While the West has realized the importance of execution, we Indians have always relegated action to the background, favoring strategy instead. At the organizational level, our ability to act promptly is stymied by lack of focus, disinterest in following processes and inability to put across a timely framework for measurable development.

As a people, we are opinionated and have a take on every hot button topic. We perennially discuss and debate issues that ail the nation. But we fail to look at the reasons that are impeding growth. Consequently, even as we make noise, we do not take any action or provide solutions. Maybe Amartya Sen had the same thoughts when he titled his book The Argumentative Indian.

If only we could be like the Japanese. Look at the sheer resilience they displayed last month. While the whole world was discussing and giving macro views on Japan’s future in the wake of the near apocalyptic earthquake and tsunami, the resolute Japanese went about demonstrating what action can achieve. In an amazing display of stubborn determination, they rebuilt the Kanto branch road in the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area, which was completely destroyed by the earthquake, in just three days! How did they manage to think and strategize? Indeed, was there enough time to strategize? I don’t think so. They just swung into action!

It’s easy to procrastinate and put off things till tomorrow. Unlike the Japanese, we Indians find it difficult to take stock of a situation and apply corrective measures. So what is it that makes us the way we are? I know that in an attempt to solve this conundrum I’m raising more questions; but here goes…

• We are the world’s largest democracy, but have democratic participation – the right to elect our leaders – robbed us of the ability to act individually and collectively to bring about meaningful changes?
• As a nation we have a hoary tradition of storytelling, which is deeply ingrained in our moral selves. Is this why we have the tendency to boast of past glory while shirking responsibilities when it comes to action in the present?
• Action produces results which, at times, lend themselves to judgments. Is the fear of being judged that holds us back from taking action?

These and many such questions more often than not pique many of us. But are we not resolute enough as a nation to reflect and act in order to bring about change? Change demands action, and action calls for firmness, discipline and resolution.

How can we create an environment which necessitates people to act collectively, not just talk? Let’s for once realize that “necessity of action takes away the fear of the act, and makes bold resolution the favorite of fortune.”

While I sign off, Barack Obama’s Presidential acceptance speech resonates in my mind. …”Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but the values upon which our success depend – honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and commitment – these things are old. These things are true …. It is time we act!”

Disclaimer: All views expressed in this blog are my personal and in no way express or implied, of that of the company I work with, or have worked with in the past.

When I participated in the 12 km corporate ride last year, of all the other benefits, I was pretty apprehensive. After all these years of travelling by car and being driven around, I was wondering whether I would be able to ride it, or stumble and fall and make a complete fool of myself…

Well, that Sunday morning, I gave the world a new slogan – “Yes, I can!!” –which was promptly picked up by you-know-who and helped him win an election! They say that once you ride a bike, you never forget it – well, it’s true!

One year down the line, I am determined to raise the bar and challenge my own physical and mental limits.Well, I have a very strong reason to do so: I’m pledging a donation to support our in-house NGO ‘EdelGive’, which works towards educating and creating livelihood opportunities for underprivileged youth.

EdelGive Foundation is the strategic philanthropic initiative of the Edelweiss Group. Its vision is to enable high potential social entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations drive systemic and sustainable social change. This is achieved through leveraging the resources and skills of the for-profit world, in particular the skills and expertise of Edelweiss employees. Its primary focus is on the areas of Education, Livelihoods and Women Empowerment. In the financial year 2009-10 alone, EdelGive has invested in 25 investees with a financial commitment of more than USD 2.5 million to directly impact the lives of more than 21,000 people.

To bolster this noble cause, this year I’ve signed up for the Amateur ride of 24 km. There are other categories too, like the Corporate Challenge Ride of 14 km, the Green ride of 12 km and the Kid‘s ride for youngsters in the age group of 8-13 years over 2 km. This is indeed a great outing for the entire family, I just wish my son’s exams weren’t on – we’d have ploughed the streets of Mumbai together!

The Cyclothon last year triggered off memories – made me go back to the days when I got my first bicycle. The out-of-body experience of riding your first bike is priceless. Gliding down a gentle slope or pedaling upa steep climb was equally enjoyable. Those joyous rides down deserted streets or the endless roads, racing against your friends, trying to perform stunts etc are experiencesone can never forget.

I want to relieve all those memories.And I’m sure you would also want to be a part of it. Do join me this Sunday, Feb 13 in the24 km Mumbai Cyclothon, which is backed by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and Cycling Federation of India (CFI). While riding for 24 km is physically demanding – it needs a lot of discipline and rigor.

I think I’m strong enough to rise above it all – after all, the mind does control the body. When I realize that I can make a differenceto the lives of the underprivileged, I will certainly go all out to help raise funds for this cause. Please become a part of this quest and contribute towards changing the lives of people who deserve better.

PostScript: Triple winner of the Tour de France’s green jersey sprinters’ classification Robbie McEwen, who represents Radioshack of the USA, and Elia Vivani of Italy’s top team Liquigas, are among the cyclists who will participate in Stage II of Tour de Mumbai 2011 Class I cycling race to be held along with the Mumbai Cyclothon. Stage I will be held in Nashik on Feb 11.

Apart from McEwen, others representing the US team are New Zealander Sam Bewley, a bronze medal winner in Beijing Olympics, five-time South African cyclist of the year Robbie Hunter, double European champion Michal Kwiatkowski from Poland, Japanese Fumiyuki Beppu and American Bjorn Selander.

The Italian team led by Elia Vivani will also feature Italian Tiziano Dall’Antonia, multiple time member of USA World Championship team Timothy Duggan, American Edward King, and Alan Marangoni.

The Cycling Federation of India (CFI) has also shortlisted India’s best cyclists to participate in the Tour de Mumbai who will vie for the $ 5,000 (Rs 2.25 lakh) overall winner’s purse.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in this blog are my personal and in no way express or implied, of that of the company I work with, or have worked with in the past.

That is when I saw HR Shashikant, my erstwhile colleague from the Birla group walk towards me. A senior member of the corporate HR function, he has been inspirational in more ways than one. When I asked him how long did it take for him to complete the run, he said 150 minutes! It suddenly struck me that he had actually done the Half Marathon, a run of over 21 km! Coincidentally, I met a few more people who had done exactly the same. And that was my challenge! I HAD to do the Half Marathon in 2011.

I confess that although my intentions were in the right place, I really could not train hard enough. I did manage to do around 15 km on the treadmill, but nothing on the road. I was pretty nervous, to say the least. A last-minute entry into the Half Marathon courtesy my friend Sanjiv Saran of Saran Sports, and it was game on!

Cut to Jan 2011. It’s been a week since I ran the Mumbai Half Marathon on January 16.
From Bandra Reclamation through the Sea Link right up to Azad Maidan, it was an exhilarating experience. Close to 15,000 people turned up for the Half Marathon at 6:15 am. That itself charged me up!

Just completing the course gave me as much satisfaction, indeed pleasure, as it would have had I won the race. Ten years ago when I was down for a month with a back injury, I never thought I would see the day when I could do 21 km on my own!

Running even a Half Marathon is both physically and mentally demanding. For those who have never run this distance before, it is imperative to train correctly, slowly building up endurance over a three-month period; decreasing the intensity of the training in the last couple of weeks before the event. If the body is overworked, injury is more likely to occur. It is also important to eat correctly and stay hydrated before, during, and after the race.

Indeed, for me running the Mumbai Half Marathon was just like going the full 42-km distance, except I did it in half the time! Jokes aside, let me assure you that training for the Half Marathon required the same passion and dedication professional runners from east Africa displayed at the 8th edition of the Mumbai Marathon this year.

As always, the best part of the Mumbai Marathon was the fact that the prettiest girls in town also participated. This year we had Deepika Padukone, Shilpa Shetty, Gul Panag and Vidya Balan running for various causes close to their hearts. Like Vivek Obeori and his wife Priyanka, who were at the event to raise funds for Cancer Patients Aid Association (Vivek Tweeted for help in achieving his goal for 2011 of extending treatment to over 1,500 kids suffering from cancer). What a lovely way to use celebrity status to make a statement and raise money for your favorite charity!

As I pounded the streets of Mumbai from Lilavati Hospital to CST, it occurred to me that running a marathon is like running a business. Some of the skills essential for business success can be learnt, honed and demonstrated by training for and running marathons. As in business, the secret of running a marathon is to pace oneself so that one can still be going many miles down the line‒ or else you burn yourself out and “hit the wall.”

I took up running because it relieves stress, helps you regain perspective and reinvigorates you besides being a confidence and self-esteem builder. It makes you feel good about yourself, you push your limits and it opens up new vistas of thought.

This reminds me of former CEO of pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb Peter Dolan (himself a marathoner),who observed: “The discipline, focus, and perseverance required to be a runner clearly translate into skills that are necessary and important to business. Breaking down a job into more manageable bites and setting up milestones along the way is how someone goes about running a long race and running a business.”

We require leaders who are both successful and effective. This distinction can be identified in marathon running efforts. A person can complete a marathon successfully, but can injure himself so seriously that he is out of even normal action for a long period of time. Some participants can be out of action within the marathon run itself.

But a true Marathon Man recovers quickly from the effort and becomes a stronger person. That, I believe, is what “going the distance” all is about.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in this blog are my personal and in no way express or implied, of that of the company I work with, or have worked with in the past.

Like many others, I have fond memories of my first Walkman. Remember, radios still ruled the hearts and hearths of India in the 70s and early 80s. Into this world strode the Walkman, a juggernaut of innovation, winning many fans overnight. Owning a Walkman was truly liberating, as it allowed me to listen to my favourite Rock songs on vacations and at night, without fear of being “caught” or disturbance. Therefore, this blog post is dedicated with affection to the pioneering spirit embodied by the Walkman.

In today’s dynamic business environment, one often hears the catchphrase “innovate or die”. Innovation is about development and commercialisation of the market potential of an invention. Perhaps one of the best explanations has been put forward by Peter F. Drucker, who said“Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship; the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.”

We have become rather used to innovations in products in this day and age. On a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis, some brand launches a newer version of its product, sparking off a buying spree among loyal customers. However, to me the Walkman was the cornerstone of innovation in the music and electronics industry. The world’s first portable, low-cost stereo, the Walkman got everything right; from the concept to the advertising. It was made in 1978 by Nobutoshi Kihara for Sony’s co-chairman Akio Morita, who wanted to be able to listen to his favourite music, while flying on business.

Launched commercially in 1979, the Walkman’s name focused clearly on the device’s potential to personalise the product. Sony Corporation targeted the youth demographic and succeeded in creating a product that became a cultural icon for freedom, portability, convenience, activity, sport, the outdoors, and what have you. The Walkman’s undisputed popularity can be seen from the fact that it not only beat off competition, but became a generic name for portable cassette players on the market.

Even so, the Walkman and Sony are perfect examples of businesses getting complacent and ignoring the need to continually innovate. All businesses require two crucial elements to succeed; efficiency and innovation. A business that wants to grow continually cannot rely solely on only one of these elements and must find a way to bring these together successfully. A strategic innovation is one which fosters wealth creation with the aid of deft commercialisation strategy.

The cassette-playing Walkman was eventually overtaken by Sony’s CD-playing Discman, which was the next natural step in the product’s evolution. The company has long been world-renowned for the superbly coordinated and efficient systems deployed in its factories. But today, when referring to portable music players, how many of us are thinking about Sony? Not a lot, I would say. Instead of progressing to the next level of innovation, Sony became entangled in bureaucratic and proprietary issues with its products and today, the portable music market has a new icon in Apple’s iPod.

In a fascinating interview, the former CEO of Apple, John Sculley, talks about Steve Jobs’ admiration for the business sense of Akio Morita and Sony. As Sculley puts it, “Sony should have had the iPod, but they didn’t. It was Apple.” Today, Apple is known for its cutting edge innovation, mass-market appeal and a devoted fan following. All of these factors once belonged to the Walkman. As Peter Drucker rightly said, “…an established organization, which in this age necessitating innovation, is not able to innovate, it faces decline and extinction.”

In Competing for the Future (1994), Gary Hamel and C.K Prahlad suggest that every organisation and employee has to ask certain questions to themselves. These broadly include (but are not limited to):

1. Does the senior management have an idea of industry patterns 10 years into the future?
2. Is the company’s point of view about the future competitively unique?
3. Is the company consistently defining new ways of doing business and setting new standards of customer satisfaction?
4. Are potential challenges to the company’s business model recognised and understood by the management?
5. What is the nature of the company’s business decisions – opportunistic or reactionary?

The book itself is an excellent read and I will discuss its message in a future post. Importantly, I hope the above question samples have clearly elucidated the importance of innovation to building core business capabilities for expansion.

Even today, the Walkman is a cultural icon, instantly recognised and appreciated. But, I’m quite certain that Sony Corporation would love to be once again recognised as the world leader in portable music technology. Perhaps, one day in the future, it might. For now, I’m going to leave you with a quote, fittingly enough from one of the acknowledged innovation-gurus of today.

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

Disclaimer: All views expressed in this blog are my personal and in no way express or implied, of that of the company I work with, or have worked with in the past.

To read the complete article, visit this link:
http://www.vccircle.com/500/news/edelweiss-names-vikaas-sachdeva-as-ceo-of-amc

Disclaimer: All views expressed in this blog are my personal and in no way express or implied, of that of the company I work with, or have worked with in the past.