Omkar Pant toyed with the things on his tray, arranging the cutlery, moving the napkins, piling the sugar sachets, humming as he waited for his colleague Shabad Walia to arrive with the warm blueberry bagels. The two were in Singapore to renew a sister brand for the Asian markets for their organisation, Cressenda. Om idly examined the sugar sachet. Turning it over he read the message: Brand X's unsurpassed freshness standards ensure your beans are fresh. In fact, we prefer to donate our coffee to charities than sell any past its prime. So, any opened coffee that hasn't been sold after just seven days in our stores is given away within our communities. Omkar read the words again; and felt dissapointed. In fact, we prefer to donate our coffee to charities than sell any past its prime... Omkar was a marketing man and he knew acts of business were very often at conflict with acts of the soul. Has Brand X (Bx) unwittingly oversold their customer satisfaction effort? Or, are they plain careless?Just then Shabad arrived with the bagels and muffins, and as if a new scene and act had been announced, they set about assembling the coffee and dressing their bagels. Noisily relishing the coffee, Shabad said, "You know, one might say coffee is coffee. But no, man! The Bx experience of warmth, the brown wood ambience and the friendly staff makes the coffee a heady experience here. It's a truth that any product can be replicated, but what you can't replicate is the customer experience." Omkar: What is this thing called customer experience (CE)? Is it just the product and the assured after-sales service? And the before sales anticipation? Where does it lie? Shabad: It's in the brand's body language and conduct — in its behaviour with its stakeholders, communities and competitors. So, for example, we have fair trade coffee — because consumers do not have the time to contribute to society (but want to), and they are happy when someone does it painlessly on their behalf. And they like to support such initiatives. Maybe this ‘social marketing space' will go through the same cycle that a product goes through: thoughts, invention, execution, innovation, waffling...Omkar: (pushing a sugar sachet towards Shabad) So, Bx is already between innovation and waffling, it seems. Read this. Shabad read the text twice over and smiled. "Nobody in the organisation noticed this? Can't be. These are big organisations that hire world-class agencies and copywriters and image managers. Yet again, how can they miss this!" Omkar: You can miss this if you acted with a single-point desire to deliver customer satisfaction, above all else. Shabad: Frankly, nothing wrong with giving away to where there was nothing to begin with. Many restaurants in India give away the day's left over food to orphanages and old-age homes. Think, those people get food instead of hunger... Omkar: Maybe. But they don't advertise it. Read the second sentence: In fact, we prefer to donate our coffee to charities than sell any past its prime. My take is customer obsession was probably the overwhelming emotion that led to this oversight. We are too eager to show our customer care, so much so that the world of people with needs are blurred, and the world of people with wants is upheld. The neglect that a customer will feel if you did not give him fresh is so devastating to you the marketer, that you are even willing to rubbish the beneficiary of your charity. ‘My customer must get the best' is not a desire but a design. CSR seems to stand for: Customer Satisfaction Responsibility instead of Corporate Social Responsibility.Shabad: (Laughing) Advantage socialism! It seems to me, free market capitalism is balancing itself off with a dose of socialism. Unnecessary guilt pangs handled with clumsy hands to build ‘a compassionate public image'. I think good corporate social behaviour should first and foremost respect human sentiments. CSR has not taken roots among most organisations. It is merely the branches that hang from serious CSR initiatives that we are responding to. Omkar: What you say is true. CSR has not taken birth among us. It is a borrowed paradigm and a reflected desire to be seen as a compassionate generation, rich in scarcity and need. We have rich people who want and we have poor people who need, so watch me balance this. Collectively, this expresses as an ill-formed CSR. Where again sheer giving, sheer ‘allowing you to partake but only as much as I will define' is the definition. But who defines what this giving is and how it must be done? Or what this giving comprises? Shabad: I agree. CSR cannot be an initiative, but must be an ethos. Therefore, CSR must arise in the heart and mind, and must seep down to the team. The Bx example is perhaps just one misguided effort, which will soon be corrected. But there must be thousands of such efforts where the idea is not to make a change, but to display the effort towards change. The results are irrelevant. I seriously think they have done this mindlessly, spur of the moment thinking, typical ‘back of the sugar sachet' thinking. Omkar: And what makes it worse is the fact that often this is not even conscious. Yes, organisations will give away to charity what cannot be sold for a price. Upto this, it's fair. But to make capital of that to derive a CE statement rankles! And that is why I feel CSR is not an act; it is a state of being from which emerges a process. It is not about what I give the needy; it is about raising the awareness of the people who work in my organisation. It is recognising that ‘needy' includes those in a state of numb, senseless existence. CSR is not what I do for one handicapped person or community; it is what I do for my entire organisation, which is existing in a state of wrong definitions. That is my point. var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } Yes, our CSR efforts are only about plucking at overhanging branches and not about laying roots. Single acts of charity are mere acts, not linked to a greater internalised ethos. And in the beginning there has to be an ethos.Shabad: Let us take the Bx example a bit further downstream. Suppose they had an opened coffee that is yet not consumed after seven days and they told their customers: "Bx freshness standards ensure that your coffee is brewed from fresh beans. But if the beans are not consumed withing seven days, Bx will voluntarily charge you only 25 per cent of the price for the seven day old coffee. This is part of our commitment to reduce waste, give you value for money and respect food and the environment. And any coffee that is opened and not consumed for more than 30 days we will give away free to our customers. Please ask for the Bx 30+ coffee for it to be served free." Omkar: What you outline requires untold courage, Shabad. Because what it will be doing (if you think in the manner of brand builders) is presenting and offering a lesser brand of coffee to the very same consumer set to whom it had aggressively sold its great 100 per cent coffee experience. Now that is so contradictory, isn't it? This is the reason why when a can of tomato puree gets dented on the conveyor belt in the factory, it is set aside and the errant tin either ‘donated' or sold for less at the employee welfare shop (another poor label). Same reason why a tube of Fair and Lovely with even a tender scratch on its outer carton cannot find place on a shop shelf because it is not speaking the language of perfect beauty anymore. Therefore, how can a coffee parlour have two sections, one where 100 per cent coffee is sold and another where less than 100 per cent coffee is sold, which will cater to a target audience that is not known for wanting 100 per cent? Won't the people who make a bee line for discounted coffee feel ‘less than', alienated? So, the market stands divided: Bx at MRP for the 100 per cent consumer; Bx at 50 per cent for the less than 100 per cent consumer. There we are, back to a class-driven society! Some silence, some bites of the bagels... then Omkar continued: OK, how about Bx has a counter for the "seven-day late experience" and say, "Be our partners in universal growth, buy a cup of full-priced coffee and get a refill at this counter for only 25 per cent of the original value of the coffee. This is part of the Bx commitment to reduce waste, give you value for money, etc. The discounted earnings will be channeled to our work with coffee growers in Cambodia, Ethopia, Kenya, etc. Shabad: This makes sense. Make your consumer be a partner in making a difference. P&G is doing it with Shiksha where a rupee of every sale is channelled to Shiksha. Petroleum companies partner their employees. I like the idea of partnering employees and customers. They ate in peace for a while, when Shabad said: "CSR is taken up due to adequate social pressure built-up within society to redistribute wealth to things (not necessarily people) that make life better. CSR activity is taken up because companies recognise the need to have a heart and a soul so that they are seen as ‘part of society'. And come to think of it, this could account for why sometimes, as in the case of Bx, the script lacks conviction. Because it is yet felt as a need, not as a want. Omkar: But in India, CSR is an imported attitude. We see best practices trumpeted in global organisations, and we want to hitch on to the same bandwagon. That we are yet unhitched causes a certain alienation, in the midst of MNCs who make lofty statements. So, maybe not guilt, which would be desirable, but all this. Then again we cannot forget the sincere attempts made by smaller organisations... Shabad: Then you will like Sunder's story. Sunder is the humble son of a humble father who was a steno in a government department. He set up a company called ServiceMaster. In the last eight years, Sunder's company organised several blood donation drives as their effort to give back to the society. It takes quite a bit to become the middle layer in CSR, the way ServiceMaster had become. But Sunder enjoyed it. Small organisations are more focused and perhaps more sincere because they are not looking at creating a ‘public image' from the activity. They are doing it because they believe they must give back, and they enjoy doing so. And very often they are people who are sincerely grateful for life's generosity — like Sunder. There are thousands of such small companies put together, who are perhaps doing more than the global organisations. But for a moment, let us focus on what a company does — makes things/services for us. If it did not, our lives would not be quite as good and comfortable. We thank the company for this. For example, I thank the power plants for making electricity because it keeps my computer going and makes me productive and keeps food on the family table. But the problem begins when I see the PSU is either making unjustified profits (which is a point of view), or is hurting the environment without regard to the damage being done (which can be unintentional). var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } I would like the company to correct both. Now, suppose the company began to say, "I will reduce my profits (meaning, give over to a cause to prevent environmental damage), but also charge you a cess for improving the environment because that is what you want". I wonder what will be my response. Are we as a society mature enough to say: "Yes, let's pay the cess. This power plant has the ability to make a big difference?"Omkar: The only reason why people will refuse or hesitate is because of the perceived image of PSUs. For long we have thought of PSUs not so much as corrupt, but inefficient, incapable, slow, not-proactive and incapable of out-of-the-box thinking. So, while the idea is phenomenal, questions will be raised: What did they do? Who benefitted? How do I know that what they did was optimal? Shabad: Yes, the PSU image has still to be neutralised. Alongside, it needs to deliver results with the consumer's money. This can actually help manage image also. So, there are two sides to the coin: the manufacturers on the one side and the consumers on the other. Both gain from the ‘product', so both should give. And it should be ‘transparent' giving. The question remains: who picks the cause to give to? Omkar: Absolutely! And also was each penny utilised to its optimum? Or were there brokers in between who lined their pockets? Or will the money go to slick colour brochures and video presentations? What we see on the Bx sachet is a smaller scale of what we might see on a power board cover. Here Bx has taken a viewpoint of what charity deserves vis-a-vis what consumer deserves. It has made a point about consumer being more exalted a human than say the beneficiaries of charities. It is a viewpoint, but then we protest because it is jarring to the senses that two classes of humans are less equal. Shabad: Or jarring to our stored value of what we estimate a Bx customer experience should be so that we are now disappointed. Omkar: OK, OK... here is a clincher. What if the power supply company chooses to resettle a community of a minority religion in a small village? Then we have a raging fire. This maybe why they may not opine on where the charity will go. If Bx had not made that on its sachet, you and I would never have known and the seven-day-old coffee would be doing its rounds among the needy. Shabad: (after some thought) Om, you hit a right thread here. Could it be that large companies, in the guise of CSR, are actually working out the new economics for their businesses? Take a hypothetical coal mining company named Koyla located in Bihar. It is supplying to a power plant called Urja, in Madhya Pradesh. The coal mines are almost surface mines and are spread out for miles. The mining results in small coal particles being suspended in the air causing untold misery to the farming community. Urja, the power plant too is cooling the ash in water and releasing the sludge into the fields around, turning the land highly alkaline. Say, the ash has even seeped into the water table below. When villagers draw water from a well, it's loaded with ash. Now, 200 km away, Koyla has begun to replant forests, saying that they wish to replenish the greencover (being a mining company, this is exactly what they will want). They are busy planting gum trees. Simultaneously, Urja provides a room to an NGO on its premises. The NGO focuses on alternate farming methods. It encourages people to take to gum harvesting —because it is natural, cheap and a produce of the land. Farmers from around the coal mines, eventually, begin to migrate, as the NGO begins to focus on other varieties of plants and increases the output of the land. Who benefits? The coal company that is now even more free —as people leave the area — to plunder the land. But I think all CSR activity is like this. Koyla will queer its pitch if it began to grow crops for farmers. People would say, "These guys are feeling guilty about displacing farmers." So, a coal mining company will invest in reforestation, not crop. What I am exemplifying is only hypothesis, but I have spent time with coal mining communities in the north. You cannot see the sun at 10 am because of the ash that settles in the air. It is that bad. People are being displaced from their homeland. They are being given compensation and new land (which is not good for farming). The power plant keeps manufacturing units running. The local people who leave are refugees — in their own land. There has been untold misery in India in the name of modernisation and progress. No amount of CSR-ing or seven-day-old coffee is going to help them. It will take generations of education, re-skilling and re-fitting their lives that will help them adapt to a life outside their traditional homes. Now, do you see what Koyla's CSR is doing? Omkar: So, are these the kind of communities then who get the city's hand-me-downs? This is extremely disturbing. Hence another thought arises: If Bx says seven-day-old coffee is not good enough for my consumer, because I, the vendor, will not give it to him, then I ask, to whom does the consumer of your seven-day-old belong? Mind you, you just gave it to the Red Cross or other charity. To whom does this consumer belong? Shabad: One, Bx is only saying that ‘seven-day-old coffee is not good enough for my consumer'. This is a product position and a way to ensure that Bx can charge premium pricing for its coffee. Two, if Bx wants, it can begin to offer the seven-day-old. People will buy it. There is always a market for expired food — and seven days is hardly that. As for to whom does the consumer of seven-day-old belong? By default, to everyone. Bx just made the change by claiming they don't serve it. Omkar: That means the charities and NGOs who will get an assortment of used this and used that, continue to belong to no one! Fabulous! Here is CSR's definition unravelling: Does social responsibility NOT include ownership? Shabad: You are just saying I believe in freshly roasted and brewed coffee. It's another way of making the same statement. Except this time, you put the metric seven on it, which is measurable. But then, to get to all that, you mindlessly went and put a heartless message on your sugar sachet and caused bitterness! And after all that, this is not even CSR. This is just an inept brand ego with no communication skills. Classroom/syndicate discussionDo companies who treat their customers well necessarily treat the needy communities well?casestudymeera at gmail dot com var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') }
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Trendian is the classic case of a socially responsible organisation, working passionately with a purpose, running headlong into conflicting values as new entrants arrive. As COO Krishnaa struggles to take people along, it makes her ponder over what it means to be a leader.Krishnaa has one part of what it takes to be a successful leader — a very important one at that — her passionate belief in the vision and values of the organisation. The emotional exchanges with Pragnya and other trainees, have made Krishna realise that believing in the vision is not enough. Her vision and values must find willing subscribers all around Trendian.Trendian's core value is to empower artisans in the process of keeping old art forms alive. For everyone to be aligned on this value, it should be more than just a nice sounding statement. Rather, it must be central to key HR processes such as recruitment, performance management, training and rewards.Recruitment: Pragnya, Lila, Radhika and Sajal do not have their fingers on the pulse on what the company stands for. They seem very puzzled with Krishnaa's non-business sense. Organisations with a social mission do need to hire people who are ideologically aligned. The hiring process should never be a rushed affair. The candidate must be met by different senior members in a relaxed setting. A planned process with well-structured case discussions can help uncover a candidate's thinking and beliefs. This investment in time not just prevents hiring mistakes, it allows for rapport to be built and is a significant first step in building shared values. Recruiting people is a long-term investment. Trendian must take the time to define what it wants. Krishnaa must consider the organisation as it is today, and how it needs to be in one, three and five years. The very act of writing down requirements will force her to think through what capabilities her ideal resources should bring. This step is fundamental, as the whole recruitment process will use this as a reference. Integration: Post-recruitment, Trendian must solidify the new employee's relationship with the organisation. Not by bombarding them with facts, figures and presentations, but by a deep familiarisation with ‘what we do and why we do it'. Integration involves spending time with the new hires explaining how the values translate into day-to-day decisions, challenges that organisation faces and its expectations from the staff. Case studies, role plays and field visits can help in creating shared pictures of the organisation. Getting a newer entrant to shadow a mentor and learn about the organisation ethos would be an important step.Arrival into an organisation should be made a celebration. It should make them say, "I am welcomed, therefore I belong." Modelling the right behaviours: People in any organisation are "professional boss watchers". They will ultimately mimic the behaviours of leaders. While Krishnaa is powerfully modeling a commitment to empower the artisans, her decision not to give advances to Parmen printers or Mrs. Doshi or rejection of the Sindhi Tankhas is seeming to the newer entrants as inconsistent decision-making. Krishnaa must now articulate the reasons for all her decisions are — like why she believes Munnisami deserves support and why judging his decision to get his daughter married at 16 is crossing the boundary. Inclusive leadership: Krishnaa has strong empathy for artisans. She needs to develop a similar empathy for her staff. Pragnya's participation in the organisation is a manifestation of her need to be an "insider" and increase her contribution to the organisation's success. Krishna must now make it a priority to practice inclusive leadership — engaging Pragnya in dialogue, influencing her, without making her feel snubbed or small in the process. Time must be provided in meetings for people to share their endeavours, promote successes and explore difficulties. Creating alignment: Krishna must educate her staff that they are a socially responsible organisation, even though they make profit. Through their business they contribute to creating a world desirable to live in. By empowering artisans, they are creating a more democratic (choice-based) society. Trendian is not about being an organisation that is forced to do CSR as a branding exercise. Being a socially responsible organisation involves much more than planting a few trees or educating a few children in the nearby slum. If the culture has to be widely owned, then Krishnaa has to spend some time involving people in dialogue — talking about vision, values, feelings and convictions — igniting a fire in their hearts. Her primary job is to create an organisation of passionate workers aligned in pursuit of a common purpose. This purpose is what will enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things.Aruna Gopakumar is director of Navgati, a Bangalore-based provider of innovative learning events. var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } (This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 19-10-2009)
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Trendian is an interesting case that raises basic issues around the role of business enterprises in promoting social values and responsibility, and also about whether socially relevant businesses are sustainable business models on their own, or not. It also raises a debate on how should social entrepreneurs draw a line between business goals, and social and community responsibility.Coming to the case in point, it seems that the team at Trendian needs to sort out its purpose and mission, and communicate the same to its stakeholders — employees, customers and vendors. This is obvious from the interactions that are described between Krishnaa, kailash, Pragnya, sajal and others. Secondly, the events and episodes described in the case are a clear pointer towards a lack of understanding on how far should Trendian go in allowing its business objectives to be shaped by the conflicts arising from its commitment to uplift the community economically, while preserving the ancient art and craft forms, social values and belief systems of the members of that community. This is borne out of the interactions described around the Munnisami case, where a simple discussion on giving an advance to a vendor has led to a debate over issues of dowry, education and social ethos. Thirdly, there is an issue around setting expectations of new employees in terms of what Trendian stands for and what its goals are in terms of business objectives and the broader social and community development goal it is working for.Let me first deal with the issues in hand for Trendian, and then address the broader question around social entrepreneurship. On the first question of purpose and mission of Trendian there is a need for shiv Dorje, Krishnaa and the core members of the team to brainstorm and agree upon the purpose of Trendian. If the purpose is to preserve ancient and dying art forms and work towards economic upliftment of the communities working with those art forms, then the logical question is how to achieve this in a sustainable manner? The question of sustainability and viability will answer the business aspects of profitability, efficiency and productivity of the enterprise. This debate and the outcome would settle any misgivings or confusion over whether trendian is a business entity with a strong social orientation, or a not-for-profit that is completely focused on community education and upliftment. Once that is addressed, communicating the purpose, and resultant goals to stakeholders would be a lot easier.On the second question of conflict, a business organisation should be careful in deciding its limits in terms of how far it wants to go in being judgmental about shaping broader social values and belief systems. That is more a matter of social and community education and not directly linked to a business decision. For example, in Munnisami's case, the whole issue of payment advance needs to be determined in terms of his past record, the value that his work brings to Trendian and its customers, the quality of the work and output, and its acceptance by the end customers. But most importantly, of how extending this advance helps Trendian build a profitable, and sustainable supply chain for Munnisami's product. If that justifies the advance, the broader goal of economic upliftment of munnisami and preservation of art form gets achieved over time. The issues around social beliefs and value systems of the community need to be separated from business decision-making and addressed through a separate medium such as like-minded NGOs, who are involved in that kind of work and Trendian can find a way of supporting such initiatives as a part of its CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) thought process.Lastly, it is vital for organisations to set and communicate expectations to new employees such as Pragyna or Radhika. If that is done right up front and explained with a few examples, the entire issue and debate around why every business logic necessarily conflicts with some social goal or values or vice versa will be seen in the right perspective. The debates will still happen and perceived conflicts will still come up, but the boundaries and a defined framework will help resolve them better.That brings me to the question that I raised at the beginning around social entrepreunership. Social entrepreneurship is about running business models and initiatives in a profitable and sustainable manner with focus on efficiency, productivity and result orientation. It is just that they are centered around solving a social or a community problem on a large scale and hence, attempts to strike a balance between profit focus and social goal. That is where the difference between being profitable and profiteering comes into play and the values and beliefs of the entrepreneur drives that.Ulhas Deshpande is CEO of IntelleCash Microfinance Network Company. He is also a charter member of Tie Mumbai. var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } (This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 19-10-2009)
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Pragnya Sesai felt unsure and unsettled. Everything she had been encountering was like nothing before. Even Trendian India, where she was an assistant trainee seemed like a new world. Well, it was nothing like her brothers or father ever said, or did. Pragnya kept going over the stiff encounter of yesterday. And yet there was a small curiosity to know what this kind of living was about, a sense that she might soon understand all this. Yesterday, Pragnya was provoked, and for the first time in 18 months she had spoken her mind, albeit artlessly. Yesterday, people at Trendian saw more than a guest trainee. Except that Pragnya was now filled with anxiety and fear that maybe she had crossed limits.Pragnya was 30, and belonged to a reputed business family. Youngest among five siblings, she had been rescued from a tricky marriage and her three brothers had decided to set her on her feet. First, she was put through an MBA, which she struggled in between adjusting to a demanding college routine, a young child who remained mostly ill and a meandering court battle for little Tula's custody. Her brother Parthiv, who ran the family's fabric export business, knew Shiv Dorje, the owner of Trendian. Dorje in turn, sent Pragnya to Krishnaa Kaushik, the COO.Trendian designed and crafted a wide range of fabric, etched tiles and dhurries inspired by Indian heritage and folklore. Dorje worked closely with many weavers and printers across India, and nurtured their art as his stock-in-trade so that they lent Trendian the feel of a family-managed business.Trendian did not think of its work as employment creation as much as keeping a very old chapter in an amazing book alive and current. Dorje's team used ancient art forms to decorate office interiors, floors and walls — which were his forte. Few knew that 25 years ago, Trendian was a small initiative led by four design graduates who sourced rural carpets and weaves and sold them out of a garage in Baroda's MG Road. Today, Trendian continued to reach out to weavers and printers in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bihar, with a clientele in the hospitality sector and large corporate houses.Pragnya recalled her early days at Trendian. That had been her baptism into the Trendian ethos. Krishnaa put her on the Morena Hotels job, for whom Trendian was developing carpets and curtains. Krishnaa had approved the design and placed an order for 1,800 metres with Mansoor Shaikh, a weaver from Bhagalpur. Following up on this project was Pragnya's first job. In a hurry to prove herself, Pragnya went on to approve a lot of dyed yarn because that helped cut timelines. It seemed to her that minor deviations will be acceptable to Morena when faced with the choice of either a huge delay in delivery, or accepting something that is 5 per cent off on colour. But Mansoormiya wouldn't compromise. Calling him stubborn, she reported to Krishnaa, "I am not sure you should waste time working with one guy. Why don't we trash him and develop some new weavers?"In slow measured tones, Krishnaa had said, "We don't just abandon people like that. We develop these craftsmen not only to supply us but because we wish to set them free, so that their dependence on us is reduced. The passion Mansoor feels for his art is similar to what we feel for management strategy. "Trendian is a business initiative all right, but its ethos goes deeper. And you need to mine this depth, Pragnya. We provide the design intervention and the commitment to buy their produce; we seek to free the art and not trap it. We are working with them not for our bottom line, but for their own betterment — that is as far as the business goes. But underlying this is an attitude, that attitude is what defines us. And that attitude is a must for working here Pragnya."In that end note, Pragnya had felt stung. But as the weeks passed, she kept feeling that this business was different, or that she was not learning anything about business. Often Krishnaa's moves appeared to lack business sense. Yet, she had to admit that Trendian was a success.The next time it was four months later, about a young design trainee, Lila Sanyal, who Krishnaa was sending to Ajrakpur, Gujarat to work with the Ajrakh printers to urge them revive their work. This is what had happened: During the Gujarat earthquakes in January 2000, Bhuj suffered severe destruction. Trendian resettled the Ajrakh printers there and helped them set up from scratch. This grabbed Pragnya's interest, being a student of sociology. Krishnaa said, "But strangely, after all that, we found their desire to get back to work had gone."There it is again — that mind boggling non-business attitude! Why were they going to spend so much on this? Pragnya was unable to get this commitment aspect.Krishnaa explained, "We are committed to keep dying craft forms alive. This printing technique is languishing. No one is doing any path breaking work here anymore, and the printers were not particularly interested either. That was when Robin, who was volunteering weekends there, observed the community. He told us that the earthquake followed by the relocation had led to a certain shutting down of the past. The children had grown up and wanted to do other jobs, which are better paying as well. They didn't see logic in hanging on to a family tradition. The general feeling around was, ‘it's time to drop it'. var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } "Robin was of the view that we must provide design direction to the group even though many others were offering a similar product then, because "we must keep them together with their art."That was how Lila was sent to Bhuj to work with the printers. "Not that the student is welcomed by them; they see it as a nuisance," Lila had said, adding to Pragnya's confusion.Discussion led to debate. Radhika, an MBA trainee, asked, "Why do you think this effort will sustain Krishnaa? At one level, the printers don't show enthusiasm to return to their art. The newer generation cannot be forced to stay in the past; it is unfair to keep them grounded in a reality that they clearly wished to give up. My own kid brother is going to be a Bollywood dancer and not an MBA! So, at one level we are spending so much, and at another we are creating a false dependence on a creative form, which need not survive. Then why all this? What is the profit justification for all this effort, worse when they have seemingly chosen to not pursue their art form?" Pragnya had felt vindicated. But Krishnaa said, "It won't look like business, because this is often not a business, but a commitment; the sort that comes only when there is no ego in the relationship. So, primary impetus comes from a desire to protect the art form, to restore." There had followed a tenuous four days when Pragnya battled with all these messages, which conflicted with all that she knew of business. Lila herself had said, "Well, working with just what they have can be restricting. I had to give a whole new twist to an existing technique to keep it relevant. And this was against a completely altered sociology: their new geography, lives being rebuilt, business not promising, coping with loss and lots of restlessness."Heard through the filters of her own business upbringing, her MBA and her own confusions, Pragnya admitted there was need for social intervention. But Trendian's moves did seem excessive in the face of the emotional stress of generations arguing with generations. The young wanted to wrench away, the grandfather wanted that tradition be sustained, and the generation that was caught between these two, the father, was the real generation that Trendian had been working with all these years, and this one was getting milled and minced in between.Everyone at Trendian was celebrating the return of the Ajrakh printers, but to Pragnya, Trendian's mission did not make sense. Yet, there were occasions when Krishnaa was tough as nails, in situations that Pragnya felt called for mercy. As when Radhika brought Sindhi thanka samples from Bikaner, Krishnaa rejected them. "They have been producing and supplying these embroideries to us for years. There is no longer a distinct edge in design, Robin. Tell them we are done with the "look" and unless they are able to show us something new, we will not be able to continue to place orders." Pragnya felt there had to be another way. Or, when Dharma Kant was rejecting a complete lot of upholstery fabric that had a weave defect. He averred, "We must have stringent quality control." This time Krishnaa had taken what to Pragnya seemed a business approach. "Beyond physical quality, I believe there has to be quality in relating and managing. Rejecting can also encourage the vendor to sell our product in the open market to recover cost! How about, we salvage the batch at a lower cost, add value with over-printing and mask the weave defect? So that they don't get complacent — discount the shipment by 25 per cent."To Pragnya, who thought this was emotional, Krishnaa had said, "There has to be a significant business opportunity even in failure. Our actions must enable them, not prop them up." Which was why yesterday's scenario led to a severe confrontation.What had happened was this. Munnisami Narsayya, who supplied 2,000 metres of fabric every year was a long-standing vendor. He wanted an advance as his daughter's wedding was approaching. Kailash, another buyer, had told him that trendian did not give advances. And he reported this at yesterday's order review meeting. Surprised, Krishnaa had asked, "But why did you do that? You should have found out why he wants an advance." To that Kailash said, "We cannot encourage this ‘daughter's wedding' kind of nonsense. And if we give him once, he will ask again!"Robin disagreed with this reasoning; "The city-bred resistance to daughter's wedding cannot be applied to the rural folk whose security is founded on tradition. Sitting here, we must not judge their lives, but find out how it measures against his next delivery."Krishnaa: Munnisami is a steady supplier. I would want to help him. He has been with us for 15 years; set up more looms over time to be able to stay relevant and competitive. Haan, he did get carried away once when he offloaded surpluses in the open market, but we know he was most apologetic and has not repeated that. Krishnaa then pulled out Munnisami's cumulative records folder and placed it on the table where Pragnya and others could see it. Krishnaa: This is his family — wife, parents and five children. The boys have been through primary school; the girls never did. Munnisami is struggling to get appreciation for his work; his sons are not keen to join him. Radhika: Krishnaa, listen. The daughter whose marriage he is planning is 16! var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } Krishnaa was silent. Radhika's emphasis on 16 was not lost on her. The recent entry of professionals and trainees had begun to raise debates on core issues. Trendian bought fabric from different regions. Each region had problems that were unique to their history. And some like Munnisami faced their geography. He and his family had to relocate after the Tsunami destroyed their region, as well as the core of the extended family who helped Munnisami in the weaving work. And now, he wanted an advance, over which they were haranguing. Sajal Swaroop, the financial manager, resisted this as well; "This is too much, Krishnaa. He has no serious bank account, servicing him is expensive, he has not upgraded. We have told him to use vat-dyed yarns but he won't, yeh sab drame baaji hai... to take advantage of the organisation, I know them.Krishnaa was not discounting Sajal easily — he was hugely valuable to Trendian. He was seeing Munnisami as a male businessman; as men saw men. But Krishnaa was staring at Munnisami's family pictures. The older girl was Margatham, and Krishnaa had tried to get her into school. But Munnisami's mother would not hear of it. "How much does he want?" she asked Sajal. "The order is worth Rs 12 lakh," said Sajal. "We would have given him two lakh, which is what we do in such situations, like we did for Mansoor. But he wants five, because it is his daughter's wedding and he cannot afford to lock up money in buying yarn." Krishnaa leaned back and said, "I would give him the advance."Sajal: Look, at other times, I would have agreed even if reluctantly. But money is already tight. All our product lines are interiors enhancement products and people are not spending on beautifying offices. How can we lend? We are using bank overdraft! Krishnaa, we let our village vendors give us emotional spiel, and give the city guys a raw deal — how fair is that? "Last month, Parmen Printers wanted payment before due date and you refused. Or even take Mrs Gomes (who produced the Trendian labels), kabhi advance nahin diya, and she is single! Then why make exceptions, and set precedents? Then again, jacquard mein inconsistency kitna hai. How many of our customers actually even appreciate it as a look? Why would you want to bend the rules so much?"Krishnaa was not expecting the argument to take a new twist. She said, "We can't throw in the towel and say, arre yeh to ab bikta hi nahin, isliye band karo! That is an easy call, but then that is not what we started off wanting to be. In our business, when I preserve their technique, I preserve their livelihood. Then again, jacquard is what Munnisami believes in, and if he believes in it I can be sure I am getting the best. His work is very good, and we have to tap people like him to invest in design, print surfaces, etc. And we know we can bank on him to give it his best shot. "The next time I want to send him design students, he will go all out to give them the space and advice. So you see, eventually I am not really compromising on the commercial objective."Silence followed. Then Krishnaa said, "See, this business we are in is also about marketing those parts of India that have no means to find expression because the distances between villages and the city have not been bridged yet. What we can do is invest in his business, upgrade his tools, and provide him washing and finishing facilities… why not Sajal? Think of Munnisami as a small unit and think of the investment as an enhancement of our business."And then Pragnya spoke, "Don't you see he does not want the advance for work? Sajal said he offered him 15 per cent, but no. Munnisami wants close to 40 per cent for the wedding. Robin: No, I think he is saying, I will use my money for the wedding, but you advance me money for the material.Pragnya: Munnisami is doing what most Indians do and regret — make a fashion statement of their daughter's wedding; offer money to have her led away so that he can put a tick on his list. Would you not be guilty of encouraging dowry? How do you know where the Rs 5 lakh is going? He may buy gold, diamonds or a car! In our homes, we battle and resist all this, but a Munnisami is forgiven because he is a vendor and relevant for business? Let me tell you Krishnaaji, marriages that seek to bridge businesses are dangerous for the girl.A stunning silence followed. Everyone knew Pragnya's story…Krishnaa: There are different angles here, Pragnya. Munnisami's life and that of Maragatham hang on this marriage taking place. I am not giving money for dowry. I am giving Munnisami a chance to live life the way it works for him. My relationship with Munnisami is largely professional, but outside that I only help the human being in him meet life squarely. My commitment is to his profession, and his economic welfare. I have no right to his belief system or his thoughts. That is his private space. I do not imagine we are here to influence people's social or moral values. But yes, we are committed to protecting their art and their economic welfare.Pragnya: So, what have we achieved finally? Economic welfare! But not education! We could not get Maragatham into school; now we don't have the courage to denounce idiotic social norms because we feel by doing so Munnisami will be ‘neglected'. So, what use all our sustaining of tribes and communities?"At the business level, I feel a lot of energy is going into a lot of things, so that nobody knows what part is business and what part is your social responsibility. Granted they are all supplying great fabrics and that adds great beauty to homes, offices and hotels; but how can we mean only something to a community and not all things? How can we say ‘yes we will take care of your economic growth', but not tie that in with social growth? How can we, in fact, link their backwardness to only their economy and choose to believe we are enablers?"That evening Krishnaa called Shiv Dorje, "I feel responsible to answer Pragnya… "Firstly, is our business about social responsibility? But I thought we do what we do because that is what defines us and our ethos, not because we want to be members of an elite club. Two, now that you are going to be hiring trainees and professionals, we need to have a clear script about our vision, our mission and our boundaries, because frankly I don't know how to communicate our ethos to our employees. Somehow, I see that they feel the need to change all this."Classroom/syndicate discussionIs social responsibility in your organisation a division or a vision?casestudymeera at gmail dot com var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') }
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Mahir is a nice person. one cannot help liking him and hoping that he will always find the right balance between long-term business goals and his own needs and values.Red Dot's situation is similar to what all organisations face — balance of interests of all stakeholders. What makes Red Dot somewhat unique is that Mahir, as a single stakeholder, has two strong drivers — one, as a businessman and, two, his sense of values and a need for personal contribution to his employees. So, while similar, there are two ways in which Red Dot is different from a typical ‘corporate'. The foremost difference is that Red Dot is not merely about ‘maximising shareholder returns'. It is a business model that also satisfies Mahir's personal need to contribute to a larger group of stakeholders; to people around him. The second is that it is still a small organisation (perhaps it remains small to ensure that Mahir continues to have this sense of personal contri- bution) and, therefore, it is still possible to ensure a strong ‘commonality of ethos and ethics'. This is never an easy challenge. Red Dot needs to grow to ensure that people working for it also have a long-term future and more and more people can benefit from its values orientation. But it will also struggle to grow while retaining its current values-led position.Mahir knows that his current model is not scalable and, yet, he is reluctant to convert Red Dot into a typical profit-maximising organisation. There is nothing wrong with this reluctance. Given that he is the sole owner as well as the manager of Red Dot, it is perfectly possible (though not always easy) for him to effectively balance his business needs with his values. He will need to make some compromises — letting people go when they have a need to grow bigger. But in his own way, Mahir has accepted this and other trade-offs.Both Uddhav and Mahir realise that Red Dot stands for much more and their work styles and the actions reflect this. It comes alive in what Uddhav says to Ravi: "Worse, you have stopped giving, not just to Red Dot, but to friends here."My only suggestion for Mahir is that he would benefit from a clearer and sharper understanding and acceptance of his drivers and values, the trade-offs and the balance he needs to maintain. Once he does this, he will spend less time agonising about it when situations of trade-offs arise. In Ravi's case, Mahir will realise sooner that he (Mahir) not only needs to make sure that Ravi's lack of performance does not hinder his business goals, but that his bigger need is to truly help Ravi grow as a professional and as an individual. He will not need to spend "days and months agonising over Ravi's dilemma"; the same outcome could have happened much earlier. Mahir will need to accept that if Red Dot's growth is acceptable only when the same commitment to each and every employee is maintained and the same values are as deeply embedded in the organisation, it will probably be a slower pace of growth and, perhaps, more limited as well. If he is willing to accept some compromises, he may be able to grow a bit faster and a bit more. I would say to Mahir exactly what Uddhav said to Ravi — "All this you need to figure out, for only you can." The balance is for him to maintain.Management is, of course, easier when there is one over-arching goal. Choices become easier. In most organisations, the over-arching goal is sustainable shareholder returns and this is the touchstone used in situations of trade-offs. In Red Dot's case, there will be more struggles to come to the most appropriate response but it will probably be far more satisfying for Mahir and everyone else.There have always been similar trends in the corporate world. With Indian PSUs, the over-arching goal was to provide employment. ‘Profit' was a bad word as it was seen as a hindrance to the main goal. Unfortunately, in their inability to balance employment generation and profit, many PSUs ended up compromising the needs of the very people they sought to protect, by becoming sick or being sold. The challenge that all organisations face is to find the right balance between sustainable profits/growth and responding to as many stakeholder needs as comprehensively as possible. Even today, the debates around going green, off-shoring and affirmative action, are around maintaining the same balance of interests. Good management is all about being able to balance these often conflicting demands to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. And the better it is done, the better are the societies that we live in. And that is why I like Mahir. var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } (This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 16-11-2009)
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Mahir Virkar's intentions are noble. red dot, however, may struggle to keep growing with values intact. Mahir needs to compartmentalise his personal aspirations for Red Dot separate from its values, work culture, business strategy, management and recruitment strategy. And then, he should diagnose the core reasons for his small-town, loyal staff's lack of fire in the belly. Personal beliefs and an organisation's values and culture need to be articulated in a way that is relevant for customers and the company's growth, and not just for employees. Of course, Mahir's personal beliefs will have an influence on the company's values and culture but, unless these are made customer centric, he will struggle growing the business, especially in the services sector. Now, a closer look at his approach.Did he go to small towns for the right reasons? In pursuit of his ideals and aspirations or as part of a well thought out business strategy? Driven by a desire to give back to his community? To help sincere students like himself save and send money home? At Disha Technologies, we grappled with exactly this emotion and reason. Indian entrepreneurs are filled with such dreams when they begin to ride the crest of success. But these noble intentions must soon be aligned with the real business needs — short- and long-term. One window, two perspectives, and a disconnect. From Mahir's perspective, he took huge risks — invested time and energy to train staffers, created a "safe haven" for them and bailed them out and taught them to deliver. It is only reasonable to expect they would get fired up to join his drive to grow Red Dot's business to new levels. Instead, employees such as Ravi have turned complacent, with a false sense of security, unwilling to give their best and enjoying a privileged status, special access and a bailout assurance from Mahir. Whereas, from their perspective, most of the employees have just finished a marathon, and reached a plateau of ‘accomplishment' in a big city, achieving what they had, in fact, dreamt of. They wish to slow down and smell the roses, whereas Mahir wants them to get charged up to climb the next summit! Why this disconnect? Is Red Dot missing some ingredients? Red Dot has become monolithic and inward looking and this is having an impact on customer satisfaction and organisational growth. Why are his employees not developing into the next layer of leadership, looking for challenges, giving their best and some more? This needs to occupy Mahir's thoughts.Only those who have passion, drive and energy, crave challenges, are self-learners and have an urge to see their team win, will progress. Others will languish. Did Mahir look for these attributes during his recruitment? If not, he must address this now.These are the shared values that should build commensurate work culture and bind employees than just the comfort of native poetry, ‘pitla-bhaat' and hometown blues. This will keep them growing in the organisation.I would suggest these ‘fixes' for Mahir.Game Plan: Provide a clear vision for Red Dot. Ensure each member of the team knows the game plan; explain how they can help Red Dot win the game. Mahir has loyal employees who would do anything to see a smile on his face, but he has to tell them what and how.Gap Analysis: Mahir, Uddhav and other key employees should identify gaps in organisational capabilities that hinder Red Dot's vision. Filling these gaps should drive recruitment.Customer Focus: Mahir should leverage his customers to energise employees, provide opportunities for the customers to praise employees for their good work face to face, provide their wish list and encourage direct communication between them. Develop strong customer advocates for each project in Red Dot. And stand behind these advocates.Diversity: I understand the approach Mahir has taken to bootstrap the organisation with like-minded people having common beliefs. This helps a lot during a phase when values are not articulated explicitly but are implied as original people ‘get it'. Many successful startups do this in India and the US. But, in the long run, teams with diverse talent, bringing refreshingly unique perspectives, end up winning hands down. We saw this during the growth phase of Disha, Aztecsoft and Microsoft. It is key forMahir to start that process now. The longer he waits, the harder will it be to get there. Mahir, the growing pains you are facing may sound unique, but are typical. Red Dot is going into the next phase of its growth.With some of these adjustments, I am sure Red Dot will transition and become a greater success!Click here to read longer version of four 'fixes'Sanjay Jejurikar is advisor to Scholarity Inc in Seattle. He has held executive positions across Microsoft, Aztecsoft, and was co-founder of Disha Technologies. sanjayjej at hotmail dot com var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } (This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 16-11-2009)
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Mahir Virkar was late for a session at the office, and just when he least wanted it, he ran into dear friend Prabal Lohar (‘Pablo' since school). They greeted loudly, hugged and exchanged some pointless pleasantries when Pablo said, "Hey, what's this I hear, you had a small encounter with folks from HeadsUp? I met Vishesh the other day at the Ganesh Pooja, and he was telling me…" (see the first part of the BW case: Slipping Down The Learning Curve).Mahir laughed it off, but Pablo said, "Listen, you know employees cannot always be monitored and policed. This is life! Good vendors and services are rare to come by, and, at the end of the day, you must get your sale done and profit booked and feel happy when you go home and baby says ‘pa-pa'!" Mahir knew there was no exit here, so he said, "You must know, Pablo, I am not even a graduate, ha! ha! I may be wrong because I was looking at the world from my window. Where I come from, we have different beliefs."Pablo said, "Whatever your beliefs, my friend, you cannot always keep your employees in sync with your principles and the business and the clients. It is not possible, so please wake up and smell the coffee!"Mahir thumped him on the shoulder and said, "Yes! That's the word I was looking for! Coffee! Why don't you come over tomorrow? I have some excellent coffee from Sumatra, slow-roasted and all that. Come, come, there is also some bhakarwadi that aai has sent!" With that, Mahir was gone. He needed to reach his office fast as there was a sensitive employee matter to sort out and the meeting was scheduled for 5 p.m. Just the thought of it made him wince.It was Ravi. For months, Mahir had been grappling with the relationship. Ravi was from Vita, a small village in Nasik, where he produced flyers and leaflets for various political parties, a temple, some shops that were launching a new this or that. Ravi's visualising and designing skills were respected and this fetched him a few rupees. But Mahir wanted him to complete his graduation, "and after that I will get you a job," he had assured.With a lot of difficulty, Ravi had scraped through some sort of distant learning package and Mahir hired him at Red Dot, which was in the business of website development and interactive marketing. Red Dot was Mahir's brainchild, which he had set up in 2001. Ravi did not have any formal training in designing, but his work was brilliant. For three years, Mahir put him through all kinds of design work and groomed him to a level where he had overcome his language barrier and had started taking client briefs himself. But, during the past one year, something about this relationship had changed. Uddhav, strategic advisor to Red Dot and Mahir, had not missed the anxiety building up in Mahir. Yesterday, he had asked him: "Name one thing about Ravi that is bothersome." And Mahir had said, "He has come to ‘know' me and my style, and also knows I will never ask him to go." Uddhav had smiled and said, "Then it is simple, no? Just ask him to go." Mahir had reacted to that with a convulsed shake of his shoulders, "What do you mean? How can I ask him to go? He has an old mother, that rascal! I think more of her than him!" Uddhav said, "The mother is fine, Mahir. Send her maintenance money, that's OK. But answer this: when a person has been working for more than 4-5 years with you, it's time to ask why he is still with you. Do you have a real answer?" And Uddhav had left him to deal with it. Now back in his office, Mahir realised it was complacency that had killed Ravi's creativity; he was delivering all right, but his delivery was bad; clients (in Mumbai, Nagpur, Baroda) were unhappy. Ravi cribbed saying he could not manage people. Things had come to a head last week when Mahir had admonished him. A job was due at 4 p.m., and at 3:30 p.m. Ravi was relaxing on his chair listening to A.R. Rahman. "I have not given the job any thought," he told Mahir nonchalantly. "Sorry, I cannot think…"That was when Mahir decided to discuss the matter with Uddhav. Ravi had never talked like this ever. "Ravi, is a star. He knows it," he told Uddhav. "He is a part of the reason why Red Dot is successful. It's not as if success has gone to his head. It has just dulled him. He is not only producing mediocre work, he is also delaying the whole system. Worse, he does not care!" var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } Today, Uddhav and Mahir were going to have a chat with Ravi. Since Uddhav was the mentor and advisor at Red Dot, they had spent enough time, whole of last week, talking about what needed to be done.When Ravi came in, Uddhav began gently, "Ravi, you need to take time off. Don't come to work for 15 days. Chill a bit, meet friends, adjust your world view to reality outside your work life. Put your feet up and think about life, the universe and the dog. Read a bit, catch a movie; do what always wanted to do. You know what, your work is deteriorating and this is a surprise for Mahir and me. Perhaps you feel jaded doing the same thing over and over again. Maybe you have even outgrown Red Dot. Maybe the work you are doing is no longer of the calibre that you would want to do. Maybe you just need a fresh challenge? All this you need to figure out, for only you can. Maybe you simply need a new mountain to climb and feel good about life… We don't know, Ravi. That is why we are asking you to go and find out why you are jaded."Ravi sat there, one leg out, both arms clutching the outward knee, rocking himself back and forth. Snatches of sentences and words were flying at him, "You have potential… Red Dot values you… Your colleagues think highly of you." Now Mahir was saying, "And if you decide that you don't want to come back at all, that would be OK too." "Why?" asked Ravi gruffly. Uddhav said, "We spent a lot of time debating exactly that question. Neither Mahir nor I want you to go. Then it struck us that you have actually become a habit here, just as Red Dot has become a habit in your life; you are simply going through the motions and not bringing anything to the table. "This, we realised, was why you were not contributing. Not creating. Not sizzling. Worse, you have stopped giving, not just to Red Dot, but to friends who you grew up with here — Pakya, Vinoo, Kailas. We have seen a huge mountain of doubt and apprehension in you, which blocks everything. This is also hindering the growth of Red Dot and your friends here. So, take 10 days off, climb this mountain of self doubt; overcome it, kill it, summit it to see what's happened… and come back and tell us, do you want to claim our mountain or yours."Not Ravi, but the whole of Red Dot's challenge was unusual, yet interesting. Ten years of liberalisation had blessed the big metros with abundance; smartly clad MNC managers zipped around talking about ‘moving India' to the small towns, taking the benefits of the largess to the ‘lesser Indians'.Even before India had woken up to moving to tier II and III cities, Mahir had done it, by recruiting from small towns like Sangli, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, Beed, Jalgaon, etc. and from developing colleges in Ahmednagar, Nagpur, etc. where the youngsters were passionate about a profession. He trained them from scratch in creative design, HTML, technical knowledge for Web-based applications, quality assurance, etc. People had called him mad for the seeming risk he was taking as he was neck deep in loans. But what it reaped for Red Dot was stability, loyalty, commitment, and, most of all, a commonality of ethos and ethics, which was precious to Mahir. From the client's perspective, it assured a more dependable and consistent delivery team. In an era, when people switched jobs, cities, countries, partners, employers, Mahir continued to have employees who stuck on for at least 3-4 years. He achieved this using an emotional connect, through their native language — Red Dot buzzed with four different dialects of Marathi, Milind Ingle (piped), Sandeep Khare/ Salil Kulkarni poetry and the breathtaking fragrance of pitla-bhaat and fodlela kaanda that the bachelor boys enjoyed. In turn, for all these men and women from the smallest towns of Maharashtra, Red Dot was a safe haven, where they got challenging assignments, where their skills grew, they were appreciated and, finally, they could send a decent packet home every month. They didn't need to go to the US.Of course, a couple of Jalgaon boys picked up skills at Red Dot and left for other jobs in the US. But Mahir did not grudge them that, and he also knew that others were dreaming of doing likewise. But he needed to ensure that the time and effort he invested in his team did not go into building the future of some other company. So, he needed to give them the right opportunities, so that not only did their technical skills grow, but also their emotional, managerial and personal skills. One way to enable their growth was to let Red Dot staffers interface with clients. This was becoming more critical in recent times, especially after a few clients commented that Red Dot had only one person they could rely on — Mahir. It then became imperative that he build a client-facing team to reassure his more mature clients that Red Dot's team could attend to their needs. However, like many self-driven entrepreneurs, Mahir sought personal satisfaction alongside professional. And this was where Uddhav was immensely valuable for Mahir. Uddhav knew why Mahir chose the kind of people he did. Uddhav knew the effort and investment Mahir made in these people. Uddhav knew what Mahir's orientation to work was. And Mahir knew Red Dot. Red Dot had been built literally by the bootstraps, and, today, it continued to reflect that personality. However, it was a personality, work method and way of doing business that could not be scaled. Red Dot needed to grow and it needed several people who could manage its business, clients, ideating, business mining and image management. But the truth was that Red Dot would soon need to grow in areas that Mahir would not be able to supervise personally or be a part of — there just wasn't that much time for him to do everything. For example, the circles he had been drawing around Ravi to groom him, skill him, grow him, monitor him was something Ravi took for granted as something that was natural from a fellow native towner. But for Mahir, all this was far more than time; it was energy which he was not willing to dissipate. He wanted to "add value" to every step, he wanted to "personally respond" to clients, he wanted to be the personal friend, guide and philosopher to every of his 54 brethren and sisters from Maharashtra. This was creating small bottlenecks, which while not disrupting, caused grief. Mahir kept asking Uddhav, "Can you groom one or two people to take over what I am doing, in a manner that I understand and appreciate? In a manner that I believe it ought to be done? In a manner that I find my values being upheld?" var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } Yet last week, Mahir changed his mind: "Hey! I am not sure I want this done, man. That interaction with ‘Ojas-The- Errant' and HeadsUp has shown me the error of delegating top management." But the very next minute he shook his head vigorously denying that thought, and said, "No, you go ahead and tell me what to do." Uddhav had designed yet another classroom workshop to take the 10 staffers on the workshop, forward, which was scheduled for the next day.This was the day and Pablo too arrived at 10 a.m. to meet Mahir and demanded his slow-roasted coffee. "Just follow me… you will get coffee and a free lesson, come," said Mahir and took him into the audio visual room where Uddhav's classroom was beginning. Gesturing to a confused Pablo to be quiet and watch, Mahir text messaged his assistant, "OK, now the special coffee please…"Uddhav (in session): Say, we have a colleague who we hired because he is brilliant. Then one day he becomes dull, short changes the client, behaves badly, does not deliver 100 per cent, client is annoyed. What should Red Dot do?Kailaas/Meghna/Rohit/Anthony: Sack him? Mahesh/Kalpana/Hanif/Pakya: Warning?Uddhav: Hold on to that thought. Question No. 2: Your client has a service running on their website called ‘search'. Search is actually a feature that helps improve productivity, leads to sales, ensures returning customers. But the more a person uses the search feature, the more the Web server is kept occupied. Question is how can you improve ‘search' so that system resources are used in a more optimal manner? The client does not realise that the ‘search' feature is keeping the server engaged and could be at a cost to another visitor who is in a hurry but finds the pages are slow to load. You, as Red Dot, know why the page is slow to upload. Now, from the client's point of view (whose website it is), both visitors to the site are being served. Only Red Dot knows that the process can be streamlined (and should be streamlined) for better business results. Will you present this as a problem to be solved, to the client? Kalpana: Is this a billable job? (Much argument follows over the correctness of this).Uddhav: You are the service provider and you are committed to provide least cost, best option to every customer; that is what your motto says, now tell me…Kailaas: I disagree. I have been doing ‘search' stuff for the last seven years and there is no money in this. And it is not our focus too. If I fix everything that you are saying, then our clients may pay Rs 5,000 for that. The next client doesn't want to pay and uses Google's free tool instead. Then?Uddhav: Then? Then, the client finds out that you knew the way out but didn't tell him. Should the client sack us or give us a warning? See, you feel the money isn't worth slaving over this client. But when you took on the client, you swore to deliver 100 per cent on all counts. So, where did this individual assessment of cost-benefit come from? ‘Serve the client' includes everything, no? Including behaving well?Pakya: See, there are other aspects of ‘search' that can be rewarding for a client and cannot be done by using Google and are based on analytics and tweaking content based on intelligence. This is something that can result in value-add, if explained properly to a client.Uddhav: Aa-ha! Now why is this pleasing? Hmm… See how we have moved from understanding a problem to understanding client to client comfort… so what will you tell the client so that he does not imagine that you are shortchanging him?Hanif: He must study the user behaviours carefully to see their segmentation as well as their usage, and how he can serve this better.Uddhav: You have three minutes, form two teams. I am your client, a Fortune 500 company. Please present to me why you will do what you will do…As the teams presented and fumbled, Uddhav tweaked and structured their script bit by bit. "If you say that, won't your client think you are unsure? He is your client, he is coming to you for solutions, you have to be confident about what you are selling! Meghna, you are the client, you have two minutes only... why is Kailaas's approach not convincing you?"Uddhav was deftly moving from problem definition to problem presentation, to how to present PROBLEM A from the point of view of the client rather than the Red Dot point of view so that the client understands exactly what the manager was saying; how to listen to the client before speaking; how to use the key words and concepts that the client is talking about to win conversations and grab attention; ("It's about listening to the client, hearing his words, hearing the tone of his words!") how to identify the key concerns of a client and to attend to those first, before moving on to what Red Dot has in mind; how to make the client win rather than make Red Dot win in a conversation, so that business for Red Dot increases…"Remember, the client is not right because he is king; he is right because he owns the problem. And as long as he has a problem, you need to be there, till you set it right… working to get the fee cheque is not why we are here…" Mahir: And yes, about that employee who misbehaved; I won't sack him. Never. I will correct him till he buys into the correction. Once he is a good egg, he is free to go. Anybody who has worked here even two years, carries a bit of Red Dot in him. He is a Red Dot product! When he goes away he continues to carry Red Dot with him. He had better carry it well, I say! At 12 noon, the class ended, Mahir introduced Uddhav to Pablo, "Meet Uddhav, our strategic advisor. He refines and redefines our ideas by making them simpler." Pablo shook hands most vigorously in expression of his joy. Then he said to Mahir, "I now see that you can keep your employees in sync with your principles if that is what you believe! Congratulations! I just woke up to the coffee!"Classroom/Syndicate DiscussionGrooming employees is emotional; warning and firing them, professional.casestudymeera at gmail dot com var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') }
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This is a classic case of lack of leadership.All that can go wrong in handling the sensitive task of lay-offs has gone wrong, simply because Debbil's leadership is incapable.This is not just Debbil's problem. The current economic downturn is demanding new capabilities from leaders. But lack of experience, training and preparation have made many leaders panic and, worse, insensitive and careless.We learn many lessons in leadership, communications and people management from this case, which I summarise below: Varmaji, the wise secretary: "We could have handled it differently. I think you have to communicate in such a way that even if people have to go, they should go peacefully."The CFO: "A lot of indirect, informal communication has already gone out. Now what can you do trying and doctoring words?" Suryaveer (behavioral strategist): "I wish we had foreseen that this informal communication was going to add to the sense of impending doom."Siv (HR head): "People are not of four or six kinds. In fact, there are as many kinds as there are people. The important thing is processes."Even the CEO, who is singularly responsible for this chaos, provides a good insight with: "No doubt I communicated to him directly. And that may have helped." So when we see the top management exhibiting such great knowledge about what has gone wrong, we wonder why their knowledge could not prevent the chaos.This problem is not just of Debbil. Many companies are bedeviled likewise. This leadership failure is rooted in our classic preference for analysis, articulation and debate as opposed to agile action and execution on the ground.Let us look at other players. The most disturbing is PR. In many companies the PR department is not only responsible for external relations but also internal communications. PR's Arpita and Josy should be giving advice on how to handle internal communications effectively, instead of joining the gossip.Same goes for HR. Shirishbhai fuels speculation by indiscreetly sharing his privileged information on Dhanesh. Has he forgotten that he is an HR professional or is it that the organisation's culture and leadership never trained him to be a true HR pro? On the whole, we have at Debbil a bunch of incompetent and callous leaders who know a lot but cannot get their act together. Let us look at the lessons in communications that this case throws up.First of all, there was no planned communication. Every one simply talked without bothering about the implications. The CEO asks his 54-year-old secretary to go and takes pride in his straight talk. Siv, the HR VP, tells people there are no ‘lists' and just tactically reacts to various employees instead of planning a pro-active communication strategy. A more seasoned and experienced HR leader would have handled this with greater sensitivity.Internal communications is a joint task of the CEO, HR leader and the communications team. All the steps to prevent ‘grapevine' and avoid whisper campaigns must be taken ahead of time. Since Debbil seems medium sized, time-tested methods like ‘town halls' with employees — with the CEO and HR VP addressing employees directly — should have been followed.Yes, communication is not about ‘doctoring' words. It is about listening, understanding and anticipating audience's feelings and addressing them with sensitivity. Given the advancement and tools we have today to support effective internal communications, Debbil's actions in handling crisis communications reflect cowboy-like callousness.Take people management. We must address sensitive issues such as job losses on a one-on-one basis, be open to individual solutions, tailor plans to the individual situation. What Varmaji negotiates is a classic example of how there could be win-win in such situations. This needs sensitivity and competence among the leaders.During lay-offs many options such as salary cuts, work reduction, re-skilling and redeployment, counseling, etc. should be explored, instead of adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. Most importantly, the case points us to how people react differently to the same communication depending on their personal and psychological situation.A deeper look at the issues shows that the recent unprecedented growth has seen a new generation of leaders who have never handled downsizing. Smaller companies have seen rapid growth without an opportunity to develop strong internal leaders and expert functions.The role of the CEO, HR leader and the internal communications are very critical in anticipating downsizing-related problems and acting wisely and expertly. Companies such as Debbil must invest far more in training and development of their leaders and core functions to handle such tough situations better.Sripada Chandrasekhar is vice-president and head of HR at IBM India/South Asia. The views expressed here are personal var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } (This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 30-11-2009)
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