?
The total direct employment in the Indian IT-ITES sector is estimated to have grown by over a million, from 284,000 in FY 1999-2000 to a projected 1,287,000 in the current fiscal (2005-06)

In addition to the nearly 1.3 million-strong workforce employed directly in the industry, Indian IT-ITES is estimated to have helped create an additional 3 million job opportunities through indirect and induced employment. Indirect employment includes expenditure on vendors including telecom, power, construction, facility management, IT, transportation, catering and other services. Induced employment is driven by consumption expenditure of employees on food, clothing, utilities, recreation, health and other services.
There’s perhaps only one resource that can beat the rising oil price – an Indian engineering graduate. India produces about 3 million students from its universities each year. According to a survey by National Association of Software and Service Companies, about 25 percent of them are engineering graduates. The number seems to be not enough, at least in terms of quality. The available quality resources come at a premium and their wage increase is creating waves not just in India but across the world. Last year, according to the Global Salary Planning Report, Indian wages grew more than and other Asia-Pacific country - by 13.5%. In the IT sector wages grew by almost 20%.The advantage of cost arbitrage suddenly seems to be diminishing. Another case of reverse salient. Having witnessed enormous growth in outsourcing, shouldn’t the country have had a team ensuring seamless growth by building a robust IT ecosystem? The reverse salient here is not only unavailability of quality engineers but number of engineers to cater to the IT industry’s requirements. A report by Nasscom-McKinsey suggests that India could come up short in the global outsourcing industry by about 500,000 professionals before 2010.
With the IT outsourcing market increasingly getting commoditized, feverish campaigning is on with Indian IT majors harping on “India Moving Up the Value Chain.” This will imply the need for Indian companies to “innovate” and develop software products. Does India produce graduates who can work on innovative software products? The answer is no. Out of the 350,000 engineers spewed annually by various colleges, less than 25% are employable in IT services companies. Software product development requires intensive research, understanding of the market place and a mind that is tuned to continuous innovation and unfortunately Indian engineering graduates does not measure up to that challenge. The need to nurture talent that can innovate is the reverse salient here.

Intellectual Arbitrage

That’s the new mantra today, a transition from labour/cost arbitrage to Intellectual Arbitrage. The idea is to focus on the numerator part of businesses and not restrict offerings based on denominator. One needs to be capable to change the mindset of existing/prospective clients from “lower price” mentality to “better/efficient outcome at the same price.” Vertical knowledge coupled with horizontal know-how is essential to take such a proposition forward? Can Indians do it? Well, revisiting the reverse salients and ensuring proper investment to get rid of such salients could enable India to change the battle ground where Intellectual Arbitrage will be the decisive factor.

Shift from newspapers to TV

Deccan Herald in its edit page carried an insightful article on "The Fourth World" links. According to NRS 2006, the country's 230 million TV viewers (in 112 m TV homes) now exceed its 203.6 million newspaper readers, while the number of cinema-goers has declined from 51 million to 39 million a month. FM radio listeners now total 119 million. Indian language newspaper readership is fast growing, especially in the Hindi belt, while the comparable figure for English dailies has been stagnating around 21 million.

For me the figures reflect an unhealthy development. Why is TV viewership increasing? Does it reflect lack of investment of time in reading or is it the advancement of technology so much so that news is better viewed than read? Quite startling is the fact that readership of english dailies has been stagnating, which makes me even more skeptical about the declining reading habits.Worse, what happens when an increasing number of people shift to news on the move? Imagine the complexity of controlling messages being disseminated...

World Cup 2006

It has been over 2 weeks since Italy trounced France in the final of World Cup 2006, yet there is so much being written about it as if the greatest sporting event is still on. Well, every event will be remembered for something special. And, if there's anything negative, all the more better for it to be imprinted in ones mind. This world cup final will be remembered forever for Zizous head-butt. And, Zidane will go down memory lane as not only a great player but one who has a fiery temper. Like Mike TYson is remembered for chewing Foreman's ear...

Network Effect

The effect of "networking" is enormous.I have personally experienced the network effect through the modern communication tool - e-mail. What I have observed is that it is effective, participatory or intelligently interactive only if the topic is open and provides room for people to extend their expertise. "What should a company do to ensure effective re-branding?" The topic elicited abundance of thoughts that for a moment I thought the mail box would collapse. Remember, it's a one-line question which attracts response that gradually evolves into a 1 page document or more. HOwever, a 3 paragraph comment on "business model of IT companies" with 3-4 questions elicited limited response. The fact is that if one can initiate a topic that is simple and interesting, the attention it receives can be leveraged to plant "key messages" discretely to influence the participants. Imagine the power of planting "key messages" in a network run by the Harvard alumni. In the age of personal media, when consumers are increasingly becoming prosumers (producers and consumers), the need for PR professionals to devise intelligent campaigns that effectively influence the right audience is a challenge.

Elections sans PR strategy

The much awaited results are out. And, for a change the exit polls got it right. Yes, Karunanidhi, the 83 year old is at it, yet again. What is evident is that people are not really concerned about continuity, which will enable the State to undertake progressive measures effectively. Even more evident is the fact that the ministers aren't bothered about continuity. A sneak peek at the elections over the last couple of years will reflect 'election campaign' sans any direction or focus. What was the theme for AIADMK or DMK for this year? Except for competition bashing, there hasn't been anything concrete to take back for the citizens. With credibility hitting the trough, it has become imperative for the dravidian parties to first, establish credibility among the masses. And, in this light, portraying leadership and their track record should have been a priority. Secondly, conceptualizing a theme which is close to the masses and periodically seeding it within the masses, could be the next step. And, finally, reflecting upon the successes hitherto. The campaign has to have a professional approach, which has been conspicuously absent from the elections. The Jayalalitha government would have realized this by now and hopefully will chalk out a robust strategy to come back to power.