What’s common to success of Nadella, Nooyi, Pichai? Competitiveness, Diversity, Values and Managing Ambiguity, says new book co-authored by SPJIMR Dean

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
November 12, 2018
MBAUniverse.com shares the Edited excerpts from the interview with Dr Ranjan Banerjee to learn more about what makes the recent book titled ‘Made In India Managers’, co-authored by Mr R. Gopalakrishnan, former Director, Tata Sons and Dr Ranjan Banerjee, Dean, SPJIMR Mumbai, successful on a global stage and what role can B-schools play to further their rise. The book comes up with some interesting answers to the intriguing phenomenon which has led to a prominent presence of Indian CXOs on a global stage
New book co-authored by SPJIMR Dean

Over the last few decades, many Indians like Satya Nadella at Microsoft, Indra Nooyi at Pepsico, Sundar Pichai at Google, have occupied top positions in global MNCs. Infact, there are now more Indian CEOs heading top 500 S&P companies in USA than any other nationality except American! So, what has led to such a prominent presence of Indian CXOs on a global stage?

In a recent book titled The Made-in-India Manager, co-authored by Mr R. Gopalakrishnan, former Director, Tata Sons and Dr Ranjan Banerjee, Dean, SPJIMR Mumbai have studied this intriguing phenomenon and have come up with some interesting answers.

MBAUniverse.com caught up with Dr Ranjan Banerjee to learn more about what makes the ‘Made In India Managers’ successful on a global stage and what role can B-schools play to further their rise. Edited excerpts from the interview:

Q: Let’s start from the start. How did the idea of Made In India Managers (MIM) came about? What led you to co-author this book with Mr R Gopalakrishnan?
A: There were a spate of articles about Indian origin managers like Sunder Pichai, Nadella and Indra Nooyi making it to the top. RG and I started discussing the possibility of a larger more fundamental cause underlying this trend. We spoke to a fair number of made in India managers we knew (most of whom were successful on a global stage).

Our conversation revealed that most of these managers were able to identify a set of tangible ways in which being brought up, educated and living in India for twenty plus years had built foundational strengths. We identified recurrent themes and tested our ideas on a variety of student and corporate audiences. Feedback suggested that the ideas were relatable, intuitive and allowed many to see themselves in a new light. That prompted us to share these ideas with a larger audience through this book.

Q: So what are the key reasons that make MIMs so successful globally? What are common traits?
A: Firstly, there is no unique single factor. Many of the factors are present in different measure in other developing countries. We talk of a concept in the book called emergence.

It is a concept from systems theory- the beauty of a flower cannot be understood by aggregating the beauty of the individual petals or the other parts of the flower- it comes from the way these components come together to create something greater-beauty is an emergent property of the flower.

Similarly, Indian managers have many strengths. We cite only four here:

a) Competitive intensity: they have survived a high level of competition to get where they are, and this has taught them focus, self-analysis and the importance of practice, and the experience that difficult looking odds can be overcome.

b) Diversity and inclusion: it is not unusual in school to share lunch with people from different states -a vast variety of cuisine is shared, understood and appreciated. Similarly, it is not unusual to sing Christian hymns at school and pray to a Hindu god at night. Diversity and inclusion is internalised early by many, and this stands us in good stead later.

c) Dealing with ambiguity: we learn to deal with a lot of things that are uncertain-from the vagaries of the weather, to the unreliability of infrastructure-we develop the ability to quickly assess situations and help ourselves without waiting for the system to help us.

d) Family values: The percentage of Indian-made leaders citing a family member as an influential role model is significantly higher than for their Western counterparts. The formative role of the family in shaping values through demonstration, stressing the value of education, and proving an 'always there' support provides a strong value core which builds resilience.

These factors, along with the ability to 'think in English' lead to the emergence of a new breed of 'made in India ' manager, who, if he is able to leverage these strengths and unlearn some habits, is uniquely prepared to succeed on a global stage.

Q: Looking into the next decade where tech continues to disrupt industries, do you see more MIMs making India proud? Why…
A: Yes. Unlike our generation, the current generation has seen India competing successfully on a global stage. They have seen a cricket team which wins matches and tournaments outside India, global success is sports like badminton, and Indian companies and leaders succeeding on a global stage. They are far less likely to be daunted by competing globally.

Secondly, tech disruption requires adaptability, the ability to reinvent, to deal with ambiguity-these are things our Indian upbringing prepares us for.

Thirdly, the next generation of MIMs is more diverse-as quality English education moves into tier 2 and tier 3 towns, the talent pool is widening in every field.

Finally, our current and next generation are digital natives who have grown up with the smartphone and are as ready for an era of technological disruption as anybody else.

Q: What specific role did education, particularly management education, play in making MIMs?
A: The competitiveness of our education system teaches people to focus and use deliberate goal-oriented practice to achieve goals. This also gives the confidence to deal with difficult looking odds.

At the undergraduate level, staying in a hostel for the first time builds an awareness that others have distinct and superior abilities, and accepting this can build higher levels of acceptance and self-awareness. The hostel phase also creates exposure to a wide range of extracurricular activities and can aid the discovery of new talents and a better-rounded individual.

Management education plays a role, although there are many successful MIMs who are not MBAs from premier B-schools. Management education provides a language and perspective which enables a transition from the environment one has grown up in to the more disciplined, process oriented culture of the multinational corporation/ professional Indian company. However, this has to be supplemented by significant on the job learning, and it is the larger preparation of being 'made in India' that enables the prospective manager to learn quickly on the job.

Q: Based on your research what is your advice to B-school community on how they can make their programs more effective for producing great MIMs?
A: We do a good job of teaching Western concepts of efficiency. We need to do more to enable students to reflect on their own experiences and understand the strengths in their own upbringing. Secondly, we talk of knowing, doing and being-the being component which involves self-awareness and balance is much stronger in Indian spiritual wisdom, and we need to draw on this more strongly. We need to build a greater blend between East and West in our curriculum, and not make the mistake of equating world class with 'made in the developed world'. We need to become world class in our own way, and our b-schools need to build a quiet confidence in our students- so that we can succeed on a global stage while understanding our own uniqueness. We need to strengthen experiential learning and reflection within our programs. 

Q: Finally what is your advice to young MBAs on how they can groom themselves to be a Global MIM.
A: First of all, reflect on and understand the strengths that you have on account of being 'made in India'. We are too quick to criticize ourselves. We must learn to value ideas on merit, and not on the labels or country of origin of the source.

Secondly, you have grown up in an environment where parenting has been far less hierarchical. Do not assume hierarchy will not exist in your workplaces. Be a little more patient with your bosses. If you like the culture and like the work, do not leave a job for money or boss alone. Research suggests that between five performing managers in a company, staying power (or the ability to survive a bad boss) makes a big difference. Avoid a 'sense of entitlement'. It can be your downfall. 

Travel if you get the chance. Learn at least one new language (ideally one European language and Chinese). Have two strings to your bow-develop at least one capability that may not be critical to your current job. You will most probably have multiple distinct careers in your lifetime-be prepared for it.

Finally keep your child alive. The curiosity and willingness to accept ignorance (his/her own) sets the child apart. Every child is a natural learner. Leaders of tomorrow must keep their child alive to be lifelong learners.

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