Wk6, Day 4/5 @ Harvard Business School : The future of history.
I missed two days blog. The first day, I did not write, because I had a condition that mimicked Writer's Block, very closely. The only thing different was it was not lack of inspiration but being overwhelmed by the multitude of source of inspirations. Read on, read between the lines to find out why ? ;-) - yesterday was just too much work, thinking, emotions all at the same time.
Good now that I have convinced you that there was a 'grand' plan behind my missing the schedule and it had nothing to do with the ball game one night, the Desi Dinner on the other and living group night ... lets get on to some truthful insights.
Learn from the history.
We spent the last three days looking out into the world and understanding the world economics. We spent one day each on China, India Latin America and Africa. Of the dozen or so, case studies that we went through, each of them reminded us that we need to look at the history of people and the culture, before you can define your choices of future. What works for country A, may not (most likely will not), work for Country B. In order to get to the core of the problem, it is critical beyond doubt, that one needs to peel of the layers of historic environment, historic attributes to being your future in focus. It was interesting to put on table that large economic countries like China, USA, India (11th largest in absolute and 4th in PPP) had tonnes of things yet to be done and changed - just to ensure we survive our future.
The dog on its tail
Listening to speakers and class mate's discussion, I wondered, if I have been giving too little credit to politicians of our country. The decisions they take are never without consequences and dire ones at that.
Current account deficit is a problem. Sure, let the dollar appreciate further. Exports value will increase, exporters will be happy. Trade deficit will be lower. Not really.
Imports on oil will be higher, your central bank would have to buy dollars by paying local currency - thus currency supply will increase and hence inflation increases. Additionally, there is a cost of purchase, that will again put pressure on inflation. Hmm, ok - then let's increase the interest rates. Sure, why not. Increasing interest rates means money is taken out of market, that would reduce the money and cool down inflation. BUT. It will also slow down your economy as new ventures, investments will not be done. Exports will suffer, GDP will be depressed. And current account deficit of the country remains.
Another similar example - the load of subsidy, that really is bleeding our county. While the subsidy is actually costing us dear, reducing subsidy on fundamental products (like oil, gas) will flow back into economy in shape of inflation.
The future of a global company - localization or globalization
Then there were several interesting topics on the level and degree of localization. There is a raging ongoing conflict that global countries face throughout their international presence. To localize or to super-impose global best practices and learning on the local space. When, you look deeply into it what becomes evident is - that there is hardly any yardstick to arrive at the conclusion, almost always you need to go deeper into the history of your customer, understanding the local environment to really appreciate what the future decision would be.
My experience at HBS has changed from the "Learning phase" (which I still do... duh... not everyone is super smart man !! ), to the "Thinking phase" - ah ha !!
Many of the discussions in class, are around topics that you may not have straight direct answer to. Some of these are just footnotes, that you would want to be aware of as you go forward in your career.
What I learnt today?
1. "Be shameless to learn" - learn from anyone and everyone.
2. You do not need to own your business operations - to be able to realize the value of business. (think Outsourcing by companies in India)
3. It takes courage to be different. And THAT provides you with the competitive advantage.
What I thought today?
1. For your company, is there value in operating in diff geo markets.
2. Can you get out of your comfort zone - and still remain true to who you are ?
3. Leadership is a journey not a destination.
4. There will be a time, when I would be able to see around the corner. (business world).
Alok Sinha
I missed two days blog. The first day, I did not write, because I had a condition that mimicked Writer's Block, very closely. The only thing different was it was not lack of inspiration but being overwhelmed by the multitude of source of inspirations. Read on, read between the lines to find out why ? ;-) - yesterday was just too much work, thinking, emotions all at the same time.
Good now that I have convinced you that there was a 'grand' plan behind my missing the schedule and it had nothing to do with the ball game one night, the Desi Dinner on the other and living group night ... lets get on to some truthful insights.
Learn from the history.
We spent the last three days looking out into the world and understanding the world economics. We spent one day each on China, India Latin America and Africa. Of the dozen or so, case studies that we went through, each of them reminded us that we need to look at the history of people and the culture, before you can define your choices of future. What works for country A, may not (most likely will not), work for Country B. In order to get to the core of the problem, it is critical beyond doubt, that one needs to peel of the layers of historic environment, historic attributes to being your future in focus. It was interesting to put on table that large economic countries like China, USA, India (11th largest in absolute and 4th in PPP) had tonnes of things yet to be done and changed - just to ensure we survive our future.
The dog on its tail
Listening to speakers and class mate's discussion, I wondered, if I have been giving too little credit to politicians of our country. The decisions they take are never without consequences and dire ones at that.
Current account deficit is a problem. Sure, let the dollar appreciate further. Exports value will increase, exporters will be happy. Trade deficit will be lower. Not really.
Imports on oil will be higher, your central bank would have to buy dollars by paying local currency - thus currency supply will increase and hence inflation increases. Additionally, there is a cost of purchase, that will again put pressure on inflation. Hmm, ok - then let's increase the interest rates. Sure, why not. Increasing interest rates means money is taken out of market, that would reduce the money and cool down inflation. BUT. It will also slow down your economy as new ventures, investments will not be done. Exports will suffer, GDP will be depressed. And current account deficit of the country remains.
Another similar example - the load of subsidy, that really is bleeding our county. While the subsidy is actually costing us dear, reducing subsidy on fundamental products (like oil, gas) will flow back into economy in shape of inflation.
The future of a global company - localization or globalization
Then there were several interesting topics on the level and degree of localization. There is a raging ongoing conflict that global countries face throughout their international presence. To localize or to super-impose global best practices and learning on the local space. When, you look deeply into it what becomes evident is - that there is hardly any yardstick to arrive at the conclusion, almost always you need to go deeper into the history of your customer, understanding the local environment to really appreciate what the future decision would be.
India - History of 1894 or Future of 2007
Well, we had an overwhelming 'India' packed into the current week. It started with one day dedicated to case studies about India. We learnt, how a blunt state organisation can be re-vitalized to be a bank of preference by its customers. Even while, working in inert circumstances, there are more ways than one to galvanize your corporation, to give people their pride. Another case, saw how a leading automobile giant mis-interpreted the legal mandate and thus missed the pulse of larger masses. After all, the land acquisition act of 1894 is still in force, or so we thought. The debate on proposed modification of land acquisition act of 2007, was intense and brought up many core questions - about the role of government and the meaning of Public Use.
On the Africa day, we learnt of the potential challenges faced by an Indian telecom companies missing their targets, since they did not understand the history and culture of Africa. The 'Desi' gang (for non-Indians, the word desi [d̪esi] is a term for the people, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent - Wikipedia), decided they wanted to top off the day with a Desi dinner. So off we went (23 of us) to an awesome evening of desi food, desi music, desi shairi and just loads of desi fun !!
The next day, "India" sort of lingered on at HBS, through visit of Mr Ratan Tata coming and speaking to GMP/AMP participants.
My favorite person - Me. My history and my future.
Another key topic for this week has been. Me.
Author of True North George Bill was at HBS to teach us, the concepts, meanings and application of True North for myself. The discussion and the book really starts asking some very pertinent but important questions of what you truly want to achieve and is the goal in sync with your executive actions.
One of the assignments of module 3 (ya when we were on vacation back home... well.. that's what it looks like from here :-( ), was to get your 360 degree feedback from your managers, peers, customers, direct reports etc. The result is meant for your sole consumption. The idea behind the Emotional and social competency inventory, is to identify your individuality, your leadership style - and most importantly, how your leadership style is perceived by others. The results were neatly summarized and presented to each of us in confidence. Its an interesting discovery journey, to really see yourself from the eyes of others. To learn your improvement areas and to build on your strengths.
I chose to leverage the theme of the week and reached out to various senior professors, faculty, Dean and other industry seniors. It was amazing to discover how super gracious they were with their time to listen to your past, understand the history of your choices, your desires and aspirations. And then provide thoughts of guidance that you may use as your tool for your future.
I can tell you folks, this has been one of the most intense defining weeks of my professional career and as I said earlier, could not have come at a more opportune moment for me.
My experience at HBS has changed from the "Learning phase" (which I still do... duh... not everyone is super smart man !! ), to the "Thinking phase" - ah ha !!
Many of the discussions in class, are around topics that you may not have straight direct answer to. Some of these are just footnotes, that you would want to be aware of as you go forward in your career.
What I learnt today?
1. "Be shameless to learn" - learn from anyone and everyone.
2. You do not need to own your business operations - to be able to realize the value of business. (think Outsourcing by companies in India)
3. It takes courage to be different. And THAT provides you with the competitive advantage.
What I thought today?
1. For your company, is there value in operating in diff geo markets.
2. Can you get out of your comfort zone - and still remain true to who you are ?
3. Leadership is a journey not a destination.
4. There will be a time, when I would be able to see around the corner. (business world).
Alok Sinha
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